Did anybody ever catch the men who did it- who killed him Reverend Cooper raised his eyebrows, Catch? he asked, his face full of wonder. Then he smiled again. Didnt have to catch em. They never went nowhere. I mean did they have a trial; were they arrested? Arrested for what? Killing a nigger? Where did you say you was from? You mean nobody did anything? Didnt even try to find out who did it? Everybody knew who did it. Same people Circe worked for- the Butlers. And nobody did anything? Milkman wondered at his own anger. He hadnt felt angry when he first heard about it. Why now? Wasnt nothing to do. White folks didnt care, colored folks didnt dare. Wasnt no police like now. Now we got a county sheriff handles things. Not then. Then the circuit judge came through just once or twice a year. Besides, the people what did it owned half the county. Macons land was in their way. Folks was just thankful the children escaped. You said Circe worked for the people who killed him. Did she know that? Course she did. And she let them stay there? Not out in the open. She hid them. Still, they were in the sane house, right? Yep. Best place Id say. If they came to town somebodyd see em. Nobody would think of looking there. Did Daddy- did my father know that? I dont know what he knew, if Circe ever told him. I never saw him after the murder. None of us did. Where are they? The Butlers. They still live here? Dead now. Every one of em. The last one, the girl Elizabeth, died a couple years back. Barren as a rock and just as old. Things work out, son. The ways of God are mysterious, but if you live it out, just live it out, you see that it always works out. Nothing they stole or killed for did em a bit of good. Not one bit. I dont care whether it did them good. The fact is they did somebody harm. Reverend Cooper shrugged. White folks different up your way? No, I guess not… Sometimes, though, you can do something. What? The preacher looked genuinely interested. Milkman couldnt answer except in Guitars words, so he said nothing. See this here? The reverend turned around and showed Milkman the knot the size of a walnut that grew behind his ear. Some of us went to Philly to try and march in an Armistice Day Parade. This was after the First World War. We were invited and had a permit, but the people, the white people, didnt like us being there. They started a fracas. You know, throwing rocks and calling us names. They didnt care nothing bout the uniform. Anyway, some police on horseback came- to quiet them down, we thought. They ran US down. Right under their horses. This heres what a hoof can do. Aint that something? Song of Solomon
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 07:40:00 +0000
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