High Sierra Page #3

didn't you?

I came from Chicago,

but I'm from Brookfield, Indiana.

Born and went

to school there.

- A little town?

- Yeah.

- I knew it.

- My folks got a farm.

I said to Ma out there in the desert,

you was our kind.

Yes, sir, I can tell them every time.

- Say, Pa?

- Yeah?

Excuse me, I suppose it's none

of my business...

...but what's wrong

with Velma's foot?

It's a clubfoot.

She was born that way.

Can't nothing be done?

A doctor said she could be operated...

...but the last few years I've been

so broke, we couldn't.

We hurried with the dishes. We

knew Pa would be talking your ear off.

Isn't the air grand out here?

Look at the stars.

I never knew there were

so many in the sky.

Back home you couldn't

see them like that.

It's always like this in the desert.

See that bright, blue star up there?

Look at it sparkle.

Look. You see that other one?

- Where?

- Right there.

- Oh, I see it.

- Yeah. Now, that's Jupiter.

How do you know?

A fella I used to know, he...

He taught me all about the sky.

Where we was,

we didn't have much else to do.

Is that star always up there?

You see different stars

at different times.

They change with the seasons.

Now, look. You see that one

twinkling over there?

Well, that's Venus.

Oh, it makes you dizzy

just looking at them.

Yeah. You know, sometimes,

when you're out in the night...

...and you look up at the stars, you can

almost feel the motion of the Earth.

It's like a little ball that's turning

through the night, with us hanging on to it.

Why, that sounds like poetry, Roy.

It's pretty.

Well, I guess I better be starting.

I got a long drive ahead of me.

Got a business appointment in L.A.

Pa, I sure enjoyed that dinner.

And we sure enjoyed your company.

Don't fail to look us up in Los Angeles.

We might get lonesome.

Especially Velma.

You shouldn't say things like that.

I'm surprised at you.

I declare, the older you get,

the sillier you act.

Oh, Roy understands me.

Me and Roy is old-timers.

- Goodbye.

- Bye.

- Goodbye, Roy.

- Goodbye, Roy.

Lucky girl that gets him.

Come in.

A swell parlay

for you tomorrow, Doc.

Still a sucker for the ponies, eh?

Hello, Roy, old-timer.

Hello, Mac.

You're a sight for sore eyes.

Yeah, I sure am glad to see you too.

Thanks for the spring. I was getting

ready for another crash-out.

- What's the matter, Mac?

- I don't know.

I can't eat. Just ain't hungry.

And I can't sleep.

Doc Banton says it's my past

life catching up with me.

Doc Banton? Is he out here now?

Yeah. I was expecting him

when you came in.

He's running a health service

with a phony name.

Help yourself to a drink.

Well, Roy, how does it look

and what do you say?

I can't see nothing wrong.

If the boys don't blow up on me,

it's a cinch.

But it's gonna make a big

noise in the newspapers.

Well, that's your headache, not mine.

The jewelry, that's all

I'm interested in.

Look, once you get your mitts on it,

keep your mitts on it.

Deliver it right here.

If you're hot, telephone.

This caper means a lot to me.

I spent a pile of dough setting it up,

and I'm in deep.

So don't let me down, Roy.

I never let nobody down.

You know that.

Oh, I know, but I've been dealing

with such a lot of screwballs lately.

Young twerps,

soda jerkers and jitterbugs.

Why, it's a relief just to talk

to a guy like you.

Yeah, all the A-one guys are gone.

Dead or in Alcatraz.

If I only had four guys like you, Roy...

...this knock-over would be a waltz.

Yep, times have sure changed.

Yeah, ain't they?

You know, Mac, sometimes I feel like I

don't know what it's all about anymore.

Yeah, times have sure changed.

Hide the booze. Hide the booze.

- Well, hello. Hello, Mac.

- Hello, Doc.

Look who's here.

Well, I'll be.

Roy Earle, the old boy himself.

Hello, Doc.

Last time I saw you, I was taking

slugs out of Lefty Jackson's chest.

- Yeah, that's right.

- Oh, those were the times.

- Not many of the old bunch left.

- Oh, cut it out.

Mac tells me you're doing

all right, Doc.

This is the land of milk and honey

for the health racket.

Every woman in California thinks she's

too fat or too thin or too something.

Well...

...same dosage, same medicine.

Need a new prescription? No.

- Well, good night, Mac.

- Good night, Doc.

He's in a bad way, old Mac.

Bum ticker, kidneys on the blink...

...bad stomach. Like a kid's toy

that's running down.

I try to keep him from drinking,

but there's no stopping him.

He'll go on doing

just as he always has done.

- Well, maybe he's right.

- Say, Doc.

- Yeah?

- There's something I wanted to ask you.

- Yeah?

- Can anything be done about a clubfoot?

Well, some can be operated

and some can't. Why?

Well, a good friend of mine's got

a granddaughter. She's a nice girl.

One time, a doctor told her old man

that an operation could fix it.

- I was just wondering if...

- Young kid, is she?

- Well, she's about 20, I guess.

- Oh, 20.

I see. Well, my advice, Roy,

is to forget all about her foot.

- Now, look, Doc, I ain't kidding.

- Well, I'll have to see her.

Will you take a look at her?

Sure, but you understand

I can't do any operating...

...but I can get you someone who will.

It'll cost you plenty, though.

- Okay, Doc. I'll give you a ring.

- Good. Do that, Roy.

And I'll make you a present

of my fee for old times' sake.

- Good night.

- Good night, Doc.

Roy.

- I don't know, Mac, the...

- Yeah, I do.

There. Now I feel better.

That's the works.

Now, if anything should happen to me...

...read this letter,

and you'll know what to do.

As the doc told you, if I don't lay off

this stuff, it's gonna knock me off...

...but I'm gonna die anyhow.

So are you. So are we all.

To your health, Roy.

- Hello, Roy.

- Hello, Pa.

Glad to see you.

This is Doc, Mr. Parker,

of the Nu-Health Institute.

- Proud to meet you.

- How do you do?

- He's an expert, knows his stuff.

- Oh, yeah?

After you called up I spoke to them,

and I think I've got Velma on my side...

...but Ma is against it.

You'll have to excuse the way things

look. We're getting straightened out.

- Roy, this is Mabel.

- How do you do?

This is her husband, Carl.

This is Mr. Parker, Mabel.

- How do you do?

- Hello, Roy.

Hello, Velma.

Say, I'd like you to meet Mr. Parker.

- How do you do?

- Velma.

You say, Mr. Parker.

Isn't he even a doctor?

I am a specialist.

Seems to me you'd be thankful

somebody's trying to do something.

You've nothing to say about this.

I'm thinking if he isn't even a doctor...

He can look at her.

That won't hurt nothing.

I don't think Velma wants him

to look at her. Do you, dear?

- Well, Pa wants him to. So does Roy.

- Who is this Roy anyway?

You know about Roy.

If it wasn't for him...

Why does he go to trouble to help

strangers? He must have a reason.

Maybe he likes Velma. She ain't

married yet and likely not to be.

- Lf you want my opinion...

- We don't want it.

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