ANNOUNCER:

From Hollywood, the CBS Radio Workshop -- dedicated to man's imagination, the theater of the mind.

ANNIE:

(SINGS A CAPELLA)
Cherries! Sweet cherries!
Cherries ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry!
So sweet, so full, come and buy!
(REPEATS IN BG, OUT BEHIND FOLLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:

"Sweet Cherries in Charleston." The author, Richard Durham. The director, William N. Robson. The star, Roy Glenn. The story, a saga of Denmark Vesey who lived and died in Charleston more than a hundred years ago. But they still remember Denmark Vesey down in South Carolina. They still talk about him. And this is what they say.

MUSIC:

MOURNFUL HORN SOLO ... THEN FADE OUT BEHIND--

NARRATOR:

They say he walked as though he was the only free man in the courtroom. They say he walked as though the world watched him. They say a gamble was the beginning of it -- a gamble one night at a carnival when he bought a twenty dollar play on a lottery wheel.

SFX:

CROWD MURMURS, IN BG

BARKER:

Round and round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows! Round and round and she's stoppin'! She's stoppin'! She's stoppin' on number six - seven - eight-- Nine blue!

SFX:

CROWD MURMURS DISAPPOINTMENT ... THEN SUBSIDES TO BG

BARKER:

Number nine pays a hundred to one! Now, who's got number nine, folks? Who's got number nine?

DENMARK:

(OFF) I got it.

BARKER:

(SURPRISED) You? You got number nine, fella?

DENMARK:

(CLOSER) Yeah, how much am I worth?

BARKER:

(A CHALLENGE) "A number in sight / saves a fight." Show it.

DENMARK:

(CHUCKLES) Here ya are.

BARKER:

A name goes with it?

DENMARK:

Denmark Vesey.

BARKER:

Vesey--? Say, you're Cap'n Vesey's slave, ain't you?

DENMARK:

I am.

BARKER:

(SLOW, SLY) Now, I wonder what'd happened, say, if I, uh, just refused to pay off a slave.

DENMARK:

(ALSO SLY) Yeah, and I wonder what'd happen, say, if I should take a barker's neck between my fingers, like this broomstick--

SFX:

SNAP! OF BROOMSTICK

DENMARK:

--and snap it!

BARKER:

(BEAT) They'd hang you, you know.

DENMARK:

I'll gamble on it. I always gamble heavy. All right, how much am I worth?

BARKER:

(BEAT) Two thousand dollars. Take it. And get out of here.

MUSIC:

AN ACCENT ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

NARRATOR:

They say Denmark wrapped his money in a cotton sack, went to see a lawyer, then went aboard his ship to see his master, Captain Vesey. [X]

SFX:

CREAK OF SHIP, WATER LAPS AGAINST HULL, IN BG

CAPTAIN:

(NOT A HARD MAN) Denmark? Denmark, is that you?

DENMARK:

Yes, master.

CAPTAIN:

What do you want?

DENMARK:

Master -- how much am I worth?

CAPTAIN:

Ohhh, it's that talk again, huh? I warned you once, Denmark; I warn you again -- get those ideas out of your head.

DENMARK:

I'm askin'--

CAPTAIN:

I'm telling you! This craving for freedom is a sickness. It's, er-- It's unbecoming to a slave.

DENMARK:

But, master--

CAPTAIN:

It's those books you read that turn your head. Hmph! I watch you talk to slaves in the market. You read to them from the Bible. You read Tom Paine and Jefferson. You tell the slaves that all men are brothers and born equal. Ach! Nonsense!

DENMARK:

No, it ain't, master.

CAPTAIN:

I know what you are up to. I know you're working in your spare time for other masters. You get half dollar here, quarter there. Yeah, you hope to save enough to buy your freedom. You know how long that would take you?

DENMARK:

A very long time.

CAPTAIN:

Methuselah could not live so long. I need money, too. I know how hard it comes these days.

DENMARK:

Then, why don't you sell me?

CAPTAIN:

(CHUCKLES) Where could I get your price?

DENMARK:

How much am I worth?

CAPTAIN:

Even at your most stubborn, you are a capable man, Denmark. You are worth at least two thousand dollars.

DENMARK:

Here's two thousand dollars.

SFX:

MONEY LAID ON TABLE

CAPTAIN:

(DISBELIEF) Denmark! Where--? Where--?

DENMARK:

And here's a set of release papers.

SFX:

RUSTLE OF PAPERS

DENMARK:

Will you sign 'em?

CAPTAIN:

Sign?

DENMARK:

Yeah, you need the money.

CAPTAIN:

(NO DOUBT ABOUT IT) Yah, yah, sure.

DENMARK:

I need my freedom.

CAPTAIN:

(THOUGHTFUL) Two thousand dollars. I talk hard, but I'm not a hard man. And I know you -- you'd find a way to escape if I didn't let you go. I see it in your eyes.

SFX:

PAPER RATTLES ... SCRATCH OF PEN ON PAPER

CAPTAIN:

Somehow, I feel like I am releasing a tornado. Here are your papers.

SFX:

RUSTLE OF PAPERS

CAPTAIN:

Well. What will you do with this freedom?

DENMARK:

What'll you do with this money?

CAPTAIN:

(NATURALLY) I'll use it to help those I love -- my wife, my children.

DENMARK:

I'll use my freedom to help those I love.

CAPTAIN:

Yes, I know. (CHUCKLES) You're in love with that girl who sells cherries in the marketplace, huh? But her master will never set her free. Never. So what good will your freedom do her, huh? (AUTOMATIC) Denmark, get below and sweep up my cabin.

DENMARK:

(BEAT, SLY) You askin' me -- or orderin' me?

CAPTAIN:

(AMUSED) Ah, you! Right away you begin. (CHUCKLES, SIGHS, THOUGHTFUL) You know, Denmark, it's strange to have owned a man's body for twenty years, not to know the first thing about his mind. (BEAT) All right. Go, Denmark. You're free.

MUSIC:

TRIUMPHANT BRIDGE

ANNIE:

(SINGS A CAPELLA, APPROACHES)
Cherries! Sweet cherries!
Cherries ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry!
So sweet, so full, come and buy--!

DENMARK:

I'll buy your cherries.

ANNIE:

(STARTLED BUT PLEASED TO SEE HIM) Denmark!

DENMARK:

All of 'em.

ANNIE:

How can you afford cherries?

DENMARK:

Yesterday I was a slave, Annie. Today I'm a free man.

ANNIE:

Then it's true 'bout your luck?

DENMARK:

There can be the same kind of luck for you, Annie.

ANNIE:

You talk like a jackass. Where'd I get enough money to buy myself?

DENMARK:

Oh, it ain't the money alone that makes a person free.

ANNIE:

Money did all right by you.

DENMARK:

(CONCEDES) In a gamble. And I know a bigger gamble. (BEAT) Would you gamble?

ANNIE:

If the stakes were right.

DENMARK:

If the stakes was freedom? If I could show you that every slave in Charleston is ripe to rebel, to build a new life where all men are equal -- where a man could marry the woman he loves without fear of havin' her torn from him in the night, a soul from out of his arms -- would you gamble for that?

ANNIE:

Are my cherries red?

DENMARK:

Blood red.

ANNIE:

My stakes are in.

MUSIC:

SULTRY BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

NARRATOR:

They say Denmark's disease hit the slaves in the marketplace like a plague. They say he believed no slave was immune to it, and so he risked telling his plan to the well-kept and contented foreman of slaves of Colonel Potter, who had never been hungry and never been whipped -- but had never been free. [X]

ROLLA:

Why do you come to me, Denmark? The master leave me alone; I leave him alone. I do my work and I mind my business.

DENMARK:

You know everything that goes on. I've heard you tell a slave when the train was comin' on the underground track. And once you even told him how to board it and get to free land in Canada. I remember how your own sister escaped to Canada. I heard--

ROLLA:

(NERVOUS) Now, don't you talk that way around here.

DENMARK:

Rolla, you've worked well for your master. Now, work well for yourself. You know every slave that handles a horse. The day'll come when we'll need 'em. Will you be with us?

ROLLA:

Well, how'll I know when the day comes?

DENMARK:

When we're strong enough. If you come, and bring all those that follow you, we'll have more'n a thousand.

ROLLA:

(THOUGHTFUL) If I go to them, they'll come. But-- But there are others who only follow their leader, the slave called Peter Poyas. He's a man of the gospel and a man of peace. If you could get Peter, it would be worth the chance. I'll come -- if he come.

DENMARK:

(IT'S A DEAL) You go to your friends. I'll go to the slave called Peter.

MUSIC:

MOURNFUL HORN QUOTES "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN" ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

NARRATOR:

They say Denmark opened the Bible that evening and read through the night. Read Exodus and Leviticus, Joshua and Job, and in the gray morning before dawn went to the cabin of the slave Peter. [X]

PETER:

(SINGS SOFTLY TO HIMSELF)
Oh, when the saints go marching in,
Oh, when the saints go marching in,
O Lord, I want to be in that number--

SFX:

BRANCHES SHAKE AS DENMARK APPROACHES

DENMARK:

(OFF) Mornin', Peter.

PETER:

Why, mornin', Denmark.

DENMARK:

(APPROACHES) Peter, I've been readin' the Bible all night.

PETER:

I read it every night, Denmark.

DENMARK:

I've been readin' the words of Ezekiel and of Zachariah.

PETER:

Yeah, I know the words of Zachariah.

DENMARK:

Then you know he said: "Behold the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken." (BEAT, SUGGESTIVE) Charleston is Jerusalem.

PETER:

(BEAT) Is that why you bought your freedom?

DENMARK:

That's why I live. That's why I come to you.

PETER:

Denmark, I'm against violence. My god and I are against bloodshed.

DENMARK:

Are you against slavery?

PETER:

I'm against destruction and hatred. My god is against settin' one man against another.

DENMARK:

Is your god against slavery?

PETER:

(BEAT, CONCEDES) God's against it.

DENMARK:

Then how's he gonna cure it? Can he reach the hearts of the slaveholders?

PETER:

Their hearts are made of stone.

DENMARK:

Don't it say somewhere that the Lord helps them that helps theirselves?

PETER:

Denmark, the Lord warned Gideon once to be careful about the men he picked to lead his army. There may be a Judas among the slaves.

DENMARK:

You ain't no Judas. You just pick out those you can trust.

PETER:

My followers will come, but there are those who don't follow me. They are the superstitious ones who follow Gullah Jack.

DENMARK:

Gullah? That witch-doctor that sells spells and charms?

PETER:

My son, in a revolution, one looks for the honest -- not the honored. Some say Gullah Jack is crazy; some say he's wise. But I know he's honest. Go to him.

MUSIC:

MOURNFUL HORN ... CHANGES TO VOODOO DRUMS, COMPLEX AND RHYTHMIC ... THEN IN BG

GULLAH:

(CALLS) Who's that? (WARNS) To buy a charm you should come at night! To cast a spell, come only in the twilight! (CALLS) Who's that--?

MUSIC:

DRUMS OUT ABRUPTLY

GULLAH:

Oh. Oh, it's you. Denmark Vesey, the disbeliever! (SUSPICIOUS) Why do you come here?

SFX:

CABIN DOOR SHUTS

DENMARK:

Gullah, I want you to cast a spell that'll make the slaves know the land is theirs as much as their masters. Tie together black men and white men in a common fight to free every man in Charleston. Cast a charm that'll bind 'em together like a - a Gideon's army -- to strike when the hour comes! (BEAT) Now, if you're the wizard they say you are--

GULLAH:

(LAUGHS) So. This is the reason you're here?

DENMARK:

Is there a better reason?

GULLAH:

There are better men than I to do what you want. Go back to your books and leave me alone.

DENMARK:

But, Gullah--

GULLAH:

I know you, Denmark. You come to laugh at me. You say, "Witch-doctor, cast me a spell to make men free." (LAUGHS) Maybe I'm crazy-- Yes, maybe! But I ain't no fool. But, you, Denmark-- You should have stayed a slave if you believe the masters can be changed by a spell. If I could cast a charm to free a man, wouldn't I cast one to free myself?

DENMARK:

Listen, Gullah, I read one time of a giant who fell asleep in a foreign land. And while he slept, hordes of little men tied him with ropes and chains. And as long as the giant was asleep, he's a slave. But when he woke up and stretched and shook hisself, the chains snapped and the ropes broke and the little men hopped off his back like fleas and he stood up, free and strong.

GULLAH:

Uh huh. Uh huh.

DENMARK:

Now, the slaves are giants. And the justice that's in the heart of every fair-minded man in this land-- Justice is a giant. The masters are the little men. When the slaves wake and stretch, they'll be free. And you can help them waken.

GULLAH:

I see. (CHUCKLES) Maybe I can help. Maybe I--

SFX:

KNOCK AT DOOR

DENMARK:

(ALARMED) Who's that?

GULLAH:

(UNAFRAID) Hold your place, Denmark. That's my master. He's a worried man. He comes at night for a sleeping spell. I'll give it to him. (SLY) Then-- Then we'll awaken the giant!

MUSIC:

ACCENT ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

NARRATOR:

They say Denmark and Gullah Jack, Rolla Hard, and Peter Poyas made a pact to wake up the giant and put the slaveholders to sleep. They say, month after month, the fever spread, infecting thousands -- the fever of freedom! And the day was near when Denmark's disease could not be quarantined. They say Denmark gathered his leaders together in the hayloft of a lonely barn to fix the hour. [X]

DENMARK:

Rolla, you done got together the horses and riders?

ROLLA:

Every slave who handles a horse will be ready to pull cannons, once we get them.

DENMARK:

Gullah?

GULLAH:

(CHUCKLES) I've been in the arsenal. I cast a spell for the captain just yesterday. The arsenal is full of cannon and powder.

DENMARK:

You, Peter?

PETER:

Denmark, the Lord spoke to me last night.

DENMARK:

Yes?

PETER:

And he said -- watch out for Judas.

DENMARK:

Yeah, we'll be watchin'. Now, we'll set the day and the hour.

GULLAH:

I've noticed the stars, and they set well for this month. Tomorrow the moon hangs low and it'll be bloooooooood red.

ROLLA:

I've watched the way the militia moves, and we'll have to move quicker.

SFX:

HURRIED FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

SLAVE:

(URGENT) Denmark! Denmark! They've found out! They're comin' lookin' for us!

DENMARK:

What? Who's lookin'?

BIZ:

ROLLA, GULLAH AND PETER MURMUR CONFUSION

DENMARK:

Who's found out?

SLAVE:

Everybody.

DENMARK:

Who is everybody?

SLAVE:

Colonel Potter.

DENMARK:

Who told him?

SLAVE:

It weren't me, not me! Jason -- the houseboy! We've got to run!

DENMARK:

(FIRM) We won't run. We're gonna stand our ground. (THINKS FAST) Rolla--?

ROLLA:

Yes?

DENMARK:

The colonel's your master. You face him.

ROLLA:

Well-- What?

DENMARK:

Yeah, I can see 'em comin' from here -- the colonel, his guards, and the houseboy. Go down and meet 'em, Rolla.

ROLLA:

Why?

DENMARK:

You gotta face your accuser. You gotta outtalk him or we'll all hang. Now, go on.

GULLAH:

(SKEPTICAL) Shall I cast a charm for Rolla?

DENMARK:

Let Rolla cast his own charm. (CONFIDENT) Go on down, Rolla. Face 'em.

MUSIC:

IN BG ... OUT AT [X]

NARRATOR:

They say Denmark waited in the loft while Rolla climbed down the ladder and walked to the door to face his accuser.

SFX:

POUNDING AT BARN DOOR

NARRATOR:

They say, at that moment, the colonel had the revolt resting at his gunpoint.

SFX:

BARN DOOR OPENS

ROLLA:

(SURPRISED) Master? Come in. [X]

SFX:

FOOTSTEPS IN

COLONEL:

Needn't say "master" to me any more. When this is done, you'll be dead.

ROLLA:

Dead?

COLONEL:

Yes, dead. Jason told me about the plot. And before you die, you'll give me the name of every leader and recruit in your rebellion!

ROLLA:

But what are you talking about, master?

COLONEL:

Jason?

JASON:

(NERVOUS) Yes, master?

COLONEL:

Jason, tell Rolla what you overheard.

JASON:

I heared him say he - he'd get men to burn the plantations. Some slaves were to 'scape to Canada and others would go about the land freein' the unfree. That's the way he put it.

COLONEL:

Well, Rolla?

ROLLA:

I feel sorry for poor Jason.

COLONEL:

Feel sorry for yourself.

ROLLA:

And I feel sorry for you, master, for believing him. You know Jason's run off twice.

COLONEL:

What's that got to do with you?

ROLLA:

I won't argue with him.

COLONEL:

Don't deny he's telling the truth?

ROLLA:

I don't deny I'm the best slave you've got. I've worked harder and earned more for you than Jason, haven't I?

COLONEL:

(CONCEDES) You've done that.

ROLLA:

I'm the best-treated slave in Charleston. I've never complained or asked for anything. Have I?

COLONEL:

No, you haven't.

ROLLA:

Then wouldn't it seem I like my slavery? That I love my master?

COLONEL:

(BEAT) It seems a sane, logical man would.

ROLLA:

If you kill me, who'll handle your crops as well as I do? Who'll earn money for you the way I do?

COLONEL:

You never give me trouble. It don't seem natural you'd start now.

ROLLA:

No, master, it don't.

COLONEL:

Jason?

JASON:

(NERVOUS) Yes, master?

COLONEL:

I'm gonna teach you a lesson for tryin' to stir up trouble.

JASON:

But, master--!

COLONEL:

Guard, take him to the yard. Thirty lashes!

SFX:

JASON IS DRAGGED OFF

JASON:

(MOVING OFF) I didn't do nothin'! I didn't--

COLONEL:

And, Rolla?

ROLLA:

Yes, master?

COLONEL:

Rolla, you better be telling the truth. Or there'll come a day.

ROLLA:

(GOOD NATURED) Yes, master, there is coming a day.

MUSIC:

ACCENT ... THEN IN BG

NARRATOR:

They say the colonel lowered his gun and left the barn. And Denmark, Peter, and Gullah came together and pushed ahead the day of deliverance.

DENMARK:

We can't wait no longer. They'll call up the militia for sure now. We gotta beat 'em to the arsenal. We move tonight.

GULLAH:

If the militia gets there first, should we turn back?

DENMARK:

This road leads only one way -- to liberty or death.

MUSIC:

UP FOR A NOBLE TRANSITION ... THEN OUT

ANNIE:

(SINGS A CAPELLA, APPROACHES)
Cherries! Sweet cherries!
Cherries ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry--

DENMARK:

(CLOSE, LOW VOICE) Is the road clear, Annie?

ANNIE:

(LOW) It's clear now. But the militia'll be comin' soon.

DENMARK:

You warn us when you see 'em.

ANNIE:

I'll warn ya. I'll stand in their way sellin' cherries. When I call "blood red," they're comin' up the hill!

DENMARK:

They - may take your life for this.

ANNIE:

My life is your life, Denmark. Now, let me sell my cherries.

DENMARK:

(LIGHTLY) Well, we'll see what we can buy over at the arsenal.

ANNIE:

(MOVES OFF, SINGING HER SONG, CONTINUES IN BG)

DENMARK:

Peter, you ready?

PETER:

(ASSENT) The Lord has spoken.

DENMARK:

Gullah?

GULLAH:

(CHUCKLES) Twist your neck, tap your knee. / When the moon goes down, we'll be free.

DENMARK:

All right. Let's move.

SFX:

FOOTSTEPS BEGIN, CONTINUE IN BG

PETER:

(SINGS SOFTLY TO HIMSELF, OVERLAPS WITH ANNIE WHO IS OFF IN BG)
When the moon comes down to blood,
(THE OTHER MEN JOIN IN, HUMMING ALONG IN BG)
Oh, when the moon comes down to blood;
O Lord, I want to be in that number,
When the moon comes down to blood.
(CONTINUES IN BG, FADES OUT GENTLY BY [X])

NARRATOR:

(OVERLAPS WITH ABOVE) They say a red moon hung low over Charleston. They say Denmark led, Peter sang, and the slaves fell in behind the moving men. They say on plantations and farms, in cabins and houses, a hundred miles around, men waited to hear the arsenal crack.

But they say the militia got there first -- and charged through the marketplace before Denmark got to the gates of the arsenal. [X] They say you could hear the cherry woman cry when her eyes caught sight of the soldiers.

ANNIE:

(SINGS A CAPELLA)
Cherries! Blood red cherries!
Blood red cherr--

SFX:

VOLLEY OF GUNSHOTS

ANNIE:

(SCREAMS)

MUSIC:

HUGE MARTIAL ACCENT ... TOPS EVERYTHING ... THEN PULSE-POUNDING, IN BG, ABRUPTLY OUT AT [Y]

NARRATOR:

They say the shots tore her down like a vine off a tree. Red cherries jumped into the gutter. Red blood shot from the wounded and the dying. Red cherries rolled under the feet of the fighting, the straining, the reaching to be free.

They say the reaching fell short. They say the militia took the arsenal. They say they took a hundred dead slaves to their graves, and a hundred leaders to jail. And they took Denmark Vesey to the rack. And, at last, to court. [Y]

SFX:

GAVEL BANGS ... COURTROOM CROWD MURMURS THEN QUIETS

JUDGE:

Denmark Vesey?

DENMARK:

Yes, your honor.

JUDGE:

Before I pass sentence, do you have anything to say to explain your crimes?

DENMARK:

I have a word, your honor.

JUDGE:

Speak and be brief.

DENMARK:

You speak of my "crimes," your honor. Yet I feel no guilt. On the contrary. I felt to be idle while other men yearned to be free was wrong. So I was not idle. Others talked; I acted. I'd act again.

SFX:

CROWD REACTS ... GAVEL BANGS ... CROWD QUIETS

JUDGE:

Order! (TO DENMARK) Is that all you can say to explain your treachery?

DENMARK:

Your honor, what you call my "treachery" began when I read the Declaration of Independence. And when I read what Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Lafayette, and Jefferson said and did, and their words warmed my blood. They said each of us belonged to each other. Even you to me, and I to you. Therefore, is there a man born of woman who is not my brother? Is there a woman born of suffering who is not my sister? Is there a price for such humanity? When I was a slave, I discovered my price and I paid it. If today my life is the price I must pay, I shall pay. For, somewhere, there's another life, and another day. Such a day when justice becomes a giant. When to be human becomes a habit. Such a day our children shall see. As bright as the cherries they sell in the market. As bright as the cherries of the woman I loved.

ANNIE:

(GHOSTLY, SINGS A CAPELLA)
Cherries! Sweet cherries!
Cherries ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry!
So sweet, so full, come and buy!
(CONTINUES IN BG, OUT AT [X])

NARRATOR:

(OVERLAPS WITH ABOVE) They say the clerk stopped writing and put away the record. The court called for the highest price. The hangman's hand tightened, then relaxed on the rope. Denmark paid. And the masters went home to bed. But they say Gullah Jack, in his cell, cast a spell and no master slept well. [X]

MUSIC:

MOURNFUL HORNS ... IN BG

NARRATOR:

For they say the giant was awake. And the giant never slept again till all the slaves were free. That's what they say about Denmark Vesey.

MUSIC:

UP AND TO A FINISH ... ENDS ON SOLO HORN

ANNOUNCER:

From Hollywood, the CBS Radio Workshop has presented "Sweet Cherries in Charleston," written by Richard Durham, with Roy Glenn playing Denmark Vesey. Ted de Corsia was the narrator and the music was composed and conducted by Amerigo Moreno. Included in the cast were Abbie Shuford, Staats Cotsworth, Eddie Marr, Paul Frees, Corny Anderson, Parley Baer and Harry Bartell.

Next week, the Workshop will present, from New York, a study of a hit-and-run driver, "Death Drives a Black Sedan."

MUSIC:

MOURNFUL HORNS ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

This is the CBS Radio Network.

MUSIC:

CONTINUES TO END