Thieves Like Us Page #4

Have some Coke. It's good for you.

T- DUB:
All right, hold it.

Let's get in the car.

Get in there.

Not there, lady. In the front seat.

(STATIC ON RADIO)

ANNOUNCER:
Authorities

in Dockville report

that two negroes accused of murder

were taken from the sheriff,

tortured, and lynched earlier today.

The two were...

(STATIC BUZZING)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANNOUNCER 2:

Four and a half minutes later,

the Endeavor crosses the finish line,

and King captures

the true spirit of her defeat.

Any news?

We got to wait for the papers.

What the hell is that?

What's all that noise?

MATTIE:
Bubba?

Bubba.

Elmo, you put on your pants.

There's ladies in this house.

(T-DUB LAUGHING)

Bubba, Bubba, I told you

about those firecrackers.

Now, you come on in here.

You just sit down here

and give me all your firecrackers.

I don't have any more.

Well, you just sit there until dinner time.

(ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)

MAN:
To the hills! Take to the hills!

MATTIE:
Noel Joy,

you go do your practicing before supper.

You know, we are

really traveling high on the hog,

considering that a couple of weeks ago

we didn't even have a pot to...

Or a window to throw it out of.

BOWIE:
Pretty nice.

Yeah, you really

hitched in with some real fast company,

hey, Bowie?

I'll say.

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

MAN:
Ready and

step, shuffle, ball change.

Step, shuffle, ball change.

Sugar, 2, 3, 4,

5, 6.

Step, shuffle, ball change.

Step, shuffle, ball change.

Sugar, 2, 3, 4...

Hey, boys, look at Lula.

Step, shuffle, ball change.

Don't you think

she and I would make a good team?

The last time I saw her,

she came up to my knees,

but look at her now.

Look at her.

Step, shuffle, ball change.

Hey, Lula,

do you remember the time I bought you

a little stuffed pillow?

It was down in Florida.

I think you were about

12 or 13 years old at that time.

- Do you remember that?

- Come on, Noel Joy.

- Let me comb out your hair.

- Yeah.

Yeah, I remember.

You squeezed me more than you did it.

Yeah. She's going to beauty school.

Ain't she pretty?

Now she's gonna make

other people pretty, too.

BOWIE:
I think you got

old T-Dub going, Lula.

Hey, it don't take much.

He's like an octopus.

Eight hands going all at once,

slimy and grimy.

Oh, come on, honey. We're in the family.

I'm like your uncle.

Uncle T-Grub.

Teddy, come on.

- Teddy?

- LULA:
Cut it out, okay?

She called him Teddy.

Like teddy bear.

What's so funny?

CHICAMAW:
Nothing.

Well, dinner's ready. Don't let it get cold.

Lula, come on in. It's on the table.

I wanna finish Noel Joy's hair.

Well, finish it at the table.

James Mattingly,

go out and get the paper.

It ain't there.

Well, go out and wait for it,

and I'll keep your dinner warm.

Come on, Lula,

let's get some of that dinner, huh?

- Come on, honey.

- Come on, let's go.

Okay?

Okay, okay.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

I don't wonder that brother of mine

isn't working

his head off to get out of prison

with cooking like this, Mattie.

It's not the cooking

that's gonna get him out, Teddy.

Yeah.

You cook like your sister, Lula?

No. I just go to beauty school.

That's the only thing

that's important to me.

Well, you just keep on doing it, honey.

Yeah.

Noel Joy, hand me the paper.

Bubba, take your hat off at the table.

Bowie, pass me Bubba's plate.

Noel Joy, don't shovel your food.

It's all over the front page.

Hey, let me see that.

"In one of the boldest bank holdups

in Mississippi history,

"three armed bandits this morning

"robbed the Canton Exchange Bank here,

"kidnapped A.T. Berger, vice president,

"his secretary, Miss Alma Biggerstaff,

"and escaped with what bank officials

estimated was more than

- "$100,000 in cash and securities. "

- Noel Joy,

eat your carrots and your peas even.

Hey, Chicamaw,

didn't you leave them the securities?

You're damn right, I did.

I put the securities in a sack

and tied the sack to his leg.

Yeah.

"Berger and Miss Biggerstaff,

"with Ted Phillips, negro bank porter,

- "also kidnapped by the trio... "

- Come on, Noel Joy,

- eat up.

- "... were picked up by passing motorists

"21 miles east of here at 8:00 tonight.

"Miss Biggerstaff was

in a hysterical condition

"from the day of terror

and imprisonment. "

I did my best to be nice to her.

"Working with precision

of master criminals... "

- Bubba, your meat's all cut up now.

- ... the robbers entered the bank

"before the doors opened this morning. "

- Get started.

- "The arriving bank employees,

"unable to get into the bank at 8:00,

"sounded the alarm.

"At a called meeting this morning

- "of the Chamber of Commerce... "

- Bubba,

- use your roll as a pusher.

- ... the director authorized

"the posting of a $100 reward

"for the capture of

any member of the gang

"dead or alive. "

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

What do you got for dessert, Mattie?

Bread pudding and raisins. I'll get it.

- You finished, Noel Joy?

- Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Let me have one of those, Lula.

You got a match, Bowie?

I have one.

Oh, thanks, kid.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

It's gonna rain.

(MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)

(MAN LAUGHING)

Who knows what evil

lurks in the hearts of men?

(LAUGHING)

The Shadow knows.

(ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING)

RADIO ANNOUNCER:

The Shadow, Lamont Cranston,

a man of wealth, a student of science

and a master of other people's minds,

devotes his life to righting wrongs,

protecting the innocent

and punishing the guilty.

Using advanced methods

that may ultimately become available

to all law enforcement agencies,

Cranston is known

to the underworld as the Shadow.

The Shadow's true identity is known only

to his constant friend

and aide, Margo Lane.

Today's story, The Message from the Hill.

MAN ON RADIO:
Hand me that map, Jake.

JAKE:
Yeah, okay, boss.

Spread it out on the table, Jordan.

Okay. Now let's check

the whole thing once more.

Hi.

Hi, Bowie.

(MEN CHATTERING ON RADIO)

Want me to dry for you?

No, that's okay.

It's all right.

I used to dry for my mama all the time.

Well, that's sweet of you, Bowie,

but that's Noel Joy's job.

Part of her training.

The plane goes up from

the coast on Friday.

Comes back on Saturday.

It pays a little visit

to the diamond mine in between.

JORDAN:
You're sure they ship

the diamonds out every three months?

Listen, Jordan. I've worked

for those fat-headed birds for over a year.

- I know.

- Well, it looks foolproof to me.

And there's enough diamonds

in one of them shipments

to keep us all like aristocrats.

Okay, Chick, let's take it.

Now, we're gonna do this

exactly like we got it planned, right?

We go in there and clean this bank out.

Yeah, yeah.

Only I want to get Lula inside that safe.

- No, no, no, no, no, no.

- Why?

No, no, no.

Now remember, you don't know her name.

This is just a teller.

You've never seen her before. It's not Lula!

- All right. All right.

- All right.

We got to do this right

or we don't do it at all.

We'll do it right!

- Okay!

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