Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered

5On the train the next day, Joe didn’t make many speeches withrhymes to her, but he bought her the best things the butcher had, likeapples and a glass lantern full of candies. Mostly he talked about plansfor the town when he got there. They were bound to need somebodylike him. Janie took a lot of looks at him and she was proud of whatshe saw. Kind of portly like rich white folks. Strange trains, and peopleand places didn’t scare him neither. Where they got off the train atMaitland he found a buggy to carry them over to the colored townright away.It was early in the afternoon when they got there, so Joe said theymust walk over the place and look around. They locked arms andstrolled from end to end of the town. Joe noted the scant dozen ofshame-faced houses scattered in the sand and palmetto roots and said,“God, they call this a town? Why, ’tain’t nothing but a raw place in dewoods.”“It is a whole heap littler than Ah thought.” Janie admitted herdisappointment.“Just like Ah thought,” Joe said. “A whole heap uh talk and nobodydoin’ nothin’. I god, where’s de Mayor?” he asked somebody. “Ah wanttuh speak wid de Mayor.”Two men who were sitting on their shoulderblades under a hugelive oak tree almost sat upright at the tone of his voice. They stared atJoe’s face, his clothes and his wife.“Where y’all come from in sich uh big haste?” Lee Coker asked.