She was near tears, but she wasn’t about to let this little cock see her cry. “I’ll remember that.” She bustled out of the office, skirts swishing. The secretary gave her a look and breezed into the superintendent’s office behind her, and the door clicked shut. Gray Ellen dropped her letters. She stooped to pick them up and heard their voices behind the door.

“What is it that makes those people so pushy?” Noble was saying.

Us people? she wondered.

He went on, “They’re always shoving their way to the front of the line.” He was talking loudly now. “They come down here, throwing their weight around—well, they’re just going to have to learn to pay their dues.”

“She’s new,” the secretary said. “Give her time.”

Noble said, “Well, I wouldn’t hire the good Lord himself if Hugh MacRae recommended him.” He banged something on the desk. “She probably got fired from her last job for moral turpitude.”

Gray Ellen was flabbergasted. She took deep breaths to get control of herself. It was all she could do to restrain herself from marching back into that office.

The secretary reappeared, startled to see her. “You still here?” Her voice was uncertain—she wasn’t sure how much Gray Ellen had overheard. She looked down at her desk, the neat stacks of papers.

“Don’t worry, I’m on my way out. I guess I’ll try the other schools.”

“The colored? They’re best left to their own people.”

“I’m a teacher. My people are in the classroom.”

Seven blocks away, at the Williston Colored School, the interview went better. “Do you have any local references?” John G. Norwood asked, after going through her letters of reference. He was polite but distracted. He kept checking his watch, as if he had another, more important meeting.

“No, I’m afraid not,” she lied. She felt flushed and damp all over from the walk. She hoped it didn’t stay this hot down here all the time—the heat sapped her energy.

“Never mind,” he said. He started to say something else but stopped himself. “We’ve lost two teachers this year to illness.” Then, after a moment’s reflection, he said, “I can’t promise anything. Folks frown on white ladies coming in here.” He hastened to add, “But you wouldn’t be the first.” He paused, seemed genuinely regretful. “I’m afraid the pay …”

“I’m sure the salary will be satisfactory.”

Norwood smiled. “Your attitude is commendable,” he said, then shook her hand heartily. His hand, she noticed, was slippery from perspiration.