"Call of the Wild (I)"
Transcribed by: Brenna
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On this episode of Call of the Wild, a legend begins when Buck arrives in Forty Mile and the friendship of a lifetime is born. But only after Buck is forced to face the challenges of a working dog in the Yukon. Buck risks his life and earns respect as one of the strongest and most loyal dogs in the region. And the adoration of an aspiring young guide. Buck's legendary journey begins now on Call of the Wild.
(opening theme and credits)
(Miles Challenger: I'll never forget the first time
I saw Buck. I had been at Forty Mile for three years.
I had seen a lot of dogs come and go at the auction. I'd never seen
a dog like Buck.
I don't know what it was that drew him to me and I guess I never will.
But I can tell
you, those eyes never left me until that wagon carried him to the end of
Main Street.
I could tell he was hurting, and I wanted to change that. There is
no doubt, I just
know he was the greatest dog I have ever seen.)
Auctioneer: Okay, gather around. Look what's
rolling into town. The horses' wagon is just coming in.
We got a great auction. Have a look. Some beauties here.
We're going to get this auction
started in just a few minutes. Let's all move over and let’s get
started. Gather around, we've
got a great dog auction...
John Thornton: I could use some help in the shop, Miles.
Miles Challenger: Be there in a minute.
Adoley Thornton: Let him go, John. He feels sorry for those poor dogs.
John: Anything to get out of work in this store.
Adoley: That's not fair, John. He's just high spirited.
John: Well maybe one day he'll learn to mind his manners and do as he's told.
Adoley: Like you did when you were his age?
John: Well, uh, I might have been a little headstrong.
Adoley: Just a little.
(at the auction)
Auctioneer: Come on boys, move in. Let's get
started with our first dog in the auction. Looks like we
got about a three-year-old dog. I'd say he weighs, oh, maybe one
hundred and twenty
pounds. And I'll tell ya, they say he's got quite a temper.
Name's Buck. Who's going to
give me an opening bid here today? Give me ten dollars on him.
A ten-dollar bill. Who's
got ten?
Miles: I'll give you a dollar.
(The auctioneer laughs.)
Auctioneer: A dollar? Well, that's, ah, better
than I had I guess. I got a dollar bid from Miles. One
dollar now ten. Anybody gonna bid ten?
Now boys, what's wrong with ya? You scared of
Buck here? You think he's gonna rip you apart? Now who's man
enough to tame down
Buck?
Christophe Parchek: I could use a new lead sled dog. I'll bid five dollars.
Auctioneer: Five-dollar bid by Mr. Parchek.
Five dollars. Now I've got to have ten. And five and now
a ten-dollar bill. What do you say, ten?
Miles: Ten dollars!
Auctioneer: Miles Challenger just bid ten dollars. Do I hear fifteen anywhere?
Parchek: What are you going to do with this dog,
boy? Let him lie around in you kitchen? This is a sled
dog if I've ever seen one.
Miles: I need a good sled dog when I go out as a guide.
Jacob: I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon, son.
Miles: Yes it will.
Jacob: Does John Thornton know about this?
Miles: John Thornton doesn't run my life.
Jacob: He don't? Who does then? Your ma?
(laughs)
The Swede: I'll bid twenty dollars. Hey, Miles.
Auctioneer: Well, Swede bids twenty dollars.
Now Swede, if you need yourself one tough dog, you
better buy old Buck here if you’re gonna strap him in next to Spitz.
Swede bids twenty
dollars. Do I hear thirty? A twenty and now a thirty.
Miles: Thirty dollars!
Auctioneer: Thirty-dollar bid from Miles.
Thirty and now thirty five. What do you say Swede? Do it
again? Do it again at thirty five? Will you bid thirty five?
Swede: Thirty five.
Auctioneer: Thank you, Swede. Thirty five
and now forty. Will you do it again? Forty dollars.
Anybody gonna bid forty?
Miles: Forty!
Auctioneer: Thank you, Miles. And now Swede,
will you do it again one more time at fifty? Fifty-dollar
bill.
Swede: Fifty!
Auctioneer: Swede bids fifty dollars. Now
I need sixty, anybody. Come on boys. Anybody here gonna
bid sixty? Last call. Sixty dollars anybody? And I have
sold old Buck here to Swede for
fifty dollars.
(Miles starts to walk away when Swede grabs him.)
Swede: Miles, sorry. I really need another dog for my team.
(Miles just looks at him and walks away.)
(Miles: So the next morning, Buck was led to his
first dog sled team. Most of the dogs were friendly,
except one. Spitz. The lead dog. The king. The
tyrant.)
Swede: Here we have Buck. Hey, Curly. There you go, Buck.
(Spitz starts to bark.)
Swede: Shut up, Spitz!
(Miles: When their eyes locked, I could tell Buck had met his mortal enemy.)
(Miles walks up to Buck and starts to pet him. Adoley walks out of the Trading Post with her camera.)
Adoley: Dog looks like he knows ya. Is that the one you went to feed last night?
Miles: Yeah. This is Buck.
Adoley: So Swede bought Buck?
Miles: (sighs) Yeah. I tried to outbid him but he offered fifty dollars.
Adoley: Well, maybe if you save your money, you'll be able to buy him off Swede when he's done.
Miles: By the time Swede's finished running him for a couple of years, he's not gonna be worth much.
(Swede and John come out of the Trading Post.)
John: Safe trip, my friend.
Swede: Thanks, John. Oh, when I get back I want that home cooked meal your husband's promised me.
Adoley: Well, when John learns how to cook, you'll be sure to get one.
Swede: I look forward to that.
Miles: Goodbye, Buck. And good luck, boy.
Adoley: Hey, Swede. Smile.
Swede: Like this?
(holds up whip)
(Adoley smiles and takes a picture.)
Swede: Hike, hike Spitz! Hike!
(leaves Forty Mile)
(on the trail)
(Miles: Buck felt the work. He knew the weight
he'd have to pull, and his place with the other dogs.
And instincts also told him, he better be wary of Spitz.)
(at the Trading Post)
Maurice: How long a track to Eagle Ridge from here?
John: How many dogs?
Maurice: Seven.
John: And how much weight you carrying?
Wesley: About three hundred pounds.
John: About five days, if you're lucky. If you don't hit that storm that's brewing.
Maurice: Do you know a guide we could hire to get us up there?
(Miles stops what he's doing and looks at John.)
John: No, I don't. You might try the hotel. They got guides coming in there every few weeks.
(Miles walks out and slams the door.)
(at Swede's camp)
(Spitz gets loose and attacks Curly.)
Swede: No Spitz! Spitz! No! (sees
Curly dead) Damn you, Spitz. You’re pulling for two now.
Do
you understand that, Spitz? You got to work harder now. I swear,
one of these days it's gonna
be me and you.
(at the Thornton house)
(The family is eating dinner.)
Miles: You don't understand. You can't.
John: And why can't I?
Miles: Because, John, you’re too old to remember.
Adoley: That's enough, Miles.
John: No, let him talk.
Miles: It's nothing personal. You and mom
have been great. I can't stand living in this house anymore.
I'm going crazy here. I want to go. I want to get out of Forty
Mile. I want to earn some money.
I want to look for gold before it's all gone. I'm old enough to be
on my own. You both know
that.
Adoley: You're fifteen years old.
Miles: John, how old were you when you first came to the Yukon?
John: I was sixteen.
Miles: Sixteen. And you were a city boy? A rube? A grocer? That's what you told me, right?
John: That's right.
Miles: But you survived?
John: Look, be patient. Your time's gonna come soon enough.
Miles: How old do I have to be? All my friends are guides and they don't know half as much as I do.
John: And because of that they are going to die.
Miles: (sighs) I know what I'm doing.
John: No, you don't. You think you do but you don't.
Miles: Mom, I'm not asking for a permanent job.
Adoley: It's up to your father.
Miles: He is not my father. (stands up)
John: Sit down, Miles! (slams fist onto table)
Miles: Why did you bring me here in the first place if I wasn't to make my own way in the world?
(walks out and slams the door)
Adoley: I'd ask you how your meal was, but you've hardly eaten any of it.
John: That boy is going to school. He is not going to be a guide.
Adoley: He's going to do what he wants to, John, just like you did.
(gets up from the table)
(Emma Berry walks out of the hotel.)
(Miles: Ah, Emma Berry. Her father, Clarence
Berry, he owned the Forty Mile hotel. Well, the saloon
and pretty much everything else in town. She was sixteen. I
was never sure in those days how
she felt about me, but I sure knew how I felt about her.)
(Emma sees Miles and walks up to him.)
Emma Berry: Hey, Miles.
Miles: Emma.
Emma: You look like you're ready to kick the cat or strangle a chicken.
Miles: You do have a way with words.
Emma: I like words. You ever read poetry?
Miles: Some.
Emma: I'd like to write poetry one day.
Miles: I didn't know that.
Emma: Oh, I'm sure there's a whole heap of things
you don't know about me, Miles. Maybe you'll learn
some of them one day.
Miles: You, uh, alone in the hotel again?
Emma: My father is on another of his business trips. "Commerce waits for no man."
Miles: That ain't right, you know. The way he leaves you in there.
Emma: You get used to it. You’re looking a
little lonely yourself tonight. It's a good thing you got your
parents with you.
Miles: Just my mother.
Emma: John Thornton's a good man.
Miles: I know. He just doesn't understand.
Why won't he let me prove to him that I can be the best
guide in the territory, next to him?
(They stop in front of the saloon.)
Emma: Maybe he just doesn't think you're ready.
Miles: How will I ever know if I'm not given a chance?
Emma: Your chance will come.
Miles: Not if John Thornton has a say in it.
Emma: Your chance will come, Miles. It always
does. You just have to be ready for it when it does.
(pause) Goodnight.
Miles: Thanks, for talking to me.
Emma: Well, your good to talk to because you listen. Not many people do.
(They are about to kiss when a man comes out of the saloon.)
Emma: Goodnight.
(She walks away.)
(on the trail)
(Miles: As Swede traveled over mountain passes,
Buck regained his strength. More fluid in his running
style. Curly had taught him that. And after what happened to
Curly, Buck always kept an eye
on Spitz.)
Swede: Whoa! There’s a storm coming. All right, hurry up! Let's go! Let’s go!
(Swede stopped and made camp.)
Swede: Hey, Buck. How you doing buddy, huh?
(Spitz starts to bark.)
Swede: Shut up, Spitz!
(goes to get firewood)
(Miles: For the whole trip Spitz had been waiting
for the right moment. And when Swede left camp,
it was time for the kill. Buck knew it. He was ready.
The call of the wild was in his soul.)
(Spitz starts to bark and goes after Buck.)
(Swede hears the fight.)
Swede: Spitz. Spitz! Damn!
(Swede runs after Spitz but he gets away.)
Swede: Spitz! You’re the tough dog now, Buck. Can you pull lead for me?
(at the saloon)
(Emma is picking up dirty glasses when Maurice calls out to her.)
Maurice: You're the prettiest waitress I've ever seen. Does your daddy know you're here?
Emma: He does because he owns the saloon.
I make sure no one breaks up the place, drinks get paid
for, and guns get checked in at the bar.
Maurice: And if there's trouble, do you stop it?
Emma: (holds up a sledgehammer) Sometimes
Jack here helps me out, but most times I just grab the
drunks by the seat of their pants and throw them out the doors.
Maurice: I'd like to see that.
Emma: Keep on drinking like you've been doing and maybe you'll see.
Wesley: She's given you back just as good as you're
dishing out, Maurice. Why don't you leave her
alone?
Maurice: Why don't you mind your own business?
Wesley: We're in this adventure together. Everything you do is my business. Besides, it's risky.
(Miles walks up to them.)
Miles: Excuse me. Uh, I'm Miles, Miles Challenger. I heard you guys were looking for a guide.
Wesley: You work at the Trading Post.
Miles: Uh, yes sir.
Maurice: How old are you?
Miles: Well, uh, to be honest with you, I'm only
fifteen. But you can ask anybody in town, I'm old for
my age and I'm very capable.
Wesley: You ever been a guide before?
Miles: Uh, no, but I've made the trip to Eagle Ridge
myself four times. That's where you’re headed,
right?
Maurice: That's right. You ever been up there on your own?
Miles: No. I made the trip with my stepfather, but I know the trail like the back of my hand.
Maurice: Is that so?
Miles: Yeah. (points to a map)
The best way to go here is just past Castle Rock cliff, then you catch
a
trail just north of here to Eagle Ridge and five days.
(A young man, Twig, comes up behind Miles.)
Twig: He doesn't know what he's talking about.
Miles: Twig. I thought I smelt you.
Maurice: You two know each other?
Twig: Get away from here, Challenger. This is my deal.
Miles: You're hiring him?
Maurice: I’m thinking about it. You see, Miles, Mr. Eastly here disagrees with you.
Wesley: Yeah, (points to the map) he thinks
we can cross Seventy-Mile River right here. Make the trip
in three days.
Miles: No, let me remind you sir, it is a bad time
to be on the ice. It's very thin this time of year.
There's talk of an early thaw.
Twig: Don't listen to him. He's no guide.
He's just a city boy living off his stepfather's reputation. He
ain't worth spit himself.
Mile: Take that back, Twig.
Twig: I ain't taking nothing back.
(Miles is about to punch Twig, but Maurice holds him back.)
Maurice: Competition. We love competition, don't we Wesley?
Wesley: Yes we do. Ha ha.
(Later, after the saloon is closed, Miles is trying to balance a bottle on his head.)
(Miles: I've got to admit, I felt pretty stupid
at that moment. But I wanted to prove something. To my
mother, to John Thornton, but most of all to myself.)
(A drunk Maurice is pointing a gun at Miles.)
Maurice: This is about courage, Miles. Courage is the unknown factor of the equation.
Miles: What equation?
Maurice: How I choose between you and Twiggy.
Miles: Wouldn't it be a lot easier to judge us on the merits of our ideas?
Maurice: Stop moving, Challenger.
(Miles looks at him as if he is crazy.)
(Emma walks up.)
Emma: We don't allow no guns in here mister. Miles! What do you think you’re doing?
Miles: Good question. Look mister, you've been drinking, and I have nothing against drinking but....
Maurice: Do you want the job Miles?
Miles: Yes, sir, I do, but.....
Maurice: Then put the bottle back on top of your head.
Emma: The saloon's closed. Get out of here.
Maurice: Now's your chance to throw me out.
Emma: Fine by me.
Miles: Wait! I don't need a job that bad.
Twig: (pushes Miles and takes the bottle) Give me that thing. (puts the bottle on his head) Fire away.
Miles: Wait. Wait, Twig. Take the bottle off your head.
Emma: No, a bullet through his brain might be an improvement.
Wesley: Hey, Maurice. Maybe we should stop this.
Maurice: Shut up, Wesley.
(Maurice is about to shoot when Miles pushes Twig out of the way.)
Miles: This ain't about courage, mister. This
is stupidity. You can have the job, Twig. I don't want it
anymore.
Twig: Ha! It was never yours.
(Twig pushes Miles to the ground and punches him. Miles is about to return the punch when Emma speaks up.)
Emma: Miles! He isn't worth it.
(Miles gets up and starts walking to the door. He turns around dabbing his bloody nose.)
Miles: I hope you all freeze to death!
(He turns around and walks out the door.)
(At the Thornton house)
(John is cleaning guns when Miles walks in.)
(Miles cleans the blood off his nose.)
John: Your mom worries when you’re out late and she don't know where you are.
Miles: I was taking a walk.
John: For four hours? If you had been any later I would have cleaned every gun in this house.
(John walks over to him and sees the blood on the towel.)
John: Who hit you?
Miles: It doesn't matter.
John: It does to me.
Miles: Yeah. Sure.
John: Look, Miles, why don't you tell me what's going on? I'd...
Miles: You'd what? Help me out? (walks
away from John) You’re the one who's always right. Do you
know how stupid you make me feel sometimes?
John: (walking towards Miles) I don't mean to. I want to help.
Miles: Help me what? Become a man? Certainly not be a guide like you. (walks away from John)
John: (Picks up a gun and throws it at Miles.
Miles catches it.) You see this gun? That is your gun.
That
gun hasn't been cleaned in weeks. When you learn to clean that gun,
when you learn to take
responsibility
for your actions then maybe you will be ready to go out into the wilderness.
(Adoley is standing behind a door listening.)
Miles: I don't need your advice, okay? So leave me alone.
John: Who do you think you're talking to?
Miles: You, John. I'm talking to you.
John: Not in that tone of voice. Not in my house!
Miles: Fine. Then I'll leave your house.
(puts the gun down and leaves house)
(at Swede's camp on the trail)
(It is snowy, cold, and very windy.)
(Miles: Swede was in deep trouble. He hit
bad weather before, but not so suddenly. This storm had
come out of nowhere.)
(Swede looks over and sees a dead dog.)
(Miles: When he saw the dead dog it was Swede's
worst nightmare. Swede knew that losing dogs meant
that it was only a matter of time before they all froze to death.)
(on the trail the next day)
(Miles: Buck's heart and powerful legs were all that was keeping Swede's dog team together.)
(The sled stops moving.)
(Miles: He knew even before he saw it. Another dog had died. Now Buck had to pull for four.)
Swede: Come on boys!
(Miles: There was one last ridge to climb.
Buck willed the other dogs on, but he too was on the verge of
collapse.)
(Swede and the dogs make it to the camp.)
Swede: Thank you, Buck.
(at the camp)
Tommy: Lucky you made it through this time, Swede.
Brew this man some hot coffee. What happened
to Spitz?
Swede: He fought with Buck here and Buck won. Spitz took off. Buck pulled me through.
Tommy: Looks pretty bad. I'd put him down.
Swede: No, he's not gonna die. I can take
him to Charlie Jimmy's. I've seen him nurse a good many
animals back to life.
Tommy: Well, his cabin's four days from here. That dog won't make it.
Swede: Oh he will. If I have to carry him
on my back the whole way he will. Listen, Tommy, I need a
fresh team. Can you help me out?
Tommy: I can give you a new team, buy I'll need them back. Better wait till tomorrow, huh?
Swede: You ain't gonna die, Buck. You got me this far, I'm gonna get you the rest of the way.
(the next morning at the camp)
Tommy: I got the mail for Forty Mile.
Swede: I’ve got that pickaxe you’ve been asking for for the past few months.
Tommy: Well, good luck, Swede. For your sake I hope the dog makes it.
Swede: I appreciate it, Tommy. Hike! Hike!
(leaves the camp)
(on the trail)
Swede: You're gonna make it, Buck, if it's the last thing I do.
(at Charlie Jimmy's cabin)
(Charlie is helping Miles make something.)
Charlie Jimmy: You should wet the leather. It will stretch better that way.
(Miles and Charlie both look up when they hear Swede calling.)
(Miles and Charlie come out to meet Swede.)
Miles: What happened to him?
Swede: Let's get him inside.
Miles: Hey, Buck. You okay?
(inside Charlie Jimmy's)
Charlie: He's bad.
Miles: Can we do anything?
Charlie: I don't think so.
Miles: What happened?
Swede: He got into a fight with Spitz.
Miles: Did he kill him?
Swede: Oh, he could have done it but he didn't.
Spitz took off. But he couldn't have lasted long out
there. Buck saw us through the storm. Without him I'd have
died. But it almost killed him.
Miles: It's okay, boy. You’re gonna be okay.
Swede: It's getting late. I got to get the mail to Forty Mile.
Miles: I'll stay with him.
(Charlie walks over with something for Buck to eat. Buck doesn't eat it.)
Miles: Come on, boy. Does he have a chance?
Charlie: If he makes it through the night that will be a good sign.
Miles: Swede, tell my mom I'm gonna spend the night here with Charlie Jimmy.
Swede: She's gonna ask why.
Miles: It's okay. You can tell her. Just don't tell John.
Swede: I'll be back in two days to see how Buck's doing.
(Swede leaves.)
(at Charlie Jimmy's two days later)
Swede: He's better!
Charlie: 'Bout half I'd say.
Swede: You figure he's recovered enough to be a lead dog again?
Charlie: He's strong. Just needs time.
Swede: I lost all my dogs, Charlie. Two of
them out on the trail. Another one died this morning at
Forty Mile. The other one won't be pulling sled again. I need
to buy a whole new team of dogs.
Charlie: Expensive.
Swede: Well, I got to have a dog sled team, Charlie,
or I can't do my job. I already talked to the
auctioneer. He can give me the dogs, but it'll cost me five hundred
dollars. You saved my life,
Buck, but I got to sell ya.
(at the auction)
Mercedes Levant: He is so beautiful.
Auctioneer: Now ladies and gentlemen, this is the
dog you've all been hearing about. This here is Buck.
Now Buck is the dog that pulled Swede's team right on through to Brenner
Pass all by
himself.
(Miles is in the crowd watching.)
Auctioneer: I don't know of any other dog that we've
heard of the can do that. Buck here he is the king
of sled dogs. This is a lead dog that may one day save your life.
And I need an opening bid
on this dog. I say how about five hundred dollars on Buck?
Parchek: Five hundred?
Jacob: I'll bid five hundred.
Auctioneer: Jacob bids five hundred. I've got five hundred now six hundred. And five hundred now six.
Hal Levant: Six hundred dollars.
Mercedes: Hal, are you crazy? We cannot afford that.
Hal: Don't you worry about the money.
Mercedes: It's my money.
Hal: It's your publisher’s money.
Jacob: Six hundred and fifty!
Auctioneer: Jacob bids six hundred and fifty.
What do you say will you go seven? Will you bid seven
hundred?
Hal: Seven hundred dollars.
Mercedes: Hal!
Auctioneer: I've got a seven hundred dollar bid
from the gentleman right down in front on this
magnificent animal. Now I need eight hundred.
Jacob will you bid eight hundred? Will you
go eight hundred?
Jacob: Too rich for my blood.
(Jacob walks away bumps into Miles.)
Auctioneer: Well, Jacob's out. I've got seven
hundred right here. Who's gonna bid eight hundred? Last
call. Seven hundred and now eight hundred. And I have sold
Buck for seven hundred
dollars to Mr. uh....
Hal: Levant. Hal Levant.
Auctioneer: Well, Buck is sold to Mr. Levant for seven hundred dollars.
(at the saloon)
(Hal is gambling.)
Hal: Call. Pair? Full house, gentlemen…
Gambler: Straight flush.
(at the Trading Post)
(Mercedes is getting supplies.)
Mercedes: You never had gold fever, Mr. Thornton?
John: Well, ma'am, I did once. Some men find
gold. Me, I found a wife and a son. I've been a rich
man ever since.
Mercedes: Well said. My name is Mercedes Levant.
John: Real pleased to meet you.
Mercedes: You've probably heard of me, the travel writer.
(John shakes his head.)
Mercedes: Uh, I'm going to need some of those tomatoes
and those peaches. My brother Hal and I are
prospecting. Well, Hal is. I'm just along for the ride.
John: You're the couple who bought that dog Buck, aren't ya?
Mercedes: That's right. Our new lead sled dog. Our very expensive, new lead sled dog.
John: My friend Swede told me all about it.
Mercedes: Buck, he is magnificent. I'm gonna
need some of that macaroni. We're headed up to Eagle
Ridge. I was told that you might be able to help us find a guide.
John: No, ma'am. No, not me, but you can try
the hotel. They might be able to help ya. With the sled
and all that will be two hundred and eighty six dollars and seventy five
cents.
Mercedes: That's so much. Well, there are a lot of supplies of course.
John: Cash or gold?
Mercedes: Credit, if you’d be so kind.
(outside)
(Miles walks up and pets Buck.)
Miles: Hey. How you doin' boy? I missed
you too. Good to see you. Let's have a look at your paws.
They need more time to heal. You shouldn't be walking around when
your paws are still this raw.
I hope they're treating you all right boy. You deserve it.
(at the saloon)
(Mercedes walks in.)
Mercedes: Come on. We've got to pay for our supplies if we want to leave in the morning.
Hal: We cannot pay for anything.
Mercedes: What?
Hal: We're cleaned out between that damn dog and these cheats in here. More whiskey!
Mercedes: Hal, do you mean to tell me that you have gambled away all of our money?
Hal: I was trying to win us enough to get us out of this hellhole.
Mercedes: You idiot!
(She walks out.)
(That night at the Thornton house, Miles is on the porch making a salve for Buck's paws when his mom comes out.)
Adoley: What are you doing?
Miles: Just making something.
Adoley: I can see that.
Miles: It's a salve, for Buck's paws. They're chewed up pretty bad. They need some protection.
Adoley: Do the Levants know how kind you're being to their new sled dog?
Miles: It doesn't matter. I'll just put it on him. They won’t even know I did it.
Adoley: The Levants are staying over at the hotel.
They're leaving for Eagle Ridge in the morning and
they're looking for a guide. Of course you didn't hear that from
me. Go on. I'll clean up.
Miles: Thanks, mom.
(Miles heads to the hotel.)
(in the Levant's hotel room)
(Hal is checking his gun while Mercedes is dancing to music.)
Mercedes: Stop complaining, Hal. You wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for my publisher's money.
Hal: And neither would you.
Mercedes: How is it you can say the dumbest things with such conviction?
(A knock at the door)
Mercedes: Who is it? Are we expecting someone?
(Hal opens the door to see Miles standing in the hall.)
Hal: Good evening. What do you want?
Miles: I heard you were looking for a guide.
Hal: Do you know of any?
Miles: Yes, sir. Me.
Hal: (laughs) How old are you?
Miles: Eighteen.
Mercedes: Oh, let him in, Hal. Don't keep him standing in the hall.
(Hal motions for Miles to come in. Miles enters.)
(Later that night Mercedes is teaching Miles to dance.)
Mercedes: Watch your toes, Miles. Arch your
back…head up. Rotate on the balls of your feet. Good!
Good! You’re a natural. I would die without music. I
know I could never live without it.
Miles: Uh, Mrs. Levant, what about the guide job?
Mercedes: Oh, crank it up, Hal.
Hal. Crank it up yourself, Mercedes. I'm going to get a drink.
Mercedes: What a novel idea. Is that where you're going to squander the rest of our money?
Hal: Don't you start with me, Mercedes.
Miles: Wait, sir. About that guide job…
Hal: There is no job, kid. We're broke. We are not going anywhere. She's just toying with you.
(Hal leaves the room.)
Mercedes: Don't listen to him. He's no fun. Now, the trick to the waltz is rhythm.
(While Mercedes is cranking up the phonograph, Miles sneaks out.)
Mercedes: Miles?
(at the saloon)
Hal: My dog can pull a thousand pounds.
Guilliard: No dog can pull a thousand pounds.
(Miles walks in.)
Hal: Miles! Come here. You back me up on this and the guide job is yours.
(Hal and Miles walk back over to the table.)
Hal: Here he is. My new guide. I need you to verify something for me.
Mr. Guildridge: What do you say, Miles, can he do it?
Miles: Do what?
Guilliard: Your friend here say he's got a dog that
can start a sled with a thousand pound and pull off
with it one hundred yard.
Hal: That's right, Buck, our new lead dog.
Guilliard: Yeah we've heard all about this dog.
Pulled the sled by himself and saved Swede's life, but this
Swede always telling tall tale.
Miles: No, Swede's telling the truth.
Guilliard: Well, I got a thousand dollar in gold here that say he can't.
Miles: I think Mr. Levant's right. I think Buck could probably do this.
Guilliard: Then, Mr. Levant, you put up your money and we'll see who's right.
Hal: Mr. Guildridge.
(Mr. Guildridge and Hal take Miles back away from the table.)
Mr. Guildridge: The sled and the dogs will bring
seven hundred. I'll back him for the other three if you
say he's got a chance.
Miles: Why me?
Mr. Guildridge: I trust you, Miles, and I trust your father.
Miles: My step-father.
Mr. Guildridge: You people know dogs and if you
think this Buck has a chance I'll lend your friend the
money.
Miles: (looking at Hal) And I'm your guide?
Hal: Yeah. Yeah!
(They walk back over to the table.)
Miles: All right. I think Buck can do it.
Guilliard: Then, by God, we got a bet.
Mr. Guildridge: Tomorrow morning just after dawn.
Guilliard: Tomorrow morning.
(They shake hands.)
To Be Continued.
