Gunga Din Page #4

Bugle will be very satisfactory.

Come on, Din. The world is ours.

Kali. Sahib, come quick.

Thugs, lift up your faces...

to the light that shines from Kali's throne.

Brothers in Thuggee...

we are the friendless of this earth.

Every man's hand is against us.

We have been kicked, spat upon...

and driven to the hills like wild things.

My father was a Thug, and he was hanged.

His father was blown

from a cannon's mouth.

And what of your kinsmen,

your fathers and their fathers...

and their fathers' fathers before them?

My brothers, a new day is at hand.

I have read the omens, and they are good.

Three nights ago,

a jackal screamed upon the left.

Another answered from the right at once.

What does that mean, my brothers?

It means that Mother Kali,

with all her arms outstretched...

hugs us to her bosom,

welcoming us back as Thugs...

Thugs awakened from a sleep...

of 50 years.

Let the neophytes

and their teachers draw near.

Where are the stranglers?

Give them their strangling cloths.

Give them their burial picks.

Swear by our Mother Kali...

to be thrice faithful to her

and to me and to our order...

and to all of us.

Rise, our new-made brothers.

Rise and kill.

Kill, lest you be killed yourselves.

Kill for the love of killing.

Kill for the love of Kali. Kill!

It's them all right, Din,

the whole blinking lot of them.

Very bad men.

The Colonel's got to know.

You must get there, Din.

The Colonel's got to know.

The Colonel? I run quick.

Since mighty roast beef

is an Englishman's food

It accounts for the freedom

that runs in his blood

For generous living

Does it do all good

Excuse me, mates.

Oh, the roast beef of England

And, oh, the old English roast beef

Sing us a song, will you?

You're all under arrest.

The whole bunch of you.

And you, too. You know why?

Her Majesty's very touchy

about having her subjects strangled.

I can't waste any more time.

Come on, wrap up your gear.

You're coming with me. Hurry up.

Guruji.

If it ain't young Toad Face.

Fancy meeting you here.

Vile dog.

For that insolence,

you shall grovel before my son.

You shall grovel, I say!

Look here.

I'm a soldier of Her Majesty the Queen,

and I don't grovel before any heathen.

Kabul, take him to the tower...

and teach him the error of false pride.

Take him away!

In those drear gray hours before dawn,

just go out and chase elephants.

Beats counting sheep a million miles.

What do you mean, elephants?

This ain't elephants.

This is Annie, my Annie.

I'll find her if I have to turn out

the whole British Army.

What the blazes is this?

Good morning, gentlemen.

Good morning.

What the blazes are you here for?

I've come to replace Sgt. Ballantine.

Higginbotham,

I could just fall on your neck.

I got a better neck than mine

you can fall on.

That's a good one. Hello, there!

Tommy, hello!

How wonderful of you to meet us.

I came here to surprise you,

and here you are, surprising me.

- Good morning, Sgt. MacChesney.

- Good morning, Miss.

Here are Tommy's discharge papers.

Cutter will be very pleased about this.

- Column of threes!

- Eyes front!

Sit up straight there!

Who do you think you are,

a lot of blinking nursemaids in Hyde Park?

Walk march!

Forward!

Party, halt!

Sgt. Ballantine, take charge.

Go inside, dear. I'll be right with you.

All right, but do hurry,

so we can leave soon.

- Naik, what about this?

- He just came back, Sergeant sahib.

Come here, you.

Din, I knew you was at the bottom

of all this.

Didn't you knock down the shed

and take off Sgt. Cutter?

You'll answer to me.

We'll have a court-martial here and now.

- Line up a firing squad.

- Please, sahib.

You stole the elephant, didn't you?

Answer me!

You knocked down a building

and liberated Her Majesty's prisoner...

Sgt. Cutter, didn't you?

- Yes, sahib.

- That's all! Take him away!

You Lazarushian beggar,

it'll be the firing squad for you this time!

Wait a minute, Mac. Where's Cutter?

Din, where is Sgt. Cutter?

- They catch him.

- What's that? Who?

In the gold temple, they catch Sgt. Cutter.

Who's they? Priests or what?

Very bad men. They'll give him torture.

Go help, quick.

- How many men?

- Don't know.

- I run away quick to bring help.

- I'll bet you ran away quick.

And you'll run back just as quick, too.

Show me the way.

- I'll pick a dozen men.

- You'll pick nothing! I'm going alone.

You haven't a chance.

I'm not killing Cutter by riding in

with a troop.

They'll cut him up

if we have a rescue party.

- Right. We'll go together.

- No.

Tommy, what's the matter?

Cutter got himself into a mess,

and Mac and I are going to get him out.

Don't worry, I'm not taking him.

I'm going as a sergeant

in Her Majesty's service.

- I'm not taking any civilians with me.

- Who's a civilian?

It says here,

"Thomas Anthony Ballantine...

"is restored

to the rank of citizen of Great Britain...

"and his duty to Her Majesty's service

is over and done with."

Try and keep me out of this.

I'm saying goodbye, Bal,

and I wish you luck in the tea business...

and your matrimony both.

Wait a minute, Mac.

Wait right here. I have to talk to him.

- But he said you can't go.

- He'll change his mind.

- I won't let you go!

- Darling, I have to go. I owe it to Cutter.

- He's saved my life time and again.

- You don't love me.

Do you want me to go through life

remembering that I ran out...

on one of my two best friends?

After what they did to Higginbotham,

and dragging you up here again?

That's just the way of showing

their friendship.

I hate the army, I'm through with it,

but friendship, that's something else.

But we're wasting valuable time.

You have to understand. I'll be right back.

- I want to talk to you.

- You? I don't want to argue...

I'm going if I have to shoot you

and go alone.

You know as well as I do why you can't go.

If anything happens to you,

I'd be in a fine mess.

Your girl would prefer charges.

- She wouldn't.

- I don't trust her.

There's only one way I'll risk it.

- What's that?

- For you to sign up.

When we get Cutter,

we'll tear up the papers.

It'll be according to regulations.

Is that fair enough for you?

You're getting clever again.

Do you want me

to get kicked out of the army?

All right, I'll sign, but on one condition.

That I hold the blank in my hand

and I keep it after I'm through.

You don't trust me.

That's right.

All right.

What are you doing

with that in your pocket?

I always carry one. In case.

No, you don't.

Not a word of this to Emmy,

you understand? Shake on it?

Hurry up.

Excuse me, miss.

Sgt. Ballantine and I are going out

on a reconnoitering expedition.

- Yes, sir.

- Lf we're not back by morning...

inform the Colonel,

and you follow our trail.

- Come this way.

- Excuse me, Miss Stebbins.

- I'm going, Emmy. He's changed his mind.

- Who made him change it?

- Reason and common decency.

- You're lying.

Would I lie at a time like this,

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