Thunder Road Page #4

---

Those Illinois plates | look a bit gaudy up there.

They won't be on it too long, cousin. | Take it easy now.

"Take it easy", the man says.

When he's got the pace set so high | nobody but a lunatic could match it.

He's plumb crazy.

- How are those shackles? | - They're all set.

OK. Slide your tail under, | check that dump valve.

- OK? | - She's working.

Oughta empty 250 gallons in two minutes.

If I mounted that toggle switch | on the wheel it would work a lot better.

You may be right.

We might try it one of these days.

You really like messing around | with motors, don't you?

- I'm a fair hand. | - That's not a bad deal.

City newspapers are filled | with jobs for engineers.

I don't mean just cars - | turbo jets, ramjets, rockets.

Won't be long before every house in these | hills will be lighted with atomic power.

I guess that's a bit over my head.

You know, Luke... If I took your old '50, | gave it a new paint job, gear ratio...

Drive it straight into some penitentiary.

You forget about that old '50.

Check board's over there. | Soon as you get done, I'll road-test it.

- Hey, Luke. | - Jed.

I've been smoking over what they said at | the meeting and I do need another crate.

You want the address where I got mine?

I've got too much dough | tied up in that thing now...

You could pay for it in two weeks.

I got something else I need the cash for. | How about a deal on the Ford?

It's on the record. | They know it's a tanker.

So is mine.

I've seen Kogan's cars. | You do need new equipment.

Why don't you let me double up | on the run till you get the money?

How about the Ford?

It's not good enough. | That car's got five traffic violations.

Better than mine. Yes or no?

OK. Take it.

- You didn't say how much. | - See how you like it.

Roxanna phoned a while ago. | Said you promised to take her for a ride.

- The car ain't ready yet, Ma. | - You ought to call her.

Luke? Robin's saying | he's gonna take your old car.

Too late. Jethro Moultrie just bought it.

I told you before, Ma. Robin's not going | in the liquor business as anything.

That'd be the finest present | you could ever make to me.

We're in most of this territory, but in | Harlan we haven't got a single supplier.

The Harlan volume isn't large, but | the retailers use it to keep prices down.

That Doolin is fouling us up.

Don't worry - he'll miss one of these times | and take himself out.

We don't have time. He's gonna hold out | till he gets the fuzz down on all of us.

Now's the time to put Mr Lucas Doolin | out of commission permanently.

Lucky will arrange to wire him up | next time he's in town.

That'll be a pleasure. | I like handling these bust-out characters.

The man who owns that place | told me about that car.

It's got a moon tank built into it. | He noticed it while servicing it.

Same model as Doolin was driving. | Could be him.

It doesn't seem reasonable, Mike -

a stampeder like this Doolin | leaving his car in the open all night?

I'm gonna get me some cigarettes. | Hold the fort, eagle-eye.

I'm zeroed in.

- Howdy. | - Hi.

- My car ready? | - Yeah.

Thank you. See you later.

- Slide over, Jed. | - Why don't you get off my back?

The keys.

Luke?

You could at least answer a body.

What are you doing up here | by Black Rock Mill?

The hants'll get you up here.

The hants ain't here no more, Roxy. Too | peaceful for them here in the mountains.

When hants get restless, | they up and move on.

They're down there on the roads now. | Niles Penland can testify to that.

Jed Moultrie too.

They're bringing him back to the valley | he never wanted to leave.

What they could find of him.

It could have been you, Luke.

Yeah. It could have been, but it wasn't.

There's always somebody around | to take my place.

This time it was Jed.

Maybe next time - | if there's to be a next time -

I'll have something | to do with the choosing.

There wouldn't be a next time | if you just quit.

Quit? Why don't I quit breathing?

I just ain't gaited that way, Roxy.

You'll just have to get yourself used | to there being a next time - for somebody.

I hope that somebody | doesn't turn out to be Robin.

Roxy, I told my mother, I told my father, | I told Robin and now I'm telling you:

There's never gonna be | such a time for Robin.

Robin's not gonna be a whisky runner.

I'll kill anybody | who tries to make him one.

- Co on down. It's gonna start raining. | - Luke.

Can't we just wait a while? | The rain won't bother us none.

Find somebody content to punch a time | clock, plough a field, have a mess of kids.

I would - if they looked like you.

- You're never gonna have a lick of sense. | - Maybe not.

But I know what I want. Do you, Luke?

What? Know what I want?

Yeah, I know what I want. | I want to stop the clock.

- Turn it back to another time in the valley. | - What time was that, Luke?

I don't rightly remember, Roxy. | I've forgotten.

Hello, Mr Barrett. | They're waiting for you. Co in.

Thank you.

- Hello, Troy. | - Hello, Chief.

- I think you know everybody. | - Yes, I do. Hello.

- Sit down. | - Thanks.

I've just been briefing them on Harlan.

Bloody Harlan. In less than a month, | we've had four deaths in this area.

Yesterday, one of our agents - Michael | Williams - was killed in that car explosion.

I'm sending 200 extra agents down. We'll | handle it the way we did Birmingham.

If we have to, we'll ridge-walk | every foot of Harlan County.

- Come again. Come right frequent. | - We plan to.

Mighty wearing work | climbin' up and down these hills.

Might be you'd like to step over | to the house for a cup of coffee.

Phone there too. You might see | about getting your tyre fixed.

No, thanks. We'll have | that cup of coffee in my office.

And before we're through, nobody | will even make a teacup of whisky,

so you might as well get used to that idea.

We've had you before, | haven't we, Jimmy?

I did a mite of time a few years ago.

You fellas own this still | or are you working it for somebody?

Mister, I ain't gonna lie to you... | nor the judge...

but I promised the man who owned | the still I wasn't gonna lie to him neither.

OK. You're all tagged fair.

You wanna spend the weekend in jail or | report to the commissioner on Monday?

We'll be there, sure as fate.

- John? You got your records complete? | - Yeah.

Cut it up.

I'm worried about Luke.

He won't back off from nothing. | A mite edgy.

His judgment might not be so good now,

so I'm shutting down after this run.

So are most of the others.

Luke's making a run to Memphis tonight | and that's the end of it.

Harlan County's finally gonna shut down. | Never seen that in my day.

You'll see her open up again.

We've been making whisky in these hills | nigh on 250 years.

We'll be back in business | before you know it.

I just don't want nobody else | to get shot out of business.

Really put her through the wringer, | didn't you? Kogan outfit again?

Yeah. They had me boxed in pretty tight.

Henlon 37, please. Anyone who answers.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes