EXT. BEACH - DAY
FADE IN on two distant figures who walk across a sunny BEACH parallel to the
surf: a tall, thin, bare-chested black man and a shorter white woman in a
nurse's uniform.
BETSY
(voice over)
I walked with a zombie.
(laughs a little,
self-consciously)
Does seem an odd thing to say. Had anyone
said that to me a year ago, I'm not at all
sure I would have known what a zombie was.
I might have had some notion that they were
strange and frightening, even a little funny.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. SUGAR COMPANY - DAY
The sign above the door of a SUGAR COMPANY, obscured by falling snow.
BETSY
(voice over)
It all began in such an ordinary way...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. SUGAR COMPANY OFFICE - DAY
A civilized office that keeps out the cold. WILKENS, a balding man with
a British accent, seated at a desk in front of a window overlooking the
snowfall, asks BETSY CONNELL a series of questions and carefully checks off
her answers on a form. Betsy, a pretty twenty-something brunette, attempts
an air of no-nonsense solidity that's meant to cover her insecurities, her
naivete, and her incurable romanticism.
WILKENS
You're single?
BETSY
Yes.
WILKENS
Where were you trained?
BETSY
Memorial Hospital, here in Ottawa.
WILKENS
Now, this last question's a little
irregular, Miss Connell. I really don't
know quite how to begin. Do you believe
in witchcraft?
BETSY
Well...
(laughs)
They didn't teach it at Memorial Hospital
but I had my suspicions about the
Directress of Training.
WILKENS
Now, as to salary. It's quite good. Two
hundred dollars a month.
BETSY
(pleased)
That is good. But I'd like to know a
little bit more about the case.
WILKENS
I'm afraid I can't tell you much. Only that
the patient is the wife of Paul Holland with
whom we do considerable business.
BETSY
Oh, that'll mean another interview...
WILKENS
No. This is quite final. You see, Mr.
Holland is a sugar planter. He lives in
St. Sebastian in the West Indies.
BETSY
(surprised)
The West Indies?
WILKENS
That's not so bad. Sit under a palm tree,
go swimming, take sun baths.
Betsy considers this for a moment, the heavy snowfall visible in the window
behind her. She rather likes the idea.
BETSY
(to herself)
Palm trees...
FADE OUT
EXT. CLIPPER SHIP - SUNSET
FADE IN on a clipper SHIP at sea, silhouetted against the sunset.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE SHIP'S DECK - NIGHT
The crew CHANTS "O Marie Congo" and prepares dinner. The mate stands at the
wheel. And the imposing figure of PAUL HOLLAND stands, hands in pockets, his
back to the crew, watching the sea. Paul is handsome, moustached, square-
jawed, worldly, and entirely sure of himself.
BETSY
(voice over)
It seemed only a few days before I met Mr.
Holland in Antigua.
Paul turns to see Betsy at the boat's railing, lost in thought, gazing at the
star-filled sky.
BETSY
(voice over)
We boarded the boat for St. Sebastian. It
was all just as I'd imagined it. I looked
at those great, glowing stars. I felt the
warm wind on my cheek. I breathed deep and
every bit of me inside myself said, "How
beautiful!"
As if in answer, a harsh British-accented voice intrudes.
MAN'S VOICE
It's not beautiful ...
Betsy turns to see Paul Holland behind her.
BETSY
You read my thoughts, Mr. Holland.
PAUL
It's easy enough to read the thoughts of a
newcomer. Everything seems beautiful
because you don't understand. Those flying
fish -- they're not leaping for joy. They're
jumping in terror. Bigger fish want to eat
them. That luminous water -- it takes its
gleam from millions of tiny dead bodies. The
glitter of putrescence. There's no beauty
here. Only death and decay.
BETSY
You can't really believe that.
Just then, they both see a falling star.
PAUL
Everything good dies here -- even the stars...
Abruptly, he walks off and returns to where he stood when first seen, gazing
at the sea, his back to the crew as they continue their chant and eat their
dinner. Betsy leans against the ship's rail, no longer watching the sky.
She stares at Paul who stands just behind the mate at the ship's wheel, his
back to her.
BETSY
(voice over)
It was strange to have him break in on my
thoughts that way. There was cruelty and
hardness in his voice. And yet something
about him I liked. Something clean and
honest. But hurt. Badly hurt.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE DOCK - VILLAGE OF ST. SEBASTIAN - DAY
Early the next day, on the noisy, busy DOCK at St. Sebastian, a crewman
secures the ship. Men carry cut sugar cane up the gangplank. As Betsy
disembarks, she takes in the local culture. A sad, old black COACHMAN
carries her luggage. She boards the coachman's horse-drawn carriage.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE - DAY
Minutes later, the CARRIAGE on its way to Fort Holland. Betsy sits in back
while the coachman -- a friendly man, not the least bit sinister -- holds the
reins.
COACHMAN
Times gone, Fort Holland was a fort, and
now, no longer. Holland's a most old
family, miss. They brought the colored
folks to the island. The colored folks
and Ti-Misery.
BETSY
Ti-Misery? What's that?
COACHMAN
A man, miss. An old man who lives in the
garden at Fort Holland. With arrows stuck
in him and a sorrowful, weeping look on his
black face.
BETSY
(alarmed)
Alive?
COACHMAN
No, miss. He's just the same as he was in
the beginning. On the front side of an
enormous boat.
BETSY
(relieved)
You mean a figurehead.
COACHMAN
If you say, miss. And the enormous boat
brought the Long Ago Fathers and the Long
Ago Mothers of us all, chained to the
bottom of the boat.
Betsy allows the scenery to distract her.
BETSY
They brought to you to a beautiful place,
didn't they?
COACHMAN
If you say, miss. If you say.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. FORT HOLLAND - DAY
The carriage pulls up at the iron gates of FORT HOLLAND, a converted military
fort surrounded by high walls. The coachman helps Betsy out. While he
collects her luggage, Betsy peers through the gate: at the great house, the
garden, its stone pathway, and the small fountain in which is mounted the
striking teakwood figurehead of Ti-Misery (or St. Sebastian, as the whites
call him) -- a black man, its face contorted in pain, long iron arrow shafts
emerging from its torso.
BETSY
(voice over)
Fort Holland. From the gate, it seemed
strangely dream-like. The garden had life
of its own. I was to know all the nooks
and crannies of that great house. To love
them or hate them according to what happened
there...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE STUDY - DAY
Fort Holland's STUDY, by daylight. No one in sight.
BETSY
(voice over)
In that house, I was to hear a strange
confession. A confession only madness could
have wrung from the lips of a sane person.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE STUDY - NIGHT
Another view of the STUDY, at night. Warmer, almost romantic. But still no
sign of life.
BETSY
(voice over)
And yet it was in the same room with the
candles lit that I made the discovery of my
own love. Knew happiness deep through the
heart.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - DAY
Betsy's BEDROOM, on her first day at Fort Holland. As empty as the other
rooms.
BETSY
(voice over)
My room. I can still remember my delight.
Unpacking, getting ready for dinner.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Another view of Betsy's BEDROOM, that evening as she sits down to her
dressing table, puts on a bracelet and brushes her hair.
BETSY
(voice over)
And yet all the while, I wondered at the
stillness of Fort Holland. The fact that
I saw no one on the garden paths or in the
rooms.
She pauses when she sees a man's shadow cast on her wall from her doorway.
The man KNOCKS. She turns to the jalousied door. It's CLEMENT, the head
servant.
BETSY
Yes?
CLEMENT
Miss Connell? It's dinner.
BETSY
Oh, thank you.
She rises and crosses to the door.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE DINING ROOM - NIGHT
A handsome man leans against the wall smoking a cigarette. This is WESLEY
RAND, a rugged, ingratiating he-man with an American accent and a sense of
humor that just manages to conceal his turbulent drives and emotions. He
crosses to Betsy as she enters and shakes her hand.
WESLEY
Miss Connell?
BETSY
Yes?
WESLEY
I'm Wesley Rand. Paul wanted me to
introduce myself.
He leads her to the large, empty dinner table.
WESLEY
Seems we're dining by ourselves, Miss
Connell. But I think I'll introduce you
to everyone anyway.
(off a chair at the head of the table)
Here in the master's chair, sits the master,
my half-brother Paul Holland. Oh, but
you've met him already?
BETSY
Yes. On the boat.
WESLEY
(off an elegant chair against a wall)
That chair in the corner is the particular
property of Mrs. Rand, mother to both of us,
and much too good for either of us. Too
wise, in fact, to live under the same roof.
She prefers the village dispensary.
BETSY
Oh, she's a doctor?
WESLEY
No. She just runs the place. She does
everything else though. An amazing woman,
mother. You'd like her.
BETSY
I like her already.
WESLEY
That's my chair. And this is Miss Connell,
who is beautiful.
He pulls her chair out for her. She sits.
BETSY
Thank you.
Betsy notices one last chair at the far end of the table.
BETSY
Who sits there?
WESLEY
(darkly)
My brother's wife.
(quickly changes the subject)
Here, here, this isn't cozy at all. Makes
me seem aloof and I'm anything but that.
Rather than his own seat, he pulls a spare chair over to the table and sits
down right next to Betsy.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE DINING ROOM - NIGHT
After dinner, later that night. Clement brings out a tray and sets it on the
table. Wesley pours himself a drink. Betsy sits, drinking coffee. They're
in the middle of a conversation.
BETSY
But you're an American.
WESLEY
I went to school in Buffalo. Paul went to
school in England.
BETSY
Well, I wondered about your different
accents. I'm still wondering about your
names -- Rand and Holland.
WESLEY
We're half-brothers. Paul is mother's first
child. When his father died, she married my
father. Doctor Rand, the missionary.
At the sudden sound of voodoo DRUMS, Betsy looks apprehensive.
WESLEY
(mock ominous)
The jungle drums. Mysterious. Eerie.
(matter-of-fact)
That's the work drum over at the sugar mill.
St. Sebastian's version of the factory
whistle.
Betsy grins at this.
WESLEY
As a matter of fact, it means that the
sugar syrup is about ready to be poured.
The DRUMMING stops.
WESLEY
I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me.
BETSY
Of course. It was nice of you to spend
this much time with me.
WESLEY
Don't worry. I wasn't missed. The only
important man around here is the owner.
BETSY
Mr. Holland?
WESLEY
Yes, the redoubtable Paul. He has the
plantation and I, as you must have noticed,
have all the charm.
BETSY
Oh, I don't know. He spoke to me on the
boat last night and I liked him very much.
WESLEY
Ah, yes. Our Paul. Strong and silent and
very sad. Quite the Byronic character.
Maybe I should cultivate it.
The DRUMMING resumes.
BETSY
Maybe you ought to go to the mill.
WESLEY
It'll wait.
Wesley starts to pour another drink, just as Paul enters. Wesley sees him
and immediately stops pouring.
WESLEY
(to Paul)
I was just going to the mill.
(abruptly, to Betsy)
Good night, Miss Connell.
BETSY
Good night.
Wesley leaves. Paul watches him go, then turns to Betsy as Clement arrives
carrying a dinner tray.
PAUL
(to Betsy)
Have the servants made you comfortable?
BETSY
Yes, thank you.
Paul inspects the tray.
PAUL
Looks very nice, Clement. I'll take it
to Mrs. Holland.
Paul takes the tray and Clement leaves.
BETSY
Oh, can't I take it for you?
PAUL
No, thank you. Tomorrow's soon enough for
you to start work.
Betsy watches Paul leave the house and carry the tray to a tower on the other
side of the garden.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Betsy's BEDROOM at bedtime, that night. She wears a robe, blows out a
candle, crosses to her bed while winding an alarm clock, blows out another
candle, and starts to arrange her pillows. But she stops and crosses to her
door, looking out into the garden. From this distance, she sees a mysterious
figure in a flowing white dress -- JESSICA HOLLAND, Paul's wife: thin,
blonde, beautiful and blank-faced -- wandering the grounds as if she might be
sleepwalking in a trance. A puzzled Betsy returns to her bed and removes her
robe.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
The eerie figure of Ti-Misery in the GARDEN. The night wind shakes the nearby
plants. A hushed RUSTLING noise.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Later that night. Betsy, lying in bed, awakens at the echoey sound of loud
SOBBING. Betsy rises, puts on her robe and heads out into the GARDEN.
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
The sobbing seems to be coming from the fort's nearby tower. Betsy slowly
crosses the garden to the tower's door.
INT. THE TOWER - NIGHT
Betsy opens the wooden door and enters the darkened tower. A long steep
stone staircase leads upstairs, the apparent source of the sobs, though the
echo of the tower makes it hard to be sure. Betsy slowly crosses to the
staircase and climbs. Halfway up, the sobbing ceases. Betsy pauses.
BETSY
Mrs. Holland?
Betsy continues and reaches the second floor. It's empty.
BETSY
Mrs. Holland?
At the bottom of the stairs, a figure in white appears. It's Jessica
Holland -- still a willowy blonde with a sad, blank expression that never
changes. Jessica begins to climb the stairs to the second floor. She is slow
and zombie-like in her movements, like a sleepwalker. On the second floor,
Betsy, unaware of Jessica's presence, continues to peer into the darkness.
BETSY
Mrs. Holland?
Betsy suddenly sees Jessica reach the second floor and walk toward her.
Betsy approaches the oncoming Jessica.
BETSY
(apologetic)
I didn't mean to get you up, Mrs.
Holland.
But Jessica does not respond. She keeps walking, threatening to plow into
Betsy. Jessica's vacant stare begins to unnerve Betsy.
BETSY
(quietly)
Mrs. Holland...
Jessica keeps walking toward Betsy, forcing her to backtrack. Betsy backs up
against the stone wall. Staring into Jessica's frozen face, Betsy panics and
SCREAMS, rushing past Jessica and pressing herself up against the opposite
wall. As if in a trance, Jessica turns and slowly pursues her. Meanwhile,
on the first floor of the tower, two servants stand nervously in the doorway,
while Paul, in a robe and carrying a flashlight begins to mount the stairs.
Jessica closes in on Betsy just as Paul reaches the top.
PAUL
Jessica!
Jessica suddenly pauses, inches away from a terrified Betsy. Paul joins them
and guides Jessica away while turning to ALMA, the young black maid, who,
along with Clement, has followed him up the stairs.
PAUL
Take Mrs. Holland to her room, Alma.
ALMA
Come, Miss Jessica. Come with Alma.
Alma leads Jessica downstairs. A relieved Betsy still stands against the
wall.
BETSY
I heard someone crying. A woman.
PAUL
A woman crying? There's been no crying
here.
CLEMENT
Mr. Paul? Yes, there was crying tonight.
It was Alma. Her sister was brought
a-birthing.
PAUL
Thank you, Clement.
Paul gives Betsy a disapproving look, then walks off. Paul, Betsy and
Clement head back down the stairs, Clement leading the way with a lantern.
At the bottom of the stairs, Paul and Betsy head for the tower door. Alma
pokes her head out of Jessica's bedroom door, near the bottom of the stairs,
and whispers to Clement.
ALMA
Clement? I'm gonna stay with Miss Jessica
in case the nurse-lady takes to roamin'
again.
CLEMENT
Don't you go crying no more. That's what
frightened Miss Betsy.
ALMA
Well, she didn't sooth me any --
hollering around in the tower!
CLEMENT
Sssshhhhh!
CUT TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
Paul and Betsy walk back to the house.
BETSY
Why was the maid crying?
PAUL
I'm not sure I can make you understand.
They pause in front of Ti-Misery.
PAUL
(off the figure)
Do you know what this is?
BETSY
The figure of St. Sebastian.
PAUL
Yes. But it was once the figurehead of a
slave ship. That's where our people came
from. From the misery and pain of slavery.
For generations they found life a burden.
That's why they still weep when a child is
born -- and make merry at a burial.
Paul, reflecting on the sadness of slave people and slave ways, pauses to
watch Clement returning to the house.
PAUL
I've told you, Miss Connell, this is a sad
place.
Paul walks to the house, leaving Betsy with the figure.
FADE OUT
INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - DAY
FADE IN on Betsy's BEDROOM, the next morning as Alma enters with a breakfast
tray for Betsy who is still asleep in bed. Alma sets the tray on an end
table and wakes Betsy by lifting the blanket off her foot and gently wiggling
her big toe. Betsy opens her eyes.
ALMA
Good morning, miss.
BETSY
Thank you for waking me.
ALMA
I didn't want to frighten you out of your
sleep, miss. That's why I touched you
farthest from your heart.
Betsy smiles at this and starts to get up.
ALMA
Oh, don't get up, miss.
Alma crosses back to the tray and starts preparing breakfast for Betsy.
ALMA
I brought your breakfast. Just like I do
for Miss Jessica.
BETSY
But I'm Miss Jessica's nurse, Alma. You
don't have to do that for me.
ALMA
I know it, miss. But I like to do it. I
like to tend for Miss Jessica and I want to
tend for you. You settle right back, now,
and I'll make sure you're comfy.
Alma places a big pillow behind Betsy.
BETSY
Thank you.
ALMA
Miss Jessica used to say this is the only
way for a lady to break her fast -- in bed,
with a lacy cushion to bank her head up.
If you'd only seen her, Miss Connell.
She looked so pretty.
Alma places the tray in Betsy's lap.
BETSY
She must have been beautiful. What happened
to her, Alma?
ALMA
(matter-of-fact)
She was very sick and then she went
mindless, miss.
BETSY
Well, we'll see if we can't make her well,
Alma. You and I.
ALMA
I do my best every day I dress her just as
beautifully as if she was well. It's just
like dressing a great big doll.
Alma places a huge, puffed-up pastry (brioche) on the tray.
BETSY
What's this?
ALMA
A puff-up, I call it. But Miss Jessica
always says "brioche."
BETSY
It looks like an awful lot of breakfast. I
don't know if I'll be able to get away with
it.
Betsy touches the pastry with her fork and it instantly deflates much to her
and Alma's amusement.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE STUDY - DAY
The STUDY, a little later that morning. Paul sits at his desk talking to
Betsy who wears her nurse's uniform.
PAUL
I made it clear in my letter to the
company. This is not a position for a
frightened girl.
BETSY
(quietly, but on the defensive)
I'm not a frightened girl.
PAUL
That's hard to believe after what happened
last night.
BETSY
If I were as timid as you seem to think,
Mr. Holland, I wouldn't have gone to the
tower in the first place.
PAUL
And what's so alarming about the tower,
Miss Connell?
BETSY
Nothing really, but... You must admit, it's
an eerie sort of place. So dark.
PAUL
(faintly amused)
Surely nurses aren't afraid of the dark?
BETSY
Of course not. Well, I used to be afraid
of the dark when I was a child, but I'm not
afraid any more.
Paul rises to file some paperwork.
BETSY
Frankly, it was something of a shock to see
my patient that way for the first time.
Nobody had told me Mrs. Holland was...
a mental case.
Paul turns abruptly from the paperwork.
PAUL
A mental case?
BETSY
I'm sorry.
PAUL
(again the impersonal employer)
Why should you be? My wife is a mental
case. Please remember that, Miss Connell.
Particularly when some of the foolish people
on the island start regaling you with local
legends. You'll find superstition a
contagious thing. Some people let it get
the better of them. I don't think you will.
BETSY
No.
PAUL
Come along. I'll introduce you to Dr.
Maxwell and your patient.
Betsy rises and they walk off.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. JESSICA'S ROOM - DAY
Later that day, Betsy and DR. MAXWELL enter. Maxwell is a small, neat man
with a charming voice and a pleasant but somewhat professional personality.
As distinct from the rest of the tower, the room is quite pleasant, kept up
nicely by the servants. A harp and stool sit silently by the window.
DR. MAXWELL
I can't tell you how glad I am to have you
here, Miss Connell.
BETSY
I know I'll enjoy working with you, Doctor.
DR. MAXWELL
I have an enormous amount of respect for
nurses, but most of them scare me. I always
feel them behind my back, looking at their
training manuals, noting my mistakes.
BETSY
I'll keep tabs on you.
They approach Jessica who lies in bed, staring into space.
DR. MAXWELL
She makes a beautiful zombie, doesn't she?
Betsy looks shocked by the comment.
DR. MAXWELL
(explains)
I knew Jessica. We were friends.
Sometimes it's better for a doctor to
laugh than pull a long face when things
are hopeless.
BETSY
Yes, I know. But I don't know about
zombies, Doctor. Just what is a zombie?
DR. MAXWELL
A ghost, the living dead. It's also a drink.
BETSY
Yes, I tried one once. But there wasn't
anything dead about it.
DR. MAXWELL
We've a more serious problem to deal with,
Miss Connell. You want to know about your
patient, don't you?
BETSY
Please.
DR. MAXWELL
I'll try to put it simply. Mrs. Holland
had a tropical fever. Very severe. We
might say that portions of the spinal cord
were burned out by this fever. The result
is what you see. A woman without any will
power. Unable to speak or even act by
herself, though she will obey simple
commands.
BETSY
Does she suffer?
DR. MAXWELL
I don't know. I'd rather think of her as
a sleepwalker who can never be awakened.
Feeling nothing, knowing nothing. There's
very little we can do except keep her
physically comfortable, light diet, some
exercise.
BETSY
She can never be cured?
DR. MAXWELL
I've never heard of a cure.
BETSY
Could you give me some details of treatment
and diet?
DR. MAXWELL
I prepared these for you last night.
Dr. Maxwell hands Betsy some papers from his medical bag. He collects his
hat and the bag.
DR. MAXWELL
I'll drop by in a day or so to see how
you're getting on.
They both head for the door.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - DAY
Minutes later, Betsy reads the papers while walking to the house. Paul,
reading a newspaper on the VERANDA, turns to her.
PAUL
You didn't find your patient so frightening
in the daylight, did you?
BETSY
Mrs. Holland must have been very beautiful.
PAUL
Many people thought her beautiful.
Betsy is about to enter the house.
PAUL
Tell me, Miss Connell. Do you consider
yourself pretty?
BETSY
(taken aback)
I don't know. I suppose so.
PAUL
And charming?
BETSY
I've never given it much thought.
PAUL
Don't. You'll save yourself a great deal
of trouble and other people a great deal
of unhappiness.
Betsy thinks about this for a moment and then enters the house.
FADE OUT
EXT. THE TOWN - DAY
FADE IN some days later, as Betsy (out of her uniform) walks through St.
Sebastian's main town, or what passes for it. Wesley, in sugar planter's
work clothes, rides up to her on horseback, pleasantly surprised to see her.
WESLEY
Betsy! Where are you going?
BETSY
It's my day off.
WESLEY
What in the world can you do with a day
off in St. Sebastian?
BETSY
I was just beginning to wonder. Aren't
there shops, restaurants and things here?
WESLEY
Well, "and things" is a better description
of what you'll find.
Wesley dismounts.
WESLEY
I'd better come along and show you the town.
BETSY
Don't you have to work?
WESLEY
(grinning)
By a curious coincidence, it's my day off,
too.
He leads her, and the horse, away.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE CAFE - DAY
An outdoor cafe by the seaside, a bit later. The townspeople crowd around a
guitar-playing CALYPSO SINGER who does a rendition of "British Grenadiers":
SINGER
(sings)
Some talk of Alexander
And some of Hercules
Of Hector and Lysander
And [?] such [?] as these
But of all the world's great heroes
There's none that can compare....
TI-JOSEPH, the proprietor, clears a table. Betsy and Wesley share a table
around the corner from the singer. The song plays under their conversation.
WESLEY
Say, Joseph. Bring me another. I have to
keep the lady entertained.
BETSY
It must be hard work entertaining me if it
requires six ounces of rum.
WESLEY
Six ounces?
BETSY
Higher mathematics. Two ounces to a drink,
three drinks, six ounces.
WESLEY
Well, how did you know there were two
ounces in a drink?
BETSY
I'm a nurse. I always watch people when
they pour something. I watched Ti-Joseph
and it was exactly two ounces.
The singer begins a new song. Wesley grows immediately uncomfortable, but
Betsy is curious.
SINGER
(sings)
There was a family that lived on the isle
Of St. Sebastian a long, long while
The head of the fam'ly was a Holland man
And the younger brother, his name was Rand
Ah, woe! Ah, me!
Shame and sorrow for the family...
Wesley tries to divert Betsy's attention from the song.
WESLEY
Listen, did I ever tell you the story
about the little mule on the plantation?
The little mule...
BETSY
Wait a minute, I want to hear this.
SINGER
(sings)
The Holland man, he kept in a tower
A wife as pretty as a big white flower
She saw the brother and she stole his heart...
Ti-Joseph arrives with Wesley's drink and Wesley gives him a disapproving
shake of the head. Ti-Joseph crosses to the singer and whispers something.
SINGER
(sings)
And that's how the badness and the trouble start --
The singer stops and turns to a colleague, in annoyance.
SINGER
Ti-Malice, trip up my tongue. Why do you wish
trouble on me for? You saw Mr. Rand go in
there. Why don't you tell me? Apologize --
that's what I'll do. Creep in just like a
little fox and warm myself in his heart.
The singer hands his guitar to the colleague and heads over to Wesley's
table. Betsy talks with Wesley who looks down, embarrassed.
BETSY
I wouldn't have listened, Wesley, if I'd
realized. I --
The singer appears before them and bows deeply to Wesley.
SINGER
Mr. Rand? I've come to apologize.
WESLEY
(curtly)
All right.
SINGER
Just an old song I picked up somewhere.
Don't know who did make it up.
WESLEY
(growing exasperated)
All right. All right.
SINGER
Some of these singers on this island, they
tattle-tale on anybody. Believe me, Mr.
Rand, I never would sing that song if I'd
known you were with a lady.
WESLEY
(boils over)
Get out of here!
The singer takes two steps back, bows deeply to Wesley, and quickly departs.
BETSY
Don't let it bother you so, Wesley.
WESLEY
You heard what he said. Shocked?
BETSY
I just wish I hadn't heard.
WESLEY
Why? Everybody else knows it. Paul saw
to that. Sometimes I think he planned the
whole thing from the beginning just to
watch me squirm.
BETSY
That doesn't sound like him.
WESLEY
That's right. He's playing the noble
husband for you, isn't he? Well, that won't
last long.
Wesley starts another drink.
BETSY
I think we'd better go now. Will you take
me home?
WESLEY
(ignoring her, speaking a
little drunkenly)
One of these days he'll start on you, just
like he did on her.
(imitating)
"You think life's beautiful, don't you,
Jessica? You think you're beautiful, don't
you, Jessica?"
(bitterly)
What he could do to that word "beautiful."
That's Paul's great weapon, words. He uses
them like other men use their fists.
A concerned Betsy looks at Wesley nervously.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE CAFE - NIGHT
A lamp near the CAFE being lit, that night. All is quiet. In the cafe,
everyone has gone home, except for Ti-Joseph, who is cleaning up; an
unconscious Wesley who is face down on the table; and Betsy who stands over
him trying to awaken him.
BETSY
Wesley? Wesley, it's time we started home.
The calypso singer emerges from the darkness, this time with his guitar, and
sings to Betsy the rest of the "Fort Holland Calypso Song." Unlike earlier,
his manner is ominous and unapologetic. With a view of the turbulent ocean
behind him, the singer slowly walks toward Betsy as he plays, unnerving her.
SINGER
(sings)
The wife and the brother, they want to go
But the Holland man, he tell them no.
The wife fall down and the evil came
And it burned her mind in the fever flame.
Ah, woe! Ah, me!
Shame and sorrow for the family!
A scared Betsy shakes the unconscious Wesley.
BETSY
Wesley! Wesley, we must get back to Fort
Holland.
The singer draws nearer, staring at Betsy.
SINGER
(sings)
Her eyes are empty and she cannot talk
And a nurse has come to make her walk.
The brothers are lonely and the nurse is young
And now you must see that my song is sung.
Ah, woe! Ah, me!
Shame and sorrow for the family!
Ah, woe! Ah, me!
Shame and sorrow for the family!
As the song concludes, an older woman appears and her commanding presence
seems to cause the singer to stop and instantly depart. This is MRS. RAND,
Paul and Wesley's mother, a self-assured woman who wears her authority
lightly. She sees Wesley just as he's waking up.
MRS. RAND
(to Betsy)
I think you need some help.
BETSY
I'm afraid so.
MRS. RAND
Ti-Joseph?
Ti-Joseph crosses to Wesley.
MRS. RAND
Help Mr. Rand on to his horse and start him
toward the fort.
Joseph helps Wesley out of the cafe.
BETSY
Oh, but he's in no condition to ride. I-I
don't think he could even sit in the saddle.
MRS. RAND
Don't worry about a sugar planter. Give
him a horse and he'll ride to his own
funeral.
The sound of the horse's HOOFBEATS recede into the distance.
MRS. RAND
I really intended going out to the fort
and meeting you long before this, Miss
Connell. I am Mrs. Rand, Wesley's mother.
They shake hands.
BETSY
Oh, Mrs. Rand. I --
MRS. RAND
Now, don't tell me you're sorry that I
should meet you this way. I'm even a
little glad that Wesley's difficulties
brought us together.
Mrs. Rand picks up Wesley' bill from the table, studies it, takes some money
from her purse and leaves it on the table with the bill.
BETSY
Believe me, he doesn't do this often.
It's --
MRS. RAND
Nonsense. I know Wesley's been drinking
too much lately. I know a great deal more
about what goes on at the fort than you'd
think. And I know all about you. That
you're a nice girl. Competent. And kind
to Jessica. The fort needs a girl like you.
Come, I must get you back there. I'll walk
back with you and stay the night. The change
will do me good.
BETSY
Thank you, Mrs. Rand.
They start walking.
EXT. THE TOWN - NIGHT
The two women walk side by side down a deserted road.
BETSY
I think you're every bit as nice as
Wesley says you are.
MRS. RAND
So, he says I'm nice? He's a nice boy,
too, Miss Connell. A very nice boy.
I'm worried about his drinking though.
You could do me a great favor.
BETSY
I'd love to.
MRS. RAND
Use your influence with Paul. Ask him to
take the whiskey decanter off the dinner
table.
BETSY
I have no influence with Mr. Holland.
MRS. RAND
Try it. You may have more than you think.
FADE OUT
EXT. THE VERANDA - DAY
FADE IN on Paul and BAYARD the planter, walking through the fort carrying
some cane stalks, early the next morning.
PAUL
No, it's not a drought, Bayard. Rain's just
a little late, that's all.
BAYARD
I've seen the drought before, Mr. Holland.
Cane's too dry. It's dangerous that way.
They meet Betsy coming in the opposite direction. She wears her nurse's
uniform and carries a tray.
PAUL
Good morning.
BETSY
Good morning.
PAUL
I heard about your little misadventure
yesterday. On your first day off, too.
BETSY
Oh, I had a good time, up to a point.
PAUL
(sincerely)
Wesley can be very entertaining.
BETSY
(encouraged by his tone)
Yes, he can. But I was wondering. You
know, if you could leave the whisky decanter
off the table --
PAUL
It's always stood there, Miss Connell. I
can remember it in my grandfather's time.
And my father's.
BETSY
But it must be an added temptation to
Wesley. And... though your brother's not
an alcoholic yet, Mr. Holland, I can tell
you as a nurse that it won't be long.
PAUL
(coldly)
Miss Connell, I engaged you to take care of
my wife, not my brother. I'm afraid the
decanter will have to stay where it is.
Paul abruptly turns and he and Bayard walk off.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE DINING ROOM - NIGHT
That night, Clement serves dinner to Paul, Wesley and Betsy. The ululating
SOUND of a great sea conch being blown causes them to react.
WESLEY
There they go.
PAUL
Bayard told me they were going to ask
Damballa for rain. Fields are dry as dust.
BETSY
But what is it, Mr. Holland?
PAUL
It's a big seashell. A conch. They make
a sort of bugle out of it to call the
faithful to the Houmfort.
BETSY
But I don't know what a Houmfort is. Or
a Damballa.
PAUL
It's voodoo. The Houmfort is the temple.
WESLEY
And Damballa is one of the gods. The big
Papa God.
BETSY
You don't seem very disturbed by it. I
thought voodoo was something everyone was
frightened of.
PAUL
I'm afraid it's not very frightening. They
sing and dance and carry on. And then, as I
understand it, one of the gods comes down and
speaks through one of the people.
WESLEY
For some reason, they always pick a night like
this. This hot wind even sets me on edge.
Wesley reaches for the whisky decanter, but it's not there.
WESLEY
(to Clement)
Clement. You've forgotten the decanter.
PAUL
I think from now on, Wesley, we'll try
serving dinner without it.
WESLEY
That's odd. What are you trying to do?
Impress Miss Connell?
PAUL
You'd make a better impression without
whisky.
WESLEY
Thank you. You've always had such tender
concern for me. And for Jessica.
PAUL
Let's drop it, Wesley.
WESLEY
Why?
PAUL
It isn't considered polite to quarrel
before ladies.
Betsy looks down, embarrassed.
WESLEY
Oh, I see. Let's be reserved and
gentlemanly. You were so reserved and
gentlemanly, so polite that night with
Jessica.
Wesley rises.
WESLEY
I remember --
PAUL
Wesley!
Paul rises and turns to Betsy.
PAUL
Miss Connell, I think it would be better
if I had Clement bring the rest of your
dinner to your room.
An uncomfortable Betsy rises and walks off.
Paul and Wesley stand in awkward silence at the table.
FADE OUT
INT. BETSY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Later that evening, Betsy sits on the arm of a chair listening to the MUSIC
of Chopin's E Minor Etude. Paul plays it, not brilliantly, but not badly on
a piano in the STUDY. After listening for a few moments, Betsy rises and
walks to the study.
INT. THE STUDY - NIGHT
As Betsy enters and closes the door behind her, Paul stops and turns to her.
BETSY
I heard you playing. I --
PAUL
I often do.
BETSY
I know what you went through tonight. I
kept thinking of what you said. That-that
all good things died here, violently.
Paul rises from the piano and crosses to her.
PAUL
Why did you come in here?
BETSY
I don't know. I wanted to help you and now
that I'm here, I don't know how.
PAUL
(with unexpected sincerity)
You have helped me. I want you to know
that I'm sorry I ever brought you here.
When I thought of a nurse, I thought of
someone hard and impersonal.
BETSY
I love Fort Holland.
PAUL
And what you saw tonight -- two brothers set
against each other and a woman driven mad by
her own husband -- do you love that?
BETSY
You didn't drive her mad.
Betsy touches Paul's arm. He looks down at this gesture, surprised.
PAUL
Before Jessica was taken ill, there was a
scene. An ugly scene. I told her she
couldn't go. That I'd keep her here by
force if necessary. You never knew Jessica
as she was.
The distant sound of the DRUMS begin again and all at once Paul is in no mood
to talk.
PAUL
(chilly)
I think it will be best for all of us not
to discuss this again. Thank you. I know
you meant to be kind.
A stunned Betsy leaves. Paul closes the door behind her.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE BEACH - NIGHT
That night, on the hills overlooking the BEACH, Betsy walks amid the rocks
and sand, looking down at the crashing waves, deep in thought.
BETSY
(voice over)
I don't know how their own love is revealed
to other women. Maybe in their sweethearts'
arms, I don't know. To me, it came that
night after Paul Holland had almost thrust
me from the room. Certainly from his life.
I said, I loved him. Even as I said it,
I-I knew he still loved his wife. And then
because I loved him, I felt I had to restore
her to him. To make her what she'd been
before. To make him happy.
FADE OUT
INT. JESSICA'S ROOM - DAY
FADE IN on Paul in Jessica's ROOM, the next day. Also in the room are Betsy,
Doctor Maxwell and Jessica.
PAUL
All that you say comes to the same thing.
You're asking me to pass a sentence of
life or death on my wife.
DR. MAXWELL
Insulin shock treatment is an extreme
measure, Paul, as Miss Connell pointed out
when she suggested it to me, but --
PAUL
You admit that this is terribly dangerous.
So, why do you advise it?
BETSY
I've worked with it. I've seen cures.
It's at least a hope.
DR. MAXWELL
It's the very danger itself, Paul, that
makes the cure possible. Insulin produces
a state of coma. Then the patient is
revived by a violent shock to the nerves.
That shock can kill, but it can also cure.
PAUL
I don't know.
DR. MAXWELL
It's a hard decision to make. But yours is
only a technical responsibility.
PAUL
Technical responsibility, real responsibility.
Question is, will she live or die?
BETSY
You're wrong, Mr. Holland. It isn't a
question of life or death. Your wife isn't
living. She's -- she's in a world that's
empty of joy and meaning. We have a chance
to give her life back to her.
But Paul seems unsure.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. JESSICA'S ROOM - NIGHT
That night, Betsy and the doctor, at Jessica's bedside, monitor their patient.
Paul leans against the doorway. The tension is thick. Betsy crosses to Paul.
PAUL
Well?
BETSY
She's alive. That's all.
She starts to walk away, when Paul reaches out to her with both arms and
clutches her shoulders.
PAUL
Don't take it so much to heart, Betsy.
BETSY
I imagined it so differently.
PAUL
I've been waiting for hours, trying to
imagine Jessica well again.
BETSY
And I come bringing you nothing.
PAUL
Instead, you come bringing me sympathy,
Betsy. And a generous heart. Don't forget
that. Don't call that nothing.
A downcast Betsy quickly walks back to Jessica, just as Wesley emerges from
the shadows behind Paul to confront him.
WESLEY
Very sad. Very sweet. The noble husband
and the noble nurse comforting each other
'cause the patient still lives. I've been
imagining, too, Paul. Only I didn't have
to wonder how I'd feel. I knew. I'm not in
love with another woman.
Wesley strides off. Paul watches him go.
FADE OUT
EXT. THE GARDEN - DAY
FADE IN on the GARDEN, the next day, where the servants cluster around Alma's
sister MELISSE and her newborn baby, laughing and commenting on how adorable
the little child is. Betsy emerges from the tower carrying a tray.
ALMA
Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Betsy.
(off the tray)
I'll take it right away.
BETSY
Oh, that's all right, Alma.
Betsy puts the tray down.
BETSY
Oh, is this your sister's baby?
ALMA
Yes, Miss Betsy. This is little Ti-Victor
and my sister Melisse.
BETSY
Oh, I'm so glad I came out. I've been
wanting to meet you, Melisse.
MELISSE
More so, miss.
BETSY
(off Ti-Victor)
Oh, he's a wonderful baby. Beautiful.
The baby smiles at Betsy.
MELISSE
He's chosen you, miss.
ALMA
That's what we say, Miss Betsy, when a
baby first goes visiting. Those he smiles
at will be his friends.
BETSY
That makes me very proud. Here, Ti-Victor.
Betsy removes a silver pin from her lapel and pins it to the baby's swaddling
clothes. The servants gasp at what, for them, is an extravagant gift.
BETSY
That's so you won't forget I'm your friend.
ALMA
Thanks, Miss Betsy!
Betsy and Alma watch the other servants walk into the house, chattering and
laughing.
BETSY
It's nice to see people so happy.
ALMA
They're not always happy, Miss Betsy.
BETSY
I suppose not.
ALMA
Things so bad, nobody can help. Not even
Dr. Maxwell.
BETSY
Doctors and nurses can only do so much,
Alma. They can't cure everything.
Betsy and Alma start to walk through the garden.
ALMA
Doctors that are people can't cure
everything.
BETSY
What do you mean -- "doctors that are
people"?
ALMA
There are other doctors. Yes? Other doctors.
Better doctors.
BETSY
Where?
ALMA
At the Houmfort.
BETSY
That's nonsense, Alma.
ALMA
They even cure nonsense, Miss Betsy. Mama
Rose was mindless. I was at the Houmfort
when the Houngan brought her mind back.
They stop walking.
BETSY
Was Mama Rose like Mrs. Holland?
ALMA
No. She was mindless, but not like Miss
Jessica. But the Houngan cured her.
BETSY
Are you trying to tell me that the voodoo
priest could cure Mrs. Holland?
ALMA
Yes, Miss Betsy. I mean that. The Houngan
will speak to the rada drums and the drums
will speak to Legba and Damballa.
Betsy remains unconvinced.
ALMA
(whispers)
Better doctors.
Betsy walks away.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE DISPENSARY - DAY
A small, plainly furnished room with a plain table, a few bentwood chairs and
a medicine cabinet and a few washbasins and water pitchers on a shelf. Betsy,
in street clothes, watches as Mrs. Rand helps a very young boy into his shirt
after having rubbed ointment on a sore on his chest. He wears an obeah bag
tied around his neck on a string.
MRS. RAND
(to the boy, off the charm)
Ti-Peter, how do you ever expect to get to
Heaven with one foot in the voodoo Houmfort
and the other in the church. Ah, get along
with ya.
The boy walks off. Mrs. Rand washes up and straightens the room.
MRS. RAND
Some of this native nonsense. The Houngan
has his prescription and Dr. Maxwell and
I have ours.
BETSY
You never talked about voodoo before,
Mrs. Rand.
MRS. RAND
Haven't I? I suppose I take it for granted.
Just part of everyday life here.
BETSY
You don't believe in it?
MRS. RAND
A missionary's widow? Isn't very likely,
is it?
BETSY
Well, I don't mean believe in it like
believing in a religion. I mean, do you
believe it has power? Do you think it
could cure a sick person?
MRS. RAND
Frankly, my dear, I didn't expect anything
like that from a nice level-headed girl like
you. What are you driving at?
BETSY
I heard the servants talking about Mama Rose.
She said she'd been "mindless"...
MRS. RAND
Her son drowned. It affected her mind.
The Houngan cured her by giving her a
little practical psychology.
BETSY
What if I took Jessica to see him?
MRS. RAND
You don't know what goes on at the Houmfort.
It might be very dangerous to take her
there. Dangerous for both of you. These
people are primitive. Things that are
natural to them might shock and horrify you.
BETSY
I'm not easily frightened.
MRS. RAND
That may be the pity of it.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. FORT HOLLAND - NIGHT
That night, Paul works in the STUDY while Wesley sits on the VERANDA,
drinking. All is quiet, except for a stiff breeze RUSTLING through the
trees. Betsy, with a dark cape over her white nurse's uniform furtively
leads Jessica through the GARDEN to the tower where Alma awaits them.
BETSY
I'm going to the Houmfort, Alma.
Alma opens the wooden door to the tower and the three women enter.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE TOWER - NIGHT
The inside of the darkened TOWER, moments later. While Betsy stands over her
with a flashlight, Alma pours corn meal from a bowl onto the floor. Using
her finger, Alma draws a map in the meal while giving directions.
ALMA
(whispers)
You go right from the mill to an [?] sign
in the cane. Here, you turn and face a [?]
tree on the hill. Walk toward it and keep
walking. Keep walking, miss [and then?]
you come to the crossroads.
Alma pulls two voodoo patches from her dress and pins them to Betsy and
Jessica's shoulders. Betsy's is white, in contrast to her dark cape.
ALMA
(whispers)
There's a guard there, Carre-Four. He
keeps the crossroads. But he won't do you
no harm when he sees the voodoo patches.
He'll let you pass.
Jessica's patch is black, in contrast to her white dress.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE SUGAR CANE FIELD - NIGHT
The seven foot tall figure of Carre-Four, the voodoo guard, stands immobile
at the crossroads in the sugar cane FIELD, silhouetted against the moonlight,
later that night. The stiff breeze shakes the cane stalks.
Elsewhere in the field, Betsy leads Jessica through the cane. An odd MOANING
sound causes Betsy to stop and turn toward it. She shines her flashlight on a
cow's skull mounted on a stick -- the wind blowing through the hollow skull
makes the noise. Betsy leads Jessica past it. The two women emerge into a
clearing.
Betsy is taken aback by the sight of a dead lamb's carcass hanging from a
banyan tree. They press on, back into the cane. Another weird sound -- an
ominous vibrating NOISE -- leads Betsy to stop and look around. She turns on
her flashlight and approaches a hollow gourd suspended from a wooden scaffold
-- the wind blows through holes in the gourd making the noise. The women
cross under the scaffold and continue to walk through the cane. Betsy shines
her light on a human skull lying on the ground in the middle of a circle of
stones.
The night seems to be getting darker and the cane seems to be getting
thicker, more claustrophobic. The sound of a conch and the drums causes
Betsy to stop once again and look around. After a moment, the two women
press forward -- and Betsy fails to notice that her voodoo patch has caught
on a cane stalk and been torn from her cape.
Betsy points her light at the ground as they make their way forward.
Suddenly, a man's foot appears in its beam. Betsy instantly points the
flashlight at the man's face -- revealing the spooky, bug-eyed, blank stare
of Carre-Four, the voodoo guard. Startled, Betsy gasps but quickly recovers,
only to notice that her patch is gone. She claps her hand to her shoulder
and looks up at the towering guard. Is Carre-Four smiling wickedly at her
fear? Hard to tell.
Betsy sees that Jessica still wears her patch. Clutching Jessica close to
her, Betsy leads Jessica very slowly past Carre-Four, keeping her flashlight
trained on him and watching him nervously. But he makes no move to stop
them. Once they have passed, Carre-Four suddenly turns and walks off in
another direction.
The DRUMS grow louder and are now accompanied by intense CHANTING, a
call-and-response chant -- "O Legba" -- with a male voice answered by a
chorus of voices. Betsy and Jessica emerge from the cane field and enter the
open-air HOUMFORT.
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - NIGHT
Betsy and Jessica mingle unnoticed with the large crowd of worshipers -- all
black and wearing voodoo patches. Surrounding the center of the Houmfort,
the worshipers CHANT and focus their attention on the handsome, young SABREUR
who performs a sensuous sword dance.
Betsy and Jessica stay at the edge of the crowd, watching as the Sabreur is
joined by a woman who seems to be in a trance. A voodoo priest anoints her
brow as the Sabreur dances around her. The priest withdraws and the dance
continues until she collapses to the ground.
The chanting stops, men come and lift her unconscious body away, and
the DRUMMING intensifies. Women appear and circle the drummer with a
vigorous voodoo dance. At the climax, two women stand forehead to forehead
over the drummer. The DRUMMING stops. A charged moment of silence and then
-- a muffled voice from a small HUT at the edge of the Houmfort -- the god
speaks through a mortal:
VOICE
Where are my people? Let them bring
the rice cakes. Let them dance and be
happy.
The CHANTING and DRUMMING resume. People begin to move to the hut, lining up
to talk to the god through a closed door. Betsy leads Jessica to the line.
The first man in line removes his hat, leans his head to the door, and
speaks, his words drowned out by the music. After a few moments, he leaves.
Betsy watches as the woman in front of her does the same. Then, it is her
turn. She leads Jessica to the door of the hut.
BETSY
Damballa, this woman is ill.
The door abruptly opens, a hand reaches out and pulls Betsy inside the
darkened hut. The Houngan voodoo priest follows her in and shuts the door
behind him. Jessica stands alone.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HUT - NIGHT
A BLACK SCREEN. Suddenly, a match is struck, a lantern is lit, and Mrs. Rand
is revealed to an amazed Betsy.
BETSY
Mrs. Rand?
MRS. RAND
I knew you'd come. I couldn't let you go
back without a word. I came here to tell
you again -- Jessica cannot be cured.
BETSY
What are you doing here?
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
The CHANTING and DRUMMING continue. The voodoo worshipers stare at Jessica
who stands patiently where Betsy had left her. One of the women gives the
Sabreur a meaningful look and then hands him a new sword.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
Mrs. Rand is in the middle of a conversation with Betsy.
MRS. RAND
And when my husband died, I was helpless.
They disobeyed me. And, accidentally, I
learned the secret of how to deal with them.
There was a woman with a baby. Again and
again I begged her to boil the drinking
water. She wouldn't. Then I told her the
god Shango would kill the evil spirits in
the water if she boiled it. From then on,
she boiled the water.
BETSY
But that still doesn't explain why you're
here.
MRS. RAND
Perhaps not. But I am here. It seemed so
simple to let the gods speak through me.
I should have known there's no easy way
to do good, Betsy.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
The Sabreur confronts Jessica with his sword. He abruptly raises his arm
and, as if hypnotized, she raises hers in response. He takes her
outstretched hand, turns her to face him, and violently plunges the sword
directly into her arm. Jessica doesn't react. The DRUMMING stops. The
voodoo worshipers GASP.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
Mrs. Rand looks up, realizing something's wrong.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
The voodoo worshipers gather around Jessica, whispering in disbelief.
MAN
She doesn't bleed.
WOMAN
Zombie.
MAN
She doesn't bleed.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
The voodoo priest quickly blows out the lantern, and Mrs. Rand and Betsy rush
for the door, open it, and take in the scene just outside the hut.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HUT - SAME TIME
Jessica stands unhurt, the sword no longer in her arm, surrounded by gaping
worshipers.
MRS. RAND
(quietly)
Get her back to the fort, Betsy.
Betsy hesitates.
MRS. RAND
Do as I say. They-they won't hurt you.
Betsy crosses to Jessica and leads her away from the crowd. The worshipers
begin to follow but the Houngan voodoo priest gestures to them and says in a
calm deep voice:
HOUNGAN
Leave them alone. Let them go.
The crowd obeys.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE SUGAR CANE FIELD - NIGHT
Betsy leads Jessica back the way they came earlier. They rush past the dead
lamb's carcass and plunge into the sugar cane.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. FORT HOLLAND - NIGHT
Just outside the TOWER at Fort Holland, later that night. Betsy has just
returned Jessica to her room and now carefully heads through the GARDEN to
the house. As she approaches, Paul appears, wearing a robe, and confronts
her.
PAUL
Where have you been, Miss Connell?
BETSY
I wanted to help you.
PAUL
Help me? How?
BETSY
I took Mrs. Holland to the Houmfort. I
thought they might cure her.
PAUL
There's no telling what you may have
started with this insanity. Because you
wanted to give my wife back to me? Why
should that mean so much to you?
BETSY
You know why. You saw it the other night,
at the piano.
PAUL
What I saw the other night, I could hardly
believe, Betsy. I thought I was looking at
a woman who had compassion for me. Who
loved me. And yet you made that trip to
the Houmfort to bring Jessica back to me.
You, the nurse who's afraid of the dark.
BETSY
Yes.
PAUL
You think I love Jessica. Want her back.
It's like you to think that. Clean,
decent thinking. I wish it were true.
The voodoo DRUMS begin in the distance.
PAUL
Perhaps for your sake.
Both hear the drums and look apprehensively in their direction.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. FORT HOLLAND'S GATE - DAY
Just inside the GATE at Fort Holland, the next afternoon. Alma holds the
reins of a horse that's eating some of the garden's plants. She tries to
pull it away from the plants.
ALMA
Mind me now, horse. Come away from there.
Alma gives up pulling on the reins and tries pushing the horse's head out of
the plants.
ALMA
Are you ever stubborn, just like that old
[stableman?] at the Houmfort. Sticking
your nose in places where it isn't wanted.
Making trouble for everybody.
Betsy appears in her nurse's uniform.
BETSY
Alma. Try it this way.
Betsy grabs the reins, turns her back to the horse and leads it away.
BETSY
Turn your back on him. See, that's the
way it is with a horse. You can't look at
him and lead him at the same time.
ALMA
(laughs)
Sounds sort of man-like, doesn't it?
BETSY
Whose horse?
ALMA
The police horse.
BETSY
Police? I didn't know there was a
policeman on the island.
ALMA
Oh, just this horse, Miss Betsy. When they
asked the Commissioner if any policemen
were wanted, he said, "My horse is all the
police we need on St. Sebastian."
BETSY
Commissioner?
ALMA
Yes, Miss Betsy. I expect there's some
trouble.
Alma looks in the direction of the house where some men are talking.
ALMA
Not just little trouble like Mr. Rand gets
into when he's been drinking more than a
little, but real big trouble.
BETSY
You don't suppose it's because I took Mrs.
Holland to the Houmfort, do you?
ALMA
They haven't been talking loud enough for
me to hear, Miss Betsy, but I've been
holding this horse for coming on close to
an hour. And they been just talkin' and
talkin'. I feel it's something very bad.
Betsy hands the reins back to Alma and starts to leave.
BETSY
Well, you have a horse to hold, Alma, and
Mrs. Rand has asked me to have a cup of
tea with her.
The moment Betsy leaves, the horse starts misbehaving again.
ALMA
Horse, you stand still.
But the horse has other things in mind and drags her away.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - NIGHT
That night, to the sound of DRUMMING, a blonde voodoo doll is being clothed
in a white dress. The Sabreur waves his hand over it as a small crowd
watches.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. JESSICA'S ROOM - NIGHT
Betsy finishes putting Jessica to bed when Paul enters.
PAUL
You're staying here with Jessica tonight,
Betsy?
BETSY
Mrs. Rand thought it might be best.
PAUL
She's right.
BETSY
I've caused you so much trouble, Paul.
PAUL
Oh, no. It was bound to come. As a
matter of fact, that's why I'm here. I
want to talk to you. Perhaps when you're
finished in here you'll come into the
garden.
BETSY
Is it about this afternoon? I saw the
Commissioner here.
PAUL
Jeffries? Yes, he was here. He and Maxwell.
They're in a great stew about it. Seems
those people at the Houmfort won't stop
drumming and dancing until they've got
Jessica back and finish their ritual tests.
Something of that sort. For their own
safety, Jeffries and Maxwell want Jessica
sent away to St. Thomas. To the asylum.
BETSY
Might be best.
PAUL
Maybe. But Wesley insists she stay here.
BETSY
But he hasn't the right.
PAUL
Oh, he hasn't any legal right, if that's
what you mean. But he says that I'm
responsible for Jessica's illness. That
I deliberately drove her insane.
BETSY
You couldn't have done that, Paul.
PAUL
I don't know. I've gone over it and over
it and... I don't know.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - NIGHT
The voodoo ceremony continues. The expressionless Carre-Four holds the
blonde voodoo doll in his hand. As the crowd watches, the Sabreur removes
the doll from Carre-Four's grasp, takes a few steps backward and then beckons
Carre-Four to come forward and grasp the doll again. He does so.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
Paul talks with Betsy.
PAUL
I want you out of it. I want you to go
back to Canada, Betsy.
BETSY
Why?
PAUL
Because of Jessica. Because of myself.
Because I don't want you to be made
miserable and unhappy.
BETSY
But I want to stay.
PAUL
I'm afraid it's not what you want. I want
you back in Canada.
BETSY
Naturally, as my employer, you have the
right to dismiss me.
PAUL
Don't, Betsy. You know that isn't what I
mean. You remember the first night I saw
you? You were looking at the sea. You
were enchanted. And I felt I had to destroy
that enchantment, make you see ugliness
and cruelty.
BETSY
You were trying to warn me.
PAUL
No. I was trying to hurt you. It was the
same way with Jessica. I had to hurt her.
Everything she did or said made me lash
out at her. That's why I want you to go.
You see, Betsy... since you've been here,
I've seen how fine and sweet things can be
between a man and a woman. How love can
be calm and good. I'd rather not have that
sort of love than have it and destroy it.
BETSY
You want me to leave?
PAUL
That's why I want you to go. It's no good
for you to stay so long as I have this fear
of myself.
Betsy buries her head in Paul's chest as they embrace.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. JESSICA'S ROOM - NIGHT
Later that night, all is quiet. The wind blows through the curtains. Betsy
sleeps on the sofa. The long shadow of Carre-Four falls on the stone path of
the GARDEN, then across the wall of Jessica's ROOM. The noise of his
shuffling feet awakens Betsy. The footsteps stop. Betsy rises, crosses to
Jessica's bed, and sees that she's still asleep. Betsy puts on one of
Jessica's white robes and heads out to the GARDEN.
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
Betsy looks around, but sees and hears no one. A frog CROAKS and jumps into
the Ti-Misery fountain. Betsy is startled by a shrill SCREECH and looks up
to see an owl on a tree branch above her. She's momentarily relieved but
suddenly sees a shadow moving near the tower. She ducks behind some plants
and turns to see: the shadow of Carre-Four walking toward her, toward the
woman in white. Betsy's eyes widen in fear. She runs to the house and calls
for Paul.
BETSY
Paul! Paul!
The shadow creeps closer. Paul emerges in a robe just as Carre-Four, now
visible, slowly closes in.
PAUL
(to Carre-Four)
What are you doing here?
But Carre-Four does not stop. Paul confronts him.
PAUL
Get out of here.
Carre-Four extends his arms. He's only a few feet away. But a woman's voice
rings out sharply.
A WOMAN'S VOICE
Carre-Four!
Carre-Four pauses. Mrs. Rand, in a robe, has emerged from the house.
MRS. RAND
(gently, as if to a child)
Carre-Four, go back.
Carre-Four obediently turns and slowly walks away. Paul tries to follow him.
MRS. RAND
Paul. Let him go. Don't touch him.
Don't try to stop him.
Paul and Betsy watch in silence as Carre-Four shuffles out the front GATE.
FADE OUT
INT. THE STUDY - DAY
FADE IN on the STUDY, the next day. Betsy joins Mrs. Rand who addresses a
package.
MRS. RAND
I can send this off by the next boat. If
you have any letters, you'd better get them
ready, Betsy, to go with this parcel.
BETSY
Any news I have can wait till I get home.
MRS. RAND
Be pretty stale by that time.
Paul joins them.
PAUL
Perhaps not, mother. Betsy is leaving us.
MRS. RAND
Why, Betsy, we can't lose you. We've grown
to depend on you. I have, and I know Paul
has.
PAUL
Mother, Betsy has her reasons.
BETSY
(to Mrs. Rand)
I hope you won't feel I'm deserting you or
think badly of me.
MRS. RAND
Think badly of you, Betsy?
All three turn at the SOUND of a door opening. It's Wesley and Dr. Maxwell.
WESLEY
(to the others)
Dr. Maxwell has some unpleasant news for us.
PAUL
An accident at the mill?
DR. MAXWELL
No, it's about Jessica. A result of our
discussion the other day I'm afraid.
PAUL
What about her?
DR. MAXWELL
Well, in view of all the circumstances,
some of the things Wesley's been saying,
and the fact that one of the voodoo people
got into your house last night, the
Commissioner's decided on a legal
investigation.
PAUL
In other words, I'm on trial.
DR. MAXWELL
Oh, I wouldn't put it that way, Paul, but
-- there's been a lot of talk. The whole
thing's getting out of hand.
WESLEY
A pretty scene. Half the island crowding
into the courtroom to watch your dirty
linen get a public scrubbing.
PAUL
Wait [a bit], Wesley. Let's talk this over
with the...
WESLEY
(explodes)
Talk it over! Talk now, Paul, and tell
them that you're not responsible. That
every bit of this doesn't rest squarely
on your shoulders.
Paul turns to a subdued Mrs. Rand who crosses to Dr. Maxwell.
MRS. RAND
If you'll be good enough to take me to the
Commissioner, Doctor, I think there'll be
no need of an investigation.
DR. MAXWELL
But why, Mrs. Rand? What could you have
to tell him?
MRS. RAND
Jessica is not insane. Please, take me to
the Commissioner. I can explain the whole
thing to him.
PAUL
Mother, what are you trying to say?
MRS. RAND
She is dead.
DR. MAXWELL
Now, Mrs. Rand...
MRS. RAND
She is dead. Living and dead.
DR. MAXWELL
Mrs. Rand, you're not seriously trying to
tell me that my patient is a zombie?
MRS. RAND
I'm not mad. It's true. I did it.
WESLEY
Mother...
MRS. RAND
Wesley, let me explain. I wanted to so
often. Now, I have to.
(to Betsy)
Betsy, tell them about the Houmfort. Tell
them what you saw there. You must, Betsy.
They'll have to believe you.
BETSY
(reluctant)
Well, Mrs. Rand was at the Houmfort. But
there's nothing wrong with that. She's
gone there for years, trying to take care
of those people. To help them.
DR. MAXWELL
I think I understand. I've often talked a
little voodoo to get medicine down a
patient's throat.
MRS. RAND
But it was more than that, Doctor. I
entered into their ceremonies. I
pretended I was possessed by their gods.
But what I did to Jessica... was when she
wanted to go away with Wesley. That night
I went to the Houmfort. I kept seeing her
face -- smiling because she was beautiful
enough to take my family in her hands and
tear it apart. Drums, the chanting, the
lights. I heard a voice speaking in the
sudden silence. My voice. I was speaking
to the Houngan. I was possessed. I told
him the woman at Fort Holland was evil and
asked him to make her a zombie.
DR. MAXWELL
Then what happened?
MRS. RAND
I hated myself. On the way home, I said
over and over again, there are no such
people, no strange drugs, there's no such
thing as a zombie.
DR. MAXWELL
You were right.
MRS. RAND
I said it, and I made myself believe it.
But when I got here, Jessica was raging
with fever.
DR. MAXWELL
She was raging with fever. A fever with a
long Latin name. And a bad reputation for
its after-effects. Usually some form of
insanity.
PAUL
Dr. Maxwell is right, mother.
DR. MAXWELL
You were tricked by your own imagination,
Mrs. Rand.
MRS. RAND
But I am not an imaginative or fanciful
woman, Doctor.
DR. MAXWELL
As I understand it, in order to turn a
person into a zombie, whether by poison
or... hocus-pocus, you must first kill
that person. Is that right?
MRS. RAND
Yes.
DR. MAXWELL
She was feverish. She was delirious.
But I don't remember her dying. Or even
being in a state resembling death. No
coma. Nothing. I'm afraid you are an
imaginative woman, Mrs. Rand.
MRS. RAND
(embarrassed)
Of course. Of course.
A shaken Mrs. Rand leaves the group and climbs the stairs in a daze, while
Wesley puts what appears to be a sympathetic hand on Paul's shoulder.
FADE OUT
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - NIGHT
FADE IN on the blonde voodoo doll on the floor of the HOUMFORT, that night.
The DRUMS beat loudly. As the voodoo worshipers watch, the Sabreur gestures
to the doll. It inches toward him.
CUT TO:
EXT. FORT HOLLAND - SAME TIME
Simultaneously, Jessica emerges from the TOWER and heads for the gate. A
concerned Betsy follows behind.
BETSY
Jessica? Jessica?
Paul sees the two women from the HOUSE and quickly joins them.
BETSY
Jessica?
(scared, to Paul)
She won't obey me.
PAUL
Jessica!
Betsy quickly closes and locks the wrought-iron GATE before Jessica can exit.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - SAME TIME
The blonde voodoo doll moves across the floor of the Houmfort. Despite the
DRUMS, the doll stops. The Sabreur continues to gesture to it.
CUT TO:
EXT. FORT HOLLAND'S GATE - NIGHT
Wesley, apparently having just come back from a night of drinking, appears on
the opposite side of the gate, joining Paul, Betsy, and Jessica.
WESLEY
It's the Houmfort. They're trying to get
her back.
BETSY
But how can they? How could they make her
understand? How would she know?
WESLEY
They know how. They have charms that can
draw a man halfway around the world. Opiate
tricks, magic. Everybody knows that.
PAUL
We may have believed all that when we were
boys, Wesley, but we're grown men now. We
know it's all nonsense.
WESLEY
Do we?
PAUL
Yes.
WESLEY
You've forgotten --
PAUL
I've not forgotten. I could see what was
in your mind when Maxwell was talking.
Just because he didn't know about Jessica's
coma, you thought everything he said was
wrong. And that mother's story was right.
But that's ridiculous.
WESLEY
It is true.
(off Jessica)
Why did she come out here? How can they
make her move, do anything they want?
(as much to himself as the others)
They can make anybody do what they want.
PAUL
You're thinking just as they want you to
think. That's what it's for. Conches,
their cheap mummery.
WESLEY
Let me in.
BETSY
Come with me, Jessica.
Betsy leads Jessica back to the tower as Wesley opens the gate and enters.
WESLEY
(off Jessica's escape attempt)
You saw that.
PAUL
I saw nothing that would convince a sober
man. You better get some sleep, Wesley.
Paul heads for the house, but Wesley stays behind, lost in thought.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
The statue of Ti-Misery, not long after.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
A little later that night, Betsy -- having left Jessica in the tower -- heads
for the house, but seeing Wesley sitting dejectedly nearby, crosses to him.
BETSY
Why don't you go to bed, Wesley? It's
been a hard day for all of us.
Wesley doesn't respond.
BETSY
I'm sorry, Wesley. I think I know how
you must feel. And I am sorry. I only
wish there was something I could do.
WESLEY
(as if to himself)
She ought to be free.
(to Betsy)
You could free her, Betsy. You could do
it. You're a nurse. You have the drugs.
It'd be so quick.
BETSY
Her heart beats. She breathes. That's
life, Wesley. I once took an oath to guard
life.
WESLEY
I shouldn't've asked it of you. But it
was only because I can't make you believe
that she's already dead. Wait a minute.
There's one other thing. You love Paul.
Then, what good will ever do you if
Jessica's still a --
BETSY
Wesley. I'm afraid I love him too much
for that.
WESLEY
I'm sorry.
In a daze, Wesley wanders off. Betsy watches him go, then enters the house.
WIPE TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
Later that night, Wesley, on the VERANDA, looks up from his drink to see
Jessica emerge from the TOWER and slowly cross to the GATE. He watches as she
pauses there, unable to open it and leave.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - SAME TIME
The blonde voodoo doll has once again stopped. The Sabreur, frustrated at
the lack of progress, turns and whispers to a colleague.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - SAME TIME
Wesley continues to watch Jessica as she stands at the gate. He rises and
crosses to her. Without a pause, he opens the gate for her. She immediately
leaves. Wesley watches her go, then turns and crosses to Ti-Misery and, with
some effort, pulls out one of the iron arrows embedded in the figure. He
turns and heads for the gate, following Jessica into the darkness.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - NIGHT
The Sabreur squats over the blonde voodoo doll and knocks it over so that it
lies on its back. He then slowly lowers a large needle to the doll. The
rhythm of the DRUMMING accelerates. And as he plunges it into the doll's
heart, the DRUMMING instantly stops.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE BEACH - SAME TIME
On the silent, deserted BEACH, Wesley crouches over Jessica's dead body. He
rises slowly, the arrow shaft in his hand, and looks right and left. As he
does, he sees the figure of Carre-Four walking toward him. Wesley bends down
and lifts the lifeless Jessica into his arms. He gives Carre-Four a worried
glance and then begins to carry Jessica down to the ocean. Carre-Four
extends his arms and pursues Wesley as he crosses the beach.
Wesley twice turns to look at Carre-Four and finally backs into the ocean,
walking until the surf overwhelms him. When both Wesley and Jessica have
disappeared under the waves, Carre-Four lowers his arms and merely stands
motionless at the edge of the water, silhouetted in the moonlight, looking
out at the sea, as the waves wash up on the beach around him.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. WATER - NIGHT
Some time later, Jessica's body floats face up in shallow WATER.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. WATER - NIGHT
Torch-bearing native fishermen slowly make their way through the darkness and
the knee-high WATER, spears in hand, CHANTING "Walee Nan Guinan." One of
them stabs a fish and it wriggles in pain as he tries to stuff it into a
pouch on his belt. They keep walking. Suddenly, one stumbles across
Jessica's body. They hold a torch close to her face as a VOICE OVER
begins -- what sounds like the deep voice of the Houngan voodoo priest
performing a Christian burial service:
HOUNGAN
(voice over)
O Lord God most holy, deliver them from
the bitter pains of eternal death.
One of the fishermen lifts Jessica's body from the water.
HOUNGAN
(voice over)
The woman was a wicked woman...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE GARDEN - NIGHT
A group of men bearing torches and the bodies of Wesley and Jessica enter
through the gate.
HOUNGAN
(voice over)
...and she was dead in her own life. Yea
Lord, dead in the selfishness of her
spirit, and the man followed her...
On the veranda, the servants, Paul, and Betsy stand with Mrs. Rand, who
weeps, her hands covering her face. Paul looks at her sympathetically, then
turns to the processional.
HOUNGAN
(voice over)
... Her steps led him down to evil, her
feet took hold on death. ...
Four men carry Wesley's body. Carre-Four trails behind the others, carrying
Jessica. They pass by the statue of Ti-Misery.
HOUNGAN
(voice over)
... Forgive him, O Lord, who knowest the
secrets of all hearts. Yea Lord, pity them
who are dead ...
Paul and Betsy comfort one another with an embrace.
HOUNGAN
(voice over)
... And give peace and happiness to the
living.
The final image is of the figure of Ti-Misery, its face twisted in pain.
FADE OUT
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBONUS ITEMzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzExcerpt from the original shooting script describing the voodoo ceremony:
EXT. THE HOUMFORT - NIGHT
LONG SHOT. The camera is behind Betsy and Jessica as they go
toward the Houmfort through the sugar cane. We see this
voodoo temple as they go toward it. It is a rickety
structure of poles and laths, roofed over with a thin thatch
of sugar cane and straw. It forms a sort of rude pergola.
In the center of this structure is a small, cubicle hut, made
of rough boards but neatly whitewashed. From the rafters of
the main structure hang crude chandeliers of tin which give
light to the ceremonies.
(Please see pages 28 to 31, Life Magazine, December 13, 1937.
All the details mentioned above are graphically illustrated,
Near the little hut in the center of the Houmfort, stands an
altar covered with a lace tablecloth and littered with a
childish jumble of plates, candles, little colored stones and
bottles. Before this altar stands the Houngan, the high
priest of the voodoo ceremonies, a small, stoop-shouldered
man in a worn, white coat and trousers with ragged cuffs.
Several mild-looking negroes in white trousers and shirts sit
in kitchen chairs on one side of the altar with rada drums
between their knees. Grouped around this altar in a loose
semicircle are the worshippers, a group of mild-mannered,
poorly-but-neatly-dressed negroes. They seem to have made an
effort to dress in their best and their best is very poor
indeed. As Betsy approaches, she can see familiar faces.
As she comes up they turn and look at her. They are not
hostile nor greatly surprised; just mildly curious. Leading
Jessica by the hand, Betsy takes her place at one end of the
semicircle around the altar. Her arrival has in no way
interrupted the ceremonies. The Houngan continues to chant
before the altar, the rada drums beat and the crowd sings the
chorus of the Shango song at the proper intervals. It is all
very decorous and decidedly religious in tone. No sooner has
Betsy taken her place with the others than the Shango ritual
approaches its climax. The Sabreur, a colored man dressed in
white shirt and trousers, with a neat dark tie knotted under
his collar, comes in, bearing a sabre in his right hand,
holding it in stately, almost processional manner. He
advances to the altar, strikes it three times and at this
signal two colored women dressed in white beguine dresses
with square cut necks, an essential part of this religious
costume, come forward. One holds a white leghorn chicken and
the other carries a white rooster. They come together to the
altar and for a moment, the figures of the Houngan, the
Sabreur and the two Mam-Lois hide the actual blood sacrifice
from us. Only the fact that the drumming and the singing
reach a climactic pitch reveal that some Important portion of
the ceremony has taken place. Instantly the drumming and the
singing stops. A young colored girl jumps up from her seat
among the worshippers and begins shivering and quaking,
crying out wordlessly. There is a cry from the people.
THE PEOPLE
Put the god in her! Put the god in
her!
The Houngan prances forward, followed by the Sabreur. The
Houngan holds a little saucer in his hand with some dark
liquid at the bottom of it. He dips four fingers into this
liquid while the girl quivers and writhes before him in
religious ecstasy. He marks her forehead with four strange
marks, one with each finger. The Sabreur, crying out the
name of Shango, four times, points his sabre to the four
directions of the compass. There is an immediate
transformation in the girl. Her frenzy ceases. She seems to
be filled with a jubilant calm and dances into the cleared
space before the altar. Her words are no longer meaningless.
They have taken shape and form and, when she speaks, she
speaks with great resonance as if her voice came from
somewhere other than her own throat. She is possessed by the
god, Shango.
One by one, people from among the group of devotees dance
into the circle, go up to her and beg for favors. One woman
leads a little boy up to her. We hear her words as she calls
out to the possessed girl:
WOMAN
Make him rich, Shango! Make him
rich!
The girl lays her fingers on the boy's eyes, and then takes
his shoulders and turns him around three times, Evidently
this is absolute guarantee of an enormous income tax to be
paid at St. Sebastian. The woman and her son retire happily,
pleased and grinning. Finally, exhausted, the girl possessed
of the god, Shango, sinks to her knees and then falls
fainting to the floor. Two colored men come in, carry her
away. A great cry rises from the voodoo worshippers.
WORSHIPPERS
Damballa! Damballa! Damballa!
Damballa!
The drums find a new rhythm. The Houngan retires to one
corner of the altar; the Sabreur to the other. Two young
girls, their beguine dresses slashed and torn, dance in from
either side. This is a wild and an impassioned dance, a
dance to Damballa. There is no singing, only an occasional
call from the crowd, "Come to us, Damballa!" The dancers
reach the climax of their dance and strike a plastic pose
before the altar, each kneeling on one knee, their arms held
to their breasts, their foreheads butted together. Although
not a muscle moves, one can almost feel the tension of these
two bodies. One of the rada drummers comes up and crouches
down holding a small drum almost under the chins of the two
girls.
The other drummers stop playing and he begins to beat a quick
staccato rhythm that grows faster and faster. In this
playing, as in the pose of the girls, there is tremendous
tension. By now all cries have ceased. Everyone is silent,
waiting. Then suddenly, from behind the closed and curiously
painted door of the inner Houmfort, a voice speaks. A voice
that is light, pleasant and authoritative.
VOICE
(muffled by the door)
Where are my people? Let them
bring me the rice cakes -- let them
dance and be happy --
There is a great ecstatic shout from the voodoo worshippers.
VOODOO WORSHIPPERS
(shouting)
Damballa! Damballa!
The Sabreur dances forward, sword in his left hand and a
little plate with rice cakes, in his right. He kneels down
and places the plate near the door jamb. A line forms at the
door. Betsy leading Jessica by the hand takes her place with
the rest. She is third in the line of suppliants. She can
see the whole procedure. The suppliant places his forehead
against the forehead of the god painted on the door, and
speaks. The first suppliant is a weary-looking field hand
who shuffles to the door and speaks in such a low tone that
his words cannot be heard. The second suppliant is an old
woman, thin and work-worn. She speaks sincerely and humbly
and Betsy, directly behind her, hears her words.
OLD WOMAN
Damballa -- my son don't take care
of me.
VOICE OF DAMBALLA
Tell him his own little son will
grow big. He, himself, will grow
old. The son learns from the
father. One day your son may stand
here to complain that his boy does
not take care of him.
The old woman turns away, comforted -- hopeful. Betsy looks
at her. She can see tears in the old woman's eyes. With
Jessica's hand in hers, Betsy takes her place at the door.
She puts her forehead against the crudely painted forehead of
the god. She talks to the door.
BETSY
Damballa! This woman is sick.
The door swings open slowly. The feeble light of the outer
Houmfort does not penetrate the darkness of the inner temple.
A hand reaches out from the darkness and takes Betsy's hand
and draws her in. The Houngan follows Betsy into the temple.
The door shuts behind him. Jessica remains outside, standing
before the door.