J. Poindexter, ColoredCobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)
General
J. Poindexter, Colored
Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)
African Americans -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
Next morning after we gets across into Ohio, Mr. Dallas he fetches me
into the Pullman car where he's riding. I finds myself more comfortable
there than I has been riding up front in the colored compartment, but
lesser easy in my mind. I enjoys the feel of them soft seats and yet I
gets sort of uneasy setting amongst so many strange white folks. Still,
there ain't nobody telling me to roust myself out from there and after a
while I gets more used to being where I now is. Also I gets acquainted
with two of the porters, the one on our car and the one on the car which
is hitched on next to us. When they ain't busy, we all three gets out in
the little porches betwixt the cars and confabs together. 'Course I
don't let on to them, but all the time I studies them two boys.
The one on our car, which his given name is Roscoe, is short and chunky
and kind of fatted out; he's black as the pots and powerful nappy-headed
besides. His head looks like somebody has done dipped it in a kettle of
grease and then throwed a handful of buckshot at it and they all stuck.
But he's smart; he knows what's service. I sees that plain.
With Roscoe it's this way: A lady gets on board the car. No sooner does
she sit down and begin to fumble with the hat-pins than there's old
Roscoe standing right alongside of her holding a big paper bag in his
hands all opened out for her to put her hat in it and keep it out of the
dust. A gentleman setting in the smoking-room reaches in his pocket and
gets a cigar out. Before he rightly can bite the end of it off, here is
this here same Roscoe at his elbow with a match ready. Roscoe he ain't
hanging back waiting for folks to ask him for something and then have
them getting all fretful whilst he's running to find whatever 'tis they
wants. No sir, not him. He's there with the materials almost before
they is made up their minds what it is they craves next. He just
naturally beats 'em to it; which I'll tell the world that's service.
He's powerful crafty about his tips, too. When he does something for a
passenger and the passenger reaches in his pocket to get a little piece
of chicken-feed out to hand over to Roscoe, he smiles and holds up his
hand.
"No, suh," he says to him, "keep yore funds whar they now is, please,
suh. There ain't no hurry--we're goin' travel quite a piece together.
W'en we gits to whar you gits off, ef you is puffec'ly satisfied wid all
whut has been done in yore behalf then you kin slip me a lil' reward, ef
you's a-mind to."
He tells me in confidences that working it that-a-way he gets dollars
where he would a-got dimes. He calls it his deferred payment plan. He
says some months his tips run three times what his wages is. I'll say
that old tar-baby certainly is got something in his head besides sockets
for his teeth to set in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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