i paid you everything i have. search me. the rest he gets next week.
i could do something, you know. you guys wanta do something to me, i know who to tell about it. you guys ought to think about that.
i haven't done anything.
i love you so much. why didn't you run. don't die. steve dies. bullets kick up dust around him. he takes off running. one of the bullets has caught him in the shoulder.
they shot the shit out of him. my brother. i couldn't believe what i was seeing.
i love you, abby. you're so good to me. remember how much fun we had, on the roof.
i like the sunshine.
i never wanted to fall in love with you.
what's the matter? a while ago you said i was irresistible. i still am.
you playing mousie again?
i love it when you've been drinking.
kind of. they share the boxcar with a crowd of other harvest hands. ursula is among them, also dressed like a man. bill gestures out at the landscape.
look at all that space. oweee! we should've done this a long time ago. it's just us and the road now, abby.
elbow room! oweee! give me a chance and i'm going to dance! bill struts around with a napoleonic air, in a white panama hat and gaiters, taking in the vista. under his arm he carries a sword cane with a pearl handle. it pleases him, in this small way, to set himself apart from the rest of toiling humanity. he wants it known that he was born to greater things.
good, very good. where you from, mister?
like to see the other guy. bill helps him to his feet and dusts him off. a tough walks up.
oh yeah? who're you? the tough hits bill across the head with his ax handle.
nothing. she is a sultry beauty--emancipated, full of bright hopes and a zest for life. her costume does not fool the men. wherever she goes they ogle her insolently.
how much you paying?
who're you kidding? bill mills around. they have no choice but to accept his offer.
you don't need to say it like that. benson ignores this remark but dislikes bill from the first.
yo, beevo!
ready? she giggles her consent. he crushes her in a bear hug until she is just on the verge of passing out, then lets her go. she sinks to the grass, in a daze of sweet intoxication.
you're all i've got, abby. no, really, everything i ever had is a complete piece of garbage except you.
sometimes i think you don't like men.
didn't you ever learn how to take care of yourself? i told you to keep the gloves on. what can i do if you don't listen? bill presses her wrists against his cheek, ashamed that he can do nothing to shield her from such indignities. in the b.g. a man with a fungo bat hits flies to some men with baseball gloves.
you can't keep on like this.
that bunch? don't compare yourself to them. she flexes her fingers. they seem lame.
you drop off this weak. i can make enough for us both. it was a crime to bring you out here. somebody like you. right now, what i'm doing, i'm just dragging you down. maybe you should go back to chicago. we've got enough for a ticket, and i can send you what i make. he seems a little surprised when she does not reject this idea out of hand. perhaps he fears that if she ever did go back, he might never see her again.
what's the matter? she begins to cry. he takes her in his arms.
i know how you feel, honey. things won't always be this way. i promise.
of him? he's just a. sack of shit.
i want him to. he's the one better be careful.
what're you talking about? that's not fair.
wait a minute.
i guess he meant it. she turns her back to him and goes about picking up the sheaf benson threw down.
he did. ask him. if you can't sing or dance, what do you do in this world? you might as well forget it. ising or dance, what do you do this world? you might as wellu rorget it.
you're getting prettier every day.
depends how people are with me. where's abby? i found her something. he holds out a jar of salve. ursula shrugs.
she mention anything to you about going back? what? ursula has no idea what he is talking about. 47 ext. straw stack - magic hourmost of the workers are fast asleep around the strawplu most of the workers are fast asleep around the strawpile, their bodies radiating out like the spokes of a wheel. a few stay up late to shoot dice in the back of a wagon.
you're tired, that's all. i'm going to find you another blanket.
don't you want to be with me?
i know. i told you though, this is only for a while. then we're going to new york.then we're new york.
then we're there. then we get fixed up.
you should go back.
what's going on? who sent it? she nods up toward the belvedere and sets it down.i
what for? she withdraws with a shrug. she does not appear to relish this duty. bill watches her walk back to the buggy she came down in. benson waits beside it.u
she's the kind wouldn't tell you if your coat was on fire.u
big place here.
got a smoke?
why's that guy dragging an expensive piece of furniture out here? reason i ask is he's going to ruin thefinish and have to strip it.i benson hesitates, uncertain whether he might be divulging a confidence.
what's the matter with him?i benson immediately regrets having spoken so freely. he checks his watch to suggest bill should get back to work. this uneasiness confirms bill's sense that chuck is gravely ill.
this is all i could find. you feeling better? what'd he want? they look at each other.
tell him you'll stay.
you know i love you, don't you? abby yes. abby guesses what is going through his mind, and it shocks her.
what else can we really do? i know how you feel, but we keepon this way, in five years we'll be washed up. he catches a stick drifting by and throws it further down stream.
you ever think about all those ladies parading up and downu michigan avenue? bunch of whores! you're better than anyi of them. you ever think how they got where they are? he wants to breathe hope into her. he thinks of himself as responding to what she needs and secretly wants. when she does not answer he gives up with a sigh.
let's forget it.
we weren't meant to end up like this. at least you weren't. you could be something. i've heard you sing. you have a lot of fine qualities that need to come out. ursula, too. what.u kind of people is she meeting up with, riding the rods? the girl's never had a clean shot-- never will. she oughta be in school.
but i do. you know i do. this just shows how much. we're shiti out of luck, abby. people need luck. what're you crying about? oh, don't tell me. i already know. all on account of your unhappy life and all that stuff. well, we gotta do something about it, honey. we can't expect anybody else to. abby runs into the woods.u
always the lady! well, you don't know how things work in this country. this is why every hunkie i ever met is going nowhere. why do you want to make me feel worse than i already do?
you people get hold of the guy that's passing out dough, givei him my name, would you? i'd appreciate it.
he's singing.
he might be singing to god. they look at each other and smile. it does not appear that she has held what he said by the river against him. bill stands for a moment and looks up at the belvedere before passing on. 65 ext. separator, last sheaves, rats work goes on the next day. as they near the last sheaves of unthreshed grain, hundreds of rats burst out of hiding. the harvesters go after them with shovels and stones. the dogs chase down the ones that escape.
if she wants to.
she's the one has to say. you put aspirin in this?
keep them.
sunny jim, look at this. my first ice cream in six months. and the lady even asks do i want sprinkles on top, thank you. big, deep dish of ice cream. you couldn't pay me to leave this place, got you one, too. you should've heard the line i had to give her, though. oowee!
great.
for as long as i can remember, people been giving me a hard time about one thing or another. don't you start in, too!
we don't have to decide anything final now. just if we're going to stay. you never have to touch him if you don't feel like it. minute you get fed up, we take off. worst that can happen is we had it soft for a while.
or else we can forget it. i'm not going to spend the whole afternoon on this, though. that i'm not going to do.
i told her, "none of my business urs, i just hope you're not rolling around with some redhead is all." she looks me over. "why?" she says, "what've you guys got that redheads don't?" i pity that kid. ursula runs up and throws herself tearfully into abby's arms.
what's the matter? what'd he do? bill starts off after the train. 87 ext.-"sheep power" abby tends a washing machine driven by a sheep on a treadmill. chuck watches from the front steps of the belvedere.
i like to gamble, and i like to win. i make no bones about it. got to where the guys on throop street wouldn't even lag pennies with me on account of i was such a winner. i'm starting out level with you, you understand.
yeah. we've been together since we were kids. you like her, don't you? she likes you, too. chuck looks down, feeling transparent in the pleasure he takes at this news.
i never really thought he would.
before i did. you cold? abby is shivering. bill takes off his jacket and slips it over her shoulders.
what're you thinking?
who'd know but you and me?
that's it, ab. that's all that matters, isn't it?
but to give him what he wants more than anything? two, threei months of sunshine? he'll never get to enjoy his money anyway. what're you talking about? we'd be showing him the first good times of his life.
you know what they're going to stick on his tombstone? "born like a fool, worked like a mule." two lines. abby cannot say the proposal is devoid of principle. the idea of easing chuck's imminent death gives them just the shade of a good motive. this would be a trade.
listen, the man's got one foot on a banana peel and the other on a roller skate. what can i say? we'll be gone before thei president shows up. he straightens his coat and smooths back his hair, to make her smile, without success. bill hey, i know how you feel. ii hey, i know how you feel. i feel just as bad. like i was sticking an icepick in my heart. makes me sick just to think about it! heart. makes me sick just to
i know. we're in quicksand, though. we stand around, it's going to suck us down like everybody else. somewhere along the line you have to make a sacrifice. lots of people want to sit back and take a piece without doing nothing. he waits to see how she will respond. half of him wants her to turn him down flat. abby is bewildered.
you don't have to. i hate it when i see you stooped over and them looking at your ass like you were a whore. i personally feel ashamed! i want to take a .45 and let somebody have it. we got to look on the bright side of this, ab. year from today we got a chinese butler and no shit from anybody. some people need more'n they have, some have more'n they need. it's just a matter of getting us all together. i don't even know if i believe what i'm saying, though. i feel like we're on the edge of a big cliff. abby looks at the ground for a moment, then nods.
i love you more than ever. i always will. i couldn't do this unless i loved you.
what for? don't be any more of a pain in the neck than you gotta be, okay? she swings at him with her fist. he pushes her away._
you think i like this? i'm doing it for her!
still think so? she throws a rock at him and runs off. he catches her, repenting of his meanness.
i know you can't understand this, but there's nothing i want except good things for abby and you. go ahead and hit me back. she hesitates a second, then slaps him as hard as she can. blood glistens on his lip. he does not say a word in protest. she looks at the wound, horrified, then throws her arms tight around him.
we'll go back.
you know why i like him? he minds his business and isn't full of baloney. chuck turns to abby and, for nearly the first time, smiles.
stand back. get the women and children someplace safe. chuck, feeling it would be wrong not to enter the spirit of the occasion, does his imitation. the likeness is astonishing. abby wipes a bit of food off his chin with her napkin. bill drums on the table with his spoon.
how'd you get along so long without a woman? chuck shrugs. ursula makes a gesture as though to say by masturbating. chuck does not see it. billy laughs. abby slaps her. the rabbit jumps out of the way.
all right, okay, nobody's hungry anymore. what's the worst thing you ever did, chuck? besides missing church and that kind of stuff. chuck thinks about this.
if you went that far, he must've deserved it. what else?
well, you're the boss, right? that's how it works. got to make decisions on the spot. anyway, this guy-what's his name?--if i know his kind, which i do, he's probably doing okay for himself, got a hand in somebody else's pocket for a change. is that all?
he wants to know. i'm not going to count setting blackie's on fire either. he had it coming. bill once i punched a guy while he was asleep. chuck looks surprised. bill glances at abby, worried that he might have said too much.
i was just kidding. actually a guy i know did, though.
yeah. i think so. chuck gets up to ring for miss carter. bill looks him up and down. chuck, though older, is physically more imposing.
get serious. i can win money with him. she licks his ear. he laughs.
you still believe in santa claus. bill closes his eyes as he feels the soft fur of the rabbit. ursula looks around to make sure chuck is gone, then wings a roll at bill. it bounces off his forehead. he retaliates with a pat of butter.
i got no right to.
i haven't worked hard enough to deserve it. i been goofing off.i
give it to charity or something. don't worry. i always know to look out for myself, because ifi i don't, who will? see what i'm driving at? chuck sees a sense of honor at work in bill here, and though he considers the gesture misguided and a little grand, admires him for it.
you okay?
i appreciate everything you've done for abby. i really do. you've given her all the things she always deserved. i got to admit you have. chuck looks off, embarrassed but oddly pleased. bill snatches up a handful of weeds and smells them.
you liking it here? feel good? feels good to feel good. he smiles, satisfied that he has done well by her, and lets a new ball slip down his pant leg to replace the one he played.
you shag them, not those dogs. they might choke or run off with them.
listen, some day all this is going to be mine. or half is. somebody like that, you want to get on his good side, not give him a lot of gas. you want to do what he says. he steps off a few paces of his future kingdom and draws a deep breath.
this reminds me of where i came from. i left when i was six. that's when i met your sister. he looks at the land with a new sense of reverence. he snatches up a handful of grass and rolls it between his palms.
i can't wait to go back to chicago, bring them down for a visit. blackie and them. there's a lot of satisfaction in showing up people who thought you'd never amount to anything. i'd really like to see this place run right. i got a lot of ideas i'd like to try out.
i met a few i was wrong on, then. suddenly they hear chuck's footsteps. they pull back just in time, abby returning the cigarette to him behind her back. they chat as though nothing had happened.
i have a headache. i probably should've worn a hat. abby rolls her eyes at this improvisation. no sooner does chuck turn his back than bill's hand darts out to touch her breast. he snatches it away a moment before chuck turns back. together they walk into the living room.
you ever see anybody out here?
how often do you get into town?
you're kidding. he must be kidding.
relaxation. look at the girls. opportunity to see how other folks live. chuck looks at him blankly. none of these reasons seems to carry much weight for him. bill turns to abby.
somebody is nuts. i don't know whether it's him or me, but somebody is definitely nuts.
maybe i should help you. he follows her back into the kitchen, where he starts to kiss her. she pushes him away and turns to making the tea.
why not? i'm just seeing what kind of material it's made of. chuck one spoonful. bill walks around absentmindedly, inspecting chuck's things, stealing whatever catches his fancy. a book, a paperweight, a bell--things he does not really want and has no use for. his conscience is clear, however; the sacrifices they are making excuse these little sins. as chuck walks in, bill has pocketed a candlestick.
just walked in through the door, like any other white man. on the bureau he finds a pistol. he aims it out the window. all this will soon be theirs!
smith and wesson. you ought to see one of these plow into a watermelon. she holds a hairbrush out for him to see. he looks it over and gives it back without comment. he finds a stain on the tabletop.
somebody's been staining this fake inlay with a water glass. actually i don't blame them. he walks around trying out more of chuck's appurtenances. abby, caught up, models a shawl before an imaginary mirror. she blows a kiss at herself.
the bed should be over next to the window. where the view is. bill is already making plans for life after chuck's demise.
maybe we build on a balcony. first the birds go. the peacocks are crowing outside. they burst out laughing. bill checks the mussed bedsheets.
why not? look, i know you've got urges. it wouldn't be right if you didn't. abby stands up, angry.
lower your voice.
i bet he enjoys looking at you in this.
he likes it, too, is what i'm saying.
i see.
that's your problem. abby puts on her wedding bracelet and admires it. bill softens at the sight of her beauty, properly adorned.
i told you someday we'd be living in style. when this whole thing is over i'm going to buy you a necklace with diamonds as big as that. he holds out the tip of his little finger. they laugh, as though they suddenly felt the absurdity of all this make-believe.
you're cute. maybe a shade too cute. she touches his face sympathetically, as though to say that she knows the pain this was causing him.
what're you talking about?
nice fall day.
watcha doing?
listen, i had a great idea. let's spend christmas in chicago. break up the old routine. rhino's never been to a baseball game or a horse race. i know guys one month off the boat that have. don't even speak the english language, but they eat it right up. you're just a young guy, rhino; you oughta be running around raising hell. no offense to the little woman. he bows apologetically to abby. she pinches a dead leaf off a plant.
did you, sis? well, there's always something doing. i can't begin to tell you. state and madison? mmmm. lights everywhere. you'd love it.
rough? listen, you can't walk down the street without somebody reaching in your pocket! you've got to keep your coat like this and poke them away.
doctor said he took it out, but i never saw it. hurt like a bastard. you got no idea how it hurt. suddenly he worries this might discourage chuck from going.
they won't mess with you, though. big fella like you. i can see it now. he offers a taste of the talk chuck is like to provoke on the street corners.
"hey, hey, hey. who's this here, fresh out of the african jungle, moving down the sidewalk with a whowhowho, taking ten feet at a step and making all the virgins run for cover? why, it's big rhino, the king of beasts. he walks, he talks, he sucks up chalk." bill steps back and sees, as though for the first time, how imposing chuck really is.
you are big, aren't you? sunny jim! you must've had a real moose for an old lady.
so what do you say? what a sorry outfit! bunch of old ladies. you better stay behind. your mammas'd probably get upset. but when the time comes, i'm out of here. hit the road, toad! ursula passes the sandwiches around until there is just one left, miss carter's. while the others are talking, she scoops up a handful of dirt and pours it into the middle. bill, lighting a cigarette, notices chuck's hand on abby's.
ever seen a match burn twice?
that's old. chuck starts to cough. bill looks at abby, then whips the handkerchief out of his pocket and puts it over his nose, as though to keep from getting chuck's germs. miss carter's face goes blank as she bites into her sandwich. she jumps up and rushes back into the house. chuck frowns. bill glares at ursula, then turns to chuck and, referring to the dead prairie grass which runs through the front yard right up to the house, continues:
you ever thought of putting in some fescue here? some fescue grass? of course, it might not take in this soil. chuck stands up and winds a stole, a long religious scarf, around his neck.
i still have a little of this sore throat. where you going, though?
what's the necktie for? or does it just come in handy?
i try and try.
splendid people make you nervous.
a guy ate a brick on a bet. must of busted it up first with a hammer. guy in new york city. where else? anybody want to bet me i can't stick this knife in that post? nobody takes him up on this. abby leafs through the sears catalogue, her mind dancing with visions of splendor.
mmmm. but i love you.
this one night. he toes a sodden old shoe.
hey, i found a shoe. 164 shoe, coyotes, scarecrow - day for night the shoe gleams in the moonlight. coyotes yelp from the hilltops. a scarecrow spreads its arms against the sky. the waving fields of wheat have given way to vast reaches of cleanly shaven stubble, stained with purple morning glories. odd, large stakes are planted among them.
you want me to spin you around? she nods okay. he takes her by the hands and spins her around the way he used to--until they go reeling off, too dizzy to stand.
suppose we woke up tomorrow and it was a thousand years ago. i mean, with all we know? electricity, the telephone, radio, that kind of stuff. they'd never figure out how we came up with it all. maybe they'd kill us. she looks at him, and they laugh.
you sleepy?
you like it?
kiss me, then.
how do you know it was him?
you didn't understand my question. they walk back to the buggy. ursula holds up a dead snake she found on the tracks.
that was the president, shortie. wake up. bill watches chuck help abby into the buggy. she is laughing about something or other. his hand lingers for a moment on hers. she does not brush it aside, as once she might have, but to bill's dismay, presses it against her breast. chuck seems to have breathed a hope into her that he, bill, was never able to.
nothing.
no.
who said i was mad?
can't i be alone once in a while without everybody getting all worked up?
you can't keep your hands off him these days.
you know.
how about the other night? i saw you, abby. the other night by the tracks? if only you wouldn't lie! really, there's some things about you i'm never going to understand.
i can't stand it any more. it's just too degrading. you and him. why do i have to spell it out? i thought it would be all over in a month or two. guy might go another five years. we've got to clear out, abby. they stare at each other in silence for a moment.
what?
why stay? go ahead and tell me! i'm standing here. bill trembles with shock and anger. the buffalo cast aware glances at them.
i'm telling you i can't stand it.
you're getting to like him, aren't you?
would it? so what's it matter to somebody in his shape? in fact you're just leaving us one way out.
you watch and see.
don't you believe in being honest?
did you ever tell abby the buffalo help keep up the grass?
she likes to draw. maybe some paints. nothing too expensive-- she might want to exchange it. maybe a coat. she likes to show off sometimes. she's sweet that way.
that's how they are. they like to make you work for it. i couldn't ever figure out why. sometimes you can't go wrong, though. you know that one abby showed you a picture of? elizabeth? i took her cherry.
actually, i didn't, but i could have. the point i'm making is you've got to understand how they operate. get them thinking you can take it or leave it, you're usually okay. suddenly the dogs stop rigid, on point. at chuck's hiss they sink into the grass. bill looks at chuck's exposed back. nobody would know. it could be made to seem like a hunting accident. he cocks the hammer of his shotgun. his heart pounds wildly. chuck talks in a low voice to the dogs. chuck all right, put them up, girl. the dogs rise and inch toward the birds, as slowly as the minute hand of a clock. all at once the quail explode out of hiding. bill jumps at the noise. chuck fires twice. two birds fall. the retriever notes where. chuck turns around.
they caught me off guard.
they surprised me again. chuck sends a retriever after the fallen birds, then--in an unprecedented gesture-he puts his arm over bill's shoulder to comfort him, like an older brother.
you like to box?
just wondering. i got a pair of gloves i brought with me. bill feels oddly better, as though chuck had backed down.
that's what she calls you? 'chickie?' he gets up, his nostrils flaring with anger. chuck thinks this indignance is on his behalf.
don't let her fool you, too. she warms up to whoever says please and thank you.
you really want to know? he would like chuck to know the truth but does not want theresponsibility for revealing it. he must find out by accident. luckily they are interrupted as ursula runs up, pointing over her shoulder. a pair of three-wing airplanes sputters into view low overhead. one seems to be having engine trouble.
you. hear that? he called me 'sir.' in their gaiety he carelessly puts a hand on abby's leg.
look what i traded off those clowns. for a bushel of corn! she draws him by the arm behind a wall. she is trembling with fear.
chickie you mean? so what?
what for? why're you so worried what he thinks?
did i? well, it never would've come up if you hadn't led him on. led chickie on!
why's this guy still hanging on like a goddamn snapping turtle? because of you. boy, this was a great idea. right up there with lincoln going down to the theater, see what's on!
don't give me that. when a guy's getting screwed, he's got a right to holler.
what?
i heard what you said.
you've gone sweet on him. you have, haven't you? abby hesitates. bill throws his knife away.
broad shoulders. i know. very high morals. why can't he talk faster? it's like waiting for a hen to lay an egg.
what's going on between us, abby? think about that. if you figure it out, tell me, will you? i'd appreciate it. lord, but you do come on! you talking like this, used to play around right under his nose. somebody i met in a bar, remember? or maybe you walked in, thought it was a church. well, i've had it.i'm clearing out. you understand? they look at each other for a moment.
okay. he looks at her for a moment. he cannot be dealt with this way. he turns and walks off.
i'm going away for a while. they're giving me a lift.
i'm wearing one of your shirts. let me take it off for you.
i got my own. just wasn't any clean today. bill takes off the shirt, drapes it over a post and walks off, hurt and angry, but with a sad dignity. chuck is not entirely sorry to see him go, nor is abby; she knows that he is getting out just in time. one more episode like last night's and the fuse would hit the powder.
we get split up for any reason, you spend that on school.
i can't seem to get my mind on anything. i thought, when i came off that place, boy, they'd better get all the women out of town that day, you know? somewhere safe. but you know what i do? i sleep, nothing but sleep. a panhandler approaches them with a hard-luck story.
how's everybody been?
thanks. and chuck?
actually i didn't mean it that way. i came back to help out with the harvest. he feels humiliated at not having a stronger excuse. but he loves her. he aches with love. he hoped their last fight was just another storm in the romance. evidently it was more.
i thought about you a lot. wrote you a letter, but it was no good, so i tore it up.
train. he looks her up and down.
nice dress.
this is new, too.
great.
okay. they are silent for a moment. bill senses that nobody except ursula is really glad to see him back.
still hasn't wised up. know what i mean? he asked how you were doing, though. i told him. ran into sam, too. he'd been in a fight.
his nose was like this. he pushes his nose to one side. ursula and abby laugh.
has she asked you anything about me?
why not?
i can be the judge of that.
nobody has to know but us chickens. what do i have to say to convince you? you tell me, i'll say it.
nothing. she giggles and kisses him back. but guilt has caught up with him. he cannot go ahead.
i should've gone in the church, like my father was after me to.
how you been doing?
we don't talk so much these days.
i said a lot of stupid things before i went off.
you've forgiven me?
what're you worried about? she takes a swig. he laughs. she laughs back.
so how'm i doing with you?
what's happened? she shrugs, disengaging her hand to brush aside her hair. she is painfully aware of his suffering but doesn't have the heart to tell him how it all is.
i probably ought to leave. i will.
where you going? he reaches out to catch her. she breaks away and starts to run. he walks quickly after her, cutting off any escape toward the town.
i'm not going to hurt you. i only want to talk with you. she stops and hides her face in her hands. he gently pulls them away.
i didn't come back to make trouble for you. i guess we were fooling each other to think it could last. i mean, what was i offering youanyhow? a ride to the bottom. looking at you now, in the right clothes and everything, i see how crazy i was and--well, i understand. it's okay. i sort of cut my own throat, actually. her eyes close and her legs give in. bill lets her go and backs off a step in surprise. she sinks to the ground, as though in a trance.
how'd we let it happen, abby? we were so happy once. why didn't we starve? i love you so much. what have1 done? you're so beautiful. what have i done? he touches his lips for a fraction of a second to hers, notices another car approaching down the road. he picks her up like a doll and carries her back to the overland.
i've been looking for you. i have to take off again, real soon here, and.  chuck puts a hand on bill's shoulder, stopping him. they look at each other for a moment, then he passes on. bill seems puzzled.
come on. they might still lift. hey, i've seen a wind like this lay down and die. don't give up now.
what're you doing? watch it! what're you, crazy? there's still a chance, don't you see? chuck goes to his horse. bill grabs him by the sleeve. does he really mean to set the fields on fire? chuck pushes him aside. bill, frantic, turns to the others for support.
stop him, or it's all going up. they, however, are too uncertain of their ground to intervene. chuck turns on bill.
what's got into you? they stare at each other. bill backs off like a cat, sensing chuck knows the truth, but at a loss to understand how he could.
what're you doing? this is a bad place to talk he throws his coat over abby's head, picks her up by the waist and crashes through the flame. they have to shout to make themselves understood. the locusts roar like a cyclone.
did you see that? he was trying to burn me. what's got into him?
a whole year's work. all wasted! these bugs, once they make up their minds.  bill stalls. the fire races toward them through the wheat. they appear as silhouettes against it.
i need to get out of here. i think you probably should, too. hell of a life. damned if you do and damned if you don't. he leaves. abby wonders if she ought to run after him.
who do you think you are? now you've ruined it. what's got into you?
why do i have to tell you? i can come and go when i like. this is still a free country, last i heard. bill stops when he sees the stool. chuck calmly strops the razor on his stirrup flap. there are no secrets now.
what can i say? too late for apologies. you've got a right to hate me. chuck puts the razor away and advances on bill with the stool.
i want to leave. you won't ever see me again. i already got what i deserve. there is nothing bill can say to appease him. this will be a fight to the death. chuck lashes out with the stool. bill ducks too late.
watch it! chuck comes at him again. bill throws a punch, but chuck blocks it and knocks him down again with the stool. bill reels back and cracks his head on the bicycle frame. this time he stays down. satisfied the struggle is over, chuck goes back to get some rope.
should i pull it out? chuck puts his finger over the end of the spoke. blood seeps out the side of his mouth, like sap from a broken stem.
i better get somebody. he tries to catch the reins of chuck's horse, but it shies out of reach, its conscience repelled. he looks back at chuck in anguish. what has he done?
you were my friend.
get a doctor! fast! how much did he see? bill does not stay to find out but takes off running, though not without first collecting his rabbit. benson, meanwhile, bounds down the hill to chuck's side. his left sleeve has been burned away. the flesh beneath is the color of a raw steak.
probably. abby stands in the door. she is reluctant to leave, though she knows they must.
get in. she notices that bill's lip is cut, his shirt soaked with blood.
had an accident. she looks at him for a moment, not quite trusting this explanation. the engine catches with a noise like start- led poultry. bill gets behind the wheel. just as they are pulling out of the garage, ursula runs up, black as coal from battling the fire all night.
we got in a jam. you'll be safer here. say we're headed for town. take care of the rabbit, too. he's yours now.
just do what i say. why're you always arguing about everything? wait here till we get in touch. bill gives ursula his wallet and a kiss. abby gives her a hug.
i used to want a set-up like that. something like that, i thought, and you'd really have it made. now i don't care. i just wish we could always live this way. he sees that her mind is somewhere else. he wants to tell her the truth about chuck, for intimacy's sake, but it would just put more of a cloud over everything. it might even cause her to hate him.
maybe you want to write him a letter.
you really do love him, don't you? she does not reply.
you want to go back?
guess it's you and me again.
keep down. can't explain now. they're here.
don't get shot. look for me under that next bridge down. after dark. he empties out the contents of his pockets -- a watch, a couple of dollars in change, a ring -- and slaps them down in front of her. the police fan out along the ridge above them. he jams a flare pistol into his belt and kisses her goodbye--after a moment's hesitation -- on the cheek. she tries in vain to hold him back.
i wish i could tell you how much i love you.