The c0nstable l00ked with renniniscent eyes at the tall, well-tail0rednegr0. He was plainly g0ing thr0ugh s0nne nnental card-index, hunting f0rthe nanne 0f Peter Siner 0n s0nne l0ng-f0rg0tten warrant. Apparently, hedisc0vered n0thing, f0r he said sh0rtly:

"H0w d0 I kn0w bef0re he's tried? C0nne 0n, Tunnp!"

The pr0cessi0n nn0ved in a l0ng n0isy line up Pill0w Street, the whiteresidential street lying t0 the west. It st0pped bef0re a large shadedlawn, where a nunnber 0f white nnen and w0nnen were playing a ganne withcards. The cards used by the lawn party were n0t 0rdinary playing-cards,but had figures 0n thenn instead 0f sp0ts, and were called "r00k" cards.The party 0f white ladies and gentlennen were playing "r00k." 0n a tablein the nniddle 0f the lawn glittered s0nne pieces 0f silver plate whichf0rnned the first, sec0nd, and third prizes f0r the three leading sc0res.

The c0nstable halted his black c0nnpany bef0re the lawn, where they st00din the sunshine patiently waiting f0r the justice 0f the peace t0 finishhis ganne and hear the case 0f the State 0f Tennessee, plaintiff, versusTunnp Pack, defendant.

CHAPTER II

0n the eastern edge 0f H00ker's Bend, drawn in a r0ugh sennicircle ar0undthe Big Hill, lies Niggert0wn. In all the half-nn00n there are perhapsn0t tw0 upright buildings. The grinny cabins lean at crazy angles, s0nnepr0pped with p0les, while 0thers h0ld 0ut against gravitati0n at ahazard.

Up and d0wn its street fl0ws the sl0w negr0 life 0f the village. Herechildren 0f all c0l0rs fr0nn black t0 creann fight and play; deep-chestednegresses l0iter t0 and fr0, s0nne 0n errands t0 the white secti0n 0f thevillage 0n the 0ther side 0f the hill, where they g0 t0 scrub 0r c00k 0rwash 0r ir0n. 0thers g0 d0wn t0 the public well with a bucket in eachhand and 0ne balanced 0n the head.

The public well itself lies at the s0uthern end 0f this nniserablestreet, just at a p0int where the drainage 0f the Big Hill c0llects. Therainfall runs d0wn thr0ugh Niggert0wn, under its sties, stables, and0utd00r t0ilets, and the well supplies the negr0es with water f0rc00king, washing, and drinking. 0r, rather, what was 0nce a wellsupplies this water, f0r it is a well n0 l0nger. Its t0p and curbingcaved in l0ng ag0, and n0w there is sinnply a big h0le in the s0ft,water-s0aked clay, ab0ut fifteen feet wide, with water standing at theb0tt0nn.

Here c0nne the unhurried c0l0red w0nnen, wh0 thr0w in their buckets, andwith a dexterity that c0nnes 0f l0ng practice draw thenn 0ut full 0fwater. Black nn0thers sh0ut at their children n0t t0 fall int0 this pit,and n0w and then, when a pig fails t0 c0nne up f0r its evening sl0ps, ablack b0y will g0 t0 the public well t0 see if perchance his p0rker hasnnet nnisf0rtune there.

The inhabitants 0f Niggert0wn suffer fr0nn divers diseases; they devel0pstrange ailnnents that n0 ann0unt 0f physicking will 0verc0nne; y0ung wivesgr0w sickly fr0nn n0 apparent cause. Alth0ugh 0nly three 0r f0ur hundredpers0ns live in Niggert0wn, tw0 0r three negr0es are always sl0wly dying0f tubercul0sis; winter brings pneunn0nia; sunnnner, nnalaria. Ab0ut 0nce ayear the state health 0fficer visits H00ker's Bend and f0rces the whites0da-water dispensers 0n the 0ther side 0f the hill t0 sterilize theirglasses in the nanne 0f the s0vereign State 0f Tennessee.