MRS. BISHOP: We’re all they’ve got, Walt.
[Mr. Bishop takes a deep breath. He says finally, with a dawning realization:]
MR. BISHOP: It’s not enough.
[INT. STONE CAVE. NIGHT]
[Flashlight and lantern flames flicker over the jagged walls. Skotak is curled in a blanket on a high rock. Gadge is tucked into a sleeping bag under a ledge. The troop nestle on rocks and ledges in bedrolls and sleeping bags all around the deep cavern.]
[Sam lies on his back on one of the bedrolls smoking his pipe while Suzy sits Indian-style next to him. She reads aloud from a book called Annabelle’s Midnight. There is an illustration on the cover of a blonde girl climbing out a window onto a trellis with fireflies circling around her.]
SUZY: “-- but I’m not going,” said Barnaby Jack. “I’m running away tonight for good, and this time I won’t get caught.” Annabelle whispered: “I’m coming with you.” Her yellow hair, now brown at the roots, caught up in the wind and danced. Barnaby Jack took Annabelle’s hand and pressed something into it the size of a jellybean. “Hide this in your socks, and be ready at midnight.”
[Suzy looks to Sam to see if he is still awake. Sam looks to the rest of the troop to see if they are still awake. They all nod and signal for Suzy to continue. Suzy turns the page and reads on:]
SUZY: He leapt out the window and landed in the fresh-fallen snow.
[EXT. SCOUT CAMP. DAY]
[The next morning. Camp Ivanhoe. Scout Master Ward emerges from his tent. He puts on his hat. The wind whips it off his head. He chases it, catches it, and puts it back on with the chin-strap tight. He frowns. He shouts:]
SCOUT MASTER WARD: No bugle? No reveille? Lazy-eye, Gadge, Deluca, Izod? Where’s my troop? Let’s go!
You’re late!
[Scout Master Ward tries to light a cigarette, but the match blows out. He walks past the latrine, the workbench, the row of smaller tents, and the charcoal grill. He throws his hands into the air.]
SCOUT MASTER WARD: Chef? Breakfast?
[Scout Master Ward shakes his head. He arrives at the picnic table and rings his bell. He sits down. He opens a new issue of Indian Corn. There is a picture on the cover of a scout troop rappelling in Tasmania. He struggles to keep the rippling pages from turning by themselves.]
INSERT:The first page. There is another drawing of the Scout Master-in-Chief. This time he is behind the wheel of a ship. His signature below, once again, reads Commander Pierce. There is a quotation in large text: “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.”
[Pause. Scout Master Ward lowers his magazine. He looks around, confused. Something dawns on him.]
[INT. COMMAND TENT. DAY]
[A small entourage of teenage scouts studies maps, charts, and doc*ments at folding tables. One of them sits at a telegraph machine. He wears headphones and taps Morse code on a paddle as he listens to a transmission. He looks puzzled. He swivels his chair to a steno-machine and begins typing rapidly.]
[EXT. COMMAND TENT. DAY]
[A triple-sized tent with a canopy in front and a large totem pole looming over it. It stands on five-foot stilts. There is a school bus parked next to it with letters painted across its side which read Regional Jubilee.]
[A forty-five-year-old scout master with several medals on his chest is sharpening a straight razor. He is Secretary McIntire. He adjusts a hot towel on the face of a man in a barber’s chair.]
[The young telegraph operator hurries out of the tent carrying a strip of paper. He hands it to Secretary McIntire. Secretary McIntire stares at it. He says to the man under the towel:]
SECRETARY MCINTIRE: You’re not going to believe this one, sir. That Scout Master on New Penzance? Has now lost his entire troop.
[The seated man whips the towel off his face and rises to his feet. He is Commander Pierce himself. He has silver hair, a moustache, and a much greater number of medals. He says in disbelief as he snatches the slip of paper:]
COMMANDER PIERCE: Well, I’ll be damned. Who is this bimbo?
SECRETARY MCINTIRE: *vaguely* I couldn’t say.
[Commander Pierce shakes his head. He continues to study the doc*ment as he sits back down. Secretary McIntire begins to lather his cheeks with a brush.]
CUT TO: A vast archway of wood, straw, and rope construction. Fort Lebanon is spelled out across the top with bound sticks. A large flag waving madly on a pole reads Khaki Scouts of North America. A bugler on a platform plays the familiar staccato tattoo. It echoes for miles.
[Sam and Suzy wait inside the gates crouched behind a row of trash cans with the rest of the troop except Skotak. They shiver. Sam has on his back-pack. Suzy carries her suitcase. Gadge holds a tennis ball can.]
[A scout master in an Indian chief’s headdress stops as he walks by. He looks curiously at Sam and especially Suzy. He says to Nickleby:]
GUARD SCOUT: Who’s your unit leader?
[Pause. Nickleby points to a fat man in an apron cooking hamburgers on a grill.]
NICKLEBY: That guy.
[The scout master shrugs. Skotak comes over and says furtively:]
SKOTAK: There’s a broken gum-ball machine behind the snack tent.
[Skotak distributes a handful of gum-balls among Sam, Suzy, and the rest of the troop. They all put them in their mouths. Skotak motions for everyone to follow him.]
[A footbridge across a stream leads to a Quonset hut with an awning in front labelled Supply Tent. A crowd of very young scouts waits at a wide counter bartering over boxes of food, drink, and equipment. A team of helpers collects money and packages goods. At the center, there is a twenty-year-old scout with a pencil behind his ear. He is Cousin Ben. He says to a nine-year-old Junior Khaki:]
COUSIN BEN: I don’t care how they do it where you come from. You want pop? You want candy? You want a snake-bite kit? Get some money.
[Skotak appears and whispers something to Cousin Ben. Cousin Ben nods. He says to his customers:]
COUSIN BEN: Come back in five minutes.
[Cousin Ben pulls a curtain shut behind the counter.]
[EXT. WOODEN PROMENADE. DAY]
[Sam, Suzy, Skotak and the rest of the troop follow Cousin Ben briskly out a door and onto a cat-walk that runs along the top of a wall made from tall, pointed logs. As they talk, they walk past dozens of rows and clusters of tents grouped by color in the fields below. They walk past towers, huts, ladders, latrines, and a catapult under construction. They walk past a white infirmary with a red cross on it and a doctor taking a boy’s blood pressure. They walk past a fleet of small, antique sailboats flying assorted troop banners. Five hundred scouts and fifty scout masters work, eat, talk, cook, and play sports and games all around the compound in spite of the fierce winds. One group rides motorcycles, another fires model rockets, another flies by overhead on a cable-trolley.]
[Cousin Ben points to Sam and asks Skotak over the sound of the wind:]
COUSIN BEN: Is this him?
SAM: Field Mate Sam Shakusky, Troop 55, resigned.
COUSIN BEN: He’s hot. Almost too hot. What’s in the can?
SKOTAK: Seventy-six dollars -- but it’s mostly in nickels.
COUSIN BEN: Give it to me.
[Skotak motions for Gadge to hand Cousin Ben the tennis ball can. It appears to be very heavy and jingles as it moves. Cousin Ben takes it. He says to Sam:]
COUSIN BEN: You badge in seamanship?
SAM: Yes, sir.
[Sam points to one of the patches on his sash. It has an anchor embroidered on it.]
COUSIN BEN: Good. There’s cold-water crabber moored off Broken Rock. The skipper owes me an I.O.U. We’ll see if he can take you on as a claw cracker. It won’t be an easy life, but it’s better than shock therapy.
SAM: Thank you, sir. By the way, where’s the chapel tent?
[Cousin Ben hesitates. He points behind them with his thumb:]
COUSIN BEN: Back there, but the padre’s home with the mumps. Why do you ask?
SAM: I want to bring my wife.
[Cousin Ben stops walking. He looks Sam up and down. Suzy says behind him:]
SUZY: But we’re not married yet.
[Cousin Ben turns to Suzy. He looks back to Sam and back to Suzy again.]
COUSIN BEN: You his girl?
[Suzy nods. Cousin Ben looks intrigued. He says tentatively:]
COUSIN BEN: Technically, I’m a civil-law scrivener. I’m authorized to declare births, deaths, and marriages. You’re kind of young. You got a license?
[Sam and Suzy shake their heads. Cousin Ben nods. He speaks more gently now:]
COUSIN BEN: I can’t offer you a legally binding union. It won’t hold up in the state, the county, or, frankly, any courtroom in the world due to your age, lack of a license, and failure to get parental consent -- but the ritual does carry a very important moral weight within yourselves. You can’t enter into this lightly. Do you love each other?
[Sam and Suzy immediately nod. Cousin Ben continues:]
COUSIN BEN: Are you sure you’re ready for this?
[Sam and Suzy immediately nod. Cousin Ben looks perturbed.]
COUSIN BEN: Let me rephrase it.
SUZY: *interrupting* We’re in a hurry.
COUSIN BEN: *snapping* Spit out the gum, sister. In fact, everybody.
[Cousin Ben puts out his hand. Suzy spits her gum into his palm. He throws it away over his shoulder. Sam and the rest of the troop spit their gum out on the ground. Cousin Ben says sternly:]
COUSIN BEN: I don’t like the snappy attitude. This is the most important decision you’ve made in your lives. Now go over by that trampoline and talk it through before you give me another quick answer.
[Cousin Ben watches as Sam and Suzy walk away and stand next to a large trampoline. A small scout jumps from a high ladder, bounces, and does a back-flip.]
CUT TO:Sam and Suzy uncertain how to begin the conversation. Sam shrugs.
SAM: I guess we better try to pretend we’re struggling over our decision for a minute before we go back over there and tell him --
SUZY: Maybe he’s right. It could be a mistake.
[Sam looks stunned. He is speechless. He stammers:]
SAM: What? Why? How?
SUZY: Being married. Sometimes it seems sad to me. It might be better to just go steady permanently.
[Sam shakes his head. He looks off into the distance. He says quietly:]
SAM: I don’t know what to say.
CUT TO: Cousin Ben counting nickels in the tennis ball can. He j*rks his thumb toward Sam and Suzy and says dismissively:
COUSIN BEN: I guess they’re probably just trying to pretend they’re struggling over their decision, but at least --
SKOTAK: Woah!
[Cousin Ben looks. Suzy has her hands around Sam’s throat and is throttling him. Sam squirms loose and calms her down. The troop watches transfixed. Sam takes a snapshot out of his pocket and shows it to Suzy, explaining. Suzy nods. They come back over to the group. There are tears on Suzy’s cheeks. She says to Cousin Ben:]
SUZY: We’re sure.
COUSIN BEN: OK. Let’s do a blood test.
[INT. CHAPEL TENT. DAY]
[Cousin Ben stands at a collapsible altar. He wears a purple, silk stole around his neck with crosses stitched into it. Sam and Suzy hold a Bible with their hands on it. Skotak and the rest of troop listen solemnly as Cousin Ben reads from a manual:]
COUSIN BEN: -- which we hereby consecrate on this day, the fifth of September, 1965.
COUSIN BEN: *looking up* That’s the end of the short-form. Do any of the witnesses have objections or remarks? Usually, they don’t.
[Skotak raises his hand. Cousin Ben reluctantly calls on him:]
COUSIN BEN: Skotak.
SKOTAK: Can we loan them the nickels? I’m worried about their future.
COUSIN BEN: *offended* That’s my fee.
[Skotak and the rest of the troop look very concerned. They murmur to each other:]
NICKLEBY: What’s going to happen to them?
GADGE: Nobody knows.
DELUCA: Let’s take a vote.
SKOTAK: All in favor --
COUSIN BEN: *loudly* That’s my fee.
[Skotak and the rest of the troop look to Cousin Ben. Cousin Ben glares at them. He sighs. He points to Skotak.]
COUSIN BEN: You’re just like your brothers. OK, give them the tennis ball can.
[Cousin Ben points to the tennis ball can on the floor next to his feet. Skotak takes it and zips it into a side-pocket of Sam’s back-pack. Cousin Ben hands Sam and Suzy a receipt on a clipboard.]
COUSIN BEN: Sign here -- and initial here and here.
[Sam and Suzy sign and initial. Cousin Ben tears out a copy.]
COUSIN BEN: Take the carbon. Leave the Bible. Let’s go.
[Sam and Suzy turn and walk out of the chapel tent holding hands. They do not smile. Cousin Ben, Skotak, and the rest of the troop follow them with grave expressions on their faces. Sam touches Suzy’s hair. Suzy kisses Sam’s hand. They walk as a group through the camp.]
[OMIT]
[EXT. CAMP MARINA. DAY]
[Sam, Suzy, Skotak, and the rest of the troop wait at the end of a narrow dock. Cousin Ben stands below them in a small sailboat. He reaches up to Suzy and lifts her onboard. He reaches up to Sam and lifts him onboard, too. He rigs the sail.]
[Sam smiles sadly. He and Skotak do the secret handshake. The others quickly join in. Suzy blows them a kiss. Everyone looks choked up.]
[Cousin Ben unloops a line. The sails quickly catch the strong wind, and the boat sails away into the harbor. Skotak and the rest of troop wave and salute. They watch, bittersweet.]
[Pause.]
NICKLEBY: Where they going again?
GADGE: He’s going to work on a shrimper, if I understand correctly.
SKOTAK: *wistfully* I wish them well.
LAZY-EYE: Me, too. Me, too.
[Skotak sighs. He turns and starts up the dock. The others follow him. Roosevelt hesitates. He points.]
ROOSEVELT: I think they’re coming back.
[Skotak and the rest of the troop stop and turn around. The sailboat glides back in. Sam leaps onto the dock with the tennis ball can. Suzy looks worried. Cousin Ben yells:]
COUSIN BEN: Be quick, sailor!
SKOTAK: *puzzled* What happened?
SAM: *quickly* She left her binoculars on a hook in the chapel tent.
DELUCA: *shrugs* Just leave them.
[Sam sprints up the dock. He yells back over his shoulder:]
SAM: We can’t. It’s her magic power!
CUT TO:A binocular shot of Sam running full-speed through the compound. He approaches quickly -- then skids to a stop.
[EXT. CHAPEL TENT. DAY]
[Redford blocks the entrance. He is dressed in white hospital pajamas with a red cross on the breast pocket. His side is heavily bandaged and his arm is attached to an I/V drip. He lowers Suzy’s binoculars.]
[Sam stands frozen in front of Redford. Redford stares at him icily. Sam starts to say something -- then pauses. He says, instead:]
SAM: You killed your dog, by the way.
REDFORD: *hesitates* Snoopy?
REDFORD: *shrugs* Well, it couldn’t be helped.