Ace in the Hole Page #3

take them out one by one.

Don't try it by yourself.

It's gonna take a lot of figuring.

The way they are now, if one goes,

they'll all go, roof and everything.

I see what you mean. Well, here.

Wrap yourself in this blanket.

And get some of this hot

coffee inside of you.

Thanks, mister.

- Cigar.

- Your wife sent them.

She did? That's funny. She always

beefs when I smoke a cigar.

- Hey, what's your name, mister?

- Charlie Tatum.

Just driving by the trading

post when I heard about it.

Hey, what happened to

those other fellows?

I heard them, but they went away.

Why don't they do something

about getting me out?

Easy, Leo. They'll get you out.

But you know what you just said.

It takes figuring, maybe

some special equipment.

They're not gonna leave

me here overnight?

They'll do it as fast as they

can, but they got to do it right.

Yeah, I know. Only that's

a pretty heavy mountain.

Tell me, Leo. How'd it happen?

I...

I guess I crawled in too far this time.

You've got to, to find a good one.

Back there, it's pretty

well cleaned out.

But I found me a beauty.

Worth 50 bucks any day.

Just then the whole floor

caved in under me.

I guess maybe they didn't

want me to have it.

They? Who are they?

The Indian dead. They're

all around here.

This is a tomb, mister,

with mummies 400 years old.

They used to bury them here

with these jars alongside,

you know, full of corn and wampum.

That's worthwhile

knowing, Leo. Go on.

I...

I guess maybe they've been

watching me all the time

I've been taking things

out of here and got mad.

Bad spirits, huh?

I guess you're gonna laugh

at me, think I'm crazy.

But when you lie down here all by

yourself, you get to thinking.

Do me a favour, will you?

Hold up that jar again.

And look at me.

- Hey, what are you doing?

- Taking your picture.

What for?

- Gonna put it in the paper.

- What kind of paper?

In a newspaper in Albuquerque.

- My picture?

- Certainly.

- Honest?

- Everybody'll want to see how you look.

And I'm gonna write a story.

They'll wanna know all about you.

They'll be pulling for you.

How do you like that?

Me in a paper.

- Let's take another one, Leo.

- Oh, let me wipe my face first.

Hold it.

And don't say anything about

those Indian spirits.

I don't want anybody

to think I'm scared.

Don't worry, Leo. I'm your pal.

I know. That's why

I can talk to you.

Sure, you can.

You know, in the army,

I was plenty scared, too.

Like when my outfit

landed in Italy.

Only in the army, it's different.

There, everybody's scared.

Your barge is gonna land.

You know you're gonna die.

And then a guy starts

singing, soft-like.

Then a guy next to you starts singing.

Pretty soon, you're singing, too.

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla, brawla sooit

Hut-Sut Rawlson

Well, it worked, didn't it?

Nothing happened to you.

Not a thing, except I got

the mumps in Naples.

Well, you light yourself a cigar,

Leo. I gotta say so long.

I certainly wish you could

stay a while longer.

So do I. But there's a lot to do

outside getting things organised.

Well, you wanna get out, don't you?

Looks like it's gonna

be a long night.

None of that. Come on, Leo.

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a...

I said come on now. All together.

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla, brawla sooit

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla sooit

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla, brawla sooit

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla...

The brawla is the boy and girl

The Hut...

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla, brawla sooit

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

And a brawla sooit

Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah

What's the idea?

Have you gone nuts?

Just a couple of pals singing.

What's wrong with that?

I got me some pictures, fan.

Guard them with your life.

Let's get moving.

What happened?

- Aren't you gonna tell me?

- Quiet, Herbie. Quiet.

I'm writing the lead to the story.

- Well, what is the story?

- Big.

As big as they come, I think.

Maybe bigger than Floyd Collins.

- Floyd Collins plus.

- Plus what?

Plus King Tut. You remember

that one, don't you?

The curse of the old Egyptian pharaoh

when they came to rob his tomb?

How's that for an angle?

"King Tut in New Mexico."

"Curse of the old Indian chief.

White man half buried by angry spirits."

"What will they do? Will they

spare him? Will they crush him?"

Give it to me straight, Chuck.

How does it look? Can they get him out?

- Certainly.

- Well, how soon?

I don't know.

Floyd Collins lasted 18 days.

I don't need 18 days.

If I just had one week of this...

- Oh, brother.

- You're kidding, Chuck.

You don't really wish

for anything like that.

I'm not wishing for anything.

I don't make things happen.

All I do is write about them.

- Did you reach him?

- I saw him.

- I talked to him.

- Couldn't you bring him out? Is he alive?

You can be sure of one

thing, we'll get him out.

Today? Tonight?

I'm afraid not. There's nothing

we can do here tonight.

Tomorrow?

As soon as we get an

engineering crew on the job.

And I'm gonna get them, Mr Minosa,

the best. And I'll get that doctor.

And the sheriff, too.

The sheriff's tied up in

Los Barrios until Monday.

- You better talk to me.

- Tied up in Los Barrios, huh?

I'll bet he's at that rattlesnake hunt.

Chances are the doctor, too.

How do you like that? A man

could be dying here, and...

- Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs Minosa.

- I know all about that sheriff.

He stops in every week for a steak

dinner and never picks up the cheque.

He'll be here. They'll all be here.

The sheriff, the doctor,

the engineer.

- You got a phone at the trading post?

- Yeah.

Let's get started. We got a

lot of telephoning to do.

- The phone's inside.

- Okay.

Fill her up, Herbie.

You're going back to town.

All right.

Over there.

There's the doctor's number.

Dr Hilton.

The sheriff's number's there, too.

Oh, that's the sheriff, huh?

Gus Kretzer.

We'll get some action

here. You'll see.

By tomorrow, this

place will be jumping

if I have to call Santa Fe and

get the Governor out of bed.

Oh, would it be too much trouble

to put me up for the night?

Sixty beautiful rooms.

The Escudero Ritz.

What'll it be, ocean

view or mountain view?

Anything. A cot. A couple of

chairs in here will do fine.

Operator? Get me Albuquerque 4923.

- What's the number here?

- Escudero 2.

Escudero 2.

Hello?

Sun-Bulletin? This is Tatum speaking.

Get me Mr Boot, and make it fast.

Mr Boot? Tatum.

No, nothing's wrong.

Quite the contrary.

Uh-uh. I'm in a dreamy

little spot called Escudero

about three hours down the line.

Forget the rattlesnakes.

We got something nicer here.

We got birds, vultures.

Seven of them.

How does this hit you?

"The curse of the mountain

of the seven vultures."

Of course you don't know what I'm

talking about, but I'm gonna tell you.

And wait till you see the pictures.

I'm sending them up with Herbie...

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