The women of Abner's
Court were either her devoted followers or her bitter enemies. She
was a leader in most of the feuds that often divided the whole
Court into two warring camps, and in those exceptional cases
when she happened to be neutral she was an ardent peacemaker.
She wore a dark-blue kerchief, which was older than I, and almost
invariably, when there was a crowd of women in the yard, that
kerchief would loom in its center
Growing as I did in that crowded basement room which was the
home of four families, it was inevitable that the secrets of sex
should be revealed to me before I was able fully to appreciate
their meaning. Then, too, the neighborhood was not of the purest
in town. Located a short distance from Abner's Court, midway
between it and the barracks, was a lane of ill repute, usually full
of soldiers. If it had an official name I never heard it. It was
generally referred to as "that street," in a subdued voice that was
suggestive either of shame and disgust or of waggish mirth. For a
long time I was under the impression that "That" was simply the
name of the street.
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