"When was it I first heard of the grass harp?" "Long before the autumn we lived in the China tree." "An earlier autumn, then." "And, of course, it was Dolly who told me." "No one else would have thought to call it that." "The grass harp." "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away." "He has returned unto him our sister Mary Fenwick... obedient wife, devoted mother... a woman of rare virtue." "Let us turn to the Proverbs of Solomon... the son of David, king of Israel." "He asks, "Who can find a virtuous woman... for her price is far above rubies." "Strength and honor are in her clothing." "In her tongue is the law of kindness." "She looketh well to the ways of her household... and eateth not the bread of idleness."" "My father was a traveling man." "My mother used to cry every time he went away... to sell his Frigidaires." "Married her when she was 16... but she didn't live to be 30." "Rock of ages, cleft for me" "Let me hide myself in Thee" "Let the water and the blood" "From Thy wounded side which flowed" "Be of sin the double cure" "Save from wrath and make me pure" "While I draw this fleeting breath" "When mine eyelids close in death" "Mary..." "Mary." "When I soar to worlds unknown" "See Thee on Thy judgment throne" "Rock of ages, cleft for me" "Let me hide myself" "No." "Eugene!" "I'll expect him this afternoon." "And so I came to live with my father's cousin Verena... and her sister Dolly Talbo... who lived by themselves in a house on Talbo Lane." "Son." "Go on." "Verena was the richest person in town." "The drugstore, dry-goods store... a filling station, grocery... all this was hers... and the earning of it had not made her an easy woman." "Nothing mattered to her so much as the owning of things... and people." "It isn't right raising a boy in a house full of women." "A few days later on the way to Mobile... my father's car skidded and fell 50 feet into the Gulf." "The town called it an accident, but I knew better." "He loved my mother so much... he couldn't bear to be separated from her." "Dolly, the boy's here." "I'm going to take him upstairs and show him his room." "Dolly!" "Get rid of that cat." "You want to aggravate my asthma?" "That One." "Always "do this," "don't do that."" ""Stop," "start."" "Hush." "This was Father's room." "It's yours now." "See you don't make a mess of it." "After my father's death... people pointed me out and said..." ""That poor little Collin Fenwick."" "I tried to look pitiful... because I knew it pleased people." "It was a long time before I calmed down enough... to notice Dolly Talbo." "And when I did, I fell in love." "Dolly had rarely left the Talbo house... since she was a little girl... and made her real home in the kitchen." "Though older than her sister... she seemed someone who, like myself, Verena had adopted." "They lived under the same roof... but they inhabited different worlds." "Catherine Creek had grown up with Dolly in the Talbo house." "They were always together... and whatever they had to say, they said to each other." "Catherine claimed to be an Indian." "Of course, nobody believed her." "Dolly, what was America called before Columbus came?" "America, of course." "Stands to reason." "Otherwise, how else would he have known it was America?" "That is correct." "You know, America's an old Indian name." "It is?" "Shoot, don't they teach you nothing in that school?" "I bet they ain't even told you... that Mr. Abraham Lincoln hisself was part Indian." " He was not." " Was, too." "40% Negro, 40% Indian, and 10% white man." "Folks everywhere know that." "We got another one of those letters today." ""Dear Miss Dolly Talbo..." ""we will not be needing..." ""any more bottles of your dropsy cure..." ""on account of dear Cousin Belle..." ""bless her soul..." ""passed away night before last."" "We did the best we could, Dollyheart." "I guess the good Lord just had other intentions." "Do you miss them, Collin, your mother and father?" "I think they loved each other very much." "I still remember Papa Uriah." "When we were girls... he used to stomp around on cold mornings... and sing Confederate songs while he built the fires." "I've heard the grass tell about those cold mornings." "The grass?" "Come to the River Woods with Catherine and me tomorrow." "We've got to gather ingredients." "We'll make a picnic out of it." "Fried chicken." "I'll make a chocolate layer cake." "You can't learn everything from books." "Je suis fatiguee." "Catherine, is that Indian?" "No, honey." "That's French, see." "Dollyheart and me, we learned how to better ourselves..." "It was going to be our secret language..." "Verena wouldn't understand." "That's the only lesson she learned." "Oh, well." "It's all I need to know." "How much of you is Indian?" "Boy, I done told you." "Get!" "A tree house!" "Dollyheart." "Dollyheart." "Them boards too old." "And now they slippery as worms." "They gonna crack in two." "We're gonna bust our heads, and don't I know it." "Like a raft, isn't it?" "This is great." "God, it's so high." "The boys who built it must be very old men by now." "Why can't we live here?" "Take one of these." "We're going to look for ingredients." "About all natural things, Dolly was sophisticated." "As a girl, a band of gypsies... had taught her a secret dropsy cure." "Every week we went to the River Woods... to gather herbs, leaves, strange roots." "No one, not even Catherine... knew what went into the medicine." "Only Dolly." "I remember one evening..." "I went out to the cow shed... and there were three women there." "The young one was all naked... twisting on the corn shucks." "When they saw I wasn't going to run and tell... one of the old women asked would I bring a light... so I went to the house for a candle... and when I came back, the woman that sent me... was holding this hollering red baby... and the other was milking Sherrybell." "I helped them wash the baby in warm cow's milk." "Then the old woman took my hand... and she said..." ""I'm going to give you a gift... by teaching you a rhyme."" "That's when I learned about the dropsy cure." "What happened to the gypsies?" "In the morning, they were gone." "I looked for them on the road and in the fields, but... there was nothing left of them but the rhyme inside my head... and the secrets they taught me." "Secrets?" "I've never told anybody." "Not even Catherine." "Oh, listen, Collin." "Do you hear?" "It's the grass harp." "Where?" "There, in the grass." "It's a harp of voices telling stories." "Knows everybody's story." "And when we're dead, it will tell ours, too." "You're hearing dead folks again, Dollyheart?" "It's only the wind." "The wind is us." "It gathers and remembers all our voices... and then sends them talking through the leaves and fields." "I've heard Papa clear as day." "Classmates said I was strange... that living in the Talbo house had turned me into an old man... but nothing was ever as much fun... as the adventures I shared with Dolly." "I dreamed up stories about us... and late at night wrote them down." "He's romantic." "He knows how to treat a lady." "Not like you." "All this time we've known each other... and not once have you invited me or Elizabeth... over for a visit." "What are you afraid of?" "He's worried about Dolly Talbo." "That's not true." "The whole world knows Dolly Talbo's gone... and you're gone, too." "Shut up!" "See?" "See, that's what happens when you hang out... with them floozies like that old Maude Riordan." "Maude's not a floozy." "Oh, just look at you." "Look at you!" "You're not much bigger than that Bitty Skinner." "Folks still talk about how he got offers from the circus." "Catherine." "Oh, Dollyheart, don't worry yourself." "The boy just needs some stretching." "Come on, Collin." "Come on, baby." "Now, you ask me, floozies and smoking... are amongst the several things... that will stunt a little boy's growth." "Here, honey." "Come on." "Turn around." "Come here." "In two years, Catherine stretched me... from 4'9"to 5'7"." "We were friends, Dolly, Catherine, and me." "I was 11." "Then I was 16." "Nothing would ever be the same again." "About time you got this hair cut, honey." "I was about to buy you a package of bobby pins." "You know, I am surprised... that Verena didn't march you in here weeks ago." "Boy like you cannot afford to be sloppy about his appearance." "I would get me a clean shirt, though, honey." "You could grow turnips on the collar of that one." "A boy your age... has to be careful about his appearance... especially when he has a rendezvous... with Miss Maude Riordan tomorrow night." "How did you know about that?" "Oh, you hear things, honey." "Wasn't too long ago, your feet weren't able... to touch the floor from this chair." "Look at you now." "Oh, grown-up, courting, the man of the house." "Well, if you don't count Verena." "Amos, you remember old Carper, the fisherman... used to have a houseboat on the river?" "Yeah." "Chased out of town, wasn't he?" "He wanted to marry that pretty little colored girl... who works for Miss Postham now, I think." "Well, you know, he really loved her." "Yes, he did." "I saw them a lot when I went fishing." "They were very happy together." "Never could have brought myself to sentence him... if he'd ever married her." "But the law, it does not allow any differences." "I was too often on the wrong side of the law." "Never should have been a judge." "Well, too bad you ain't still a judge." "Otherwise you could have done the honors for Romeo here." "Cut it out." "Lordy Lord, just look at you." "Ain't you the cat's meow!" "Older people spoke of Riley Henderson... with sighing voices... but secretly I admired his wild ways." "An orphan like me, he answered to no one." "Evening, sport." "I longed to be his friend." "You want to reach around that counter... and grab me a pack of Shadows?" " Shadows?" " Yeah." "Weasel wrappers." "Weasel wrappers?" "What are the weasel wrappers?" "Here you go." "See you around, sport." "Say hi to that Maude Riordan for me, too, will you?" "Coll, how come we never go to dinner and dancing... like Mickey and Judy?" "I don't know." "Catherine never approved... of my infatuation with Maude Riordan." ""Nothing on her to pinch," she said." ""Man would have to be crazy to give her the time of day."" "I think it's scandalous the way Riley Henderson... carried on in there with Mamie Curtis." "Can you imagine, with trash like that?" "Yeah, I saw them." "They came by the store." "He bought a pack of Shadows." "Oh, Collin." "You are such an innocent." "It didn't take a genius to see Maude was heart-set on Riley." "Still, I imagined for a while that I was in love with her." "Well... here we are." "Thank you for the lovely evening." "I enjoyed the movie very much." "That's all right." "Well, good night." "Oh." "I don't think that's necessary, Collin... although... it was cute of you to take me out." "Good night." "Bye." "Bye." "Don't think I'm enjoying this, because I'm not... but we have to think about our place in the community." "Now, you have not been the same since Mother died... sitting in that barbershop all day... writing these..." "these ridiculous letters." "Martha found this in your desk today." "You should be ashamed of yourself." "Now, people at the bank are starting to ask me... very politely, of course... if perhaps my father isn't just a bit... unbalanced." " Where are you going?" " Out." " Evening, Collin." " Judge." "How did it go with Maude?" "OK, I guess." "Seems strange a man can't live without keys... in what used to be his own house." "Sir?" "What do you say we go down to the drugstore... and get a chocolate malt?" "All right." "Always been very fond of chocolate malts." "Very comforting." "Used to like banana splits... but I didn't find them as comforting as chocolate malts." "Ordinarily, Judge Charlie Cool... was not one to make a show of himself... and there were many who had taken advantage... of his modesty to set themselves above him." "It was sad to see the judge... sad to see him with nothing to do... but sit in Amos' barbershop... or stop in at the drugstore." "Look at these prices." "It wouldn't kill her to have a sale every now and then." "It's your fault." "Dolly?" "I need to talk to you a minute." "Out here." "Is something the matter?" "Just what goes into that medicine of yours?" "Well, this and that." "Nothing special." "Why?" "Well, you made enough on it this year... to pay an income tax, that's why." "My, my." "The autumn I turned 16..." "Verena went to Chicago on a buying trip... and after two weeks... returned with a man named Dr. Morris Ritz." "No one had seen a man on Verena's arm... since she danced as a debutante with Meiself Talsap... but he took up with Verena's best friend... and Verena never recovered." "To then be seen with a Yankee at her age... was enough to get people talking... and talk they did." "Scandalous, people said, the way Verena carried on... with that fancy man from Chicago." "Morris, this is Walt Higgins." "He looks after the hotel for me." "Classy establishment, Verena." "It's quite snappy here." "See that Dr. Ritz gets the presidential suite." "And mind he gets Kansas City beef." "None of those cheap local cuts." "K.C. It will be, Miss Talbo." "Would you sign the register?" "Of course." "Thank you." "Ah, don't forget lots of tonic." "I got a big date tonight." "I got to be spiffy, huh?" "Hey, while you're at it, better give me a manicure." " A manicure?" " Yeah." "We don't get much call for that around here, honey." "Let me see those hands." "Sharecropper you ain't." "Rumor has it that you and Verena Talbo... done bought the old factory on the outskirts of town." "Uh-huh." "She is a pistol." "She's wasted in a burg like this." "She's big-city stuff." "What line of work did you say you were in, honey?" "You can call me a chemical engineer." "Pardon me, sir." "Hope you don't me intruding... but did I hear you say that you were a chemical engineer?" "Correct." "Exactly what does a chemical engineer do?" "Ideas." "I get ideas." "What sort of ideas do you get?" "Chemical... ideas." " Thank you very much." "Sorry." " Guy needs a haircut." "Just who is this funny-looking Dr. Morris Ritz?" "He's not half as funny-looking as some I could mention." "Do peek in the kitchen, Verena." "We're having fried chicken, ham..." "English peas, rolls... banana pudding, two kinds of cake... and tutti-frutti ice cream from the drugstore." "Why are there only two places?" "It's all right if Collin wants to eat at the table... but I'll just stay in the kitchen with Catherine." "Don't fool with me, Dolly." "This is important." "Morris has come here expressly to meet you." "Meet me?" "Yes." "I can't." "I can't." "Put on that new pink dress I bought you in Chicago." "What's more, I'd appreciate it if you'd hold your head up." "It makes me dizzy, hanging there like that." "And do something about that mop of hair." "You look like a ragamuffin." "That One." "Hush, now." "Evening." "Ladies of the house in, huh?" "Name is Ritz." "Dr. Morris Ritz." "Oh, Morris." "So good of you." " Did you meet Collin?" " Well, he..." "Collin, see that the doctor gets a drink." "Collin is my poor cousin Eugene's boy." "He lives with us." "My sister is so anxious to meet you." " Let me take these." " Thank you." "Dolly!" "Dolly, dear!" "I will tell Miss Verena that you are indisposed." "Ahh." "As one strawberry said to the other..." ""If you hadn't been so fresh, we wouldn't be in this jam."" "Miss Verena!" "Miss Dolly's flat on her back." "Her bowels is loose." "Excuse me." "Well, you're 16, huh?" "Yeah." "And throwing it around a little, I bet, huh?" "Next time Verena goes to Chicago make her bring you... because there's a lot to throw it at there." "Hey, what have we here?" "The old 88." "I wonder..." "I wonder how she sounds." "You know?" "I want to know, honey, just what you mean" "When you say your everloving's double-crossin' you" "I want to know, baby, what you're cogitating" "Say your everloving's double-crossin'" "That little old, teensy old, bitsy old you" "You should know that you're the only one for whom I'd fall" "Any doubts that you might have, they make no sense at all" "'Cause you're a doll" "Want to know, baby, what you mean" "Say your everloving's double-crossin'" "That little old, teensy old, bitsy old you" "They say your everloving's double-crossin' you." "It's a little thing I whipped up for Verena... and..." "Verena." "There you go." "Oh, to tell you the truth... the only part of the chicken that interests me is the brains." "You wouldn't have some of those back in the kitchen, Mammy?" "Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Ritz... but Miss Dolly here done already took all the brains." " That's... that's..." " Fine." "I have the brains on my plate." "Please." "Let me pass them to you." "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" "No, she doesn't mind at all." "She only eats sweet things, anyway." "Well, here, Dolly." "Have some banana pudding." "There." "Bless you!" "I'm sorry." "An old allergy." "I think it's the roses." "Oh, dear!" "Oh, boy." "See?" "It's hopeless." "Nothing is hopeless, Dolly." "Don't forget the sleeves." "Thank you very much." "Sit down and finish your pudding." "Thank you." "It's..." "Besides, we have a nice little surprise for you." "Morris, show Dolly those lovely labels." "Oh, yeah." "Here you are, Dolly." "Here you go, dear." "Go ahead." "Open it." "First class, huh?" "They were made in Chicago." "A friend of mine did the drawings." "He's a real artist, that guy." "Aren't you pleased?" "I'm not sure I understand." "Well, of course you do." "I told Morris about that medicine of yours... and he thought up this wonderful name." "Gypsy Queen Dropsy Cure." "It'll look great in the ads." "My medicine?" "But I don't need any labels." "I write my own." "Hey, that's a good idea!" "We could make the labels look like her handwriting." "Personal, see?" "We've spent enough money already." "That's right." "Now, Morris and I are going up to Washington this week... to get a patent for the medicine... naming you inventor, of course." "The point is, Dolly, you must sit down... and write out a complete formula for us." "It won't do." "It won't do, because you haven't any right." "Nor you, sir." "Those are facts." "3,000 for the factory." "Bill Tatum and four carpenters... working there at $1.10 an hour." "$9,000 for the machinery, already ordered." "Not to mention what a specialist like Morris Ritz is costing." "And why?" "All for you." "You're my own flesh, and I love you dearly." "I could prove it to you now... by giving you the only thing that has ever been mine... then you would have it all." "Please, Verena, let this one thing belong to me." "You speak of giving?" "All these years I've worked like a field hand!" "What haven't I given you?" "This house!" "Those clothes!" "Your luxuries!" "You've given everything to me and to Catherine... and to Collin... but we've earned our way a bit." "We've kept a nice home for you, haven't we?" "Oh, yes." "A fine home." "You and... and Pocahontas!" "Hasn't it struck you... that I've never asked anyone into this house?" "And for a very good reason." "I'm ashamed to." "Look what happened tonight." "I'm sorry." "I am, truly." "I always thought there was a place for us here." "It's going to be all right." "We'll go away." "Poor Dolly." "Poor, poor thing." "Wherever would you go?" "I just wanted you to know where we're going." " To the tree house?" " Just for now." "Until we know better what our plans will be." "You're not leaving without me." "Don't forget your comb." "Dolly!" "Dolly!" "Dolly!" "That morning, we began our life as runaways." "Those were lovely days." "I'm hungry." "Well, there's plenty to eat." "You won't starve for a while." "I stripped that pantry." "I didn't even leave a biscuit for That One's breakfast." "Riley Henderson, don't you dare shoot us!" "Well, I'll be." "How did you folks get up there?" "A wildcat chase you?" "Just sitting." "I got some fresh squirrels here." "Had some for supper last night." "They're real tender." "I'm going to bring them up." "Oh, that's all right." "You can just leave them there on the ground." "No, ma'am." "Ants will get them." "I'll be damned." "It's a tree house." " You build it, Collin?" " No." "Smoke?" "Catherine Creek, you've never touched tobacco in your life." "It must be a comfort." "So many folks speak in its favor... and, Dollyheart, you get to be our age... you got to look for them comforts." "Well, I don't suppose there's any harm." "Next time y'all decide... to have a picnic so early, call out... so I'll know you're here." "You're welcome any morning." "I daresay we'll be here for some while." "Want a ride?" "My car's just up there by the cemetery." "That's very kind of you... but we really haven't anyplace to go." "Well, suit yourself." "Bye-bye." "You ought to be whupped, boy!" "Probably." "Come on." "I want them found, Sheriff." "I want a search party." "But I got hens laying today, Verena." "Don't sass me, Sheriff." "I'd like to think my votes paid for something." "Morris, show him the paper." "I want every sheriff in the state... to have a copy of this." ""Be on the lookout... for the following people traveling together." "Dolly Augusta Talbo." "White." "Light brown hair." "Height: 5'3"." "Probably insane, but not likely to be dangerous." "Post description in bakeries, as she is a known cake eater."" "Catherine Creek." "Negro." "Pretends to be an Indian."" "Collin Fenwick." "White." "Age: 16, looks younger." "Height: 5'7"."" "I didn't know he was that tall." ""Bad posture." "Surly nature." "All three wanted as runaways."" "Well, they sure ain't run far." "What's that?" "Seen them this morning having a picnic... down by the River Woods, just below the cemetery." "Where did you get this ring?" "Come out the hog guts when I was stuffing sausage." "Well, $47, not counting the jewelry." "47?" "Shoot!" "Hear tell we can go... all the way to Mexico on a bus for 15." "How we able to make the dropsy cure... if we're not near the forest?" "I think we should set up right here in the River Woods." "In this old tree?" "You put that notion right out your head, Dollyheart." " What?" " Oh, dear." "There they are." "Up in there." "You see them?" "There they are." "Say!" "Now, looky here." "Now, Sheriff, we agreed to leave this to the reverend." "Dolly Talbo, on behalf of your sister... that good and gracious woman..." "That she is." "Who on this day has received a grievous shock..." "That she has." "Shame on you, sitting up there in that tree... like a drunken Indian... sucking on cigarettes like a common..." " Floozy." " Floozy!" "Preacher lady... don't you go calling Miss Dolly and us no floozies." "I'll come down there and slap you bowlegged!" "You heard that, Sheriff?" "That nigger threatened me!" "Now, mind who you call names, Thelma." "Nothing particularly Christian about that." "Consider a moment, Miss Buster... and you will realize that we are nearer God than you... by several yards." "Good for you, Miss Dolly." "I call that a good answer." "Why did you come with us if it wasn't to do the Lord's will?" "Lord's will." "Maybe the Lord told those people to go live in a tree." "He never told you to drag them out." "Unless, of course, Verena Talbo is the Lord." "A theory several of you folks give credence to, hey, Sheriff?" "The hell with this." "Look, let's not be having any more trouble." "Come on down from there, the pack of you." "Miss Dolly, you always been a peaceful person." "Why don't you just come on down and go home with us?" "You don't want to miss your dinner, do you?" "It's too early for dinner." "Besides, we're not hungry." "Are you?" "There's a drumstick up here if anyone wants it." "You make it hard for me, ma'am." " All right." " Just a minute, Sheriff." "If he lays a hand on any of you, just kick him in the head." "Catherine, now, you back up, Catherine." "You back off." "No!" "No!" "Verena wants you home, Collin." "No!" "Are you all right?" "Dolly Talbo, you come down from that tree right this minute!" "Beg pardon." "Oh, my God." "All right, that did it." "She..." "Dolly Talbo, she attacked me!" "Everyone here's a witness!" "Junius, you arrest her!" "If you weren't such an old man, I'd knock you down." "Oh, I'm not so old, junior, just old enough to know... that men ought not fight in front of ladies." "On the other hand, I'm ready whenever you are." "Nobody's going to accuse me of hitting an old man." "Or standing up to one." "Go on." "Go feed your chickens." "Save yourselves a lot of trouble... and just get on down from there." "Never mind." "They've had their chance." "You think you're getting away with something... but let me tell you, there'll be retribution." "If not here in heaven, right here on this earth!" "Right here on earth!" "You leading citizens ought to behave themselves... otherwise, the whole damn place just falls apart!" "You old fool." "Do I remember you offering a drumstick... to anybody would like it?" "Fools in a tree, they called us... and very soon, other outcasts would find their way... into Dolly's special sanctuary." "Ask me, honey, I don't care who hit her." "They ought to get a medal." "Yep." "Praise Jesus!" "Praise Jesus!" "Praise Jesus!" "Praise Jesus!" "Evangelists." "I saw them once at a fair in Barnwell." "Their mama..." "Daddy's long gone by now... she calls herself Sister Ida." "That little Homer, though, he is as cute as a button." "Says they'll be here tomorrow night." "Well, it's not like we can't use a good revival." "Ask me, honey, there hasn't exactly been... a shortage of lost souls around here lately." "Here." "Read this." ""Soul Roundup," my foot." "Woman's known throughout six states as an infamous trollop." "Think of it." "Fifteen children and no sign of a husband." "Shameful." "Under no circumstances will I allow that brood... to interfere with this congregation." " Absolutely not." " The nerve!" "Boys, going to need some deputies." "Got to round up this tree house bunch... and bring them in." "Any volunteers?" "Riley Henderson... come over here and get yourself deputized, boy." "No, thanks." "You ought to get yourself on the right side of the law... every once in a while." "Gonna have to learn him some respect." "All right." "Anybody?" "Anybody at all?" " Come on!" " Oh, Lord." "All right." "Them that's in, raise their right hands." "Your other right, Ray." "All right." "Now, swear after me..." "They even said they was gonna arrest you, Judge." "Disturbing the peace and obstructing justice." "That's what I heard." "Nobody but That One to blame for this here predicament... her and that old funny-looking Dr. Morris Ritz... coming in there trying to steal our medicine." "Some way we failed her." "There was no place for us in her house." "Maybe there's no place for any of us... except we know there is." "This could be your place and mine." "Some more wine, Judge?" "Oh, no, thank you, Miss Dolly." "I've had a sufficiency." "What you writing, Judge?" "It's not nice to pry." "It's a letter to a girl... not much younger than you, Collin." "Her name is Heather Fall." "Heather Fall?" "Oh, what a lovely name." "Came across it in one of those children's magazines... that Amos' keeps in the barber shop." "On the back cover... they have the addresses of children... who want to correspond with other children." "I sent her a picture postcard." "She answered at once." "Charming description... of her father's sheep ranch in Alaska." "That's very noble of you, keeping company with her." "It must snow there so much." "I still have the photograph she sent." "Hunted through some old albums... found a Kodak of myself on a fishing trip... when I was 15 years old... out in the sun with a trout in my hand." "Well, I wrote her back... as though I was still that 15-year-old boy." "I told her about the gun I got for Christmas... and how the dog had pups." "It was fun for an old man sitting alone... listening to the noise of a clock... to be growing up again with a sweetheart in Alaska." "Two years ago, I wrote her and told her..." "I was going to law school." "She sent me this." "A gold nugget." "It would bring me luck, she said." "My son, the banker... he doesn't approve of any of this." "He thinks I..." "A sign of..." "Well, I ain't no good with women." "Yeah, well, me neither." "If you ask me, son... you're going at it the wrong end first." "You got to start small." "First you got to learn to love a leaf." "Then the rain." "Then some day, if you're lucky... the right person." "Judge..." "I got me a bowl of goldfish... but just because I like them, don't make me love the world." "Love ain't nothin' but a whole lot of mess." "Could take a lifetime." "It's taken me that long." "Only thing I know is love is a chain of love... same as nature's a chain of life." "Ow!" "What's that for?" "That's for snatching my teeth." "Dolly." "All these years, and I've never known you." "Never known anybody." "Never known the one person in the world... from whom nothing is held back." "My wife Irene was a remarkable woman." "I shared everything with her." "At least I thought I did." "During the last two years of her life... when she was very sick, I took her abroad... to all the places we'd been on our honeymoon." "Right before she died, she..." "I said..." ""Irene, are you happy?" "Have I made you happy?"" ""Happy, happy, happy."" "It was one of her last words." "I never knew whether she was saying yes... or whether she was answering with an echo." "I should know if I'd ever known her." "I suppose I've been in love all my life." "Well, no, I've never loved a gentleman." "You might say, I never had the opportunity." "When I was a child..." "I loved the color pink." "And the box I kept..." "It's somewhere in the attic." "I must ask Verena to please give it to me." "What's in there?" "A dried honeycomb... empty hornet's nest... and a blue jay's egg." "My first loves." "All these years, and I've never recognized you." "Spirit of a pagan." "A pagan?" "Well, spirit, then." "Spirits accept life... grant its differences." "I think spirits are silly things." "Ghostly." "So many times, I passed your house... and wanted to come in." "All it took, Charlie, was a push on the doorbell." "Call Dr. Ritz." "Tell him I'm on my way up." "He checked out this morning... told me to charge the bill to Gypsy Queen Dropsy Cure." "They got an account with us, ma'am?" "Miss Talbo?" "It took Walt Higgins at the hotel... nearly half an hour to revive Verena." "People said Dr. Ritz taking her money... had knocked the gumption clean out of her." "That morning, our world, too, changed forever." "The judge had bragged... what a great hand he was at frying catfish... so Riley and I set out to rustle one up for breakfast." "As it turned out, that fish never got eaten." "Jimbo, get her!" "Hey, there's another one of them." "Get the little bastard!" "Leave my baby be!" "Stop!" "Kick him in the booboos, baby!" "Yes!" "Now leave my baby be!" "Run, baby!" "You run!" "Run!" "Run!" "Did you find that old fool with Miss Dolly?" "She's around here somewhere." "Sheriff!" "Yeah, over here." "You better go back into town." "Verena's done pitched a conniption." "That rich fella..." "Oh, what in the hell does that woman want now?" "Want a army?" "Move over, Ralph." "Come on." "Move over." "Come on." "Ain't it just terrible?" "That is how it turns out... when you leave your money lying around, honey." "Verena Talbo of all people?" "And here we thought that she trotted down to the bank... with every dime that came her way." "$12,700!" "Oh!" "Lordy Lord." "As for him... they have not located hide nor hair." "South America, that's where they'll find him... if and when." "I was never one to insinuate there was any monkeyshines... went on between her and that so-called Dr. Morris Ritz." "Honey, that man had the worst case of dandruff..." "I ever saw on any human head." "Oh!" "It was my fault." "If Catherine hadn't gone to look for me... they never would have caught her." "Dolly couldn't believe her friend... had been taken from her." "The judge thought he'd failed us." "It set a poor example for the town, people said... the Talbo sisters quarreling... and Catherine being dragged off to the colored jail." "They wanted us home where we belonged." "But before the sheriff could come back for us... a whole new scandal had arrived... and her name was Sister Ida." "Revivals had always been popular in our town... but no one had ever seen anything... like Sister Ida's Soul Roundup." "Some called it the devil's work." "Who will come together in the sweet by and by?" "Them that wash away their sins by givin' to mankind" "Only the selfish will be left out high and dry" "Come time for bringin' in the fold" "From God's clothesline" "Pin up your troubles on God's clothesline" "Amen!" "Leave all your worries and your sins behind" "Praise Jesus!" "Your soul was dirty, but it cleans up fine" "So pin up your troubles on God's clothesline" "But you can't pin up a nickel" "You can't hang up a dime" "No penny-pinchin' miser" "Will see the next lifetime" "We can make a string of dollars" "Look at them." "Fleecing the flock!" "The laundry will get..." "I know one person who will put a stop to this." "Hang up your troubles" "We've seen enough." "Hello." "Verena, Reverend Buster." "That hussy of a revivalist is denouncing you... as right now an enemy of Jesus." "Cast out your own sister, she says." "What?" "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho" "Jericho, Jericho" "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho" "When the walls came a-tumblin' down" "Then the mighty horns began to blow" "Go do your duty, Sheriff." "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho" "Jericho, Jericho" "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho" "When the walls came a-tumblin' down" "Ma'am, you can't go around... bad-mouthing our leading citizens." "Now, Dolly and Verena Talbo are fine, upstanding women." "Even if one of them is living in a tree." " Eddie!" " What?" "Hey!" "Hey, who put this up!" "That thief there?" "Hey, look!" "Look at him." "He's taking our money." "Ma'am, you got till sunrise tomorrow... to pack up that wagon, load up these brats... and get the hell out of here." "Hey, get that rope in quick!" "This is the Lord's money." "I'm confiscating it in his behalf." "This revival's over." "Go do it now." "Everybody go..." "Jack, Ray, what in the hell are y'all doing in here?" "Help me get these people out of here." " Come on, folks!" " Pull!" "Whore of Babylon, repent!" " Daddy!" " And your shame shall be saved." "I'm not your daddy!" "Get away from me!" "Janus." "You all right, Reverend?" "Hey!" "That is our money." "Reverend Buster, what are you doing?" "That was freely offered by these good people... from the bounty of their hearts." "Just call that money a fine, OK?" "Now, come on." "Get up here." "Just be glad we're letting you go." "Wait!" "Wait!" "Get her out of here." "Let go of me, you big apes!" "Let go!" "Give me that!" "Why can't the judge get his own coffee?" "It's not likely... with the sheriff out looking for him." "Besides, maybe he wants a little time... to get better acquainted with Miss Dolly." "Jealous." "No way." "I'm not jealous." "Sounds like it to me." "Hey, wait up." "Wait up." "Your folks?" "Yeah." "I miss them." "Strange." "Yeah." "I'm glad your ma was nice." "My old lady used to make me hop around on one leg... reciting the multiplication tables." "Caught her one day trying to drown my sister in the tub." "I had to break the door down with an ax." "They came and took her away." "Never had much use for folks after that." "Come on." "Morning, fellas." "I'd appreciate a few directions." "What the hell?" "They told me that out this way..." "I'd find a Miss Talbo, Miss Dolly Talbo, they said." "Living in a tree, they said." "Oh, are these all yours?" "Yep." "Sure are." "All mine." "Could you help me out with a cigarette?" "Sure." "We just can't go much further." "Just don't have the gas." "You're wasting your time." "There's nobody there anymore." "Not in the tree?" "Where will we find her, then?" "Don't ask me." "Oh, shoot!" "You could have at least found out what they wanted." "Nah." "A loose woman like that... is no one to associate with Miss Dolly." "You look very radiant this morning, Miss Dolly." "For the first time in my life, I'm doing what I want to do." "Makes the whole world seem so beautiful... so alive with choices." "When I started with the sheriff's party..." "I was a man convinced... that his life will have passed without a trace." "Now I think I will not have been so unfortunate." "Oh, of course not." "I have some means, not a great deal... but enough to take care of us." "All of us." "You and Catherine... and Collin till he's grown." "Why, Charlie!" "I know it must seem abrupt... but it's been in my mind for a long, long time." "It would be the crowning achievement of my life." "You really are... aren't you... asking me to..." "To be the one person in the world." "Can you imagine the gossip?" "People will be talking for months." "Look, I'm all fluttery... just at the thought of it." "Could I be?" "It's for you to decide." "I'd say yes right now." "I'd jump up and tell the whole world..." "Yes!" "Yes, yes." "But I can't, Charlie." "Not until I've made my peace with Verena." "She'll never let you do that, Miss Dolly... except on her terms." "She'd just try to pull you right back into the prison." "Not if you don't let her, Charlie." "Don't let me." "It's not too late." "Just in time." "Eddie, round up the other deputies." "Sober them up if you have to and meet me over at Verena's." "We got to get this tree house thing settled." " Yes, sir." " OK." "I miss my kitchen." "Remember how warm it used to be on cold winter mornings?" "Our special place." "Yours, mine, and poor Catherine." "You didn't see her." "Suppose we let them have their way... gave up, that is." "They'd have to let her go, wouldn't they?" "But if I did that..." "I'd be doing what other people want me to do... same as I have ever since I was a little girl." "And the judge..." "Charlie... it would disappoint him so." "He's very dear to me, you know." "This morning, while you were away... he asked me to marry him." "Collin, you take care of Miss Dolly, now, hear?" "So you're going to go away... leave us..." "leave me?" "Oh, you know I would never leave you." "You and Catherine would come with us." "Don't be unhappy." "Let's try something." "You and I are going for a little walk." "Y'all take this bar of soap... and you go down to the river and you wash yourselves." "If I can wash myself, you can wash yourselves." "No, you're dirty!" "You are dirty!" "No!" "I hate bathing!" "I do believe you're sitting on my father." " Oh, sorry, soldier." " Oh, please don't." "I only meant to introduce myself." "I understand you're looking for me." "I'm Dolly Talbo." "Praise Jesus." "You're the answer to our prayers." "We never said a word against you or your sister." "I ought to have them arrested... that puke-faced Buster and that sheriff." "He thinks he's King Kong." "They cleaned us out." "They took our love offerings." "I have 15 mouths to feed... less than half a gallon of gas, and 90 cents to our name." "That won't even get us to the next town... for the revival meeting." "I have a friend." "A brilliant man." "He'll know an answer." "Collin, you scoot on ahead and let the judge know... to expect company for dinner." "All right." " Thank you." " Please, don't worry." "Judge!" "Dolly invited 16 more people to dinner." "Sixteen people?" "Lordy Lord." "Fetch some more water." "Fetch some more water." "See if you can scrounge up some fixings." "Yes, sir." "See if you can get some squirrel." "Want a cigarette?" "I've just started." "I do hope it's not habit-forming." "Well, just never get my habit." "Having kids." "Ha ha!" "That's Danny, my oldest." "His father, Dan Rainey, was my first love." "Where is your husband?" "Oh, not my husband." "He's still married to my sister Geraldine." "I never told him Danny was his." "I've spent years looking for another Dan Rainey." "One of the miners up in Stonyville... he had the same freckles... the same yellow eyes." "He obliged me with Sam, my next oldest." "What is it like, the love of a man?" "Why, honey, it's anything you choose to make it." "For me, there is nothing like the touch of a man's hand." "It tells everything, the touch... everything." "The judge says love is a chain." "Certainly is in my case." "Just look at all them links." "Ha ha ha!" "Never forget that." "Always remember that." "How long have you had the calling, dear?" "It was 15 years ago last February 3." "I didn't by any means deserve to be chosen." "It wasn't until I met Mr. Honey... that I saw why the Lord had chosen me." "We had Roy, then Pearl, then Kate and Cleo... and little Homer." "Most of them born in that wagon." "I suppose Collin is as close as I've come to having a baby." "Little Ida, Laura, and Texaco..." "All them other kids, they just sort of happened." "Seems somehow I can't get along... without another life kicking under my heart." "Buck, you and Homer chase up to that wagon." "Gracious knows who's come along and helped themselves." "We've discussed your situation." "You'd win your case in court, no question about it." "For once the law would be on the right side." "As matters stand..." "Yes, please." "Take that." "Here, take mine, too." "I'll keep a dollar." "This is wrong... but I thank you." "They're coming!" "They're coming!" "Who, the British?" "Slow down." "Who's coming?" "The sheriff!" "Stopped there behind the grass with guns." "All right, everybody, keep your heads." "Now, women and small children up to the tree house." "Riley, scatter the rest of you out there." "Shimmy up the other trees." "Grab a handful of rocks, hear?" "Fast as you can!" "Help your mama and Miss Dolly get up this tree." "Come on." "Help each other." "Help Miss Dolly." "Been expecting you, Sheriff." "Step aside, Judge." "This is for the law to handle." "Get out of my way." "You..." "Dolly." "Mind the poison ivy, sister." "Am I to understand that you're still conniving with that... that woman... after she made a mockery of our name?" "I can't set much store in a name... that steals from little children... and drags women into jail." "It ought to be a mockery." "You're not yourself." "You'd best look again." "I am myself." "Damn you, Charlie Cool!" "Talk some sense into that sister of mine!" "What the hell is going on?" "Watch out, honey." "All right, you people." "Go on home now." "Go on home." "You're going to miss your supper." "That's enough." "Someone's going to get hurt." "Verena!" "Verena!" "Collin!" "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Son?" "Oh, have mercy." "Verena." "Oh, have mercy." "Have mercy." "Oh, my boy." "Here." "Take the gold nugget." "Bring you luck." "Which one of you fools fired that gun?" " It was an accident." " He did it." "I was bumped." "I hold you personally responsible, Mr. Stover." "No one is responsible... except ourselves." "Thank your lucky stars it's only his shoulder." "You're all right, son." "You're all right." "Take him back to the house." "Yes ma'am." "Boys, come over here quickly." " Fetch Doc Carter." " Yes, ma'am." "He's going to be all right, now." "You just be careful with him." "Watch your head." "Watch your back." " Easy, now." "Watch your head." " Careful." "Careful." "Just take him home." "He's going to be all right." "Where is Texaco?" "Come on." "Y'all say your good-byes." "Laura can hold the baby." "Everybody stay together." "Well, he's got a pretty bad concussion... and that shoulder's going to smart him a mite... but he's going to be fine." "Thank heaven." "I'll stop in in a few days, take a look at him." "Judge, Miss Dolly." "Thank you." "I have something to say to my sister." "I'm afraid you'll have to put up with me, Miss Verena." "I have an interest in the outcome... of what you might have to say." "I doubt that." "Frankly, Charlie, you're not a welcome sight to me." "My sister couldn't have gone through such tommyrot... if you hadn't been goading her on." "It'll be no further affair of yours." "But it is, because Judge Cool..." "Charlie has..." "Dolly means that I've asked her to marry me." "Well... that is... remarkable." "Really." "I wouldn't have credited either one of you... with so much imagination." "Quite likely I'm dreaming... except that I never have dreams." "This one I suggest we all forget." "But a man who doesn't dream is like a man who doesn't sweat." "He stores up a lot of poison." "You've accepted him, have you?" "I've taken your advice." "Stopped hanging my head, I mean." "You told me it made you dizzy." "You told me you were ashamed of me... of Catherine." "So much of our lives have been lived for you." "It was painful to realize the waste it had been." "Can you know what that is, such a feeling of waste?" "I do know." "Imagined I'd go to my dying day... with the hurt of it." "I won't." "But it's no satisfaction, Verena, is it?" "I'm ashamed of you, too." "Dolly." "Dolly." "I thought I would know what was right." "Do other people?" "I wanted to have a life made up of my own decisions." "But we've had our lives." "Yours has been nothing to despise." "Leave decisions to me." "That, you see, has been my life." "Is that true, Charlie?" "Have we had our lives?" "Some plants, they bloom just the once... and nothing more happens to them." "They live, but they've had their life." "Not you." "Not me." "I've always envied you, Dolly." "Yes... envied you." "Your rooms... your kitchen..." "I could only knock at the door... and now there's no one to let me in but you... because Morris..." "Help me." "I loved him." "I did." "Oh, I admit it, we were... we were kindred spirits." "We looked each other in the eye." "We saw the same devil." "We weren't afraid." "He made me laugh." "But he outsmarted me." "I had known he could." "Hoped he wouldn't, but he did." "And now..." "It's too long to live alone, a lifetime." "I walk through the house." "Nothing is mine." "Your pink rooms, your kitchen..." "The house is yours... and Catherine's, too, I think." "Only don't leave me." "Let me live with you." "I'm feeling old." "I want my sister." "Forgive me." "I want my sister, too." "The judge could not reach her... not with his arms... not with his heart." "The sisters' bond was too final." "The judge continued to call on Dolly." "She became what he had wanted... the one person in the world to whom everything can be said." "Perhaps when everything can be said... there's nothing more to say." "It's good to have my baby back." "No permanent damage." "Going to be weak at first." "Might itch awhile, but that's only natural." "Hi, Maude." "Now, Collin, I do hope that your costume is ready." "Oh, Collin, you haven't forgotten Halloween, have you?" "We've been working like dogs." "There's going to be wine punch... and I wouldn't be surprised... if there was drunkenness and everything." "Riley's coming as the devil." "Now, we want you there in a skeleton costume." "I know there isn't much time left..." "I'm sure we can find something for him." "Thank you, Miss Talbo." "I knew I could count on you." "Please give my regards to the judge." "What about that ride you promised me..." "Riley Henderson?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Sure." "Well, see y'all later." "Bye-bye, Catherine." "Bye, Collin." " Bye, Miss Talbo." " Good-bye, Maude." "Easy." "That's still going to hurt you some." "Be careful, baby." "Catherine, Halloween." "Oh, what are we going to be?" "One in the morning... one before he goes to bed at night." "See, Miss Dollyheart and me... we got our own cure." "Thank you very much." "We'll feed this to a hog." "Give me those pills." "That One..." "In the spring, we'll make a trip together." "We could go to the Grand Canyon... or Florida." "You've never seen the ocean." "I wouldn't enjoy it... seeing things I've known shamed by nobler sights." "I'm where I want to be." "The woods are so beautiful this time of year." "We'll go tomorrow, Catherine." "We must take our spades." "I want to get enough dropsy herbs... to see us through the winter." "Who gonna carry all that stuff?" "I told you, that jail done put a permanent crick in my back." "I done laid down the load." "We could hire somebody." "Or we could take in another partner." "I think, if he would accept..." "I think we should ask the judge." "May I?" "May I come with you, too?" "I'd like to help..." "if you'd let me." "Oh, my." "Thank you very much." "Father, are you sure you want to do this?" "Yes, sir." "Father!" "Don't call me Father." "Oh, the judge is here." "Let me help you with your satchel." " Hi." "How are you doing?" " Charlie." "Hello, ladies." "Good to see you." " Here you go." " Oh, thank you very much." "Here you go, Dollyheart." "Oh, yes." "This will make some nice bloomers." "A black satin collar... would dress up my print considerably." "I can use all this stuff." "Catherine, dear, we mustn't think of our own needs." "Pity I didn't inherit my father's hand at sewing." "So many men sewed in the old days." "Did you know that, Collin?" "You know I was against your coming here." "Told Verena it wasn't right... raising a boy in a house full of women... women and their prejudices." "But I'm not worried about that now." "You'll make your mark." "You'll get on." "There." "Let's see how it fits." "I thought this was supposed to be silver." "It's better, isn't it?" "Gold..." "like a king's ransom." "It tickles." "I know, but I'm going to make a mess... if you don't hold still." "See what else I found?" "My valuables." "Look inside." "Catherine stole them for me." "I was too principled." "It was my Christmas present." "Charlie said love is a chain of love." "I hope you listened and understood him... because... if you can love one thing... you can love another... and you can forgive everything." "That's something to live by." "I love you." "I love you." "Well, I got to get you painted." "I have so many friends now, I'm going to give a party." "Let's see, there's Charlie and Riley... and we can ask Amos." "Oh, dear." "You see what I've done?" "You're trapped inside there for a while." "You're going to have to whirl." "Whirling will dry you." "Dolly?" "Dolly?" "You OK?" "Huh?" "Help!" "Help!" "Get somebody!" "Dolly, please get up." "Please." "Hush, now." "It appears my... my sister has... suffered a stroke." "She's left us." "Collin." "Miss Dolly." "Love is a chain." "Dolly?" "Love is a chain." "After Dolly died, I was a long time dangling." "Riley and Maude were married the following fall." "Riley's sister Elizabeth was maid of honor... and I was Riley's best man." "I've read that past and future are a spiral... one coil containing the next and predicting its theme." "My own life, then, seemed to be more a series of closed circles." " Bye!" " Bye!" "What weakened me was the wait before I knew where to jump." "If ever I was going to make the leap... that was the time." "Judge, can I get you some of Miss Dolly's tea?" "I'd love some." "Thank you, Catherine." " OK." " I'll help." "All right, dear." "Verena, I want to go away." "I know." "I do myself." "I'd hoped to make a trip with Dolly." "I wanted to show her the ocean." "It could be a long trip." "I've been thinking of selling a few properties." "We could take a boat." "You've never seen the ocean." "No." "Well..." "What are your ambitions?" "Hey." "Don't you come back here baldheaded, honey." "They'll try and scalp you up there... cheat you every way they can." "Here." "Ha ha ha!" " Bye, Amos." " Bye-bye." "Reverend." "That city is an evil place." "See you don't fall victim to the wages of sin." " God bless you, boy." " Bye." "Good luck." "Collin, you stay out of trouble, now." "Hear you're up to something... me and Ralph will come up there and arrest you personally." " Say good-bye, Ralph." " Bye, Ralph." "You take care, son, all right?" "Go for a walk." "Come on." "We're going this way." "Come on." "Come on." "A writer is what you're going to be, eh?" "Oh, yeah." "You better write us a letter, now, you hear?" "I will." "Good luck." "Look at you." "You're all ready to go." "Miss Dolly would be proud." "Yeah, I know she would." "You still got your lucky nugget?" "Yeah." "Of course I do." "You write to Elizabeth." "She's a good girl." "And here's a diary for you." "Write everything down in there that you think of." "Thank you." "I want to show you something." "Sure." "So little, once it is changed, changes back." "Their memory fades with each passing year." "Yet the precious moments we shared... that unforgettable autumn of my youth... forever shaped my life as a storyteller." "I live with the sound... of a harp of voices inside my head... telling a story." "They are forever talking... and the voice... is Dolly's." "The grass harp." "When we're dead, it will tell our stories, too." "Am I your love or not?" "Please make it clear" "Why don't you tell me what I long to hear?" "Goodness me" "Can't you see I'm up a tree?" "You've got me guessing" "And I hate to guess" "When will I understand" "True happiness?" "Honestly" "Can't you see I'm up a tree?" "What a chance I'm takin'" "'Cause how that tree is shakin'" "And I'm hanging out on a limb" "Looks like my chances are slim" "Got no way of knowin'" "How the wind is blowin'" "You put me in suspense" "And keep me there" "I'm losin' confidence" "In this affair" "Pity me" "Can't you see I'm up a tree?" "What a chance I'm takin'" "'Cause how that tree is shakin'" "And I'm hanging out on a limb" "Looks like my chances are slim" "Got no way of knowin'" "How the wind is blowin'" "You put me in suspense" "And keep me there" "I'm losin' confidence" "In this affair" "Pity me" "Can't you see I'm up a tree?" "I'm just a fool to love you so" "What is your answer, yes or no?" "Can't you see I'm up a tree?"