After two hours of standing at the precipice of sleep without falling over into its waters, Oswell pulled his coat and trousers from his cubby, clambered quietly out, grabbed his boots from the floor, dressed himself, and walked through several darkened passenger cars until he arrived in the partially lit dining area in which three n*****s sat hunched defensively over their dripping food.
“We closed,” stated a colored woman who was holding a butter-soaked cob of corn. “We ’ready cleaned up for tomorry breakfast.”
“I’m not here to eat. The light in this car is better than in the others. May I sit?”
“Them tables is ’ready set. Don’t mess them up none.”
“I won’t. Thank you, ma’am.”
Oswell sat down in a cushioned chair and withdrew an envelope from his jacket. He opened it and extracted t
