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Man From the USSR & Other Plays

Page 20

by Vladimir Nabokov


  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Captain Scott

  Fleming

  Kingsley

  Johnson

  “He was a very gallant gentleman” (from Scott’s notebook)

  Interior of a tent. Four figures: Captain Scott, dubbed “Chief, ” and Fleming semi-reclining; Kingsley and Johnson asleep, totally bundled up. All four have their legs in fur bags.

  FLEMING

  Only twelve miles to go—yet we must wait....

  What a snowstorm ... it roves, it tears....Still writing,

  Chief?

  CAPT. SCOTT

  (leafing through his diary)

  Yes, it must be done.... It’s forty-four days now since we departed from the pole, and it is the fifth day that we have been held captive by the storm inside this tent, and have no food....

  JOHNSON

  (sleepily)

  Oh....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  You’re awake? How are you feeling?

  JOHNSON

  Not too bad.... It’s curious....

  It seems as if I’m split into two parts—

  one is myself, strong, lucid ... while the other’s

  scorbutic, drowsy ... a real sleepyhead....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  How about a little water?

  JOHNSON

  No, no thanks....

  Another thing: I had a dream when I

  was little—I still remember—that my feet,

  when I looked down, had turned into the feet of

  an elephant, (laughs)

  I guess my dream’s come true now. How’s Kingsley?

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Bad, I gather—he was raving... but now he’s still.

  JOHNSON

  When we are all back home

  we’ll organize a banquet ... what a banquet—

  we’ll have a turkey and, above all, speeches,

  speeches....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  I know—you could pass for a turkey yourself, when you get really good and drunk!

  Eh, Johnson?

  He’s already asleep....

  FLEMING

  Just think—

  twelve miles between us and the coast, the inlet,

  where, tilting to one side its hoary masts,

  amid blue icebergs waits our ship! I can

  see it so clearly!...

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Well, what can we do,

  Fleming? Our luck ran out. That’s all....

  FLEMING

  And only

  twelve miles to go! Chief, I don’t know—what do

  you think: after the blizzard has abated,

  could we, dragging the sick on sleds behind

  us, make it back?...

  CAPT. SCOTT

  I doubt it....

  FLEMING

  Right. And if...

  If they weren’t there?

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Forget that....Who knows all

  the things one can conceive of.... Would you check the time, my friend.

  FLEMING

  You’re right, Chief....It is six past one....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Oh, well—we can hold out until nightfall....You realize, Fleming—after all, they’re looking for us, coming from the coast to meet us.... Maybe they will stumble on us.... Meanwhile let’s sleep.... It will be easier....

  FLEMING

  I don’t feel sleepy.

  CAPT. SCOTT

  In that case, you’ll wake me—say—in an hour. Or else I might just lapse, just lapse.... Oh well, you understand....

  FLEMING

  Aye, aye, Chief.

  (pause)

  All three asleep.... Lucky for them.... To whom, then,

  can I explain that I am strong and avid,

  that I could gobble up not twelve but hundreds

  of miles, so stubborn is the life within me.

  My hunger and the icy wind have forced

  all of my strength into one burning, bursting

  mote....And there is nothing in the world

  a mote like that cannot achieve....

  (pause)

  Johnson,

  what is it? Do you need some help?

  JOHNSON

  I’ll manage,

  don’t worry.... I’m going outside, Fleming....

  FLEMING

  Where?

  JOHNSON

  Oh, I just want to have a look if there

  is anything in sight. I may well be

  some time....

  FLEMING

  Take care—don’t lose your bearings in the blizzard....

  Gone....A miracle that he’s

  still capable of walking, with his feet

  already rotting....

  (pause)

  What a storm! The whole

  tent shudders from the snowy din....

  KINGSLEY

  (delirious)

  Oh, Jessie,

  my darling—It’s so beautiful.... We’ve seen

  the pole, and I have brought you back a penguin.

  Here, Jessie—you just take a look how smoo-

  smoo-smooth he is ... and how he waddles.... Jessie,

  you’re honeysuckle.... (laughs)

  FLEMING

  Lucky man.... I have

  no one to be delirious about....

  The Captain has a wife and little son

  in London. Kingsley has a fiancée,

  almost a widow.... Johnson, I don’t know—

  I think his mother....What a notion to

  go walking. Funny chap, that Johnson, really.

  To him life is a mixture of exploit

  and prank....He knows no doubts, his soul is straight as

  the shadow of a post on level snow....

  A lucky man.... While I must be a coward....

  Danger enticed me, but aren’t women enticed

  like that by an abyss? My life’s not been

  much good....I’ve been a ship’s boy and a diver,

  hurled my harpoon upon uncharted seas. Oh,

  those years of seafaring, of wandering,

  of longing....Few have been the peaceful nights,

  the happy days I’ve had from life ... and yet....

  KINGSLEY

  (delirious)

  Come on, come on! That’s it, nice going! Hurry!

  Don’t dawdle, shoot—shoot at the goal!...Our Father,

  Which art... (mumbles)

  FLEMING

  And yet I’ve an unbearable

  desire to live....Yes, to pursue a ball,

  a woman, or the sun or—still more simply—

  to eat, to eat a lot, to tear the plump

  sardines in golden oil out of their tin....

  I want to live so much, it maddens me,

  it hurts—to live somehow....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  What’s that? Who’s there?

  What happened?

  FLEMING

  Nothing, Chief. Everything’s quiet....

  Except for Kingsley—he’s delirious....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  I had a kind of radiant, fearful dream....

  Where’s Johnson?

  FLEMING

  Gone, to have a look if there are

  rescuers in sight.

  CAPT. SCOTT

  How long ago?

  FLEMING

  By now, I’d say it’s twenty minutes.

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Fleming,

  you really shouldn’t have let him go outside....

  However.... Hurry, hurry, help me up—

  we’re going out.

  FLEMING

  I’m sorry, Chief—I thought...

  CAPT. SCOTT

  No, it is not your fault.

  Look at that snow!

  (They go out together.)

  (pause)

  KINGSLEY

  (alone, delirious)

  Don’t push—I can do it myself....Stop it,

>   I don’t need to be pushed....(raises himself up)

  Chief, Fleming, Johnson!

  Hey, Chief!...No one....Ah yes, I understand—

  all three of them are gone. They must have thought

  that I was dead already....They have left me,

  they have set out....

  No! It must be a joke!

  Wait, please come back....1 have something to tell you....

  I want to tell....So—this is what death means: a

  glass entrance ... water ... water ... it’s all clear.

  (pause)

  (Capt. Scott and Fleming return.)

  CAPT. SCOTT

  How silly—I can’t use my feet.

  Oh, thanks....

  No matter. Not much chance of finding Johnson

  in any case....You realize what he’s done?

  FLEMING

  Of course....He weakened, fell—called, helplessly,

  perhaps....All this is very frightening....(goes back

  into the depths of the tent)

  CAPT. SCOTT

  (aside)

  That’s wrong—he did not call. He only thought

  that, being sick, he was a burden to

  the rest, and so he left....It was so simple,

  so valorous.... My bag is like a rock—

  I can’t get into it....

  FLEMING

  Chief, this is dreadful—

  Kingsley is dead....Look at him....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  My poor Eric!

  Why did I have to bring him with me? He was

  the youngest one of us....Remember how

  he cried when he discovered, at the pole, the

  Norwegian flag?...The body can stay here—

  don’t touch it....

  (pause)

  FLEMING

  We are left alone now, Chief....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  But not for long, my friend, but not for long....

  FLEMING

  The blizzard’s dying down....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  You know, I was just

  thinking—Columbus, for example....True,

  he suffered, but, in recompense, discovered

  such splendid lands, while we have suffered to

  discover only ruinous white deserts—

  and still, you know, it had to be....

  FLEMING

  Well, Chief,

  what if we tried to make a go for it?

  Only twelve miles, and we’ll be saved....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  No, Fleming—

  I can’t get up....

  FLEMING

  We have a sled....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  You’d never

  make it with me—I’m heavy. I am better

  off here. It’s peaceful. And so is my soul—

  like Sunday in a Scottish townlet ... feet

  just hurt a little—and often they’re a wee

  bit tedious, our slow Sundays....Pity we

  don’t have a chess set—we could have....

  FLEMING

  Yes, pity....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Now listen, Fleming—you go by yourself....

  FLEMING

  And leave you here alone? Weak as you are....

  You said yourself you might not last the night....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Go on alone. It’s what I want....

  FLEMING

  But how....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  I’ll last, I’ll last....You will have enough time

  to send them for me when you reach the inlet.

  Go on! Perhaps you’ll even meet our men

  along the way. I want you to—go on....I

  demand it....

  FLEMING

  Yes, then I shall go, I think....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Go on.... What will you take along?

  FLEMING

  The sled

  I do not need....I’ll only take these skis, and

  a stick....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  No, wait—you take another pair....

  It seems to me the heel strap on that ski is weak....

  Farewell....Give me your hand.... If you—

  no, never mind....

  FLEMING

  My compass.... Damn, it’s broken....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Here’s mine—you take it....

  FLEMING

  Right....

  I guess I’m ready....

  All right. Good-bye, Chief. I’ll be coming back

  with help. No later than tomorrow night....

  Be careful not to fall asleep....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Farewell....(Fleming leaves.)

  Yes, he will make it.... It’s twelve miles....Besides,

  the blizzard’s dying down....(pause)

  I need to pray....

  My diary—here it is, my humble, faithful

  prayer book....Think I’ll start in the middle....(reads) “Fifteenth

  November: moon is blazing like a bonfire;

  and Venus seems a little Japanese

  lantern....” (turnspage)

  “Bravo for Kingsley. Always looks like

  he’s playing—sturdy and light-footed....Problems

  with our poor dogs: Gypsy’s gone blind, and Grouse

  has vanished: fell into a seal hole, I

  imagine....”

  “Christmas Eve: today the sky was

  lit up by an aurora borealis... (turns page)

  “Eighth February: the Pole. Norwegian flag

  is sticking from the snow.... We have been beaten.

  I’m very sorry for my loyal companions.

  And now we must go back.” (turnspage) “Eighteenth of March:

  we’re straying. Sleds keep getting stuck. And Kingsley

  is going downhill.” “The twentieth: the last of

  the cocoa and meat powder.... Johnson’s feet

  aren’t well. He’s very cheerful, very lucid.

  We still go on discussing, he and I,

  what we’ll do afterwards, on our return.”

  Well,...Now I must add only that—too bad

  the pencil’s broken....

  I suppose it is

  the most appropriate ending....

  Lord, I’m ready.

  My life, just like the needle of a compass,

  has quivered and has pointed to the Pole—and

  Thou art that Pole....

  My skis have left their tracks

  upon your boundless snows. There’s nothing else.

  That’s all there is. (pause)

  And in a city park,

  back home in London, with some toy or other,

  all bathed in sunshine, and with naked knees....

  They’ll tell him later on....(pause)

  Everything’s quiet.

  I picture Fleming on the vast, smooth plain—

  he walks and walks, moving his skis ahead

  so steadily—one, two ... he’s disappearing....

  And I’m no longer hungry....Such great weakness,

  such quietude is rippling through my body....(pause)

  It’s probably delirium....I hear....

  I hear.... Can it really be possible?

  They’ve found us, here they come ... our men ... our men....

  Keep calm, Captain, keep calm....No, it is not

  delirium, not the wind. I clearly hear

  snow creaking, movement, steps upon the snow.

  Keep calm ... must rise ... must meet them....Who is there?

  FLEMING

  It’s Fleming....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Ah, the blizzard has died down— hasn’t it?...

  FLEMING

  Yes, it’s cleared up. The wind has stopped, (sits down)

  The outside of our tent is all aglitter,

  powdered with snow....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  Say, d
o you have a knife?

  My pencil’s broken. Thanks, this will do fine.

  I have to make an entry that you’re back.

  FLEMING

  And you can add that Johnson isn’t.

  CAPT. SCOTT

  It’s

  one and the same....

  (pause)

  FLEMING

  Our tent will not be hard

  to notice, it shines so....

  Oh, by the way,

  about Johnson: I came across his body.

  He’d dug into the snow, face down, his hood

  thrown back....

  CAPT. SCOTT

  It seems a pity, but I do

  not think I can write more....Now, listen—can

  you tell me for what reason you came back....

 

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