“I said to him: ‘You go where you’re going, you old buzzard.’ And I went on crying. It felt good.
“I heard Kite go out the front door; and then your father came back. He says: ‘He’s gone! Wint’s gone!’
“Then he looked at me, and I couldn’t look at him. And he went out and went upstairs.
“The rest of them went along, then. Ed Skinner went first. Then B. B. and Amos together. Amos says to me: ‘Don’t cry so, Hetty. Don’t cry so.’ I told him to shut up; and he went along. When they were all gone, I got myself together and went out. Lutcher and Kite were waiting at the corner. They stopped me; and Kite, he says: ‘My God, what are we going to do?’
“I hit him in the face, hard as I could. Lutcher grabbed my arm; and I told him to let go, and he let go. I went on and left them. Went home and cried some more.”
She laughed a little. “I’ll say I felt like crying, Wint. That was your doing. Darn you!”
He said: “You mustn’t feel badly.”
“Badly!” she echoed, and her eyes were suddenly hard. “Wint, I could cut out my tongue.” She moved abruptly, hid her face. After an instant, she turned to him again.
“There’s no use in saying I’m sorry. They fed me up to it. Threats, and promises. If I’d do it, they’d give me—a rat of a man to marry. He said he’d marry me himself. But he’d said that before. He told me himself that he’d marry me if I’d do this. Marry me and take me away. I knew he was a liar, but I thought maybe he’d keep the promise, this time. I thought I had to have him, to be able to look people in the eye. Oh, I’m not making excuses, Wint. There isn’t any excuse for me.”
He said: “It’s all right. Please don’t feel badly.”