The Black Scorpion

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For centuries the prayers

of Mexico's peasants...

...have been their only shield

against the devastating furies...

...that have wrecked their homes

and destroyed their lives.

And so today, again, they kneel...

...terrified and helpless

as a new volcano is created...

...by the mysterious

and rebellious forces of nature.

The earth has split a thousand times.

Whole acres of rich farmland

have cracked and dropped from sight...

...and millions of tons of molten lava

are roaring down the slopes...

...in a quake recorded on the seismograph

of the University of Mexico...

...as the most violent of modern times.

To the benighted citizenry

of this remote countryside...

...the most alarming aspect

of the phenomenon...

...is the fact that its unabated hourly

growth is without precedence...

...having reached a towering height

of 9000 feet within a few days...

...and with each added foot, it spreads its

evil onslaught into a wider circumference.

But what is now most feared is that

rescue work will be severely hampered...

...by the hazardous inaccessibility

of the terrain.

Well, there she is.

Yeah.

How much further

do you suppose, doc?

Three days on this washboard and that

volcano looks as far away as it ever did.

Nobody stuck a gun in your back

to make you become a geologist.

Yeah, but you don't have to rub it in.

"San Lorenzo, 12 kilometers."

If there was any other village

within 50 miles...

...a sign like this could confuse people.

It looks like somebody else has been here.

Yeah, army truck, maybe. Police.

Don't get me wrong, doc.

I love this Mexico of yours...

...but up around here,

I think I could stand a little company.

For my information, Hank,

how did you get permission so fast?

From my group, I mean.

After all, red tape and that sort of thing.

Simple. I just told them the truth:

That you needed me along as an interpreter.

That may be true, but I think

the language you really spoke best...

...was with our secretary who

secured all the documents for you.

I didn't use Spanish with her.

That was sign language.

Incredible. Truly, isn't it?

If these estimates are right, this quake

may be as severe as Mount Pele...

...Vesuvius, San Francisco.

Lucky there are so few people up here.

Well, there were enough.

- Hello.

- Hi.

- How far you come, fellas?

- Mexico City.

- We left on Monday.

- Where do you want to go?

San Lorenzo. How far is it?

Do you know?

Who knows how the bridges are.

Maybe a couple of hours.

A police car went by just before sundown.

They didn't come back,

so maybe they got through okay.

Was San Lorenzo hurt badly?

Who knows? The telephone lines

are down since the earthquake.

- Thanks a lot. See you later.

- Take it easy.

- What the devil was that?

- I don't know.

Ordinarily, I've got nothing

against moonlight nights...

...but I'll be glad to get by this one.

It looks like a farmhouse up ahead.

Maybe we can get some water up there.

I hope so. I'd like to save

those last two bottles of beer.

Well, no gas station ever looked better.

- Hello?

- Anybody home?

I'll see if I can find a well.

Hey, hello in there.

I wonder if we can have

some water for our jeep.

- Hey, Hank!

- Yeah?

Come here!

Look at this.

Over here too.

What do you suppose...?

Look at that!

What do you make of it?

It must be that patrol car

those telephone men saw...

...but I certainly have no idea

what could have happened or why.

What could do this to a car out here?

You don't suppose they're trying

to walk to San Lorenzo?

511. Calling 511. Do you read me?

Sergeant Vega, do you read me?

This is headquarters calling 511.

Hello. Hello, do you read me?

511, I read you, Sergeant Vega.

What's your location? Sergeant Vega?

Here, you better take this.

You're head man down here.

- Hello.

- Go ahead, please.

This is Arturo Ramos,

professor of geology from the university.

My associate and I came upon

this patrol car. There has been an accident.

I believe we're a few kilometers south

of the village of San Lorenzo.

- Where's Sergeant Vega?

- He's not here. No one is here.

The car is badly damaged,

but there's no blood.

- Did the car run off the road?

- No. Frankly it...

Didn't the sergeant

make a report after the accident?

- The radio's working.

- We have heard nothing.

Thank you, professor.

Leave the patrol car as it is.

We shall order military intelligence

to send a unit to San Lorenzo immediately.

We will.

Well, we're not doing any good here, pal.

Hank, some of my countrymen

may like rattlesnakes in the house.

- I can do without them.

- Let's take a look.

That rattlesnake

is the worst kind of them all.

Come on, fella. There you go.

You've had practice, Mr. Scott?

I guess so, with four brothers

and two sisters.

What do you suppose caused this wreck?

That police car out there?

It could've been a bull.

If it was, it had to be the grandpappy

of the biggest bull that ever was.

Hank?

You did notice the beans

were still hot on the stove?

- Yep.

- So?

When I've already got a dozen questions

I can't answer...

...I try to ignore any new ones.

Do you think we ought to radio them

about the kid?

Nope, I think we ought to get to

San Lorenzo as quick as we can.

Look at that kid.

Not a peep out of him.

If I ever have any of my own,

I'll feed them beans and tortillas too.

Then I'll be able to get some sleep nights.

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