"Before the beginning, after the Great War between Heaven and Hell," "God created the Earth and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called Man." "And to each generation was born a creature of light and a creature of darkness." "And great armies would clash by night in the ancient war between Good and Evil." "There was magic then." "Nobility." "And unimaginable cruelty." "And so it was until the day that a false sun exploded over Trinity... and Man forever traded away wonder for reason." "No." "Mama." " Mama, please." " No." "I'm gonna run you down, boy." "Law says I can do that." "Your choice, boy." "What the hell's going on up there?" "Get a move on!" " You're trespassing." " This is my place." "This place is the property of First Merchants Trust." "Now you've been warned." "Law's on its way." " They're set to squash him." " No, they won't squash him." "Wager two bits." "You're on." " l didn't say you could stick your nose in it." " You didn't say I couldn't ." "How much is it worth to get that hayseed off your back?" "Hell, I'll just roll over him." "Shit!" "You don't want to do that." "It'll gum up your works, make a mess of your rig." "All right." "Make it quick." "Fair enough." "No time for planting, son." "Easy." "I ain't got all day!" "Mister, you tell that son of a bitch he'd better shut his pie-hole, or I swear to Christ I'm gonna take this shovel to his head." " Shut your hole!" " Oh, great." "This your place?" "My ma's ." "It's ours." " lt's mine, you son of a bitch!" " No, it ain't !" "Son, where's your ma?" "That's her." "I got work to do here." "Oh, swell." "You got shovels?" "OK, children, let's shake some dust." "Can't just leave him." "He ran from a chain gang." "He's still sporting ankle iron." " Nothing but trouble." " That's what I said about you." "Come on, Ruthie, don't do this." "We've got nothing open." "We're down to tater shucks." " He can have my tater shucks." " Just to Milfay." "Yeah, like..." "Let's get him the hell out of here." "Latter-day versions of the vile plagues that rained on Egypt, the fires that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah," "scourges of the Old Testament, yes, but even now, brothers and sisters... even now, drought and pestilence fester in the very heart of this great land." "Titanic sandstorms, the likes of which man has not seen since the days of the prophets." "And I ask myself, " What are these things?" "" What are they, if not evidence of God's fury?" "" What are they, if not harbingers of the Apocalypse?"" "And yet... as I walked to church today, these troubled thoughts... were soothed by a balmy wind." "And as I looked out upon the endless acres of rich, untilled earth, I realised, brothers and sisters, that this is truly the promised land, and that we are indeed blessed." "But let us not forget the less fortunate." "Let us not forget that they too were once blessed." "And let us not forget that the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away." "Amen." "Praise God." "May I offer you something?" "My sister can get you some tea." "No, thank you." " Texas?" "Oklahoma?" " Tulsa." "We come up for the cantaloupes." "No need for pickers, though." "Maybe one out of a hundred that shows up, so we're up at the camp." "By the highway?" "You can't miss it." "No, sir. lt's a big one." "But we ain't got no preacher, so I've been coming up here last three Sundays." " A lady's got a right to worship." " Of course you do." "And you're welcome here any time." "Eleanor." "Eleanor McGill." "I didn't mean to take it." "Eleanor, I see you in my sermons." "And you pray so hard, you break my heart." "But my words... they wash over you like water over a stone." "No." "We all, each of us, carry within us the seeds of our own salvation... and our own damnation." "You do believe that, don't you?" "Kneel." "Now." "Pray with me, sister." "Pray." "Kneel and pray!" "Please, dear Lord, I have sinned." " l have sinned." " l have sinned." "Merciful Father, forgive me." "Forgive me." "Enough!" "Sister, you mustn't be afraid." "Let me state the simple fact that when you deposit money in a bank, the bank does not put the money into a safe-deposit vault." "It invests your money in many different forms of credit - in bonds and commercial paper, and mortgages, and in many other kinds of loans." "In other words, the bank puts your money to work." "It keeps the wheels of industry and of agriculture..." "Talk to Management about the hick?" "Yeah, I talked to him." "$34.87 in the kitty." "We're already choking on the nut." "The last thing we need is another belly to watch." " You know what he says?" " What?" "He was " expected" ." "Expected?" "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" "I stopped asking that question a long time ago." "I told you they'd come." "Fine-looking boy." "You have a singularly prurient mind, Lila." " What would you know about it?" " More than I care to, believe me." "Incidentally, dear, you should discard that jack of clubs." "He's doing you no good, and will only come back to haunt you." "Gin." "You old fraud." "Poor baby." "What do you suppose he's dreaming about, anyway?" "None of your business, dear." "Tell me what he's dreaming about." "Pretty please?" "For Lila." "Very well." "Lodz." "Lodz." "Mother, please." "Every time we pick up a new..." "He's just a boy." "I don't suppose you're going to pick that up." "What are you, some kind of freak?" "Watch it." "Kimono." "Come." " You wanted to see me?" " ls the stranger still with us?" " Yeah, as far as I know." " He's dangerous, Samson." "Oh, hell." "He's a rube." "Last night, Lila asked me to read his dreams." "A little parlour trick to keep the boredom at bay." "Harmless curiosity, really." "It almost destroyed me." "Like nothing I've experienced before." "I barely survived." "Hogwash." "is that so?" "Have you talked to Management about his presence here?" " Yeah, I talked to him." " And?" "He told me to take him on full-time if I could." "Look, if the kid were a threat, Management would know about it." "Would he?" " Want a ride?" " No." "Where are you going?" "It's none of your damn business." "What's gotten you so bothered?" "I don't appreciate getting shanghaied by a pack of freaks who steal my duds." "Fine." "It ain't right." "That child deserves a decent burial." "She won't give him up." "Ain't that a pretty baby you got?" "He's sleeping." "What's his name?" "Michael." "Like the archangel." "He's dead." "Isn't he?" "Yes, ma'am." "He is." "It's OK." "Could you fill those two cans back there?" "Yes, ma'am." "You're with them carnies, ain't you?" "Yeah." "Your fault." "It's your fault." "Come on!" "What you waiting for?" "Come on!" "Son of a bitch." "What are you looking at?" "Nothing." "Here." "Put this on." "Thank you." "Let me have a screwdriver." "What happened?" "Nothing." "Did he do that?" "It was some men in town." "Got fresh." "So how did the hick get in the picture?" "He just happened by." "Stopped it." "Come on, Jonesy. lt was nothing." " How many times you been told?" " l know." "I can't buy a dress. I can't buy a magazine." "I certainly can't sit in a beauty shop and read it." " ls there anything I can do?" " Sofie, there's plenty." "But one thing you cannot do is prance into these towns without asking for trouble." " So it was my fault?" " Yeah, it was." " l was asking for it?" " Yeah!" "The only thing I asked for was a tank of gas and a Nehi soda and maybe 10 minutes to myself!" "The rest of it was them!" "Get out." " Sofie, I..." " Get out!" "Go, please!" "Would you please shut up?" "Kid." "Hey, kid." "I heard Jonesy gave you the business about the kimono." "Real card, that Jonesy." "Always poking fun." "Yeah, he's real comical." "You see?" "There you go." "I admire a fellow who can take a joke." "" A measure of a man is his sense of humour." You know who said that?" "I don't care." "How about that?" "It was His Honour, Will Rogers." "Or maybe it was Mark Twain." "Kid, I'm about to make you the offer of a lifetime." "Stop calling me kid." "OK?" "My name is Ben Hawkins." "Well, Ben Hawkins, how would you like a career in show business?" " What's the wages?" " Nothing at first." "Cut me a break here, Hawkins!" "Offer comes straight from the boss man." "That's right." "That's right, boy, walk." "Goddamnit!" "Nice straight beeline to that dirt farm of yours." "And when you get there, you be sure to give john law a big hi-de-ho from me!" "And when he takes you upstate..." "Are you listening to me, boy?" "You ask him what kind of wages they're paying for breaking rocks!" "You know, I remember when I was a whelp." "My daddy worked in the stockyards." "Big hands." "Spoke German at home." "I don't remember much of the Deutsch now but..." "You're not real big on small talk, are you, Hawkins?" " What do you want to know?" " What's your story?" "I was born on a farm." "You saw it." "I was raised there." "Started working it." "Then the bank come and they run me off." "That's the end of the story." "You satisfied now?" "Do I look simple to you, Hawkins?" " No." " Well, that's good, because I'm not." "I've been to New York City." "I've been to Chi town and the Big Easy." "I met Caruso and Dempsey." "I made eyes with Theda Bara." "On a bad day, I've cracked tougher nuts than you." "So?" "I know there's more to you than ploughing and planting." "What's the matter?" "You don't like steak?" "Meat's fine. lt don't ask questions." "Come one, come all." "See Lila, the Bearded Woman of Brussels." "Witness two beauties born united tragically at the hip." "Surely there's a man with a stout heart, the brute strength and the spiritual fortitude to best my boy Gabriel in the ring?" "Many have tried, none has succeeded." "Ladies and gentlemen, a sight never before seen anywhere in the world." "I will swallow this long blade of solid steel... down my throat, past my heart, and into my stomach." "Well, let's put our hands together for these two lovely buttercups." "Move along." "Where she stops, nobody knows!" "All right, darling." "There you go." "Did you give this man right here your ticket?" "Here are two more, and two for your brother." "Your money's no good here, sunshine." "You hang on, and say hi to the man in the moon for me." "In this tent here, gentlemen, you will not see some tired old hootchy-kootchy show." "No sirree, Bob." "This here is an informative, educational demonstration of European muscle dancing!" "The fleet of foot, young man, captures the front row." "She'd be honoured if you paid her a call." "Of course, she's a very busy woman." " We have a number of performances." " l got money." " lt's not about money, my friend." " l got $20." " As I was saying..." " 25." "So how about that?" "Hey, she's a whore." "Rita Sue didn't do nothing to that chump that the First Merchants Trust didn't do to you." "You think on that." "Thought you might want this back." "Thanks." "I appreciate what you did earlier." " Thank you." " lt was nothing." "I was stupid." "Should've seen it coming." "Some fortune-teller, huh?" "There's talk of you coming on permanent." "No." "That'll be the day." "I'm just..." "I'm no carny." "The people in these towns... they're asleep." "All day, at work, at home." "They're sleepwalkers." "We wake them up." "Come on. I'll read your cards." " What?" " Your cards." "You know, past, present, future." " That's OK." " What's the matter?" " l'm broke." " No charge." "I'm fine." "Maybe later." "OK." "Later." " What's your name?" " Sofie." " Hawkins." " Ben Hawkins. I know." "So you weren't expecting me, and yet prisons are filled with shadows, shadows in the minds of men walking in the shadow..." "Your career of murder is not over." "Because I know you mean to carry out the threat you made before." " Yeah, you can't stop me..." " Sure I can." "Because you're going to tell me how the jury..." "Hello, handsome." "Are you lonely?" "One of us?" "Last chance for that card reading." "Past, present, or future?" "What's the difference?" "Very well." "The past." "Shuffle." "The Moon." "It indicates confusion and exposure." "Oh, good Lord!" "Boy, you can't dig that up!" "She's three days in the ground." "She's like to get you sick." " Give it to me!" " No." "What've you done?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah." " Would you like me to stop?" " No." "Go on." "Death." "You got no right." "No right, boy." "The Lord takes what's his, man don't take it back." "Not a harbinger of bad fortune, but of transformation." "Go!" "You're a marked boy." "You are marked by the Beast." "What do you see?" "Ben." "Nothing." "What?" "The Magician, reversed." "You filth." "You have a great talent or ability." "What's the reversed?" "Upside down." "It means it's been wasted, unfulfilled." "A gift you've hidden from others." "Don't touch me." "Get out." "You filth!" "Keep your hands off me." "You filth!" "Ben, what are you hiding?" "Tell me!" "Why are you crying?" "Grammie says y'all are marked." "They ain't marked." "They're just people, that's all." "How long you been like that?" "Forever." "Does it hurt?" "Hey, Hawkins!" "You riding with us, boy?" "Hell with it." "Let's shake some dust!" "English"