The Purple Plain Page #5

Mr. Forrester, do you know

that foul, benighted, godless city Katarba?

l'm telling you, the only good thing

that ever came out of it

was the bottle of whiskey

the doctor brought us back from there.

l don't touch the stuff myself.

But l daresay it won't do you

any harm while you're waiting for the dinner.

- There.

- Thank you, Miss McNab.

- And what is it you fly?

- Mosquitoes, fighter-bombers.

l say they are

wicked, devilish things.

True.

l see you are one of the quiet,

thoughtful ones, Mr. Forrester.

You didn't tell me that, Anna.

She's very shy, of course.

Well, drink your whiskey.

Dinner will be ready soon.

l told you l'd come again.

l hoped you would.

Miss McNab says you're very shy.

Compared to Miss McNab,

everyone is shy.

She's quite a character.

We love her.

lf it hadn't been for her, none of us

would have got here from Rangoon.

Yes, the doctor was telling me.

Seems incredible.

Strange things happened

during the war.

Yes.

Strange landing places.

Strange meetings.

Dinner! Dinner!

lt's delicious.

Shall we go?

Some more curry, Mr. Forrester.

You're not eating a thing.

- Did you not like it?

- Oh, it was terrific.

l've eaten too much already, thanks.

l've been admiring your tablecloth.

Ah, you have an eye

for fine things, Mr. Forrester.

lt was worked by the girls

at the mission in Rangoon for Miss McNab.

They gave it to her

on her 21st birthday.

Take no notice of him, Mr. Forrester.

l'm not ashamed of my age.

For my 45th birthday they made it,

and all the way from Rangoon,

through every inch of the way,

l kept telling myself,

''McNab, whatever else you may lose,

you'll not be losing

that tablecloth the girls gave you.''

lt's a beautiful thing.

Aye.

Three hundred of us died

on that journey, Mr. Forrester.

That's how old l am.

Miss McNab,

when l get back home,

l'm going to see that you're decorated

if it's the last thing l do.

Ach, don't gab so much.

Give Mr. Forrester a cup of tea, Anna.

No, no. l mean it.

lf you want to decorate someone,

you should decorate the good Lord.

lf you could get His name

in the honors list,

you'd be talking, l'm telling you.

Well, if you'll write the citation,

l'll see what l can do.

What you can do, Dr. Harris,

is to think about Easter.

What's your favorite hymn

for Easter, Mr. Forrester?

Oh, Easter hymns?

''Hallelujah,'' isn't it?

Yes. ''Hallelujah.''

''Hallelujah.

Jesus Christ is risen today.''

Ah, that's splendid.

l can see you've been

well brought up, Mr. Forrester.

Come on, we'll all sing it.

Jesus Christ is risen today

Hallelujah

Our triumphant holy day

Hallelujah

Who did once upon the cross

Hallelujah

Suffer to redeem our loss

Rate this script:4.0 / 1 vote