The White Cliffs of Dover Page #9

They took that, too.

They took it all away from me.

They took...

but he'll live out his life.

I'll teach him to do that.

I'll teach him to run and hide

when the drums start playing.

I'll take care of him.

I'll keep him safe.

I don't care how. I'll keep

him safe. You understand?

Now, me lady-

He's mine. He belongs to me.

They shan't have him.

They shan't take him

Because he's young and

strong and kill him, never.

Never! Never!

Darling, please. You're

frightening the baby.

You don't know what you're saying.

We have peace. John died for that.

We've learned a dreadful lesson.

We know now what war means.

We're all losers,

And we've all suffered so much

That good must come of it.

Your boy will grow up in a new world.

There'll be no shadow

of war over his youth.

John gave his life for that.

You must believe that, darling.

It wasn't a vain sacrifice.

John gave his life so

that his son should live.

But the years pass,

And the heart mends,

And life takes up its quiet labor.

The bee returns to the meadow clover,

And the tree grows as the child grows.

I saw his father over and over.

His face looked out of my son's face-

His father's smile, his father's pose.

I watched him with his boyhood friends.

I watched him with his

friends and neighbors.

Good day, Betsy.

Good day, sir John.

I was just looking at your roof.

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

Well, as long as Im here,

I think Ill take a look around.

A very good idea, sir John.

That's quite all right, Mrs. Kenney.

We can't have the

rain coming in, can we?

No, that we can't, but Im

sorry it had to be done now,

Times as they are.

Ben was saying it's worse

for you than it is for us.

We are a bit hard up.

Income tax, you know.

6 shillings on the pound, and next

year they say it's going to be worse,

But it's improving

the economic structure.

We've had to sell quite a bit of land,

And my grandmother doesn't

like that very much.

And how is her poor ladyship?

Granny's a little bit better, thank you.

I think I better go now.

I've got 2 or 3 things to do.

Good-Bye, Mrs. Kenney.

Good-Bye, sir John.

Good-Bye, Betsy.

Good-Bye.

Good-Bye, Betsy.

Good-Bye, sir John.

Mother, I stopped in at the

Kenneys' today about the roof.

Did you, darling? And how's Betsy?

Oh, all right, I expect.

Mother, I promised the

trotters a new fence.

Oh, John, dear, you must be more careful

About promising things.

We can't even afford

to mend our own fences.

I know, mother. I explained

to them about the taxes,

But somehow their cow got

into the Pettys' backyard.

It upset the beehive and

got terribly badly stung,

Wouldn't give milk for days,

And you know they've

just got a new baby.

Uh, sir John...

come here. Do you mind?

You're, uh...

you were deucedly important

this afternoon, sir John.

Yes, sir.

Yes, a real high-Toned member of

the stranded gentry, aren't you?

Yes, sir.

Yes, your great- Great-Grandfather

on your mother's side

Kept a little dry goods store

in Toliver. Did you know that?

Yes.

Oh.

Did you sleep well last night, sir?

Did you?

Not at first, sir.

You see, somebody placed

a very cold frog in my bed.

John!

Well, now, that's a strange coincidence.

Somebody sewed up the legs of my pajamas

And put a hairbrush in the pillow.

Yes, sir. I did, sir.

It's known as an apple pie bed, sir.

It's a custom in English schools,

And I know that you're

always so interested

In our English customs, sir.

You rascal!

Oh, father. It's no

wonder nanny scolds you.

Fix your hair, Johnny.

Mother, can I go down and

see what Bridget has for tea?

Why? You want something special?

Yes. You see, mother, Ive

invited those two German boys

That are staying with old lady Berdale.

Yes, rustle up some crumpets.

Ha ha! Ha ha ha!

Darn little limey.

Yes.

Germans, eh?

Darling, this is nice.

Are you sure you should risk it?

Yes, it's a bit crisp today.

Of course it is, but it's

no use arguing with her.

She always thinks she knows best.

I heard that we had some young guests,

So I couldn't resist the temptation.

These are John's friends

Gerhard von Vistaberg

and his brother Dietrich.

How do you do?

How do you do?

Are you the sons of

the baron von Vistaberg

Who was secretary at the German embassy

Some years ago?

No, lady jean. The embassy counselor

was of the linden Vistabergs.

We are the oak Vistabergs.

We have an oak leaf in our coat of arms.

What do you have in yours, grandfather?

A pipe, a smelly old tobacco pipe,

And maybe a deck of cards.

I could suggest a proper animal

For your coat of arms, Hiram.

Yes?

A mule.

A mule? Ha ha! Why not?

It's not an aristocratic animal,

But it knows its way around,

And it packs a healthy

wallop in its hind legs.

Very useful qualities, my dear jean.

Perhaps you're right, Hiram.

Anyhow, unicorns are

out of date nowadays.

Nothing is out of

date when one loves it.

Thank you, Hiram.

Are you enjoying your stay

In England, herr von Vistaberg?

What is it you enjoy most here?

That's hard to say, lady jean.

We've not seen much of London,

But here in the country,

I admire most the beautiful lawns

One finds around almost

every manor house.

Your lawn is one of the most perfect.

It would make an

excellent landing field.

I suppose it needs centuries of tending.

Landing field, Dietrich? For what?

For troops. They could easily

land in gliders on this lawn.

Oh, you mean airborne troops

Could land here during maneuvers.

During maneuvers, of course, sir.

Yes. Of course.

Boys of Dietrichs age learn

about planes and gliders

In their youth organizations,

So of course they think of nothing

But landing fields and such things.

All we learn in school

is latin and greek.

I wish they'd teach us

something about planes.

It's only natural that

Gerhard and Dietrich

Should be interested

in military matters.

When I traveled in Germany,

I drove by the Vistaberg

armament plants.

Very impressive, too.

Took me almost an hour to pass them,

And all the chimneys were smoking.

Of course, they weren't making arms.

That was prohibited by the peace terms.

Exactly. Under existing restrictions,

The Vistaberg plants produce

nothing but kitchen utensils,

Perambulators, gramophones,

agricultural implements,

Cameras, and so on.

Don't forget the vacuum

cleaners, Gerhard.

When father gave us the list,

He told us especially not to

forget the vacuum cleaners.

Vacuum cleaners and perambulators-

A smiling country

given to ways of peace.

Babies and cleanliness

- I like that.

That makes me very happy.

Yes, they've learned their lesson.

Germany has learned her lesson.

A beaten country-

I beg your pardon, sir!

Yes, Gerhard?

Germany was never beaten.

We never accepted the peace,

And we never shall.

The war was not fought to a finish.

The next time, we shall

not be cheated of victory.

We shall be proud and happy

to die on the field of honor.

Yes, well, if you boys are going to

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