1215 - February 19, 1971

[bunniefuu]

[eerie music]

NARRATOR:Dawn comes to Collinwood in parallel time.

A dawn the family in the great house has awaited anxiously.

For at dusk the night before,

Gabriel walked down the dark corridor

to the doors of the locked room.

Chosen by lottery,

he was locked in the mysterious room

from which no Collins has emerged sane and alive.

And now, with the dawn,

the time has come for the doors to be unlocked,

And Morgan goes to the room,

not knowing what he will find inside.

[suspenseful music]

[dramatic music]

It's not Gabriel.

It's not Gabriel!

[eerie music]

FLORA: Gabriel's dead.

Don't come in here, Mother.

My youngest son.

- It's not Gabriel. - What?

The Braithwaite boy.

Yes, it's Tim, in Gabriel's clothing.

But I don't understand.

You and Julia brought Gabriel to this room at dusk

and locked the door.

And I took the key with me.

Where is Gabriel?

He's certainly not here.

And I'm sure he didn't invite Tim in here for conversation.

What happens in this room?

Look at his eyes, filled with fear.

Yet, now this room is like any other room.

Oh, Morgan, if we could only understand.

Mother, you realize what happened to Melanie

and she was only in here for a short time.

It's not safe to be in here.

Now, Mother, please go.

I'll dispose of the body.

Will we have to go through the lottery again?

Will we, Morgan?

Oh, Gabriel.

My poor, weak, Gabriel.

[clock chimes]

MORGAN: Melanie.

He's, he's dead, isn't he?

That's why I recovered so quickly,

because Gabriel is dead.

It's not Gabriel.

Did, did you say, it isn't Gabriel?

Well, then who?

Mama?

I'm going to send one of the servants for the police.

Oh, please.

Why? Please tell me what has happened.

FLORA: Don't involve the police.

- Mother, we must. - Mama, please.

Tell me who was in that room.

It was one of Gabriel's drinking companions,

Tim Braithwaite.

Tim?

But how could that be?

We should tell the police the truth.

We found the body in the deserted wing of the house.

But we mustn't mention the room.

No, I checked the body when I took it into the study.

There were no marks, no signs of v*olence.

We'll just say, of course,

that we have no idea how it got there.

But he's in Gabriel's clothes.

How do you explain that?

But the police won't know that, Mother.

All men's clothing look alike.

We just use the supposition that he came to rob us,

and that, and that he had a heart att*ck.

But they'll wanna know how you happened to find him.

I'll say that I was taking a morning stroll,

and I happen to find the ground floor window open,

and I went to investigate.

Oh, I knew Gabriel wouldn't go into that room.

I heard him say that he was chosen,

that he would hire someone to go into that room in his place.

FLORA: No, I don't believe he'd do that.

Well, believe it, Mother.

It's the only explanation.

Why would Tim do it?

Gabriel didn't have any money with him.

You said so yourself.

I found this on Tim's body.

$,.

Tim would k*ll any of us for that.

He would've gone and done anything.

Just as I was going into The Eagle

to look for Gabriel, I saw Tim coming out,

and I knew that Gabriel and Tim had made their transaction.

That's the reason why Gabriel came back so easily.

I should have known then.

I shouldn't have been fooled by that.

He's never had any intention for us.

He's only thought of himself.

That's not true.

It is true, Mother.

He's only thought of himself.

He's never had any feelings for any of us.

Look at the mess he's gotten us in.

Is that the work of a loving son?

He was so terribly afraid.

Fear is an excuse now, Mother?

See Gabriel clearly.

Remember the little scene he played for you

yesterday at dusk?

Remember the tears that you cried

before I took him away to the locked room?

Mother, he never had any intention of

going in to that room.

He lied to us.

And now he's left us with the consequences.

Whatever they may be.

[laughs]

What are you laughing about?

Gabriel's plan appears to have succeeded, doesn't it?

Well, he's still alive,

if that's what you're talking about.

And so am I.

And Quentin is alive and well, and the plague is gone.

We were wrong about the spirits in that room.

What do you mean?

We thought they had to have a Collins, but they don't.

[dramatic music]

The spirits don't care.

They don't care, they just want a sacrifice,

a human sacrifice, anyone would do.

Gabriel was right.

Gabriel was right.

It just didn't matter who went into that room.

But you Collins have made it into a family tradition.

You're a Collins, too, Melanie.

Oh, no, not really.

Some of you have made me painfully aware of that fact.

Poor Papa.

Poor dead Papa.

He need never have gone into that room.

Melanie.

He need not have spent

the last years of his life mad.

Justin wouldn't have done what Gabriel did.

And if he had not gone into that room,

I would not have gone in after him

and I would be different, so different.

What fools we are!

What self-important fools to think that only a Collins

would appease the spirits in that room.

But we were wrong, we were wrong.

FLORA: Melanie.

Don't you think it's funny, Mama?

Six generations of Collins have played that lottery.

Six generations.

And Gabriel has just shown them how unimportant it all was.

[laughs] I think it's terribly funny.

Darling, please.

Why aren't you laughing?

Why aren't all of you laughing?

But you never laugh at yourselves, do you?

You Collins take yourself so seriously.

- Melanie, stop it! - Papa, if he had only known.

- Melanie! - If he only--

- [smacks] - FLORA: Morgan!

[sobs]

MORGAN: I'm sorry, Melanie.

I had to do that to stop you.

I know. I know.

I shouldn't have said the things I said.

But they were all true.

Do you think they're all true, Morgan?

I don't know.

Where are you going?

To Melanie.

She'll be all right.

There's a great deal we have to decide now.

What are we going to do about Gabriel?

Do?

MORGAN: What if he comes back?

Will we take him in?

You don't think he'll come back, do you?

Don't you think he's far, far away from Collinsport by now?

I hope so, because if I get my hands--

I've tried so hard to bring him up well.

I tried to teach him to accept his responsibilities,

but somehow, I failed.

I don't know how or why.

Please don't blame yourself, Mother.

Because he was the youngest,

he's always taken advantage you.

I only wish I knew how much he had told Tim Braithwaite.

About the room?

He wouldn't have told him the truth.

Not all of it, but how do you tell a man

he has to spend the night in a locked room?

He had to tell him something.

And if Tim told anybody about his deal with Gabriel--

Of course, the police know that Tim was no good.

He spent a quarter of his life

in and out of jail for one thing or another.

But if they come here and start questioning us.

I'll handle them.

So it's over now.

Over for this generation.

Well, we will not have to hold, the lottery again.

- Until then. - You're safe.

Catherine and Quentin are safe.

We have that to be thankful for.

[knocking]

I'll go, Mother.

[knocking]

Why Mother, it's Carrie Stokes.

Carrie come in.

Is something wrong at the gate house?

Oh, no, Mrs. Collins, everything is fine.

I was afraid, though, that you wouldn't be up.

Though he said you would.

He said to come as soon as in daybreak as I could.

MORGAN: Well, who is he, Carrie?

Gabriel, of course.

Gabriel?

- When did you see Gabriel? - Last night.

About a half hour after dark.

Well, he said to bring you this in the morning.

What did he tell you, what did he say?

He said to give you this in the morning.

He said I was not to give it to any of you last night.

Even if I saw you.

[dramatic music]

If you'll excuse me.

I hear that Melanie's feeling so much better.

Yes, yes, she's fine, Carrie.

Would it be all right if I went up to see her?

Oh, yes, of course, go on.

Well?

His handwriting is so shaky.

I, I can hardly read it.

"Greetings to you all, from Free Gabriel.

"Free of you, free of that room, free of Collinwood.

"At last, I will never, enter Collinwood again.

"I don't expect you to forgive me for what I have done,

"but believe me, the half hour I spent

"locked in that room before Tim arrived,

"was a hell that I will never forget."

Something did happen to him then.

"But I am sane and I will keep my sanity,

"even if I have nightmares the rest of my life

over what happened there.

We must find him, Mother.

If he remembers, we must find him.

Oh, let him go.

If he hates us that much, let him go.

No, Mother, don't you see?

He remembers.

Maybe he can tell what that curse is.

Melanie was in that room.

But she doesn't remember anything, Mother.

Gabriel does.

Don't you see, Mother?

We can end the curse.

I don't think it can be ended.

I don't.

Not unless someone goes in there and spends the night,

and comes out unharmed.

Mother.

Catherine and I had our first disagreement last night.

It was about our having children.

Of course you must have children.

She says that too.

I won't have children as long as that curse exists.

Morgan.

I would put no child of mine through any of this.

We can't let that child face what we had to face last week.

I'm sick of it.

I will find Gabriel and end that curse.

How?

He could be anywhere by now.

There's no way of telling where he is.

Carrie Stokes.

Remember when the McManus girl was missing?

Carrie Stokes and Gerard Styles found her.

- You don't believe that. - Of course I do.

Carrie is a psychic, Gerard told me.

I don't believe in them,

and I will do nothing to encourage that girl

to think she is a psychic

It wouldn't be fair.

Well, would you please tell me

how that they found the McManus girl?

I can't tell you how and I don't think anybody else can

without coincidence and luck.

Why, Carrie Stokes didn't even know

she had this supposed power

until Gerard planted it in her mind.

For his own purposes, I'm sure.

No, she's just an ordinary young girl.

Excuse me, Mrs. Collins, but,

well, I was upstairs with Melanie.

FLORA: Yes, Carrie?

Well, I had the strangest feeling that,

Mr. Collins needed me.

That he wanted to talk to me.

Is that true?

[dramatic music]

Well, if you didn't want me, then I'll go on home.

- Oh, I did, Carrie. - Morgan.

Carrie would like to help us.

Wouldn't you, Carrie?

You've all been so kind to father and me,

letting us live in the gatehouse.

Of course I'll help you if I can.

I've been told that you have some strange powers.

People say I have.

Could you help us?

If we gave you something of Gabriel's,

could you help us find him?

Oh, I don't know.

Mr. Styles usually helps me.

MORGAN: We have no time to find him, Carrie.

But I've never tried it alone.

But would you please try?

Mother, give Carrie Gabriel's letter.

- Will this do? - I think so.

[suspenseful music]

MORGAN: Where is he? Where is Gabriel, Carrie?

Do you see him?

Trees.

Forest.

MORGAN: Where? Near here?

Can you tell where?

CARRIE: A stream, leading to the sea.

Trees are not tall.

They are young.

Over the stream, is a bridge, a rope bridge,

big enough for one.

Where is the bridge?

It's so dim.

I can hardly see it.

He stands there, staring at it.

[sighs]

Carrie?

Do you remember everything you said to us?

I, I think so.

There's no rope bridge around here.

Wait.

I'm sorry, I didn't help you, Mrs. Collins.

Oh, it's not your fault.

Perhaps, if Mr. Styles were here.

What have you got?

It's the picture that hung in the hall, under the stairs.

The bridge at the Biddleford Creek.

That's not far.

This is a rope bridge.

That was painted before I was born.

Sometime in the last century.

There's a stone bridge there now, you know that.

But this was there.

Is this the bridge, Carrie?

CARRIE: Yes, it is.

- I'm going there, Mother. - Morgan.

I don't understand anything she's saying,

but if she knows that Gabriel might be there,

I'm going to go find him whether you approve of it or not.

No, no.

Gabriel isn't there now.

Oh, I don't think so.

No, you must wait.

Gabriel will find you.

I don't know why I said that, but I know it's true.

[dramatic music]

[birds chirping]

Mother.

Why do you insist upon visiting Father's tomb today?

Why do you insist on going to Biddleford's Creek?

But, Mother, you know how depressed you are

when you leave here.

I want to tell him that the curse is over

for this generation.

- I'll come with you. - No, I prefer to go alone.

Are you sure you'll get back to the house all right?

Of course.

Nothing can happen to any of us.

Not now.

[gate creaks]

[gasps]

[suspenseful music]

[clock chimes]

[eerie music]

Mama?

Morgan?

It's so cold.

Why is it suddenly so cold?

[screams]

Papa!

Papa?

No rest.

They will not let me rest.

Oh, Papa.

The room.

Someone must go into the room.

The lottery must be done again.

They are not satisfied.

The lottery must be done again.

[eerie music]