"Hi, Johnny." "How are reservations coming in?" "Coming in slow, Claude." "Mail's in." "Stretch the paint, Todd." "All we wish to do is put up a good front." "It ain't the only thing running thin around here." " Mail seem any heavier?" " I think so, Dad." ""Paint it thin," he says, Johnny." "Quality don't mean nothing no more around here." "When your grandpa was alive, things was different." "That veranda, full of elegant guests all summer long." "Real guests, not them paying kind." "Yeah, but Grandpa was rich, and we're not." "Oh, Sylvia?" "This is very amusing." "Almost hilarious." "Remember that fellow my father hired as a lifeguard and tutor about 20 years ago, Ken Jorgenson?" "What ever made you think of him?" "Well, he's turned into a millionaire." "Listen:" ""Dear Bart Hunter, I am chartering the yacht Ramona at Nassau and taking my wife and daughter for an extended cruise." "I'd like to end up at Pine Island for the summer."" "You see how he worked that in?" "The mention of the yacht and the extended cruise?" "It's hilarious, isn't it?" " What is?" " Well, isn't it obvious?" "He wants to come back here after 20 years just to gloat." "He's heard I've been wiped out and running this place as an inn so he gets a bright idea." ""Well," he says, "what a triumph." "I'll just go and stay there." "Maybe Bart Hunter will carry my bags." "I might even give him a tip."" " Obviously I'm turning him down." " For the love of God, why?" "I just don't feel in the mood to be triumphed over all summer." "Bart, this isn't a hobby any longer." "We need the money desperately." "He asked for accommodations we don't happen to have." "Two bedrooms with a connecting sitting room." " Let's give them our room upstairs." " Where would we sleep?" "In the gardener's cottage out back." "In the servants' quarters where he even slept himself before with the hired help?" "That's ridiculous." "Three people at $20 a day for room and meals is $60 per day." "Times 90 days is $5400." "And as of now, we are flat broke." "Because we're broke doesn't mean we have to lose our dignity." "Dignity?" "The whole place is run-down for lack of money." "Our credit's evaporated, the garden's gone to seed, the roof leaks." "Our son has to go to college this year and you'd give up $5400 because of dignity?" "Bart, we're fighting for our lives." "You never seem to realize that." "Those are the clothes I bought for you in Nassau." "Forty-four long." "Put them on." "If you think I'll wear this yachting cap, you're crazy." " The man in the store said..." " I don't care what he said." "I'm not a yachtsman." "And you have to belong to the Nassau Yacht Club to wear this insignia." "I think we're past the point of pretending we're something we're not." "We charter a whole yacht to arrive in Pine Island in style." "The yacht was your idea." "The point is, there'll be people on the island who'll remember me when." "And I'm not putting on any dog." "Let's plan to try to make them forget you were an employee there not remember it, shall we?" "Pine Island off the port bow, sir." "Molly." "There she lies, baby." " I see a big house in the trees." " There's 12 big ones on the island." " One of them's for sale." " You wanna buy it?" " How'd you know?" " Mama told me." "Well, I'd hoped to spring it as a surprise if..." "Now, there's a big "if."" "Those 12 houses on the island were built by the founders of Pine Island." "They incorporated." "And now their descendants run the island like an exclusive club." "You have to be looked over and voted on and all that." "The islanders are still "they" to you, aren't they, Papa?" "Then why are you coming back?" "Maybe I just wanna check and see how much memory can exaggerate things." "To most people, I guess the island's just another summer place." "It's a lot more than that to me." "And I hope it will be to you." "There's a boy up there watching me." "There he goes." "Funny feeling, being looked at without knowing it." "Remember that family that lived next door to us back home?" " Yeah." " Their son used to look at me." "Without you knowing it?" "Well, his bedroom was right across from mine." "And one night, I felt naughty and went right on undressing so he could see." "And then all of a sudden I..." "I got terribly ashamed, and I ran to pull the curtains down." "I'll never forget, I had hot and cold flushes all over me afterwards." "Wasn't that awful?" "Well, I guess every human being on Earth's got a few things he's ashamed of." "All right, you two, come below and dress for shore." " Daddy, do I have to?" " Do you have to what?" "Wear this middy blouse ashore like a 12-year-old." "She says I have to wear this armor-plated bra to flatten me out." "And a girdle." "She says I bounce when I walk." "Do I?" " Do I?" " In a pleasant and unobjectionable way." "When we arrive at the inn, I want her to look completely modest." "She means like a boy, flat like a pancake." "This thing even hurts." "And I couldn't blast my way into this cast-iron girdle with dynamite." "I've had just about enough rebellion for one afternoon." "First you..." "Molly has a lovely, healthy figure." " Why do you try to destroy it?" " I don't want her stared at." "So you insist on desexing her as though sex were synonymous with dirt." " She isn't flying any owner's pennant, sir." " Then it must be the Jorgensons." "I'll take the wagon down." "Oh, if he tries to tip you, spit in his face." "There he is." "And wearing just what a Midwesterner thinks a yachtsman should wear:" " Blue coat, brass buttons, white..." " Please be cordial, Bart." " A gentleman." " Of course." "A gentleman is one who never insults one unintentionally." "I have a headache." "I'm going to our room." "Make my apologies." "Apologies to Ken Jorgenson?" "You're out of your mind." "Mrs. Jorgenson, Miss Jorgenson, I'd like you to meet my father, Mr. Hunter." "Welcome to Pine Island, ladies." "Young man." "Weren't you the lifeguard here a while back?" "I was, Mrs. Hamble." "Quite a while back." " Jorgenson, aren't you?" " Yes." " Living in the gardener's cottage in the rear?" " Oh, not anymore, ma'am." " We're here as guests this time." " We?" "Did you marry that pretty thing you were always teaching to swim?" "You didn't fool anyone, you and she." "Not me anyway." "No, I didn't marry her, ma'am." "I met Mrs. Jorgenson in Buffalo." "Buffalo." "That's out west, isn't it?" " New York, ma'am." " Oh, yes, Niagara Falls place." "Are you a lifeguard there now?" " No, ma'am." "I'm a research chemist." " Ken, please." "Greetings, Ken." " Would you like to escape to your rooms?" " Thank you, Bart, yes." "You'll have to find out all about Buffalo later on, Aunt Emily." "Thank you very much." "Oh, Bart, is that pretty young thing his daughter?" "I remember him well." "Hardly proper to be so pretty." "Seems to me that all the nice girls I know are either too fat or too thin or have bad skin and thick ankles." " This is the sitting room." " Charming." "Utterly, utterly charming." "And this is the master bedroom." " The other bedroom is across the way." " Beautiful." "Beautiful view." "Tres jolie, as the French would say." "I was born in this room." "Right there." "Dinner is served from 6 to 8." "Would you care to join my family at our table tonight?" "Thank you, Bart." "Oh, by the way, we usually come down at 7:30." "Thank you so very much." "We'd be terribly charmed." "I thought I would die of mortification out there." "Ken, you take that bedroom." "Molly and I will take this one." "All right." "Molly, you had French in high school." "What'd he say to me?" "He said his heart was touched by your approval." "When the luggage comes get that disinfectant bag and clean this bathroom." "Don't forget the toilet seat." "I'm sure everything's clean, Mother." "You can never be too sure." "You'll find Pine Island's a strange place, Mrs. Jorgenson." "We're all frightfully snobbish here and we tend to be anti-everything." "Except ourselves." "I like to think of the island as a perverted Garden of Eden where the pines and the salt air seem to act as an aphrodisiac." "As a what, Mr. Hunter?" "Bart, shall we change the subject?" "Your show." "What Bart means is that very often the boys of Pine Island families marry girls they've met here." "So there's always been a lot of joking about the island being a marvelous place for romance." "It's true." "There are caves and lonely beaches and Moonlight Cove." "Not to mention barns and boathouses and other nooks and crannies, eh, Ken?" "It was against the rules for Pine Island girls to have dates with the lifeguard, remember?" " Oh, I'm so sorry." " Oh, no harm done." "That was the last of the family crystal anyway." "Oh, please, it doesn't matter." "Mrs. Jorgenson, may I have permission to show Molly about the grounds?" " Yes, yes, of course." " Excuse me." "What made you decide to live out here the year round?" "Aren't the winters pretty rugged?" "Yes, but living in Boston got to be rugged too." "The hypocrisies of the social routine year after year." "To put it bluntly, we couldn't afford it." "So we decided to move here and get back to essentials." "I bought government pamphlets on how to shear sheep how to weave our own clothes even on how to smoke fish and grow our own potatoes." "I had bright dreams." "And then after the summer season was over I was going to abandon all convention, go back to nature." "Take off my clothes, walk on the beaches in the sun swim once again in the moonlight." "And then?" "What happened?" "I simply woke up, I guess." "Do you and your husband often swim in the raw, Mrs. Jorgenson?" " Good heavens, no." " Oh, she hasn't lived, has she, Ken?" "Why, there's absolutely nothing like galloping bare-bottomed into the sea." "You don't say?" "This is the old rose garden." "It's sort of gone to seed." " The rose thorn scratched you." " Oh, it's nothing." "Do you ever catch fireflies?" "When I was young, I used to put them in a bottle and see if I could get enough to read by." " There used to be goldfish here." " Did you ever catch any?" "No, I wasn't supposed to." "Then, last winter, we forgot to take them out, and they all froze solid." "That poor cupid, he looks lost without them." "He looks like he's waiting to be kissed." "He is." "How can you tell?" "Well, I can't really." "I just know how he feels." "I knew it'd be like this." "Me too." "When did you know?" "When I saw you on the cliff, I guess." "Who taught you to kiss so perfectly?" "A boy at Buffalo High School." "I wasn't supposed to tell you that." "Tell me what?" "Mother says that Pine Island girls all go to finishing schools not plain old high schools." "But I loved going there." "Was this boy who taught you your steady?" "No, he was president of the student body." "I was only a sophomore at the time." " We used to go up on the roof." " On the roof?" "It was one of those flat kinds that had a stairway leading up to it." "Gee, it got hot up there." " In the daytime you mean?" " During my lunch hours." "Lunch hours?" "Did you keep doing it?" "Till I learned." "Just making the rounds." "Turn off that light, Todd." "Thought for a minute there they'd added another statue to the garden." "I'd better get back." "My folks will be wondering." "This is where I live." " Which is your room, Johnny?" " Right there." " I think your father used to live there." " Can I see it from my room up there?" "Then I'll wave good night." " Good night, Johnny." " Good night." "Well, your daughter didn't waste any time." "She's let their boy kiss and maul her, her very first night here." " Where were they?" " Down below me, in the garden." "If they had anything to hide, do you think they'd do it right under your window?" " Are you defending her cheap behavior?" " Cheap?" "A girl kissing a boy in the moonlight?" "You know Molly's as decent as this boy seems to be." "No decent girl lets a boy kiss and maul her the very first night they meet." "I suppose it's your Swedish blood in her." "I've read about how the Swedes bathe together and have trial marriages and free love." "I've read all about that." "Anything goes." "So now you hate the Swedes." "How many outlets for your hate do you have, Helen?" "We haven't been able to find a new house because of your multiplicity of them." "We can't buy near a school because you hate kids, they make noise." "And there can't be any Jews or Catholics on the block either." "And, oh, yes, it can't be anywhere near the Polish or Italian sections." "And, of course, Negroes have to be avoided at all costs." "Now, let's see, no Jews, no Catholics no Italians, no Poles, no children, no Negroes." "Do I have the list right so far?" "And now you've added Swedes." "And, oh, yes you won't use a Chinese laundry because you distrust Orientals." "You think the British are snobbish the Russians fearful, the French immoral, the Germans brutal and all Latin Americans lazy." "What's your plan?" "To cut humanity out?" "Are you anti-people and anti-life?" "Must you suffocate every natural instinct in our daughter too?" "Must you label young lovemaking as cheap and wanton and indecent?" "Must you persist in making sex itself a filthy word?" "Fight with me if you have to, Mama, but not Papa, please." "This is the first real vacation he's ever had." "Let's not wreck it for him." "Look who's talking after that disgusting public display in the garden." " It wasn't a public display." " The night watchman caught you at it." " We weren't doing anything wrong." " What if he tells everybody?" "Must you parade before open windows like a strip teaser?" "The way to get accepted here on Pine Island is certainly not by prancing past open windows and giving away cheap kisses behind the inn." "Yes, Mama." "Now, don't you ever underestimate the value of a decent reputation." "If we're to be approved and allowed to live here it'll be because we conducted ourselves properly." "Yes, Mama." "I've got nothing against this boy." "He comes from a good family." "He'll undoubtedly inherit this place." "You could do worse." "You've got to play your cards right." "You can't let him think that your kisses come cheap." "I won't, Mother." "Honest." "You're a good girl, I know that." "But you've got to use your head." "You've got to remember that you have to play a man, like a fish." "You have to make him want you, and never betray that you want him." "That's what's cheap, wanting a man." "Love should be more than just animal attraction." "Yes, Mother." "Now, you must promise me that you won't let him kiss you again until I say it's time." "Okay, but you promise me that you won't fight with Papa anymore." "Can I say good night to him now?" "Of course, darling." "I made a deal with Mama to stop fighting with you." "That's quite a deal." "What'd you have to give up in return?" "Kissing Johnny." " You got the short end of the stick." " I know it." "Why did you ever marry her?" "I've never heard her say, "I love you," to you." "Has she?" " No." " Have you her?" " In the beginning." " Then why?" "I was lonely." "So was she, I guess." "Her father used to bring me home after work for dinner." "It seemed better than being alone at the time." " Didn't you ever love anyone else?" " Yep." "But I didn't have much to offer at the time." "She married the other guy." "Why'd you and Mama stop sharing the same room?" " She wanted it that way." " I know." "She's anti-sex." "She says all a boy wants out of a girl is that and when the girl marries, it's something she has to endure." "I don't wanna think like that, Papa." "She makes me ashamed of even having a body." "And when I have a naughty dream at night, she makes me feel like hanging myself." " How can you help what you dream?" " You can't." "And don't let her spoil yours." "Remember this, we've got only one great reason for living:" "To love and be loved." "That's our sole reason for existence." "But she doesn't love you and she doesn't love me." "I think her heartache is that she doesn't know how." "And mine is that I apparently couldn't teach her." "Good night, Papa." "Sylvia, dear, I hate breaking in on teatime but I must tell you there's a leak in the roof." " Where, Aunt Emily?" " In my water closet." "Where in your water closet?" "Right over one of my conveniences." "It drops, and I must confess, causes some difficulty." "So you go right and tell Bart to climb up there and fix it." "I've written to the mainland for a repairman." "Bart's not good at fixing things, you know that." "Well, I should, I'm his godmother." "The trouble with Bart is he tries to make a virtue out of incompetence." "Calls himself one of God's helpless people, and still worse, seems proud of it." "Lifeguard, you come here." "You're not the helpless type." "How about fixing my leak?" "Just where are you leaking?" "Through the roof, directly into my convenience." "Sylvia can show you the way to the attic." " I can't ask you to go up there and..." " Nonsense." " You got the tools, I'll take a crack at it." " What about your clothes?" "I'll go change while you get the toolbox." "I never was cut out to be a man of leisure anyway." "That's that." "Do you think the roof itself is all right?" "It's slate, should last 1000 years." "I'm grateful to you, Ken." "You have no idea how worried I've been about it." "I wanted to send for a contractor to come out and examine it but Bart was so sure he'd find the whole roof rotting that he refused to send for an expert." "He said the man could pass the word on and have the entire inn condemned." ""Let it go," Bart said, "let it go."" "What's it like being stuck out here all winter?" "Oh, it's quite lovely after the first snow." "And after the blizzards start?" "You've been avoiding me ever since I arrived, Sylvia." "Why?" "Can't we talk a moment?" " What about?" " You, me, Bart." "How are things between you?" "We've made a life." "I guess we all adjust ourselves, don't we?" "I've never been able to." "All through these years, my dreams have had you wrapped up in them." "I tried forgetting." "I even tried to imagine that you had grown fat and ugly and saggy." "Is that why you came back, to find out?" "To see?" "I came back because I had to." "Why did you wait so long?" "Because I swore I wouldn't come back until I'd made a million dollars." " It wasn't your being poor." " I know." "Your mother thought Bart was a good match and I was a nothing." "Maybe I should thank her." "Maybe she's the reason I worked so hard to prove myself to you." "You didn't have to prove anything." "How has it been with you and...?" "A half-life." "I stuck it out because of Molly." "Is that how it's been with you?" "Because of Johnny." "Did Bart know we were lovers before he married you?" "He only knew that there was something wrong." "He knew that on our wedding night." "And he's been just a little bit drunk ever since." "Did your wife know about us?" "When did you marry her?" "The week after I saw your wedding pictures in the papers." "It seems we've spoiled two lives." "Now we're paying for it." "For as long as we live?" "It's been a half-life for me too." "Never really fulfilling, never being fulfilled." " I'm hungry for everything it hasn't been." " Do you love me?" "Is it still the same?" "Dear God, yes." "I don't want to hurt everybody." "We could, you know?" "I know." "They'll be wondering where we are even now." "When can I meet you?" "Where?" "I don't know." "I'd better go down alone." "I'll meet you at the boathouse at 2 this morning." "I'll be waiting." "Sylvia." "Come in." "You see that?" "It's a vent to the attic." "Acts as sort of a megaphone." "If anyone were talking up there, I could hear every word that was said." "Sit down." "I was at your wedding, Sylvia, remember?" "Remember when Bart dropped the ring?" "He wasn't nervous, he was plastered, plastered to the gills." "And not because, as you may have thought, of any lifeguard." " I don't want to discuss anything..." " Sylvia." "Sit down." "I believe in facing facts." "You married a weakling and he's been subsisting on your strength ever since." "Thank God Johnny takes after you and not him." "Now, what are you going to do about this lifeguard?" "You'd better think fast." "It'll be 2 a.m. Before you know it." "Tell me the truth." "Do you think that you can endure another winter out here with Bart?" "Last winter, was he ever sober?" "I'll bet he never even got up for Christmas." "I thought so." "Have you ever considered divorce?" "Of course." "But Bart's pride couldn't take that." "And if he insisted on keeping Johnny, I couldn't take it." "Of course, you and this lifeguard could have an affair of sorts." "Oh, civilized as possible, you know?" "A few lies here and there." "Invented excuses to go to the mainland." "And signing false names in motels." "I wouldn't be any good at that." "Well, then you could probably do what most people would do." "Drift along." "Have an affair without actually planning it." "The quick clinches in the nights." "And then the whisperings and the gossips." "How would that do?" "I wonder if a small prayer would do any good." "A prayer composed of complete confusion, like:" ""Dear God, I don't know what to do."" "Why don't you let your lover share in the decision?" "I'd decided not to come." "I couldn't help myself." " Will she miss you?" " No." "We don't sleep together." "How about Bart?" "He drinks himself into a very sound sleep." "We must be pretty funny, with our strained faces and our guilts and..." "We have to make choices, Sylvia." "Do you want to get a divorce?" "Or do we meet like this when we can?" "Which is your choice?" "A divorce, if I can have Johnny." "Same here, if I can have Molly." "Would Helen let you have her?" "No." "I'm perfectly willing to come to you whenever you want me." " All summer?" " All summer." "What about the winter?" "All the winters, all of our lives?" "I'm not as pretty anymore." "I'm sorry for that." "I love you too much to speak." "We're just not used to acting like thieves in the night." "I'm tired of whispering." "I want to shout and talk out loud and tell the whole world." "They'll know if we don't get back to our rooms before daybreak." "Mama." "Mama." "Wait a minute, Randy." " Mama." " No sense killing yourself to say goodbye." "I'm just going to the mainland drugstore." "Your father will be back from Boston on Monday." "Sir, may I have permission to take Molly on a sailing picnic around the island?" " Just the two of you?" " His boat only holds two, Mother." "In my day, it was simply not proper to take off all day in a boat alone without a chaperon." "Now, Helen, it's no longer your day, it's their day." "Permission granted." "Now, mind you, I'll be back by 5." "You be home by then." "You don't seem to realize that they're old enough..." "Old enough to get into all kinds of trouble." "The old-timers say Captain Kidd named this island we're sailing to." " What'd he call it?" " Dead Man's Eye." " Only in Early English, "eye" means "islet."" " Well, I'm glad to hear that." "Wouldn't it be horrible to stumble over a petrified eyeball?" " Hello?" " Hello, Mother." "Helen, calling from Maine." "Brace yourself for a shock." "What I wrote you that I suspected is true." " Does Ken know you know?" " Not yet." "How did you find out?" " A night watchman saw them." " What were they doing?" " Can't you guess?" " But did he catch them at it?" "Well, no, but isn't it enough that they've been meeting there until dawn?" "No." "Now, listen carefully, Helen." "I've already talked to the lawyer, and he says we've got to be very careful." "If it appeared that you wanted the divorce he wouldn't give us half as much, not even a third." "Well, Ken has never been bad about money." "Why can't I just tell him I know?" "He won't deny it." " Isn't that as good as catching him?" " But suppose he denies it." "The lawyer says men are funny about this kind of thing." "Besides, if you give him any warning, he might be that much harder to catch." "I guess you're right." "And the lawyer says if you want to avoid a nasty countersuit you had better stop this separate-room business." "You wouldn't get anything from him." "And if Molly decided she wanted to stay with him, the judge might even let her." "No." "I'll do anything to prevent that." "Well, there's a great deal at stake here, dear." "If we could prove that you had at least been willing..." "But, of course, if you could catch them, and had a witness none of that would have to come up." "He wouldn't stand a chance." "We've got to catch them." " How?" " Can't you hire a witness?" " Maybe." "The night watchman." " Sure." "Hire him and pay him well." "The better you pay him, the more he'll see." "All right, Mother, thanks." "You've been a big help and an angel." "The minute you catch them at it, you call me." "I will." " Goodbye, dear." " Goodbye." "Johnny, I'm scared." "Look on the chart for Dark Passage." "It's a shortcut." "Isn't that it dead ahead?" " I think so." " See how many fathoms are inside her." "Four, and no submerged rocks." " You game to try it?" " Okay." " We're in trouble, Johnny." " I know, but it's too late to turn back." "We're not gonna make it, Molly." "Johnny, there are rocks ahead!" "When we hit, hang on." "Climb out!" "Heave!" "Heave!" "Go!" "Hang on!" "The Coast Guard always responds to this emergency signal." "They'll come out and start the search." "I captured these night glasses from the Japanese in the Pacific." "I had my own ship, a tin can." "Ken would want to know, I think." "Do you know where he's staying in Boston, Helen?" "No." "Do you?" "Coast Guard's coming." " Are you all right?" " Yes." "Stand clear." " Easy." "Steady now." " Are you freezing?" "Here." "Take my hand." " Come on." " Thank you." " Glad to help." " Where's Mama?" "It's all right, Mrs. Jorgenson." "Don't worry." "They're safe and sound." "Let me explain to her myself." "What have you got to say for yourself?" "We capsized and spent the night on the beach." "I imagined as much." "Come with me." "Here she is, doctor." "This is Dr. Matthias." "I sent for him from the mainland." "Take off every stitch you've got on and let him examine you." "But we haven't done anything wrong, Mama." "We slept all night." "I'm not asking you for the truth because I know you'd lie." "So I'm having him examine you completely and make his own report." " No." " You have disgraced me enough." " Now, do as I say!" "Do as I say!" " No!" "No!" "You leave me alone with your child." "You're being of less than no help." "Oh, please, I want my father." "I want my father." "Oh, please, no." "Oh, please, no." "I want my father!" "Oh, please, I want my father." "I haven't done anything wrong." "I've been a good girl." "I haven't done anything wrong!" "Please, I want my father." "No!" "No!" "No!" "I have been a good girl!" "No!" "No!" "Molly's mother seems quite upset." "You can tell me, son." "We men can talk about things like that." "Like what?" "Like what you two did on the island all night." "She's a pretty little wench." "I can hardly blame you for..." "For what?" "Well, after all, she's not one of your class, a lifeguard's daughter." " Knows all the tricks too, I bet." " Get out of here, Dad." "If you weren't half drunk, I'd throw you out." "Spoken like your mother's son." "She won't let me see you anymore, Johnny." "Why not?" "All right, I'll see you anyway." "As soon as Papa comes back, we're leaving." "She says that my father and your mother..." "I wanna die, Johnny." "I wanna die." "Molly?" "Molly?" "Johnny, tell her you haven't seen me." "Molly?" "Who's that?" "Molly, are you there?" "Oh, it's you." "I should've known." "Where is she?" "Don't you hurt her again." "Don't you hurt her." " Lf you hurt her, I'll kill you." " Don't you dare threaten me." "John?" "John, Mrs. Jorgenson said you threatened her just now." "Is that true?" " I told her not to hurt Molly." " Where is Molly?" " I don't know." " Mrs. Jorgenson said she's missing." "Johnny, this could be very serious." "Mrs. Jorgenson sent to the mainland for a sheriff." "I could kill her." "What's this about Molly being missing?" "You the sheriff?" " Then why aren't you out looking for her?" " My posse's combing the island right now." "And the Coast Guard's searching the beaches." "I take it you're the girl's father?" "Well, you've come home to a serious situation, sir." "Not only is your daughter missing but this young man has just threatened your wife with death." "Johnny?" "You're crazy." "Now, let's play this back from the beginning, shall we?" ""Saturday p.m., the girl and the boy capsize make shore on Dead Man's Eye, spend that night together."" "Nothing happened, sir, not to her." ""Sunday a.m., Coast Guard finds them, brings them home." "Mrs. Jorgenson sends for doctor." "Doctor comes, gives girl physical examination." "Sunday p.m., girl runs away."" "Now, could she have run away because of anything that happened at that physical examination?" "Did she seem upset about anything?" "When I insisted on her having a physical examination she became quite hysterical." "Obviously I had to find out what happened out there." " I had to be sure." " We gave you our word." "And the doctor's report, ma'am, could she have run off because of that?" "No." "The examination revealed nothing wrong." " But she was upset by all this?" " She seemed to be." "She's always been a difficult child." "We had words." "I locked her in the room, and later, when I knocked, she was gone." "So you went looking for her and you met Johnny here and he threatened to kill you?" " That is correct." " And you don't deny that, son?" " No, sir." " I wouldn't have blamed you if you had." "Of course you wouldn't." "It would make it easier for you to sneak off and sleep with his harlot of a mother." " Any more questions, sheriff?" " Nope." "Then I suggest we all retire to our respective quarters." "I suggest we find my daughter." "Oh, Mr. Hunter, I'll hold you responsible for your son." "You seem to have an infinite capacity for hurt." "First you try to destroy your daughter, and now our son." "As soon as Molly is found, and I'm sure she will be I suggest you vacate these rooms as swiftly as possible." "Don't tell me that you're on their side?" "Let's merely say that I'm not on yours." "What an awful way for you to find out." "Find out?" "I've only known it for 20 years." "I've never told you this before, but when Johnny was being born it was Ken you cried out for, not me." "It was rather embarrassing in front of the doctors and nurses and all." "I didn't know what I was saying." "I was under sedation." "Your subconscious did." "And you've faked it with me ever since." "True?" "False?" "Why have you put up with me?" "You kept me continually fascinated by your good-wife-and-mother front." "Front?" "I've tried to be." "Haven't I been?" "Until Ken came back." "You know, I had a hunch to turn down his reservations but I guess, subconsciously, I wanted a showdown." "Well, I got a beaut, didn't I?" "A very cruel one." "Where have you been meeting him?" " Nights, in the boathouse." " I see." "I have no defense, Bart, except to say I love him." "I know that may sound stupid and sentimental to you, but it's true." "He's given me back a hope I thought was gone." "A hope for what?" "Happiness." "Being loved." "I see." "Well, what's next?" "Obviously I can't live on here with you." "Obviously." "I thought I might get a little place where Johnny and I could..." "Johnny and you?" "Do you think any court in the land would give you custody of our son?" "Aren't you forgetting that you're an adulteress?" "If it came to that, I could prove you're an alcoholic." "But I can't believe that you'd stoop to throwing dirt." "Thanks." "Ken loves his daughter." "Do you honestly think he'll give her up for you?" " I was hoping he wouldn't have to." " Then you're a fool." "He'll never make the trade, so he'll never marry you." "Perhaps not." "Since he won't swap Molly for you and since I'm more reasonable than she is, I'll make the deal." "I'll just let bygones be bygones, and we'll go on together as it was." "Oh, Bart." "We can't now." "I was afraid of that." "Most women don't wanna be forgiven." "Well, this is final:" "You can't have Johnny." "Bart, I can't leave him here to pour you into bed night after night." "That's not being a fit father." "Any court would recognize that." "And what kind of a mother are you?" "Don't worry, I'll..." "I'll ship him off to Virginia to my alma mater." "And I'll start right here on a four-year toot." "If that's your plan, why do you want him?" "Because he's still my son." "He's mine, and I intend to see that he stays mine." " Just let him be ours." " Not on your life." " You've got to let him visit me." " You'll do this my way." " Bart, I've got to see him." " No, because you'd try to get him back." "I don't want him ever to speak to you again except in my presence, period." "Because you're a common slut." "They found her." "They took her ashore to the island, to the hospital." "It was only shock." "Come on in, Johnny." "Your mother and I have something important to discuss." "Sometimes things happen to people, Johnny." "Even to so-called nice people." "I hope you'll try to understand." "You're getting a divorce." "Why?" "Son, people get married because they fall in love." "And sometimes they stop loving each other." "Then it's better for them to get unmarried." "It's as simple as that." "Is it?" "Is it?" "Is it as simple as that?" "Damn you both." "Mrs. Jorgenson has given the whole truth to the press on the simple ground that she, at least, has nothing to hide." "She holds all the cards." "We're not dealing with cards, are we?" "We're dealing with the lives of our clients and their children." "Shall we be seated and consider first things first?" "The children." "I am sure we can all agree that it's their best interest to be sent away to schools immediately away from the curiosity of neighbors and the press alike." "Mrs. Jorgenson has already enrolled her daughter in a very exclusive finishing school near Boston." "My client, Mr. Hunter, has sent his son to his alma mater in Virginia." "Good." "I'm sure our respective clients agree on at least one thing:" "They love their children and don't want them to be hurt any more than they have been." "Dear Johnny." "I guess you've read in all the papers about our parents." "I guess everybody has." "Everybody in this school knows about it and they whisper." "I hate it." "I hate my mother and I hate my father and I hate your mother too." "They're all rotten people." "Do you ever get lonely?" "Or is it just something funny about me?" "I guess we're all we've got now." " Sincerely, Molly." " Mr. Hunter?" "Mr. Hunter?" "Mr. Hunter would it be too much to ask you to give me your attention?" "Or is it possible, Mr. Hunter that your interest in Latin is less than nil?" "Yes, sir." "Well, I guess I'm really not much of an intellectual, sir." "I mean, I guess my ambitions don't run along those lines." "And what are your ambitions, may I ask?" "I don't know." "Well, I guess I don't have any at the moment." "I mean, well, I figure there's gonna be another war sometime..." "But you'll need an education to fight a war even if it does come." "You'd want to be an officer, wouldn't you?" "A leader?" "No, sir." "For heaven's sake, why not?" "Well, because I don't even know where I'm going, let alone leading somebody else." "Class dismissed." " Hello?" " Hello, Molly?" " Johnny?" " Yes, it's me, down in Virginia." "I know, the operator said it was long distance." "Look, we're having this big Halloween dance down here and I was wondering if you could come." "No, I can't, Johnny." "Mama won't even let me write to you, let alone see you." " You're not gonna stop?" " No, never." "It's awful not seeing you." "It's that way with me too, Johnny." "You know, if I only had something to bank on." "I feel lost." "My father and your mother are getting married." "Yeah, I know." "They sure deserve each other." "You know, Johnny, when I think about it, I actually get sick." "I mean, actually sick to my stomach." "Gee, it's lonely here, Molly." "Look, are you going back to Buffalo for Christmas?" " Yes." " All right, listen." "You know, Dad would never know if I took a day more to get to Pine Island en route home." "Could I come up to Buffalo and meet you?" "No, Johnny." "Mama would never let me see you." "She hates you." "She'd call the police or worse." "Well, gee, isn't there some place?" "I mean, it seems like almost a year since we..." "Yes." "There's this big Episcopal church near the station." "It has a big old cross in front." "And it's even dark inside, so no one would see us." "All right, I'll be there." "December 21 st, 9 a.m." "Deposit $ 2 for three minutes, please." "I don't have $2, operator." "Could 50 cents give us any longer?" " No, sir." " Bye, Johnny." "I'll write." "This tree should last at least 10 years." "It's solid plastic." "Molly, I'd prefer to go Christmas shopping with you." "I'd prefer to buy my Christmas presents alone, Mother." " You going to buy one for your father?" " No." " Did you send him a card?" " No." "Did you send one to John Hunter?" "Yes." "I thought I told you not to write to him." "After all, it is rather bad form to write to the son of your father's mistress." "You must never forget what kind of a woman she is." "And his father, although he does come from a good family, is a drunkard." "All that's got nothing to do with Johnny." "Darling, there is such a thing as bad blood." " It's a scientific fact that bad..." " Johnny is not bad!" "He's gentle and good." "He may not show it yet but if you read between the lines of his..." "Have you been reading my letters?" "You have." "It's a mother's duty, darling." "You must try to remember that Mother knows best." "No, you don't." "I don't think you know what's best for Papa, for me or for anybody including yourself." "Johnny's letters were all I had to live for and now you've even made them dirty." " Hello, Molly." " Hello, Johnny." "I thought the church would be empty." "Pardon me, are you members of the wedding party?" "No, were..." "No, I'm sorry." " Where can we go?" " We'll find a place." "Do you care if I kiss you right here in front of God and everybody?" "I can't wait either." "It is, Mother, it's Molly Jorgenson." "And that's her secret love from Pine Island, the boy that was in the papers." "Hi, Molly." "Merry Christmas." "Are they friends of yours?" "The biggest gossip in my class at Briarwood." "The only one who can out-yak her is her mother." "And, Johnny, she's my mother's bridge partner." " I should've waited to kiss you." " Oh, no, I couldn't wait either." "Johnny, let's do it again right now." "Where have you been?" " At a motel." " A motel with John Hunter?" "We had a lot of things to talk over." "And I knew I couldn't bring him here." "So you went to a motel?" "Don't make it sound like a house of ill repute, Mother." "All we did was talk." "Or do you wanna call another doctor to prove it?" "Merry Christmas, Mama." "As I've always said you are your father's daughter." "He seems to think he can buy you back." "He sent you this mink coat for Christmas." "It'll come in handy on cold nights in motels." "They're not here." "If the kids don't answer our letters what makes you think they'd show up for our wedding?" "I'd hoped against hope that they might surprise us." "I'm glad now we didn't invite anyone else." "Maybe they're inside." "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God and in the presence of these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." " And ask you to the dance?" "How can you...?" "Do they...?" "Man in the hall!" "Man in the hall!" "Man in the hall!" "Listen, shut the door." " Do you want my comb?" " Have you got my bobby pins?" "No, but..." "Come in." "Hello, baby." "Hello." "May I come in?" "Am I interrupting anything?" "No, I was just memorizing a poem I wrote." "Mind if I read it?" "No." "Excuse me while I..." "Know what I was doing while I drove here?" "I was memorizing too." "Yeah." "I was memorizing what I was gonna say to you." "Seems sort of silly, but I wanted to say the right things." "Sylvia and I are married." "We bought this beach house in the hopes that you might visit." "We can easily understand how hard what happened was on you and Johnny." "But I feel this foolishness of your refusing to answer any of my letters has gone far enough." "This poem shows you're a mature and sensitive young lady." "You've grown up a lot." "Do you propose to avoid your father for the rest of your life?" "Sylvia's writing about the same thing to Johnny who's being just about as difficult as you are." "Now, I propose this, baby:" "That you and Johnny come down and spend your spring vacation with us at the beach just lying around in the sun and getting back to normal for two weeks." "Haven't we all had enough of hating lately?" "What do you say, darling?" "Are you your old man's daughter or not?" " Mama says I am." " And you?" "What does your heart say?" "I don't listen to it anymore." "Maybe you'll find it again at the beach." "I'm gonna be terribly disappointed if you don't come." "Will you try?" "Will you let me know?" "Please come, Molly." "We need each other." "Please." "The thought of my daughter spending two weeks under the same roof with my husband and that harlot." "Mrs. Jorgenson, let me warn you the use of that term is no longer legally defensible." "She is, in the eyes of the law, his wife." "That does not alter the fact that she is one." "Utterly lacking in morals." "Her son will be there too." "Heaven knows what kind of license they'll encourage, even permit." " What do you wish me to do?" " Get a court order forbidding this visit." "But the court has already ordered that Molly be permitted to visit her father one month each year if she wishes." "That's the court's stupid mistake." "Mrs. Jorgenson, let me warn you, if you attempt to block the court order your husband might well stop his alimony payments." "Are you willing to chance that?" "It's as though the court were forcing me to commit my daughter to a house of sin." "There's no way of knowing she'll even be on the plane." " She didn't wire." " She'll be onboard, you'll see." "Darling, I just don't want you to be disappointed." "I guess our punishment isn't completed yet." " Hello, dear." "Welcome." " Hello, Mrs. Hunter." "Why don't you just call her Sylvia." "Well, I'll try." " Johnny's coming Thursday." " Yes, I know, we wrote." " It'll be great when we're all together again." " Yes, Daddy." "Frank Lloyd Wright designed our house." "The is the living room." "And that's the back terrace." "And if you get hungry and want a snack, there's a kitchen back there." "And this is our room, Ken's and..." "Your father's and mine." "This is your room, Molly." "Here you have your own porch so that you can take a sunbath if you wish." "I can't tell you how good it is to have you home again, honey." "You don't know how I've looked forward to it." "Sylvia picked and arranged these flowers herself." " Are you feeling all right, baby?" " Yes." "Well, maybe you'd like a little rest before dinner." "Yes, please." "You know, the plane ride was a little rough." "Of course." "Of course." "I think she was trying to get rid of us." "I guess it's natural for her to be shy at first." "Getting used to you and me being married and all." "I could sure stand a drink." "How about you?" "One thing's sure, we've got to behave normally." "They've got to want us, come to us." "We can't force it." " They've got to find us for themselves." " We knew it wouldn't be easy." "I love you." "Me too you." "Attention, please." "Last call for passengers for Flight 17." "Flight one-seven." "Where's Molly?" "Didn't she come?" "She'd said she'd rather meet you on the beach than here with us." " Aren't you gonna say hello to your mother?" " Of course." "Good to see you, Mother." "You look very well." "So are you, dear." "So are you." "Well, I guess the sooner we get our reunion started, the better, huh, Johnny?" "Hi." "I'm glad you came." "So am I." " Come on, Pete!" "Move!" "Come on, boy!" " Come on, Ty, come on." "That's too high." "Well, I found us a little place that's private over there, Johnny." "Oh, great." "You smell so good." "I washed my hair for you." "I knew we'd be together, so I..." " I love you, Johnny." " I love you." "I love you so much, I ache inside." "I feel the same way too, Johnny." "Feel my heart pound." "Mine's the same." "Molly, I wanna marry you." " We can't, Johnny." "Not for a long time." " We can run away." "You've gotta finish your college and then go to the Army and all." " But that'll take years." " We can see each other." "How often?" "When?" "Where?" " Maybe this summer we'll..." " At Pine Island?" "Now, you know your mother would never let you." "No, not ever, she said." "Let's face it we're all alone on this earth." "Molly, you're more beautiful than I can believe." "I'm glad I look good to you, Johnny." " Look out, now." " Hey, lovebirds, huh?" "Look out in the sand, now." "They're gone." "There's nobody else." " They came just in time." "We better cool off." " Why?" " Because I'm afraid." " Of me?" "Of yourself?" "Yes." "That, and some other new feelings that I can't explain." " Are you angry because...?" " No." "We've gotta be good, Johnny." "Good." "Is it that easy to be good?" "Are you bad, Johnny?" "Have you been bad with girls?" "No." "I just don't exactly know what that word "good" means." "Is it good for us to be apart?" "Is it good to hardly know whether we'll see each other for the next 3 or 4 years?" " Is loneliness good?" " That's not what I mean." "I think all of you is good." "I know your lips are good." "No, Johnny, please." "Can't I even hold your hand?" "Of course, but you don't seem to stop." "You're right." "We better be good and sensible and wait, even if it takes years." "Come on, I'll take you home." " Home?" " To their house." "Well, you go on ahead." "I have some repair work to do first." "I'll only be a minute." "Here they come." " Did I say something wrong?" " No, you were right." "I said that." "Then why are you angry with me?" "I'm just angry at myself for wanting you so much." "I know a place where we can go nights." "It's a lookout facing the sea where we can look out on the moonlight, but, well, people can't look in." "Can we go there tonight?" "After being gone all afternoon?" "What'll they think?" "I just know I can't spend the whole evening with him and my mother." "I know." "That's how I feel about her." "Johnny, do you think they make love?" "Why, sure they do." "They're married, aren't they?" " What do we tell them?" " About us?" "No, about going out tonight afterwards." "I could tell Dad we're going to the movies." "I mean, that'll give us plenty of time." "Think they'll be able to tell by our faces?" "I mean, it's important that we look normal." "Well, when you feel scared, you just look my way." "Thank you, dear." "We haven't organized any social activities for you two." " We thought you'd just like to be lazy." " Fine." "By the way, Mother, do you know of a movie nearby?" "Yes." "They're running one of those wonderful old horror numbers, King Kong." "I missed that one." "Would you mind if we went to the movie?" "Well, I sort of hoped..." "Now, Ken, we decided to let them choose what they want to do." "This is one of the first science-fiction pictures made." " I mean, it's real scary." " We might even sit through it twice." "This is wonderful." "How'd you find it?" "I knew we'd wanna be alone, so I explored." "Gee, you know, that was an inspiration, Johnny, about sitting through it twice." " It'll give us plenty of time." " What if they ask about it?" " I never saw it." " Oh, I did." "It's about this big ape or gorilla or something who carries his girl off in the palm of his hand." "Fay Wray, I think." "Are you sure you wanted to come here?" "You're not just doing it for me?" "Yes, I wanted to come here, and, yes, I am doing it for you." "Why?" "I don't know, I guess I just feel guilty like, making you do something you don't wanna do." "I never do things I don't wanna do, Johnny." "I wish we lived on a South Sea Island where everyone gets married when they're 12." "I wouldn't have been ready for you then, Johnny." "I was real goony at 12." "And you wouldn't have wanted me." "Come on, Molly let's be the way you wanted to be this morning:" "Good." "Let's go see King Kong." "Kiss me first." "Look, there's no point in making it any tougher than it already is." "Is kissing me tough?" "Stopping after one is." "Please?" "This is real crazy." "Me wanting to be good." "You don't really wanna be?" "No." "Darling." "We'll go back to school, and we'll write letters and we'll hope that someday, somehow, somewhere, we'll be together again." "Like you said on the beach:" ""Let's be sensible."" "But you don't really want that." "No." "And I can't lie about it." "I don't know why." "I don't even care about the consequences." "I guess that's horrible." "I guess I'm horrible." "No, you're not." "I love you, Johnny, don't ever forget that." "And if you need me, then I need you, only twice as much." "Now about King Kong." "There's this big ape, and he's on top of the Empire State Building and there are thousands of planes coming to attack him." "And he bats at them like flies." "But they kill him." "It's kind of sad." "If anybody asks, just tell them about the end." "That's the part everybody remembers." "They probably stopped someplace for a soda." "Everything closes at midnight." "Then they went for a walk on the beach." "What's wrong with that?" "It's not easy for them." "They're both so intense and in love." "Anyone can see that." "So were we at their age." "And we didn't settle for a walk on the beach." "It's after 2 a.m." " Maybe we should talk to them." " What should we say?" "That they should take it easy, I guess." "Do you think that'd help?" "Would it have helped you 20 years ago?" "No." "The trouble with most parents is that they attribute their own guilty memories to their young." "Like father, like son." "Like mother, like daughter." "But that's not true." "Molly's completely unlike Helen." "And Johnny's not like Bart." "They've got us in them." "And that's why I can't sleep." "I love you." "You're right." "And they love each other as we did, passionately." "I've gotta talk to her." "But what do I say?" "You might start by reminding her that passions, once aroused, aren't easily controlled." "You mean kiss a little, but not too much?" "Don't let Johnny make love to you, but don't be too angry if he tries because you can freeze yourself and become like your mother?" "Just what honest advice can I give her?" "To be a half-virgin?" "To allow herself to be fondled?" "To go halfway in the back seats of parked cars but always draw back in time?" "How do I tell her that one single reckless night can destroy her happiness and her life?" "But I can't tell her to welcome passion either." "To take joy in the giving of it, because that would destroy her." "I can't tell her to be half good." "I'd feel like a hypocrite." "Is there no completely honest answer I can give her?" "Is the only answer that youth must be a time of suspended animation?" "Or is the solution for parents to maintain a frightened, worried silence?" "You can tell her, if..." "If they experiment they must always remember what the cost can be." "And you can warn her that at first it's the passions and the desires that rule a girl's wants but that love is much deeper and far wider than that." "Love is a learned thing between a man and a woman." "And after those first fierce passions start to fade it's that love, that learned love, that counts for everything." "You know after 18 years, I had almost forgotten how it was being as they are." "The loneliness and the hunger." "The impatience and the waste." " Who is it?" " It's me." " It's almost noon." "May I come in?" " Yes." "What do you want?" " Just to caution you a little." " About what?" "You and Johnny." "I love him." "You gotta use your head." "You gotta be sensible." "Yes, Father, we will be sensible." "I mean I just want your help." "I don't wanna see you get yourself into a mess." "I know." "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get dressed." " Are you sure?" " Yes." " Where are you now?" " In the doctor's office." " At Briarwood?" " No, I signed out to go to a movie." "I'm in the next town." " Does anybody else know?" " No." "But I had to call you." "Darling, don't cry." " We'll..." "We'll figure this out." " How?" "I need you so much, Johnny." " I'll come to you." " When?" "Tonight." "I'll come tonight." "Thank God." "I'd imagined awful things." "I thought you were gonna tell me that it was all my fault." "And I was so ashamed." "Well, we've gotta keep this a secret until we decide what we're gonna do about it." "I don't know how long it's gonna take me to get there." " I'll make it as soon as I possibly can." " What are we going to do?" "We'll figure something out." "They can't lick us together." "No, they can't." "Be brave now, till we meet." "I'll try." "Goodbye, Johnny." "It pays to be cautious." " Yeah, that's what I always say." " Climb in." "Briarwood, son." "Thank you." "Why, John Hunter." "What a pleasant surprise." "Don't sit close, Johnny, they might be watching." "Darling, I've thought it all out, and it's very simple we're gonna get married." " Papa would kill me and Mama would die." " Let them." "They can't do anything after we're married." "We'll go to my father." "He's broad-minded about everything." " He'll help us." " Couldn't we just run away?" "I'm broke." "I had to hitchhike all the way." "I still have the coat Daddy gave me." "We could sell it." " Where is it?" " Up in the closet, still in the box." "I'll bring it to you." "Johnny, I've just gotta hold your hand." "Can you put it where no one would see us?" "Your hand's ice-cold." "I get like that all over when I think about it." "It's just the opposite with me." "I feel warm all over." "We're going to have a child." "Stop looking at me like that, Johnny." "They'll think you're my lover." "Well..." "You'd better take the coat into Boston to sell it." "I don't even have bus fare." "I'm broke too." "I paid the doctor in cash so there wouldn't be any bill." " Is there a pawnshop in town?" " Yes." "We'll have to take our chances there." "When can we start, Johnny?" "I signed out till midnight, I don't think I'll be missed till after then." "By that time, we'll be receiving Dad's blessing." " Wait for us." "We'll only be a minute." " Okay, Johnny." "There's no signs of life in there." "Dad?" "Dad?" "Dad?" "You'd better wait out here while I break the news to him." "You gonna be warm enough?" "Dad?" "Dad?" "Dad?" "Who's there?" " Who's there, Coast Guard?" " It's your son, Johnny." "Hello, Dad." "Are you all right?" "What are you wearing your old uniform for?" "I was expecting the Coast Guard." "What are you doing here?" "Did you flunk out?" "I just came to talk to you about something." " Oh, have a drink?" " No, thanks." "You're wise." "Stay off it as long as you can." "So, what did you come here for?" " Father, I'm in love." " At your age, why not?" "With Molly Jorgenson." "I wanna marry her." "Now?" "That's absurd." " Are you in trouble with her?" " No." "Yes, we are." "Oh, no, not so young." "You're both still wet behind the ears." "We're gonna be all right, Dad." "We wanna get married and come here and make Pine Island our home." "We could run things for you, Dad." "She loves it here, I love it here." "Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations." "At least you won't have to start where I did, from the top." "Pour me a drink, three fingers." "This will be painful for you, but you might as well face the truth." "The raw truth." "Take a good look at your parents." "We've got no more secrets to hide." "All the cats are out of the bag." "All the scrawling, mangy, obscene horrible cats of your inheritance." "You are the son of a drunkard and a harlot." " You're wrong about Mother, Dad." " Gone to her side, have you?" "I'm not taking sides, I just wanna marry Molly." "Oh, Johnny." "Stop being a silly sentimentalist." "It's stupid." "Molly is merely a succulent little wench." "She's not a wench." "She's everything I've ever dreamed of in a girl." "Oh, don't make me laugh." "They're all alike in the dark." "You can't make her cheap." "You can't do it, in spite of your damned supercilious, intelligent mind." "And with or without your consent, we're getting married." "Let's go, Johnny, please." "One hundred thousand apologies, Molly." "I didn't know you were there." "I could tell that, and I didn't wanna hear any more." " Please sit down." " No, thank you." "You say you want my consent to get married and yet you say that with or without it, you'll get married anyway." "That's right." "Well, let's all look at this thing rationally, shall we?" "I'm about to transfer myself to the Naval Hospital in Boston from whence I may never emerge." "It's a matter of ulcers beyond control." "Then why are you drinking, Dad?" "Because I've already signaled the Coast Guard to come and transship me and I know they haven't got a bar aboard." "As I dimly remember the wedding ceremony the parson says:" ""If any person knows just cause why this man and this..."" "This man and this woman, you two." ""...should not be joined together in holy matrimony let him speak now or forever hold his peace."" "I shall speak now." "You're..." "You're very young." "Youth is supposed to be a joyous, carefree time." "Thanks to your parents, that time has been cut short, too short." "But that doesn't mean that you can't resume it and go to dances and to football games and neck on the way home." "Does that sound frivolous to you?" "Well, some of the best parts of life are frivolous." "This may sound strange coming from an inebriate but I have observed that there is a moral law at work in the world." "And that sinners pay in one way or the other." "Why don't you lie down, Dad." "I'll get your medicine." "No, I'm fresh out of it." "So I say stop this affair right now." "And then if, as time passes you you discover each other again, well, go ahead, get married." "Have my words made any sense to you?" "No, Mr. Hunter, because you left out the one word that really counts:" "Love." "The love that Johnny and I have for each other." "The Coast Guard's come for me." "Well I profoundly hope you do not get married." "But if you do, well maybe life's only a dice game after all." "And if it is, our family's certainly due for a winner." "Sorry to get you up, sir, but we wanna get married." " How old are you?" " Twenty-one, sir." "Both 21." " Got your birth certificates?" " No." "No, but we can send for them." "Come back when you have them." "Well, we can go to another state." "I'm sure there's another state where we can get married." "I'm tired, Johnny." "It's been a big day." "Do you think we can get some sleep?" "We can go to a hotel." "They'd only ask for our marriage license." "Well, then we can go to a cheap motel." "No." "I'd hate the way they'd look at us." "Do you think we can sleep in the car?" "Hello." "And Bart left them on their own?" "Then called the police?" "Why?" "Well, at least he had the courtesy to call you." "Now, don't get hysterical, Helen." "Call your doctor and have him give you a sedative." "I'll take care of this." "Yes." "Yes." "Good night." "Bart called Helen from a hospital in Boston." "Molly's run away from school with Johnny, damn them." "What was that about the police?" "Bart told Helen he thought they ought to be put in juvenile court to cool off." "Cool off?" "From what?" "It seems Molly's pregnant." " Do you think they're looking for us?" " Why should they be?" "Well, they're coming from the town we just came from to get married." "Let's stop kidding ourselves, Johnny." "I don't think anybody's gonna marry us." "We can't do it alone." "We're going to have to tell Papa and your mother." "What about your mother?" " She'll have a nervous breakdown." " You know what I think?" "I think your father's gonna beat the living daylights out of me." "You know what?" "I kind of wish he would." "Sylvia." "They're home." "Papa." " Hush, baby, I know." " We live in a glass house." "We're not throwing any stones." "Thanks for wanting us." "You got a fight ahead of you, kids." "But you've got the beauty and strength of love on your side." "And if we can find our sense of humor too why, these are the weapons of the angels." "Sure glad to have you back, Johnny, you and your pretty new missis." " Happy honeymoon." " Thank you." "In front of God and everybody this time?" "5@y3"