A Free Soul Page #6

then come along quick.

- Maybe one, three minutes.

- All right.

Hey, if you're gonna let that dame

come and go as she likes...

...you might as well hang up.

- Look out for things. I may not be back.

- Listen.

Cut it.

Sure. I know who's the boss.

Save it for her.

Boss coming right up.

Oh, he all on fire, glad.

He no like them, nobody,

like him like you.

- Can I depend on that?

- Sure, I watch him.

You know, one time, girl named Nellie

say she like strawberry for breakfast.

All right, I catch a strawberry.

Breakfast time come, no Nellie.

Oh, boss, he cross. Very, very cross.

- So he threw Nellie out, hm?

- Sure, sure.

Oh, boss. I run to market,

catch some strawberry.

All on fire, glad?

Well, how are you?

I'll go into that in a minute

if you'll tell me you're glad to see me.

You are glad, aren't you?

- Think you're quite a gal, don't you?

- It doesn't matter what I think.

Well, you can cut out the kidding, Jan.

You used to get away with that.

I figured it was your language

over my head.

Well, we're gonna talk mine now.

All right, Ace.

Sit down. Take your time.

I made a bargain with my father, Ace. I

didn't know how it was going to turn out.

Well, what was the bargain?

That if he'd stop drinking,

I'd never see you again.

It wasn't easy,

but there wasn't anything else to do.

I had to try.

You thought

you'd take three months in the woods.

- Try to forget about me. I figured that.

- Figured what?

- I told him I wanted to marry you.

- You did what?

- Cut that. Cut it now and leave it lay.

- Cut what?

I suppose he asked you to take it on

the run and get me out of your system.

- Please, don't do that, I don't like it.

- No?

- Got me confused with Nellie, haven't you?

- I haven't got you confused with anybody.

You came here because you wanted to. You

were as crazy about me as I am about you.

- That's right, but why so ugly about it?

- You left me flat, explained nothing.

Because a drunken tramp

said I wasn't good enough.

- Ace, how dare you.

- Sit down and take it and like it.

Listen. There ain't anyone in your tribe

good enough to call me a mongrel.

You must have listened to him or you

wouldn't have left me that way. Flat.

Explain to you why I left you?

But I am beginning to wonder

why I took the trouble.

Oh, yeah? I'll settle all this.

Hello, Bill speaking.

- Get Harrington.

- Should have come straight to me.

Hello?

Hello. Harrington?

Get Tom Wills on the phone.

- Give him my number. Tell him to call me.

- Okay.

- Right away.

- Okay.

You make no more bargains, sweetheart,

with anybody but me.

We get married in the morning.

Wills is a justice of the peace.

- So we're going to get married, eh?

- Yup.

And it'll be just too bad for anybody

that tries to stop this. Just too bad.

Why, the way I love you,

there's nothing left to think about.

It ain't polite,

but it's what you want.

Maybe not everything,

but you could live without the rest.

You can't live without me.

That's why you came back here.

You had to.

That's all marriage is.

Just two people that wanna live together.

You can call the rest just nothing.

You're through.

You're mine and I want you.

That's the kind of a marriage

that I've always dreamed about.

And don't worry about your old man either.

Drunks like that never come back.

- That's consoling.

- That's a break.

He'll stop chasing around in circles.

No man's thinking straight

when his liver's shot.

From now on, you listen to me.

We get married in the morning.

Said he:

"And suddenly

the moonbeams turned to worms...

...and crawled away. "

Yeah, in an hour from now,

you'll change your silly mind about that.

Who was it called you "mongrel"?

The great Stephen Ashe, darling.

The great Stephen Ashe.

Messed his own life.

He'll do the same with yours.

Nice, good boss.

She come back again, huh?

Yup. We're going to be married

in the morning.

Oh, more better. I exceeding happy.

I go get her breakfast. Strawberry?

Yup, we're going to celebrate.

Come on, let's see what's on ice.

Your stuff's still hanging

in the closet, baby.

Make yourself comfortable.

Gee, you look good to me.

How you coming, baby?

Jan?

Jan?

Where are you?

Here I come, boss.

Tomorrow, you get all fixed-up nice wife...

Yeah?

Oh, Wills? Ace. Yeah.

I want you to be ready to marry me

at 10 in the morning.

Yeah.

Well, save the kidding till it's over.

Ten o'clock. Right.

Is that you, Dwight?

Yes, I came as fast as I could.

In case I die, I wanted to see you.

Any reason's good.

- You're not quitting, are you?

- You never can tell.

I'm as weary of the world

as it is of me.

Sit down.

Jan's back.

- How is she?

- I didn't see her.

Helen met her. Insulted her.

She went away. I can't get her back.

- I don't blame her.

- Want me to try?

You love her, don't you?

Nothing but the truth.

I wish I could say no. But I do.

She's a poor little devil, Dwight.

The only Ashe worth a nickel, except me.

And my engine's rusty.

Heigh-ho.

She's had no chance, Dwight.

What can I do?

Marry her.

I'd tie her up and do it

if I thought it would work.

Don't hold anything against her, Dwight.

I don't know anything against her.

Not a thing in the world.

Stephen was too smart.

Too smart.

Come here, nurse, quickly.

Come in.

- Good morning, Eddie.

- Morning, Jan.

I just seen Ace Wilfong.

Coming here?

Can't tell. Maybe they're gonna try

and kidnap somebody, or, you know.

- He's coming up here, Eddie.

- Maybe not.

I just came up to ask

if you'd heard anything about the chief.

You came up here

because you thought Ace was coming.

Oh, no.

You don't have to see him.

It's all right.

Now, wait a minute.

Eddie.

Wait a minute, Eddie.

Shouldn't send a boy to do a man's job.

- I'm sorry, Eddie. Are you hurt?

- It's all right.

Just took me by surprise, that's all.

- All right, you big lug.

- Are you ready?

Go on outside, Eddie. I'll be all right.

I'm staying right here.

No, thanks, Eddie.

Thanks just the same, but I'll

be all right. You go on out.

I'll take a walk with you

anytime you want.

And I'll be right outside.

Ready?

- Ready for what?

- We're getting married.

- Did you forget?

- Take your hands off me.

I was frightened last night.

I was very tired. I had a bad time.

But you can't really frighten me, Ace.

- No?

- No.

Getting kind of ritzy this morning, eh?

I'm not lying to myself about you and me.

I thought I had the right

to do anything I liked.

I didn't know till last night

what I was really doing to myself.

What a beast you were

when the surface was scratched.

I found out that only swine

should travel with swine.

You're talking to the man you love.

It makes me sick

to even hear you say the word.

I've lost the right ever again to think

of what love can be or what it means.

Marry you?

For the rest of my life, can't wash

the filthy mark of you out of my soul.

That's what I think of you.

And now you can go.

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