Billy Budd Page #4

Why did Jenkins fall, sir?

Master-at-arms, that accident, the man

who fell upon the deck from the yardarm...

...do you know how this occurred?

- I do not, sir.

You were his messmates.

Does any man here

know how this occurred?

You?

No, sir.

Boy, you left your post. Why?

I knew that Jenkins was sick, sir.

I saw him sway.

You knew he was sick?

Mr. Claggart,

did you send a sick man aloft?

He said he was.

But when I questioned him,

he changed his mind...

...and went to stand his watch.

But that's not the way it happened,

Mr. Claggart. Don't you remember?

That is the way it happened, sir.

I see.

Hand in your arms.

Take him below.

We therefore commit his body

to the deep...

...to be turned into corruption.

Looking for the resurrection

of the body...

...when the sea shall give up her dead.

- The sea shall give up her dead.

- And the corruptible bodies...

- And the corruptible bodies...

...of those who sleep in him...

...of those who sleep in him...

...shall be changed...

...shall be changed...

...and...

...and made like unto his glorious body...

...according to the mighty working...

...whereby he is able...

...to subdue all things...

...unto himself.

- Amen.

- Amen.

Ship's company, dismiss!

Well, that's the end of Enoch Jenkins.

Over the side he goes

and his mates soon forget him.

They'll not forget him so soon,

I'm thinking.

Whatever's happened to Jenkins,

he ain't worried none.

He's got a hundred fathoms

between him...

...and the troubles of this life.

I'd rather be buried at sea

than on the shore...

...when I come to die.

Will you stand by the plank, mates...

...so I can shake a friendly hand

before I sink?

Budd...

...Captain Vere wishes to see you.

Come in.

Seaman Budd, sir.

- You sent for me, sir?

- Yes, Budd.

Your divisional officer recommends you

for a post of more responsibility.

He thinks you can perform duties

of a higher station, and so do I.

The spirit you showed last night

warrants it.

From now on,

you're captain of the foretop.

Yes, that's a real honor

for a man so new aboard.

You can trust me, sir.

I do.

Very well. That's all.

Aye, aye, sir. Thanks.

Captain Vere, sir...

...with your permission.

- Yes?

You must be aware, sir,

that Budd is...

Well...

It's unlike you to falter, Mr. Claggart.

He has been aboard such a short time.

Long enough to prove himself to me.

He left his station last night.

In a good cause no doubt, master-at-arms.

He showed initiative.

The captaincy of the foretop is his reward.

With your permission, sir.

Will there not be some dissatisfaction

among those...

...who've been aboard

much longer than Budd?

Oh, master-at-arms,

I concern myself with these matters.

They're really none of your function.

Until such a time as the senior topmen

formally object to Budd for incapacity...

...and for no other reason whatsoever...

...he is captain of the foretop.

Make it so on the bill.

- Captain Vere, sir, with your permission.

- What?

In the matter of Kincaid,

the man who shouted from the mast.

It was a serious breach of ship's discipline

while engaging the enemy.

What punishment do you recommend?

Ten lashes.

It was while engaging the enemy.

Ten lashes.

- Mr. Claggart.

- Aye, sir.

Do you consider the sentence just?

May I speak freely, sir?

I do not ask questions

in order to get insincere answers.

Ten lashes would seem to me

a mild sentence...

...under peacetime conditions.

A hundred would, to my mind,

be appropriate.

A hundred?

We must serve the law, sir...

...or give up the right

and privilege of service.

It is only within that law that we may

use our discretions according to our rank.

You are so lucid and so intelligent

for the rank you hold, master-at-arms.

I thank you, sir.

Yes. That's no flattery, Mr. Claggart,

it's a melancholy fact.

It's sad to see such qualities of mind

bent to such a sorry purpose.

What's the reason for it?

I am what I am, sir...

...and what the world has made me.

- The world?

The world demands

that behind every peacemaker...

...there be the gun,

the gallows, the jail.

Do you think it will always be so?

- I have no reason not to, sir.

- You live without hope.

I live.

But remember, Mr. Claggart...

...that even the man

who wields the whip...

...cannot defy the code we must obey...

...and not be broken by it.

- That'll be all.

- Aye, sir.

With your permission, sir.

Is it still to be 10 lashes?

It is.

One...

...two...

...three...

...four...

...five...

...six...

...seven...

...eight...

...nine...

...10.

Release the prisoner.

Dismiss ship's company, please,

Mr. Seymour.

Ship's company, dismiss.

I expect the French will be putting us

to our stations any hour now.

Aye.

In the question of Jenkins...

...Budd was telling the truth.

- I know, sir.

What are you going to do

about Claggart?

What can I do but watch and wait?

No court-martial would do more than

strip him of his rank for such misconduct.

And then what? As a rating,

he'd be slaughtered by the other men.

And who would replace him?

Would the French refrain from attacking us

while we settled our petty differences?

No, I...

I must give him his head until some act

puts him squarely counter to the law...

...and then let the law consume him.

What would you do

if you were captain of this ship?

I'm not captain of this ship, sir.

One day you may be, Philip.

And then?

Remember.

Good evening, sir.

Good evening.

Will it be all right if I stay topside a bit

to watch the water?

I suppose the handsome sailor may do

many things forbidden to his messmates.

The sea's calm by night, isn't it?

Calm and peaceful.

You've made a good impression

on the captain, Billy Budd.

You have a pleasant way with you.

Thank you, sir.

If you wish to make a good impression

on me too, however...

...you will need to curb your tongue.

- Now, sir?

Not now.

Can it be that you really don't

understand my words?

Is it ignorance or irony...

...that makes you speak so simply?

It must be ignorance, sir...

...because I don't understand

the other word.

Let us see which it is.

Tell me, without fear, if you can...

...what do you think of me?

I never met a man like you before.

You blame me for Jenkins' death.

You must have had a reason

for doing what you did.

If you thought I had a reason...

...why did you contradict my words

before the captain?

In my ignorance, sir,

I could not guess the reason.

I only knew the truth and told it.

The sea is calm, you said...

...peaceful.

Calm above...

...but below,

a world of gliding monsters...

...preying on their fellows.

Murderers, all of them.

Only the strongest teeth survive.

And who's to tell me it's any different

here onboard, or yonder...

...on dry land?

You knew my reputation...

...and yet you dared to speak

what you call the truth. Why?

I know some of the men

are fearful of you, hate you...

...but I told them,

you can't be as they think you are.

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