Dialog from Episode 392, scene 2.

     Peyton talks with Lee Webber about the wedding.

     Lee Webber brings supper tray for Mr. Peyton in his bedroom 
     upstairs.

LW:  That's about the best I could do. Mr. Peyton.  Roast beef and milk.
MP:  A bachelor supper, huh?
LW:  I guess so.
MP:  A little less spectacular than my first wedding.
LW:  Really had a blast, huh?
MP:  Oh, yes.  Quite a blast.  In those days, it was a ritual.  My 
     friends kidnapped me.  Took me to a cave outside of Boston.  It 
     was decorated as if as a wake.  Black wreaths, and black candles.  
     Frank Townsend read a decree banishing me from the ranks of 
     bachelorhood, forever.  Afterwards we ate a whole roast pig.  Yes, 
     it was quite a celebration.  I barely got to church the next 
     morning. 
LW:  That sounds great.  You know, the night before I married Sandy, I 
     went out and I got stoned. 
MP:  Well, from my brief encounter with that young lady, I think it was 
     a wise precaution. 

LW:  You're really going to go through with it, aren't you? 
MP:  With the marriage? 
LW:  Yeah.  You know, I never thought when it came right down to the 
     wire that ...  
     Maybe I'm stupid or something, but I just can't figure out what it 
     is that she's got on you that you'd have to marry her. 
MP:  Well, who told you that you were supposed to figure it out?
LW:  You told me that we were going to be like a team.  That you would 
     make plans and I'd carry them out for you.  And all of that's great 
     but you won't even tell me what this dame's doing to you.  Now, I 
     could help you out.  I've been around a little bit. 
MP:  A very little bit.  No, Lee.  I'm afraid that you're out of your 
     league. 
LW:  Listen, Mr. Peyton.  A rotten dame is a rotten dame.  And the . . .
MP:  All right, that's enough Lee.
LW:  You really play it close to the vest don't you.  Now, I'm going to be 
     sleeping in that room over the garage.  Big deal.  A lot of good it's 
     going to do you.  If a lion came through that window, you'd be too 
     stubborn to yell. 
MP:  Lee, come back here.  Come here.  You're right, Lee.  I do play it 
     close to the vest.  That's why I've survived all these years.  
     That's why I'm alive and flourishing and those young bucks who 
     feted me that night in the cave are either dead or are paupers.  
     I've outlived my generation, Lee.  It's a very lonely feeling. 

LW:  Mr. Peyton, you know that if there was anything I could do to make 
     it easier for you, I'd do it.  You just give me a chance. 
MP:  Very well, let me tell you a story.  Once there was a great man.  
     A wise man.  A scientist.  His work was the saving of human life.  
     The relief of suffering.  His work had always been enough for him 
     until he, in his latter years, was persuaded that he was lonely.  
     So he took a wife.  A woman years younger than himself.  In a very 
     short time she had reduced him to desperation.  Run through his 
     money.  Been unfaithful, countless of times.  Openly ridiculed him 
     and everything he stood for.  But he loved her.  So he was 
     powerless to retaliate. 
LW:  Mrs. Van Leyden?
MP:  Yes.  Ultimately, she killed him.
LW:  You mean that she . . . ?
MP:  Just as surely as if she had thrust a knife into him.  You see, Lee, 
     she destroyed his will to live.  His faith in himself.  Philip Van 
     Leyden was my best friend.  I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't 
     for him.  I owe him a debt.  And, Lee, I intend to pay it. 
LW:  You're not marrying her for the reason that you told me.
MP:  There are some crimes our society can not punish.  So I must be my own 
     judge and my executioner, if justice is to be done.  Now you know. 
LW:  I knew nobody was bull-dozing you.  And, I can see it now.  I can 
     see why you've been so tense lately.  And why you wanted me to be 
     the one to give you your medicine. 
MP:  Yes, Lee.  Revenge is a dangerous game.  My money baited the trap.  
     But I made myself very vulnerable.  When you back someone in a 
     corner you must expect him to spring.  Tonight, I don't know, Lee.  
     I felt a sixth sense.  A sense of danger.  You see Mrs. Van Leyden 
     isn't my only enemy.  This marriage of mine is a turning point in 
     so many lives. 
LW:  You don't worry, Mr. Peyton.  If anybody wants to get to you, they've 
     got to go by me.  And there's no way they can do that.  No way. 
MP:  Thank you, Lee. 
LW:  If it'll make you sleep any easier, I'll be up and around all night. 
MP:  Open that drawer.  Take out that case.  Now, open it.  Well, take 
     it Lee.  It's yours.  I meant it for Rodney, but he's soft.  He 
     doesn't want to face reality.  He prefers to live a life of 
     dreams.  Your origins were humble, Lee.  But at least they 
     tempered you into a man. 
LW:  I don't know what to say, Mr. Peyton, other than you won't regret 
     it.  I give you my word. 
MP:  That's all I need.

Episode 392, Scene 2                  HOME