EDUCATION OF A TEXAN
75
trying to answer Jimmy's arguments to myself, but blamed if
1could. I wasn't so dumb I couldn't see that all working men
has got more in common with each other than with their bosses
of the same color. And I had to admit that working people,
fighting amongst one another, was sure sweet pickings for the
same bosses. But it seemed like something way down deep in
me made me feel the way I did and I couldn't help it.
Well, Tex and me stayed in the Union. Sam knew what
had happened and I could tell by the way he acted. One of the
boys told us he wanted to leave the Party, but Jimmy wouldn't
let him. Sam was real nice to us on the job and us to him.
Some of the boys sided with us; some few were against us, but
the most didn't side up. Everybody agreed that the Union was
big enough for everybody, white, black, yellow or red. More of
the gang joined the Party and Tex and me was kinda outsiders
after awhile. Sure, everybody treated us fine, but there were
things we weren't in on. Jimmy never gave up trying to get us
back, but we quit going to the affairs and meetings at the Coun–
cil after awhile.
Anyway, Sam sure wasn't a bad substitute for me and Tex,
I
had to hand him that. H e went on all the Committees and
got almost as good as Jimmy at being Spokesman. The Ku
Klux Klan sent him a warning soon after he joined the Party,
but Sam just laughed when he told the gang about it on the job.
"Ain't you scared, Sam?" someone asked him.
Sam laughed. ''Sure," he said. Sam didn't have no accent
like Tex or me, him being born in the North . "Sure, I'm scared.
I
don't want to be tarred and feathered or rid on a rail.'' He
quit .smiling. "But anybody who send me a warning through
the mail 'thout no return address is more afraid of me than I
am of them. Let 'em try crawling my hump and see what hap–
pens!" He bunched those big hands of his and waved 'em
around in front of us. We all thought hard about what was
likely to happen if those Kluxers did try.
\Veil, I guess Tex and me would've gone on that way for
good if something hadn't happ ened. Even Jimmy had about
given us up when it did. Started when Tex came by my place
one Saturday morning looking for Jimmy. Jimmy had just
left the house after telling me he was going out of town for a
few days. Tex looked worri ed as all hell when I told him
about Jimmy and I asked him what the trouble was.
