Henry Fisk Carlton

“ RODNEY [in]
I don't know—the saddle slipped—then it came clear off and I came with it.
URIAH
Here—hold the hosses, will ye—let me see thet saddle! Ah-ha!—Girth broken!
RODNEY
Can you fix it?
URIAH
Ain't got time.
RODNEY
I'm afraid I can't—can't keep a seat bareback.
URIAH
Here—you climb on my hoss—I'll take your'n.
RODNEY
But—
URIAH
Not another word—climb aboard, thar. [sound of getting Rodney on horse] All right, boy, stand still. Thar we be! Go along with ye!
BOTH
Tch—tch—giddap! [sound of horses' hoofs]
ANNOUNCER
And now five miles farther into the next remount station. ”

“ Often an excellent meal and a taste of fine wine carry more conviction than hours of argument. As I see it now, we must swing South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Delaware into line before tomorrow morning. ”

“ RODNEY
I've got to go—I'm needed. If you won't get the boots, I will!
PRUDENCE
Oh, please, sir, whoever you are—
URIAH
I'm Uriah Clarke, ma'm—at yer service.
PRUDENCE
Please, please, don't let him go! He can't stand it—he's too weak. He's been terribly ill—the physician told him he must rest—he could never stand a trip like that! [Pg 16]
URIAH
But, ma'm, he's got to git thar. And I give my word thet I'd hev him thar tomorrow mornin'.
PRUDENCE
Your word—what's your word to a man's life!
URIAH
What's a man's life to the life of his country!
RODNEY [coming in]
All right, I'm ready—let's start! ”

“ It's a matter of life and death for a nation—our country!
URIAH
Is et somethin' to do with Congress, sir?
MCKEEN
It is.
URIAH
Wal', sir, I'm a Son of Liberty, and et's my sworn duty to go whar I'm wanted fer liberty, and ef thet's et—
MCKEEN
It is. [Pg 11]
URIAH
Then I'll go.
MCKEEN
I'll pay your price.
URIAH
Thar won't be no price! I'll git yer man to Philadelphia tomorrow mornin' ef I hev to carry him myself. Who's yer man?
MCKEEN
Caesar Rodney of Dover, Delaware. Here's a letter for him. ”

“ There are some directions in this play which may be new to you, but these are necessary, for you are now in a radio broadcasting studio, talking in front of a microphone. The word [in] means that the character is standing close to the microphone, while [off] indicates that he is farther away, so that his voice sounds faint. When the directions [off, coming in] are given, the person speaking is away from the microphone at first but gradually comes closer. The words [mob] or [crowd noise] you will understand mean the sound of many people talking in the distance. ”

“ Both the English and the dialect used help make the characters live, so the speeches have been written in the way in which these men and women would talk. This means that sometimes the character may use what seems to you unusual English. The punctuation helps, too, to make the speeches sound like real conversation; for example, you will find that a dash is often used to show that a character is talking very excitedly. ”

“ Clarke, I've got to have a postrider to carry a very important message to Dover, Delaware, to get a man back here from Dover by nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
URIAH
Dover, Delaware, and back?
MCKEEN
Yes, by nine tomorrow morning!
URIAH
Why, sir, it's nigh onto eighty mile to Delaware.
MCKEEN
I know it.
URIAH
Eighty mile thar and eighty mile back—why, pshaw, sir, we couldn't do thet under a whole day—even ef we hed a rider to send out right now—which we ain't.
MCKEEN
Twenty-five pounds if you'll do it!
URIAH
But how kin we? Ain't I jest told ye we ain't got no riders? ”

“ All right, sir, I'll go to the postrider's at once! Good day.
FRANKLIN
Good day. And let us pray that Rodney gets here! [Pg 8]
ANNOUNCER
So McKeen hurried to the postrider's stable. Now the postrider was to the people of Revolutionary days what the telegraph or the telephone is to us today. He carried messages at a very rapid rate, for those days, by changing horses every ten or fifteen miles.
As McKeen came up to the post stable, he saw the stableman sitting on a bench, hard at work cleaning a saddle. ”

“ And now, sir, I move we adjourn until nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
VOICE
Second!
HANCOCK
Before putting Mr. Rutledge's motion to adjourn, I wish to caution all the members to the greatest secrecy. Whatever the outcome of our deliberation, we can only cause harm to ourselves and to our country by divulging what has been done here. The motion to adjourn is before the Congress. Those favoring? ”