The Sun Also Rises - Chapter 17

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Chapter seventeen. Outside the Bar ofMilano, I've found Bill and Mike and
Edna. Edna was the girl's name. We've been thrown out, Edna said,
by the police. Said Mike,there's some people in there that don't
like me. I've kept them outof four fights. Edna said, you've
got to help me. Bill's facewas red. Come back in, Edna,

(00:23):
he said, go on in thereand dance with Mike. It's silly.
Edna said, there'll just be anotherrow. Damn burritz swine. Bill
said, come on. Mike said, after all, it's a pub.
They can't occupy a whole pub,good old Mike. Bill said, damned
English swine, come here and insultMike and try and spoil the fiesta.

(00:45):
They're so bloody. Mike said,I hate the English. They can't insult
Mike. Bill said, Mike isa swell fellow. They can't insult Mike.
I won't stand it. Who caresif he is a damn bankrupt?
His voice broke? Who cares?Mike said, I don't care. Jake
doesn't care. Do you care?No? Edna said, are you a

(01:06):
bankrupt? Of course I am.You don't care, do you? Bill?
Bill put his arm around Mike's shoulder. I wish to hell I was
a bankrupt I'd show those bastards they'rejust English. Mike said, it never
makes any difference what the English say, the dirty swine. Bill said,
I'm going to clean them out.Bill. Edna looked at me, Please
don't go in again. Bill.They're so stupid, that's it, said

(01:30):
Mike. They're stupid. I knewthat was what it was. They can't
say things like that about Mike.Bill said, do you know them?
I asked Mike, no, Inever saw them. They say they know
me. I won't stand it.Bill said, come on, let's go
over to the Suissa. I said, they're a bunch of Edna's friends from
Burritt's. Bill said they're simply stupid. Edna said one of them's Charlie Blackman

(01:53):
from Chicago. Bill said, Iwas never in Chicago, Mike said.
Edna started to laugh and could notstop. Take me away from here.
She said, you bankrupts. Whatkind of a row was it? I
asked Edna. We were walking acrossthe square to the Suisa. Bill was

(02:13):
gone. I don't know what happened, but someone had the police called to
keep Mike out of the back room. There are some people that had known
Mike at CON's. What's the matterwith Mike? Probably he owes the money.
I said, that's what people usuallyget bitter about. In front of
the ticket booths out in the square, there were two lines of people waiting.

(02:35):
They were sitting on chairs or crouchedon the ground with blankets and newspapers
around them. They were waiting forthe wickets to open in the morning to
buy tickets for the bullfight. Thenight was clearing and the moon was out.
Some other people in the line weresleeping at the Cafe Suissa. We
had just sat down and ordered foonedthe door when Robert Khne came up.

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Where's Brett? He asked, Idon't know she was with you. She
must have gone to bed. She'snot. I don't know where she is.
His face was sallow under the light. He was standing up. Tell
me where she is? Sit down, I said, I don't know where
she is. The hell you don't. You can shut your face tell me
where Brett is. I'll not tellyou a damned thing. You know where

(03:22):
she is. If I did,I wouldn't tell you. Oh, go
to hell. Kne Mike call fromthe table. Brett's got off with a
bull fighter Chap. They're on theirhoneymoon. You shut up. Oh,
go to hell, Mike said,languidly. Is that where she is?
Cone turned to me, Go tohell? She was with you? Is

(03:42):
that where she is? Go tohell? I'll make you tell me.
He stepped forward, You damned pimp. I swung at him and he ducked.
I saw his face duck sideways inthe light. He hit me and
I sat down on the pavement.As I started to get on my feet,
he hit me. Twe I wentdown backward under her table. I
tried to get up and felt Idid not have any legs. I felt

(04:05):
I must get on my feet andtry and hit him. Mike helped me
up. Someone poured a kraff ofwater on my head. Mike had an
arm around me, and I foundI was sitting on a chair. Mike
was pulling at my ears. Isay, you were cold. Mike said,
where the hell were you? Oh? I was around you didn't want

(04:27):
to mix in it. He knockedMike down too. Edna said he didn't
knock me out. Mike said,I just lay there. Does this happen
every night at your fiestas, Ednaasked, wasn't that mister Kohan. I'm
all right, I said, myhead's a little wobbly. There were several
waiters and a crowd of people standingaround. Vaya said, Mike, get

(04:48):
away. Go on. The waitersmoved the people away. It was quite
a thing to watch. Edna said, he must be a boxer. He
is. I wish Bill had beenhere. Edna said, I'd like to
have seen Bill knock down too.I've always wanted to see Bill knocked down.
He's so big. I was hopinghe would knock down a waiter.

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Mike said, and get arrested.I'd like to see mister Robert Cohen in
jail, no, I said,Oh no, said Edna, you don't
mean that. I do, though, Mike said, I'm not one of
these chaps likes being knocked about.I never played games, even Mike took
a drink. I never liked tohunt, you know, it was always

(05:30):
the danger of having a horse fallon you. How do you feel,
Jake? All right? You're nice. Edna said to Mike. Are you
really a bankrupt? I'm a tremendousbankrupt. Mike said, I owe money
to everybody. Don't you owe anymoney? Tons, I owe everybody money.
Mike said, I borrowed a hundredpisettas from Montoya tonight. The hell

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you did, I said, I'llpay it back. Mike said, I
always pay everything back. That's whyyou're a bankrupt, isn't it. Edna
said. I stood up. Ihad heard them talking from a long way
away. It all seemed like somebad play. I'm going over to the
hotel, I said. Then Iheard them talking about me. See you

(06:15):
all right. Edna said, we'dbetter walk with him. I'm all right,
I said, don't come, I'llsee you all later. I walked
away from the cafe. They weresitting at the table. I looked back
at them and at the empty tables. There was a waiter sitting at one
of the tables with his head inhis hands. Walking across the square to
the hotel, everything looked new andchanged. I had never seen the trees

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before, I'd never seen the flagpolesbefore. Who were the front of the
theater. It was all different,I felt as I felt once coming home
from an out of town football game. I was carrying a suitcase with my
football things, in it, andI walked up the street from the station
and the town I had lived inall my life, and it was all
new. They were raking the lawnsand burning leaves in the road, and

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I stopped for a long time andwatched. It was all strange. Then
I went on, and my feetseemed to be a long way off,
and everything seemed to come from along way off, and I could hear
my feet walking a great distance away. I've been kicked in the head early
in the game. It was likethat crossing the square. It was like

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that going up the stairs in thehotel. Going up the stairs took a
long time, and I had thefeeling that I was carrying my suit case.
There was a light in the room. Bill came out and met me
in the hall. Say, hesaid, go up and see Kane.
He's been in a jam and he'sasking for you. The hell with him,
go on, go on up andsee him. I did not want

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to climb another flight of stairs.What are you looking at me that way?
For? I'm not looking at you. Go on up and see Kane.
He's in bad shape. You weredrunk a little while ago, I
said, I'm drunk now. Billsaid, but you go up and see
Koan. He wants to see you, all right, I said, it

(08:13):
was just a matter of climbing morestairs. I went on up the stairs
carrying my phantom suit case. Iwalked down the hall to Koane's room.
The door was shut and I knocked. Who is it, Barnes, Come
in, Jake. I opened thedoor and went in and set down my
suit case. There was no lightin the room. Kane was lying face

(08:35):
down on the bed of the darkhullo, Jake, don't call me Jake.
I stood by the door. Itwas just like this that I had
come home. Now it was ahot bath that I needed a deep,
hot bath to lie back in.Where's the bathroom, I asked. Kan

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was crying. There he was facedown on the bed, crying. He
had on a white polo shirt,the kind he wore at Princeton. I'm
sorry, Jake, Please forgive me, forgive you hell, Please forgive me,
Jake. I did not say anything. I stood there by the door.
I was crazy. You must seehow it was. Oh, that's

(09:18):
all right. I couldn't stand itabout Brett. You called me a pimp.
I did not care. I wanteda hot bath. I wanted a
hot bath in deep water. Iknow, Please don't remember it. I
was crazy, that's all right.He was crying. His voice was funny.
He lay there in his white shirton the bed in the dark,

(09:41):
his polo shirt. I'm going awayin the morning. He was crying,
without making any noise. I justcouldn't stand it about Brett. I've been
through hell, Jake. It's beensimply hell. When I met her down
here, Brett treated me as thoughI were a perfect stranger. I just
couldn't stand it. We together atSan Sebastian. I suppose you know it.

(10:03):
I can't stand it anymore. Helay there on the bed. Well,
I said, I'm going to takea bath. You were the only
friend I had, and I lovedbrettso well, I said, so long.
I guess it isn't any use,he said, I guess it isn't
any damn use. What everything?Please say? You forgive me, Jake,

(10:26):
Sure, I said, it's allright. I felt so terribly.
I've been through such hell, Jake. Now everything's gone. Everything well,
I said, so long, I'vegot to go. He rolled over,
sat on the edge of the bed, and then stood up. So long
jake, He said, you'll shakehands, won't you sure? Why not?

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We shook hands in the dark.I could not see his face very
well. Well, I said,see you in the morning. I'm going
away in the morning. Oh yes, I said. I went out.
Kane was standing in the door ofthe room. Are you all right,
Jake, he asked, Oh yes, I said, I'm all right.

(11:09):
I could not find the bathroom.After a while I found it. There
was a deep stone tub. Iturned on the taps and the water would
not run. I sat down onthe edge of the bathtub. When I
got up to go, I foundI had taken off my shoes. I
hunted for them and found them andcarried them downstairs. I found my room

(11:31):
and went inside and undressed and gotinto bed. I woke with a headache
and the noise of the bands goingby in the street. I remembered I
had promised to take Bill's friend Edna, to see the bulls go through the
street and into the ring. Idressed and went downstairs and out into the
cold. Early morning. People werecrossing the square, hurrying toward the bull

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ring. Crossed the square were thetwo lines of men in front of the
t wicket boots. It was stillwaiting for the tickets to go on sale.
At seven o'clock, I hurried acrossthe street to the cafe. The
waiter told me that my friends hadbeen there and gone. How many were
they? Two gentlemen and a lady. That was all right. Bill and

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Mike were with Edna. She hadbeen afraid last night that they would pass
out. That was why I wasto be sure to take her. I
drank the coffee and hurried with theother people toward the bull ring. I
was not groggy now, it wasonly a bad heading. Everything looked sharp
and clear, and the town smeltof the early morning. The stretch of

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ground from the edge of the townto the bull ring was muddy. It
was a crowd all along the fencethat led to the ring, and the
outside balconies and the top of thebull ring were solid with people. I
heard the rocket, and I knewI could not get into the ring in
time to see the bulls come in, so I shoved through the crowd to
the fence. I was pushed closeagainst the planks of the fence. Between

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the two fences of the runway.The police were clearing the crowd along They
walked or trotted on into the bullring. Then people commenced to come running.
A drunk slipped and fell. Twopolicemen grabbed him and rushed him over
to the fence. The crowd wererunning fast. Now there was a great
shout from the crowd, and puttingmy head through between the boards, I

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saw the bulls just coming out ofthe street into the long running pen.
They were going fast and gaining onthe crowd. Just then another drunk started
out from the fence with a blousein his hands. He wanted to do
cape work with the bulls. Thetwo policemen tore out, collared him,
one hit him with a club,and they dragged him against the fence and

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stood flattened out against the fence.As the last of the crowd and the
bulls went by, there were somany people running ahead of the bulls that
the mass thickened and slowed up goingthrough the gate into the ring. And
as the bulls passed, galloping togetherheavy muddy sided horns swinging one shot ahead,

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caught a man in the running crowdin the back and lifted him in
the air. Both the men's armswere by his sides. His head went
back as the horn went in andthe bull lifted him and then dropped him.
The bull picked another man running infront, but the man disappeared into
the crowd, and the crowd wasthrough the gate and into the ring with

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the bulls behind them. The reddoor of the ring went shut. The
crowd on the outside balconies of thebull ring were pressing through to the inside.
There was a shout, then anothershout. The man who had been
gored lay face down in the trampledmud. People climbed over the fence and
I could not see the man becausethe crowd was so thick around him.

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From inside the ring came the shouts. Each shout meant a charge by some
bull into the crowd. You couldtell by the degree of intensity in the
shout how bad a thing it wasthat was happening. Then the rocket went
up. That meant the steers hadgotten the bulls out of the ring and
into the corrals. I left thefence and started back toward the town.

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Back in the town, I wentto the cafe to have his second coffee
and some buttered toast. The waiterswere sweeping out the cafe and mopping off
the tables. One came over andtook my order. Anything happened at the
incierro I didn't see at all.One man was badly coohilo. Where here

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I put one hand on the smallof my back and the other on my
chest, where it looked as thoughthe horn must have come through. The
waiter nodded his head and swept thecrumbs from the table with his cloth.
Badly cohilo, he said, Allfor sport, all for pleasure. He
went away and came back with along handled coffee and milk pots. He

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poured the milk and coffee. Itcame out of the long spouts and two
streams into the big cup. Thewaiter nodded his head badly kohilo through the
back, he said. He putthe pots down on the table and sat
down in the chair at the table. A big horn wound. All for
fun, just for fun. Whatdo you think of that? I don't

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know. That's it? All forfun fun. You understand you're not in
aficionado me. What are bulls?Animals? Brute animals? He stood up
and put his hand on the smallof his back, right through the back,
a cordnada, right through the backfor fun. You understand? He
shook his head and walked away carryingthe coffee pots. Two men were going

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by in the street. The waitershouted to them. They were grave looking.
One shook his head, where thoughhe called, the waiter nodded his
head. The two men went on. They were on some errand the waiter
came over to my table. Youhear Guerto dead. He's dead with a

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horn through him. All for morning. Fun is muy flamenco. It's bad,
not for me, The waiter said, no fun, and not for
me. Later in the day welearned that the man who was killed was
named Vicente Girones and came from nearTafala. The next day in the paper

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we read that he was twenty eightyears old and had a farm, a
wife and two children. He hadcontinued to come to the fiesta every year
after he was married. The nextday his wife came in from Tafala to
be with the body, and theday after there was a service in the
chapel of San Fermin and the coffinwas carried to the railway station by members

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of the dancing and drinking Society ofTafala. The drums marched ahead and there
was music on the fis, andbehind the men who carried the coffin walked
the wife in two cho ldren.Behind them marched all the members of the
dancing and drinking societies of Pamplona,Estella, Tafala and Sangeza who could stay

(18:10):
over for the funeral. The coffinwas loaded into the baggage car of the
train, and the widow and thetwo children rode, sitting all three together
in an open third class railway carriage. The train started with a jerk and
then ran smoothly, going down gradearound the edge of the plateau and out

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into the fields of grain that blewin the wind on the plain on the
way to Tafala. The bull whokilled Vincente Gierones was named Bocca Neegra,
was number one hundred and eighteen ofthe bull breeding establishment of Sanchez Tabemo,
and was killed by Pedro Romero asthe third bull of that same afternoon.

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His ear was cut by popular acclamationand given to Pedro Romero, who in
turn gave it to Brett, whowrapped it in a handkerchief belonging to myself.
I left both ear and handkerchief,along with the number of murate cigarette
stubs shoved far back in the drawerof the bed table that stood beside her

(19:14):
bed in the Hotel Montoya in Pamplona. Back in the hotel, the night
watchman was sitting on a bench insidethe door. He had been there all
night and was very sleepy. Hestood up as I came in. Three
of the waitresses came in at thesame time. They had been to the
morning show at the bull ring.They went upstairs, laughing. I followed

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them upstairs and went into my room. I took off my shoes and lay
down on the bed. The windowwas open onto the balcony, and the
sunlight was bright in the room.It did not feel sleepy. Must have
been half past three o'clock when Ihad gone to bed, and the bands
had waked me at six. Myjaw was sore on both sides. I

(19:59):
felt it with my thumb and fingersthat damn cone he should have hit somebody
the first time he was insulted andthen gone away. He was so sure
that Brett loved him. He wasgoing to stay and true love would conquer
all. Some one knocked on thedoor. Come in. It was Bill
and Mike. They sat down onthe bed some in Sierro. Bill said,

(20:22):
some in Sierro. I say,weren't you there? Mike asked,
ring for some beer. Bill,what a morning? Bill said, He
mopped off his face. My god, what a morning. And here's old
Jake, Old Jake, the humanpunching bag. What happened inside? Good
God? Bill said, what happened, Mike? There were these bulls coming

(20:45):
in. Mike said. Just aheadof them was the crowd, and some
chap tripped and brought the whole lotof them down, and the bulls all
came in right over them. Billsaid, I heard them yell. That
was Edna. Bill said. Chapskept coming out waving their shirts. One
bull went along the pajera and hookedeverybody over. They took about twenty chaps

(21:10):
to the infirmary. Mike said,what a morning. Bill said. The
damn police kept arresting chaps that wantedto go and commit suicide with the bulls.
The steers took them in. Inthe end, Mike said, took
about an hour. It was reallyabout a quarter of an hour. Mike
objected, Oh go to hell.Bill said, you've been in the war.

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It was two hours and a halffrom me. Where's the beer.
Mike asked, what did you dowith the lovely Edna? We took her
home just now she's gone to bed. How did she like it? Fine?
We told her it was just likethat every morning. She was impressed.
Mike said. She wanted us togo down in the ring too.

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Bill said, she likes action.I said it wouldn't be fair to my
creditors. Mike said, what amorning, Bill said, And what a
night? How's your jaw? Jake, my guessed sore, I said,
Bill laughed, Why didn't you hithim with a chair? You can talk?
Mike said, he'd have knocked youout too. I never saw him

(22:15):
hit me. I rather think Isaw him just before and then quite suddenly
I was sitting down in the streetand Jake was lying under a table.
Where did he go afterward? Iasked? Here she is? Mike said,
here's the beautiful lady with the beer. The chambermaid put the tray with
the beer bottles and glasses down onthe table. Now bring up three more

(22:37):
bottles. Mike said, where didkok go after he hit me? I
asked, Bill, don't you knowabout that? Mike was opening a beer
bottle. He poured the beer intoone of the glasses, holding the glass
close to the bottle. Really,Bill asked why he went in and found
bred in the bullfighter chap in thebullfighter's room, and then he essacre the

(23:00):
poor bloody bullfighter. No, yes, what a night. Bill said.
He nearly killed the poor bloody bullfighter. Then Coan wanted to take Brett away,
wanted to make an honest woman ofher. I imagine damned touching scene.
He took a long drink of thebeer. He is an ass.

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What happened? Brett gave him whatfor? She told him off. I
think she was rather good. I'llbet she was, Bill said. Then
Cone broke down and cried and wantedto shake hands with a bullfighter fellow.
He wanted to shake hands with Bretttoo. I know he shook hands with
me, did he. Well,they weren't having any of it. The

(23:41):
bullfighter fellow was rather good. Hedidn't say much, but he kept getting
up and getting knocked down again.Con couldn't knock him out. Must have
been damned funny. Where did youhear all of this, Brett? I
saw her this morning? What happened? Finally, seems the bullfighter fellow was
sitting on the he'd been knocked downabout fifteen times and he wanted to fight

(24:03):
some more. Brett held him andwouldn't let him get up. He was
weak, but Brett couldn't hold him, and he got up. Then Coan
said he wouldn't hit him again,said he couldn't do it, said it
would be wicked. So the bullfighterChap sort of rather staggered over to him.
Coan went back against the wall.So you won't hit me, no,
said Coan, I'd be ashamed to. So the bullfighter fellow hit him

(24:27):
just as hard as he could inthe face and then sat down on the
floor. You couldn't get up,Brett said. Coan wanted to pick him
up and carry him to the bed. He said if Coan helped him,
he'd kill him, and he'd killhim anyway this morning, if Coan wasn't
out of town. Coan was crying. Brett had told him off, and
he wanted to shake hands. I'vetold you that before. Tell the rest,

(24:51):
Bill said. Seems the bullfighter Chapwas sitting on the floor. He
was waiting to get strength enough toget up and hit Con again. Brett
was and having any shaking hands,and Koan was crying and telling her how
much he loved her, and shewas telling him not to be a rutty
ass. Then Kane leaned down toshake hands with a bull fighter fellow.
No hard feelings, you know,all for forgiveness, and the bullfighter Chap

(25:15):
hit him in the face again.It's quite a kid, Bill said.
He ruined Koan. Mike said,you know, I don't think Koan will
ever want to knock people up outagain. When did you see Brett this
morning? She came in to getsome things. She's looking after this Romero
lad. He poured out another bottleof beer. Brett's rather cut up,

(25:37):
but she loves looking after people.That's how we came to go off together.
She was looking after me. Iknow, I said, I'm rather
drunk. Mike said, I thinkI'll stay rather drunk. This is awfully
amusing, but it's not too pleasant. It's not too pleasant for me.
He drank off the beer. Igave Brett what for? You know,

(26:02):
I said, if she would goabout with Jews and bull fighters and such
people, she must expect trouble.He leaned forward. I say, Jake,
do you mind if I drink thatbottle of yours. She'll bring you
another one, please, I said, I wasn't drinking it anyway. Mike
started to open the bottle. Wouldyou mind opening it? I pressed up

(26:26):
the wire fastener and port it forhim. You know, Mike went on.
Brett was rather good. She's alwaysrather good. I gave her a
fearful hiding about Jews and bull fightersand all those sort of people. And
do you know what? She said? Yes, I've had such a hell
of a happy life with the Britisharistocracy. He took a drink that was

(26:48):
rather good. Ashley Chap she gotthe title from, was a sailor,
you know, ninth baronet. Whenhe came home, he wouldn't sleep in
a bed, always made Brett sleepon the floor. Finally, when he
got really bad, he used totell her he'd kill her. Always slept
with a loaded service revolver. Brettused to take the shells out when he'd
gone to sleep. She hasn't hadan absolutely happy life, Brett, Damn

(27:14):
shame too. She enjoys things.So he stood up. His hand was
shaky. I'm going in the room, try and get a little sleep,
he smiled. We go too longwithout sleep in these fiestas. I'm going
to start now and get plenty ofsleep. Damn bad thing. Not to
get sleep makes you frightfully nervy.We'll see you at noon at the runya,

(27:38):
Bill said. Mike went out thedoor. We heard him in the
next room. He rang the bell, and the chambermaid came and knocked at
the door. Bring up half adozen bottles of beer and a bottle of
fund d'Or. Mike told her,See Senorito. I'm going to bed,
Bill said, poor old Mike.I had all of a row about him

(28:00):
last night where at that Milano place. Yes, there was a fellow there
that had helped pay Brett and Mikeout of Kahn's once. It was damn
nasty. I know the story.I didn't nobody ought to have a right
to say things about Mike. That'swhat makes it bad. They oughtn't to
have any right. I wish tohell they didn't have any right. I'm

(28:23):
going to bed. Was anybody killedin the ring, I don't think so,
just badly hurt. A man waskilled outside in the runway, was
there, said Bill? End ofChapter seventeen.