ON THE RIVER: A DRAMATIZATION
OF THE NICK
ADAM STORIES
Stories by Ernest Hemingway
Adapted by Robert J. Hubbard
Adapted by Robert Hubbard with permission from the Hemingway Estate
Copyright 2004
CAST
Nick Adams
Chorus I: American Indian, Husband, Ad Francis
Chorus II: Marjorie, Mom, American Indian, Hobo,” Three day Blow” Narrator
Chorus III: Uncle George, Bill, Bugs
Chorus IV: Young Nick, Hobo, “Three day Blow” Narrator
Chorus V : “End of Something Narrator,” Doctor, Hobo, Renaldi
ACT I
(Darkness. Suddenly, the sound of a train. The sound, like most of the effects in this production, is made by a chorus of actors. It starts softly but gradually grows in intensity and volume. Finally the train seems to pass. As the sound disappears into the distance, the lights slowly rise, suggesting an effect of early dawn. They reveal NICK ADAMS, a tall, solid looking man in his early thirties. He is dressed in canvas pants, a flannel shirt and wearing an impressive fishing hat. At his feet is a pack full of camping and fishing supplies. Strewn around him, signifying various shapes of the forest, are five narrators dressed in neutral clothing. Except for their faces, they almost seem to disappear into the shadows of the early morning. The CHORUS are still. They employ off-stage focus as if watching the train disappear into the distance.)
Chorus (All).
The train went on up the track
Chorus I.
Out of sight
Chorus III.
out of sight, around one of the hills of burnt timber.
Chorus V.
Nick sat down on the bundle of canvas and bedding the baggage man had pitched out of the door of the baggage car.
Chorus I.
There was no town,
Chorus (all).
nothing
Chorus III & IV.
but the rails
Chorus I & II.
and the burned-over country.
Chorus V.
The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace.
Chorus IV.
The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground.
Chorus III.
The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that
was left of the town of
Chorus V.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the
Chorus (all).
scattered houses of the town
Chorus V.
and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river.
Chorus I.
The river was there.
Chorus I & II.
It swirled against the log spikes of the bridge.
Chorus II.
Nick looked down into the clear, brown water, colored from the pebbly bottom, and watched the trout keeping themselves steady in the current with wavering fins.
Chorus I.
As he watched them, they changed their positions by quick angles, only to hold
Chorus I &II.
steady in the fast water again.
Chorus V.
Nick watched them a long time. He watched them
Chorus III, IV & V.
holding
Chorus III & IV.
themselves with their noses into the current,
Chorus III.
many trout in deep,
Chorus IV.
fast moving water,
Chorus III & IV.
slightly distorted as he watched far down through the glassy convex surface of the pool.
Chorus V.
Nick looked down into the pool from the bridge.
Chorus I.
It was a hot day.
Chorus V.
It was a long time since Nick had looked into a stream and seen trout.
Chorus IV.
As the shadow of the kingfisher moved up the stream,
Chorus III.
a big trout shot upstream in a long angle,
Chorus IV.
only his shadow marking the angle,
Chorus III.
then lost his shadow as he came through the surface of the water,
Chorus IV.
caught the sun, and then,
Chorus III.
as he went back into the stream under the surface,
Chorus IV.
his shadow seemed to float down the stream with the current,
Chorus III & IV.
unresisting,
Chorus III.
to his post under the bridge where he tightened facing up into
the current.
Chorus V.
Nick's heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling.
Chorus (all).
From the time he had gotten down off the train
Chorus II.
and the baggage man had thrown his pack out of the open car door
Chorus (all).
things had been different.
Chorus I.
Seney was burned,
Chorus II.
the country was all
Chorus (all).
burned
Chorus II.
over and changed, but it did not matter. It could not all be burned.
Chorus V.
He knew that.
END OF SOMETHING
(The lights change from a realistic to a more illusionary setting -- almost a smoky atmosphere reminiscent of a dream. CHORUS I & III lead NICK by the hand to spot pre-determined to be a rowboat. CHORUS II is sitting at the stern of the boat. She has become MARJORIE. During this movement, CHORUS V steps forward. He takes on the persona of an old-timer, possibly a former resident “Horton’s Bay.”)
Chorus V.
(Open focus, to the audience) In the old days Horton’s Bay was a lumbering town. No one who lived in it was out of sound of the big saws in the mill by the lake. Then one year there were no more logs to make lumber. Ten years later there was nothing of the mill left except the broken white limestone of its foundation showing through the swampy second growth as Nick and Marjorie rowed along the shore. They were trolling along the edge of the channel bank where the bottom dropped off suddenly from sandy shallows to twelve feet of dark water.
Marjorie.
“There's our old ruin, Nick.”
Chorus V.
Marjorie said. Nick, rowing, looked at the white stone in the green trees.
Nick.
“There it is.”
Marjorie.
“Can you remember when it was a mill?”
Nick.
“I can just remember.”
Marjorie.
“It seems more like a castle.”
Chorus V.
Nick said nothing. They rowed on out of sight of the mill, following the shore line. Then Nick cut across the bay.
Nick.
(Lethargically checking his line) “They aren't striking.”
Marjorie.
“No. Strange, because the certainly are feeding.”
Nick.
“But they won't strike.”
Chorus V.
Nick rowed the boat around to troll past both the feeding fish, then headed it for the point. When he reached it, he pulled hard on the oars and the boat went way up the beach. Little waves came in with it. Marjorie stepped out of the boat and Nick pulled the boat high up the beach.
Marjorie.
“What's the matter, Nick?”
Nick.
“I don't know.”
Chorus V.
They made a fire with driftwood. Marjorie went to the boat and brought a blanket. (She lifts the blanket; it unfolds to reveal several blood stains scattered across its fabric.) The evening breeze blew the smoke toward the point, so Marjorie spread the blanket out between the fire and the lake. (She sits on the blanket with her back to the fire and waits for NICK. Catching the signal, he comes over and sits down beside her on the blanket.) It was not quite dark. The firelight went as far as the water. They could both see it reflect at an angle over the dark water. Marjorie unpacked the basket of supper.
Nick.
“I don't feel like eating.” Marjorie.
“Come on and eat, Nick.”
Nick.
“All right.”
Chorus V.
They ate without talking, and watched the fire-light reflect in the water.
Nick.
“There's going to be a moon tonight.”
Marjorie.
“I know it.”
Nick.
“You know everything.”
Marjorie.
“Oh, Nick, please cut it out! Please, please don't be that way!”
Nick.
“I can't help it. You do. You know everything. That's the trouble. You know you do. (Pause) I've taught you everything. You know you do. What don't you know, anyway?”
Marjorie.
“Oh, shut up. There comes the moon.”
Chorus V.
They sat on the blanket without touching each other and watched the moon rise.
Marjorie.
“You don't have to talk silly. What's really the matter?”
Nick.
“I don't know.”
Marjorie.
“Of course you know.”
Nick.
“No I don't.”
Marjorie.
“Go on and say it.”
Nick.
(Substantial pause) “It isn't fun any more.”(MARJORIE turns her back to him). “It isn't fun any more. Not any of it. (Pause) I feel as though everything was gone to hell inside of me. I don't know, Marge. I don't know what to say.”
Marjorie.
“Isn't love any fun?”
Nick.
“No,” (MARJORIE stands up. NICK sits there, his head in his hands.)
Marjorie.
“I'm going to take the boat. You can walk back around the point.”
Nick.
“All right. I'll push the boat off for you.”
Marjorie.
“You don't need to.”
Chorus V.
She was afloat in the boat on the water with the moonlight on it. Nick went back and lay down with his face in the blanket by the fire. He could hear Marjorie rowing on the water. He lay there for a long time. He lay there while he heard Bill come into the clearing walking around through the woods. (BILL enters. He is played by CHORUS III) He felt Bill coming up to the fire. Bill didn't touch him, either.
Bill.
“Did she go all right?”
Nick.
“Yes.”
Bill.
“Have a scene?”
Nick.
“No, there wasn't any scene.”
Bill.
“How do you feel?”
Nick.
“Oh, go away, Bill! Go away for a while.”
Chorus V.
Bill selected a sandwich from the lunch basket and walked over to set some night lines for rain-bow trout. Nick stared at fire.
(Lights fade to black. They come-up on the original setting. The blanket is gone. NICK is standing center with his pack on. He pauses to reflect a moment and then the CHORUS emerges from all sides of him. The fishing journey continues.)
Chorus (all).
He hiked along the road,
Chorus IV.
sweating in the sun,
Chorus (all).
climbing to cross the range of hills
Chorus III.
that separated the railway from the pine plains.
Chorus (all).
The pine plains. The pine plains.
Chorus V.
Ahead of him, as far as he could see, were the
Chorus (all).
pine plains.
Chorus I.
The burned country stopped off at the left with the range of hills.
Chorus II.
On ahead islands of dark pine trees rose out of the plain.
There was nothing but the pine plain ahead of him, until the far blue hills
that marked the
Chorus III.
He could hardly see them, faint and far away in the heat-light over the plain. If he looked too steadily they were gone. But if he only half-looked they were there,
Chorus (All).
the far-off hills of the height of land.
THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR'S WIFE
(The lights return to memory setting. CHORUS I & III form a window frame with their hands. CHORUS IV -- she should be physically smaller than the rest -- sneaks up to the window. She is NICK as a boy. She stands on a block and peaks inside the window. Inside are CHORUS II & V. CHORUS II is now Nick's mother. CHORUS V is Nick's father, the DOCTOR. YOUNG NICK watches his parents. The DOCTOR is the narrator for this story)
Doctor.
In the cottage the doctor, sitting on the bed in his room, saw a pile of medical journals on the floor by the bureau. They were still in their wrappers unopened. It irritated him.
Doctor's Wife.
“Aren't you going back to work, dear?”
Doctor.
asked the doctor's wife from the room where she was lying with no lights on. “No.”
Doctor's Wife.
“Was anything the matter?”
Doctor.
“I had a row with Dick Boulton.”
Doctor's Wife.
“Oh. I hope you didn't lose your temper, Henry.”
Doctor.
“No.”
Doctor's Wife.
“Remember, that he who ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city,”
Doctor.
said his wife. She was a Christian Scientist. Her Bible, her copy of Science end Health and her Quarterly were on a table beside her bed in the near dark room.
Doctor's Wife.
“Henry,” (She waits for a response) Henry!”
Doctor.
“Yes,”
Doctor's Wife.
“You didn't say anything to Boulton to anger him, did you?”
Doctor.
“No.”
Doctor's Wife.
“What was the trouble about, dear?”
Doctor.
“Nothing much.”
Doctor's Wife.
“Tell me, Henry. Please don't try and keep anything from me. What was the trouble about?”
Doctor.
“Well, Dick owes me a lot of money for pulling his squaw through pneumonia and I guess he wanted a row so he wouldn't have to take it out in work.”
Doctor's Wife.
“Dear, I don't think, I really don't think that anyone would really do a thing like that.”
Doctor.
“No?”
Doctor's Wife.
“No. I can't really believe that any one would do a thing of that sort intentionally.”(The DOCTOR stands up and moves toward the door). “Are you going out, dear?”
Doctor.
“I think I'll go for a walk.”
Doctor's Wife.
“If you see Nick, dear, will you tell him his mother wants to see him?”
Doctor.
The doctor went out on the porch. (As soon as this happens, YOUNG NICK scurries away from the window and hides in the woods.) The screen door slammed behind him (CHORUS makes sound effects). He heard his wife catch her breath when the door slammed.
Doctor.
(He walks to the outside of the window and looks inside) “Sorry.”
Doctor's Wife.
(Without looking at him from inside the house)”It's all right, dear.”
Doctor.
He walked in the heat out the gate and along the path into the hemlock woods. It was cool in the woods even on such a hot day. He found Nick sitting with his back against a tree, reading.
Doctor.
“Nick, your mother wants you to come and see her.”
Young Nick & Nick.
“I want to go with you.”
Doctor.
(He briefly thinks it over) “All right. Come on, then. Give me the book, I'll put it in my pocket.”
Young Nick.
“I know where there's black squirrels, Daddy,”
Doctor.
“All right, let's go there.”
(Lights fade to black. They come-up on the original setting. NICK is sitting with his arms wrapped around his pack. A hint of a smile exists on his face. Suddenly, the CHORUS emerges from all sides of him. The fishing journey continues.)
Chorus (all).
Nick stood up (They help him up)
Chorus V.
and walked toward the distant river away from the road. He knew where he wanted to strike the river
Chorus IV.
and he kept on through the pine plain,
Chorus III.
mounting small rises to see other rises ahead of him.
Chorus I.
He broke off some sprigs of the heathery sweet fern, and put them under his pack straps. The chafing crushed it and he smelled it as he walked.
Chorus (all).
For some time he walked.
Chorus I.
It was brown and soft underfoot as Nick walked on the pine needle floor. The trees had grown tall and the branches moved high,
Chorus II.
leaving in the sun this bare space they had once covered with shadow. Sharp at the edge of this extension of the forest floor commenced the sweet fern.
Chorus III.
Nick slipped off his pack and lay down in the shade.
Chorus III & IV.
He lay on his back and looked up into the pine trees.
Chorus V.
The earth felt good against his back. He looked up at the sky, through the branches, and then shut his eyes. He opened them and looked up again. There was a wind high up in the branches. He shut his eyes again
Chorus (all).
and drifted to sleep.
INDIAN CAMP
(The CHORUS disappears. The lights return
to memory setting. The sound of a drum beating in an unsyncopated
rhythm can be heard. It starts softly but quickly increases in volume. CHORUS
I & II enter the stage from alternate
sides dancing. They are dancing an American Indian burial dance. If possible,
one or two of them sings. They circle NICK. He stands slowly and walks to the edge of the scene—an observer. CHORUS
III, IV & V enter hurriedly. CHORUS
V is once again NICK's
father. CHORUS IV again plays YOUNG
NICK. CHORUS III is now playing UNCLE
GEORGE. The two groups meet center. The DOCTOR
nods at one of the Indians. The Indians
lead the group toward their camp. The narration for this story is divided
between the characters.)
Young Nick.
“Where are we going, Dad?”
Doctor.
“Over to the Indian camp. There is an Indian lady very sick.”
Indian (Chorus II).
As they came around the bend to the Indian camp, a dog came out barking.
Indian (Chorus I).
(As if directing the party) Ahead were the lights of the shanties where the Indian barkpeelers lived.
Doctor.
(Quickly but professionally moving toward it; taking control) In the shanty nearest the road there was a light in the window. Inside on a wooden bunk lay a young Indian woman. (During the speech CHORUS I & II disperse. CHORUS II becomes the young woman. She lets out a terrible scream. CHORUS I becomes her husband. They situate themselves in sitting positions on either side of YOUNG NICK, UNCLE GEORGE and the DOCTOR. CHORUS ONE wraps himself in the same blanket used earlier by MARJORIE.) From the look of her, she had been in labor for a very long time. She lay in a cot, very big under a quilt. Her head was turned to one side. (He opens his medical bag and begins to examine her. YOUNG NICK & UNCLE GEORGE stand at either side of the DOCTOR. Using off-stage focus, they watch him tend to the young woman)
Uncle George.
(As if explaining the situation to the DOCTOR) “They say she's been in labor for three days now. All the old women in the camp have been helping her. The men have moved off up the road to sit in the dark and smoke out of range of the noise.”
Nick.
(His words should almost come as a surprise. To this point, he has been in the shadows. As he delivers his lines, he steps out of darkness.) Sitting on a cot in the corner of the room was her husband. He had cut his foot very badly with an axe three days before. He was smoking a pipe. The room smelled very bad. Nick's father
Doctor.
ordered some water to be put on the stove!
Nick.
and while it was heating he spoke to Nick.
Doctor.
“This lady is going to have a baby, Nick.”
Young Nick.
“I know,”
Doctor.
“You don't know. Listen to me. What she is going through is called being in labor. The baby wants to be born and she wants it to be born. All her muscles are trying to get the baby born. That is what is happening when she screams.
Young Nick.
“I see.” (The woman cries out in agony.) “Oh, Daddy, can't you give her something to make her stop screaming?”
Doctor.
“No. I haven't any anesthetic. But her screams are not important. I don't hear them because they are not important.”
Nick.
(Still outside the scene) The husband in the cot in the corner rolled over against the wall.
Doctor.
The Doctor went into the kitchen and poured about half of the water out of the big kettle into a basin. Into the water left in the kettle he put several things he unwrapped from a handkerchief. (To Uncle George) “Those must boil.” He began to scrub his hands in the basin of hot water with a cake of soap he had brought from the camp. (Quickly and carefully scrubbing his hands) “You see, Nick, babies are supposed to be born head first but sometimes they're not. When they're not they make a lot of trouble for everybody. Maybe I'll have to operate on this lady. We'll know in a little while.” (He moves back toward the young woman) “Pull back that quilt, will you, George? I'd rather not touch it.”
Uncle George.
Later when he started to operate Uncle George held the woman still. She bit Uncle George on the arm. “Damn squaw bitch!”
Nick.
Nick held the basin for his father. It all took a long time. Finally
Doctor.
His father picked the baby up and slapped it to make it breathe “See, it's a boy, Nick,”
Uncle George.
He then handed the baby to Uncle George to take to the old women.
Doctor.
“How do you like being an intern?” (He continues to work on the mother)
Young Nick.
(Desperately avoiding looking at what his father is doing) “All right.”
Doctor.
“There. That gets it,” (He puts something into the basis. NICK looks away).
“Now, there's some stitches to put in. You can watch this or not, Nick, just as you like. I'm going to sew up the incision I made.”
Nick.
(For the first time, actually entering the playing space) Nick did not watch. His curiosity had been gone for a long time.
(UNCLE GEORGE re-enters the shanty. He is looking as his arm)
Doctor.
“I'll put some peroxide on that, George.” He bent over the Indian woman. She was quiet now and her eyes were closed. She looked very pale.
Nick.
She did not know what had become of the baby or anything.
Doctor.
“We'll come back
the morning. The nurse should be here from St. Ignace
by
Uncle George.
“Oh, you're a great man, all right.
Doctor.
“Ought to have a look at the proud father. They're usually the worst sufferers in these little affairs. I must say he took it all pretty quietly.”
Nick.
He pulled back the blanket from the Indian's head. His hand came away wet. He moved to the side of the bed with the lamp in one hand and looked in. The Indian lay with his face toward the wall. His throat had been cut from ear to ear. The blood had flowed down into a pool where his body sagged the cot. His head rested on his left arm. The open razor lay, edge up, in the blankets.
Doctor.
“Take Nick out of the shanty, George!” (GEORGE rushes YOUNG NICK of.)
Nick.
There was no need of that. Nick had had a good view of the cot when his father, the lamp in one hand, tipped the Indian's head back. (After completing this line, he leaves the playing space and returns to the spot on the ground where he originally laid down. The scene in the shanty dissolves away. YOUNG NICK & THE DOCTOR step forward. GEORGE, the FATHER & the MOTHER disappear. YOUNG NICK & THE DOCTOR take a position slightly upstage and on either side of the now sleeping NICK.)
Doctor.
“I'm terribly sorry I brought you along, Nickie. It was an awful mess to put you through.”
Young Nick.
“Do ladies always have such a hard time having babies?”
Doctor.
“No, that was very, very exceptional.”
Young Nick.
“Why did he kill himself, Daddy?”
Doctor.
“I don't know, Nick. He couldn't stand things, I guess.”
Young Nick.
“Do many men kill themselves, Daddy?”
Doctor.
“Not very many, Nick.”
Young Nick.
“Do many women?”
Doctor.
“Hardly ever.”
Young Nick.
“Don't they ever?”
Doctor.
“Oh, yes. They do sometimes.”
Young Nick.
“Daddy?”
Doctor.
“Yes.”
Young Nick.
“Where did Uncle George go?”
Doctor.
“He'll turn up all right.”
Young Nick.
“Is dying hard, Daddy?”
Doctor.
“No, I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.”
(The lights drop to a quick black-out and then immediately come-up to the original setting. The CHORUS have resumed their still-life positions as the various parts of the forest. NICK sits up as if having been awakened from an uncomfortable dream. The CHORUS begins to stretch and bend, as if they too are awakening.)
Chorus (all).
Nick woke stiff and cramped.
Chorus IV.
The sun was nearly down.
Chorus III.
His pack
Chorus II & V.
was heavy
Chorus IV.
and the straps
Chorus III & IV.
painful
Chorus IV.
as he lifted it on.
(CHORUS III & IV help Nick put his pack on.)
Chorus I.
He leaned over with the
Chorus (all)
pack on and picked
Chorus I.
up the leather rod case and started out from the pine trees across the
Chorus I & II.
sweet fern swale,
Chorus II.
toward the river.
Chorus V.
He knew it could not be more than a mile.
Chorus I.
He came down a hillside covered with stumps into a meadow.
Chorus (all).
At the edge of the meadow flowed the river.
Chorus V.
Nick was glad to get to the river. He couldn't wait.
Chorus III.
He took his fly rod out of the leather rod-case,
Chorus IV.
jointed it,
Chorus III.
and shoved the rod case back into his pack.
Chorus IV.
He put on the reel and threaded the line through the guides. He had to hold it
Chorus III &IV.
from hand to hand,
Chorus III.
as he threaded it,
Chorus IV.
or it would slip back through its own weight.
Chorus III & VI.
It was a heavy, double tapered fly line.
Chorus V.
Nick had paid eight dollars for it a long time ago.
Chorus III.
It was made heavy to lift back in the air and come forward flat and heavy and straight to make it possible to cast a fly which has no weight.
Chorus I & II.
He started down to the stream.
Chorus I.
His landing net hung by a hook from his belt.
Chorus II.
He stepped into the stream.
Chorus (All).
It was a shock.
Chorus I.
His trousers clung tight to his legs.
Chorus II.
His shoes felt the gravel.
Chorus V.
The water was a rising cold shock.
Chorus III & IV.
Rushing,
Chorus IV.
the current sucked against his legs.
Chorus (All).
Nick dropped his line into the water.
Chorus I.
Holding the rod in his right hand he let out line against the pull of the current. He stripped off line from the reel with his left hand and let it run free.
Chorus II.
He could see the line disappear into the little waves of the current. It went out of sight.
Chorus III & IV.
There was a tug on the line.
Chorus I & II.
Nick pulled against the taut line.
Chorus II.
It was his first strike!
Chorus I.
Holding the now living rod across the current,
Chorus II.
he brought in the line with his left hand.
Chorus III & IV.
The rod bent in jerks, the trout pumping against the current.
Chorus V.
Nick knew it was a small one
Chorus III.
He lifted the rod straight up in the air.
Chorus IV.
It bowed with the pull. He saw the trout in the water
Chorus I & II.
jerking with his head and body against the shifting tangent of the line in the stream.
Chorus III & IV.
Nick took the line in his left hand and pulled the trout to the surface,
Chorus I & II.
thumping tiredly against the current.
Chorus I.
His back was mottled the clear, water-over-gravel color,
Chorus II.
his side flashing in the sun.
Chorus III & IV.
The rod under his right arm,
Chorus IV.
Nick stooped, dipping his right hand into the current. He held the trout,
Chorus I & II.
never still,
Chorus IV.
with his moist right hand,
Chorus III.
while he unhooked the barb from his mouth,
Chorus III & IV.
then dropped him back into the stream.
Nick & Chorus V.
He's all right,
Chorus V.
Nick thought.
Nick & Chorus V.
He was only tired.
Chorus III.
He had wet his hand before he touched the trout so he would not disturb the delicate mucus that covered him. If a trout was touched with a dry hand, a white fungus attacked the unprotected spot.
Chorus IV.
Years before when he had fished crowded streams,
Chorus I.
with fly fishermen ahead of him
Chorus II.
and behind him,
Chorus IV.
Nick had again and again come on dead trout,
Chorus I & II.
furry with white fungus,
Chorus I.
drifted against a rock,
Chorus II.
or floating belly up in some pool.
THE BATTLER
(Black-out. The sound of the train onc again penetrates the space. The words,“Come here, kid. I got something for you” are heard over the noise. The silhouette of NICK walking toward a large figure can be seen. Suddenly the figure strikes NICK. Total darkness follows as the sound of the train disappears into the distance. The lights come-up on NICK, alone, lying in a contorted position on the ground. CHORUS II, IV & V enter wearing pieces of clothing evocative of rail-way hobos and gather around an imagined fire. They serve as the Narrators for this story. If possible, one of them carries a guitar and plays short boxcar song. Meanwhile, the other two eat unheated food from straight from cans. They are all very friendly and laugh a great deal. When they finally notice NICK, they laugh knowingly at his predicament. Throughout this story, he never seems to be aware of them.)
Chorus II (now referred to as Hobo II).
Nick Stood up. (With amusement) He was all right. He looked up the track at the lights of the caboose going out of sight around the curve.
Chorus IV (Hobo IV).
He felt his knee. The pants were torn and the skin was barked. His hands were scraped and there were sand and cinders driven up under his nails.
Nick.
(Muttering) That lousy crut of a brakeman.
(The Hobos break in hysterics. In exaggerated comic form, they reenact the scene)
Chorus V (Hobo V).
(Delivered as if he had heard it a thousand times before) He would get him some day. He would know him again. That was a fine way to act.
Hobo II.
“Come here, kid,” he said. “I got something for you.”
(HOBO V innocently walks over and HOBO II pretends to smack him. HOBO V falls dramatically to the ground. They all laugh.)
Hobo IV.
He had fallen for it. (laughs) What a lousy kid thing to have done.
Hobo V.
(Bragging) They would never suck him in that way again. “Come here, kid, I got something for you.” Then wham and he lit on his hands and knees beside the track.
Nick.
(Rubbing his eye . . . still muttering) That son of a crutting brakeman.
(The Hobos again explode into laughter)
Hobo II.
(Shifting to open focus, directly addressing the audience) Oh, well, it was only a black eye. That was all he had gotten out of it.
Hobo IV.
Cheap at the price.
Hobo V.
Nick had swung on to the freight train when it slowed down for the yards outside of Walton Junction. The train, with Nick on it, had passed through Kalkaska as it started to get dark. (Looks around) Now he must be nearly to Mancelona? (He looks for confirmation with the other Hobos. They nod.) Three or four miles of swamp.
Hobo II.
Not much of anything around. Ahead there was a bridge. (Pointing off stage) Up the track just past it there is a fire burning.
(As if seeing the fire in the distance, NICK heads offstage in that direction. CHORUS I moves into position from the other side of the stage, sits, and begins to warm his hands at an imagined fire. NICK appears, approaches the edge of his “campsite” and watches. The man played by CHORUS I sits with his head in his hands looking at the fire. NICK steps out and walks into the firelight. The man sits there looking into the fire. When NICK stops quite close to him he does not move).
Nick.
“Hello.” (The man looks up)
Man.
“Where did you get the shiner?”
Nick.
“A brakeman busted me.”
Man.
“Off the through freight?”
Nick.
“Yes.”
Man.
“I saw the bastard. He went through here 'bout fifteen minutes ago. He was walking along the top of the cars slapping his arms and singing.”
Nick.
“The bastard!”
Man.
(Seriously) “It must have made him feel good to bust you.”
Nick.
“I'll bust him.”
Man.
“Get him with a rock sometime when he's going through,”
Nick.
“I'll get him.”
Man.
“You're a tough one, aren't you?”
Nick.
“No.”
Man.
“All you kids are tough.”
Nick.
“You got to be tough.”
Man.
“That's what I said.”
Hobo II.
The man looked at Nick and smiled. In the firelight Nick saw that his face was misshapen. His nose was sunken, his eyes were slits, he had queer-shaped lips.
Hobo IV.
Nick did not perceive all this at once, he only saw the man's face was queerly formed and mutilated. It was like putty in color. Dead looking in the firelight.
Man.
“Don't you like my pan?”
Nick.
(Embarrassed) “Sure.”
Man.
“Look here!”
Hobo V.
the man took off his cap. He had only one ear. It was thickened and tight against the side of his head. Where the other ear should have been there was a stump.
Man.
“Ever see one like that?”
Nick.
(Trying to hide his disgust) “No.”
Man.
“I could take it. Don't you think I could take it, kid?”
Nick.
“You bet!”
Man.
“They all bust their hands on me. They couldn't hurt me.” (He looks at NICK.) Sit down. Want to eat?
Nick.
“Don't bother. I'm going on to the town.”
Man.
“Listen! Call me Ad.”
Nick.
“Sure.”
Ad.
“Listen. I'm not quite right.”
Nick.
“What's the matter?”
Ad.
“I'm crazy.
Nick.
(Humorously) “You're all right.”
Ad.
“No, I'm not. I'm crazy. Listen, you ever been crazy?”
Nick.
“No. How does it get you?”
Ad.
“I don't know. When you got it you don't know about it. You know me, don't you?”
Nick.
“No.”
Ad.
“I'm Ad Francis.”
Nick.
“The Prize Fighter?”
Ad.
“You betcha.”
Nick.
“Honest to God?”
Ad.
“Don't you believe it?”
Nick.
“Yes.”
Ad.
“You know how I beat them?”
Nick.
“No.”
Ad.
“My heart's slow. It only beats forty a minute. Feel it.” (NICK hesitates). Come on. Take hold of my wrist. Put your fingers there. Got a watch?”
Nick.
“No.”
Ad.
“Neither have I. It ain't any good if you ain't got a watch.” (NICK drops his wrist) “Listen, take a hold again. You count and I'll count up to sixty.”
Hobo II.
Feeling the slow hard throb under his fingers Nick started to count. He heard the little man counting slowly, one, two, three, four, five, and on—aloud.
Ad.
“Sixty! That's a minute. What did you make it?”
Nick.
“Forty.”
Ad.
(Happily) “That's right! She never speeds up.”
(Suddenly, CHORUS III approaches the scene. He is now playing the role of BUGS).
Ad.
“Hello, Bugs!”
Bugs.
“Hello!”
Ad.
“This is my pal Bugs. He's crazy, too.”
Bugs.
“Glad to meet you. Where you say you're from?”
Nick.
“
Bugs.
“That's a fine town. I didn't catch your name.”
Nick.
“
Ad.
“He says he's never been crazy, Bugs.”
Bugs.
(Unwrapping a package by the fire) “He's got a lot coming to him.”
Ad.
“When are we going to eat, Bugs?
Bugs.
“Right away.”
Ad.
“Are you hungry, Nick?”
Nick.
“Hungry as hell.”
Ad.
“Hear that, Bugs ?”
Bugs.
“I hear most of what goes on.”
Ad.
“That ain't what I asked you.”
Bugs.
“Yes. I heard what the gentleman said.”
Hobo V.
Into a skillet he was laying slices of ham. As the skillet grew hot the grease sputtered and Bugs, crouching on long legs over the fire, turned the ham and broke eggs into the skillet, tipping it from side to side to baste the eggs with the hot fat.
Bugs.
“Will you cut some bread out of that bag, Mister Adams?”
Nick.
“Sure.”
Hobo II.
Nick reached in the bag and brought out a loaf of bread. He cut six slices. Ad watched him and leaned forward.
Ad.
“Let me take your knife, Nick.”
Bugs.
“No, you don't. Hang onto your knife, Mister Adams. (Pause) Do you like to dip your bread in the ham fat?”
Nick.
“You bet!”
Hobo IV.
Bugs picked up a slice of ham and laid it on one of the pieces of bread, then slid an egg on top of it.
Bugs.
“Just close that sandwich, will you, please, and give it to Mister Francis.” (NICK hands AD the sandwich. AD starts eating.)”Watch out how that egg runs. This is for you, Mister Adams. The remainder for myself.” (NICK eagerly begins to eat his sandwich.) “Mister Adams is right hungry.”
Hobo V.
The little man whom Nick knew by name as a former champion prizefighter was silent. He had said nothing since Bugs had spoken about the knife.
Bugs.
“May I offer you a slice of bread dipped right in the hot ham fat?”
Nick.
“Thanks a lot.” (AD begins to stare at NICK.)
Bugs.
“Will you have some, Mister Adolph Francis?” (AD does not answer. He is looking at NICK. “Mister Francis?” (Pause... softly) “I spoke to you, Mister Francis.” (AD keeps on looking at NICK. He has his cap down over his eyes. NICK appears nervous.)
Ad.
(Sharply) “How the hell do you get that way? Who the hell do you think you are? You're a snotty bastard. You come in here where nobody asks you and eat a man's food and when he asks to borrow a knife you get snotty. You're a hot sketch. Who the hell asked you to butt in here?”
Nick.
“Nobody.”
Ad.
“You're damn right nobody did. Nobody asked you to stay either. You come in here and act
snotty about my face and smoke my cigars and drink my liquor and then talk
snotty. Where the hell do you think you get off?” (NICK says nothing. AD stands up.)
“I'll tell you, you yellow-livered
Nick.
“I don't want to hit you.”
Ad.
“You won't get out of it that way. You're going to take a beating, see? Come on and lead at me.”
Nick.
“Cut it out.”
Ad.
“All right, then, you bastard.”
(The little man looks down at NICK's feet. As he looks down BUGS, who had followed behind him as he moved away from the fire, sets himself and taps him across the base of the skull. He falls forward and BUGS drops the cloth wrapped blackjack on the grass. The little man lies there, his face in the grass. BUGS picks him up, his head hanging, and carries him to the fire. His face looks bad, the eyes open. BUGS lies him down gently)
Bugs.
“Will you bring me the water in the bucket, Mister Adams? “I'm afraid I hit him just a little hard.” (BUG's splashes water with his hand on the man's face and pulls his ear gently. The eyes close. Bugs stands up.) “He's all right. There's nothing to worry about. I'm sorry, Mister Adams.”
Nick.
“It's all right.” (He sees the blackjack on the grass and picks it up.)
Bugs.
(Smiling) “That's a whalebone handle. They don't make them any more. (Beat) I didn't know how well you could take care of yourself and, anyway, I didn't want you to hurt him or mark him up no more than he is.”
Nick.
“You hurt him yourself.”
Bugs.
“I know how to do it. He won't remember nothing of it. I have to do it to change him when he gets that way. Don't you worry about him none, Mister Adams. I seen him like this plenty of times before.”
Nick.
“What made him crazy?”
Bugs.
“Oh, a lot of things. (Pause) Would you like a cup of this coffee, Mister Adams? (He hands Nick the cup and smoothes the coat he had placed under the unconscious man's head.) He took too many beatings, for one thing. But that just made him sort of simple. Then his sister was his manager and they was always being written up in the papers all about brothers and sisters and how she loved her brother and how he loved his sister, and then they got married in New York and that made a lot of unpleasantness.”
Nick.
“I remember about it.”
Bugs.
“Sure. Of course they wasn't brother and sister no more than a rabbit, but there was a lot of people didn't like it either way and they commenced to have disagreements, and one day she just went off and never come back. (He drinks the coffee and wipes his lips with the pink palm of his hand) He just went crazy. Will you have some more coffee, Mister Adams?”
Nick.
“Thanks.”
Bugs.
“I seen her a couple of times. She was an awful good-looking woman. Looked enough like him to be twins. He wouldn't be bad looking without his face all busted.” (Pause)
Nick.
“Where did you meet him?”
Bugs.
“I met him in jail. He was busting people all the time after she went away and they put him in jail. I was in for cuttin' a man. (In a soft voice) Right away I liked him and when I got out I looked him up. He likes to think I'm crazy and I don't mind. I like to be with him and I like seeing the country and I don't have to commit no larceny to do it. I like living like a gentleman.”
Nick.
“What do you all do?”
Bugs.
“Oh, nothing. Just move around. He's got money.”
Nick.
“He must have made a lot of money.”
Bugs.
“Sure. He spent all his money, though. Or they took it away from him. She sends him money. (He pokes up the fire.) She's a mighty fine woman. She looks enough like him to be his own twin.”
Hobo II.
Nick looked down at the little man, lying breathing heavily. His blond hair was down over his forehead. His mutilated face looked childish in repose.
Bugs.
“I can wake him up any time now, Mister Adams. If you don't mind I wish you'd sort of pull out. I don't like to not be hospitable, but it might disturb him back again to see you. I hate to have to thump him and it's the only thing to do when he gets started. I have to sort of keep him away from people. You don't mind, do you, Mister Adams? No, don't thank me, Mister Adams. I'd have warned you about him but he seemed to have taken such a liking to you and I thought things were going to be all right. You'll hit a town about two miles up the track. Mancelona they call it. Good-bye. I wish we could ask you to stay the night but it's just out of the question. Would you like to take some of that ham and some bread with you? No? You better take a sandwich. Good. Well, good-bye, Mister Adams. Good-bye and good luck!”
Hobo IV.
Nick walked away from the fire across the clearing to the railway tracks. Out of the range of the fire he listened. The low soft voice of Bugs was talking. Nick could not hear the words. Then he heard the little man say,
Ad.
“I got an awful headache, Bugs.”
Bugs.
“You'll feel better, Mister Francis. Just you drink a cup of this hot coffee.”
Hobo V.
Nick climbed the embankment and started up the track.
Hobo II.
He found he had a ham sandwich in his hand and put it in his pocket.
Hobo II, IV & V.
Looking back from the mounting grade before the track curved into the hills he could see the firelight in the clearing.
BLACK-OUT
END ACT I
ACT TWO
(Lights up. NICK is in the river struggling mightily with a fish.)
Chorus (All).
As he put on pressure the line tightened into sudden hardness and in the distance a trout went high out of water.
Chorus V.
(Mediating the action, moving back and forth between the fish and the fisher) As he jumped, Nick lowered the tip of the rod. But he felt, as he dropped the tip to ease the strain, the moment when the strain was too great; the hardness too tight. Of course, the leader had broken. (An invisible line snaps between the two groups) There was no mistaking the feeling when all spring left the line and it became dry and hard. Then it went slack. His mouth dry, his heart down, Nick reeled in. He had never seen so big a trout. There was a heaviness, a power not to be held, and then the bulk of him, as he jumped. He looked as broad as a salmon.
Chorus III.
Nick's hand was shaky. He reeled in slowly.
Chorus V.
The thrill had been too much. He felt, vaguely, a little sick, as though it would be better to sit down.
Chorus IV.
He had been solidly hooked. Solid as a rock. He felt like a rock, too, before he started off.
Nick & Chorus V.
By God,
Chorus V.
he was a big one. By God,
Nick & Chorus V.
he was the biggest one I ever heard of.
Chorus I.
Nick climbed out onto the meadow and stood,
Chorus II.
water running down his trousers and out of his shoes, his shoes squelchy.
Chorus I.
He went over and sat on the logs.
Chorus V.
He did not want to rush his sensations any.
WAR FLASHBACK
(The lights quickly change. . . flashes of reds and yellows. All of the CHORUS explode with the sounds of battle. Suddenly, NICK grabs his lower back in pain. He screams. CHORUS I dives through the air and tackles NICK. They end up positioned behind one of the blocks. He briefly checks over NICK's injuries. CHORUS V, now the body of NICK's friend RINALDI, is lying motionless next to NICK. Throughout the upcoming narrative, the rest of the CHORUS continue to fight the battle. The delivery of the narrative is driven by this urgency)
Chorus I.
Nick sat against the wall of the church where
Nick.
they had dragged him to be clear of machine-gun fire in the
street. Both legs stuck out awkwardly.
(CHORUS I then fires a few rounds over the block and charges in the direction of his target)
Nick.
He had been hit in the spine. His face was sweaty and dirty. The sun shone on his face. The day was very hot. Rinaldi, big backed, his equipment sprawling, lay face downward against the wall. Nick looked straight ahead brilliantly. The pink wall of the house opposite had fallen out from the roof, and an iron bedstead hung twisted toward the street. Two Austrian dead lay in the rubble in the shade of the house. Up the street were other dead. Things were getting forward in the town. It was going well. Stretcher bearers would be along any time now. Nick turned his head carefully and looked at Rinaldi. “Senta Rinaldi. Senta. You and me we've made a separate peace.” Rinaldi lay still in the sun breathing with difficulty. “Not patriots.” Nick turned his head carefully away smiling sweetly. Rinaldi was a disappointing audience.
(The lights quickly change to the regular setting. All battle sounds instantly cease. NICK stands up, visibly shaken. The CHORUS re-enters)
Chorus I & II.
Ahead the river narrowed and went into
Chorus (All).
a swamp.
Chorus I.
The river became smooth and deep and the swamp looked solid with cedar trees,
Chorus II.
their trunks close together, their branches
Chorus I & II.
solid.
Chorus V.
It would not be possible to walk through a swamp like that.
Chorus II.
The branches grew so low. You would have to keep almost level with the ground to move at all. You could not crash through the branches.
Chorus V.
That must be why the animals that lived in swamps were built the way they were, Nick thought. He wished he had brought something to read. He felt like reading.
Chorus (all).
He did not feel like going on into the swamp.
Chorus III.
He looked down the river. A big cedar slanted all the way across
the stream. Beyond that the river went into the swamp.
Chorus V.
Nick did not want to go in there now. He felt a reaction against deep wading with the water deepening up under his armpits, to hook big trout in places impossible to land them.
Chorus III & IV.
In the swamp the banks were bare,
Chorus IV.
the big cedars came together overhead, the sun did not come through, except in patches; in the fast deep water, in the half light, the fishing would be tragic. In the swamp fishing was tragic adventure.
Chorus V.
Nick did not want it. He did not want to go down the stream, any further today.
Chorus I.
He walked upstream through the meadow.
Chorus II.
His trousers were soaked with the dew as he walked. After the hot day, the dew had come quickly and heavily.
Chorus III.
The river made no sound.
Chorus IV.
It was too fast and smooth.
Chorus I
At the edge of the meadow, before he mounted to a piece of high ground to make camp,
Chorus III.
Nick looked down the river at the trout rising.
Chorus IV.
They were rising to insects that came from the swamp on the other side of the stream when the sun went down.
Chorus II.
While Nick walked through the little stretch of meadow alongside the stream,
Chorus III.
trout had jumped high out of water. As far down the long stretch as he could see, the trout were rising, making circles all down the surface of the water, as though it were starting to rain.
Chorus I.
Finding a spot on the plateau, Nick set down his pack and removed the tent from it. The pack, leaning against a jack pine, looked much smaller.
Chorus II.
(Chorus I & II serve as the pine trees that the rope is stretched between) Nick tied the rope that served the tent for a ridge-pole to the trunk of one of the pine trees
Chorus I.
and pulled the tent up off the ground with the other end of the rope and tied it to another pine. (The same bloody blanket used earlier becomes the tent)
Chorus I & II.
The tent hung on the rope like a canvas blanket on a clothesline.
Chorus I.
Across the open mouth of the tent Nick fixed cheesecloth to keep out mosquitoes. He crawled inside under the mosquitoey bar.
Chorus II
Inside the tent the light came through the brown canvas.
Chorus I.
It smelled pleasantly of canvas. Already there was something
Chorus I & II.
mysterious and homelike.
THREE DAY BLOW
(The lights fade to black and then directly into the memory setting. During the transition, the CHORUS makes the sound of a fierce wind blowing. The lights come-up on NICK and BILL (CHORUS III). They are looking out of a window frame made by the bodies of CHORUS I & V. CHORUS II & IV are also in the scene. They are the narrators for this story. CHORUS II handles NICK's consciousness; CHORUS IV is responsible for BILL's)
Chorus II & IV.
They stood together,
Chorus II.
looking out across the country, down over the orchard, beyond the road,
Chorus IV.
across the lower fields and the woods of the point to the lake. The wind was blowing straight down the lake. They could see the surf along Ten Mile point.
Nick.
“She's blowing,”
Chorus II.
Nick said.
Bill.
“She'll blow like that for three days,”
Chorus IV.
Bill said.
Nick.
“Is your dad in?”
Bill.
“No. He's out with the gun. Have a drink?”
Chorus IV.
He went to the kitchen came back with two glasses and a pitcher of water.
Chorus II.
Nick reached the whisky bottle from the shelf above the fireplace.
Nick.
“All right?”
Chorus II.
Said Nick.
Bill.
“Good,”
Chorus IV.
said Bill.
Chorus II & IV.
They sat in front of the fire and drank the Irish whisky and water.
Nick.
“It's got a swell, smoky taste,”
Bill.
“That's the peat.”
Nick.
“You can't get peat into liquor.”
Bill.
“That doesn't make any difference.”
Nick.
“You ever seen any peat?”
Bill.
“No.”
Nick.
“Neither have I. Got anything to read?”
Bill.
“Only the paper.”
Nick.
“What did the Cards do?”
Bill.
“Dropped a double header to the Giants.”
Nick.
“That ought to cinch it for them.”
Bill.
“It's a gift. As long as McGraw can buy every good ball player in the league there's nothing to it.”
Nick.
“He can't buy them all.”
Bill.
“He buys all the ones he wants. Or he makes them discontented so they have to trade them to him.”
Nick.
(Agreeing) “Like Heinie Zim,”
Bill.
“That bonehead will do him a lot of good.”
Nick.
“He can hit.”
Bill.
“He's a sweet fielder, too. But he loses ball games.”
Nick.
“Maybe that's what McGraw wants him for.”
Bill.
“Maybe.”
Nick.
“There's always more to it than we know about.”
Bill.
“Of course. But we've got pretty good dope for being so far away.”
Nick.
“Like how much better you can pick them if you don't see the horses.”
Bill.
“That's it.”
Chorus IV.
Bill reached down the whisky bottle. His big hand went all the way around it. He poured the whisky into the glass Nick held out.
Bill.
“How much water?”
Nick.
“Just the same. It's good when the fall storms come, isn't it?
Bill.
“It's swell.”
Nick.
“It's the best time of year.”
Bill.
“Wouldn't it be hell to be in town?”
Nick
“I'd like to see the World Series.”
Bill.
“Well, they're always in
Nick.
“I wonder if the Cards will ever win a pennant.”
Bill.
“Not in our lifetime,”
Nick.
“They'd go crazy.”
Bill.
“Do you remember when they got going that once before they had the train wreck?”
Nick.
“Boy! (Noticing and
open book on the shelf) What are you reading?”
Bill.
“Richard Feverel.”
Nick
“I couldn't get into it.”
Bill.
“It's all right. It ain't a bad book, Wemedge.”
Nick.
“What else have you got I haven't read?”
Bill.
“Did you read the
Nick.
“Yup. That's the one where they go to bed every night with the naked sword between them.”
Bill.
“That's a good book, Wemedge.”
Nick.
“It's a swell book. What I couldn't ever understand was what good the sword would do. It would have to stay edge up all the time because if it went over flat you could roll right over it and it wouldn't make any trouble.”
Bill.
“It's a symbol.”
Nick.
“Sure, but it isn't practical.”
Bill.
“Did you ever read Fortitude?”
Nick.
“It's fine. That's a real book. That's where his old man is
after him all the time. Have you got any more by
Bill.
“The
Nick.
“What does he know about
Bill.
“I don't know. You can't ever tell about those guys. Maybe he was there when he was a boy. He's got a lot of dope on it.”
Nick.
“I'd like to meet him.”
Bill.
“I'd like to meet Chesterton.”
Nick.
“I wish he was here now. We'd take him fishing to the 'Voix tomorrow.”
Bill.
“I wonder if he'd like to go fishing.”
Nick.
“Sure. He must be about the best guy there is. Do you
remember the Flying Inn?”
“'If an angel out of heaven
Gives you something else to drink,
Thank him for his kind intentions;
Go and pour them down the sink.'“
Bill.
“That's right. I guess he's a better guy than
Nick.
“Oh, he's a better guy, all right.”
Bill.
“But
Nick.
“I don't know. Chesterton's a classic.”
Bill.
“
Nick.
“I wish we had them both here. We'd take them both fishing to the 'Voix tomorrow.”
Bill.
“Let's get drunk.”
Nick.
“All right.”
Bill.
“My old man won't care.”
Nick.
“Are you sure?”
Bill.
“I know it.”
Nick.
“I'm a little drunk now.”
Bill.
“You aren't drunk.” (BILL reaches for the whisky bottle. NICK holds out his glass. His eyes fixed on it while BILL pours) “Put in your own water. There's just one more shot.”
Nick.
“Got any more?”
Bill.
“There's plenty more but dad only likes me to drink what's open.”
Nick.
“Why?”
Bill.
“He says opening bottles is what makes drunkards.”
Nick,
“That's right,”
Chorus II.
said Nick. He was impressed. He had never thought of that before. He had always thought it was solitary drinking that made drunkards.
Nick.
“How is your dad?”
Bill.
“He's all right. He gets a little wild sometimes.”
Nick.
“He's a swell guy.”
Bill.
“You bet your life he is.”
Nick.
“My old man's all right.”
Bill.
“You're damn right he is.”
Nick.
(As though announcing a scientific fact) “He claims he's never taken a drink in his life.”
Bill.
“Well, he's a doctor. My old man's a painter. That's different.”
Nick.
“He's missed a lot.”
Bill.
“You can't tell. Everything's got its compensations.”
Nick.
“He says he's missed a lot himself.”
Bill.
“Well, dad's had a tough time.”
Nick.
“It all evens up.”
Chorus II & IV.
(Sarcastically) They sat looking into the fire and thinking of this profound truth.
Nick.
“I'll put another chunk on the fire.”
Chorus II.
Nick said. He had noticed that the fire was dying down. Also, he wished to show he could hold his liquor and be practical. Even if his father had never touched a drop Bill was not going to get him drunk before he himself was drunk.
Bill.
“Put on one of these big beech chunks,”
Chorus IV.
Bill said. He was also being consciously practical.
(NICK begins to the put a log onto the fire)
Nick.
“That's a swell log.”
Bill.
“I'd been saving it for the bad weather. A log like that will burn all night.”
Nick.
“There'll be coals left to start the fire in the morning.”
Bill.
“That's right,” Bill agreed.
Chorus IV.
They were conducting the conversation on a high plane.
Nick.
“Let's have another drink.”
Bill.
“I think there's another bottle open in the locker.”
Chorus IV.
Bill said. He kneeled down in the corner in front of the locker and brought out a square-faced bottle.
Bill.
“It's Scotch.” (BILL pours out the drinks.)
Nick.
“That's an awfully big shot.”
Bill.
“Not for us, Wemedge.”
Nick.
“What'll we drink to?”
Bill.
“Let's drink to fishing.”
Nick.
“All right. Gentlemen, I give you fishing.”
Bill.
“All fishing. Everywhere.”
Nick.
“Fishing. That's what we drink to.”
Bill.
“It's better than baseball.”
Nick.
“There isn't any comparison. How did we ever get talking about baseball?”
Bill.
“It was a mistake. Baseball is a game for louts.”
Chorus II & IV.
They drank all that was in their glasses.
Bill.
“Now let's drink to Chesterton.”
Nick.
“And
Chorus II.
Nick poured out the liquor.
Chorus IV.
Bill poured in the water. They looked at each other. They felt very fine.
Bill.
“Gentlemen, ‘I give you Chesterton and Walpole.’”
Nick.
“Exactly, gentlemen.”
Bill.
“You were very wise, Wemedge.”
Nick.
“What do you mean?”
Bill.
“To bust off that Marge business.”
Nick.
“I guess so.”
Bill.
“It was the only thing to do. If you hadn't, by now you'd be back home working trying to get enough money to get married.
Chorus II.
Nick said nothing.
Bill.
“Once a man's married he's absolutely bitched. He hasn't got anything more. Nothing. Not a damn thing. He's done for. You've seen the guys that get married.”
Chorus II.
Nick said nothing.
Bill.
“You can tell them. They get this sort of fat married look. They're done for.”
Nick.
“Sure.”
Bill.
“It was probably bad busting it off. But you always fall for somebody else and then it's all right. Fall for them but don't let them ruin you.”
Nick.
“Yes.”
Bill.
“If you'd have married her you would have had to marry the whole family. Remember her mother and that guy she married. Imagine having them around the house all the time and going to Sunday dinners at their house, and having them over to dinner and her telling Marge all the time what to do and how to act.”
Chorus II.
Nick sat quiet.
Bill.
“You came out of it damned well. Now she can marry somebody of her own sort and settle down and be happy. You can't mix oil and water and you can't mix that sort of thing any more than if I'd marry Ida that works for Strattons. She'd probably like it, too.”
Chorus II.
Nick said nothing. The liquor had all died out of him and left him alone. Bill wasn't there. He wasn't sitting in front of the fire or going fishing tomorrow with Bill and his dad or anything. He wasn't drunk. It was all gone. All he knew was that he had once had Marjorie and that he had lost her. She was gone and he had sent her away. That was all that mattered. He might never see her again. Probably he never would. It was all gone, finished.
Nick.
“Let's have another drink.”
Bill.
(Pouring) “If you'd gone on that way we wouldn't be here now.”
Chorus II.
That was true. His original plan had been to go down home and get a job. Then he had planned to stay in Charlevoix all winter so he could be near Marge. Now he did not know what he was going to do.
Bill.
“Probably we wouldn't even be going fishing tomorrow. You had the right dope, all right.”
Nick.
“I couldn't help it.”
Bill.
“I know. That's the way it works out.”
Nick.
“All of a sudden everything was over. I don't know why it was. I couldn't help it. Just like when the three day blows come now and rip all the leaves off the trees.”
Bill.
“Well, it's over. That's the point.”
Nick.
“It was my fault.”
Bill.
“It doesn't make any difference whose fault it was.”
Nick.
“No, I suppose not.”
Chorus II.
The big thing was that Marjorie was gone and that probably
he would never see her again. He had talked to her about how they would go to
Bill.
“So long as it's over that's all that matters. I tell you, Wemedge, I was worried while it was going on. You played it right. I understand her mother is sore as hell. She told a lot of people you were engaged.”
Nick.
“We weren't engaged.”
Bill.
“It was all around that you were.”
Nick.
“I can't help it. We weren't.”
Bill.
“Weren't you going to get married?”
Nick.
“Yes. But we weren't engaged.”
Bill.
“What's the difference?”
Nick.
“I don't know. There's a difference.”
Bill.
“I don't see it.”
Nick.
“All right. Let's get drunk.”
Bill.
“All right. Let's get really drunk.”
Nick.
“Let's get drunk and then go swimming. (Pause) I'm sorry as hell about her but what could I do? You know what her mother was like!”
Bill.
“She was terrible.”
Nick.
“All of a sudden it was over. I oughtn't to talk about it.”
Bill.
“You aren't. I talked about it and now I'm through. We won't ever speak about it again. You don't want to think about it. You might get back into it again.”
Chorus II.
Nick had not thought about that. It had seemed so absolute. That was a thought. That made him feel better.
Nick.
“Sure. There's always that danger.”
Chorus II.
He felt happy now. There was not anything that was irrevocable. He might go into town Saturday night. Today was Thursday.
Nick.
“There's always a chance.”
Bill.
“You'll have to watch yourself.”
Nick.
“I'll watch myself.”
Chorus II.
He felt happy. Nothing was finished. Nothing was ever lost. He would go into town on Saturday. He felt lighter, as he had felt before Bill started to talk about it. There was always a way out.
Nick.
“Let's take the guns and go down to the point and look for your dad,” Nick said.
Bill.
“All right.”
Chorus IV.
Bill took down the two shotguns from the rack on the wall. He opened a box of shells.
Chorus II.
Nick put on his Mackinaw coat. He was still quite drunk but his head was clear.
Nick.
“How do you feel?”
Bill.
“Swell. I've just got a good edge on.”
Nick.
“There's no use getting drunk.”
Bill.
“No. We ought to get outdoors.”
Chorus IV.
They stepped out the door. The wind was blowing a gale.
Chorus II.
Outside now the Marge business was no longer so tragic. It was not even very important. The wind blew everything like that away.
None of it was important now. The wind blew it out of his head. Still he could always go into town Saturday night. It was a good thing to have in reserve.
(Blackout. The lights once again return to the original setting. NICK crawls into the tent)
Chorus (All).
Nick was happy inside the tent.
Chorus V.
He had been happy most of the day. This was different though. Now things were done.
Chorus III.
There had been this to do.
Chorus III & IV.
Now it was done.
Chorus IV.
It had been a hard trip. He was very tired. That was done.
Chorus III.
He had made his camp. He was settled.
Chorus IV.
Nothing could touch him. It was a good place to camp.
Chorus III.
He was there, in the good place. He was in his home where he had made it.
Chorus V.
Now he was hungry.
(CHORUS I & II pull
the blanket away so it no longer covers NICK. He sits-up and goes over to an imagined fire.)
Chorus I.
He came out of the tent, crawling under the cheesecloth.
Chorus II.
It was quite dark outside.
Chorus I.
It was lighter in the tent.
Chorus III.
He started a fire.
Chorus IV.
After the kindling began to burn, Nick went over to the pack and found, with his fingers, a long nail in a paper sack of nails, in the bottom of the pack.
Chorus III.
He drove it into the pine tree, holding it close and hitting it gently with the flat of the axe. He hung the pack up on the nail. All his supplies were in the pack. They were off the ground and sheltered now.
Chorus V.
Nick was hungry. He did not believe he had ever been hungrier. He opened a can of pork and beans and a can of spaghetti.
Nick.
“I've got a right to eat this kind of stuff, if I'm willing to carry it.”
Chorus V.
Nick said. He took a full spoonful. (Nick swallows a heaping spoonful. As if near starvation, all members of the chorus react as if themselves starving)
Nick.
“Chrise”
Chorus (all).
Nick said,
Nick.
“Geezus Chrise”
Chorus V.
he said happily.
Chorus V.
His voice sounded strange in the darkening woods.
Chorus (All).
He did not speak again.
Chorus III.
He ate the whole can of beans and then he ate a can of spaghetti. He had not eaten since a cup of coffee and a ham sandwich in the station restaurant at St. Ignace.
Chorus IV.
He had been that hungry before, but had not been able to satisfy it.
Chorus III.
The fire flared up. He put some more chips under the grill onto the fire and put the pot on.
Chorus IV.
He could not remember which way he made coffee. He decided to bring it to a boil. He remembered now that was his way.
Chorus V.
Nick drank the coffee. The coffee was bitter. (Nick laughs). For some reason this was funny. It made a good ending to the story. His mind was starting to work. He knew he could choke it because he was tired enough.
Chorus III.
He spilled the coffee out of the pot and shook the grounds loose into the fire. He went inside the tent.
(CHORUS I & II
once again hold either end of the blood
blanket to make NICK'S tent. NICK
goes inside. As soon as he is inside, CHORUS
I & II allow the blanket to fall onto
him. He in turn wraps himself in the
fabric, completely enveloped in it. Lights
begin to fade into darkness)
Chorus II.
Out through the front of the tent he watched the glow of the fire, when the night wind blew on it. It was a quiet night.
Chorus (all).
The swamp was perfectly quiet.
Chorus II.
Nick stretched under the blanket comfortably.
Chorus I.
A mosquito hummed close to his ear. (proceeds to make the noise of a mosquito)
Chorus II.
Nick sat up and lit a match. The mosquito was on the canvas, over his head. Nick moved the match quickly up to it. The mosquito made a satisfactory hiss in the flame. The match went out.
Chorus I.
Nick lay down again under the blanket. He turned on his side and shut his eyes.
Chorus I & II..
He was sleepy.
Chorus III & IV.
He felt sleep coming.
Chorus V.
There were plenty of days coming when he could fish the swamp.
Chorus (all).
He curled up under the blanket and went to sleep.
END