“Awright, nigger, unload!”
He stood up and fronted a row of wide steps.
“Is this the hospital, suh?”
“Yeah; straight up!”
He lifted Lulu and stepped out. Grannie followed, leading Peewee by the hand. When he reached the top of the steps the door was opened by another white soldier.
“Where you going?”
“Ah got mah wife, suh. She sick…”
“Straight on to the back, till you see the sign.”
“Yessuh.”
He walked down a dim-lit hall. Grannie and Peewee shuffled behind. He smelled the warm scent of ether and disinfectant and it made him dizzy. Finally, he saw the sign:
FOR COLORED
He pushed open a door with his shoulder and stood blinking in a blaze of bright lights. A white nurse came.
“What you want?”
“Please, Mam… Mah wife… She sick!”
The nurse threw back the quilt and felt Lulu’s pulse. She looked searchingly at Mann, then turned quickly, calling:
“Doctor Burrows!”
A white doctor came. He looked at Lulu’s face. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open.
“Bring her here, to the table,” said the doctor.
Mann stretched Lulu out. Her face, her hair, and her clothes were soaking wet. Her left arm fell from the table and hung limp. The doctor bent over and pushed back the lids of her eyes.
“This your woman?”
“Yessuh.”
“How long was she in birth?”
“Bout fo days, suh.”
“Why didnt you bring her sooner?”
“Ah didnt hava boat n the watah had me trapped, suh.”
The doctor lifted his eyes, rubbed his chin, and looked at Mann quizzically.
“Well, boy, shes dead.”
“Suh?”
Grannie screamed and grabbed Peewee. The doctor straightened and laid the stethoscope on a white, marble-topped table. Lightning flicked through the room and thunder rolled rumblingly away, leaving a silence filled with the drone of hard, driving rain.
“Suh!” said Mann.
III
“Well, boy, its all over,” said the doctor. “Maybe if you could have gotten her here a little sooner we could have saved her. The baby, anyway. But its all over now, and the best thing for you to do is get your folks to the hills.”
Mann stared at the thin, black face; at the wet clothes; at the arm hanging still and limp. His lips moved, but he could not speak. Two more white nurses and another white doctor came and stood. Grannie ran to the table.
“Lulu!”
“Its awright, Aunty,” said the doctor, pulling her away.
Grannie sank to the floor, her head on her knees.
“Lawd…”
Mann stood like stone now. Lulu dead? He seemed not to see the white doctors and nurses gathering around, looking at him. He sighed and the lids of his eyes drooped half-way down over the pupils.
“Poor nigger,” said a white nurse.
Blankly, Mann stared at her. He wet his lips and swallowed. Something pressed against his knee and he looked down. Peewee was clinging to him, his little black face tense with fear. He caught Peewee by the hand, went over to the wall and stood above Grannie, hesitating. His fingers touched her shoulders.
“Awright,” said the doctor. “Roll her out.”
Mann turned and saw two white nurses rolling Lulu through a door. His throat tightened. Grannie struggled up and tried to follow the body. Mann pulled her back and she dropped to the floor again, crying.
“Its awright, Grannie,” said Mann.
“You got a boat, boy?” asked the doctor.
“Yessuh,” said Mann.
“Youre lucky. You ought to start out right now for the hills, before that current gets stronger.”
“Yessuh.”
Again Mann looked at Grannie and twice his hands moved toward her and stopped. It seemed that he wanted ever so much to say something, to do something, but he did not know what.
“C mon, Grannie,” he said.
She did not move. A white nurse giggled, nervously. Mann stood squeezing his blistered palms, taking out of the intense pain a sort of consolation, a sort of forgetfulness. A clock began to tick. He could hear Grannie’s breath catching softly in her throat; he could hear the doctors and nurses breathing; and beyond the walls of the room was the beat of sweeping rain. Somewhere a bell tolled, faint and far off.
Crash!
Everybody jumped. One of the nurses gave a short scream.
“Whats that?”
“Aw, just a chair fell over. Thats all…”
“Oh!”
The doctors looked at the nurses and the nurses looked at the doctors. Then all of them laughed, uneasily. There was another silence. The doctor spoke.
“Is that your mother there, boy?”
“Yessuh. Mah ma-in-law.”
“Youll have to get her out of here.”
“C mon, Grannie,” he said again.
She did not move. He stooped and picked her up.
“C mon, Peewee.”
He went through the door and down the hall with Peewee pulling at the tail of his coat.
“Hey, you!”
He stopped. A white soldier came up.
“Where you going?”
“Ahm gittin mah boat t take mah family t the hills…”
“Your boat was commandeered. Come over here and wait awhile.”
“Comman…”
“We were short of boats and the boys had to take yours. But Ill get a motorboat to take you and your family to the hills. Wait right here a minute…”
“Yessuh.”
He waited with Grannie in his arms. Lawd, they got me now! They knowed that was Heartfiel’s boat! Mabbe they fixin t take me erway? What would they do to a black man who had killed a white man in a flood? He did not know. But whatever it was must be something far more terrible than at other times. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was more tired than he could ever remember having been. He saw Lulu lying on the table; he heard the doctor say: Well, boy, shes dead. His eyes burned. Lawd, Ah don care whut they do t me! Ah don care…
“Pa, where ma?”
“She gone, Peewee.”
“Ain she comin wid us?”
“Naw, Peewee.”
“How come, Pa?”
“She gonna stay wid Gawd now, Peewee.”
“Awways?”
“Awways, Peewee.”
Peewee cried.
“Hush, Peewee! Be a good boy, now! Don cry! Ahm here! N Grannies here…”
The white soldier came back with the colonel.
“Is this the nigger?”
“Thats him.”
“Was that your rowboat outside?”
Mann hesitated.
“Yessuh, Capm.”
“A white boat?”
“Yessuh.”
“Are you sure it was yours?”
Mann swallowed and hesitated again.
“Yessuh.”
“What was it worth?”
“Ah don know, Capm.”
“What did you pay for it?”
“Bout f-fifty dollahs, Ah reckon.”
“Here, sign this,” said the colonel, extending a piece of paper and a pencil. “We can give you thirty-five dollars as soon as things are straightened out. We had to take your boat. We were short of boats. But Ive phoned for a motorboat to take you and your family to the hills. Youll be safer in that anyway.”
“Yessuh.”
He sat Grannie on the floor and sighed.
“Is that your mother there?”
“Yessuh. Mah ma-in-law.”
“Whats wrong with her?”
“She jus ol, Capm. Her gal jus died n she takes it hard.”
“When did she die?”
“Jus now, suh.”
“Oh, I see… But whats wrong with you? Are you sick?”
“Nawsuh.”
&nb
sp; “Well, you dont have to go to the hills. Your folksll go on to the hills and you can stay here and help on the levee…”
“Capm, please! Ahm tired!”
“This is martial law,” said the colonel, turning to the white soldier. “Put this woman and boy into a boat and ship them to the hills. Give this nigger some boots and a raincoat and ship him to the levee!”
The soldier saluted.
“Yessir, Colonel!”
“CAPM, PLEASE! HAVE MERCY ON ME, CAPM!”
The colonel turned on his heels and walked away.
“AHM TIRED! LEMME GO WID MAH FOLKS, PLEASE!”
The soldier glared at Mann.
“Aw, c mon, nigger! What in hells wrong with you? All the rest of the niggers are out there, how come you dont want to go?”
Mann watched the soldier go to the door, open it and look out into the rain.
“Mann!” Grannie whispered.
He leaned to her, his hands on his knees.
“Yuh go on t the levee! Mabbe them Heartfiel folks is out t the hills by now. Git over t where our folks is n mabbe yuh kin git erway…”
“C mon!” called the soldier. “Heres your boat!”
“Here, Grannie,” whispered Mann. He slipped the fifteen dollars he had gotten from Bob into her hands.
“Naw,” she said. “Yuh keep it!”
“Naw, take it!” said Mann. He pushed the money into the pocket of her coat.
“C MON, NIGGER! THIS BOAT CANT WAIT ALL NIGHT FOR YOU!”
He picked Grannie up again and carried her down the steps. Peewee followed, crying. It was raining hard. After he had helped them into the boat he stood on the steps. Lawd, Ah wished Ah could go!
“All set?”
“All set!”
The motor droned and the boat shot out over the water, its spotlight cutting ahead into the rain.
“Good-bye!” Peewee called.
“Good-bye!” Mann was not sure that Peewee had heard and he called again. “Good-bye!”
“C mon, boy! Lets get your boots and raincoat. Youre going to the levee.”
“Yessuh.”
He followed the soldier into the office.
“Jack, get some hip-boots and a raincoat for this nigger and call for a boat to take him to the levee,” the soldier spoke to another soldier sitting behind a desk.
“O.K. Heres some boots. And heres a raincoat.”
The first soldier went out. Mann hoisted the boots high on his legs and put on the raincoat.
“Tired, nigger?” asked the soldier.
“Yessuh.”
“Well, youve got a hard night ahead of you, and thats no lie.”
“Yessuh.”
Mann sat down, rested his head against a wall, and closed his eyes. Lawd… He heard the soldier talking over the telephone.
“Yeah. Yeah.”
“…”
“The Red Cross Hospital.”
“…”
“The niggers here now, waiting.”
“…”
“O.K.”
Mann heard the receiver click.
“The boatll be along any minute,” said the soldier. “And while youre resting, unpack those boxes and lay the stuff on the floor.”
“Yessuh.”
Mann stood up and shook his head. A sharp pain stabbed at the front of his eyes and would not leave. He went to the back of the room where a pile of wooden boxes was stacked and got a crowbar. He pried open the top of a box and began to pull out raincoats and rubber boots. He worked mechanically, slowly, leaning against boxes, smelling fresh rubber and stale tobacco smoke. He felt the pistol in his pocket and remembered Heart-field. Ah got t git outta here some way. Go where they cant fin me. Lawd, take care Grannie! Take care Peewee, Lawd! Take care Bob! N hep me, Lawd. He thought of Lulu lying stretched out on the marble table with her arm hanging limp. He dropped the bundle of raincoats he was holding and bent over, sobbing.
“Whats the matter, nigger?”
“Ahm tired, Capm! Gawd knows Ahm tired!”
He slipped to the floor.
“What you crying about?”
“Capm, mah wifes dead! Dead!”
“Shucks, nigger! You ought to be glad youre not dead in a flood like this,” said the soldier.
Mann stared at the blurred boots and raincoats. Naw, Lawd! Ah cant break down now! Theyll know somethings wrong ef Ah keep acting like this… Ah cant cry bout Lulu now… He wiped tears from his eyes with his fingers.
“Kin Ah have some watah, Capm?”
“Theres no water anywhere. You hungry?”
He was not hungry, but he wanted to reassure the soldier.
“Yessuh.”
“Heres a sandwich you can have.”
“Thank yuh, suh.”
He took the sandwich and bit it. The dry bread balled in his mouth. He chewed and tried to wet it. Ef only that ol soljerd quit lookin at me… He swallowed and the hard lump went down slowly, choking him.
“Thatll make you feel better,” said the soldier.
“Yessuh.”
The door swung in.
“Awright, boy! Heres your boat! Lets go!”
“Yessuh.”
He put the sandwich in his pocket and followed the soldier to the steps.
“Is this the nigger?”
“Yeah!”
“O.K. Pile in, boy!”
He got in; the boat turned; rain whipped his face. He bent low, holding onto the sides of the boat as it sped through water. He closed his eyes and again saw Heart-field come out on the narrow porch and down the steps. He heard again the two shots of his gun. But he shot at me fo Ah shot im! Then again he saw Lulu lying on the table with her arm hanging limp. Then he heard Peewee calling. Good-bye! Hate welled up in him; he saw the two soldiers in the front seat. Their heads were bent low. They might fin out any minute now… His gun nestled close to his thigh. Spose Ah shot em n took the boat? Naw! Naw! It would be better to wait till he got to the levee. He would know somebody there. And they would help him. He knew they would. N them white folks might be too busy botherin wid tha levee t think erbout jus one po black man… Mabbe Ah kin slip thu…
The boat slowed. Ahead loomed the dark stack-pipe of the cement plant. Above his head a hundred spotlights etched a wide fan of yellow against the rain. As the boat swerved through a gate entrance and pulled to a platform, he saw lights and soldiers, heard voices calling. Black men stood on the edges of the platforms and loaded bags of sand and cement into boats. Long lines of boats were running to and fro between the levee and the cement plant. He felt giddy; the boat rocked. Soldiers yelled commands. An officer stepped forward and bawled:
“You get im!”
“Yeah!”
“O.K.! We got another one here! C mon, boy, hop in!”
A black boy moved forward.
“Mistah, kin Ah hava drinka watah?” asked the boy.
“Hell, naw! Theres no water anywhere! Get in the boat!”
“Yessuh.”
Mann moved over to make room. He felt better already. He was with his people now. Maybe he could get away yet. He heard the officer talking to the soldiers.
“Hows things?”
“Pretty bad!”
“Hows it going?”
“Still overflowing from the North!”
“You think itll hold?”
“Im scared it wont!”
“Any cracks yet?”
“Shes cracking in two places!”
One of the soldiers whistled.
“Awright, let her go!”
“O.K.!”
The boat started out, churning water.
“Yuh gotta cigarette, Mistah?”
Mann turned and looked at the boy sitting at his side.
“Naw; Ah don smoke.”
“Shucks, Ah sho wish theyd lemme handle one of these boats,” said the boy.
As they neared the levee Mann could see long, black lines of men weaving snake-fashion about the levee-top. In front of him h
e could feel the river as though it were a live, cold hand touching his face. The levee was a ridge of dry land between two stretches of black water. The men on the levee-top moved slowly, like dim shadows. They were carrying heavy bags on their shoulders and when they reached a certain point the bags were dumped down. Then they turned around, slowly, with bent backs, going to get more bags. Yellow lanterns swung jerkily, blinking out and then coming back on when someone passed in front of them. At the water’s edge men unloaded boats; behind them stood soldiers with rifles. Mann held still, looking; the boat stopped and waited for its turn to dock at the levee.
Suddenly a wild commotion broke out. A siren screamed. On the levee-top the long lines of men merged into one whirling black mass. Shouts rose in a mighty roar. There came a vague, sonorous drone, like the far away buzzing in a sea-shell. Each second it grew louder. Lawd! thought Mann. That levees gone! He saw boats filling with men. There was a thunder-like clatter as their motors started up. The soldiers in the front seat were yelling at each other.
“You better turn around, Jim!”
The boat turned and started back.
“Wait for that boat and see whats happened!”
They slowed and a boat caught up with them.
“Whats happened?”
“The levees gone!”
“Step on it, Jim!”
Mann held his breath; behind him were shouts, and over the shouts was the siren’s scream, and under the siren’s scream was the loud roar of loosened waters.
IV
The boat shot back. The siren shrieked at needle-pitch, high, thin, shrill, quivering in his ears; and yellow flares turned restlessly in the sky. The boat slowed for the platform. There was a loud clamor and men rushed about. An officer bawled:
“Line up the boats for rescue work!”
“Its risin! Cant yuh see it risin?” The boy at Mann’s side was nudging him. Mann looked at the water; a series of slow, heaving swells was rocking the boat. He remembered that the water had been some inches below the level of the platform when he had first come; now it was rising above it. As the men worked their boots splashed in the water.
“Who can handle a boat?” the officer asked.
“Ah kin, Mistah!” yelled the boy.
“Get a partner and come on!”
The boy turned to Mann.
“Yuh wanna go?”
Mann hesitated.
Uncle Tom's Children Page 10
