Maverick (1957–1962): Season 2, Episode 11 - Island in the Swamp - full transcript

Bret's confined to a small isle settled by close-mouthed English immigrants who fear he's a spy or government agent. Bret, totally trussed up in a dinghy, floated up to their isolated dock, where a fisher-woman frees him. Bret, gambling on a Mississippi river boat, was KOed, then set adrift in the lifeboat. The isle's Mississippi Queen Ladybird is under duress too. What are the Brits hiding and why was Bret castaway?

Psst. Psst.

Over here, gentlemen.

I need help.

That's a man. Hello, sir.

Bonjour to you.

Do you speak English?

Um, no.

Do you speak French?

If that means if I do
speak French, heh, no.

It's a prison, he's a criminal.

You're funny!



From the entertainment
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This is the Bayou country,
somewhere along the Mississippi.

I say somewhere because I wasn't in any
position to know exactly where at the time.

- Morning.
- Morning.

Nice day.

Have you, by any chance, noticed
that I'm bound hand and foot?

I noticed.

Aren't you gonna untie me?

I'm thinking about it.

You're thinking about it.

Mister, I don't
know who you are.

Well, I might still have some
identification in my pocket.

Haven't had a chance
to look since I came to.



I'll look for you.

Nothing on you, mister,
but this here cigar.

That cigar you're eyeing so hungrily
might be my last for quite a spell.

Could be my first.

We're being spied on, I think.

Oh, that's my big
sister, Victoria.

She's kind of shy.

I'm not in much shape
to do her any harm.

You are gonna
untie me, aren't you?

What you got you
can offer me in return?

Uh, that cigar.

Well, heh, I already got that.

Uh, but you don't
know what to do with it.

You'd probably smoke it
and that would be the end of it.

- You know what that cigar is good for?
- What?

Bait.

You take this cigar and bait
that hook and then you...?

No, no. It's the
aroma they go for.

- You have to prepare a mixture.
- How?

Well, I can't talk anymore
with my hands tied.

I wouldn't recommend this style of
travel for any extended period of time.

How do you fix
that mixture, mister?

You dig you some worms and
put them in a pail with some dirt in it.

And you wet it down and put the
cigar in the middle and cover the pail.

Mm-hm.

You leave it overnight.
And the next morning...

you just throw the cigar away and
bait your hook with those worms.

- That'll really get the big ones, huh?
- Oh, yeah.

Nothing under, uh, 15
pounds will come near it.

- Say, where are we?
- Ellis Settlement.

- Say, I reckon you're a mite hungry.
- I sure am.

I've been in this boat for
one day that I'm sure of.

Come on inside.

Reckon we've got some gravy
and rice and coffee a-brew.

Well, the finest menu in St. Louis
wouldn't sound more attractive.

You'll like this
here gravy rice.

French taught my granddaddy how
to brew it when he first come here.

- What's your sister's name again?
- Victoria.

Have you ever seen anything
but the top of her head?

We have. Ain't no
stranger likely ever to.

- Here's your gravy rice.
- Well, thank you.

Ah, red gravy. Like a
New Orleans sauce.

What'd you make this gravy
out of, molten brimstone?

Reckon it is a little
warmish till you get used to it.

Can't you breathe, mister?

Afraid to. Might set
the house on fire.

Maybe you better try some plain
rice and some dry shrimp, maybe.

Maybe you're right.

Uh-oh.

Here comes daddy,
Herbert and Oliver.

- What do you mean, "Uh-oh"?
- You'll find out soon enough.

- We got a stranger here, daddy.
- Nice catch today?

You been hanging
around Victoria?

Now, you stop it, Oliver. He
ain't been hanging around Victoria.

Why, he don't even know her.

She's been hiding out
ever since he got here.

- You sure about that, Ladybird?
- Sure I am.

Well, he ain't been
here but a few minutes.

Well, all right.

But that's just a sample
of what's in store for you...

in case you do get
notions about Victoria.

All right.

If I should get any
notions about Victoria...

I think it's only fair that you
see both sides of the picture.

Now, just hold your fire, folks, hold
your fire. Now, hold your fire, Oliver.

No man can talk
like that to an Offord.

Now, Oliver, you
started the whole thing.

I want him in
condition so he can talk.

Hey, Herbert, Oliver
don't calm down...

- you drop that pole on his head.
- Yes, Daddy.

Now, then, Ladybird.

- Where'd you find this stranger?
- He drifted in, Daddy, in a rowboat.

Well, where's his boat at now?

We forgot to tie it off.

Oh, heh, heh.

Your boat's long gone, stranger.

What you mean, he drifted in?

He did. He was all tied up.

- Then what'd you untie him for?
- Never mind, never mind.

- What's your tale of woe, stranger?
- Heh.

Well, I was on the River
Queen, bound for St. Louis.

Passenger? BRET: Yeah.

I was walking back to my cabin
and somebody hit me from behind.

They put me in one of the
lifeboats and set me adrift.

You drifted into a
bad spot, mister.

We generally don't take
strangers around here.

Right now, you're just
downright not welcome.

I'm not gonna be around long
enough to cause you any bother.

I'll be on my way right now.

You ain't got no boat.
We ain't got none to spare.

You telling me I'm on an island?

Well, near as could be.

Could get to the mainland
on foot if you walk south.

Ain't likely, though.

Ten miles of mud and a foot underwater,
full of mud holes, gators, moccasins.

Why can't someone just
row me to the mainland?

Because you saw it, that's why.

Shut up, Oliver. You
open your mouth too much.

I sure can't row
you now, stranger.

We owe it to the citizens of the
colony to hold a vote on the measure.

- But I didn't see it.
- See, he saw it, I told you.

Confound it, Oliver, I told
you to shut your mouth.

Let's go inside and grab a
bite to eat while we cool off.

Herbert, give Oliver a
pole and help him out.

- What's your name, stranger?
- Bret Maverick.

My name's David Forge.
This is my son, Herbert.

He's by my first wife, Isabelle.

Ladybird you've
acquainted yourself with.

Came by my last
wife, uh, Mary Beth.

And this is Oliver Offord.
He's mooning around Victoria.

And...

Where's Victoria?

She's hiding out behind
the pig trough, Daddy.

Ooh.

Victoria?

She's gotta learn to face
strangers one of these days.

Victoria, you stop
acting like a young one!

I'll come out there with a
switch and treat you like one!

We're an English colony, mister.

Americans now, but all
got pure English blood in us.

We got a family of
Plantagenets living here.

Not many towns can brag
about having a Plantagenet.

That's true.

I don't know of many towns
boasting a Plantagenet.

Victoria!

I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't
gawk at here when she comes in.

We gotta break her in to
meeting strangers slow-like.

Well, I'll try to gawk
as little as possible.

Ooh.

This is my daughter Victoria.

She's by my
middle wife, Earlene.

- Victoria, meet the stranger.
- Pleasure, ma'am.

Now, wasn't that nice?

- Yours ain't got gravy.
- Well, thank you.

Dog gone all this excitement.
Get a little tickling in my chest.

Been getting a little worse lately.
- Don't worry about it.

I knew a man that had that
same tickle and lived to be over 70.

Oliver, what you want
to go and do that for?

Break a mirror, you
bring on a mess of ill luck.

Because he was using it
to gawk at her. I saw him.

First, I thought he
was staring at hisself.

Real pleased with
hisself, I thought.

But I snuck a look and it
was Victoria he was staring at.

- Now, I warned you.
- Now, now, now.

Just hold on, Oliver,
cool down, cool down.

You're a visitor in my
home and I demand respect.

Herbert, go outside
and bring in that pole.

I aim to eat this meal in peace.
- Yes, Daddy.

Now, you've all heard
the stranger's story.

Anyone having anything to say in favor of
the stranger will please address the court.

- Just one thing, Daddy.
- What is it, Ladybird?

That boat he come up in had writing
on the side of it and a number three.

Now, I can't read...

but that writing was the
same as that big riverboat...

that passed by here
just the night before last.

Sounds like it could be a
lifeboat. Any comments?

Uh, before you rest my case,
I'd like to ask just one question.

Why is it a crime even if I
did come here on purpose?

I'd keep shut if I was you, son.
Talk like that, you'll lose your case.

Any more comments?

Well, I've been sitting
here, listening and thinking.

Thinking about this
thing from all four angles.

I ask myself, suppose I
was a government spy...

and I want to do a little sneaking
around on Ellis Settlement?

How would I set about it?

Did you answer yourself?

Ah, I just wouldn't
row in there...

because nobody would believe
me if I told them who I was.

- Not even if I said I was a preacher.
- Well, now, now...

how would you get in here
without causing no questions?

I'd tie myself up, set myself adrift
and let the rise of the water float me in.

Nobody could say I
came in on purpose.

By an odd coincidence, that's
exactly how I arrived on this island.

There's sure been a lot of
questions asked since I got here.

- That's true, true.
- True.

But could be we're just a grunt slyer
than a government spy figured on.

True, makes sense.

But even if I was a
spy, which I'm not...

I haven't seen anything,
so what could I report?

Depends on how good
a spy you be, stranger.

There are things to be seen.

We ain't sure you ain't
seen some of them.

I am.

Any more comments?

I've spoke my piece.

Um, stranger.

If you'll kindly step and
store out of earshot...

we'll try and reach
a verdict on you.

We're not gonna
put any guard on you.

Around here, stealing
a boat'll get you hung.

- Well?
- I say he's a spy set on ruining us.

- I vote we get rid of him, quick and easy.
- I second the motion.

Ahh, ahh, now, there's
another thing to consider.

Suppose he is a government
spy and he don't go back.

Sooner or later, others
gonna come in looking for him.

- That ain't so good.
- That's true, that's true.

My boy don't speak very often.

When he does, he generally
comes up with something real bright.

Stranger? You can come out now.

We've reached an agreement.

It's the decision of this township that
we don't know no more about you now...

than we did when
we first started out.

Therefore, uh, it's not considered
good thinking to let you leave here.

Therefore, uh, we ain't
gonna let you leave...

until we're sure about
you one way or another.

Look, I give you my word, I
didn't see what you think I saw.

We don't all agree on that.
When we do, we'll let you go.

Meantime, since we
ain't bad people at heart...

being of pure English blood, you
can live among us as one of us.

Have free run of the
island, free vittles.

So long as you
don't try to escape.

You try to escape, and
we'll have to lock you up.

We ain't got time to be fetching you
back all the time. You understand?

All right, where do I eat
and where do I sleep?

Oh, uh... Oh, you'll sup with us
and I'll show you where you sleep.

Uh, this court is hereby
declared dismissed.

Just come over here.
You bring him, Herbert.

I still say we made a bad vote.

Now, you can quarter here.
We break bread at daybreak.

Well, what time is that?

Well, it's a different time
by a few seconds each day.

- Good night.
- Good night.

Hello, Miss Victoria.

Miss Victoria?

- Let's have your boots.
- My boots, what for?

Figured you wouldn't be foolish enough
to try to cross that swamp barefooted.

Come on, let's have them.

Days dragged into a week
which started dragging for two.

I must have explored
that island a hundred times.

It didn't take long to walk
from one side to the other.

In fact, if you weren't careful,
you'd walk right off of it.

Hello, Miss Victoria.

We hang men for stealing
boats in this country, stranger.

Even if you manage to get out
on the river, you'd just get lost.

Anyhow, we got the
fastest boatmen on the river.

You wouldn't get very far.

You'll find my boy don't
speak very much, stranger.

When he does open his mouth, he generally
comes up with something real bright.

Yeah, doesn't he.

Every day, I could see
civilization passing by.

Almost within calling distance.

I finally gave up waving when I found that
all I accomplished was they waved back.

Well, hello, Miss Victoria.

Psst.

Over here.

Over here.

Gentlemen, keep quiet.

Don't land here, gentlemen.
It's a land of no return.

- Who are you?
- I'm just a stranger that drifted in.

I've stayed to become one of
the oldest families on the island.

They just don't let
outsiders leave here.

But they've already seen us
when I anchored my launch...

out in the river. But
they won't bother me.

- You see, I'm the postman.
- Postman?

Well, some of them do receive
mail. And a few of them answer.

I have a government
contract to pick up and deliver.

Here, hop in. Crawl
under this tarp.

We'll smuggle you
out to my launch.

I'm grateful to you, sir.

There, you're hidden.

Row on in before
they get suspicious.

Lie still and keep
covered. I won't be long.

- Something wrong?
- Yeah.

See anything of a
stranger in city clothes?

Not a thing.

- If you do, give me a holler.
- I'll do that.

An hour went by.

Seemed an awful long
time for a man to deliver mail.

And another
thing I didn't like...

I could just barely see it from
the crack under the canvas.

I didn't like the tattoo
on that boatman's hand.

Hold it, Sampson!

What is it?

I got a good notion to
back out on the deal.

You're just plain everyday
robbing us and you know it.

Them garments sell for $75
or better on the open market.

Ten dollars apiece is a
mighty fat markdown, ain't it?

This isn't the open
market, Forge.

Consider the risk I take
peddling these things in the city.

And all I get's a mere
20 or $30 apiece.

Of course, if you'd like to try to
peddle them yourself, it's your goods.

- You know I can't do that.
- Then $10 is my price.

Take it or let it pass.

We'll take it.

But I'm telling you, you're
robbing us blind and I know it!

See you next week.

Get back to the launch.

- Where you been?
- Taking a bath.

- Mr. Stranger?
- Hmm.

There is one way you can
deal me out of this cigar.

That is, if you really want to.

How's that?

There's one thing I've
always wanted to do.

Maybe... Maybe
you could help me.

What?

I wouldn't even talk
about it to people here.

But you being a stranger...

Well, what have you got
on your mind, Ladybird?

You can read and
write, can't you?

- Well, if the words aren't too big.
- I can't.

You got something you
want me to read to you?

No, I want you to learn
me so I can read myself.

Learn you?

To read and write. We got books.

Pretty ones too!

See?

A red one, a blue one
and a speckled one.

Bet they're all good ones too.

I bet this red one's the best
one, though. It's the prettiest.

"The History of the Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire."

Heh, this one's hard
even for a teacher to read.

And the blue one?

Oh, that's French. I can't
even read that one myself.

And this one?

Ah, the speckled
one's pay dirt, Ladybird.

Poor Richard's Almanac.
It's about people a lot like you.

Can you learn me to read it?

You really wanna
learn to read, don't you?

And write. It's even more
important to me than fishing.

I wish I could help
you, but I can't.

Teaching is an art
you have to train for.

I couldn't teach you to read. I
wouldn't know where to start.

Then you can't help me?

I'm sorry.

Leastwise, you're honest.
Guess that deserves something.

You giving it to me?

Wouldn't really bait the
big ones, anyway, would it?

No.

You still mooning over
them books, Ladybird?

I reckon so.

Maybe one of these days,
you'll be able to read them all.

You reckon?

Maybe we'll have a
schoolhouse right here.

When you reckon we'll come
by this schoolhouse, Daddy?

Oh, by and by.

Got some bad news
for you, stranger.

You mean things can get worse?

Gonna have to lock
you up for a spell.

- Why?
- Oh, reasons.

Take him away, Herbert.

I'll suffocate in here!

Had you rather we kill you fast?

Oliver, you're the only man...

I know who can win a
debate by asking a question.

Now, ladies and gentlemen,
us men folks have talked it over.

And money's nice, we like it.

But we decided to do
something for our very own.

So this batch goes to the women
folks and the young ones of the colony.

This ought to fit you.

Ain't that nice? Yeah.

Ladybird? Ladybird!

- You know what this is?
- It's a dress, Daddy.

Oh, here, here, real nice one.

This is a real nice one.

I guess that was the big
secret. Shipping crates.

The place was a
hotbed of Bayou pirates.

Well, that's the last of it.

Maybe your mama
can cut it down for you.

Herbert, you and Oliver go and let the
stranger out before he smothers to death.

- Hey, you all right, in there?
- I'm still alive but that's about all!

- Boy, it's sure hot in here.
- Must be.

- You look like you've been running.
- I feel like it too.

A day or so later, I was
nailed into the hut again.

They were expecting visitors and
they didn't want them to visit me.

It's all right. It's all right,
Ladybird. They won't hurt you.

Ellis Settlement
welcomes you Cajuns.

We Acadians come in
peace to hear what you offer.

- Uh, you the Cajun spokesman?
- I speak for the Acadians, oui.

Why'd they choose you?

Ha, ha, because I can
speak your language.

Oh.

Well, whoever
told you that was...

You just come on
into town, follow us...

and we will do
some fair trading.

What did he say?

Don't worry, I'll explain later.

Mr. Stranger?

- Well, hi, Ladybird.
- I brung you back your shirt.

Oh, thank you.

How come you haven't been around
to see me in the last three nights?

Daddy's afraid you might siphon
out of me what they're up to.

Well, what are they up to?

They're trading the Cajuns
out of some fishing boats.

Oh, well, you better run along, before
I do siphon that information out of you.

Good night.

You know, I'm very
happy, that boat was rotten.

Good for you!

Psst. Psst.

Over here, gentlemen.

I need help.

That's a man. Hello, sir.

Bonjour to you.

Do you speak English?

Hmm, no.

Do you speak French?

If that means if I do
speak French, no.

Do you speak Spanish?

- No, I don't speak Spanish.
- No.

It's a prison, he's a criminal.

You're funny!

When the trading ended,
things became the same again.

Well, almost the same.

Hello, Miss Victoria.

Delighting in your company

Hello, Victoria.
It's a nice day.

To cast me off...

Well, uh, I don't know. I kind
of got attached to the stranger.

I don't think he'd
give us no harm.

Confound it, David, we've allowed
you to have your way for a coon's age.

I tell you, he's a danger
to the whole colony!

Simon Teller is almost certain he saw him
jump out of Sampson's boat the other day.

And he's trying to
get away, sure as sin.

Now, what if he'd
made it? Where'd we be?

Confound it, doing him
in amounts to murder.

Sometimes a man's
forced to kill, David.

And have you noticed the
change in Victoria lately?

When we started this thing,
it was for a good cause.

Murder seems to take
all the good out of it.

- Not murder, David, self-defense.
- I still don't like it.

Well, now, would you
abide by popular vote?

If the rest feel like us, would
you let us see it our way?

Yeah, yeah. I suppose I'll
have to. To be fair, yeah, yeah.

I hated to be unfair, but I decided
I'd better get out of this place fast.

Victoria, dressed for a
fancy New Orleans ball...

walking out into that
stretch of swamp...

that even the roughest island
men were edgy about going into.

Daddy Forge had said I'd have more sense
than to go into this swamp barefooted.

I wonder what he meant.

Well, hello, Victoria.

Taking a little stroll, are you?
Well, it's a nice night for it.

Oh, is that the way we dress for
walking in the marshes these days?

Very nice.

Well, what's this? Looks
like a boat, doesn't it?

Feels like a boat too.

- Don't hurt him, mister.
- I don't want to hurt him!

Then let him go!

If I let him go, he might hurt
me. I wouldn't like that, either.

Who is this great
defender, anyway?

Allow me to introduce
myself, monsieur.

- I am called Philippe Theirot.
- Howdy, I'm Bret Maverick.

Now, let's get up
and both shake hands.

I would consider such
a thing a pleasure.

Who's this person, chérie?

The stranger.

Oh, the prisoner.

Am I wrong in believing that you two
were just about to run away together?

Monsieur, it was during the time we were
trading that I saw this beautiful flower.

She's an angel, I've never
seen such beauty in my life.

In time, we met.

Which is more
than I can say, heh.

We fall in the love.

And, now, we go
live with my people.

How did you ever talk
to her in the first place?

Monsieur, I am a
pure French blood!

I think we better go now.

I hate to be a third party on a
honeymoon, but we better get underway.

- What do we do with him?
- We gotta take him, honey.

Even Daddy'd turn on him now.

Shh.

- They are coming.
- From which way, honey?

This way and from
this way. Many of them.

I don't hear anything.

I have an ear for the
swamp, monsieur.

I even knew that my chérie
was not alone when you followed.

That is why I was not at
the boat when she got here.

I'm convinced.

Let's go, chérie.

Hold it!

- They've taken to the deep!
- Then they gotta have a boat.

Let's get ours.

We'll come around the
other way! Come on, son.

They are now between
us and the river.

They are very good swamp
men, these men who chase us.

My brother's the best there
is. Oliver's second-best.

We wait a while so they won't
know exactly where we are.

I don't understand, how
can they know where we are?

We haven't made
a noise to speak of.

By the same way I know
where they are, monsieur.

They stopped.

That means they gotta
be over in slum marsh.

And Oliver's got them
headed off at the river.

That's real bright,
son. Keep pulling.

We have not fooled them.
They are getting closer.

And there is only one
direction still open for us.

- Honey, that's the way to our cache.
- I'll go take a look.

What is this cache, Victoria?

Some time back, in
the last big storm...

a freight boat washed up
into the bayou and wrecked.

It was just plumb full
of real valuable freight.

Clothes and silver.
All kinds of things.

Well, our men found the
boat and cached the cargo.

We've been selling it little
by little to Mr. Sampson.

Was the name of this freighter,
by any chance, the Maria?

- You know about it?
- Yeah, it was in the papers.

The crew got away in a lifeboat.
They gave the Maria up as lost.

We ain't as bad as we might
sound, if you look straight at us.

We didn't reckon on
spending that money foolish.

We need a school on the
island and lots of things.

Why, we ain't even got
a church with a roof on it.

We must go to the cache.

You just stay in there.
This is where I leave you.

- They'll be here any second!
- Yeah, I know. You two run along.

I'll try to throw
them off your trail.

Why does monsieur
sacrifice himself for us?

Because I'm of
pure Maverick blood.

Now, you two go ahead or I
won't be able to sacrifice myself.

I hope someday we can repay you.

Godspeed, sir.

Goodbye, sir, thanks a lot.

Yeah, same to you.

They're at the cache! Bring the
torches. We'll go on foot from here.

Greensleeves was my delight

Greensleeves was
my heart of gold

Light your torches.
Let's get in there.

Greensleeves was
my heart of gold

And who but my
lover greensleeves

Where you fellows been? I
expected you a half hour ago.

Let's wait a spell. We
might need hear him talk.

That boy of yours doesn't
say much, but when he does...

- Where's Victoria at?
- Victoria?

They left here over a half hour ago.
Went back the direction you came from.

What do you mean, "they"?

Oh, she and a Frenchman
named Philippe Theirot.

Gone to get married.

- There goes that tickle heart, again.
- I told you not to worry about that.

Man I knew, had the
same thing, reached 70.

What in tarnation are
you doing here, anyway?

Taking inventory.

Well, I'll allow one thing.

This fellow's got a bigger
nerve than I ever crossed.

Inventory of what?

To see if you had
enough goods here...

to make it worth my
while to throw in with you.

You got a fair cargo.

What makes you think
we'd let you throw in?

Because I can make you three
times as much as anyone else.

You know, all of a sudden, I
like the way this fellow talks.

- Well, I don't.
- Now, watch him, Herbert.

Oliver's getting uppity again.

Cool down, Oliver. The conversation
was just getting interesting.

- Keep talking, stranger.
- Oh, the name is, uh, Maverick.

Keep talking, Mr. Maverick.

I'd be glad to, Mr. Offord.

Now, what kind of business
you boys doing now?

I'll tell you.

You're selling garments
worth $75 for 10.

- That's a mighty big markdown, there.
- It's true.

How much do you allow
you could sell them for?

Oh.

Anywhere upwards from $60.

That's mighty big talk
considering we stole these goods.

What'd you have
in mind for yourself?

Oh, 5 percent.

That's three times more
than you're getting now.

And, uh, you could build a mighty
pretty schoolhouse with profit like that.

Wouldn't it be nice to see Ladybird
and the others reading and writing...

like they knew how?

It won't hurt to listen
to what he got to say.

And the deal don't mean
a thing if he don't deliver.

We're with you, mister. Now, how you
gonna get more money for these goods?

Well, it's easy. You've been operating
illegally with vermin like Sampson.

- When what you been doing isn't illegal.
- What you mean?

Well, the Maria was
abandoned by her crew.

That means the Maria
belongs to anyone who finds her.

It's the law of
the sea, salvage.

And the insurance has
already been paid on the cargo.

So you can sell those goods on
the open market in New Orleans.

- Is that a fact?
- It's true.

Well, I'll be a
cousin to a bull gator.

- You know something, Maverick?
- What's that, Mr. Offord?

We don't need you anymore, do we?
- Now, now, now, Anthony.

We made a deal with the
stranger and we gotta stick by it.

I'll tell you
something, David...

we wouldn't of had the stomach
to kill him in the first place.

"I am a gingerbread
boy, I am, I am.

I can run, I can, I can."

She's looking downright
girlish lately, ain't she?

You know, I used to think Victoria
was all there was in a woman.

I'm beginning to change
my mind some lately.

Are you, uh,
insulting my daughter?

Heh, praising the one.

You're determined to marry a
Forge one way or another, ain't you?

There goes that old
tickle heart again.

Man I knew with the
same thing lived to see 70.

I wish you'd stop
saying that. I am 70.