"Hear, hear." "Hear." "Court's called to order." "Your honor, there is no doubt in the mind of the Commonwealth that this prisoner is a confirmed chicken thief." "He has no place in this God-fearing community." "He is a vagrant." "He cometh from no man knows whence." "Since arriving in our midst he has been known to do no honest work." "The Commonwealth of Kentucky asks- nay, demands- that he be adjudged guilty and sentenced to six months on the chain gang." "Hey." "Hey, boy." "Wake up there." "Sheriff, wake him up there." "If anybody's gonna sleep in this court, it'll be me." "Hey, wake up." " Huh?" "Come here, boy." "Here." "Come on over here." "Right there." "What's your name?" "Uh, Jeff Poindexter." "Poindexter?" " Yeah." "Who gave you that?" " Mr. Ranny." "Ranny?" "You mean Major Randolph Poindexter from down at-at-at Pine Bluff?" "Yes, Pine Bluff." "Yeah." "Looks like you, uh, Poindexters is always gettin' mixed up with some chicken somehow." "Hey, Sergeant it seems like I recollect, uh, you and Major Ranny havin' some, uh, connection with the flesh of fowl at one time." "Doggoned if we didn't." "You know, Major Ranny was the fire-eatin'est soldier that ever chased a Yank up a tree." "You know, Billy, you and me pretty near starved that day when we went foraging for a snack after the Battle of 'Chickamaugy.'" "'Chickamaugy'?" "No, no." "It was the" "It-It was the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain." "'Twas no such a thing." "It was 'Chickamaugy'." "No, you're both wrong." " I'm not wrong." "It was the summer of'63, and we were just outside of Nashville." "No, Billy's right." "I remember." "For wasn't I there with you?" "Your Honor, the Commonwealth objects to this digression." "Now, now, now, Senator, uh, you know" "Now the" " Now the point is that, uh-that the major- uh, he acted the part of a gentleman and a soldier." "And he removed the temptation from out of our path by eatin' up all the fat hens i-i-in the whole bunch and leavin' us nothing but a lot of old skinny dominick roosters." "You remember, boys?" " Come to think of it, Billy," "They were no such a thing." "They were Yankee chickens." "They were Rhode Island Reds." "I know 'cause l-..." "Your Honor." " Dominick." "Your Honor." " It was dominicks." "Is this a court of law?" " I know this." "I ask you, is this a court of law?" "Now, now, now, Senator." "I wouldn't" " I would, uh" "Don't get on your high horse that way." "You know we ain't in any great big hurry, but, uh, incidentally what are you-what are you charged with there, boy?" "Nothing, Judge, but I wasn't near them chickens, sure enough." "I just fishin'." "Fishin'?" "Where was you fishin'?" "Down Sleepy River." "Ain't no fish in Sleepy River." " There are so." "Ain't neither." " Full of catfish." "Doc's right, Jimmy." " Yeah?" "Sure enough." "I catch catfish in there that long." "There's your proof he's lying." "Here." "Come here." "What-What-What do you use for bait?" "Oh, I get a hunk of beef liver." "Beef liver?" "That's good, huh?" "Yes." "I take the beef liver and put it on the hook and chuck it out there." "Let 'em have a first piece for nothin', see?" "And then you put some more on there and chuck it out there." "And then they think they gonna get that for nothin'." "And you catch 'em as long as you got the liver." "Yeah?" "And I go down there all the time, and I don't carry nothing' but that liver." "Y-Yeah." "I remember." "Oh, down there." "I bet it must have been that long, you know?" "Sure, sir." "Sure enough." "I've got to take down the judge's clothes" "Got to take 'em in the house" "Yes, Lord" "Got to get out that old ironing' board" "Fix 'em up for the judge to wear" "Yes, Lord" "That's what I is a goin' to do" "Praise the Lord." "Mr. Rome." "Is you here or is you ain't?" " Hi, Aunt Dilsey." "How come you here?" "The judge say you up there at that college learning' to be a lawyer man." "Aunt Dilsey, I got stomach trouble." "Lord help you, white child." "What them Yankees been feedin' you?" "Not a darn thing." "That's the trouble." "What have you got for supper?" " Mr. Rome, you stay here." "Us is gonna kill the high-steppin'est rooster in the yard." "And a great big bowl of milk gravy and grits." "And waffles?" "Don't you worry none, honey." "You is home now." "Mr. Rome's home Mr. Rome's home" "Mr. Rome's home Mr. Rome's home" "Hey, Uncle Billy." "Hiya." "Well, if it ain't Rome." "Well, salt me down." "What happened up there?" "Did them Yankees kick you out of that law school, huh?" "Sure, they did..." "with a diploma." "You're now lookin' at a full-fledged member of the bar." "Let me look at you." "Hmm." "Full-fledged, my gizzard-a lawyer." "You know, you better get your britches half-soled... 'cause you're gonna sit around a long time before you get your first client." "Well, I don't mind, Uncle Billy." "You know what happened to me before I got my first client, don't you?" "Lord, I" " I sat through two Republican administrations before I" "Who are you playing?" "Oh, I'm just doin' a little practicing here for the championship." "I got Jeff here." "He's doin' the retrieving' for me." "Oh." "Uh, me and Herman Felsberg is gonna play against Jimmy Bagby and Doc Lake." "Put two of them balls down there, will you, Jeff?" "Two again?" " Mm-hmm." "Remember the last time." " Mm-hmm." "I'm gonna show you what would happen to Jimmy Bagby now if he's, uh" "I just wanna show you how far I can" "Ooh, look here." "Look at them Yankee shoes he's got on there, Jeff." "Look at that." "Yes, sir, I never seen shoes with buttons on 'em before." "I seen pants with buttons." "Judge, I" " Oh, say, that's fine." "Oh, uh, just, uh, take your button shoes with you and just step that off and see just how far it is." "All right, Uncle Billy." " Think that's about a record." "One, two, three, four." "Hello." " Rome." "Glad to see me?" "Why, I thought you were still up north." "Uh-uh." "I got in this morning." "How'd you know I was back here?" "Well, I didn't, but Uncle B" "My, you-you look pretty with those things." "Isn't this a lovely spray?" "Mm-hmm." "Now, young lady, I want to ask you a question." "Oh, please let me down, Rome." "Miss Gillespie, will you please tell this court why you didn't answer my letters?" "I've got to go in." "Really, I have." " Now tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you" "You know why." "All I know is that you've changed since I went away." "Well, that isn't it, Rome." "It's" " It's just that we've grown up." "You mean you don't like me anymore?" "Oh, Rome." "Well, if my mother or anybody has said anything" "Oh, Ellie May, I mean-..." "Well, I'm old enough to choose my own friends." "Please let me go." "We've gotta get this thing settled once and for all." "I've got to go in." "Really, I have." "All right, then I'm comin' back tonight and find out what it's all about." "You can't." "I have an engagement." " Who with?" "Fleming Talley." " Oh." "Well, how about tomorrow night?" "Oh, Rome, it's no use." "All right." "If that's the way you feel about it you can sit right there till we understand each other." "That's all right." "That's all right." "We don't need any more practice for them old men." "Besides, that, uh, exertion calls for a julep." "Yes, but you gonna wait for that young gentleman before you-..." "Wait for him?" " Uh" "Unless young folks has changed since I was skirmishing' around he won't be back for quite a while." "Hey, Judge, look at that goat." "Ain't that a pretty sight?" " What?" "That goat?" "Ain't nothin' prettier in the world than two young folks in love in the spring." "Uh, Judge, what you gonna do about that goat?" "Oh, goat." "My Lord, ain't you got any sentiment?" "Ain't you got no girl?" "Wasn't you ever in love?" "Standing around here talkin' about a goat or something." "But your mint." " What about my mint?" "That's goat's in your mint bed." " It's in my mint bed." "Get out of there." " Get." "Get on out of here." "Acting like you was starved." "Get you home with you." "Shoo." "Why, William Priest." " Oh, hello, Carrie." "This is a fine how do you do." "What will the neighbors say?" "I'm ashamed of you." "What's ailing you now?" "Dadgum goat come in here and eat up my mint bed there." "I'll bet he must have been the ruination of a million juleps." "You and your precious mint juleps- a circuit court judge." "Where is your dignity?" "Dignity?" "I don't reckon the Priest family will ever have to worry about dignity as long as you're alive and kickin'." "Well, it's a good thing somebody in this family has pride." "I always told my brother when he married you that he saved the family name." "Well, if he were living, he wouldn't be fooling around the front yard with a goat." "That's not what I came for." "Have you seen Rome?" "Oh, Rome?" "Rome?" "Oh, appears like I did see that, uh, son of yours around here a while ago." "I expect he's downtown though now, uh, you know struttin' around, showing' off his button shoes." "Now don't you play possum with me." "As if I didn't know you've been encouraging that- that girl over there to set her cap for Rome." "Carrie, Carrie if I didn't know that you had the biggest heart of any woman in the world..." "I'd think you was the most suspicious creature that ever come down the pike." "Never mind that." "You come up on the porch." "I want to talk to you." "If I'd have known that's the way you felt about it, I wouldn't have hurried home so fast." "I'm sorry, Rome." "After all, you have your career and your family and everything in the world that matters to you right here." "I don't think you care what matters to me." " That's not fair, Rome." "After all, I'm" " I'm only telling you for your own good." "William, I'm not a woman to beat about the bush." "This business of Rome and that girl next door has got to stop." "What do you got against Ellie May?" "She's an awful sweet girl, it seems to me." "She's got gumption, and she teaches school and supports herself." "I don't want to be unkind." "She may be a very nice girl and all that but, after all, Rome is one of the Kentucky Priests." "And the name of Priest means something in Kentucky." "Well, uh, I've never heard that it meant intolerance." "It means good stock and family pride." "You know the kind of stock she comes from." "Yep." "Her, uh" "Her ma come to this town penniless and died giving' birth to Ellie May." "I remember the night." "She was a frail little woman- uh, wasn't any bigger than Ellie May is now-and just as pretty." "But who was her father?" "Well, uh, nobody don't, uh, rightfully know." "Well, family may not mean anything to you but it means a whole lot to me." "I'm not going to have my grandchildren come into the world under a cloud." "You, uh, haven't, by any chance, picked Hod Maydew as a grandpappy, have you?" "Oh, I know you've never liked Senator Maydew but you can't say anything against his folks." "They've got money, they're an old family and Virginia's a lovely girl." "She's always been crazy about Rome." "He could do a lot worse." "Well, I guess, uh, me and Rome we ain't got anything to say about it." "I knew you'd come around to my way." "You're gonna-You're gonna stay for supper, ain't ya, Carrie?" "Not tonight, thank you, William." "The Daughters of the Confederacy are having a chicken supper at Kate Maydew's and I'm late already." "Looks like you Daughters get more ferocious every year towards Yankees and, uh, fried chicken." "Got your badge on there." " Yes." "Mighty pretty." " Good night, William." "Sometimes, I, uh" "I think you women got more badges and medals out of the war than the soldiers did." "Good night, Carrie." "Listen to that old whip-poor-will callin' his mate." "Him and his kin has been nestin' around here for nigh on 30 years." "A lonesome kind of sound, isn't it, Uncle Billy?" "Mmm, 'tis so." "You know, the good Lord never meant for nobody- either man or bird- to live by theirself." "Uncle Billy, why didn't you come live with us after Aunt Margaret died?" "Oh, I" "I never could stand your ma's cookin'." "Awful fine swing over there on that other porch." "I wouldn't be surprised if there ain't a pretty girl sittin' in it now." "She's got another fella tonight." "Ellie May sure is pretty." "The fella who gets her will certainly have to do some prancing'." "He can't sit around and look glum all the time." "There he is now." " Who?" "That Flem Talley." "The barber?" " Yeah." "Gives an awful poor shave, that fella." "Whoa." "Whoa, babe." "Here I am, honey." "Hee, hee, hee." "Ellie May, here's good news." "Hee, hee." "Hee, hee, hee, hee." "Uh, son, uh, there ain't nothing'll get your mind off womenfolks like work." "Will you run back in my library there and get my old Kentucky Code of Statutes?" "It's, uh" " It's an old calfskin book up on the top shelf there." "Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee." "That gets me, that braying there." "Long ears." "I'm just gonna see if I can't stop him." "Gabby Rives and Joe Herringer- you know, the boys that work for me down at my barbershop- well, they comes to me tonight and wants me to go over to old town." "Some high-flying gals over there." "But I tells 'em no." "I can have all the fun I want right here at home." "Now, guess who I was talkin' about." "Couldn't I- Couldn't I make you some lemonade?" "Lemonade?" "Sure, honey." "And I got something to sweeten it with right out of the mountains and kickin' like a mule." "Hee, hee, hee." "Judge." "Oh, Judge." "Y-Y-You seen anything of Mr. " "Mr. Flem Talley, the barber man, around here?" "No." "What he be doin' around here?" "Uh, I don't know, Judge, but- but they's- they's headed this way for him." "What are you" " What are you talkin' about?" "Who's they?" "Uh, some lady's pappy with a two-barrel shotgun." "He says Mr. Talley's been messin' around." "He sure is in a killin' mood." "What?" "You mean that, uh, he's going to annihilate him?" "Uh" " Uh, no, sir." "He" " He just-just gonna shoot him." "That-That's all." "Oh, there ain't a thing that I can do about it." "My job don't start until, uh they've got him all, uh, laid out in the morgue full of buckshot, cold and dead and, uh, ready for burial." "And then I steps in." "Uh, b-but, uh, y-you-you, Judge- y-y-you is the law." "Oh, I can't do a thing about it, as I said before until the shooting is over." "And, uh, then I'll certainly see that the, uh, murderer gets a fair trial." "Giddap." "Giddap." "Uncle Billy, I couldn't find that book anywhere." "What book?" " That Kentucky law book." "Oh." "Maybe I didn't have one." "Ellie May is waitin' for you over there." " What?" "Well, l-l-l" " How do you know?" "Are you sure?" "Now don't be standin' here like a jaybird gawking' when I tell you she's waitin'." "Go on out of here and go." "That dumb whip-poor-will." "Mighty poor company on a night like this." "Good night, Jeff." "Been a long time, honey, since you and the babies went away." "Mmm, honey, it sure is a pretty night." "Been an awful late spring." "But I don't know when I've seen the flowers lookin' better this time of year." "People are funny things- always got their eye set on something." "Rome, he's got his eye set on Ellie May." "And Carrie, she's got hers set on old Hod Maydew's daughter for Rome." "Old Hod, he's got his eye set on my job." "And some of 'em's gonna be disappointed." "Mmm, them honeysuckles sure do smell sweet." "Seems like I just can't get my nose full enough of 'em." "Why, dad-burn, honey." "There's Bob Gillis over there at a grave." "It's at Ellie May's mother's." "Hi, Jimmy." " Hello, Billy." "What are you" " What are you doin' there?" "Figurin' on gettin' called to the colors again?" "Hello, Gillis." "Hello." "You never know what them Yanks is gonna do." "We licked 'em once, and I'm keepin' old Dead-eye ready in case we- in case we gotta do it again." "Say, uh, better look at old General Forrest there." "Think he's gonna need a little shoeing' pretty soon." "Well, I'm" " I'm mighty busy right now, Billy shoeing' them two horses over there." "Hey, Bob, we better take a look at the judge's horse." "There's somethin' wrong." "Have a snifter?" "Good corn." "You can smell the feet of the boy that plowed it." "That breath of yours is like a hot mince pie." "Where you goin'?" " Goin' fishin'." "Sleepy River." "Sleepy River?" "Why don't you fish in the trough there?" "Need shoeing'?" " Nope." "All right for a while yet." "Say, bad scar you got there." "Bullet?" "Yeah." " Get that in the war?" "Nope." "Uh, folks say you come from up north." "Must have got that up there." "As well talk to Jeff as far as finding out anything." "Hey, wake up here." "Somebody come along and steal the horse and leave you sittin' here holdin' the lines." "All right." "Come on with that beef liver now." "The bait is in the bait bag." "I always keep it in here." "Hurry up now." " Uh, liver, uh" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Don't tell" " Don't tell me you ain't got it." "It looks like that liver done walked off by itself." "Lord." "Here." "How am I gonna catch any catfish when I ain't got no bait?" "Take this dime now and hurry on back to town and get me that beef liver." "All right, sir." " Hurry up now." "All right." "I'm practically running' now." "Ain't you gonna put your shoes on?" "Well, I'm savin' 'em in case my feet wear out." "And then I'll have 'em." "Mm-hmm." "As much sitting' around as you do, it won't be your feet that will wear out." "Massa Jesus wrote me a note" "He wrote it on the moon" "He tells me to put on my Sunday clothes" "For he's coming to fetch me soon" "Massa Jesus" "Wrote me a note" "He dropped it in a star" "Say he gonna wash me white as snow" "A coat." "I got on a hat and this good old pretty vest hangin' up in there doin' nothing." "By grabs." "Plague take you." "I thought I told you to stay away from that vest." "But, Judge, it got hung up on my" " You got my coat on there too." "Yes, but this old skunk coat" " Skunk coat?" "I mean possum" " What do you mean, possum?" "Uh, rabbit" "Rabbit?" "Say, listen." "Every inch of that is raccoon." "Better be raccoon." "I took it off a rich Yank." "And now you get in there and put them things away from there." "Better get on over to that festival there." "Dilsey might be needin' you too." "How are you, Judge?" " Just tolerable, Reverend." "Just tolerable." "I'm afraid it takes ice cream and cake to get you old soldiers out to church." "Yeah." "If the Lord ever gets in a jam, why, uh, he knows who to call." "That's right." "Going to church isn't everything there is to it." "Evening, Senator." " Good evening, Reverend." "Good evening, Judge Priest." " Good evening, Hod." "There's one of our best churchgoers." "Yes, it's- it's surprisin' how far some men will go to, uh, get a few votes." "To bad we, uh-we didn't get rid of him and get him off up to Congress there after him spending' that, uh, term in the state senate." "I understand he thinks you deprived him of that honor." "Me?" "Hmm." "Great Democratic party and Thomas Jefferson." "Evidently, the senator doesn't see it that way." "They tell me that his cases in your court have taken on the appearance of a personal feud now that he's a candidate for your job." "Oh, I wouldn't say that, Ashby." "But I am gonna have to get out and do some mighty tall electioneering, you know." "Hod is a" " He's a spellbinder and a- and a silver-tongue from way back." "I'm just a-well, an old country jake who- kind of a baby kisser." "I ain't got much to offer the boys in the- in the way of rhetoric." "I understand he doesn't approve of your grammar." "My grammar?" "First thing I learned in politics was when to say 'ain't.'" "Speakin' of ice cream, did I ever tell you about Shiloh?" "Yes." " Didn't I?" "Didn't I?" "Wait a minute, Doc." "I want you to hear this." "Come here." "Come on over here." "I want you to hear this.'Twas the eve before Shiloh and them orders had to get across the river to General Beauregard." "What did I do?" "I took off my clothes and I stuffed the orders in my mouth, and I plunged in." "It was pitch dark." "Well, sir, I was going" "Good evening." "Are you swimming again, Jimmy?" "Now where was I?" "Where was I?" " Right in the middle of the river, Jimmy." "Yes." "Yes, sir." "There you are." "Swimming, and 12 miles to go yet." "And there I was, swimming' and swimming' diving' under and around Yankee gunboats." "Yankee boats all around me." "Surrounded by Yankee gunboats, and me dodging' 'em." "Gunboats?" " Yes, sir." "Puttin' them gunboats in there is a new touch, ain't it, Jimmy?" "Hello, Rome." " Hello." "Now don't you young people think you have to entertain us old folks." "That's right." "Uh, run along now." "They're getting ready for the candy pull." "Perhaps Rome has other plans." "Oh, no, he hasn't." "I declare, Virginia gets prettier every time I see her." "And I know you're happy to have Rome home again." "Oh, he's such a nice boy." "Don't they look fine together?" "Look at them, Horace." "Ah, yes." "Youth, beauty." "I remember when I first crossed the threshold of my young manhood and listened to the sweet murmurings of my heart." "Double portion, please." "You have a full portion there." "Oh, but we can pay for it, can't we, Rome?" "Gentlemen" "I propose to conduct my campaign on a dignified basis." "No personalities." "Others may censure the homespun manners of Judge Priest on the bench." "Not I." "Others may question the methods by which he has held political control of the county for a quarter of a century." "Not I." "For, gentlemen, merit alone will count in the forthcoming election." "Where have you been keeping yourself, Rome?" "I think you've forgotten where I live." "Nothing like that." "Mother and Daddy are always teasing me about you." "I tell them you don't care anything about me." "Bet you have a girl up north." "Well, even if I did have, haven't you got every boy in town on your string?" "Oh, those stick-in-the-muds they make me tired." "Besides, I've been waiting for somebody else." "Attention." "Say, what's the- what's the prettiest gal at the-at the festival here moping around back here by herself for, huh?" "You want some taffy, Judge?" "Oh." "I ain't much of a taffy puller." "On second thoughts, uh, you can give me a wad of that too." "All right." "Put the butter on your hands first." " Oh." "Hello, Uncle Billy." "Oh, hello." "You ain't doin' that right." " What's the matter with it?" "Here." "Let me see your hands." "You ain't got no butter on there." "No wonder." "Here." "Here, let me show you." "Put mine in here." "Let me show you." "There." "Go on up there." "Run on up there and put some more stickum on your hands there." "Go on, right up there." " All right, Uncle Billy." "That's it." "Now here." "Put that right over in there now." "Now here" " Here, here, here." "There's one-That's the thing." "Candy pulling', you got to keep your mind right on it." "Right on it." "Look, that's how you're gettin' it all on your hands." "Keep your mind on what you're doin' there now." "Lord, you're pullin' candy with the champion candy puller of this neighborhood now." "I think this is your fault." "The sun shines bright" "In my old Kentucky home..." "'Tis summer" "The darkies are gay" "The corn top's ripe" "And the meadow's in the bloom" "While the birds" "Make music all the day" "Weep no more..." "My lady" "Oh, weep no more today" "We will sing one song" "Of my old Kentucky home" "Of my old Kentucky home" "Far away..." "Mornin', everybody." " Good mornin', Judge." "You're next." "Say, Flem, you've got the only lively spot in town." "Hee, hee, hee." "Here, Gabby, what's the latest news in the paper this morning?" "Hello, Lige." " Howdy, Judge." "Say, you ain't been in lately, have you?" "Good mornin', Mr. " " Good mornin'." "Nice day." " Yeah." "Oh, Flem, here she comes." "And does she like her Flemmie." "Hee, hee, hee." "Hey, Flem, when you two gettin' hitched?" "Don't know as I heard nobody talkin' about marriage." "You ain't scared of no shotgun wedding, are you?" "Not as long as she ain't got no pa." "Say, that fella's gonna make himself mighty unpopular around here." "That's right, Judge." " Yeah." "There's about 2,000 male citizens here that's gonna be mighty sore at him" "Yeah." "When they find out that he punched you in the jaw before they could." "Yes, he's gonna be awful unpopular around here." "Don't see you around much." "Nope." "Joe, get some more beer while I knocks me that 14 ball down there in the corner." "I'll pay for it." "Hey, Flem, Gillis is out there." " Yeah?" "Yes." " Come on." "Let's get him." "No." "Hold your horses now." "He'll be headin' through here in a minute goin' home." "You fellas with me?" " Sure." "Sure, we're with ya." "Another?" " Nope." "Get him, Joe." "A knife." "He's got a knife." "I got him." "Oh, he cut me." "Get a doctor, quick." " What happened?" "Why, he pulled a knife on Flem and cut 'im." "He cut Flem." "We saw 'im." "With a knife?" " Yeah." "We saw 'im." "Look at that." "Hey, Uncle Billy." "Uncle Billy." "Uncle Billy." " All right." "Look out." "Look out." "In a minute." " This is important." "Oh, no." "No, no." " Will you get outta here?" "You're already out of the game." "Git." "Get outta here." " Oh, no." "Oh." "Oh, no." " Go ahead and hit it." "Get away." "Get away." "Get away." "Get away." " Uncle Billy." "Ah, he missed it." "He missed it." "He missed it." "He missed it." " Rome, please." "Will you?" "Wait." "This is an important game." " Keep still." "Keep still now." "Keep still." "Keep still." "Yippee." "Yippee." "We're champions." "Uncle Billy, lemme talk to you." " Golly." "I don't see how the South lost the war with a guy in it could argue like you." "Uncle Billy" " What is the matter?" "You've..." "Uncle Billy, I got a client." "Well, who is it?" "What's the matter with 'im?" "Gillis." "You know, Mr. Bagby's man." "What's that?" "Bob Gillis?" "What's he done?" "He cut up Flem Talley." " Yeah?" "Uh-huh, and right after he gave himself up, he sent for me." "Well, I'll be kicked by a mule." "Did he cut him bad?" " Well, can't tell yet." "Gee, Uncle Billy, he sent for me." "It'll be the biggest case in your whole court session, and I'll be defending' 'im." "Well, I wouldn't gloat too soon now." "Oh, don't you worry." "Hey." "Ellie May." "See here- I'm going to get down to that jail and see what that fella's got to say for himself." "I'm going to see Talley." " Them darned robbers." "They robbed us out of that, Herman." "Now, uh, you better get on down there with me because, uh, you're liable to get a chance to, uh, go as bailiff." "Ellie May." "Ellie May, I got a client." " Oh, Rome, I knew you would." "Come on over." "I want to talk to Uncle Billy and tell you about it." "That's sort of novelty, Herman, the barber getting cut up." "Whoever cut him up couldn't have cut him much if they used the barber's razor." "Where's Rome?" "I won't have it." "That's all." "His getting mixed up with that kind of people." "Oh, what's he done now?" " Well, he's done enough." "Mother, what's the matter?" "Is something wrong?" "If you're in the habit of discussing your affairs before strangers, I'm not." "Well, Ellie May's not a stranger." " Excuse me, Rome, I'll go." "No, wait." " All right." "I have nothing to hide." "Carrie, what's the matter?" "Have you-..." "Have you been out in the sun too much?" " You shut up, William Priest." "I hold you responsible for everything that's happened." "Are you going to defend that man?" "Mr. Gillis?" "You bet I am." "Oh, no, you're not." " Mother, what do you mean, I'm not?" "I suppose you know what's behind this drunken brawl." "No?" "Well, then, I'll tell you." "They were fighting over that girl in a saloon." "Mother, that's not so." "Carrie, you can accumulate more misinformation in a shorter time than anybody-..." "Who told you all this rigamarole?" " Virginia Maydew." "Who?" " Virginia Maydew." "Oh." " She got it straight from her father." "A-And brought it straight to you." "She wanted to warn Rome." "I know you've never liked me, Mrs. Priest." "I know you've tried to stop Rome from going with me." "I know you think I'm not good enough for him." "Well, let me tell you something." "If Rome were half as mean as you are, he wouldn't be good enough for me." "Well, of all things." "Carrie" " Looks like you run second." "Oh, no, I don't." "If Rome's father were alive, he'd back me up." "Rome's already got himself talked about all over town with this girl." "And I'm not going to have him publicly defending her in court." "Well, Rome, you see how your mother feels about it so, looks like you lost your first client." "They're certainly hard to get too." "No, Uncle Billy, I haven't lost anything." " Rome." "Mother, I think I'm old enough to know my own mind." "I said I'd defend Mr. Gillis, and I'm going to go through with it." "Court now called to order." "We're going to have a long session today." "May it please the court..." "I would point out that for many years a political and personal difference has existed between Your Honor and myself." "Now that I am a candidate for the exalted office which you have held for so many years those differences have reached a point where for the protection of the people..." "I must demand an impartial trial judge." "Uh, per-perhaps I'm-I'm gettin' deaf but, uh, the fact had never reached me before." "Are you insinuating that you won't get full justice in this court?" "I maintain that my language was sufficiently plain for any comprehension however obtuse." "And I will make it even franker." "I charge in the presence of two witnesses you took sides with the defendant Gillis in a prior attack upon this plaintiff." "I been sittin' on this bench for nigh on 20 years." "And nobody has ever asked me to step down." "I'll file an affidavit of prejudice." "That won't hardly be necessary." "Then, I call upon you, Judge Priest, to vacate the bench during this trial and yield your place to a qualified judge." "I, uh" "I'm" " I'm not denying, Senator, that you" "Well, you kind of took my breath away." "I guess I had, uh, just sort of got the habit that I was took for granted here on this bench." "Gosh, I was" " I was pretty near raised in this- in this courtroom." "When I quit fighting in '65 for what we thought was right..." "I kind of calmed down found out I" " I couldn't lick the whole United States." "I come back here to my hometown." "And I put up my shingle." "It wasn't long before I was sittin' on that bench." "Maybe I did have a hankering for the spirit of the law" "And not the letter but as far as I know, nobody ever found cause to complain till now." "Now, you, uh-you jury you forget everything that I've said." "And, uh, my feelings has no place in the, uh- in the records of-of this trial." "Now, if you'll excuse me and neither side has any objection..." "I'd like to ask the Honorable Floyd Fairleigh if he won't come up here and take- take my- my place on-on the bench." "Uh-huh." "Well, what happened then?" "Well, what happened then?" "Gentlemen of the jury, in plain language the defendant here burst in upon these three worthy citizens." "L" " I object, Your Honor." "I deny that my client ever burst into any place or anything." "Objection sustained." "So be it, Your Honor." "Nevertheless, I shall demonstrate that my young friend's client here did burst into something." "That armed with a lethal weapon, to wit a dirk, dagger or knife of deadly length and deadly sharpness he burst into Mr. Talley's quivering flesh." "I object, Your Honor." " Objection sustained." "Your Honor's humble servant bows to Your Honor's august ruling." "In due time, Mr. Talley's scarred and mutilated person will bespeak the verity of my claim with a silent eloquence far exceeding the powers of my poor tongue." "We was playing bottle pool when he come in and attacked at me." "Didn't you attack him with a billiard cue?" "Not until after he come at me with a knife." "Well, it-it's just like Flem says." "We wasn't paying him no mind until he come lookin' for Flem." "But weren't you three all armed with billiard cues?" "Well, never heard of nobody playing pool without 'em." "It's just like Flem and Joe says." "He come in lookin' for trouble." "You don't like the defendant, do you?" " Who does?" "Your Honor, the defense is through with the witness." "I should think my young learned colleague would be glad to be through with the witness." "Your Honor, the prosecution rests." "Before the defense proceeds, this court recesses for half an hour." "Sure told him something." "I don't know why you did it, Mr. Gillis but Judge Priest told me what happened in the barber shop." "Oh, you've got to tell the jury." "They'd never convict you in a million years if they knew you were defending a girl's name." "Don't you see?" "You can't think of me now." "You've got to think of yourself." "Look, Mr. Gillis, I don't want to bring Ellie May's name into this thing any more than you do but she's right." "They can give you 10 years for assault and the way Maydew's working on the jury, they'll give you the limit." "Oh, you've got to tell the truth, Mr Gillis." "Don't you see?" "You've got to." "I ain't gonna tell 'em anything." "Yes, sir, Talley lied all the way through." "And Herringer and Gab Rive, they lied too." "It was three against one in Billy Gaynor's back room." "And it's three against one in this here courtroom." "Have you ever been in any other cutting scrape in town before?" "No, sir." " That's all." "One moment." "Where do you come from, Mr. Gillis?" "I ain't a-sayin'." "You aren't exactly what we Southerners would call a sociable person, are you?" "I mind my own business." " Precisely." "Except when you go looking for trouble." " I don't go looking for trouble." "But I ain't the one to run away from it." "How long have you had a grievance against Mr. Talley?" "Mmm, we had a run-in a few days before he jumped me." "Oh, a run-in, eh?" "And what was this run-in about?" "Well, well, come on." "Tell the jury." "What did you hate him for?" "I ain't a-sayin'." "Then you didn't have any reason for knifing him?" "I didn't say that." "Make up your mind." "Why did you hate him?" "I ain't a-sayin'." "That's all, Your Honor." "Anything further?" "That's all, Your Honor." "The defense rests." "This court will adjourn till tomorrow morning." "It is our hope that the summations will be brief so that we may all attend the reunion ceremonies which will begin at noon." "Well, Reverend Ashby." "Say, this is a pleasure..." "to welcome you." "L-I don't get the chance to do this often." "It certainly does me honor." "Here, Jeff." "Uh, make the reverend comfortable there." "It, uh, looks like you, uh, kind of caught me red-handed there." "Well, could I, you know, kind of inveigle" "Been a long, tiresome day, and, uh, it's mostly mint." "No, thank you, William." "I appreciate your subtlety." "You know, I kind of thought that, uh-that, uh- that you'd be working on your Memorial Day address for tomorrow." "Oh, that'll take care of itself." "What I'm worried about is this poor devil of a Gillis." "You know Gillis?" "My trade takes me into queer quarters sometimes." "Well, you know, I feel just as sorry for that fellow Gillis as you do but, uh, I'm, well" " I'm plumb out of it." "Hod got the best of me." "He sure did." "Case is closed." "It's all settled and I don't think Hod'll, uh- he'll be fool enough to reopen the case for nobody or nothing." "William, I have a duty to perform- the Christian's duty." "I'm going to violate the sacred confidence of another." "I'm going to break a pledge of secrecy because it's the only course that I see that lies before me." "I'm listening, Ashby." "Twenty-five years ago" "The judge is sure been" "In misery" "Reckon folks ain't been acting just right" "Maybe his stomach's been complaining" "And he needs a toddy this night" "Yes, Lord Yes, Lord..." "'Cause tomorrow he's got to be like Mr. Samson" "Saving Daniel from the lion's den" "Saving Daniel from the lion's den" "Yes, Lord Yes, Lord" "The judge could do with a toddy right now..." "Yes, Judge" " Yes, Dilsey..." "Soon as I gets me some mint" " Soon as you gets me some mint" "Oh, Jeff." "Jeff." "Yes, sir." " Come on." "Hurry up here." "Come on here when I holler at you." "Where you been?" " Yes, sir." "I was" "Say, listen." "You want to earn that old coonskin coat of mine?" "I can have that coon coat, Judge?" "Thank you, Judge." "Wait a minute." "Come back here." "You can if you do everything I tell you to." "Uh, do you know a gentleman by the name of Mr. Hod Maydew?" "Yes, that mean man in that courthouse?" "Yeah." "Well, you see that he gets that." "But don't you let him know how it got there." "That's all I got to do, Judge?" "Thank you." "Say, wait a minute." "C-C-Can you play 'Dixie' on that thing there?" "For that coon coat?" "Yes, sir, I play "Dixie,' 'Marching Through Georgia'" "Wait." "Hey." "'Marching Through Georgia'?" "Yeah." "I got you out of one lynching." "Yes, but for that coon coat" "If you play 'Marching Through Georgia', I'll join the lynchers." "Hello, childrens." " Hi." "What do you all got in your baskets?" "Fried chicken." " Chicken." "That's just what I got." "That's what the judge likes, you hear?" "Hey, Les." "Hey, Les, the jury's comin' in." "Hey." "Come on." "The jury's comin' in." "I'm tellin' you, sir." "We've lost the bass drum." "How could you lose a bass drum?" "Someone stole it." "We need it for the parade." "You may begin your summation, Mr. Prosecutor." "May it please Your Honor since adjournment yesterday, certain information has come to the hands of the Commonwealth which in the interests of justice, impels me to reopen the case." "The Commonwealth desires to recall the defendant" "Gillis for further cross-examination." "Very well, Mr. Maydew." "Proceed." "Robert Gillis, take the stand." "Your Honor, as I recollect our procedure for the time being, I'm an ordinary member of the bar in good standing?" "Not ordinary, sir but absolutely in good standing." "Oh, thank you, sir." "Thank you kindly." "Then I have the, uh, honor of announcing myself as associate counsel for the defense seeing as the case has, uh been... reopened." "Mr. Gillis, were you always a man of turbulent and violent nature?" "I always left them alone as left me alone." "Is that so?" "What was the name of the man you once upon a time murdered?" "L-I never looked on it as no-..." "No, it wasn't murder." " A man was killed, wasn't he?" "Yes." " And they stuck you in jail, didn't they?" "Yes." "And they charged you with murder, didn't they?" "Yes." " And the jury found you guilty, didn't they?" "Yes." " Were you sentenced to be hung?" "No, I" " I went up for life." " Did you escape, or were you pardoned?" "I ain't a-sayin'." "I won't tell you no more no matter what you ask me." "You don't need to." "Judge Priest, your witness." "No questions, Your Honor." "But Uncle Billy" "Hasn't the defense any evidence to offer in rebuttal, Judge Priest?" "One character witness, Your Honor." "Mr. Clerk, will you kindly call Reverend Ashby Brand?" "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the case now pending in this court?" " I do." "Reverend Brand, before you come to this town, what was your occupation?" "In my early manhood, before I took holy orders..." "I had the honor to be a captain of artillery in the late war." "In the War of the Rebellion?" "No, sir." "The war for the Southern Confederacy." "Yes, sir." "That's right." "He's right." " Yes, sir." "My" " My error." "One moment please, Your Honor." "I yield to no man in love and everlasting devotion to that sacred lost cause for which my people fought and bled." "But though I cherish all those dear and everlasting memories which even the bare mention of that great conflict must awaken in every true Kentuckian's bosom..." "I fail to see any possible connection between this reverend gentleman's military record and the guilt of this man Gillis." "Hee, hee, hee, hee." "I think the court will commit no grave legal error by allowing a minister of the gospel to tell his story in his own way." "Meander along, Reverend Brand." "As many of you know, I am a Virginian." "On the day my state seceded from the Union, I enlisted." "I was a private in Penn's Virginia Battery." "By the latter end of the third year, I was in command of that battery." "All the officers ranking me had been killed or disabled." "We lost heavily at Chancellorsville." "At Fredericksburg, we were almost wiped out." "We kept our field pieces." "We kept our pieces until the end." "But we'd not sufficient men to man those guns nor anywhere to turn for more men." "There were no more men left to come in." "The Confederacy in '64 was robbing both the cradle and the grave... for cannon fodder." "Well, sir, I got temporary leave and went to Richmond to see our war governor." "I said to him, 'Sir, I've come to you to ask for men to serve my guns.'" "He laughed and said, 'Tell me where they're to be found.'" "I said, 'Among the chain gangs from the state penitentiary.'" "He said, 'You've come too late, young man." "'I've freed every convict that might conceivably be trusted with freedom." "'There are left only the lifers... 'and I dare not turn them loose." "They're working under guard building defenses for you to fight behind.'" "He opposed me, but I argued with him." "Finally, I won." "He gave me authorization, signed it, and with his own hand affixed the seal of the sovereign State of Virginia." "I rode back to the lines, sir, and I found my chain gang." "I told them to drop their tools and line up before me." "I told them, 'If you go with me, you go to face... 'a hell of destruction and suffering and death... 'but,' I said, 'if you do go, you go as free men... 'as soldiers of the Confederacy." "'Your past will lie behind you." "'And your future, if you survive, is in your own hands." "'And I promise you this much." "'If you stand fast, if you do your duty... 'if bravely and honorably, you acquit yourselves as men... 'than such of you as live through to the end-... 'and some of you will live-... 'are not to come back to this." "'It's for you to decide." "'Those who remain behind, stand fast." "Those who come with me, advance one pace.'" "Gentlemen of the jury..." "I tell you they came at me like a wave from the sea every one of them." "And as time went on they won for themselves the name of 'The Battalion from Hell.'" "Those men, those felons with the scars of their shackles still on their legs they fought for the South like men." "None better." "And they died like men, most of them." "There was one of those men of whom I wish to speak a special word of tribute." "He stood out for his courage and his fidelity." "For his worth as a soldier and a man." "Most of all, for his invariable truthfulness under all circumstances." "He was from the mountains of my own state- a man who spoke little but did much." "I saw him once go out under fire during a battle to rescue, at his own risk, a wounded Union officer who lay there helpless between the lines." "Another time, our stars and bars was wrested from our hands." "We fought breast to breast that day." "This man of whom I'm speaking threw himself on a riderless horse and rode into the thick of it and by the grace of God came galloping back from the jaws of death our colors clutched in his hand." "And another day when every man who served his gun excepting him was down..." "I saw him, when the Union Infantry charged sitting astraddle his useless gun and with a rammer for his only weapon waiting for the enemy to come within reach." "A countercharge from our infantry saved him." "But he had stood fast, and he was alone." "After the surrender, I kept his secret." "I've kept it to this very hour." "Though I've seen him daily at his work watching over his daughter providing for her education through me." "And all unknown to Ellie May." "Gentlemen, as a soldier, I knew that man as Roger Gillespie." "You know him by the name he now wears..." "Robert Gillis." "Hooray for Jeff Davis, the Southern Confederacy and Bob Gillis." "Well, get out of the way." "Can't you see that poor, helpless child needs a mother?" "That's fine." "That's great, Jeff." "That's great." "Keep on goin'." "Keep goin', you can have that white vest."