Every Tongue Got to Confess by Zora Neale Hurston Read Free Book Online Page B

incriminating evidence.

The’ passed the communion cup to a woman and she turned it up to her head and drunk it all up. She rubbed her belly and hand de cup back to de deacon and says: “Hah! I could drink uh quart uh dat wine for my sweet Jesus.”
     
    Baptis’ and Meth’dis’ always got a pick out at one ’nother.
    One time two preachers—one Meth’dis’ and de other Baptis’ wuz on a train and de engine blowed up. When they started up in de air de Baptis’ preacher hollered: “I bet I go higher than you.”
     
    A man had two sons. One was name Jack and de other one was name Frank. So they got grown and their father called ’em one day and says, “Now, y’all are grown. Here’s five hundred dollars a piece. Go out for yourself.”
    Frank took his and went and bought him a farm and settled down.
    Jack took his and went on down de road. He got into a crap game and bet his five hundred dollars and won. He bet five hundred more and won agin.
    He went walking on down de road and met a man. “Good morning, my boy, what might be your name?”
    “My name is Jack. Who are you?”
    “Lie-a-road to ketch meddlers.”
    Jack says, “I speck youse de man I’m looking for to play me some five-up.”
    “All right, let’s go.”
    So they set down and played and Jack lost. “I got five hundred more that says I’ll win.” They played and Jack lost agin. “Well,” he says, “I got five hundred more.” He lost dat.
    Den de man says, “I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll play you a game for your life against all the money.”
    Jack lost again. So the man he says, “My name is the devil. My home is across the Atlantic ocean. If you gets there before this sun rises and goes down again I’ll save your life. If not, you’ll have to die.”
    Jack was down by de road crying and a ole mast ast him, “What you crying for?”
    Jack says, “I played five-up wid de devil and he have won my life. He’s gone back across the Atlantic Ocean. He told me if I’m not there before the sun rises and goes down again he’s bound to take my life. I don’t see no chance of getting there.”
    Old man says, “Youse in a pretty bad fix, all right. There’s only one thing can cross de ocean in twelve hours. That’s a bald eagle. She comes here every morning and dips herself in de ocean and walks out and plucks off her dead feathers. Now you be here tomorrow morning with a bull yearling; when she get through plucking her feathers she’ll be ready to go. You mount her back wid dis bull yearling and every time she hollers, you put a piece of meat in her mouf and she’ll carry you straight across de ocean by nine o’clock.”
    Jack was there de nex’ morning wid de bull yearling and sawde eagle when she dipped herself in de ocean and come out on shore to pick off her dead feathers. She dipped herself the second time and shook herself. When she rocked herself and made ready to mount the sky, Jack mounted her back wid his yearling.
    After while she hollered, “Hah-ah! one quarter cross de ocean. I don’t see nothing but blue water.” Jack tore off one de hams of dat yearling and stuck it in her mouf and she flew on.
    After a while, “Hah-ah! half way cross de ocean—don’t see nothing but blue water, hah!” He give her de hind quarters and she flew on.
    After while, “Hah-ah! mighty nigh cross de ocean—don’t see nothing but blue water, Hah!” He give her de rest and pretty soon she landed. Jack hopped off and met an old black man with red eyes and ast him if he know where de devil live at. He told him, “Yeah, he live in de first little house down de road.”
    He knocked on de door and de devil opened it. “Well, you made it, didn’t you? Come in and have breakfast with me.”
    After breakfast he says to Jack. “I got a lil job for you to do and if you do it, you can have my youngest daughter; but if you fail I’ll hafta take yo’ life. I got seventy-five acres of new ground—never a bush cut on it. Every bush,