LUCY BELLE (_touches Aunt Rebecca on the knee_) I tell yo’ why I got ter go easy wid her--till I see mah way out. Maybe yo’ kin he’p me-- AUNT REBECCA Sho’--! LUCY BELLE Yo’ see she’s de onlies’ one ob all dem blackguardin’ niggahs dat uster live ’roun’ me ovah dere in Carter Street--fo’ 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._) Aun’ Becky, I’se had it hard. Ain’ nevah had much luck--’deed I ain’--’cept meetin’ up wid Sam agin. AUNT REBECCA Yo’ ain’ nevah tol’ me much ’bout yo’se’f. LUCY BELLE Nevah tol’ nobody--much. W’at’s de use? AUNT REBECCA Go on! W’at’s on yo’ min’? LUCY BELLE Mah moder died w’en I’se fifteen--an’ Pap goes off ter Texas an’ I ain’ nevah seen him since. Slim--mah bro’der--he was jes’ a lil’ kid--baby mos’--an’ I did’n’ have no oder people. AUNT REBECCA Bless yo’ soul--! LUCY BELLE Done mos’ anathin’ I could--jes’ ter make a livin’. Wuk in laundries, cook, wait on tables--. Starts gwine ’roun’ wid de boys, too. Yo’ know how a gal is. Meets up wid Sam an’ Jeff Bisbee an’ Ed Cales--an’ a bunch-a oders like dem. Jeff hang ’roun’ aftah me mos’ all de time--an’ Sam do, too. Sam allas a wuk steady--but Jeff, he nevah wukked ’less he had ter. He’s--he a hard niggah--allas drunk, an’ fightin’ an’ shootin’ crap. But--well--yo’ know how a gal is--(_Aunt Rebecca grunts and nods._) He looks good ter me, kase he wear swell clothes, an’ spend money free, an’ boas’ how many cops he cut. Was’n’ long, dough, fo’ Jeff git crazy jealous-a Sam--an’ one day--down yere in Four-an’-a-ha’f Street--dey meets up an’ 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 bus’ in on ’em. Dey ketch Jeff--but Sam git away. AUNT REBECCA Mah soul--! LUCY BELLE Jeff gits six mon’s in de wukhouse. I meets up wid Sam a few days aftah. Like de fool I is--I ’cuses him ob startin’ de fight. AUNT REBECCA Hush yo’ mouf! LUCY BELLE I did’n’ know who did--’zactly--but I was sore kase Jeff was in jail. He been takin’ me ’roun’, yo’ see--spendin’ lots-a money on me--an’--an’--Oh, well I jes’ a damn fool, kase I ain’ got nobody ter look aftah me. (_Shakes her head remorsefully._) Sam gits mad--an’ quits comin’ ’roun’ ter see me. Tells me, now, dat he git de idea dat I didn’t care nuffin’ at all ’bout him. All de time he crazy ’bout me! (_Pauses a moment in reverent thought._) He was livin’ ovah in M Street. Ole Lizzie Gibbs livin’ dere, too. Dat’s whar he meets up wid her. She had been foolin’ ’roun’ aftah him fo’ a long time. Aftah dat scrap me an’ him had, he gits so down in de mouf dat he takes up wid her fo’ a while. AUNT REBECCA Dat ole yallaw gal yo’ jes’ tellin’ me ’bout? LUCY BELLE (_nodding_) Yas. But only fo’ a lil’ while--he say. He seen right away how hard she was--an’ dat she was’n’ no good--an’ he draps her like a hot tater.