Rose had a hard time to bring her baby to its birth and Melanctha did
everything that any woman could.
The baby though it was healthy after it was born did not live long.
Rose Johnson was careless and negligent and selfish and when Melanctha
had to leave for a few days the baby died. Rose Johnson had liked her
baby well enough and perhaps she just forgot it for a while, anyway
the child was dead and Rose and Sam were very sorry, but then these
things came so often in the negro world in Bridgepoint that they
neither of them thought about it very long. When Rose had become
strong again she went back to her house with Sam. And Sam Johnson was
always now very gentle and kind and good to Melanctha who had been so
good to Rose in her bad trouble.
Melanctha Herbert's troubles with Jem Richards were never getting any
better. Jem always now had less and less time to be with her. When
Jem was with Melanctha now he was good enough to her. Jem Richards was
worried with his betting. Never since Jem had first begun to make a
living had he ever had so much trouble for such a long time together
with his betting. Jem Richards was good enough now to Melanctha but he
had not much strength to give her. Melanctha could never any more now
make him quarrel with her. Melanctha never now could complain of his
treatment of her, for surely, he said it always by his actions to her,
surely she must know how a man was when he had trouble on his mind
with trying to make things go a little better.
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