tion and asks Ben about his mother. Meanwhile the girls are inside calling for him. Just as Ben goes in, Amos says that maybe he will marry that girl. It is exactly what Ben had been thinking. The Ballad Singer sings another verse about Bendigo and how his fortune was told that summer night. Late that night the local children are gathered in the chicken run. They do not like the Gypsies and want to see them gone, so they will steal some chickens, hoping it will be blamed on the Gypsies. They go ahead with their plan but some of the girls freak out as they try to hold the chickens. The entire place bursts out in noise and chaos and the children run off. The Harrises are out in the Hops field working. Anna seems down, and one of the boys is wandering around with a local girl. They are talking about the chickens that the Gypsies stole and how mad Fowler is. The Boswells come through on their way to work just as a Sally, one of the Harris girls, sees a wasp. There is panic and the Harrises don’t know what to do. One of the Boswell boys catches the wasp out of the air and kills it. The Harrises are very grateful, as Sally is allergic to wasps. Anna asks where Ben is and they say he is back at the wagon. She goes off that direction to find him. The candy man, Jellicoe, comes around and sees Lizzie, the local girl, with Reg, the Harris boy. He says he thinks it will be the first hopper wedding of the year. Mrs. Harris worries that she is not ready to have her son get married, but Jellicoe explains it is an old hopper tradition that on Friday nights they have joke weddings. Black Amos is playing his fiddle and trying to get food out of Ben who is ignoring him. Finally, Ben lashes out and tells Amos to leave. As he does, Anna shows up and sits beside Ben. He tells her how much she reminds him of his mother. They sit and giggle about how they should both be out picking, and then Anna gets ready to go. He asks her to stay and tells her about the red dress and scarf and earrings his mother wore when she died. He pulls out the scarf and puts it on Anna. She realizes that it is sacred and tries to give it back but Ben insists she keep it. The local kids come in mocking Lizzie about her new boyfriend. Anna lies about why she was there and rushes off. The kids begin to mock Ben and call him a chicken stealer. He threatens them and they all leave. Anna is back at her hut trying on the gifts from Ben. She is dancing and singing as Polly walks in. Anna tells Polly about Ben and the gifts and that she thinks she likes him. Meanwhile, all of the workers sit around the campfire together. The Harrises and Boswells are all there. Nelson comes in and sends one of his boys out to investigate. He thinks he saw Black Amos lurking around and does not trust him. Everyone seems to be getting on well when Mr. and Mrs. Harris burst in yelling. Mrs. Harris has found the gifts that Anna got and Mr. Harris is furious that a gypsy is trying to seduce his daughter. The gathering breaks up, and his family gives Ben a hard time for giving away his mother’s things. He says that he read in Anna’s palm that his mother wanted him to give her the gifts. The boy runs in then and tells his father that he did find Black Amos. Ben then prays at a small altar asking for his mother to be brought back. As he does, Anna comes in behind him. She says she heard him calling her name so she came to find him. He tells her that he was praying for his mother and that she is back, in Anna. He asks her never to go away and she agrees. He cuts both their hands and they mix their blood as a promise to one another. ACT TWO It is Friday afternoon and Lizzie and Reg are getting ready for their wedding. Everyone gathers and the ceremony takes place. Fowler and the Reverend come in and pull Rupert, Fowler’s son, aside. They tell them that the collections box has been stolen from the church. They don’t know for sure it was the Boswell’s but they suspect it was, and they want Rupert to find out. As soon as they leave, Rupert’s friend comes out with the collection box in his hands. They had stolen it and will blame it on the Boswells. The scene switches to Saturday, and the Harrises are preparing for their Concert party. Bendigo rushes in to find Anna, and tells her they must meet that night at 8:00. It is very important that they meet before everything happens. Anna asks what is happening, but Ben says he will explain later. Just then a boy rushes in and tells everyone that it is going down at the Gypsy camp. The collection box was found under their trailer. Anna has her father’s concert that night but she still promises to meet Ben. The ballad Singer sings another verse about how a Romany boy is a man of his word but his heart can be moved by things though. Fowler is at the Gypsy camp kicking the gypsies out. They plead and argue that they were not responsible
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