The Sand Pebbles Page #7

- Jake.

- Yeah?

- I want to marry her.

- Hey, wait a minute.

I don't know

what I've been doing...

years with them dumb pigs.

They got a law.

You can't marry

no Chinese girl.

One of them missionaries

might marry us.

They ain't gonna do it.

Why don't you

just move in with her?

No. I don't want that.

Maybe we could get it done

in Chinese.

I just know

I want to marry her.

Okay.

Sounds kind of nuts,

but guys catch these birds...

so you'll buy one

and then set it free.

Just for the hell-

for the fun of it.

- Go ahead.

- It's a lovely idea.

It's supposed to make you feel like when

you help an old lady across the street.

Go, fella.

It does. It's ridiculous,

but it makes you feel marvelous.

- What happens if you make it?

- You get a wish.

Oh.

Jake, you made it!

You got it! You get a wish!

What do you want?

I don't know.

There must be

something.

I used to want an engine.

Isn't the engine

still important?

Not like it used to be.

Why don't you take my wish?

Okay.

Oh, Mr. Jameson said

I could lend these to you.

These are the booklets

for the machinery.

- Okay, I'll look them over.

- All right.

- Go ahead. Take your wish.

- Okay.

- Jake?

- Huh?

- Don't you want to know?

- Know what?

- Don't you want to know what I wished for?

- Okay.

I wished that someday you'd feel

like telling me more about yourself.

Sometime.

When you feel like it.

Okay.

So then what happened?

You just keep pulling,

don't you?

You cant just stop

in the middle.

Why not?

Because it's about you.

I'd like to know.

Okay.

- I graduated at the head of my class.

- Jake-

I got kicked out of school.

Oh.

"Oh"?

No, I mean it.

What happened?

Me and this guy got in it

at a class picnic.

He brought a couple bottles of booze,

and he was charging double for drinks.

I never liked him anyhow,

so I hung one on him.

The thing was, though, I was gonna

get my diploma in a couple months.

So I went to see the principal.

He was one of them

soft, smiley kind of guys.

He said, "If youll sign this paper saying

you were the one that brought the booze...

that will be that. "

So, like a bonehead, I signed it.

Then he looks at the paper.

He smiles and says,

"I'll have to think about it. "

So I guess I started swinging.

I forgot he was wearing glasses,

and I put out his eye.

So anyhow, the judge says,

"You've got three choices:

army, navy, reform school. "

Why did you pick the navy?

Well, ain't much water in Utah.

Jake.

Wasn't there anybody

to stick up for you with the judge?

My mother.

She didn't count for very much

around there though.

But a good dame.

We're mixing

our lives together, Maily.

We'll never be able to unmix them again...

and we'll never want to.

I take you for what you are

and all that you are...

and mix you

with all of me.

And I don't

hold back nothing.

When you're cold and hungry

and afraid, so am I.

I'm gonna stay with you

all I can...

and take the best care

of you I can.

And love you... till I die.

Now you say it.

I will always love you...

and honor and serve you...

and stay as near

to you as I can...

and do everything for you...

and live for you.

I won't have any life...

except our life together.

I will just love you, Frenchy.

All of me

loving you forever.

Now we're married.

You want to put a hand

on ours for luck?

I hope you have luck, and I hope

it goes smooth and easy for you.

Thanks for coming.

They seem

very much in love.

- Frenchy is.

- Not Maily?

- Yeah, but she knows she's not fooling herself.

- About what?

Well, for one thing,

she's Chinese...

and, for another, one day

he's gonna get shipped out.

- She could follow him.

- Where?

What they got right now

ain't no good.

Frenchy says they got something called a block

committee trying to kick them out of their rooms.

Where are they gonna go?

Just running from hole to hole.

Still, I envy them.

Jake?

- It ain't gonna work, Shirley.

- Why?

'Cause you're going back

to China Light pretty soon...

and I'm going back

to the fleet.

Jake... come back

to China Light with us now.

You know how hard they look

for deserters, Shirley...

and what happens to them

when they catch them?

Well, I just thought...

knowing how you feel

about the military...

and that you

taught Po-han-

That ain't what

we're talking about.

Oh, it's good up there.

It can be a good life.

The court's agreed

to let Mr. Jameson go back.

You could come as a kind

of engineering missionary.

I shouldn't have suggested it.

I'm sorry.

I told you not to talk

to sailors, didn't I?

Go on!

Hey, look. I wonder what's the matter.

They're jumping all over.

Hey, it's our coolies.

They're jumping ship.

Bend off.

- Hey, what the hell happened?

- Shing planted opium on board and said it was ours.

Collins told Ski to handle it.

The bonehead dumped it in the furnace.

The captain told me

to get rid of it.

- We can't run this ship without coolies.

- We're gonna.

Shall we try to mask

the smoke with rubber, Captain?

It's too late, Mr. Bordelles.

It's too late.

The San Pablo is now in a state of siege

here and will be all winter.

The water level in the channel is already

too low for us to leave before spring.

There will be no liberty...

no contact with the shore except a guard

mail trip to the consulate once a week.

Each of you will get a chance

to make this trip once.

They have singled out

San Pablo for destruction...

using their new weapons

of boycott and propaganda.

They expect, in the end,

to haul down the flag...

in shame and disgrace.

We will not

let them do that.

When the time comes,

we will defend our flag with our life's blood.

They will watch us

every minute.

They will gloat over every

rust streak down our sides...

every sign of military slackness.

They expect to destroy us...

but it will only

make us stronger.

That's all. Carry on.

All right, Chief, carry on.

Ten-hut! Dismissed.

The next incident, they could

just as well turn on him and kill him.

Well, at least

he's off our necks, sir.

Our primary mission is still

to defend American lives...

even if they are

damned fools.

Pray for an early spring...

or permission to open fire.

Frenchy, you mustn't

come here anymore.

- You must stay on the ship.

- No.

Sometimes when I come here...

I think maybe you've gone...

they've chased you away

someplace I can't find you.

- Maybe it would be better.

- No, sweetie, don't say that.

I can't help it.

I'm nothing.

I'm not Chinese.

I'm not American.

And-And the child

will be nothing.

He'll be ours...

like you're mine.

That's all we need.

Hey, Harris, lay below and clean up your

stinking mess. I'm not gonna do your work!

I'm not gonna stand

any more of your watches.

- Listen, Harris, lay below! I said, lay below, Harris!

- Oh, who are you, Perna?

- Cut it out, you guys!

- Let 'em go!

Get the deck aids to help you.

What the hell's

the matter with you guys?

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