Angels With Dirty Faces Page #9

you gotta have a heart.

I don't think I got one.

I had that cut out of me a long time ago.

Suppose I asked you to have the heart, huh?

- To be scared.

- What do you mean?

Suppose the guards dragged you out of here

screaming for mercy.

- Suppose you went to the chair yellow.

- Yellow?

Say, what's the matter with you?

You've been worrying about my courage.

I know that.

This is a different kind of courage,

Rocky.

The kind that's...

Well, it's born in heaven.

Not the courage of heroics and bravado.

The kind that you and I

and God know about.

I don't know what you mean.

Look, Rocky, just before I came up here,

the boys saw me off on the train.

Soapy and several of the others.

You can well imagine what they told me.

"Father, tell Rocky to show the world

what he's made of.

Tell him not to be afraid...

...and to go out laughing..."

- Well, what do you want?

I'm not gonna let them down.

That's what I want you to do.

I want you to let them down.

See, you've been a hero to these kids and

hundreds of others, all through your life.

Now you're gonna be a glorified hero

in death, and I want to prevent that, Rocky.

They've gotta despise your memory.

They've got to be ashamed of you.

You're asking me to pull an act, turn yellow

so those kids will think I'm no-good?

You're asking me to throw away the only

thing I got left that they can't take away.

To give those newspapers a chance to say,

"Another rat turned yellow."

You and I will know you're not.

You ask a nice little favor, Jerry.

Asking me to crawl on my belly

the last thing I do.

I know what I'm asking.

The reason I'm asking is because

being kids together gave me the idea...

...that you might like to

join hands with me...

...and save some of those other boys

from ending up here.

You're asking too much.

You wanna help those kids...

...figure out some other way.

- It's impossible to do it without your help.

I can't reach all of those boys.

Thousands of hero-worshiping kids

all over the country.

Don't give me that humanity stuff again.

I had enough in the courtroom.

Told everything. Named names.

Told the whole mess.

What more do you want?

What I've always wanted, Rocky.

Straighten yourself out with God.

Outside of that,

I can't ask for anything else.

Well, don't!

It's time, Rocky. Are you ready?

Yeah.

You figure on going in with me?

- I'd like to, Rocky. That is, if...

- You can if you wish.

- Do you mind, Father?

- Certainly not.

That's better. Be kind of lonesome

going down that last mile.

Promise me something.

Promise me you won't let me

hear you pray.

I promise you won't hear me.

Get away from me, screw,

or I'll bust your face in.

It'll be the last face you see, big shot,

laughing at you.

Don't get near me now.

I'll spit in your eye.

Herbert, stand back.

Thompson, take care of him.

Lay off.

I don't need anybody. Come on.

Attaboy, Rocky.

Pick your own company.

So long, Rocky. We won't be long.

So long, Rocky.

Rocky, please.

No.

So long, kid.

Goodbye, Rocky.

May God have mercy on you.

No. I don't want to die!

Oh, please!

I don't want to die!

Oh, please!

Don't make me burn in hell!

Oh, please let go of me!

Please don't kill me!

Oh, don't kill me, please!

Okay, hold him down there!

Please don't kill me!

The yellow rat was gonna

spit in my eye.

"At the fatal stroke of 11 p.m., Rocky was

led through the little green door of death.

No sooner had he entered

the death chamber...

...than he tore himself

from the guards' grasp...

...flung himself on the floor,

screaming for mercy.

And as they dragged him

to the electric chair...

...he clawed wildly the concrete floor

with agonized shrieks.

In contrast to his former heroics...

...Rocky Sullivan died a coward."

I don't believe it.

- I don't believe one rotten word of it.

- I don't believe it either.

If anybody says it's true, I'll...

He couldn't die that way, not Rocky!

He couldn't.

It's all lies! Lies, I tell you!

Hey, fellas.

Here's Father Connolly.

Let's ask him. He ought to know.

He'll tell us everything.

You were there, Father.

You saw everything.

What happened?

Did Rocky die like they said?

Like a yellow rat?

It's true, boys. Every word of it.

He died like they said.

All right, fellas.

Let's go and...

...say a prayer for a boy

who couldn't run as fast as I could.

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