Retorted

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “Retorted” means to pay or hurl back. Otherwise, it can mean to return an argument or charge. The word was found in a writing piece called “Sweats” by Zora Neale Hurtston, it’s included in the sentence “A god, an’ be dough. You all gimme twenty cents and a slice way, Clarke retorted.” I feel like the second definition as mentioned earlier makes for sense for this context so by using that definition, I can interpret that the context means that he argued his point since he did sound assertive in the sentence.