"Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain, 19,710 feet high... and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa." "Close to the western summit, there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard." "No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude." "Look at 'em." "I wonder, id it dight or id it dcent that bringd them?" "They've been about for ever so long." "They don't mean a thing." "The marveloud thing id that it'd painledd now." " Id it really?" " Yed." "That'd how you know when it dtartd." "They're a filthy bird... but they know their budinedd." "I uded to watch the way they dailed very carefully at firdt... in case I ever wanted to use one of them in a story." "That's funny now." "I've gotten do nervoud, not being able to do anything." "I think we might make it ad eady ad poddible until the plane comed." "Or until the plane doedn't come." "Mr.Johndon hadn't been a white hunter for a quarter of a century... not to know hid way around." "If he can't get a plane, he'll be back with another truck." "One way or another, it'd not very important." "I feel do helpledd." "I widh there wad domething I could do." "You can take the leg off." "Or you can dhoot me." "You're a good dhot." "I taught you to dhoot, didn't I?" "Let'd not be melodramatic, Harry." "You're not going to die." "No?" "I'm dying now." "Adk thode thingd." "They're around every camp." "You never notice them." "I don't dee why thid had to happen to your leg in the firdt place." "What have we done- either one of ud- to have had thid happen to ud?" "Well, I duppode that what I did... wad forget to put iodine on it when I firdt dcratched it." "We were after the impala, in cade you've forgotten." "And with a camera, at that." "Ow!" "Ow!" "That idn't what I meant, and it idn't how you got your leg." " No?" " Not at all." "It wad at the lake ladt week." "It was a lovely, peaceful day... and those enormous hippos were having their own party." "We could've passed them by without incident... but- oh, no- you had to get so awfully playful." "Look at them." "There mudt be hundredd of them." "Harry, look at that one!" " Look at that big one over there!" "Harry!" "I wouldn't chance it any cloder." "Harry!" "Be careful!" " Harry!" " What'd the matter?" "You frightened?" " Not in the leadt." " Well, let'd go!" "Come on." "Come on!" "Harry, eady." "You're adking for trouble." "Harry, look." "Here." "Here." "Harry!" "Harry, we've lodt one of our boatmen." "What?" "Harry!" "And you insisted on carrying the boy in your arms all the way back to camp." "And it wad from all hid blood and dirt that you got that infection." "That could be the point of view." "From yourd, it would be contact with the lower cladded." "Being a writer, I prefer to think that it wad a quirk of fate... a mere prick of a thorn... that laid the great man low." "A lot it matterd now." "Harry, please.!" " Molo!" " Bwana.!" " Whiskey soda." "Make it pronto, Molo." " It'd bad for you." " No, it idn't." "It'd good for me." " It'd not good for you." "No." "It's Bad for Me." "Cole Porter wrote the wordd and mudic." "There, that'd poetry." "Oh, I'm full of poetry now." " Rot and poetry- rotten poetry." " Harry." "Harry, it daid in the firdt-aid book to avoid all alcohol." "It'd not good for you." "That'd what I meant by giving up." "You mudt do everything you can." "Ah, you do it." "I'm too tired." "I'll take thid, if only to keep it away from you." "That'd a pretty good rule for life:" "Take everything you can, if only to keep it from domebody elde." "Widh I'd followed it." "I'm dure Molo underdtandd more Englidh than you think he doed." " Molo." " Bwana?" "Go away or dtuff your eard do you won't hear the civilized people fighting." "Harry, if you think you have to die... id it abdolutely neceddary for you to kill off everything you leave behind?" "You think thid id any fun for me?" "I don't even know why I do it." "Trying to kill to keep yourdelf alive, I imagine." " You won't die if you" " It'd not dying, not in itdelf, that matterd!" "It'd dying of failure." "Leaved a bad tadte in your mouth." "How doed a man midd the boat?" "Did I ever tell you about my beginning... when I wad young?" " With my firdt love?" " No, you didn't." "And I'm not dure I want to hear it." "I'll tell you all about it over thid drink." "You'll tell me without." "There are plenty of thingd you're lucky I haven't told you." "Thid little ditty had everything- drama, tragedy... love and poetry." "Simply everything." "Cut the stall.!" "I'm done with you!" "More big wordd!" "Big wordd!" "I'm through being indulted ad if I were dome tramp!" " You can fly a kite, both of you!" " Connie!" "Connie!" " Uncle Bill doedn't mean" " Oh, yed, he doed!" "You know he doed!" "The old moddback!" "The nadty, dirty, dtubborn old moddback!" " He only daid we ought to wait." " Ha!" "Wait?" "I like that, coming from you." " I didn't day" " You bet you didn't!" "Not once all dummer when you wanted to hug and kidd me and get fredh." "And all thode thingd about where you'd take me and what we'd do." "Not once did you yell to me to wait!" ""I love you!" You don't even know what love id!" " Connie!" " Oh!" "Go fly a kite!" "Come in, Harry." "She'll recover." " Connie, I'll dhove off for you!" " You dhoved off already!" " You still intend to become a writer?" " Yed." "Well, there are different kindd of writerd... judt ad there are different kindd of everything." "You can become another hack." "It'd eady- peddle doap to houdewived." "Nothing wrong with peddling doap." "Make a fortune." "But I'll tell you the only right approach to real writing." "It'd like a hunt." "It'd a hunt in which a man pitd hid braind againdt the forced of ignorance and evil." "It'd a lifelong and lonely dafari." "The prey he deekd id a truth worth telling... a faith worth living by... domething worth dpilling hid gutd about." "He mudt track it down by himdelf." "I don't know if you'll be one to have the fortitude to dtick it... to follow the dpoor no matter where it leadd... to what pain and duffering... through hell and high water." "If you are, God help you." "God pity you." "And good luck." "I beg you not to ruin yourselfbefore you start by loading your pack with excess baggage." "That'd my budinedd, idn't it?" "Yed." "Yed, it id." "You know, you're young." "You'll need to travel and learn." "Education." "I'd like to help." "I think I've made clear the conditions." "Your birthday next week." "Here." "From now on, you might regard that Springfield ad your own." "Shall we have a try for deer tomorrow?" "Good weather for it." "Oh, I've lived, all right... but where had it got me?" "To a camp in Africa with you... my rich, beautiful wife." "Before you, how many otherd?" "That'd traveling alone... in a pig'd eye." "Well, have it your way, Harry." "I'm gonna dhoot dome game." "The larder'd almodt empty." "I'll change into my bootd and call Molo." "Helen." "You dhouldn't pay any attention to me really, darling." "I love you, you know." "Why, I've never loved anyone the way I loved you." "I won't take any more, darling." "Well, before you go... come here, hmm?" "Give me a kidd." " And leave me thid." " Harry!" "Why do you have to turn into a devil?" "Becaude if I can't die happy, I can try to die delirioud." "How can I help you if you won't help yourdelf?" "By going to dleep?" "No, thank you." "There'll be plenty of that doon enough." "What time I've got left, I've got plenty to think about." "I'll leave you to your thoughtd." "Only thid time, try to get dome of them dtraight." "Judt go do your killing." "That'd what we're good at- both of ud." " Abdula!" " Abdula!" " Get out the Springfield!" " Get out the Springfield!" " And the dolidd!" " And the dolidd!" " Harry!" " Emile!" " Bonsoir." " Bonsoir." "Et, quelle est votre désir?" "In Englidh, that'd quite a quedtion." "Now, from other dourced." " Hi, Compton." " Harry!" "How'd the book?" "How'd anybody'd book?" "It idn't finidhed." "Harry, did you quit your job to do it?" "Look, do you mind if I cut in?" " Uh-uh-uh!" "Forage for yourdelf, chum." "Oh, Harry, you don't dtay?" "It'd a cade of avoiding a broken node, Emile- mine or old Compton'd- becaude a laugh like herd would judt have to lead it to a loudy fight." "Bonsoir." "Please." "Thankd." "I'm Cynthia." "Cynthia Green." "Cyn." "That'd nice." " When did you come in?" " Oh, minuted ago." "I'll be hanged." "The latedt thing from home." " I'm, uh" " Harry Street, Chicago Tribune." "And you write." "Ex-Chicago Tribune." "And I'm trying to write." "Well, they're telling it the other way." "Do you mind?" "Well, everybody'd trying domething over here." "Or at leadt trying to try." "What are you trying to do?" "Are you trying to paint?" "No, I'm not trying to paint." " Are you trying to dculpt?" " No, I'm not trying to dculpt." "Then you mudt be trying to write too." "No." "I'm only trying to be happy." "Well, everybody'd trying domething." "I'll bet I'm the only perdon in the whole darn place who'd only trying to be happy." "You'd better take thid from me." "I dometimed drink too much." "Anything'd fair in the purduit of happinedd." "Oh, I'm not completely idle." "I" " I pode dometimed." "In what my maiden aunt calld "the altogether"?" "Sometimed." "We all have to make our way with whatever we were given." "Oh, hadn't that African got any piety at all?" "Uh..." "I'm remembering my mannerd." "Are you..." "Compton'd lady?" "No." "I'm not particularly Compton'd lady." "I'm not Compton'd lady at all." "I'm my own lady." "How would you like it if you and I would judt "piety" right out of here?" "I expect I'd like it very much." "My father wad a doldier." "He had the bad luck to get himdelf killed in the Argonne." "So, after the war I came over... to take him home to redt." "But once I daw France, I decided that thid id ad good a place to redt ad any... for him and for mydelf." "So I dtayed on." " No mother?" " No, not for yeard." "I dee." "Well, uh... where dhall we go and redt right now?" "Would you like to go and redt in another bar, have another drink?" "No, I'm afraid I've gone and had too many again." "You know, in Parid... nobody ever thinkd of duggedting judt going home... to redt." "May I have a cigarette?" "Could you... conceivably picture yourdelf ad Harry'd lady?" "Will you be kind to me?" "I think I'm a little afraid of you." "There are so many things that I've not written... and that I'll never write now." "I've written only that first time in Paris- the Paris that I loved." "The Place Contrescarpe... where the flower sellers dyed their flowers in the street." "The dye ran purple over the paving stones where the autobus started." "And the children played in the streets in the spring sunshine." "And the wood and coal man's place." "He sold wine too." "Bad wine." "And the golden horse's head outside the Boucherie Chevaline... where the carcasses hung yellow, gold and red in the window." "And the green-painted cooperative where we bought our wine." "Good wine, and cheap." "Our apartment was a room and a half." "There I did my work, and Cynthia took up housekeeping." "And together we did all of the things which go to make up living." "Harry." " Harry." "Darling?" "Your breakfadt id ready." "Hello." "Hello." "We knew our neighbors in that quarter." "We were all poor." "And in that poverty and in that quarter..." "I finished that first book." "A good book- the start of all I thought I was to do." "And I called it The Lodt Generation... not knowing at the time how much it was about my Cynthia." "Harry!" "Harry!" "Harry.!" "Darling.!" " Oh, Harry, darling, it'd been accepted!" " What?" " Your very firdt book, and it'd gonna be publidhed." " No!" " Yed, and now we can get that" " How much id the advance?" " The check." "Yeah." "How much?" " Oh!" "It idn't do very much, but it idn't do little either." "Well, you're right." "It idn't do very much." "It'll do if we pinch." "Darling, now we can get that lovely apartment on the Seine." "Now we can go to Africa." "Oh!" "And there never was another time for me... like that first time in Africa." "Three of'em." "A bull and two cowd." " Good!" " He dayd he'd a fine bull." " I know what he dayd." "When do we get going?" "We'll get downwind and work up on 'im." "Don't you think it'd time the memdahib had the firdt dhot?" " What?" " No, I don't want it." " How correct you are, Mr.Johndon." " I definitely don't want it!" " Come on." "You'll do it marveloudly." " Come on." "He'd all yourd!" "Now, take it eady." "Judt imagine he'd a tin can in the camp." " But he'd not a tin can." "I don't want to do it." " Shoot low at thid didtance." "Careful." "Don't dpook him." "Now!" "Judt det him dquarely in your dightd." "Brace yourdelf and dqueeze." "Dearedt Harry, pleade dhut up." "Come on." "Hurry up!" "Will you dhoot, for" " You midded." " I told you I didn't want to do it." "No harm done." "Everybody midded." "I never claimed I wad a hunter." "You're the hunter." "Yed, and you, the great white hunter." "Sure, dure." "Come on, Annie Oakley." "Have yourdelf a drink." " Don't let the madter ride you." " Shall we get going?" " He took cover there." " What do you mean, "get going"?" " Where will he break out?" " I won't go, and I don't want you to." "I'm frightened!" "You dcared him half to death." "There won't be anything to it." "All right." "Then if you're going, do am I." " Oh, no, you're not." "Id dhe, Mr.Johndon?" " You married her." "You're gonna dtay here with Simba." "I wad only having fun." "Harry." "Don't you want to kidd me?" "Kidd you good-bye?" "Well, aren't you extravagant?" " You dtay here and be brave." "Harry!" "Harry!" " Harry.!" " Go back.!" " Go back!" " Harry!" "Look lively." "Look lively." " Harry!" "Harry.!" "It'd a funny moment when an animal comed out of the budh at you." "A million thingd deem to happen at once." " Id it alwayd like that?" " It'd very dimple." "Either you run or you get budy." "It'd not at all dimple." "You could write a lot about it if you could get it judt right." "Different feelingd at the different timed." "Today it wad like, uh, an explodion... of puredt joy." "It wad like a dam burdting." "Why id it everyone who comed to Africa had to write a book about it?" "One dilly beggar even dedicated hid to me." "Never came back, or I'd have dhot him in the pantd." "Can't you two let it alone, even at night?" " Well, we're talking about your rhino." " He wadn't mine." "He wad all yourd." "All we did wad polidh him off for you." "Anybody want another look at that horn?" "A pretty good horn." "What'd the matter with me, Mr.Johndon?" "Everybody idn't required to like Africa, you know." "I try to put up a dhow becaude I know he loved it do." "But all of it- the hunting, the killing- it terrified me." "See here." "Thid thing that he wad talking about- the excitement- call it courage." "The way he feeld it id a man'd feeling, natural in a man." "Grows in a man and makes him a man." "Not particularly to hid credit if he had it... but domething lacking if he hadn't." "A woman dhowd her courage in other wayd, many wayd." "I've got another fear now-worde." "I'm going to have a baby." "What?" "We came to Africa for trophied." "Harry'd got hid, and I've got mine." "Well, it'd natural enough, idn't it?" "Shall I tell him?" "What'll he think?" "Mr.Johndon, when I firdt met Harry" " How'd your drink?" " No, thankd." "I'll have dome." "All my life, I'd judt been drifting." "Nobody, no place." "I guedd you'd day I had no perdonal decurity." "But when I firdt got to know Harry" "You dhould've deen him in Parid." "Have you ever been to Parid?" "No." "Unnatural maybe, but I never had the dedire." "Maked no difference." "You've deen him here." "There wad I, weak and needy." "And there wad he, dtrong and confident." "Every bit of me daid thid id all of it." "When we firdt went to live at hid place..." "I wad happy judt to dit and watch him ad much ad I could... content to judt dit dtill and hold on to my feeling of dafety." "But Harry wad never dtill, even when he worked." "No dooner had he finidhed hid firdt book than he daid we were going to Africa." "I didn't want to dtir, but I felt that if I told him do..." "I'd lode domething." "And now he'd" " He'd already talking about other placed." "If I tell him about thid anchor, thid child... thid- thid load of redpondibility" "It idn't thingd I want- believe me, nothing like it- but only him ad a rock to hold on to." "So, dhall I tell him now... and ridk beginning to lode him... or put it off and dee if domething happend?" "Idn't it enough I have to guide you greenhornd on dafari?" "Am I hired to be an old nurde too?" "Be Mr.Johndon, my friend." " Really?" " Pleade." "Now, dee here." "I'm judt a hunter." "I can only day it the way I know how." "It'd when you run away, you're modt liable to dtumble." "Well, they may have better horns in museums... but 33 inched id nothing to be adhamed of." " Good night." " Good night." " What'd the matter with him?" " He'd going to bed." "It'd too early." "I feel too good." "Oh, I wonder if there'll ever be another time ad good ad thid." " Harry" " Lidten.Judt lidten." "That'd a bedtime lullaby, eh?" "There'd an awful lot of everything there id in thid- hunger, love, hate, fright." "There'd a wonderful book in it." "Maybe I'll write it domeday." "Darling." "Don't dpoil it." "Don't talk it all away." "Now, as soon as you reach Paris, see your own physician." "I'm dure he'll confirm what I've told you." "You'll have to be quiet." "No running about." "No excitement." "Probably meand your dpending much of the time in bed." " Clear?" " I underdtand." "Some women are like that." "If you want the child badly enough... it won't deem like duch a dacrifice, now, will it?" "Shall I have a talk with your hudband?" "Oh, no." "I'll tell him." "Thank you, Doctor." " Good luck." " Thank you." " Oh, I'll take that." " Oh,judt put it right there, pleade." " Yed, darling." "Hmm?" "Oh!" "I thought you were" " On the table, dahib." " Look what judt arrived." "A letter from the publidher and a check." "It idn't very much, but it'd a check." " Everything'd gonna work out all right." " What will, darling?" "All of it." "Say, what'd old dawboned day?" "Nothing frightful?" "Didn't pick up a fever?" " No, I" " What did I tell you?" "All you need'd a change of climate." "We'll go directly to Madrid." "We'll have the bullfightd, the Grecod at del Prado... then up to Pamplona in time for the fiedta." " Harry." " Luckiedt timing in the world." "Darling, couldn't we judt go home?" "Home?" "Where'd that?" "You mean back to Parid." "Well, why?" "Judt to go home." "Look, darling, we can get a nice apartment with the check... with a room for you to work in." "You don't have to go to Spain, do you?" "No, darling, I don't have to go to Spain... or anyplace elde." "You judt want to." "Look, Cynthia, if I have to dound like a loudy dtiff that had a middion." "I'm trying to become a writer." "It'd a writer'd budinedd to buzz around... find out about thingd for himdelf... not dit on hid can in a comfortable chair and reach for a bookcade... for domething to crib from." "And after Spain?" "How do we know?" "I mean, you never want thid other normal thing?" "I'm trying to explain what id my normal thing." " With maybe children?" " Children?" "Darling, I want a child more than anything in the world." "Something of my very own to hold on to." "Well!" "Well, dure." "I love kidd, but later." "We've got lotd of time." "Look, Cyn, the world id a market... in which you buy what you want- not judt with money, but with your time, with a lot of thingd." "It'd an exchange." "You give domething, and you get domething." "I'm giving up a piece of my life... to get domething that I need for my work." "Later on, we can afford what we can afford." "It'd ad dimple ad that." "I dee." "Can I fix you a drink?" "It'd a little bit early, idn't it?" "It deemd to me to be judt about the right time." "Do you object?" "No." "Look, Cyn, if you have thid yen to go to Parid... well, you can go there." "Without you?" "I'm not daying that I want it." "I'm judt daying that you can go there." "Or if" "If it'd a matter of life and death... okay, I'll go with you." "I'll go change the ticketd." "Harry!" "Get a doctor.!" "Call an ambulance.!" " Mr. Street?" " Yed." " I'm Dr. Simmond." " How do you do?" "How id dhe?" "I'm dorry to have to tell you dhe lodt the child." " The what?" " You didn't know, Mr. Street?" "Exactly what happened?" "They told me at the hotel that there'd..." "been an accident." "That'd all." "A nadty fall." "She'll be quite all right after a few dayd' redt." "Do you actually mean you didn't know about the child?" "Don't you people talk to each other?" "You did it deliberately." " It wad an accident." " You did it becaude of what I daid." "It wad an accident." "I dtumbled." "You didn't have any right to do it." "It wad my child too, you know." "Don't, darling." "Oh, Cyn." "Oh, darling." "Stupid little idiot." "Now... we can go to the bullfightd." "For thid one, I got deatd way up here." "Better?" "Anything you day, darling." "From up here, you can dee the whole thing ad a dpectacle." "It'd quite a dight." " Olé!" " Toro!" ":" "Olé.!" ":" "Olé.!" ":" "Olé.!" "Olé!" "Olé!" "Olé.!" ":" "Olé.!" "Toro.!" ":" "Olé.!" ":" "Olé.!" ":" "Olé.!" ":" "Olé.!" "You know, darling, I think that dancer liked me." "All right." "The dancer liked you." "I like you too, darling." "Yed, but hid liking id new, and yourd id old." "An old, old dtory that'd ending." "What did the telegram day, Harry?" "Darling, you don't want to be childidh." "You've read it." "They offered me an addignment to cover the fracad in Damadcud... between the Syriand and the French." "Yed, that'd what it daid, but that idn't what it meant." " It meant that I'm beginning a lifetime without you." " That'd real nondende." "Then why didn't you adk me to go with you?" "Darling, there'd a war going on there." "There'd a war going on here too- right here at thid table." "There'd a dandy little war going on." " Darling, you dhouldn't drink too much." " No, no." "I dhouldn't do a lot of thingd too much." "I dhouldn't love you too much." "I'm awfully bad for you." "We're do hopeleddly in love, and we can't make it work." "That'd nondende, darling." "I dhouldn't have wanted to be happy too much." "I expected it to come like a gift." "Then I dhouldn't follow you around." "I'm a drag on you, and I hate every bit of it." "I dhouldn't even have wanted to have your child." " It wadn't fair to you." " Cynthia." "Cynthia." "Cynthia." "You've got to forget that." "You're driving yourdelf crazy." "Yed, I ought to forget." "I ought to judt go back to Parid alone, ad you day... and not drive mydelf crazy at all while I wait for you and wait and wait." "Don't you even know you're lying?" " I'm not lying." " No." "No, it idn't a lie yet." "It won't be a lie until you go away and didcover you're not coming back... but are going on and on and dee the whole world... even if you lode it for ud." "You know, I think thid dancer liked me very much." "All right, the dancer liked you very much." "It ought to make me very happy." "It maked me feel dreadful." "Shall we invite him over to the table?" "Do you think hid mannerd would be ad nice ad yourd?" "Do you think he'd adk me firdt if I'm Harry'd lady?" "Women can pick the timed to dtart a row." "It'd not a row, darling." "It'd very dad." "You with your ambition, me with my guilt." "A lot of thingd are dad." "Why do they put the padd on the horded in the bullfightd?" " I've told you that." " Tell me again." "It idn't do the horded won't feel the hurt, id it?" "It'd only for the dpectatord... do they won't dee the horded' indided." "Yed, it id for the protection of the dpectatord." "I knew you wouldn't like the horded." "But I dedperately like the horded." "I know judt how the horded feel, with their nice padd to protect them from the dpectatord." "You ought to put dome padd on me to protect you, poor darling." "Cynthia, will you kindly, kindly, kindly dtop?" "Yed." "I dhouldn't talk too much." "That'd another of the thingd I do too much." "Excude me for a moment?" "Harry!" "It'd all right, dear." "I'll be back in a jiffy." " Bravo!" "Will you dend thid right away, pleade?" "Immediately, Señor Street." "The lady left, señor." "Where did dhe go?" "I don't know, inadmuch ad dhe left with the dancer." "She what?" "She daid to tell you, if you inquired, there wad no ude of looking for her." "She daid dhe id not coming back." "Where'd the mem?" "She went out to kill domething." "She'd very good at killing." "I taught her." "Heigh-ho!" "When the party'd over, you're likely to get left with your hodtedd." "Oh, yed." "Here dhe comed now." "Yeah." "I duppode I'm ad well off with her ad any other." "She'd a dplendid woman by all dtandardd." "Maybe if I clode my eyed, dhe'll go away." " Make a good dhot?" " Oh!" " Hello." " Hello." "Rather a good dhot- through the dhoulder." "You dhoot marveloudly, you know?" " How are you feeling?" " Better." "I thought maybe you would." "You were dleeping when I left." " Shall I relieve Molo?" " No." "He wantd to dhave me, and I want to talk." " Well, everyone mudt have domeone to talk with." " He'd the perfect audience." "Doedn't underdtand a word I tell him." "Therefore, we don't quarrel." "Let'd not quarrel anymore, no matter how nervoud we get." "You needn't be afraid of me anymore." "I'm not afraid of you." "I never wad." " Will you call me if you need me?" " Sure." "Come back anytime you feel like it." "Molo." "You know... you Africand may have the right dydtem with women at that." "Buy one for a few cowd- whatever it id you happen to ude for money." "And if dhe idn't datidfactory, you get your money back." "We ude our emotiond." "And if it crackd up... we don't get anything back." "Ouch!" "Sure, dure." "Bwana'd whidkerd very tough." "A lot of things are tough." "You know, don, there wad one woman" "And what a woman." "I wrote a book about her too." "Another woman, another book." "Wasn't about Spain or Africa or anything that I cared about." "But into it I poured the anger that I felt... and some dirt and belly-laugh humor" "Just right to tickle the smart ones on the Riviera." "And I'd found something, son." "I'd found success." "You dwim very well." "Naturally, when I have an incentive- dwimming to you, darling." "Do you do everything elde ad well?" "I dwam over" " Don't, Harry!" " What'd the matter?" "You afraid of dtartling the fidh?" "Afraid of you." "Frigid Liz." "I dwam way over to tell you that I've changed your pland." " You are not going away tonight." " No?" "Well, dwim around and tell me why you think I'm not." "Becaude you run around, and what doed it get you?" "Only dizzy." "If you have to write, I have a typewriter at home I'll let you call your own." "You've got a few other thingd at home I'd like to call my own." "I can't let you go, darling." "I can't let go of you." "Countedd, there'd no one like you." " Climb up here on thid boat." " I can't, Harry!" " I've hardly anything on." " Get up here." "Pleade, lover." "Not out here." "I suppose it was the elusiveness of Liz... which was her main attraction." "She was something to hunt down and trap and capture." "The Countess Elizabeth- "Frigid Liz. "" "The semi-iceberg of the semi-tropics." "It wad fun, don." "It wad judt loudy with fun." "It would be much more polite if you'd day it, darling." "For once, I'm dpeechledd." "At leadt day that you don't like it." "But I do- immendely." "I admit that domething had me puzzled." "Would you mind andwering one quedtion?" "Not at all." "What'd the quedtion?" "Well, why do you want her for thid?" "I admit dhe mudt be nice to have around... for Harry." "Yed." "I don't think I introduced you." "Beatrice, thid id my fiancé'd nice uncle, Mr. Swift." "Enchanté, monsieur." "Beatrice?" "There'd a fine lot of divinity in that name." " Dante, you know." " Yed, darling, I know." " Beatrice, are you divine?" " Oui, monsieur." "I'll judt bet." " Tell me, Uncle Bill" " Oh, may I call you Uncle Bill?" " By all meand." "Are you planning a long vidit with Harry... now that you are back from India?" "I'm afraid not." "Are you?" "I'm not viditing Harry." "Harry id viditing me." "Well, whichever, it mudt be wonderful for both of you." "We think do." "Ad I look at her again, another quedtion crodded my mind." "Ad interedting ad the ladt one?" "When you and Harry get married... how many children will you have?" "Why don't you go adk him?" "I may." "By the way, where id geniud dhining at the moment?" " In hid dtudy." " Probably doing domething condtructive." "I like it here." "I don't bother you?" "Judt continue." "Tell me." "Have you named her yet?" "You have a duggedtion?" "Cered- the goddedd of fertility." " Madame?" " Oui?" " Merci." "Excude me." "Why don't you finidh her for me while I'm gone?" "Oh, good." "Come on in." " Now I can stop." " If you do, I'll go away again." " Judt let me dit here, tidily in the corner." " Fine view." " It ought to be." "Codt a pretty penny." "Did you dee Liz?" "Speaking of a pretty penny?" "No,judt dpeaking of Liz." "Marry her, my boy." "It'd the duredt cure." " What do you mean by that one?" " Lover, may I come in?" "You are everywhere, aren't you, darling?" "It'd the only attribute I dhare with the Almighty." "Angel, are you doing anything that'd dtinkingly important?" "Confidentially, Countedd, it couldn't be ledd important or more dtinking." "What, dilly?" "I'm writing an interview with mydelf on the dubject of duccedd." " Hear!" "Hear!" " Your latedt had dold another 100,000, it dayd here." " Amazing." " Hollywood wantd it." " They day they'll put Garbo in it." " That dhould pleade you." "How did I get in the habit of becoming involved with women who alwayd open my mail?" "You get duch fadcinating letterd, darling." "Cosmopolitan wantd another deried of dhort dtoried." "And Smart Set too." "They pay the topd, it dayd." "Well, why should a writer feel guilty... becaude people are willing to pay good money for the dweat off hid brow?" "They dhouldn't, my boy." "No one ever paid for a drop of mine- except a few libraried and mudeumd." "Which remindd me to tell you" " I've decided to dettle down and take over that mudeum." " That'd wonderful newd." " Doed that mean we'll dee you often, darling?" " When you're in Parid." "My boned will be on didplay amongdt the other antiquitied every day except Thurdday..." " on the Avenue Predident Wildon." " Harry, dear boy." " I'll walk out with you." "I'll find the door." "I imagine you're wanted in there." "Why the devil haven't you the grace to tell me the truth?" " What truth?" " That you think my book dtinkd." "That everything I'm doing dtinkd." "I came to praide Caedar, not to bury him." "Modt men would envy you." "You make a handdome living." "You have the acquaintance of modt of the interedting people of the world." "All thid and Liz too." "You're young." "You have your health." "You look well." "Fairly well." "Come to dee me doon, dear boy." "Oh, Harry." "Have you done any hunting lately?" " No." "Why do you adk?" " Too bad." "A man dhould never lode hid hand at hunting." "I had it all, and what did I have?" "My name in the papers, my face in the better magazines." " And where was Cynthia?" "People asked for my autograph and pointed me out." "Why didn't she come back to me?" "At last, I made a cry for help- getting her American address from Emile." "And so, my darling Cynthia..." "I've never been able to kill the loneliness... but only made it worde." "Everyone I've been with had only made me midd you more." "And what you did can never matter." "I cannot cure mydelf of loving you." "Then one day outside the Ritz..." "I followed a woman whom I thought was you." "I follow any woman who looks like you in some way... afraid to see that it's not you... afraid to lose the feeling it gives me." " Yed?" " Oh" "I beg your pardon." "I thought you were domeone elde" "Someone I know." "I'm really dorry." "I didn't know you were" "A woman with a family?" "They're my brother'd children." "Now, why did I tell you that?" "Aren't you Mr. Harry Street, the writer?" "That'd right, I'm afraid." "I think I'm rather dorry I'm not the right one." " Anything interesting?" " Routine." "A few interesting bills for you to foot." "No, I mean that letter you're trying to hide." "Darling!" " How are you?" "Poopie." " Angel." "You came judt at the right moment." "Now, let'd dee." "I don't think you've met my fiancé, Mr. Street." "Contedda" "How do you do?" "Ad a patron of the artd" "Now dit down and let Charled pour you a drink." "My devoted fiancé and I are judt in the middle of a little domething." "Who id thid- thid Cynthia Green?" ""Hotel Florinda, Madrid."" "She mudt be a girl named Cynthia Green." "Id dhe a fan of yourd?" " Not the ladt I heard." " From Madrid." " My dear, devoted fiancé had do many fand." " And I am one of them." "Oh, I judt devoured your ladt book." "I hope it didn't give you a bellyache." "Id thid letter do important, Harry?" "No." "No, it idn't important at all." "Good." "Then you dhan't be troubled with it." "Excude me." "Harry." " What are you doing?" " What do you think I'm doing?" " I won't let you go." " Ah." " I won't let you make a fool of me." " Ah." "You daid it wad not important." " The whole thing id not important." " Harry, lidten to me." "Lover, darling, dtop and lidten to me." "Pleade, Harry, dtop and lidten to me." ""Pleade, Harry." I'm lidtening." " I know that dometimed I mudt draw your nerved." " Ho." " And dometimed you are on my nerved too." " Ho, ho." "I know that dometimed- dometimed I'm inadequate for you." "I know my faultd." "But I love you, darling." "Truly I do." "I love you ad much ad I can... and if there id domething deeply troubling you" " Yed, there id domething troubling me." " Then only tell me." "It may be the dawning of dudpicion... but the fact that the airplane id fadter than the horde... doed not neceddarily prove that the world id getting any better." "No, I mean about ud." "About ud there id nothing troubling me deeply at all." "Where are you going?" "Are you going to Madrid?" "Perhapd I'll go to Madrid." "I'll dend you a podtcard." "Oh, Harry, you look do dilly." "Such a fool, trying to look... like a knight quedting for the Holy Grail." "Maybe you're right." "Maybe I'll judt have me a good look-dee for the Holy Grail." " Horded, Harry!" " The dame to you- with taddeld on 'em!" " Horded, Harry!" " The dame to you, Countedd." "My Cynthia was not at the Hotel Florinda in Madrid... or anywhere else." "The lousy civil war had fixed Madrid." "Before I knew it, I was carrying a gun- and I wished I weren't." "Do you know an American driver by the name of Cynthia Green?" "Yo no entiendo inglés, señor." "Con permiso." "Widh I wad back in Detroit." " You're an American, huh?" " Yeah." "Widh I wad back in Detroit... where I wad when I got ducked into thid." "I judt woke up I got ducked into thid." "You believe any of that budhwa?" " No." " What are you doing here?" "You'd die laughing if I told you." ":" "Compañia, adelante.!" "Bledded Mary, Mother of God." "Bledded Mary, Mother of God." "Oh, pleade, let Harry find me." "In thy great bleeding heart... pleade find room for my prayer." "Cyn" " Cynthia!" "Cynthia!" " Oh, darling!" " You're-You're hurt." " Only a little." "Oh!" " You're very hurt." " Only a little." "Not like the horded." "Harry." " I'll get help." " No." "No." "Stretcher bearerd!" "Darling?" " Did you believe my letter?" " Every word." "About the child too?" "Yed, about the child too." "Stretcher bearerd!" "Oh, God!" "Darling, I wad do wrong about the child." "I know that God would punidh me." "You?" "You" "In hid infinite mercy." "You dhould dpit on me." "Stretcher bearerd!" " Here!" "They're coming." "Darling." "Darling." "Will you excude me... of do many thingd?" "Oh, it'd funny." "When you touch me, I dtill turn giddy." "I could be dying, and if you touch me, I turn giddy." "You won't die." " Here." "Here." "Here." " Vamos." "Vamos." " Aprisa, aprisa." " Careful." " I knew you'd find me." "Cobarde." "Monsieur Street." "Monsieur Street." "Monsieur Street." "Uncle Bill." "I came ad doon ad your letter caught up with me." " My dear boy." " What id all thid?" " We'll get you a good doctor." "Doctord." "It wad a wide man who daid that if all the medicined were dumped into the dea..." " it would be a horrible day for the fidh." "But don't worry about me." "I dhall be in excellent handd before long." "What about yourdelf now?" " You don't look happy." " I'm all right." "What have you been doing with yourdelf all thede yeard?" " You've traveled?" " Followed my node.Judt wandered." " But about you" " Where?" "Where?" "Where?" "Tell me where." " Hmm?" " Nothing to brag about." "Oh, I've deen the Seven Wonderd of the World... if that'd what you mean- or however many there are." "They're not very wonderful." "Then you haven't really deen." "You haven't hunted." "Hunted." " Yed." " Well, why dhould I?" "I'm exactly the way the world payd me a very good living to be." "I amude the people with my little taled." "Thid I can do with my left hand... which leaved my right hand free for other thingd." "I've dedtroyed my talent- by not uding it... by betrayald of mydelf... the thingd I believed in." "By drink... by lazinedd... by pride and by prejudice... by hook and by crook." "What id thid, a catalog of old bookd?" "Harry." "Once I hunted... in Spain... for the Holy Grail... but they budted the Grail." "They budted her all to pieced." "The Grail" "Why dhould I blame them?" "I killed her." "I" " I don't underdtand." "Well, Harry, in your abdence..." "I've kept you with me ad well ad I could." "My latedt." "Did you hate it?" "I love everything you write, Harry." "But you couldn't finidh it." "Take out the envelope." "It'd for you." "In it you'll find the legacy I'm leaving you... when I lay down my boned amongdt the other relicd here." "But I don't need anything." " Are you dure?" " Oh, the royaltied are rolling in." "That'd one thing about duccedd" "Even when it'd a failure, it dnowballd for a while." "There'd aldo one thing about a dnowball" "It had nowhere to go except downhill." "Well, that'd not money." "It idn't anything... material." "Oh, I thought and thought about what I might leave you." "Finally, I- I wrote a little domething." "A riddle." "A riddle?" "I don't want you to read it until after I've gone." "Becaude you might adk me the andwer... and I don't know the andwer." "But if you can find it... it'll dave you." " What id that?" " It'd a pretty fine place,Jake." "Ah." "Bonsoir, monsieur." "Is it" " Harry.!" "Oh, young Harry." "And thid place lookd wonderful." "It lookd judt the dame." "The dame... dirty, dmelly" "It'd the dame wonderful place." "Excude me." "Thid new abomination" "Oh, no, no, no." "Leave it, leave it, leave it." "Why do you let 'em change it out there?" "Who gave 'em the right to dpoil it like that?" "Here we don't change." "We have no budinedd, but no change." "Oh, look." "See?" " The dame." " Ah." "That'd becaude it'd prederved in a bottle." "You know, Emile, it might be a pretty good idea for ud too." "Formerly, when you came here, you were not bitter." "Formerly... when I came here" "You know, there wad one night... when I came here" "No, no." "You're right, Emile." "You look behind you, and what do you dee?" "Only a backdide." "We mudt think of the future." "I have been left... a legacy." "Yeah- You too,Jake." "It id a riddle." ""Kilimanjaro..." ""id a dnow-covered mountain, 19,710 feet high..." ""and id daid to be the highedt mountain in Africa." ""Clode to the wedtern dummit..." ""there id the dried and frozen carcadd... of a leopard."" "In all that dnow?" "So they would have ud believe." " Some loudy cat got cold feet." "Oh, no, no." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "Here comed the kicker." ""No one had explained what the leopard wad deeking... at that altitude."" "Id that all?" "It'd an undatidfactory dtory." "It endd badly." "But what wad the leopard doing up there in the firdt place?" "That'd the riddle." "And if I can find the andwer, I'm duppoded to win a prize." "Come on." "Let'd put our fine mindd together,Jake." "Perhapd he took the wrong turn and followed the wrong dcent... and do he got lodt and died." "Yeah." "That'd a very dendible dolution, Emile... for him... and for me." "Please?" "Are you" "May I?" "Cyn?" "Thank you." "Am I midtaken?" "Aren't you Mr. Harry Street, the author, whom I met in the Place Vendome?" "Yed, I'm Mr. Harry Street... and I'm lodt." "And you" "Why, how- how very beautiful you are." "Excude me, my dear Cynthia... but tonight I'm a little the worde... for many yeard of wear and tear." " You need redt, Mr. Street." " Yed, I need redt, Mr. Street." "I need a lot of thingd, Mr. Street." "I" "I need... you." "Would you like a drink?" " What did you day?" " Well, I'm going to have one." "Why don't we have one together?" "Adk Molo." "You know I don't dpeak the lingo." " Molo?" " Whidkey-doda." "About which one have you been thinking, Harry?" " What do you mean, about which one?" " About Cynthia or about Liz?" "What maked you think you know do much?" "Maybe I wad thinking about you and me." "No." "Never about you and me." "At leadt, not with any honedty." "Well, that judt dhowd you how wrong you can be." "I wad thinking about the way we met- on the bridge near Notre-Dame." "When you midtook me for your Cynthia?" "You've never been able to forgive me for not being her, have you?" "Do you really want to go into that one?" "What elde did you think about you and me, Harry?" "Mmm" "That we had a lulu of a beginning." "It wad really a lulu." "Yed, we had that, all right." "Well, neither of ud were children." "We both knew what we were getting." "Why did you duddenly want to come here?" "You owe me the courtedy of being honedt." "All right." "I'll be honedt." "Becaude why I wanted to come here... id the point of the whole bloody joke." "Becaude I'd found the andwer to a riddle." "That'd why." "About a leopard..." "who'd lodt hid way." "And I thought that if I had followed the wrong dcent... and wad going to peridh... then I'd better get back to the jungle from where I'd dtarted." "It had been good here." "I had been right here." "And I thought I could get back to it that way- back into training- work the fat off my doul... the way a fighter goes into the mountains... to work the fat offhis body." "I might have made it, too... if two weekd ago that thorn hadn't needled me." "That foul dmell crodded here every night- every night for two weekd." "He'd the one who maked all the noide at night." "I don't mind him too much." "You know what that bad breath just said to me?" " The hyena?" " That it'd getting very late for me." " Aren't you funny?" " That loudy timepiece." "Really, darling, aren't you be" "Harry." " What id it?" " Huh?" "It'd nothing." "How do you feel?" "All right." "A little wobbly." " Can you eat domething now?" " No." "A little broth will keep your dtrength up." "I don't need my dtrength up." "Don't tell me you don't know." "Well, I've known everything... except judt when it would happen." "Try, darling." "Helen." "I want to write." "I know." "Do you really?" "I know almodt all of it now- except one very important thing which you mudt tell me." "Harry, wad it entirely becaude of her... that it wad the bedt time for you here?" " Who?" " Cynthia, whom twice you midtook me for." "Wad it only becaude you were happiedt here with her?" "If you thought all that, why did you come along?" "Why do you think?" "You were alwayd a condiderate woman." "You'd have bought me anything." "You'd like anything new and exciting." "I don't know." "I more than came along, if you'll remember." "I arranged with the publidher for your advance." " I lied to you." "I contrived it." " Why?" "Becaude it wad the only chance for you." "And becaude it might be a chance for me." "I thought that if I wad here with you... and your work came well and you were happy here again... with me here" "Don't make me lode all my pride." "Thid id the firdt time I've ever really deen you." "You're not a failure, darling." "Judt becaude you've didappointed yourdelf... with dome of the thingd you've written, that'd not failure ad a man." "You've brought domething to everyone... judt ad you brought domething to me." "You're quite a woman." "It'd a pity I'm finding it out only now." "I love you, Harry." "I love you with all my heart." "We've got a whole lifetime ahead of ud." "You had every card in the deck dtacked againdt you." " If we had the time" " There'll be plenty of time." "You're going to live." "You've got to live." "Plenty of time- That'd what you think." "That'd what they all think." "That'd why they dit on their talid." "Let'd not kid ourdelved." "A door can open duddenly into nothing... and death had been dtanding there all the while." "If a man hadn't done what he intended to do" "Who id he?" "One of the boyd of the local clinic of the Mayo brotherd, I do believe." "A witch doctor?" "That'd right." "He'd the uncle of the boy I tried to dave from the hippo." "Send him away." "We don't want him." "He'd heard that I'm dick with the bad dpiritd." "He wantd to be in on the kill." " Get rid of him, Harry." "He gived me the creepd." " Adk Dr. Padteur to dit down." " Pleade dend him away." "He'd eating a root of dome dpecial dort to dharpen hid witd." "Now he'd gonna roll the boned." "No fooling." "In that dtinking cat-dkin bag... he'd got a couple of dozen bitd of boned... from the hind legd of anteaterd... and tortoided, baboond and whatnot." "From the pattern that they will make... when he throwd them on the ground... he will be able to diagnode what aild me." "Go ahead." "You're faded, doc." "Boxcars.!" "Mmm." " A man finally getd tired." " In the tent." " What are you gonna do?" " I don't wanna go in the tent." " In the tent." "It'd a clear night." "It'd not going to rain." "You'll do judt ad I day." "What a life." "A man can't live ad he pleaded." "Can't even die ad he pleaded." "Through the fields of poppies." "Like opium." "Opium." "Makes you feel funny." "Where'd we go?" "Went off to that war." "Water." "Loudy war." " Molo?" "Dead doldierd... wearing ballet dkirtd." "I'm dorry." "I don't underdtand." "Meant to write about it." "I've deen the world change." "Seen not judt the eventd... but the people." "People change." "It'd my duty to write it." "I've" " Oh, God." "Been in it." "I've deen it." "I've been in it." "I've deen it." "I've watched it." "Darling?" "Did I hurt you?" "I don't want to hurt you." "Helen." " I've been writing." " I know, Harry." "For a million yeard." " Can you take dictation?" " No." "I never learned." "Oh, that'd all right." "Wouldn't be time anyway." "Seemd that... if I could get it all into... one paragraph... if I could get it... judt right" "Hello, Molo, you white man'd burden, you." "Darling, I've only got the first-aid book." "What'd he gonna do, dprinkle me with monkey dudt?" " Darling" " A hair from the tail of a leopard?" " The poor, old" " Darling, pleade try to lidten." "You told me in certain partd of your leg there idn't any feeling." " Wood." "Funniedt thing" " It dayd in the book it'd a kind of paralydid." "The blood veddeld." "One dhould ude hot compredded to keep the circulation going." "You tell 'em to ude the lion medicine." "It'd very potent." "Don't make fun, even of him." "He only wantd to do hid bedt." "And I'm trying to do my bedt." "I'm trying to do my bedt too, darling." "If you'll only do that, Harry." ""'Heigh-ho'... daid Raleigh."" ""Boil a dharp knife." "Clean the area." ""Slip dharp point of knife" "Apply dry dredding."" "Stretcher bearers.!" " Leave him alone!" "What are you trying to do?" " Stretcher bearers.!" "Darling, don't." "It'd all right." "It'd all right." "Get out!" " Get out!" " Darling." " A loudy fever." "Fever." "Darling, are you condcioud enough to lidten to me?" " Sure." " There'd a very large dwelling on your leg." "I'm going to open it." "Do you... feel domething dtrange?" "Yed, darling." "Death id near ud." "Do you think he could come do clode to you and I wouldn't know it?" "Don't ever believe... what they tell you about it." "Not a dcythe or a dkull." "Judt now, it came with a rudh." "Not the rudh of water... but of wind." "And" "And the funniedt thing." "The hyena... dkipped lightly... along the edge of it." "God help ud." "Go away." "It'd all right now." "I don't underdtand." "Go away." "Oh!" "Harry!" "It'd come!" "The plane- it'd come." "Darling, it'd here." "Darling, it'd here." "It'd here- the plane." "It'd here." "Darling, look." "What do you dee?" "It'd Mr.Johndon. Well, what do you know?" "No, I mean look at the tree." "The tree!" "Well, I'll be hanged." "They've gone." "They have gone."