EMMERSON, still glancing at the viaduct, makes his way back to his original seat. He sits as at the beginning of the sequence with his Guinness bottle and takes a drink from it. DICK  moves to the shelter doorway, and puts on his coat. EMMERSON sits, deep in thought.

DICK stoops to go back into the shelter.

EMMERSON sighs.

DICK: Why did you give her something?

EMMERSON: (to himself, trying to open conversation) Brinker…

DICK: Doodles to you !

He has gone back into the shelter.

The lights snap change to ordinary moonlight.  EMMERSON buries his face in his hands.

PETER runs down the steps from behind the arches. He is wearing a suit.

PETER: (roughly)   Have you seen her? (EMMERSON looks up.)   Eh? Did she come down here? (EMMERSON takes no notice.)    Oh talk to your bloody self. Bloody  smelly old sod.

He leaves stage right.

EMMERSON remains motionless.

JACKY appears at the top of the steps. She comes slowly down, past EMMERSON.

She is wearing an anorak over her dress. Round her neck is the bead collar. She looks after PETER, undecided whether or  not to follow.

JACKY: I… er…  I am sorry about Peter. I don’t know why ‘e’s like that. I hate that. (Pause.) I’m very sorry that he’s upset you.

EMMERSON looks up, slightly puzzled.

JACKY: (contd.)   He’s not always, I mean, like that. I think he’s a bit mixed up.

She turns away from EMMERSON. (more certain)   But I can’t stand it when ‘e gets clever. An’ pretendin’ to  be better than folk. (Pause.)   His mother’s…  very snobby an’ she told Peter to mek me throw your present away. I said I thought it was African beadwork, an’ she said it was, “just Gypsy rubbish”. So I came out of the pub, left ‘em all to it. (Slight pause.)    I don’t know what to do. E’s not always so nasty.

EMMERSON: (quietly)   You’ll…  , you’ll know Richmond I shouldn’t wonder?

JACKY: Richmond, what the place?

EMMERSON: Mm,  North Yorkshire. Place I were born in, do you know it?

JACKY: Yes, well I’ve been through it in the car on a Sunday.

EMMERSON:  (quiet, deliberate)     Certain feller came there when I was a bit of a wippersnapper.  Very  knowledgeable sort of a feller.  With a particular turn of phrase to entrance and delight you. Brinker’ wor ‘is name an’ ‘e wor a travellin’ showman. (Slight pause.)  (proudly)   An’ I…  I knew ‘im. (slowly)   The show moved on to Durham. It was an almost possibility that I might join Brinker. Work with ‘im. Learn from ‘im. Almost  a  possibility.  Once  over.

Slight pause.

JACKY:  (puzzled)   Oh?

EMMERSON: (quiet, measured)  One o’ the great many very important things that ‘e mentioned to me wor concernin’ a grave disenchantment ‘atween two parties.

Slight pause.

JACKY: (quietly)   Yeh?

EMMERSON becomes more aware of her as his audience.

EMMERSON:  Brinker ‘ad ‘eard it from a colossal man. A black man. The Kewerer. On the Roof of Africa road. Man called Nthuse.

(She pulls upthe zip of her anorak and crouches on the steps near him.)

Feelin’ chilled?

JACKY:  No, go on.

EMMERSON: (completely matter of fact)  Well, Brinker was told that on this particular scree, spot called Marakabei, near a pool, lived a Rock Rabbit. An’ Rock Rabbit was very happy, tunnelin’ an’ doin’ on the hillside. And he would drink from the pool when he was thirsty.

In the pool lived Stone Fish. And Stone Fish was happy,  skulkin’ an’ skitterin’ round the pool that was filled an’ refreshed by a stream that tumbled down the hillside.

A certain time comes when Rock Rabbit spies Stone Fish an’ sez  - 

“My hillside. My  pool. I live on the hillside. I drink from this pool. There’s no place for you an’ you must go.”

An’ Stone Fish sez –

“Don’t come so comical. I live in this pool. The pool is part of the hillside, but there’s sufficient room for both of us.  Here I shall stay.

(JACKY hugs herself.)

Do you want to be off?

JACKY: (frowning)    No, go on.

EMMERSON:  Their argument becomes bitter an’ turns to rancour. So,  Kewerer, Nthuse, comes,  an’ tells ‘em there’ll only ever be a deep understandin’ ‘atween ‘em, when Rock Rabbit abides in the pool, an’ Stone Fish abides on the hillside. See?

(She nods non-committally but sits.)

Way above the pool hangs a huge and weighty boulder. Been there many an’ many a long year, weatherin’ an’ doin’.  And it’s balanced perfectly on a pinnacle of rock.

But soon after the Kewerer’s visit there’s an unnaturally fierce storm that lashes and cuts into the hillside with a terrifyin’ strength.

Rock Rabbit’s afeared., an’ cowers in his hole. Stone Fish lies wonderin’, deep on the floor of the pool. The stream no longer tumbles prettily, but rushes torrentially downwards, clawin’ at everything in its path.

Suddenly the boulder shifts. Its foundations ‘ave gone. Its great weight totters an’ sways…  an’ it’s away!  Crashin’ down the ‘illside, crushin’ and flattenin’, tearin’ an’ rivin’ its way for’ard, mekkin’ a thunderous an’ a terrifyin’ sound.

Rock Rabbit teks to wonderin’ what the devil this can be, and in what transpires to be a very misjudged moment, rushes outside. Right into the path of the boulder as it swings and lurches on its way, to land in the pool with a ground tremblin’, leaden roar of finality.

Rock Rabbit, broken an’ bleedin’, unable to move, looked up at the ravaged hillside, and could just see Stone Fish gaspin’ an’ weakly flailin’, helpless, on a ledge where she’d been thrown by the force of the boulder.

(He looks at JACKY who  nods encouragement)

They regarded each other in a long painful silence. Stone Fish on the hillside. Rock Rabbit in the pool.  Until the water from the subsiding torrent swirled, and covered Rock Rabbit,  and lapped and washed at the bruised boulder. And Stone Fish, sightless, stared and stared. 

(Pause.)

We’re too old for stories aren’t we?

JACKY: No. (unsure)  I don’t know what to…  (Slight pause.)   I feel silly but I don’t want to. Oh, I never know what to do. (She gets up, matter of fact)   It’s gettin’ a bit chilly.

She holds out her hand.  EMMERSON takes it and squeezes It. He lets go.

She moves off, then looks back.

JACKY:  Still, you’ve got the arch over your head. Couldn’t ask for a bigger, stronger roof than that.

She feels awkward again.

EMMERSON: (rough)   Go on, bugger off.  ‘Ad enough on yer!

She grins.

JACKY: (fast, cheeky)  Sleep tight mind the little mice don’t bite.

She leaves.

EMMERSON:  Huh!

He takes a swig from his Guinness bottle.

He looks across at the dry—stone wall and becomes troubled.

He gets up, taking his bottle with him, and moves to the wall.

He puts the bottle down on the mill side of the wall, and from the heap of stones he picks up a large flat one.

He brushes the dirt from it with his fingers.

He searches the newly built part of the wall for a place to put it.

He becomes concerned by his indecision and turns the stone over and around in his hands.

He tries to place the stone but cannot.

He stands motionless with the stone in his hands.

Hold this for a moment.

BLACKOUT

SCENE THREE          

The next morning.

Lights fade up.  A bright sunny morning, 9 am.

HEDLEY struggles on from stage right, pushing a well-used, rusting boiler-house wheelbarrow which contains bricks and some cement which he has already mixed. The two are separated by a piece of plywood placed vertically across the barrow.

The bricks have been used before and there is old mortar sticking to them.

He parks the barrow stage left below the banking to the shelter doorway.

He rubs his forearms and makes his way to the shelter doorway.

He pulls down the dirty polythene sheeting from the architrave and bundles it up, slinging it over the wall into the mill rubbish.

He sees EMMERSON’s belongings just inside the doorway; the tea box, biscuit tin, lading can and half-empty Guinness bottle. Behind them the walling hammer.

He glances up the steps, then picks up the walling hammer and uses it to knock the door frame into shape.

Having done that he glances up the steps again and then whistling to himself self-consciously he reaoves the box, tin, can and bottle from the doorway and places them on the banking near to the steps, out of his way.

He removes the lid of the biscuit tin, pulls a face at the contents, and replaces the lid.

After a moments hesitation he slides the lid from the tea box, glances up the steps, then sifts about amongst the contents. He pulls out an old banknote, has a look at the watermark. He replaces it and takes out an army cap badge which he examines. He takes out a grubby brown packet which he looks into for a moment.

He looks puzzled, replaces everything, and slides back the lid.

He moves back to the wheelbarrow and starts to unload bricks up on to the banking near to the shelter doorway.

JACKY enters, stage right. She has jeans and jumper on again. She is agitated.

She stops when she sees HEDLEY.

JACKY: Oh

HEDLEY: Hey up! Nice mornin’.

JACKY: Hello. Have you seen Peter?

HEDLEY: No.

They look at each other for a moment.

JACKY: Where’s Mr. Mathers?

He grins.

HEDLEY: Under the first arch. (She heads up the steps.)   Fast asleep. I saw him as I came round by the road. (She stops.) Why, what’s matter?

JACKY: Nowt. Just wanted to tell ‘im summat.

HEDLEY: Oh. (He fiddles in the cement half-heartedly with his trowel from the barrow.) ‘Ow is Peter then?

JACKY:  Oh, he’ s fine thanks.

HEDLEY: Dun’ t work Sat ‘d’y mornin’s like?

JACKY: Yes. Er…  well ‘e does usually but we’ve a lot to do just ‘avin’ moved in.

HEDLEY: Oh.

She sticks her hands in her pockets and moves stage right, looking off towards the house.

JACKY: I thought ‘e’d come up ‘ere actually. (Slight pause.) ‘E must ‘ave gone for the van.

HEDLEY: Oh. (Slight pause.)   Been fallin’ out with ‘im a bit ‘ave you?

JACKY:  No ‘ave I heck!

HEDLEY:            Oh. (Slight pause.)   Thought you looked to ‘ave t’ blonk on.

JACKY:            No.

HEDLEY:            Oh.

JACKY:  (cross)   Oh well, I ‘ave a bit. Fed up o’ people thinkin’ they own me.

HEDLEY: Oh.

JACKY: What do you mean “Oh”?

HEDLEY: Eh?

JACKY: Oh shut up!  (She relents a little, taps her nose with her finger.)   Nebby!

He grins, starts to put some of the cement on to the piece of plywood.

She takes in what he is doing.

JACKY:  Hey, what’re you doin’?

HEDLEY: Oh, I’ve got to brick t’ shelter up. They asked me to do it at t’ mill. So I thought I’d do it this mornin’.

JACKY: Why?

HEDLEY:  Overtime.

JACKY: No, why brick it up silly sod? What about Mr. Mathers?

HEDLEY:  (wry)    Mr. Mathers?  Mr. Mathers’ll ‘ave to find somewhere else, Mr. Mathers will.

Pause.   She looks back at the house.

JACKY:  (sadly)    I bet that’s Peter’s dad puttin’ ‘is oar in. (suddenly)   Does Mr. Mathers know?

HEDLEY: Nay, if you told ‘im ‘e’d tek about as much notice as t’ table top.

He fetches another couple of bricks from the wheelbarrow.

JACKY: Where will ‘e go though?

HEDLEY: Don’t know luv.  Another  coal‘ole.  Another pig sty. (She looks at him.) Sorry.

JACKY:  Is that ‘is stuff?

HEDLEY: Yep There’s some really owd papers in that box. An’ a packet. Dark secrets I’ll bet.

JACKY: Ooh, you shouldn’t ‘ave been lookin’.

HEDLEY: I know. So I didn’t.

He picks up the hammer and knocks mortar off one of the bricks.

JACKY: Is that ‘is ‘ammer?

HEDLEY: Yes.  I shan’t break it.

JACKY: It’s not right, usin’ ‘is stuff.

HEDLEY gives her a withering look, and starts to dig a shallow footing for his bricks with his trowel.

JACKY: We ought to go an’ tell ‘im.

HEDLEY: Nay bugger that, ‘e might start chuckin’ water about.

JACKY:            What?

HEDLEY: ‘E’ll wekken up in a bit.

She goes stage right and looks off towards the house.

HEDLEY watches her and grins.

HEDLEY: Go on. Go find Peter, kiss an’ make up.

JACKY:  (frowns)    No I’ll stay here. (She moves towards the wheelbarrow.)   He… er, told me a rare old bedtime story last night, Mr. Mathers.

HEDLEY:  (loaded)            Oh?

JACKY:  Never mind ‘Oh’!  I think ‘e must ‘ave travelled a lot.

HEDLEY: Mathers? Gerraway!  Travelled as far as t’ Gardeners’ Arms a few times.

JACKY: I bet ‘e ‘as travelled.

HEDLEY: There’s some Egyptian money in ‘is box.

JACKY:  Hedley!

HEDLEY: Me dad reckons Mathers wor in Egypt durin’ t’ war. An’ ‘e din’t come straight back ‘ere after t’ demob an’ that.

JACKY: There y’are.  I knew ‘e’d travelled.

HEDLEY: Gerrout!   Yer bloody soft Wainwright! Oops!  Summers.

She gives him a look.

JACKY: I’m quite envious of ‘im really. ‘E can do just what ‘e wants. When ‘e wants. Work when ‘e wants. Play  when ‘e wants. Nobody  to expect anything of ‘im.

HEDLEY: You can do what you want can’t you?

JACKY: Oh yeh.  I’ve got to mek beds an’ dinners ‘aven’t I? (Slight pause.)   An’ babies.

HEDLEY: Oh dear!

JACKY: Well I mean.  I couldn’t just tek off if I wanted.

Slight pause.

HEDLEY: I’ve worked away you know.

JACKY: ‘Ave you?

HEDLEY: Yeh. Warrington.  Engineerin’ like. An’ I worked in Carlisle for a bit an’ all.

JACKY:  Did you?

HEDLEY: Yeh. Then t’ bloke ‘at I were workin’ with turned out to be a bit of a nancy-boy. (Slight pause.)   An’ then I drove them Kamikaze jobs up an’ down t’ M6 fer a while.

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