Man on a Tightrope Page #4

I don't care.

I know you're the only man

I've ever loved, ever wanted.

And after today,

I know that you

love me, too.

You've got to love me, Joe,

and take me with you.

Terez. The first night

that it's cloudy and

no moon,

I'm gonna try to

slip across the frontier

into the American zone.

Where's the frontier?

We're very near it right now.

We'll be near it for the

next few days.

Why do you

want to do this?

Look at that, Terez.

You know what that is.

It's what is

known as a dog tag.

When my outfit was stationed

near Plymouth in England,

some of us had these things

tattooed on us.

We always felt

it was a great joke.

We said, "Unless

this arm gets blown off,

"they'll always be

able to identify

my grave."

Oh, stop.

What were you

doing in England?

I was in the American army.

You're an American. A spy.

Be a lot better than

what I am, a deserter.

A lousy deserter.

I'm a Czech, Terez. I was

born and brought up here.

Here. And when I was 14,

my father, he saw what

was coming.

Munich. The Nazis.

He got my mother and me

and my little sister

out of the country.

He got us to America.

And he stayed behind

to close up his business.

It was a little

factory near Deroun.

He never got out.

Anyway, while

I was in America,

I learned to think

like an American,

to be an American.

But I was still a Czech.

And I always thought

the day might come

when I could do something

to help liberate my country

and find my father.

The day of liberation did

come, Terez, and I was here.

I asked for a pass to go to

Deroun to look for my father.

They couldn't give it to me

because Deroun was beyond

the Russian lines.

So I thought,

"Why not go AWOL

for just a few days?"

It was easy to get

civilian clothes then.

Everything was confused.

When I got to Deroun,

it was nothing but ruins.

Ruins.

So I walked to another town

just beyond it.

And I knew I wasn't

any longer just AWOL.

I was a deserter.

I couldn't get

back to the Americans.

They'd already

left Czechoslovakia.

But the Russians didn't leave.

Joe.

My darling Joe.

I worked at all kind of jobs.

(LAUGHING)

I even worked for the

Red Army for a while.

Can you imagine?

I took care of their horses,

and I repaired their vehicles.

And when the circus came along

and your father offered me

this job,

I jumped at the opportunity,

because this

was the chance

I was waiting for.

See, this way

I could keep on traveling

and keep on hoping

I'd find what I was

looking for.

Did you?

A man who'd been in the

same concentration camp,

he knew my father was dead.

But he didn't

know how he died.

Maybe the gas chamber.

Anyway, I'm glad

he didn't know.

(SNIFFLES)

Joe.

Look, Terez.

I want you to

know just one thing.

One of these

mornings you'll wake up,

you'll find that I'm gone.

TEREZA:
I'm going with you.

But I want you to

know that I'll always...

I'll never forget you.

I'm going with

you wherever you go

I'll go with you.

I'll always be

grateful for this.

Joe.

Look...

Joe.

Tereza.

Tereza, come here.

I love him.

And nothing on God's earth

will take me away from him.

Go with your father, Terez.

Tereza.

Tereza!

I don't want to

cause you any unhappiness,

but you're making a mistake.

Much bigger than

you could possibly know.

You're my child,

and I've loved you since

the instant you were born.

You've got

to believe me.

And you think

I'm still the same

sweet little bundle

of innocence I was then.

Well, I've grown up.

I'm a woman and I'm

going to act like one.

Perhaps it would be

a good idea for you

to pay more

attention to your wife

and see what she's up to.

(HARMONICA PLAYING)

Wait a minute, Kalka.

I want to

wish you good luck.

Are you

gonna have breakfast,

or am I gonna practice?

Keep your eye

on the target.

(CAR HORN HONKING)

Send Cernik here.

Mr. Barovik wants

to see him.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(GASPS) Huh?

Oh.

What do you want,

Barovik?

I have one or two

business matters

to discuss.

I'm busy.

And I think

it advisable

to talk in private.

Step into my office.

Never mind your bodyguards.

Nobody's gonna attack you.

Good. 'Cause it

would be a mistake.

I'm not armed.

I don't need to be.

Now, Barovik... Incidentally,

where'd you get that outfit?

What do you do, change

your clothes with

the regime?

A man's got to live.

What possible business

could you have with

me, Barovik?

Plenty, my friend. Plenty.

Don't insult me by

calling me your friend.

What skullduggery

are you up to now?

Skullduggery.

Listen to the master.

Now what

I want to know, Cernik,

is how much of your show

do you really think

that you can take

with you?

With me? Where?

Over the border,

into the American zone.

Into paradise.

What are you talking about?

I'm talking about your plan.

Your wild, crazy,

but I must admit,

amusing plan

to break through

the Iron Curtain

as that railroad

train did last year.

You discussed it last night.

Had a meeting right here

in this ticket wagon.

Present were your

fellow conspirators,

your cousin

Jaromir and the rest.

I know all the names.

You told them about

your visit to Plzen.

You said that

you thought there must be

a police spy in your troupe.

You suspect the young man,

Joe somebody or other.

(LAUGHS)

Your plan is to

filter across the border by

degrees, in the dead of night,

somewhere in

the wild country

between Tachov and Moravsky.

You'll send

an elephant here,

an acrobat there,

sneaking through the woods

where the sentries can't

cover every inch.

You figure on some losses,

but you think that within

three nights,

you'll have the bulk

of your circus across.

Where'd you get

this information?

Not that you'd tell me.

Your floorboards

are old and loose.

Sound seeps

through the cracks,

and a little man crouching

under the wagon...

Kalka.

I asked him why he brought

the information to me

rather than to the police.

Fortunately for you,

the little dwarf

is even more terrified

of the police than you are.

I locked him up.

You needn't be afraid of him

talking for the time being.

In fact, you have nothing

to be afraid of except me.

Got a match?

What do you want

out of me, Barovik?

Nothing.

Nothing whatsoever.

I merely came to

warn an old friend.

For God's sake, Barovik.

Tell me what you want.

No more than

the leavings, Cernik.

Certainly you don't imagine

to get your whole show across.

No. I shall be

leaving the tents.

All of them.

Are they in

good condition?

Is anything in good

condition these days?

Very well.

I accept the tents.

The seating.

You can have the seating.

The equipment?

You can have all

the heavy equipment.

The lions?

No.

Elephants?

No!

Think I'd leave any

of my performers behind?

You can

have the wolves.

They don't perform.

But you'll have

to round them up.

I'm gonna release them

at the frontier to

create a diversion.

You've worked this

down to the last detail,

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