Chapter 6 Back to Tara
　　
　　
　　(Panic hit the city with the first ofSherman shells......
　　Helpless and unarmed, the populace fled from the
　　oncoming Juggernaut . And desperately the gallant
　　
　　
　　"remnants of an army marched out to face the foe. Melanie
　　gives birth to a child with the help ofScarlett. Now Scarlett
　　sends Prissy for Rhett Butler, she
　　
　　‘s getting ready to leave.)
　　
　　RHETT: Whoah, whoah.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Rhett, is that you, Rhett?
　　
　　PRISSY: He
　　
　　‘s here, Miss Scarlett, he
　　
　　‘s here!
　　
　　SCARLETT: Oh, Rhett, I knew you
　　
　　‘d come.
　　
　　RHETT: Good evening. Nice weather we
　　
　　‘re having. Prissy
　　tells me you
　　
　　‘re planning on...
　　
　　SCARLETT: If you make any jokes now, I
　　
　　‘ll kill you!
　　
　　RHETT: Don
　　
　　‘t tell me you
　　
　　‘re frightened.
　　
　　SCARLETT: I
　　
　　‘m scared to death, and if you had the sense
　　of a goat you
　　
　　‘d be scared, too! Oh, the Yankees!
　　
　　RHETT: No, not yet, that
　　
　　‘s what
　　
　　‘s left by our army blowing
　　up the ammunition, so the Yankees won
　　
　　‘t get it.
　　
　　SCARLETT: We
　　
　　‘ve got to get out of here.
　　
　　RHETT: At your service, Madame. Just where were you
　　figuring on going?
　　
　　SCARLETT: Home, to Tara.
　　
　　RHETT: Tara? Don
　　
　　‘t you know that they
　　
　　‘ve been fighting
　　all day around Tara? Do you think you can parade right
　　through the Yankee army with a sick woman, a baby and
　　simply minded darkie? Or do you intend leaving them
　　behind.
　　
　　SCARLETT: They
　　
　　‘re going with me and I
　　
　　‘m going home
　　and you can
　　
　　‘t stop me!
　　
　　RHETT: Don
　　
　　‘t you know it
　　
　　‘s dangerous jouncing Mrs.
　　Wilkes over miles of open country?
　　
　　SCARLETT: I want my mother! I want to go home to Tara!
　　
　　RHETT: Tara
　　
　　‘s probably been burned to the ground. The
　　woods are full of ^stragglers from both armies, the least
　　thing they
　　
　　‘ll do is take the horse away from you. And even
　　though it isn
　　
　　‘t much of an animal, I did have a lot of trouble
　　stealing it.
　　
　　SCARLETT: I
　　
　　‘m going home if I have to walk every step
　　of the way! I
　　
　　‘ll kill you if you try to stop me, I will! I will!
　　I will! I will!
　　
　　RHETT: It
　　
　　‘s all right, darling, it
　　
　　‘s all right. Now you shall
　　go home. I guess anybody who did what you
　　
　　‘ve done today
　　can take care of Sherman. Stop crying. Now blow your
　　nose like a good little girl...there...
　　
　　SCARLETT: Prissy, what are you doing?
　　
　　PRISSY: I
　　
　　‘m packing, Miss Scarlett.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Well, stop it. Come and get the baby
　　
　　PRISSY: Yes.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Melanie, Melanie...
　　
　　RHETT: Mrs. Wilkes. We
　　
　　‘re taking you to Tara.
　　
　　MELANIE: Tara...
　　
　　SCARLETT: It
　　
　　‘s the only way, Melanie.
　　
　　MELANIE: No...
　　
　　SCARLETT: Sherman will bum the house over our heads if we stay.
　　It
　　
　　‘s all right, Melanie, it
　　
　　‘s all right.
　　
　　MELANIE: There, there.... little baby..
　　
　　RHETT: Have you the strength to put your arms around my
　　neck?
　　
　　MELANIE: I think so.
　　
　　RHETT: Never mind.
　　
　　MELANIE: Oh,Ashley..Charles!
　　
　　RHETT: What is it? What does she want?
　　
　　SCARLETT: Ashley
　　
　　‘s picture and Charles
　　
　　‘ sword, she wants us to
　　bring them.
　　
　　RHETT: Get them.
　　
　　(They venture all the way. At last they are pretty near Tara. Rhett
　　suddenly stops.)
　　SCARLETT: Why did you stop?
　　
　　RHETT: This is the turn to Tara. I let the horse breathe a bit. Mrs. Wilkes...
　　PRISSY: Miss Melanie done fainted way back. Captain Butler.
　　
　　RHETT: She
　　
　　‘s probably better off. She couldn
　　
　　‘t stand the
　　pain if she were conscious. Scarlett, are you still determined to do
　　this crazy thing?
　　
　　SCAELETT: Oh, yes, yes, I know we can get through it, I
　　
　　‘m sure we can.
　　
　　RHETT: Not we, my dear, you. I
　　
　　‘m leaving you here.
　　
　　SCARLETT: You
　　
　　‘re what? Rhett, where are you going?
　　
　　RHETT: I
　　
　　‘m going, my dear, to join the army.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Oh, you
　　
　　‘re joking. I could kill you for scaring me so.
　　
　　RHETT: I
　　
　　‘m very serious, Scarlett. I
　　
　　‘m going to join up with our brave lads in gray.
　　
　　SCARLETT: But they
　　
　　‘re running away.
　　
　　RHETT: Oh, no, they
　　
　　‘ll turn and make a last stand, if I know anything about them. And when they do, I
　　
　　‘ll be with them. I
　　
　　‘m a little late, but better late than...
　　
　　SCARLETT: Rhett, you must be joking.
　　
　　RHETT: Selfish to the end, aren
　　
　　‘t you? Thinking of your own precious hide with never a thought for the noble cause.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Rhett, how could you do this to me, and why should you go now that, after it
　　
　　‘s all over and I need you, why? Why?
　　
　　RHETT: Why? Maybe it
　　
　　‘s because I
　　
　　‘ve always had a weakness for lost causes, once they
　　
　　‘re really lost. Or maybe, maybe I
　　
　　‘m ashamed of myself. Who knows?
　　
　　SCARLETT: You should die of shame to leave me here alone and helpless.
　　
　　RHETT: You, helpless? Heaven help the Yankees if they capture you. Now climb down here. I want to say goodbye.
　　
　　SCARLETT: No.
　　
　　RHETT: Climb down.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Oh Rhett, please don
　　
　　‘t go. You can
　　
　　‘t leave me, please,
　　I
　　
　　‘ll never forgive you.
　　
　　RHETT: I
　　
　　‘m not asking you to forgive me. I
　　
　　‘ll never understand or forgive myself. And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I
　　
　　‘ll laugh at myself for being an idiot. But there
　　
　　‘s one thing that I do know. And that is I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you. Because we
　　
　　‘re alike. Bad lots, both of us. Selfish and shrewd. But able to look things in the eyes and call them by their right names.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Don
　　
　　‘t hold me like that.
　　
　　RHETT: Scarlett, look at me. I love you more than I
　　
　　‘ve ever loved any woman. And I
　　
　　‘ve waited longer for you than I
　　
　　‘ve ever waited for any woman.
　　
　　(Butler is pressing his lips onto Scarlett
　　
　　‘s.)
　　
　　SCARLETT: Let me alone!
　　
　　RHETT: Here
　　
　　‘s a soldier of the South that loves you, Scarlett. Wants to feel your arms around him, wants to carry the memory of your kisses into battle with him. Never mind about loving me. You
　　
　　‘re a woman who
　　
　　‘s sending a soldier to his death with a beautiful memory. Scarlett, kiss me, kiss me, once.
　　
　　SCARLETT: You
　　
　　‘re a low-down, cowardly, nasty thing, you! They were right. Everybody was right, you, you aren
　　
　　‘t a gentleman.
　　
　　RHETT: A minor point at such a moment. Here, if anyonelays a hand on that nag, shoot him. But don
　　
　　‘t make amistake and shoot the nag.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Oh, go on. I want you to go. I hope acannonball lands slap on you, I hope you
　　
　　‘re blown into amillion pieces, I...
　　
　　RHETT: Never mind the rest, I follow your general idea.And when I
　　
　　‘m dead on the order of my country, I hopeyour conscience heard you. Good-bye Scarlett.(Scarlett drives on.)
　　
　　SCARLETT: Melanie, Melanie, we
　　
　　‘re home! We
　　
　　‘re atTara! Hurry, move brute!
　　
　　PRISSY: Oh, Miss Scarlett, he
　　
　　‘s dead!
　　
　　SCARLETT: I can
　　
　　‘t see the house, is it there? I can
　　
　　‘t seethe house, have they burned it? It
　　
　　‘s all right, it
　　
　　‘s all right,they haven
　　
　　‘t burned it. It
　　
　　‘s still there!
　　
　　(Tara had survived, to face the hell and famine of defeat.)
　　
　　SCARLETT: Mother! Mother, I
　　
　　‘m home! Mother, I
　　
　　‘mhome! Mother let me in, it
　　
　　‘s me, Scarlett. Oh, Paw, I
　　
　　‘mhome, I
　　
　　‘m home... I
　　
　　‘m home.Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: Careful, carefulScarlett...
　　SCARLETT: Mammie, mammy, I
　　
　　‘m home.
　　
　　MAMMIE: Oh, honey child...
　　
　　SCARLETT: Mammy, I
　　
　　‘m so, so....where
　　
　　‘s mother?
　　
　　MAMMIE: Why...Miss Sue Ellen, Miss Carreen, theywere sick with the typhoid. They had it bad, but they
　　
　　‘sdoing all right now. Just weak like little ^kittens.
　　
　　SCARLETT: But, where
　　
　　‘s mother?
　　
　　MAMMIE: Well, Miss Ellen, she went down to nurse that Emmy Sladdly, that white trash. And she took down with it, too. Then last night, she...
　　
　　SCARLETT: Mother? Mother? Mother!
　　
　　(Scarlett walks into her mother
　　
　　‘s room faintly. There, in dark
　　and quietness, lies Mrs. O
　　
　　‘Hara. She
　　
　　‘s dead.)
　　
　　Mammyie: Miss Scarlett honey...
　　
　　SERVANT: If there
　　
　　‘s anything I can do, Miss Scarlett...
　　
　　SCARLETT: What did you do with Miss Melanie?
　　
　　MAMMIE: Don
　　
　　‘t you worry your pretty head about Miss Melanie, child. I done slapped her in bed already along with the baby.
　　
　　SCARLETT: You better put that cow I brought into the barn, Paul.
　　
　　SERVANT: There ain
　　
　　‘t no barn.
　　
　　MAMMIE: Don
　　
　　‘t you worry your pretty head about Miss Melanie,child. I done slapped her in bed already along with the baby.
　　
　　SCARLETT: You better put that cow I brought into the barn, Paul.
　　
　　SERVANT: There ain
　　
　　‘t no barn no more, Miss Scarlett. The Yankees done burned it to firewood.
　　
　　MAMMIE: They used the house for their headquarters Miss Scarlett.
　　
　　SERVANT: They camped all around the place.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Yankees in Tara?
　　
　　MAMMIE: Yes
　　
　　‘m. And they stole almost everything they didn
　　
　　‘t burn. All the clothes, and all the rugs, and even Miss Ellen
　　
　　‘s rosaries.
　　
　　SCARLETT: I
　　
　　‘m starving, Paul. Get me something to eat.
　　
　　MAMMIE: There ain
　　
　　‘t nothing to eat honey. They took it all.
　　
　　SCARLETT: All the chickens, everything?
　　
　　SERVANT: They took them the first day. And what they didn
　　
　　‘t eat they carried off across their saddles.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Don
　　
　　‘t tell me any more about what they did.
　　
　　(Scarlett goes into the room, finding her father in solitude.)
　　
　　SCARLETT: What
　　
　　‘s this , Paw? Whisky?
　　
　　Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: Yes daughter. Katie Scarlett, that
　　
　　‘s enough. Your not knowing spirits, you
　　
　　‘ll make yourself
　　
　　‘
　　
　　‘
　　
　　‘tipsy.
　　
　　SCARLETT: I hope it makes me drunk. I
　　
　　‘d like to be drunk. Oh, Paw...what are those papers?
　　
　　Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: Bonds. They
　　
　　‘re all we
　　
　　‘ve saved. All we have left. Bonds.
　　
　　SCARLETT: But what kind of bonds, Paw?
　　
　　Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: Why, Confederate bonds of course, darling.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Confederate bonds. What good are they to anybody?
　　
　　Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: I
　　
　　‘ll not have you talking like that, Katie Scarlett.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Oh, Paw, what are we going to do with no money and, ...and nothing to eat?
　　
　　Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: We must ask your mother. That
　　
　　‘s it. We must ask Mrs.O
　　
　　‘Hara.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Ask Mother?
　　
　　Mr. O
　　
　　‘HARA: Yes. Mrs. O
　　
　　‘Hara will know what
　　
　　‘s to bedone. Now don
　　
　　‘t be bothering me. Go out for a ride. I
　　
　　‘mbusy.
　　
　　SCARLETT: Oh, Paw. Don
　　
　　‘t worry about anything. It isGod
　　
　　‘s hope. You needn
　　
　　‘t worry.
　　
　　(Scarlett leaves the room, closing the door behind her.)
　　
　　MAMMIE: Miss Scarlettt? What are we going to do withnothing to feed them sick folks and that child?
　　
　　SCARLETT: I don
　　
　　‘t know Mammy. I don
　　
　　‘t know.
　　
　　MAMMIE: We ain
　　
　　‘t got nothing but radishes in the garden.
　　
　　PRISSY: Miss Scarlett, Miss Sue Ellen and Miss Corrine,They
　　
　　‘s fussin to be sponged off
　　
　　SCARLETT: Where are the other servants Mammie?
　　
　　MAMMIE: Miss Scarlett, there
　　
　　‘s only just me and Paulleft. The others moved off during the war and ran away.
　　
　　PRISSY: I can
　　
　　‘t take care of that baby and sick folks too.I
　　
　　‘ve only got two hands.
　　
　　SERVANT: Who
　　
　　‘s going to milk that cow, Miss Scarlett?We
　　
　　‘s house workers.
　　
　　(Exhausted and hungry as Scarlett is, she goes out to theopen field, digging out the leftover radishes in the ground,swallowing. )
　　
　　SCARLETT: As God as my witness....as God as my witnessthey
　　
　　‘re not going to lick me. I
　　
　　‘m going to live through thisand when it
　　
　　‘s all over, I
　　
　　‘ll never be hungry again. No, norany of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill, as Godas my witness, I
　　
　　‘ll never be hungry again.