Loving Daniel Boone

This play was commissioned by and premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville at the 1992 Humana Festival of New American Plays, March 1992, under the direction of Gloria Muzio. The cast was as follows:

Daniel Boone	Gladden Schrock
Russell	Rod McLachlan
Flo	Catherine Christianson
Hilly	Dave Florek
Blackfish	Chekorah Mishenack
Indian	Steve Willis
Mr. Wilson	Mark Shannon
Rick	Skipp Sudduth
Jemima Boone	Kathryn Velvel
Squire Boone	Eddie Levi Lee

INTRODUCTION

When the Kentucky Historical Commission asked me to write a play celebrating Kentucky history, I sat down and made a list of the things I loved best about Kentucky. It was a silly list including things like Mammoth Cave, Shaker Lemon pie, spoonbread, country ham, the Paris Pike, and the whole town of Harrodsburg. But the most remarkable thing on the list was something known to all Kentucky schoolchildren as The Boone Tree, a simple tree stump on which was carved a simple message—D. BOONE KILL A BAR, 1803. ZOIS.

Now Daniel Boone would not have carved his name in a tree. Never. But a lot of other people have, over the years, for the simple reason that they had Boone fever, a Kentucky disease which has two forms. The Boone believers, like me, make regular pilgrimages to Boonesboro, buy tiny buckskins and toy long rifles for our children, and fanatasize about meeting a modern man who is Boone’s equal. The others, the Boone bashers, do things like sneak into public parks and wrap the Boone statues up in toilet paper. Fie on them, I say. And yet, it must be very hard to be a hero today, without heroic paths to walk, or heroic battles to fight.

So. This play is about heroes, dead and alive. And about how a lover from the past can still be very much in the picture.

CHARACTERS

(In order of appearance.)

DANIEL BOONE: the frontier hero.

RUSSELL: a settler.

FLO: a cleaning woman in a history museum.

HILLY: the new night cleaning man.

BLACKFISH: Chief of the Shawnee.

MR. WILSON: a curator at the museum.

RICK: a mechanic.

JEMIMA: Boone’s daughter

SQUIRE BOONE: Boone’s brother

(Other Indians and Settlers may be used, but are not essential.)

THE ACTION

The play takes place both in the museum where Flo has been working, and in the frontier Kentucky of 1778 to which she has gained access. Care should be taken so the set does not suggest we are doing an outdoor drama. Representations of the frontier life should rather be bold and mysterious, helping to indicate that this is the world that Flo prefers. Further, there will be no barriers to Flo’s movement between the worlds. Frontier costumes should be vivid and sensuous. Present-day costumes should be as simple as possible.

All actors will speak with a Kentucky accent, but should be careful not to lower the perceived intelligence of Kentuckians by doing so.

 

Loving Daniel Boone

ACT I

IN THE FOREST

In dim light, we see two men in buckskins holding long rifles, one leaning comfortably against a tree, the other squatting nervously beside him. Owls hoot in the darkness. Or it could be Indians signaling each other. Russell, the nervous one, drinks from his canteen.

RUSSELL: You got any opinion about this?

BOONE: No. I don’t.

RUSSELL: But you are thinkin’ about it, right?

BOONE: No. I don’t think I am.

RUSSELL: Why not?

BOONE: It don’t concern me, Russell.

RUSSELL: It does too concern you, and you know it.

BOONE: All right, maybe it does. That still don’t mean I have to think about it.

RUSSELL: You know damn well what you think about this. You just don’t want to say it.

BOONE: Well. Maybe I don’t.

RUSSELL: So why don’t you want to say it?

BOONE: Do you want to say what you think?

RUSSELL: Yes, I do. I think they’re gonna kill us.

BOONE: Well, maybe they will. I’d just relax, if I were you.

RUSSELL: How do you think they’ll kill us, exactly?

BOONE: Rush in, knife us. Hide in the bushes and shoot us. It’s hard to say.

RUSSELL: Both at the same time, or me first?

BOONE: You first.

RUSSELL: Be just my luck, they’ll kill me first, and then you’ll talk your way out of it.

BOONE: I’d have to try, Russell.

RUSSELL: ’Fore you know it, the whole gang of ’em would be walkin’ you back to their camp. “Hey, Blackfish, look what we got here. It’s Daniel Boone.”

BOONE: Yeah. I could see somethin’ like that.

RUSSELL: Course you’d eventually escape.

BOONE: Maybe I would.

RUSSELL: Of course you would. Get home, get paraded around the fort. Get elected to the legislature, for God’s sake.

BOONE: No, I know.

RUSSELL: Well why not? I’d vote for you. If I were still alive, I mean.

BOONE: If you want to try sneakin’ out of here right now, let’s go.

RUSSELL: You think we could get past ’em?

BOONE: Probably not.

RUSSELL: But if we head back to the salt lick, they’ll just get the whole party.

BOONE: I was thinkin’ if the Shawnee had all of us for the winter, they might not attack Boonesborough til the spring.

RUSSELL: I think about ’em sometimes, back at the fort, dryin’ tobacco, diggin’ wells. Wonderin’ where the hell we are.

BOONE: Course now…

RUSSELL: Yeah.

BOONE: They could all be dead.

RUSSELL: I know.

(Daniel hears something, smiles, and comes up to a squatting position.)

BOONE: Well, Russell. Maybe our red brothers are gonna forget about us for the night.

RUSSELL: (A deep sigh of relief.) Oh Lord. Really?

BOONE: Nope. Here they come.

(And to the sound of a loud war cry, shrieking Indians come onstage in the darkness and attack them. A furious struggle begins. Boone and Russell are outnumbered, outfought, and finally, dragged offstage.)

IN THE MUSEUM

And then, an overhead light switches on, and we find we are not in the forest at all, but rather, in a museum, with painted backdrops of pioneer struggles, large cases of rifles and household equipment, huge stuffed birds and animal skins, etc. In the center of the room is a tree stump, on which is carved D. Boone Kill A Bar. 1803. ZOIS.

The person who turned on the lights is Flo, the night cleaning woman. She is in her mid 30s, and almost pretty, with long dark hair. She wears a long skirt and moccasins. Following her is Hilly, a young man wearing faded jeans and a black T-shirt. Flo pushes the cleaning cart into the room. Hilly carries the mop and pail and the feather duster.

FLO: So. In this room, you start with the birds. Cause if you do the floor first and then do the birds, the dust from the birds will fall on the floor and you’ll have to do the floor all over again.

HILLY: Whatever you say, Flo.

FLO: I guess starting tomorrow night you can do it however you want. But tonight, you do it like I say, so I can know it’s done right.

HILLY: O.K.

FLO: What’s your name again?

HILLY: Hilly.

FLO: And you be real careful around this tree stump. Daniel Boone himself carved his name right there. D. BOONE KILL A BAR. 1803.

HILLY: O.K.

FLO: Now on these cases, you have to use Windex and a cloth. Not a paper towel. Not ever. It makes a streak. (She gets a cloth.) Like this.

HILLY: (Beginning to get exasperated.) Anybody can clean things.

FLO: Not Daniel Boone’s things, they can’t.

HILLY: What about inside the cases?

FLO: You try and steal anything out of these cases and they’ll have you in jail, mister.

HILLY: Who said anything about stealin’?

FLO: You’ve probably been in jail anyway.

HILLY: Do I look like I’ve been in jail?

FLO: You do. Actually.

HILLY: Well, what if I was?

FLO: What did you do?

HILLY: You know that statue of Daniel Boone in Cherokee park?

(Her face pales as she remembers what happened to that statue.)

FLO: That was you?

HILLY: It was.

FLO: And they actually gave you this job after you did that?

HILLY: It was the judge’s idea. Somethin’ about my debt to society.

(Flo throws down her broom, and heads for the door.)

FLO: I’m going to get Mr. Wilson down here right now. I will not have a known vandal all by himself in this museum all night, I will not.

(He grabs her arm.)

HILLY: He already knows what I did. The judge told him all about it.

FLO: Well I don’t trust you. You’ll mess it up! You’ll bring in your spray paint or your whatever it is, you’ll pee on it.

HILLY: I will not. What I did to Daniel Boone I did for personal reasons. And I’m not gonna do it again, because…because I’m not. (Changing tone.) I’ll do this right. You watch. I’ll do it so good, they’ll think you did it. O.K.? (And suddenly, her attention is drawn away from him.)

IN A TEEPEE

Daniel Boone is pushed into the room by a young Indian brave, who ties him to a totem pole, then leaves.

IN THE MUSEUM

FLO: O.K.

IN THE TEEPEE

Chief Blackfish enters and walks up to Boone. Then all around him, studying him. Boone is badly beaten up.

BLACKFISH: So this is the famous Daniel Boone.

BOONE: Pleased to meet you, Blackfish. Where are all the others?

BLACKFISH: You speak our language.

BOONE: I speak your language. I walk your land. I kill your bear.

BLACKFISH: Are you scared?

BOONE: Yes, sir.

BLACKFISH: Good. (Chief Blackfish leaves.)

IN THE MUSEUM

HILLY: How long you been doin’ this?

FLO: Start with the birds.

HILLY: Yes, ma’am.

(Flo sits down in the guard chair, and wraps a shawl around her shoulders. Hilly begins to dust the birds.)

IN THE TEEPEE

Russell is thrown into the teepee, more or less at Boone’s feet.

BOONE: Russell.

RUSSELL: They made you run the gauntlet. Why did you have to run it and not us?

BOONE: All part of the deal I made.

(Flo gets up from her chair.)

RUSSELL: What else did you promise them? How come we’re not dead?

BOONE: I said when spring came, I’d lead the war party back to the Boonesborough, and they could capture everybody else too. Sell all our scalps to the British if they felt like it.

RUSSELL: What did you do that for?

BOONE: Just tryin’ to get ’em to relax, Russell.

RUSSELL: But you’re not really gonna do that, are you?

BOONE: Not unless I have to.

(Flo takes a piece of jerky out of her pocket, walks over to the teepee and hands it to Russell. Russell takes a bite, then looks at Daniel.)

RUSSELL: Where’s yours?

BOONE: I ate already.

(Russell notices the look Flo is giving Boone.)

RUSSELL: I don’t believe it. This Indian woman’s in love with you.

BOONE: She doesn’t look like an Indian somehow. She looks like a white woman.

RUSSELL: She looks damn hostile to me.

BOONE: I’ve heard of this. Some lost white woman wanderin’ around out here.

RUSSELL: Does every damn thing you hear interest you?

BOONE: Don’t it you?

RUSSELL: No, it don’t.

BOONE: I think this girl knows more about this country than any man we know. Look at how she moves. If we weren’t watchin’, we wouldn’t even know she was here.

RUSSELL: If we weren’t watching, we wouldn’t know we was here.

(Flo turns to leave the teepee.)

BOONE: (To Flo.) Hey. You don’t have to leave. Where are you goin’?

FLO: To get you some blankets. (She leaves.)

RUSSELL: What did she say?

BOONE: She’ll be back.

RUSSELL: Did you know this girl was in this camp?

BOONE: I reckon I did.

IN THE MUSEUM

Flo walks back to the guard chair and sits down. She pours herself a cup of coffee from a thermos.

FLO: Why’d you do that to Daniel Boone?

HILLY: Because he pisses me off.

FLO: He’s the best man who ever lived in Kentucky.

HILLY: See what I mean?

FLO: He came through the Cumberland Gap and found Kentucky. He saved the fort at Boonesborough.

HILLY: And then named it for himself.

FLO: The other settlers named it for him because they’d have all died if he hadn’t been there.

HILLY: Come on, Flo. This was a guy went around writin’ his name on the trees.

FLO: He wrote his name on the trees because he just killed a bear and he had to stay awake all night watchin’ it.

HILLY: Is that what you do when you can’t sleep? Carve up your furniture?

FLO: I watch TV.

HILLY: O.K.

FLO: O.K. what? He didn’t have a TV.

HILLY: He wanted to be a star.

FLO: He did not. He saved his daughter from the Indians.

HILLY: There’s not a man alive who wouldn’t go save his daughter from the Indians.

FLO: What Indians?

HILLY: It’s not my fault there aren’t any Indians to save my daughter from. Daniel Boone chased them all away.

FLO: He did not. He liked Indians.

HILLY: Then where are they, huh? (He points to his work.) How’s that look?

IN THE TEEPEE

Chief Blackfish re-enters.

BLACKFISH: How many white people are in the fort?

BOONE: Twenty, thirty, maybe.

RUSSELL: The Chief speaks English now?

BOONE: He does if he wants you to understand what he’s saying.

BLACKFISH: Do they have water?

RUSSELL: They have water.

BOONE: Not enough. But killin’ those people won’t stop the rest of ’em you know. There’s too many of ’em. Just over the mountain. It’s like the mountain is a big dam holdin’ them back.

BLACKFISH: So is that why they have sent you, to find a way through the mountain?

BOONE: They didn’t send me. I’m just…tryin’ to get out of their way.

BLACKFISH: They don’t belong here. This is Shawnee hunting ground.

BOONE: No, I know. But the way white people see it, a place don’t belong to somebody unless they bought it. Just keepin’ it sacred, like you done, that don’t count. So as soon as this revolution is over they’re gonna come in here, chase you off this land, divide it up, and buy it.

BLACKFISH: From whom?

BOONE: From you if you’ll sell it to ’em. The best way to let white people know somethin’ is yours is to tell them what you want for it.

BLACKFISH: What would I do with the money?

BOONE: I don’t know. Isn’t there something you want?

BLACKFISH: I want the white man to get back.

BOONE: Then sell him the land for his guns.

BLACKFISH: (In disbelief.) They wouldn’t do that.

BOONE: Try it.

IN THE MUSEUM

Flo laughs outloud. Hilly turns around to see what she’s laughing at.

FLO: Sorry.

(And he turns back to his work.)

IN THE TEEPEE

BLACKFISH: I think you could be very useful to us.

BOONE: Could be. Can you untie Russell here, and the rest of the men, or do they have to stay tied up?

RUSSELL: Whose side are you on, here?

BLACKFISH: Do I have your word that they won’t attack our women?

BOONE: What do you say, Russell, can you keep yourself in line, here?

RUSSELL: They took my gun, didn’t they?

BOONE: (To Blackfish.) They’ll be O.K. for a while.

BLACKFISH: Then we will untie them. But if they escape, we will kill you.

BOONE: That’s fair enough.

(Blackfish leaves.)

RUSSELL: So I can’t run off or they’ll kill you?

BOONE: You can go whenever you want.

RUSSELL: And they won’t kill you?

BOONE: Maybe they will. I don’t know.

RUSSELL: Do you just not care if they kill you?

BOONE: It’s not the worst thing that could happen.

IN THE MUSEUM

FLO: Where are you from, Hilly?

HILLY: Hart County.

FLO: I know Hart County. Mammoth Cave is just about my favorite place in the whole state.

HILLY: Is that what you’re gonna do next? Go get a job cleanin’ Mammoth Cave?

FLO: I’m going to Boonesborough, if it’s any of your business.

HILLY: Did you used to go to Mammoth Cave with your boyfriend and smooch while they turned the lights out?

FLO: When they turned the lights out, I looked back the way I came and saw the silhouette of Martha Washington on the wall.

HILLY: You really looked at that?

FLO: I think you better get back to work.

HILLY: I have to admit, though, I liked that Echo River. I always felt like you could step out of your boat, follow some dark passage with your torch, and come right up on John Hunt Morgan makin’ gunpowder under a ledge.

(Flo doesn’t answer immediately. But this is exactly what she wanted to do.)

FLO: You went in your own boat?

HILLY: Lot of times. What did you do? Pay to go with a guide? How many times did you do that?

FLO: If you went in your own boat, you could get off. How did you get in? Is there another entrance to the cave?

HILLY: Well sure there is. I’ll take you there if you want, but I wouldn’t count on seein’ John Hunt Morgan, if I was you. He’s dead.

FLO: So what if he’s dead? Everybody I see here is dead. Dead people walkin’ the streets. Dead people askin’ me how I am. If I have to spend my life with dead people, I’d rather be back there, where the dead people did things.

HILLY: I’m not dead. How long you had this idea we was all dead?

FLO: Then you tell me one livin’ thing you’ve done. You think wrappin’ Daniel Boone up like a mummy makes you a livin’ human being?

HILLY: Are your folks all dead? Your Mom and Dad? How about your girlfriends? You got anybody living in your building or anything?

(She doesn’t answer.)

HILLY: You’ve just been goin’ around, haven’t you, workin’ in all the state historical things, lookin’ for a way in, haven’t you. A way back into history, I mean.

FLO: They do it in the movies.

HILLY: Maybe you should go work in the movies.

(Flo wishes she hadn’t said any of this now.)

FLO: Me?

HILLY: Why not? I’d go see you. What time do you have?

FLO: Eight-thirty.

HILLY: Is it O.K. if I go call Linda? She’s about ready for bed by now.

FLO: It’s time for your break anyway.

HILLY: Thanks. (Hilly leaves.)

(Flo opens one of the cases and gets out a gun.)

IN THE TEEPEE

RUSSELL: So what’s the worst thing?

BOONE: I don’t know what you mean.

RUSSELL: You said gettin’ killed wasn’t the worst thing.

BOONE: No.

RUSSELL: So what is?

BOONE: Oh, I don’t know. Gettin’ marched back to North Carolina, I guess. Stayin’ there my whole life. Bein’ buried in my cornfield.

RUSSELL: Well, I’m goin’ back.

BOONE: But what are you goin’ back for, Russell. Nothin’s gonna happen til the spring. And at least bein’ here, we’re eatin’ up the Shawnee’s food instead of what little they got left at the fort.

RUSSELL: What about Rebecca? Don’t you think she’d like to know you’re not dead?

BOONE: What she’d like to know is if I’m not dead, how come I’ve been gone so long.

RUSSELL: Come on. Go with me. You could leave again as soon as you wanted. Surveyin’, scoutin’. Anything. There’s always somebody wantin’ to hire you.

BOONE: I’m not hirin’ out ever again, Russell. Every trail I blaze is gonna mean a thousand people followin’ me stompin’ it down. Every fire I build out here’s gonna have a homestead around it in five years.

RUSSELL: People tellin’ their children, right here is where Daniel Boone made his first camp in this county.

BOONE: But I can’t quit leadin’ any more than they can quit followin’, so right now, it’s just a flat out relief to be right here, where I can’t go no further. (A moment.) Only thing that would make me happier is if I was tied up.

(Boone looks up as Flo enters the teepee. She is very glad to see him, but her affection is laced with some aggravation. She is carrying some blankets and a gun. She gives him the blankets.)

RUSSELL: Well, look at that.

FLO: I got your gun back for you.

BOONE: Thanks.

(Flo hands Boone the gun. He looks at it carefully.)

BOONE: This isn’t my gun.

FLO: It has your initials on it.

BOONE: No, I know. Russell here, goes around the whole world carvin’ my initials on things.

FLO: Where do you want to go? Do you want me to take you back home?

BOONE: Not right away. I was thinkin’ I’d let ’em…get the crops in first.

FLO: So what did you do? Get yourself captured so we could go fishin’?

BOONE: Maybe I did. What’s runnin’?

FLO: Looks to me like you are.

BOONE: Right into your arms, Flo. I sure am.

(She leaves.)

RUSSELL: What was that all about?

BOONE: She said she’d lead you out if you want.

RUSSELL: I am not draggin’ some Indian woman back to Boonesborough.

BOONE: Well, that’s the difference between you and me, Russell. I never could say for certain what I wasn’t gonna do.

(Blackfish enters with Flo.)

BLACKFISH: Shel-ta-we.

BOONE: My father.

BLACKFISH: It is a wise leader that persuades his men to live peacefully with their enemy.

BOONE: And it is a wise chief who treats his captives with respect.

RUSSELL: What’s going on? I told you she was trouble.

BLACKFISH: As a token of my friendship, I give you this woman for your wife.

RUSSELL: Your wife. What kind of pagan practice is that?

BOONE: I can’t refuse him, Russell, you know that.

RUSSELL: You don’t want to.

BOONE: No. That’s true. Unless she objects.

BLACKFISH: I have spoken with her. She will abide by my wishes.

IN THE MUSEUM

Hilly comes back into the room, and Flo reappears from behind one of the cases.

FLO: Is Linda your wife?

HILLY: My daughter. You oughta have a child, Flo, before it’s too late. You’d like it. Make you forget every damn thing except how to do right by her.

FLO: I’m not married.

HILLY: Well, get married then, if that’s all that’s stopping you.

FLO: No thanks.

HILLY: You got somethin’ against marriage? Daniel Boone was married.

FLO: You lay off me and Daniel Boone.

HILLY: I can’t do it, Flo. I can’t see a nice girl like you throwin’ yourself away on a dead guy. (A beat.) Didn’t you ever meet anybody you liked?

FLO: Why are you askin’ me all this?

HILLY: I want to know what you want in a man.

FLO: Why?

HILLY: So I can see if I’ve got it.

FLO: You?

HILLY: Why not? You want me to put on one of those buckskins?

FLO: What I want, is to get through this night and never see you again.

HILLY: Flo. You never know when you’re gonna meet the right person. You can’t count somebody out just because they’re available.

FLO: I am not attracted to you in the slightest. You have no interest in history, and no sense of responsibility to the present.

HILLY: How do you know that?

FLO: You think women are so desperate to find a man that they’ll take anybody who’s even half-way nice to them.

HILLY: I’d go a lot further than half-way if you’d let me.

FLO: I’m sure you would. But if there was any other woman in this building, you wouldn’t look at me at all.

HILLY: Not so. I saw women all day today. And you’re the first one I wanted to talk to.

FLO: You’re playing with me and I don’t like it.

HILLY: Yeah, well, you’re ignoring me and I don’t like that either.

FLO: I have responded to every single thing you’ve said.

HILLY: You have not. You think I’m a bum.

FLO: I do not.

HILLY: O.K. A criminal.

FLO: I think you talk too much.

HILLY: It takes a lot of talk to get through to you, Flo. I don’t like that name. What’s the whole thing, Florence?

FLO: I have to go to the ladies.

HILLY: I’ll be here.

IN THE TEEPEE

Russell is preparing to leave. Boone is now dressed like an Indian, and from all the evidence, is being treated very well.

BOONE: So what’s your idea here?

RUSSELL: Simple. Go back. Let everybody know you’re alive. See what’s goin’ on. Come back and get you.

BOONE: Why don’t you just stay put if you get there. Give Rebecca a hand. File my claims, too, if you think of it. You know. Get the fort ready.

RUSSELL: When do you think they’ll attack?

BOONE: Not as long as I’m here. But if somethin’ should happen to me here…

RUSSELL: That’s it, see. I don’t trust ’em.

BOONE: Russell, we’ve been here two months and all they’ve done is traipse around, showin’ us off to their friends. Why don’t you wait til the braves are all out huntin’ next month. Go then.

RUSSELL: Cause you’ll probably go hunt with ’em.

BOONE: Gotta earn my keep somehow.

RUSSELL: I’m leaving. I’ll find a couple good men, maybe Squire would like to come. We’ll march right back here and…

BOONE: Russell. They’ll bring me back themselves as soon as they decide what to trade me for. You’re one of the few fighting men we’ve got. If you get to Boonesborough, promise me you’ll…

RUSSELL: Shouldn’t be more than a month at the most.

BOONE: If you’re so concerned for my well-being, then why don’t you just stay here with me?

RUSSELL: Cause I’m tired of watchin’ you and these Indians, if you want the truth of it, fixin’ their rifles, gettin’ yourself adopted, marryin’ this girl. It ain’t right.

BOONE: We’ve seen a lot of things, you and me.

RUSSELL: And we’ll see a lot more, once we get you out of this.

BOONE: It isn’t me we’re worried about.

RUSSELL: I’ll be O.K.

BOONE: Just stay off the trail, then. You hear me? And if they catch you, don’t fight ’em. Just take your whippin’ and come on back here.

RUSSELL: Yes, sir.

BOONE: So I’ll see you in a couple of hours.

RUSSELL: No you won’t either.

BOONE: Well I hope not. I had enough of arguin’ with you to last me at least a month.

(But from the look on Boone’s face, we know Russell has very little chance here.)

IN THE MUSEUM

Hilly is now working on the glass in the cases. Flo looks up as Mr. Wilson, a rather academic, but not unappealing man dressed in a shirt and tie enters, carrying a Polaroid camera. She seems nervous, but very happy to see him. At first, Mr. Wilson cannot see Hilly.

FLO: Mr. Wilson!

MR. WILSON: Oh hi, Flo. I’m sorry to bother you. I meant to take care of this this afternoon, but the Board of Directors met until almost six, and…

FLO: What did they say? Are they going to let you write your book on Sycamore Grove?

MR. WILSON: Uh. No. They said maybe next year. (A moment.) Well, who knows. Maybe they meant it.

FLO: But you’re ready now…

MR. WILSON: Yes. And by next year, who knows what it’ll be like. I mean there’s only that one sycamore left as it is.

FLO: But you’ve applied to some other sources, haven’t you? Maybe…

(Hilly appears. And at the mere sight of him, Mr. Wilson’s demeanor changes radically. It’s as if Flo disappeared.)

MR. WILSON: Well, well. Who’s this?

(Flo feels like she’s been dropped out a window.)

FLO: This is Hilly, the new man. Hilly, this is Mr. Wilson.

MR. WILSON: Jeff, Jeff. I forgot this was your first night. Hilly, is it? (Now clearly flirting.) I see you haven’t done any big damage yet.

HILLY: Florence is watchin’ me pretty close.

MR. WILSON: That would certainly be my approach.

(Flo has to get out of there.)

FLO: Do you need me to do anything before I…

MR. WILSON: No, no. I just have to have a photograph of the Boone knife for the Quarterly. But Hilly can help me. (He gets the knife out of the case.)

FLO: I’ll be back in a minute, then. (She leaves as quickly as possible.)

(Suddenly alone with this handsome man, Mr. Wilson is very nervous.)

MR. WILSON: (To Hilly.) So. Do you mind?

(Mr. Wilson hands Hilly the knife, and proceeds to lay out a mat on which to photograph it.)

IN THE TEEPEE

Boone is whittling. Flo rushes in.

FLO: How could you let them leave.

BOONE: Did they get him?

FLO: You let them walk right down the trail like they were invisible.

BOONE: Did they get them both?

FLO: No. Just the other one. Russell got away.

BOONE: That’s something anyway.

FLO: But I told you I would help! I could’ve at least gotten them to the river. Goin’ by themselves, they made so much noise, I could hear them halfway across the village. They might as well have been singing.

BOONE: They probably were singing.

FLO: You have no business bringing these people out here. That other one just got himself killed trying to show you how brave he was.

BOONE: I know that.

FLO: They don’t listen. They think they’re you.

BOONE: I know.

FLO: Or what’s worse, they think because they’re with you, they’re safe. They think you know where you’re goin’.

BOONE: I have never said that. Never.

FLO: You don’t have to say it. How could Daniel Boone not know where he’s going?

BOONE: I have never known where I was going. That’s the whole point. Settin’ off for someplace I’ve never been. How can I know where I’m goin’?

(Suddenly, she is overcome with love for him.)

FLO: No, I know. And how can they watch you go and not want to go with you.

BOONE: Come here.

(Flo goes to him and he opens his arms and holds her for a moment.)

BOONE: What’s all that drummin’ about? Are they gonna roast him?

FLO: They don’t care about him. They’re waiting for you to come out there to avenge him.

BOONE: So they’re gonna roast me.

FLO: There’s some of ’em sure would like to. If you can manage to stay put til dark, I’ll come show you where they put him and we can bury him.

BOONE: That’d be good. Seein’ as I already dug the grave, the least I can do is put the man in it.

FLO: When did you do that?

BOONE: Little while ago. Didn’t you hear me?

FLO: The Shawnee say you don’t touch the ground when you walk.

BOONE: (Stroking her hair.) Try not to. It’s quieter that way.

IN THE MUSEUM

Mr. Wilson begins taking pictures, Hilly holding the knife with its point piercing the piece of paper. Mr. Wilson is making a valiant attempt to resist the attraction he feels for Hilly.

HILLY: Did Daniel Boone really carve his name on that tree?

MR. WILSON: Oh, please.

HILLY: He didn’t?

MR. WILSON: (Referring to the knife.) Now lay it down flat. Good. (Then back to the subject.) No, he didn’t. The date is way off. Daniel Boone was in Missouri in 1803.

HILLY: Possible he didn’t know what year it was, I guess.

MR. WILSON: It isn’t just that. The tree says, D. Boone Kill A Bar. Now if Boone used the past tense correctly in letters, why wouldn’t he use it on a tree?

HILLY: So somebody else carved it? But why would they do that?

MR. WILSON: So they could sell it, to somebody. (Mr. Wilson waits for a photo to come out of the camera.)

(Hilly looks at the knife a moment, then holds the knife high over his head, like the statue of Boone.)

HILLY: Guess who?

MR. WILSON: (Laughs.) That’s good. (He snaps a picture.)

HILLY: What about the hunting shirt? Was that his?

MR. WILSON: Heavens, no. Boone was big. That shirt would be snug on (He looks at Hilly.) either one of us.

(Hilly puts the knife down. Mr. Wilson waits for the pictures to develop.)

HILLY: So what do you have that really belonged to Daniel Boone?

MR. WILSON: That depends on who you talk to.

HILLY: I’m talking to you.

MR. WILSON: Nothing.

HILLY: You’re kidding.

MR. WILSON: Boone was captured so many times, the Indians ended up with all his stuff. All we’ve got, really, is a cast of his skull upstairs in the vault.

HILLY: What, did the Indians tie him to a post and slap some plaster on his head?

MR. WILSON: The impression was taken after his death, I believe.

HILLY: Jesus.

(Mr. Wilson laughs a little. in spite of himself.)

MR. WILSON: But we do have a number of authentic Boone documents, land claims, things like that. And one ember carrier that, in all probability, came from the Boone household.

HILLY: I had an ember carrier once, but I forgot where I put it.

MR. WILSON: You are wondering why we have all these things on display if we know them to be fake.

HILLY: I am. You’re right.

MR. WILSON: It’s for the simple reason that even false views of historical personages are nevertheless, interesting to historians.

(Hilly’s real feelings begin to emerge now.)

HILLY: But people believe this stuff. They come here to see it. Florence for example, thinks every single arrowhead is something Boone found.

MR. WILSON: No she doesn’t. Oh, maybe when she first came here she did.

HILLY: But you straightened her out.

MR. WILSON: I did.

IN THE TEEPEE

Boone and Flo come in the teepee from burying the man who tried to escape with Russell.

FLO: Did you know him, that man we just buried?

BOONE: No, I didn’t. Why?

FLO: I just wondered if he had any family.

BOONE: Probably does.

FLO: Will you have to find them and tell them something when you get back?

BOONE: Like I’m sorry, you mean? I could, I guess But I probably won’t. For all I know, he might be better off.

FLO: Better off dead?

BOONE: I had a dream about dyin’ once.

FLO: You were dying, or you were dead?

BOONE: Dead.

FLO: How was it?

BOONE: It was O.K. I knew a lot of people there. Nobody was after me for anything. (He looks at her.) You were there too.

FLO: I was?

BOONE: And heaven was a great big lake, early in the morning. The water was real still and kind of a gray blue. We were all just sittin’ there fishin’, two, three people to a boat, drinkin’ our coffee and watchin’ the sun come up.

FLO: It’s gonna frost tonight.

BOONE: That’d be okay too.

IN THE MUSEUM

HILLY: What’s the trouble?

MR. WILSON: Hilly, Was any other staff member in here tonight?

HILLY: No. Why?

MR. WILSON: There’s a gun missing from this case, that’s all, but I’m sure someone’s borrowed it and just forgotten to sign it out. Would you ask Flo to come see me when she comes back? I’m in my office.

HILLY: Sure.

MR. WILSON: Or you could come tell me she’s down here and I’ll…

HILLY: I’ll send her up.

MR. WILSON: That’s O.K. I’ll come back down in a few minutes.

HILLY: We’ll be here.

IN THE TEEPEE

Flo and Boone are more relaxed now.

FLO: Where are you going to go when you leave here?

BOONE: I’d like to just keep goin’, I guess. See the rest of Kentucky and keep goin’, right on into places don’t even have names yet. (A moment.) Name them all after you. Look real good on a map someday. Here’s Virginia, here’s Carolina, and everything west of here is Flo.

FLO: I’d like to see that too. Whatever’s out there. It wouldn’t even matter if I liked it. I know I’d like seein’ it. Maybe I’ll come with you.

BOONE: I’d like that. Probably wouldn’t be any way of gettin’ back, though. Couldn’t keep goin’ if we kept turnin’ back.

FLO: That’s O.K.

BOONE: (Patting her.) That’s what we’ll do then. You and me. As soon as it’s warm.

FLO: What about your family?

BOONE: Well, you’ve got the right idea about family, Flo. It’s better to really be gone. Better than sittin’ there with ’em wishin’ you were gone.

(Flo picks up the gun and stands up.)

FLO: I’ll go get us a smoke.

IN THE MUSEUM

Hilly is working on the cases as Flo comes back in carrying the Boone gun.

HILLY: I’m tryin’ this little treatment I use on our tile at home. Seems to be working pretty good.

FLO: Looks good.

HILLY: (Noticing the gun she carries.) The boss says there’s a gun missing from one of the cases.

FLO: I know. I just found it back there. Somebody probably forgot to sign it out. They do that all the time. What happened to your wife?

HILLY: My wife?

FLO: Yeah. How come your daughter is living with you instead of with her? I mean, I assume you’re divorced.

HILLY: She’s dead. She was killed. We were nearly all killed.

FLO: Killed? In an accident, you mean?

HILLY: I don’t know. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.

FLO: I know you for two hours and you’re just now telling me your wife is dead?

HILLY: A lot of people are dead, Florence. It’s not your recommended way of starting a conversation, telling you everybody I know who’s dead.

FLO: Did you cry?

HILLY: Maybe I did. I don’t remember. I was too busy tryin’ to explain it all to Linda.

FLO: What did you say?

HILLY: Everything I could think of. Her spirit is free. You’ll see her again some day. We only put her in a coffin so she won’t get wet when it rains. You know. (A moment.) Lie. Lie. Lie.

FLO: And did she believe you? Does she still want to talk about it?

HILLY: So, we finally found something more interesting to you than Daniel Boone. My dead wife.

FLO: You didn’t kill her, did you?

(A moment.)

HILLY: I thought about it.

FLO: What does that mean?

HILLY: It made me really mad, Florence, that she would do that to us.

(Flo feels she can’t ask anything else. But Hilly relents and tells the story.)

HILLY: We both saw the truck coming. I told her she didn’t have room to pass. She said she did. That’s all. (A pause.) It was pretty much of a mess. And it was a long time before anybody came along.

FLO: Were you drinking?

HILLY: Would you get off this subject? You have no right asking me any of this. And I have no desire to tell you any of it. You think the dead are still alive. Well, I’m here to tell you they aren’t. O.K.? (A moment.) “Were we drinking.” What do you think this is, T.V.?

FLO: I don’t know what to ask. Who watches Linda while you’re at work?

HILLY: Why don’t you ask how you think you’re ever going to get work if you keep stealing things from the museum. Even on your last night. For God’s sake, Florence. They probably fired you. Is that what happened?

(Mr. Wilson enters.)

MR. WILSON: There you are, Flo.

FLO: (Holding up the rifle.) I found this in the back. Miss Carter sent it out to be polished. It just hadn’t been put in the case yet.

(Mr. Wilson takes the rifle and hands Flo one of the two pieces of paper in his hands.)

MR. WILSON: Can you do me a favor and decipher these lines for me? (To Hilly.) Flo’s our resident expert on Boone’s handwriting. Takes the rest of us two hours with a magnifying glass. All she has to do is look at it. (He points to a word.) This one.

(Flo looks at the piece of paper.)

FLO: “Necessary.”

MR. WILSON: To what?

FLO: (Looking again.) “Necessary to notice political events.”

MR. WILSON: (Handing her another document.) And this one?

FLO: “I am Well in health, but Deep in Bankruptcy.”

HILLY: So Boone was broke?

FLO: He was. But he didn’t write that last one. This looks to me like that Corbin woman again.

MR. WILSON: Good. Thanks. That’s what I thought.

(Mr. Wilson looks at Hilly, then at Flo. Then speaks to Hilly, or rather, dismisses him.)

MR. WILSON: Would you excuse us for a moment.

HILLY: Sure. What do you need? A half-hour, ten minutes?

MR. WILSON: Five should do it.

(Hilly leaves. Mr. Wilson returns the gun to the case and locks it.)

MR. WILSON: I’m going to miss seeing you when I have to work late like this. I had hoped to get a little party together for you, so everybody could say good-bye. But…

FLO: You were the only one I ever talked to really.

MR. WILSON: I mean, I really appreciate the care you’ve taken with everything here. Do you think you could… (He pauses.) …have dinner with me sometime?

FLO: Have dinner with you?

MR. WILSON: I mean, I’ve wanted to ask you for quite a while now, but I wasn’t sure it was a good idea while we were still working together.

FLO: I thought you were living with someone.

MR. WILSON: He left.

FLO: I’m sorry.

MR. WILSON: It was my decision, really. I’m trying to… (He stops.) I want to meet somebody. A girl. I want to get married. I think.

FLO: You think.

MR. WILSON: And my therapist says if I really want to meet women, then the first thing I have to do is start really seeing the women I already know.

FLO: And you picked me.

MR. WILSON: Yes, I did. I know you like me. We care about the same things.

(Flo is suddenly very angry. She tries not to explode.)

FLO: And I seem like the kind of person who would…

MR. WILSON: I know it might be hard at first, but…

FLO: I probably wouldn’t even care if we ever had sex. I probably don’t even like it. I’d just be so flattered that somebody from upstairs noticed me…

MR. WILSON: I’m sorry. This was a mistake.

FLO: Yes, It was.

MR. WILSON: I hope I haven’t offended you.

FLO: Why don’t you just…

MR. WILSON: Go upstairs and drink.

FLO: No. Go home. Why don’t you just go home.

MR. WILSON: I don’t want to go home.

FLO: He’s still there, isn’t he.

MR. WILSON: How can I ask him to leave before I know whether I can do this or not?

FLO: I don’t know.

MR. WILSON: Flo. Please. I don’t know anybody else. Could I just ask you one…

FLO: What.

MR. WILSON: I don’t know what women want. I have a good income. And I’m a decent, responsible man. I just want to know if that will be enough.

FLO: In short?

MR. WILSON: (Gets the message.) Ah.

(Hilly returns.)

HILLY: All done in here?

MR. WILSON: (Very upset now.) Yes, of course. We were just chatting. (Mr. Wilson turns to Flo one last time.) I could give you a ride home later if you wanted.

FLO: I have my car. Thanks.

MR. WILSON: All right. Good night, then. (Mr. Wilson leaves.)

(And Flo’s anger gets away from her. She speaks as though Mr. Wilson were still in the room.)

FLO: My same car I’ve parked in the same spot beside your car every day for the last two years.

HILLY: Did he fire you?

FLO: No, he didn’t. He asked me out to dinner.

HILLY: He’s gay.

FLO: I know that.

HILLY: So.

FLO: So what?

HILLY: So give him a break.

FLO: You mean go out with him?

HILLY: You know what I mean.

FLO: No, I know.

(He sees her regret and her isolation, and likes her for them.)

HILLY: You’re all right, Florence.

FLO: I’m just so mad all the time. Why am I so mad?

HILLY: It’s O.K. I used to feel like that myself.

FLO: And what did you do about it?

HILLY: After I quit drinking, you mean? Well, I thought about what was making me mad, and one night, I went over to Cherokee park and…

FLO: …wrapped Daniel Boone up like a mummy.

HILLY: (He grins.) You got it. Made me feel great.

(Flo nods, then continues, as though it’s part of the same subject.)

FLO: Did the truck turn over? Did the truck driver die too?

HILLY: Are you serious?

FLO: I want to know. Was there a fire?

HILLY: All right, Florence. What’s it worth to you?

FLO: Never mind. I’ll just sit here and you can go work.

HILLY: No, I’ll tell you what. Eat supper with me. Don’t go have your supper in the lounge or something. Sit here and have supper with me, and I’ll tell you the whole gory thing.

FLO: I didn’t bring anything to eat. I usually just…

HILLY: You eat what’s left in the refrigerator, don’t you.

FLO: I do. Actually. There’s always something…nobody wants.

HILLY: Then I’ll share mine with you. But I have to warn you that Linda made it, so I hope you like cream cheese. Is it a deal?

(Flo thinks about it a minute.)

FLO: Are you hungry now?

IN THE TEEPEE

Blackfish walks in. Boone wakes up.

BLACKFISH: Shel-ta-we.

(Boone stands.)

IN THE MUSEUM

HILLY: I am, actually. Do we have to do anything before we eat?

FLO: No, Just…get the food, I guess.

HILLY: (Checking his pocket for change.) What kind of soda do you want?

FLO: Root beer.

HILLY: You got it.

FLO: Thanks.

(Hilly leaves.)

IN THE TEEPEE

Chief Blackfish walks into the teepee.

BLACKFISH: Governor Hamilton has offered us twenty ponies, and one hundred pounds sterling for you.

BOONE: Take it.

BLACKFISH: I think they will offer more.

BOONE: Maybe they will.

(Flo walks into the teepee to stand beside Blackfish. Blackfish takes Flo’s hand, then speaks to Boone.)

BLACKFISH: I think you have brought us great good fortune these few months. I think we will keep you a little longer. (Blackfish leaves.)

BOONE: What’s this good fortune I’ve brought them? That doesn’t sound right.

FLO: No, it isn’t. It’s finally occurred to the Shawnee, and to the British, that since you’re sittin’ here, givin’ no sign of tryin’ to escape, this would be an ideal time to attack Boonesborough.

BOONE: Does that mean we have to go back?

FLO: You know it does.

BOONE: O.K. then. We’ll leave as soon as it’s dark.

FLO: You’d get there faster without me.

BOONE: Maybe. And maybe I wouldn’t get there at all without you keepin’ me headed in the right direction.

(She picks up her bedroll.)

FLO: Who is it you don’t want to see?

BOONE: It’s what I don’t want to see, Flo. Like all my friends gettin’ killed in this fight.

FLO: If you don’t go, they’ll be killed for sure. What have you been doin’, sittin’ here hopin’ the settlers will give you up for dead and abandon the fort?

BOONE: I guess. Only what they’ve been doin’ is sittin’ there, tryin’ to hold out til I get there. (He kisses her lightly.) O.K. Now. You’ll need somethin’ warmer to wear. (He picks up his jacket.) Put this on. You go get us somethin’ to eat and I’ll go steal us a coupla ponies and we’ll go.

(Flo takes off her shawl, and puts on his jacket, leaving her shawl on the floor of the teepee. Flo leaves the teepee.)

IN THE MUSEUM

Hilly returns with his bag of lunch.

HILLY: Florence? Florence? (He walks back to the teepee, finds it empty. He notices Flo’s shawl on the floor. He stoops and picks it up.)

(She enters through another door, wearing the Boone jacket.)

HILLY: I found your shawl.

(Flo covers her alarm. Hilly notices the jacket.)

FLO: Thanks.

HILLY: It was in the teepee. Nice jacket.

FLO: Thanks.

HILLY: Well. Let’s see what we’ve got for supper, what do you say.

FLO: Were you hurt at all, in the crash?

HILLY: I was laid up for a few weeks. Yeah. But I didn’t have a job then, so it wasn’t like I had somewhere to go.

FLO: So your wife was mad at you for not getting a job. Is that what the fight was about?

HILLY: Jesus, Florence. I got laid off.

FLO: Why?

HILLY: They don’t tell you why they’re layin’ you off. They just do it.

FLO: What kind of work was it?

HILLY: It’s nice to have somebody to talk to, isn’t it, Florence.

FLO: It’s not my fault I don’t know how to talk. Who have I got to talk to?

(He hands her a sandwich.)

HILLY: Here.

FLO: Thanks.

HILLY: I got Linda started eating these cream cheese and banana sandwiches. You know. Had to be better than hot dogs. Right? What do you do when a kid won’t eat? I thought everybody liked to eat. The books tell you don’t make them eat, or they’ll have eating problems the rest of their lives. But if you don’t make them eat, they’re not gonna have the rest of their lives, are they. I don’t know why they write those books.

FLO: (Chewing a bite of the sandwich.) It’s very good.

HILLY: Same thing with sleeping. They tell you, “Just let the kid cry.” What they don’t tell you is what the hell you’re supposed to do while the kid is in there crying. (He takes the bread off his sandwich.)

FLO: I feel bad eating up your supper.

HILLY: She’s getting better about making the sandwiches, though. (He picks out a big chunk.) That’s almost what you’d call a slice. Isn’t it.

(And now from offstage, they both hear a voice.)

VOICE: Flo! Where are you! I know you’re here somewhere.

FLO: Oh, no.

HILLY: Who’s that?

FLO: My boyfriend.

HILLY: Your boyfriend? If you’ve got a boyfriend I want my sandwich back.

(She hands him the sandwich.)

FLO: I have to get out of here.

HILLY: What do you want me to tell him?

(Flo dashes into the teepee. A large man wearing shorts over a sweatsuit, appears, an envelope in his hand.)

RICK: Where’s Flo? Who are you?

HILLY: Name’s Hilly.

RICK: Where’s Flo?

HILLY: In the teepee.

(Rick charges over to the Teepee.)

RICK: The hell she is. (He tears open the front flap of the Teepee. Not finding Flo there, he turns back to Hilly.) All right, wise guy. Where is she?

HILLY: How should I know?

RICK: Flo! You come out here right now or I’ll tear this place apart.

HILLY: Can I give her a message?

RICK: I tell my wife I want a divorce, and then I get this letter from Flo saying she’s leaving.

HILLY: You’re married?

RICK: What did she tell you about me?

HILLY: Did Florence know you were married?

RICK: That’s what I came here to tell her. After I told my wife about Flo, then I was gonna tell Flo about my wife. I love Flo. She knows I love her. (A moment.) Why don’t women ever believe what you tell them?

HILLY: Beats me.

RICK: And now she’s gone.

HILLY: She’s not gone, she’s just…You looked in the teepee?

(And with that, the men leave by different doors calling for Flo.)

RICK: Flo?

HILLY: Florence. It’s O.K. He’s getting a divorce.

IN THE FOREST

Daniel Boone and Flo appear.

BOONE: How long do you think it will be before they know we’re gone?

FLO: They know it already.

BOONE: Then why’d they let us go?

FLO: Because they wouldn’t have any fun at all burnin’ up Boonesborough if you weren’t there tryin’ to stop ’em.

BOONE: That’s true.

FLO: So how come I don’t see you shakin’ with fear?

BOONE: I shake so fast, nobody’s ever seen it.

(She laughs and sits down. He opens a canteen and gives her a drink. Then he sits down behind her, and she leans back against him. He begins to stroke her hair. She turns around, as though she’s heard something.)

FLO: Was that a bear?

BOONE: Brown. I think.

FLO: I’m afraid of bears.

BOONE: You should be. (He puts his arms around her, and kisses the side of her face.)

IN THE MUSEUM

Rick returns, more angry than ever.

RICK: She’s not here. I searched the whole place.

HILLY: No, I know. What else did she say, in her letter?

RICK: That she didn’t want to see me anymore. That she was in love with somebody else, and she was going off to be with him.

HILLY: Did she ever say anything like this before?

RICK: Last couple of weeks, all the time. I told her she was crazy.

HILLY: She is a little crazy, I think. Nothin’ serious, though. I like her.

RICK: Are you and Flo havin’ some kind of…

HILLY: No sir.

(But Rick is enraged. He grabs Hilly by the shirt and pulls him up off the bench.)

RICK: You are! She’s leavin’ me to run off with you.

HILLY: I just met her tonight. I swear it.

RICK: Then how do you know she’s crazy?

HILLY: She’s in love with Daniel Boone.

RICK: Very funny.

(Rick puts Hilly down as Mr. Wilson enters.)

MR. WILSON: Flo?

HILLY AND RICK: She’s not here.

RICK: He knows but he’s not telling.

MR. WILSON: She went home?

HILLY: She’s with Daniel Boone.

RICK: (To Mr. Wilson.) Who is this guy?

MR. WILSON: You were our Santa at the Christmas Party.

RICK: Rick. Right.

MR. WILSON: Right. (To Hilly.) What do you mean, she’s with Daniel Boone?

HILLY: I mean, she’s found some kind of way of, I don’t know, she goes into the teepee and she’s gone. And she comes back with things, guns and things, wearing old leather jackets and smellin’ like a wood fire.

RICK: She always smells like a wood fire.

HILLY: And does she have a fireplace at her house?

RICK: No.

(Mr. Wilson goes back to look at the teepee.)

HILLY: Well, there sure as hell isn’t one in here. Flo heard your voice and high-tailed it to Boonesborough.

MR. WILSON: You looked in the ladies, I guess.

RICK: I did.

MR. WILSON: All right. (To Rick.) I’ll check the parking lot. You check the upstairs bathrooms. And you… (To Hilly.) check the log cabin room and stay there. She likes you.

RICK: And what if we don’t find her?

MR. WILSON: I don’t know.

HILLY: What do you mean, you don’t know? We have to go get her.

AT BOONESBOROUGH

Flo and Boone stand, inside a cabin. Boone’s Indian clothes show the effects of the journey.

FLO: Where is everybody?

(A young woman enters. It is Boone’s daughter, Jemima Boone.)

JEMIMA: Dad!

(Boone embraces her.)

BOONE: Hello, Jemima. Where’s your mother?

JEMIMA: They left. They went back to North Carolina. Everybody left. They thought you were dead. (She looks at Flo.) We all thought you were dead. What have you been doing all this time?

BOONE: Jemima, this is Flo. I found her out there, just wanderin’ around lost and half-starved. The Shawnee killed her man and child.

JEMIMA: I’m sorry.

FLO: Thanks.

BOONE: Did Russell make it back?

JEMIMA: He came back a long time ago. He’s telling everybody that you could’ve escaped when he did, but …

(Squire Boone, Daniel’s brother, enters.)

SQUIRE: Daniel. How did you get through?

BOONE: Hello, Squire.

SQUIRE: Our scout just came back sayin’ there’s four hundred Indians out there armed with British rifles.

BOONE: He’s right. I just talked to ’em.

SQUIRE: Talked to ’em? What did they say?

BOONE: Oh, you know. Give us the fort. Things like that. (A moment.) They’ve got this letter to us from Lt. Governor Hamilton. It says if we abandon the fort, and promise not to come back onto Indian land, the Shawnee will hand us over to the British and nobody will get hurt.

SQUIRE: And if we stand and fight?

BOONE: Well, then, I reckon we’ll all be killed.

SQUIRE: We’ll be lucky if we aren’t the only ones left in the fort by sundown, Daniel. You have to tell our people something.

BOONE: Something like what, I’ll stay and die if they will?

SQUIRE: That’d be enough, comin’ from you.

BOONE: O.K., then. Let’s go tell ’em that.

SQUIRE: (Feeling much safer suddenly.) How’ve you been?

(Boone claps his arm around Squire and laughs.)

BOONE: Not bad. (Then turning back to Jemima.) Jemima, get Flo somethin’ to eat.

(They walk out of the cabin.)

IN THE MUSEUM

Mr. Wilson enters a room we haven’t seen before, in which stands a log cabin, to find Hilly dressing himself in the frontier clothes that were hanging on the wall.

MR. WILSON: What are you doing?

HILLY: Going to Boonesborough. Did you find Flo’s car?

MR. WILSON: It’s in the parking lot, all right. But maybe she’s taking a walk.

HILLY: She’s gone and you know it.

MR. WILSON: Was it something I said?

HILLY: More like everything everybody ever said.

MR. WILSON: Including me. (Watching Hilly dress.) You’re serious about this.

HILLY: You bet I am. I want her back. And if I have to steal her away from Daniel Boone then that’s what I’ll do.

MR. WILSON: I’m going with you.

IN BOONESBOROUGH

Boone and Squire stand at the front gate of the fort.

BOONE: Just see if you can keep everybody makin’ bullets, while I go out and tell Blackfish the decision.

SQUIRE: I think I should come out with you. All the Indians have to do is kill you, and everybody else will just give up.

BOONE: Squire, the Indians don’t want to kill any of us. I’ll be all right. Just tell your man in the blockhouse that if he sees me light out for the gate, don’t wait for some kinda signal, just open fire.

IN THE MUSEUM

Rick enters. Hilly sits down to put on the frontier boots.

MR. WILSON: You didn’t find her either, I guess.

RICK: Nope. I called her house. She’s not there. I called her mother’s house. She’s not there. And I called the police.

HILLY: What did the police say?

RICK: Nothing. I got a machine.

HILLY: The police department has a machine?

(Mr. Wilson reaches into the cabinet for a jacket and begins to put it on.)

RICK: Yeah, you know, tell us your name and what happened and we’ll get back to you. What are you guys doing?

MR. WILSON: (To Rick.) Hilly and I can take care of this. Why don’t you leave us your number and if we find out something, we’ll give you a call.

RICK: O.K. Sure. I have to go over to the garage and change my ball joints anyway. Maybe I’ll stop back when I’m done. (Rick leaves.)

MR. WILSON: Flo was dating a mechanic?

HILLY: Get dressed if you’re coming. And you can leave that attitude here, O.K.?

MR. WILSON: You actually think we can step inside the cabin, wearing these clothes and be in Boonesborough?

HILLY: I just hope she didn’t change her mind and go somewhere else.

MR. WILSON: No, that’s where she was going, all right. It’s in her file upstairs. Reason for ceasing employment: going to Boonesborough.

HILLY: And that didn’t seem strange to you?

MR. WILSON: Well, sure, but she wasn’t herself lately. (Mr. Wilson opens the case.) But I haven’t been myself either. The man I’ve been seeing…

HILLY: I don’t want to hear about it. Why didn’t you just ask her? “Hey, Flo. When you get to Boonesborough, what year’s it gonna be?”

(Hilly reaches into the case and gets knives, guns, and powder horns for both of them.)

MR. WILSON: You’re right. I should’ve asked.

HILLY: Damn right you should have. She was counting on you, and him, whatever his name is, Rick, to hear what she was saying and stop her. Catch on. That’s what she was hoping for, for somebody, somewhere, to catch on. But nobody did.

MR. WILSON: She seemed happy enough.

HILLY: Oh yeah? What is happy enough? She hasn’t killed herself yet? The way I see it, you were her last hope, til I came along.

MR. WILSON: Then why didn’t she say so?

HILLY: If you have to tell your last hope that they’re your last hope, then it’s way worse than you thought.

(Mr. Wilson grabs a hat and puts it on. And then begins to get dressed.)

MR. WILSON: Okay, Okay. What part of Boonesborough do you think we’re going to? When they first built it, or all those little wars in 1777, or…

HILLY: What’s the worst it could be?

MR. WILSON: The Siege.

HILLY: That’s probably it, then. Is there anything I ought to know?

MR. WILSON: It’s September, 1778. There are about thirty men, maybe twenty boys and a couple of women and some children inside the fort. Their powder supply is very low. For ammunition, they’re digging bullets out of the wall and melting them down. They have no bread, and only root vegetables and a little meat. They have a well, they dug that in 1777, but…

HILLY: Just the highlights, O.K.?

MR. WILSON: O.K. It’s hopeless. (A moment.) Boone has no chance. None.

HILLY: Good.

(Hilly opens the door to the cabin, peers in, then holds it open for Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson looks in.)

MR. WILSON: What if we can’t get back?

HILLY: Florence gets back.

MR. WILSON: Not this time she didn’t.

HILLY: Well this time…isn’t over yet. After you.

(Mr. Wilson steps into the cabin, and Hilly follows him.)

END OF ACT I

 

ACT II

In the darkness, drums and Indian flutes are heard. Seated on a blanket downstage, Blackfish picks up a burning twig from the fire and lights a long pipe. As he passes it to Boone, a circle of dim light comes up on them.

BLACKFISH: In two days, the moon will be full. By that time, you must take your people and leave this fort, my son.

BOONE: (A moment.) Yes, I know. That’s what you said yesterday.

BLACKFISH: Will you go?

BOONE: Look. To tell you the truth, even if we wanted to go, I don’t know if we could get everything packed in two days. You know, there’s all the venison we salted down, and all those candles we made…

BLACKFISH: You can leave the meat for us.

BOONE: Well, why don’t I send some out for your supper tonight. That way you can…

BLACKFISH: If it was up to me, of course, I’d let you stay here.

BOONE: Of course you would. And if it was up to me, I’d just head west, but the fact of the matter is, I have to go along with the rest of my people in there and they’ve decided to stay and fight.

BLACKFISH: (Very angry.) But you will all die if you stay here.

BOONE: No, I know. That’s what I told them.

BLACKFISH: Tell them what Dragging Canoe has said, “that a dark cloud hangs over this land.” That no Indians have lived here for many years because of this cloud. That the bones of the ancient men rise up in the night and kill him who sets his lodge poles in this place.

(Boone takes a moment, and then is struck by a great idea.)

BOONE: I know. How about… (A pause.) if you go away instead of us?

BLACKFISH: How about…if we both go away?

BOONE: Good. O.K.

BLACKFISH: And the British can have the fort.

BOONE: No. They can’t.

BLACKFISH: So we’re back to killing you.

BOONE: I guess so.

BLACKFISH: In two days then.

BOONE: Well. How about if we talk about it again tomorrow?

BLACKFISH: I will see you tomorrow, my son. Perhaps after my belly is full of your meat, I will have some better ideas.

BOONE: Maybe you will.

(The light goes out on them, they exit, and the light comes up on…)

BOONESBOROUGH

And the whole stage now suggests frontier Boonesborough, complete with palisade, cookpots, and all the other trappings of frontier life. Flo and Jemima are seated near the cabin door, pouring melted lead into molds to make bullets. Behind them, a young man walks, as though patrolling the palisade, wearing a tall hat and carrying a rifle.

FLO: You pour and I’ll hold the mold. Easy now.

JEMIMA: I don’t think we’re going to…

FLO: (Interrupting.) Watch what you’re doing.

JEMIMA: We’re not going to fool the Shawnee having these boys walk around the palisade all day. They know how many of us there are.

FLO: No they don’t either. They’ve got so many white people lying to ’em about so many things, they don’t know what to think.

(Russell and Squire walk through arguing.)

RUSSELL: If we keep pourin’ our water on the roof, what are we going to drink?

SQUIRE: Just because Daniel doesn’t know how much water’s down there, doesn’t mean there isn’t enough. We’re gonna soak the roof now, or watch it burn later, and those are his exact words.

JEMIMA: Daddy’s putting all our water on the roof?

SQUIRE: There’s a regiment of Virginia militia on their way, Russell. All we have to do is hold the fort til they get here.

RUSSELL: And what are they gonna see, huh? A big battle goin’ on? No. Everybody slaughtered? No. All they’re gonna find is four hundred Indians standin’ around scratchin’ their heads, wonderin’ why all the white men died of thirst.

(Squire and Russell exit.)

FLO: (Seeing Jemima’s worry.) There’s plenty of water, Jemima. There’s a river under this whole part of the country.

JEMIMA: How do you know that? Have you been down there? You think Dad knows everything. You’d do whatever he said.

FLO: Yes, I would. And everybody else better too or won’t any of us get out of this.

JEMIMA: We’re not going to get out of this. I should’ve gone home with Mother. We’re going to die here.

(Russell is seen sneaking a long drink from his canteen. Boone comes up to him.)

BOONE: There you are.

RUSSELL: I know that.

BOONE: Did you check that powder supply?

RUSSELL: Not more than two days worth, I’d say.

BOONE: That’ll have to do, then.

RUSSELL: I could try makin’ a run for Fort Logan, if you wanted me to. Maybe they’ve got some they could spare us.

BOONE: No. We need you more than we need the powder.

RUSSELL: But what if the fight lasts longer than two days?

BOONE: I don’t see how it can, Russell. I mean, once we run out of powder, it’ll end pretty quick. (Boone grabs the canteen away.) What’ve you got here?

(Boone opens it.)

RUSSELL: What do you think it is. Whiskey.

BOONE: I knew it.

(And to Russell’s surprise, Boone takes a swig.)

BOONE: Thanks.

(Squire enters.)

SQUIRE: Blackfish is signaling he’s ready to talk, Daniel.

BOONE: O.K. I’m comin’.

(Flo sets one mold aside and picks up another one.)

JEMIMA: How old was your child?

(Flo hesitates, trying to remember the lie she and Boone worked out.)

FLO: Four.

JEMIMA: And your husband?

(Flo is not a practiced liar.)

FLO: Forty—…Forty, I think.

JEMIMA: Did the Indians scalp them or knife them or torture them or what?

FLO: No, they just…dragged them off I guess. Maybe it wasn’t even Indians. They’d just gone down to the river to get water and when they didn’t come back, I went looking for them, only all that was left was…

JEMIMA: Was what?

FLO: (Has no idea what to say.) Their hats.

JEMIMA: And that’s where Dad found you?

FLO: I guess my mind must’ve gone blank or something. Because the next thing I knew, your Dad was giving me a drink of water and asking me who I was.

JEMIMA: Where are the hats now?

(Flo cannot for the life of her think of an answer to this. A look of pain comes across her face.)

FLO: (Quoting Hilly.) You don’t have any right asking me any of this. And I have no desire to tell you any of it. “Where are the hats?” What do you think this is, a story I made up?

JEMIMA: I’m sorry.

(They hear the sound of drumming.)

JEMIMA: (Seeing her father at some distance.) Daddy is opening the gate!

FLO: He’s showing them he’s not afraid.

(Russell enters with a pan of bullets.)

RUSSELL: He is not. He’s daring them to shoot him so he can die first. (Then picking up some bullets from Flo.) Are these ready?

JEMIMA: What do he and Daddy talk about when he goes out there?

FLO: They’re trying to work out a treaty, I think.

JEMIMA: What kind of a treaty? I thought we all voted to get killed.

RUSSELL: Is this all you done? Lord God. I’ll get you some help over here.

(Russell exits.)

FLO: Thanks.

JEMIMA: Then is Daddy a traitor? Colonel Calloway says…

FLO: Don’t you believe what anybody says, Jemima. Your father is the bravest man that ever lived in this country.

JEMIMA: He is not. He’s afraid of Mother. He’s afraid of Colonel Calloway. He’s afraid of the British. He’s afraid of the whole state of North Carolina. And most of all, he’s afraid of honest work.

FLO: Is that what your mother says?

JEMIMA: Well she ought to know.

FLO: I’m sure she worries about him, when he’s gone.

JEMIMA: She doesn’t even sleep. Not one minute. How would you feel if you had six children and your husband was…

(Squire enters and interrupts.)

SQUIRE: Jemima. Your Dad says come out to the gate right now.

JEMIMA: What for?

SQUIRE: The Indians want to see you. Some of them are the same ones that stole you away that time, and they want to see you.

JEMIMA: I won’t go.

(Flo grabs her by the arm and takes her over to Squire.)

FLO: Yes, you will go, young lady. Your father wouldn’t ask you to come out there if it was dangerous so…there. Now go.

JEMIMA: Squire, please, don’t make me go. I don’t want to go out there.

(And as she continues to protest, Squire leads her away. And then, as Flo returns to her work, the cabin door opens slightly. And then opens further, and Hilly steps out.)

HILLY: (Whispering.) Florence. Hey Florence.

(Flo turns and sees Hilly.)

FLO: Hilly?

(He looks both ways, as though he’s crossing the most dangerous street in America. And then steps out.)

HILLY: Well I’ll be damned.

FLO: What are you doing here?

HILLY: I came to get you. (He walks on over to her.)

FLO: Why?

HILLY: Why do you think? To take you back.

FLO: I don’t want to go back. And even if I did, why would I go back with you?

HILLY: You must’ve wanted me to come, Florence, or you wouldn’t have told me where you were going.

(Mr. Wilson pokes his head out of the cabin now.)

FLO: Mr. Wilson!

HILLY: And once he knew I was coming, he came along to pick up some stuff for the museum.

(Mr. Wilson is holding an ember carrier.)

FLO: You can’t stay here. I won’t let you.

(She sees Mr. Wilson pick up something.)

FLO: Put that down.

HILLY: From the looks of things, I’d say Mr. Boone could use two more men.

(To Mr. Wilson.) Too bad we didn’t bring some real guns, huh, Wilson?

FLO: You two go right back in that cabin and go right back to the museum right now.

(Boone enters.)

BOONE: Flo, we need those bullets as soon as they’re done. And you two, (He points to Hilly and Mr. Wilson.) we just lost a man from the blockhouse, so one of you get up there and take his place.

FLO: They can’t. They just came in from…

BOONE: I don’t care where they came from. What’s your name?

MR. WILSON: Wilson.

BOONE: Get up there in the blockhouse, and see if you can keep from gettin’ shot in the head. And you… (He points to Hilly.) Come with me. (Boone leaves.)

MR. WILSON: (Looking around.) Let’s see. The blockhouse. The blockhouse.

HILLY: (Points.) Up there. (Mr. Wilson leaves.)

FLO: Please, Hilly. I appreciate you bein’ worried about me, but…

HILLY: I can’t talk right now, Florence. But you look real good, and I’m glad I found you. So I’ll see you later. O.K.?

FLO: I don’t want you here.

HILLY: Then it’s a good thing you’re not in charge. (Calling after Boone.) Daniel Boone. Wait up. (Hilly rushes off.)

(Flo sits down, weary and very disturbed. And Rick comes out of the cabin.)

RICK: Son of a bitch.

(Flo turns around.)

FLO: Not you too.

RICK: What did you think, I’d be to scared to come? I’d just stand there and watch those two jokers come to the rescue?

(She shakes her head.)

RICK: I just didn’t want to come with them, that’s all.

FLO: But you could get killed here.

RICK: I had some stuff I wanted to talk to you about.

FLO: The way my day is going, you’re probably married.

RICK: I should’ve told you right off. But I was afraid you wouldn’t keep seein’ me.

FLO: Well, you were right there.

RICK: I’m sorry. I just told my wife I want a divorce. Will you marry me, Flo?

FLO: I don’t think so. Thanks, though.

RICK: Why not? You said you wanted to have a child. Well I want to have a child too.

FLO: Now you want to get married. Now you want to have a child. Now you’ll say anything I want won’t you?

RICK: I had no idea you were serious about this.

FLO: I only told you a hundred times.

RICK: And I was supposed to believe that? Believe you wanted to live at Boonesborough? Believe you were in love with Daniel Boone?

FLO: You didn’t even think I was crazy for saying it. You didn’t even say I should go see a doctor. You have no idea how hard it was for me to tell you those things. And all you did was laugh.

RICK: (Deliberately.) I won’t ever do that again.

FLO: Not to me, you won’t. At least Hilly believed me.

RICK: That hayseed. He’d believe anything.

FLO: You still don’t believe it. Even standing here inside the fort, you don’t believe it.

(An arrow whizzes by him, nearly missing his head.)

RICK: All right. I believe it. But it’s crazy. I think you should see a doctor.

(Russell appears.)

RUSSELL: (To Rick.) You. Don’t I know you from…

FLO: He’s just leaving.

RUSSELL: No he’s not, either. Boone wants a party to go out and kill a buffalo, and (Pointing to Rick.) he’s it.

RICK: (Quietly, to Flo.) I’m the buffalo?

RUSSELL: (Very irritated.) Why the hell is Boone feeding those savages?

FLO: He’s just trying to prove to them that we have food.

RUSSELL: So we’re supposed to starve in here?

FLO: We are if it keeps them from attacking.

RUSSELL: (To Rick.) Get goin’ you. One of the boys just spotted a buffalo down by the spring. Unless the Indians got it already. And don’t get yourself scalped out there or you’ll be sorry. (Russell leaves.)

RICK: I can’t kill a buffalo.

(She hands him the gun lying on the ground beside her.)

FLO: You’ll be all right. They’re very slow.

RICK: Will you feel better about me if I come back with one?

FLO: No.

RICK: Yes you will, too. (And with that, he tromps off toward the gate.)

AT THE FRONT GATE

Boone offers Hilly a bucket of water.

BOONE: Want a drink?

HILLY: Sure. Why not?

BOONE: Spill as much as you can while you’re drinkin’ it. I want Blackfish’s boys to get really thirsty just watchin’ you.

HILLY: Why haven’t they attacked already?

BOONE: Could be a lot of things. (Boone throws the whole bucket of water on the ground.) Maybe one of the other Chiefs isn’t here yet. Maybe the medicine man says it isn’t the right time. Maybe Blackfish is waitin’ for us to offer him more money than the British.

HILLY: And maybe he knows if they start fightin’, one of his braves might kill you. And then he couldn’t capture you any more.

(Flo and Squire come up to them. Boone has a growing appreciation of Hilly.)

BOONE: Where’d you say you were from?

HILLY: Up north.

BOONE: You want to walk out and sit a spell with us?

HILLY: Sure.

BOONE: Florence is gonna come translate, in case we run into anything complicated.

FLO: (To Boone.) There’s somethin’ you need to know about him. He’s…

BOONE: He’s part Indian, I can tell you that much. (To Hilly.) Let’s go. (Boone gives Squire his rifle to hold.)

FLO: (To Hilly.) Is that true?

HILLY: Yes, Ma’am.

(Boone puts his arm around Hilly and they leave Squire behind.)

BOONE: (To Hilly.) So how’s it goin’ up north?

HILLY: Pretty quiet. Everybody’s workin’ so hard, nobody much feels like they’re doin’ anything.

BOONE: Work is like that.

HILLY: Feels like all the excitement is somewhere else. You know. Like how’re you supposed to amount to anything if you’ve got all this crap you have to do.

BOONE: Got to do it though, or else you’ll wind up like me, always wonderin’ where everything went. Didn’t I have some land around here somewhere? Anybody seen my wife?

IN THE BLOCKHOUSE

Mr. Wilson is standing guard, pointing his rifle out the hole in the wall. Russell pokes his head up into the blockhouse to talk.

RUSSELL: Boone said there was a new man up here.

(Mr. Wilson adopts a new way of speaking, what he imagines to be a frontier dialect.)

MR. WILSON: Wilson. Yeah. What’s goin’ on out front?

RUSSELL: Nothin’. I want to know where you stand, Wilson.

MR. WILSON: Right here, sir. As long as you say.

RUSSELL: Where you stand on Daniel Boone, mister.

MR. WILSON: What do you mean.

RUSSELL: The man hides out with the Indians for the winter and then shows up here lookin like a redskin himself. Spends all his time out there talkin’ with that savage like he was his old friend. I say let’s chain Daniel Boone to the gate and get the hell outta here, every man for himself.

MR. WILSON: What about the women and boys?

RUSSELL: What about ’em?

(Mr. Wilson summons his courage and hopes his dialect will hold.)

MR. WILSON: They wouldn’t stand a chance and you know it. I’m stickin’ with Boone. I figure if I’m gonna die, I’d just as soon go with people I know.

RUSSELL: Nobody knows Boone. Nobody ever will. He didn’t come back to save this fort, he came back to give it to the British and walk away from it. If we get out of this, the first thing I’m going to do is charge him with high treason.

MR. WILSON: You’re just scared, is what you are. Why don’t you crawl back into your little rat hole and stay there til we get through here.

(Russell, filled with disgust and hatred of this newcomer, turns and leaves. And Mr. Wilson sights down his rifle and repeats his little speech, sounding like every hero he ever heard.)

MR. WILSON: You’re just scared, is what you are. Why don’t you crawl back into your little rat hole and stay there til we get through here.

AT THE INDIAN BLANKET

Boone is seated on the blanket opposite Blackfish.

BLACKFISH: So. You’ve finally decided to surrender.

(Boone laughs.)

BOONE: We have actually.

(From behind him, Hilly gets into the spirit of things.)

HILLY: But everbody’s so excited to meet you, we’re kinda havin’ some trouble gettin’ ’em to line up right.

(Boone has a look of great relief. Like finally, he’s got some help.)

BOONE: Yeah, you should see them. Me first, no, me first.

HILLY: So while they’re workin’ that out, in there, we thought we oughta come out here and talk about how’re you’re gonna torture us after we give up. (Boone laughs and motions for Hilly to come sit down beside him.)

BLACKFISH: A worthy discussion. Every tenth man I will give to the warriors to do with as they like. The others I will turn over to the British. As for the women, there will be no torture for the women. The women I will keep all for myself.

BOONE: That sounds good. (He turns to Hilly.) That sound good to you?

HILLY: Except for Florence.

BOONE: Well of course except for Flo. (He looks back at Flo.) Flo you must save for me.

HILLY: (Looking back at Flo.) No, no. Florence you must save for me.

(Boone immediately seizes on this as a delaying tactic.)

BOONE: He will not. This woman is mine. If you need a woman, you can have my daughter.

HILLY: I want Florence. I came here to get Florence, and I’m not leaving without her. You’ll have to kill me to get that woman and I’m ready to fight you any time you say.

BOONE: (Enjoying this immensely.) You little thief. I don’t even know you. I never walked any path with you. You just show up here aimin’ to take my whole joy in life away from me, in front of my friends.

(Hilly stands up.)

HILLY: It’s not my fault she’s all you’ve got. If you hadn’t always been runnin’ around tryin’ to be the first man to see every tree…What are you afraid of anyway, that if you stay put they might find out about you?

(Boone stands up.)

BOONE: Find out what about me, you little…

BLACKFISH: We will do no more talking until this matter is settled. You will fight for her.

FLO: No you will not. I am not some prize that…

(Boone has already stripped off his shirt.)

BOONE: Just stand back, Florence.

FLO: Hilly, this is ridiculous. All they need is to see Daniel Boone worn out from beating you up, and they’ll start the attack right now.

HILLY: No they won’t either. As soon as I whip his ass, they’ll know we’re every one of us as tough as Daniel Boone, and if that’s true, they can never beat us. They’ll light out of here as fast as they can.

(Flo turns to leave.)

FLO: I’m having no part of this. None of this…has anything to do with me.

BLACKFISH: Go then. Remain with the women. I will send a messenger when you are needed.

(Flo leaves. Hilly takes off his shirt. And as Boone and Hilly are circling each other, Flo joins Squire, Russell, and Mr. Wilson who are watching from the front gate.)

AT THE FRONT GATE

Russell stands with Squire and Mr. Wilson.

RUSSELL: What is all that about?

SQUIRE: Looks like another one of Daniel’s little tricks to me. Have a little fight. Waste a little more time. Well, what can it hurt. When the Indians see how Daniel humiliates this man they’ll know who they’re up against anyway.

MR. WILSON: Hey now. Don’t count Hilly out, here. He’s not as slow as he looks.

(The fight begins.)

FLO: I can’t watch.

MR. WILSON: Come with me to the east palisade, then. There’s somethin’ funny goin’ over there.

(Flo and Mr. Wilson exit. A circle of light forms around Boone and Hilly. Hilly takes the first swipe. Boone counters well and Hilly goes down. An Indian pitches Boone a large staff. Boone looks at it, pitches it to Hilly. Hilly holds it, looks at it, and pitches it back to the Indian. And the fight begins.)

SQUIRE: Uh-oh.

JEMIMA: Daddy.

RUSSELL: What’ll we do now.

SQUIRE: Not a thing. One move from us and the whole thing could start right here.

(We hear the sounds of cheering, the thumps of the blows. Boone seems winded and out of shape, compared to Hilly. But Boone is sneaky. There are some moments when we think they are just playing with each other, but then Boone begins to take it seriously, and finally, wrestles Hilly to the ground and forces him to give up.)

BOONE: Say it, You thief. Flo is mine.

HILLY: I won’t. You’re dead.

BOONE: You will. The man hasn’t been born that can beat me, at this or anything else. Now say it.

(Blackfish lets out some kind of warrior cheer. But Hilly will not give in.)

HILLY: You’ve got a wife. If she still wants anything to do with you. What about her? Florence is mine.

(Boone looks up, seeing someone arriving in the Indian camp.)

Boone: Well. I’ll be…

HILLY: What.

BOONE: It looks like the folks old Blackfish has been waitin’ for, have arrived.

HILLY: Who are they?

BOONE: The British one is new to me. But the Chief standin’ beside him is a real mean character. When he shows up, you know the talk is all over.

(Blackfish approaches.)

BLACKFISH: I must go and greet my brothers. As for you, my son has beaten you. The woman he calls Flo, and you call Florence, is his. You will leave the village by sundown.

HILLY: I won’t.

BLACKFISH: You will.

BOONE: He can’t.

HILLY: I won’t.

BLACKFISH: Whatever. (Blackfish begins to walk away.)

(Boone stops him.)

BOONE: Hilly can’t leave the camp because I need him. And Flo can’t be mine because I’ve got a wife. And the way we do things is a man can only have one wife. Now we enjoyed the fight and all, but this thing’s not settled yet.

BLACKFISH: Very well. I will take the woman back.

HILLY: No! Now I’ve told you how this thing has to go.

BLACKFISH: All right. If my son does not want this woman he has won, he can give her to you.

BOONE: Good. That’s what I’ll do then.

HILLY: All right.

(Blackfish starts to move away again. Boone catches him.)

BOONE: But I would ask for the son’s privilege of having the marriage performed in the lodge of my father.

BLACKFISH: And I would agree to anything to end this conversation.

BOONE: Done.

(Blackfish leaves. Hilly grins at Boone.)

HILLY: Done.

BOONE: (Looking after Blackfish.) I’m gonna miss him.

AT THE EAST PALISADE

FLO: I’m sorry I got so mad at you, when you asked me out to dinner.

MR. WILSON: Why shouldn’t you be mad? I didn’t give one thought to what you might be feeling.

FLO: The truth is. I had such a crush on you when I first came to work at the museum. I thought you were the handsomest, the smartest, the most charming man I’d ever seen. And it took me so long to accept that you would never be interested in me, that last night, when all of a sudden, you were interested in me…

MR. WILSON: For a minute.

FLO: I could’ve killed you.

MR. WILSON: No, I know.

FLO: I wanted to knock you down and jump on you. Throw you into the Boone street and crash my cart into you. Yell horrible things at you, tie you up and swat you with my mop and…

MR. WILSON: Go on.

FLO: You’re not mad?

MR. WILSON: Of course not. I like you. I want you to be happy. If it would make you happy to hit me with a mop…

FLO: (Laughing with him.) Stop.

MR. WILSON: Come on. You have to see this.

(They duckwalk up to the edge of the palisade.)

FLO: Where?

MR. WILSON: See that little mound of dirt at the edge of the forest. So are you serious about this Rick?

FLO: He’s very sweet. But if I had known he was married, I would never have started seeing him.

MR. WILSON: Well, of course you wouldn’t. So is there anybody else? Now what about Hilly? I mean, I like him. And it’s obvious he’s crazy about you. And you know what? I think my therapist is crazy. I don’t want to get married, I’m fine just the way I am.

FLO: Of course you are.

MR. WILSON: Maybe my therapist wants to get married.

(Squire approaches with Boone and Hilly.)

MR. WILSON: (Referring to them.) There they are. Squire? Daniel? Come see what you make of this. It looks like the Indians are digging a tunnel. I think they’re trying to tunnel under the fort.

SQUIRE: I think you’re right.

BOONE: Goddamn the British anyway. Whoever heard of an Indian digging a tunnel?

Squire: What should we do?

MR. WILSON: I say we start a tunnel of our own, aimin’ to cross theirs, but underneath it, so where the two tunnels meet, theirs will collapse.

BOONE: You think that would work?

MR. WILSON: I know it would.

SQUIRE: O K., then. Get some of the boys and get on it.

BOONE: Where’s your rifle, Wilson?

MR. WILSON: I had to give it to that Timmy. In the blockhouse.

BOONE: (Hands his rifle to Mr. Wilson.) Here. Take mine, then. Good work.

(Mr. Wilson takes the rifle with a look of absolute awe. Flo is not eager to hear about the outcome of the fight.)

BOONE: Now. Flo.

FLO: If it’s anything to do with that fight, I don’t want to hear about it.

BOONE: You’re Hilly’s woman. Fair and square. Blackfish says the two of you will spend the night in the lodge of his sons, and in the morning, you’ll be man and wife.

FLO: That’s what you think. (She leaves.)

HILLY: Florence…

(Boone grabs him to keep him from running after her.)

BOONE: No sense chasin’ the girl. Where’s she gonna go?

(Hilly isn’t so sure of that.)

BOONE: She’ll come around. You’ll see. I’ll talk to her. First time I ever saw her that scared though.

HILLY: That’s because I’m so mean.

BOONE: Well, what do you say we go back out there and hear what kind of treaty the British have dreamed up.

HILLY: O.K.

(They turn and walk offstage.)

BOONE: You know, if you haven’t got any place special to go after this, why don’t you come on back to North Carolina with me.

HILLY: Thanks.

BOONE: So you’ll come?

HILLY: Probably not. (A moment.) No offense.

BOONE: None taken.

BACK AT THE FRONT GATE

Flo stands at the front gate fuming.

JEMIMA: Did your mind just go blank again?

FLO: Your Daddy’s tryin’ to marry me off.

JEMIMA: That’s nice.

FLO: I won’t do it.

JEMIMA: But if you don’t get married, where will you go after this? Cause you can’t come home with us, you know. Mother is there.

FLO: No, I’m not coming home with you.

JEMIMA: Oh, that’s right. I forgot. We don’t have to go anywhere after this. We’re going to die. (Greatly relieved, she waves.) O.K. Good luck.

(Jemima exits and Flo looks up and sees Rick enter dragging the carcass of a buffalo.)

RICK: So. What do you think? Pretty good, huh? Lotta damn meat, on this thing.

FLO: Uh-huh.

RICK: What’s the matter?

FLO: I want you to take me home.

RICK: (Speaking so no one else will hear.) Take you back to the museum, you mean? I can’t. Not for a while, anyway. I saw a coupla more of these dudes down there at the spring, and I figure I might as well get them too while I’m at it.

FLO: Oh, forget it. I’m beginning to understand why the rest of the women left already.

RICK: Besides, it’s perfectly clear to me I’m out of the running here.

FLO: What running? What are you talking about?

RICK: For you, Flo. These guys have got it all over me, any day. Hilly fighting Daniel Boone. Mr. Wilson figuring out about that tunnel. What have I ever done? Kept the garage open so people can get another two years out of their old car?

FLO: What’s wrong with that?

RICK: I know, I know. Dad would love it if he saw the thing was still going. The kids like to come over and crawl under the cars. I mean, I guess I’m proud enough. Lot of other guys went under the last ten years.

FLO: That’s because they don’t know what they’re doing.

RICK: Look, Flo. You want a hero. You deserve a hero. Now, I’m a nice enough guy and all, but I’m the first one to say it. Fixin’ a guy’s transmission isn’t exactly a heroic act.

FLO: It is if it’s really fixed.

RICK: Thanks.

(She looks at him a moment. Then down at the buffalo.)

FLO: They owe you the tongue for killing it.

RICK: That’s O.K. They can have it.

FLO: No. You eat it. Or dry it, if you want to. Doubled over, a dried buffalo tongue would make a nice pouch for a wrench, or something.

RICK: O.K. Great. I’ll do that.

(Squire comes up to Rick and Flo.)

SQUIRE: Looks like Daniel and Blackfish are about finished out there.

FLO: But the Virginia regiment isn’t here yet.

SQUIRE: They’re not. We just received word that they turned back.

FLO: They’re not coming?

SQUIRE: Nobody’s coming. This treaty better be good. God help us.

THE CABIN

Seeing Boone and Hilly returning from the Indian encampment, Jemima, Russell and Mr. Wilson come up to where Squire, Rick, and Flo are standing. Rick has still not adopted the use of a frontier dialect.

JEMIMA: They’re coming in. Open the gate. Open the gate.

RUSSELL: So what do we think this treaty says? We all agree to become Indians and tear the fort down for ’em?

(Rick and Mr. Wilson move slightly apart from the others.)

RICK: What’s his problem?

MR. WILSON: Who cares? What’s that all over your shirt?

RICK: Blood of the buffalo, man.

MR. WILSON: Wait a minute. That’s not your shirt. That’s our shirt. You took that shirt right out of the case.

RICK: And shot your dinner in it, yes, I did.

MR. WILSON: What are we having?

(Hilly and Boone come up to the group.)

BOONE: O.K. It looks like we got somethin’ to talk about anyway. (He hands his handwritten paper to Squire.)

MR. WILSON: (To Rick.) Do you have any idea what that piece of paper would be worth?

(As Flo moves to avoid standing near Hilly, Squire reads from the paper.)

SQUIRE: “There will be no battle. There will be peace between the white men and the red men forever.” (He looks up.) I don’t understand.

JEMIMA: Does that mean we can we stay here? They’ll all go home and we can stay here?

RUSSELL: No, it does not. It means there’s somethin’ he’s not tellin’ us.

BOONE: I don’t know what it means. Except that Blackfish isn’t calling the shots any more.

SQUIRE: Who is?

BOONE: Some Frenchy lieutenant in the British army, and Chief Moluntha.

FLO: What’s he doing here?

BOONE: No, I know, it’s not a good sign. But what they say is that they don’t want to fight us.

RICK: (To Mr. Wilson.) They must’ve heard we were here.

BOONE: They want to set the Ohio River as a boundary. South of the Ohio would be Indian land. North would be white man’s land.

SQUIRE: And if we sign this treaty, they’ll go home?

BOONE: And we’ll go home. That’s right. Alive.

RUSSELL: And what else do we have to sign?

BOONE: An oath of loyalty to King George.

RUSSELL: I knew it.

SQUIRE: You’re already a subject of King George just by virtue of bein’ born in Virginia, Russell.

RUSSELL: I won’t sign. I won’t. Virginia is at war with the British.

SQUIRE: We have to sign it. It doesn’t matter what it says. That or be slaughtered.

RUSSELL: I told every one of you what I thought we ought to do, only now it’s too late.

MR. WILSON: (To Rick.) I worked for a guy like him once.

BOONE: I figure we should, you know, take a vote on it, get some sleep, and then, if everybody is agreeable, in the morning, eighteen of us will meet eighteen of them under the sycamore at dawn and sign the treaty.

RUSSELL: And then they’ll kill us. Its a trick.

BOONE: No, I know it’s a trick. But we’ll have a pretty good idea by then what they plan to do.

RUSSELL: And just where are we gonna get an idea like that?

BOONE: Flo and Hilly are spendin’ the night in their camp.

FLO: We are not. I told you that out there.

BOONE: Blackfish has the lodge all fixed up, Flo. Besides, it’s just too good an opportunity to pass up. You’ll spend the night spyin’ out the situation, and just before dawn, you’ll sneak back inside here and tell us what’s going on.

FLO: I can tell you right now what’s going on, in case you’ve forgotten. That’s a war chant, they’re singing.

BOONE: No, I remember. So at least we know they won’t start anything til morning. That damn song goes on forever.

FLO: And what if this is a trick, too? What if all Blackfish wants is a couple of hostages to bargain with tomorrow.

BOONE: He doesn’t. He likes Hilly, here. He’s just trying to help him out with you. Besides, you know how he likes weddings.

(Flo walks away a little.)

BOONE: So, now. Like Russell says we have to assume that the attack will start right after we sign the treaty. So between now and then, I want every gun oiled, every knife sharpened, and buckets of water placed every five feet along the palisade.

(Squire, Rick, Mr. Wilson, and Jemima all leave with Boone, as he continues to talk.)

BOONE: Every man’s gonna have a bandage or somethin’ he can use for a bandage in his pocket or somewhere. And I want a list drawn up of who’s reloading who’s gun so when we get out there in the morning, everybody’s gonna be in position.

(Russell has remained behind, standing between Flo and Hilly. Now, he regards Hilly with suspicion.)

RUSSELL: You won’t really be married, you know.

FLO: (Genuinely to Russell.) Thanks.

(Russell exits and Hilly looks at Flo. She turns away from him.)

HILLY: This lodge business wasn’t my idea, Florence, you know that. The only reason I even fought with Boone was to buy us some time. That, and I didn’t want him takin’ you away without a fight. But…

FLO: But since you won, and since we’re back here in the wilderness, you’ll just act as wild as all the rest of them. (She grabs her hair.) “Come on, girl.”

HILLY: No, Florence. That’s what I was trying to say, if I could finish my sentence please. I didn’t win. Boone did.

FLO: What do you mean?

HILLY: I mean, he won the fight. I lost.

FLO: You mean he lied to me?

HILLY: And he wanted some spies in their camp overnight, so he thought up this lodge thing. (A pause.) But I’m not going to force you to spend the night with me. If you’d rather just go get a burger or something, let’s go.

FLO: No. He’s right. Somebody should be out there.

HILLY: So should I go get your stuff?

FLO: I don’t have any stuff to get. But if you lay one finger on me out there, I’ll kill you.

HILLY: Fair enough. So are you ready now?

FLO: I’m ready.

(As the sound of drumming increases, they approach the teepee, and night falls.)

AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE TEEPEE

HILLY: The only thing I’m worried about is what happens if we step inside this teepee and wind up back in the museum?

FLO: That would suit you just fine, I bet.

HILLY: How does it work anyway? Me and Wilson didn’t have to say any magic words or anything. We didn’t do anything except step inside. And you didn’t either, I bet. So how did we get here?

(An owl hoots in the distance.)

FLO: (Suddenly very tired.) I don’t know, really. The first night I did it, I was just standing there in the museum feeling like there was nobody in the whole world I wanted to see. Nobody I wanted to call. And nobody I wanted to call me.

HILLY: Because you already knew what they were going to say?

FLO: More like we’d had our chance, you know, and we blew it. Like we’d already decided it wasn’t going to work, so why go on with it. Like it was just easier to give up. Nobody even blames you for giving up anymore. It’s like being in love is something people used to do. When they had more time.

HILLY: So you said, the hell with that. I’m in love with Daniel Boone.

FLO: I did. I didn’t even care if it was crazy. Suddenly, I knew exactly what to do, break all my dates, stop seeing people I didn’t care about, and just love Daniel Boone. Then I picked up my broom and walked into the teepee to sweep it out, and here I was. I mean, there he was. Standing right in front of me.

HILLY: That’s how I felt, too.

FLO: You did?

HILLY: About you. Not here though. Back there. At the museum. I’d known for a long time who I was looking for, and all of a sudden. There you were. As soon as I saw you, I knew I was gonna end up loving you.

FLO: How did you know that?

HILLY: (A moment.) You’re a believer, Florence. (A moment.) A man needs a woman like that.

(The sounds of the war chant get louder.)

FLO: I hate that sound. I hate it.

HILLY: (He holds the flap of the teepee open.) It’s O.K. We’ll be O.K.

FLO: You go on in. I’m just going to walk around a little out here. See if I can learn anything.

HILLY: Do you want me to come with you?

FLO: I want to know why you’re not scared by any of this.

HILLY: I’ve been in situations a lot tougher than this.

FLO: Back there, you mean.

HILLY: Sure I have. Everything is harder back there.

FLO: It’s O.K. Blackfish is watching us. You go on inside. I’ll be back in a little bit.

(Hilly steps inside the teepee, as Flo walks away.)

HILLY: Just be careful.

FLO: Thanks.

(Flo walks away and Hilly enters the teepee.)

INSIDE THE FORT

Boone is cleaning his rifle and talking with Jemima.

BOONE: I know somethin’ is eatin’ at you, Jemima. You might as well tell me what it is.

JEMIMA: I think Flo is an Indian. I think she’s your Indian wife. (Her anger rising.) I think you brought your Indian wife back inside this fort with you, like nobody would even notice. What if mother had still been here?

BOONE: She might be an Indian. I don’t know. I don’t have any idea who Flo is. She told me she was married to a trapper and she got tired of him always smellin’ of dried blood and wet fur and run off.

JEMIMA: Well, she told me the Indians killed her man and her child.

BOONE: No, I told you that to keep you from thinking she was my Indian wife.

JEMIMA: (Furious.) Is she your Indian wife?

BOONE: Not any more, no. Looks to me like those times are all gone.

JEMIMA: Are you gonna ask me not to tell mother about this?

BOONE: You’re a grown woman now, Jemima. What you tell your mother is between you and her.

(Jemima softens considerably toward him.)

JEMIMA: Are we going to die tomorrow?

(And Boone hugs her, suddenly seeming like an ordinary good Dad.)

BOONE: No we are not. If we made it this far we’ll probably live forever.

(Flo approaches. Jemima clings to Boone for a moment.)

BOONE: Florence, what are you doin’ here?

FLO: I wanted to tell you what I heard.

JEMIMA: I’ll be inside, Daddy.

(Jemima leaves and Flo watches her go.)

FLO: Is she all right?

BOONE: She’s just scared, that’s all. How’s the enemy doing?

FLO: Well, Blackfish wants to go home, but Moluntha and the British feel more like a massacre.

BOONE: O.K. Thanks. You go on back out there now, and I’ll see you in the morning.

FLO: I’m…uh…not going to be here in the morning. I’m going to walk on down the path, I think.

(He takes a moment.)

BOONE: Gonna miss all the excitement if you leave now.

FLO: I can’t shoot worth a damn. You know that.

BOONE: You’re runnin’ from that man out there. Aren’t you.

FLO: What if I am? You’ve done it enough.

BOONE: Yes I have. So I can tell you right now, it won’t work, Flo. Rebecca done the same thing to me, got it into her mind that I was hers. You’ll never get away from him, and you wouldn’t be happy if you did. Best thing for you to do is give up and grab a hold.

FLO: I can’t. I hardly know him.

BOONE: How much do you have to know? He came here to find you, he told me that himself. Then he fought me for you. Not a lot of men would do that. Give him a chance.

(Flo doesn’t answer.)

BOONE: I mean, how’re you supposed to know what you think, standin’ around here waitin’ to get shot? Maybe if you just went back out there and spent one night with the man, you’d feel different about it.

FLO: Never.

BOONE: People aren’t like the country, Flo. You and me, we can walk away from all the fine places we’ve ever seen cause we know there’s always gonna be a nicer place further on. But you walk away from a man like this, and chances are, you’ll never see his like again.

FLO: It’s not just him. It’s somethin’ about you, too.

BOONE: No, I know. I’m not gonna be much fun here for a while.

FLO: It’s not that.

BOONE: Well. Maybe not.

FLO: Don’t you want to know what it is?

BOONE: No, I don’t think I do.

FLO: See. That’s it, exactly.

BOONE: Well, I can’t help that. It never did matter to me what other people did. Not that I wouldn’t have an opinion about it. Cause I’ve known some people done some things I didn’t like at all… (A slight pause.) But I would never try and stop ’em from doin’ it, whatever it was. Never. It wouldn’t be right.

FLO: Where are you going to go after this?

BOONE: Back home, I guess. It’s time I went back to civilization and tried to redeem myself somehow.

FLO: Did you ever write to Rebecca, to tell her you were alive?

BOONE: No, I don’t think I did.

FLO: Why not?

BOONE: I don’t know. Nothin’ out here to write on except the trees. And I’m sure as hell not going to do that. (A moment.) You go on now. If you’re determined to lose this man, you’d better get goin’ before he comes lookin’ for you.

FLO: Not one for a sentimental farewell, are you, Daniel Boone.

BOONE: Nope.

(She just stands there a moment. And then suddenly, is very angry.)

BOONE: I’ll see you again sometime.

FLO: No. I don’t think you will.

BOONE: Well. Maybe not.

(She turns away.)

BOONE: You watch yourself, now.

(Flo walks away from him and over to the palisade behind the cabin and turns on the lights and she is…)

BACK IN THE MUSEUM

She takes off her shawl and whatever other articles of frontier clothing she is wearing and hangs them back up where they belong. She goes into the back room for a minute and comes out with her purse. She gets out a piece of paper and sits down to write a note. As she is writing, Hilly comes out from the back room and stands and watches for a moment.

HILLY: You must think I am the dumbest man on earth.

(She turns around, startled.)

HILLY: You didn’t think I would know what you were doing? “See you later, Hilly, I’m just gonna go check on the Shawnee.”

FLO: I did check on the Shawnee. And then I told Daniel Boone what I saw.

HILLY: Give me a break.

FLO: That’s what he said.

HILLY: What Boone said?

FLO: Yes, he did. He likes you. He said I should give you a chance.

HILLY: Well then?

FLO: So. I’m leaving you my phone number.

(He takes the paper from her.)

HILLY: You are not. You’re telling me (He reads.) “thanks for helping out at the fort, but I’m not ready for a relationship right now.” What is it, Florence? Am I goin’ too fast for you?

FLO: Yes, you are.

HILLY: No, I’m not either. You’ve been prayin’ that somebody with some nerve would come along, and here I am. Now. What else is it? Is it Linda? Are my jeans too tight? What?

FLO: It’s not Linda.

HILLY: It’s my jeans. I knew it was my jeans. Well that’s just too bad. This is exactly what I like in jeans. Every pair I have is just like this.

(Suddenly, Rick and Mr. Wilson burst back into the room from the door of the cabin. They are covered in blood and dirt, and look like hell.)

RICK: Jesus, God. What happened to you guys? We thought they captured you. Boone made us search the whole camp just to make sure you didn’t get scalped.

HILLY: You mean it’s all over?

RICK: What a battle. They went out to sign the treaty, and one minute, they were all standin’ there, shakin’ hands and everything, and the next minute there were guns goin’ off, and tomahawks flyin’ through the air…

MR. WILSON: Nobody even knew who started it.

RICK: And then they all rushed back into the fort and it was two really tough days, I’m here to tell you. Boone got hit, Squire got hit. Jemima got shot in the butt.

MR. WILSON: Kids reloading rifles, and Indians climbing up the walls, and fire arrows landing on the roof, and all the time we’re trying to dig this tunnel…

RICK: And tryin’ to stay awake and not go crazy from all the screamin’ and yellin’.

MR. WILSON: And then it started to rain.

RICK: The one thing that could save our ass actually happened. Middle of the day, this mother of a storm hits. We thought, great, now we’re gonna fuckin’ drown here.

MR. WILSON: But when it was over, the Indians were gone.

RICK: Boone said Blackfish would see the rain as some kind of a sign.

MR. WILSON: I don’t know. I saw a couple of Indians pretty close up that last day. They weren’t really into it.

HILLY: So Boone is all right. That’s good.

RICK: Except right as we were leavin’, that little jerk Russell got Colonel Calloway to arrest Boone for treason.

HILLY: For treason? That’s ridiculous. They’d all have died if it hadn’t been for Boone.

RICK: So where were you guys?

HILLY: I wanted to stay. But Florence was tryin’ to run away from me again.

(Rick and Mr. Wilson begin to take off their frontier clothes.)

RICK: I’m glad I’m not gonna have to explain to anybody what happened to these clothes.

MR. WILSON: They’re not too bad. I’m very good at this sort of thing. We’ll let them dry overnight, then I’ll brush them off and put them back in the cases. No one will ever know.

HILLY: What finally happened to Boone? Did he go to jail for treason?

MR. WILSON: (Now speaking as a historian.) No. He beat it. But just barely. And then he went to North Carolina to find Rebecca and the children, and it took him almost a year to get back to Kentucky. Where he fought the Indians some more, and they killed some more of his family. Until finally he got chased out of Kentucky because he’d lost all his land, and owed so much money. So he went with two of his sons to Missouri where he lived ’til he died. (A pause.) And then he stayed buried a while, until they dug him up and brought him back to Kentucky and buried him again.

HILLY: At least you think it was him.

MR. WILSON: That’s right. Well. I’m going home.

RICK: Yeah. Me too.

MR. WILSON: Flo? Are you still leaving us?

FLO: I am.

MR. WILSON: But am I ever going to see you again?

FLO: I don’t know.

RICK: Well, (Indicating Hilly.) he’s gonna keep workin’ here, isn’t he?

MR. WILSON: He is, if I have anything to say about it.

RICK: So, you can just ask him. He’ll know where she is.

MR. WILSON: Well good. That’s what I’ll do.

(And Mr. Wilson and Rick walk out together like old army buddies, remembering the old stories.)

RICK: So, did you see when that tomahawk landed in Boone’s neck?

MR. WILSON: It was amazing. Like all he was worried about was where the next one was comin’ from.

RICK: Never saw anything like him. Standing next to Boone, I even had the feeling those two dead guys might pull through.

MR. WILSON: He could’ve never done it without us, though. Two less men, and who knows what might have happened.

(They exit and Flo and Hilly are left alone.)

HILLY: So. Where were we?

FLO: Your jeans.

HILLY: O.K. You don’t like my jeans. I don’t like that long skirt.

FLO: (Very tired.) It’s not your jeans. It’s your whole attitude. You think you ought to have what you want just because you want it.

HILLY: It’s not just because I want it. It’s because I’m willing to pay for it.

FLO: What do you mean, pay for it? Are you buying me now? What do I cost, Hilly?

HILLY: I don’t know, Florence. Maybe everything I’ve got. Maybe my job. Maybe my whole way of lookin’ at things. Maybe you’re gonna drive me crazy. Maybe Linda won’t like you and I’ll lose this thing I have with her. Or maybe she’ll like you better than me, and I’ll feel like a jerk for bringing you in there. Or maybe it’ll be wonderful and I’ll love you to the end of the earth and you’ll have a heart attack and die. Or you’ll run off with somebody else and I’ll have the heart attack and die. I don’t know what you’ll cost me, Florence. And I don’t care.

FLO: But what do you know about me?

HILLY: A lot.

FLO: Do you know I get depressed?

HILLY: I figured you did.

FLO: Do you know I don’t want to work? That all I really like to do is read? Do you know that I hate my hair and spend a whole lot of time thinking about it? What about my folks? Wouldn’t you like to know they’re not insane or something?

HILLY: Not unless they’re gonna live with us.

FLO: No. They’re not.

HILLY: O.K., then. Marry me, Florence. Come and…be with me. Be whatever you want. You want to go invent electricity, or pan for gold, whatever it is, I’m in. (A moment.) I love you.

FLO: No, I know.

HILLY: So what do you think?

FLO: I think you’re the first man I ever knew who actually just…heard what I said. (Flo stands there a minute.)

HILLY: You’re tired, aren’t you.

FLO: I am. I think I’m almost asleep.

HILLY: Tired is O.K. Sad is O.K. Running away from me again is not. O.K.?

(Flo stands there a moment.)

FLO: O.K.

(And he opens his arms to her, and slowly she walks into them and he holds her. And after a while, he speaks.)

HILLY: It’s gonna be great. I promise. I mean, it won’t be great every damn day, but overall, it’s gonna be great. You’ll see. I’m the best man ever lived in Kentucky.

THE END