"Let's just keep it quiet, ma'am." "You speak English?" "Yes." "Are there any Japs around?" "You're..." "You're an American." "Have the Americans..." "No, no, no." "No, just me." "Just me, you understand?" "Are there any Japs on the island?" "No." "You're sure." "Yes, I'm sure." "All right, where are the rest of you?" "The rest?" "Isn't there anybody else on this island?" "There is no one else here." "What, ma'am?" "There is no one on the island but me." "You're, uh... you're alone here?" "God has been with me." "You're, uh... you're a nun, ain't you, ma'am?" "Yes, I'm..." "I'm Sister Angela." "Oh." "I'd better transfer out of the sun, ma'am." "In here okay?" "Yes." "Everything's pitching like I'm... still on the raft." "I'd better lie down before I fall down." "Excuse me, ma'am, I'm..." "I'm real beat." "You, ma'am." "You..." "You okay?" "Yes." "Yes." "I'm in no danger of any kind." "Have no fear." "Right." "Hail Mary, full of grace." "The Lord is with thee." "Blessed art thou amongst women... and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." "Amen." "What gives, ma'am?" "We're supposed to have a blackout." "If there were Japanese out there... they could see those lights 15-20 miles offshore." "Do you see what I mean?" "Yes, I'm sorry, Mr...." "Allison." "Corporal Allison, U.S. Marines." "Where am I, ma'am?" "This, uh... this island got a name?" "Yes, uh, Tuasiva." "An atoll, huh?" "Yes." "Listen, did I hear right?" "You're, uh... you're all alone on this island?" "Yes." "Since when?" "Mr. Allison, you must be very hungry." "I'll tell you what happened after you've eaten." "There's some dried fruit and some biscuits... over in the bungalow." "I'll go for that." "How about seconds, ma'am?" "There isn't anymore." "Why didn't you say so?" "Fine guy that makes me... taking food out of a woman's mouth... especially a nun's." "You were starved, Mr. Allison." "I don't suppose there'd be any cigarettes around, huh?" "No." "No cigarettes." "What I wouldn't do for a smoke." "Who belongs to this?" "It was Father Phillips' pipe." "He's buried down there." "How'd he die, ma'am?" "The last few days were too much for him." "I was at the mission at Wanitok." "That's in the Tua group." "The Japanese were raiding islands all around us... and conscripting the natives... and making prisoners of the Europeans." "A ship came for us." "Our instructions were to close the mission and go to Fiji... but Father Phillips wouldn't leave without Father John Ryan... who was alone here at Tuasiva." "It was against the ship's orders to come for us... so Father Phillips prevailed upon some natives... to bring us in a sailing craft." "It required all his eloquence and money." "The crew was in terror of the Japanese." "But why'd you come here, ma'am?" "I mean, why didn't you go to Fiji with the others?" "Father Phillips was over 70..." "Too old to make the voyage alone." "We landed here four days ago." "Father Ryan wasn't here." "No one was here." "The Japanese had come before us." "Go on, ma'am." "Father Phillips went all about the island... calling Father Ryan." ""John!"" ""John!"" "We climbed up the hill... and when we got to the top... we saw our boat sailing off." "Poor souls." "They had simply lost courage." "Father Phillips said, "God, forgive them."" "Nothing more." "Then we... came back down the hill... and sat here on the verandah." "He smoked his pipe... and it grew dark." "I went inside and slept." "Next morning I found him on the beach." "He had fallen." "He couldn't talk." "I gave him his crucifix." "He kissed it... and he died." "That's tough, ma'am... on you, I mean." "Why, I'm sure it's nothing... to what you have been through, Mr. Allison." "We was on a sub... lying off some island with a code name." "My party was supposed to go ashore... and do a recon." "We had the rafts over the side already." "We was just getting in them..." "What I mean, we was half on, half off." "Suddenly a light hits us." "20-millimeter stuff started pouring in." "So the skipper takes the sub down... which is according to his book... but a little tough on us gyrines." "We're crawling around there in the water... and suddenly the Jap boat starts dropping depth charges." "It's like the whole ocean is exploding." "Something bumps into me." "A raft, empty." "So, I pull myself onto it, heave my guts up..." "Begging your pardon, ma'am." "Next thing I know, it's daylight." "There's no land in sight." "Guess that's about it, till I hit here." "Thank God you were spared, Mr. Allison." "Same goes for you, ma'am." "Well, I... think I'll get a little rest now." "You'll be all right here on the verandah?" "Oh, sure." "Sure, ma'am." "Good night, Mr. Allison." "Good night, ma'am." "That should do us, Mr. Allison." "I seen some bamboo over there." "I'm gonna go cut me a spear... and spear some fish." "Look at the turtle, Mr. Allison... sunning himself." "Why, it sure is, ma'am." "Come on, ma'am!" "Hubba hubba!" "Come on!" "Ah!" "I seen a length of rope over there by that shed." "Go get it." "We're gonna catch that turtle, ma'am." "Are we, Mr. Allison?" "Yeah, and I'm gonna need your help." "Come on." "All right, now, ma'am, together." "1... 2... 3... 4." "1... 2... 3... 4." "Hup." "Ho." "3, 4." "1, 2... 3..." " 4." " That's the stuff. 1... 2... 3, 4." "Oh!" "1, 2... 3, 4." "There he is, ma'am." "Dead ahead." "Easy now." "Just let her drift." "Allison:" "Got him." "Just like taking candy from a baby." "Oh!" "Oh, Mr. Allison!" "Oh!" "Ooh, my." "Oh." "Oh!" "Oh!" "Ma'am!" "Turtle meat's kind of sticky, huh?" "But it's good." "Mmm!" "It's delicious." "What is turtle anyway?" "It ain't a fish." "It's, uh, it's a reptile." "You mean like snake?" "Well, of the same family." "It's considered a great delicacy." "It's a gourmet's dish." "No kidding." "Whose dish?" "A person who knows fine food." "Oh." "You know, with all the things there are to eat on this island..." "There's breadfruit, mangoes, papaya... not to mention the fish in the sea..." "There's no question about us surviving." "We could go on here for years... and I mean years." "You think it might come to that, Mr. Allison?" "Well, the way this war is going." "Well, isn't there any chance of our own forces landing here?" "Well, the brass planned to bypass a lot of these islands... on their way to Tokyo." "At least, that's the scuttlebutt." "Scuttle what?" "Scuttlebutt." "You know, the poop." "Poop." "Like, um, guys beating their gums... you know, giving out with the rumors." "Oh, yes, of course, rumors." "Well, they don't seem to beat their gums on very hopeful poop... do they, Mr. Allison?" "No, ma'am, they don't." "How far do you figure it is to Fiji, ma'am?" "About 300 miles, Father Phillips said." "Lots of water." "Due south, ain't they?" "I believe so." "That's the way the wind's blowing." "Why, Mr. Allison?" "Why, Mr. Allison?" "Well, I was thinking..." "But no, ma'am, that would be just plain crazy." "What would?" "Trying to sail down there in a raft." "Everything would be against our making it, everything... even if there weren't Japs all around... and we could sneak through them." "What I mean is that nobody in their right minds... would want to leave this place... where's there's plenty to eat and good water... and go sailing off to hell and gone..." "Begging your pardon, ma'am..." "In a 2 by 4 rubber raft, and maybe starve to death or die of thirst... even if they didn't get drowned." "But you'd like to try, is that it, Mr. Allison?" "Well, ma'am..." "Of course you would." "No, if it was just me, okay... but, uh, I couldn't ask you to go... and I wouldn't leave you here, so, uh, let's forget all about it." "What if I myself would like to try, Mr. Allison?" "I'd say you was crazy too, ma'am." "Thank you, Mr. Allison." "The raft would have to have a rudder." "I'll figure out some way to fix it." "Could the sail be of palm?" "I know how to thatch." "Good." "I sure hope you like fish, ma'am." "Because after about a week when the fruit runs out... there's going to be nothing else but... raw fish, at that." "And I'm sure I'll get used to it." "Oh, sure." "Now, that was a dope question." "It's a cinch you'd like fish... with your religion and all." "You know, the guys in the corps... the ones who go to see the chaplain the night before an attack... have to eat fish on Friday... we call them mackerel snap..." "What is it you call them, Mr. Allison?" "Huh?" "Who?" "The ones who have to eat fish on Fridays." "Oh, we call them, uh... um..." "Is it mackerel snappers?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's what some of the guys call them." "But they're good marines, ma'am, the best." "I'm glad to hear that." "Of what faith are you, Mr. Allison?" "Huh?" "What church did your parents raise you in?" "Oh, I didn't have no parents." "I was an orphanage kid." "You mean you never knew your parents?" "They died when you were little?" "I mean there I was at the Allison Street entrance one morning... in an empty egg crate." "Allison Street, Milwaukee." "I figure I'm a..." "I figure I'm illegitimate." "Well, what's the difference, I say." "I got born, didn't I?" "." "Didn't they give you any religious teaching in the orphanage?" "Oh, sure." "Every Sunday, some skinny old crack used to come around... and go on about what cigarettes will do to your insides and... things." "But I broke out of there when I was 14." "The next few years..." "I seen the insides of more halls of correction and jails... than I did churches." "Then I joined the marines." "Now, you look at me, ma'am." "What do you see besides a big, dumb guy?" "I'll tell ya." "A marine, that's what I am." "All through me, a marine... like you're a nun." "You got your cross." "I got my globe and anchor." "Ha ha ha ha ha." "It took a lot of working over... but they're the ones could do it." "My first D.I...." "That's, uh, drill instructor, ma'am..." "When I was a recruit, he looks me up and down... and he says, " Lad, I'm gonna make you hate my guts."" "The old peep sight." "He sure kept his promise." "There were times I wanted to commit murder." "Then I seen the light... and I started being a marine." "Other guys, you know, most of them... they got homes, families." "Me, I got the corps, like you got the church." "Yes, I'm..." "I'm sure they have many things in common." "Yeah." "Yeah!" "You should have known my D.I." "Your D.I., ma'am?" "Yes." "Sister Brigida, the mistress of novices." "We had a name for her too." "Yeah, what was that?" "We called her the... the Holy T error." "Um, not getting personal or anything, ma'am, but, uh... are you different from other nuns?" "I" "I don't think so." "Well, uh, I never thought nuns made with the jokes, you know." "No offence, ma'am." "Of course not." "I never thought there were any pretty nuns either." "Ooh, you should've seen Sister Mary Fidelis." "We took our novitiate together." "She was a model before she joined the community." "Her face was in all the fashion magazines." "Yeah?" "Sister Mary Fidelis was the loveliest girl I ever saw." "Well, what did she want to be a nun for?" "Because it gave her greater happiness than anything else." "I don't get it." "Well, maybe there are some... as wouldn't understand a man wanting to be a marine." "It's a meatball." "A what?" "Japanese." "Oh, do you think they saw me?" "Can't tell." "Maybe." "Oh, I am sorry, Mr. Allison." "Did I hurt you, ma'am, when I pushed you down like that?" "Oh, no, no, no." "He's coming back." "He's doing a recon job, like giving this place the once-over." "For what reason, do you think?" "I don't know." "Nothing good." "You know, the other day when we was up there, I spotted a cave." "Might not be a bad idea for us to spend the next few nights in that cave... till we get that raft finished and shove off." "There you are, ma'am, water." "Oh, splendid." "Your bed is made, Mr. Allison." "Oh, thanks, ma'am." "Well, this isn't too bad, is it?" "It's a very pleasant cave, indeed." "Land crabs and all?" "Ah, they're quite harmless." "Well... guess I'll climb into the rack." "Climb?" "Where?" "Bed down." "You know, go to sleep." "Oh, ma'am... if you hear me rustling around early in the morning... don't let it bother you." "I'm used to cussing the music at 5:30." "No, it won't." "We're always up at 5:00." "Sounds like you're in a pretty tough outfit, ma'am." "It is, Mr. Allison." "It is." "Good night, ma'am." "Good night, Mr. Allison." "Bless, oh, Lord, the rest I am about to take." "What, ma'am?" "Holy Virgin, Mother of God... and after him my only hope... my good angel, my holy patrons... intercede for me, and protect me during this night... all my life long, and particularly at the hour of my death." "Amen." "I was saying my prayers." "Oh." "Do you never say yours, Mr. Allison?" "No, ma'am." "Well, did you never pray?" "No, ma'am." "Well, sure..." "You do believe in God the Father?" "Oh, sure, ma'am." "Anybody with any sense believes in God." "They're back, ma'am, like I thought." "So you better take it easy." "What I mean, brace yourself." "Things are going to start popping around here." "But don't be scared." "We're safe in this here cave." "This is a made-to-order bomb shelter." "The noise is gonna be fierce... but noise never hurt nobody, ma'am." "I'm all right...truly." "Noise can't hurt us, ma'am." "Don't think me a coward because I'm trembling this way." "It's..." "Truly, I'm quite calm inside." "Everybody gets the shakes sometimes, ma'am... even an old marine like me." "Nothing to be ashamed of." "It's all over, ma'am." "All over." "We're okay." "Thank God, there was no one out there to be killed." "Thought you might want that, ma'am." "This island's sure beat up, huh?" "Fruit's all blasted." "There isn't a whole coconut left." "Our, uh... our trip to Fiji is off, ma'am." "The raft?" "It's done for." "I was just about to say... things couldn't look blacker... when all of a sudden, they do." "What do you mean?" "There's a Japanese ship coming around the point." "Why are they shooting?" "Oh, they got to have shooting." "Wouldn't be a proper landing... without shooting." "Well... when they find nothing... will they leave, do you think?" "From all the stuff they're bringing ashore..." "I'd say they was gonna make this a weather station." "You know, give Tokyo the dope... on which way the wind's blowing... if it's raining." "We better crawl back in our hole, ma'am." "They'll be coming up pretty soon... for a look-see." "There ain't much we won't know about this cave... before we're through." "Fact is, ma'am, you've had your last look at the outside... for a pretty long time." "With that, uh, white nun's dress... you won't dare stick your nose outside... even at night, if there's a moon." "I'm going to ask you to sit down... and be real quiet." "Make like a statue." "Don't speak, even to whisper... beginning right now." "Our luck's holding, ma'am." "For a minute there... thought we was gonna be on the receiving end of a grenade." "But I guess they was just getting their breaths." "You can talk now, ma'am, if you want to." "Mr. Allison?" "Yeah?" "I'm going to turn myself over to the Japanese." "What?" "I think it's the only thing for me to do." "What kind of talk is that?" "Alone, you might be able to survive... but not with me to feed too." "Turn yourself over?" "The worst that could happen to me... is that I'd be interned... in some perfectly safe place." "That ain't the worst that could happen, ma'am." "I'm sure they would respect my vocation... and do me no harm." "Maybe you're right, I don't know... but that's just the point:" "not knowing, I'd blow my top." "I'd be down there throwing coconuts at them." "Look, for the sake of my morale, ma'am... let's, uh... let's not have any more talk like that, huh?" "As far as feeding another mouth is concerned... you leave that to the marines." "Please try, ma'am." "Like me." "Look." "1..." "Into the mouth." "2..." "Chew twice." "3..." "Swallow." "I'm sorry, Mr. Allison, I..." "I'm afraid I'm not a very good mackerel snapper." "Mr. Allison?" "Mr. Allison?" "Hail Mary, full of grace... the Lord is with thee..." "Oh." "Ma'am!" "Sister Angela." "You're alive!" "Oh, you're alive!" "Shh, quiet, ma'am." "Of course I am." "Alive and kicking." "Well, I..." "I heard shooting, and I thought..." "Didn't I tell you never to leave that cave?" "I am very put out with you." "Yes, I am." " Well, I..." " Put out!" "I thought they'd killed you..." "Inside you go." "I've got something to show you." "Now, no more crying, ma'am." "Look, we got food!" "Lots of it." "Bean sprouts, beef, water chestnuts... cans and cans." "I woke up, and you weren't there." "I waited." "It became morning... and still you didn't come." " Now, come on, eat, ma'am." "You need to." " I thought you were dead!" "Go ahead, ma'am, eat." "Promise me you'll never go again without telling me... because I'll never sleep." "I-I'd be afraid to close me eyes." "Promise me now." "Promise!" "Sure, ma'am." "You like it?" "Oh, it's... it's beautiful, Mr. Allison." "The teeth are a little wide apart maybe, but, uh... it's the best I could do... with only a knife." "You really like it, ma'am?" "Oh." "Oh, yes." "But...you see... we don't use combs." "Our hair is worn very short." "Oh, it is?" "From the day we take our vows." "Hmm." "Shows you how dumb I am." "Well, I guess I could always use it... to comb my beard, huh?" "Mr. Allison... may I have it for a keepsake?" "Sure." "I shall cherish it always." "You know, I bet your hair... was long and yellow and wavy." "Didn't bother you to have it cut off like that, huh?" "It's no great sacrifice." "U m...ma'am... suppose a nun... changed her mind, you know?" "She didn't want to be a nun anymore." "What could she do about it?" "Our vows are not taken lightly, Mr. Allison." "You mean no nun ever got out?" "Well, it has happened, but rarely." "If the reasons are truly grave..." "His Holiness in Rome sometimes grants... a special dispensation." "Huh?" "Permission from the pope." "Oh." "Without that, it would be like... a marine's going over the hill, huh?" "What?" "Desertion." "Worse." "Much worse." "They wouldn't shoot you?" "We would lose our immortal souls." "Oh." "But such a thing is inconceivable, you see... because we're given such a long time... to make up our minds... and our hearts." "You are, huh?" "Even after our novitiate, we have 5 years... and only then do we take our final vows." "I was to have taken mine next month." "You was, and it..." "What's that?" "I said I was to have taken... my final vows next month." "You mean, um... you still, uh... if you wanted to, that is... y-you still could, like, uh... pull out?" "I could... if my mind and my heart were not made up." "Guns." "Heavy stuff." "Battlewagons, slugging it out." "Like having $2 seats to a Joe Louis fight, ain't it?" "Just too far away to see anything." "Wow." "That one found the magazine." "Hey, ma'am!" "Ma'am!" "Sister Angela!" "They've gone." "Come on out." "You hear me, ma'am?" "Yes, Mr. Allison." "Coming." "Coming, Mr. Allison." "They've gone, ma'am." "Pulled out during the night, every mother's son." "Yes, they've really gone." "You don't have to whisper now, ma'am." "You can shout if you want to." "Yahoo!" "They left all kinds of stuff here, ma'am." "Rice." "Soap even." "Ha ha!" "We're sitting pretty, ma'am." "With anyone else but me" "With anyone..." "We're pitching us a liberty, ma'am." "You know how I'd like to start?" "By washing my clothes and getting clean again." "Don't sit under the apple tree" "With anyone else but me" "Oh, with anyone else but me" "With anyone..." "[Allison Hums" "Some moon, ain't it, ma'am?" "Things are..." "Things are just as bright as day almost." "Funny, it seems bigger than that stateside moon, huh?" "It's a lovely moon... to sew by." "[Humming" "What a gay little song." "Do you know the words, Mr. Allison?" "U m..." "Don't sit under the apple tree" "With anyone else but me" "With anyone else but me" "Anyone else but me" "Don't sit under the apple tree" "With anyone else but me" "Till I come marchin' home" "Ah, this terrible war... taking young men from their sweethearts." "Isn't there someone back home... waiting for you, Mr. Allison?" "No, ma'am." "Now, that's hard to believe." "Big handsome fella like you..." "You should have a wife and family." "Yes, ma'am." "Ma'am, there's something I'd like to say to you." "Yes, Mr. Allison." "Well, uh... it's like this, uh, ma'am." "Yes, Mr. Allison?" "You know them big red flowers?" "Hibiscus?" "Yeah." "Well, uh... if you like, I'll pick some for you." "Thank you." "Mr. Allison, would it be all right... if I didn't sleep in the cave, but out in the open?" "It's such a lovely night." "Oh, sure, ma'am." "I'll fix a lean-to for you on the hill... so you can duck into the cave quick-like if you have to." "What do you think is going to happen next, Mr. Allison?" "Oh, I don't know." "That big sea battle, maybe we won it." "That's why the Japanese pulled out." "In which case, it's our guys' turn to clobber the island." "Would they make a landing afterward?" "It figures." "Do you think they'll come soon?" "Ought to be right away." "Oh." "Oh, I hope." "I hope." "Ma'am, I just got to tell you." "What?" "When you go back home again, ma'am... don't do it, huh?" "Please." "Please don't." "Don't do what?" "Don't take those vows... those... those final ones." "Don't do it, huh, ma'am?" "I, um..." "I never loved anything or anybody before." "I never even lived before... not...really lived... inside." "So, uh... that's why I want to ask you to marry me." "I want to look after you... not only while we're here, but, uh... for the rest of our lives." "I couldn't keep from saying it, ma'am." "So, uh... tell me... if there's a chance, huh?" "I-I don't mean to give offense, ma'am, but, uh... is there?" "No, Mr. Allison." "You see, I've already given my heart... to Christ, our Lord." "You mean like you was engaged or something?" "Yes." "This is the ring." "And when I make my final vows..." "I'll wear a gold one... a marriage ring." "Oh, I-I didn't know." "I didn't know it was set up like that." "I..." "I guess I didn't have no right to speak." "Well, guess I'll go, uh, fix that lean-to for you." "Hello, ma'am." "Well, no sign of 'em yet." "Our guys, I mean." "But you do think they're coming?" "They've got to." "Of course, uh, nothing's certain in this crazy war." "Ma'am." "Yes, Mr. Allison." "I must have been off my rocker last night." "A marine oughtn't to get married." "That ain't fair to his family or the corps." "One of them's gotta get the short end." "Like just before an attack... he asks himself which is better..." "A dead husband or a bad marine?" "He ends up both." "Even a peacetime marriage ain't no good." "A marine gets sent all over the world." "What I mean, there's all kinds of temptations." "So, uh...it's better, you know... that he ain't tied down-like." "You do me a favor, huh, ma'am?" "Just, uh, forget I opened my big mouth." "Certainly, Mr. Allison." "The rice'll be ready in a minute." "Look, Mr. Allison, what I found in the rice sack." "It has a most peculiar odor." "I wonder what it could be." "Well, ma'am, I'll tell you." "That's, uh... sake." "It's, uh, kind of a Japanese drink." "Oh, yes." "Sake." "It, uh, isn't that the wine made from rice?" "Well, it's kind of like wine, yeah, ma'am... only a little bit stronger." "Will you have one with me?" "Well, uh... perhaps." "Just a small one." "Here's how." "How." "Oh." "Yes, it is strong, isn't it?" "Oh." "Ohh." "Mr. Allison, what's the matter?" "Matter?" "Nothing's the matter." "What makes you think something's the matter?" "Well, you... you haven't eaten anything." "Haven't I?" "." "Mr. Allison... don't you think you... you've had enough sake?" "No, ma'am." "I'm pitching myself a liberty." "Don't sit under the apple tree" "With anyone else but me" "Anyone else but me" "Anyone else but me" "No, no, no, don't sit under the apple tree..." "What'd you want to be a nun for?" "Mr. Allison... please." "It's just my luck." "That's old Allison's luck." "If you have to be a nun, why aren't you old and ugly?" "Huh?" "Mr. Allison, I-I think I've mastered this..." "This Japanese game." "It's a little like draughts." "Why do you have to have big blue eyes... and a beautiful smile?" "And freckles." "Did you ever play draughts?" "No, ma'am." "Only craps." "Craps." "Acey-deucey." "Well, then I'll teach you." "It's quite simple." "Now, then, you're white, and I'm black." "The object of the game... is to take each other's men." "That's all old Allison needs... a game of draughts." "That'll fix everything up." "You don't want to play?" "No, ma'am." "I mean, yes, ma'am." "I mean..." "I don't want to play no game of draughts." "Yes." "Well, then in that case..." "I think I'll say good night." "Good night, ma'am." "Mr. Allison!" "Poor Father Phillips loved this pipe." "You ought to be ashamed." "What good is it without tobacco?" "Let me tell you something, ma'am." "We're gonna be on this island for years and years." "Till the war's over anyway." "If our guys were coming, they would've been here by now." "What I mean, we been bypassed." "Have we, Mr. Allison?" "It's just you and me, see?" "Now, what's the point your being a nun... if we're all alone?" "Answer me that." "You can't, can you?" "'Cause there ain't no point." "No more than my being a marine." "What would you do all day, pray?" "And I, uh, I'd drill, I guess, huh?" "I can see that." "You telling those beads and me doing the manual of arms... different ends of the island." "We don't belong to nothing beyond this island." "All we got is it and each other... like Adam and Eve." "Like, uh... like we was the first two people on the earth... and this is the Garden of Eden." "Ohh... what you crying about, ma'am?" "Come back, ma'am." "Sister Angela." "Where are you?" "Come back this very minute!" "Do you hear me, ma'am?" "Answer me!" "Please, ma'am, answer me." "Where are you, ma'am?" "Oh." "Ma'am." "Why'd you want to run off like that for, ma'am?" "I didn't mean what I said." "Any of it." "I was only drunk-talking." "You don't have to be afraid of me, ma'am." "I wouldn't hurt you." "I'd rather die first." "Here, ma'am." "Now, ma'am." "Shh." "Put..." "Put out the light." "Sister Brigida's coming." "N-Now, ma'am." "I didn't..." "I didn't do it." "Cold." "I'm cold." "Ma'am." "Ma'am, we gotta get them wet clothes off ya." "You hear me, ma'am?" "Hmm?" "Hmm?" "You gotta help me, ma'am." "Hmm?" "Gotta get them wet clothes off ya." "Mr. Allison?" "Yes, ma'am." "What's happened?" "You been sick, ma'am... awful sick." "Have I?" "." "Two... three days now." "You've..." "You've been, um... out of your head... like." "Ooh." "Why are we in the cave?" "The Japanese have come back, ma'am." "Oh, I, uh..." "You were shakin' with cold, ma'am." "I..." "I had to get you out of them wet clothes." "Thank you, Mr. Allison." "I don't deserve no thanks." "It was my fault you got sick." "I was drunk, and, uh... you got scared of me... and ran away from me in the rain." "I ran away?" "Oh, yes." "Please forgive me, ma'am." "I wasn't running from you." "You wouldn't have done me any harm." "I knew that." "I was running from the truth." "How's that, ma'am?" "There was a great deal of truth in what you said." "No, there wasn't, ma'am." "Not a bit." "Like I said we was gonna be alone on this island... for years and years." "Very next thing, 2,000 Japanese show up." "How wrong could a guy get?" "Dear Mr. Allison... they might not be here tomorrow." "Tomorrow might not come." "Perhaps God doesn't intend me to take my final vows." "We're..." "We're living from hour to hour." "Only he knows what'll happen to us." "And he won't tell, huh, ma'am?" "He might." "They're swarming all over the island, ma'am... burnin' down the tall grass and the bamboo groves." "But why, Mr. Allison?" "Do you know why?" "Must have found the body." "Body?" "What body?" "The one got his throat cut." "You killed a man?" "It was a case of had to, ma'am." "He come at me." "When you went down to get the blankets?" "Yes, ma'am." "Oh, dear God, forgive me." "You had to kill a man because I ran away." "That's crazy talk, ma'am." "He was the enemy." "It's my duty to destroy the enemy." "I've been... neglecting' it, you might say, account of you." "They're coming up here." "Now, look, I'm gonna do a fast turn outside... you know, just show my bushy tai l... and then lose them and double back here." "Now, you just sit tight." "No, Mr. Allison." "We'll remain here... or we'll go out, as you wish, but... together." "All right, ma'am." "Dear God, Mr. Allison here is not of the church." "He's only a-a marine... but he is a good man, brave and very, very honest." "I humbly implore thee when his time comes, to be merciful... and receive him into thy holy presence." "Japanese Soldier:" "Hey, Joe!" "Come out with hands up!" "Okay, Joe, you get grenade." "Ma'am!" "You all right, ma'am?" "Yes." "That wasn't a grenade." "It was a bomb..." "Bombs falling'!" "That's the stuff, navy!" "Yeah!" "Pour it on 'em!" "Hey, ma'am!" "Ma'am, they're here!" "It's our guys!" "They're here!" "Look at 'em!" "And they got a landing' force" "Standin' off the shore!" "Hey, guys!" "Come on!" "Hubba!" "Hubba!" "Hubba!" "Don't sit under the apple tree" "With anyone else but me" "With anyone else but me" "With anyone else but me..." "Funny." "Our stuff sounds different coming in than the Japanese stuff." "I mean, our stuff sounds good, like firecrackers to a kid." "When will they try to land?" "Try?" "What do you mean try?" "They'll land, all right, if they're marines." "Of course." "If they're marines." "They'll come ashore when it starts gettin' light." "Will there be many..." "casualties?" "It figures." "The navy'll cease fire just before our guys hit the beach." "That's when the Japanese will come crawlin' out of their holes... and open up with those 105s." "105s?" "Big rifles, ma'am." "Rough on landing craft." "The Japanese have got four of them, hid real good." "Yeah, that's the tough time... that last 200, 300 yards." "Half the guys get it, get it then." "What time is it, Mr. Allison?" "Ain't 5:00 yet." "About an hour to go." "What is it, Mr. Allison?" "Ma'am, you remember sayin' God might tell us what's gonna happen?" "Yes." "Well, his voice don't have to be big and loud, does it... and come from above?" "Oh, no." "It usually comes from within." "Well, that case, I think he's talking to me right now." "Truly, Mr. Allison?" "Yeah, yeah." "Well, what is he saying?" "He's sayin' this here landing's gonna be real easy-like... without hardly anybody gettin' killed." "Oh, thanks be to him." "All it needs is for them 105s to get put out of commission." "And is there a way to do that?" "Yes, ma'am." "He just told me the way." "It's so simple, I should have thought of it myself." "You just keep pourin' it in, navy." "Keep it comin'." "Keep their heads down for another half hour... and you leave the rest to Allison." "Mr. Allison, are you sure it's God you're obeying... and not your own natural desire... to take part in the fighting?" "Pretty sure, ma'am." "Then he'll protect you." "Aah!" "Well, mission accomplished... like they say, ma'am." "Ooh." "I ain't killed, nothin'." "Ooh." "Ooh, lie down, Mr. Allison." "Small arms." "They're ashore." "Come on, marines." "Hubba hubba." "Ma'am, we're coming to the end of our time together." "Oh, we'll be seeing each other on and off... for the next couple of days maybe, but... it won't ever be just the two of us again, so..." "I'd like to say this now." "Very...pleased to have met you, ma'am." "It was a... privilege to know you." "I wish you ev-every happiness." "Good-bye." "Good-bye, Mr. Allison." "No matter how many miles apart we are... or whether I ever get to see your face again... you will be my dear companion always... always." "Hey, marine, you got a cigarette?" "I don't get it, Cap'n." "Four howitzers, plenty of am mo, no breechblocks." "They haven't fired a round." "Beats me."