Unnamed Country People 5

Among the several kinds of crowds described in Intruder in the Dust are the ones composed of 'country people.' That is, people "from the distant circumambient settlements and crossroads stores and isolate farms," who regularly come in to Jefferson to shop and do other kinds of business. The last chapter opens with Chick watching them from the window of his uncle's office: "people black and white" (231), "men and women and children too then and the old people and the babies and the young couples" (230). This is on a Saturday, when "all the Negroes and most of the whites too from the county come in" to town (23) - although not after word gets out about Lucas' arrest. Ordinarily, on Monday some of these country people return to town for "stock-auction day at the sales barns behind the Square" (131); Chick describes this kind of crowd too (made up mostly of men, though some women come too) even though on the Monday in the story they stay away from town.