“‘Charlie’s more to me than he is to you,’ said the little woman, tugging on his other arm. ‘I’ll pick him up myself.’

“Both of them was pulling and hauling at that one-legged soldier, and the boy was cussing like mad. When he got to his feet, he shook ’em both loose. I handed him his crutches my own self while them women was yapping at each other. The back of his uniform was all muddy and wet and his pants leg folded back over his stump was wet, too. I reckon he must have been on leave from a hospital because you could tell that leg hurt him. He tried to make out like it wasn’t nothing happened. ‘What’s all this fuss these damn women are making? I just fell down, that’s all!’

“‘Any man can fall,’ I said. But I could see he was trembling and he couldn’t help it. He put his hands over the stump of that leg.

“The little woman was standing at the curb yelling, ‘Cab! Cab! Cab!’ and taking time to turn around to see what the other woman was doing. ‘Cassie, you leave that man be, I tell you!… Cab! Cab! Cab!’

“But you know on a rainy night how hard it is to get a cab. Meantime, the other woman had run one hand down his shirt front and was trying to give him a kiss. But he pushed her away. So she went to the curb and started yelling cab, too. Then in all that cold old drizzly rain them women started yapping at each other all over again. Man, a woman is something!

“‘I’ll get a cab,’ the tall one yells.

“‘I’ll get it and pay for it, too,’ hollered the little one. ‘I know Charlie snuck off from me to go see you today. But I’m the one he comes to first—like this afternoon—first—soon as he gets in town.’

“‘That’s what you think,’ says the tall woman. ‘Wheeeeeooo! Cab!’

“‘I’m the one he gets a dollar from when he needs it most,’ yaps the little chick. ‘Long as I’m working, Charlie’ll eat! I’ll get this cab and pay for it. Do you hear me, Cassie?’

“Some old agitating Negro standing in the doorway of the bar yells, ‘One of you women better hurry up and get that taxi or won’t neither one of you-all have no man. He’ll be gone.’