to go to be with her, although
he never wanted really, not to be always with her. Always now he
never felt really at ease with her, even when they were good friends
together. Always now he felt, with her, he could not be really honest
to her. And Jeff never could be happy with her when he could not feel
strong to tell all his feeling to her. Always now every day he found
it harder to make the time pass, with her, and not let his feeling
come so that he would quarrel with her.

And so one evening, late, he was to go to her. He waited a little
long, before he went to her. He was afraid, in himself, to-night, he
would surely hurt her. He never wanted to go when he might quarrel
with her.

Melanctha sat there looking very angry, when he came in to her. Jeff
took off his hat and coat and then sat down by the fire with her.

"If you come in much later to me just now, Jeff Campbell, I certainly
never would have seen you no more never to speak to you, 'thout your
apologising real humble to me." "Apologising Melanctha," and Jeff
laughed and was scornful to her, "Apologising, Melanctha, I ain't
proud that kind of way, Melanctha, I don't mind apologising to you,
Melanctha, all I mind, Melanctha is to be doing of things wrong, to
you." "That's easy, to say things that way, Jeff to me. But you never
was very proud Jeff, to be courageous to me." "I don't know about that
Melanctha. I got courage to say some things hard, when I mean them, to
you." "Oh, yes, Jeff, I know all about that, Jeff, to me. But I mean
real courage, to run around and not care nothing about what happens,
and always to be game in any kind of trouble. That's what I mean
by real courage, to me, Jeff, if you want to know it." "Oh, yes,
Melanctha, I know all that kind of courage. I see plenty of it all
the time with some kinds of colored men and with some girls like you
Melanctha, and Jane Harden. I know all about how you are always making
a fuss to be proud because you don't holler so much when you run in to
where you ain't got any business to be, and so you get hurt, the way
you ought to. And then, you kind of people are very brave then, sure,
with all your kinds of suffering, but the way I see it, going round
with all my patients, that kind of courage makes all kind of trouble,
for them who ain't so noble with their courage, and then they got it,
always to be bearing it, when the end comes, to be hurt the hardest.
It's like running around and being game to spen