The Project Gutenberg eBook of Big lake This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Big lake A tragedy in two parts Author: Lynn Riggs Release date: May 16, 2023 [eBook #70780] Language: English Original publication: United States: Samuel French Credits: Bob Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIG LAKE *** Transcriber’s Note Italic text displayed as: _italic_ BIG LAKE _A Tragedy in Two Parts_ PLAYS BY LYNN RIGGS KNIVES FROM SYRIA. Comedy in 1 act. In _One-Act Plays for Stage and Study, 3rd Series_. Samuel French. BIG LAKE. Tragedy in 2 Parts. Samuel French. SUMP’N LIKE WINGS. Not published. A LANTERN TO SEE BY. Not published. [Illustration: HELEN COBURN AS “BETTY”] BIG LAKE A Tragedy in Two Parts _As produced by the American Laboratory Theater, New York City_ By LYNN RIGGS FOREWORD BY BARRETT H. CLARK [Illustration: Decoration] SAMUEL FRENCH _Incorporated 1898_ T. R. EDWARDS, Managing Director NEW YORK CITY :: :: MCMXXVII SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. :: :: :: LONDON _All Rights Reserved_ COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY LYNN RIGGS COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY SAMUEL FRENCH This play is fully protected by copyright. All acting rights, both professional and amateur, are reserved in the United States, the British Empire, including the Dominion of Canada, and all countries of the Copyright Union, by the owner. Application for the right of performing this play or of reading it in public should be made to Samuel French, 25 West 45th Street, New York City. PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY QUINN & BODEN COMPANY, INC. RAHWAY, N. J. PROGRAM OF THE FIRST PRODUCTION, APRIL 8, 1927 _The American Laboratory Theater (New York) presents_ BIG LAKE BY LYNN RIGGS _Staged by George Auerbach_ _Betty_ HELEN COBURN _Lloyd_ FRANK BURK _Elly_ STELLA ADLER _Butch_ GROVER BURGESS _Sheriff_ LOUIS V. QUINCE _Plank_ JOHN S. CLARKE, JR. _Joe_ FRANCIS FERGUSSON _Miss Meredith_ FRANCES WILLIAMS _Bud Bickel_ SAM HARTMAN _The Davis Boy_ HAROLD HECHT _Country School Boys and Girls_ MESSRS. KRADOSKA, HAYES, PARSONS, FIELDING, WILLIAMS, CURTIS. MISSES SCHMIDT, SEYMOUR, TITSWORTH, JOHNSON, SQUIRE, SMITH. Part 1—The Woods Scene 1—The Woods Scene 2—The Cabin _Intermission_ Part 2—The Lake Scene 1—A Cleared Place Scene 2—The Lake The action takes place in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, in the year 1906 _Settings designed by_ LEWIS BARRINGTON _Costumes designed by_ GERTRUDE BROWS _Sets and costumes executed by the Laboratory Theater Workshop Property Man_ MORTON BROWN The Director and Actors are deeply grateful to Mme. Maria Ouspenskaya for the invaluable assistance she gave in the preparation of this production. FOREWORD This play came to us late in the season of 1926-1927. Produced by George Auerbach at the American Laboratory Theater in New York, it attracted some attention during April and May, and survived without serious damage the ordeal of criticism by several of the front-line reviewers. With two or three exceptions, however, the notices showed little understanding of what Mr. Riggs was trying to do. That is one reason why I am presuming to add these few words to the dramatist’s text. _Big Lake_ is that rarest of things, a poetic drama that is at once poetry and drama. To one of his later plays Mr. Riggs has given the title _Sump’n Like Wings_, and I can think of no words that so accurately describe what I felt when, over a year ago, I read the manuscript of _Big Lake_. There is a winged lightness in the words that the poet puts into the mouths of his young people, an ecstasy born of the sheer joy of being alive. How poor a thing is the mere “observation” of a clever playwright beside the deeper, more incisive and highly intuitive scenes in _Big Lake_! In calling Mr. Riggs a poet (I refer here not to his formal verse-making, but to his plays) I am not forgetting that poetry in the theater is a different thing from the poetry you read in a book: Mr. Riggs’ plays are stage pieces; the poetry in them is never a matter of mere words, but an integral part of the speeches uttered and the gestures made by the characters, directing each scene and permeating the whole. It lies first in the writer’s conception of a harmonic entity, and floods it from beginning to end. Mr. Riggs’ three full-length plays are the work of a young man who is still close enough to his youth to remember and understand those fleeting moments of exaltation and depression that constitute the glory and the tragedy of adolescence. In _Big Lake_, more especially than in _A Lantern To See By_ and _Sump’n Like Wings_, Mr. Riggs has been able on occasion to look at the world about him through the eyes of a child: can you not feel in the second scene of the first act something of the wonder and terror of the more wildly romantic stories of the Brothers Grimm? If this Foreword were a study, I should go on to point out how Lynn Riggs has taken the folk-material and the idiom of his native district and skillfully made of them a rich medium of expression, and explain how, with only the slightest technical manipulation, he has reproduced the subtle rhythms of everyday speech. Then I should also have to take him to task for an occasional awkwardness in the management of his plots. But my purpose here is not to criticize: it is to point out to you a new American dramatist, whose work is permeated by an odd and strangely haunting beauty. BARRETT H. CLARK. _August, 1927._ PART ONE CHARACTERS BETTY LLOYD “BUTCH” ADAMS ELLY SHERIFF JOE } PLANK } _deputies_ MISS MEREDITH BUD BICKEL THE DAVIS BOY COUNTRY-SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS BIG LAKE THE WOODS SCENE 1 (_The woods adjoining the Big Lake, near Verdigree Switch, Indian Territory, 1906. It is Spring. Vines creep on the trees just putting out their green. The ground is soft with dead leaves, among which grow the earliest flowers. A fallen log lies in a tangle of last year’s briars. It is the grayness of morning. Color is beginning to show in the East, where the lake lies, and as the light grows the lake shines through the leaves._ LLOYD _and_ BETTY _come from the left, softly over the matted earth. They are very young._ LLOYD _is tall, dark; he has black hair; his face is sensitive; he wears rough shoes, dark trousers, and a pale blue shirt._ BETTY’S _hair is yellow. She has let it down. It frames her white, delicate face. Her dress is a coarse dark slip._) LLOYD It’s been s’ gray. BETTY It’s gettin’ lighter. LLOYD It’s been s’ gray. But now it’s gettin’ lighter and lighter—even to clear back here in the woods. BETTY (_softly_) I c’n feel the dawn. LLOYD _I_ c’n feel the dawn. I c’n _see_ the dawn! Look! Through the trees! Whur the lake’s at! The Big Lake’s a-shinin’ like a tub full o’ soap-suds! I’m glad we come. Ain’t you, Betty? BETTY I’m glad we come early. LLOYD I’m glad we come. (_They stand a moment breathless at the beauty before them._) Le’s set down. (_They sit at left._) The horse is tied up. Grub’s safe in the buggy. Miss Meredith ’n’ the rest of ’em won’t be here fer a long time yit. BETTY They’ll be here, though. LLOYD Yeow, but it’ll be a long time. Won’t Miss Meredith be supprised to find us here ahead of everbody? It was _my_ idee. She’ll think we’re purty smart. BETTY How many’s comin’? LLOYD The whole class, I guess—’cept the Davis boy. It’ll be a nice day to picnic, won’t it? (_He rises and goes away from her and looks out toward the Lake. Softly, then more and more ecstatic, like a prayer_—) I alwys liked the Big Lake. I’ve come here many’s the time with Paw, when we’d went out to git some cattle. Miles and miles through the bilin’ heat, tongue clawin’ at yer mouth—a-eatin’ dust, mebbe we’d go. Dust bilin’ up and blindin’ you—a-gettin’ in yer mouth and eyes till you thought you couldn’t stand it. An’ then the dark woods here—briars a-clawin’ at yer legs and hands, rattlers a-hidin’ under the leaves mebbe, logs t’ make yer horses jump, and branches ye’d have t’ dodge. Then the lake—flowin’ wide out—plum over almost out o’ sight—a-settin’ thar in the sun like sump’n you never hoped t’ see! I’d alwys want t’ git off my horse and go down to the edge of it—and tech it—and look at it—a long time. But Paw ud alwys say, “Set thar a-gawkin’, you kid. We got to git back to the sawmill ’fore 2 o’clock,” or he’d say, “’Tother end o’ the Lake is dried up purty good, son. We could cross over thar ’stid o’ goin’ round by the section line.” (_After a moment._) I ain’t never seen it like this, though. It’s purtier’n I ever seen it. And we c’n look at it ’s long’s we want to. And we c’n go out on it—in a boat—if they is a boat— BETTY (_timidly_) Why don’t you come over here and set down by me? LLOYD Why don’t you come over here and look at the lake? BETTY I c’n see it good—from here. LLOYD Come on over the big log, and you c’n see it better. BETTY No. I like it here better. LLOYD (_puzzled_) You’re funny. Set over thar then. I like you thar jist as well. You look purty good no matter whur you’re a-settin’. You _set_ purty good. I like you settin’ thar with the vine leaves and the tree leaves behind you. You’ve got purtier and purtier, Betty. BETTY Have I? You’re sweet to say it. LLOYD Why wouldn’t I say it? BETTY No reason not to. I like to hear it. LLOYD Words git in the way some. I cain’t think t’ say much. BETTY They’s no need t’ say much— LLOYD They _is_ need to. Seems t’ me yore comin’ to Verdigree wuz like you’d come from some place besides down the river. It made me think of the Bible—sump’n about the angel that come down to roll away the stone— BETTY You wuzn’t dead. LLOYD I uz asleep, I wuz. I uz young-asleep. I uz boy-asleep. I’m awake now. I’m a man. I’ve come to life. BETTY You’d think I uz an angel—sproutin’ wings! LLOYD You’re better’n an angel— BETTY I ain’t! LLOYD You air, too, to me. Better’n an angel! I’ll put this flower in yer hair— BETTY No. LLOYD ’S like a star. BETTY No, no. Whur’d you git it at? LLOYD (_puzzled_) Why, _here_. BETTY (_strangely_) Under the leaves. It growed up through the dead leaves. I don’t like it— LLOYD Why, Betty! BETTY I cain’t stand them kind of flowers. LLOYD ’S jist a flower. Growin’ in the woods. BETTY In the dark woods. Lloyd— LLOYD (_puzzled_) Whut is it? BETTY Lloyd, le’s go away frum here— LLOYD Whur’d you want to go to? BETTY Out of here, out of these woods! (_Pleading for him to understand._) Oh, you think I ain’t right. I cain’t expect you to know how I feel. They’s sump’n—I don’t know what it is— Please! It’s like the woods wuz waitin’— LLOYD Like a animal. BETTY To git us. To git us! I’m afeard. They’s things growin’ here—an’ fightin’. They’s things crawlin’ on the ground, under the ground—in the trees—everwhur! I’m afeard! LLOYD _I’m_ afeard! BETTY Lloyd! LLOYD I’m afeard, too! Le’s go— BETTY Whur’ll we go to? LLOYD Out on the lake. BETTY They’s no boat. LLOYD Futher down—they’s a cabin, I know, and a boat—mebbe. Come on—le’s go to it. (_They start._ LLOYD _stops, shaking off his fear_.) Aw, listen. Whut’s the matter with us? Runnin’ like rabbits. They ain’t nuthin’ to be skeered of. We’re jist cold, that’s all. That’s it. Drivin’ so long ’fore it got light has jist got us chilled to the bone. BETTY I ain’t cold. LLOYD Y’air. Cold as ice. Ye’re tremblin’. BETTY I’m afeard! LLOYD We’ll go the cabin, then. It’s safe thar. BETTY And git the boat and go out on the lake? LLOYD We’ll git warm first. BETTY No! No! Le’s not go to the cabin. Le’s go on the lake. LLOYD Why, Betty! I never seen you like this! BETTY I never been like this. Come on, to the Lake— LLOYD (_patiently_) Now, Betty, to the cabin first. Why, you’re _cold_! They’ll be a fa’r a-burnin’ thar. I doan know who’s a-livin’ thar, but we’ll go up and knock, and ask t’ git warm. They’ll be up. Country folks git up early. And they’ll have a fa’r—a nice roarin’ warm fa’r in the fa’rplace fer us to git warm at. Won’t you like that? BETTY Mebbe— LLOYD It’s the funniest kind o’ cabin you ever see. It’s a log cabin. I been in it a long time ago with Paw. It’s a nice log cabin. An’ they’ll have a fa’r. BETTY (_reluctantly_) Well, I’ll go—if you think— LLOYD Frum the outside it looks jist like any log cabin. But when you open the door, and look in—whut do you see? Steps! Three steps a-goin’ down to the dirt floor. It’s part under the ground— BETTY Oh! Like it growed up out o’ the ground—? LLOYD Yes, jist like that! Like it growed out o’ the ground! BETTY (_with conviction_) It growed out o’ the ground. It growed out o’ the same ground the big woods growed out of! (_She shudders._) LLOYD Yeow. BETTY Le’s don’t go thar! LLOYD Jist long enough to git warm. BETTY No, not that long! LLOYD And to ask ’em fer the boat—if they got a boat. BETTY (_desperately_) Couldn’t we jist take the boat—’thout asking? LLOYD Betty! Course we couldn’t! BETTY I don’t see why, I don’t see! LLOYD (_laughs_) We ain’t thieves. BETTY _I’d_ be one. LLOYD No, you wouldn’t. Come on. BETTY To the Lake? LLOYD To the cabin first. BETTY Lake! LLOYD (_firmly_) No, Betty, cabin! (_They go out, right._) _Curtain_ THE WOODS SCENE 2 (_Interior of the cabin. At the back three steps descend from the planked door to the dirt floor of the cabin. Windows, curtained, are on either side of the door. They are so high up that only a tall man can see out. A wide fireplace made of stone rises from the floor at the right end of the room. In the left corner of the cabin, a wide double-deck bunk juts out. Crazy quilts cover both beds. A few chairs, a rough table (set for breakfast at right of steps) and utensils for cooking at the fireplace—complete the furnishings. A fire burns in the fireplace; coffee bubbles on a little iron stand on the hearth. It is dark and gloomy; no direct sunlight has ever reached this secret place._ ELLY, _a tall, dark woman of thirty-five, stands tensely by the corner of the bunk. Her face, even in her excitement, is brooding and restrained. Her thick black hair, parted in the middle, is done up in a knob at the back of her head. She is wearing a faded, predominantly purple, plaid dress—full-sleeved, full-skirted, pulled in at the waist. After a moment she goes swiftly to the fireplace, pokes the fire, then goes across to the window nearest the bunk, and with extraordinary agility and grace steps upon a chair under the window and looks out. She gets down, goes slowly toward the fireplace. In the center of the room she halts, wheels about and faces the door. It opens. A man comes in quickly, and closes the door as if shutting something out. He turns, facing her from the top of the steps. He is of medium height, brutal, crafty. His clothes are nondescript and unclean. His hair slants into his eyes._) ELLY Butch! Thank God! I didn’t see ya— (_She makes a step toward him._) BUTCH (_quickly_) Shet up! ELLY Butch, w’at is it? BUTCH (_in a hoarse whisper_) Shet up, I tell you! Squawkin’ like a hen. You wanta git me killed? (_In a low voice._) They follered me. ELLY Tell me—w’at is it—? BUTCH I’ll show ’em! They won’t git me. I’ve got away frum better men ’n they are. They won’t git me alive—the lousy bums! I’d like to see ’em! They follered me. I been at the Switch. An’ when I started back I seen three men a-follerin’. They’ll come here. (_He stops thoughtfully._) They ain’t got nuthin’ on me. They cain’t prove nuthin’— (_In a hard, matter-of-fact voice._) They don’t _know_ it’s me done it. They only got somebody’s word. They don’t know it, and they cain’t prove it. No one saw me— ELLY (_with foreboding_) Butch, I knowed this ud come. I knowed it. You’ll git sent up. And it ain’t right. You ain’t done nuthin’ wrong. It’s jist a law. W’at the hell’s a law? W’at’s it good fer? Why’n’t it agin the law everwhur else to sell whiskey? Them men whur they have their corner saloons all polished up—a-makin’ it criminal to sell a man a drink—w’at’s right about it? (_With scorn._) Oh, yes! I know. Pertectin’ the Indians! They don’t want the Indians to git all lit up like _they_ do all the time—ever day, ever night, regular. (_With disgust._) Hell! Indians! I ain’t saw two Indians since I come to Indian Territory. Now they’ll git you. I’ve knowed it. They’ll stick you fer sellin’ the stuff to the poor fools that’s too skeered, and too weak, and too damn big a cowards to go up to Kansas City or Joplin and bring in their own whiskey, like a man. They’ll send you to jail—the only man that’s got guts enough to do it. You’ll git ten year or more. W’at’ll I git? I’ll git off—that’s w’at I’ll git. I’ll git left here to rot! BUTCH Shet up! (_He goes up the steps and listens intently. Then he comes down._) Let up on yer jail stuff. You’ll have me skeered. And I got to keep my senses. Listen t’ me. I been follered before. The last bunch o’ guys laid in wait close to the Holler whur the whiskey’s at. Did that stop me frum gettin’ the whiskey and gettin’ out with it? Did that stop me frum sellin’ it regler to Joe Hurd’s Curio Store at Claremont? I been follered lots o’ times and you know it. I been follered lots o’ times ’count o’ selling whiskey. It ain’t nuthin’ new to me. But this time I’m follered and it ain’t on the ’count o’ whiskey! They’s sump’n else.... ELLY Butch! You got to tell me! W’at is it, w’at’ve you done? BUTCH Easy, easy! ELLY You wuz skeered! I never see you like that before. You’ve done sump’n. Tell me w’at it is. W’at’ve you done? BUTCH Lay off, take it easy.... ELLY Butch.... BUTCH Christ’s sake! You’re a mad womern! Keep yer shirt on! Mebbe I ain’t done _nuthin’_. Mebbe I jist been foolin’ myself. Mebbe—for all I know, they ain’t nuthin’ to git excited about. ELLY (_suddenly_) Butch! You got blood on yer coat! (_She stands a moment, terrified._) You’re hurt! Why’n’t you tell me? Quick, lemme fix it—I didn’t know. BUTCH I ain’t hurt. ELLY You’re bleedin’. BUTCH It ain’t my blood. (ELLY _draws back, her hand at her face, confused_.) I killed a man. ELLY (_sickened_) Oh! (_With terrible conviction._) You’ll hang fer it, Butch Adams! Why’d you go and do it? Who wuz it? BUTCH (_begins in a hard voice, but becomes more and more excited_.) Jim Dory. He told on me fer sellin’ whiskey. He told the federal officers at Tulsy. I killed him. Stuck a knife in him and turned it around. That’s why I went out at midnight ... to lay fer him. I knowed he’d go to the play-party over t’ Binghams. I laid fer him in the big woods close to the sawmill here. He’d go that a-way home, I figgered. About three o’clock this mornin’ he come along in a buggy with one horse to it. I jumped out and grabbed the bridle. He lep’ out on me with a knife. I got a-hold of it. I stuck it through his ribs and turned it around. Then I got skeered. They might think I done it ... findin’ him so close t’ here. It wouldn’t do to find him so close. I picked him up and dumped him in the buggy and give the horse a crack with a stick. He started off in a run down the road. But not afore I’d saw Jim kinda raise up one of his hands to his face! He wuzn’t dead. I hadn’t made shore! He wuzn’t dead, and he’d tell on me! He’d tell some one ’fore he died, and I’d hang fer it! I thought mebbe I could ketch up and finish the job. But the horse run like mad, crashin’ through the bushes but keepin’ purty close to the road. I run and run after him—almost to the Switch. Then I seen some one come out of the store whur a light was burnin’, and grab the horse’s bridle. I seen him take Jim up and carry him in and shet the door. I run away then. I didn’t know if he wuz dead or not. If he wuzn’t, he’d tell on me! I wuz crazy—not knowin’ if he wuz dead or not. I come on to the woods. I couldn’t stand it not knowin’: I started back. When I got to the edge of the woods I seen three men comin’ up the road. I knowed one of ’em! It wuz the Shuruff. They musta wired to Claremont fer him. Jim ’d _told_ on me! Elly! Whut’ll I do? They’ll git me! (ELLY _goes over to the fireplace, in her absorbed way, without speaking, and pours some water in a pan_.) Elly! They’ll be here any minute! Fer God’s sake, say sump’n! ELLY Yer breakfast’s ready. BUTCH Elly!... ELLY Take off yer coat. (_He does, like one in a daze._) Throw it under the bunk. (_He does so._) Wash yer hands. (_He moves toward the pan slowly and begins to wash his hands. She has gone to the table with the coffee pot and poured some coffee. He finishes washing and dries his hands on a towel._) Set down. (_He moves toward the table._) BUTCH But, Elly.... ELLY (_imperiously_) Set down! And eat yer breakfast,—Mister Murderer! (_He sits._ ELLY _leans over the table_.) Eat a plenty. Drink—here’s coffee. Salt pork, gravy, potaters—eat ’em! Enjoy yerself! BUTCH (_half rising_) Whut’re you meanin’! I hadn’t oughta done it? Whut’d you want me to do ... let him git away with it, let that dirty little coward sneak off to Tulsy and sick the officers onto me like bloodhounds ’n do nuthin’ about it? That ain’t my way! If some one does me dirt he gets his, you c’n count on it! I ain’t no Christian: I’m a man! ELLY (_with infinite scorn_) _You_— BUTCH I’m a man. Let up! ELLY (_goes away from him. Bitterly._...) You’re lower’n I thought you wuz. I never thought t’ be livin’ with a murderer. (_He comes toward her._) Oh, I ain’t so good. I know. You don’t have t’ tell me. But I never thought t’ come t’ this. I thought I knowed w’at I uz gettin’ into when I went away with you. I knowed you uz a bootlegger. I didn’t keer. It’s clean. It’s right. But killin’ ... I stop at killin’! Why’d you go and do it? Why _did_ you? Now they’ll come and take you. They’ll take you away from me! BUTCH Christ’s sake, shet up! They’d a-took me away fer bootleggin’. ELLY No, they wouldn’ta! They couldn’t ’a’ proved it. But now they’ll take you. They’ll hang you fer murder. (_She clings to him._) No, I won’t let ’em! They _cain’t_ take you! I love you—I cain’t help it. ’N I won’t let ’em take you away frum me! I won’t let em! I’ll find a way! I will! They ain’t proved you done it ... you said no one seen you.... BUTCH They got Jim’s word, I tell you.... ELLY (_calmer_) He’s dead. He cain’t talk now. BUTCH Sh—! I heerd sump’n! (_Excitedly—drawing his pistol._) They won’t git me!... ELLY Gimme that gun! BUTCH ... Not’s long’s I’m alive! ELLY Butch! Give it t’ me! I’m all right now. I ain’t never advised you wrong. I’ll git you outa this! Listen t’ me: you ain’t been outa the house, y’hear—not since yistiddy. Eat yer breakfast! (_She goes to the window, steps on the chair, and looks out._) It’s only a man an’ womern.... BUTCH It’s a _blind_! ELLY No, no! (_Coming down._) It’s jist a boy and girl—a couple o’ kids. BUTCH Keep ’em out! ELLY No! We’ll let ’em _in_! It’s Providence! BUTCH It’s a blind, I tell you.... ELLY It’s luck! It’s our luck. Mebbe we c’n use ’em.... BUTCH How? ELLY Some way. I doan know yit. Gimme the gun. (_He hands it to her, reluctantly._) Keep yer head. These two’ll come in. They’ll keep you frum hangin’, Butch Adams! (_She goes swiftly to the bunks, and hides the pistol under the quilts._ BUTCH _goes back to the table and sits. There is a moment of intense silence. Then a knock._) Come in! (LLOYD _and_ BETTY _come in. They look very slight, very delicate, in this somber place._) LLOYD (_awkwardly_) How’d do? ELLY Howdy. LLOYD You got a fa’r we could git warm at? ELLY Over thar. LLOYD If it ud bother you— If we’d be in yer way. ELLY It won’t bother me. Nuthin’ gits in my way. You’re welcome. Come in, an’ git warm if you want to. (_They come down the steps slowly._ ELLY _turns to the window_.) I’ll git you a cheer. (LLOYD _and_ BETTY _turn, and are about to go to the fireplace when_ BUTCH _rises from the table where he has been sitting. They see him for the first time and stop in alarm._) ELLY (_quickly_) Butch, bring a cheer up. (_He picks up a chair and sets it in front of the fireplace._ LLOYD _and_ BETTY _watch him anxiously. He goes across to the bunks and sits down._ ELLY _crosses over with another chair._) Here’s another cheer. Set down. (_They go over slowly and sit._) The fa’r’s goin’ strong. Mebbe you’d like a cup of hot coffee? LLOYD Would you, Betty? (_She shakes her head._) No, ma’am. Thank you. ELLY I guess you’ve had yer breakfast. LLOYD No’m, we ain’t yit. We’re gonna have it ’s soon’s Miss Meredith comes. ELLY Who’s Miss Meredith? LLOYD Our teacher. ELLY Oh! Over t’ the Switch. LLOYD Yes’m. It’s a picnic breakfast here in the woods—fer the whole class. ELLY Oh! (_After a moment._) You’ve come awful early. LLOYD Nobody’s come yit—but us. We come early. ELLY How’d you happen to do that? LLOYD (_hesitating_) Why, we—we jist thought we’d come early. We drove over from the Switch. Horse and buggy’s up here a ways—not fur. ELLY Oh! (_She looks from one to the other. Then to_ BETTY.) Air you gittin’ warm, Miss? BETTY (_gratefully_) Yes’m. I wuz cold. LLOYD She wuz tremblin’. ELLY You’d oughta wear more clothes when you go out s’ early. BETTY Yes’m. ELLY Yer Maw ud oughta told you. BETTY Maw’s dead. ELLY Yer Paw ud oughta told you, then. BETTY He’s asleep. (_The three smile at this._ LLOYD _and_ BETTY _begin to feel more at ease_.) This is the first time I been out s’ early. I didn’t know it wuz cold. Now I know. ’Fore it gits sun-up it’s li’ble to be. Even after sun-up it’s apt to be cold here in the woods, ain’t it? BUTCH (_suddenly_) Elly! Ain’t you got a coat you could let her borry? ELLY (_surprised_) Why, yes, I got a coat. (_To_ BETTY.) I’ll lend you one. BETTY No’m, you mustn’t. I’m obliged to you, but I doan need it. ELLY You shore? BETTY Yes’m. (BUTCH’S _interruption causes a constrained silence_. ELLY _goes away toward the bunks thoughtfully_. BETTY, _uneasy, looks at_ LLOYD. _Then_ BUTCH _rises, crosses the room, takes the poker and stirs the fire. He goes back to the little table and sits down._ LLOYD _rises, makes a step toward_ ELLY.) Mebbe we better go now— BUTCH (_loudly_) Set down! (_He begins eating his breakfast._) ELLY (_quickly_) He ain’t had his breakfast. Don’t mind him. LLOYD We better go. ELLY He don’t mean nuthin’. LLOYD (_uneasy_) Well, we’ll stay a minute or two. (_He goes back and sits down._) ELLY (_as if nothing had happened_) Must be fun to come a-picnickin’ in the woods. LLOYD I doan know. I ain’t never been. ELLY I ain’t been since I uz yore age. _Why_ ain’t you been? LLOYD I’ve always worked, helped my Dad drive cattle—till now. I’m in school. ELLY And ain’t never been to school before? LLOYD No, ma’am. ELLY And ain’t never went on picnics? LLOYD Not till now. ELLY I used to go all the time when I uz yore age. In Kansas City. Woods wuzn’t fur away. Used to go—a whole crowd of us—ever Sunday. Set on the ground ... real ground, ’stid o’ pavement ... with grass a-growin’ out of it. First I’d ever saw. We thought it wuz fine. You’ve missed a lot. LLOYD Yes’m. I guess so. But I’ve had fun. I been out with Paw a lot—drivin’ cattle. He buys ’em up differnt places—Verdigree, Foyil, Sageeyah, even ’s fur away’s Pryor Crick. Nen we saddle up our horses’n go out ’n drive ’em in to ship to the market at St. Louis. ELLY W’at’s fun about drivin’ cattle? Sounds like work t’ me. LLOYD Well, it’s work. And it’s fun, too. ELLY In winter, looks like you’d freeze yer ears off.... LLOYD We don’t drive ’em much in winter. ELLY Well, in the summer then, ’n the spring: I doan see w’at’s fun about the scorchin’ heat ’n the dust ’n the hot wind. I’d wanta be in out of it. I’d wanta be under a roof whur the sun didn’t hit me.... LLOYD Sun’s bad. Dust’s bad, too. Wind ain’t so good. But they’s sump’n else.... ELLY Yeow? W’at is it? LLOYD (_going across to her_) I doan know ... it’s kinda crazy.... ELLY I had a crazy brother. LLOYD (_smiling_) Well, it ain’t as bad as that. ELLY My brother wuzn’t bad. Jist wuzn’t right. He used to run out in the woods here like he uz wild. He lived here with us. He done queer things. LLOYD This is queer too. You’ll laugh. You see, when Paw and me goes out t’ drive cattle, some time or other we pass by the Big Lake. ELLY (_strangely_) The Lake? LLOYD Yes’m. Sometimes it’s early ... when we first start out frum the Switch. Sometimes it’s the middle of the day—when we’ve got back frum Grand River. Sometimes it’s night. But we alwys pass by it—some time or other. ELLY I doan see w’at’s fun about it. I been livin’ here three year. I c’n see the Lake any time. They’s no fun to that. LLOYD I cain’t explain it very well. It’s nice—nice t’ see it. ’N no matter whur you’re at, whut time o’ day it is, it’s nice to know the Lake’s thar. ’N it’s nice to know ’at some time mebbe you’ll git a chance to go out on it. I ain’t never been. I alwys want to. (_Smiling._) Kinda crazy, ain’t it? ELLY (_thoughtfully_) Yes. LLOYD I told you it wuz. ELLY (_slowly_) You’re not the only one. LLOYD The only one whut? ELLY Crazy. They’s others. I’ve saw ’em. Do you ever read the newspapers? LLOYD Why, no’m—I— ELLY Cain’t read? LLOYD Well, not much. But I’m gonna learn better. ELLY How long you lived at the Switch? LLOYD Alwys lived thar. ELLY Then you musta heerd of people gettin’ drownded in the Lake? LLOYD Yes’m. ELLY Crazy. Why’d they go on it? LLOYD ’Tain’t the Lake’s fault. It’s their’n. ELLY Yeow. Fer goin’ out on it. LLOYD No. Fer keerlessness. Some of ’em fall in. Some of ’em turn the boat over. Sometimes the boat leaks.... ELLY Yeow. But if they didn’t try to go out on the Lake, the boat wouldn’t leak, the boat wouldn’t turn over, ’n they wouldn’t fall in. It’s their fault fer goin’! LLOYD But people will go out on it. People want to. It ain’t wrong. ELLY No. ’Tain’t wrong. ’N people will do it. That’s the trouble: they will do it. ’N do you know who it is does it? D’you know who it is that’s alwys gettin’ drownded in the Lake? People like you—young people—like yerselves—picnickin’! My brother—he got drownded out thar—a month back. We never did find him. (BUTCH _has risen to put a log on the fire_. BETTY _shrinks away from him as he goes near her_.) BUTCH Warm now? BETTY Yes, sir. (LLOYD _goes over quickly, anxiously_.) We better go, Lloyd. I’m warm. I’m plenty warm. LLOYD Well, we’ll go then. (_To_ BUTCH.) Thank you, Mister— Thank you fer the fa’r. (_He turns toward_ ELLY.) I wuz goin’ t’ ask you if we could borry yer boat. I doan know now if I want to.... BETTY (_quickly, nervously ... to_ ELLY) You got a boat, ain’t you? ELLY Yes. BETTY Let us borry it ... awhile? Please! Let us borry it! LLOYD (_to_ BETTY) You still wanta go on the lake? BETTY Yes. I do. (_To_ ELLY.) Please. Cain’t we take it fer a while? ELLY I doan know—I ain’t so shore.... BUTCH (_suddenly_) Borry it! Borry it all you want to! Here’s the key. (LLOYD _takes it_.) Bring it back when you git ready. Oars is over thar by the door. LLOYD Thank you. (_To_ ELLY.) Thanks fer the f’ar. (LLOYD _and_ BETTY _go toward the steps. He picks up the oars. They go up the steps._ LLOYD _turns to_ ELLY.) The oars seem to be good. The boat—don’t leak, does it? ELLY No, it don’t leak. LLOYD (_smiling_) Well. I’m keerful. Betty’s keerful. We’ll make out all right, I guess! (_They go out._ ELLY _looks sharply at_ BUTCH. _He turns back to the table and sits down. She follows him over._) ELLY (_sharply_) Why’d you do it? BUTCH Do whut? ELLY Give ’em the key. Give ’em the oars. BUTCH Why, to git rid of ’em. I didn’t want ’em here. It uz you wanted ’em. ELLY You’re lyin’. Why’d you do it? BUTCH I told you. ELLY That wuzn’t it. You got some reason. BUTCH You had a reason fer lettin’ ’em come in, too. You said you did, anyway. Well, what wuz it? ELLY I thought we could use ’em.... BUTCH Use ’em! How could we use ’em? ELLY I guess we cain’t.... BUTCH (_scornfully_) No, ’course not! You never had no idee of it. You wuz jist talkin’.... ELLY I did have an idee. I thought—when I seen ’em outside ... they might be a way of throwin’ the blame onto that boy, someway.... BUTCH (_rising—excited_) Elly! You thought of blamin’ him with.... ELLY Yes. ’Fore I _seen_ him, I did. After he come in, I knowed we couldn’t. BUTCH Why not? ELLY I wouldn’t have the nerve—to try to throw it onto him. Mebbe it ud work all right, mebbe it could be done. They’s ways of makin’ fools outa the law.... Oh, I know, I’ve done it many’s the time ... an’ we could git suspicion on this boy someway. And he’d hang too—innocent and all! But I cain’t do it, I wouldn’t think of doin’ it.... BUTCH (_harshly_) Well, why wouldn’t you? ELLY (_frightened_) Butch! Fergit I said it, fergit I ever thought of sich a thing. BUTCH (_grimly_) I’m glad you thought of it. ELLY W’at’d you mean? BUTCH I mean—it’s an idee.... I wouldn’t a-thought of it. I c’n see, I c’n see a way—you’re a smart womern, Elly.... Wait a minute, lemme think.... ELLY No! You cain’t do it. W’at’re you thinkin’ of? BUTCH Why not? D’you want me to hang? ELLY No. BUTCH Shet up, then! The officers’ll come here. Whut’ll I tell ’em ... whut’ll I say—they’ll come in the door—this boy—he’ll be out on the lake by that time.... ELLY Butch! Butch! BUTCH Shet up! ELLY You cain’t plan to do this! I won’t let you git that boy killed. He’s too young, he’s too sweet-lookin’.... BUTCH Ha! Ain’t I young? Ain’t I sweet-lookin’? You’ve said so. ’D you mean it? ELLY I come here—and lived with you. BUTCH So’d Lilly. So’d Marge. ’N whut’d they do? Lilly on her death bed a-damnin’ me—I c’n hear her yit. Marge—she tried to give me up to the law. I fixed her. Hell! They both come here, ’n lived with me. That don’t prove nuthin’. You got to prove it some other way. You got to help me.... ELLY I’ve helped you—bendin’ over yer f’ar, cookin’ yer victuals, washin’ yer clothes, makin’ the beds you’ve slep’ in. I’ve helped you ... livin’ in this damp cellar like a mole with no sunshine a-comin’ in and no moonlight ever. I’ve tended you when you uz sick, I’ve lied fer you, I’ve buried myself away frum all the decent folks I ever knowed—here in these dark woods fer three year. Why’d I do it? Why _did_ I? It’s proof you want, is it? Then look at me, Butch Adams! _I’m_ proof! Look at me! I uz young when I come here with you three year ago. I uz young—like that little girl that uz here jist now. I wuzn’t as purty as her, but I uz young like her. Look at me now! BUTCH You’re talkin’. You’re puttin’ words together. Whut good are they to me? They won’t save my neck frum hangin’. You got to help me. If you got to talk, tell me whut to do. The Shuruff’ll be comin’ here. Whut’ll I say to him? They ain’t nuthin’ to say to him, unless you help me. I got a plan— ELLY Not that boy! BUTCH You got to help me. They don’t keer who they hang in this country. One man’s as good as another fer hangin’. _They_ don’t keer. But _I_ do! I keer fer hangin’. It’s got to be some one else. ELLY Not that boy! BUTCH That _boy_! It’s got to be him! It’s got to be him killed Jim Dory— ELLY They’ll never b’lieve he done it. BUTCH They’ll believe it— ELLY Jim Dory must’a’ told ’em ’fore he died who done it— BUTCH That don’t prove it. My word’s as good as his. Jim might’a’ made a mistake; in the dark woods he couldn’t see so well ... not even if it ud been daylight. Mebbe—some one else done it— ELLY Not that boy! BUTCH That boy, I tell you! ELLY No, Butch, no! BUTCH Shet up! ELLY I cain’t let you. You doan know w’at you’re doin.... BUTCH Doin’? I’m savin’ my neck, that’s whut I’m doin’! ELLY You’re losin’ it. If you git that boy hung, you’re hangin’ yerself! BUTCH You’d tell on me! Damn you, I’d oughta kill you! ELLY Kill me then! Coward! Don’t you know if I done w’at’s right, I’d tell on you now? I’d give you up to the law fer the brute you are, an’ let you hang as you’d oughta hang! Why don’t I? (_Bitterly._) Yes, why don’t I? ’Cause I’m a fool, that’s why! I’m like all the women in the world that’s ever lived: I ain’t good, I ain’t decent, I ain’t even honest except to one man! I hate you! BUTCH Oh, you do, eh? Well, whut is it you mean, then? If I get that boy hung, how’ll that be hangin’ myself? ELLY Wuzn’t you ever young? BUTCH Whut’s that got to do with it? ELLY (_pleading_) Wuzn’t you ever jist startin’ life? Wuzn’t you ever innocent and good, and wantin’ to go out into the world and expectin’ it to be kind to you?... BUTCH No! [Illustration: STELLA ADLER AS “ELLY”] ELLY (_softly_) Then you won’t understand. This boy is that a-way. You cain’t kill a thing like that. If you killed him, you’d be killin’ w’at uz good in you once ... if they uz ever anything.... BUTCH You’re preachin’. Let up! Whut’d you think this is? It’s got to be the way I say, Elly. If I wanna save my neck, I got to throw the blame on some one else.... ELLY (_triumphantly_) Not that boy! I’ll tell you _another_ reason why! If you’d a-looked at him, you’d know the reason yerself! Anybody, even the Shuruff a-lookin’ at him would know that that boy couldn’t do nuthin’ wrong, he couldn’t kill a man.... BUTCH Elly! ELLY He couldn’t even hurt any one’s feelin’s! And _besides_,—his story’s as good as yourn. They’d know w’at he said wuz the truth! You got to try some other plan, Butch. You got to try to get away. You got to sneak out in the woods an’ hide a day or two. I’ll take you grub t’ eat some way. Then when things blows over more we’ll light out fer Texas till they fergit all about us. You could hide close to the old sawmill some’er’s. They’d never think o’ lookin’ there fer you—so near—so near whur Jim—Hurry up, now! (_She crosses and gets his gun._) You ain’t got much time. Take yer gun. Don’t use it unless you have to—promise me! I want you to be safe. (_She offers him the gun._) BUTCH (_thoughtfully_) No. Put the gun back.... ELLY Butch! BUTCH You tuck it away frum me once.... ELLY (_frightened_) You’re not gonna give yerself up? Butch, no! You’ll be hung! BUTCH You said they’d never b’lieve that boy done it, eh? ELLY Yes. They won’t. They’ll know he couldn’t. BUTCH An’ they’ll b’lieve him, eh? His story’ll be better’n mine, eh? ELLY They’ll know it’s the truth. BUTCH I b’lieve you. ELLY Then why don’t you go—before the Shuruff comes?... BUTCH I ain’t goin’! ELLY You ain’t givin’ yerself up? Butch, you mustn’t! It’s wrong of me to say it. You’ve broke the laws, you’ve sold whiskey, you’ve killed a man—you’d oughta suffer fer it. But you mustn’t! You got to go—quick—they’s time! I’ll leave you grub ever’ day by the foot-log that’s been washed up by the Crick. I’ll keep a lookout. When it’s safe— BUTCH I ain’t goin’. I ain’t gonna give myself up, neither. I got a plan. (_Fiercely._) An’ if you try to bungle it, if you try t’ put yer nose in, or even open yer mouth, I’ll kill you, d’ you hear! You know I will, too! ELLY W’at’re you gonna do? BUTCH Put that gun back. Put it back, I say! (_She crosses reluctantly, and is putting the gun back in the bunk. The door is kicked open, viciously. Three men with pistols in their hands eye them from the high threshold. It is the_ SHERIFF _and his deputies_.) SHERIFF (_nervously_) Two of ’em. Keep yer eye on the womern, Plank. (_To_ BUTCH.) Put ’em up! (_The men come down into the room. The_ SHERIFF _is a florid-faced man, with a long mustache_.) Search him, Joe. (JOE _comes over, makes a quick search of_ BUTCH, _and finds nothing_.) No gun, eh? Make shore, Joe. We doan wanna take no chances. JOE They ain’t none, Shuruff. SHERIFF All right. Keep yer gun on him. (_To_ BUTCH.) Guess you know whut we want you fer, Adams. Yer name’s Adams, ain’t it? JOE _Butch_ Adams, Shuruff. SHERIFF You’ve killed a man. BUTCH I doan know whut you’re talkin’ about. Come bustin’ into my house this a-way. Whut right’ve you got? SHERIFF Dry up. BUTCH You got a warrant? SHERIFF Warrant, hell! BUTCH You got no right here. I oughta shoot you down. SHERIFF (_laughs shortly_) Shoot! Whut’ll you shoot with? Strikes me as funny you got no shootin’ iron on you an’ you jist murderin’ a man in cold blood— BUTCH I never! I doan know whut you’re talkin’ about— SHERIFF We won’t argy with you. BUTCH Show me yer warrant. SHERIFF They ain’t no warrant. BUTCH I’ll have the law on you. SHERIFF _I’m_ the law! Le’s go. ’S funny about you havin’ no gun—I doan understand it— PLANK (_suddenly—to_ ELLY) Stand whur you air. Git away from that bunk. Lemme see whut you’re a-doin’— (_He turns back the cover and finds the pistol._) So that’s whut you’re up to, eh? SHERIFF Whut is it, Plank? PLANK She uz reachin’ fer a gun. I thought they uz sump’n funny when we come in. She seemed t’ be a-bendin’ over like she uz huntin’ sump’n— SHERIFF (_taking the pistol_) So that’s it? (_To_ BUTCH.) Didn’t have time t’ git hold of it, did you? ’S lucky we kicked the door open— ELLY He didn’t do it. BUTCH I ain’t been outa the house— ELLY Don’t you take him! He ain’t done nuthin’! BUTCH I ain’t done nuthin’. (_Significantly._) If Jim Dory said my name— SHERIFF Jim Dory, eh? Who said anything about Jim Dory? I guess you’ve told on yerself! BUTCH I never! SHERIFF You’ve fixed yerself now! Look around, Joe. I’ll watch him. They oughta be evidence, too. (JOE _begins his search of the room, over by the bunks. He crosses to the fireplace._) JOE Don’t see nuthin’. BUTCH You won’t find nuthin’— JOE Here’s a pan! Bloody water, Shuruff! SHERIFF Le’s see it— JOE (_bringing it over_) He washed his hands. SHERIFF You got ’em bloody, did you—puttin’ Jim back in the buggy? Oh, he told. He had time to git out a word or two afore he died. Well, we got evidence. We got you now whur we want you— BUTCH (_slowly_) Shuruff—I’ll tell you— SHERIFF It’s time you told me. BUTCH I’ll tell you who done it. My brother—he done it. ELLY Butch! BUTCH He’s crazy. He runs wild here in the woods. He ain’t right— SHERIFF (_sarcastically_) Whut’s this? BUTCH He lives with us—my brother— You must’a’ heerd of him. PLANK I’ve heerd of a crazy boy here in the woods, Shuruff. But that don’t prove nuthin’. You hear funny stories about these woods here— BUTCH Ask Elly! SHERIFF ’S this crazy boy live here with you? ELLY (_after a moment_) Yes. SHERIFF ’N’ sleeps here? ELLY Yes. Sleeps thar. (_She points to the top bunk._) SHERIFF (_to_ BUTCH) He’s yer brother, eh? BUTCH Yes. Name’s Adams—too, like mine. I’ll tell you. I cain’t pertect him. I tried. He went out las’ night. I didn’t know why. He goes out—roams in the woods—all the time. Lately, he’s got to mumblin’ sump’n—like this: “Woods is too full—woods is too full. People.” I’ve heerd him, ask Elly. ELLY Oh, he did—he said that—“People. Too many people. They’s room in the lake—they’s room thar—they’s room in the lake. It’s big. It’s deep.” Oh— (_Buries her face in her hands._) BUTCH She liked him. He _uz my brother_. Las’ night he went out. He come in this mornin’ early. It uz him—it uz _him_ killed Jim Dory. He told me. Met him in the woods—stuck a knife in him. He washed his hands—they uz blood on ’em. He throwed his coat under the bunk—they uz blood on it. He went out again. SHERIFF (_excitedly_) Whur is he? Whur’d he go to? BUTCH Don’t ask me— SHERIFF Tell me—quick, whur is he? ELLY (_in anguish_) In the lake—that’s whur he’s at. SHERIFF In the lake? ELLY Drownded. BUTCH No—no! No, he ain’t, Shuruff. He’s _on_ the lake. ELLY (_agonized_) Butch! BUTCH In a boat. SHERIFF We’ll git him. He won’t git away! BUTCH You won’t git him—not alive, you won’t. You’ll have t’ be keerful if you even go near him—he’s got a gun! SHERIFF We’ll git him! BUTCH He’s crazy. He’ll shoot. SHERIFF We’ll shoot _first_! ELLY Shuruff! No, no! Don’t do it. Don’t listen t’ him. BUTCH Be keerful, Shuruff— SHERIFF I ain’t skeered of him— BUTCH They’s a girl with him— SHERIFF A girl—? BUTCH He run onto her som’er’s. Mebbe here in the woods. I doan know whur she come frum—_a young, purty girl_. (_Meaningly._) He’s got her with him—out on the lake. SHERIFF The bastard! BUTCH Be keerful. Don’t shoot _her_, Shuruff. SHERIFF Whur’s they a boat? BUTCH They ain’t but one. He’s in it—him and the girl. SHERIFF We’ll get him frum the bank, then. Joe, you stay here. Watch the cabin—outside. Don’t let these two get outa yer sight. Plank, you come with me. (_The three men go up the steps._ JOE _and_ PLANK _go out_.) ELLY Shuruff, you mustn’t do it—they’s a reason—you mustn’t. I’ll tell you— BUTCH (_quickly_) He’s my brother, Shuruff. I don’t keer. He’s done wrong. Shoot him down. SHERIFF You’re damn right I will. Like a dog! (_He goes out._) ELLY (_agonized_) W’at made you? BUTCH You told me yerself— ELLY No— BUTCH That about yer brother—that put me wise. No one knows he’s been drownded. ELLY Why’d you do it? You could’ve said he got drownded this mornin’. They’d a-b’lieved it. Why’d you say he wuz on the lake? BUTCH I got reasons. ELLY W’at air they? BUTCH (_evilly_) You musta noticed, Elly—a girl wuz here with that boy. They’d come here together— ELLY W’at of it? BUTCH The horse and buggy’s up here a ways. She’s young, she’s purty— They drove here together. She’ll need some one to drive her home—through the woods— ELLY Ugh! You beast! BUTCH (_He goes toward the steps._) Mebbe I am one. Mebbe I am a beast. And this place we’re livin’ in—whut’s it? It’s the woods, Elly. It’s the dark woods. (_He goes up the steps._) ELLY Butch! (_She hurries after him._) _Curtain_ PART TWO THE LAKE SCENE 1 (_A cleared place on the bank of the lake. At the back, beyond a slight mound, the lake begins. Willow trees droop into the water. Gold sunshine touches the lake, plays over an old boat tied under a tree. Voices—excited, boisterous, rough—shatter the quiet. From the left the picnic party enters, singly, in groups of three, in pairs—a dozen or more people. Tall farm boys, red-handed, red-faced, dressed in battered overalls, clumping shoes, ragged shirts; short, round farm girls, in unbecoming calicos and ginghams, with bows in their hair. Some of the boys carry boxes of food._) BOYS AND GIRLS I cain’t carry this no fu’ther. Whur’s the f’ar go? Fu’ther down, I reckon. Over thar’s a good place. She’s a-gettin’ her sewin’ done now, the crazy fool, an’ the Fair six months off! Aw, she cain’t sew a-tall. Guess she aims t’ git married. Married? Huh! Wouldn’t no one have _her_! Would too have me! Lem Sickles ud have me. He’d _have_ you, all right, ’f you’d give him a chanst! BUD BICKEL (_loudly_) Le’s play, le’s stop a minute! BOYS AND GIRLS Hey, Miss Meredith! Shet up yer yellin’! Miss Meredith’ll take yer head off. Whut if I call her Jessie? You better hadn’t! Arclo went ’n’ called her Jessie, ’n’ you orter _seen_ her! She slapped him—! BOYS AND GIRLS (_protesting_) I’m hungry! Aw, c’m’on ’n’ do whut Bud says! Miss Meredith won’t let us, I bet. Fraidy cat! Shootin’ on it, Clem, quit steppin’ on my feet, you crazy! Le’s play! Keep yer feet in yer pocket! BUD Le’s play “Little Brown Jug.” BOYS AND GIRLS I’m hungry! Well, who keers if you air? _Be_ hungry! So’re we. Who’s gonna cook the meat? Who’s got the meat? Whur is the meat anyhow? It’s bacon, ain’t it? Shore, it’s bacon. (_Singing._) “Sow belly bacon ’n’ bean soup!” Le’s play “Happy is the Miller Boy.” I’ll be it. BUD Aw, le’s play “Ole Joe Clark.” C’m’on! Irey! Git _her_! Git Hildie fer a pardner. Well, you’re it, then. Irey’s it! Everbody got a pardner? BOYS AND GIRLS Wait a minute! Go ahead. You start it, Bud. “Ole Joe Clark”— (_They begin to play, singing the song as they “do si do,” promenade, etc._) “Ole Joe Clark’s dead an’ gone, I hope he’s doin’ well. He made me wear the ball and chain Till my ankles swelled. “Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark, Rock, rock, I’m gone, Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark, Good-by, Lucy Lawn. “I wouldn’t marry a yellow gal, Tell you the reason why— Cross-eyed tears run down her back When she starts to cry. “Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark” (_etc._) BUD (_alone—loudly_) “I wouldn’t marry a yellow gal, Tell you the reason why— Her neck’s so long an’ stringy, I’m ’fraid she’d never die.” BOYS AND GIRLS (_joining in the chorus_) “Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark” (_etc._) (MISS MEREDITH _enters at left. She is sharp and prim. Some of the boys shout to her, while the chorus goes on_:) C’m’on, Miss Meredith, ’n’ play. MISS MEREDITH No, I won’t play. A BOY It’s fun. MISS MEREDITH It’s time to eat. Hurry and finish. BUD (_alone—loudly_) “I wouldn’t marry a yellow gal, Tell you the reason why— She’d blow her nose in yellow corn-bread An’ call it punkin’ pie!” BOYS AND GIRLS “Rock, rock, ole Joe Clark—” MISS MEREDITH (_sharply_) Quit it! Quit it! (_The chorus stops._) That’s no way to act! Those verses are not very nice, Bud Bickel. BUD Aw, whut’s the matter with ’em? MISS MEREDITH Never mind, you’re not to sing them. They’re bad taste. BUD Ha! Bad taste? Verses don’t _taste_, Miss Meredith. They ain’t no taste to ’em, ma’am. ’N’ if they is, they all taste alike! MISS MEREDITH Not another word out of you, Bud Bickel! It’s time to be cooking the breakfast, anyway. You can play afterwards. BUD Aw, let us play one more! BOYS AND GIRLS One more ’fore we go— He didn’t mean nuthin’. It’s still early. Betty and Lloyd ain’t here yit. Betty and Lloyd ain’t come. It’s time t’ eat, anytime. Gosh, she tole him— Please, Miss Meredith—? MISS MEREDITH Oh, very well. You may play “Drop the Handkerchief.” A BOY Aw, that ain’t a play-party game. MISS MEREDITH This is not a play-party. BUD Le’s play “Straight Across the Hall.” That’s a _game_. It ain’t got no verses. C’m’on. Miss Meredith, you be my pardner. C’m’on! MISS MEREDITH I don’t play. BUD I’ll teach you how. ’S easy’s fallin’ off a log. MISS MEREDITH No. BUD Please, jist onct! Then we’ll go, ’n’ make a f’ar, and git breakfast! MISS MEREDITH Just once, then. BUD (_leading her over_) Miss Meredith’s gonna play. BOYS AND GIRLS Gee! Hey, it’s a good game! You won’t mind it s’ much, ma’am. ’F anybody steps on you jist kick ’em, Miss Meredith! That’s the way a lady do. (_They form a circle, and begin to sing and play._) “Straight across the hall to the opposite lady, Swing her by the right hand, Swing yer pardner by the left, An’ promenade the girl behind you. “Oh, that girl, that purty little girl, The girl I left behind me, I weeped an’ cried t’ the day I died Fer the girl I left behind me.” MISS MEREDITH (_suddenly_) Stop it! BUD Whut’s the matter? MISS MEREDITH Stop it, Bud Bickel! (_She crosses over right, angrily._) We won’t play any more. BUD (_following her over_) Whut is it, whut’ve I done? MISS MEREDITH You’re swinging the Waist Swing, Bud Bickel! BUD Well, o’ course! MISS MEREDITH It’s wrong. It’s wicked. I’m ashamed of you. I’m surprised at you. BUD Why, ma’am, I do that all the time. I swing all the girls the Waist Swing. MISS MEREDITH The idea! Don’t you know it’s wrong? BUD No’m. MISS MEREDITH It is. Don’t you ever do it again, you hear me? And don’t you girls ever let me catch you letting a boy swing you by the waist instead of by the arms. Come on, now! We won’t wait any longer. A BOY But Lloyd and Betty ain’t here yit— MISS MEREDITH We’ll not wait, I say! Hurry up now! (_She goes out._) BOYS AND GIRLS She’s on her high horse! Aw, it’s too early yit to eat. Sun’s jist riz— Hey, she tole it to you, Bud! Ain’t you a nice sight—a-swingin’ the girls— BUD Shet up! A BOY You he-devil you, Bud Bickel! You waist-swingin’ son of a gun! Come on ’n’ swing some meat over the f’ar ’n’ see how you like that! (_They all go out, laughing._) (_After a moment_, LLOYD _and_ BETTY _enter from the left_. BETTY _goes hurriedly toward the boat and is about to get in_. LLOYD _stops_.) LLOYD Betty— (_She turns._) Betty, they jist went. I guess they’re ready t’ eat, now— BETTY (_shaken_) I don’t keer— LLOYD Aw, you mustn’t be excited about nuthin’— BETTY I ain’t excited. LLOYD Yes, you air, too. I c’n tell the way you act. You see—they wuzn’t nuthin’— BETTY No— LLOYD Nuthin’ a-tall. They uz nice folks. (_Trying to reassure her._) Funny place t’ be a-livin’ in though—buried under the ground, like. Looks like it ud be damp s’ close to the lake. But they uz nice folks. Nice womern. The man uz all right. Kind of a lumberin’ kinda man—’thout no talk—but kindhearted. Didden he loan us the boat? BETTY Yes— LLOYD Didden he give us the oars? Shore he did! Well?— BETTY Le’s go on the lake now, Lloyd— LLOYD Shore! We’ll go, all right. I said we’d go. (_He goes toward her. She gets in the boat. A burst of song and laughter comes from the picnickers some distance away. He raises his head._) Betty, listen! They’re gettin’ breakfast ready, I guess. BETTY I don’t want none. LLOYD All right, I ain’t s’ hungry. But I’m jist wonderin’—wh’er we hadn’t oughter let ’em know we’ve come. I told Bud Bickel we uz comin’ early by ourselves. They might wonder about us—or wait fer us. BETTY They won’t wait. They’re startin’ a f’ar. LLOYD Smoke’s a-rizin’ good. It’s a-comin’ off the ground an’ rizin’ up like a cloud. We oughter be thar. Miss Meredith might worry about us. BETTY She wouldn’t worry about us. She wouldn’t worry about no one. Please, Lloyd, le’s go out on the lake—a little while, jist fer a little— LLOYD (_anxiously_) Whut is it? BETTY Nuthin’— LLOYD Tell me— BETTY (_with sudden passion_) Oh, _them_! That cabin! Them people! That man! I’m afeard of him, he’s a part of these woods here! He’s part of this. I don’t like it. It’s busy, busy a-doin’ sump’n I can’t understand! They ain’t nuthin’ clear t’ me. Why’d he look at me that a-way? Why’d he want me t’ borry a coat t’ keep warm? Why’d he stir up the f’ar—fer _me_? Why did he? LLOYD Why, Betty, he uz only bein’ nice t’ you. He liked you. People like you—you’re sweet, you’re purty— BETTY No. It ain’t that! It’s sump’n else. I don’t understand it. I’m afeard. I’m too young. It’s wrong t’ be young— LLOYD Betty! Why, here— BETTY His eyes a-burnin’— His teeth—like a animal’s— LLOYD Betty! BETTY He’s a _part_ o’ these woods here! He b’longs here. I don’t. I don’t b’long here. You don’t. We’re too young. They’s sump’n goin’ on—sump’n mean—sump’n awful—It ain’t fer us t’ be part of. We got to git away— LLOYD We’ll go on the lake. BETTY Oh, yes, we’ll go on the lake! (_Thoughtfully._) Nen whur’ll we go to? LLOYD _Acrost_ the lake—or down to the other end. We c’n git a snack t’ eat at Binghams. We’ll do that ’n’ then row home. We won’t come back here t’ the woods if you don’t want to— BETTY We couldn’t jist stay—in the middle of the lake—awhile? LLOYD Course we could—fer a while. But you’d be hungry. You’d be cold out thar too after a while. The wind blows— BETTY (_fearfully_) All around the lake, everwhur, they’s woods. The lake goes out—’n’ it’s clear thar and bright—but it teches the woods everwhur at the edges. Oh! They ain’t no place t’ go to! The lake—it teches the woods—it’s a _part_ of the woods! (_She sinks down._) LLOYD (_kneeling_) No! No, it ain’t, Betty. You’re jist upset. It’ll be nice out thar. It’ll be clear an’ bright. Mebbe it’ll be warm. We’ll stay as long’s you want to. You mustn’t be this a-way, don’t you see, Betty? Oh, I know—you’re jist upset, you’ve saw things you don’t understand. You’ve been skeered. It’s all right now. You mustn’t think everything’s mixed up like this—like these woods. Out there—look at it—look at the lake! (_Breathlessly._) Sun techin’ it. Little waves startin’ in the wind, breakin’ here on the bank in ripples. Trees—willers leanin’ down like they uz prayin’ at the edges. I wish I could be a lake. I wish I could be that big, that deep! I wish I could be ketchin’ the sun like it—an’ sparklin’ an’ singin’—an’ never afeard o’ nuthin’—jist a-settin’ thar quiet in the sunshine—a-lookin’ up at the sky, a-lookin’ up at the sun— BETTY (_looking up at him_) You make it nice— LLOYD No, ’tain’t me— BETTY You make it nicer’n it is— LLOYD No. It looks that a-way t’ me. BETTY It’s that a-way t’ me, too— LLOYD (_relieved_) Betty— BETTY When you say it. You make things nicer’n they air— LLOYD No, I make ’em the _way_ they air. BETTY An’ the lake?— LLOYD It’s a deep pool— BETTY It’s quiet. LLOYD It moves when the wind moves. It holds the sun. It’s a cup with gold in it— BETTY And dawn— LLOYD An’ sunset, and shadders, and starlight, an’ the moon burnin’ red. Come on, why’d we stay on the bank? We’ll go out— (_He climbs into the boat._) BETTY Yes. LLOYD On the lake! BETTY I hear sump’n— LLOYD ’S footsteps. Somebody runnin’— BETTY They’re comin’ this way! LLOYD Through the woods— BETTY Lloyd! LLOYD Sh! BETTY Le’s go, quick. LLOYD Be still! They won’t see us! (_A boy rushes in headlong from the woods at the left. He is almost out of sight, right, when he catches sight of the two in the boat. He stops. His face is coarse; a grin, like an idiot’s, spreads over his face. It is the_ DAVIS _boy_.) DAVIS Hi! LLOYD Hi. DAVIS Didden see ya. Betty an’ Lloyd, ain’t it? Whut you doin’? LLOYD Nuthin’. DAVIS Well. Whur’s Miss Meredith at? LLOYD Down the lake. Thought you wuzn’t comin’. Thought you had t’ work. DAVIS I did—but I sneaked off. Played hookey frum work—like frum school. Joke’s on my ole man. He’s keepin’ the shop, he’s shoein’ ole Jake Wilkerson’s mare— Whut you doin’ here—you two? LLOYD Nuthin’. DAVIS Settin’ in a boat—by yerselves, ain’t ya? Ha! Havin’ a good time all by yerselves, ain’t ya? Sweet on each other, ain’t ya? Oh, by Joe! Wait’ll I tell Miss Meredith! LLOYD Shet up yer mouth, Oscar Davis! DAVIS Miss Meredith knows yer here, don’t she? LLOYD We ain’t saw her this mornin’. DAVIS You ain’t? Oh, wait’ll I tell her! Settin’ in a boat—_hidin’_ in a boat! I wouldn’t a-saw you if you’d a-kep’ yer head down. O gorry! LLOYD (_gets out of the boat, angrily_) Whut’re you a-sayin’, you? DAVIS Oh, the sweet little babies—a-settin’ in the boat—jist a-settin’ an’ a-settin’ till the night do come. Oh, by Joe! (_He runs out, right, laughing._ LLOYD _looks at_ BETTY, _disturbed, then walks over left_. BETTY _gets out of the boat slowly and goes toward him_.) BETTY Lloyd— We better go— LLOYD Mebbe— BETTY He makes me feel— Oh!— LLOYD Don’t mind him. BETTY I do mind him. We better go. (_Painfully._) Lloyd, whut is it? Whut’d he mean? LLOYD Oh, don’t mind him— BETTY Tell me— LLOYD Things. He’s dirty, he’s low— BETTY Oh!— LLOYD We’ll go whur the others are at. It’s all right. Don’t you mind. Miss Meredith’ll know it’s all right. She’ll know. Come on. We better go. (_They start, right._ MISS MEREDITH _enters hastily, out of breath, venomous. She stops in their path._) MISS MEREDITH Oh—so you’re here? LLOYD (_slowly_) Yes’m. MISS MEREDITH A pretty sight! A pretty couple, I must say! LLOYD Whut’d you mean? MISS MEREDITH The nerve—asking me what I mean! Where have you been all morning—you two? LLOYD No whur. We come here—that’s all. MISS MEREDITH _Come_ here! What time did you leave the Switch? LLOYD I don’t know. It uz early. MISS MEREDITH What time? LLOYD I don’t know. MISS MEREDITH You don’t know? Before sun-up? LLOYD Yes, ma’am. MISS MEREDITH Before daylight, wasn’t it? LLOYD Yes. MISS MEREDITH You left in the dark? LLOYD Yes, it uz still dark. MISS MEREDITH I thought so! LLOYD Whut difference’d it make? I tole Bud Bickel to tell you— MISS MEREDITH Oh, he told me! He told me you were coming early—by yourselves—you and Betty. Why’d you do it? LLOYD Why, we wanted to. MISS MEREDITH Wanted to! That’s no reason. Why’d you want to? LLOYD Why, we wanted t’ be here ’fore it got light t’ see the lake. T’ see it git lighter ’n’ lighter till the gray mist uz all gone—an’ the sun had rose— MISS MEREDITH Oh, you did? So you had to get up early in the morning—before daylight—and drive here through the dark woods—by yourselves—alone—you two? You had to sneak off where there was no one to spy on you, and no light to make you ashamed of yourselves, didn’t you? Oh, don’t interrupt me! I know why you did it! I’m surprised at you, Betty. I wouldn’t have thought it of you! I shall report you both to the School Board. I’m ashamed! I’m ashamed _for_ you! I can hardly look any one in the face. I don’t know how you can. Oh, it’s this that makes teaching so hard! After all my labor, and all my rules to keep you from going wrong like this—you sneak off to the woods—the first chance you get—like a couple of animals. I’m ashamed of you! Come on, now! The fire’s started. Come on and eat your breakfast! (_She goes out._) BETTY (_turns away, stricken_) Oh! Her, too! LLOYD Her—an’ everbody! Damn her! Damn everbody! O Christ! BETTY It’s all mean—it’s all wicked, wicked! Whut’ll we do now? LLOYD (_in agony_) Nuthin’— BETTY We _got_ to do _sump’n_! LLOYD We’ll go on the lake, then. BETTY They’s no place else t’ go— LLOYD It’s the _only_ place t’ go. We’d oughta went thar before. Come on, Betty, git in. (_They get in the boat._ LLOYD _shoves it away from the bank_.) We c’n go acrost ’n’ git grub—we c’n go home— BETTY Home! I don’t want t’ _see_ home again! I hate it! I hate these woods! They’s no place fer us—nowhur— LLOYD They’s room on the lake— BETTY Oh, yes! They’s room thar! They’s room on the Lake! LLOYD It’s big! It’s deep! (_They row out of sight, left. A burst of song and laughter comes from the picnickers down the lake. Then there is the sharp crackle of twigs, and the noise of running._ PLANK _and the_ SHERIFF _run in from the right_.) PLANK (_pointing off left, excitedly_) Thar he is, Shuruff! SHERIFF (_Draws his pistol as they run off left._) _Curtain_ THE LAKE SCENE 2 (_A cleared place sloping down to the left, where the lake comes in in a little bay. The branches of old trees meet overhead. The lake glitters in the bright sunlight._ PLANK _and the_ SHERIFF, _with the pistol still in his hand, stand and shout off left_.) SHERIFF Come in, you! Put that boat in to shore! LLOYD’S VOICE I won’t— I won’t— SHERIFF I’m givin’ you one more chance! LLOYD’S VOICE I won’t never do it! You cain’t make me, you cain’t— SHERIFF I’ll give you till I count three! LLOYD’S VOICE Count ten! Count a hunderd! I won’t come! SHERIFF (_deliberately_) One! Two! Three! Comin’? LLOYD’S VOICE Never! SHERIFF (_raises his gun slowly and fires_) Take that, then! (BETTY _screams_.) PLANK You got him, Shuruff! He’s sunk down in the boat like he’s dead! Hey! Look at it! Look! The girl! She’s standin’ up in the boat! Good God, she’s jumpin’ in the lake! She’ll drownd! (BUTCH _and_ ELLY, _followed by_ JOE, _run in from the right_.) ELLY (_in horror_) Shuruff! Shuruff! You’ve killed him! You’ve killed him! (_She looks off, left._) Oh, the girl—she’s drownin’! Quick, save her—you got to—go an’ save her, she’s drownin’! (BUTCH _throws off his coat_.) BUTCH (_muttering_) Christ! (_He dashes off, left._) ELLY (_with a moan_) Oh, w’at’ve you done, w’at’ve you done! (_With bitter scorn._) You don’t know! You think you’ve upheld the law, you think you’ve done yer duty! Well, you ain’t! You’ve killed an innocent boy that wouldn’t hurt a fly—that’s w’at you’ve done! (_She looks left._) Oh, hurry! hurry! She’s goin’ down! Hurry an’ git her! SHERIFF Go help him, Plank. Go help him. Joe, go drag in the boat. Hurry up! (PLANK _and_ JOE _hurry out_.) ELLY Mebbe she ain’t drownded. Mebbe she ain’t—the pore thing— (_She sinks down wearily. To the_ SHERIFF.) Why’d you stand thar? Why don’t you do sump’n? (_With infinite scorn, infinite weariness._) Look at him. He’s the law. He’s done his duty. He’s got his man. He’ll git a reward. SHERIFF Shet up! ELLY You cain’t shet me up. I’m a fool not to a-told you before. I’m a fool too—like yerself—like Butch—like the whole damn world! I _been_ a fool. But I won’t be now. I’ll tell you now—now it’s too late—I’ll tell you sump’n ’at’ll make yer ears burn, ’at’ll make you sick inside like sump’n eatin’ on yer heart! Listen t’ me—you! You’re bright, you’re smart, you’re a keen-smellin’ dog of the law, you’re the _law_! You pertect the weak, you hang the criminals. _You shoot down, you murder innocent people—that’s w’at you do!_ (_With a sob._) It uz Butch, it uz Butch killed Jim Dory.... SHERIFF Whut’s this! ELLY _Butch_, I tell you! This boy ain’t his brother. He never saw him before. He’s jist a boy, jist a young boy—picknickin’—in the woods— SHERIFF Good God! Is this the truth you’re tellin’ me? ELLY It’s the truth— SHERIFF Godamighty! (BUTCH _comes in dripping, carrying_ BETTY. _He puts her down gently._) BUTCH Drownded— (PLANK _and_ JOE _come in carrying_ LLOYD. _They put him down._) PLANK You got him, Shuruff— JOE He’s dead. (_The_ SHERIFF _staggers a little, his hand before his eyes_. ELLY _comes down, bends tearfully over the bodies. Then she stands erect, wheels and faces the_ SHERIFF.) ELLY Ask him! SHERIFF Oh— ELLY Ask him, Shuruff! Ask him who killed Jim Dory! ’N’ if he lies!— SHERIFF (_to_ BUTCH) She says you done it. BUTCH She told on me? SHERIFF She says you done it. BUTCH (_He looks at_ ELLY. _She does not flinch. He looks back at the_ SHERIFF. _Speaks slowly._) I killed him. SHERIFF Christamighty! You killed Jim Dory? You killed this boy too, then! _You_ done it! ’Twuzn’t _me_! BUTCH (_as if dazed_) I killed her, too. She drownded herself. I tried t’ save her. SHERIFF (_horrified_) How could you do it! Two men—an’ this pore innocent little girl! God! Why’d you do it? Whut made you? BUTCH I don’t know. You’re the law. _You_ tell me! Tell me why I done it! (_The picnic party rushes in from the right. They stop. They are silent, awed._) MISS MEREDITH What’s the matter? I heard shots! (_She catches sight of the bodies._) Oh! What is it? Lloyd and Betty! Good heavens! SHERIFF Dead, Miss. MISS MEREDITH Oh, my poor little children! My poor little ones! (_To_ BUTCH, _gratefully, noticing his wet clothes_.) Oh, you tried to save them! God will reward you! (BUTCH _turns away_.) Poor little Betty— Lloyd was good to her. Oh, why’d they go on the lake! Why’d they do it? I told them not to. (_She turns away, sobbing._) ELLY (_slowly_) It’s alwys the way. People _will_ go on the lake. Young people. Cain’t keep ’em off. ’N’ they’s alwys accidents. Sometimes it’s the lake, sometimes it’s the woods—boats leak, guns go off, people air keerless, they’s wild animals—sump’n happens, sump’n alwys happens. It cain’t be helped.— _Curtain_ *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIG LAKE *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. 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