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Title: Big lake
A tragedy in two parts
Author: Lynn Riggs
Release Date: May 16, 2023 [eBook #70780]
Language: English
Produced by: Bob Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIG LAKE ***
Transcriber’s Note
Italic text displayed as: _italic_
BIG LAKE
_A Tragedy in
Two Parts_
PLAYS BY
LYNN RIGGS
KNIVES FROM SYRIA. Comedy in 1 act. In _One-Act Plays for Stage and
Study, 3rd Series_. Samuel French.
BIG LAKE. Tragedy in 2 Parts. Samuel French.
SUMP’N LIKE WINGS. Not published.
A LANTERN TO SEE BY. Not published.
[Illustration: HELEN COBURN AS “BETTY”]
BIG LAKE
A Tragedy in Two Parts
_As produced by the American
Laboratory Theater, New York City_
By
LYNN RIGGS
FOREWORD BY
BARRETT H. CLARK
[Illustration: Decoration]
SAMUEL FRENCH
_Incorporated 1898_
T. R. EDWARDS, Managing Director
NEW YORK CITY :: :: MCMXXVII
SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. :: :: :: LONDON
_All Rights Reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY LYNN RIGGS
COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY SAMUEL FRENCH
This play is fully protected by copyright. All acting rights, both
professional and amateur, are reserved in the United States, the
British Empire, including the Dominion of Canada, and all countries
of the Copyright Union, by the owner. Application for the right of
performing this play or of reading it in public should be made to
Samuel French, 25 West 45th Street, New York City.
PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY
QUINN & BODEN COMPANY, INC.
RAHWAY, N. J.
PROGRAM OF THE FIRST PRODUCTION, APRIL 8, 1927
_The American Laboratory Theater (New York) presents_
BIG LAKE
BY LYNN RIGGS
_Staged by George Auerbach_
_Betty_ HELEN COBURN
_Lloyd_ FRANK BURK
_Elly_ STELLA ADLER
_Butch_ GROVER BURGESS
_Sheriff_ LOUIS V. QUINCE
_Plank_ JOHN S. CLARKE, JR.
_Joe_ FRANCIS FERGUSSON
_Miss Meredith_ FRANCES WILLIAMS
_Bud Bickel_ SAM HARTMAN
_The Davis Boy_ HAROLD HECHT
_Country School Boys and Girls_
MESSRS. KRADOSKA, HAYES, PARSONS, FIELDING,
WILLIAMS, CURTIS.
MISSES SCHMIDT, SEYMOUR, TITSWORTH, JOHNSON,
SQUIRE, SMITH.
Part 1—The Woods
Scene 1—The Woods
Scene 2—The Cabin
_Intermission_
Part 2—The Lake
Scene 1—A Cleared Place
Scene 2—The Lake
The action takes place in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, in the
year 1906
_Settings designed by_ LEWIS BARRINGTON
_Costumes designed by_ GERTRUDE BROWS
_Sets and costumes executed by the Laboratory Theater Workshop
Property Man_ MORTON BROWN
The Director and Actors are deeply grateful to Mme. Maria Ouspenskaya
for the invaluable assistance she gave in the preparation of this
production.
FOREWORD
This play came to us late in the season of 1926-1927. Produced by
George Auerbach at the American Laboratory Theater in New York, it
attracted some attention during April and May, and survived without
serious damage the ordeal of criticism by several of the front-line
reviewers. With two or three exceptions, however, the notices showed
little understanding of what Mr. Riggs was trying to do.
That is one reason why I am presuming to add these few words to the
dramatist’s text. _Big Lake_ is that rarest of things, a poetic drama
that is at once poetry and drama. To one of his later plays Mr. Riggs
has given the title _Sump’n Like Wings_, and I can think of no words
that so accurately describe what I felt when, over a year ago, I
read the manuscript of _Big Lake_. There is a winged lightness in
the words that the poet puts into the mouths of his young people, an
ecstasy born of the sheer joy of being alive. How poor a thing is the
mere “observation” of a clever playwright beside the deeper, more
incisive and highly intuitive scenes in _Big Lake_!
In calling Mr. Riggs a poet (I refer here not to his formal
verse-making, but to his plays) I am not forgetting that poetry in
the theater is a different thing from the poetry you read in a book:
Mr. Riggs’ plays are stage pieces; the poetry in them is never a
matter of mere words, but an integral part of the speeches uttered
and the gestures made by the characters, directing each scene and
permeating the whole. It lies first in the writer’s conception of a
harmonic entity, and floods it from beginning to end.
Mr. Riggs’ three full-length plays are the work of a young man who
is still close enough to his youth to remember and understand those
fleeting moments of exaltation and depression that constitute the
glory and the tragedy of adolescence. In _Big Lake_, more especially
than in _A Lantern To See By_ and _Sump’n Like Wings_, Mr. Riggs has
been able on occasion to look at the world about him through the
eyes of a child: can you not feel in the second scene of the first
act something of the wonder and terror of the more wildly romantic
stories of the Brothers Grimm?
If this Foreword were a study, I should go on to point out how
Lynn Riggs has taken the folk-material and the idiom of his native
district and skillfully made of them a rich medium of expression,
and explain how, with only the slightest technical manipulation, he
has reproduced the subtle rhythms of everyday speech. Then I should
also have to take him to task for an occasional awkwardness in the
management of his plots. But my purpose here is not to criticize:
it is to point out to you a new American dramatist, whose work is
permeated by an odd and strangely haunting beauty.
BARRETT H. CLARK.
_August, 1927._
PART ONE
CHARACTERS
BETTY
LLOYD
“BUTCH” ADAMS
ELLY
SHERIFF
JOE }
PLANK } _deputies_
MISS MEREDITH
BUD BICKEL
THE DAVIS BOY
COUNTRY-SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS
BIG LAKE
THE WOODS
SCENE 1
(_The woods adjoining the Big Lake, near Verdigree Switch, Indian
Territory, 1906. It is Spring. Vines creep on the trees just
putting out their green. The ground is soft with dead leaves,
among which grow the earliest flowers. A fallen log lies in a
tangle of last year’s briars. It is the grayness of morning. Color
is beginning to show in the East, where the lake lies, and as
the light grows the lake shines through the leaves._ LLOYD _and_
BETTY _come from the left, softly over the matted earth. They are
very young._ LLOYD _is tall, dark; he has black hair; his face is
sensitive; he wears rough shoes, dark trousers, and a pale blue
shirt._ BETTY’S _hair is yellow. She has let it down. It frames her
white, delicate face. Her dress is a coarse dark slip._)
LLOYD
It’s been s’ gray.
BETTY
It’s gettin’ lighter.
LLOYD
It’s been s’ gray. But now it’s gettin’ lighter and lighter—even to
clear back here in the woods.
BETTY (_softly_)
I c’n feel the dawn.
LLOYD
_I_ c’n feel the dawn. I c’n _see_ the dawn! Look! Through the trees!
Whur the lake’s at! The Big Lake’s a-shinin’ like a tub full o’
soap-suds! I’m glad we come. Ain’t you, Betty?
BETTY
I’m glad we come early.
LLOYD
I’m glad we come. (_They stand a moment breathless at the beauty
before them._) Le’s set down. (_They sit at left._) The horse is tied
up. Grub’s safe in the buggy. Miss Meredith ’n’ the rest of ’em won’t
be here fer a long time yit.
BETTY
They’ll be here, though.
LLOYD
Yeow, but it’ll be a long time. Won’t Miss Meredith be supprised to
find us here ahead of everbody? It was _my_ idee. She’ll think we’re
purty smart.
BETTY
How many’s comin’?
LLOYD
The whole class, I guess—’cept the Davis boy. It’ll be a nice day
to picnic, won’t it? (_He rises and goes away from her and looks
out toward the Lake. Softly, then more and more ecstatic, like a
prayer_—) I alwys liked the Big Lake. I’ve come here many’s the
time with Paw, when we’d went out to git some cattle. Miles and
miles through the bilin’ heat, tongue clawin’ at yer mouth—a-eatin’
dust, mebbe we’d go. Dust bilin’ up and blindin’ you—a-gettin’ in
yer mouth and eyes till you thought you couldn’t stand it. An’ then
the dark woods here—briars a-clawin’ at yer legs and hands, rattlers
a-hidin’ under the leaves mebbe, logs t’ make yer horses jump, and
branches ye’d have t’ dodge. Then the lake—flowin’ wide out—plum over
almost out o’ sight—a-settin’ thar in the sun like sump’n you never
hoped t’ see! I’d alwys want t’ git off my horse and go down to the
edge of it—and tech it—and look at it—a long time. But Paw ud alwys
say, “Set thar a-gawkin’, you kid. We got to git back to the sawmill
’fore 2 o’clock,” or he’d say, “’Tother end o’ the Lake is dried up
purty good, son. We could cross over thar ’stid o’ goin’ round by
the section line.” (_After a moment._) I ain’t never seen it like
this, though. It’s purtier’n I ever seen it. And we c’n look at it
’s long’s we want to. And we c’n go out on it—in a boat—if they is a
boat—
BETTY (_timidly_)
Why don’t you come over here and set down by me?
LLOYD
Why don’t you come over here and look at the lake?
BETTY
I c’n see it good—from here.
LLOYD
Come on over the big log, and you c’n see it better.
BETTY
No. I like it here better.
LLOYD (_puzzled_)
You’re funny. Set over thar then. I like you thar jist as well. You
look purty good no matter whur you’re a-settin’. You _set_ purty
good. I like you settin’ thar with the vine leaves and the tree
leaves behind you. You’ve got purtier and purtier, Betty.
BETTY
Have I? You’re sweet to say it.
LLOYD
Why wouldn’t I say it?
BETTY
No reason not to. I like to hear it.
LLOYD
Words git in the way some. I cain’t think t’ say much.
BETTY
They’s no need t’ say much—
LLOYD
They _is_ need to. Seems t’ me yore comin’ to Verdigree wuz like
you’d come from some place besides down the river. It made me think
of the Bible—sump’n about the angel that come down to roll away the
stone—
BETTY
You wuzn’t dead.
LLOYD
I uz asleep, I wuz. I uz young-asleep. I uz boy-asleep. I’m awake
now. I’m a man. I’ve come to life.
BETTY
You’d think I uz an angel—sproutin’ wings!
LLOYD
You’re better’n an angel—
BETTY
I ain’t!
LLOYD
You air, too, to me. Better’n an angel! I’ll put this flower in yer
hair—
BETTY
No.
LLOYD
’S like a star.
BETTY
No, no. Whur’d you git it at?
LLOYD (_puzzled_)
Why, _here_.
BETTY (_strangely_)
Under the leaves. It growed up through the dead leaves. I don’t like
it—
LLOYD
Why, Betty!
BETTY
I cain’t stand them kind of flowers.
LLOYD
’S jist a flower. Growin’ in the woods.
BETTY
In the dark woods. Lloyd—
LLOYD (_puzzled_)
Whut is it?
BETTY
Lloyd, le’s go away frum here—
LLOYD
Whur’d you want to go to?
BETTY
Out of here, out of these woods! (_Pleading for him to understand._)
Oh, you think I ain’t right. I cain’t expect you to know how I feel.
They’s sump’n—I don’t know what it is— Please! It’s like the woods
wuz waitin’—
LLOYD
Like a animal.
BETTY
To git us. To git us! I’m afeard. They’s things growin’ here—an’
fightin’. They’s things crawlin’ on the ground, under the ground—in
the trees—everwhur! I’m afeard!
LLOYD
_I’m_ afeard!
BETTY
Lloyd!
LLOYD
I’m afeard, too! Le’s go—
BETTY
Whur’ll we go to?
LLOYD
Out on the lake.
BETTY
They’s no boat.
LLOYD
Futher down—they’s a cabin, I know, and a boat—mebbe. Come on—le’s
go to it. (_They start._ LLOYD _stops, shaking off his fear_.) Aw,
listen. Whut’s the matter with us? Runnin’ like rabbits. They ain’t
nuthin’ to be skeered of. We’re jist cold, that’s all. That’s it.
Drivin’ so long ’fore it got light has jist got us chilled to the
bone.
BETTY
I ain’t cold.
LLOYD
Y’air. Cold as ice. Ye’re tremblin’.
BETTY
I’m afeard!
LLOYD
We’ll go the cabin, then. It’s safe thar.
BETTY
And git the boat and go out on the lake?
LLOYD
We’ll git warm first.
BETTY
No! No! Le’s not go to the cabin. Le’s go on the lake.
LLOYD
Why, Betty! I never seen you like this!
BETTY
I never been like this. Come on, to the Lake—
LLOYD (_patiently_)
Now, Betty, to the cabin first. Why, you’re _cold_! They’ll be a
fa’r a-burnin’ thar. I doan know who’s a-livin’ thar, but we’ll go
up and knock, and ask t’ git warm. They’ll be up. Country folks git
up early. And they’ll have a fa’r—a nice roarin’ warm fa’r in the
fa’rplace fer us to git warm at. Won’t you like that?
BETTY
Mebbe—
LLOYD
It’s the funniest kind o’ cabin you ever see. It’s a log cabin. I
been in it a long time ago with Paw. It’s a nice log cabin. An’
they’ll have a fa’r.
BETTY (_reluctantly_)
Well, I’ll go—if you think—
LLOYD
Frum the outside it looks jist like any log cabin. But when you open
the door, and look in—whut do you see? Steps! Three steps a-goin’
down to the dirt floor. It’s part under the ground—
BETTY
Oh! Like it growed up out o’ the ground—?
LLOYD
Yes, jist like that! Like it growed out o’ the ground!
BETTY (_with conviction_)
It growed out o’ the ground. It growed out o’ the same ground the big
woods growed out of! (_She shudders._)
LLOYD
Yeow.
BETTY
Le’s don’t go thar!
LLOYD
Jist long enough to git warm.
BETTY
No, not that long!
LLOYD
And to ask ’em fer the boat—if they got a boat.
BETTY (_desperately_)
Couldn’t we jist take the boat—’thout asking?
LLOYD
Betty! Course we couldn’t!
BETTY
I don’t see why, I don’t see!
LLOYD (_laughs_)
We ain’t thieves.
BETTY
_I’d_ be one.
LLOYD
No, you wouldn’t. Come on.
BETTY
To the Lake?
LLOYD
To the cabin first.
BETTY
Lake!
LLOYD (_firmly_)
No, Betty, cabin! (_They go out, right._)
_Curtain_
THE WOODS
SCENE 2
(_Interior of the cabin. At the back three steps descend from the
planked door to the dirt floor of the cabin. Windows, curtained,
are on either side of the door. They are so high up that only a
tall man can see out. A wide fireplace made of stone rises from
the floor at the right end of the room. In the left corner of the
cabin, a wide double-deck bunk juts out. Crazy quilts cover both
beds. A few chairs, a rough table (set for breakfast at right of
steps) and utensils for cooking at the fireplace—complete the
furnishings. A fire burns in the fireplace; coffee bubbles on a
little iron stand on the hearth. It is dark and gloomy; no direct
sunlight has ever reached this secret place._
ELLY, _a tall, dark woman of thirty-five, stands tensely by the
corner of the bunk. Her face, even in her excitement, is brooding
and restrained. Her thick black hair, parted in the middle, is
done up in a knob at the back of her head. She is wearing a faded,
predominantly purple, plaid dress—full-sleeved, full-skirted,
pulled in at the waist. After a moment she goes swiftly to the
fireplace, pokes the fire, then goes across to the window nearest
the bunk, and with extraordinary agility and grace steps upon a
chair under the window and looks out. She gets down, goes slowly
toward the fireplace. In the center of the room she halts, wheels
about and faces the door. It opens. A man comes in quickly, and
closes the door as if shutting something out. He turns, facing her
from the top of the steps. He is of medium height, brutal, crafty.
His clothes are nondescript and unclean. His hair slants into his
eyes._)
ELLY
Butch! Thank God! I didn’t see ya— (_She makes a step toward him._)
BUTCH (_quickly_)
Shet up!
ELLY
Butch, w’at is it?
BUTCH (_in a hoarse whisper_)
Shet up, I tell you! Squawkin’ like a hen. You wanta git me killed?
(_In a low voice._) They follered me.
ELLY
Tell me—w’at is it—?
BUTCH
I’ll show ’em! They won’t git me. I’ve got away frum better men ’n
they are. They won’t git me alive—the lousy bums! I’d like to see
’em! They follered me. I been at the Switch. An’ when I started
back I seen three men a-follerin’. They’ll come here. (_He stops
thoughtfully._) They ain’t got nuthin’ on me. They cain’t prove
nuthin’— (_In a hard, matter-of-fact voice._) They don’t _know_ it’s
me done it. They only got somebody’s word. They don’t know it, and
they cain’t prove it. No one saw me—
ELLY (_with foreboding_)
Butch, I knowed this ud come. I knowed it. You’ll git sent up. And it
ain’t right. You ain’t done nuthin’ wrong. It’s jist a law. W’at the
hell’s a law? W’at’s it good fer? Why’n’t it agin the law everwhur
else to sell whiskey? Them men whur they have their corner saloons
all polished up—a-makin’ it criminal to sell a man a drink—w’at’s
right about it? (_With scorn._) Oh, yes! I know. Pertectin’ the
Indians! They don’t want the Indians to git all lit up like _they_ do
all the time—ever day, ever night, regular. (_With disgust._) Hell!
Indians! I ain’t saw two Indians since I come to Indian Territory.
Now they’ll git you. I’ve knowed it. They’ll stick you fer sellin’
the stuff to the poor fools that’s too skeered, and too weak, and too
damn big a cowards to go up to Kansas City or Joplin and bring in
their own whiskey, like a man. They’ll send you to jail—the only man
that’s got guts enough to do it. You’ll git ten year or more. W’at’ll
I git? I’ll git off—that’s w’at I’ll git. I’ll git left here to rot!
BUTCH
Shet up! (_He goes up the steps and listens intently. Then he comes
down._) Let up on yer jail stuff. You’ll have me skeered. And I got
to keep my senses. Listen t’ me. I been follered before. The last
bunch o’ guys laid in wait close to the Holler whur the whiskey’s at.
Did that stop me frum gettin’ the whiskey and gettin’ out with it?
Did that stop me frum sellin’ it regler to Joe Hurd’s Curio Store
at Claremont? I been follered lots o’ times and you know it. I been
follered lots o’ times ’count o’ selling whiskey. It ain’t nuthin’
new to me. But this time I’m follered and it ain’t on the ’count o’
whiskey! They’s sump’n else....
ELLY
Butch! You got to tell me! W’at is it, w’at’ve you done?
BUTCH
Easy, easy!
ELLY
You wuz skeered! I never see you like that before. You’ve done
sump’n. Tell me w’at it is. W’at’ve you done?
BUTCH
Lay off, take it easy....
ELLY
Butch....
BUTCH
Christ’s sake! You’re a mad womern! Keep yer shirt on! Mebbe I ain’t
done _nuthin’_. Mebbe I jist been foolin’ myself. Mebbe—for all I
know, they ain’t nuthin’ to git excited about.
ELLY (_suddenly_)
Butch! You got blood on yer coat! (_She stands a moment, terrified._)
You’re hurt! Why’n’t you tell me? Quick, lemme fix it—I didn’t know.
BUTCH
I ain’t hurt.
ELLY
You’re bleedin’.
BUTCH
It ain’t my blood. (ELLY _draws back, her hand at her face,
confused_.) I killed a man.
ELLY (_sickened_)
Oh! (_With terrible conviction._) You’ll hang fer it, Butch Adams!
Why’d you go and do it? Who wuz it?
BUTCH (_begins in a hard voice, but becomes more and more excited_.)
Jim Dory. He told on me fer sellin’ whiskey. He told the federal
officers at Tulsy. I killed him. Stuck a knife in him and turned
it around. That’s why I went out at midnight ... to lay fer him. I
knowed he’d go to the play-party over t’ Binghams. I laid fer him in
the big woods close to the sawmill here. He’d go that a-way home, I
figgered. About three o’clock this mornin’ he come along in a buggy
with one horse to it. I jumped out and grabbed the bridle. He lep’
out on me with a knife. I got a-hold of it. I stuck it through his
ribs and turned it around. Then I got skeered. They might think I
done it ... findin’ him so close t’ here. It wouldn’t do to find him
so close. I picked him up and dumped him in the buggy and give the
horse a crack with a stick. He started off in a run down the road.
But not afore I’d saw Jim kinda raise up one of his hands to his
face! He wuzn’t dead. I hadn’t made shore! He wuzn’t dead, and he’d
tell on me! He’d tell some one ’fore he died, and I’d hang fer it!
I thought mebbe I could ketch up and finish the job. But the horse
run like mad, crashin’ through the bushes but keepin’ purty close to
the road. I run and run after him—almost to the Switch. Then I seen
some one come out of the store whur a light was burnin’, and grab
the horse’s bridle. I seen him take Jim up and carry him in and shet
the door. I run away then. I didn’t know if he wuz dead or not. If
he wuzn’t, he’d tell on me! I wuz crazy—not knowin’ if he wuz dead
or not. I come on to the woods. I couldn’t stand it not knowin’: I
started back. When I got to the edge of the woods I seen three men
comin’ up the road. I knowed one of ’em! It wuz the Shuruff. They
musta wired to Claremont fer him. Jim ’d _told_ on me! Elly! Whut’ll
I do? They’ll git me! (ELLY _goes over to the fireplace, in her
absorbed way, without speaking, and pours some water in a pan_.)
Elly! They’ll be here any minute! Fer God’s sake, say sump’n!
ELLY
Yer breakfast’s ready.
BUTCH
Elly!...
ELLY
Take off yer coat. (_He does, like one in a daze._) Throw it under
the bunk. (_He does so._) Wash yer hands. (_He moves toward the pan
slowly and begins to wash his hands. She has gone to the table with
the coffee pot and poured some coffee. He finishes washing and dries
his hands on a towel._) Set down. (_He moves toward the table._)
BUTCH
But, Elly....
ELLY (_imperiously_)
Set down! And eat yer breakfast,—Mister Murderer! (_He sits._ ELLY
_leans over the table_.) Eat a plenty. Drink—here’s coffee. Salt
pork, gravy, potaters—eat ’em! Enjoy yerself!
BUTCH (_half rising_)
Whut’re you meanin’! I hadn’t oughta done it? Whut’d you want me to
do ... let him git away with it, let that dirty little coward sneak
off to Tulsy and sick the officers onto me like bloodhounds ’n do
nuthin’ about it? That ain’t my way! If some one does me dirt he gets
his, you c’n count on it! I ain’t no Christian: I’m a man!
ELLY (_with infinite scorn_)
_You_—
BUTCH
I’m a man. Let up!
ELLY (_goes away from him. Bitterly._...)
You’re lower’n I thought you wuz. I never thought t’ be livin’ with a
murderer. (_He comes toward her._) Oh, I ain’t so good. I know. You
don’t have t’ tell me. But I never thought t’ come t’ this. I thought
I knowed w’at I uz gettin’ into when I went away with you. I knowed
you uz a bootlegger. I didn’t keer. It’s clean. It’s right. But
killin’ ... I stop at killin’! Why’d you go and do it? Why _did_ you?
Now they’ll come and take you. They’ll take you away from me!
BUTCH
Christ’s sake, shet up! They’d a-took me away fer bootleggin’.
ELLY
No, they wouldn’ta! They couldn’t ’a’ proved it. But now they’ll take
you. They’ll hang you fer murder. (_She clings to him._) No, I won’t
let ’em! They _cain’t_ take you! I love you—I cain’t help it. ’N I
won’t let ’em take you away frum me! I won’t let em! I’ll find a
way! I will! They ain’t proved you done it ... you said no one seen
you....
BUTCH
They got Jim’s word, I tell you....
ELLY (_calmer_)
He’s dead. He cain’t talk now.
BUTCH
Sh—! I heerd sump’n! (_Excitedly—drawing his pistol._) They won’t git
me!...
ELLY
Gimme that gun!
BUTCH
... Not’s long’s I’m alive!
ELLY
Butch! Give it t’ me! I’m all right now. I ain’t never advised you
wrong. I’ll git you outa this! Listen t’ me: you ain’t been outa the
house, y’hear—not since yistiddy. Eat yer breakfast! (_She goes to
the window, steps on the chair, and looks out._) It’s only a man an’
womern....
BUTCH
It’s a _blind_!
ELLY
No, no! (_Coming down._) It’s jist a boy and girl—a couple o’ kids.
BUTCH
Keep ’em out!
ELLY
No! We’ll let ’em _in_! It’s Providence!
BUTCH
It’s a blind, I tell you....
ELLY
It’s luck! It’s our luck. Mebbe we c’n use ’em....
BUTCH
How?
ELLY
Some way. I doan know yit. Gimme the gun. (_He hands it to her,
reluctantly._) Keep yer head. These two’ll come in. They’ll keep you
frum hangin’, Butch Adams! (_She goes swiftly to the bunks, and hides
the pistol under the quilts._ BUTCH _goes back to the table and sits.
There is a moment of intense silence. Then a knock._) Come in!
(LLOYD _and_ BETTY _come in. They look very slight, very delicate,
in this somber place._)
LLOYD (_awkwardly_)
How’d do?
ELLY
Howdy.
LLOYD
You got a fa’r we could git warm at?
ELLY
Over thar.
LLOYD
If it ud bother you— If we’d be in yer way.
ELLY
It won’t bother me. Nuthin’ gits in my way. You’re welcome. Come in,
an’ git warm if you want to. (_They come down the steps slowly._ ELLY
_turns to the window_.) I’ll git you a cheer.
(LLOYD _and_ BETTY _turn, and are about to go to the fireplace
when_ BUTCH _rises from the table where he has been sitting. They
see him for the first time and stop in alarm._)
ELLY (_quickly_)
Butch, bring a cheer up. (_He picks up a chair and sets it in front
of the fireplace._ LLOYD _and_ BETTY _watch him anxiously. He goes
across to the bunks and sits down._ ELLY _crosses over with another
chair._) Here’s another cheer. Set down. (_They go over slowly and
sit._) The fa’r’s goin’ strong. Mebbe you’d like a cup of hot coffee?
LLOYD
Would you, Betty? (_She shakes her head._) No, ma’am. Thank you.
ELLY
I guess you’ve had yer breakfast.
LLOYD
No’m, we ain’t yit. We’re gonna have it ’s soon’s Miss Meredith comes.
ELLY
Who’s Miss Meredith?
LLOYD
Our teacher.
ELLY
Oh! Over t’ the Switch.
LLOYD
Yes’m. It’s a picnic breakfast here in the woods—fer the whole class.
ELLY
Oh! (_After a moment._) You’ve come awful early.
LLOYD
Nobody’s come yit—but us. We come early.
ELLY
How’d you happen to do that?
LLOYD (_hesitating_)
Why, we—we jist thought we’d come early. We drove over from the
Switch. Horse and buggy’s up here a ways—not fur.
ELLY
Oh! (_She looks from one to the other. Then to_ BETTY.) Air you
gittin’ warm, Miss?
BETTY (_gratefully_)
Yes’m. I wuz cold.
LLOYD
She wuz tremblin’.
ELLY
You’d oughta wear more clothes when you go out s’ early.
BETTY
Yes’m.
ELLY
Yer Maw ud oughta told you.
BETTY
Maw’s dead.
ELLY
Yer Paw ud oughta told you, then.
BETTY
He’s asleep. (_The three smile at this._ LLOYD _and_ BETTY _begin to
feel more at ease_.) This is the first time I been out s’ early. I
didn’t know it wuz cold. Now I know. ’Fore it gits sun-up it’s li’ble
to be. Even after sun-up it’s apt to be cold here in the woods, ain’t
it?
BUTCH (_suddenly_)
Elly! Ain’t you got a coat you could let her borry?
ELLY (_surprised_)
Why, yes, I got a coat. (_To_ BETTY.) I’ll lend you one.
BETTY
No’m, you mustn’t. I’m obliged to you, but I doan need it.
ELLY
You shore?
BETTY
Yes’m.
(BUTCH’S _interruption causes a constrained silence_. ELLY _goes
away toward the bunks thoughtfully_. BETTY, _uneasy, looks at_
LLOYD. _Then_ BUTCH _rises, crosses the room, takes the poker and
stirs the fire. He goes back to the little table and sits down._
LLOYD _rises, makes a step toward_ ELLY.)
Mebbe we better go now—
BUTCH (_loudly_)
Set down! (_He begins eating his breakfast._)
ELLY (_quickly_)
He ain’t had his breakfast. Don’t mind him.
LLOYD
We better go.
ELLY
He don’t mean nuthin’.
LLOYD (_uneasy_)
Well, we’ll stay a minute or two. (_He goes back and sits down._)
ELLY (_as if nothing had happened_)
Must be fun to come a-picnickin’ in the woods.
LLOYD
I doan know. I ain’t never been.
ELLY
I ain’t been since I uz yore age. _Why_ ain’t you been?
LLOYD
I’ve always worked, helped my Dad drive cattle—till now. I’m in
school.
ELLY
And ain’t never been to school before?
LLOYD
No, ma’am.
ELLY
And ain’t never went on picnics?
LLOYD
Not till now.
ELLY
I used to go all the time when I uz yore age. In Kansas City. Woods
wuzn’t fur away. Used to go—a whole crowd of us—ever Sunday. Set
on the ground ... real ground, ’stid o’ pavement ... with grass
a-growin’ out of it. First I’d ever saw. We thought it wuz fine.
You’ve missed a lot.
LLOYD
Yes’m. I guess so. But I’ve had fun. I been out with Paw a
lot—drivin’ cattle. He buys ’em up differnt places—Verdigree, Foyil,
Sageeyah, even ’s fur away’s Pryor Crick. Nen we saddle up our
horses’n go out ’n drive ’em in to ship to the market at St. Louis.
ELLY
W’at’s fun about drivin’ cattle? Sounds like work t’ me.
LLOYD
Well, it’s work. And it’s fun, too.
ELLY
In winter, looks like you’d freeze yer ears off....
LLOYD
We don’t drive ’em much in winter.
ELLY
Well, in the summer then, ’n the spring: I doan see w’at’s fun about
the scorchin’ heat ’n the dust ’n the hot wind. I’d wanta be in out
of it. I’d wanta be under a roof whur the sun didn’t hit me....
LLOYD
Sun’s bad. Dust’s bad, too. Wind ain’t so good. But they’s sump’n
else....
ELLY
Yeow? W’at is it?
LLOYD (_going across to her_)
I doan know ... it’s kinda crazy....
ELLY
I had a crazy brother.
LLOYD (_smiling_)
Well, it ain’t as bad as that.
ELLY
My brother wuzn’t bad. Jist wuzn’t right. He used to run out in the
woods here like he uz wild. He lived here with us. He done queer
things.
LLOYD
This is queer too. You’ll laugh. You see, when Paw and me goes out t’
drive cattle, some time or other we pass by the Big Lake.
ELLY (_strangely_)
The Lake?
LLOYD
Yes’m. Sometimes it’s early ... when we first start out frum the
Switch. Sometimes it’s the middle of the day—when we’ve got back frum
Grand River. Sometimes it’s night. But we alwys pass by it—some time
or other.
ELLY
I doan see w’at’s fun about it. I been livin’ here three year. I c’n
see the Lake any time. They’s no fun to that.
LLOYD
I cain’t explain it very well. It’s nice—nice t’ see it. ’N no matter
whur you’re at, whut time o’ day it is, it’s nice to know the Lake’s
thar. ’N it’s nice to know ’at some time mebbe you’ll git a chance to
go out on it. I ain’t never been. I alwys want to. (_Smiling._) Kinda
crazy, ain’t it?
ELLY (_thoughtfully_)
Yes.
LLOYD
I told you it wuz.
ELLY (_slowly_)
You’re not the only one.
LLOYD
The only one whut?
ELLY
Crazy. They’s others. I’ve saw ’em. Do you ever read the newspapers?
LLOYD
Why, no’m—I—
ELLY
Cain’t read?
LLOYD
Well, not much. But I’m gonna learn better.
ELLY
How long you lived at the Switch?
LLOYD
Alwys lived thar.
ELLY
Then you musta heerd of people gettin’ drownded in the Lake?
LLOYD
Yes’m.
ELLY
Crazy. Why’d they go on it?
LLOYD
’Tain’t the Lake’s fault. It’s their’n.
ELLY
Yeow. Fer goin’ out on it.
LLOYD
No. Fer keerlessness. Some of ’em fall in. Some of ’em turn the boat
over. Sometimes the boat leaks....
ELLY
Yeow. But if they didn’t try to go out on the Lake, the boat wouldn’t
leak, the boat wouldn’t turn over, ’n they wouldn’t fall in. It’s
their fault fer goin’!
LLOYD
But people will go out on it. People want to. It ain’t wrong.
ELLY
No. ’Tain’t wrong. ’N people will do it. That’s the trouble: they
will do it. ’N do you know who it is does it? D’you know who it is
that’s alwys gettin’ drownded in the Lake? People like you—young
people—like yerselves—picnickin’! My brother—he got drownded out
thar—a month back. We never did find him.
(BUTCH _has risen to put a log on the fire_. BETTY _shrinks away
from him as he goes near her_.)
BUTCH
Warm now?
BETTY
Yes, sir. (LLOYD _goes over quickly, anxiously_.) We better go,
Lloyd. I’m warm. I’m plenty warm.
LLOYD
Well, we’ll go then. (_To_ BUTCH.) Thank you, Mister— Thank you fer
the fa’r. (_He turns toward_ ELLY.) I wuz goin’ t’ ask you if we
could borry yer boat. I doan know now if I want to....
BETTY (_quickly, nervously ... to_ ELLY)
You got a boat, ain’t you?
ELLY
Yes.
BETTY
Let us borry it ... awhile? Please! Let us borry it!
LLOYD (_to_ BETTY)
You still wanta go on the lake?
BETTY
Yes. I do. (_To_ ELLY.) Please. Cain’t we take it fer a while?
ELLY
I doan know—I ain’t so shore....
BUTCH (_suddenly_)
Borry it! Borry it all you want to! Here’s the key. (LLOYD _takes
it_.) Bring it back when you git ready. Oars is over thar by the
door.
LLOYD
Thank you. (_To_ ELLY.) Thanks fer the f’ar. (LLOYD _and_ BETTY _go
toward the steps. He picks up the oars. They go up the steps._ LLOYD
_turns to_ ELLY.) The oars seem to be good. The boat—don’t leak, does
it?
ELLY
No, it don’t leak.
LLOYD (_smiling_)
Well. I’m keerful. Betty’s keerful. We’ll make out all right, I guess!
(_They go out._ ELLY _looks sharply at_ BUTCH. _He turns back to
the table and sits down. She follows him over._)
ELLY (_sharply_)
Why’d you do it?
BUTCH
Do whut?
ELLY
Give ’em the key. Give ’em the oars.
BUTCH
Why, to git rid of ’em. I didn’t want ’em here. It uz you wanted ’em.
ELLY
You’re lyin’. Why’d you do it?
BUTCH
I told you.
ELLY
That wuzn’t it. You got some reason.
BUTCH
You had a reason fer lettin’ ’em come in, too. You said you did,
anyway. Well, what wuz it?
ELLY
I thought we could use ’em....
BUTCH
Use ’em! How could we use ’em?
ELLY
I guess we cain’t....
BUTCH (_scornfully_)
No, ’course not! You never had no idee of it. You wuz jist talkin’....
ELLY
I did have an idee. I thought—when I seen ’em outside ... they might
be a way of throwin’ the blame onto that boy, someway....
BUTCH (_rising—excited_)
Elly! You thought of blamin’ him with....
ELLY
Yes. ’Fore I _seen_ him, I did. After he come in, I knowed we
couldn’t.
BUTCH
Why not?
ELLY
I wouldn’t have the nerve—to try to throw it onto him. Mebbe it ud
work all right, mebbe it could be done. They’s ways of makin’ fools
outa the law.... Oh, I know, I’ve done it many’s the time ... an’ we
could git suspicion on this boy someway. And he’d hang too—innocent
and all! But I cain’t do it, I wouldn’t think of doin’ it....
BUTCH (_harshly_)
Well, why wouldn’t you?
ELLY (_frightened_)
Butch! Fergit I said it, fergit I ever thought of sich a thing.
BUTCH (_grimly_)
I’m glad you thought of it.
ELLY
W’at’d you mean?
BUTCH
I mean—it’s an idee.... I wouldn’t a-thought of it. I c’n see, I
c’n see a way—you’re a smart womern, Elly.... Wait a minute, lemme
think....
ELLY
No! You cain’t do it. W’at’re you thinkin’ of?
BUTCH
Why not? D’you want me to hang?
ELLY
No.
BUTCH
Shet up, then! The officers’ll come here. Whut’ll I tell ’em ...
whut’ll I say—they’ll come in the door—this boy—he’ll be out on the
lake by that time....
ELLY
Butch! Butch!
BUTCH
Shet up!
ELLY
You cain’t plan to do this! I won’t let you git that boy killed. He’s
too young, he’s too sweet-lookin’....
BUTCH
Ha! Ain’t I young? Ain’t I sweet-lookin’? You’ve said so. ’D you mean
it?
ELLY
I come here—and lived with you.
BUTCH
So’d Lilly. So’d Marge. ’N whut’d they do? Lilly on her death bed
a-damnin’ me—I c’n hear her yit. Marge—she tried to give me up to the
law. I fixed her. Hell! They both come here, ’n lived with me. That
don’t prove nuthin’. You got to prove it some other way. You got to
help me....
ELLY
I’ve helped you—bendin’ over yer f’ar, cookin’ yer victuals, washin’
yer clothes, makin’ the beds you’ve slep’ in. I’ve helped you ...
livin’ in this damp cellar like a mole with no sunshine a-comin’ in
and no moonlight ever. I’ve tended you when you uz sick, I’ve lied
fer you, I’ve buried myself away frum all the decent folks I ever
knowed—here in these dark woods fer three year. Why’d I do it? Why
_did_ I? It’s proof you want, is it? Then look at me, Butch Adams!
_I’m_ proof! Look at me! I uz young when I come here with you three
year ago. I uz young—like that little girl that uz here jist now. I
wuzn’t as purty as her, but I uz young like her. Look at me now!
BUTCH
You’re talkin’. You’re puttin’ words together. Whut good are they
to me? They won’t save my neck frum hangin’. You got to help me. If
you got to talk, tell me whut to do. The Shuruff’ll be comin’ here.
Whut’ll I say to him? They ain’t nuthin’ to say to him, unless you
help me. I got a plan—
ELLY
Not that boy!
BUTCH
You got to help me. They don’t keer who they hang in this country.
One man’s as good as another fer hangin’. _They_ don’t keer. But _I_
do! I keer fer hangin’. It’s got to be some one else.
ELLY
Not that boy!
BUTCH
That _boy_! It’s got to be him! It’s got to be him killed Jim Dory—
ELLY
They’ll never b’lieve he done it.
BUTCH
They’ll believe it—
ELLY
Jim Dory must’a’ told ’em ’fore he died who done it—
BUTCH
That don’t prove it. My word’s as good as his. Jim might’a’ made a
mistake; in the dark woods he couldn’t see so well ... not even if it
ud been daylight. Mebbe—some one else done it—
ELLY
Not that boy!
BUTCH
That boy, I tell you!
ELLY
No, Butch, no!
BUTCH
Shet up!
ELLY
I cain’t let you. You doan know w’at you’re doin....
BUTCH
Doin’? I’m savin’ my neck, that’s whut I’m doin’!
ELLY
You’re losin’ it. If you git that boy hung, you’re hangin’ yerself!
BUTCH
You’d tell on me! Damn you, I’d oughta kill you!
ELLY
Kill me then! Coward! Don’t you know if I done w’at’s right, I’d tell
on you now? I’d give you up to the law fer the brute you are, an’ let
you hang as you’d oughta hang! Why don’t I? (_Bitterly._) Yes, why
don’t I? ’Cause I’m a fool, that’s why! I’m like all the women in the
world that’s ever lived: I ain’t good, I ain’t decent, I ain’t even
honest except to one man! I hate you!
BUTCH
Oh, you do, eh? Well, whut is it you mean, then? If I get that boy
hung, how’ll that be hangin’ myself?
ELLY
Wuzn’t you ever young?
BUTCH
Whut’s that got to do with it?
ELLY (_pleading_)
Wuzn’t you ever jist startin’ life? Wuzn’t you ever innocent and
good, and wantin’ to go out into the world and expectin’ it to be
kind to you?...
BUTCH
No!
[Illustration: STELLA ADLER AS “ELLY”]
ELLY (_softly_)
Then you won’t understand. This boy is that a-way. You cain’t kill a
thing like that. If you killed him, you’d be killin’ w’at uz good in
you once ... if they uz ever anything....
BUTCH
You’re preachin’. Let up! Whut’d you think this is? It’s got to be
the way I say, Elly. If I wanna save my neck, I got to throw the
blame on some one else....
ELLY (_triumphantly_)
Not that boy! I’ll tell you _another_ reason why! If you’d a-looked
at him, you’d know the reason yerself! Anybody, even the Shuruff
a-lookin’ at him would know that that boy couldn’t do nuthin’ wrong,
he couldn’t kill a man....
BUTCH
Elly!
ELLY
He couldn’t even hurt any one’s feelin’s! And _besides_,—his story’s
as good as yourn. They’d know w’at he said wuz the truth! You got
to try some other plan, Butch. You got to try to get away. You got
to sneak out in the woods an’ hide a day or two. I’ll take you grub
t’ eat some way. Then when things blows over more we’ll light out
fer Texas till they fergit all about us. You could hide close to
the old sawmill some’er’s. They’d never think o’ lookin’ there fer
you—so near—so near whur Jim—Hurry up, now! (_She crosses and gets
his gun._) You ain’t got much time. Take yer gun. Don’t use it unless
you have to—promise me! I want you to be safe. (_She offers him the
gun._)
BUTCH (_thoughtfully_)
No. Put the gun back....
ELLY
Butch!
BUTCH
You tuck it away frum me once....
ELLY (_frightened_)
You’re not gonna give yerself up? Butch, no! You’ll be hung!
BUTCH
You said they’d never b’lieve that boy done it, eh?
ELLY
Yes. They won’t. They’ll know he couldn’t.
BUTCH
An’ they’ll b’lieve him, eh? His story’ll be better’n mine, eh?
ELLY
They’ll know it’s the truth.
BUTCH
I b’lieve you.
ELLY
Then why don’t you go—before the Shuruff comes?...
BUTCH
I ain’t goin’!
ELLY
You ain’t givin’ yerself up? Butch, you mustn’t! It’s wrong of
me to say it. You’ve broke the laws, you’ve sold whiskey, you’ve
killed a man—you’d oughta suffer fer it. But you mustn’t! You got to
go—quick—they’s time! I’ll leave you grub ever’ day by the foot-log
that’s been washed up by the Crick. I’ll keep a lookout. When it’s
safe—
BUTCH
I ain’t goin’. I ain’t gonna give myself up, neither. I got a plan.
(_Fiercely._) An’ if you try to bungle it, if you try t’ put yer nose
in, or even open yer mouth, I’ll kill you, d’ you hear! You know I
will, too!
ELLY
W’at’re you gonna do?
BUTCH
Put that gun back. Put it back, I say!
(_She crosses reluctantly, and is putting the gun back in the bunk.
The door is kicked open, viciously. Three men with pistols in their
hands eye them from the high threshold. It is the_ SHERIFF _and his
deputies_.)
SHERIFF (_nervously_)
Two of ’em. Keep yer eye on the womern, Plank. (_To_ BUTCH.) Put
’em up! (_The men come down into the room. The_ SHERIFF _is a
florid-faced man, with a long mustache_.) Search him, Joe. (JOE
_comes over, makes a quick search of_ BUTCH, _and finds nothing_.) No
gun, eh? Make shore, Joe. We doan wanna take no chances.
JOE
They ain’t none, Shuruff.
SHERIFF
All right. Keep yer gun on him. (_To_ BUTCH.) Guess you know whut we
want you fer, Adams. Yer name’s Adams, ain’t it?
JOE
_Butch_ Adams, Shuruff.
SHERIFF
You’ve killed a man.
BUTCH
I doan know whut you’re talkin’ about. Come bustin’ into my house
this a-way. Whut right’ve you got?
SHERIFF
Dry up.
BUTCH
You got a warrant?
SHERIFF
Warrant, hell!
BUTCH
You got no right here. I oughta shoot you down.
SHERIFF (_laughs shortly_)
Shoot! Whut’ll you shoot with? Strikes me as funny you got no
shootin’ iron on you an’ you jist murderin’ a man in cold blood—
BUTCH
I never! I doan know whut you’re talkin’ about—
SHERIFF
We won’t argy with you.
BUTCH
Show me yer warrant.
SHERIFF
They ain’t no warrant.
BUTCH
I’ll have the law on you.
SHERIFF
_I’m_ the law! Le’s go. ’S funny about you havin’ no gun—I doan
understand it—
PLANK (_suddenly—to_ ELLY)
Stand whur you air. Git away from that bunk. Lemme see whut you’re
a-doin’— (_He turns back the cover and finds the pistol._) So that’s
whut you’re up to, eh?
SHERIFF
Whut is it, Plank?
PLANK
She uz reachin’ fer a gun. I thought they uz sump’n funny when we
come in. She seemed t’ be a-bendin’ over like she uz huntin’ sump’n—
SHERIFF (_taking the pistol_)
So that’s it? (_To_ BUTCH.) Didn’t have time t’ git hold of it, did
you? ’S lucky we kicked the door open—
ELLY
He didn’t do it.
BUTCH
I ain’t been outa the house—
ELLY
Don’t you take him! He ain’t done nuthin’!
BUTCH
I ain’t done nuthin’. (_Significantly._) If Jim Dory said my name—
SHERIFF
Jim Dory, eh? Who said anything about Jim Dory? I guess you’ve told
on yerself!
BUTCH
I never!
SHERIFF
You’ve fixed yerself now! Look around, Joe. I’ll watch him. They
oughta be evidence, too.
(JOE _begins his search of the room, over by the bunks. He crosses
to the fireplace._)
JOE
Don’t see nuthin’.
BUTCH
You won’t find nuthin’—
JOE
Here’s a pan! Bloody water, Shuruff!
SHERIFF
Le’s see it—
JOE (_bringing it over_)
He washed his hands.
SHERIFF
You got ’em bloody, did you—puttin’ Jim back in the buggy? Oh, he
told. He had time to git out a word or two afore he died. Well, we
got evidence. We got you now whur we want you—
BUTCH (_slowly_)
Shuruff—I’ll tell you—
SHERIFF
It’s time you told me.
BUTCH
I’ll tell you who done it. My brother—he done it.
ELLY
Butch!
BUTCH
He’s crazy. He runs wild here in the woods. He ain’t right—
SHERIFF (_sarcastically_)
Whut’s this?
BUTCH
He lives with us—my brother— You must’a’ heerd of him.
PLANK
I’ve heerd of a crazy boy here in the woods, Shuruff. But that don’t
prove nuthin’. You hear funny stories about these woods here—
BUTCH
Ask Elly!
SHERIFF
’S this crazy boy live here with you?
ELLY (_after a moment_)
Yes.
SHERIFF
’N’ sleeps here?
ELLY
Yes. Sleeps thar. (_She points to the top bunk._)
SHERIFF (_to_ BUTCH)
He’s yer brother, eh?
BUTCH
Yes. Name’s Adams—too, like mine. I’ll tell you. I cain’t pertect
him. I tried. He went out las’ night. I didn’t know why. He goes
out—roams in the woods—all the time. Lately, he’s got to mumblin’
sump’n—like this: “Woods is too full—woods is too full. People.” I’ve
heerd him, ask Elly.
ELLY
Oh, he did—he said that—“People. Too many people. They’s room in the
lake—they’s room thar—they’s room in the lake. It’s big. It’s deep.”
Oh— (_Buries her face in her hands._)
BUTCH
She liked him. He _uz my brother_. Las’ night he went out. He come
in this mornin’ early. It uz him—it uz _him_ killed Jim Dory. He
told me. Met him in the woods—stuck a knife in him. He washed his
hands—they uz blood on ’em. He throwed his coat under the bunk—they
uz blood on it. He went out again.
SHERIFF (_excitedly_)
Whur is he? Whur’d he go to?
BUTCH
Don’t ask me—
SHERIFF
Tell me—quick, whur is he?
ELLY (_in anguish_)
In the lake—that’s whur he’s at.
SHERIFF
In the lake?
ELLY
Drownded.
BUTCH
No—no! No, he ain’t, Shuruff. He’s _on_ the lake.
ELLY (_agonized_)
Butch!
BUTCH
In a boat.
SHERIFF
We’ll git him. He won’t git away!
BUTCH
You won’t git him—not alive, you won’t. You’ll have t’ be keerful if
you even go near him—he’s got a gun!
SHERIFF
We’ll git him!
BUTCH
He’s crazy. He’ll shoot.
SHERIFF
We’ll shoot _first_!
ELLY
Shuruff! No, no! Don’t do it. Don’t listen t’ him.
BUTCH
Be keerful, Shuruff—
SHERIFF
I ain’t skeered of him—
BUTCH
They’s a girl with him—
SHERIFF
A girl—?
BUTCH
He run onto her som’er’s. Mebbe here in the woods. I doan know whur
she come frum—_a young, purty girl_. (_Meaningly._) He’s got her with
him—out on the lake.
SHERIFF
The bastard!
BUTCH
Be keerful. Don’t shoot _her_, Shuruff.
SHERIFF
Whur’s they a boat?
BUTCH
They ain’t but one. He’s in it—him and the girl.
SHERIFF
We’ll get him frum the bank, then. Joe, you stay here. Watch the
cabin—outside. Don’t let these two get outa yer sight. Plank, you
come with me.
(_The three men go up the steps._ JOE _and_ PLANK _go out_.)
ELLY
Shuruff, you mustn’t do it—they’s a reason—you mustn’t. I’ll tell you—
BUTCH (_quickly_)
He’s my brother, Shuruff. I don’t keer. He’s done wrong. Shoot him
down.
SHERIFF
You’re damn right I will. Like a dog! (_He goes out._)
ELLY (_agonized_)
W’at made you?
BUTCH
You told me yerself—
ELLY
No—
BUTCH
That about yer brother—that put me wise. No one knows he’s been
drownded.
ELLY
Why’d you do it? You could’ve said he got drownded this mornin’.
They’d a-b’lieved it. Why’d you say he wuz on the lake?
BUTCH
I got reasons.
ELLY
W’at air they?
BUTCH (_evilly_)
You musta noticed, Elly—a girl wuz here with that boy. They’d come
here together—
ELLY
W’at of it?
BUTCH
The horse and buggy’s up here a ways. She’s young, she’s purty— They
drove here together. She’ll need some one to drive her home—through
the woods—
ELLY
Ugh! You beast!
BUTCH
(_He goes toward the steps._) Mebbe I am one. Mebbe I am a beast. And
this place we’re livin’ in—whut’s it? It’s the woods, Elly. It’s the
dark woods. (_He goes up the steps._)
ELLY
Butch! (_She hurries after him._)
_Curtain_
PART TWO
THE LAKE
SCENE 1
(_A cleared place on the bank of the lake. At the back, beyond a
slight mound, the lake begins. Willow trees droop into the water.
Gold sunshine touches the lake, plays over an old boat tied under
a tree. Voices—excited, boisterous, rough—shatter the quiet. From
the left the picnic party enters, singly, in groups of three,
in pairs—a dozen or more people. Tall farm boys, red-handed,
red-faced, dressed in battered overalls, clumping shoes, ragged
shirts; short, round farm girls, in unbecoming calicos and
ginghams, with bows in their hair. Some of the boys carry boxes of
food._)
BOYS AND GIRLS
I cain’t carry this no fu’ther.
Whur’s the f’ar go?
Fu’ther down, I reckon.
Over thar’s a good place.
She’s a-gettin’ her sewin’ done now, the crazy fool, an’ the Fair six
months off!
Aw, she cain’t sew a-tall.
Guess she aims t’ git married.
Married? Huh! Wouldn’t no one have _her_!
Would too have me! Lem Sickles ud have me.
He’d _have_ you, all right, ’f you’d give him a chanst!
BUD BICKEL (_loudly_)
Le’s play, le’s stop a minute!
BOYS AND GIRLS
Hey, Miss Meredith!
Shet up yer yellin’! Miss Meredith’ll take yer head off.
Whut if I call her Jessie?
You better hadn’t! Arclo went ’n’ called her Jessie, ’n’ you orter
_seen_ her! She slapped him—!
BOYS AND GIRLS (_protesting_)
I’m hungry!
Aw, c’m’on ’n’ do whut Bud says!
Miss Meredith won’t let us, I bet.
Fraidy cat! Shootin’ on it, Clem, quit steppin’ on my feet, you crazy!
Le’s play! Keep yer feet in yer pocket!
BUD
Le’s play “Little Brown Jug.”
BOYS AND GIRLS
I’m hungry!
Well, who keers if you air? _Be_ hungry! So’re we.
Who’s gonna cook the meat? Who’s got the meat? Whur is the meat
anyhow? It’s bacon, ain’t it?
Shore, it’s bacon. (_Singing._) “Sow belly bacon ’n’ bean soup!”
Le’s play “Happy is the Miller Boy.” I’ll be it.
BUD
Aw, le’s play “Ole Joe Clark.” C’m’on! Irey! Git _her_! Git Hildie
fer a pardner. Well, you’re it, then. Irey’s it! Everbody got a
pardner?
BOYS AND GIRLS
Wait a minute!
Go ahead. You start it, Bud. “Ole Joe Clark”—
(_They begin to play, singing the song as they “do si do,”
promenade, etc._)
“Ole Joe Clark’s dead an’ gone,
I hope he’s doin’ well.
He made me wear the ball and chain
Till my ankles swelled.
“Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark,
Rock, rock, I’m gone,
Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark,
Good-by, Lucy Lawn.
“I wouldn’t marry a yellow gal,
Tell you the reason why—
Cross-eyed tears run down her back
When she starts to cry.
“Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark” (_etc._)
BUD (_alone—loudly_)
“I wouldn’t marry a yellow gal,
Tell you the reason why—
Her neck’s so long an’ stringy,
I’m ’fraid she’d never die.”
BOYS AND GIRLS (_joining in the chorus_)
“Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark” (_etc._)
(MISS MEREDITH _enters at left. She is sharp and prim. Some of the
boys shout to her, while the chorus goes on_:) C’m’on, Miss Meredith,
’n’ play.
MISS MEREDITH
No, I won’t play.
A BOY
It’s fun.
MISS MEREDITH
It’s time to eat. Hurry and finish.
BUD (_alone—loudly_)
“I wouldn’t marry a yellow gal,
Tell you the reason why—
She’d blow her nose in yellow corn-bread
An’ call it punkin’ pie!”
BOYS AND GIRLS
“Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark—”
MISS MEREDITH (_sharply_)
Quit it! Quit it! (_The chorus stops._) That’s no way to act! Those
verses are not very nice, Bud Bickel.
BUD
Aw, whut’s the matter with ’em?
MISS MEREDITH
Never mind, you’re not to sing them. They’re bad taste.
BUD
Ha! Bad taste? Verses don’t _taste_, Miss Meredith. They ain’t no
taste to ’em, ma’am. ’N’ if they is, they all taste alike!
MISS MEREDITH
Not another word out of you, Bud Bickel! It’s time to be cooking the
breakfast, anyway. You can play afterwards.
BUD
Aw, let us play one more!
BOYS AND GIRLS
One more ’fore we go—
He didn’t mean nuthin’.
It’s still early. Betty and Lloyd ain’t here yit.
Betty and Lloyd ain’t come.
It’s time t’ eat, anytime.
Gosh, she tole him—
Please, Miss Meredith—?
MISS MEREDITH
Oh, very well. You may play “Drop the Handkerchief.”
A BOY
Aw, that ain’t a play-party game.
MISS MEREDITH
This is not a play-party.
BUD
Le’s play “Straight Across the Hall.” That’s a _game_. It ain’t got
no verses. C’m’on. Miss Meredith, you be my pardner. C’m’on!
MISS MEREDITH
I don’t play.
BUD
I’ll teach you how. ’S easy’s fallin’ off a log.
MISS MEREDITH
No.
BUD
Please, jist onct! Then we’ll go, ’n’ make a f’ar, and git breakfast!
MISS MEREDITH
Just once, then.
BUD (_leading her over_)
Miss Meredith’s gonna play.
BOYS AND GIRLS
Gee!
Hey, it’s a good game!
You won’t mind it s’ much, ma’am.
’F anybody steps on you jist kick ’em, Miss Meredith! That’s the way
a lady do. (_They form a circle, and begin to sing and play._)
“Straight across the hall to the opposite lady,
Swing her by the right hand,
Swing yer pardner by the left,
An’ promenade the girl behind you.
“Oh, that girl, that purty little girl,
The girl I left behind me,
I weeped an’ cried t’ the day I died
Fer the girl I left behind me.”
MISS MEREDITH (_suddenly_)
Stop it!
BUD
Whut’s the matter?
MISS MEREDITH
Stop it, Bud Bickel! (_She crosses over right, angrily._) We won’t
play any more.
BUD (_following her over_)
Whut is it, whut’ve I done?
MISS MEREDITH
You’re swinging the Waist Swing, Bud Bickel!
BUD
Well, o’ course!
MISS MEREDITH
It’s wrong. It’s wicked. I’m ashamed of you. I’m surprised at you.
BUD
Why, ma’am, I do that all the time. I swing all the girls the Waist
Swing.
MISS MEREDITH
The idea! Don’t you know it’s wrong?
BUD
No’m.
MISS MEREDITH
It is. Don’t you ever do it again, you hear me? And don’t you girls
ever let me catch you letting a boy swing you by the waist instead of
by the arms. Come on, now! We won’t wait any longer.
A BOY
But Lloyd and Betty ain’t here yit—
MISS MEREDITH
We’ll not wait, I say! Hurry up now! (_She goes out._)
BOYS AND GIRLS
She’s on her high horse!
Aw, it’s too early yit to eat. Sun’s jist riz—
Hey, she tole it to you, Bud!
Ain’t you a nice sight—a-swingin’ the girls—
BUD
Shet up!
A BOY
You he-devil you, Bud Bickel! You waist-swingin’ son of a gun! Come
on ’n’ swing some meat over the f’ar ’n’ see how you like that!
(_They all go out, laughing._)
(_After a moment_, LLOYD _and_ BETTY _enter from the left_. BETTY
_goes hurriedly toward the boat and is about to get in_. LLOYD
_stops_.)
LLOYD
Betty— (_She turns._) Betty, they jist went. I guess they’re ready t’
eat, now—
BETTY (_shaken_)
I don’t keer—
LLOYD
Aw, you mustn’t be excited about nuthin’—
BETTY
I ain’t excited.
LLOYD
Yes, you air, too. I c’n tell the way you act. You see—they wuzn’t
nuthin’—
BETTY
No—
LLOYD
Nuthin’ a-tall. They uz nice folks. (_Trying to reassure her._) Funny
place t’ be a-livin’ in though—buried under the ground, like. Looks
like it ud be damp s’ close to the lake. But they uz nice folks. Nice
womern. The man uz all right. Kind of a lumberin’ kinda man—’thout no
talk—but kindhearted. Didden he loan us the boat?
BETTY
Yes—
LLOYD
Didden he give us the oars? Shore he did! Well?—
BETTY
Le’s go on the lake now, Lloyd—
LLOYD
Shore! We’ll go, all right. I said we’d go. (_He goes toward her.
She gets in the boat. A burst of song and laughter comes from the
picnickers some distance away. He raises his head._) Betty, listen!
They’re gettin’ breakfast ready, I guess.
BETTY
I don’t want none.
LLOYD
All right, I ain’t s’ hungry. But I’m jist wonderin’—wh’er we hadn’t
oughter let ’em know we’ve come. I told Bud Bickel we uz comin’ early
by ourselves. They might wonder about us—or wait fer us.
BETTY
They won’t wait. They’re startin’ a f’ar.
LLOYD
Smoke’s a-rizin’ good. It’s a-comin’ off the ground an’ rizin’ up
like a cloud. We oughter be thar. Miss Meredith might worry about us.
BETTY
She wouldn’t worry about us. She wouldn’t worry about no one. Please,
Lloyd, le’s go out on the lake—a little while, jist fer a little—
LLOYD (_anxiously_)
Whut is it?
BETTY
Nuthin’—
LLOYD
Tell me—
BETTY (_with sudden passion_)
Oh, _them_! That cabin! Them people! That man! I’m afeard of him,
he’s a part of these woods here! He’s part of this. I don’t like it.
It’s busy, busy a-doin’ sump’n I can’t understand! They ain’t nuthin’
clear t’ me. Why’d he look at me that a-way? Why’d he want me t’
borry a coat t’ keep warm? Why’d he stir up the f’ar—fer _me_? Why
did he?
LLOYD
Why, Betty, he uz only bein’ nice t’ you. He liked you. People like
you—you’re sweet, you’re purty—
BETTY
No. It ain’t that! It’s sump’n else. I don’t understand it. I’m
afeard. I’m too young. It’s wrong t’ be young—
LLOYD
Betty! Why, here—
BETTY
His eyes a-burnin’— His teeth—like a animal’s—
LLOYD
Betty!
BETTY
He’s a _part_ o’ these woods here! He b’longs here. I don’t. I
don’t b’long here. You don’t. We’re too young. They’s sump’n goin’
on—sump’n mean—sump’n awful—It ain’t fer us t’ be part of. We got to
git away—
LLOYD
We’ll go on the lake.
BETTY
Oh, yes, we’ll go on the lake! (_Thoughtfully._) Nen whur’ll we go to?
LLOYD
_Acrost_ the lake—or down to the other end. We c’n git a snack t’ eat
at Binghams. We’ll do that ’n’ then row home. We won’t come back here
t’ the woods if you don’t want to—
BETTY
We couldn’t jist stay—in the middle of the lake—awhile?
LLOYD
Course we could—fer a while. But you’d be hungry. You’d be cold out
thar too after a while. The wind blows—
BETTY (_fearfully_)
All around the lake, everwhur, they’s woods. The lake goes out—’n’
it’s clear thar and bright—but it teches the woods everwhur at the
edges. Oh! They ain’t no place t’ go to! The lake—it teches the
woods—it’s a _part_ of the woods! (_She sinks down._)
LLOYD (_kneeling_)
No! No, it ain’t, Betty. You’re jist upset. It’ll be nice out thar.
It’ll be clear an’ bright. Mebbe it’ll be warm. We’ll stay as long’s
you want to. You mustn’t be this a-way, don’t you see, Betty? Oh,
I know—you’re jist upset, you’ve saw things you don’t understand.
You’ve been skeered. It’s all right now. You mustn’t think
everything’s mixed up like this—like these woods. Out there—look
at it—look at the lake! (_Breathlessly._) Sun techin’ it. Little
waves startin’ in the wind, breakin’ here on the bank in ripples.
Trees—willers leanin’ down like they uz prayin’ at the edges. I wish
I could be a lake. I wish I could be that big, that deep! I wish I
could be ketchin’ the sun like it—an’ sparklin’ an’ singin’—an’ never
afeard o’ nuthin’—jist a-settin’ thar quiet in the sunshine—a-lookin’
up at the sky, a-lookin’ up at the sun—
BETTY (_looking up at him_)
You make it nice—
LLOYD
No, ’tain’t me—
BETTY
You make it nicer’n it is—
LLOYD
No. It looks that a-way t’ me.
BETTY
It’s that a-way t’ me, too—
LLOYD (_relieved_)
Betty—
BETTY
When you say it. You make things nicer’n they air—
LLOYD
No, I make ’em the _way_ they air.
BETTY
An’ the lake?—
LLOYD
It’s a deep pool—
BETTY
It’s quiet.
LLOYD
It moves when the wind moves. It holds the sun. It’s a cup with gold
in it—
BETTY
And dawn—
LLOYD
An’ sunset, and shadders, and starlight, an’ the moon burnin’ red.
Come on, why’d we stay on the bank? We’ll go out— (_He climbs into
the boat._)
BETTY
Yes.
LLOYD
On the lake!
BETTY
I hear sump’n—
LLOYD
’S footsteps. Somebody runnin’—
BETTY
They’re comin’ this way!
LLOYD
Through the woods—
BETTY
Lloyd!
LLOYD
Sh!
BETTY
Le’s go, quick.
LLOYD
Be still! They won’t see us!
(_A boy rushes in headlong from the woods at the left. He is almost
out of sight, right, when he catches sight of the two in the boat.
He stops. His face is coarse; a grin, like an idiot’s, spreads over
his face. It is the_ DAVIS _boy_.)
DAVIS
Hi!
LLOYD
Hi.
DAVIS
Didden see ya. Betty an’ Lloyd, ain’t it? Whut you doin’?
LLOYD
Nuthin’.
DAVIS
Well. Whur’s Miss Meredith at?
LLOYD
Down the lake. Thought you wuzn’t comin’. Thought you had t’ work.
DAVIS
I did—but I sneaked off. Played hookey frum work—like frum school.
Joke’s on my ole man. He’s keepin’ the shop, he’s shoein’ ole Jake
Wilkerson’s mare— Whut you doin’ here—you two?
LLOYD
Nuthin’.
DAVIS
Settin’ in a boat—by yerselves, ain’t ya? Ha! Havin’ a good time all
by yerselves, ain’t ya? Sweet on each other, ain’t ya? Oh, by Joe!
Wait’ll I tell Miss Meredith!
LLOYD
Shet up yer mouth, Oscar Davis!
DAVIS
Miss Meredith knows yer here, don’t she?
LLOYD
We ain’t saw her this mornin’.
DAVIS
You ain’t? Oh, wait’ll I tell her! Settin’ in a boat—_hidin’_ in a
boat! I wouldn’t a-saw you if you’d a-kep’ yer head down. O gorry!
LLOYD (_gets out of the boat, angrily_)
Whut’re you a-sayin’, you?
DAVIS
Oh, the sweet little babies—a-settin’ in the boat—jist a-settin’ an’
a-settin’ till the night do come. Oh, by Joe!
(_He runs out, right, laughing._ LLOYD _looks at_ BETTY,
_disturbed, then walks over left_. BETTY _gets out of the boat
slowly and goes toward him_.)
BETTY
Lloyd— We better go—
LLOYD
Mebbe—
BETTY
He makes me feel— Oh!—
LLOYD
Don’t mind him.
BETTY
I do mind him. We better go. (_Painfully._) Lloyd, whut is it? Whut’d
he mean?
LLOYD
Oh, don’t mind him—
BETTY
Tell me—
LLOYD
Things. He’s dirty, he’s low—
BETTY
Oh!—
LLOYD
We’ll go whur the others are at. It’s all right. Don’t you mind. Miss
Meredith’ll know it’s all right. She’ll know. Come on. We better go.
(_They start, right._ MISS MEREDITH _enters hastily, out of breath,
venomous. She stops in their path._)
MISS MEREDITH
Oh—so you’re here?
LLOYD (_slowly_)
Yes’m.
MISS MEREDITH
A pretty sight! A pretty couple, I must say!
LLOYD
Whut’d you mean?
MISS MEREDITH
The nerve—asking me what I mean! Where have you been all morning—you
two?
LLOYD
No whur. We come here—that’s all.
MISS MEREDITH
_Come_ here! What time did you leave the Switch?
LLOYD
I don’t know. It uz early.
MISS MEREDITH
What time?
LLOYD
I don’t know.
MISS MEREDITH
You don’t know? Before sun-up?
LLOYD
Yes, ma’am.
MISS MEREDITH
Before daylight, wasn’t it?
LLOYD
Yes.
MISS MEREDITH
You left in the dark?
LLOYD
Yes, it uz still dark.
MISS MEREDITH
I thought so!
LLOYD
Whut difference’d it make? I tole Bud Bickel to tell you—
MISS MEREDITH
Oh, he told me! He told me you were coming early—by yourselves—you
and Betty. Why’d you do it?
LLOYD
Why, we wanted to.
MISS MEREDITH
Wanted to! That’s no reason. Why’d you want to?
LLOYD
Why, we wanted t’ be here ’fore it got light t’ see the lake. T’ see
it git lighter ’n’ lighter till the gray mist uz all gone—an’ the sun
had rose—
MISS MEREDITH
Oh, you did? So you had to get up early in the morning—before
daylight—and drive here through the dark woods—by
yourselves—alone—you two? You had to sneak off where there was no one
to spy on you, and no light to make you ashamed of yourselves, didn’t
you? Oh, don’t interrupt me! I know why you did it! I’m surprised
at you, Betty. I wouldn’t have thought it of you! I shall report
you both to the School Board. I’m ashamed! I’m ashamed _for_ you! I
can hardly look any one in the face. I don’t know how you can. Oh,
it’s this that makes teaching so hard! After all my labor, and all
my rules to keep you from going wrong like this—you sneak off to the
woods—the first chance you get—like a couple of animals. I’m ashamed
of you! Come on, now! The fire’s started. Come on and eat your
breakfast! (_She goes out._)
BETTY (_turns away, stricken_)
Oh! Her, too!
LLOYD
Her—an’ everbody! Damn her! Damn everbody! O Christ!
BETTY
It’s all mean—it’s all wicked, wicked! Whut’ll we do now?
LLOYD (_in agony_)
Nuthin’—
BETTY
We _got_ to do _sump’n_!
LLOYD
We’ll go on the lake, then.
BETTY
They’s no place else t’ go—
LLOYD
It’s the _only_ place t’ go. We’d oughta went thar before. Come on,
Betty, git in. (_They get in the boat._ LLOYD _shoves it away from
the bank_.) We c’n go acrost ’n’ git grub—we c’n go home—
BETTY
Home! I don’t want t’ _see_ home again! I hate it! I hate these
woods! They’s no place fer us—nowhur—
LLOYD
They’s room on the lake—
BETTY
Oh, yes! They’s room thar! They’s room on the Lake!
LLOYD
It’s big! It’s deep!
(_They row out of sight, left. A burst of song and laughter comes
from the picnickers down the lake. Then there is the sharp crackle
of twigs, and the noise of running._ PLANK _and the_ SHERIFF _run
in from the right_.)
PLANK (_pointing off left, excitedly_)
Thar he is, Shuruff!
SHERIFF
(_Draws his pistol as they run off left._)
_Curtain_
THE LAKE
SCENE 2
(_A cleared place sloping down to the left, where the lake comes in
in a little bay. The branches of old trees meet overhead. The lake
glitters in the bright sunlight._
PLANK _and the_ SHERIFF, _with the pistol still in his hand, stand
and shout off left_.)
SHERIFF
Come in, you! Put that boat in to shore!
LLOYD’S VOICE
I won’t— I won’t—
SHERIFF
I’m givin’ you one more chance!
LLOYD’S VOICE
I won’t never do it! You cain’t make me, you cain’t—
SHERIFF
I’ll give you till I count three!
LLOYD’S VOICE
Count ten! Count a hunderd! I won’t come!
SHERIFF (_deliberately_)
One! Two! Three! Comin’?
LLOYD’S VOICE
Never!
SHERIFF (_raises his gun slowly and fires_)
Take that, then! (BETTY _screams_.)
PLANK
You got him, Shuruff! He’s sunk down in the boat like he’s dead! Hey!
Look at it! Look! The girl! She’s standin’ up in the boat! Good God,
she’s jumpin’ in the lake! She’ll drownd!
(BUTCH _and_ ELLY, _followed by_ JOE, _run in from the right_.)
ELLY (_in horror_)
Shuruff! Shuruff! You’ve killed him! You’ve killed him! (_She looks
off, left._) Oh, the girl—she’s drownin’! Quick, save her—you got
to—go an’ save her, she’s drownin’! (BUTCH _throws off his coat_.)
BUTCH (_muttering_)
Christ! (_He dashes off, left._)
ELLY (_with a moan_)
Oh, w’at’ve you done, w’at’ve you done! (_With bitter scorn._)
You don’t know! You think you’ve upheld the law, you think you’ve
done yer duty! Well, you ain’t! You’ve killed an innocent boy that
wouldn’t hurt a fly—that’s w’at you’ve done! (_She looks left._) Oh,
hurry! hurry! She’s goin’ down! Hurry an’ git her!
SHERIFF
Go help him, Plank. Go help him. Joe, go drag in the boat. Hurry up!
(PLANK _and_ JOE _hurry out_.)
ELLY
Mebbe she ain’t drownded. Mebbe she ain’t—the pore thing— (_She sinks
down wearily. To the_ SHERIFF.) Why’d you stand thar? Why don’t you
do sump’n? (_With infinite scorn, infinite weariness._) Look at him.
He’s the law. He’s done his duty. He’s got his man. He’ll git a
reward.
SHERIFF
Shet up!
ELLY
You cain’t shet me up. I’m a fool not to a-told you before. I’m a
fool too—like yerself—like Butch—like the whole damn world! I _been_
a fool. But I won’t be now. I’ll tell you now—now it’s too late—I’ll
tell you sump’n ’at’ll make yer ears burn, ’at’ll make you sick
inside like sump’n eatin’ on yer heart! Listen t’ me—you! You’re
bright, you’re smart, you’re a keen-smellin’ dog of the law, you’re
the _law_! You pertect the weak, you hang the criminals. _You shoot
down, you murder innocent people—that’s w’at you do!_ (_With a sob._)
It uz Butch, it uz Butch killed Jim Dory....
SHERIFF
Whut’s this!
ELLY
_Butch_, I tell you! This boy ain’t his brother. He never saw him
before. He’s jist a boy, jist a young boy—picknickin’—in the woods—
SHERIFF
Good God! Is this the truth you’re tellin’ me?
ELLY
It’s the truth—
SHERIFF
Godamighty!
(BUTCH _comes in dripping, carrying_ BETTY. _He puts her down
gently._)
BUTCH
Drownded—
(PLANK _and_ JOE _come in carrying_ LLOYD. _They put him down._)
PLANK
You got him, Shuruff—
JOE
He’s dead.
(_The_ SHERIFF _staggers a little, his hand before his eyes_. ELLY
_comes down, bends tearfully over the bodies. Then she stands
erect, wheels and faces the_ SHERIFF.)
ELLY
Ask him!
SHERIFF
Oh—
ELLY
Ask him, Shuruff! Ask him who killed Jim Dory! ’N’ if he lies!—
SHERIFF (_to_ BUTCH)
She says you done it.
BUTCH
She told on me?
SHERIFF
She says you done it.
BUTCH
(_He looks at_ ELLY. _She does not flinch. He looks back at the_
SHERIFF. _Speaks slowly._) I killed him.
SHERIFF
Christamighty! You killed Jim Dory? You killed this boy too, then!
_You_ done it! ’Twuzn’t _me_!
BUTCH (_as if dazed_)
I killed her, too. She drownded herself. I tried t’ save her.
SHERIFF (_horrified_)
How could you do it! Two men—an’ this pore innocent little girl! God!
Why’d you do it? Whut made you?
BUTCH
I don’t know. You’re the law. _You_ tell me! Tell me why I done it!
(_The picnic party rushes in from the right. They stop. They are
silent, awed._)
MISS MEREDITH
What’s the matter? I heard shots! (_She catches sight of the
bodies._) Oh! What is it? Lloyd and Betty! Good heavens!
SHERIFF
Dead, Miss.
MISS MEREDITH
Oh, my poor little children! My poor little ones! (_To_ BUTCH,
_gratefully, noticing his wet clothes_.) Oh, you tried to save them!
God will reward you! (BUTCH _turns away_.) Poor little Betty— Lloyd
was good to her. Oh, why’d they go on the lake! Why’d they do it? I
told them not to. (_She turns away, sobbing._)
ELLY (_slowly_)
It’s alwys the way. People _will_ go on the lake. Young people.
Cain’t keep ’em off. ’N’ they’s alwys accidents. Sometimes it’s the
lake, sometimes it’s the woods—boats leak, guns go off, people air
keerless, they’s wild animals—sump’n happens, sump’n alwys happens.
It cain’t be helped.—
_Curtain_
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