Flash in the pan
(This was designed as a short two-character western play, although I was never sure how I would stage having horses. I wanted to create a character conflict between two good characters and their dreams. Most likely it would make for an hour TV drama similar to those that used to appear regularly in the 1950s. This could also serve as the subplot for another more active drive film script)
SCENE 1:
(two prospectors, Territ and Bo, climb the mountain with horses and finally stop in a small notch in the rising hills)
TERRIT:
Damn it, Bo. This is the claim you staked out for us?
BO:
(halting. He is a large bear-like man with broken front teeth and some Native American features. He rushes dust from his hair and eye brows)
I’m sorry, Territ. It’s the best I could get.
TERRIT:
That’s what you said the last time.
(Territ, who is a much smaller man, slips off his horse, surveys the rocky land of the rising hills above the notch.
So where’s the water, Bo?
How many times do I have to tell you we need water to prospect?
BO:
(dismounting more clumsily)
I couldn’t find any places with water other people hadn’t already claimed. I was lucky to get this place. You should have seen all the folks crowed the claims office.
TERRIT:
Blood suckers from the east. Whisper gold anywhere in this country and you can a stampede of fools looking to cash in.
(Pulls a half smoked cigar from his pocket, dusts it off, sticks it in the corner of his mouth, then strikes a match and lights it, sucking in the smoke in greedy gulps.)
But it’s more than lack of water that makes this place bad. I don’t get a feeling for gold here. The stone is so thick, we could spend a year picking at it and never find anything.
BO:
We got some dynamite.
(taps a wooden box on the back of one of the horses.)
TERRIT:
Not enough for this job.
It serves me right letting you hunt up land.
BO:
I got a hunch about this place, Territ. It felt right the first time I saw it.
TERRIT:
You’ve had hunches before
BO:
Not like this one.
TERRIT:
You and your hunches haven’t got us much so far. I’m still living in a run down hotel in San Francisco. And you’ve still got callused hands.
You ought to go back to the ranches, Bo. At least you’d get a pay check to show for all your hard work.
BO:
I’m never going back
TERRIT:
Too proud, eh?
Ashamed to go crawling back after all you said?
BO:
I mean what I said.
They’re all bastards, giving with one hand, taking it back with the other, working people to death for beans while the ranchers get rich.
I’m never gonna work that hard again unless it’s for myself.
TERRIT:
Well, there’s plenty of work here for both of us.
So we might just as well get started.
But I’m telling you, Bo. This is the last time.
If we don’t find gold this time, I’m going back to San Francisco and my old way of life.
BO:
You can’t do that, Territ. They’ll hang you next time.
TERRIT:
If they catch me.
BO:
They’ll catch you. They always do.
TERRIT:
Stop with your dire predictions They’re more aggravating than your predictions of gold
Just help me untie our gear. It’s going to be a cold night and hot tomorrow.
BO:
(Untying the gear)
Things are gonna be differ this time. You’ll see
TERRIT:
It better be.
SCENE 2
(Two days later with gear set up and Bo and Territ hard at work, a wrinkled faced rider in dusty clothing appears on the ridge above them and slowly rides down the slanted path to their camp)
STRANGER:
Did you two get lucky yet?
TERRIT:
(Leaning on a pick ax handle)
Hell no.
STRANGER:
Not many are from what I’ve heard at the claims office.
It ain’t like 49 when all you had to do was stick a shove in the ground to strike it rich.
BO:
I’m sure we’ll get what we came for it we keep at it.
STRANGER:
Not if all you brought with you was a pick ax.
If there’s gold in these rocks, you’re going to have to blast it out.
TERRIT:
We’ll get by
STRANGER:
I see you’ve got your mind set
TERRIT:
Yes, we do.
STRANGER:
Well, watch your back just the same
There’s a bad lot in these parts that’ll watch you close and wait til you strike, then they’ll pounce on you.
TERRIT:
We know how to handle ourselves against bandits
STRANGER:
Maybe you do, and maybe you don’t. But there’s plenty of bandits who don’t come a’ calling with a gun.
Some even hide behind a badge.
BO:
We’ll watch out.
TERRIT:
(riding off)
See ya.
TERRIT:
(staring after the rider)
He’s the first one I’m gonna watch out for.
SCENE 3
(same place, hours later. Both men are sweating and busy and moving slowly. Bo halts, holds up a chunk of rock)
BO:
Hey, Territ. I think I found something.
TERRIT:
(Halting with a sigh) Like what?
BO:
Come see for yourself.
TERRIT:
(climbs out of his hold to stand over the one in which Bo labors)
All right. I’m here. So what’s the big surprise? Did you find gold or is an earthquake gonna hit?
BO:
Look what’s in this piece of rock I found
(Hands Territ a chuck of rock)
TERRIT:
Pretty light for the rock we’ve been chopping through.
BO:
Look at the streak in it.
It’s got glittery veins like gold
TERRIT:
You idiot. That’s not gold.
BO:
It looks like gold
TERRIT:
That’s why it’s called fool’s gold because fools like you get fooled by it.
True gold wouldn’t crumble like this.
(Territ crushes some of the stone between his fingers.
And any stone that had true gold in it would be a darn side heavier than this stone is.
BO:
Does that mean we won’t find real gold around here?
TERRIT:
No.
(drops the rock’s remains as if dust)
Some people claim fool’s gold is a sign that there’s a big vein of real gold somewhere near by.
BO:
See! What did I tell you?
TERRIT:
I said some people believe that.
I think it’s a lot of talk, by fools believing in dreams.
I’ve seen a lot of empty holes where people broke their backs digging up this stuff and never getting any nearer to true gold.
BO:
But if we keep digging, maybe we’ll be the ones who find it, eh, Territ?
TERRIT:
Most unlikely.
I don’t know why people bother, why we bother, why we keep busting our backs on this place and places just like it.
BO:
Because we want to find gold
TERRIT:
I know where to find gold without breaking my back.
BO:
Don’t talk like that again, Territ. You said you would give this a try before you went back to that.
TERRIT:
I have tried. Tried and tried and tried again.
BO:
Well, try some more please. At least for a while.
TERRIT:
You mean to tell me you want to go on with this farce?
BO:
I mean to find gold
TERRIT:
You ARE a hopeful sucker.
BO:
No, I ain’t. I just don’t want to go back to working this hard for no rancher.
TERRIT:
So you want to hit it rich so that you can own the ranch instead, sit on your butt and boss other people around?
BO:
That’s not so. I never said no such thing. I don’t want to be anybody’s boss but my own.
TERRIT:
But you did say you wanted to own your own land some day.
BO:
A bit of earth where I can have some green grass to raise a cow and plant some corn.
TERRIT:
You’re digging for gold so you can raise some corn?
You are a queer fish, Bo. Most men did for gold so they can get rich and quit work.
BO:
I ain’t most men, I guess.
TERRIT:
You aren’t like me, that’s for sure.
I’m not digging like this now to go pounding in fence post later.
BO:
I’ll do most of the digging if you want.
Just don’t leave me alone. I hate being alone
TERRIT:
So what happens if you get your dream?
I already told you’ I’m not into farming.
We hit gold, I’m headed back to Frisco to live a proper life.
BO:
If I get land, then I can get me a wife and raise a family.
TERRIT:
A family?
You’d be better off digging up fool’s gold.
BO:
You gonna stay?
TERRIT:
For a price.
BO:
I don’t get you, Territ
TERRIT:
I want a bigger split if we hit gold.
BO:
But we always said we would split things fifty/fifty.
TERRIT:
That was then. This is now. Now I want 75.
BO:
That ain’t fair
TERRIT:
No, it’s not.
But if you don’t care to get rich, what difference does it make anyway?
BO:
Okay. I guess you’re right.
As long as you stay.
TERRIT:
I’ll stay until I decide to leave. Then all bets are off.
You know, Bo, you’re a bigger fool than those who believe in these stones.
(Territ kicks the remains of the fool’s gold.)
SCENE 4
(A few days later near sun down. Bo looks up at the hill, sees a dust cloud along the trail the stranger had ridden down)
BO:
We got company, Territ.
TERRIT:
(Looking up)
By the look of it, I would say more than one. More like a half dozen guests. You’d better get your rifle while I get mine.
(Both men put down their pick axes and grab up their rifles and so are standing at the foot of the trail when six riders appear winding down. The lead rider is wearing a badge. He is a lean man with a scar on his face and a bold look in his eye)
SHERIFF:
Howdy, folks, Any luck.
TERRIT:
Lots of luck. All of it bad. What brings you and your men out this way, sheriff?
SHERIFF:
I like to keep and eye on my territory, especially with so many folks digging for gold.
Gold makes some men crazy, and makes others do things that they wouldn’t do back in civilized society.
TERRIT:
So you’re out here to protect us from such characters?
SHERIFF:
That’s my job, though (pausing to look at his other men) we using get a little something for looking out extra hard.
TERRIT:
By something, I suppose you mean a percentage of the claim?
SHERIFF:
That’s usually how it works.
TERRIT:
How big a percentage are we talking about?
SHERIFF:
Well, some people are inclined to be very grateful for my looking after them.
TERRIT:
How grateful?
SHERRIF:
Ten percent is a common number.
TERRIT:
That is generous. It’s also a lot to dig out of a man’s pocket after he’s worked so hard to dig it out of the earth.
SHERIFF:
It’s a lot only if there’s something to dig out. Most cases there ain’t. In that case you get my services for nothing.
BO:
What’s he talking about, Territ?
TERRIT:
He’s talking highway robbery, Bo. He wants a piece of our claim, and I’ll bet he’ll want us to register his name at the claims office in good faith.
SHERIFF:
Robbery is putting it strong. Let’s call it insurance against natural or unnatural disaster.
TERRIT:
I prefer the term robbery, it fits the crime.
SHERIFF
Crime’s a mean word, too. Nobody’s got a gun to your head. If you want to take your chances, that’s your business.
TERRIT:
Then I guess we’ll take our chances. Good day, Sheriff.
SHERIFF:
(riding off)
Good day to you, and good luck. I have a feeling you’ll need it.
BO:
Territ, I don’t like the looks of him.
TERRIT:
With good reason, Bo.
A thief who admits he’s a thief isn’t evil. But a man using a badge to steal is something else. We’d better keep a closer look out, I have a feeling the sheriff will be back.
SCENE 5
(same location. Days later. Both men look dustier and wearier than before, run down as if devolving back into the soil with each shovel of dirt they dig.
The claim has taken on the look of a skull with their efforts. They have sculpted out eye sockets and nose socket and space below full of rocks resembling broken teeth.
A trickle of water runs down at the corner of this skull’s mouth directed at the project by culvert dug from a weak spring somewhere higher up the hill. The water has cleared away much of the dirt uncovering the huge amount of stone through which they still have to dig).
TERRIT:
(Throws done his pick)
That’s it. I quit. I’m not made of iron.
BO:
I’m tired, too, Territ.
But I’m sure we’re close to finding gold.
TERRIT:
If there’s gold here to be found, it’ll take us years to find it.
BO:
Maybe not.
TERRIT:
Face it, Bo. We’re licked. We’re down to solid stone.
Do you intend to chip away at it with a pick?
BO:
We still have the dynamite.
TERRIT:
One box. Hardly enough to dent this ledge.
Frankly, I don’t think all the dynamite in town will break through this stuff even if we had money enough to afford the exorbitant prices they’re changing down there.
Even then, we wouldn’t be sure we would find gold.
BO:
Just try a little longer, Territ.
TERRIT:
Damn it, Bo. We’re running out of grub.
BO:
We could hunt.
TERRIT:
We can’t hunt or we can dig. We can’t do both.
We’re licked.
It’s time for me to head back to the coast and dig for gold in rich people’s pockets.
BO:
(Puts down the wheel barrow he’d been pushing)
So you’re doing it again.
TERRIT:
Doing what?
BO:
Give up the minute things get hard.
TERRIT:
It’s been hard since we got here. Now it’s getting hopeless.
BO:
It’s hopeless because you want it that way.
TERRIT:
Are you blind or just plain stupid?
Can’t you see all the rock we have to blast through?
BO:
It’s rock this time.
Last time you gave up because our ditches got flooded.
The time before than you found a bone and said we have been digging in an Indian burial ground.
TERRIT:
Those were all good reasons.
BO:
Any reason’s a good reason to you.
TERRIT:
For Christ’s sake, Bo. You act as if I didn’t want to find any gold.
BO:
Maybe you don’t.
Maybe you want to go back to your old ways because you like doing things that way.
TERRIT:
It’s a lot easier than all of this, and it certainly gets me a lot more gold.
BO:
Only you never keep any of it.
You spend it as fast as you get and in the end you don’t have anything to show you ever had it.
TERRIT:
You’re starting to piss me off, Bo.
BO:
I don’t mean to, Territ.
I’m just saying that you ought to have something you can hold onto, no matter how you get your gold.
TERRIT:
You live your way and I’ll live mine.
Now let’s pack up and get out of here.
BO:
I’m not leaving.
TERRIT:
Don’t be an ass.
You can’t handle this claim by yourself.
BO:
I can try.
TERRIT:
Now you’re making me laugh.
You hate being alone.
Once I’m out of sight, you’ll panic and come howling after me.
BO:
Not this time.
TERRIT:
We’ll see.
(walks off, packs up his stuff, then mounts)
You’ll die of starvation or worse in these godforsaken hills.
BO:
I don’t think so. I got a hunch.
TERRIT:
You can’t eat hunched and hunches won’t keep the wolves off you after night fall.
BO:
I’ll make you a deal.
TERRIT:
What kind of deal?
BO:
If you stay for a few blasts of the dynamite and we strike gold, I’ll give you all of my share except what I need to buy my farm.
TERRIT:
And if we don’t find any gold?
BO:
Then you can leave.
TERRIT:
(after a moment staring at the claim)
All right, we’ll blast. Although I had figured on selling some of the dynamite and the tools to get food.
SCENE 6:
(It is dark and a wolf howls in the distance. Bo wakes up with a cry)
TERRIT:
(waking up more slowly)
What is it?
BO:
I heard something in the dark.
TERRIT:
There are a lot of things crawling around out there. Go back to sleep.
BO:
It sounded like voices.
TERRIT:
Maybe they were voices. As remote a place as this is, people are still wandering around
BO:
I’m scared, Territ.
TERRIT:
And you want to work this claim alone
BO:
Not of the dark so much though that scares me, too.
TERRIT:
Of what?
BO:
Of not finding gold. Of having to go back to the ranches anyway.
TERRIT:
Eating crow is nothing to be scared of or ashamed of.
We all do things we regret. We all take steps backwards sometimes.
BO:
But I don’t want to.
TERRIT:
We all do things we don’t want to do, too.
Go to sleep, Bo. We’re blasting in the morning and the last thing I need is you falling asleep while lighting dynamite.
SCENE 7
(In the morning, the two men haul the box of dynamite up the hell, Bo digging it open with a long knife)
TERRIT:
Careful there.
BO:
It won’t go off without fire
TERRIT:
Maybe.
But I’m not comfortable with it.
I hope we don’t bury ourselves in a rock slide.
BO:
I’ve handled dynamite before, back on the ranch taking out stumps.
TERRIT:
A stump’s one thing, a mountain is another.
(the two men move from one spot to another, picking at the stone face of the mountain for space to place each charge, both are soaked with sweat and caked with dust when they are finished.)
Okay, we’re set. I’m keeping a few sticks to trade for food.
(Territ careful folds three sticks into a kerchief, and eases them into a saddle bag which he places carefully near his other gear.)
What next?
BO:
We set it off
TERRIT:
And find more of this worthless stone when we’re done.
BO:
You’ve got to have faith, Territ.
TERRIT:
I’m as out of faith as we’re out of food. Just set them off so I can get out of here.
(Bo lights the fuse. This travels along the ground lighting other fuses in a chain reaction that spreads to each of the charge, looking a little like lava trails spreading out. The two men are hunched behind a large boulder, which proves very little protections from the sand and dust that falls after each explosion, gravel raining down on them, making both men look even more tattered when they finally rose to look over the result of the explosions)
Just as I thought. More of this worthless stone. The stuff must go all the way to China.
BO:
I guess it was a bad claim after all.
TERRIT:
As I said all along.
Come on. Let’s pack up. We can get to the post before it closes and sell the tools.
BO:
No.
I’m staying.
TERRIT:
Hard headed fool.
You’re as thick headed as this stone.
BO:
Go if you’re going. I’ve got some digging to do.
TERRIT:
But you’re digging your own grave.
BO:
Maybe.
TERRIT:
Fine. Stave and starve. I’ll sell my share of the tools.
(Territ collects his stuff, adds it to the stuff already packed, being very careful with the saddle bags containing the dynamite. Then he mounts and looks down at Bo.)
You can still change your mind.
BO:
I won’t.
TERRIT:
Fool!
(Territ rides off. Bo climbs down into one of the pits made by the blasts, gravel sliding with him until he reached the bottom. He works slowly and steadily, moving the stone as if he intended to move the whole mountain. Hours pass. Darkness falls. And still he continues to dig, working until dawn rises, and still working even after the sun rises again. Then, from above, a few loose stones slide down. He looks up.)
BO:
Territ? Is that you?
(A face appears at the top and then another, filling in the circle finally with the face of the grinning Sheriff)
SHERIFF:
Did you get lucky?
BO:
No.
SHERIFF:
That is a shame.
I might have spared you life if you had come up with anything.
BO:
What do you mean?
SHERIFF:
You wouldn’t heed my warning.
I can’t have people who won’t do what I tell them. It sends a bad message to other people and soon nobody will be listening to me.
Where’s your partner?
BO:
He left.
SHERIFF:
That’s too bad.
I was hoping to get both of you together.
But we’ll catch up with him.
TERRIT:
(standing on a ledge higher up in the mountain)
You won’t have to look me up, sheriff. I’m right here.
BO:
Territ, you came back!
TERRIT:
I saw their trail headed this way and knew it meant trouble
SHERIFF:
More trouble than you know.
You should have kept going, mister.
TERRIT:
I wouldn’t do anything foolish, Sheriff
(Territ puff on his cigar stub, then pulls out a stick of dynamite)
I would hate to have to clean up your pieces from off our claim.
SHERIFF:
You wouldn’t set that off?
Not with your friend down here?
TERRIT:
You want to test me?
You were going to kill him anyway. What difference does it make which way he goes – yours or mine?
SHERIFF:
All right. We’re leaving. But we’ll be back.
TERRIT:
Don’t bother. I’ve hired some people to help guard this place. They’ll be riding out here in a day or two.
SHERIFF:
Hired people? I don’t understand?
TERRIT:
(pulls a stone out of his pocket and tosses it down at the sheriff’s feet)
That got stuck in my gear after one of the explosions. Notice the dull yellow. That’s gold. I had it assessed at the post. It’s a rich fine. Rich enough for one of the owners to offer us a lot for this claim. I’ve brought back the contract for my partner to sign.
Meanwhile I hired people to make certain no one messes with claim until the deal goes through. After that, I’m sure the mine owner will have his own people here.
Now get before I decide I don’t like holding dynamite any more.
(the sheriff and his crew depart. Bo climbs up to the top of the hole where he meets Territ)
BO:
Is it true? Did we discover gold here?
TERRIT:
(looks over the landscape with distaste)
It’s here somewhere.
But god knows we’ll get enough to live high on by selling the place. If you want. More than enough to buy your farm.
BO:
The farm’s all I want.
It’s up to you, Territ. You’re the one that needs the money.
TERRIT:
I know, I said that.
But I got to thinking about what you said the other night.
I figure maybe if you got room, I’ll try farming. But I’m warning you, if I don’t like it, I’m heading back to Frisco.
BO:
Anything you say, Territ.
END