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PPllaayyss ffoorr YYoouunngg AAuuddiieenncceess A PARTNERSHIP OF SEATTLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE AND CHILDREN’S THEATRE COMPANY-MINNEAPOLIS

2400 THIRD AVENUE SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55404

612-872-5108 FAX 612-874-8119

The Boxcar Children

Story by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Adaptation by Barbara Field

The Boxcar Children was first presented by Seattle Children’s Theatre for the 1999-2000 season.

All Rights Reserved.

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CHARACTERS the children: Henry Jessie Violet Benny

the adults:

Mr. Alden (also plays Officer Banning, Cookie)

Sarah Calder (also plays the Kid)

Mrs. Alberts (also plays Mrs. Truman, bakery woman, Big Mike)

Dr. Samuel Truman (also plays the sheriff)

Time: May to August, 1930

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ACT ONE

FOUR CHILDREN SIT ON A BENCH OUTSIDE AN OFFICE. THEY ARE WET, HUDDLED IN BLANKETS, AND MISERABLE.

INSIDE THE OFFICE WE SEE, IN SILHOUETTE, MRS. ALBERTS, THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AND OFFICER BANNING. A PHONE RINGS IN THE OFFICE.

HENRY Cold, Violet? (VIOLET NODS.) Me too. Snuggle up, we’ll keep each other warm—

JESSIE

Shhh!

MRS. ALBERTS (INTO PHONE:) Centerville School, Mrs. Alberts speaking. Yes, sir. They’re here, all four of them, right outside my office, soaking wet, but none the worse for wear. Yes, pity about the parents—they saved their children, but ended up dying themselves. Yes, twins: a boy and girl; a younger sister; and a little boy. They’re in a State of Shock, I tell you, a State of Shock!

JESSIE (TO HENRY:) “State of shock?” We’re in the State of Illinois!

HENRY Calm down, Jess.

MRS. ALBERTS Yes, we will; we’ll do our best. Thank you, sir.

SHE HANGS UP. THE PHONE RINGS AGAIN.

ALBERTS Centerville School—

ALBERTS Yes, Officer Banning is right here.

SHE HANDS HIM THE PHONE.

BANNING Hello, Captain. Yes sir. I expect the bodies will turn up. Drowning victims always float up to the surface sooner or later.

JESSIE (TO HENRY:) They talk on and on like we had no ears. (YELLS:) Hey, I’ve got ears!

BANNING AND ALBERTS EXCHANGE GLANCES.

HENRY They’re doing their best, Jess—

SARAH CALDER ENTERS. SHE CARRIES A BIG PAPER BAG.

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SARAH I’m Miss Calder, I’m the welfare worker. I thought you’d like some lunch or something. (BEAT) I picked up a sack of sandwiches for you.

JESSIE (ABRUPT AND A LITTLE HOSTILE:) Thanks.

HENRY TAKES THE BAG. SARAH ALSO CARRIES A FILE. SHE LOOKS INSIDE. SARAH

Let me see, you must be Henry? (HE NODS) And Jessie? (HE NODS AGAIN.) You’re the twins. (BEAT) And you’re Violet?

VIOLET Yes, ma’am. And that’s Benny.

BENNY I’m Benny. Hi.

SARAH Hi. BEAT. THEY ALL STAND FROZEN. PHONE RINGS

ALBERTS Centerville School—

SARAH I’d better get in there. I’m sorry for your loss. Really sorry.

SHE DISAPPEARS INTO THE OFFICE.

ALBERTS This is a headache. I mean, what are we going to do with them?

BANNING Oh, now, Mrs. Alberts, once the newspapers hit the street, someone will come forward...an aunt or a grandmother or—

HENRY A fairy godmother—

BANNING Or a guardian, maybe.

HENRY Or a genii!

JESSIE Quiet!

ALBERTS I meant, what are we going to do with them tonight? Where will they sleep?

SARAH That’s my job. I’ll find them beds in an orphanage or—

ALBERTS

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And what about the little one?

SARAH Benjamin?

ALBERTS He goes to a special school. I believe he’s...slow.

BANNING Too bad.

ALBERTS He’ll have to go elsewhere—you understand what I mean.

SARAH What do you mean, Mrs. Alberts?

ALBERTS The county can probably find permanent homes for the three older ones—foster homes on farms, somewhere that they can earn their own keep, but that little one—he’s a problem—

THE CHILDREN BECOME EVEN MORE STRICKEN.

BENNY I want to stay with you— HENRY Don’t worry, kid. We Aldens stick together—like glue!

BANNING Like I said, Mrs. A., some relative will step forward as soon as they hear the news, and take the problem off our hands...

JESSIE I wish they’d stop calling us a problem—!

BENNY Am I slow?

HENRY No, kid, you go at the speed limit! Don’t listen to those geezers, they don’t know anything about us.

VIOLET I liked the pretty one.

BENNY She brought us sandwiches.

JESSIE AND HENRY EXCHANGE A GLANCE, MOVE A STEP AWAY.

JESSIE I’ve got a bad feeling.

HENRY Me too.

JESSIE

We’ve got to get out of here—

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HENRY Right. It’ll take those folks a while to figure out what to do with the “poor orphans”—meanwhile, we’ll be long gone.

BENNY Are we the “poor orphans”?

VIOLET (IT HITS HER:) We’re orphans?!

JESSIE Shhh! We don’t have time to think about that now. Listen, Vi. We’re going to quietly—

HENRY Very quietly—leave. Jess, grab that sack of sandwiches. We’ll need it.

JESSIE

Smile politely at the secretary, kids, but keep going and don’t look back. HENRY Remember, how do we stick together?

BENNY Like glue!

AS THEY READY THEMSELVES TO LEAVE (PUT ON THEIR WET SHOES AND SOCKS, ETC.), THE CONVERSATION GOES ON IN THE OFFICE.

ALBERTS The orphanage only has two beds. I guess we put the younger two there.

BANNING I know! The firehouse! They’ll have two spare beds.

ALBERTS Don’t be ridiculous, Officer Banning. You can’t put a girl in a firehouse, it’s not proper!

BANNING Maybe she could stay with the sisters over at the parochial school for tonight.

ALBERT What if she’s a Methodist? What if she’s Episcopalian?

BANNING What if she’s a Catholic?

THE LIGHTS HAVE ALREADY FADED TO BLACK.

THE FOUR CHILDREN ARE RUNNING. AND RUNNING.

VIOLET Where are we going?

JESSIE

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Don’t know yet.

BENNY (FIRMLY:) We’re going home.

JESSIE We can’t do that, kid.

BENNY We’ve got to!

JESSIE Absolutely not.

BENNY Then I’m not budging.

HE SITS DOWN. HENRY KNEELS BESIDE HIM.

HENRY What’s wrong, Ben?

BENNY I need to get something.

HENRY What?

BENNY Watch.

JESSIE Watch is only a stuffed dog!

BENNY I need Watch. I’m not running anywhere without him.

THEY CONSIDER THIS. JESSIE HAS AN IDEA.

JESSIE Henry?

HENRY What?

JESSIE We’re only a couple of blocks away from the house—

HENRY True. And those people are probably still trying to solve the “problem”.

VIOLET They’re trying to solve us.

JESSIE

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The key’s under the mat—

HENRY So we’ll get into the house and grab one thing each, something important—

JESSIE Then we’ll run like the wind—

HENRY Excellent! On your marks...ready...

BENNY Go! VIOLET “North, south, east, west…”

THE LIGHTS BUMP OUT. [OFFICE WAGON OUT, BAKERY STOREFRONT IN.]

THE CHILDREN ARE RUNNING AGAIN. JESSIE HAS A SMALL SACK, HENRY HAS A KNAPSACK, BENNY HAS HIS STUFFED DOG, WATCH. VIOLET HAS A HUGE PILLOWCASE, PRETTY FULL.

JESSIE Violet, what on earth did you bring, the kitchen sink?

VIOLET No, I left that in the kitchen. Oh look, there—a bakery shop!

THIS TIME, IT’S VIOLET WHO STOPS ON A DIME. SHE AND BENNY PRESS THEIR NOSES TO THE WIDOW. BENNY JOINS HER.

JESSIE

Come on, you two!

VIOLET Easter cookies! Little rabbits and chicks, how precious!

BENNY Colored frosting...yellow and green and—look at the orange!

VIOLET They’re on sale! Jessie...?

A WOMAN STEPS OUT. THE BAKER’S WIFE.

BAKER’S WIFE Can I help you?

HENRY We’re just browsing.

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BENNY

It looks good.

BAKER’S WIFE If you’re not buying, don’t smear my window with your dirty fingers.

JESSIE (ASIDE) Doesn’t look like anyone else is buying.

VIOLET But we were just looking.

BAKER’S WIFE In that case move along.

JESSIE Why? To make way for your crowd of customers?

HENRY It doesn’t cost anything to look, does it?

BAKER’S WIFE I wish it did. That’s all folks do anymore, since the crash: they look, but they don’t buy. (TO BENNY) Hey, mind those dirty fingers, I said!

JESSIE Let’s let going, kids. (FOR THE BAKER’S WIFE:) Easter was ten days ago. Those cookies are probably stale anyway.

THE KIDS RUN.

BAKER’S WIFE (YELLS:) Cheeky brat!

JESSIE (YELLS:) Stale cookies!

THE BAKER’S WIFE TRAVELS OFF. LIGHT CHANGE. THE KIDS KEEP RUNNING.

SARAH CALDER AND OFFICER BANNING ENTER THE HALL. BANNING (ON THE PHONE:)

Miss Calder said she would take the two girls, (TO SARAH:) and my Elizabeth agrees to put up the boys for the night. (HANGS UP PHONE)

SARAH (ENTERING:) Kids, we’ve figured out where you’re going to sleep tonight—

BANNING Thanks, dear.

SARAH Kids--?

BANNING

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Kids—? They’re gone! SARAH

How long were we talking, in that office?

BANNING Near an hour—

SARAH Enough time for them to take off and disappear!

BANNING

Just like that. (MRS. ALBERTS ENTERS.)

ALBERTS Where are they?! Those ungrateful little wretches, after all the trouble we went to --

SARAH Have a little heart, Mrs. Alberts! Those kids watched their parents drown today....drown trying to save them! How would you feel?

ALBERTS (BEAT.) I don’t know....

SARAH I should have been trying to comfort them instead of....

ALBERTS Somebody better call the police.

BANNING Right! (BEAT) Mrs. A., I am the police!

LIGHTS BUMP OUT ON THEM, LIGHTS UP ON THE KIDS, RUNNING. BENNY

How many days have we been running?

HENRY About four hours—

VIOLET That’s all!?

HENRY Four hours since we left the city limits.

THEY SLOW DOWN FURTHER, LOOK AROUND. We’re in the country now. Jess, what was the name of that town we passed?

JESSIE Oakdale. Pop 2,597. In three more miles we get to Nesbitt. That’s even smaller.

VIOLET How do you know?

JESSIE The letters on the sign are smaller.

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VIOLET

It’s getting dark.

BENNY I’m thirsty!

VIOLET Me too.

HENRY Lucky for you two I used to be a Boy Scout.

BENNY Why?

HENRY Because I remembered my canteen.

JESSIE

Did you remember to fill it?

HENRY There she goes again, picking on me! Here, gang...drink.

HE HANDS IT AROUND AS THEY GO. I hear a car.

JESSIE Uh-oh. We’d better duck—into that ditch, Benny. Violet, don’t worry about your dress, just dive!

THE FOUR CHILDREN DISAPPEAR. SOUND OF A SIREN, FLASHING LIGHTS. FINALLY, THE FOUR HEADS RE-EMERGE.

HENRY

Okay, folks, they didn’t see us.

BENNY I want mama.

HENRY Look at it this way, kids: we’re playing a game. The goal of the game is to escape, so we can stay together. If we do that, we win.

JESSIE So long as they don’t catch us, we’re ahead.

VIOLET What if we lose?

HENRY We won’t lose.

JESSIE We’ll eat something, and then we’ll find a back road and--

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VIOLET

Jessie Alden, if you expect me to go anywhere, you’ll have to carry me!

HENRY Jess, those two can’t go a step farther. The wisest thing is to...just...roll ourselves into a ball and go to sleep. In the deluxe Ditch Hotel. (THE YOUNGER ONES GIGGLE.) That way we’ll keep warm, right?

A PAUSE.

HENRY Wow. Jess, I feel like I haven’t caught my breath since this morning.

LIGHTS CROSS-FADE. IT IS DAWN AT THE DITCH MOTEL. THEY AWAKEN.

JESSIE Henry, Vi’s already asleep....

BENNY

I’m hungry. HENRY

Thank heavens we saved half of our sandwiches. “The Alden family breakfasted in luxurious style at the Ditch Hotel Restaurant”.

HE PASSES OUT THE SANDWICHES.

JESSIE Okay, gang, here’s what we’re going to do—

BENNY

Eat!

JESSIE After we eat—

HENRY

Yes, sir, captain! JESSIE

We’re going to take that back road, and walk a couple more miles. (VIOLET ROLLS HER EYES.) Then we’ll find a place to make camp. On the other side of that village, Nesbitt.

HENRY And then?

JESSIE And then...we’ll see.

HENRY Aha! Miss Know-it-all doesn’t know it all after all.

JESSIE

Violet, I’m glad you brought those towels. They were as good as blankets last night. What else is in that pillowcase?

VIOLET Soap—

HENRY

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That’s our Violet, Miss Clean— VIOLET

And toothbrushes. And one pair of clean underwear for each of us—

JESSIE How did you manage?! We were only in the house a minute.

VIOLET Now I wish I had brought a clean dress.

HENRY Never mind, dear, someday you’ll have a whole closet full of clean dresses.

VIOLET Is that a promise?

BENNY I brought something.

BENNY HOLDS UP HIS STUFFED DOG, WATCH. HENRY

Yes, Watch… BENNY And another something—

HENRY You’re being mysterious.

BENNY PULLS OUT A SMALL PHOTO IN A FRAME. BENNY

Mama and Papa.

JESSIE Benny—squirt!—you amaze me!

VIOLET

I never thought to do that. Henny, what did you bring?

HENRY The canteen, and—ta-dah!—my old boy scout knife! Pretty practical—

JESSIE For a change.

HENRY (BEAT.) Plus...a book or two—

JESSIE Books? You’re dragging books around the country?!

HENRY You want us to “live by bread alone”?

JESSIE Henry, you’re really nuts!

VIOLET (TO JESSIE:) I think it was very clever of him. What books, Henny?

HENRY

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“Tom Sawyer”.

VIOLET I love Tom!

HENRY And a copy of Shakespeare...the print’s very tiny, see? (HE HOLDS UP A CONDENSED BOOK). And a notebook and some pencils.

JESSIE Planning to keep a diary?

HENRY Maybe. And what about you, your highness, what did you bring?

A LONG BEAT.

JESSIE Money. (BEAT)

HENRY (BLOWN AWAY.) Money.

JESSIE Money, cash. I cracked open my piggy bank and...

VIOLET Brilliant!

HENRY Why didn’t I think of that?

JESSIE SHRUGS, SECRETLY PLEASED.

JESSIE Only about five dollars and some change, but it will keep us going till we have a plan.

HENRY You, Jessie, are the captain of our ship!

JESSIE Stop calling me that! I don’t want to be your captain—but somebody has to be practical around here.

HENRY Your Practicalness.

JESSIE We’d better start moving again.

THEY RISE, COLLECT THEMSELVES, AND WALK ON. AS THEY WALK, THE WAY GETS A BIT MORE RUGGED. BRANCHES, BUSHES, ETC. APPEAR.

CROSS-FADE TO BANNING AND THE BAKER’S WIFE. BANNING HANDS THE BAKER’S WIFE A POSTER, SHE NODS.

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BAKER’S WIFE

Matter of fact I have seen them. They were here yesterday, smearing up my plate glass windows.

BANNING Did they buy anything, ma’am?

BAKER’S WIFE Fat chance! Those kids were planning to steal. You could tell they were up to no good, they had such sneaky looks. If I had turned my back, God knows what they would have taken, and that girl—(SHE POINTS TO THE PHOTO)—that one, was a regular ring-leader. Mouthy! Say, do you want to dust for fingerprints?

BANNING

That won’t be necessary, ma’am. THE BAKER’S WIFE PEERS AT THE POSTER, READS:

BAKER’S WIFE

“Reward: $500.” A fortune! Should’ ve invited them inside. I might have had $500 for the price of four stale cookies. By the way, what did they take?

BANNING I think they took their fate in their own hands. Which way did they go?

BAKER’S WIFE That way.

LIGHTS FADE OUT ON THEM. THE KIDS ARE WALKING. BRUSH, TREES AND WILDERNESS IS DENSER, AND IN A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION. HENRY AND JESSIE LOOK AT THE YOUNGER ONES, AND BY TACIT AGREEMENT THEY STOP.

HENRY Did you see that stream over there? This spot will do nicely.

JESSIE Right. Violet, Benny, we’re going to make camp here. At least for a while.

VIOLET Will we be safe?

HENRY Safe enough: we’re pretty far from the road. There’s a village about a mile back.

BENNY Are we winning the game?

HENRY So far we’re miles ahead, kid.

BENNY

Watch is thirsty, can he have a drink in the stream?

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HENRY

Don’t let him fall in. BENNY RUNS OFF TO THE STREAM.

VIOLET (CALLS OUT) Don’t go far, Benny!

HENRY

Don’t worry, I can see him from here.

VIOLET Maybe I’ll go wash my hands.

SHE FOLLOWS BENNY. JESSIE AND HENRY BOTH SIT, SILENT FOR A MOMENT.

JESSIE Henry, I think we’ve just completed “phase one”. Escape.

HENRY (BEAT) That was the easy part. (HE SITS BACK.) Think about it: two days ago we were just four ordinary kids—

JESSIE Excuse me, not ordinary.

HENRY Sorry, I keep forgetting we have royal blood in our veins. (THEY LAUGH.) I mean, ordinary, because we had a mother and father and house and....I’m beginning to feel crazy. You?

JESSIE (SHE THINKS) Who has time to feel crazy!?

MISERY SEEPS OUT OF HER FOR AN INSTANT, THEN SHE PULLS HERSELF TOGETHER. HENRY WATCHES HER. A BEAT.

HENRY

I feel crazy when I stop to think, Jess.

JESSIE/HENRY Then stop thinking. JESSIE We’ve got to plan our next move.

HENRY (BEAT) If Phase One was escape, what’s Phase Two?

JESSIE Survival.

BENNY AND VIOLET RUN BACK IN.

BENNY She tried to make me wash my face!

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VIOLET Because you’re filthy.

BENNY Do I have to? Jessie?

JESSIE It’s a good idea. You probably have germs on your hands.

BENNY LOOKS ANXIOUSLY AT HIS HANDS.

HENRY Germs! (HE GASPS.) What would Mrs. Pillbottom say?!

BENNY Oh yeah, Mrs. Pillbottom.

JESSIE Nothing’s ever clean enough to suit Mrs. Pillbottom. Nothing’s ever grand enough—

HENRY Look, I’ll wash my hands in honor of Mrs. Pillbottom’s high standards.

JESSIE Kids, I’m going to hike back to that little village and get us something to eat.

VIOLET Jess, you mustn’t—you’ll get lost. Or caught. Don’t—

JESSIE We need food. There’s a general store and a gas station back there. Vi, I’ll be fine!

HENRY We’ll stay here and guard the camp. Watch will keep watch over us—

BENNY Maybe you should take him with you, Jessie. To protect you.

JESSIE I’ll need both hands to carry back our food—but thanks.

BENNY I’m so hungry I could eat a bear!

HENRY What will you buy?

JESSIE Milk. Bread.

VIOLET Something to cook.

JESSIE We have nothing to cook in!

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HENRY Buy a pot. And four spoons. And—

JESSIE We’re not made of money! What else do we absolutely need, that we can’t live without?

HENRY (INSPIRATION:) See if you can find some kind of oilcloth—like a tablecloth—

JESSIE Tablecloth?! We don’t have a table!

HENRY Oilcloth’s waterproof, like a tent, but a tablecloth’s lots less conspicuous to buy—

VIOLET If you can find one with pretty flowers on it, that would be nice.

JESSIE All right, all right, an oilskin table cloth.

HENRY

Here, take my knapsack. Don’t call too much attention to yourself, Jess. SHE TAKES IT FROM HIM.

And don’t stay away too long— BENNY

And don’t talk to strangers—

VIOLET And don’t get lost—

JESSIE TURNS, GIVES THEM A BALEFUL LOOK AND GOES OFF. A BEAT.

VIOLET

(IN A SMALL VOICE:) And come back....

LIGHTS FADE.

JESSIE IS TRUDGING BACK TO CAMP. MILK BOTTLE, LOAF OF BREAD, OTHER COMMODITIES ARE STUFFED IN THE KNAPSACK. SHE STRUGGLES UNDER THE WEIGHT. AS SHE GOES, SHE READS A FLIER.

JESSIE

“Missing, four children....last seen on”...et cetera... Five hundred dollars?! SHE STUFFS THE POSTER IN HER KNAPSACK, MOVES ON.

SHE NOTICES A LITTLE KNOT OF FIGURES HUDDLED AROUND A SMALL CAMPFIRE. AT FIRST SHE CONSIDERS GREETING THEM, THEN CHANGES HER MIND, BEGINS TO MOVE ON. BUT THEY HAVE ALSO NOTICED HER.

BIG MIKE

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Hey! SHE IGNORES THEM, GOES ON.

Hey! Where you goin’?

COOKIE She trespassing? I think she’s trespassing, Big Mike.

COOKIE RISES AND STOPS HER, GRABBING HER ARM AND PINNING IT BACK.

JESSIE Ow—let me go!

SHE AIMS A KICK AT HIS SHINS. You think you own this place, or something?

COOKIE

Yep. Possession is nine-tenths of the law...or something.

BIG MIKE Squatter’s rights.

JESSIE I’m going to call the police—let me go!

BIG MIKE Come over here, lamby-pie. Get over here before we roast you and eat you.

COOKIE DRAGS JESSIE OVER TO THE FIRE. What’s in your knapsack? Anything we can use?

HE BEGINS DRAGGING FOOD OUT OF THE BAG. Hey, apples—

HE TAKES A BIG BITE OUT OF ONE. Hey, Cookie, Kid—

HE TOSSES APPLES TO THEM.

JESSIE I’m not scared of you, you hooligans! I’ll kill you! (THEY SHUDDER IN MOCK FEAR) Stop eating my apples! What do you think this is, a banquet?!

COOKIE Yeah, sure; some banquet! You’re gonna be the main course.

JESSIE This food belongs to my family, I paid for it! It’s all we have.

COOKIE AND BIG MIKE LOOK AT EACH OTHER. COOKIE DROPS JESSIE’S ARM. COOKIE

You’re mighty young to have a family.

JESSIE Old enough to take care of myself.

HE HANDS HER HIS APPLE CORE, SHE SHAKES HER HEAD. Who’s that one?

SHE POINTS TO THE THIRD MEMBER OF THE PARTY, A BOY WHO IS YOUNGER AND SMALLER THAN THE OTHERS. HIS FACE IS SMUDGED AND HE WEARS A CAP PULLED OVER HIS EYES.

Who are you?

BIG MIKE

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Leave him alone. JESSIE

I’ll leave him alone if you leave me alone. COOKIE

This kid’s got moxie, Big Mike. HE BEGINS TO STUFF JESSIE’S PURCHASES BACK IN THE PACK.

BIG MIKE

She sure does.

COOKIE What’s your name, girl?

JESSIE None of your business.

COOKIE You’re on the lam— (JESSIE DOESN’T KNOW THE WORD.) Running away. You’ve got that hunted look in your eyes. That’s okay, Moxie, who ain’t running?

JESSIE What are you running from?

COOKIE Hard times.

JESSIE Looks like they’ve caught up with you—

BIG MIKE You’re a real comedian, Moxie.

JESSIE I mean, did you commit some kind of crime?

BIG MIKE A big crime, sure: Cookie lost his job.

COOKIE Big Mike’s farm was repossessed by the bank. We met on the road. Now, wherever we squat, the local sheriff keeps moving us on, like we had the plague.

JESSIE (POINTS TO THE OTHER ONE:) What about him?

COOKIE The Kid? He don’t talk much. We call him the Kid. He just kinda...turned up.

JESSIE I get it! I know what you are, you’re a Hooverville!

BIG MIKE

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Hey! Watch what you call us!

JESSIE But I read all about you in the newspapers.

BIG MIKE Us?!

JESSIE Not you. Since the Crash they’ve been writing a lot about—

COOKIE No need to lecture us about the Crash, kid. So, want to join us, Moxie?

JESSIE Gee, thanks, but I’ve got my own kind of Hooverville down the road. I’m on my way back there. (TO BIG MIKE) What happened to your family?

BIG MIKE I was lucky: Lucy and our youngest child went to live with her brother in Chicago. The older boy found a bit of work at a steel mill.

JESSIE You all had to separate? (HE NODS) That’s awful!

BIG MIKE Cookie here, his wife left him when he lost his job. Rotten, huh?

COOKIE Hard times brings out the worst in some folks.

BIG MIKE Brings out the best in others.

HE TAKES OUT A HARMONICA, PLAYS [EARLY BERLIN, STEPHEN FOSTER, OR....? UPBEAT.] . COOKIE GETS IN THE SPIRIT, GRABS THE KID, DOES A FEW BARS OF A WILD DANCE. AFTER A BIT, THEY PETER OUT.

JESSIE

Nice music, Big Mike.

BIG MIKE Yeah...well...music’s free. (BEAT) We manage as best we can. We do odd jobs, when we can find them....an’ some of them are pretty “odd.”

COOKIE I admit I stole six eggs from a chicken farm, once. And once when I was down to nothing, I.....actually begged. That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do, it nearly killed me.

BIG MIKE People want to be kind, mostly. A nice woman once gave me and the Kid a sandwich and a cuppa coffee. She let us eat on her front porch. You’re sure you don’t want—

22

JESSIE

No, I’d better go back to my camp. Hungry people there. (SHE RISES.) I’m glad I met you. We won’t feel so lonely knowing you’re here. I hope you—

SHE REACHES INTO HER POCKET, PAINFULLY PULLS OUT A QUARTER. SHE LOOKS AT IT THOUGHTFULLY—IT’S HARD TO PART WITH.

Look, here’s this quarter—

BIG MIKE We can’t take it, Moxie—

JESSIE For him, for the Kid. Buy him a bottle of milk, okay? He can’t be more than ten or twelve, and he needs milk. I know about these things.

SHE HANDS THE QUARTER TO BIG MIKE, STARTS OFF.

COOKIE We’ll get him milk. You’re a good egg, Moxie. Travel light.

JESSIE You too. Travel light.

THE LIGHTS FADE OUT ON THEM.

LIGHTS UP ON HENRY, VIOLET AND BENNY. THEY HAVE GATHERED SOME WOOD, AND HAVE TRIED TO ERECT A LITTLE LEAN-TO WITH SPRUCE BOUGHS. IT IS NONE TOO STABLE. THEY HAVE ALSO FOUND SOME SMALL STONES WHICH INCLOSE THE WOULD-BE FIRE. NOW THEY SIT, PASSING THE CANTEEN.

VIOLET I can’t drink much more water, I’ll float away.

HENRY It fills you up.

BENNY Sure, my stomach’s going squish...squish...squish, like the water in a boat.

VIOLET Don’t talk about boats, please. (BEAT)

HENRY We could have a big fire now...if we had any matches. I know, I’m supposed to rub two sticks together to start the fire, but I’ve never been able to get the knack. That’s why I gave up Boy Scouts...no aptitude. (BEAT)

VIOLET It’s getting dark—Henny, I’m worried about Jessie.

HENRY You are the Queen of Worriers, you fret enough for the whole family.

23

VIOLET Mama says that too, she tells me I’ll get wrinkles. Do I have wrinkles, Henny?

HENRY (LAUGHS) Dozens! Your face is a regular road map.

VIOLET Now you’re teasing me. (BEAT) It’s awfully quiet here.

BENNY It’s spooky.

HENRY Are you scared, Benny?

BENNY Not me, I’m brave!

BUT HE SNUGGLES CLOSE TO HENRY AND CLUTCHES WATCH. And Watch will take care of us...

VIOLET SHE MOVES CLOSE TO HENRY TOO.

It’s too quiet.

HENRY Don’t be scared by silence. If you really listen, the air is filled with noises; when we chatter we can’t hear anything but the sound of our own voices. Quiet now—listen! Hush. (SILENCE FOR A MOMENT) Crickets? (BENNY NODS. SILENCE) A bird, a crow, I think, talking to its mate. What else?

VIOLET A bee, going home to its hive for the night.

HENRY And a mourning dove.

BENNY The wind! Can you hear it? It’s not even windy, but I hear it moving through the trees and grass!

HENRY Like music. A lullaby.

JESSIE ENTERS INTO THE SCENE, CARRYING HER KNAPSACK.

JESSIE Look at you all, loafing—

VIOLET Jessie! I’m so glad you’re—

BENNY What did you bring us?

HENRY TAKES THE KNAPSACK.

HENRY Bread!

24

BENNY Hurrah!

HENRY And milk, and one apple—?

JESSIE GIVES HIM A LOOK. HE SHUTS UP.

VIOLET I’m famished.

THEY SIT, POUNCE ON THE FOOD. VIOLET AND HENRY MAKE THE SANDWICHES.

JESSIE

I found a tablecloth—

HENRY Oilcloth? Good, it’s beginning to cloud over; it could rain.

BENNY This is better than last night.

HENRY Yes, we’ve moved up from the Ditch Hotel. Welcome to the Spruce Tree Inn.

JESSIE

I bought one more thing. You’ll have to guess. BENNY

Candy?

JESSIE No.

VIOLET Toothpaste?

JESSIE Sorry.

HENRY Animal, vegetable or mineral?

JESSIE (THINKS.) Vegetable...and mineral.

BENNY Is it something you can eat?

JESSIE I knew you’d ask that!

HENRY

You brought us matches! (SHE GRINS) Brilliant!

25

BENNY Are we still winning?

HENRY Thirty points ahead! Hey, our dinner’s ready.

THEY PASS FOUR SLAPPED-TOGETHER SANDWICHES AROUND. THE HUNGER AND ANTICIPATION IS PALPABLE, BUT A SUDDEN FORMALITY APPEARS. EACH RAISES A SANDWICH, GLANCES AT THE OTHERS; AS ONE, THEY TAKE THEIR FIRST BITES IN SILENCE, THEN THEY ALL GROAN WITH PLEASURE. WE WATCH THEM SLOWLY EAT THEIR FOOD, TO THE LAST CRUMB.

VIOLET

Bliss! BENNY

The best dinner I’ve ever had. HENRY

A book of verses underneath the bow, A loaf of bread, a quart of milk, and thou—

BENNY Can we have another sandwich?

JESSIE Split one with Violet, but promise to eat it very, very slowly.

VIOLET We will. Twenty chews for each bite.

HENRY AND JESSIE RISE AND MOVE OUT OF EARSHOT. THEY SPEAK SIMULTANEOUSLY:

HENRY JESSIE

What happened? Something happened.

JESSIE Stop reading my mind. (BEAT)

HENRY Well?

JESSIE Start with this—this flyer.

SHE HANDS HIM THE CRUMPLED FLIER. HE READS IT.

HENRY “Missing...” I’m not surprised, are you?

JESSIE But $500? Then, on my way back from town I ran into a Hooverville—two men and a kid.

HENRY A family like us?

SHE SHAKES HER HEAD.

26

JESSIE

Each of them has been torn away from family...but.... SHE’S SILENT FOR A MOMENT.

They gave me a nickname: they called me Moxie.

HENRY Moxie?

JESSIE Because I gave them a lot of lip, at first. (BEAT.) Henny, there was a boy about Benny’s age. He didn’t talk. Maybe he couldn’t talk. He had no father or mother as far as they knew. When I was leaving—I know you think I’m stingy, so don’t tease me, but....I gave them a quarter, to buy him milk.

HENRY Good for you!

BY NOW IT IS PAST DUSK.

JESSIE It could have been Benny. (A PAUSE.)

HENRY Hey. I just felt a drop! A tear?

JESSIE It’s just raining.

VIOLET (CALLS TO THEM:) Hey, It’s starting to rain!

HENRY Ladies and Gentlemen, I have nothing up my sleeves, no electricity, no secret wires. With my bare hands I shall turn this tablecloth into...ta-dah! A roof!

IT DOESN’T QUITE WORK BUT BY NOW EVERYONE’S LAUGHING AND HELPING. BENNY

It’s a tent.

VIOLET It’s the first tent I’ve ever seen with flowers on it.

JESSIE Maybe we’ll really use it as a tablecloth some day.

HENRY If we ever have a table.

JESSIE

If we ever have a roof.

HENRY Voila!

JESSIE

27

Not bad. In fact...you can be awfully smart, Henry. Sometimes.

HENRY You’re too kind. Hey, it’s really starting to rain. Bed time!

VIOLET It would be so nice if we had a candle.

HENRY Patience, patience....

THEY CURL INTO A COSY HEAP. IT IS NOW COMPLETELY DARK. WE HEAR THE RAIN ON THE OILCLOTH, THEN HENRY SINGS:

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s going to buy you a mocking bird, And if that mocking bird don’t sing…

BENNY Henry?

HENRY What?

BENNY The roof’s leaking.

SOUND & LIGHTS FADE OUT.

INSET: A SHERIFF IS INTERROGATING COOKIE AND THE KID.

SHERIFF You’re kidding!

COOKIE Yep. I mean nope, I ain’t kidding.

SHERIFF On the road a whole year?! With him?

COOKIE He’s my son, sheriff, been with me the whole time.

SHERIFF That so, lad?

COOKIE He don’t talk much. He’s shy.

SHERIFF In your wanderings, have you seen these four children?

HE HOLDS OUT THE FLIER. COOKIE TAKES IT, STUDIES IT.

COOKIE A thousand clams! That’s a fortune! A fellow could....

HE PONDERS, MAKES A DECISION.

28

Nope. Never ran into any of that lot.

SHERIFF You’re sure?

COOKIE I’d remember four kids. Never set eyes on ‘em.

SHERIFF Move along then, and keep out of trouble.

HE LEAVES. COOKIE STILL HAS THE FLIER.

COOKIE (TO THE KID) A thousand dollars could buy quite a few comforts, kid. Quite a few....

THEY LEAVE AS THE LIGHTS FADE OUT.

THE “SPRUCE TREE INN’. HENRY IS RETURNING FROM THE LITTLE BROOK WITH HIS TOWEL. HE LOOKS ALMOST PRESENTABLE.

HENRY The weather’s clearing up.

JESSIE

We’re out of food again.

HENRY This time I’ll go into the village. Let’s make a shopping list.

JESSIE A candle.

VIOLET I wish we could have something hot to eat.

JESSIE We could roast potatoes, maybe. More milk, more bread. Some cheese, if it’s not too dear. Yesterday I noticed an old dump on my way home. While you’re gone we’ll go over there and see what we can dig up.

HENRY (GOING) I hope you hit pay dirt!

JESSIE Ouch! Don’t waste any money on books! And don’t talk to strangers.

HENRY If I do, I’ll have an alias all made up. Call me “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

HE GOES. BENNY

What’s a dump?

JESSIE

29

A place where people throw things they don’t need anymore...junk.

BENNY Good stuff?

JESSIE Sometimes.

VIOLET Yuck! Other people’s junk! It sounds dirty.

BENNY It sounds wonderful.

CROSS-FADE TO HENRY, WITH KNAPSACK OF GROCERIES. AS HE WALKS ALONG, AN OLD LAWN MOWER COMES CAREENING TOWARD HIM DOWN A HILL. HE SETS HIS BAG DOWN AND STOPS THE MOWER.

SAM

(OFF:) Look out! A YOUNG MAN COMES RUNNING IN AFTER THE MOWER. HENRY STOPS IT.

HENRY

Got it!

SAM Whoa! Talk about a stampede—thank you!

HENRY A lawnmower stampede! It was beginning to slow down, anyway.

SAM That’s just gravity. Or do I mean entropy? Anyway, you came along at the right time: I was never very good at taming mowers, and I confess I was reading the sports page at the same time.

HENRY How are the Cubs doing?

SAM They your favorite? (HENRY NODS)

HENRY I saw them play once.

SAM They lost to Brooklyn yesterday.

HENRY The season’s young.

SAM Those Cubs haven’t a hope, young man. —Have we met?

HENRY I don’t think so.

30

SAM My name’s Sam Truman. Doctor Sam Truman, I’m the local sawbones. The only sawbones.

HENRY My name’s Tom.... Tom...Jones.

THEY SHAKE. SAM

Tom the Cubs Fan. Live around here?

HENRY I’m here for the summer, visiting my aunt. SAM Would you be interested in earning a little spending money while you’re in town?

HENRY Would I?!! How?

SAM Cut my grass. My mower seems to have taken to you.

HENRY Sure, I like cutting grass. Your mind can wander while you’re going up and down—

SAM And up and down and up and down. Good, I think you’ve got a real gift for this.

SAM Pull up a piece of lawn, Tom, my mother’s headed this way—

HENRY HESITATES, THEN SITS. MRS. TRUMAN APPEARS. SAM

Mother, this is Tom. He’s going to cut the grass. MRS. TRUMAN

A miracle! My son is better at cutting out tonsils than grass. Have some lemonade? SHE POURS TWO GLASSES. HENRY GULPS HIS, BECOMES AWARE OF THEM WATCHING HIM.

HENRY Thirsty.

SAM

Mrs. Truman knows her way around a lemon.

MRS. TRUMAN Dr. Truman knows his way around a compliment. Been shopping, Tom?

HENRY Yes...well, I’ve been running a few errands for my aunt.

MRS. T. Do I know her?

31

HENRY Aunt Polly? She keeps to herself.

SAM Aunt Polly! What a good, old-fashioned name. (BEAT) Well, take home your groceries, Tom. And then come back tomorrow and finish the job. Noon okay? (HENRY NODS.) Here’s a buck in advance. Now I’d better get back to the office.

HE TOSSES THE PAPER TO HENRY, HANDS HIM A DOLLAR.

MRS. TRUMAN About time! There are three people sitting in the waiting room, Sam.

THEY GO. HENRY PICKS UP HIS BAGS AND NEWSPAPER, STARTS TO WALK AND READ, SUDDENLY STOPS.

HENRY

“Four Children Still Missing.” “The whereabouts of Henry, Jessica, Violet and Benjamin Alden remain a mystery. The Aldens disappeared from Centerville after the death of their parents, Ralph and Susannah Alden in a boating accident. Mr. Alden was a journalist and novelist of considerable reputation. Mrs. Alden was a musician who......” Et cetera, et cetera....”The Centerville police have raised the reward amount to $1000 for any information leading to the recovery of the children, who range in age from...”

HE STUDIES THE WHOLE NEWSPAPER FOR A MOMENT. I hope that doctor went straight to the sports page today....

HE PICKS UP HIS BAGS AND MOVES ON. CROSS-FADE TO THE DUMP, A HUGE PILE OF DISCARDED OBJECTS. JESSIE, VIOLET AND BENNY APPROACH IT CAUTIOUSLY.

JESSIE See?

VIOLET It looks...junky.

BENNY Can I jump in it?

JESSIE Don’t break any legs. Wait, I see a plate! A dinner plate! No, there are two...four of them—

VIOLET Broken?

SHE IS MUCH MORE HESITANT ABOUT THE JUNK-HEAP AS PLAYGROUND THAN THE OTHERS.

JESSIE

A couple are chipped but we can use them!

VIOLET Cups...

JESSIE Can they hold water?

32

VIOLET They’ve got little flowers on them. Who would throw these away?

JESSIE Mrs. Pillbottom. She got tired of all this so she junked it and bought new stuff.

SHE GETS CAUGHT UP IN THE FANTASY. Then along came the Depression. She lost her house and everything inside, so now she has to scavenge around for cracked dishes. Maybe she’ll end up at this dump, and find some of her own stuff. (SHE FEELS SAD.)

BENNY What’s a “Depression”?

VIOLET What’s “scavenge”?

JESSIE To scavenge is to hunt—for treasure. A Depression is when lots of folks like Mrs. Pillbottom lose their money very fast, then they have to fire the people who were working for them, then no-one has any money and—good grief, a kettle! It’s got a crack in it but—

BENNY A wheel! A wheel!

JESSIE What good is one wheel?

BENNY Here’s another—two wheels! We’ll take them back with us.

JESSIE Right, all we need is handlebars and a seat and we can travel anywhere. Benny, we can’t drag those with us.

BENNY I’m going to build something with them.

JESSIE Leave them, Ben.

VIOLET Jessie, there are some rusty spoons here.

JESSIE Great. Look—

SHE HAS UNEARTHED A BIG LADIES’ HAT. SHE PUTS IT ON HER HEAD AND PRANCES.

VIOLET

That has germs in it!

JESSIE

33

“Worn by stylish women everywhere. Mrs. Pillbottom was seen wearing this charming bonnet when she lunched at the Spruce Tree Inn.”

VIOLET It’s probably crawling with ants and beetles—now you’ll have to wash your hair.

JESSIE You’re so squeamish, Vi. Benny, put down those wheels, they’re useless, and we can’t drag everything back to the Spruce Tree Inn!

BENNY I will! I’m going to build something with them. You’ll see.

JESSIE With no hammer or nails?

VIOLET Here’s an old stool—oh, it’s got a cracked leg.

JESSIE Henry will fix it.

BENNY We’ll need a hammer for that too.

HE GLARES.

JESSIE Okay, take the darned wheels!

VIOLET A doll—her head’s gone. Maybe it was someone’s favorite.

BENNY

Help me! I can’t dig this out—

JESSIE What now?

BENNY This garbage can.

VIOLET

Ugh!

JESSIE Does the bottom leak?

BENNY It looks okay.

VIOLET It’s disgusting.

BENNY

34

It’s mine.

JESSIE We’ll take it. We can carry things in it...the dishes and cups. We’d better start back. Benny, you carry the kettle and Vi and I will lug the garbage can—

VIOLET I won’t touch that dirty old thing!

JESSIE Okay, you carry the kettle, Benny and I will take the can—

BENNY With the wheels inside.

JESSIE ROLLS HER EYES, THEY START OFF.

CROSS-FADE TO THE “OFFICE”. BANNING, CALDER AND MRS. ALBERTS. ALBERTS IS ON THE PHONE, SARAH PACES SILENTLY.

ALBERTS Yes, yes, I’m sure. No indeed. Well, thank you for your inquiry.

SHE HANGS UP, LOOKS AT THE OTHERS. That call was from Arizona, for heaven’s sake! Thought he’d get the reward money, did he! The four children, he tells me, are of Chinese descent.

BANNING We get calls like that too. Folks will do anything for cash.

SARAH

Officer Banning, do you know, did the county put up the reward money? BANNING

They don’t have that kind of budget.

SARAH Then who? I’ve got to go.

BANNING What’s the rush—?

SARAH I’ve got to trace that reward money.

ALBERTS

I wonder where our poor unfortunate orphans are? BANNING Mrs. A the sheriff will find them, they ‘re combing the area now.

LIGHTS FADE OUT ON THEM. EVENING. CAMPFIRE. THE CHILDREN ARE FINISHING UP ROAST POTATOES. THEY PASS A QUART BOTTLE OF MILK AROUND.

VIOLET I never thought a roast potato could taste so good. It warmed up my whole tummy.

HENRY And now, for dessert...ta-dah!...apples. I’ll cut them in half with my trusty knife.

35

AS HE DOES, THERE IS THE SOUND OF A SIREN. IT PASSES. BENNY

They ‘re still looking for us. HENRY GESTURES JESSIE TO MOVE A FEW STEPS AWAY WITH HIM.

JESSIE

Tell me more about this doctor....do you trust him?

HENRY How can I tell? Maybe he’s a bad guy, maybe not. At the moment we can use the money he’ll pay me. (BEAT.) What really scares me is that “Missing” ad in the newspaper. The price on our heads has gone up!

36

JESSIE

Like we’re criminals. It gives me the shakes.

JESSIE/HENRY We’ve got to move again.

HENRY Somewhere more protected. Farther from the road—

JESSIE Closer to the water?

HENRY On slightly higher ground.

JESSIE Now or never, chum. We have possessions. Soon it’ll get too hard to move—

HENRY We needn’t go far, Jess, we’ll stay in the area. Let’s follow that brook, but let’s do it now. Right now.

BENNY Aren’t you going to eat your apple?

HENRY Later. We’re going to pack up that fabulous garbage can of yours and hit the road.

VIOLET Tonight?! JESSIE

Now! KIDS PACK UP THEIR POSSESSIONS AND PUT OUT THE FIRE ETC. HENRY Ready?

THE LIGHTS FADE TO BLACK. THE CHILDREN ARE WALKING BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. VIOLET CARRIES A HALF-EMPTY QUART OF MILK, HER PILLOW CASE, AND THE OILSKIN. BENNY HAS WATCH AND THE TWO WHEELS. HENRY AND JESSIE LUG THE GARBAGE CAN BETWEEN THEM. ALL OF THEM ARE SO TIRED THEY STUMBLE ON SILENTLY, TOO TIRED TO TALK. FINALLY JESSIE TURNS TO HENRY.

JESSIE

I feel like a fox in a fox-hunt.

HENRY I feel like Jean Valjean.

JESSIE

37

Who’s he? HENRY

The guy in Les Miserables. He stole a loaf of bread and he was hounded the rest of his life by a nasty police inspector.

JESSIE You read too many books. (PAUSE.) I hate this...running!

HENRY (BEAT) Know what I hate the most? We haven’t talked about Papa and Mama. I mean, they’re gone! We watched them die. Last night Violet kept calling out for Mama in her sleep. Benny’s got a strangle-hold on that dog. How can we fix them?

JESSIE (A DRY LAUGH) Hammer and nails.

HENRY Pardon?

JESSIE Never mind. (BEAT) I need to catch my breath.

HENRY Jess...hold on—

JESSIE What?

HENRY Hear that? Water. I can smell it—our brook. (CALLS OUT.) We can stop, gang.

JESSIE Ben? Violet? Put your things down. (TO HENRY:) I think they’re sleepwalking. (TO THEM:) Kids, we’re here.

BENNY AND VIOLET LOOK AT HER BLANKLY. THEY SET DOWN THEIR BUNDLES AND SIT DOWN. THEY ARE NUMB. BENNY CLUTCHES HIS DOG AND CURLS UP AROUND IT. JESSIE SETTLES VIOLET DOWN, AND COVERS HER WITH THE OIL CLOTH.

JESSIE

I’m too tired to do anything else right now. I can’t stay awake. SHE CUDDLES UP WITH BENNY AND FALLS ASLEEP. HENRY SITS FOR A MOMENT, PEERING INTO THE DARKNESS. HE PULLS OUT HIS JOURNAL, STARTS TO WRITE.

VIOLET (ASLEEP) Mama? Mama?

HENRY PUTS DOWN HIS JOURNAL.

38

HENRY “Mama.” Help us...please....

A RESTLESS WIND BEGINS TO BLOW. HENRY STIFLES A SOB, WIPES HIS EYES. THEN HE LIES DOWN. HE SLEEPS.

A GHOSTLY SHAPE BEGINS TO DEFINE ITSELF. IT LOOMS IN THE BACKGROUND AND SLOWLY BEGINS TO MOVE CLOSER TO THE SLEEPING CHILDREN. IT GLOWS EERILY FOR A MOMENT, ACCOMPANIED BY THE RUSTLE OF WIND, THEN THE STAGE GROWS BLACK.

END ACT ONE

ACT TWO

A FEW HOURS LATER—PRE-DAWN. THE SCENE IS SHROUDED IN MIST. HENRY STRETCHES, WAKENS, SITS UP, RUBS HIS EYES. HE SHIVERS. HE RISES, TURNS TO SEE THE LOOMING SHAPE. IT IS THE BOXCAR, AND WITH THE LACK OF LIGHT IT APPEARS ALMOST BLACK. HENRY STARES, THEN GIVES JESSIE’S SHOULDER A LITTLE SHAKE.