hut went on out dere.

(Dave rises slowly.)

SISTER TAYLOR
Dat's right, Dave. Git up dere and lie lak de cross ties from New York
to Texas. You greasy rascal you! You better go wash yo'self before you
go testifying on people.

DAVE
I'm just as clean as you.

REV. SINGLETARY
(jumping to his feet) Wait a minute! Taint none of y'all got no call
to be throwin' off on dis boy. He come here to git justice, not to be
slurred and low-rated. He ain't 'ssaulted nobody. He ain't stole no
turkeys _nor_ chickens. He's a clean boy. He set at my feet in Sunday
school since he was so high, (measures knee height) and he come thru
religion under de sound of my voice an' I baptized him and I know he's
clean.

SISTER TAYLOR
It'll take more'n uh baptizin' to clean dat nigger.

DAVE
I goes in swimmin' nearly every day. I'm just as clean as anybody
else.

SISTER TAYLOR
(Mayor begins rapping for order. She shouts out) Swimmin! Dat ain't
gointer clean de crust offa _you_. You ain't had a good bath since de
devil was a hatchet. If you ain't been parboiled in de wash pot and
scoured wid Red Seal lye, don't bring de mess up.

CLARKE
I'm goin' to have order here or else! Gwan, Dave.

DAVE
It's just lak I tole you Sat'day night.

CLARKE
Yeah, but dat wuz at de store. Dis is in [Note: corrected missing
space] court and it's got to be tole agin.

ELDER SIMMS
Just uh minute, Brother Clarke, before we any further go I wants to
ast de witness uh question dat oughter be answered before he open his
mouf.

MAYOR CLARKE
Whut _kind_ of a question is dat?

SIMMS
Dave, tell de truth. Ain't yo' heart full of envy and malce 'gainst
dis chile? (Gestures towards Jim. Dave shakes his head and starts to
deny the charge but Simms hurries on.) Wait a minute now! Wait till I
git thru. Didn't y'all used to run around everywhere playin' and
singing andeverything till you got so full of envy and malce and
devilment till y'al broke up? Now, Brother Mayor, make him tell de
truth.

DAVE
Yeah, I useter be crazy bout Jim, and we was buddies till he tried to
back bite me wie, wid my girl.

JIM
Never _was_ yo girl. Nohow I ain't none of yo' buddy. I ain't got no
buddy. They kilt my buddy tryin' to raise me. But I did useter lak you
till you acted so low down tryin' to undermine me and root me out wid
my girl.

MAYOR
Aw, table dat business an' less open up new business. We ain't here to
find out whose girl it is. We wants to know 'bout dis fight