The Leopard Man Page #12

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BELMONTE:

Why? Why? Why?

The policemen gently shake him into silence.

Robles, followed by Galbraith and Jerry come up over the

ladders. Robles climbs down the inside ladder as does

Galbraith, but Jerry, being younger, leaps down.

MED. CLOSE SHOT � SHOOTING TOWARD the wall.

BELMONTE:

(crying out)

Why?

Robles looks over questioningly. The uniformed policeman, a

Mexican, answers.

POLICEMAN:

El novio.

PLAIN- CLOTHESMAN

(almost simultaneously)

The boy friend.

ROBLES:

(not unkindly)

Shut that man up. Take him out of

here or give him something to keep

him quiet.

As the two officers lead Belmonte away, Jerry looks after him

- his face deeply troubled. The three men then turn toward

the shrouded body. A police officer, an American with a

lieutenant's bars an his shoulders, stands at the head of the

corpse. He bends down, lifts up the canvas, and Robles and

Jerry peer under for a brief minute. Galbraith does not look.

LIEUTENANT:

The leopard again.

ROBLES:

Any witnesses?

LIEUTENANT:

Just secondary witnesses -� the man

who Was coming to help her out --

the man he borrowed the ladder from

- - they found the body --and the

gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper, who has been standing near one of the

policemen, takes a half step forward.

GATEKEEPER:

I warned her. I told her the gates

would be closed.

ROBLES:

(quieting him)

That's all right, paisano, it's not

your fault, we know.

The old man shuffles back.

ROBLES:

(to Lieutenant)

Anything else -� clues?

The Lieutenant points to a square cardboard box on the

ground. Galbraith picks it up.

GALBRAITH:

It's the leopard all right. A

broken claw --some black hairs -�

LIEUTENANT:

There arc claw marks on the tree.

They cross to the tree.

GALBRAITH:

He must have made these getting

out. Notice the way they've been

dug in from above.

NOBLES:

(pointing to the ground)

And these leaves. They don't fall

this time of year. They must have

shaken down on her when it jumped.

Jerry has been looking from one bit of evidence to the other,

puzzled. He turns to Galbraith.

JERRY:

Doc -- something you said the other

day --

GALBRAITH:

Yes?

JERRY:

It doesn't jibe with this �� you

told me the leopard would go out

into the country �- it wouldn't

stay in the city ��

GALBRAITH:

Sure -- certainly �- but what's

that got to do with this?

JERRY:

(a little hesitantly)

That's what I don't understand --

why should it come here -- and why

didn't it stay here? It's got trees

and bushes here -- outside nothing

but cement and asphalt.

GALBRAITH:

(a little impatient)

Jerry, I talked to you about the

habits of an ordinary wild leopard.

This leopard is another matter

entirely - - a caged animal

travelling around with Charlie How

Come for years and years.. That's

why it kills human beings.

JERRY:

Why?

GALBRAITH:

It doesn't know how to hunt its

natural prey.

JERRY:

But it doesn't eat what it kills.

GALBRAITH:

Caged animals are unpredictable.

They're like frustrated human

beings. I can't answer your

question.

ROBLES:

That's why it just mauls and tears

at them.

JERRY:

Something's wrong with this whole

setup --

ROBLES:

Yes, there is something wrong.

People who want publicity and don't

mind how they get it --what risks

they make other people run - - what

agony and sorrow they bring to

other people --

JERRY:

I know all that, chief, and I don't

like it any better than you do, but

there's something else --

Robles is about to reply. Galbraith stops him.

GALBRAITH:

Just a minute, Robles.

(indicating Jerry)

Let him go on.

JERRY:

I can understand about the cat

killing the first girl. Charlie How

Come told me. All that noise and

those lights -- scared crazy it

would do anything. Last night there

was nothing to disturb it. Just a

little girl alone in a cemetery.

ROBLES:

What are you getting at?

JERRY:

Nothing much -- just that it might

not be a cat this time.

Robles smiles, Galbraith shakes his head. Jerry starts for

the ladder.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. STREET - DAY

MED. SHOT - Charlie How-Come's truck. Charlie is standing on

the tailboard of the truck with a rubber exerciser in his

hands. Beside him is an empty cage. He is giving his spiel

but has only managed to attract an audience of small Mexican

boys who obviously have not a dime among the dozen of them.

Jerry is standing by watching him, obviously waiting for him

to finish.

CHARLIE:

(spieling)

Health - - vigor -- vitality --

s-t-r-e-t-c-h --

(suiting the action to the

word)

...s t r e t c h. Watch the

panther! Watch the lion in the

jungles! What do they do -- s-t-r-e

t-c-h.

(quieter and more

confidential tone)

Strength -- strength and vitality.

Here I can sell you the secret of

the cat's strength -- the cat's

vitality. Only a dollar. Only a

dollar.

The group of small boys, sensing that this is the end of the

show, have already started to disappear. Charlie climbs

stiffly down from the truck and faces Jerry.

CHARLIE:

Can't make a buck without my

leopard. I tell you, Mr. Manning,

you gotta find that cat for me --

or pay up.

JERRY:

Look, Charlie, just be patient.

I'll fix everything. You don't want

that cat, anyway. It killed two

people.

CHARLIE:

(shaking his head)

No, sir. That girl in the cemetery?

My cat didn't kill that girl. I

told you cats don't go around

looking for trouble. If that cat's

alive, it's out in the country

hiding under a bush, starving to

death.

JERRY:

(interested, but

concealing it)

You really think so, Charlie?

CHARLIE:

That cat ain't mean. I feed him out

of my own hand for six years. Why

don't he kill me? At night in the

truck, I let him out of the cage.

When I am falling asleep I hear him

walking back and forth. I go to

sleep. He don't hurt me.

JERRY:

They all say the cat killed this

second girl.

CHARLIE:

They don't say it to me.

JERRY:

I'd like one of them to say it to

you, Charlie. I'd like to have you

hear his side of it his reasons.

Want to hear them?

CHARLIE:

Sure.

JERRY:

(taking his elbow)

Let's get in your truck.

They climb into the truck.

CHARLIE:

Where's that man?

JERRY:

Up at the museum.

Charlie puts his foot on the starter and the motor coughs and

wheezes into reluctant activity.

DISSOLVE:

EXT. PORTICO OF THE MUSEUM � DAY

The museum is built on a hilltop and from the portico we

overlook the sagebrush and mesquite-covered hills of New

Mexico, rolling away to the horizon. At one end of this open

porch an old Indian hand loom has been set up and here an

Indian woman in Zuni costume sits patiently weaving a rug,

the shuttle flying back and forth monotonously, and the foot

pedal creaking as she changes threads. Charlie and Jerry come

into the portico and cross to the door. They push open the

heavy bronze door and enter the museum.

INT. MUSEUM - DAY

This museum, probably erected with the aid of government

funds, is well-proportioned and severely plain. A portico, a

long, rectangular display room and a combined office and

workshop in an alcove off the main room comprise the museum.

The display room has glass showcases containing various

Indian artifacts. On the walls are examples of Indian rug and

blanket weaving, masks and ceremonial properties.

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