# Hell-Bent fer Heaven (1924)/Act 2

Layout 2
ACT II
The same scene, a few minutes later. Andy sits staring blankly at the door with an expression of tragic determination. Rufe goes to the window and looks eagerly in the direction of the store.
Andy
[Sits up stiffly]
Is he comin’?
Rufe
[Comes over fearfully and lays his hand on Andy’s shoulder]
Andy, is they still evil in your heart in spite o’ what I’ve said to you?
Andy
[Between a sob and a laugh]
Ha! ha! Brother, let us pray! [He clasps his hands over his pistol and prays in the fashion of a minister with a hymn-book] O Lord, look down on this poor sinner an’ make him love his enemies an’ do good to ’em! [He bursts into unholy laughter] Ha, ha, ha! I’ll do good to him, all right!
Rufe
You ain’t a-goin’ to kill him now!
Andy
Every man has to die when his time comes!
[Sid and Jude are seen coming toward the house. Andy watches them with the unnatural calm of the drunken man. Rufe, frightened, slinks away toward the kitchen door as they enter.]
Jude
[Tactfully]
Andy, I’m ready to go home now if you are.
Andy
You know the way, an’ the road’s open!
Jude
But I don’t want to go by myself.
Andy
I got some business to settle ’ith Sid!
Jude
Well, I can wait fer you. I want to see Miz Hunt, anyhow. [She goes into the kitchen.]
Sid
Here’s your caterdges, Andy.
Andy
[Fumbles in his pocket for his purse]
An’ here’s your money!
Sid
That’s all right. I charged ’em.
Andy
’Tain’t all right! Not by a dam’ sight!
Sid
[Humoring him]
Well, Andy, jist as you say. [He takes the money and gives him the cartridges.] I’ll scratch ’em off the book the next time I go out there.
Andy
Rufe ’ll scratch ’em off! Don’t fergit that, Rufe! [He looks at Sid with deadly calm.] I don’t want no Hunt—in hell ner out—to say ’at I killed him on a credit!
Sid
[Turns on him squarely, uncertain whether he is joking or not]
The Hunts hain’t never accused you o’ not payin’ your debts, Andy!
Andy
They’ve had room to! I’ve owed ’em a passel o’ lead ever sence I ’us born! An’ I’m a-goin’ to pay it now!
Sid
What’s the trouble with him, Rufe? He seems to have sompen on his mind.
Rufe
I don’t know! He’s been a-talkin’ plumb wild! I tried to ca’m him, but I couldn’t!
Andy
You keep out o’ this, Rufe! [To Sid, with the same deadly calm] Sid Hunt, this is a free country, ain’t it?
Sid
That’s what they call it, Andy!
Andy
If it’s a free country, then everybody in it ought to be ekal!
Sid
Well, ain’t they? Some’s had more to drink ’n others, but that’s nothin’ to quarrel about.
Andy
I admit it, but that ain’t the p’int. When the Hunts an’ Lowries fought the last time the Hunts killed three more Lowries ’n the Lowries killed Hunts! Do you call that ekal?
Sid
That’s all over now, Andy!
Andy
But it ain’t ekal—is it?
Sid
Why, Andy, that happened so long ago—afore me an’ you ’us born!
Andy
That ain’t the p’int. It ain’t ekal!
Sid
All right, then, it ain’t. But what do you want me to do to equalize things?
Andy
I don’t want you to do a dam’ thing but holler! I’ll do the ekalizin’! An’ they’s only one way! The Hunts killed three more Lowries ’n the Lowries killed Hunts! I’m a-goin’ to kill three more Hunts ’n the Hunts killed Lowries!
Sid
[Trying to appear calm]
Three more. That sounds reasonable enough. Now lemme see, how many Hunts ’ill that make in all?
Andy
Only six! An’ I got jist six caterdges in my pistol! That’s provydential!
Sid
It does look like it. The only question is which six Hunts it’s a-goin’ to be. [Coaxingly] Now I’ll tell you, Andy, I’ve got lots o’ no-’count kin———
Andy
No! You cain’t come that on me! I got no-’count kin, too! They ain’t worth killin’.
Sid
I expect you’re right about that, Andy.
Andy
I know dam’ well I’m right!
Sid
Now look here, Andy, I want this thing done like it ought to be. [Persuasively] Now I’ll tell you what I’ll do. You go home an’ study ’bout this overnight ​an’ come back to-morrow mornin’. If you still want to kill six of us then, I’ll let you take your pick.
Andy
Ha, ha! You think I’m a dam’ fool, don’t you? Well, I am; but I ain’t that sort!
Sid
All right, Andy, jist as you say! If you’d druther begin on what you got here now, I’ll send fer ’em. Only, they ain’t enough to make out your six. [Significantly to Rufe] Rufe, step out thar an’ tell Pap an’ Gran’pap that Andy ’ld like to see ’em here on pertickler business.
Andy
No! [To Rufe] You grow to the place where you’re a-standin’! [Turns to Sid] Don’t neither of you move a peg ner bat a eye!
Sid
All right, Andy. Whatever you say’s gospel as fur as I’m concerned!
Andy
I know dam’ well it is! Rufe, git your banjer!
[Rufe obeys, taking the banjo from a peg on the wall.]
Can you pick “Turkey in the Straw”?
Rufe
I use’ to could. But I hain’t practiced no jig tunes lately.
Andy
You’re a-goin’ to practice one now! Set down thar an’ let ’er go! [Rufe hesitates.] Set down, I tell you. This ain’t no time to stand up fer Jesus! [Rufe seats himself and strikes the first note. Andy turns on Sid with an expression of maudlin determination] Sid Hunt, the Scripture says they’s a time fer everything!
Sid
That’s right, Andy!
Andy
I know dam’ well it’s right! [He pauses to recall what he was going to say] When the Hunts an’ Lowries fought the last time, the Hunts made my gran’daddy dance afore they shot him! [He cocks his pistol.] This is the time to dance!
Sid
Well, you’re the boss! Whatever you say goes ’ith me!
Andy
Then cut your patchin’! [Rufe strikes up “Turkey in the Straw” and Sid starts to dance. Andy follows him, keeping time with his pistol. Sid moves gradually ​toward the outside door, but Andy heads him off.] Sash-i-ate! [Sid dances back toward the center of the room. Andy follows him, calling the figures with increasing tempo] For’ard an’ back! Corners turn an’ sash-i-ate! Hit the floor! Swing an’ circle! Ladies change an’ gents the same! Right an’ left! The shoo-fly swing! Sash-i-ate!
[Sid sashays toward the kitchen door. Andy rushes after him.]
Rufe
[Seeing the muzzle of the pistol pointed in his direction, screams with terror]
Oh! Don’t———!
Andy
[Raises the pistol and covers Sid]
Wait! Swing your partner! [Sid turns and looks into the muzzle of the pistol.] That’s right! Face the music!
[Sid wipes the perspiration from his forehead, but gives no other sign of fear. Jude appears from the kitchen.]
Jude
Andy! What are you———
Andy
Git to hell out o’ here if you don’t want a bullet in you!
[Jude rushes forward with a piercing scream. Sid springs under Andy’s arm, thrusting it upward with a twist. The pistol falls to the floor. Sid releases Andy and seizes the pistol.]
Rufe
Thank the Lord!
Jude
[Rushing between Andy and Sid]
Don’t kill him!
Sid
I ain’t a-goin’ to.
Andy
That’s a lie—you air a-goin’ to. Come on! You got me. Why don’t you shoot?
Sid
I dunno’s killing you ’ld equalize things any, Andy.
Jude
What’s the matter with him, Sid?
[Meg and David enter hurriedly from the kitchen]
Sid
You’ll have to ax somebody ’at knows. He’s a-settin’ out to kill as many more Hunts as the Hunts killed Lowries in a feud fifty years ago!
Meg
[With a shudder of horror]
Oh! It’s all beginnin’ over ag’in!
David
This is your work, Rufe!
Sid
Now don’t go packin’ it on Rufe! He done all he could to ca’m Andy!
David
Mebby so! [He looks at Rufe, who stands with an expression of martyrdom.] I b’lieve in givin’ the devil his dues! But he knowed Andy ’us a-drinkin’ when he started that talk about the feud!
Sid
My experience has been that a man don’t take fire at a notion like that when he’s drunk ’less he’s been thinkin’ some ’bout it when he’s sober! [He puts the pistol in his pocket and takes hold of Andy’s arm.] Come on, Andy! I’m a-goin’ to put you on your horse now an’ send you home, where you ought to be!
Jude
[Steps toward him with an apologetic air]
I’ll take keer of him, Sid!
Sid
He’s sober enough to go home by hisself. You stay here. I want to talk to you ’bout this. [He leads Andy out.]
Meg
[To David]
Go on out thar with ’em an’ see ’at they don’t start fightin’ ag’in! [David follows them. Med lifts her apron to her eyes and sobs, despairingly.] It’s all a-startin’ over jist like it did the first time! I’ll never see another minute’s peace now as long as I live!
Jude
I never thought my brother ’ld act like that!
Meg
’Tain’t your fault! They cain’t none of us help what our folks do! [She goes into the kitchen, weeping.]
Rufe
They ain’t no use grievin’ about it. I’d druther see everybody live together in peace. But fer all we know, this may ha’ been so ordered. If it wus it ’ll all work out fer the best in the end.
Jude
How’d Andy ever git started quarrelin’ ’ith Sid?
Rufe
Trouble don’t generally start all on one side. But I’m a friend to both of ’em an’ I’m a-goin’ to keep my mouth shet.
Jude
I know Sid wouldn’t ha’ crossed him a-purpose when he’s a-drinkin’.
Rufe
Well, as I said afore, I ain’t a-takin’ sides neither way. But Sid can be mighty overbearin’ when he’s a mind to.
Jude
What’d he say to Andy?
Rufe
Some folks don’t have to say things; they can look ’em. [He cuts his eye at her significantly] But you’ll understand what I mean when you marry Sid.
Jude
I hain’t said yit I ’us a-goin’ to marry him!
Rufe
[Eagerly]
You hain’t said you wusn’t?
Jude
[With simple dignity]
No; an’ I dunno’s I have any call to say it now. I don’t know what’s a-goin’ to happen now!
Rufe
If you do marry him you’ll find out lots o’ things about him that you didn’t know before. I know you think I’m a-sayin’ this fer selfish reasons! But I ain’t! Sence I first told you I loved you, Jude, I’ve learned to sing “less o’ self an’ more o’ Thee”! It’s not my own good I’m after now, but your good—only yourn! An’ I tell you, Jude, ef you marry Sid I know you’re a-goin’ to rue it the longest day you live!
Jude
Well, suppose you an’ Sid found out you both knowed the same thing about me?
Rufe
The question is, which is right an’ which is wrong.
Jude
An’ who’s a-goin’ to settle that?
Rufe
Him—up yonder!
Jude
Do you think He bothers his head much about who’s a-goin’ to marry who?
Rufe
I know He does! I’ll tell you why!
Jude
I’d ruther not hear it now! I got too much else to think about—with killin’ in the air!
Rufe
But I want to explain afore it’s too late. I want you to know that my love fer you wus ordained from above. The first time I ever thought o’ marryin’ you, Jude, ’us when I seen you in church the day I got religion!
Jude
Mebby you wouldn’t ha’ thought of it then if you’d been a-studyin’ ’bout your religion like you’d ought ha? been.
Rufe
I wus, Jude! That’s jist the p’int! The whole thing ’us spiritual! I mind it jist as well as if it ’us yistidy! Preachin’ ’us over an’ they ’us singin’ “None but Christ.” When they come to the verse,
“I sighed fer rest an’ happiness, I yearned fer them, not Thee; But while I passed my Saviour by, His love laid hold o’ me,”
​I looked across the aisle an’ seen you a-settin’ thar a-singin’! An’ sompen hot swep’ over me jist like fire! At first I thought it ’us Satan a-temptin’ me, an’ I tried to look t’other way. I don’t never look at the women’s side in the meetin’-house. Anybody ’at knows me ’ll tell you that. But I couldn’t look no other way then. Some power greater an’ stronger ’n me seemed to have holt o’ my neck, a-twistin’ it around toward you. I ’us absolutely helpless, jist as helpless as a child! But I didn’t know what it wus till they got to the last verse. You know how it goes:
“The pleasures lost I sadly mourned, But never wept fer Thee, Tell grace my sightless eyes received, Thy love-li-ness to see.”
It ’us then that the scales dropped from my eyes! An’ I seen the truth! An’ when I did, everything in the whole world ’us changed fer me! I loved everybody an’ everything! An’ I us so happy I felt jist like I ’us a-floatin’ away on a ocean o’ joy!
Jude
If you felt like that you’d better let well-enough alone. I couldn’t make you no-happier by marryin’ you.
Rufe
Yes, you could, Jude! [With a mystical suggestion] The half has never been told!
Jude
The half o’ what?
Rufe
[Looks at her significantly and chants]
“I’ve hyeard of a beautiful city, Fur away in the Kingdom o’ God; I’ve hyeard how its walls are o’ jasper, How its streets are golden an’ broad! In the midst o’ the street is life’s river, Clear as crystal an’ pyor to behold.
[Rolling his eyes mystically]
Not half o’ the joys that await ’em To mortals has ever been told! Not half has ever been told! Not half o’ the joys that await ’em To mortals has ever been told!”
You know how the rest of it goes!
Jude
Yeh, but that’s heaven. An’ they ain’t no marryin’ ner givin’ in marriage thar!
Rufe
Yes, they is, Jude! They’s spiritual marriage! That’s what I mean!
Jude
No, that ain’t the sort you’re a-thinkin’ about.
Rufe
You’re wrong thar! That’s the only sort I ever think about! I can say truthfully, Jude, that I’ve never had a thought about you ner no other woman that I’d be ashamed to tell to the angels in heaven!
Sid
[Enters at the front, laughing]
Angels in heaven, eh?
Jude
Sid! Did Andy git off home all right?
Sid
Not yit. I left him out thar behind the store.
Jude
Is he sick?
Sid
Yeh—but he’ll soon be over it. He was throwin’ it off purty fast when I left.
Jude
You didn’t give him back his pistol, did you?
Sid
No. They ain’t nuthin’ to worry about, Jude. He’ll be all right when he’s sober. Besides, Grandpap’s out ​there with him. So I thought I’d come in an’ have a little talk ’ith you; that is, if I ain’t a-cuttin’ short a preachment by Rufe. When I come in he was sayin’ sompen ’bout angels in heaven.
Jude
He says he can tell ’em all his thoughts about women. An’ that’s more ’n you can do, I expect!
Sid
Ha, ha! Well, I hadn’t thought about tryin’ jist yit!
Rufe
’Tain’t nothin’ to laugh about! A man hain’t got no right to look at a woman, much less marry ’er, tell he can think right thoughts about her!
Sid
How’s he a-goin’ to know what sort o’ thoughts he can think about her tell he looks at her?
Rufe
All my thoughts about ’em are right thoughts. [Maliciously, with his eyes on Jude] But o’ course I hain’t never seen them French gals you ’us a-tellin’ about while ago!
Jude
What ’us he a-sayin’ about French gals?
Rufe
Don’t ax me. I ain’t a-carryin’ no tales,
Sid
You’ve said enough already. [He makes a move toward ham half angrily, then stops with a puzzled expression.] I cain’t quite make you out, Rufe. I dunno whether you’re a trouble breeder or whether you’re jist teched in the head with religion. But whichever it is, I want you to git this much straight: Me an’ Jude’s a-goin’ to be married, an’ anything I want her to know about them French gals I’ll tell her myself.
Jude
I’ve never said I ’us a-goin’ to marry you!
Sid
Well, if you’ve got any doubts on the subject I’ll clear ’em up [he glances at Rufe significantly] as soon as I have a chance to talk to you by yourself!
Rufe
You needn’t knock me down with it. I’m perfectly willin’ to give you your chance with Jude. I guess she can jedge whether she could be happy yoked up to a unbeliever.
[He puts on his hat and goes out stiffly.]
Sid
[Laughing]
Religion certainly does take a quair turn ’ith some folks!
Jude
It don’t seem to be a-troublin’ you none. Sid, how’d Andy ever come to think o’ shootin’ you?
Sid
You got me! He’d been mixin’ his licker, I reckon.
Jude
That don’t ’count fer it! What ’d you mean while ago when you said a man didn’t act like Andy when he’s drunk ’less he’s been studyin’ some about it when he’s sober?
Sid
Jist what I said. He don’t generally.
Jude
Then you think Andy’s been holdin’ a grudge ag’in’ you?
Sid
I cain’t account fer him flarin’ up like he did no other way. Has he ever said anything to you about evenin’ up the score between the Hunts an’ Lowries? [She starts and takes a step away from him with instinctive distrust.] You needn’t be afraid to tell me!
Jude
I ain’t afraid to tell nobody the truth! [With suppressed emotion] It’s a lie I’d be afraid to tell—er to act! [She sees from his expression that he doesn’t understand her.] I b’lieve you know more about what started Andy’s tantrum ’n you purtend to!
Sid
Jude, you don’t think I picked a fuss ’ith Andy!
Jude
I dunno what I think! But I know Andy didn’t bear no grudge ag’in’ you!
Sid
The chances are he wouldn’t ha’ told you if he had!
Jude
An’ I wouldn’t tell you—if you did ask me!
Sid
Why wouldn’t you?
Jude
’Cause Andy’s my brother! That’s reason enough, ain’t it?
Sid
But I’m the man that’s a-goin’ to marry you!
Jude
That’s what you’ve been a-sayin’,
Sid
Well, you are a-goin’ ter marry me, ain’t you?
Jude
I wus mebbe—before. But now—I dunno.
Sid
Now see here, Jude! If this trouble with Andy is a-standin’ between us we might as well settle it right now.
Jude
[With a flare of passion]
You got no right to make me take sides ag’in’ my own flesh an’ blood!
Sid
I ain’t a-goin’ to try to make you. That’s sompen you’ll have to decide fer yourself. The Bible says a man an’ woman ought to leave their daddy an’ mammy an’ all the rest o’ their kin an’ stick together in spite o’ the devil—at least, that’s the sense of it. I don’t purtend to pattern after Scripture like Rufe, but that part allus hit me as bein’ jist about right. An’ if you don’t feel the same way, I want to know it now.
Jude
But I— [She looks at him dumbly.]
Sid
They ain’t no room fer “buts” here, Jude. If you’ve got any doubt about whose side you’d be on in a fight between me an’ your folks, you’d better give yourself the benefit of ’em.
Jude
I couldn’t never go back on my own kin!
Sid
Then that’s settled. [He turns away.] We don’t belong together.
Jude
You don’t actially think our folks are a-goin’ to start fightin’ ag’in, do you, Sid?
Sid
Not if I can keep ’em from it. But that ain’t the p’int; if they do start, I don’t want no weak sister fer a wife. If a woman ain’t fur a man she’s purty apt to be ag’in’ him. They don’t come a-settin’ on the fence.
Jude
You mean I got to—take sides ag’in’ my own folks?
Sid
I mean you’ve got to stand by me if you marry me.
[She looks at him helplessly. He meets her gaze firmly, without flinching.]
Jude
[Breaks down, sobbing]
But it ain’t right! You know it ain’t right to go ag’in’ my own blood!
Sid
Well, nobody ain’t a-makin’ you marry me.
Jude
[Turns on him angrily]
What do you keep on a-sayin’ that fer when it ain’t so! You know I cain’t do nothin’ else!
[She sobs incoherently and puts her arms about him.]
Sid
[Embracing her tenderly]
I sorter hoped you couldn’t, Jude. But I wanted you to find out fer yourself.
Jude
[Still sobbing]
I’m a-goin’ to do what’s right, but it’s terrible hard. Andy’s my own brother! ’Tain’t in human nacher to———
Sid
Don’t you worry about that! They ain’t a-goin’ to be no trouble. I jist wanted to find out whar you stood, in case they wus. But you jist leave all that to me. Nuthin’ ain’t a-goin’ to happen to Andy ner nobody else.
[Matt and David are seen coming toward the front door. Sid and Jude separate. Jude turns away toward the kitchen to hide her tears.]
David
Sid, me and Matt— [Sees Jude and hesitates.] Step out here a minute, Sid.
Sid
Is it about Andy?
David
Yeh,
Sid
Well, you can talk afore Jude. Me an’ her’s decided to git married.
David
Well, I’m glad o’ that!
Matt
Mebbe it ’ll help to keep the peace.
Sid
It ’d orter. Go right ahead an’ say what you’re a-mind to. Jude knows all about the row with Andy, and they ain’t no doubt where she stands.
David
Well, Matt and me’s been a-talkin’ it over an’ we think you'd better ride up an’ ax Andy’s daddy to come down here.
Jude
What do you want ’ith Paw?
David
We want to talk to him ’bout Andy.
Sid
Whyn’t you wait tell Andy’s hisself ag’in an’ let me an’ him‘talk this over? I never knowed no good to come o’ one o’ these fam’ly talkin’-matches yit. Me an’ Andy can patch things up if you’ll jist let us alone.
David
This ain’t no time fer patchwork. I want to git Jim Lowry right here on the ground, face to face ’ith you an’ Andy, an’ tell him edzactly what happened afore the tale has a chance to grow. I’ve allus found him reasonable enough.
[Rufe enters at the front.]
Rufe
Jude, Andy said tell you he ’us ready to start home now an’ to ax you if you ’us a-goin’ with him.
Jude
[To David]
Do you want him to wait tell you send fer Paw? If you do I’ll tell him.
David
That’s my advice, but I don’t want to be pig-headed about it.
Sid
I don’t, neither. Mebby your way’s the best. But if Andy’s reached the state o’ ’countability ag’in, I’d like to know how he stands on it afore we send fer his daddy. I know if I ’us Andy it ’ld jist make me mad.
Jude
I’ll talk to him an’ see what he says. [She goes out.]
Sid
How is he now, Rufe—sober enough to ride his horse home?
Rufe
Yeh, I reckon so, I never seed licker go to nobody’s head like it did to hisn. When a man talks as wild as ​he did while ago, I believe it ’ld be better fer everybody concerned—hisself included—to put him behind bars. If I ’us in your place I’d certainly have him bound by law to keep the peace.
David
Folks that can be bound by law to keep the peace don’t have to be. They’re blood kin to them that looks around fer somebody to hold ’em when a fight starts. Andy belongs to t’other breed. [Goes to window, turns to Matt and Sid] They must ha’ been a reg’lar toad-strangler up the river last night. She’s a-b’ilin’ like a kittle o’ fish!
Matt
I noticed it ’us risin’ purty sharp as me an’ Sid crossed the bridge.
Sid
’Tain’t out o’ banks yit, is it?
David
Nowhere ’cept in the low places. She soon will be, though, if she keeps on! I never seed the ole sow a-gittin’ her bristles up so fast!
Rufe
They’d be a camp-meetin’ time if that big dam busted, an’ they’s one wing of it that ain’t finished yit.
David
You needn’t lose no sleep over that. I ’us up thar t’other day, an’ they ain’t water enough this side o’ Jordan to shake that wall. Nothin’ short of a box o’ dynamite ’ld ever make a dent on it.
Rufe
It wouldn’t surprise me much if some o’ the folks that fit so hard to keep ’em from puttin’ it in tried blastin’ to git it out. They’s one of ’em that’s been a-sendin’ to town by me fer a mighty heap o’ dynamite to dig wells with.
David
In my opinion, Rufe, you’ve been usin’ a good part o’ that dynamite yourself.
Rufe
Me! I’d like to know what I’d be usin’ it fer!
David
To kill fish. I’ve seed you come back several times lately ’ith a fine string o’ trout. An’ I never noticed no hook marks in their mouths.
Rufe
I allus fish ’ith a tiny little pin-hook, to keep from tearin’ their mouths! I’m thankful to say I can ketch ​’em ’cordin’ to law. I don’t have to blast ’em out ’ith dynamite! [He goes out.]
Matt
[Glances in the direction that he has gone]
Somebody’s been a-blastin’ ’em lately. I’ve seed lots o’ little uns a-floatin’ downstream dead.
Andy
[In the distance]
I’m all right—you don’t need to help me.
[Jude is seen coming toward the door with him. He is much sobered, but still slightly unsteady on his legs. There is a moment of constrained silence as he enters and looks about him.]
Sid
Here, Andy, have a cheer!
Andy
[Hangs his head shamefacedly]
No. Much obliged. I can stand all right. Jude said you axed her to marry you.
Sid
Yeh, that’s right, Andy.
Andy
Well, I reckon they ain’t no use in tellin’ you that I made a fool o’ myself while ago. You ’us all here an’ seed it. But she wanted me to say it, and— [He stops, unable to find suitable words.]
Sid
Fergit it, Andy. That’s what I’m a-goin’ to do. Somebody done some purty tall talkin’, I admit. But it expect it ’us the licker you drunk, instid o’ you.
Andy
I dunno ’bout that. But I know it ’us me that drunk the licker!
David
’Tain’t none o’ my business, Andy, but if I found out they ’us truck I couldn’t put inside o’ me ’thout addlin’ my brains, I’ll be derned if I wouldn’t keep it out er bust!
Andy
I’m a-goin’ to keep it out hereafter if I know myself!
Sid
Then here’s sompen you can take home with you when you start.
[He takes Andy’s pistol out of his pocket and offers it to him.]
Andy
[Starts to take it and stops]
No! I'll git it some other time!
Sid
[Puzzled]
Why don’t you want to take it now?
Andy
I dunno whether I’m sober enough yit!
Sid
Ha, ha! If that’s all ’at’s worryin’ you, I’ll run the resk!
[He drops the pistol in Andy’s holster.]
Jude
[Nervously ']
We’d better be goin’, Andy!
Sid
Wait till I saddle a horse an’ I’ll go a piece with you. I want to see how it feels to have my feet in stirrups ag’in after walkin’ all over the world.
David
[Who has been looking at the weather signs]
I don’t want to hurry nobody off, but from the way the clouds air a-b’ilin’ over the mountain thar it ​wouldn’t s’rprise me if we had fallin’ weather ag’in afore night.
[Matt goes out to look at the clouds.]
Sid
Well, I ain’t skeered of a little water.
[He goes out.]
David
I ain’t, nuther. But I’m like all Baptists; I abominate havin’ it sprinkled on me.
Jude
[Looks into the kitchen, then turns to David]
Where’d Miz Hunt go?
David
I expect she’s out thar a-roundin’ up her young turkeys. ’Bout half of ’em got draggled in the rain yistidy, an’ they’re droopin’ an’ dyin’ like good children.
[Jude goes out through the kitchen. David follows her. Andy sits gloomily, his face in his hands. Rufe enters at the front and looks at him furtively.]
Rufe
[Comes forward]
Well, Andy, I jist hyeard Matt say everythin’ is all smoothed over an’ they ain’t a-goin’ to be no more trouble.
Andy
[Grunts, without looking at him]
Yeh, that’s right.
Rufe
I certainly hope it is.
Andy
I ain’t a-goin’ ter rake up the past, if Sid don’t! An’ I guess he won’t, now that he’s a-goin’ to marry Jude.
Rufe
[Starts]
Oh, is he a-goin’ ter marry her?
Andy
Yeh, they got it all fixed up.
Rufe
That ’d orter help some. [Then with a nervous laugh] I see you got your pistol back. [Comes toward Andy, lowering his voice guardedly] Andy, if I tell you sompen as a friend, will you swear on the Bible never to breathe it to a soul?
Andy
My word’s as good as my oath!
Rufe
I know it is! An’ that’s all I want!
Andy
Then consider ’at you’ve got it!
Rufe
[Comes still closer to him]
You value your life, don’t you, Andy?
Andy
I reckon I do. I’ve had plenty o’ chances to throw it away, an’ I hain’t took none of ’em yit.
Rufe
Well, you got another now! [Significantly] If I ’us in your place I’d make myself as scarce as hen teeth around here!
Andy
What are you drivin’ at? Have they got a bullet salted fer me?
Rufe
[Gives him an eloquent look]
If they have they hain’t told me!
Andy
I don’t want to know what they’ve told you! I want to know what you know!
Rufe
As man to man?
Andy
Yeh, as man to man!
Rufe
I’m a-takin’ a big chance to tell you! But you’ve allus been my friend, Andy! An’ I’ll stick by a friend tell Jedgment, They’re all I got left in the world!
Andy
[Impatiently]
Well, come on! What are they up to?
Rufe
Jist now—afore you come in———
Andy
Yeh?
Rufe
Sid an’ his daddy an’ the ole rooster ’us a-holdin’ a inquest over you!
Andy
A inquest!
Rufe
That’s what I’d call it!
Andy
What ’us the verdick—death from nachel causes?
Rufe
They didn’t edzackly say that.
Andy
But you know what they meant?
Rufe
We never know nothin’ in this world. But my advice to you is not to let Sid ketch you by yourself in a lonesome spot in the woods ’less you want to wear a wooden overcoat.
Andy
If that’s his game, why didn’t he let daylight through me when he had a good excuse? [Lays his hand on his pistol] An’ what’d he gimme back my pistol fer?
Rufe
You don’t know Sid like I do, He’s deeper ’n he looks. If he’d ha’ killed you while ago when he had a chance, Jude ’ld never ha’ married him. But he’s made hisself solid ’ith her now by lettin’ you off. He can afford to wait to put you to sleep tell they ain’t nobody a-lookin’, though that ain’t a-pesterin’ his mind much, fer he knows the law cain’t tetch him.
Andy
Why cain’t it?
Rufe
’Cause you threatened his life in the presence o’ witnesses.
Andy
Has he got all that figgered out aforehand?
Rufe
That an’ more. [He hears footsteps outside and glances toward the door.] Here he comes now. You watch him! He’ll be so smooth with you that butter won’t melt in his mouth! [Sid enters briskly.]
Sid
I’m ready, Andy, if you are. Where’s Jude?
Andy
I dunno! She went out thar to look fer your mammy!
Sid
Jist set still, I’ll call her. I hope your head ain’t a-feelin’ top heavy, fer I expect we’re a-goin’ to have to do some hard ridin’ to keep ahead o’ that cloud. It looks like it might rain tadpoles.
[He goes out through the kitchen.]
Rufe
Thar! What’d I tell you!
Andy
Well, I’ve done all I could! I admitted to ’im ’at I ’us wrong to breach that ole fight ag’in!
Rufe
I know you did, Andy. An’ ’tain’t a-goin’ to do you no good to eat more dirt fer ’em ’less you’re prepared to eat six feet of it. Fer I hyeard Sid tell his daddy that you wusn’t the sort o’ man as could be bound by his word to keep the peace.
Andy
That’s sompen I cain’t understand, Rufe! If I had it in my heart to kill a man, I couldn’t act toward him like I ’us his friend!
Rufe
Me nuther. I b’lieve in speakin’ my mind an’ lettin’ whatever comes up come out. But you have to fight fire with fire; you cain’t afford to take no chances when your life’s at stake.
Andy
What ’ld you do if you ’us in my place?
Rufe
I ain’t a-sayin’ what I would do, but I know one thing I wouldn’t: I wouldn’t wait fer him to git the drop on me! I’d be the early bird!
Andy
No! I won’t shoot first, ’less he starts it! But I’m a-goin’ to keep my eyes glued on him, an’ the first suspicious move he makes [he pats the handle of his pistol caressingly] one or t’other of us ’ll be buzzards’ meat!
Rufe
[Insinuatingly]
That’s all right—if he don’t take a crack at you from the bushes!
[It has grown suddenly darker. A gust of wind strikes the house, followed by thunder and lightning. Sid, Jude, David and Meg enter from kitchen.]
Sid
Andy, looks like it’s a-tunin’ up fer a reg’lar harrycane! What do you say to havin’ your horse put up an’ stayin’ a while longer?
Andy
No, I guess I’ll be movin’ along.
Sid
You might jist as well stay.
David
Yeh, why not?
Andy
I got to go!
Sid
Andy, I hope you ain’t got a notion ’at they’s any hard feelin’s [claps him on the shoulder], ’cause they ain’t.
David
’Course not !
Sid
Jude ’ll stay. Won’t you, Jude?
Jude
I reckon I’d better. They won’t expect me back in a storm, They won’t expect Andy, neither.
Andy
I’ve told you ’at I’m a-goin’, storm er no storm!
Sid
Well, you know your own business. Ef you’re sot on goin’, let’s git started. [Starts out.]
Meg
[Stopping him]
Sid, they ain’t no need o’ your goin’!
Sid
Yes, they is. Whatever Andy’s reason fer goin’ is, I reckon I got a better one. I don’t intend to waste no ​time a-gittin’ things settled with Jude’s paw. An’ I couldn’t ha’ picked a better time. If he makes any objection, I’ll have the ups on him while she’s water-bound!
Jude
I dunno’s water ’ld help you keep me here ef I didn’t want to stay!
Sid
[Laughs]
Well, anyway, I’ll tell your folks not to expect you tell you git thar. Are you ready, Andy?
Andy
You bet your boots I am! I’m ready fer anything—hell er high water!
Sid
[Glances at the sky]
It looks like we might have a little o’ both afore long! [Calls back] I’ll be back fer supper if nothin’ happens!
[He goes out with Andy. Meg follows them to the door and looks after them anxiously. Pause.]
Rufe
[Goes to the door and stands by Meg]
I wouldn’t worry! If any harm’s a-goin’ to come to ’em, worryin’ won’t stop it!
Meg
I wusn’t thinkin’ ’bout that so much as this everlastin’ rain! I’d think it ’ld git out o’ water some time an’ stop! We hain’t had three hours o’ sunshine on a stretch in over a month!
David
Well, I wouldn’t lose heart jist because you’ve had a few turkeys drabbled! Think what a time old Noah’s wife had a-roundin’ up her menagery! [Meg goes to the fireplace and begins fumbling with the kindling.] What in the nation are you a-buildin’ a fire fer? You am’t cold?
Meg
No, but the air feels damp. An’ everything in the house molds so if I don’t dry it out once an’ a while!
David
Then lemme start it fer you! [He takes the kindling and proceeds to lay the fire.] I never seed a woman yit that could build a fire ’thout gittin’ it catawampused!
Jude
I’ve noticed that all the things that men want to do are a man’s Job; an’ them they don’t, like washin’ dishes an’ milkin’, are a woman’s.
David
Then how do you ’count fer it that when I tried milkin’ fer you a long time ago the ole cow kicked so I couldn’t? She seemed to know it wusn’t a man’s job!
Meg
She had room to kick. You pinched her teats to make her!
David
Lord forgive you, Meg! How’d you ever come to think a thing like that?
Meg
I didn’t think it. I hyeard you a-braggin’ about it to Sid one day when you thought I wusn’t a-listenin’.
David
That’s the trouble ’ith women these days: they’ve been a-listenin’ to men’s talk till they’ve got too smart fer comfort! If they keep on, I dunno how men are a-goin’ to live ’ith the next generation of ’em!
Jude
I dunno’s I’d live ’ith one that pinched my cow to keep from milkin’ her.
David
Then you’d better warn Sid as soon as you marry him, fer it ’ld be jist like him to try it!
Meg
Course it would, now ’at you’ve put him up to it!
David
Well, as long as the women tell the gals all they know, it’s nothin’ but right that men should give their kind the benefit o’ their experience. If they didn’t, the women ’ld soon be on top!
Rufe
I dunno’s that ’ld be sich a calamity. If women had their way they’d be less fightin’ an’ drinkin’ an’ more folks a-workin’ fer the comin’ o’ the Kingdom o’ Heaven on earth!
Meg
At least they’d be fewer a-pinchin’ pore dumb brutes to git out o’ doin’ any sort o’ work. Men ain’t perfect. I can think o’ lots o’ ways o’ improvin’ the breed.
David
It’s a quair thing to me that woman, ever sence the Lord made her out o’ man’s crookedest part, has allus considered it her main job to keep him straight!
Meg
If that’s her main job, she’s made a purty pore job of it!
David
Well, a man’s got to stay on top, somehow.
Rufe
Yeh! By hook er by crook!
David
Edzactly! The strong uns do it by hook an’ the weak uns by crook! That’s the only difference! [A shot is heard in the distance, followed almost instantly by a second. They all start and look at one another in alarm, as if afraid to put their fear in words. David continues with pretended indifference] Wus that somebody a-shootin’?
Meg
Yes! [She rushes to the door and listens.]
David
Which way wus it?
Meg
[With a half-dazed expression, her eyes in the distance]
Up the road!
David
Oh, I reckon it’s Andy a-lettin’ off steam!
Rufe
Yeh, that must ha’ been what it wus.
Meg
It couldn’t ha’ been Andy! He hain’t got his pistol!
Jude
Oh! [She sinks into a chair.]
Meg
[Pityingly]
Now they ain’t no use in that, Jude! I know what you’re thinkin’; but if Sid had wanted to harm Andy he’d ha’ done it here while ago!
Jude
That ain’t what I’m skeered of!
Meg
[With sudden change of expression as the idea dawns on her]
Did Sid give Andy back his pistol?
Jude
[Almost inaudibly, nodding her head]
Yes!
Meg
[Looks first at Jude and then at David with blazing eyes]
What ’d he do it fer?
David
Why, Meg, I b’lieve you’re plum tarryfied! They ain’t no sense in makin’ things no wuss ’n they are!
[A horse is heard approaching at a gallop.]
Meg
[Turns eagerly in the direction of the sound]
What’s that?
David
It’s Sid a-comin’ back, I reckon he must ha’ forgot sompen. It beats me the way you can make a bear outen a bush!
Rufe
[Sympathetically]
She cain’t help her thoughts!
Meg
[Who has stepped outside on the doorstep, utters a ptercing cry]
Oh, God!
[Rufe runs to the door and looks out. Meg turns and ​staggers blindly into the house, her face covered with her apron. David and Jude catch her as she is about to sink to the floor.]
David
Dern it all, Meg, what’s the matter with you? [As they place her in a chair] I declare I never seed a growed-up woman as chicken-hearted as she is!
Rufe
[Shakes his head ominously]
That does look bad!
David
What looks bad, you dad-burned fool!
Rufe
Nothin’—only that ’us Sid’s horse ’ith the empty saddle that she seed a-turnin’ in at the barn gate!
David
Well, what if it wus?
Rufe
Nothin’! I jist don’t like the looks of it! That’s all!
David
Well, I hope it’s all from you!
Meg
[Rocks back and forth, sobbing]
They ain’t no use in foolin’ ourselves! It’s happened! He’s dead! Andy’s killed him!
David
Now stop your ravin’, Meg! They’s a thousand ways that horse might ha’ got loose! It might ha’ throwed him!
[Matt enters at the front, grim and determined.]
Matt
No, it didn’t! It’s not a buckin’ horse! You know that as well as I do! An’ I’ve never seed it skeer at nothin’ sence I got it! [He takes the shotgun from the rack and starts out.]
David
[Takes the rifle]
Wait! I’m a-goin’ with you an’ see what’s happened!
Meg
Matt! Don’t take the guns! If Sid’s dead, fightin’ won’t bring him back!
Matt
I never said it would. If he’s dead, my business is ’ith the man that killed him!
Rufe
Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord! I will repay!
David
He has to have a instrument to work through! Even God cain’t smite evildoers ’thout a fist!
[He goes out with Matt. Meg sways back and forth despairingly.]
Meg
If they is a God an’ He’s almighty like they say, I cain’t see why He don’t stop things like this!
Rufe
Mebby He don’t want to stop ’em!
Meg
Then He ain’t a just God!
Rufe
[Moves away from her instinctively]
I wouldn’t say things like that, Meg! All His jedgments are just an’ righteous altogether!
Jude
Do you call it right fer Sid to go through the war an’ then be struck down by Andy the minute he gits home?
Rufe
That ain’t fer us to say. [Piously] He knows what Sid done while he ’us away in the war. We don’t.
Jude
Andy ain’t a God-fearin’ man, neither!
[A vivid flash of lightning illumines the scene.]
Rufe
I know he ain’t. An’ vengeance is on his track, too. It’s writ that the heathen shall rage an’ the wicked destroy one another. That’s a part o’ God’s plan.
Jude
That don’t make it right!
Rufe
God don’t have to jestify his ways to man. Let Him be right if you have to make out everybody else wrong’s what I say, an’ they’s good Scripture fer it.
Jude
They’s Scripture fer everything! Job’s wife told him to cuss God an’ die!
[A loud clap of thunder shakes the house. Rufe shrinks away toward the stairs.]
Rufe
If you’re a-goin’ to talk blasphemy, ’ith a thunder-cloud a-comin’ up, I’ll have to leave you!
[He goes halfway up the stairs and stops. Meg puts on her bonnet and throws a shawl about her shoulders.]
Jude
Are you a-goin’ out?
Meg
Yes! I cain’t set here! [Jude prepares to follow her.]
Jude
I cain’t neither. I’ll go with you and see if they’ve found him. Ef Sid’s dead, I’ll kill the man ’at killed him—if it’s my own brother!
Meg
That won’t bring Sid back, but it ’ld leave the Hunts’ hands clean. An’ mebby it might keep the war from startin’ ag’in. [Hopelessly] But you won’t do it. You’ll find blood’s thicker ’n water.
Jude
[With resolution]
I will—I’ll kill him ’ith my own hands!
[They go out together. Rufe creeps down the stairs in a state of intense excitement.]
Rufe
It ’ld be awful if she killed her own brother! I couldn’t marry a woman that had done that! [He goes to the door and makes a move as if to call to Jude, but stops.] She won’t do it. She couldn’t. It wouldn’t be nachel. They’ll see him first, anyhow. O God! Don’t let her commit a sin that she could never git fergiveness fer! [The kitchen door opens and Sid enters. Rufe recoils with a cry of terror] A-a-a-ah! [Sid looks at him in amazement.] Is that you, Sid?
Sid
I sorter thought mebby it wus! What the hell’s the matter with you? Are you havin’ a fit?
Rufe
No, I’m all right! You come in kinder ghost-like an’ I thought mebbe you might ha’ been killed!
Sid
You thought right. I might ha’ been,
Rufe
What’s happened to Andy?
Sid
I dunno. Where’s all the folks?
Rufe
I hain’t seen ’em. I jist now come downstairs.
Sid
They ain’t all out o’ the house in this storm?
Rufe
They must be out at the barn, lookin’ arter the critters.
Sid
Yeh, I reckon that’s it.
Rufe
Sid, you didn’t do nuthin’ to rile Andy, did you?
Sid
Not to my knowledge I didn’t. My saddle geart wus loose an’ I got off my horse to fix it. He seed me reach in my back pocket fer my knife, an’ afore you could say scat he jerked out his pistol an’ put a bullet through my hat!
Rufe
I shore am glad it ’us your hat, Sid, an’ not you!
Sid
Well, I ain’t sorry, myself. [He pokes his finger through the bullet hole in his hat.] It’s a good hat, but a air-hole er two won’t hurt nothin’ this sort o’ weather.
Rufe
What ’d he do arter he shot at you?
Sid
I didn’t stay to see. When I found out he meant business I turned my horse loose an’ cut fer the bushes. I’d like to know what’s got into Andy.
Rufe
’Tis quair the way he’s actin’!
Sid
[Comes toward Rufe thoughtfully]
What ’d he say to you up thar while ago when you give him that licker—afore it all started?
Rufe
[Starts violently]
Nothin’! He didn’t say nothin’, I tell you—not a word! [Sid looks at him suspiciously. He flares up in a fit of anger] You needn’t try to accuse me! I never put him up to it! [Sobbing] O God! I wish I ’us ​dead! Every time anything goes wrong it’s me! I’m to blame!
Sid
I ain’t accusin’ you o’ puttin’ him up to it! What I want to know is how his mind got to runnin’ so strong on that old war ’twixt the Hunts an’ the Lowries!
Rufe
You hyeard what I said about it here! That’s all I know!
Sid
Then what are you a-gittin’ so excited about?
Rufe
It’s enough to excite anybody, to have a thing like that throwed up to him! An’ you needn’t ax me no more questions, fer I ain’t a-goin’ to answer ’em!
Sid
All right! I’ll ask Andy when I see him!
Rufe
If you do he’ll only tell you a mess o’ lies! You cain’t believe him!
Sid
Oh, so you’re afraid he’ll tell lies on you?
Rufe
Any man ’ll lie to save his own skin, ef you git ’im in a tight corner.
Sid
Well, I’m a-goin’ to ax him, ’cause I’m curious to know jist what them hes air that you’re afraid he’s a-goin’ to tell. [Going to window] You say the folks is at the barn? They ain’t no light thar, Did my hoss come back?
Rufe
I dunno!
Sid
Have they gone after Andy?
Rufe
I told you I don’t know!
Sid
[Glances at gun rack]
The guns are gone! Jist what I thought! [Starts to rush out.]
Rufe
[Stopping him]
Hold on, Sid; you cain’t do nuthin’ ’bout it now! They must ha’ left afore you come in, and they’d natchelly go the short way and be halfway over the mountain by this time! It’s too late to stop ’em now!
Sid
By God, you don’t want me to stop ’em. I believe you knowed all along where they wus, only you ’us afraid o’ what Andy could tell.
Rufe
That’s right! Blame it on me! I don’t wish him no harm! I don’t wish nobody no harm!
Sid
Does that telephone wire along the river run from the dam to the settlement over thar?
Rufe
Why? Are you a-thinkin’ o’ phonin’ from the dam to head off Matt an’ your gran’daddy?
Sid
That’s my business. As I mind it, the phone’s in that tool house on a ledge right down under the dam!
Rufe
You’d never git to that house now! You’d have to walk out to it on boards across that sluice o’ water! It’s dangerous when the river ain’t up! You might jist as well commit suicide as try it now! I wouldn’t ​do it to save my own brother, let alone a man ’at had tried to kill me! An’ all you’ll git out o’ Andy is a passel o’ lies about me! Natchelly he’ll say I agged him on———
Sid
[Seizing him by the throat]
An’, damn you, I believe that’s jist what you did do!
Rufe
[Screams hysterically]
No, I didn’t, Sid! I swear to God I didn’t! All I said wus that you ’us a dangerous man an’ not to cross you! That if you got started———
Sid
[Tightening his grip]
So! I’m right! You wus at the bottom of it. Did you do it apurpose?
Rufe
God forgive you, Sid, fer sich a thought!
Sid
An’ God damn you!
[He hurls Rufe into a corner of the room and rushes out at the front. A blinding flash of lightning envelops him. Rufe lies on his elbow, cowering in ​fear, till the thunder crashes and reverberates. Then suddenly he rises to his knees and clasps his hands in prayer.]
Rufe
Did you hear what he said, God? I can put up ’ith his insults to me, but when it comes to blasphemin’ Thy holy name it does look like it’s time to call a halt. But You know what You’re a-doin’, God, an’ I don’t. I’m only a ignerunt sinner. You know more in a minit ’n I could ever know in a million years. It bothers me, though, Lord, that You let the wicked prosper more ’n the righteous. They git the best o’ everything in this world now. It wusn’t so in Bible times, Lord. Then You cut the wicked down afore the congregation o’ Israel. An’ the dread o’ You an’ the fear o’ You wus on all people. But now Your name is a byword among sinners. You hyeard that Yourself jist now.
[His voice has been gradually increasing in volume till it culminates in an emotional climax. He rises and goes to the door, trembling in every limb.]
I ain’t presumin’ to give You advice, Lord! You know Your own business. But if You’d make an edzample o’ this blasphemer—if You'd strike him down in the abomination of his wickedness by a bolt o’ lightnin’, it ’ld serve as a warnin’ to all like him. An’ they’d be sich another revival o’ ole-time religion in these ​mountains as You’ve never seed sence the earthquake.
[He pauses again as if struck by a new thought. His knees gradually give way beneath him and he sinks to the floor.]
In Your Holy Word, Lord, I know You commanded your servants to slay all blasphemers. Mebby You think that’s enough. An’ mebby it ought to be.
[He pleads with great fervor]
But I’d druther You’d do it Yourself, Lord. You can do it better ’n I can. An’ it ’ld have more effect. But I want You to understand, God, that I ain’t no coward. If it don’t suit You to do it Yourself—I’ll do it fer You—I don’t keer if they hang me. You died fer me once, an’ I’m willin’ to die fer You if You want me to. They wus a time, Lord, when my proud heart said, “All o’ self an’ none o’ Thee”. Then You come a-knockin’ at the door o’ my sinful soul an’ I whispered, “Some o’ self an’ some o’ Thee”. But that’s all changed now, Lord. I’m Yourn an’ You are mine. An’ the burden o’ my song now is, “None o’ self an’ all o’ Thee.” You can do with me what You please, Lord. If it’s Your will that this blasphemer shall die, I’ve got a whole box o’ dynamite out in the store, with a time fuse long enough so I can git back here afore it explodes. I can blow up the dam while he’s under thar a-telephonin’, an’ the waters o’ Your wrath ’ll sweep over him like they did over Pharaoh an’ his hosts in ​olden times! An’ the fear o’ You an’ the dread o’ You ’ll be on all nations ag’in!
[A heavy gust of wind strikes the house, followed by terrific thunder and lightning. Rufe rises to a standing position, his knees trembling. As the noise of the thunder dies away his fear is transformed into joy. He stands firmly on his feet and looks toward heaven, his voice ringing out triumphantly]
I hear You, Lord! An’, like Joshua o’ old, I go to do Your will!
[He rushes out.]
Curtain