"Morning." "You got your bath. I washed your clothes and cleaned your bedpan." "It's not ugly." "You say that every time." "It's not pathetic." "It's not a lie, either." "I'm just having a little fun, that's all." "I never let it go too far." "It doesn't hurt anybody." "Least of all me. I'll be back before we open." "Mother, open the door." "What are you talking about?" "It's a beautiful day." "Handsome devil." "Don't have to eat with him." "There's trees over yonder." "Why ain't they set up next to the trees?" " Leastways we'd get some shade." " l thought reptiles liked the sun." "Laugh and a half, this one." "Ought to be in showbiz!" "Y'all know where that road leads to?" "Babylon." "I hear they strung up three rousties in Babylon, back in '32... just to watch them dangle." "Horse-pucky!" "Babylon don't even exist." "It's just a tale that carnies tell around a bottle." "It was four." "And it wasn't rousties, it was freaks." "Three pinheads and an albino named Freddie Neff." "I hate albinos." "Maybe Samson will talk some sense to the boss, maybe Jonesy." "Jonesy?" "Hell, that boy don't squat unless Samson says shit." " Shit!" " l'm serious!" "Carnies bellyaching." "Sounds real serious to me." "I was talking with the men and they were telling me things they're not happy with." "Osgood!" "Run, get the sedan." "It ain't just bellyaching." "I got men ready to bolt." " l don't have time for this." " They've been hinky since we left the circuit." "Now you got us setting up here." "It just don't make sense to me." " lt ain't my call." " Then talk to him." "Tell him." "You know that ain't gonna do a damn bit of good." "Well then, I..." "Maybe I could take a crack at it, you know." " l could maybe talk to him." " That's not gonna happen." "I expect you to have everything up and running by the time I get back." "Go." " That's telling him, Jonesy." " Shut your hole and get back to work." "That goes for the lot of you." "Get back to work." "Enter." "What are you doing?" "Rolling up bottles and putting them in drawers." "Hand me the last one." "You wanted to talk to me?" "No." "Fine." "I have something to show you." "About Scudder." "OK." "So show it to me, then." "It isn't in my possession." "You'll have to drive us there." "Where?" "Not far." "You best not be pulling some kind of monkey shine." "Shall we?" "Lovely." "Norman, what are you doing here?" "I wish you had called ahead." "I would have had Iris make us something." "I'll show you around the children's dormitories." "This is not a social visit, Justin." "McNaughton received this letter today." "They sent this to the bishop?" "Why didn't you tell your church board, someone, what you were doing?" "I didn't want to deal with their red tape." "Justin, how many times do I have to tell you... I didn't spend one penny of the board's money, not one cent of their funds." "You are a church asset." "They pay you for your time." "That time should be spent with them." "Not over here." "But I haven't neglected that congregation." "Your board, and 72 of your members, think otherwise." "What if the bishop were to come here to see the good work...?" "The decision has been made." "Now either you turn this chapel over to someone else and return to your duties at First Methodist, or you'll be disciplined and reassigned." "I can't just stop." " There'll be some time for transition." " No." "No, you don't understand." "God told me to do this." "He spoke to me." " As he speaks to all of us." " No." "As he spoke to Abraham, and Isaiah, and Moses." "Thank you for coming, Norman." "Has it been that long?" "Has it been that long?" "Why, Samson, what a lovely surprise." "Good morning, Miss Jolene." "I thought these might brighten your day." "You sweet, darling man." "They most surely will." "All right, boys." "Hold your horses, here you go." "You better finish that this time." "You need anything else?" " l'm plenty good." " All right." " Everything OK, miss?" " You scared me." "I'm sorry." "My name's Harlan, Harlan Staub." "That there, that's my café." "Pleasure to meet you." "My name's Betty." " Betty Jones." " Miss Jones." "I couldn't help but notice you've been out here an awful long time." " Have I?" " Yeah." " About an hour and a half." " Has it been that long?" "I'm waiting for my brother, Ben." "He went to send a wire and run some errands." "He should be back by now." "Come inside and wait. lt's cooler." "I couldn't ." "I'm fine." "Really." " That's on the house, miss." " Oh, please." "It's my pleasure, miss." "Mrs." "I'm a widow." "Lost my husband almost a year and a half..." "Oh, God, it's been almost two years now." " How much further?" " Patience, boy." "Today we are presented with a unique opportunity." "Unique?" "What the hell does that mean?" "Telling you everything now would spoil the adventure." "OK, that's it." "I'm telling you." "You put up right now, or I'm turning back." "Dear me." "I'm afraid it's much too late for that." "Ah, hell." "I should be paying you." "You're probably right." "But I wouldn't have it any other way." "Boss!" "Hey, boss!" "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." "Tell the others to pack it up." " Batten it down." " We gotta move to shelter." "We ride it out here." "Go, goddamn it, go!" "Break it down!" "He was Clayton Jones." "He was the star boxman for the Sox." " Real fireballer." " Horsehide Houdini?" "Yeah." "That's what they called him." "Yeah. I remember something." "He got hurt." "Yeah. lt was his knee." "And real bad too." "Nearly a cripple." "Damn." "That was the end of that." "He changed." "Everything changed." "He got real sad, real quiet." "And one day... I came home... I smelled gunpowder." "And I found him upstairs." "Hey, I'm real sorry." " Mama." " Wait, you can't go out there." " l have to get back." " You can't go out there!" "We have to wait this bastard out." "In my experience, darkness often yields the brightest light." "That's swell, Lodz." "I'm gonna get me some shuteye right about now." "Just pound it out of her, girl." "You loony son of a bitch." "Hawkins." " What the hell are you doing?" " Welcome." "So are you married?" "Never found the right girl." "Then who's Sally?" " Sally?" " Sally's Café." "Yeah, right." "That's my mom." "She taught me how to cook." "That was bound to happen sooner or later." "I've got two bucks." "Two bucks?" "All right." "You brought me out here, for what?" "Nothing!" "I almost got dead out there." "You were not in any real danger." "I think we both know that." " l damn near died!" " How melodramatic." "Born for the stage, young Hawkins." "This storm." "It's what they call a black blizzard, no?" "It's a name they gave to it." "The topsoil of ten thousand farms, much like your own." "Kills dreams." "Lend me your hand, boy." "It killed your mother." "What's it to you?" "She drowned in it." "The dust." " You shut the hell up." " Alone!" "You shut it, or I swear to Christ I'll shut it for you." "Of course, you survived it." "Stop it now." "That ceaseless howling." "The high-pitched shriek of wind." "Listen." "The sound of her death." "Make it stop." "Stop it now!" "Open the door." "You did that." "You did that too." " You're crazy." " Quite." " But it was you who stopped the storm." " That had nothing to do with me." "It had everything to do with you." "Only God can make the weather stop." "Think you can hide what you are?" "You can't ." "Not even from yourself." "A blind man can see that." "Don't be a fool." "Let me help you." "I don't want your goddamn help." "You're a two-bit, used up old junkie!" "You burned me." "But you're not burned, are you?" "Yet the smell of burning flesh lingers on in the air." "What is it?" " We need to speak to Norman." " Norman was the messenger." "What did he say?" "He said that I should obey the bishop." "Norman has always done what's best for us." " Yes, I know." "He saved us." " More than once." "I won't ignore the will of God..." "But maybe it's God speaking to you too." "First Methodist is your rock." "Wait, be patient." "Your time will come." "Do you know that there was a boy here whose mother abandoned him in the restroom of a five-and-dime?" "Or that Pollyann's father sold her to some men for one dollar." "No, of course not." "Who wants to dwell on things like that?" "We never consider the little ones." "We only put on our clothes." "Who can see the children feeding the endless, ravenous hunger of the textile mill?" "Mechanical mouths that aren't choosy." "Silken thread." "A lock of hair." "A scrap of scalp." "Tiny, torn fingers." "We only turn up the heat." "Why think of the boys in the mines crouched over the chutes?" "For hours they sit, sifting the refuse from the coal, their backs bent." "Old men by nine." "Black lung by twelve." "Coal is heavy and hard." "Hands are soft and fragile, crushed." "Feet crushed." "Skulls crushed." "Go for a walk, you see them." "Boys and girls, selling themselves to men and women." "A nickel buys a virgin." "Some are kept in cages." "Babies bought by men who raise them as livestock." "Animals to abuse." "Soft flesh to violate, to tear and bite." "If anyone causes even one of the little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea!" "They must open their eyes!" "They must open their mouths and drown!" " Anyone seen Sofie?" " No." "So when are we gonna get to shelter?" "When Management says so, just like always." "What happened?" "Wind." "How many tricks you turn in a day?" "Tricks?" "That's what we call them at the carnival." "How many?" "Why?" "Just curious." "Businessman to businesswoman." "Five." "Three, maybe." "How long does it take you to do each one?" "Assuming it's straight-up fucking." "Half-hour." "Maybe less." "Seemed more like 45 minutes by my watch." "You was timing us?" "I only heard the bedsprings creaking for the first 12 minutes... I bet you can turn them out faster." "Way faster." "Might cut into repeat business." "No, hell." "What does a fellow care how long it takes as long as he gets his nut?" "Besides, you increase your profit." "Double, maybe, if you can get it down to under six minutes." "Why, you can churn them out in 20 minutes for the pillow talk." "Tell you what." "Let's see how fast you can do Osgood, here." "Sawbuck says you will." " l ain't ready." " You ready when I tell you you're ready." "I said no." "Ten." "Why are you doing this?" "OK." " l just don't think..." " Come on!" "Don't sell yourself short." "Tell you what." "Keep your money." "I like this boy." "I don't want it." "You have no choice." "I don't have to use it." "Don't be absurd. lt's a gift!" "I gave up my eyes for a fraction of what you possess." "You must let me help you, boy." "Babylon will be upon us soon." "I don't care." "The very land the town stands on is poison." "It swallows men." "It will swallow you too, if you are not prepared." "But I can teach you." "Hawkins, answer me." "I'll take my chances." "Oh, God." "Looks like things are clearing up out there some." " Smoke?" " Sure." "It's OK." "It was the storm." "For your statue." "You gonna be out this way again?" "I expect so, sooner or later." "When you do, don't come back here." "She's gonna be OK." "She's lucky." "We all are." "Bad as this thing is, it could have been worse." "I had no say in it." "Ain't blaming you, Jonesy." "It was Management's call." "Samson's the only one who can talk to him." "Hell, everybody knows that." "That gal is a real wing-dinger." "Shut up, Osgood." "Everything OK?" "You all right in there?" "Samson's gone." "Thought I'd check in on you." "Hello?" "It's me, Jonesy." "Clayton Jones." "You awake?" "Sir?" "Goddamn." "Well?" "Don't you wish to learn more?" "Did you get what you want from the kid?" " More." " l knew he'd be a ripe suck." "There is much work to be done." "I'm sorry." "Yes, I did." "We'll talk about it later, OK?" "I didn't know he was married." "That's an ugly lie." "Howdy do, there, Jonesy." "Blowdown to end all blowdowns, huh?" "Everything hunky-dory?" "Just fine." "Right as rain." "There's been a fire at the ministry." "My God." "Where are the children?" "English"