Andrews's Son, Anders, a Rifle and a Box of Shells

Anders felt he was all alone, and it was better to be non confrontational than to stand up to trouble. He imagined that somehow people were more likely to come for him if they found out he was armed. For to be seen as a threat as dark as he was, was to risk one day being obliterated. A jim that had been almost a white's only jim now often had three or even four dark men present. And the jim was increasingly tense. Men who had known each other for year s now acted like they did not know each other, or worse, disliked each other bore a grudge.