Episode 9: Mid-August 1875

Scene 1: Tess's cabin, late at night. Georgie and Gabe are fast asleep in the bed.

A lone horse can be heard quickly approaching on the path from town. There is a loud whinny as the horse rears to a stop, and a loud pounding is soon heard on the door. The couple is startled awake.

Voice: Yells. Dr. Hewitt! Dr. Hewitt!

Georgie: Who could want you at this hour?

Gabe: Sounds urgent. He rises from the bed and slips into his robe Stay here, I'll be back soon.

Voice: Yells. Dr. Hewitt!

Gabe: Rushes from the bedroom, opens the front door. What is it?

Man: Frazzled. Doctor, sir, my wife. I'm sorry to bother you, I went to Mrs. Haas first. She's sometimes a midwife. She told me to come here and get you.

Gabe: What is the matter?

Man: My wife, she's having the baby. But, it's not supposed to come for another month. And Mrs. Haas, she says neither will survive anyway. She told me you were here. You're a surgeon, you can help my wife?

Gabe: Yes, yes, of course. I'll get dressed, can you saddle the horse in the barn for me?

Man: Of course, doctor. Thank you, thank you.

The man hurries to the barn as Gabe returns to the bedroom.

Georgie: What's the matter?

Gabe: Hurriedly putting on clothes. I'm sorry, darling. I have to go. It's an emergency.

Georgie: Must you? Isn't there another doctor?

Gabe: No. John Henry mentioned it to me at dinner. Their last doctor was seventy-nine and had a heart attack last month.

Dressed, however sloppily, Gabe frantically searches the room for his medical bag. When he finds it, he leans on the bed and quickly gives Georgie a kiss.

Gabe: I'm sorry, darling. I hate to leave you, but--

Georgie: I know. I'm a doctor's wife. I'll need to get used to it. Go!

Gabe gives his wife another kiss, then hurries from the room. The front door is heard closing, and soon two horses race off in the direction of town. Georgie sighs and falls back onto her pillow.

Scene 2: Dawn, a few hours later. Gabe has not returned, and Georgie is fast asleep in the bed alone. Jed Smith approaches from Belleterre.

He dismounts at the barn, goes inside, and finds that the horse Georgie and Gabe had used the night before is gone. He goes to the cabin and peaks in the bedroom window. Satisfied with what he sees, he goes back around to the front of the house and quietly opens the door. He walks across the sitting room and opens the bedroom door. Georgie, lying on her side facing the far wall, does not stir. Leroy Buckley crawls onto the bed, shimmies over to Georgie, and puts and arm around her. She smiles and cuddles up against him.

Georgie: Mmm, I'm glad you're back.

Leroy: Whispers in her ear. I knew you'd miss me, Miss Lovelorn.

Georgie starts to scream, but a hand is slapped over her mouth. When she tries to slide from the bed, Leroy grabs her and holds her down with his entire body.

Leroy: Now, how come you didn't never cuddle up to me like that? Georgie starts to squirm and Leroy pulls a pistol from the back of his pants. You don't stop moving and I'll kill you right now. There, that's better. I knew you wouldn't want the lovely new fam'ly o' yers to see yer pretty face blown all over this here pillow. 'Specially that pretty young step-daughter. She's a looker, that one. Now, I'm gonna take my hand off your mouth and let you get up, but if you scream or try to run away I'll shoot you. Then I'll take that pretty young thing back to New York in yer place. Maybe that little thing you stole from me, too. Do you understand? Georgie nods. Good. Now go put something on.

Leroy rolls off Georgie and sits up in the bed. Georgie stands and tries to take a blanket with her, but Leroy pulls it away.

Leroy: You ain't never been a prude, Belle. My, my. You ain't changed a bit. Couldn't see much of it last night, o' course. It bein' dark, and all. You started out all shy and virginal, but it weren't long afore you warmed up to the man. He watches Georgie's face cringe in disgust. Tha's right. I watched the two o' you from that window. You's better at it now. You'll make me more when we get back. Or maybe I'll just keep you all to m'self. Hey! You don't need none o' them frilly underthings. Just put on a dress so you won't draw no attention to us.

Georgie slipped into a simple calico dress and Leroy stood from the bed.

Georgie: They will never let you take me far. Both Gabe and John Henry have some very influential friends. Even if you do get me away from here, I'll never let you turn me into a whore again.

Leroy: You'll always be a whore. Put on some shoes and be quick about it. No, on second thought, with no shoes you wouldn't get far if you decided to run. C'mon.

Leroy gave Georgie a shove out the bedroom, but stopped her at the table in the desk in the sitting room.

Leroy: Write a note to that husband o' yers. Goddamn, that was stupid o' him to go off and leave his new wife all alone. Tell him you got tired o' waitin' for him so you went off explorin'. You may be gone all day.

Georgie slowly took a piece of paper and shakily wrote her note. With Leroy hanging over her shoulder, she signed her name with a flourish, making sure she embellished the "Hewitt". Leroy grabbed her arm hard when she was finished and jerked her to her feet. He directed her outside to his horse, put her up first, then swung up behind. He took the reins and urged the horse to the path leading to Belleterre.

Georgie: Where are you taking me?

Leroy: To this secluded little place I know. Don't worry. We won't be goin' nowhere near that nice big house they got over there. He chuckles. Just imagine if you'd stayed there instead o' trying to get some privacy. We'll be outta here by tomorrow, though. Come nightfall, we'll leave.

Georgie: You'll never get away with this. Whether you kill me or not, they'll still catch you. And then you'll hang.

Leroy: We'll see.

Scene 3: A large, open field some distance from Belleterre, mid- afternoon. The area around it is hilly and rocky. Grace and Louisa have just broken through the trees on horseback.

Grace: Race you across the field?

Louisa: What about that tree?

Grace: Just remember what I taught you. Your horse knows what to do. Do you want me to go first, or follow you?

Louisa: Both, like the last time.

Grace: All right, but it won't be a race.

Grace takes off and expertly jumps the log, then heads back again. Louisa takes off and does the same, with Grace following in close pursuit. They met again at the opposite end of the field.

Grace: You did wonderfully! Pretty soon you'll be as good as me.

Louisa: Oh, no. I could never—

Grace: Hey! You can be as good as anybody at anything if you get enough practice. Most things, anyway. Nick taught me how to ride and jump when I was nine. I wasn't allowed to use a gun till I turned twelve.

Louisa: Your mother and father really let you use a gun?

Grace: Mm-hmm. I wasn't allowed to use one by myself until after I proved I could use it properly. I got my own guns for my thirteenth birthday. Mama wasn't too happy about it, though. She would only let Papa buy me a shotgun. Nick bought me a rifle. My sister Olivia bought me a six-shooter.

Louisa: Your sister did?

Grace: Olivia and I are a lot alike. She wears trousers and knows how to shoot, though she doesn't carry a gun anymore with little Joey around.

Louisa: Why do you need so many different guns?

Grace: It isn't a matter of need, really. The shotgun is for small game and birds. It fires pellets called shot. The rifle is for larger animals like coyotes and bears.

Louisa: You've shot a bear?

Grace: No. She urged her horse towards another path. Come on. We'll go this way. I had the chance to shoot a bear, when I was out on a camp with Nick, but he wouldn't let me. He did it himself. I killed plenty of coyotes, though.

Louisa: What is it like? To kill an animal?

Grace: Well, the first few times I felt guilty. But you have to shoot coyotes. They go after the animals. That's my why bedroom is on the outside of the house with the best view of the barns. I never shoot game unless we eat it. Would you like to try?

Louisa: Shooting? Oh, no. I don't like guns

Grace: That's all right. Not everyone does.

Louisa: What about the six-shooter? What is that for?

Grace: Olivia gave it to me to protect myself.

Louisa: Against what?

Grace: Well, anything I suppose. Olivia told me men. Someone tried to attack her once.

Louisa: Really? When?

Grace: A few months before my thirteenth birthday. Olivia almost killed him. He's in jail now. She looks ahead at the narrowing trail. You'd better go ahead of me.

Scene 4: A small, half burnt-out shack in a hilly region some distance from Belleterre, mid-afternoon. Georgie is sitting on the ground, bound but not gagged, in a corner. Leroy is sitting in the only chair polishing his gun.

Leroy: So I come back with boys to open the bar, and I walk upstairs and find you and our new whore gone. And then I looks through my office and find over two thousand dollars missing.

Georgie: You owed me that and much more.

Leroy: I saved you from poverty and gave you employment, food, and shelter.

Georgie: You coerced me into coming with you and kept me captive for ten years.

Leroy: Maybe, maybe. But you weren't protestin' none after you got settled in.

Georgie: You beat me until I did.

Leroy: You drove customers away. I had to protect my business. He puts his gun in the bag beside him, takes a cigar and a match, lights the cigar, and takes a few puffs. So I look around for six months, askin' people questions, seein' if they seen you. And I finally track you down in San Fran Cisco. But I didn't just want you. I wanted the other one, too. Tess, her name is. So I break in t' that nice little shop you got yerself and I find a telegram from 'er. So that's how I knew you'd be comin' here.

Georgie: Bastard.

Leroy: Nah, my folks were married when I came along. He chuckles at his own joke, then looks at the sky through the hole in the roof Looks like i's still gonna be a while b'fore it gets dark. He puts his cigar out on the ground. I think it's 'bout time we got t'know each other again.

Leroy gets down on the ground and crawls over to Georgie. He runs a rough, dirty hand up her bare leg. With all her strength, she kicks him between the legs. As he grabs himself and falls backward, she pushes hersef to her feet, revealing her untied hands. She runs from the cabin and heads for the horse, but trips half way. As she rises to her feet again, Leroy pushes her down again. He grabs her hair and wrenches her head back, causing her to scream for the first time. Leroy holds her down with a knee in her back, and begins undoing his pants with one hand. A shot is heard. The bullet just misses Leroy's chest and hits the ground behind him. He is startled and looks up. Another shot. It hits him in the arm, causing him to fall back onto the ground. Georgie takes the opportunity to scramble back in the cabin. Another shot, another miss. Leroy looks from the cabin, where Georgie has just entered; to the horse, untethered and running away; and finally to the woods nearby. He chooses the woods and runs, three more shots completely missing him. Georgie stumbles from the cabin again, gun in hand, and falls to her knees.

Cut to: Grace and Louisa on a treed hill over-looking the burnt- out cabin. Both girls have dismounted, Grace is quickly reloading her revolver. Louisa is trying to get a better look at the woman in the door of the cabin.

Grace: To herself. Damnit, damnit, damnit! I shouldn't have missed. I should've used the rifle.

Louisa: Suddenly realizing who the woman is. That's Georgie!

Grace: Looks up quickly. What? She tucks the gun into her pants and remounts her horse. Stay here until wave to you.

She takes off down the hill, reaching the cabin in no time. Kneeling by Georgie, she carefully takes the gun out of the woman's shaking hands.

Grace: Mrs. Hewitt? Are you all right?

Georgie nods, sits down, and leans back against the cabin.

Grace: Is he armed?

Georgie: No. She points to the gun Grace is tucking into her trousers. That was his only weapon. He's not coming back. He's a coward. But don't go after him. She holds on to Grace's arm. He can ran fast. He's long gone.

Grace turns around and waves to Louisa, who starts down the hill with her horse. When she reaches the cabin, Grace goes after the other horse.

Louisa: Are you all right? How did you get here?

Georgie: Calm, hugging her knees. He came this morning while I was still in bed and took me.

Louisa: Where was Daddy?

Georgie: Mrs. Marshall sent for him in the middle of the night. He had to help a lady have her baby.

Louisa: But, why you?

Georgie: Takes a deep breath. That was Leroy.

Louisa: From... New York?

Georgie: Nods. He found me... and Tess.

Grace returns, leading the other horse behind her.

Grace: This is one of Papa's horses. She dismounts and heads to Georgie. Can you ride, Mrs. Hewitt?

Georgie: Raises both arms for Grace and Louisa to help her up. I think so.

Grace helps Georgie into the saddle, then goes into the cabin and retrieves the bag. She finds Louisa already mounted when she goes back outside. Without a word, they had back.

Continue to Episode 10

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