The Miracle Worker (6 page)

(But rounding from the mirror she sees the door slam,
HELEN
and the doll are on the outside, and
HELEN
is turning the key in the lock.
ANNIE
darts over, to pull the knob, the door is locked fast. She yanks it again.)

Helen! Helen, let me out of—

(She bats her brow at the folly of speaking, but
JAMES,
now downstairs, hears her and turns to see
HELEN
with the key and doll groping her way down the steps,
JAMES
takes in the whole situation, makes a move to intercept
HELEN,
but then changes his mind, lets her pass, and amusedly follows her out onto the porch. Upstairs
ANNIE
meanwhile rattles the knob, kneels, peers through the keyhole, gets up. She goes to the window, looks down, frowns.
JAMES
from the yard sings gaily up to her:)

JAMES:

Buffalo girl, are you coming out tonight,

Coming out tonight,

Coming out—

(He drifts back into the house.
ANNIE
takes a handkerchief, nurses her mouth, stands in the middle of the room, staring at door and window in turn, and so catches sight of herself in the mirror, her cheek scratched, her hair dishevelled, her handkerchief bloody, her face disgusted with herself. She addresses the mirror, with some irony.)

ANNIE:
Don't worry. They'll find you, you're not lost. Only out of place.

(But she coughs, spits something into her palm, and stares at it, outraged.)

And toothless.

(She winces.)

Oo! It hurts.

(She pours some water into the basin, dips the handkerchief, and presses it to her mouth. Standing there, bent over the basin in pain—with the rest of the set dim and unreal, and the lights upon her taking on the subtle color of the past—she hears again, as do we, the faraway voices, and slowly she lifts her head to them; the boy's voice is the same, the others are cracked old crones in a nightmare, and perhaps we see their shadows.)

BOY'S VOICE:
It hurts. Annie, it hurts.

FIRST CRONE'S VOICE:
Keep that brat shut up, can't you, girlie, how's a body to get any sleep in this damn ward?

BOY'S VOICE:
It hurts. It hurts.

SECOND CRONE'S VOICE:
Shut up, you!

BOY'S VOICE:
Annie, when are we goin' home? You promised!

ANNIE:
Jimmie—

BOY'S VOICE:
Forever and ever, you said forever—

(
ANNIE
drops the handkerchief, averts to the window, and is arrested there by the next cry.)

Annie? Annie, you there? Annie! It
hurts!

THIRD CRONE'S VOICE:
Grab him, he's fallin'!

BOY'S VOICE:
Annie!

DOCTOR'S VOICE
[
A PAUSE, SLOWLY
]: Little girl. Little girl, I must tell you your brother will be going on a—

(But
ANNIE
claps her hands to her ears, to shut this out, there is instant silence.

As the lights bring the other areas in again,
JAMES
goes to the steps to listen for any sound from upstairs.
KELLER
re-entering from left crosses
toward the house; he passes
HELEN
en route to her retreat under the pump.
KATE
re-enters the rear door of the family room, with flowers for the table.)

KATE:
Supper is ready, Jimmie, will you call your father?

JAMES:
Certainly.

(But he calls up the stairs, for
ANNIE'S
benefit:)

Father! Supper!

KELLER
[
AT THE DOOR
]: No need to shout, I've been cooling my heels for an hour. Sit down.

JAMES:
Certainly.

KELLER:
Viney!

(
VINEY
backs in with a roast, while they get settled around the table.)

VINEY:
Yes, Cap'n, right here.

KATE:
Mildred went directly to sleep, Viney?

VINEY:
Oh yes, that babe's a angel.

KATE:
And Helen had a good supper?

VINEY
[
VAGUELY
]: I dunno, Miss Kate, somehow she didn't have much of a appetite tonight—

KATE
[
A BIT GUILTY
]: Oh. Dear.

KELLER
[
HASTILY
]: Well, now. Couldn't say the same for my part, I'm famished. Katie, your plate.

KATE
[
LOOKING
]: But where is Miss Annie?

(A silence.)

JAMES
[
PLEASANTLY
]: In her room.

KELLER:
In her room? Doesn't she know hot food must be eaten hot? Go bring her down at once, Jimmie.

JAMES
[
RISES
]: Certainly. I'll get a ladder.

KELLER
[
STARES
]: What?

JAMES:
I'll need a ladder. Shouldn't take me long.

KATE
[
STARES
]: What shouldn't take you—

KELLER:
Jimmie, do as I say! Go upstairs at once and tell Miss Sullivan supper is getting cold—

JAMES:
She's locked in her room.

KELLER:
Locked in her—

KATE:
What on earth are you—

JAMES:
Helen locked her in and made off with the key.

KATE
[
RISING
]: And you sit here and say nothing?

JAMES:
Well, everyone's been telling me not to say anything.

(He goes serenely out and across the yard, whistling.
KELLER
thrusting up from his chair makes for the stairs.)

KATE:
Viney, look out in back for Helen. See if she has that key.

VINEY:
Yes, Miss Kate.

(
VINEY
goes out the rear door.)

KELLER
[
CALLING DOWN
]: She's out by the pump!

(
KATE
goes out on the porch after
HELEN,
while
KELLER
knocks on
ANNIE'S
door, then rattles the knob, imperiously.)

Miss Sullivan! Are you in there?

ANNIE:
Oh, I'm in here, all right.

KELLER:
Is there no key on your side?

ANNIE
[
WITH SOME ASPERITY
]: Well, if there was a key in here,
I
wouldn't be in here. Helen took it, the only thing on my side is me.

KELLER:
Miss Sullivan. I—

(He tries, but cannot hold it back.)

Not in the house ten minutes, I don't see
how
you managed it!

(He stomps downstairs again, while
ANNIE
mutters to herself.)

ANNIE:
And even I'm not on my side.

KELLER
[
ROARING
]: Viney!

VINEY
[
REAPPEARING
]: Yes, Cap'n?

KELLER:
Put that meat back in the oven!

(
VINEY
bears the roast off again, while
KELLER
strides out onto the porch.
KATE
is with
HELEN
at the pump, opening her hands.)

KATE:
She has no key.

KELLER:
Nonsense, she must have the key. Have you searched in her pockets?

KATE:
Yes. She doesn't have it.

KELLER:
Katie, she must have the key.

KATE:
Would you prefer to search her yourself, Captain?

KELLER:
No, I would not prefer to search her! She almost took my kneecap off this evening, when I tried merely to—

(
JAMES
reappears carrying a long ladder, with
PERCY
running after him to be in on things.)

Take that ladder back!

JAMES:
Certainly.

(He turns around with it.
MARTHA
comes skipping around the upstage corner of the house to be in on things, accompanied by the setter
BELLE.
)

KATE:
She could have hidden the key.

KELLER:
Where?

KATE:
Anywhere. Under a stone. In the flower beds. In the grass—

KELLER:
Well, I can't plow up the entire grounds to find a missing key! Jimmie!

JAMES:
Sir?

KELLER:
Bring me a ladder!

JAMES:
Certainly.

(
VINEY
comes around the downstage side of the house to be in on things; she has
MILDRED
over her shoulder, bleating.
KELLER
places the ladder against
ANNIE'S
window and mounts.
ANNIE
meanwhile is running about making herself presentable, washing the blood off her mouth, straightening her clothes, tidying her hair. Another Negro servant enters to gaze in wonder, increasing the gathering ring of the spectators.)

KATE
[
SHARPLY
]: What is Mildred doing up?

VINEY:
Cap'n woke her, ma'am, all that hollerin'.

KELLER:
Miss Sullivan!

(
ANNIE
comes to the window, with as much air of gracious normality as she can manage;
KELLER
is at the window.)

ANNIE
[
BRIGHTLY
]: Yes, Captain Keller?

KELLER:
Come out!

ANNIE:
I don't see how I can. There isn't room.

KELLER:
I intend to carry you. Climb onto my shoulder and hold tight.

ANNIE:
Oh, no. It's—very chivalrous of you, but I'd really prefer to—

KELLER:
Miss Sullivan, follow instructions! I will not have you also tumbling out of our windows.

(
ANNIE
obeys, with some misgivings.)

I hope this is not a sample of what we may expect from you. In the way of simplifying the work of looking after Helen.

ANNIE:
Captain Keller, I'm perfectly able to go down a ladder under my own—

KELLER:
I doubt it, Miss Sullivan. Simply hold onto my neck.

(He begins down with her, while the spectators stand in a wide and somewhat awe-stricken circle, watching.
KELLER
half-misses a rung, and
ANNIE
grabs at his whiskers.)

My
neck,
Miss Sullivan!

ANNIE:
I'm sorry to inconvenience you this way—

KELLER:
No inconvenience, other than having that door taken down and the lock replaced, if we fail to find that key.

ANNIE:
Oh, I'll look everywhere for it.

KELLER:
Thank you. Do not look in any rooms that can be locked. There.

(He stands her on the ground.
JAMES
applauds.)

ANNIE:
Thank you very much.

(She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.
KELLER
stares around at the spectators.)

KELLER:
Go, go, back to your work. What are you looking at here? There's nothing here to look at.

(They break up, move off.)

Now would it be possible for us to have supper, like other people?

(He marches into the house.)

KATE:
Viney, serve supper. I'll put Mildred to sleep.

(They all go in.
JAMES
is the last to leave, murmuring to
ANNIE
with a gesture.)

JAMES:
Might as well leave the l, a, d, d, e, r, hm?

(
ANNIE
ignores him, looking at
HELEN; JAMES
goes in too. Imperceptibly the lights commence to narrow down.
ANNIE
and
HELEN
are now alone in the yard,
HELEN
seated at the pump, where she has been oblivious to it all, a battered little savage, playing with the doll in a picture of innocent contentment.
ANNIE
comes near, leans against the house, and taking off her smoked glasses, studies her, not without awe. Presently
HELEN
rises, gropes around to see if anyone is present,
ANNIE
evades her hand, and when
HELEN
is satisfied she is alone, the key suddenly protrudes out of her mouth. She takes it in her fingers, stands thinking, gropes to the pump, lifts a loose board, drops the key into the well, and hugs herself gleefully.
ANNIE
stares. But after a moment she shakes her head to herself, she cannot keep the smile from her lips.)