All three scenes are to be shot with a minimum of three cameras, one following each character speaking or doing something important to the plot.and one holding a framing shot. Where there are fewer characters than available cameras, the extra cameras follow the speaking character from different angles.

Scene 1

    Inside a poorly-lit, rustic room, decorated appropriately for an 1880's western. There is a card table in the center with an array of poker chips and a deck of cards. Sitting at the table, though not playing, are Slade(M) and Kim(F). Slade is unshaven and rather scruffy-looking. He has a mean, but stupid look. Kim is well kept and wears a blouse with a rather low neckline. She is extremely attractive physically, but is even meaner than Slade. Both carry sidearms. The door opens and Jeb(M), dressed similarly to Slade,.walks in carrying a satchel. Kim and Slade look up expectantly.

Jeb: "Went just as planned....got the look right here....Not much though" (He dumps the satchel contents on the table. There are a few bills, six small leather pouches, and a rolled-up piece of paper.)

Slade: "Is that all?....Jeb, you're a cheatin' on us....Old Man Jacobs always carried a lot more than that!"

Jeb: "That's all he had....honest Slade."

Slade looks enraged and like he might draw his gun.

Kim: "Wait, Slade....its okay....look in the pouches."

Slade grabs a pouch suspiciously and dumps its contents, which turn out to be several large nuggets of gold.."  Slade's eyes open wide.

Slade: "Is that....is that gold?"

Kim picks up a nugget and judges its weight with her hand.

Kim: "I'll eat it if it ain't."

Jeb: "Well, I'll be a blue-nosed gopher. Old Man Jacobs always did have money. The rumor 'bout him havin" a secret mine must be true."

Kim picks up the rolled-up piece of paper and unrolls it, but turning away from Slade and Jeb so they don't see. Her eyes go wide as she looks at it."

Cut in a shot revealing the paper to be a treasure map with a large X to mark the spot. The cut backto Kim's eyes.

A look of cold greed comes over Kim.

Kim: "Jeb,...what did you do with Old Man Jacob's body?"

Jeb: (casually) "Oh, nothin'. He ain't dead. I wore a mask so he don't know who robbed him....I knocked him cold, that's all....he'll be fine....just a little mad, that's all."

Kim turns away, then back, drawing her gun in the process. She points it at Jeb.

Kim: "You let him go?"

Jeb: (now showing fear) "Sure I let him go...Why kill a man over a few dollars?"

Kim: (momentarily appearing to agree with Jeb) "Yeah, I guess you're right Jeb: It ain't worth it over a few bills and coins." (she hardens) "But this is over gold Jeb. How are we going to spend these nuggets with him talking all over town about being robbed."

Jeb: "I never thought of that."

Kim: "No, but I did...Bye Jeb" (she shoots Jeb, who falls dead.

Slade: (gets up from his chair in surprise) "Never did like him much....Guess that increases our shares of the gold eh?"

Kim: "Sure Slade, it sure does....in fact you can have all the gold."

Slade rushes forward with glee, grabbing several of the pouches and holding them up.

Slade: "Yeah, really?....That's sure nice of you Kim."

Kim backs away a few steps.

Kim: "Well, not really Slade....Cause of Jeb's stupidity, you try to spend any of it around here and you'll end up in jail. Besides, I've got something better than six pouches of gold. (she holds up the paper).

Slade: "What's that?"

Kim: Why, I do believe its a map." (she turns the paper for Slade to see) "See....X marks the spot."

Slade looks uncomprehending.

Kim: "It's Old Man Jacob's map, either to his stash or to his secret mine."

Slade: "Yeah?....Wow, a gold mine....Yeah, I see what you meant to Jeb about bein' worth killin.'

Kim: "Good, I'm glad you do, cause if it's worth killing a man over six pouches of gold then its worth killing two over a whole mine." (she points her gun at Slade as she speaks.)

Slade: "What?....Kim no,....don't." (She fires and he falls).

Kim folds up the map calmly and smugly and puts it in her pocket.

Fade slowly to black.

Fade slowly in to

Scene 2

Inside another room, different from that of scene 1 and much better kept. This is the home of Old Man Jacobs. Old Man Jacobs is sitting in a chair. There is a bandage on his head and he holds a compress to a wound on his head. Mrs. Jacobs tends to him and Sheriff Tetley tries to question him about the robbery.

Sheriff: "Jacobs, do you have any idea who did this to you?"

Jacobs: "No, sheriff. He wore a mask. It was a man, that's all I can tell you."

Sheriff: "Describe him, what was he wearing? How tall was he?"

Jacobs: "I don't know sheriff. Average height, about you're size. Boots, chaps, jeans. Same thing everyone wears around here....What difference does it make anyway?"

Sheriff: "He robbed you Jacobs, we wan't to catch him and put him in jail!"

Jacobs shruggs.

Sheriff: "What did he get anyway?"

Jacobs: "A few dollars....some coins....a few pouches of gold. That's all....It can all be replaced."

Mrs. Jacobs: "That's not all....Where's that map you're always carrying around?"

Jacobs fishes around in his pockets for the map.

Sheriff: "The map to you're mine?" (he looks very alarmed)

Jacobs: "Ah....let's see, not there....no, not there....the map....Ha! Ha!....the map....by golly he took the map!  Ha! Ha! Ha!, Hey! Hey! Hey! Ha! Ha!....It worked....He took the map! Ha! Ha! Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Ha!Ha!

Sheriff: "Jacobs, what's so funny about some one getting the map to you're mine?"

Jacobs: "Ha! Ha! Ha!....That wasn't the map to my mine, Sheriff... Ha! Ha! Ha!....You can forget about catching the robber Sheriff....If he's greedy enough to rob an old man of a few dollars, you don't need to waste any time trying to find him....He'll catch himself?...Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Fade to black

Fade in to

Scene 3

In a swampy forest. Kim is following the map to the expected gold mine. For about a minute in the final cut the camera follows as she walks, stops to look at the map, walks some more, checks landmarks, walks some more, and so on.

Kim: (to herself at some point in the above sequence) "Old Man Jacobs thinks he's pretty clever tellin" everyone his mine was somewhere up in the mountains. Who would ever think it was really out here in a swamp....No one would ever have found it if he hadn't been so stupid as to map a map."

(later) "Getting real close now." (she stops to look at the map again). "Let's see....this must be the big, pointed rock....so it should be about 50 paces straight this way" (she points and then starts to walk.

She walks 30 feet, straight into the quicksand, which is hidden under a layer of leaves and sticks. She drops to her waist in the initial plunge through the cover of leaves.

Kim: "What?...Oh! What's this?...Ugh!....Oh Shit!....What is this stuff?....Oh my God, its quicksand."

Kim now slowly, but steadily sinks to a complete submergence, as realistically as possible. (more slowly the closer she gets to submergence) She screams a lot, curses Old Man Jacobs for being such a snake as to make a fake map, bargains that she'll never commit a crime again if she gets out, and so on. She struggles hard from neck deep to total submergence, but cannot stop the inevitable.

END