the wind and the rain - cast of characters

by nick nelson

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joe, a wanderer mrs murphy lee, a conjure woman grover, a pickup truck driver astrid, a waitress pop, a proprietor tank, a guard and enforcer claudia, an orphan aunt edith, an impoverished heiress cousin jeffrey, an impoverished heir mrs cole, a cook richardson robinson, an adventurer and idealist aunt arlene. an aunt cousin waldo, a cousin uncle chester, an uncle marlowe, a butler harold brown, a friendly fellow walter wilson, harold’s twin, an attorney mr amenhotep, a financier clyde hooper, a clumsy boy daisy dempster, an angry girl mrs melody mason, a schoolmistress jack, a future ruler of the world bucky, a dog constance johnson, a trainer of world rulers and a well dressed woman briggs, her assistant sir john, a responsible person jill. a companion to jack zenobia, a maid zobo, an assistant red, a drver white, blue, and green, passengers

the wind and the rain - 00. the summons

by nick nelson

part 00 of ?

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you wished to see me, mother? yes, i did. well, here i am. do you want to know why i wanted to see you? i am sure you will tell me. i am leaving you. doctor ellis tells me i have a few days at most. i am sorry to hear it. i thought that might be the reason. but i did not want to distress you by asking. that was very thoughtful. i have some instructions for you before i go. i thought you might. i have two things i wish you to do. first, i wish you to become president of the united states. if the united states becomes part of the world federation, i wish you to become the president, or whatever title is used - the head of that august body. do you understand? of course. and the second thing? listen closely. when you have achieved that goal, i wish you to use your power to ——- next

the wind and the rain - 32. the fourth car

by nick nelson

part 32 of ?

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the same dark night, or another one. a fourth car approaches from the west on an empty country road. a 1935 duesenberg. red is driving. white sits in the front passenger seat. blue and green sit in the back. they drive along. silence. it begins to rain. fog settles on the road. a hitchhiker appears. the auto passes the hitchhiker by. the auto proceeds down the road. the rain gets heavier. white, blue, and green begin to curse red for losing the way. things proceed in this way. the road gets narrower and the night gets darker. white says i think i see something ahead. blue replies - at last! suddenly a building appears - an abandoned barn? red says i think we should push on. and is shouted down and overruled by the three passengers. they stop and enter the building . fade out ************** next

the wind and the rain - 31. lightning

by nick nelson

part 31 of ?

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midnight. a 1927 pierce arrow approaches from the east on an otherwise empty road. lightning from an oncoming storm flashes in the west. harold brown is driving. his twin brother, walter wilson, sits beside him in the front passenger seat. aunt edith and cousin jeffrey sit in the back. aunt edith does not look pleased. cousin jeffrey chews a very long, but empty, cigarette holger, and looks bored. nobody speaks. aunt edith and cousin jeffrey not only do not speak but avoid looking at each other. they drive on. i thought this road had a turning, walter wilson finally breaks the silence, of course it has a turning, harold brown replies amiably, every road has a turninng. they drive on. so far as they can tell in the darkness, the landscape on either side of the road is empty. a raindrop hits the windshield. next

the wind and the rain - 30. open the door

by nick nelson

part 30 of ?

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further down the same road. it is raining. another vehicle, a 1930 packard roadster approaches from the opposite direction. richardson oibinson is driving. arlene sits beside him, with a grim expression on her face. cousin waldo and marlowe, the butler, sit in the back, marlowe behind richardson, and waldo behind arlene. waldo finally opens his mouth. i tell you i saw something, he announces plaintively. none of the other three replies. they drive on. the wind and rain pick up. a slight figure appears by the roadside. to the consternation of aunt arlene and waldo, richardson stops the car. marlowe chuckles softly. that is her! waldo cries. that is her! the one i saw in the tree! that is she, waldo, arlene corrects him. learn to speak proper english, please. open the door, waldo, richardson says, and ask her if she wants a lift. but she will bring bad luck! waldo exclaims. and be soaking wet , arlene adds tartly. open the door, waldo, richardson repeats., and ask her if she wants a lift. waldo has trouble opening the passenger door, but finally manages to get it open. wind and rain blow into the car. * fade out next

the wind and the rain - 29. the hitchhiker

by nick nelson

part 29 of ?

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a dark night. an empty road. a five year old black toyota. briggs is driving. he needs a shave. constance johnson, stylish as ever, sits beside him in the front passenger seat. jack and jill sit quietly in the back. they drive along. silence. it is raining. a hitchhiker appears. briggs passes the hitchhiker by. none of the three passengers comments on the hitchhiker or the fact that briggs passes him by. the toyota proceeds down the road. the rain gets heavier. jack asks if briggs has lost his way. constance johnson and briggs both assure him that they are on the right road. how can you tell if you can’t see it? i can see it, says briggs. and there is no other road, constance adds. the road gets narrower and the night gets darker jill says, i think i see something ahead. jack replies - at last! suddenly a building appears - an abandoned barn. briggs says, i think we should push on. no, constance replies quietly, i think we should stop a while they stop. * fade out next

the wind and the rain - 28. else

by nick nelson

part 28 of ?

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constance johnson sat under her favorite tree. the sun was shining, and constance looked more aristocratic than ever. briggs approached, looking a little more disheveled than before.. ah, there you are. where else would i be? we have new instructions. again. yes, again. this operation is being shut down, and we are to report to headquarters for our new assignment. is that not a bit abrupt? everything is abrupt. what about our two young proteges? i have an address where we can drop them off on our way to headquarters. is it out of the way? only a hour or two. if we don’t get lost. i hope we don’t get lost. i don’t see why we would. i am glad you are so confident. do you remember the last time? of course i remember the last time. how could i forget it? i suppose we might as we might as well get going then. have you informed the children? i thought you might prefer to do that. whatever, i will do it. next