They came to the store and ostentatiously looked over whatever she was doing and went back to report to him at the house.

fter that night Jody moved his things and slept in a room downstairs. He didn’t really hate Janie, but he wanted her to think so. He had crawled off to lick his wounds. They didn’t talk too much around the store either. Anybody that didn’t know would have thought that things had blown over, it looked so quiet and peaceful around. But the stillness was the sleep of swords.

Laughing at him, and now putting the town up to do the same. Joe Starks didn’t know the words for all this, but he knew the feeling. So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store.

You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but ’tain’t nothin’ to it but yo’ big voice. Humph! Talkin’ ’bout me lookin’ old! When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life.” “Great God from Zion!” Sam Watson gasped. “Y’all really playin’ de dozens tuhnight.” “Wha—whu

he years took all the fight out of Janie’s face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul. No matter what Jody did, she said nothing.

That was all. She was there in the store for him to look at, not those others.

stingy as you can