"Help!" "Help!" "Rape!" "Rape!" "Help!" "Help!" "You hearthat?" "Get him!" "He tried to rape her!" "That black bastard!" "Get him, get him, get him!" "He's gone down the street there!" "Where'd he go?" "Which street?" "Off there!" "Down there!" "Down that way!" " Watch it." " Watch he don't go across that river." "Watch." "Get that black bastard." "To the trees!" "Quiet." "Did you see him?" "No, I didn't see him, but someone told me what he..." "looked like." "He's black." "Come on, Willie, let's go!" "There's gonna be some fun!" "Stove's cold." "That kid's a filthy slob." "Blasted dishes." "That damn kid!" "Evie!" "Evie!" "Evie, get cracking!" "The breakfast dishes ain't even washed yet!" "What you been doing all day anyhow?" "Gramps is dead." "Yeah." "Finally went, huh?" "Poor old Peewee." "Well, look, it comes to everybody." "To you, to me." "Stop your bawling." "Go on over to my cabin and build me a fire." "That stove's as cold as a dog's nose." "Go on, get." "Ttomorrow's Monday, right?" "Right." "Jackson will be by with the launch, and i'll send... you into town with him." "Then I think... now look what you done." "Knucklehead!" "Clean up that mess." "Where was I?" "Oh, yeah." "Thing to do is let the people over at the church know about you." "They'll straighten you away." "Old Peewee." "Many's the time I told him about how I felt... the way he was bringing you up." "Told him he ought to send you over to town to school... teach you to read and write." "But he just kept saying, "next week." "Next week."" "Well, tomorrow's next week." "Here." "Wash these." "While you're at it, wash your hands and face." "Your knees, too." "And brush your hair." "The way Peewee let you run around is a crying shame." "Later." "If Peewee had held on just a little longer... he'd have seen you a real woman, Evie." "Yes, sir." "A real woman." "You're growing up, baby, and I never noticed." "How old are you?" "I used to know when Ma was alive, before Gramps... brought me out here." "You know they tell the age of a horse by his teeth?" "But with a woman or a hog, it's... it's flesh and... weight that counts." "Give me your leg." "Yeah, you're fleshing out at that." "I gotta go and clean the dishes." "You sure look good." "I'll have to admit that." "You got to learn to go around like this all the time." "I mean, it's okay for you to be out here looking like a swamp rat... but in town, the kids will make fun of you." "We can't have that, can we?" "Hey, wait a minute." "Oh, Evie... what's the matter?" "Did it tickle?" "Wish I had a golden box" "To keep my true love in" "I'd take her out" "And I'd kiss her twice" "Then I'd put her right back again" "I wished I was a red, rosy bush" "In a bank by the sea" "And every time" "My true love passed by" "She would pick a rose" "Off of me" "Hap!" "Oh, Hap!" "Peewee!" "Hey, Peewee!" "Oh, howdy, kid." "Where's Mr. Miller?" "Over there." "Okay." "Howdy." "Howdy." "Just asking about you." "What's the news from the mainland?" "Mr. Hargreaves wants me to bring you into town... with me, that's all." "Yeah?" "Yeah, that had a meeting of the Board the other night." "Finally decided to build that clubhouse out here." "Is that so?" "Gonna start next month." "Surveyors and architects coming first." "So they're finally gonna build, huh?" "They been talking about it since before they hired... me game warden." "Gonna fix me up, too." "Butane, hot running water." "Be like living in a hotel." "You getting mighty fancy." "You come out here next year, I'll give you some hunting." "And a hot bath." "I'll take you up on it." "They contracted me to bring the crew out here... and keep 'em supplied." "Hell." "You know, some nigger come close to... beating me out of this deal?" "Claimed his boat is faster than mine." "Got twin 50s." "Said he'd save 'em money." "Hell, I told Hargreaves," ""You give me thejob, I'll get 150-horse Marine."" "Besides, you know you can't depend on no nigger anyways." "So we shook on it." "Old Peewee finally kicked off." "Yeah, I seen he wasn't around." "What was it?" "White mule." "And age." "He was pushing 70." "You gotta help me with the burial." "Mr. Hargreaves says come to town..." "I gotta come to town." "We ain't got long." "Come on." "No ma, no pa." "What you gonna do with the kid here?" "Figure that's up to Mr. Hargreaves." "Gonna put it to him today." "I never knew alcohol weighed so heavy." "Man." "Real friendly people here." "Real friendly." "You need this, don't you?" "Um... this is the Bible." "Hasn't got the burial service, you understand?" "I'm gonna tell the coroner... and he'll get a preacher out here and do the... the whole thing proper." "Okay?" "Okay." "Here." "Now, what's that for?" "He likes it." "Oh, no, none of that." "Take it out, now." "You gotta learn to show respect for the dead." "Besides, it's a waste of bad whiskey." "Hey, Evie." "What was Peewee's full name, anyhow?" "Clinton Ignatius Stroud." "Clinton Ignatius." "Funeral's over, Evie." "Go on home and change your clothes." "I want to go with Mr. Jackson." "You ain't got no place to stay in town." "I want to see a television." "You said yesterday I was going." "Well, today I say you ain't." "Why not?" "Because I said so." "Now stop pestering me." "How come you treat herthat way?" "Look, do I have to give a written explanation for everything?" "I changed my mind, that's all." "Don't yell, don't yell." "Don't yell." "I'll cut your heart out and feed it to the fish." "Now, there's no need to be scared." "I won't hurt you none because I'm not a bad guy." "I know what's going on in your mind. "How comes... he's here on this island?"" "Well, I was out fishing... and like I ran out of gas, and I had to row here." "Look." "Like, wow, I was a kid the last time I saw them that way." "Yourfolks live here?" "They're..." "They're dead." "Who else is living there?" "I mean, like, who takes care of this hunting preserve?" "Private." "Keep off." "Gramps and Miller." "Naw." "Naw, Gramps is dead." "Just Miller." "Where's he?" "He's gone to town." "He'll be back tomorrow." "Just you, then?" "Just me." "Look here." "I'm so hungry I could eat a dead skunk." "Give me this honey." "No!" "It's Mr. Miller's." "What's this here?" "Nothing." "It's mine!" "Thief!" "Kid." "No reason to get salty." "Here." "Here's a dime for you." "It's not a bad price for an old apple, now, is it?" "Well, now, that was real nice." "If I just had a... yeah, a cigarette." "Just that deer of yours." "You haven't got any dogs here, have you?" "Had one." "He died about two months ago." "Snake bite." "Give me a match." "I'm just kind ofjumpy." "You know, this Miller guy might not go for my being here... and eating his food and smoking his cigarettes." "But you're real cool." "I mean, like, I don't even frighten you." "How come?" "You're just like old Jeb." "He helped gramps before Miller came." "He made me slingshots." "Slingshots?" "Well, I don't dig that kind of jazz, but I'd... like to tell you this." "You got a whole lot of soul to be so young." "I mean, you lookjust like an angel of mercy to old Traver." "You dig?" "What's dig?" "Uh, dig is to understand, get with it." "I told you, there's no one here." "Duck season, there's members." "They put the tents down on the flat." "They tip good, too." "One, a lawyer, give me $5.00 to buy me a new dress." "$5.00?" "Wow!" "He shot his limit two days in a row." "He gave Gramps 10." "10?" "Now, hold on there." "You sure you're not putting me on?" "No." "I gave mine to Gramps to buy me a chrome pistol." "He came home drunk." "Said he couldn't find it." "That's gas." "He uses it to fill his lamp." "What you taking?" "Getting me something to eat." "It's Mr. Miller's." "You got no right." "Ah, he'll never miss it." "You leave that be!" "I can't, sweetie." "I just plain can't." "In case someone comes after me..." "I've got to have some ammo to fight them off with." "Been a long time since I've seen one of these." "My father used to have one." "Hey!" " Give it to me!" "Give it to me!" " Take it easy." "You know, kids shouldn't play with guns." "We got ourselves a rabbit." "That's what I call real togetherness." "Angel of mercy." "You are, sweetie." "You really are." "If you knewthe trouble I've been through these last few days... you'd know I really meant it when I called you that." "Mr. Miller, he's gonna be real mad at you." "Tell you what." "Like, this gun is old." "I mean, it's an antique." "But since it's you, I'm gonna leave this 20." "Now, that should be enough to coverthe gas... and the rest of this jazz." "You haven't got a revolver, have you?" "That would be even better." "No." "Traver..." "I think you're losing your marbles, man." "This cat Miller... he got any boats on this island?" "In the swamp is all." "Any way to get from there to the ocean?" "No." "I thought you'd gone." "Yeah, so did I." "Come on, kid, I want to borrow some of that boat-mending junk." "You got any around here?" "Yeah." "What you need?" "I need a hammer... and, uh... some tar... and nails." "And pitch." "Or whateveryou call that stuff." "A hammer." "Good." "Tar." "Nails." "I could use this saw, too." "Hey, you got anything I can carry this stuff in?" "You know, you got no showto walk around like that." "I mean... don't you know nothing?" "I mean, like, uh..." "Here, put this on." "You might catch cold." "It's not cold." "You keep it on anyway." "It might get cold." "I'll be splitting out of here by sunup." "See you at the top, gumdrop." "Talked to Mr. Hargreaves about you." "He's gonna give the preacher a call over at the church today." "Seems the county don't make no provision for kids over 12." "Turn around." "There was a man here." "Nice, too." "I gave him something to eat." "What'd he want?" "Can't he read the signs?" "He needed gas." "He took my gas?" "Yeah." "He took your shotgun, too." "The hell he did." "When did he leave?" "Last night, he said." "Where'd you see him?" "Down yonder, by the slough." "Is he white or colored?" "Like old Jeb." "He ain't here." "He'll be gone by now." "If he ain't, he soon will be..." "long gone." " Ready?" " Yeah." "Here's your present." "Let's see how it looks." "What happened to that colored man?" "Forget it." "Now for your shoes." "I got high heels and pointed toes." "Think you can balance?" "Give me yourfoot." "There's something you gotta learn, Evie." "Not all men are like your gramps, you know." "Not all men are like old Hap here, either." "I mean, you gotta learn to be careful of... yourself over in town." "You knowthat?" "You don't even know what I'm talking about, do you?" "Come here." "Now stand still." "You washed your hair today, didn't you?" "I can tell by the way it smells." "But you didn't brush it, did you?" "Hardly ever do." "It's like it's full of cockleburs." "See how you manage in those shoes." "Hey, that looks good." "Real good." "Come here." "I want to talk to you." "Sit down." "Sit down." "I want to talk to you." "You're really innocent, aren't you?" "Somebody tells you to sit down, and you sit down." "Look, Evie... you must never let anybody hold you like this." "I mean older people, like me, they know, see?" "I mean, they tell you something... it's okay." "They do something, you figure it's gotta be all right." "What is this?" "It's mine." "Where'd you get it?" "Who give it to you, huh?" "That nigger, he give it to you?" "Tell me!" "Why?" "What did you give me that he give you this?" "He paid me for your shotgun." "Don't you lie to me." "I want the truth." "Now get to bed." "Go to bed, I said!" "Put your hands on your head." "Faster." "Faster, damn you, I'll blow your brains out." "Turn around." "Nigger kill a white man, that sure fix you up good." "White man damn near killed me this afternoon, didn't he?" "You're a thief." "That's my job." "Get back there." "I'll shoot you sure as hell." "I ain't no thief." "I left $20 for some gas and this trashy old shotgun." "I'll leave your rifle on the shore where my boat is." "You know, where you stole this." "I came here peaceful, and I want to leave the same way." "I don't want to have to kill nobody." "Plan on leaving in that boat of yours?" "I do." "So go on." "How'd you sleep last night?" "Feel okay?" "Evie." "Come here." "Look, it's important you tell me the truth, see?" "Lmportant for him, that is, that black boy." "Now, why'd he give you that 20?" "Forthe shotgun, some gas." "Okay." "I believe you." "Here." "Go on." "It's foryou." "It's what you get fortelling the truth." "Now, is old Hap your friend, or ain't he?" "Hey, little girl." "He didn't say so, but I thought maybe he shot you." "Little girl, the man cuts me down has got to be hip." "I mean, like, no square like that is gonna do it." "Anyway, you're alive." "I'm happy." "How come?" "You don't even know me." "I know you well enough." "Well, when you come on like that, you make me... think you kind of dig it." "What's "it"?" "Well, that's that big fat invisible kind of something... that everyone's always chasing and looking for and... and crying for." "It's that that you got no other name for, so you call it "it."" "Get back there, man." "Don't come any closer." "Suppose I like it here?" "Stay where you are!" "Evie, you don't want trouble, you come here." "You know, when I was a baby, I was kind of puny." "Needed special feeding." "Got my milk from an old black mammy." "No kidding." "So did I." "You know, my pa used to run a store out near... that old cotton gin" "Colonel Mercer used to own outside of town." "Sold snuff, fatback, on credit mostly... to niggers worked around there." "Till he went broke, that is." "Real old Southern family." "I seen a lot of niggers." "Might say some of 'em was my friends." "But I have yet to see one as fresh as you." "Listen, man, you tried to kill me." "You stole my motor." "And you busted my boat." "And you say I'm fresh." "What kind of man is that?" "It ain't no kind of man." "It's nothing but a little piece of lousy white trash." "Don't call me that." "How come, man?" "You think you're passing?" "Don't never use it, no matter you do have a gun." "Then don't call me a nigger." "You know, you sure are fresh." "But I don't mind." "Long as he ain't too fresh, you can count on him." "He's got spirit." "Turns out the work, a fresh nigger does." "You used that word again." "I didn't even let them call me that in the Army." "White trash." "I'm telling you, man... don't press me." "And where was you in the Army?" "Italy." "Yeah?" "I was in the fifth." "Third division." "Red Beach, Salerno, Naples... a whole tour." "I went that way." "45th." "Supply." "We were combat." "Suppose we weren't." "You knowthat country?" "That weather?" "When the mules were all shot up... we carried that ammo up on our backs, underfire all the way." "Pack boys." "I remember." "Yeah, one night... we'd been out of food and supplies all day." "No way to get back, either." "And this scrawny little guy... come shagging up through the rain with 100 pounds of supplies." "Ammo, mortar shells." "Had a bullet in his lung." "Died in my lap." "But he was just a poor white out of South Carolina." "He wasn't no... he wasn't no colored person." "Evie, let's go." "I'll say one thing... that boy sure puts out the work." "Hi!" "Hi, Evie." "I knew it." "You work from can to can't, you won't get... that boat fixed today." "She's fixed already." "Just needs soaking, that's all." "Tomorrow she'll be tight as oak." "Couldn't stand your own company, huh?" "I just feel better when I know where you are." "You touch that boat again..." "I'll find you, whereveryou hide." "I can't shoot any more holes in it, that's for certain." "You could sure as hell try to kick those patches off." "Now, don't go putting mean ideas in my head." "Man, you sick." "Hey, wait a minute." "Less than a week, there'll be a boat by from the mainland." "Comes every seven days." "It'll give you a life back to town." "Meanwhile, why, I just lost my handyman." "There's plenty of work to do." "25 bucks a week, less 5.00 for room and board." "What do you say?" "I got friends wondering where I am." "I got to cut out of here soon as I can." "I sure would like some of that board, though." "No work, no food." "Unless you want to steal it, that is." "Evie, looks like we may have company." "Betterthat you sleep in my cabin tonight." "Can I use that towel?" "Oh, yes." "Thanks." "Why don't you take thejob like Mr. Miller says?" "You whip a dog hard enough, and he won't come." "The same thing goes for cats." "How come you two can't be friends?" "Ask him." "He says ask you." "Evie, I got this, right?" "Now, I don't much want to use it on him, and he knows that." "If he had it, one bad step and like yesterday... it's good-bye, Traver." "It's easy for him to kill me, and it's hard for me to kill him." "So he's still got the power." "Offers me his hand, expects me to kiss it." "I like it betterthis way." "You might say it makes us almost equal." "Evie." "You get the blankets." "You ain't gonna get all hurt and ruffled up inside... because I'm moving the kid's bed?" "I mean, you don't think it's discrimination... not letting her sleep in there?" "Not at all, man." "Not at all." "You just treat those cabins just like they were your own." "Be my guest." "What's in that case?" "Cigarettes." "Uh-uh." "That black wooden thing." "Let's see it." "Ain't nothing to see." "Is that what you played last night?" "I didn't play anything last night." "I heard music." "That was the witch, baby sweets." "You know, spirit come to haunt you." "Come on." "Play." "Play what?" "You must be dreaming." "I don't play anything." "You do, too." "Come on and play." "You play?" "What are you, anyhow, a musician?" "Hell, no." "Me a musician?" "I'm a cabdriver, a longshoreman, you name it." "I just play a little bit to amuse myself." "Play it!" "What you call that?" "Wise guys trying to be hip call it a licorice stick." "But it ain't." "It's a clarinet." "Hey, you, boy!" "Watch this." "Come here, Evie." "I said come here." "Now!" "See how I could've minced you up if I'd wanted to." "Now, why don't youjust hand me over them firearms... and get yourself a good night's sleep?" "I got two more souvenirs just like that one right in there." "Finally convinced you, huh?" "Okay." "Early to work tomorrow... and then we'll see about some of that board." "Don't be afraid, Evie." "Evie, don't be afraid." "Morning, Evie." "Hey there, Evalyn!" "Evalyn!" "What the hell you yelling about?" "She any of your business?" "Soon as you finish doing what you're doing, burn that bunch of trash behind the house." "I will if I have time." "It that boat's swelled tight enough..." "I'm cutting out of here." "That's all right with me." "The sooner, the better." "Evie." "Evie, look at me." "You can throw away that ratty old coat, Evie." "As soon as I get to town..." "I'm gonna buy you an overcoat, thick and warm." "You're not a kid anymore, Evie." "You're a woman." "I'm gonna get you some nylons... some of those that look like you're not wearing anything." "And lipstick." "Or is there something else you'd rather have?" "That chrome.22 that Peewee promised you." "I'll buy you that, too." "See you later." "You don't want to eat with us?" "Man, you ain't raised that Southern girl right." "Nobody raised her." "Thanks anyway." "How come you won't eat with us?" "I got the message." "That's Northern style." "Everything's real smooth on the front, see." "No signs that say "for white only."" "You want a cup of coffee... you open the door and step inside... and the owner looks up from his greasy counter." "You'vejust been deprived of your rights." "And the rest of the customers... go right on eating and talking real polite." "And you... you ain't felt a thing." "At least not right here." "Don't you ever eat with colored people?" "Sometimes when I go to collect a bill... they'd invite me to their table, something like that." "You never invite them back?" "Never." "He eats the same as you do." "I never heard the name Traver." "Where'd you get it?" "My mother named me Traveling Man, after my father." "He never did come back." "And kids, they shortened it down to Traver." "Those Italian women, they were really a dish." "Guess you colored boys thought so, too, huh?" "What do you mean by that?" "Well, I was talking to a fella not too long ago." "He said there was a lot of trouble with you boys over there." "Assault, rape." "Of course, none of you white boys evertried it." "It's funny how clean-living all you cats are." "No one gets into trouble but us." "Said they strung up more than 100 of you on that charge." "Yeah?" "When one of you guys got caught... you'd swear the girl was professional... and she'd better watch her step." "Otherwise, she'd get a good pistol-whipping." "And land in jail." "That's what this fella said, that's all." "Go get your licorice stick." "You mean clarinet." "Look, kiddie, Dad here don't dig it." "But there's nothing like exposing them to culture." "You know, bring the peasants some music." "Maybe they'll learn." "Evie." "Over here, Reverend." "Lucky to be here, I can tell you." "Five hours late." "Took us three just to cross the bar... right, Jackson?" "Too rough to come in, too rough to stay out." "Preserve me all all costs from nature in her adverse moods." " I could use a shot if you got one." " Reverend?" "Oh, no, thank you." "A little hot coffee, if there is any." "How come you two ended up here?" "Get blown off course?" "Oh, not at all, Mr. Miller." "This was our destination." "Mr. Hargreaves called me." "Naturally I was affected... at Mr. Stroud's passing, that is." "His wife was a member of our congregation." "Oh, before my time, of course." "And this, I imagine, is the child." "Mr. Stroud's granddaughter." "That's right." "Glad to meet you, Evalyn." "I know we're going to be good friends." "Uh, tell me, what Mr. Jackson says, is it true?" "You've never been baptized?" "Right." "Peewee just never got around to it." "Well." "The Ladies Auxiliary has already arranged... for a place where you can stay until final plans can be made." "I'll take her back to town with me tomorrow." " No, you won't." " And why not?" "Because I promised to take her to town shopping." "And a promise is a promise." "I make it a habit neverto break one." "How are things, Jackson?" "Well, Hap, like the man says... something happens today..." "I heard it last night on the radio." "Dull as hell." "Excuse me, Reverend." "Oh, yeah, there was just one thing." "Day before yesterday... day I brought you back... no, it was the day before that... over on the south side of Hammersville... a nigger raped a white woman." "They phoned our sheriff last night." "Day before you took me to town?" "Yeah, in in Hammersville." "One of them fresh niggers from the north... come down here with a little six-bit orchestra." "Why, that black... he's here." "He's what?" "He's right here in the other cabin." "How do you like that?" "He fooled me clean." "Hell, I even hired him." "Here, take this." "You promised me some hunting." "You two just sit tight." "Hey, Traver!" "Must've seen you coming." "Hey, he's headed for your boat." "That's all right." "I got the ignition key." "Any other way out?" "His boat is all." "Here's his motor and the oars." "Hold that." "Here they come." "Flew the coop." "No use looking for him tonight." "We'll start out the first thing in the morning." "How are you so sure it's the same man?" "He's a musician." "Jazz." "Hell, I knewthere was something funny about him." "I felt it." "And him eating here tonight." "Drinking, buddying up." "That's something I won't forget." "He must take me for quite a sucker." "Perhaps it's fortunate we have all night to sleep on it." "Now, tell me, Mr. Miller... how do you plan to bed down your unexpected guests?" "Evie'll fix your bed." "Come on, Evie." "Well, if it's the bed the nigger slept in, it'll... be kind of funky." "You better make sure the kid puts on clean blankets." "Uh, tomorrow, Mr. Jackson... first thing in the morning, we'll have to head back." "Sure thing, Reverend." "Of course." "Of course." "Here you are." "Evie." "If he asks you anything about me... don't answer." "Is that clear?" "About you?" "What's he gonna ask?" "Well, about last night." "About you and me." "Not a word." "Look, I'll explain..." "Everything's okay, Reverend." "Evie's putting some sheets on for you." "If there's anything else you want, just ask her." "Thank you, Mr. Miller." "See you in the morning." "Hurry it up, Evie." "Don't want to keep the reverend up all night." "Uh, wait, um... how many nights did this poor man sleep here?" "One night." "We'll turn the mattress." "You know, Evie..." "I think you have the wrong idea of this place you're going." "They'll treat you there like one of their own." "Dress you, school you... put you to bed at night, tuck you in." "Could I have my own bed?" "Yes, of course." "My own room, too?" "That I doubt." "There'll be other children there, you know." "I imagine all children share rooms." "But I'm not a child." "You most certainly are." "I am not." "Mr. Miller said yesterday I wasn't." "And pray, how not?" "Ask him." "He told me not to tell anyone anything." "The way the sheriff told us about it was funny as hell." "Seems when the hammersville guy heard about the rape and that the guy played a clarinet... they lit out scat for the cabaret where the guy... had been playing." "Well, of course, there's four or five other colored... boys playing away there." "But the hammersville guys knew... they were looking for a clarinet player." "What took you so long?" "What'd he say to you?" "Told me about that home I'm going to." "About school." "That's all?" "That's all." "Okay." "Go to bed." ""Is this a clarinet?" yells old Charlie Johnson... and he picks up an old shiny horn." ""Hell, no," says one of them fresh colored boys." ""This here's a sax."" ""Well, it looks like a clarinet to me."" "And whammo... right overthe nigger's head." "Evie." "Evie, did that preacher say anything about me?" "Nothing?" "Nothing." "You're a good girl, Evie." "Avery good girl." "Where we going?" "To that gift I promised you." "What's that?" "A key of gold." "Something beyond price." "Agift you will treasure all your life." "There is nothing like it in worth... in this world or in the one to follow." "Now, have no fear." "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son... and the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "Now do I get my key of gold?" "!" "Hey, wait up!" "What's the matter?" "Far as you can go up there." "Gotta head this way." "You see that black boy, let him have it." "No, sir." "This is a fresh one I want alive." "Not me." "I shoot." "Child, let me explain again." "The baptism opens foryou the whole world of heaven." "Heaven and its wonders." "That's why I called it a key of gold." "Can you possibly think of any other gift that has more value?" "Yes." "That chrome.22 pistol Mr. Miller promised me." "Perhaps now it might so seem." "Not later." "Not when you're older." "I'm sure of that." "Meanwhile, there's something I want you to explain to me." "What you said last night about no longer being a child..." "I couldn't sleep." "Come." "You can tell me about it as we walk." "All right, now what?" "Nothing." "Two people ain't gonna find him today." "We'd best head back to the mainland... get the sheriff, some dogs, and some more help." "You go." "I'm staying at the cabin." "Yeah." "Let me take that long, cold trip alone." "I..." "I notice you like to stay where you sleep cozy." "What do you mean by that?" "Evie, what was that?" "Somebody... please, some... help me." "Get me out." "Look, Reverend, I didn't do what they said I did." "I didn't." "Unfortunately, they claim you did." "Claim?" "Reverend, that's what they claim." "I was boxed in." "Look... this rich white woman keeps coming to the hot note." "That's thejoint where we were blowing... she said she wanted me to come over." "She had some business she wanted to talk to me about." "Reverend, you believe me, don't you?" "There's nothing to disbelieve so far." "Go outside, child... and let me know when you see them coming." "She said she wanted me and my group... to come over and play a few sets... for dancing." "So the next evening... late afternoon it was..." "I go to this address." "She lets me in and leads me down a hall." "Well, man, it turns out to be her bedroom." "She says, "come on in, fella," and she sits on the bed." "Like, I ain't no saint, but if she had been a chick..." "Well, Reverend, she was just too old." "I said, "Mrs. Brownell"...that was her name..." "Brownell, you said?" "Mrs. Brownell?" "Right. "Mrs. Brownell," I says, "You come to... the cabaret tonight and we can discuss our business there." "Okay?"" "But, Reverend, she wouldn't take no for an answer." "Well, honest... she really smelled of cigarettes and whiskey." "So I just gently pushed her aside and said, "no, ma'am." "Thanks a lot, but... no, thanks."" "And then?" "And then she just sit on the bed and looked at... me like I had two heads." "I really felt sorry for her." "Then shejumps up and starts yelling..." ""Rape!" "Rape!" "Help!"" "As I was running out of the house..." "I could see her neighbors coming on strong." "One yelled at me as I came out... and... and, like, well..." "I been running ever since." "You believe me, don't you, Reverend?" "I mean, I'm innocent." "I have knowledge of Mrs. Brownell." "Yes, I'm inclined to believe you are." "I have some influence in town." "I'll use it foryou as best I can." "Traver's here and he's inside the cabin!" "He's hurt." "So our boy's right here, and us shagging all... over hell's half acre." "There he is." "Leave him alone." "Might well be he's innocent." "Innocent?" "One side, Reverend." "You claim to be innocent, boy?" "Yes." "She swears you raped her." "You mean a white woman could lie, boy?" "Yes." "You ever hear a nigger plead guilty, huh?" "Get your hands up, boy." "Don't worry." "I'll appear as witness for you at your trial." "Reverend, they won't wait for no trial." "Not in that... town, they won't." "Come on." "Move!" "All right, hold on." "Tie it good." "Go ahead." "Over here." "Turn him around." "Damn you." "What do you intend?" "Take him to town in the morning." "Well, why can't you lock him in one of the cabins?" "And have him wiggle out while we're asleep?" "The hell with that, Reverend." "Mr. Miller, I protest your inhuman treatment of this man." "I insist you make his state at least bearable." "Why, he can't even sit here." "You're right, Reverend." "Black boy's favorite position:" "Sitting." ""Thou wouldest have asked of him..." ""and he would have given thee living water." ""The woman saith unto him..." ""'Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep." ""'From whence then hast thou that living water?" ""'Art thou greater than our father Jacob..." ""'which gave us the well and drank thereof himself," ""and his children and his cattle?" "'" ""Jesus answered and said unto her..." ""'whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again... but whosoever drinketh of the water"'..." "Go ahead." "Say something." "Say something fresh." "It's easy to insult a man when you got him hog-tied." "You intimating I'm a coward 'cause I got you tied up here." "Well, that ain't it." "Believe it, don't believe it, it makes no difference." "I seen my death half a dozen times." "I never yet been scared, and that's the truth." "You see, it's... just like you got an alligator, you tie him up." "A lot of soft-hearted people try to make out a nigger's a man." "I just don't believe it." "I don't believe you are." "God left something out of you, a soul or something." "Trying to prove he's a man is what gets a nigger into trouble." "Was you a man, I'd be mad at you, but I ain't really." "Hell..." "I'm sorry foryou." "And that's the truth." "Thirsty?" "Want some water?" "Huh?" "Evie!" "Evie!" "Evie, come here!" "Evie, I want you to do me a favor." "Bring me my knife." "It's in your cabin, underneath my bed." "They'll hit me." "If they get me to town, they'll kill me." "Cigarette, Reverend?" "Thank you, I don't smoke." "Cup of coffee?" "No, no coffee." "Isn't there anything I can give you?" "Yes." "Afew minutes of your time." "I want a private word with you." "What you doing here?" "Getting my boots." "I have an unpleasant duty to perform, and I feel that you... should know of it." "What is that?" "I hold the gravest suspicion... that you have abused the innocence of this child." "It's you who have abused her innocence... asking questions of a kid." "Your mannertends to confirm my suspicions." "If true, you're guilty of an abominable crime, Miller:" "The violation of an innocent." "She's not a child." "She's a woman." "Then you accept the accusation." "No, sir, I don't." "Why should I?" "You're an adult." "She's a child." "The law is explicit." "I reserve my right to take whatever action my conscience dictates." "All right, I admit it." "So what?" "Hell, she's a wild thing." "You can't keep a man cooped up on this stinking island." "It had to happen." "I cannot make myself a party to your crime." "Look..." "I brought myself up from nothing." "You report this, it'll mean my job." "Isn't a preacher supposed to have some charity, some mercy?" "Forthe helpless, the weak, yes." "There are always excuses... always extenuating circumstances, Mr. Miller." "And I'm tired of them." ""He's sick." "He's poor." ""His parents beat him when he was young." "His parents didn't beat him when he was young."" "I've heard that kind of cant used to excuse the... most scabrous crimes." "Well, I won't accept it." "It's an old-fashioned belief, I know, but I believe in sin." "Yes, and expiation." "There must be guilt in expiation... or the sin will be readily committed again." "Miller, Hap, come out here!" "Preacher, you come a-running!" "You come here right now!" "Look at that." "That's been cut." "It's that damn preacher who done it, that's who." "Let's go." " Yes, what is it?" " You know right well what it is." "That nigger got away." "You damn well cut him loose." " It wasn't I." " Then who did?" "It was you." "Damn you, Jackson!" "You keep your hands off." "What was that for?" "Because you shook me." "All right, Hap, I get it." "He's gotta be close, 'cause of that leg of his." "This time I shoot on sight." "Jackson!" "There are state and federal laws against... your proposed action." "Did you hear what I said?" "Mr. Miller, this colored man is innocent." "How do you know?" "I knowthe white woman who accuses him." "Know her well." "The poor creature once came to me for help." "I couldn't give it." "Since her husband died, she drinks." "Two years ago, she accused a white man of this same act." "Look, Reverend, how would it be if I was to arrange to marry Evalyn?" "That would be something I couldn't prevent, Mr. Miller." "Would you still report me?" "I'd have to seek advice on that from my... superiors in the church." "Suppose he were guilty, this colored man." "Your killing him would be bad enough." "But innocent... and of all people to hunt him, yourself." "Jackson!" "Hey, Jackson!" "Hap!" "Hap, over here!" "Leave off." "Leave off?" "What are you talking?" "I said leave off, and give me that shotgun." "Like hell I will." "You going crazy?" "The heat got you?" "Give me that gun now." "Now get back to your boat." "Miller!" "I'll be back, but I won't be alone." "Then we'll see who's boss over here." "Cotton-picking nigger lover." "And that ain't all you are." "Look!" "Just ran out of gas last night." "Couldn't even touch to the ground." "Figured at least I'd sleep well in the tool shed." "Here, let me help you." "Thanks." "It does feel better this morning, though." "But, like, it ain't easy when you can't perambulate." " Come over here and sit down." " Uh... oh." "Here comes trouble." "Is that boat of yours tight yet?" "You can sink it if you want to." "I couldn't care less." "I don't dig him, Reverend." "He's blowing some new changes." "Well, I don't understand you... but I can say a lot of things have happened around here." "Here." "Try walking on these." "Yeah, sure." "I don't dig you, man." "Can you make it to the boat?" "Can I?" "Watch me." "I'm gonna swing." "Well, go ahead." "Make time." "I'll meet you there with the motor." "Man, like..." "Like, I'll be there." "Like, five minutes ago." "Thanks, Reverend." "Good luck." "We'll see each other soon, won't we?" "Of course." "Of course we will, Evie." "Maybe I'll see you and your clarinet on a television." "Sure." "I'll send you my autograph." "Bye." "Bye." "I think you ought to know, Reverend, you and anybody else who's interested... that I intend to be in on Saturday... to take Evie shopping like I promised." "In the final analysis, Mr. Miller, it will be Evalyn who decides." "I think I can sell her on it." "Let's go, Evalyn." "Hey, nigger!" "Wait up, boy." "You thought you'd made it." "You figured you're gonna get away." "All right, boy." "I'm gonna kill you." "I'm gonna get you, boy." "Watch that oar!" "Go ahead, kill me!" "Let me have it!" "No, no." "I ain't gonna give them a..." "reason to lynch me." "White trash." "I'll be back with the sheriff, boy!" "Well, you finally got here." "We thought we'd lost you." "You get on board, preacher." "Traver!" "Everything's ready!" "She's all set to go!" "Come on, Traveling Man." "Done by (C) dcd / December 2008"