The Leopard Man Page #5

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TERESA (CONT'D)

(as she

starts off)

I'll pay you tomorrow.

MANUEL:

Never fear - - next time you come.

The poor don't cheat one another.

We're all poor together.

In the bronze cage the two birds continue to sing their

mechanical song. Their heads turn from side to side.

We hear the door close behind Teresa. The birds are still

singing as we

DISSOLVE:

EXT. CORNER WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - NIGHT

There is a sound of slow, measured dripping. It comes from

water seeping out between two rocks and dropping onto another

rock below. These rocks are piled up at the juncture of the

bridge and the left bank and the water is evidently leaking

from some water main or sews go pipe running under the

highway overhead.

EXT. WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - NIGHT

Teresa is approaching the entrance of the middle tunnel, She

is evidently scared �- her footsteps are lagging and she

holds the sack of corn meal in both hands, as if feeling its

weight. She looks fearfully at the black tunnel before her

and comes to a standstill, trying to peer into the blackness.

In the silence, the dripping of the water can be heard.

Teresa looks up and to the left to locate the sound. She sees

the shining dampness on the rocks. She turns back to the

middle tunnel before her -- and, drawing a deep breath of

resolution, starts to enter it. But she hesitates and then,

suddenly, veers over to the left. She peers into the opening

of that tunnel.

INT. OPENING OF NORTH TUNNEL - NIGHT

The wall of the tunnel is also damp with the seepage from

above. It reflects the outer moonlight in glistening streaks,

so that the blackness here is not so complete as in the other

tunnel..

EXT. WEST SIDE OF BRIDGE - NIGHT

Teresa gets a fresh grip on the bag of corn meal by shifting

her hands under it -- and walks into the entrance of the

north tunnel.

INT. NORTH TUNNEL - NIGHT

Again, the crunching sound of Teresa's footsteps are

magnified in the enclosure of the tunnel walls. It is very

dim, but the luminosity of the damp wall casts a faint light

on Teresa, reflecting in her wide, frightened eyes. She walks

slowly and lightly, her eyes going from side to side in the

darkness, her neck and head held rigidly. Suddenly she stops

with a sharp intake of breath, Ahead of her and to her left

are two tiny gleams of light. Teresa backs away from them. As

she does so, they seem to fall and vanish.

Slowly Teresa moves forward again, staring at the place where

the lights had been. As she moves parallel to the spot, they

appear again. A half-cry dies away in her throat --she sees

that the gleams are two drops of seepage, trickling down the

side of the tunnel wall. Teresa half closes her eyes and

sways a little, faint with fear. Then she forces herself to

move forward again. She takes one -- two fearful steps -- and

then the underpass reverberates with a sudden tremendous

shock of sound -� more a giant vibration than actual noise.

It is a train passing overhead.

INT. NORTH TUNNEL - NIGHT

As Teresa stands transfixed, the terrific roar continues.

Second after second, flashes of light as brilliant as

lightning illuminate the interior of the tunnel � the

reflections thrown into the Arroyo by the train windows. And

then, as abruptly as it began, the noise ceases. It is

cavernously dark in the tunnel again. In this thick

stillness, Teresa walks forward once more.

EXT. EAST SIDE OF BRIDGE - NIGHT

In the frame of the tunnel opening, Teresa stands for a

moment. Behind her, there is a new sound -- a mere whisper of

sound carried forward on the light wind. A little shower of

rubble falls from the top of the concrete pier. Teresa turns

to look behind her.

Crouched on one of the piers of the trestle -� and seen only

very dimly in the darkness -- is the leopard, looking down

into the Arroyo.

An enormous big HEAD CLOSEUP of Teresa.

An enormous big HEAD CLOSEUP of the leopard, its clear golden

eyes fixed and staring.

EXT. ARROYO FLOOR - NIGHT

Teresa's nails dig into the paper sack of corn meal and

little trickles of the meal start spilling from the slits.

Her eyes widen and her face falls slack from the horrible

shock of what she sees. She turns and runs.

EXT EDGE OF ARROYO - NIGHT

Teresa scrambles frantically up over the edge of the bank.

She stumbles ana falls and the sack of corn meal drops from

her hands and spills onto the ground. In a single move,

Teresa is on her feet and running again. A shadow flashes

over the spilled meal and we hear a heavy, ripping snarl.

INT. DELGADO HOUSE - NIGHT

It is quiet and peaceful in the Delgado home. Senora Delgado

is puttering about the brasero. Pedro, on all fours, is

reading a comic book, his rump high in the air, his chin two

inches from the book. Suddenly, a wild rain of knocks on the

door fill the little room. Sonora Delgado, at the brasero,

drops a spoon with a clatter and Pedro springs up.

TERESA'S VOICE

(screaming)

Mamacita, let me in! Let me in, let

me in!

SENORA DELGADO:

Hah!

Sonora Delgado smirks knowingly and puts her hands on her

hips.

TERESA'S VOICE

If you love me, let me in -- !

SENORA DELGADO:

(mimicking Teresa)

Mamacita -- let me in. Let me in,

now that I've spent half the night

getting the corn meal!

TERESA'S VOICE

It's coming -� it's coming closer.

I can see it...

PEDRO:

She is afraid of the leopard.

SENORA DELGADO:

Just what she needs -- something to

nip at her heels and hurry her up -

She is interrupted by a scream so high, of such agonized

finality,that it makes the others before it seem like nothing

at all. Mingled with the scream and blurring the end of it

comes an impact of such violence that the whole door

structure shakes with it from top to bottom. A puff of dust

wells up around the door from the impact of the blow.

REPRO:

(his voice high with fear)

Madre do Dolores, she isn't

fooling!

Pedro jumps to his feet. An instant change has come over the

face of Senora Delgado. She hurls herself forward.

SENORA DELGADO:

(beseechingly)

Wait, Teresa! I come! I will let

you in...

Senora Delgado tugs at the rusty bolt.

SEN0RA DELGADO

Only a moment, querida, hija do mi

alma -- your mother is here --

As Senora Delgado tugs vainly at the bolt, Pedro darts over

to the fireplace and grabs up a stone from the hearth.

SENORA DELGADO:

Your mother will let you in - -

Pedro rushes to the door and pushes his mother's hands aside.

He hammers the unruly bar back with the stone.

Then, he draws back and looks down at his feet. Senora

Delgado's horrified eyes follow his glance.

Under the crack of the door seeps a dark tongue of blood,

widening and lengthening on the rough wooden floor.

DISSOLVE:

CLOSE SHOT of display window. The flowing blood dissolves

into a film of water flowing across the window.

The CAMERA PULLS BACK and we see a long handled squeegee come

down the left hand side of the window, clearing a strip of

clear glass. Through this clear glass we look into C. T.

Johnson's Undertaking Parlor.

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