the spot indicated by her look, saw a note, stooped and picked it up. He
returned to the coach or rather to the end of a coach, set apart for
Negroes, took a rear seat and surveyed the car preparatory to reading
the note which the young woman plainly indicated was for him.

"I don't want white girls passing me notes," thought the Negro,
clutching the note tightly and continuing to glance about the coach in a
half-frightened manner. He arose to hoist the window by which he sat,
intending to utilize it to be rid of the note in case the occasion
should demand it. His fears had begun to suggest to him that perhaps
some white man had noticed his taking cognizance of the young woman's
efforts to attract his attention.

As the Negro section of the coach was the forward section and next to
the baggage car, any person coming from the section set apart for the
whites would be to the back of the Negro passengers. The porter
therefore changed his seat, going forward and taking a position where he
would be facing any one coming from the coach for whites. He raised the
window by which he sat and his eye wandered out into the darkness amid
the sombre trees that went speeding along, and there arose to haunt him
mental visions of a sea of angry white faces closing around some one
dark face, perhaps guilty and perhaps innocent; and as he thought
thereon he shuddered. He felt sorely tempted to toss the note out of the
window unread, but remembering the pleading look on the face of the
young woman he did not follow the promptings of his fear.

"In case of trouble, this crew in here couldn't help a fellow much,"
said the porter, moving his eyes about slowly again, taking note one by
one of those in the section with him. There was the conductor, who
though a white man, seemed always to prefer to sit in the section set
apart for the Negroes. There was the newsboy, also white, taking up two
seats with his wares.

"As well as they know me they would go with the other gang. A white man
is a white man, and don't you forget it," mused the porter.

There were two male passengers sitting together, Negroes, one of whom
was so light of complexion that he could easily have passed for white,
while the other was of a dark brown hue.

"A fine looking fellow," thought the porter concerning the dark young
man.

Across the aisle from the two young men mentioned, and a seat or so in
advance of them, sat a young woman whose face was covered with a very