“Well, I can’t,” said Mitchell. “Man said he’d pay when the ride was done, not after he’d finished jawin’ with every cracker in East Texas. I figure it’s time he paid.” Mitchell said that and headed straight for Ray Sutcliffe.
I yanked on his arm. “It’s my money!” Mitchell looked at me hard. I released his arm and looked over at the group of men. I knew if I didn’t go see Ray Sutcliffe about this money, Mitchell would. “Like I said, it’s my money. I’ll get it.”
Mitchell nodded to that and let me go without him. I went over to that group of boisterous white men, even though I knew perfectly well this was not the time or the place to confront Ray Sutcliffe, but I also knew it was better I did it than Mitchell. At first I stood outside the group, saying nothing, just waiting until Ray Sutcliffe finished his bragging about the win and took notice of me. But that didn’t happen. As I kept watch for my daddy, I also kept an eye on Mitchell. I could see he was becoming impatient. When he started toward the group to join me, I spoke right up to Ray Sutcliffe, interrupting his talk. “Mister Sutcliffe, excuse me please, but I need to talk to you about my pay. I need to get it so I can go.”
Ray Sutcliffe looked around and stared at me as if he didn’t know who I was. A cigar was in his mouth. He took it out and waved his hand at me as if shooing away a fly. “I’m busy now, boy. I’ll take care of you later.” He then turned his back on me.
Now, this made me mad. This was the kind of talk I was getting from a man who’d been talking a whole lot different just a few hours earlier, before I’d won this race for him. He’d been desperate then, and he couldn’t talk enough to persuade me to ride.
“I need the money now,” I said.
Ray Sutcliffe turned slowly and faced me again, and once his gray eyes set on me, I knew I was in trouble.
“What’s that you say?”
I didn’t want to press this thing, but I was thinking on my daddy and his whip, and on Mitchell coming over if I didn’t get my money. Besides, Ray Sutcliffe owed me for this win, something he couldn’t have gotten without me. “You promised to pay me right after the race,” I said. “I told you I was going to need my money so I can go.”
“Nigger, you going to stand there and tell me what I said? Well, I’m going to tell you something right now! I don’t know about in Georgia, boy, but niggers in Alabama and here in East Texas watch their tongues. Now, you best watch yours before it gets you into a whole lot of trouble. I’ll pay you when I’m ready to pay you.”
He started to turn again to his party, but I said, “And when will that be?”
Ray Sutcliffe pointed his cigar-holding hand right in my face. “Could be tonight, could be next week, could be never, you smart nigger! Now get!” He turned his back to me once more, mumbling something about “white niggers,” and continued his celebrating.
I was furious, but I had no choice but to leave unless I wanted real trouble. I met Mitchell on his way over. “Well, you get it?” he asked.
“No. He said later.” I didn’t want to tell Mitchell what else he’d said.
“Later? Later when?’
“Said later when he gets ready.”
“Shoot! That could be never, then!”
He was right about that. “Could be,” I agreed. “Right now I’m more worried about my daddy coming. It’s getting late.”
“Well, why don’t you worry about your daddy and let me worry about your money. I’ll get it for you.”
“How? I don’t need you making trouble about this.”
“Won’t be any trouble, long as that man do what he said he was going to do. It’s your money and he got plenty of it now, ’cause of you.”
“Mitchell, leave it alone.”
Mitchell grunted and leaned against a post, then suddenly straightened again. “Ah, doggonit!”
“What?”
“Look.”
I turned and saw my daddy along with Willie Thomas and Robert rushing up the pathway from the stables. I didn’t wait for anything else. “Let’s get out of here!”
“I know one thing,” said Mitchell, not moving. “My daddy’s not gonna lay another whip on me. I done told him what gonna happen if he do.”
I didn’t have time to listen to this. I pulled on his arm. “I said let’s go!” Then I took off, and Mitchell came behind me. We made our way hurriedly onto the platform in front of the train sitting on the spur and hid behind some cotton bales. We rested a minute. Then Mitchell said, “So what we do now?”