The

Complete Stories

Zora Neale Hurston

Introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
and Sieglinde Lemke

. 1111 HarperCollinsPublisher5n C--

,r· N~t,J '1 or\L. l°t7'=J
WILKINSBURG
P·UBI H"'
i I ;A~~A,RY
·g,._J,1 ~~:-. 1t••1' ~~ '"':.~11 .:.~, ~
Spunk 27

Joe s1 artcd and all bL~t dropp~d the bottle he held in his hands,
He swallowed several times pamfolly and his lips trembled.

(IC,~ ;j
1
''Aw '~ige.' you oug?tn t to do nothiri' Uke that,'' Waltergrlim•
Spunk bled. EliJah 1gnore<l h1m.
''Shcjus' passed heah a few minutes ago goin' thata way ,, witi1
a wave of his hand in the direction of the woods. ''
Now Joe knew his wife had passed that way. He knew that the
men lounging in the general store had seen her, moreover, he
knew that the men knew he knew. He stood there silent for along
moment staring blankly, wilh his Adam 1s apple twitching ner~
vously up and down his throat One could actua1Jy see the pain he
was suffcring, his eyes, his face, his hands and ~ven the dejected
A giunt of a hrown skJnned rnan sauntered up lhc one street of the slump of his shoulders. He set the botOe down upon the counter.
Village and out into f he palrnclto thickets with a small pretty He didn't bang it, just cased iL out of his hand silently and fiddled
woman dinging lovingly to his arm, with his suspender buckJe.
"L()oka tfH.·ah, folkses!" cried Elijah Mosley, slapping his leg "Well, Ah'm goin' after her Loday. Ah'm goin' an' fetch her
1~ecfully. "T.b,:ah they go, big as Jjfc an' bra<,sy as tacks.'' back. Spunk's done gone Loo fur."
All the loungers in th<.: store tried lo walk to the.: door wjth an air He reached deep down jnto his trouser pocket and drew out a
of .nonchaJan<.:c but with small success. hollow ground rawr, large and shiny, and passed his moistened
"Now pec-eoplc!" Walter Thomas g,1spcd. "Will you Juok at thumb back and forth over lhc edge.
\:ml" "Talkin' like a man, Joe. Course that>s yo' fambly affairs, but
.Uut. tJwf 's one thing Ah Uk(.;:-, about Sr,unk Banks he ain't
' 1
Ah like to sec: grit in anybody."
sket.:rcd of nothin' on God's green fo<>l ~s tuol nothin'! He rides Joe Kan1y bid down a nickel and stumbled oul into the slreet.
1hat log down at saw-mill jw./ like he btruls round wid another Dusk crept in frum the; woods. Ike Clarke lit the swinging oil
lump that wa& almost immediately surrounded by candle-flies. The
man's wife: ju')' dm1't give :;-i kitty, When T~s• MilJcr got cut to
rnl!n la1.1ghc.:d boisterously behind Joe's back "s they watched him
giblets (JJl that cirde~suw 1 Spw1k steps l'iglll up and starts ddin'.
11 shamble wooc.lward.
The rest c,f us wa~ ~kecn.:d tu go near j1.
"You oughtn't lo said whul you did to him, 'Ligc,- look how
A round shiJuklcred figw·t· in overalls inuch too large, <.:arnc
it worked him up," Waller chided.
ncrvou1-,Jy in the door and f he talkillg ,.:uw,;ed. 'fhc men luokc<l at '' And Ah horc.:= it did work him up. Tain'l even decent for a man
each otl11:.:i- awl winked. to I ake and I akc like he do. 11
1
'Gimtrt1.! t;<m1u v,d~ watc1·. S,,1.,s'prilh, Ah rc.:ckon,'' the new• "Spu11k will sl10' kill him,"
c:orncr orclcrcd ,ind slood for cluwu f he counter near the open
1 "Aw, Ah doan 't know. You never kin teJL He might turn him up
pkkfcd r,,ig-fi;cL 111b to drink it. un' 1:,pa11k him fur g<:Llin' in the way, hut Spunk wouldn't shoot no
Blij,tlt m1d;;cd Wah!.!r m,d l1.1r11ccl wilh 1w,ck gravity W the new· tmai·n1l!d man. D~I n,wr he carried out.a heah ain't gonnf.l run "
tnn1i:.:r, Spunk down an' cut him, an' Joe ain't got the nerve to go up to
11 1 'f ?"
bt1Y J<H', l10W 1
ri <:vcl)'IJ1i11g up yo' way? 1Iow !-i yci wt c,
26
Spunt{ with lt knowing tie wf,.:s I hut Anny 45. He nakc.b that
1
I ~tood there gazin' aher
,
Spunk 29

them till th ey was outa 51·gh

lm•nk ouf;.1 hcah 10 bl11fl 11:-. . I k' B go1111H J1idc I hiH ra'.1'.0J' bchln<l the know a woman d on t want no manlfl~ th . , . t. Now :;ruu
l1rsl llkl'ly pnlnlt'tto rouf rm' s1H'<"lk hnd, hornc 10 bed. Dun't tel] •' . ,L . lr,,e at. I tnJus' w 't•· '
w J1 Lll hc s gorn o say when he giLc; back.,, · ai m to see
llW JH>1hin' 'hwll 1hnt ruhhit -fnol i.'Wlt>rcd ,nan . Didn't he meet
Spunk t, 1' l.l·'IW foi;e 1u Ince oJlc di..iy 1~1:-.' wccl< an' mumble sum.
1 1
II
tldn ' to Sp1111k 'bout 1v11i11 his wift• nkm<:?" But Joe Kanly never came back , never Th .
"Whu1 c[jd Spu11k s,iy'?" W:,ltl'r broke in "Ah like him fine but heard the sharp report of a p 1·..s·tol sumewhe
· .e d'
men 1n the store
1nin ' t ight th ~ way Ill.' L'~11·1 k•s 011 wic.l Lc.:na Kanty, jut;' cause Joe's t
I mcl to thicket and soon Spunk came walki 1 r~ LS ant in the pal-
l'indd 'boul 1tµJ1tbi.
1
black Stetson set at the same rakish g1 ng leisurely, with hl.·s big
"
, an e and Lena 1· ,
"Ym i wroJtg tht•al1, W:.1ltcr. 'Tnin't caLisc Jo(.;'s ti.mid at all, it's arm, came walking right into the . al c mg1p,g to his
,·nusc Spuuk wc111t~ Lena. Ir Joe wns ,1 passel of wile cats Spunk frightened manner. · gener store. Lena wept in a
woulJ 1ndd<..' tile job just tlw srunc . He'd go aft.er anything he "Well," Spunk announced calmly "J
wantcd 1he ~arnc w~,y. As Ah wuz suyin' a minute ago, he tole Joe mcatax an' made me kiH him.,, ' oe come out there wid a
righl w his face 1hat Li;n.1 w,,s hi.s. 'Call her,' he says lo Joe. 'Call He.sent Lena
. . home and led the men back to Joe J
her nnJ st~i..' ii' she'll come. A woman knows her boss an' she an<l ltmp w1th his right hand still 1 hin . - oe crumple
nnsW1..'rs when h<..' calls.' 'Lena, ujn't 1 yo' husband?' Joe sorter
"s lb c utc g his razor
ee ma 1 ack? Mah close cut clear th h .
whines out. Lcnu luokcd at him real disgusted but she don't an. an' tried to kilJ me from the back but roug ·. He sneaked up
sw<:r n.nd she don'1 move out<=1 her tracks. Then Spunk reaches out good, first shot," Spunk said. ' Ah got h1m, an' got him
nn' lc1kcs hold of her arm an' says: 'Lena, yousc mine. From now The men glared at Elijah, accusingly
on Ah works for you an' fights ror you an' Ah never wants you to . "Take him up an' plant h.im m · ' Stoney· lonesome , ', S nk . .
look to nobody for a crumb of bread, a stitch of close or a shingle ma careless voice "Ah d"d , , pu said
do it. He's a dhi . c 1 ~ t w~°;1a shoot him but he made me
to go over yo' head, but me long as Ah live. Ah'll git the lumber S unk . y oward, .1ump1D on a man from behind"
foh owah house tomorrow. Go home an' gjt yo' things together!' . pl turne~ on his heel and sauntered away to where he, knew
'Thass mah house,' Lena speaks up. 'Papa gimme that.' 'Well,'
says Spunk, 'doan give LlP whut's yours, but when youse inside
don't forgit yo use mine, an' let no other man git outa his place wid
:~:~lf ~
h is

talk.n
. wept . m fear for h'un an d no man stopped him. At th
" ,ove

s
hstore later on, they all talked of locking him up until
ould come fro m O·l r ando, but no one did
th:
. anything but
youl' Lena looked up at him with her eyes so full of love that they
A clear case of seIf-d e f ense, t I1e tnal
walked . was a short one, and Spunk
wuz runnin' over an' Spunk seen it an' Joe seen it too, and his lips
started to u·0mb1in' and his Adam's apple was galloping up and again ?ut of the court house to freedom again. He could work
. b'. ~Ide the dangerous log-carriage that fed the sincring snarl-
down his neck like a race horse. Ah bet he's wore out half a dozen mg itmg . l o"u ,
.'. , crrc e-saw; he could stroll the soft dark lanes with his
Adam's apples since Spunk's been on the job with Lena. That's all
L · He was free t O roam the woods again; he was free to return
gmtar
he'U do. He'l1 be back heah after while swallowin' an' workin' his 10 ena. He did all of these things. C

lips like he wants to say somethin' an' can't.''

"But didn't he do noth in' to stop I em?"
"Nope, not a frazzlin' thing- jus' stood there. Spunk took
Lena's arm and walked off jus' like nothln' ain't happened and he
30 Zora Neale Hurston
Spunk 31

Ill
"\\!but you reckon, Walt?" Elijah asked one night later. "Spunk's blue streak today 'cause he 'lowed <lat saw wuz wobblin' _- = l-
a:u110S
i

aot 'im once. The machini st come, looked it over an; said it ~ 'UZ
gittin' ready to marry Lena!''
:iright. Spunk musta been leanin' t'wards it some. Den he claimed
"Naw! Why Joe ain't had time to git cold yit. Nohow Ah didn't
somebody pushed 'im but 'twant nobody close to 'irn. Ah wuz
fi,gger Spunk was the marryin' kind."
glad when knock.in' off time come. I'm skeered of dat man when
"Well, he is," rejoined Elijah. " He done moved most of Lena's
he gits hot. He'd beat you full of button holes as quick as he's look
things- and her along \\rid 'em-over to the Bradley house. He's
atcher.''
buying it. Jus' like Ah told yo ' all right in heah the night Joe wuz
kilt. Spunk's crazy 'bout Lena. He don' t want folks to keep on IV
talkin' 'bout her-thass reason he's rushin' so. Funny thing 'bout The men gathered the next evening in a different rnood, no laugh-
that bob-cat, wan't it? ' ' ter. No badinage this time.
''Whut bob-cat, 'Lige? Ah ain' t heered 'bout none." "Look 'Lige, you goin' to set up wid Spunk?"
"Ain't cher? Well, night befo' las' was the fust night Spunk an' " Naw, Ah reckon not, Walter. Tell yuh the truth, Ah'm a ill bit
Lena moved together an' jus' as they was goin' to bed, a big black skittish. Spunk died to9 wicket-died cussin' he did. You know he
bob-cat, black all over, you hear me, black, walked round and thought he wuz done outa life."
round that house and howled like forty, an' when Spunk got his " Good Lawd, who'd he think done it?"
gun an' went to the winder to shoot it, he says it stood right still "Joe."
an ' looked him in the eye, an' howled right at him. The thing got "Joe Kanty? How come?"
Spunk so nervoused up he couldn't shoot. But Spunk says twan't "Walter, Ah b'leeve Ah will walk up thata way an' set. Lena
no bob-cat nohow . He says it was Joe done sneaked back from would like it Ah reckon.''
Hell! " " But whut did he say, 'Llge?"
" Humph! " sniffed Walter, "he oughter be nervous after what Elijah did not answer until they had left the lighted store and
he done. Ah reckon Joe come back to dare him to marry Lena, or were strolling down the dark street.
to come out an ' fight . Ah bet he'll be back time and agin, too. '' Ah wuz loadin' a wagon wid scantlin' right near the saw when
Know what Ah think? Joe wuz a braver man than Spunk." Spunk fell on the carriage but 'fore Ah could git to him the saw got
There was a general shout of derision from the group. him in the body-awful sight. Me an' Skint Miller got him off but
" Thass a fact," went on Walter. "Lookit whut he done; took a it was too late. Anybody could see that. The fustthing he srud wuz:
razor an' went out to fight a man he knowed toted a gun an' wuz 'He pushed me, 'Lige- the dirty hound pushed me in the back! '-
a crack shot, too; 'nother thing Joe wuz skeered of Spunk, skeered He was spittin' blood at ev'ry breath. We laid him on the sawduSt
plumb stiff! But he went jes' the same. It took him a long time to pile with his face to the East so's he could die easy. He he.It mah
get his nerve up. 'Tain't nothin' for Spunk to fight when he ain't han' till the last, Walter, and said: 'It was Joe, 'Lige-the dir~y
skeered of nothin' . Now, Joe's done come back to have it out wid sneak shoved me ... he didn't dare come to mah face · ·,.but Ah ll
the man that's got all he ever had. Y'all know Joe ain't never had git the son-of-a-wood louse soon's Ah get there an' make hell too
nothin' nor wanted nothin' besides Lena. It musta been a h'ant hot for him. . . . Ah felt him shove me ... !' Th~ss how he died, ,,
cause ain' nobody never seen no black bob-cat.'' "If spirits kin fight, there's a powerful tussle ~~~•,
1
oh sor:;:
' ' 'Noth er thing,'' cut in one of the men, '' Spunk wuz cussin' a where ovah Jordan 'cause Ah b'leeve Joe s ready for Spunk
32 Zora: Ntt.le Hur.ton

a:n t sheered an~more- }as .-\.h b 'reeve' Joe pushed •un mahself."
They ht!rl amn:d at the house ~na's lamcntmions ,vere deep
a:td Joud, She had hlk"C! the room with magnolia blossoms that
ga, e off a be.n-y 5\\ a--r. odor The 1.t:epers of the wake tipped about
\vruspeti.ng rn frighte.1t.-d 10ne~. faeryone in t~e Village \\·as there, Magnolia
t."''ven o-fri Jtif Kanty ~ Joe':. father. \~ ho a few hours before would
fa.m~ been afrairl tu come ,., ithin ten feet of him, stood leering
trfrunp.h.ant.h dm,rn UIX)n the fallen giant as if his fingers had been
Flower
the teeth of ;.;~! that I..ud furn lov..
Tfo:.. coo1m.g board conSISted of thrt..'-C sixteen-inch boards on saw
horses a dmgy ~hret \\~ his shroud.
fhc \1. o:m£11 ate- he3.:rnJ3- of the funeral baked meats and won-
lli."i"erl r,;ho, '"uu!d be Lt-na"s next The men whispered coarse
cox: :;:cru=es bE-ttA"'' en guul~ of \.\hiskey. The brook laughed and sang. When it encountered hard places in
its bed, it hurled its water in sparkling dance figur-eS up into the
moonlight.
It sang loude1-, louder; danced faster, fa.-.ter, with a coquettish
splash! at the vegetation on its banks.
At la!l1 it danced boisterously into the bosom of lhe St. John's,
upsetting the whispering hyacinths who shivered and blushed,
drunk with the delight of moon kisses.
The Mighty One tu med peevishty in his be<l and washed the feet
of the Palmetto palm~ ~o violently that they awoke and began
again the gos.sip they had left off when the Wind went ti.> bed. A
palm cannot ~peuk without wfod. The river had startled it also, for
the winds sk-ep on thc: bosom of waters.
The palms mummrcd noisily of seasons and centuries, mating
an<l bir1.h and the transplanting of lifo. Nature knows nothing of
dertth.
The 1·ivcr ~poke to the brook.
"Why, 0 Young Water, do yc,u hurry and hurl yourself so
riorously abour with your chutter and song? You d1sturb my
sleep. "
" &cause, 0 Venerable One." rcpfk<l the brook, 11 Iamy,oung.
The flo\ven. bloom, 1he I recs and wind say beauiiful things to rn~
I here are kNers beneath the orange trees on my hank.s,-·but most.
of all because the moon t>hin\.,:.s upc,n me with a fuH face." ·

33