South Sea Woman Page #5

where I keep the Free French.

Only it is already, how shall I say,

packed like sardines.

I am happy it was not necessary for me

to squeeze two more into the dungeon.

This one's already spoken for.

He's interested.

Excuse me, girls.

Nice place you got here, madam.

You do not like my darling nieces,

monsieur?

I stopped picking green apples

when I left the farm.

Ripe fruit is sweeter.

Monsieur, it has been a long time

since a man with your mature taste...

...has visited our island.

Too long. Welcome.

Madam, could you please show us

to our rooms?

Oh, forgive me. But of course.

Is this where all the tourist stay?

I mean, when the boats come in?

It's the only hotel in the archipelago.

It is the headquarters for all information,

for everything.

That's what you wanted to know,

isn't it, sergeant?

Madam Duval, you and I

understand each other perfectly.

I always give my guests what they want.

Even if they're broke?

Broke?

Americans without money?

Madam, you wouldn't

throw us out in the cold to starve?

Oh, it's never cold here,

and one can live on the beach without a sou.

But if I have to walk up from the beach

every night to see you...

...think how tired I'll be when I get here?

Monsieur, have you ever been to Paris?

No, but I get postcards from there.

Postcards? The Eiffel Tower, of course.

Of course.

I have a feeling, madam, that you could

take me to Paris right here on Namou.

- Your towel, monsieur.

- Thank you.

Madam Duval.

Is everybody on this island

in favor of the vichy government?

If they want to stay out of jail, they are.

And how about you?

Me?

All I'm interested in is keeping my health.

My dear, it looks just like

it was made for you.

Ginger.

Mimi.

Madam Duval, I bet there's

a lot of ships put in here, huh?

Ships? Oh, please, mon sergeant,

we are at the end of the world.

That is why deserters come here.

When do you figure the next ship

will arrive?

Very soon now.

The mail boat,

it will come at the end of April.

April? That's four months from now.

Did you hear that?

So what? That'll give Ginger and me

plenty of time to get married.

And the sooner, the better.

Married? That would be a novelty

on Namou.

You wasn't kidding when you said we could

live on this island without money?

That does not include liquor.

I can ferment coconuts and make a brew

that'll bat you over the fence.

And we can pick bananas off the trees,

or lobster off the beach...

...and swim every night in the moonlight.

After we get hitched, we can

move in to one of the native igloos...

...and stay put till next Christmas.

Atten-hut.

Cut it out, will you?

This ain't no time for making like lovebirds.

Are you butting in again?

I'll fix Mr. Buttinsky.

Madam Duvall,

who can marry us around here?

- Yeah.

- Father Gerard.

- Swell.

- Where can we find him?

Just now, he's on his yearly canoe trip

to the outlying islands.

When will he be back?

- Two weeks, perhaps three.

- That long?

Don't squawk. Looks like a reprieve.

But we will get married. We will.

As you just said, baby,

the sooner, the better.

With all that's going on here, is that all

you can think of, smooching all day?

What else is there

for deserters to think about?

Maybe he's jealous.

I'm getting sick to my stomach.

I'm going out to the beach and see

if I can scrounge myself an outrigger canoe.

Monsieur, without your pants?

Here.

Well, sergeant, you're not thinking

of going back to the war?

How many times

do I have to tell everybody?

I'm a deserter. I don't wanna go to war.

Then you should relax

like your friend here.

Yeah, give up, sarge. Relax.

Lull in the lap of luxury.

He's not capable of it.

He's got campaign ribbons

coming out of his ears.

I have, huh?

Entrez vous my three chres.

Allow me, my little bonbon.

Good, refreshment.

First, we'll have a little drink, huh?

- My three darling nieces.

- For you.

- They are so considerate.

- For you.

For you.

And Madam Duval, for you.

Down the hatch.

Tonight is the night for I'amour.

Oh, they understand that, huh?

The only trouble is

I don't know which one.

Oh, this man, he is an enfant terrible.

This calls for a little testing.

Delicious.

Delectable.

They're all great.

Madam Duval, I'm in trouble.

I've fallen in love.

Not only with you,

but with your three darling nieces.

And who knows?

If I stay here long enough,

I may marry all of you.

I think I need some air.

Say, you ain't getting jealous?

- Of what?

- Him.

Don't be fantastic.

Hold it, girls.

Gather around, my children,

gather around.

And Sergeant o'Hearn will tell you

a bedtime story.

The bedtime story they'll be hearing one day

is "for long time, no come see."

You ain't woofing.

Once upon a time...

oh, you can't understand English,

can you?

Well...

That Sergeant o'Hearn.

I've never seen such a remarkable man.

Do you know that he won the love

of my three darling nieces and myself?

And my nieces are most particular.

But... how they fought over him.

How they tore each other's hair.

- How they tried to...

- We're not interested in your niece's hair.

The witness has been instructed

to stick to the facts.

Silly capitaine evidently left his sense

of humor along with his gloves.

Please, Madam Duval, the question,

the sole question...

...is did Sergeant James o'Hearn

say that he was a deserter?

To answer that, it is not so simple.

You see, in your stupid, how shall I say,

your technicality, I'll suppose he...

But, oh, how can one blame a man

for running off...

...to a paradise island like Namou...

...and relaxing

with my three darling nieces, n'est pas?

For this, I would not put him in the bastille.

Oh, no, no.

I would give him camp de guerre.

But did he say he was a deserter?

Oui, but what a deserter.

What a deserter.

The court will recess

until 10:
00 tomorrow morning.

- The court recalls Miss Ginger Martin.

- Miss Ginger Martin.

Be seated, please.

Miss Martin, before we proceed,

I think it only just to inform you...

...several witnesses have testified

that Sergeant o'Hearn was a deserter.

And this has been corroborated

by 17 sworn depositions...

...from residents of Namou.

I don't care if half the population

came here...

...and swore on a stack of Bibles

he was a deserter.

I don't even care if Sergeant o'Hearn

swears he was one.

I know exactly where Sergeant o'Hearn

stood on the question of desertion...

...because of what happened on the day

Davey and I were gonna get married.

Hi, sarge.

Hey.

What are you doing,

taking a Girl Scout test?

Not at all, sergeant.

We're building our honeymoon bower.

Yeah, at last, lady luck is with us.

Father Gerard canoed in this morning.

And Madam Duval is cooking up

a little native shindig.

Didn't your three intendeds tell you?

Tonight, Ginger Martin

will become the happy bride...

...of David White, PFC,

United States Marine Corps.

- Well, nobody can say I played Cupid.

- How true, sarge.

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