Teenagers: “Yes!” “Yes, sir!” “Uh-huh!”
Sheriff (to his wife): “Mattie, why don’t you just keep that coffee hot for me. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
He puts on his sheriff’s hat, which makes him look very official and authoritative. The sight of him with his badge on his chest and his gun at his hip is comforting.
Sheriff: “Be right back.” And we watch him step out the door, into the night. The screen door falls slowly shut behind him. We hear his car start, and the sounds of its engine dwindling as he drives off. Finally desert silence.
The teenagers and the sheriff’s wife begin speaking again as the minutes pass. She continues patching them up.
Sequence of shots showing the clock demonstrating time is passing. Twenty minutes comes and goes. Then thirty, then forty. After an hour passes, the teenagers and Mattie, the sheriff’s wife, start to show concern.
An hour and a half comes and goes. And now everyone is obviously extremely worried.
Mattie: “I don’t know what could have happened. If he was going to be held up, he would have called me on his radio.”
Randy: (Putting on his jacket) “I’m going to go and see.”
Dan: (Shuffling quickly into his sweater) “I’ll go with you.”
Mattie: “Now don’t you boys do that. My husband is a good man, but he don’t like to be bothered when he’s doing his job. Besides…”
Randy and Dan: “Ma’am?”
Mattie: “We already got one person to worry about. We don’t need two more.”
Jesse: (Affecting his best juvenile delinquent persona, despite his wounds). “Well, then I’ll go, too. (We see that he is tall and bulky, with strong arms and fists. He looks as if he can handle most anything.)
Curt: “Me too!”
Amy, Sarah, Wendy and Debbie (tearfully, in a chorus): “No, please don’t. Don’t leave us, ple-e-e-ease!”
Mattie: “Don’t you boys go anywhere. I’m going to call Doc. And Eddie. I’ll have them come around.”
She goes to a rotary phone on an end table near the davenport. Picks it up. A puzzled look comes over her face.
Mattie: “That’s funny. The phone is dead.” She taps on the phone, trying to get a response.
Mattie: “Nothing.”
Jesse: (With determination) “C’mon. Let’s go!” (Moving to the door.)
Mattie: “Now boys, before you go off and do anything bold, why don’t’ you drop by Doc’s house and see if you can roust him up. Then go see Eddie, too, and bring `em on by here.”
Randy: “O.K. Ma’am. We’ll get a posse put together.”
Mattie: “That’s good, boy. Get ye a posse. While you’re at it, see if you can get Sage outta bed, and Tisky.”
Jesse: “Yeah. They have shotguns.”
Randy, Jesse, Dan and Curt all bundle out of the house. Amy, Sarah, Wendy and Debbie huddle together with Mattie.
End of Scene 6