The mule-bone : $b a comedy of Negro life in three actsHurston, Zora Neale
General
The mule-bone : $b a comedy of Negro life in three acts
Hurston, Zora Neale
African Americans -- Drama
DAVE: Whut’s I’m gointer do? (Walking after them)
JIM.
Gwan back and dance ... you make out you don’t need me to play none.
DAVE.
(Almost tearfully) Aw, Jim, shucks! Where y’all going?
(DAISY comes to an abrupt halt and stops JIM)
Daisy: That’s right, honey. Where is we goin’ sho nuff?
JIM.
(Sadly) Deed I don’t know, baby. They just sentenced me to go ... they
didn’t say where and I don’t know.
DAISY.
How we goin’ nohow to go when we don’t know where we goin’?
(JIM looks at DAVE as if he expects some help but DAVE stands sadly
silent. JIM takes a few steps forward as if to go on. DAISY makes a
step or two, unwillingly, then looks behind her and stops. DAVE looks
as if he will follow them.)
DAISY.
Jim! (He stops and turns) Wait a minute! Whut we gointer do when we git
there?
JIM.
Where?
DAISY.
Where we goin’?
JIM.
I done tole you I don’t know where it is.
DAISY.
But how we gointer git something to eat and a place to stay?
JIM.
Play and dance ... just like I been doin’.
DAISY.
You can’t dance and Dave ain’t gointer be ther.
JIM.
(Looks appealingly at DAVE, then away quickly) Well, I can’t help dat,
can I?
DAISY.
(Brightly) I tell you whut, Jim! Less us don’t go nowhere. They
sentenced you to leave Eatonville and youse more than a mile from de
city limits already. Youse in Maitland now. Supposin’ you come live on
de white folks’ place wid me after we git married. Eatonville ain’t got
nothin’ to do wid you livin’ in Maitland.
JIM.
Dat’a a good idea, Daisy.
DAISY.
(Jumping into his arms) And listen, honey, you don’t have to be
beholden to Dave nor nobody else. You can throw dat ole box away if you
want to. I know ehre you can get a swell job.
JIM.
(Sheepishly) Doin’ whut? (Looks lovingly at his guitar)
DAISY.
(Almost dancing) Yard man. All you have to do is wash windows, and
sweep de sidewalk, and scrub off de steps and porch and hoe up de weeds
and rake up de leaves and dig a few holes now and then with a spade ...
to plant some trees and things like that. It’s a good steady job.
JIM.
(After a long deliberation) You see, Daisy, de Mayor and corporation
told me to go on off and I oughter go.
DAISY.
Well, I’m not going tippin’ down no railroad track like a Maltese cat.
I wasn’t brought up knockin’ round from here to yonder.
JIM.
Well, I wasn’t brought up wid no spade in my hand ... and ain’t going
to start it now.
DAISY.
But sweetheart, we got to live, ain’t we? We got to git hold of money
before we kin do anything. I don’t mean to stay in de white folks’
kitchen all my days.
JIM.
Yeah, all dat’s true, but you couldn’t buy a flea a waltzing jacket wid
de money I’m going to make wid a hoe and spade.
DAISY.
(Getting tearful) You don’t want me. You don’t love me.
JIM.
Yes, I do, darling, I love you. Youse de one letting a spade come
between us. (HE caresses her) I loves you and you only. You don’t see
me dragging a whole gang of farming tools into us business, do you?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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