Mutiny on the Bounty Page #10

"You hate life, all life hate you."

Maimiti go.

Lieutenant William Bligh,

the court has considered

the charges against you.

And their finding is that

no blame attaches to you,

for the loss of His Majesty's ship, Bounty.

You are, therefore,

most honorably acquitted.

The court finds that mutiny

and piracy have been committed

against His Majesty's Navy.

The court makes recommendation

to the First Lord of the Admiralty

which recommendation shall be entered

in the record of these proceedings to wit,

an expedition of pursuit

be commissioned posthaste

and charged to capture,

and bring to justice the parties

responsible for the loss

of His Majesty's ship, Bounty.

They can hardly evade us for long.

I shall pray they do not, Milord.

The court considers it has obligation

to add comment to its verdict.

By the force of evidentiary conclusions,

you, Captain William Bligh,

stand absolved of military misdeed.

Yet officers of stainless record

and seamen, voluntary all,

were moved to mutiny against you.

Your methods,

so far as this court can discern,

showed what we shall cautiously term

an excess of zeal.

We cannot condemn zeal.

We cannot rebuke an officer

who has administered discipline

according to the Articles of War.

But the Articles are fallible

as any Articles are bound to be.

No code can cover all contingencies.

We cannot put justice

aboard our ships in books.

Justice and decency

are carried in the heart of the captain

or they be not aboard.

It is for this reason

that the Admiralty has always sought

to appoint its officers

from the ranks of gentlemen.

The court regrets to note that

the appointment of Captain William Bligh

was, in that respect, a failure.

The Court is dissolved.

For several months

we sought a suitable place to dwell.

The Bounty visited at least 30 islands.

None of them served our purpose.

In some cases, the natives repulsed us

with barrages of stones and arrows.

In others, we found the vegetation

too sparse to sustain life

or the water supply too limited.

But our disappointments

did not depress us.

Mr. Christian knew

how to keep a happy ship.

As for himself,

he gave no sign of discontent.

True, he had a habit

of falling into Brown's studies

of wrestling with some problem

that took him far away

from where he stood.

Still, his failure to solve his private riddle

was never taken out on us.

He was no Bligh.

And the absence of Bligh was a daily tonic.

Please, Officers first.

No matter what sort of noise they make,

they always sound lovable.

They've sighted us. She's turning round.

Merchantman or man-of-war?

It's the whereabouts of the sun

concerns me now.

It'll set in about 40 minutes.

What is it, Mr. Christian?

It's an English warship, Mr. Mills.

Let her mark our course well.

We'll alter it after dark.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Douse all lights. Cold supper, no pipes.

- Mr. Birkett?

- Sir.

- Arm all hands.

- Aye, aye, sir.

What's the hour?

About two bells.

- I never spent a longer night.

- Me neither.

- I'm glad it's getting light.

- I ain't.

What if she's still there?

We outrun her, or we outshoot her,

or we swing.

Not a sail in sight. Ned, I'll have that glass.

No sight at all of her, sir?

What is it you were looking at then, sir?

It's land. It's there,

but it shouldn't be.

Mills, Brown, come with me.

Yes. This is our position,

give or take 10 miles.

Empty water.

What's this piece of land over here, sir?

That is Pitcairn Island.

It's over a 170 miles due east.

Or is it?

Well, it must be, sir.

There isn't land anywhere else about.

Yes, that's right.

This must be Pitcairn. It's charted wrong.

And then, it's charted wrong

on every single official chart

in the British Navy.

Don't you see? Pitcairn is a 175 miles

away from where it actually lies.

It can only be found by accident,

just as we have done.

At first, we must find out

whether or not it's inhabited,

and if their people are friendly.

Mills, I want you to take an armed party.

Go ashore. We'll cover you.

Minarii, have your men stand by to cover.

It looks deserted.

- No people here.

- Tell Mr. Christian.

Well, laddies, how does it feel

to be land-owning squires, eh?

Without tenants

making hungry mouths at us.

No poachers either, eh?

Come on, let's take a little twirl

round our estate, then.

That's a good idea.

Come on, Mr. Kew Gardens.

Breadfruit.

Mr. Young, look, yams, papaya, taro root.

Why, the island's a garden.

Beautiful rich soil.

- What's that?

- Oh, it's some sort of a tuber.

I can't tell till I cultivate it.

Do you think Mr. Christian

would like the garden right here?

Well, not if we decide

to live on the other side of the island.

- I got it.

- Good shot. Here!

Birkett, Mr. Young,

there's tons of food here.

Here! I've just seen enough game

to feed the whole of the British Navy.

- I'm not kidding you.

- Water aplenty.

And fish. Big ones. Real big ones.

Hey, mates, look here!

- Pigeon pie for dinner!

- Pigeon? With red feathers?

All right, all right, whatever it is then.

- They're pretty, ain't they?

- Yeah.

The tail feathers are for Hutia.

- This is better than Tahiti, even.

- It's the climate. It's cooler.

Well, it's not the climate we're tasting.

It's that lovely mapmaker's mistake.

Mates, there's only one thing missing.

Captain Bligh.

Oh, yes.

I'd give a leg or two

if he could see us now.

Eating away to our heart's content

without a care in the world.

Yeah, I like him better where he is.

I like him going away in his little boat,

with the hot sun beating down

on his hot little head.

Well, God grant him a dry mouth.

Do you remember when he bid us

goodbye, all blown up like a toad?

"I'll never leave you, Mr. Christian.

Not ever.

"No matter where you go,

I'll always be at your shoulder,

"with a rope in me hand."

Of course,

he's a man of his word, is Captain Bligh.

So perhaps we ought to set him a plate.

Why, hello there. Captain Bligh, sir.

Sit down, sir. Sit down.

Here have a bird wing or two.

And kindly explain why you ain't here.

There's no doubt about it.

Nobody's glad to see a captain

who comes home without his ship.

You know, I'd give a stick of tabaccy

to see his ruddy report.

Those Admiralty Lords will look at him

like he was a piece of rotten biscuit.

I'm afraid your laughter

is unwarranted, gentlemen.

Captain Bligh will be acquitted.

He'll be given another ship.

A larger cat-o'-nine-tails to run it with.

You're forgetting there's mates of ours

went along with Bligh, sir.

They'll tell what the old pig did.

And they'll tell how he was out

to execute all of us, one by one.

Sure.

Your friends are under the shadow

of arraignment themselves for mutiny,

if Bligh chooses to charge

that they failed to rally to his calls,

or to protect him properly.

- Why should they invite his anger?

- They won't be given any choice, sir.

They'll be asked questions, and the facts

will speak for themselves, right?

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