Free The Stonemason by Cormac McCarthy Page B

him.
    S OLDIER I'm gettin married.
    B EN Getting married.
    S OLDIER Yeah.
    Ben shakes his head. He looks around the room. He looks at Soldier.
    B EN Does she know you kill people?
    S OLDIER I ain't never killed nobody.
    B EN You were involved in it.
    S OLDIER That was a long time ago. You don't know.
    B EN How much does she know about you?
    Soldier laughs and shakes his head.
    S OLDIER You somethin, ain't you? What, you think you goin to blackmail me back? She knows all about me, sucker. She knows shit they don't nobody know.
    B EN What's her name?
    S OLDIER You don't need to know her name.
    B EN How old is she?
    S OLDIER Old enough.
    B EN Where's she from?
    S OLDIER She ain't from here.
    Ben studies Soldier.
    B EN How much money do you want?
    S OLDIER I need about three thousand dollars to see me right.
    B EN All right.
    S OLDIER Should of asked for more.
    B EN I knew about what it was going to cost me.
    S OLDIER Yeah. I keep forgettin bout all this shit you know.
    B EN I'll bring you the money in the morning. As soon as the banks open.
    He rises.
    S OLDIER You don't have a little advance on that, do you?
    Ben reaches in his side pocket and takes out a money clip and peels off some bills and lays them on the night table.
    B EN I'll see you here at ten in the morning.
    He opens the door. Soldier rises.
    S OLDIER What's this dude like that Mama married?
    B EN You wouldn't like him.
    S OLDIER Yeah?
    B EN ( Shaking his head ) You wouldn't like him. He pulls the door shut after him.

SCENE V
    The farmhouse dining room at night. Ben and Maven are sitting at the table.
    M AVEN I wish you hadn't told me.
    B EN I know.
    M AVEN Why did you?
    B EN I don't know. You told me you wanted to know.
    M AVEN I did?
    B EN A long time ago.
    M AVEN I don't remember.
    B EN I do.
    M AVEN But you did hide it from me.
    B EN I was wrong.
    M AVEN Why did you wait till now?
    B EN I knew what you'd say.
    M AVEN Do you think you have to tell me everything?
    B EN Yes.
    M AVEN Why?
    B EN Because. Because the smallest crumb can devour us.
    M AVEN Is the world really such a hostile place?
    B EN I don't know. I know that I see failure on every side and I'm determined not to fail.
    M AVEN Do you think it's fair to Carlotta? You can't think that.
    B EN I don't. I think it's merciful.
    M AVEN Why is it up to you?
    B EN Isn't it up to him?
    M AVEN You have an answer for everything.
    Ben doesn't answer.
    M AVEN Is he really so bad?
    B EN I don't know. Yes. He is. I try to give him the benefit of the doubt but there isn't any doubt.
    M AVEN Maybe he'll change.
    B EN I don't rule that out. I just think he should do it somewhere else.
    M AVEN Somewhere else is where he got the way he is now.
    B EN ( Shaking his head ) No he didn't. He got that way right here. In this family. Nowhere else.
    They sit.
    M AVEN If that were true wouldn't it be all the more reason...
    B EN All the more.
    M AVEN But you won't change your mind, will you?
    B EN I don't feel wrong. I just feel guilty.
    They sit.
    M AVEN What about Mama, Ben?
    B EN What indeed.

SCENE VI
    The hotel room. Soldier is lying on the bed in his underclothes. He has his mouth open and he is dead. A syringe and a length of small rubber tubing lie on the night table. A burned out book of matches. A spoon. Street sounds. The cooing of a pigeon. There is repeated knocking at the door. Finally the door opens and Ben enters. He comes in very slowly and surveys the scene. He comes to the bed and puts a hand to Soldier's neck. He picks up the spoon, the syringe. He lets them fall again. His mouth is compressed in anger and in sorrow. He pulls the chair up to the bed and sits down and holds his face in his hands. The pigeon calls. After a while Ben gets up. He looks down at Soldier. He takes the paraphernalia from the night table and puts the items in the side pocket of his jacket. He looks around the room. Then he takes Soldier's trousers from off the foot rail of the bed and goes through them and takes out his billfold and