Journey's End Page #2

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MASON:
Can I lay for supper, sir?

Yes, do, Mason. This is Mr Raleigh.

He's just joined the company.

Good evening, sir.

Hello.

What are you tempting us

with tonight, Mason?

Uh, soup, cutlets and pineapple.

Oh, pineapple? Splendid.

Mmm.

What kind of cutlets?

Oh, you got me there, sir. I shouldn't

like to commit myself too deep.

Ration meat?

Uh, ordinary ration meat, yes, sir.

But new shape.

Oh.

Smells like liver

without the smooth, wet look.

Thank you, Mason.

Very good, sir.

New boy?

Ought to have stayed at school,

poor sod.

He's keen.

(SCOFFS)

Show me a kid out here that hasn't been.

I'm keen. Keen on going home.

Yeah, well, you won't be, you pillock,

except on a stretcher.

So get off your arse

and wipe these plates.

F***.

(KNOCKS ON DOOR)

OSBORNE:
Yes?

I've had an unpleasant surprise, sir.

Yes?

The pineapples.

What about them?

They're apricots.

There wasn't a label on the tin?

(SIGHS) The captain'll

ring my neck, sir.

Well, haven't you anything else?

Well, there's the pink blancmange,

but it's not anywhere near stiff, sir.

Well, we'll just have to chance it

with the apricots.

Very good, sir.

My stuff, should I unpack here?

No, no, no. You're through there.

Take a light with you, Jimmy.

Thank you.

It's dark.

Nice meeting you, Jimmy.

And you, sir.

Uncle.

(SIGHS)

When you've cleared up here, Watson,

move on further down the line.

Then get some kip.

Thank you, sir.

Foul trenches. Rusty bombs.

Damp rifle grenades.

The whole place is a disgrace!

This dugout smells like a cesspit.

Mason!

Just bringing the soup, sir.

Damn the soup! Bring some whisky!

Stanhope.

Bloody Captain Hardy. Oh, if I see him,

I'll give him a piece of my mind.

Stanhope.

Hello, Stanhope.

I was told to report

to your company, sir.

Well, you said I should come

and find you if I ever join up.

Sir. Evening.

There's been a terrible tragedy,

Trotter.

Mason's tinned pineapples, you see,

they turn out to be apricots.

TROTTER:
Mmm, give me apricots every time.

Pineapple chunks

are too bleedin' sickly.

MASON:
Dinner is served.

OSBORNE:
Mmm. Oh, good.

Come along, Uncle. You sit here and...

Raleigh, you better sit there.

Not now.

Budge over.

Trotter.

Raleigh. How do you do?

You haven't been in the army

five minutes, have you?

RALEIGH:
No. Yes. No, uh...

I had eight weeks' training

at Salisbury Plain.

And I was in the Corps at school.

Mason, what sort of a soup is this?

Yellow soup, sir.

Mmm, it has a very deep yellow flavour.

Pepper, Mason. (SLURPS)

I'm sorry, sir.

When the, uh, mess box was packed,

the pepper was omitted.

Why wasn't it packed, Mason?

Oh, come on, we need pepper.

It was missed, sir.

Do you wanna go back upstairs

in the trench?

Turner!

Sir.

Run over to A Company

and ask Captain Willis,

with my compliments,

if he can lend me a little pepper.

Sir.

A screw of pepper,

that's what you ask for.

War's bad enough with pepper.

Without it, bleedin' awful.

Hmm.

Go on. Eat your soup.

(WHISTLES)

(WHISPERS) Hey,

I wouldn't go down that way, chum.

TURNER:
Captain sent me.

WATSON:
You'll get your

bloody head blown off.

(TURNER BREATHING HEAVILY)

(GROANING)

(LAUGHTER)

Jammy tosser!

What's this?

Meat, sir.

Yeah, what sort?

Well, sort of a cutlet.

There's cutlets

and there's cutlets, Mason.

Oh, yeah. Uh, this one's a cutlet.

Trotter goes back on duty

directly he's had supper.

Oh, no.

Now, in fact.

I haven't had me apricots yet.

They won't spoil.

TROTTER:
Never known nothing

like a war for upsetting meals.

I'm always on call when me grub's up.

Because you never stop eating.

Trotter's relieving

the other platoon commander, Hibbert.

You best go with him, to learn.

Go and fetch your stuff.

(CLEARS THROAT) Yes, sir.

Cigarette?

TROTTER:
Come here.

RALEIGH:
What?

Tuck your respirator under your chin

like a serviette.

Here you go. And you won't be needing

that stick, son.

Just in case we have to run fast.

(TROTTER SNAPS FINGERS)

Mason, don't let anyone

touch my apricots.

MASON:
Very good, sir.

OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mason.

TROTTER:
Mr Hibbert.

Mr Trotter.

Got the wind up him, that one.

You have to put them

in separate pockets.

Green ones, business as usual.

Red ones to signal an alarm.

I set the wrong one off once.

Nearly cost us the war!

Go on. Have a go.

Can I?

Yeah. Yeah, go on.

(GUN CLICKS)

So just... Just up there?

Whoo!

(TROTTER CHUCKLES)

Come on.

RALEIGH:
That's a Lewis gun.

Optimum range?

That's just over a mile, Mr Trotter.

Is that them?

TROTTER:
Yeah.

(IMITATES GUNFIRE)

Bit of sniping on our left.

One or two rifle grenades

coming over on our right.

Thanks. That's good to know.

Hot soup and a good chop

will put that right.

Thank you. No appetite.

Pain right inside my eye.

(CHUCKLES)

You're back on duty at 11:00.

I'll get Mason to call you.

Right.

STANHOPE:
Artful little swine.

There's no proof of neuralgia.

OSBORNE:
Come on. He looks rotten.

I may have let Warren get

away with that, but no more.

No man of mine is going sick

before the attack.

Shh!

Bloody little funk!

Shh!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Keep your head down.

This is the sap.

Brings you to within just yards

of Jerry.

Come on.

(TROTTER WHISTLES)

TROTTER:
Mind your nut.

Now, then...

It's awfully quiet,

apart from that rumble in the distance.

Troop trains.

Germans?

Them and us.

All waiting for it to happen.

And what about after it happens?

Come on.

Let's get back.

Have a nice cup of tea.

Raleigh tells me

he was at school with you.

Ah.

Margaret.

Oh, Raleigh's sister.

She is beautiful.

Is she waiting for you?

She thinks I'm a wonderful chap,

commanding a company.

I daren't even go back on leave.

I don't want her to see how shot I am.

I can't bear being fully conscious

all the time.

Well, when the war's over

and the strain's gone,

you'll chuck all of this muck in.

He's gonna tell her

I reek of whisky all day long.

Oh, God. Now, why would he?

How many battalions

are there in France, Uncle?

Huh?

Fifty divisions?

Hundred and fifty brigades.

Four hundred and fifty battalions.

That's 1,800 companies.

All right.

Why this one?

That's it. Come on.

Why now?

Come on. Come to bed.

Come on. There you go.

(GROANS)

Come on.

(EXHALES)

All right.

There. There we are.

(GROANS)

You go to sleep.

Go to sleep yourself.

(CHUCKLES)

I'll have you woken at 4:00, all right?

Tuck me in, Uncle.

There we are.

What? What?

Kiss me.

(CHUCKLES) Oh, stop it!

(LAUGHS)

Your hands are cold.

(BLOWS)

Bless you.

(MUMBLES)

Just sleep.

Sleep.

(SIGHS)

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Good night, lad.

Good night, Mr Trotter.

(BOTTLE THUDS)

(EXPLOSIONS)

(EXHALES)

(EXHALES)

(WHISPERS) All good, men.

(CHUCKLES) Knockity knees, Evans.

It's me elbows now, sir.

Just need a bit of greasing.

Anyone seen a skylark?

SOLDIER:
They're all up at Wipers, sir,

crapping on the French.

Sir.

Yeah.

CO wants to see you, sir.

What, now?

Yes, now, sir.

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