Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1930-07-12

OF the evening.
The Letter
1t was plain that she was getting
nowhere in Kalesburg. To be sure,
she had job that was paying her
twice as much as she received In
Norrisburg, but there was little pros
poets OF her being able to do much
better. She could, of course, always
hunt up Donald Baxter and get job
in his cab;ret, but she knew what
that would mean. 1t would be en-
barrassing to continue as a member
of Rev. Godfrey's church after hd
had proposed to her and she had re.
fused
Then for the first time, she no.
ticeo a letter propped up on her
bureau. 1t was addressed to her and
she noted with some pleasure that
the handwriting was her mothers.
Eagerly she tore it open, anxious to
get word of what was going on at
home. 1t read:
My dearest Verna:
We are all we'll and hope you
are the same. We all miss you
very much and wish you were
back here with us. Your father
is still out of work. but otherwise
we are getting along all right.
Dick Colvin comes over almost
every night and all he can talk
about is you That boy sure is
in love with you. He says that
pretty soon he is coming over
there to Kalesburg and get him
a good Job and marry you. Like
as not he'll be over in couple
Of weeks.
Now be a good girl and don't
get in no mischief. Don't listen
to none of them there slick
tongue city fellows. cause they
don't mean nobody no good. We
are all praying for your success.
Your LOVING MOTHER.
Dreams of Harlem
So Dick Colvin was coming to
Kalesburg; Verna was very thought
full 40 she slowly prepared for bed.
What should she do? She couldn't
stand Dick Colvin and his rough,
country ways, yet she knew that
eventually he would meet her. Then
he would begin where he had left
off in Norrisburg, begging her every
Gay to marry him. Such a situation
would be intolerable. 1t would be
better for her to leave now, but
where would she go? She only pos
sessed twenty dollars but would have
fifteen more the following Tuesday
That ought to be enough to carry
hel out of the state and keep her I'M
til she found another job.
The rest of the week Verna did
he work mechanically while she
thought about her impending de-
parture, wondering which way to go
and how soon. Some said con :
tons were better farther South, but
she knew that opportunities for an
enterprising and ambitious colored
girl were better farther North. Her
mind was really set on New York,
but she was even afraid to admit it
to herself. She felt that that would
be taking too much on herself; that
one needed so much money to even
keep alive in New York. 1t did not
quite occur to her that scores OF
thousands of Negroes were doing well
there, she, like most Southern Ne
groes, believed all of the myths
about terrible conditions in Harlem.
AnC yet she also knew that it was
there that she belonged. Then she
smiled as she realized she didn't have
the carefare to New York, even u
she wanted to go there.
Up Jumps Donald Again
As she stepped of the street car
one night coming home from work.
she was startled and surprised to see
Donald Bakers car parked in front
of her rooming place. She wondered
what ii meant. Her first impulse
was to get away from there as fast
as possible, but then she realized that
if anyone should run it ought to be
Baxter, for had he not tried to kid
mp her? So, plucking up courage,