_Three Roman soldiers are in a drinking-place at eleven o’clock
at night. There are barrels around the wall. Behind the wooden
counter is a Hebrew wine-seller. The three Roman soldiers are a
little cock-eyed._
_1st Roman Soldier_—You tried the red?
_2d Soldier_—No, I ain’t tried it.
_1st Soldier_—You better try it.
_2d Soldier_—All right, George, we’ll have a round of the red.
_Hebrew Wine-seller_—Here you are, gentlemen. You’ll like that. [_He
sets down an earthenware pitcher that he has filled from one of the
casks._] That’s a nice little wine.
_1st Soldier_—Have a drink of it yourself. [_He turns to the third
Roman soldier who is leaning on a barrel._] What’s the matter with you?
_3d Roman Soldier_—I got a gut-ache.
_2d Soldier_—You’ve been drinking water.
_1st Soldier_—Try some of the red.
_3d Soldier_—I can’t drink the damn stuff. It makes my gut sour.
_1st Soldier_—You been out here too long.
_3d Soldier_—Hell, don’t I know it?
_1st Soldier_—Say, George, can’t you give this gentleman something to
fix up his stomach?
_Hebrew Wine-seller_—I got it right here.
[_The third Roman soldier tastes the cup that the wine-seller
has mixed for him._]
_3d Soldier_—Hey, what you put in that, camel chips?
_Wine-seller_—You drink that right down, Lootenant. That’ll fix you up
right.
_3d Soldier_—Well, I couldn’t feel any worse.
_1st Soldier_—Take a chance on it. George fixed me up fine the other
day.
_Wine-seller_—You were in bad shape, Lootenant. I know what fixes up a
bad stomach.
[_The third Roman soldier drinks the cup down._]
_3d Roman Soldier_—Jesus Christ. [_He makes a face._]
_2d Soldier_—That false alarm!
_1st Soldier_—Oh, I don’t know. He was pretty good in there to-day.
_2d Soldier_—Why didn’t he come down off the cross?
_1st Soldier_—He didn’t want to come down off the cross. That’s not his
play.
_2d Soldier_—Show me a guy that doesn’t want to come down off the
cross.
_1st Soldier_—Aw, hell, you don’t know anything about it. Ask George
there. Did he want to come down off the cross, George?
_Wine-seller_—I’ll tell you, gentlemen, I wasn’t out there. It’s a
thing I haven’t taken any interest in.
_2d Soldier_—Listen, I seen a lot of them—here and plenty of other
places. Any time you show me one that doesn’t want to get down off the
cross when the time comes—when the time comes, I mean—I’ll climb right
up with him.
_1st Soldier_—I thought he was pretty good in there to-day.
_3d Soldier_—He was all right.
_2d Roman Soldier_—You guys don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m not
saying whether he was good or not. What I mean is, when the time comes.
When they first start nailing him, there isn’t none of them wouldn’t
stop it if they could.
_1st Soldier_—Didn’t you follow it, George?
_Wine-seller_—No, I didn’t take any interest in it, Lootenant.
_1st Soldier_—I was surprised how he acted.
_3d Soldier_—The part I don’t like is the nailing them on. You know,
that must get to you pretty bad.
_2d Soldier_—It isn’t that that’s so bad, as when they first lift ’em
up. [_He makes a lifting gesture with his two palms together._] When the
weight starts to pull on ’em. That’s when it gets ’em.
_3d Roman Soldier_—It takes some of them pretty bad.
_1st Soldier_—Ain’t I seen ’em? I seen plenty of them. I tell you, he
was pretty good in there to-day.
[_The second Roman soldier smiles at the Hebrew wine-seller._]
_2d Soldier_—You’re a regular Christer, big boy.
_1st Soldier_—Sure, go on and kid him. But listen while I tell you
something. He was pretty good in there to-day.
_2d Soldier_—What about some more wine?
[_The wine-seller looks up expectantly. The third Roman soldier
is sitting with his head down. He does not look well._]
_3d Soldier_—I don’t want any more.
_2d Soldier_—Just for two, George.
[_The wine-seller puts out a pitcher of wine, a size smaller
than the last one. He leans forward on the wooden counter._]
_1st Roman Soldier_—You see his girl?
_2d Soldier_—Wasn’t I standing right by her?
_1st Soldier_—She’s a nice-looker.
_2d Soldier_—I knew her before he did. [_He winks at the wine-seller._]
_1st Soldier_—I used to see her around the town.
_2d Soldier_—She used to have a lot of stuff. He never brought _her_ no
good luck.
_1st Soldier_—Oh, he ain’t lucky. But he looked pretty good to me in
there to-day.
_2d Soldier_—What become of his gang?
_1st Soldier_—Oh, they faded out. Just the women stuck by him.
_2d Roman Soldier_—They were a pretty yellow crowd. When they seen him
go up there they didn’t want any of it.
_1st Soldier_—The women stuck all right.
_2d Soldier_—Sure, they stuck all right.
_1st Roman Soldier_—You see me slip the old spear into him?
_2d Roman Soldier_—You’ll get into trouble doing that some day.
_1st Soldier_—It was the least I could do for him. I’ll tell you he
looked pretty good to me in there to-day.
_Hebrew Wine-seller_—Gentlemen, you know I got to close.
_1st Roman Soldier_—We’ll have one more round.
_2d Roman Soldier_—What’s the use? This stuff don’t get you anywhere.
Come on, let’s go.
_1st Soldier_—Just another round.
_3d Roman Soldier_—[_Getting up from the barrel._] No, come on. Let’s
go. I feel like hell to-night.
_1st Soldier_—Just one more.
_2d Soldier_—No, come on. We’re going to go. Good-night, George. Put it
on the bill.
_Wine-seller_—Good-night, gentlemen. [_He looks a little worried._] You
couldn’t let me have a little something on account, Lootenant?
_2d Roman Soldier_—What the hell, George! Wednesday’s pay-day.
_Wine-seller_—It’s all right, Lootenant. Good-night, gentlemen.
[_The three Roman soldiers go out the door into the street._]
[_Outside in the street._]
_2d Roman Soldier_—George is a kike just like all the rest of them.
_1st Roman Soldier_—Oh, George is a nice fella.
_2d Soldier_—Everybody’s a nice fella to you to-night.
_3d Roman Soldier_—Come on, let’s go up to the barracks. I feel like
hell to-night.
_2d Soldier_—You been out here too long.
_3d Roman Soldier_—No, it ain’t just that. I feel like hell.
_2d Soldier_—You been out here too long. That’s all.