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| YANK: |
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| —[With a hard, bitter laugh.]Welcome to your city, huh? |
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| Hail, hail, de gang's all here![At the sound of his voice thechattering dies away into an attentive silence. YANK walks up tothe gorilla's cage and, leaning over the railing, stares in at itsoccupant, who stares back at him, silent and motionless. There isa pause of dead stillness. Then YANK begins to talk in a friendlyconfidential tone, half-mockingly, but with a deep undercurrent ofsympathy.]Say, yuh're some hard-lookin' guy, ain't yuh? I seen |
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| lots of tough nuts dat de gang called gorillas, but yuh're de |
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| foist real one I ever seen. Some chest yuh got, and shoulders, and |
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| dem arms and mits! I bet yuh got a punch in eider fist dat'd knock |
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| 'em all silly![This with genuine admiration. The gorilla, as ifhe understood, stands upright, swelling out his chest and poundingon it with his fist. YANK grins sympathetically.]Sure, I get yuh. |
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| Yuh challenge de whole woild, huh? Yuh got what I was sayin' even |
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| if yuh muffed de woids.[Then bitterness creeping in.]And why |
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| wouldn't yuh get me? Ain't we both members of de same club—de |
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| Hairy Apes?[They stare at each other—a pause—then YANK goes onslowly and bitterly.]So yuh're what she seen when she looked at |
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| me, de white-faced tart! I was you to her, get me? On'y outa de |
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| cage—broke out—free to moider her, see? Sure! Dat's what she |
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| tought. She wasn't wise dat I was in a cage, too—worser'n yours— |
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| sure—a damn sight—'cause you got some chanct to bust loose— |
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| but me—[He grows confused.]Aw, hell! It's all wrong, ain't it? |
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[A pause.]
I s'pose yuh wanter know what I'm doin' here, huh? I
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| been warmin' a bench down to de Battery—ever since last night. |
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| Sure. I seen de sun come up. Dat was pretty, too—all red and pink |
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| and green. I was lookin' at de skyscrapers—steel—and all de |
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| ships comin' in, sailin' out, all over de oith—and dey was steel, |
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| too. De sun was warm, dey wasn't no clouds, and dere was a breeze |
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| blowin'. Sure, it was great stuff. I got it aw right—what Paddy |
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| said about dat bein' de right dope—on'y I couldn't get IN it, |
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| see? I couldn't belong in dat. It was over my head. And I kept |
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| tinkin'—and den I beat it up here to see what youse was like. And |
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| I waited till dey was all gone to git yuh alone. Say, how d'yuh |
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| feel sittin' in dat pen all de time, havin' to stand for 'em |
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| comin' and starin' at yuh—de white-faced, skinny tarts and de |
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| boobs what marry 'em—makin' fun of yuh, laughin' at yuh, gittin' |
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| scared of yuh—damn 'em![He pounds on the rail with his fist. Thegorilla rattles the bars of his cage and snarls. All the othermonkeys set up an angry chattering in the darkness. YANK goes onexcitedly.]Sure! Dat's de way it hits me, too. On'y yuh're lucky, |
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| see? Yuh don't belong wit 'em and yuh know it. But me, I belong |
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| wit 'em—but I don't, see? Dey don't belong wit me, dat's what. |
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| Get me? Tinkin' is hard—[He passes one hand across his foreheadwith a painful gesture. The gorilla growls impatiently. YANK goeson gropingly.]It's dis way, what I'm drivin' at. Youse can sit |
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| and dope dream in de past, green woods, de jungle and de rest of |
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| it. Den yuh belong and dey don't. Den yuh kin laugh at 'em, see? |
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| Yuh're de champ of de woild. But me—I ain't got no past to tink |
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| in, nor nothin' dat's comin', on'y what's now—and dat don't |
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| belong. Sure, you're de best off! Yuh can't tink, can yuh? Yuh |
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| can't talk neider. But I kin make a bluff at talkin' and tinkin'— |
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| a'most git away wit it—a'most!—and dat's where de joker comes |
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| in.[He laughs.]I ain't on oith and I ain't in heaven, get me? |
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| I'm in de middle tryin' to separate 'em, takin' all de woist |
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| punches from bot' of 'em. Maybe dat's what dey call hell, huh? But |
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| you, yuh're at de bottom. You belong! Sure! Yuh're de on'y one in |
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| de woild dat does, yuh lucky stiff![The gorilla growls proudly.] |
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| And dat's why dey gotter put yuh in a cage, see?[The gorillaroars angrily.]Sure! Yuh get me. It beats it when you try to tink |
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| it or talk it—it's way down—deep—behind—you 'n' me we feel it. |
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| Sure! Bot' members of dis club![He laughs—then in a savagetone.]What de hell! T' hell wit it! A little action, dat's our |
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| meat! Dat belongs! Knock 'em down and keep bustin' 'em till dey |
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| croaks yuh wit a gat—wit steel! Sure! Are yuh game? Dey've looked |
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| at youse, ain't dey—in a cage? Wanter git even? Wanter wind up |
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| like a sport 'stead of croakin' slow in dere?[The gorilla roarsan emphatic affirmative. YANK goes on with a sort of furiousexaltation.]Sure! Yuh're reg'lar! Yuh'll stick to de finish! Me |
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| 'n' you, huh?—bot' members of this club! We'll put up one last |
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| star bout dat'll knock 'em offen deir seats! Dey'll have to make |
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| de cages stronger after we're trou![The gorilla is straining athis bars, growling, hopping from one foot to the other. YANK takesa jimmy from under his coat and forces the lock on the cage door.He throws this open.]Pardon from de governor! Step out and shake |
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| hands! I'll take yuh for a walk down Fif' Avenoo. We'll knock 'em |
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| offen de oith and croak wit de band playin'. Come on, Brother. |
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[The gorilla scrambles gingerly out of his cage. Goes to YANK andstands looking at him. YANK keeps his mocking tone—holds out hishand.]
Shake—de secret grip of our order.
[Something, the tone ofmockery, perhaps, suddenly enrages the animal. With a spring hewraps his huge arms around YANK in a murderous hug. There is acrackling snap of crushed ribs—a gasping cry, still mocking, fromYANK.]
Hey, I didn't say, kiss me.
[The gorilla lets the crushedbody slip to the floor; stands over it uncertainly, considering;then picks it up, throws it in the cage, shuts the door, andshuffles off menacingly into the darkness at left. A great uproarof frightened chattering and whimpering comes from the othercages. Then YANK moves, groaning, opening his eyes, and there issilence. He mutters painfully.]
Say—dey oughter match him—wit
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| Zybszko. He got me, aw right. I'm trou. Even him didn't tink I |
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| belonged.[Then, with sudden passionate despair.]Christ, where do |
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| I get off at? Where do I fit in?[Checking himself as suddenly.] |
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| Aw, what de hell! No squakin', see! No quittin', get me! Croak wit |
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| your boots on![He grabs hold of the bars of the cage and haulshimself painfully to his feet—looks around him bewilderedly—forces a mocking laugh.]In de cage, huh?[In the strident tonesof a circus barker.]Ladies and gents, step forward and take a |
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| slant at de one and only—[His voice weakening]—one and original— |
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| Hairy Ape from de wilds of—[He slips in a heap on the floor anddies. The monkeys set up a chattering, whimpering wail. And,perhaps, the Hairy Ape at last belongs.] |
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