"Hey, Wiglow!" "Yes, sir." "Can you hear me?" "Yes, sir." "Can you find the holes?" "Yes, sir." "Make sure you get the big ones." "Yes, sir." "Ain't you got nothing to do?" "Not a thing." "Ain't you going to help him?" "I'm retired." "Baby Doll." "Archie Lee, you're a mess." "Do you know what they call such people?" "Peeping Toms!" "Ain't there a name for a woman that sleeps in a baby's crib... to stay away from her husband?" "I'm gonna plug up the hole in that wall... and if I ever catch you again peeking at me in my sleep..." "I'm moving into the Kotton King Hotel." "And keep your filthy dogs off my furniture!" "Let me talk with you." "I want to talk with you." "Save your breath to drum up business for your cotton gin..." "Close that door so I can get dressed." "Go on, get dressed." "Not until you get on the other side of that door and close it." "Today is the 5th of November, tomorrow's the 6th... and the day after is the 7th." "You know what day that is, don't you?" "November 7th is your 20th birthday." "Sweet of you to remember." "Where's my birthday present?" "You'll get your birthday present... providing you haven't forgotten the agreement between us... which comes due on that day." "The agreement?" "Yes, the agreement." "You swore on the Bible to keep your side." "If you kept yours." "Have I laid a hand on you?" "Yes, as often as possible..." "Have I?" "Have I ever once forced myself on you?" "As your husband, by law." "Or don't the law mean nothing to you?" "How about your side of the agreement?" "You talked mighty big when you were courting me... you told my daddy you'd put me in the grandest house in the county." "I put you in Tiger Tail, I bought it and put you in it." "Tiger Tail is the grandest house in the county." "Yes, the biggest old wreck of a place in the whole delta." "You said you were going to restore this place... exactly how it was before, only better... make a show place, you said." "Yeah, a freak-show!" "I've got my man on the roof now." "Can't you hear the hammer?" "Is that a hammer?" "I thought it was a king size termite." "If you ain't the most ungrateful little..." "I have mortgaged myself to satisfy your demands." "You told lies to my daddy in order to get me." "Get you?" "I ain't got you yet." "And you ain't about to either." "I'm telling you that if the Ideal Furniture Company... removes those five sets of furniture from this house... that agreement you spoke about is automatically cancelled." "Now, would you kindly go back in your own room?" "I'm gonna get me a good job while I'm in town today... just in case, just in case." "Admiring yourself in the mirror!" "Just look at yourself." "You're not exactly a young girl's dream come true." "There was an old witch named Granny Crow... wherever she spit, no grass would grow." "That old witch must've spit on the top of your head." "Thank you, thank you." "You're a woman not grown, therefore I'll make allowances." "Aunt Rose screams every time the phone rings." "What does she do a fool thing like that for?" "The phone ringing scares her." "Aunt Rose, why don't you answer the phone?" "Aunt Rose." "Aunt Rose." "Aunt Rose Comfort!" "Why don't you answer?" "I can't catch my breath when it rings." "Answer it!" "Hello?" "This is Miss." "Rose Comfort." "No, the lady of the house is Mrs. Archie Lee Meighan..." "They don't want to know that, who is it and what do they want?" "I can't hear well, could you speak a bit louder?" "The Ideal Pay As You Go Plan?" "Give me the phone." "Now, what is this, boy?" "Yes." "Today?" "No, you've got to give me a little more time." "I've had a little set back in business lately..." "The syndicate built their own cotton gin, and I lost their trade." "It's going to take me a little longer to recover from that..." "Then take it out!" "Take it out, out, out!" "You'll never get my business again, never." "Honey, you ain't gonna lose your fine furniture...?" "Will you shut up and get back in the kitchen?" "And don't you speak a word of what you heard to my wife." "Don't holler anymore in this house, and don't cackle... or I'll pack you up and haul you off to that home at Sunset." "Did you say something to me Archie Lee?" "Yes." "I said shoot!" "What made her holler this time?" "How do I know what made her holler this time... or last time, or the next time?" "The last time was because you throwed something at her." "What did I ever throw at Aunt Rose?" "A glass of water, for singing church hymns in the kitchen." "Water?" "This much water." "I barely sprinkled her." "She don't hear nothing." "I know." "You've got to do something to get the old woman's attention." "Hey, hey, cut that out!" "Archie!" "Get your hands off me!" "Get them off!" "I'm moving to the Kotton King Hotel... the next time you try to break our agreement, the very next time..." "Baby Doll!" "Baby Doll!" "Come down, if you're going into town with me..." "I've got to be at the doctor's ten minutes ago." "Baby Doll!" "If you're so impatient, go ahead without me." "I've plenty of ways of getting to town without you." "That's true." "You come on!" "Get your cotton-picking tail down here." "Take your time." "Morning, Sam." "What are you waiting for?" "Come on, get into the car." "I'll get into the back seat of that skatterbolt... when you get out, walk around, and open the door like a gentleman." "You'll wait a long time if that's what you're waiting for." "I declare, my father would turn over in his grave." "I never once saw your father open a door for any woman... especially not your water-legged mother." "Get in!" "Sid, come here." "Why are we stopping here?" "What are you doing here?" "Vacarro's got me working for him now." "For him?" "You're working for him?" "What could I do?" "The syndicate shut my gin down." "What's going on?" "A celebration of some kind..." "Why shouldn't they celebrate?" "It's got every last bit of business in the county." "Every last bit of what you and I used to get." "They've got an up-to-date gin, not like your pile of junk." "When are we getting out of here?" "Would you mind moving your arm?" "Happy anniversary." "She's sure grown up." "I'm as fond of Aunt Rose as you are, but I'm in no position to feed and..." "Look here, the day Aunt Rose is unwelcome under your roof... her and me both is moving out." "She can't cook..." "If you don't like her cooking, get me a regular servant... don't think I'll cook for a big fat old thing like you." "Quit saying fat..." "Lose weight and I'll quit saying it." "Right, but I'm serving you notice, if that old woman dies in my house..." "I ain't gonna pay for her funeral." "I'll have her burned up." "Cremated." "I'll pack her ashes in an old bottle... and I'll pitch the bottle into Tiger Tail Bayou." "Mr. Meighan, you're late for your appointment." "The doctor will see you anyway, I don't know why." "Hey." "Hi." "Are you the dentist?" "Yes, ma'am, I'm the dentist." "I was scouting around for a job and I noticed your sign... and I thought I might help you out." "What are you doing?" "A boy in here a while ago beat me playing checkers." "I still can't figure out why." "Well, what do you do?" "Can you type?" "No, I don't do no typing... but I print a real good hand." "I don't know whether we can use that." "You're awful young to be a dentist." "I'm just getting started." "What's the matter with you?" "I haven't been myself, John." "In what way?" "Well, you're not an old man, but you're not a young man either." "That's the truth, it's no lie." "How long have you been married?" "About a year." "She's pretty." "Yeah, I guess so." "Youth." "Been under some sort of a strain?" "No, no strain at all." "You look mighty nervous to me." "I'm not nervous." "You'd have to know typing." "It's typing." "Awfully nice talking to you." "Yes, ma'am." "Mr. Meighan, come back in here." "The doctor's going to give you a prescription." "Archie Lee, all I think you need is a harmless sedative." "Take this down to old man Hogg, and take it according to directions." "Here you are." "Don't forget your sweater." "It won't help what's wrong with you one bit." "How you doing, Archie?" "I've spent just about the whole day sitting on Main Street." "Why didn't you bring me a double dip?" "How long are we gonna sit here?" "I've got to wait for my prescription." "What the hell's so funny?" "Chinamen." "People know the situation between us." "Yesterday on Front St, a man said to me..." ""Has your wife outgrowed her crib yet?"" "Three or four others haw-hawed at me." "It was public humiliation." "Private humiliation is just as painful." "There's no torture to equal the torture... which a cold woman inflicts on a man." "There's no torture to compare with it." "I've staked out a lot in hell, with a rotten house on it... and five sets of furniture not paid for." "You've bit off more than you can chew." "Archie Lee, is that our furniture?" "No, no it isn't." "They're taking away our furniture, go after them." "I've got to wait for my prescription." "Prescription?" "Mister, stop." "Come here." "Come here." "Stop, please." "Let's get home before they get the rest of it." "Baby Doll!" "You better go get her?" "I guess I better." "What would you do?" "Get tough with her." "Easy to say." "Come on." "Look out, here comes trouble." " What about those people, boss?" " Just keep loading." "Get out of my chair, out of my chair!" "Stay off my furniture!" "That's my rose lamp, get off!" "She better not hit me again." "Put that down!" "I thought I heard something rattling." "Leave me alone." "I don't want to be with a man who'd make me live without furniture." "Honey..." "My daddy would turn over in his grave if he knew." "Baby Doll, if your father turned in his grave as often as you say... the old man would fall off the graveyard." "Look at Aunt Rose, picking roses as if nothing had happened." "I'm moving to the Kotton King Hotel." "I'm moving to the Kotton King Hotel." "I'm gonna get me a good job." "The hotel manager helped carry my daddy's coffin, he'll give me one." "What sort of work do you think you could do?" "I could curl hair at a beauty parlour." "Or I reckon I could be a hostess..." "Second floor's all clear now." "Smile at people coming in a place." "What place?" "Any place." "I could be a cashier." "You can't count." "Well, I could pass out menus or programmes or something." "Say hello to people." "I can say hello." "Sign here." "Kotton King?" "This is Mrs. Meighan..." "I want to reserve a room for tomorrow morning." "I want to register under my maiden name... which is Baby Doll Carson McCorkle." "My daddy was T.C. Carson McCorkle... he died last summer, when I got married... he was a very close personal friend of the manager of the hotel." "What's his name?" "Archie Lee, look at these flowers." "Poems of nature." "When are we going to gin out some more cotton, Mr. Archie?" "Oh, my." "That's the strongest brandy I ever had." "It must've come right out of Tiger Tail brook." "Young man, Mr. Vacarro... this is a mighty fine party you're throwing tonight... in honour of your first anniversary as manager of the syndicate gin." "Just a minute there, sonny, hold it." "I've got something I ought to get off my chest." "Us good neighbours appreciate..." "Just a second." "Gentlemen, there'll be a fish fry Saturday night." "Catfish, hush puppies, dancing... bring your ladies." "You go right on." "I want you to know us neighbours appreciate your achievement... in bringing in the biggest cotton crop ever picked... on this blessed soil of Tiger Tail County." "Senator, my old dad once said..." ""Blessed is he who has nothing to say and cannot be persuaded to say it"." "A couple of boys don't look too happy." "They've no reason to be." "You put them out of business." " They've got plenty of good liquor." " I'll drink my own." "When you first came here..." "I'll admit us old-timers we a bit standoffish." "We didn't know you all that well." "Naturally, what's profitable to some is unprofitable to others." "As the fella says, one man's meat is another man's poison." "We all know some folks here have suffered financially... due in some way to this man's success with his syndicate plantation... but as a whole, the community stands to reap a nice fat profit." "Senator, next time, run on a Republican ticket... we'll get the nigger vote out for you." "Silva!" "Silva!" "Mr Silva!" "Move the wagons!" "Move them!" "Get that cotton moving!" "Get the cotton moving!" "Get those wagons out!" "Mr Silva, where are you?" "They're trying to kill me." "I found this... kerosene can." "Marshal, what are you going to do to find the men that burned my gin?" "What makes you sure your gin was set fire to?" "Look around you." "You ever seen so many happy faces?" "It's like a rich man's funeral with all his relations attending." "I'd hate to have to prove that." "I'd hate to have to depend on you to prove it." "I can't honestly imagine, if it's a case of arson, who done it." "Every man you put out of business was in that gin when the fire broke out." "One wasn't, I know of one that wasn't." "Naming names just on suspicion is a risky business." "I didn't name a name." "But whoever did it forgot to take this with him." "Marshal, he's your deputy." "I'll take this can and examine it very carefully." "See if there's a basis for thinking it was used for starting a fire." "I ran through fire to get this, I mean to keep it." "Lock it in the pick-up truck." "Ginnie, sing us a song." "I shall not, I shall not be moved. like a tree that's planted by the water..." "I shall not be moved." "How are you going to gin out the rest of your cotton?" "I'll truck it over to Sunset." "Collins will gin it out for me." "Collins has got his own cotton to gin." "Well, I'll truck it over to Bolivar county." "No one around here's gonna gin it out for me." "I shall not be moved." "Silva!" "Get off..." "It's me." "They got the can, boss." "Who?" "Somebody jumped me from the rear." "Stay back, stay back." "Boy, take the advice of an old-timer... who was born and raised in this county... and knows every nigger, every hound dog... every toadstool and every tree stump in 50 miles around." "My advice is not to make any more reckless charges." "Being a foreigner, you already got strike one and two..." "I want no advice, no law and no court in this county." "I'm from an old country where it's tradition for each man... to make his own justice... like bootleg liquor, private, in secret." "Because there was corruption there too... and justice was executed by each man himself, alone." "I mean Biblical justice." "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth." "Let's go." "I've got to know who did this." "I think I know." "Which one did it?" "You know." "They were all in the shed except one... the one who wasn't, I figure did it." "He's the one who's going to gin out my cotton." "Get her up." "Furniture's coming back today." "Have mercy..." "Go on, get." "Don't say a word, a little bird already told me... you'd bring wagons full of cotton straight to my door." "I want you to know you're a very lucky fella." "How come?" "I'm in a position to hold back the other orders and give you priority." "Come on, get out of that truck and have some coffee." "What's the price?" "You remember, it hasn't changed." "How about your equipment?" "A1 shape, always was." "You ought to remember that." "You needed a new saw cylinder." "You got one?" "I can't find one on the market to equal the old one yet." "Come on, have some coffee." "We're ready for you." "When you saw my gin burn down last night you must've figured... you might get a good deal of business your way in the morning." "You want to know something?" "I'm always glad to know something when there's something to know." "I never did see that fire of yours." "No, sir." "No, sir." "Come on." "Come on in my house and have some coffee." "You, you come too." "Come on, come on." "No, I never did see that fire." "We hit the sack after supper and I didn't know till this morning." "Baby Doll, come out here." "Come here, Baby Doll." "I want you to meet Mr. Vacarro, from the syndicate plantation." "Say, what's your first name?" "How do you spell it?" "S, I, L, V, A." "Sure enough?" "Like a "silva" lining?" "Every cloud has got a silver lining!" "What's that from, the Bible?" "No, the mother goose book." "That name sounds foreign." "It is, Mrs. Meighan..." "I'm known as the wop that runs the syndicate plantation." "Don't call yourself names, let the others do that." "You sure are a lucky fella, Silva, gold or nickel plated... you're lucky I could take a job on of your size now." "You're my neighbour and I believe in the good neighbour policy." "You do me a good turn, and I'll do you a good turn." "Tit for tat and tat for tit is the policy we live on." "Aunt Rose Comfort..." "Baby Doll..." "Get your daddy's old maid sister to bring coffee for Mr. Vacarro." "Get her yourself?" "Honey..." "Honey, honey, honey." "I want you to entertain these gentlemen." "Look, look at her blush." "Look." "Look at her blush." "This is my Baby..." "My little girl, every precious ounce of her is mine." "Aunt Rose!" "Aunt Rose Comfort!" "Excuse my yawn, we was up awful late last night." "So, you're a wop?" "I'm a Sicilian, Mrs. Meighan, a very ancient people." "Sicilian..." "I'm from Corpus Christi." "How unusual." "Honey, at noon, I want you to take Mr. Vacarro... to the Kotton King for a chicken dinner." "Sign my name..." "When bad luck hits you... you find out who your friends are." "I mean to prove it." "Baby Doll, I want you to entertain this gentleman in the house... it's the good neighbour policy, tit for tat and tat for tit." "You do me a good turn and I'll do you a good turn." "That's right, come on, honey." "Now, make those wagons move now, get them rolling." "I can't make nobody comfortable in that house... you're lucky if you can find a chair to sit down on." "You want coffee?" "No, just a cool drink of water, thank you, ma'am." "The house water runs warm... but if you've the energy to work that old pump... you can get a nice cool drink from that cistern." "I've got energy to burn." "They dump their garbage in the yard." "Ignorance, indulgence and stink." "Well Mrs. Meighan smelled pretty good." "You keep your nose in the cotton." "Sometimes, water comes, sometimes it don't." "This time it will." "Bring me a drink of that nice cool well water, please." ""So, you're a wop?"" "I don't have the strength anymore to draw water out of that well." "Would you like a cool drink of water?" "How do you do?" "I'm Aunt Rose Comfort." "My brother was Baby Doll's daddy, Mr. T.C. Carson McCorkle." "I've been visiting here since..." "I can't remember just when it was." "I hope you don't mind drinking out of a gourd." "Excuse me please, that old hen has got back in my kitchen." "I could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon... than drinking cool well water with Mrs. Meighan." "Stay with the cotton." "Go on, stay with the cotton." "There's such a difference in water... you wouldn't think so, but there certainly is." "I take it you've not had this place long, Mrs. Meighan?" "No." "We've had it long." "Don't you have garbage collectors on Tiger Tail road?" "Oh, it costs extra for them to come out here... and Archie Lee..." "I don't know, I almost give up sometimes." "You say you've got a bunch of unfurnished rooms in this house?" "Five complete sets of furniture... hauled away by the Ideal Pay As You Go Plan Furniture Company." "When did this misfortune fall upon you?" "Yesterday." "Ain't that awful?" "Yesterday." "Both of us had misfortunes on the same day..." "You lost your furniture, my cotton gin burned down." "Yes..." "Quite a coincidence!" "What's that?" "I said it was a coincidence of misfortune." "Sure." "What can you do with a bunch of unfurnished rooms?" "Well, you could play hide and seek." "Not me, I'm not athletic." "When I arrived in this county to take over the syndicate plantation... this house was empty, I was told it was haunted." "Yes, that's why Archie Lee got it for almost nothing." "Sometimes I don't know where to go or what to do." "That's not uncommon, people enter this world without instructions." "I said..." "Is that your breakfast?" "I said, people come into this world without instructions... where to go or what to do." "They wander a little and then go away." "Drift for a while and then vanish... they make room for newcomers." "Old goes, new comes." "Going and coming, back and forth." "Rush, rush." "Permanent, nothing." "Anything living... that lasts long enough to take it serious..." "What's this?" "It's that old car belonging to Mrs. Dobarn... the lady that used to own this house and haunts it now." "Where to, madam?" "We're gonna play chauffeur." "Drive me along the river with all the windows open to cool me off." "The chauffeur sits in the front." "That seat's got no cushion." "Come on!" "Get on your feet, let's go!" "Look out, get on your feet, let's get in there." "Let's cut some cotton." "It's hard to find a place to sit since the Ideal Furniture Company... lost patience, to sit in comfort." "It's hard to sit in comfort when the Ideal people lost their patience... and your gin burns down." "Would you move your leg?" "But it's cool in here." "Comfortable to sit in." "What's this here?" "It's my charm bracelet." "My daddy gave it to me." "They're the Ten Commandments." "And these here?" "My birthday." "How many charming birthdays have you had?" "As many as the charms on the bracelet." "Do you mind?" "Count them." "That's all." "I'll be 20 tomorrow." "Tomorrow is election day and my birthday... and the day that Franklin Roosevelt was elected for the first time." "It's a great day for the country for both reasons." "He was a man to respect." "And you're a lady to respect." "Me?" "I never got past the fourth grade." "Why did you quit?" "Well, I had a great deal of trouble with long division." "The teacher would send me up to the blackboard to work on a problem... and I would go up to the blackboard, lean my head against it... and cry and cry." "Would you move your leg?" "You want me to move my leg?" "Otherwise, I can't get out." "OK." "Well..." "I'd just cry and cry and cry." "Well, finally I left school... and a girl without education, a girl without..." "Mr. Vacarro?" "Just picking up a few pecan nuts." "Excuse me..." "Excuse me, Mr. Vacarro... but I wouldn't dream of eating a nut a man had cracked in his mouth." "You've got many refinements." "Thank you." "I don't think you need worry about your failure at long division." "After all, you got through short division... short division is all a lady ought to be called on to cope with." "Well..." "I ought to be going in now." "I get so depressed going through all them empty rooms." "Are all the rooms empty?" "Except the nursery and kitchen." "The stuff there is paid for." "Do you have a child in the nursery?" "Me?" "No." "I sleep in the nursery myself." "I let the slats down on the crib." "Why do you sleep in the nursery?" "Mr. Vacarro, that's a personal question." "Well, I ought to be going in now." "There are rooms in that house I've never been in... like, for instance, the attic." "Most of the time I'm scared to go in that house by myself." "Just take last night, when the fire broke out..." "I sat here for hours waiting for Archie Lee to come home..." "I was scared of going in the house by myself." "It must have been scary, without your husband to look out for you." "I'm telling you." "The fire broke out and lit up the whole sky... with crazy shadows." "And we didn't have a Coke in the house." "I was mad at Archie Lee." "You were mad, why?" "He went off and left me without a Coke in the house." "He left you without a Coke?" "Yes, he did." "And he didn't get back until way after the fire had broken out." "I got smoke in my eyes, in my nose, in my throat..." "I was in such a worn out nervous condition, I cried." "Finally, I took two teaspoons of paregoric." "Sounds like you passed a very uncomfortable night." "Sounds like?" "It was." "So Mr. Meighan disappeared after supper." "You say Mr. Meighan left the house for a while after supper?" "Yes, for a moment." "Just a moment?" "How long a moment?" "What are you driving at?" "Driving at?" "You're looking at me so funny." "How long a moment did he disappear for, can you remember?" "What difference does it make?" "It doesn't matter..." "Why should you mind my asking?" "You make it sound like I'm on trial." "Don't you like to pretend like you're a witness?" "Witness of what?" "Say, for instance, a case of arson." "Arson?" "The wilful destruction of property by fire." "What?" "About my husband leaving after supper, I can explain that." "Can you?" "Sure." "Good, how can you explain it?" "What's the matter?" "Can't you collect your thoughts?" "Your mind's a blank on the subject?" "Do you find it impossible to remember just why your husband disappeared?" "You can't imagine what kind of errand he went on, can you?" "But, when he returned... the fire had just broken out at the syndicate plantation." "I can't imagine what you could possible be driving at." "No?" "You're a very unsatisfactory witness, Mrs. Meighan." "Should we drop the subject?" "I sure wish you would." "Well, sure." "It's no use crying over a burnt down gin." "Besides, like your husband said... this world is built on the principle of tit for tat." "What do you mean?" "Nothing specific." "Do you mind if I...?" "What?" "Sit down." "Is it strong enough to support us both?" "I hope." "Let's swing a little." "You seem all tense." "Motion relaxes people." "It's like a cradle." "A cradle relaxes a baby." "They call you Baby, don't they?" "That's sort of a nickname." "Well, in a swing you can relax just like in a cradle." "I don't like to swing." "Besides, I'm relaxed as much as necessary..." "No, you're not." "Your nerves are all tied up." "You make me nervous." "For swinging?" "Not just that." "What else, then?" "All those questions about the fire." "I was only enquiring about your husband... about his leaving the house after supper." "There's no reason why I should have to explain things to you." "No." "Should we just relax." "Would you move over and make a little room?" "Is that enough room for you?" "It is for me, how about you?" "It was a lovely remark your husband made... the good neighbour policy, I mean." ""You do me a good turn and I'll do you one. "" "That was the way he put it." "There now." "Thanks." "There's a lot of fine cotton lint floating in the air." "I know." "It bothers my sinus." "You're a very delicate woman, Mrs. Meighan." "Delicate, me?" "There isn't much of you, but what there is, is choice... delectable, I might say." "You're fine fibred... soft... smooth..." "This conversation really is taking a personal turn." "You make me think of cotton." "No..." "No fabric or cloth... not even satin or silk... no kind of fibre, not even a cotton fibre... has the absolute delicacy of your skin." "Should I say thanks, or something?" "Just smile." "You've got an attractive smile..." "And dimples..." "Oh, yes, you do." "Smile, Mrs. Meighan." "There, you see, you do have them." "Please, don't touch me, I don't like to be touched." "Why do you giggle?" "You make me feel kind of hysterical." "I do?" "Mr. Vacarro..." "Yes?" "I think I'll go and make us some lemonade." "What did you do that for?" "I don't want to be deprived of the pleasure of your company." "Not yet." "Mr. Vacarro, you certainly are getting familiar." "Don't you have a little fun loving spirit?" "This isn't fun." "Why do you giggle, then?" "Because I'm ticklish." "Ticklish?" "Don't be so skittish." "All right, I'll get up then." "Go on..." "I feel so weak." "My head is fuzzy." "Fuzzy?" "Fuzzy and buzzy..." "My head is swinging round." "It must've been that swinging that done it." "Is there something on my arm?" "No." "Cut it out, it feels funny." "How does it feel?" "Feels funny all up and down." "Quit switching me." "I'm just shooing the flies off." "They don't hurt nothing." "Cut it out, or I'm gonna call." "Call who?" "The boy on the road." "Go on, call then." "Boy..." "Can't you call any louder?" "Can't you call any louder?" "I feel so funny." "What's the matter with me?" "Just relax." "Give in, stop fighting it." "I'm not." "I'm not fighting." "It's you." "and you're suspicions... about my husband." "Suspicions?" "Such as?" "That he burned down your gin." "Well?" "He didn't." "Didn't he?" "No, he didn't." "He didn't." "I'm going in the house now." "Do you believe in ghosts, Mrs. Meighan?" "I do." "I believe in the presence of evil spirits." "What evil spirits are you talking about?" "The spirits of violence and cunning... malevolence, cruelty, treachery... destruction." "Them's just human characteristics." "Evil spirits that haunt the human heart and take possession of it." "They spread from one human heart to another... the way a fire goes springing from leaf to leaf... branch to branch in a tree... till the forest is all aflame with it." "You've just got fire on the brain." "I see more than there seems to be on the surface." "I saw last night was an explosion of those evil spirits." "I fought it, I ran into it, beating it, stamping it... shouting a curse of God at it." "They dragged me out, suffocating." "I was defeated." "When I came to, lying on the ground... the fire had won the battle." "All around was a ring of human faces." "I looked up, they were illuminated... their eyes and teeth were shining like this... yeah, like this..." "Don't, please, don't scare me." "The faces I saw were grinning." "Then I knew..." "I knew the fire was not accidental." "And you know it was not accidental too." "It was an expression, a manifestation of the need to destroy." "That's why I say I believe in ghosts, in haunted places... in places haunted by the people that occupy them... with hearts overrun by demons of hate and destruction." "I believe this place, this house, is haunted." "Aunt Rose, Aunt Rose Comfort." "This house is haunted." "I think I'll go around the back door and make us some lemonade." "Archie Lee." "Archie Lee?" "Archie Lee..." "Let's go and see Archie Lee now." "Archie Lee." "What's going on up there?" "The contraption broke down." "You better stay away from Archie, he's fit to be tied." "Come on, give me that key." "Do you hear?" "Archie Lee, I've got something to tell you." "You left me over there." "I told you never to come here when niggers are working." "You know..." "How's progress, Mr. Meighan?" "Fine, fine, great." "Personally, I can't hear the gin running at all." "Big shot!" "What's going on?" "Nothing." "What?" "Well, that figures." "I inspected your equipment before I put in my own." "I put up my own gin because this equipment was rotten." "Was rotten, and still is rotten." "It's quarter past two, you've a lot of wagons out there." "You Italians..." "Never mind about we Italians!" "Take it easy, now." "Get a new saw cylinder and get this contraption running." "If you can't get one in town, go to Rosedale." "If you can't get one in Rosedale... you better get across the river and keep going right on to Little Rock." "One more crack, and the only cotton you'll see will be in a drugstore." "Now, you better haul, brother." "I've got something to say to you." "I ain't got time." "Big shot!" "Big shot!" "Big shot!" "Boy, he's really getting it." "We've got a saw cylinder like this in our commissary." "Sure enough?" "Go and bring it here... get Hank to help you put it in and get this contraption running." "He won't get one in town." "If he crosses the river, don't wait." "Rock..." "I'll leave the pick-up truck with you." "Stay close to the house." "Stay there till I come out." "Archie." "Archie, wait!" "Archie Lee!" "Please, don't touch me." "Aunt Rose, Aunt Rose Comfort." "I've got to go and see a mighty sick friend in the county hospital." "You might as well shout at the moon as that old woman." "You don't want her to go?" "She's got no business leaving me alone here." "But she has a passion for chocolate candies." "She watches the newspapers like a hawk... to see if anyone she knows is registered at the county hospital." "Hospital?" "They pass out candy to the patients at the county hospital, you know." "Friends and relatives send them flowers and candy." "Aunt Rose goes to visit them and eats up all the chocolate candy." "Last week, an old lady friend of hers was dying at the county hospital... and Aunt Rose Comfort went to visit her... and ate up all her chocolate candy." "All of it?" "Right while the old woman was dying." "I like old people, they're crazy." "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" "What?" "Are you really married to Mr. Meighan?" "Mr. Vacarro, that is a personal question." "All questions are more or less personal." "Well... when I got married..." "I wasn't ready for marriage yet, I was only 18." "But, my daddy was practically on his death bed... and wanted to see me took care of before he died." "Archie Lee had been hanging around like a sick dog for some time." "And the boys around here are a sorry lot." "They ask you to the movies and take you to a stone quarry instead." "You've got to get out of the car and throw stones at them." "I've had some experiences with boys... that would just curl your hair if I told you." "The experiences I've had with boys." "Oh, but Archie Lee was an older fella... and his business was better in those days." "He was ginning out most of the cotton before you put up your gin, remember?" "I remember." "Well, I told my daddy..." "I wasn't ready for marriage." "My daddy told Archie Lee I wasn't ready for it... and Archie Lee promised my daddy... that he would wait until I was ready." "Then the marriage was postponed." "No, not the wedding." "We had the wedding, my daddy gave me away." "But you said Archie Lee waited?" "Yes, after the wedding." "For what?" "For me to be ready for marriage." "How long did he have to wait?" "Oh, he's still waiting." "We had an agreement." "I told him that on my 20th birthday, I'd be ready." "That's tomorrow." "And, will you be ready?" "Well, that all depends." "What on?" "Whether or not the furniture comes back." "Your husband sweats more than any man I know." "Now, I understand why." "Well, let's see." "Well, I declare." "I'm sorry." "There, now you wait right there." "I'm going to make lemonade and serve it on the porch." "Yes, ma'am, right here." "You wait right there." "You wait right there." "Yes, ma'am, I'll wait." "I will stay right here." "Yes, ma'am." "I'm going to get a fridge one of these days." "Stupid old thing." "Forgot to light the stove." "Mr. Vacarro?" "We'll be having lemonade in a minute." "Here, how did you get that pretty dress all wet?" "What a mess." "Mr. Vacarro?" "You wait right there." "Archie Lee, is that you?" "Needs something." "Get out of my house!" "Mr. Vacarro, I know that's you, and you're making me very nervous." "Help, help, help!" "." "Open, sesame!" "Game's over, I quit." "No, you have to keep playing till you're it." "Would you go back downstairs so I can unlock this door and come out?" "This attic is in awful weak condition." "Shall I call the fire department to come with a net to catch you?" "There wouldn't be time." "I don't suppose they'd get here on time." "Any more than they did last night when a fire burned down my gin." "I'll tell you what I'm going to do." "I'm going to slip a pencil and paper under this door." "All I want is your signature on the paper." "What paper?" "An affidavit legally stating... that Archie Lee Meighan burned down the syndicate gin." "This floor is about to give out right under me." "It'll just take a minute." "Just leave it there." "I'll be happy to sign it and send it to you." "I'm a Sicilian." "We're a very old race of people... and ancient races are untrustful races by nature." "Either you sign this piece of paper or I'll break this door down." "Do you hear me?" "I gather you don't believe it." "Either you agree to sign this thing... or I'm coming out here... and my additional weight..." "What am I going to do?" "You'll do what I tell you." "I'll do what you want... only hurry." "What have I got to do?" "Write your name." "You can come out now." "What about the footsteps on the stairs." "Hear my descending footsteps on the stairs." "Mr. Vacarro." "Do you hear my footsteps on the stairs?" "Mr. Vacarro." "OK, you're home free and so am I. Bye-bye." "Wait, where are you going?" "Back to my little grey Quonset home in the west... to take a peaceful siesta." "But I want to..." "I want to..." "Is that all you wanted?" "For me to confess that Archie Lee burned down your gin?" "What else did you imagine?" "Well..." "Mrs. Meighan... you're a child." "That's why we played hide and seek... it's a game for children." "You don't have to go all the way home to take a nap... you could take a nap here." "It's going to rain anyhow." "But all the furniture has been removed from the house." "Not the stuff in the nursery... there's a small bed in there, a crib." "You could curl up and let the slats down..." "I'll be happy to accept the invitation." "Come up and sing me to sleep." "My daddy would turn over in his grave." "Come on, I'm good for it." "You know I'm good for it." "I'll take it somewhere else if you don't want it!" "Listen, my daddy's watch." "Cash." "The letters of his name instead of numbers." "I'll leave this watch with you." " Cash." " Give it him and get out of here." "Thank you, sir." "I'm much obliged to you." "Will you get this thing going?" "Come on, will you?" "Shut up." "We're going as fast as we can." "You all must've done some mighty fast repairs." "No repairs, we put in a new saw cylinder." "From where?" "The boss had one at our place." "How come I wasn't let in on this bit of information?" "I just about killed myself." "Where is that wop?" "I want an explanation." "Vacarro!" "Where is he?" " Have you seen the boss?" " No." " Have you seen the boss?" " No, sir." "Where are my men?" "I sent them home." "They're useless." "You keep operating." "You know, this isn't a bad old gin." "Is anybody living here?" "Is anybody still living in this house?" "It's Archie Lee." "What happened here?" "What happened here?" "The plaster broke." "But how, how?" "How did that happen?" "How does anything happen?" "It just happens." "Ain't I told you not to slop around in a slip?" "Ain't I told you not to slop around in a slip?" "Supper's almost ready." "Breakage alone in that kitchen would ruin a well to do man." "Go up and put some decent clothes on and come back down." "There's a new bureau in Washington, the U.W. bureau." "Do you know what it stands for?" "Useless Women!" "They've got secret plans to... lock them up and shoot them." "Shoot them." "You heard me, I said shoot them." "How about men that's destructive?" "Do you think they plan to round up destructive men and shoot them?" "What destructive men are you talking about?" "Men that blow things up and burn things down." "Because they're too evil and stupid to get along otherwise." "Competition is too much for them so they turn criminal." "They do things like arson... the wilful destruction of property by fire." "Who said that to you?" "Look what's up there on the porch." "There's men on the road." "Who said arson?" "Who spoke of wilful destruction?" "You never knew them words." "Sometimes, big shot, you don't seem to think I'm very intelligent." "I've been to school in my life... and I'm a magazine reader." "Who gave that whistle?" "Who gave a wolf whistle at my wife?" "You just stay on that side of that fence." "Stay over there!" "Men from the syndicate plantation, white and black, mixed... heading for the river with rubber boots on." "I just hope they turn downstream..." "I just hope turn that corner..." "I'll blast them away with a shotgun." "Small dogs give a loud bark." "No one's going to insult no woman of mine." "You take a lot for granted when you say "mine"." "I came to you today for protection and what did I get?" "Slapped and sent home." "I'm telling you, the agreement between us is over." "You're darn tooting it's over!" "In three hours, the terms of our agreement will be settled for good." "Don't count on it." "Sharp, at midnight." "Too much has happened here lately." "My credit is wide open again." "So is the jailhouse door, if the truth be known." "Are you threatening me with blabbing?" "Archie Lee..." "Mr. Vacarro says he might not set up a new cotton gin... he might let you gin out his cotton all the time." "Ain't you pleased?" "He'll come tomorrow with lots more cotton." "And while you're ginning it out, I'll entertain him..." "I'll make lemonade for him." "It's going to go on and on, maybe even till next fall." "It's the good neighbour policy in practice." "How long have you been on the place?" "All this long fall afternoon, I've imposed on your hospitality." "Where have you been?" "Taking a nap on the only remaining bed... the crib in the nursery with the slats let down." "Something sad about it, know what I mean?" "Sad?" "An unoccupied nursery in a house... and all the other rooms, empty." "That's no problem of yours." "The good neighbour policy makes your problems mine and vice versa." "Supper's ready, children." "Didn't you hear us called into supper?" "Are you going to eat here tonight?" "Mrs. Meighan asked me to stay for supper... but I wanted to hear the invitation from the head of the house... before I'd feel free to accept." "What do you say?" "Stay for supper." "You'll have to take pot luck." "I wouldn't be putting you out?" "Excuse me, I better get into my clothes." "Yes, that would be better." "Did I understand you say that... you wouldn't build a new gin but would leave your business to me?" "If that's agreeable..." "I don't know." "I've got to consider the matter." "Financing is involved, new equipment..." "Let's go and eat now." "I've got a pain in my belly." "Sort of... heart burn." "Hey, one more plate at the table." "Mr. Vacarro of the syndicate plantation is staying for supper." "I had no idea company was expected, I'll just change..." "Another place is all that's called for." "Have you been here all day?" "Have you been here or did you go to the hospital to eat chocolate?" "Yes, I visited a friend in the hospital." "Then you were out... while I worked like the hammers of hell!" "I come home to find the attic floor fell through, my wife insulting... and a supper of hog slops!" "Sit down, I've got to make me a phone call." "Hello, Miss Hopkins, give me the Bright Spot." "I can't think of the number, you give it to me." "Hello, Bright Spot?" "He's on the phone." "If I was you I wouldn't hang around." "I've got the ace of spades in my pocket... and I'm not going to give in." "Don't count on the law court... justice here is as deaf and blind as that old woman." "I'll do my own justice." "Get Eddie, Bill, Butch, Rhodes, anyone." "Go while he's on the phone." "You don't know his friends, they're awful." "I've seen them." "I find you different this evening in some way." "Never mind that." "Go, while he's on the phone." "Grown up, suddenly." "There's no place he can run to in this county." "You can say that again, boy." "If you can't leave the place, send someone." "Send someone to find him, do you hear me?" "I'll call you back." "Poems of nature." "Never mind poems of nature." "I'll call you later." "If I'd only known..." "Put food on the table." "Just a minute." "We ain't gonna wait no minute." "Bring out some food!" "Is that what they call a Mona Lisa smile you've got on your puss?" "Put some food on the table!" "Don't pick on Aunt Rose Comfort." "I'll talk to that woman right now." "She's outstayed her welcome." "What a pretty blue ribbon you're wearing tonight, Mrs. Meighan." "Thank you, Mr. Vacarro." "There's so many shades of blue." "What particular shade is that?" "It's just baby blue." "It brings out the blue in your eyes." "Food!" "Food!" "This was part of my trousseau." "I got my trousseau at various stores in Memphis where my daddy was known." "What is this stuff?" "Grass?" "Greens." "Don't you know greens when you see them?" "Big department stores on Main Street..." "This stuff is greens?" "Archie Lee dotes on greens, don't you?" "No, I don't." "You don't dote on greens?" "Somebody did..." "Probably, sometime, somewhere." "That don't mean it was me." "Eat your greens, big shot." "They put iron in the blood." "I thought he doted on greens." "His likes are hard to keep straight." "Archie Lee is easy to cook for." "Take this slop off the table." "I'll cook you some eggs Birmingham." "These greens didn't cook enough." "I played a fool trick with my stove, I forgot to light it." "I left my greens on the stove." "I thought they were boiling." "When I came home, I discovered my stove wasn't lit." "Why do you say "my stove"?" "Why is everything "mine"?" "I think you've been drinking." "You stay out of this." "Sit down, Aunt Rose." "What was that, Archie?" "Sit down." "Where?" "Sit here." "I'm gonna ask you a question." "What sort of plans have you made?" "What plans?" "What sort of plans do you mean?" "Plans for the future." "I don't think this discussion is necessary in front of company." "Mrs. Meighan, when someone feels uncomfortable over something... it often happens he takes out his annoyance... on some completely innocent person." "Now, Aunt Rose... you've been here since August, that's a mighty long stay." "It's my honest opinion that you are in need of a rest." "You've been cooking here and cooking there for how long?" "Well?" "How long have you been cooking in people's houses?" "I've helped out my relatives whenever they needed me." "I was always invited, sometimes, begged to come." "When babies were expected or somebody was sick... they called for Aunt Rose and she was always there." "Nobody ever had to put me out." "Would you excuse me for a minute..." "I'll go up and pack." "Miss Rose Comfort, wait." "I'll drive you home." "I've got nowhere to go." "Yes, you do." "I need a cook." "I'm tired of my own cooking." "And I'm anxious to try those eggs Birmingham you mentioned." "Is it a deal?" "Well..." "Sure it's a deal, Aunt Rose." "Mr. Vacarro will be very good to you." "You never can tell about things in the future." "Yes." "I'm going to pack my things." "Is there anything else around here you want to take away?" "Well, is there?" "Yes, Archie Lee." "Mr. Vacarro noticed that the house was just full of furniture." "He'd like to borrow about five complete sets of it." "Coloured folks call this pot liquor." "I love pot liquor" "Good?" "I'm crazy about pot liquor." "Is it good?" "Good." "I love it." "That hen thought she'd been invited to supper." "Listen to me!" "You all listen to me." "Quit giving those filthy looks back and forth and listen to me." "Do you think I'm deaf, dumb and blind?" "Do you?" "Well, you're mistook." "Oh, brother." "Oh, brother, you're mighty mistook." "I know, I know I guess I look like a..." "I guess I look like..." "What do you guess you look like?" "Some sweet, innocent, Baby Doll of a wife... not ready for marriage." "No, not ready for marriage." "But plenty ready to go out and..." "Wait a minute." "How's it funny?" "It sure is funny, huh?" "There's one little thing you've overlooked." "I've got position." "I've got position in this county where I was born and brought up." "I hold a respected position." "Life long member of every organisation in the delta." "And I have friends!" "Friends!" "Long standing business associates and social." "See what I mean?" "You ain't got that advantage, have you?" "Have you?" "Have you?" "Come on, speak up." "Ain't you a dago?" "Excuse me, Italian?" "I'm not a doctor, but I was in medical corps in the navy." "You've got a very unhealthy look." "Call an ambulance." "I don't have to make a phone call I can handle the situation myself." "What situation?" "The situation I've come home to find here under my roof." "Look here, now..." "I'm not such an old fool I couldn't size it up." "I sized it up the minute I seen you were still on this place... and her with that sly smile on her, and you with yours on you." "Well, I know how to wipe off both those sly smiles." "Meighan!" "You know, and I know... and I know you know that I know... that you set fire to my cotton gin last night." "You burned down the syndicate gin... and I've got here in my hand a signed affidavit... a paper, signed by a witness... whose testimony will hold up even in the law court of Tiger Tail." "That's what I came here for and that's all I got." "Whatever else you suspect, you're mistaken." "Isn't that so?" "Isn't your husband mistaken in thinking I got anything... but this signed affidavit which was the purpose of my whole call?" "I'm foreign, Meighan, but not revengeful... at least, not more than is rightful." "We've got a workable good neighbour policy between us." "It might work out." "Anyhow, I think it deserves a try." "As for the other side of the situation which I won't mention... all I'll say is a certain attraction exists, mutually, I believe." "I needed a little shut-eye after last night's excitement... and I have a faint recollection of being sung to by someone... a lullaby that was sweet, and the touch of cool fingers." "But that's all, absolutely." "You think I'll put up with this...?" "Situation?" "You went to a whole lot of risk to get my business back." "Don't you want it?" "It's up to you." "Very cool." "You just fixed your wagon... with your smart talk you just fixed your wagon." "I'm gonna wipe that grin off your greasy wop face for good." "Is my wop face greasy, Mrs. Meighan?" "That's the last time you'll ever lay your hands on me!" "You stinking stinker!" "Stinker!" "Don't shoot him!" "Rock..." "Rock, where are you?" "Where are you, Vacarro, where are you?" "If you're under there, you ain't getting out." "My husband's got a gun and I just don't know..." "Hey, wop!" "Yellow bellied wop!" "Get the gun, get the gun away from him!" "Help!" "Get away." "Where are you, Vacarro?" "I'm right here." "There you are." "Oh, it's you." "Excuse me." "Silva." "Here." "Where are you, Vacarro?" "Come on." "Baby Doll!" "Where are you, Vacarro?" "Where are you?" "Vacarro." "Vacarro!" "Now, you put that gun away." "Baby Doll!" "Baby..." "Baby Doll..." "Vacarro... where are you, you wop?" "Baby..." "Baby Doll..." "I'm ready." "I'm all ready to go." "Who is that?" "What's the matter, Sandy?" "Tomorrow's election day, I'm running for town marshal, I want your vote." "You've got my vote." "You're too old for a job like that..." "I'm 20 years younger and I wouldn't run for a job like that..." "Age is a factor that calls for recognition." "I hope you recognise it's a factor that calls for recognition." "A man grows old suddenly, not gradually... just, all of a sudden, he's old." "Wait a minute, where are you guys taking me?" "You're acting as though I'm under arrest." "You've been shooting." "There he is." "Get down..." " Get off me." " Right, right, come on." "Hey, what about me?" "Put the handcuffs on him." "OK." "Put me in that stinking black calaboose." "I ain't a white man?" "No, so throw me in." "But, don't you leave my Baby Doll here with him." "Don't you leave him here with her." "You're a married man." "You understand how I feel." "Don't you, Sandy?" "Please." "As one white man to another." "Just for tonight, don't leave them on the place." "Just tonight, Sandy." "I've scratched my leg on the bark of that tree." "Vacarro, come here." "Excuse me." "What have you got on your mind?" "Listen, we ain't got nothing to hold that old boy on." "He's been shooting, but he says a fox has been catching his chickens." "His chickens?" "I've got a signed confession... by a material witness that amounts to an affidavit." "Let me see." "Not till it's witnessed and photographed." "We'll have it photographed." "I don't need or want anything from you." "I'm going to the county sheriff." "Rock!" "Here, Silva." "Silva, what about me?" "Now?" "I'll be coming back tomorrow with lots more cotton." "I'll be back with lots more cotton." "Well, he's gone." "What happens now?" "He's shown us a signed confession from your wife... we'll have to go through this thing for appearance sake." "I don't mean that, I mean..." "What happens tomorrow?" "Well, a town marshal has no control over tomorrow." "Today's my Baby Doll's birthday." "Your friend has forgotten me." "Archie Lee, it looks like the celebration is over." "Let's go." "He's coming back tomorrow with more cotton." "He's coming back?" "Let's go in now." "We've got nothing to do, but wait for tomorrow." "And see if we're remembered... or forgotten." "Oh, my, oh my."