-
(Bali Ha'i)
Professor; Whoop-whoop-whoop, Iron Belly.
“Iron belly” Cap Brackett and Com Harbison enters
(Brackett and Harbison enter SR)
Harbison: Here she is sir.
- (Bracket walks slowly to Bloody Mary, glaring at her).
- You are causing an economic revolution on this island.
- These French planters can’t find a native to pick a coconut or milk a cow,
- Because you’re paying them ten times as much to make these,
- Ridiculous grass skirts.
-
Bloody Mary: French planters stingy bastards.
Billis: Sir! May I make a suggestion, sir?
(Billis salutes)
- (Returning salute)
- Who are you?
-
Billis: Billis sir! Luther Billis.
The natives can go back to work on the farms.
The demand for grass skirts can now be met by us Seabees.
- Dressmakers!
- (Starting to blow up) Do you mean to tell me?
- The Seabees of the United States Navy
- are now a lot
- (see Seabee walk past in a grass skirt) of…
-
Billis: (Interrupting) If you don’t like it sir, we could drop it right her sir.
Just say the word. Just pretend I never brought it up.
Harbison: Luther Billis.
Billis: Yes Sir?
Harbison: Nothing, just making a mental note.
I want to be sure not to forget your name.
- (Brackett turns to Bloody Mary)
- I want to see you pick up every scrap of this paraphernalia now!
- And, for the last time,
- Carry it way down there and
- Off - Navy - Properly.
-
Cable :( kicking down the stall) Come on everybody.
Take all this stuff and throw it over that fence.
Billis: All right-take it way down there. Off Navy property.
Cable: You go to (to Bloody Mary)
Bloody Mary: All right, lootellan. Thanks you.
- (Bloody Mary leave and Beckett looks at Harbison as if to ask who Cable
- is. Harbison shrugs his shoulders. Cable turns and exchanges salutes to Brackett)
- Lieutenant, who are you anyway.
-
Cable: I’m Lieutenant Joseph Cable, sir. I just flew in on that PBY.
-
Cable: No sir. Orders!
- (Surprised)
- A marine,
- under orders to me?
-
Cable; Yes sir!
- Brackett: I’m Captain Brackett.
-
Cable: How do you do so?
- This is Commander Harbison.
- My Executive Officer. (Cable and Harbison exchange salutes)
- Well, what’s it all about?
-
Cable: My Colonel feels that all these islands are in danger because none of us has been getting first-hand intelligence, and what we need is a coast watch.
Harbison: A coast watch?
Cable: (Walking stage left)A man with a radio hiding our
on one of those Jap-held islands, where he could watch for Jap ships when they
start down the bottleneck…down this way.
- (turning to Harbison)
- What do you think Bill?
-
Harbison: Well, sir, our pilots could do a hell of a lot to japanese convoys with the information like that.
- You'd have to sneak this man ashore at night,
- from a submarine.
-
Cable; Yes sir.
Harbison: Who’s going to do that?
Cable: Well, sir. I’ve been elected.
- (after exchanging a glance at Harbison) You’ve got quite an assignment there, son.
-
Harbison: How long do you think you could last there, sending out messages, before the Japs found you?
Cable: I think I’d be okay if I could take a man with me who really knew the country. Headquarters has found our there’s a French civilian there who used to have a plantation on
Marie Louise island.
Harbison: Marie Louise! That’s a good spot. Right on the bottleneck.
What’s the Frenchman’s name?
-
Cable: Emile de Becque.
- (suddenly excited)
- Met me in my office in half an hour Cable.
-
Cable: Yes sir.
- Come on, Bill!
- Maybe we’ll get into this war yet.
- (They exit)
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