Produced by David Edwards, Cindy Horton and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriber's Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. GOAT ALLEY GOAT ALLEY A TRAGEDY OF NEGRO LIFE _By_ ERNEST HOWARD CULBERTSON [Illustration] CINCINNATI STEWART KIDD COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY STEWART KIDD COMPANY [Illustration] _All rights reserved_ All acting rights, both amateur and professional, are fully protected under copyright law and are reserved by the author. Application to produce GOAT ALLEY must be made to him, in care of the publishers, Stewart-Kidd Company, Cincinnati. Printed in the United States of America THE CAXTON PRESS TO FREDERIC AND ALICE MULHERN ROBINSON INTRODUCTION In a dingy little hall on a side street Mr. Ernest Howard Culbertson began rehearsals of âGoat Alley,â his tragedy of Negro life in a Washington slum. The actors were, with one exception, amateurs--colored working people who gave their time and services for the sake of what they felt to be an artistic expression of the life of their race. The author had no sociological intention; he had no ambition to be a propagandist. He had not even a special interest in the racial problem. He thought that he had come upon an action that has the quality of tragic inevitableness. He thought, furthermore, that tragedy does not reside in pomp and circumstance, but in the profound realities of human helpfulness and human suffering, and that poor Lucy Belle struggling to maintain her spiritual integrity in Goat Alley was a protagonist worthy of the sternest art and the largest sympathy. He built up his action from within. He saw that the Negro cannot yet hope, like the white man, to transcend common standards. He must first reach them. Hence the Negro girlâs struggle for her own integrity is not yet the struggle of Nora or Magda--the struggle to be true to herself; it is the struggle to remain true to the man of her real choice. To transcend a necessary order one must first have achieved it. The achievement of social order in the moral sense is therefore the right and necessary aim of the Negro proletarian and the right and necessary theme of a drama dealing with his life. In the play, Lucy Belle fights valiantly her losing fight. Loneliness, poverty, ignorance, terror, drive her from disaster to disaster, from one unwilling infidelity to another. But she never wavers in her soul. In her utter confusion and failure she kills the child that stands between her and all her hopes and at once expiates that action with her own death. Neither the subject nor the circumstances are new. But novelty is no mark of fine literature. The motives, the people, the place, the color of life--these are new. Every triangle play is a âMedeaâ. There are subjects that are classical because they are native to the character and circumstances of mankind. Such is the subject of âGoat Alleyâ. The structure is pure and uncompromising. No American play has had a finer or truer moment than that at the end of the second act when Lucy Belle, her lodger lost, her money stolen, her child crying with hunger, consents quietly, yet in such despair, to rent her vacant room to the worthless, ingratiating barber. Hauptmann would not have disdained that quiet moment of rich, tragic implications; Galsworthy would have approved it. No competent observer will fail to note here the evidence of an effort as serious, as intelligent, as sensitive to the character and quality of what makes tragedy as our recent theatre has produced. LUDWIG LEWISOHN. New York, July, 1921. GOAT ALLEY CHARACTERS Lucy Belle Dorsey Slim Dorsey Sam Reed Aunt Rebecca Lizzie Gibbs Jeff Bisbee Chick Avery Jeremiah Pocher Fanny Dorsey } _Children_ Israel Dorsey } Baby Policeman GOAT ALLEY was first publicly presented at the Bijou Theatre, New York City, on the evening of June 20, 1921. ACT I _The curtain rises on the sitting-room of a Negroâs squalid dwelling in Goat Alley, Washington, D. C. At Right Back, there is a door giving directly on the street and when it is open one gets a glimpse of the miserable, tumble-down houses on the opposite side. At Left Back is a window, with one pane broken and an old shirt stuffed in the hole. The one or two old rag-carpet rugs which lie on the floor serve only in a small measure to cover its bareness. Several old, broken and battered chairs stand here and there about the room. At Left Center is a door leading into the other downstairs room of the house. Between it and the wall, Back, is a door opening into a closet._ _There is another door, down Right, giving on a flight of stairs which lead to the one upper room of the house. Near the door, Left Center, and toward the front stands a battered table on which lie, in disordered array newspapers and one or two dog-eared books with their backs off. It is evening and a lighted oil lamp, with the chimney badly smoked, rests in the center. The wick is turned low and the guttering flame causes countless shadows to disport themselves eerily about the room. Between the door, Left Center, and the door, up Left, stands a fancy cupboard. There is a large easy chair between the table and the wall, Left Center. Both of these pieces of furniture look out of place in the room._ _Flamboyant lithographs, a gilt-framed picture of Jack Johnson, wearing his golden smile, a framed engraving of Abraham Lincoln, and several grotesque crayon portraits of members of the family adorn the dirty and discolored walls. An old corset, a half-eaten roll, and a doll, with its head off, lie about on the floor. A horseshoe is nailed over the center of the door, Back._ _Aunt Rebecca, an old coal-black Negress, enters, Back. She wears no hat and has just a shawl thrown over her shoulders. She presents the appearance of an animated mummy. Her eyes are small and bead-like and shine with an uncanny lustre; her hands are long and bony, resembling the talons of a hawk. She glances about inquiringly, gives an impatient grunt, then turns and slowly closes the door._ AUNT REBECCA (_in high-pitched raspy tones as she moves to the Center_) Lucy Belle! Oh, Lucy Belle! LUCY BELLE (_from the next room_) Dat yoâ, Aunâ Becky? AUNT REBECCA Yas, honey. LUCY BELLE Jesâ a minute. Changinâ mah skirt. (_Aunt Rebecca drops into a chair, Left Center, and begins a weird and doleful chant._) AUNT REBECCA Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble in mah soul! Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble! (_High treble_) Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble in mah soul! Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble in mah soul! Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! (_Lucy Belle enters, Left. She is a frail, light brown young Negress of about twenty-eight. She has a nervous, hesitant--and sometimes wistful--manner. She wears a plain black waist and a black skirt, patched in several places._) LUCY BELLE (_feelingly, as she kisses Aunt Rebecca_) Aunâ Becky! Iâse so glad ter see yoâ agin! âDeed I is! (_Draws up a chair and sits near her._) AUNT REBECCA (_affectionately_) Poâful glad ter see yoâ, honey! LUCY BELLE Seem like ole times--seeinâ yoâ! Lessee--how-some long yoâ all been âway? AUNT REBECCA (_reflectively_) Um! Um! (_Puts a hand to her head and purses her lips._) Dat gin got mah haid all tangle up! Um! Keep tellinâ Gâorge whiskey suit me bettah--but he like gin. How long? Um! Um! Gawd-a-massy! Be a yeah in Feb-wary! (_Lucy Belle exclaims incredulously._) LUCY BELLE Go âlong! AUNT REBECCA Shoâ has! I--I was free monâs in Cumberlanâ wid Sadie--she dat slim yallow one, yoâ know--got a mole on dis cheek. (_Indicates._) Some say dat de reason she so lucky. I ainâ sayinâ. Up dere mosâ six monâs wid Emâly--she dat fat brown gal. (_Lucy Belle nods._) Anâ den I reckon âbout foâ monâs in Frederick wid Henry. (_Throws back her head proudly._) Henry great big fine lookinâ niggah. Ainâ so lucky, dough. Bawn in de daâk ob de moon. LUCY BELLE I âmember him. I âmember seeinâ him ârounâ yere wâen his fader died--ole Uncle Henry,-- AUNT REBECCA (_scornfully_) Huh! Dat niggah wasânâ his fader. No, indeedy! Dat lilâ scrootchinâ monkey wasânâ calcâlated ter be de fader ob no boy like Henry. (_Lucy Belle gives an exclamation of surprise. Aunt Rebecca sits in perplexed preoccupation for several moments. At length she speaks very slowly--dragging out the words, one after another._) AUNT REBECCA âDeed chile, I kainât seem ter âmember who Henryâs fader was. Dat gin got mah haid so tangle up. LUCY BELLE Lot done happen since yoâ been âway. AUNT REBECCA Donâ I know it! Donâ I know it! (_Fanny Dorsey, a little Negro girl of eight, and Israel Dorsey, a little Negro boy of four, run in, Left._) FANNY Mamma! Yoâ all gwine âway? LUCY BELLE I ainâ gwine nowhar. ISRAEL Mamma! Git me some candy! LUCY BELLE (_harshly, as she rises_) Yoâ all hush! I ainâ gwine ter git yoâ nuffin! FANNY Mamma! I wanâ ter go out anâ play wid Gordy! LUCY BELLE Shet up! Yoâ ainâ gwine ter play wid nobody! Git in dere anâ git ter bed! Go âlong! Yoâ yere me? (_Threateningly._) Wanâ me ter beat yoâ? ISRAEL Mamma! Git me-- (_Lucy Belle grabs them roughly and pushes them through the door, Left, closing it after them. Their cries are heard for several moments and then gradually cease._) LUCY BELLE (_irritably_) Some day Iâse gwine ter git good anâ mad anâ knock dere haids off! AUNT REBECCA Howâs Sam--? LUCY BELLE (_drops down on a chair near Aunt Rebecca and exclaims ecstatically_) Jesâ great! Aunâ Becky, heâs de besâ ole budigee in de worlâ! AUNT REBECCA Ainâ nobody got nuffinâ on Sam. LUCY BELLE Yoâ said it! Jesâ as good ter me as he know how ter be. Do evâythinâ I ask him. AUNT REBECCA Donâ haf ter tell me dat. LUCY BELLE Heâs de onliesâ niggah I evah loved. AUNT REBECCA Donâ make âem no bettah den Sam. LUCY BELLE Heâs mah honey-baby, buddy boy! AUNT REBECCA (_with a good-natured chuckle_) Listen ter yo! LUCY BELLE (_her face clouding_) But he ainâ had such good luck lately--. AUNT REBECCA How come dat--? LUCY BELLE I dunno--. Till âbout a monf ago he wuk steady fo de Simpson Express Company. Drive a wagon foâ dem. AUNT REBECCA Dat wâat he doinâ wâen I lefâ. LUCY BELLE Shoâ, shoâ--. Good job, too. But de wuk gits slack--anâ dey lets him out. AUNT REBECCA Go âlong! LUCY BELLE He try anâ try ter git anoder job--but couldânâ seem ter finâ nuffinâ. Times is bad, yoâ know. Neah walk his feet off jesâ seeinâ ef he kainât git somefinâ by de day. AUNT REBECCA Yoâ donâ say! LUCY BELLE Samâs as steady as dey make âem. Ef he ainâ wukkin he jesâ âbout goes crazy. AUNT REBECCA Donâ I know it. LUCY BELLE So finally he up anâ gwine ter Baltimoâ--anâ gits a job wid de Street Departmenâ--digginâ ditches foâ wattah mains. AUNT REBECCA In Baltimoâ--! LUCY BELLE Yas, indeedy! I been at him foâ a long time ter go ovah dere. AUNT REBECCA Yoâ is--! LUCY BELLE Aunâ Becky, deyâs some niggahs ârounâ dis town--dat jesâ watchinâ dere chanct ter blackguard him an me--git back at us any way dey kin. AUNT REBECCA (_with a little snort_) Go âlong, now--wâat yoâ talkinâ âbout. LUCY BELLE Dey shoâ is--! Anâ jes as soon as he git somefinâ steady--anâ dat pay a lilâ bettah we gwine ter move ovah dere. AUNT REBECCA (_with a wail_) Gawd-a-massy, wâat yoâ poâ ole Aunâ Becky gwine ter do! LUCY BELLE Be mighty sorry ter leave yoâ, Aunâ Becky--! AUNT REBECCA (_with facetious fervor_) Why, chile, wâat yoâ âspose I done come back ter Washâninâ foâ? LUCY BELLE I know yoâ gwine ter miss me--anâ Iâse gwine ter miss yoâ--but it tainâ so far away dat I kainât git ovah--now anâ den. Anâ yoâ kin come ovah anâ see me--! AUNT REBECCA (_shaking her head_) Lawsy, lawsy--datâs de way. Jesâ as soon as yoâ git ter likinâ somebody--dey up anâ gwine âway. LUCY BELLE It gwine ter be besâ foâ bof ob us, Aunâ Becky--! AUNT REBECCA I reckon yoâ know--but jesâ de same-- LUCY BELLE Anâ--anâ terday I feels moâ like we got ter git âway den evah. AUNT REBECCA How come dat--? LUCY BELLE Yoâ know Sam ainâ nevah had nuffinâ much ter do wid oder gals. AUNT REBECCA (_with a nod_) He donâ look like he âud chase âem much. LUCY BELLE He donâ! He ainâ dat kinâ! But--but foâ de lasâ free weeks deyâs a gal dat he uster know--long time ago--keep cominâ ârounâ yere. AUNT REBECCA Go âlong! LUCY BELLE Her name Lizzie Gibbs--anâ she de hardesâ ole yallow gal yoâ evah seen. AUNT REBECCA She come ârounâ yere--! LUCY BELLE Sam only gits home onct or twict a week--mosâly only onct. I allas goes ter de doâ wâen heâs yere--anâ ef she come--he duck upstairs foâ she kin lay eyes on him. AUNT REBECCA Wouldânâ stanâ foâ nuffinâ like dat! LUCY BELLE Wâat yoâ gwine ter do? She so hard she liable ter do anathinâ. She--she was yere dis mawninâ. She say she gwine ter keep cominâ âtill she see Sam. AUNT REBECCA Gawd-a-massy! Put de _po_-lice on her--! LUCY BELLE (_shakes her head_) Ef I do dat, she liable ter make trouble-- AUNT REBECCA Wâat trouble kin she make ef dey locks her up? LUCY BELLE She might make trouble âtween me anâ Sam--ef sheâs a minâ ter-- AUNT REBECCA âTween yoâ anâ Sam--! Go âlong! LUCY BELLE Sam donâ care no moâ foâ her den he do a rat--but she crazy jealous-- AUNT REBECCA âCoâse she is--anâ datâs de reason-- LUCY BELLE (_touches Aunt Rebecca on the knee_) I tell yoâ why I got ter go easy wid her--till I see mah way out. Maybe yoâ kin heâp me-- AUNT REBECCA Shoâ--! LUCY BELLE Yoâ see sheâs de onliesâ one ob all dem blackguardinâ niggahs dat uster live ârounâ me ovah dere in Carter Street--foâ I moves yere ter Goat Alley--(_Breaks off and stares sombrely into space for several moments, then proceeds with a slight catch in her voice._) Aunâ Becky, Iâse had it hard. Ainâ nevah had much luck--âdeed I ainâ--âcept meetinâ up wid Sam agin. AUNT REBECCA Yoâ ainâ nevah tolâ me much âbout yoâseâf. LUCY BELLE Nevah tolâ nobody--much. Wâatâs de use? AUNT REBECCA Go on! Wâatâs on yoâ minâ? LUCY BELLE Mah moder died wâen Iâse fifteen--anâ Pap goes off ter Texas anâ I ainâ nevah seen him since. Slim--mah broâder--he was jesâ a lilâ kid--baby mosâ--anâ I didânâ have no oder people. AUNT REBECCA Bless yoâ soul--! LUCY BELLE Done mosâ anathinâ I could--jesâ ter make a livinâ. Wuk in laundries, cook, wait on tables--. Starts gwine ârounâ wid de boys, too. Yoâ know how a gal is. Meets up wid Sam anâ Jeff Bisbee anâ Ed Cales--anâ a bunch-a oders like dem. Jeff hang ârounâ aftah me mosâ all de time--anâ Sam do, too. Sam allas a wuk steady--but Jeff, he nevah wukked âless he had ter. Heâs--he a hard niggah--allas drunk, anâ fightinâ anâ shootinâ crap. But--well--yoâ know how a gal is--(_Aunt Rebecca grunts and nods._) He looks good ter me, kase he wear swell clothes, anâ spend money free, anâ boasâ how many cops he cut. Wasânâ long, dough, foâ Jeff git crazy jealous-a Sam--anâ one day--down yere in Four-anâ-a-haâf Street--dey meets up anâ has a fight. (_As though somewhat thrilled by the memory of it._) Man-day, but dey flew at each oder! Like a couple-a wildcats! But de _po_-lice busâ in on âem. Dey ketch Jeff--but Sam git away. AUNT REBECCA Mah soul--! LUCY BELLE Jeff gits six monâs in de wukhouse. I meets up wid Sam a few days aftah. Like de fool I is--I âcuses him ob startinâ de fight. AUNT REBECCA Hush yoâ mouf! LUCY BELLE I didânâ know who did--âzactly--but I was sore kase Jeff was in jail. He been takinâ me ârounâ, yoâ see--spendinâ lots-a money on me--anâ--anâ--Oh, well I jesâ a damn fool, kase I ainâ got nobody ter look aftah me. (_Shakes her head remorsefully._) Sam gits mad--anâ quits cominâ ârounâ ter see me. Tells me, now, dat he git de idea dat I didnât care nuffinâ at all âbout him. All de time he crazy âbout me! (_Pauses a moment in reverent thought._) He was livinâ ovah in M Street. Ole Lizzie Gibbs livinâ dere, too. Datâs whar he meets up wid her. She had been foolinâ ârounâ aftah him foâ a long time. Aftah dat scrap me anâ him had, he gits so down in de mouf dat he takes up wid her foâ a while. AUNT REBECCA Dat ole yallaw gal yoâ jesâ tellinâ me âbout? LUCY BELLE (_nodding_) Yas. But only foâ a lilâ while--he say. He seen right away how hard she was--anâ dat she wasânâ no good--anâ he draps her like a hot tater. AUNT REBECCA Reckon he would--! LUCY BELLE Den he decides ter beat it--anâ goes off ter Atlanta. Stays dere five yeahs. Only come back yere âbout a yeah ago. AUNT REBECCA Anâ yoâ ainâ seen him--all dat time? LUCY BELLE No. AUNT REBECCA Gawd-a-massy! LUCY BELLE But he say he was thinkinâ âbout me all de time! Nevah foâgit me anâ nevah seen any oder gal dat he like bettah! (_Shakes her head._) Anâ I shoâ nevah did foâgit him! Ef Iâd only stuck ter him. Wouldânâ have had haâf de trouble I is. Yoâ see--yoâ see, aftah heâd been gone a while I began ter see wâat a good fellah heâd been. (_Pauses a moment in sombre thought._) While Jeff was in de wukhouse I marries Ed Cales. He uster bootblack on de Avenue anâ carry sample cases foâ drummers. Foâ a lilâ while he drive a wagon foâ a white man dat run a meat stanâ on Louisiana Avenue. But mosâ de time he donâ do nuffinâ but lay âroun de house. (_Contemptuously._) He wasnâ no good--jesâ a loafinâ, no-count niggah dat lay âroun anâ let a gal wuk foâ him--long as she would stanâ foâ it. I lives wid him two yeahs. Den one day he say he gwine down ter Richmonâ foâ a few days, beats it off--anâ I ainâ nevah seen him since. AUNT REBECCA Yoâ lucky ter git rid-a him so easy! LUCY BELLE (_nodding_) âDeed I was! (_Sighs heavily._) âBout free monâs aftah dat I meets Jeff Bisbee ovah in Gernerâs one day--anâ--anâ he walks home wid me. Iâse livinâ ovah in Carter Street den. (_Gives a little nervous shudder._) He shoot off his mouf great. Tolâ me how much he think-a me--anâ dat I is de onliesâ gal dat evah got him goinâ--anâ all dat kinâ-a stuff. He say dat he broke--but dat he âspecâ ter collecâ some money in a week or two--anâ dat he donâ know wâat he gwine ter do till den. Begs me ter let him stay dere wid me foâ a few days. (_Drops her head and sighs._) I finally does. De longer he stay de harder he git, anâ by-anâ-by he say ef I donâ let him stay dere all de time he gwine ter kill me. He say ef I call de _po_-lice he gwine ter lay foâ me--anâ watch his chanct--night anâ day--till he git me. Honesâ, I gits so scarât I didânâ hardly know wâat ter do. Anâ--anâ so he keeps livinâ on dere wid me--anâ I keeps thinkinâ moâ anâ moâ âbout Sam--anâ wishinâ Iâd stuck ter him--anâ dat I knowed whar he was. AUNT REBECCA âDeed, honey, I knows how yoâ must-a felt. LUCY BELLE He wuk in a livery stable ovah on C Street foâ a while. Couldnâ git him ter do nuffinâ steady. Mosâ de time he jesâ lay ârounâ de house anâ guzzle gin--guzzle gin--anâ wâen he ainâ doinâ dat, he out in de alley shootinâ crap wid Mink Hall anâ Slim anâ dat gang. AUNT REBECCA He wuss den no-count! LUCY BELLE I was a fool, I knows--ter stick ter him. âDeed I was! But Iâse so scarât anâ down in de mouf dat I ainâ got good sense. (_Aunt Rebecca nods sympathetically._) All de time Jeff keep gittinâ harder anâ harder. Anâ me wukkinâ mah haid off ter feed him anâ de chillen. Evây onct in while he gits mad anâ beats me up. Finally Iâse pretty neah crazy. One night wâen heâs away I gits mah broder Slim ter come ovah anâ heâp me. We packs evâythinâ up anâ moves ovah yere--anâ I didânâ tell nobody whar I was gwine. AUNT REBECCA Yoâ look like yoâ had somefinâ on yoâ minâ--dat fust day I seen yoâ yere! LUCY BELLE âDeed I did! (_Shakes her head._) Ainâ seen hide nor hair-a him since. (_Abruptly, after a moment or two of troubled thought._) Yoâ--yoâ see, Aunâ Becky, ef deyâs anabody in de worlâ dat Sam hate--it--it Jeff Bisbee-- AUNT REBECCA Sho! Sho! LUCY BELLE Hate him like poison! (_Hesitatingly._) I--I ainâ nevah tolâ him dat I live wid Jeff. AUNT REBECCA Yoâ ainâ--? LUCY BELLE Ainâ had de nerve! He know dat I married Ed Cales--anâ I tolâ him mosâ evâythinâ else--anâ he say wâat is pas is pasâ. But yoâ see it was Jeff dat busâ him anâ me up befoâ--anâ he call him de hardesâ niggah in Washâninâ-- AUNT REBECCA Any way ob him findinâ out--? LUCY BELLE Only ef somebody tell him. AUNT REBECCA Who know--? LUCY BELLE Slim, anâ dem people in Carter Street, anâ ole Lizzie Gibbs-- AUNT REBECCA She know--? LUCY BELLE (_nodding_) Shoâ. AUNT REBECCA Denâ yoâ bettah watch out--kase ef she like wâat yoâ tell me she ainâ gwine ter keep it to herseâf. LUCY BELLE I reckon she ainâ--anâ datâs wâat got me so worried. Yo see, she yere Sam talk so much âbout me dat it make her crazy jealous. Wâen he gwine âway ter Atlanta, she figure dat ef he come back he mosâ likely come ter me fust. Leasâ-ways dat wâat I think she figure. So she move ovah dere ter Carter Street, anâ take a house near me, wid de idea dat maybe she kin busâ me anâ Sam up--ef he come back. I was married ter Ed Cales den--but aftah while I takes up wid Jeff--like I done tolâ yoâ--anâ all de time sheâs watchinâ me like a hawk widout me knowinâ it--. AUNT REBECCA Tryinâ ter git somefinâ on yoâ--! LUCY BELLE Shoâ! Anâ now--now dat she found out whar I live--anâ dat heâs back--sheâs cominâ at me agin--! AUNT REBECCA Put de _po_-lice on her! LUCY BELLE Den she bounâ ter tell Sam--anâ lie anâ blackguard on me wuss den evah--! Donâ yoâ see--? (_Twining and intertwining her fingers and staring into space with a distraught expression._) I donâ know wâat ter do! (_The children suddenly give vent to shouts and can be heard romping wildly in the room, off Left._) LUCY BELLE (_rising_) Listen ter dem chillen--! (_Moving toward, Left._) âScuse me while I puts dem ter bed. (_Aunt Rebecca sits in a brown study._) AUNT REBECCA (_as Lucy Belle nears the door, Left_) Lucy Belle--! LUCY BELLE (_pausing_) Yas. AUNT REBECCA Who de fader ob Fanny? LUCY BELLE Ed Cales. (_Hesitatingly_) Is-Israel is--is Jeffâs. (_Aunt Rebecca grunts and nods. Lucy Belle goes out, Left. Aunt Rebecca sits pondering for several moments and then begins to chant._) AUNT REBECCA (_chanting_) Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble in mah soul! Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble in mah soul! Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! Trouble in mah soul! Um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a--um--a! (_A knock sounds on the door, Back. Aunt Rebecca glances toward the door and gives an annoyed grunt. The knock sounds again. Aunt Rebecca gets up, grumbling to herself, goes to the door and opens it. Lizzie Gibbs steps in. She is a large, voluptuous, mulatto woman. She has straight hair, high cheek bones, and large coarse features. Her manner is over-bearing and insolent._) LIZZIE Hâyoâ--? AUNT REBECCA (_surveying her with an air of frank suspicion and disapproval_) Wâat yoâ wanâ--? LIZZIE (_swaggering down toward Center with her hands on her hips_) Sam Reed live yere, donâ he--? AUNT REBECCA None ob yoâ busâness weder he do or weder he donâ--! LIZZIE (_savagely_) Go âlong, yoâ ole black wench! Donâ yoâ give me no back talk! (_Glaring at her malevolently._) Donâ yo âspose I knows he live yere--! Is he home? AUNT REBECCA (_sullenly_) Donâ know. LIZZIE Whar is he--? AUNT REBECCA Donâ know. LIZZIE Yoâ donâ know nuffinâ, dâyoâ--? (_Aunt Rebecca stands glaring fiercely at Lizzie. Lucy Belle can be heard in the next room speaking to the children._) LIZZIE Lucy Belleâs yere, _ainâ_ she--? AUNT REBECCA (_shortly_) I reckon so. LIZZIE Tell her I wanâ ter see her. (_Aunt Rebecca hesitates for a moment, then shuffles over toward the door on the left, and goes out. Lizzie swaggers about the room, examining various objects with an expression of sardonic contempt. Presently Lucy Belle enters, Left--falteringly._) LIZZIE (_pausing, hunching herself down on one hip, and gazing at Lucy Belle with an expression of sneering venom_) âLo Luce! LUCY BELLE Wâat yoâ wanâ--? LIZZIE (_with an explosive, sardonic laugh_) Listen ter yoâ--! LUCY BELLE I--I done tolâ yoâ dat I donâ know whar Sam is! LIZZIE (_harshly_) Look yere, gal, dâyoâ think yoâ puttinâ somefinâ ovah on me? LUCY BELLE Datâs de Gawdâs truf--Iâm tellinâ yoâ. LIZZIE Tryinâ ter make out he ainâ nevah yere--! LUCY BELLE He ainâ--! Honesâ-- LIZZIE Yoâ lie--! Yoâ knows whar he is--anâ wâen he come home as well as yoâ standinâ dere--! LUCY BELLE I ainâ seen him in Gawd knows wâen--! LIZZIE People in de neighborhood tell me dey see him yere evây few days--! LUCY BELLE Dey crazy--! Shootinâ off dey moufs âbout somefinâ dey donâ know nuffinâ âbout--! LIZZIE Does yoâ think yoâ gwine ter salt him away--anâ nevah let nobody lay eyes on him agin? LUCY BELLE Wâat âud I be doinâ anathinâ like dat foâ--? LIZZIE (_mockingly_) Yas--wâat would yoâ be doinâ anathinâ like dat foâ--? LUCY BELLE Nevah git away wid it--ef I did! LIZZIE Anâ yoâ ainâ gwine git away wid nuffinâ like dis--neder! LUCY BELLE Yoâ donâ know wâat yoâ talkinâ âbout--! LIZZIE Iâse knowed Sam as long as yoâ is. LUCY BELLE Who say yoâ ainâ--? LIZZIE Yoâ stanâ dere anâ act like somebody was gwine ter steal him--right from under yoâ nose--! LUCY BELLE I donâ know wâat yoâ talkinâ âbout--! LIZZIE (_mockingly_) No--yoâ donâ know nuffinâ--! To yere yoâ talk, yoâd think yoâ owned Sam--got him chain up like a dawg--! Mah soul--! (_Vehemently._) Listen ter me, gal--heâs anâ ole frienâ-a mine--anâ I wants ter see him--âbout some busâness--anâ ef yoâ know wâats good foâ yoâ--yoâ bettah quit dis lyinâ anâ beatinâ ârounâ de bush--anâ-- (_Footsteps and whistling are heard off stage, Back. Lizzie breaks off abruptly and both stand listening. A moment later the door, Back, opens and Slim Dorsey enters. He is a tall, slender, light-colored Negro of about twenty-four. He wears a cap pulled around so that the visor slants over one ear, and an old ragged suit of clothes. He glares at Lizzie and nods._) SLIM (_as he slouches toward Left Center_) âLo Luce. LIZZIE (_as she sidles toward the door, Back--to Lucy Belle_) Yoâ yered wâat I said--! Dat goes bof ways--anâ all ârounâ de squah. (_With a hand on the doorknob_). Jesâ remembah dat Iâse knowed yoâ a good while, too. (_With drawling, veiled menace._) Is--is yoâ evah tolâ Sam how much yoâ love Jeff Bisbee--? (_Lucy Belleâs body becomes rigid, she clenches her hands, and speaks in a choking voice._) LUCY BELLE Yoâ--yoâ shet up--! LIZZIE (_with a bellowing, sardonic laugh_) Ha! Ha! Why donâ yoâ tell him someday--? (_She goes out, Back._) LUCY BELLE (_violently_) Damn her! Iâse gwine ter break evây bone in her body--ef she keep aftah me! SLIM Wâatâs de mattah--? LUCY BELLE She--she de hardesâ ole gal in Washânin-- SLIM Jesâ finâ dat out--? LUCY BELLE Allas gwine ârounâ makinâ trouble foâ somebody--! SLIM Wâat she cominâ at yoâ âbout--? LUCY BELLE (_slowly gets control of herself--and ponders for a moment_) Oh--oh, nuffinâ--! SLIM Aftah Sam--ainâ she--? LUCY BELLE She think she is--! SLIM Bettah watch her--! LUCY BELLE Donâ yoâ worry--I is! (_She goes to the window, Left Back, and peers out, then turns and comes slowly down to Center._) SLIM How is yoâ--? LUCY BELLE I donâ know--not so good dis week--! SLIM Whar Sam--? LUCY BELLE Baltimoâ--! Wâat dâyoâ know--? SLIM A lot. (_He takes a bag of tobacco and a package of papers from his pocket and proceeds leisurely to roll a cigarette._) LUCY BELLE Wâat--? SLIM (_as he painstakingly rolls the cigarette_) Seen Jeff dis mawninâ--. LUCY BELLE (_with a gasp_) Jeff--! Jeff Bisbee--! SLIM (_with a nonchalant nod_) Shoâ nuff--! LUCY BELLE (_clutching his arm_) Whar--? SLIM Bennings--. LUCY BELLE De race track--. SLIM Yas. LUCY BELLE Did he see yoâ--? SLIM Shoâ he seen me--! LUCY BELLE Say anathinâ--? SLIM (_nodding_) Come up anâ grab me. LUCY BELLE Gawd sakes--! SLIM Wanâ ter know right off whar yoâ is. LUCY BELLE Yoâ didânâ tell him--? SLIM Wâat de hell yoâ take me foâ? LUCY BELLE Wâat did yoâ do? SLIM Tolâ him I didânâ know nuffinâ âbout yoâ. LUCY BELLE (_gratefully_) Yoâ did, Slim--yoâ did--? SLIM Wâat yoâ think I is--some kinâ-a fool dat has ter be tolâ wâat ter say? LUCY BELLE No, no, Slim. But I thought maybe yoâ might-a been scarât--anâ say somefinâ foâ yoâ think. SLIM (_with a sneer_) Take somebody moâ den him ter scare me. LUCY BELLE Wâat did he do? SLIM Say he gwine ter finâ yoâ--he donâ care how long it takes. LUCY BELLE (_with a cry of anguish and indignation_) He bettah lay off me--! SLIM Say he gwine ter busâ hell out-a yoâ ef yoâ donâ come back ter him. LUCY BELLE He ainâ gwine ter do nuffinâ--! SLIM Picks up a fence rail anâ comes at me--kase I wouldânâ tell him whar yoâ is--! LUCY BELLE Oh, mah Gawd! Hit yoâ--? SLIM (_with contempt_) Been in de undertakerâs now ef he had. LUCY BELLE Did yoâ busâ him--? SLIM I picks up a brick anâ dares him ter come at me. Mink Hall anâ some of mah oder buddies comes âlong right den anâ he beats it. (_With a laugh._) Mink makes a grab foâ him anâ he jumps thâuâ a stable window. LUCY BELLE Ainâ seen or heard-a him foâ so long--I been hopinâ dat he gone away foâ good. SLIM Been follerinâ de races--norf anâ souf--foâ de lasâ yeah--so he say--anâ jesâ got in town yisterday. LUCY BELLE I knows he ainâ been ârounâ Washâninâ. (_Twining and intertwining her fingers, and her gaze roving abstractedly about._) I donâ care. He ainâ gwine ter do nuffinâ. Me anâ Samâll be livinâ in Baltimoâ soon--maybe dis time nexâ monf-- SLIM Watch yoâseâf--. LUCY BELLE I shoâ is gwine ter! SLIM Donâ go travelinâ rounâ at night by yoâseâf. LUCY BELLE (_shaking her head_) Donâ yoâ worry--I ainâ gwine ter take no chances. (_A sudden look of apprehension coming into her face._) He gwine ter beat it right ovah ter Carter Street-- SLIM Nobody ovah dere know whar yoâ livinâ. LUCY BELLE Nobody--nobody âcept--(_She breaks off and stares fixedly before her._) SLIM Who--? LUCY BELLE Lizzie Gibbs. (_Aunt Rebecca enters, Left, and closes the door carefully after her._) AUNT REBECCA (_discovering Slim_) Hâyoâ, Slim. SLIM (_shortly_) âLo Aunâ Becky. AUNT REBECCA How is yoâ? SLIM Fine anâ dandy. AUNT REBECCA (_to Lucy Belle_) Done put dem chillen ter bed foâ yoâ. LUCY BELLE (_gratefully, as she goes to her_) Thank yoâ, Aunâ Becky,--sartainly mighty good-a yoâ. AUNT REBECCA Datâs all right. Israel âsleep already-- LUCY BELLE Bof so tired dey couldânâ hardly stanâ up. (_Aunt Rebecca moves toward the door, Back._) LUCY BELLE Yoâ ainâ gwine--? AUNT REBECCA Musâ, chile. Jesâ drap in on mah way ter de stoâ. Oughter been on mah way long foâ dis. LUCY BELLE Wâen I see yoâ agin? AUNT REBECCA May drap in later on dis eveninâ. LUCY BELLE Do, honey, please--! AUNT REBECCA (_in a low voice--as they pause at the door_) Didânâ put nuffinâ ovah on yoâ, did she--? LUCY BELLE No, indeedy! Anâ she ainâ gwine ter! AUNT REBECCA Datâs talkinâ! See yoâ some moâ. LUCY BELLE Yas, yas. Goodbye. SLIM See yoâ some moâ, Aunâ Becky. AUNT REBECCA Goodbye. (_She goes out, Back._) (_Lucy Belle closes the door and returns, slowly to Center. Slim has dropped into a chair, Right Center, and sits nonchalantly puffing away at his cigarette._) SLIM (_casually_) Luce-- LUCY BELLE Yas--? SLIM Iâse broke. LUCY BELLE Dat ainâ doinâ me no good. SLIM I ainâ had nuffinâ ter eat since dis mawninâ. LUCY BELLE (_irritably_) I kainât heâp dat. SLIM Lenâ me a couple-a dollahs. LUCY BELLE I ainâ got no money ter lenâ ter yoâ. SLIM Yas, yoâ is--! LUCY BELLE Git out anâ git yoâseâf a job. SLIM I is got a job. LUCY BELLE (_incredulously_) Whar--? SLIM At de race track. LUCY BELLE Wâat doinâ--? SLIM Feedinâ hosses anâ rubbinâ âem down. LUCY BELLE Den wâat yoâ come ârounâ yere askinâ me foâ money--? SLIM I only had it free days--anâ dey donâ pay till Saturday. LUCY BELLE I give yoâ a couple-a dollahs lasâ Monday. SLIM Yoâ âspecâ dat ter lasâ me a week? LUCY BELLE I keeps givinâ yoâ money anâ givinâ yoâ money anâ yoâ ainâ nevah pay me back a nickel. SLIM I been playinâ in hard luck. LUCY BELLE So is I. SLIM (_rising_) Yoâ got money. LUCY BELLE Donâ make no difference weder I is or weder I ainâ--. SLIM Ainâ I jesâ tolâ yoâ âbout Jeff Bisbee--? LUCY BELLE No moâ den yoâ had a right ter do! SLIM I didânâ haf ter boder âbout cominâ in yere. LUCY BELLE Yoâ be de meanesâ niggah in Washâninâ ef yoâ hadânâ! SLIM Go on--heâp me out dis time. LUCY BELLE I tolâ yoâ Monday dat I ainâ gwine ter give yoâ no moâ money! SLIM (_hotly_) De nexâ time I keep mah mouf shet! LUCY BELLE (_angrily_) Keep it shet! SLIM Yoâ damn right I will! LUCY BELLE Anâ keep yoâ face out-a dis house! (_Harshly, as she surveys him with a glare._) Yoâ ainâ nevah done nuffinâ foâ me--nuffinâ at all! SLIM Yoâ lie--! Ef it hadânâ been foâ me yoâ been cleaned up a dozen times. LUCY BELLE (_with a derisive laugh_) Listen ter yoâ! SLIM Wâat âbout dat time yoâs sick--? LUCY BELLE Yoâ wuk foâ a week--anâ buy de stuff we eat. Nevah give me a cent! SLIM Yoâ died ef it hadânâ been foâ me! LUCY BELLE Been sick a dozen times since den anâ yoâ ainâ raised a hanâ ter heâp me! (_Harshly._) Yoâ ainâ no good, Slim--anâ yoâ ainâ nevah gwine ter be no good--âless yoâ change mighty quick. Yoâ nevah keeps a job ovah a week. All yoâ is good foâ is ter guzzle gin, shoot crap anâ chase gals-- SLIM Go on blackguardinâ me--ef yoâ lookinâ foâ trouble! LUCY BELLE Iâse tellinâ de truf--anâ yoâ knows I is! SLIM (_loudly_) I tolâ yoâ I ainâ had nuffinâ ter eat since dis mawninâ. LUCY BELLE Iâll go down ter de stoâ anâ git some stuff. SLIM I ainâ got time ter hang ârounâ yere while yoâ cooks it. LUCY BELLE All yoâ wanâs dat two dollahs foâ is ter git in a crap game. SLIM (_advancing toward her menacingly_) Gimme some money! LUCY BELLE (_defiantly_) Nuffinâ doinâ! SLIM Gimme it! Yoâ yere--? LUCY BELLE I give yoâ nuffinâ! SLIM (_grabbing her by the wrist_) Come on! Gimme two dollahs! LUCY BELLE (_fiercely_) No, no--! Slim--leâ go! Wâatâs de mattah wid yoâ! Leâ go! SLIM Gimme it, or Iâll twisâ yoâ damn arm off! (_He slowly twists her wrist._) LUCY BELLE (_crying out in pain and fright_) Oh, mah Gawd! Slim! Slim! Stop--! Leâgo! Donâ--Iâll kill yoâ foâ dis! SLIM (_between his teeth_) Git it! Git it! LUCY BELLE Slim! Foâ Gawdâs sake! Oh, mah soul--donâ--donâ--(_Writhing with torture, she sinks to her knees._) SLIM Yoâ wanâ me ter twisâ it off--? LUCY BELLE (_choking with pain_) A-all right--Stop! All right, Slim. Iâll git it foâ yoâ! SLIM Will yoâ--? LUCY BELLE Yas, yas. Stop--please--! Lemme up--lemme up--Slim-- (_He slowly turns her wrist back to normal and relaxing his grip somewhat allows her to rise. She stands limp and dazed for several moments, as though endeavoring to pull herself together. She draws her free hand slowly across her forehead._) SLIM (_with savage impatience_) Come on! (_He tightens his hold somewhat. She gives a little cry of pain, and her knees give. With Slim still gripping her wrist, she moves unsteadily to table, Center._) LUCY BELLE All right--all right, Slim. Iâll git it foâ yoâ--. (_He drops her wrist. She opens the small drawer of the table and takes out an old and worn leather pocket book. She extracts two one-dollar bills, hands them to him, then deftly stuffs the pocket book down in one of her stockings. Slim jams the bills into his pocket, turns and moves swiftly to the door, Back, and goes out._) LUCY BELLE (_crying out after him_) Yoâs a dirty dog! I--Iâll git yoâ foâ dat--! (_Lucy Belle sinks down into a chair and covers her face with her hands. She looks up once and her face presents the picture of fierce, tearful rage. Presently a knock sounds on the door, Back. Lucy Belle jumps up with a start. The knock sounds again._) LUCY BELLE (_in faltering tones_) Come in! (_The door opens and Chick Avery enters. He is a weak-faced, but passably good-looking mulatto, of about thirty-five. He wears a suit of smart clothes, somewhat the worse for wear. His feet are encased in a pair of patent leather shoes which are slit about the toes to relieve the pressure on those members. He is partially bald, but what remains of his straight, jet-black hair is shiny from the generous use of hair oil, and is carefully brushed to cover the bald spots as much as possible. His manner for the most part, is extremely urbane and, by fits and starts, exuberantly mirthful._) CHICK (_doing a sort of clog dance toward her_) Hâyoâ, Luce--! LUCY BELLE (_exclaiming in mild surprise_) Why--why, âlo, Chick--! CHICK Howâs de baby--? LUCY BELLE Pretty good, I reckon. CHICK All by yoâ lonesome--? LUCY BELLE Look like it, donâ it? CHICK Wâat dâyoâ know--? LUCY BELLE Nuffinâ much--! (_He puts his arm around her and attempts to draw her to him._) Stop yoâ foolinâ--! (_She pulls away from him._) CHICK Ainâ yoâ got a kiss foâ me? LUCY BELLE Iâll busâ yoâ in de nose, Chick Avery! CHICK Mah soul, but yoâ gittinâ skittish--! How much dey cosâ now? LUCY BELLE Moâ den yoâ kin pay. CHICK (_with an explosive laugh_) Sam got yoâ gwine, ainâ he? LUCY BELLE Good thinâs come high. CHICK Yoâ said somefinâ! (_Sitting on the edge of the table._) How he makinâ out in Baltimoâ--? LUCY BELLE Who--? CHICK Sam. LUCY BELLE Oh--oh, he ainâ makinâ out so bad. CHICK Git home often? LUCY BELLE Onct or twict a week--depenâs on hard deyâs wukkinâ him. CHICK Anâ yoâ stick home anâ wuks yoâ haid off. LUCY BELLE (_shortly_) I does mah share. CHICK Nevah seen yoâ lately wâen yoâ wasânâ played out from wukkinâ yoâ haid off. LUCY BELLE (_querulously_) None-a yoâ busâness how hard I wuks! (_Sharply._) Wâat yoâ doinâ now? CHICK Barbarinâ. Jesâ git a job on de Norfolk boat. LUCY BELLE Wâat doinâ? CHICK Same thinâ--barbarinâ. Deyâs got two chairs. Iâse gwine ter run one-a dem. Starts in nexâ week. Got a chanct ter make some real money, now. LUCY BELLE Shoâ sounâ like a mighty good job. CHICK (_pointedly_) Yoâ allas tied up ter some niggah dat make yoâ wuk like hell. LUCY BELLE Shet up! Yoâ donâ know wâat yoâ âs talkinâ âbout. Evâbody got ter wuk hard dese days ter git by. CHICK (_satirically_) Is dey? LUCY BELLE Ef deyâs any good, dey is! Wâat yoâ gittinâ at anyway? CHICK Iâse allas been yoâ lefâ hanâed budigee--. LUCY BELLE âDeed yoâ ainâ been nuffinâ but a frienâ! CHICK Datâs wâat I means. (_With a significant smile._) Ef I been yoâ real budigee, I shoâ nevah make yoâ wuk like yoâ is! LUCY BELLE (_derisively_) No! Yoâd make me wuk like a dog. CHICK Not on yoâ life! LUCY BELLE Make me git out an hussle while yoâ lays home anâ guzzle gin. (_They both laugh explosively. Lucy Belle unbends somewhat._) CHICK (_surveying her critically_) Yoâ gittinâ ole, Luce-- LUCY BELLE (_sharply_) So is yoâ! Look at dat damned ole haid ob yoâs. Noder yeah anâ yoâ wonâ have a hair lefâ. CHICK (_gives an explosive laugh, and runs a hand over his head_) Datâs no lie! (_Throwing back his shoulders._) De older I gits de bettah I feels. LUCY BELLE So does I! CHICK (_pointedly_) Been ter any dances? LUCY BELLE Donâ care nuffinâ âbout dancinâ no moâ. CHICK (_with a little exclamation of incredulity_) Uster be crazy âbout it! LUCY BELLE Uster be crazy âbout a lot-a thinâs. CHICK Membah dat dance ob de Golden Eagle Club at de ole Mawninâ Star? LUCY BELLE (_with a reminiscent smile_) Shoâ do--! CHICK Somebody thâuâ a beer bottle-- LUCY BELLE (_in joyous memory_) Anâ miss yoâ by free inches! (_They both laugh uproariously._) CHICK Mah soul! Dat was some night! Git home âbout seven oâclock in mawninâ. LUCY BELLE (_with just a note of wistfulness in her tones_) Still have dances up dere? CHICK (_exclaiming_) Do dey? âBout evây night. (_In ardent admiration._) Yoâs de besâ lilâ dancer I evah knowed. LUCY BELLE Go âlong! (_She drops down into a chair, gives a little sigh and stares abstractedly into space._) CHICK Membah de time we goes down ter Rivahview anâ cominâ home de ole boat gits stuck on dem mud flats dere by de Eastern Branch--? LUCY BELLE âDeed I does! (_In ecstatic memory._) We dance on de deck--in de moonlight-- CHICK (_with a rapturous chuckle_) Ole Beverly Johnson chase Mink Hall wid a razor-- LUCY BELLE (_laughing_) Mink jump ovahboard anâ swim ter shore! CHICK (_laughing_) Great day! Anâ membah de fair down at--er--lessee--Manassas? LUCY BELLE (_nodding_) Eat chicken anâ duck anâ coân pone anâ ice cream till I neahly busâ! Ride on de merry-go-rounâ--shoot de shoots--anâ sing anâ dance till I kainât hardly stanâ up--! Den dey was preachinâ ovah in de grove at night--(_She breaks off--lost in the romantic memory of it._) CHICK Bet yoâ ainâ had no times like dem since! LUCY BELLE (_deprecatingly_) I was jesâ a kid den. CHICK Dereâs gwine ter be a dance at de Mawninâ Star termorrer night. LUCY BELLE Yoâ gwine--? CHICK Shoâ! Come on anâ go wid me. LUCY BELLE (_shaking her head_) Nuffinâ doinâ. CHICK (_earnestly_) Come on! Wâatâs dis settinâ ârounâ de house gittinâ yoâ--? Jesâ dis onct foâ ole timesâ sake. LUCY BELLE (_shaking her head more emphatically_) Nuffinâ doinâ, Chick. No use ter axe me. CHICK (_slides off the table and moves to her side_) Luce--jesâ dis onct--! LUCY BELLE (_loudly_) No--! (_Pause. Chick surveys her ruefully. Lucy Belle glowers at him._) CHICK (_at length_) Den come on ovah ter Gernerâs anâ have a glass-a gin. LUCY BELLE Not ternight, Chick. CHICK Yoâ tired--anâ it set yoâ up great. LUCY BELLE Not ternight. CHICK Dey got a phonograph in de back room anâ we kin have a couple-a lilâ dances. Ef yoâ kainât go ter de Mawninâ Star--yoâ kin leasâ git yoâseâf in a lilâ dance ovah dere. LUCY BELLE No, no--! CHICK Come on! Jesâ foâ ole timesâ sake! Good Lawd, yoâ got ter git out anâ have a lilâ fun now anâ den. Yoâ kainât stick home yere all de time! (_Puts a hand on her arm._) Come on, baby--! LUCY BELLE Nuffinâ doinâ--! (_A loud knock sounds on the door, Back. Lucy Belle jumps up and stands listening._) CHICK (_in a low voice_) Who dat--? LUCY BELLE (_shaking her head_) Donâ know. (_The person outside kicks the door violently. An expression of dire apprehension comes into Lucy Belleâs face. She swings about, points at the door, Left, and speaks in peremptory tones._) LUCY BELLE Git in dere a minute. CHICK (_in low, guarded tones as he hurries toward Left_) Is it Sam--? (_She shakes her head. Chick goes out, Left. Lucy Belle, after a moment or two of deliberation, advances warily toward the door, Back. When almost there she halts again, as though debating whether or not to answer the door. Suddenly the kicking is renewed with increased vigor. Lucy Belle draws back shudderingly, as though to turn and flee. Abruptly the door opens and Jeff Bisbee lunges in. He slams the door shut after him. He is a short, stocky Negro of about thirty--brown in color--with a short, thick neck, a bullet head and a mean, leering manner._) LUCY BELLE (_with a gasp of terror_) Jeff--! JEFF I knowed Iâd find yoâ--! (_Swaying toward her menacingly._) Wâat yoâ leave me foâ? LUCY BELLE Yoâ know why--! JEFF Sneak off like a cat--! LUCY BELLE I was starvinâ ter deaf--. JEFF Like hell yoâ was! LUCY BELLE Yoâ wasânâ wukkin--. JEFF Yoâ know why! LUCY BELLE Yoâ didânâ want ter--! JEFF Iâll busâ yoâ in de mouf! (_Takes a step toward her._) I was havinâ some hard luck den. LUCY BELLE Datâs wâat yoâ allas say. It was allas hard luck--or somefinâ! JEFF (_pulls back an arm as though to strike her_) Yoâ knows I was! Couldânâ git nuffinâ--! LUCY BELLE Yoâ didânâ haâf try. JEFF Yoâ lie--! Times was hard. Look foâ a monf--anâ couldânâ finâ nuffinâ--! (_As though he were on the point of leaping upon her and choking her._) Watched yoâ chanct--didânâ yoâ--? LUCY BELLE No, no--! JEFF Watched yoâ chanct--anâ run--! Didânâ stop ter figurâ wâat Iâd done foâ yoâ--! LUCY BELLE (_with a cry of derision_) Yoâ nevah done nuffinâ foâ me--! JEFF Yoâ be on de streets ef it hadânâ been foâ me! (_Lucy Belle sneers audibly._) Didânâ have no moâ sense den a chicken--! LUCY BELLE Ainâ on âem now, is I? JEFF It ainâ yoâ fault--! LUCY BELLE (_her tones gradually becoming more and more tremulous_) Yoâ crazy--! JEFF Watch till mah back is tuhned--anâ run ter anoder niggah. LUCY BELLE Yoâ dreaminâ--! JEFF I got de dope on yoâ--anâ got it right--! LUCY BELLE Yoâ think yoâ have--! JEFF Yoâ come yere ter Sam--! LUCY BELLE No, no--! JEFF Come yere ter dat damned ole loon! Beat it ter de man dat git me sent up! Datâs de way yoâ pay me back, huh--? LUCY BELLE Yoâ donâ know wâat yoâ talkinâ âbout--! JEFF Livinâ yere wid him--! LUCY BELLE No, no--! JEFF (_savagely_) Donâ yoâ go lyinâ ter me--! I knows! Yoâ kainât put nuffinâ ovah on me! (_She starts to back away from him._) Yoâ yere--? (_He grabs her by the arm._) LUCY BELLE (_pulling away from him_) Jeff--please-- JEFF (_menacingly_) Come yere--! LUCY BELLE (_getting around to the other side of the table_) Jeff--please-- JEFF Yoâ gwine wid me--! LUCY BELLE No, no--! JEFF Anâ yoâ gwine damn quick! LUCY BELLE Jeff--foâ Gawdâs sake--! JEFF Iâse gwine back ter Havre de Grace in de mawninâ anâ yoâ gwine wid me--! LUCY BELLE (_defiantly_) I ainâ gwine nowhar wid yoâ! (_Jeff reaches in a back pocket, whips out a knife, snaps open the blade, and poises it in the air._) JEFF Iâll cut yoâ God-damn heart out! LUCY BELLE (_terror-stricken as he makes a move to come around after her_) Oh, mah Gawd, Jeff--! Donâ--donâ--! (_Puts a hand to her throat, and glances wildly about, struggling for self-control._) Jesâ-a minute-- JEFF (_savagely_) Come on--! LUCY BELLE Mah clothes--! JEFF Git âem--git âem! LUCY BELLE Anâ de chillen--! JEFF Ter hell wid dem--! LUCY BELLE Got--got ter leave âem wid somebody. JEFF (_sardonically_) Leave âem wid Sam. LUCY BELLE (_as though she hadnât heard his remark_) Got ter leave âem wid somebody dat kin see after âem right. JEFF Git busy den! LUCY BELLE (_after a moment of tense, anguished deliberation_) I--I reckon I could leave âem wid Aunâ Becky-- JEFF Who she? LUCY BELLE Ole woman--live down de alley yere. JEFF Hussle. LUCY BELLE (_after a moment of hesitancy_) Deyâre in yere. Got ter git âem ready. (_Moves swiftly toward the door, Left. Jeff takes a step or two, as though he were going to follow her. She pauses as she places a hand on the door knob._) Only take a minute. (_She opens
{'title': 'Goat Alley: A Tragedy of Negro Life by Ernest Howard Culbertson', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}