The Man Who Had All the Luck by Arthur Miller Page B

under the car ]: First you take the pan down.
    DAVID [ slight pause. ]: Ya?
    GUS: Then you drop the bearings. Label them so you know where to put them back.
    DAVID: Ya?
    GUS: Then you drop the main bearings for the crankshaft. DAVID: Ya?
    GUS: Then you drop the shaft itself. Take it up to Newton, is a good shop there. Tell them to exchange for a new shaft.
    DAVID: Can’t I straighten this one?
    GUS: Is not possible for you.
    DAVID: Could you straighten it?
    GUS: That would depend—but I sold my instruments for this. You go to work now. Go ahead.
    DAVID [ starts to move ]: You in a hurry to go away?
    GUS: I’ll stay, I’ll watch you.
    DAVID [ thankfully ]: Okay. [ He gets down on his knees and is about to get under the car. ] You feel like workin’? Just for a couple of minutes?
    GUS: You would like me to?
    DAVID: I always wanted to see how somebody else works. Y’know?
    GUS: All right, come on. We rip her open. [ He pulls off his coat. ] You got a socket, a quarter inch?
    DAVID [ a new excitement in him ]: I ain’t got sockets yet, but . . . GUS: That’s all right, give me an open end. [DAVID goes for the wrench quickly. ] How much oil you got in here?
    DAVID [ finding the wrench ]: Just a couple of quarts. I just ran her a minute. I’ll drain her.
    He gets under the car quickly, opening the drain nuts, setting a can under it, as . . .
    GUS: Are you married?
    DAVID: Not yet . . . [ Under the car. ] but pretty soon . . . are you?
    GUS [ ready to work, he kneels on one knee beside the car ]: No, but I am always hopeful. There is a nice red-headed girl in this town? [ Preparing to slide under. ]
    DAVID [ laughs ]: She got to be red-headed?
    GUS: Yes, I would prefer such a color. It always seemed to me in a small American town would be many red-headed girls. Probably this is because in general I like a small town. When this car has to be ready? [ Slides under. ]
    DAVID moves to make room; sits on his heels beside the car.
    DAVID: Eleven in the morning, if possible. You think it can?
    GUS: Oh, plenty of time. You got a car to take this shaft to Newton?
    DAVID: Yeh, that Ford outside. Oh—my back.
    GUS: Spread out, take it easy.
    DAVID [ relaxes on the floor ]: Gosh, you sure swing that wrench. Lots of time I do something and I wonder how they’d do it in the factory—you know, officially.
    GUS: In the factory also they wonder sometimes how it’s done officially.
    DAVID [ laughs ]: Yeh, I bet. [ Pause. GUS works. ] Gosh, I suddenly feel awful tired. I been at it all night, y’know?
    GUS: Sleep, go ahead. I’ll wake you when it gets interesting. DAVID: . . . Don’t think you’re doing this for nothing; I’ll split the bill with you.
    GUS: Nonsense. [ Laughs. ] We’ll even it up sometime. One hand washes the other.
    DAVID ’s head comes down on his arm, his face toward the Austrian. For several moments GUS works in silence. DAVID ’s breathing comes in longer draughts. GUS, noticing his eyes closed . . .
    Mr. Beeves?
    DAVID sleeps.
    GUS comes out from under the car, gets his own coat and lays it over DAVID and looks down at him. A smile comes to his face, he shakes his head wondrously, and looks from DAVID all around the shop. Then, happily, and with a certain anticipation, he whispers . . .
    America!
    He bends, slides under the car as the lights go down.
    The lights come up on the same scene. From the large barn doors a wide shaft of sunlight is pouring in. DAVID is asleep where he was before, the coat still on him. But now the car is off the jack, and the hood is in place over the engine. The tools are in a neat pile nearby.
    Enter J.B., DAN DIBBLE, HESTER, PAT and AMOS.
    J.B. [ as they enter. To DAN]: We’re a little early, so if he needs more time you’ll wait, Dan. . . . [ Looks at DAVID. Quietly. ] What’d he do, sleep here all night?
    AMOS: Must’ve. He never come home.
    J.B. [ to DAN]: That’s the type of character