Nightmare Alley Page #8

- It's that new convert of mine.

Mr. Grindle?

It seems his conversion isn't as complete

as I thought it was.

Did he take back the money he gave you

for the tabernacle?

No. No, no.

But before he goes any further...

he wants me to materialize

the spirit of his dead sweetheart.

But you can't do that.

I mean, you told Mrs. Peabody

nobody could.

That's right.

But we've got to look at it

this way, darling.

A man's faith

is trembling in the balance.

A man who was a confirmed skeptic

about anything relating to religion...

now stands upon the threshold.

The door is open.

One more step will bring him inside the fold.

What should I do?

Should I let the man's soul be lost forever?

Or should I stake my own to save it?

- Or yours?

- Mine?

What have I got to do with it?

You?

You can help me.

I realize it's in the nature of a subterfuge,

but our motives are so pure, so unselfish.

Wait a minute, Stan.

Oh, honey,

there isn't the slightest bit of danger.

I won't let him get close enough to see anything

except that you are a young dame about her age.

I knew it.

- I knew it!

- You knew what?

You never were on the level.

You lied to me. Zeena was right.

- Walking out on me, huh?

- Look, Stan.

Anytime you wanna go back

into show business...

Yeah, you and all that talk

of yours about love.

You were going to be

such a good wife to me.

I've tried to be.

You know I'd do anything.

Sure, sure. Anything in the world for me.

Or to me.

- What do you mean, "to you"?

- What are you doing now?

What do you think the newspapers will say

when they find out about this?

- "Wife quits miracle worker".

- I won't say anything.

You can tell them

I've gone to visit some friends.

No, they'll follow you. They'll get it

out of Bruno or some of the others.

Honey, look.

It's not me that I'm thinking about.

But what about this poor guy Grindle?

What's gonna happen to him?

Mrs. Peabody,

all those other people that I've helped.

Look. Look at these.

Hundreds of them every day.

Simple, honest, little people who believe in me.

They say I've given them hope.

I'm not worrying about them.

They're gonna be all right.

But you won't.

You've got to stop it.

Do you hear?

You've got to, Stan,

or I'll make you.

I will walk out on you.

Are you crazy?

No, I'm not crazy.

Just plain scared.

Scared?

Of what?

I don't know.

I can't explain it.

But I feel...

Well, you're going against God.

How do you figure that?

Do you think I'd be getting

all those letters?

That's what makes it so terrible.

Everything you say and do

is so true and wonderful...

and you make it sound

so sacred and holy...

when all the time

it's just a gag with you.

You'rejust laughing your head off

at those chumps.

You think God's gonna stand for that?

Do you want him

to strike you dead?

You can't do it, Stan.

Nobody's ever done it.

Never!

Now, honey, don't get yourself all worked up

about nothing.

I've gone over this in my mind

a hundred times.

If anybody comes back, they're not gonna

get all steamed up because we fake a little.

Another thing. I've met a lot of these

spook workers. They're all hustlers just like me.

I didn't see one of them

wearing a lightning rod.

But they don't act like you do.

They don't talk like ministers.

When did I ever talk

like a minister?

Oh, you do it all the time.

I am talking exactly the same way I did

when we were in the nightclub.

And I'll tell you another thing.

I never mentioned God in the nightclub, did I?

No. I-I don't think so.

Have I ever mentioned him

in this racket?

Have you ever heard me do it?

Come on, come on. When did I do it?

- You haven't, but...

- No, I'll say I haven't.

I know what I'm doing.

I've read the Bible.

I can recite the Ten Commandments

backwards.

And I'll tell you

what the Third Commandment is too:

"Thou shalt not take the name

of the Lord, thy God, in vain".

A lot of people think that means swearing.

But I'll tell you what it means.

It means exactly

what you're talking about.

I'm not taking any chances, baby.

There's nothing to worry about.

There's no difference

between this and mentalism.

It's just another angle

of show business.

Wait a minute, mister.

You're not talking to one of your chumps.

You're talking to your wife. You're talking to

somebody who knows you red, white and blue.

And you can't fool me anymore.

There's only one way

I can stop you from doing this thing...

and that's to leave you.

You'd honestly do

a thing like that to me?

No. I'm going to do it for you.

We're right back where we started, hmm?

All right.

Listen to me.

I'm no good.

I never pretended to be.

But I love you.

I'm a hustler. I've always been one.

But I love you.

I may be the thief of the world,

but with you I've always been on the level.

You've done a lot of talking about love.

I never mentioned it before...

but I guess you get

the general idea.

If you wanna walk out on that...

it's okay with me.

Here we are.

Mr. Grindle, this...

this place of yours...

is one of the most beautiful

I've ever seen.

- You should be very proud of it.

- Yes, I am.

Those great trees in moonlight,

they give the whole place a...

a cathedral-like atmosphere.

- You feel that?

- Yes.

I'm glad to hear you say that.

I've been coming here to pray.

It's so secluded.

I didn't want any of the servants

to see me.

I see you've been reading the Bible.

How did you know?

Well, we...

we know that it tells us...

that prayer, like good works,

should be done in secret.

- There's one thing that troubles me.

- What's that?

Well, on account

of the life I've led...

I don't know

very much about God.

And it's very hard

to pray to someone...

I mean, when you know

so little about him.

Well, that's true.

But nobody knows very much along those lines.

That's where we must rely

solely upon our faith.

Indeed,

I think it's a mistake...

to try to define our thoughts about it

in human terms.

That, in itself,

is a form of irreverence.

It's like...

like trying to put the ocean into bottles.

That's right.

That's where I've been wrong.

Trying to put boundaries

around this thing.

It's too big. It has no boundaries.

No limits.

It can't have, can it?

And be what it is.

Go on.

Go on, my friend.

You don't know it,

but you're praying right this moment.

No prophet of old could have said a finer thing

than you have just said.

Keep it up.

Think like that in your heart.

Don't worry about the words.

There are no words for it.

Words are boundaries too.

But they're not any bigger

than we are.

You've got to do things,

just as you said the other day.

"Good things,

good for their own sake...

without any hope of reward or..."

- What's the matter?

- Look!

- Do you see it?

- Yes.

Probably one of your servants.

No, no, it couldn't be.

They have orders never to come down here.

Dory?

It is.

It is.

Dory! Dory!

- Wait!

- Dory!

- But it's Dory. Don't you see?

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