Allegheny Uprising Page #6

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l'm sorry, Janie, terribly sorry.

Rum and lndian fighting makes a poor

mixture for the father of a young lassie.

lf l had it to do all over, Mac,

l'd pick you again.

''Whereas l have received information

that sundry persons have,

''at several times,

assembled themselves in armed bodies,

''and have in a most riotous

and illegal manner

''presumed to interrupt

the passage of supplies to the fort,

''l do hereby require

all His Majesty's subjects

''to give such evidence

as to apprehend all persons

''concerned in the leading of these riots

''so that the offenders

may be prosecuted according to law.

''Signed, John Penn.''

God save the King.

Disperse them and get on with it.

Next prisoner.

Driving his cattle into the swamp

and refused to billet.

lsn't he one of the scum that whipped me?

lt looks like him.

Put him in irons.

Turn them over.

-Another one.

-All right, stand in line. Stand up.

Put his leg irons on first.

Heave ho, here we go.

All right, get the other one.

Stay on your feet!

All right, stand over there.

Come over there.

Prepared to talk, gentlemen?

l want James Smith.

The man that tells me where he is,

wins full pardon.

lf you'd serve your King

with one-tenth the loyalty you serve

that treasonable dog Smith,

you wouldn't be in jail this moment!

Jim, Jim Smith! Jim !

He's not here.

l know he's here, Janie.

l've got to see him.

-He's not here. ls he, Doctor?

-No, he's not here.

-Jim, Jim Smith, it's Anderson.

-Shut up, you blasted...

-Will Anderson! Will Anderson!

-He's not here, l tell you.

-Shut up!

-You looking for me, Will?

Jim, they've got half the valley in irons.

No warrants, no trials.

Just a trader's word and you're in chains.

They're even paying off men

that ain't had nothing to do with it.

You just don't have to like them

to find yourself accused and convicted

of riot, arson and armed robbery.

l'll be right down.

Dr. Stoke said

you're not well enough to go.

lt's finally come.

l knew it would,

and now's as good a time as any.

lt's been so pleasant here, Jim.

l sometimes even thought that...

They think more of money

than they do of men.

l said, l sometimes thought

that you thought...

No more trading with lndians.

Jim, Jim, please don't go.

Don't let me have to stay behind

and die inside of me.

Troops sit in forts and the settlers die.

Let us get up to save ourselves,

and they move fast enough.

All right, go ahead.

Go ahead, l don't care!

Get shot or hung from a scaffold!

We've obeyed the law, they've broken it.

You've always torn and twisted

the heart out of me.

l've loved you from the first minute

l can remember,

and you've brought me

nothing but misery.

Well, l didn't expect much more,

so l asked for nothing,

and l'm not asking for much now.

You fool. You cruel, merciless fool.

Come, magistrate, join the fun.

What are you men going to do?

We are going to stand the red coats

on their thick heads.

Your stomach's

got to be right to take a whore.

They've gone to report to the fort.

We'll give them a half-hour start.

They are all drunk at McDougall's,

bragging that they are

going to take the fort.

McGlashan, take a squad

and bring those men here.

Yes, sir.

Nine men are going to take the fort.

And nine drunks are going to take the fort.

The garrison's all asleep. The gate's open.

There are only three sentries

on the wall, this side.

The guard's away

across the parade ground, by the kitchen.

They're getting the morning rum ration.

lt's grand rum.

l could almost taste the smell of it.

The guns are stacked together,

full 40 paces nearer to the gate

than what they are.

All right, when we run,

run crouched in the mist.

Put down those muskets.

Come on down and join the party.

Calhoon, stand at the barracks door

and keep them inside.

Shoot the first one that shows his head.

Find your commandant.

Tell him if there's one move,

l'll blow daylight through these men.

Yes, sir.

Mac, open the guardhouse.

Get those prisoners out here.

Will, get the flints out of those muskets.

Now, Corporal,

find your blacksmith and fetch him here.

Yes, sir.

All right, lads, all right.

That's the last one, Mac.

Let me do for him, Jim !

Let me do for him once and for all!

Why not add murder

to your traitorous acts?

You'll never learn, will you?

You'll never learn to know us.

Take him to his quarters.

We'll give him back his fort.

That's a mistake, Jim.

l said we'll give it back.

All right, men,

you can return to your homes.

And leave those muskets here.

Nine men.

Only nine men.

Nine men.

Nine men!

You'd best give up. We've got you now.

One move and you're dead men.

The boldness of the swine.

He's dead.

Now we have got you, Smith.

You've murdered him.

We'll see you hanged for that.

You killed him. My shot went wild.

You fired and he fell. That's murder.

So that's it.

Tie him to a horse.

We'll take him to jail in Carlisle.

Get the stiff one.

We'll bring him along, too.

What shall l do? They'll tear the jail down.

Well, can't you reason with them?

You're the jailer.

But it's a mob. Can't you do something?

Well, l can talk to them,

but they aren't going to like these.

Briggs, Briggs, come here.

Bring your chisel. Take these irons off.

l've got a wife and children.

Please, tell them l'm on your side.

Here, Briggs, here, here. Right over here.

Hi, Jim, hi.

Just hang on. We'll get you out.

Mac, much obliged to you and the boys,

but it'd look bad if l ran away.

lt'd look like l was guilty.

Best way you can help me is to break up.

They're planning to take you back

to the fort and court-martial you.

They want you out of the way.

We've done everything

according to law up to now.

Make way.

Law? What law?

This kind of law, the law of bayonets?

l say burn the jail down.

Burn it down around their ears!

Aye!

Men! Men!

l'll talk for Jim Smith.

l know what he thinks.

He doesn't want anybody to get fired on

by the soldiers.

But if any of us were in there,

he'd go in and get us,

soldiers or no soldiers!

Janie, hold your tongue.

Tell them, Professor, tell them for me.

Men, we've fought and won,

but in winning we've lost something.

ln defending one law,

we've come to despise all law!

And if you go on like this,

we'll destroy the very thing we fight for!

Men, disband.

Go home and let me stand my trial.

-Bring in the accused.

-Yes, sir.

Bring in the prisoner.

You may remove that barbarian

from the courtroom.

-He's a witness.

-Remove him.

Step out, you.

Now, laddie, l was only clearing my throat.

lt's the right of every free-born Scotsman

to clear his throat if he's a mind to.

l clear mine a wee bit noisily perhaps.

Now, do not push. Do not push, laddie.

Any lout who feels the need

of airing his spleen

at the expense of the Court's decorum

will find himself

dining on bread and water.

Proceed.

-You're sure he's the same man?

-He made no pretense about it.

His attitude throughout was a contempt

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