(BERNIECE continues to hit BOY WILLIE, who doesn’t move to defend himself, other than back up and turning his head so that most of the blows fall on his chest and arms.)

DOAKER: (Grabbing BERNIECE.) Come on, Berniece . . . let it go, it ain’t his fault.

BERNIECE: He ain’t here, is he? Is he?

BOY WILLIE: I told you I ain’t responsible for Crawley.

BERNIECE: He ain’t here.

BOY WILLIE: Come on now, Berniece . . . don’t do this now. Doaker get her. I ain’t had nothing to do with Crawley …

BERNIECE: You come up there and got him!

BOY WILLIE: I done told you now. Doaker, get her. I ain’t playing.

DOAKER: Come on. Berniece.

(MARETHA is heard screaming upstairs. It is a scream of stark terror.)

MARETHA: Mama! . . . Mama!

(The lights go down to black. End of Act One.)

ACT TWO

SCENE ONE

(The lights come up on the kitchen. It is the following morning. DOAKER is ironing the pants to his uniform. He has a pot cooking on the stove at the same time. He is singing a song. The song provides him with the rhythm for his work and he moves about the kitchen with the ease born of many years as a railroad cook.)

DOAKER:

Gonna leave Jackson Mississippi

and go to Memphis

and double back to Jackson

Come on down to Hattiesburg

Change cars on the Y.D.

coming through the territory to

Meridian

and Meridian to Greenville

and Greenville to Memphis

I’m on my way and I know where

Change cars on the Katy

Leaving Jackson

and going through Clarksdale

Hello Winona!

Courtland!

Bateville!

Como!

Senitobia!

Lewisberg!

Sunflower!

Glendora!

Sharkey!

And double back to Jackson

Hello Greenwood

I’m on my way Memphis

Clarksdale

Moorhead

Indianola

Can a highball pass through?

Highball on through sir

Grand Carson!

Thirty First Street Depot

Fourth Street Depot

Memphis!

(WINING BOY enters carrying a suit of clothes.)

DOAKER: I thought you took that suit to the pawnshop?

WINING BOY: I went down there and the man tell me the suit is too old. Look at this suit. This is one hundred percent silk! How a silk suit gonna get too old? I know what it was he just didn’t want to give me five dollars for it. Best he wanna give me is three dollars. I figure a silk suit is worth five dollars all over the world. I wasn’t gonna part with it for no three dollars so I brought it back.

DOAKER: They got another pawnshop up on Wylie.

WINING BOY: I carried it up there. He say he don’t take no clothes. Only thing he take is guns and radios. Maybe a guitar or two. Where’s Berniece?

DOAKER: Berniece still at work. Boy Willie went down there to meet Lymon this morning. I guess they got that truck fixed, they been out there all day and ain’t come back yet. Maretha scared to sleep up there now. Berniece don’t know, but I seen Sutter before she did.