The Better Angels Page #2

Speedily demolished him.

You do it?

No, sir.

You do it?

No, sir.

I did it.

How'd your husband die?

Bad water.

Were you scared?

Yes.

Scared for him.

Scared to be alone.

Are you sad still?

In a different way.

I'll always miss him.

He was a sweet man,

good father.

I have a new life now.

A good one.

Strong and sturdy.

Everyone was real pleased

to have a new house for worship.

I can't think of a better man...

The Reverend asked

his Pappy to build it.

It was an honor.

If we call to mind

our beginning,

some of us may find a time

where our fathers were under

affliction and suffering.

The wilderness

in which our fathers

passed the days

of their pilgrimage

are now pleasant fields.

This was not done

to be buried in oblivion,

but to prepare a people

for a greater destiny.

And the remembrance of that

ought to humble us

and create in us

a Christian benevolence

towards our inferiors.

Whoever supports

the cause of some

promotes the good of all.

No time.

I wanna live on the river.

On a flat boat.

Is that a snapping turtle?

He'll bite ya on the finger.

Won't let go till

it turns dark, neither.

Ain't you gonna do something?

From here to here.

Come on!!

No!

Come on!

Come on!

Never seen you fight like that.

Want to finish the firewood

before you go, too.

Don't leave me without it.

His Pappy sent him to a tannery.

I don't want you to be hungry.

It'd take him three days.

He'd never been gone

like that before.

Alone.

She didn't talk all evening.

Just worked.

Stayed by herself.

She didn't have no education,

herself.

But she knowed what learning

could do for folks.

A new school's been built.

Only five miles from here.

She'd do anything for him.

Single file.

Armstrong?

Present.

Gosling?

Present.

Fagen?

Present.

Gore?

Present.

Peckington?

Merit?

Present.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

in Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day

our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses...

Speed doesn't matter...

neatness does.

Use soft strokes.

That's better.

Ne-bad...

Nebuchadnezzar.

Full of fur...

Fury.

And the form

of the visage...

...I-E-D...

Delaware, Pennsylvania,

New Jersey,

Georgia, Connecticut,

Massachusetts, Maryland...

Be without malice, or envy.

Scoff at no one.

Love learning.

Be cheerful.

Go!

Go, go!

Here, your turn...

Hear... and answer.

You tell me,

where's your spirit?

How do you know it's there?

I feel it.

What did Jesus do

when he was young?

Worked in his father's shop.

What was his mind doing?

"It came to pass,

as he was alone praying.

His disciples were with him,

and he asked them, saying,

'Whom say the people

that I am?'

They answered and said,

'John the Baptist.'"

Then he tried to stop

and come back.

But when he did this,

he came back

and hit his head on the wall.

Shake my hand.

I ain't no scholar.

Firm, yeah, that's good.

Keep your head up.

Do it again.

Very good.

You can smile, it won't hurt ya.

I asked him where'd

he get so many blatant lies.

He told me when a story

learns you a good lesson,

it ain't no lie.

God tells truths in parables.

I was struck by his honesty

the other day.

He saw a buck's horn

hanging against the wall

that had broken off.

Thought some of the boys did it.

So the next day,

when it all got still,

I asked him, who done it?

Who broke it off?

And he said,

"I did it."

Takes the blame all to himself.

Won't put any on anybody else.

He won't stay

in these woods forever.

And even if he keeps on

in Spencer County,

he won't be a backwoodsman

for long.

There's emigrations

going on now.

By the time he's 30 years old,

it'll be a whole

different world.

He'll make his mark.

"I came down to Friday

and asked him

if he would stay by me.

He was very cheerful.

He would die

when I bid die."

Here, boy!

I got him!

And when he'd come

to the house at night,

he'd tilt the chair

by the chimney

and sit on his backbone

and read.

Where do they come from?

The jungle.

She always put a candle

on the mantelpiece for him.

His Pappy'd just shoo him

off to bed.

She said it didn't

bother her none.

He's a fast learner.

Interested in everything.

I'd like to tutor him here,

in fact,

on days away from school.

You was in the war.

Nothing's ever the same since,

I bet.

Taking odd jobs...

Never had no proper

learning, yourself.

And I pay you in corn,

and hides.

If you want more,

you might want to take it

someplace else.

Well, I don't want payment.

I brought two books for him.

I'm ready.

He wants it, come on,

give it to him.

You're up next.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,

whoa, whoa, whoa!

All right, nice work there.

Come here,

I want to show you again.

Come on, push harder,

come on.

That's it.

See, come on, come again.

Get down low.

Yeah, that's nice.

All right, you're up now.

Come on.

You and me.

You know,

get your head up there strong.

Put it up strong...

all right, see?

Get a grip on me

so you can feel me now.

Can't you?

And you got that other hand...

you're looking to get in there,

trying to work that leg.

Come on.

I got ya all tangled up now,

see?

Come on, start again.

Start again.

Come on.

Let go, he's got him.

He's got him now!

Come on,

you can't get like that.

Don't give me your back.

Come on, I ain't finished yet.

Come on.

That's it.

Got me down, nice work.

Tie me up.

That's good.

That's good, that's good.

My Pappy got real sick and died.

Sure glad to have a new one.

Yours is real nice.

Everybody runs him down.

Never gave him credit

for what he was.

He made a good living.

His Pap kept his word.

He paid his way.

Couldn't say that of every man.

Not even today.

And men are decent-er

than they used to be.

Found 'em.

You found 'em, son,

you keep 'em.

I wanna be as strong as you.

You're a good boy.

Your Ma would be

real proud of you.

I ain't...

a fairer man,

not to nobody.

But I always looked out for you

and your sister.

You're gonna be twice

the man I am.

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven.

Three, four, five, six,

seven, eight...

Hey! You cheat!

Now it's your turn.

Two, three, four, five, six...

What it means

when you hear locust nearby,

is somebody died

and their soul's risin'.

That's the truth.

My dad told me that once.

There ain't nothing

worth talking about.

Nobody much worth talking to...

since he's gone.

My God.

I had to go out to the farm

to tell her.

She was living on there, alone.

I knowed they'd kill him.

I'd been waiting for it.

She never asked no questions.

I reckon she thought

she'd soon join him.

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