by RODNEY NELSON 13 The Popcorn Man CHARACTERS: Olvir and Ola, retired farmers Lina, a woman in her forties Egil Myra, the popcorn man Arvid, a storekeeper Olga, a middle-aged woman Children Crowd In the late 1940s the Red River Valley (alias The Wapentake) still had a few itinerant merchants. One of these, who ordinarily considered himself a purveyor of joy, dreamed himself into a lot of trouble. Here follow the consequences of his atavism. SCENE I The streets of a small town. Two retired farmers, Olvir and Ola, are talking away the afternoon. They sit on a bench, left. OLVIR (pointing): A car in the west. You see that, Ola? OLA: I see it, Olvir, but I couldn't say Which of the two it is, Jon Hansen's boy Or Lina, daughter of Helmut Jensen. 256 THE POPCORN MAN OL VIR: It's one of them, you can be sure of that. OLA: Who else comes into town at three o'clock? OL VIR: But look how slow they come. The cloud of dust Is still the other side of Guttromsgaard. OLA: Oh, that would be Jon Hansen's boy. You know He lost his wallet somewhere there in spring And every time he passes takes a look In case the thing shines up. OL VIR: I wish him luck, And hope that Guttrom isn't watching him. You know whose daughter he was courting then. OLA: By all I heard it was Red-Ida. OL VIR: No, The one who chases cows. She's yellow-haired. OLA: Red-Ida I could understand, because She looks the double of the wife who died. The Yellow-hair he shouldn't care about. OL VIR: It was the fault of Hansen, Guttrom's kin. OLA: No, I don't think so. OL VIR: Yes, I do think so. In thirty-six Jon Hansen bought the field That Guttrom lost on mortgage to the bank. OLA: But Hansen let him take the hay. OL VIR: And pay! That's how he treats his mother's brother's son. Jon Hansen has no welcome on the gaard, So why should Guttrom have the boy? OLA: I heard The kid was meeting Ida in the woods One night, and as he left there came a shot Out of nowhere. The kid not only lost Both pockets but what he had inside there. OL VIR: No, Ola, it was Yellow-hair the young. She told her friend, Odd Vinje's second girl, That Guttrom hid the wallet in a drawer. Vinje's girl was serving by Jon Hansen 257 Rodney Nelson So she could give the boy a little news, And seems to me the Yellow-hair had some Good reason knowing what she did. OLA: I think The younger always acted go-between. Red-Ida has a thing or two to hide. OL VIR: No, I don't think so. Red-Ida might be Exceptional in one respect OLA : Is she Exceptional? (Laughs.) OL VIR: - but, Ola, you admit She tries to take the place her mother had? OLA: Well, I don't know. OL vir (pointing): Well, we were wrong. Look up the road. OLA: I see. OL VIR: The car is almost halfway into town From Guttromsgaard and still he's coming slow. OLA: That cannot be Jon Hansen's boy. OL VIR: It can't. He always burns the tires afterward. OLA: But who's the dust there coming up behind? OL VIR: I see a blue sedan; it's pulling in. OLA: So here she is. OL VIR: Just as I thought. OLA: I knew It all the time. OL VIR: Yes. OLA: If it isn't TOGETHER : Miss Lina, daughter of Helmut Jensen! Enter Lina, a woman in her forties. LINA: Is it Ola Sivertson and Olvir Or do I see two crows? Be careful now, If you stand up, the bench will soon get cold, And Arvid wonder where the shade has gone. OLVIR: You know, when Arvid's father had this store 258 THE POPCORN MAN There sat a team of men where two sit now. This bench needs all the business it can get...