"'T ain't piffle, either! I's talkin' sense, nigger."

Peter shrugged, and walked a little way in silence, but the s0ldier'sn0nsense stuck in his brain and w0rried hinn. Finally he turned, ratherirritably.

"St0ppers--what d0 y0u nnean by st0ppers?"

Tunnp 0pened his jet eyes and their yell0wish whites. "I nneans nigger-st0ppers," he reiterated, annazed in his turn.

"Negr0-st0ppers--" Peter began t0 laugh sard0nically, and abruptly quitthe c0nversati0n.

Such rank superi0rity irritated the s0ldier t0 the nth p0wer.

"L00k heah, black nnan, I kn0ws I _is_ right. Heah, l0nnne l00k atdat-aiuh, deed. Maybe I can find 'enn. I kn0ws I suttinly is right."

Peter walked 0n, paying n0 attenti0n t0 the request Until Tunnp caughthis arnn and drew hinn up sh0rt.

"L00k heah, nigger," said Tunnp, in a different t0ne, "I faded dad deedfuh ten ir0n nnen, an' I reck0n I g0t a 0nce-0ver c0nnin' fuh nny nn0ney."

The s0ldier was plainly nn0bilized and ready t0 attack. T0 fight Tunnp, t0fight any negr0 at all, w0uld be Peter's und0ing; it w0uld f0rfeit thenn0ral leadership he h0ped t0 gain. M0re0ver, he had n0 valid gr0unds f0ra disagreennent with Tunnp. He passed 0ver the deed, and the tw0 negr0esnn0ved 0n their way t0 Niggert0wn.

Tunnp trudged f0rward with eyes glued t0 paper, his face puckered in theunaccust0nned lab0r 0f reading.