RX> OF YOUTH—ACT ' of BOSS FINLEY » an. The forestage is i-^m 'stunabfy the floodlight i | | to the hotel. This is tkt. waiting for. Everybody

one on stage is CHANCE,- ^ e HECKLER is at the bmi go. Now, off Left, BOSS crudity very much "on." off:] it, smfle! Go on, smile fsr 1 I't Hiat the rig^t name for. t t ogo in l I to face CHANCE. _ stant, CHANCE and HEA\ 'E !>C^ iding to the Palm Garden md ige. They simply look at c s c l n them. Then the BC»s comt^^ . . And there he is facing tk^ . For a spUt second he faem

ke at them, but doesn't strikm, off Left stage . . . where iht\

proceed during what follows, is going to go on the platform

iere stunned....] IHe turns to her blindly.]

^tiling's packed, even the . . . voice on i t . . .

7 his position at the bar. Now pie of other of the boys have ^ees them and is silent, . . . :e this before. . . .] lere, will you. HI want?

0 Come down here. I l l tea ywi.

101

You come up here and tell me. I jUNun: Come on, you chicken-gut bastard, s: Why, hello, Tom Jimior. Why are you hiding

JUNIOR: You're hiding, not me, chicken-gut. i: You're in the dark, not me.

i: Tom Junior wants to talk to you privately down

B : He can talk to me privately up here. » M JUNIOR: Hatch», tell him Fll talk to him in the

Itti^oom on the mezzanine floor. :HANCB: I don't hxAd conversations with people in wash-:mi. . , . 'JfOM^~7Cl\i\ji^^JliJ[uiiulud, slaris to nah forward, iieg ffuiii hitn.] What is all this an^ow? It's fantastic. You all having a

^ l e conference there? I used to leave places when I was ssid to. Not now. That time's over. Now I leave when Fm ^ d y . Hear that, Tom Junior? Give your father that message. This is my town. I was bom in S t Cloud, not him. He was fust called here. He was just called down from the hills to preach hate. I was bom here to make love. Td l him about that diffoence between him and me, and ask him vdiich he thinks has more right to stay here. . . . [He gets no answer from the huddled little group which is restraining T O M JUNIOR from perpetrating murder right there in the cocktml lounge. After all, that would be a bad incident to precede the BOSS'S all-South-wide TV appearance . , . and they all know

CHANCE, at the same time, continues to taunt them.] Tom,

102 SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH—ACT TWO Tom Jun te l What do yoa want me t<xt1 To pay me back fat the ball game and ^c ture show money I gave you wfaea you were cutting your father's yard grass for a dollar on Saturday? Thank me for the times I gave you my motorcycle and got you a gul to ride the buddy seat with you? Come herel IH give you the keys to my Caddy. IH give yoa the price of any whtae in S t Cloud. You still got credit with me because you're Heavcnly'g brother.

T D M juNKHt [almost bursting free]: Don't say the name of my sister!

CHANCE: I said the name of my giril T O M JUNIOR [breaking away from the group]: Tm aS

right Tm all ri^t Leave us alone, will you. I don't warn Chance to fed that he's outnumbered. [He herds them out] O.K.? Come on down here.

S C E N E TWO n St Cloud? . . . I know, it's possiUe, i ±at you didn't know what you done to n ast time you come to S t Cloud. You rei ^nea you came home broke? My sister ha ahj in restaurants and bars, and had to

:u wrote on banks whwe you had no ac ~st this rich bitch, Minnie, the Texas on .-;d started spending week ends on her y t&A Mondays with money frxMn Blinnie i sater. I mean, you'd sleep with Minnie, ti ^ddam gigdb bastard she could pidc up ( 7 the docks, and dien ycMi would go on si - s i s t e r . And sometime, during that tin •T. ng besides your gigolo fee &om Mini

my sister, my little sister that had 1 a thing like thiU, and didn't know wha)

fooe on too long and— noNCESS [trying to restrain CHANCE]: N O , Chance, don^ ^ CHANCE: I left town bef(H» I foimd out I -iDM J U N I O R : Excuae youndf from the bidy and^

down here. Don't be scared t a I just want to talk to yoc qototty. Joat talk. Quiet talk.

CHANCE: Tom Junior, I know that shice the last tune I here something haa hi^pened to Heavenly and I—

T O M J U N I O R : Dont—apeak the name of my sister. Jm leave her name off your tongue—

CHANCE: Jost t d l me what happened to her. T O M JUNiCtt: Just k e ^ your ruttin' vmce down. CHANCE: I know Tve dcme many wn»g things in my '

many mm than I can name or number, but I swear I hurt Heavenly in my life.

T O M JtnaoR: You mean to say my sisttf was had by i body else—diseased by somdx>dy else tlw last time yoa <

IT he lamentation music is haari.} tOM JtJNiOR: You found ootl Did yoo t CHANCE: I dwogbt if sanedOiV W M i

KorcaB: TOM jvmoR: How could she write you o

addresses, no phone numbers in guttc you—here, oa this spot! . . . My littl<

s't know about tiie diseases and op« she had to be deaned and c u r e d — n

by Dr. George Scudda's knife. Tb And tonight—if you stay here

after this rally, you're gonna get tb The knife? That's all. Now go on

t going b e ^ to toy father, [TOM J U N U A <

[Of CHANCE returns to her]: i , k f s go n o w . . .