Complete Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Illustrated) (501 page)

She grabs at his coat-tail — this causes the back of his tie to jerk over his collar, revealing a length of string.

Frau Schmidt
: Why, the man’s all tied up in knots.

Bobby
(
politely savage
): I think I’d better go home — and get some more string.

Pat
(
alarmed
): I must go too — it’s late.

Breuer
: That’s absurd. It’s only one. We haven’t started yet.

Bobby
(
quietly
): Can’t you see she’s tired?

Breuer
(
dryly
): You haven’t known Pat as long as I have. She doesn’t leave parties early. (
raises his eyebrows
) Why, my friend, you seem to be having trouble with your shirt.

Bobby looks at him angrily and seems about to blow up.

Breuer
(
to Pat
): This dance?

Pat
: I have it with Bobby.

Bobby
: Please excuse me. I’m not dancing.

(
he bows frigidly, and Pat flinches
)

DISSOLVE TO:

100 THE INTERIOR OF THE LIMOUSINE —
 — on the way home. Pat half asleep between Breuer and Bobby. Bobby is sullen and silent.

Breuer
: Where can I drop you?

Bobby
: At the next corner.

Breuer
: I’ll gladly drive you home.

Bobby
(
looking out the window
): Drop me here at Alfons’ Bar, if you please.

Breuer
: Can you get in at this hour?

Bobby
(
ironically
): Thanks for your interest. I can get in. (
Breuer calls into the speaking tube. Bobby touches Pat’s hand
) I won’t wake her. Goodnight, and thank you.

(
but as he shuts the door, she stirs
)

Pat
(
half asleep
): Bobby — Bobby —

CUT TO:

101 INT. ALFONS’ BAR — BOBBY —
 — sitting down with Lenz and Koster. They are surprised.

Koster
: Hello — I thought you’d see the sun rise.

Bobby
: I won’t. Perhaps two other people will.

Koster
: That man Breuer?

Bobby
: About the worst twerp I ever met. Kicking people out of the theater to get himself a seat.

Koster
: Alfons! Give Bobby a triple brandy, whiskey, gin and rum.

Lenz
(
disappointed
): She’s a rich man’s girl.

Bobby
: Let’s forget it. Tell me about the race at the speedway. What’s the prize?

Koster
: Five hundred marks cash. (
frowning
) Look here — don’t quarrel with that girl — she’s a thoroughbred.

Lenz
(
bitterly
): She’s a rich man’s girl. What can Bobby do? If he was an American like we read about, he could go out and get rich over-night. But here —

Koster
: Forget it. Very few things will stand inspection at three o’clock in the morning.

Suddenly, Bobby raises his hand angrily and smashes his glass.

Bobby
(
ashamed
): Sorry — I forgot where I was for a moment.

DISSOLVE TO:

102 A DESERTED STREET

Dawn is coming, dull smudges behind the housetops. Bobby lurches along quite tight, his face pale and miserable. Reaching his house, he leans for a minute against the wall — then starts up the steps and searches for his key. In the dusk he hears a sound. Then he peers and sees a pale, indistinct form, crouching on the steps. It is Pat, still in her gleaming silver dress.

Bobby
: Pat! Pat — what are you doing here?

Pat
(
stirring
): I believe I’ve been asleep.

Bobby
: How did you get here?

Pat
: I walked, darling.

Bobby
: I mean why are you here at all?

Pat
: I’ve been asking myself that for an hour. (
she stands up with a little fit of coughing
) Oh God, it’s cold.

Bobby
(
sobering
): Pat, you’re a marvelous girl, and I’m a damned idiot. But you’re shivering. Come inside here.

With his arm around her, they go in.

DISSOLVE TO:

103 BOBBY AND PAT —
 — entering his room, Pat exhausted from the climb. He puts her on the bed and piles clothes on top of her.

Bobby
: Oh, how dumb I am! I should have called you from Alfons’.

Pat
(
sniffing
): Rum — cognac — whiskey — the League of Nations. Darling!

Bobby
: I’m sorry.

Pat
: Do you sleep on this bed?

Bobby
: Yes — Oh, if I’d only known you were here. You’re still shivering. (
he piles more clothes on
) You’re the first lovely thing that’s ever been in this miserable room.

Pat
(
sleepily
): You’re pretty lovely yourself.

He draws up a low stool and sits down beside the bed, leaning against it. Her eyes close.

Pat
: You’re a drunkard and a darling, and you didn’t mean that the other night.

Bobby
: Mean what?

Pat
: About not loving me.

Bobby
(
suppressing a desire to put his arms around her
): No, I didn’t mean it.

She closes her eyes; the birds are twittering outside the window. Bobby leans his elbow on the bed with his arm alongside hers. He yawns — his top hat opens with a dull thud.

DISSOLVE TO:

104 BREUER’S OFFICE — MORNING

A few days later. Breuer at his desk, his lieutenant facing him.

Breuer
: Did you make that little investigation?

Lieutenant
: I did — the three of them own a sort of repair shop — a poor little place. They pick up old jobs. You couldn’t call it a nest of revolutionaries, but one of them is — distinctly dangerous.

Breuer
(
eagerly
): Which one? Robert Lohkamp?

Lieutenant
: No. His name is Lenz. The other two don’t seem to mix in politics.

Breuer
(
disappointed
): All right. Put this Lenz’s name on our list. Where is this garage or shop?

Lieutenant
(
points it out on the map
): There — this corner.

Breuer
(
with meaning
): How very odd! We were thinking of establishing a club house or an armory in that vicinity. It might be just the spot, that corner. I’d like those men moved on.

Lieutenant
: Where to?

Breuer
: Where — I don’t care. (
with sudden passion
) Out of Germany if necessary.

DISSOLVE TO:

105 A RACE TRACK

An enthusiastic crowd of racing fans.

SHOOTING FROM THE GRANDSTAND ACROSS THE TRACK, we see eight cars pass in a flurry of dust, then CAMERA TRUCKS across track up to —

106 A LINE OF “PITS” ALONG THE BARRIER

Each bears a sign — “Deusenburg,” “Renault,” “Isotta-Fraschini,” “Daimler,” etc. We approach the one marked “Heinrich,” and find Pat, Bobby, and Lenz all very excited, sitting on the barrier. There are cans of oil piled within, and a spare set of tires. Lenz is in mechanics’ overalls and holding a bottle of wine.

Lenz
(
tensely
): Otto’s gaining — no he isn’t. Come on, Heinrich! Good old Heinrich. Last lap!

A Gigantic Mechanic
(
in the next pit
): What is that white junk? A trailer?

Lenz
(
truculently
): Who wants to know?

(
the mechanic swells visibly
)

Pat
(
warning him
): Don’t, Gottfried. Hospitals are expensive.

Lenz and the mechanic are interrupted by a yell of surprise from the crowd.

CUT TO:

107 THE BACKSTRETCH

“HEINRICH” is creeping up on the others.

CUT TO:

108 THE PITS

Lenz
: He’s stepping on it!

Bobby
: Come on, Heinrich!

109 THE HOME STRETCH

The cars tearing for the finish. “Heinrich” and another are neck and neck — “Heinrich” sweeps by — to win.

CUT TO:

110 THE PITS

Lenz
(
to the big mechanic
): Yah! Yah!

Cheering from the crowd. But as the exhaust and dust blow into the pits, Pat has a violent fit of coughing.

Bobby
(
supporting her
): Are you all right?

Pat
(
choking
): Nothing — dust in my throat.

Lenz
(
excitedly hands her the bottle
): Try this!

(
he rushes over to where Koster is stepping out of “Heinrich”, surrounded by a crowd
)

Pat
: I haven’t learned to drink from a bottle. (
coughing
) Isn’t it fine we won, darling.

DISSOLVE TO:

111 THE COURTYARD OF THE REPAIR SHOP. LATE AFTERNOON.

The Comrades and Pat at the outdoor table by the plum tree, singing, “Wann die Soldaten Durch die Stadt Marschieren.”

On the table sits the silver cup. “Heinrich” himself, with a wreath on his hood, stands in the background.

Jupp comes up to Lenz.

Jupp
: There’s a customer — only he doesn’t seem like a customer.

Lenz
: What? And we haven’t anything to sell just now. (
he gets up
) Where is he?

(
he follows Jupp
)

Koster
: Bobby, would you mind going along too?

Bobby
(
puzzled
): No — but why?

Koster
: Lenz might need you. Only for a minute, Bobby.

(
Bobby goes — suspiciously
)

Pat
(
touching the cup
): Was this worth risking your life for?

Koster
(
earnestly
): I’m going to do something more dangerous than that. Meddle in other people’s business. How long have you known Bobby?

Pat
: About six weeks.

Koster
: Why don’t you get married? (
Pat starts
) You love him, don’t you? (
she doesn’t answer
) He hasn’t had much out of life. (
still she doesn’t answer
) Think of all you could give him that he’s never had.

Pat
: It isn’t that. it’s — oh, it’s this wretched body of mine.

Koster
: It’s an excellent body.

Pat
: No — it’s merely patched up. After the war, we didn’t have enough to eat. I’m no good here.

(
she puts her hand on her chest
)

Koster
: I guessed that.

Pat
: I’m all right — when I take care of myself.

Koster
: Let Bobby take care of you.

Pat
: I wouldn’t let anyone do that.

Koster
: You little idiot — that’s what he needs — something worthwhile to live for. That’s what all this idle drinking is about. The world has somehow slipped away from Lenz and me — we don’t want it to happen to Bobby.

Pat
(
shaking her head
): It doesn’t make sense. Perhaps another kind of woman —

Koster
: The kind he couldn’t love?

Lenz and Bobby come back to the table.

Lenz
(
worried
): There seems to be some trouble about our license.

Koster
: What is it?

Lenz
: A fresh little squirt says we’ll have to get it renewed. Or rather he said we could
try
to get it renewed.

Koster
(
scoffing
): What nonsense. We’ve been here two years. There’ll be no difficulty.

Bobby
: He said —

Koster
: Sit down. You can go to the license bureau tomorrow. (
Lenz and Bobby sit down. Bobby next to Pat
) This evening is too important to spoil. Pat tells me she loves us all. Am I right, Pat?