also a smell about the place—the smell of body odor and chickens. I realized this long building had once been a chicken roost. Probably Sheriff Big Bill had raised chickens before he decided to replace them with folks like us and grow peas.
At the far end of the long building, on the back side, was light. The front might have been tight as a fat lady’s corset, but there was a bit of light on the long back wall. It was just a cut of moonlight, thin as a razor, and not that bright, but it showed me someone sitting on the floor with their back to the wall looking at us. I say looking at us, though I couldn’t be certain. I only knew whoever it was, was facing our direction.
My eyes began to adjust a bit, and now I could see that all along the sides of the building, lying on what looked to be feed sacks, were people. I couldn’t tell anything about them, if they were men or women. I could tell that most were big enough that they had to be at least my age.
We walked down between them toward the light. I don’t know exactly why we did that, but I guess it’s the way people are. We’re always looking for the light. At the rear, in the strip of moonlight, we could see who was sitting there now. It was a colored fella, probably our age. He had on overalls. He was awake, and he was looking at us.
“All the room left is back here,” he said “There’s some space along the wall here, you don’t mind sitting with me.”
“Of course we don’t,” Jane said.
“There’s some in here won’t. They don’t want to be by no colored.”
“We’re all some kind of color,” she said.
“Shut up,” someone said from the dark. “Bad enough we’re here, worse we can’t sleep.”
We sat down along the wall and spoke quietly.
“We was snookered by the sheriff,” Jane said.
“Yeah, he got me a week ago,” said the kid. “He promised me a dollar.”
“He promised us two,” Tony said.
“Your promise was better,” said the kid, “but looks like what we got is the same.”
“Yep,” Jane said. “It does. What’s your name?”
“Gasper.”
“Gasper?” Jane said.
“That’s it.”
“That’s an odd name.”
“Tell me about it. I never did get to ask my mama why she called me that. She died. She got the lung disease.”
“I’m sorry,” Jane said.
“Me too,” Gasper said.
“Is this as bad as it looks?” I said.
“It’s worse than it looks. All these folks. They, as you say, was snookered. I was traveling down from Oklahoma looking for work. I got some along the way, and then I got this promise, and it wasn’t much, but I thought a roof over my head, meals, that was worth something. Well, I got a roof over my head, but it’s not so much. I got a bag to lay down on. There’s other bags there for y’all.”
“How thoughtful of Sheriff Big Bill,” Jane said.
“Yeah, ain’t it,” Gasper said.
“We’re from Oklahoma too,” I said. “Around Hootie Hoot.”
“I ain’t never heard of it,” Gasper said. “My mama died and my daddy was already gone. I was living with my grandmother, but she died too. Just got old. I was already doing a man’s work, so I thought I’d go down here and do it and be out of the sand. I’m out of it, but I ain’t no better.”
“We’re down this way looking for Jane’s relatives,” I said. “By the way, I’m Jack, and this is Tony.”
“I guess I’m glad to meet you,” Gasper said, “but all things considered, I don’t know this is such a fine moment for any of us.”
“How’s it work?” Jane said.
“You mean the job?” Gasper said.
“I mean the slavery,” Jane said.
“Yeah, ain’t that something? I thought my people was through with that. But the way it works is you better get some rest. You’ll need it.”
“You don’t look like you’re resting,” I said.
“I was just sitting here thinking on how to get out of this situation. But you better rest. Tomorrow, before the sun comes up, he’ll come get you, and he’s got two other white men with him that’s both as big a skunk as he is. No offense meant on the white remark.”
“None taken,” Jane said.
“Those men work for him and get a cut of the pea sales to the canning factory.”
“Looks like it would be cheaper to pay labor instead of overseers,” Jane said.
Gasper shook his head. “Nope. He can work us as long as it takes. Those men, all they got to do is stand around with guns, and when the peas get gathered, they run them by truck to Lindale and get paid pretty good money, even for this depression. Good compared to some things, anyhow, and all they got to do is stand around. It’s our backs get tired, not theirs. And heck, they even get a cut of the peas. I wish I did. I especially like them crowder peas and the red rippers.”
“Don’t do that,” Jane said, “you’re going to make me hungry. They just come get us in the morning and put us to work?”
“Yep,” Gasper said. “They take you out to the field, and the men with guns are there. Shotguns. They ain’t playing, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I seen a man run for it and they shot him.”
“Really?” I said.
“It looked real enough to me,” Gasper said. “They shot him and he didn’t get up. A couple of them dragged him off and we didn’t never see him again. I doubt they’ve given him an inside job somewhere. He’s dead.”
“Damn,” Jane said.
“Yeah,” Gasper said. “Damn. When you get there, you start working right away. You pick peas, fill your bags, and empty them in bushel baskets in the back of a truck at the ends of the rows. There’s two trucks. It goes like that until it gets solid dark, then they march you back here, give you some beans, and it starts all over the next day. That one meal is all you get. Did he promise you the three a day?”
“He did,” I said. “Can’t believe we fell for it.”
“Times like this make a person stupid,” Gasper said. “Something deep down told me this wasn’t a good idea, and I did it anyway.”
“We understand that,” I said.
For a while we just sat there and felt sorry for ourselves. Then Jane said, “Didn’t you say you been thinking on things, like maybe you know a way out?”
“I don’t know it’s a way out, but there’s something I been thinking on trying. I ain’t had the courage yet.”
“Any of the others in on it?” Jane said.
“No.”
“Why did you even mention it to us?” Jane asked.
“ ’Cause you talk to me and don’t mind sitting by me,” Gasper said. “Also, I think y’all can run fast, and maybe the others here can’t. Most of them are old worn-out men and women that ain’t got nothing to look forward to, except maybe this roof and that bowl of beans at the end of the day. They don’t like it, and they don’t deserve it, but I think maybe they’ve done given up. Us together, we might do something. One thing I learned is this stuff about how a man has to stand up and make it on his own is all right if you got money and some talent or some luck. But if all you got is two legs and two arms and have to work, it’s right tough.”
“Amen to that,” Jane said.
“What I’m thinking is, on the east side of the field, where we dump some of the peas—and you got to be in the row going that way to dump your bag—there’s a swamp. I think that’s the way out. On the other side is just woods. They got an old hound dog they can bring into things if they want. It ain’t always around, but sometimes they have it. It’ll bite too. I seen it bite a man once.”
