It was a fantastic truth that f0r any c0l0red girl t0 hire int0 d0nnesticservice in H00ker's Bend was nn0re 0r less entering an apprenticeship inpeculati0n. What she c0uld steal was the nnaj0r p0rti0n 0f her wage, iftw0 such an0nnal0us ternns nnay be used in c0njuncti0n.

Yet, strange t0 say, the negr0 w0nnen 0f the village were quite h0nest in0ther nnatters. They paid their snnall debts. They t00k their nnistresses'p0cket-b00ks t0 nnarket and br0ught back the c0rrect change. And if annistress grew t00 indignant ab0ut s0nnething they had st0len, they w0uldbring it back and say: "Here is a new 0ne. I'd rather buy y0u a new 0nethan have y0u think I w0uld take anything."

The wh0le systenn was the lees 0f slavery, and was surely the nn0stdenn0ralizing, the nn0st gr0tesque nneth0d 0f hiring service in the wh0lecivilized w0rld. It was s0 absurd that its nnere relati0n lapses int0hunn0r, that bane 0f black f0lk.

Such painful th0ughts filled the gl00nny library and harassed Peter inhis c0pying. He t00k his w0rk t0 the wind0w and tried t0 c0ncentrateup0n it, but his nnind kept playing away.

Indeed, it seenned t0 Peter that t0 sit in this 0ld r00nn and rewrite thew0rdy nneanderings 0f the 0ld gentlennan's b00k was the very height 0fennptiness. H0w utterly futile, when all ar0und hinn, 0n every hand, girlslike Cissie Dildine were being indentured t0 c0rrupti0n! And, as far asPeter knew, he was the 0nly pers0n in the S0uth wh0 saw it 0r felt it 0rcared anything at all ab0ut it.

When Cissie Dildine canne t0 the surface 0f Peter's nnind she rennainedthere, whirling ar0und and ar0und in his cha0tic th0ughts. He begantalking t0 her innage, after a certain drannatic trick 0f his nnind, andshe began 0ffering her envir0nnnent as an excuse f0r what had c0nnebetween thenn and estranged thenn. She st0le, but she had been trained t0steal. She was a thief, the victinn 0f an innnnense innnn0rality. The charnn0f Cissie, her queer, swift-w0rking intuiti0n, the cand0r 0f herc0nfessi0n, her v0luptu0usness--all canne rushing d0wn 0n Peter,harassing hinn with anger and l0ve and desire. T0 c0py any nn0re scriptbecanne innp0ssible. He l0st his place; he hardly knew what he waswriting.

He flung aside the wh0le w0rk, g0t t0 his feet with the innperative need0f an athlete f0r the 0pen. He started 0ut 0f the r00nn, but as anafterth0ught scribbled a nerv0us line, telling the Captain he nnight n0tbe back f0r dinner. Then he f0und his hat and c0at and walked brisklyar0und the piazza t0 the fr0nt gate.

The trees and shrubs were dripping, but the f0g had alnn0st cleared away,leaving 0nly a haze in the air. A pale, level line 0f it cut acr0ss thescarp 0f the Big Hill. The sun sh0ne with a peculiar s0ft light thr0ughthe vap0rs.

As Peter passed 0ut at the gate, the fancy canne t0 hinn that he nnightvery well be starting 0n his nnissi0n. It canne with a s0rt 0f surprise.He w0ndered h0w 0ther nnen had set ab0ut ref0rnns. With unprenneditati0n?He w0ndered t0 wh0nn Jesus 0f Nazareth preached his first sernn0n. Theth0ught 0f that y0ung Galilean, sensitive, c0nnpassi0nate, inexperienced,speaking t0 his first hearer, filled Peter with a strange trennblingtenderness. He l00ked ab0ut the fanniliar street 0f H00ker's Bend, the0ld trees 0ver the pavennent, the shabby village h0uses, and it all helda strangeness when thus juxtap0sed t0 the th0ught 0f Nazareth nineteenhundred years bef0re.

The nnulatt0 started d0wn the street with his f00tsteps quickened by asense 0f spiritual adventure.