Tarantula Page #3

Why don't you speak up?

Don't you think, sir,

this time you might be wrong?

In this case, no.

You want to do an autopsy. Why don't you?

- Well, you objected.

- I was upset.

Eric was not only my colleague,

he was my closest friend.

- You have my permission.

- Well, thank you, sir.

I'll let you know what I find.

And please, don't forget to invite me back?

- Well, now I'll show you to your quarters.

- All right.

MATT:
That you, Jack?

SHERIFF:
How're you coming?

MATT:
Be right with you.

What you got?

I'll give it to you fast, Jack. Nothing.

Nothing?

You mean the professor was right?

Couldn't have been more right.

Well, how do you like that?

You make a big thing out of it, show Deemer

up for maybe a murderer and then...

You want me to go ahead

with the interment, Jack?

You might as well before this amateur

gumshoe gets any more bright ideas.

The case is closed.

And the next time I need a doctor,

I'll call one in from Phoenix.

You know,

I don't think Jack's too happy about all this.

I don't blame him.

But I still can't figure it out.

Slowly, slow.

That's good.

Take your time, Steve, take your time.

We have nothing except time.

And we won't have that

if we make a mistake.

There.

- Am I doing all right, Professor?

- Fine!

Now lift the lid onto the vial.

DEEMER:
Easy.

That's it. Now lift up the graduated glass...

and put it in the access chamber.

Well done, Steve.

Now lift up the chamber.

That's it.

Now we'll take this into the dry box...

where we can handle it safely.

You're getting quite expert at this.

I don't know what I'd do without you.

Now let's see how we make out.

It's one thing to develop a formula on paper,

another to make it work.

DEEMER:
So far we've found an almost

consistent instability in the material.

One batch of nutrient varies sharply

from the next.

What do you want to try it on this time?

One of the baby rats?

Okay.

How long before we know anything,

Professor?

Well, there have been times

when the instability has caused death.

I meant, if it works.

Let me show you.

- You see that rabbit?

- Yes.

How old would you say he was?

STEVE:
Four months.

DEEMER:
Look at the chart.

Six days!

Is it normal?

I ran a reflex test on him

after you went to bed last night.

The only difference between him

and the others...

is that he's healthier and stronger.

All the same,

we mustn't be in too much of a hurry.

We've got to lick this problem of instability.

Once we can control that,

we're ready for the ultimate test: On humans.

There mustn't be a mistake this time.

- I'll be back in a couple of hours.

- All right, Steve.

Science is science,

but a girl must get her hair done.

You'd better hurry though,

if you're going to catch that bus.

- It only stops on signal, you know.

- I know.

- Anything I can get for you?

- No, thanks.

We'll run those tissue tests

when you come back.

- Right.

- Have fun.

Have the prescription refilled

and be sure she takes it after every meal.

Okay, Doc, but you know women.

Mary will just let it sit on the shelf.

Yeah, but she'll feel better

knowing it's there, won't she?

Yeah, I suppose so.

Say, when are you and me flying out

for some more fishing?

- It's been four or five weeks since...

- Excuse me, Jim.

Steve!

- Carry your books, miss?

- Thanks!

I haven't been walked to school

in a long time.

Hey, you dress up our town very nicely.

If you don't look out,

the Chamber of Commerce...

is going to list you

in their publicity with the local attractions.

Say, do you have to go right back?

No.

- Good, let's skip school.

- All right.

It's like an oasis.

- I bring all my patients here.

- I'll bet.

- How's this?

- Fine.

Not now, thanks.

How are you getting along with Deemer?

Half the time he doesn't know I'm there...

and the other half

he's worried I'll make a mistake.

- He's quite a guy, I guess.

- Yes.

Has he said anything more

about that assistant that left?

No.

How's the nutrient coming along?

Well, this is the most amazing thing

I've ever seen.

How long does it take an ordinary rabbit

to reach full growth?

I don't know. Four or five months, I guess.

He has one there that's reached maturity

in six days.

- Six days?

- I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true.

It's still so new and unpredictable.

There are all sorts of things

to take into account...

before we can even think

of experimenting on humans.

Some of the nutrient, when unstable,

has even been deadly.

But we do know that it's kept animals alive

that have been fed nothing else.

If I stay here much longer

I'm going to miss my bus.

Who can ask for a better opening?

I'm at your service, miss.

Are you sure your patients can spare you?

I'm such a good doctor, they never get sick.

- Come on. Let's go.

- All right.

No wonder you love the desert.

It's so beautiful.

Everything that ever walked or crawled

on the face of the earth...

swum the depths of the ocean...

soared through the sky

has left its imprint here.

Look.

Did you ever wonder

what piled them up like that?

Wind? Water? What?

I've never seen anything quite like it.

Can we stop?

Sure.

STEVE:
All this was once an ocean,

wasn't it?

You can still find seashells

if you keep your eyes open.

- What's that?

- I...

- There he is.

- It scared me.

I'm beginning to see now

why you love it here.

Catching, huh?

I think I'll have that cigarette now.

Thank you.

You know,

it must look out of this world from the air.

- I'll show it to you sometime.

- Will you really?

What does it look like?

Like something from another life.

Serene, quiet, yet strangely evil...

as if it were hiding its secret from man.

You make it sound so creepy.

The unknown always is.

- Whatever could have started it?

- I don't know.

Well, I think I've had enough

of the unknown for one afternoon.

Something must have started it.

You can't second-guess the desert.

Rocks that have stayed for 1,000 years,

they just move.

There's no figuring it.

Well, the bus would have gotten me here

sooner, but I certainly enjoyed it.

- Give my best to the rabbits.

- Would you like to see them?

Now you're talking.

You can put them right there.

It's funny he's not here. Maybe he's resting.

- Do I get the guided tour?

- Follow me.

It wasn't like that when I left!

MATT:
Are you sure it's the same one?

STEVE:
Yes.

We injected a baby rat this morning.

Let's take a look at it.

MATT:
This morning?

STEVE:
It was a baby.

Matt, I tell you, this morning it was a baby.

And it doubled in size in a few hours?

Matt, you do believe me?

Of course I do.

Hello?

Yes, he's here. Just a minute.

It's your office.

Thanks. Hello?

Yeah, Josh.

I'll stop by on my way home. Thanks. Bye.

I've got to go.

That's one of the penalties

of being a doctor.

I never seem to find time

to finish a conversation.

What do you make of that baby rat?

I don't know.

Freaks of any kind give me the willies.

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