The Fugitive Kind

Tell the clerk your name.

Xavier.

With an "X" or an "S"?

I told you before, but you just don't remember me.

I remember you though,

you're also known as Snakeskin.

Now, Xavier, will you give, uh,

an account to this court of the precise offense

that led up to your arrest, huh?

Well,

my, uh,

my guitar was in hock,

down at the South Rampart street pawnshop.

It was on display in the, uh,

in the loan shark's window.

And, uh,

you know, it's my life's companion.

And... (Judge) Are you drunk?

No, just...

I'm tired.

You want to rest for 6 weeks in the house of detention?

No, sir, I don't want to do that.

My, uh, guitar was in hock,

and... and it was the first time in my life.

And,

uh, you know, it gave me a real bad feeling.

And

I... I can't explain it to you, but everybody has something

that's very important to them.

With me, it's my guitar.

And, uh, you know it was a...

A... a gift from a very, uh, very great man, Leadbelly.

I ain't asking no questions about your guitar.

What happened the night before the party was raided?

Well, I had to find some way to, you know, get my guitar out of hock.

So, uh,

I ran into Charlie 5.

Charlie who?

Uh, his, well, his name is, uh,

Cinque, Charlie cinque, but they call him Charlie 5

because "cinq" means 5 in French,

and you can hit on him for $5 if you really need it.

And, uh,

so, he came up to me and approached me in the Starlight Lounge.

It was, uh,

about 6:00 that day

in the p.m.

And, uh,

he came up and approached me and, uh, offered me the job.

What job?

Oh, I thought you already knew about the job.

You know, the court could hear you better

if you'd hold your head up when you talk.

I am.

What did he ask you to do?

He... he asked me to, uh,

well, he wanted me to entertain at this

party and I told him my... my guitar is in hock.

He says, "It doesn't matter, you don't need your guitar."

And, uh,

he says, "All you got to do is just, you know, be part of this,

you know, party."

Hmm, he offered to pay you for taking part in this party,

which was raided the night on the premises of Bourbon street

over at the Club Rendezvous, huh?

Is that it?

Yeah.

And you started this disturbance at this party, huh?

Yes, sir, I did.

I just, uh, I was fed up. I got disgusted.

I was sick and, uh,

I felt like my whole life was, uh, something sick on my stomach

and I just had to throw it up.

So, I threw it up,

and, uh,

I started to bust up the joint.

You smashed up the place?

Yeah.

Well, Snakeskin, if I let you go,

how soon can I expect you back here again?

Oh, I'm never coming here again.

I'll never be down here again, your Honor.

Uh,

it's about time for the, uh,

the pawnshop to open there on South Rampart street, and I'm going down there

and get my guitar out of hock and I'm going to split out of this city

and... and, uh, go for good.

And all that, you know, bunch, all the people

that know me or thought they'd known me,

they're never gonna see me again.

And, uh,

well, and I'm... I'm all through with those parties, too.

And that's the truth.

That's the truth.

Eddie!

Ed!

Oh.

I... I thought you were that boy that broke out of the lockup.

No, ma'am.

My car quit on me down the road

and this is the only lighted window I seen and...

Well, my husband's Sheriff Talbot.

He's out with the posse trackin' down that poor boy.

Yes, ma'am.

Your car quit on you?

That's right, ma'am.

Come in.

Well, I...

I don't know who to call at this hour.

Well, I, uh,

I'm just lookin' for a little dry place to sleep, ma'am.

I don't need a bed or nothin',

just a little... little dry place.

If-if it wouldn't make you too nervous,

you could sleep in the lockup.

Um, I don't want to put you to any trouble, ma'am.

Oh, no. No, it's no trouble.

Did somebody break out of here tonight?

Yes. Eddie.

I'm rarely disappointed when I put trust in people,

but I was this time.

Tonight, when I brought him his supper,

instead of puttin' it through the slot in the door,

I unlocked the door of the lockup and he just... He just...

He just shoved past me and he ran out.

And he...

He said, "Excuse me."

I think they got him.

Stop now.

It's all over, ma'am.

Um, I... I...

I think I'd like a cup of coffee.

Would you care for a cup?

Yes, ma'am.

I've been paintin' all night.

There's nothin' more exhausting

than that kind of work on the face of the earth.

It just leaves you burned out inside.

Still, but when you're finished with a picture,

you... you feel

elevated.

Is this the picture? Yes.

Yes, that's the Church of the Resurrection.

The church supposed to be blue?

No, that-that's how I felt it.

I...

You see, I paint a thing how I... I feel it.

Thank you, ma'am.

You know, uh,

you know what I mean, Mr...

Yes, ma'am. Xavier is my name.

Valentine Xavier.

Oh.

Are... are you a... a musician, Mr. Xavier?

Well, I used to be a sort of entertainer

in nightspots in New Orleans.

Oh.

Oh.

Well, if you're lookin' for that kind of work,

you won't find that kind of work around here.

No, ma'am, I quit it. I'm...

Today's my 30th birthday, and I...

Thank you. Here.

That's nice.

I'm not young anymore.

Oh, you're young at 30.

Well, you're not young at 30 if you've been on a party since you were 15.

You mean that, uh,

that you want to turn over a new leaf in your life?

That'd suit me perfectly.

Well,

if you're sincere, and you're really through with night places,

I think I could help you to find a job.

Well, what kind of work would that be? It'd be clerkin'.

That's at the Torrance mercantile store.

Jabe Torrance is coming home from the hospital in Memphis tomorrow.

But they say he won't be well enough to handle

the work by himself.

Would that kind of work suit you?

Well, I'd be happy to try it, ma'am.

Oh.

Well, I'll speak to Lady,

that's Mrs. Torrance, when she brings Jabe home tomorrow.

Well, if you're sleepy, maybe you could go on down and bed down there.

Well, I sure appreciate it.

Well, that's all right.

Mmm, man, all I want is somethin' hot to drink.

A cup of coffee or a shot of whiskey. Huh, Jordan?

Ooh, I'm soaked clear through.

Look at that gun. It's going to take me 2 weeks to get that clean.

Why'd you leave the cell door open, Vee?

Howdy, Mrs. Talbot. Howdy.

I put my trust in Eddie.

Yeah, you put your trust in him, all right.

Give me some of that.

Who's the boy you got sleepin' down there now?

Mr. Xavier.

His car broke down. He's a musician.

Yeah, I'm sick of you makin' a fool of yourself over every

stray tramp that wanders into this county.