 It's a hot, dusty day at Sadie's
Saloon when Sheriff Jake Jones makes his usual afternoon visit. Lovely young Sadie Spencer,
one of the owners of the saloon, is the only person in the bar. Jake orders his usual
"Special Sarsparilla", which is supposedly non-alcoholic, but is actually whiskey.
They talk about the two main subjects in town, the intense heat wave and the fact
that the Stagecoach Line has moved out of town. Sadie wonders why Jake keeps up
the pretense of the "special Sarsparilla"
Script Excerpt
Sadie: "Well, since nobody's here to see you, why don't you just order a regular shot
of whiskey instead of the special sarsaparilla?"
Jake. "Because you never know when somebody might come in and I don't want people
to think I'm drinking on duty."
Sadie. "I hate to ruin your day, but everybody in town knows that there's whiskey
in that special sarsaparilla bottle."
Jake. "Well. I'll be hornswoggled! You say everybody?"
Sadie. "Everybody except the members of the
Temperance Committee."
There is a two-person Temperance Committee dedicated to closing down the saloon,
Hazel Hoochater and Prudence Purewater. They have been a thorn in Jake's side for
a long time. Jake doesn't want the saloon to close for two reasons, he likes the
Spencer sisters and he needs a place to drink! He has arrested the two committee
members before for disturbing the peace when they have burst into the saloon
bent on destroying it.
Script Excerpt
Jake:
"Well, I'll be a yaller dog! There sure ain't no secrets in this town!
Well, speaking of the Temperance Committee, you never know when those two
goody-goody two shoes temperance women, that old bat Hazel Hoochater and
her mangy partner Prudence Purewater, will show up. Those two are more trouble
than a pair of skunks in a perfume store."
Sadie. "Now Jake, don't start in on the ladies from the Temperance Committee.
It's too hot to be getting all exited. Besides, those two haven't been in here
in months. I think they still remember the last time they tried to bust up the
place and you had to throw them in jail."
Jake. "Yep. I seen my duty and I done it. After all, it's the Code Of The
West. Tell you what, though. Next time something like that happens, they'll
be in jail forever and a week!"
Of more importance to the town is the fact that when the railroad moved out
so did most of the people, and business at the saloon has suffered as a result.
Sadie and Jake are reflecting on the sad state of affairs when they are joined
by Sadie's vivacious younger sister, Sally. Sally is a good-natured girl while
Sadie is more serious. They disagree on the operation of the saloon. Where Sally
wants to sell it and move on to greener pastures, Sadie prefers to keep things as they are,
thinking that things will get better sooner or later.
Script Excerpt
Sally:
"Good morning folks! And what a glorious morning it is!
The sun is beating down on the town without respite or pity. And the barren landscape
that surrounds us simmers as gently as a blast furnace."
Jake. "Yep. Sure is hot, all right."
Sadie. "Good night's sleep, Sally?"
Sally. "A wonderful night's sleep, dear sister. I had the most beautiful dream!"
Sadie. "Dream? Tell us about it."
Sadie. "Well, I dreamed that I went back east to school, met mister wonderful,
got married in a big church wedding, had two children, lived in a two bedroom
house with 1.5 out houses in the outskirts of Omaha and even got me a mini wagon!"
Sally. "My, what a surprise. That's the same dream you've had for the last month."
Sadie. "Who knows? If I keep having it maybe
it will come true."
The only person who is interested in buying the saloon is their late
father's business partner Dirk Devious. Sadie had promised her father on his
death bed that she would never allow his former partner Dirk to gain control of
the saloon. It seems that he and Dirk had a falling out over a business deal and
became lifelong enemies. Sadie is hoping to keep the Saloon while Sally hopes
somebody besides Devious will come to town to buy the place.
Script Excerpt
Sally:
"Jake, why don't you help me talk Sadie into selling this place? There
really isn't enough business left to keep it running anyway and that handsome
gambler fellow, Dirk Devious has offered us a pretty penny for it!"
Sadie. "Sally, we've been over this a thousand times. You know very well
what your father said on his deathbed. He said...."
Sadie and Sally. "Mind your manners,
mind your business, mind the saloon and whatever you do, don't sell
out to Devious".
So things remain the same in the peaceful little town of
Adobe Wells. It's hot, and the stage doesn't come to town any more to break the
monotony....
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Shootout
At Sadie's Saloon