puzzled.
“I thought it was the lazy, shiftless, and criminal Negroes, you feared?”
‚ÄúHang it, no! We can deal with them; we‚Äôve got whips, chain-gangs, and‚ÅÝ‚Äîmobs, if need be‚ÅÝ‚Äîno, it‚Äôs the Negro who wants to climb up that we‚Äôve got to beat to his knees.‚Äù
Taylor could not follow this reasoning. He believed in an aristocracy of talent alone, and secretly despised Colonel Cresswell’s pretensions of birth. If a man had ability and push Taylor was willing and anxious to open the way for him, even though he were black.
The caste way of thinking in the South, both as applied to poor whites and to Negroes, he simply could not understand. The weak and the ignorant of all races he despised and had no patience with them.
‚ÄúBut others‚ÅÝ‚Äîa man‚Äôs a man, isn‚Äôt he?‚Äù he persisted.
But Colonel Cresswell replied:
“No, never, if he’s black, and not always when he’s white,” and he stalked away.
Zora sensed fully the situation. She did not anticipate any immediate understanding with the laboring whites, but she knew that eventually it would be inevitable. Meantime the Negro must strengthen himself and bring to the alliance as much independent economic strength as possible. For the development of her plans she needed Bles Alwyn’s constant cooperation. He was business manager of the school and was doing well, but she wanted to point out to him the larger field. So long as she was uncertain of his attitude toward her, it was difficult to act; but now, since the flash of the imminent tragedy at Cresswell Oaks had cleared the air,