American Outlaws Page #7

Frank laughs as Cole raises the shovel to strike Jesse.

FRANK:

Oh, Lord, the dance hall girl at

Bunty's...

COLE:

Sadie was not a man!

JESSE:

She had a moustache.

COLE:

She was European!

JESSE:

All right, calm down. I'll agree

Sadie was a woman --

Jesse and Frank swallow their laughs.

JESSE (CONT'D)

-- if you stop saying things about

my Zee.

FRANK:

Your Zee? Hmm.

(quoting)

"From women's eyes this doctrine I

derive:
they sparkle still the right

Promethean fire; They are the books,

the arts, the academes, that show,

contain, and nourish all the world."

COLE:

I have no idea what you just said,

but it sounded real nice.

FRANK:

Shakespeare.

(pause)

He's European.

COLE:

Ah.

JESSE:

You want to write that down for me

so I can say it to Zee?

The post finally drops straight into the hole. Jesse and

Cole shrug into shirts and grab a pitcher of lemonade.

JESSE (CONT'D)

Thanks for the help.

COLE:

After all you did on our farm?

(sips, then)

You miss it, don't you Jesse?

JESSE:

The war? What, are you crazy?

(beat)

There are things I miss about it.

COLE:

It was exciting.

JESSE:

But it was a whole lot of killing.

Why should we miss that?

COLE:

Because we were good at it? Hell,

we were great at it. Jesse, don't

tell anyone I said this, because

everybody knows I'm the toughest man

in this town, but you are one

terrifying sonofabitch with those

guns.

JESSE:

(regretful, but not)

Yeah.

Frank looks at Jesse thoughtfully. Then all three notice

ANGLE ON:

A BUGGY that stops at the edge of the property. Ma STEPS

OUT onto the porch next to Frank to meet:

A man in a suit, ROLLIN PARKER, and three riders who

dismount and flank Parker: two DETECTIVES and a big Scot

with a beard and no moustache, ALAN PINKERTON. Pinkerton is

wearing a suit and a gun in a high waistband. All four

advance to the house.

PARKER:

Howdy, folks. How are you this

afternoon?

COLE:

"Howdy"?

JESSE:

Easterners.

MA:

We're just fine, thank you, sir.

PARKER:

I am Rollin H. Parker, personal

emissary of Mr. Thaddeus Rains,

president of the Rock Island and

Pacific Railroad. These two

gentlemen are Pinkerton detectives,

working for Mr. Thaddeus Rains,

president of the Rock Island and

Pacific Railroad, and this gentleman

here is the famous Alan Pinkerton,

founder of the Secret Service and

now working under contract to Mr.

Thaddeus Rains.

JESSE:

Would that be Thaddeus Rains,

president of the Rock Island and

Pacific Railroad?

FRANK:

You know him?

JESSE:

Heard of him.

PARKER:

(trying to regain

control)

As you have no doubt heard from

your neighbors, our railroad is

moving west.

JESSE:

That makes sense, as east would put

you underwater.

Pinkerton coughs a laugh. Parker glares at him and

continues.

PARKER:

... moving west, opening the

frontier for folks such as yourself.

Your acreage here is on the proposed

right of way.

Parker produces a piece of paper. Ma takes it.

PARKER (CONT'D)

I'm here for your signature on this

land sales contract. I'm authorized

to pay you two dollars an acre.

MA:

Two dollars?

PARKER:

That's right. That's the price

authorized by the railroad's board,

and approved by the Department of

the Interior of the Government of

the United States of America.

MA:

This land ain't for sale.

Pinkerton steps forward.

PINKERTON:

Ma'am, I can understand how you

might feel that way -- you've made a

lovely home here. But it's really

not up to me or you. Are you

familiar with the legal concept of

the Right of Eminent Domain?

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