Mutiny on the Bounty Page #2

It matters to the tune

of L1,000 a day, Mr. Christian.

My word,

that is an impressive amount, yes.

The West India merchants

are impressed by it.

So is the Admiralty. And so am I.

It is my intention

to land our cargo in Jamaica,

as far ahead of the Admiralty's timetable

as is humanly possible.

Yes. Well, one can understand that.

Doing so, one can look forward

to promotions and even honors.

And all that, yes.

I will do exactly all that, Mr. Christian.

Which brings me

to the subject of yourself.

I will tolerate nothing less

than a man's best efforts,

officer or seaman.

Highborn connections

are no substitute for hard work.

No, indeed they're not, sir.

But, personally, I see no reason

why a good officer

cannot be a gentleman, as well.

- Do you disagree, sir?

- Not if he's first a good officer.

It's a debatable point,

but a good subject

for a dinner's conversation.

But I'm keeping Mr. Brown waiting.

And I mustn't neglect

the most important man on our ship.

Excuse me, sir.

Hello, Brown.

- Make ready for sail, Mr. Christian.

- Aye, aye, sir.

Hands to stations for leaving harbor!

Aye, aye, sir!

All hands to stations for leaving harbor!

All hands on deck!

All hands to stations for leaving harbor!

All right, now, heavy on it!

Step round.

Let go and hold!

Ship ready for sea, sir.

Set topsails and headsails. Starboard tack.

Set topsails and headsails.

Set topsails and headsails!

Set gallants!

- Set gallants!

- Sheet home!

Set royals!

Set royals!

Midships, steady as she goes.

- Bos'n's mate!

- Aye, sir?

Pipe up spirits.

Up spirits!

Watch below,

muster for grog on the upper deck!

Hey, Mills.

Mr. Christian wants a word with you

on the quarterdeck.

The fact is,

I'm a little slow sometimes and...

- Good afternoon, sir.

- Good afternoon.

Mack here is reporting a theft.

- What? Already?

- Aye, sir.

Carry on with your investigations.

Seaman Mills at your service, sir.

No labor too long, no job too hard, sir.

Well, you're a light-hearted fellow,

as well as a light-fingered one.

Sir?

It seems that in a moment of exuberance,

you stole two 25-pound cheeses.

I stole two 25-pound cheeses, sir?

You wish to deny it?

Well, speak up, Mills.

Why, yes I do, sir. Of course. Certainly, sir.

First of all, sir,

I'd be grateful to know who's accusing me.

Yes, of course. This observant chap here

says he saw you take them

before we left Portsmouth.

Well, he saw wrong, sir.

Or else he's a bloody liar.

- Are you a bloody liar? Answer freely.

- No, sir.

I saw him take them those two cheeses

with me own eyes.

Mr. Christian, testing one man's word

against another's is an empty procedure.

List the shortage as unsolved theft

and stop the men's cheese ration

- until the deficit is made up.

- As you say, sir.

- Well, that'll be all, Mills.

- Thank you, sir.

Was there something further

you wished to discuss?

Early Renaissance sketching, perhaps?

No, sir. Sorry, sir.

Let it lay, whatever it is. Let it lay.

- I got a little score to settle.

- Look, son, this is a small ship.

Fill it with grudges

and there'd be no room left to live in.

And you're listening to 30 years at sea.

You don't preach to me, McCoy,

and I won't preach to you. All right?

It's a good bargain,

with you the loser.

You can thank

your good friend Mills for this.

Now, this is the way it's gonna be.

Captain's orders.

There'll be no cheese issue

until the shortage is made up.

You understand? And you?

So we've got a bootlicker onboard, eh?

A troublemaker.

- It wasn't my fault.

- Hey, what's the matter?

I don't like to be called a thief, that's all.

- A thief?

- A thief, that's right.

I'll teach you a lesson.

- Squealing on the boys.

- Hey!

I like a bit of cheese with my grub.

Maybe it's you

who should take the licking.

Now look here.

It was the Captain asked me

take the cheeses to his home, as a favor.

It's always the same in this blasted navy.

You do a job for an officer like that,

you're called a thief.

And the crew lose their cheeses.

- So, you did the Captain a favor, eh?

- It was the Captain.

The Captain helping himself

to the ship's stores.

- Hey.

- The Captain's the thief, not me!

The Articles of War

provide most adequately

for a man who calls his Captain a thief.

I think a few weeks without grog

will teach him to hold his tongue.

No. Two dozen with the lash

will teach him better still.

All hands to witness punishment.

Mr. Christian, if you please.

"If any officer, mariner or soldier,

in or belonging to the fleet,

"shall behave himself

with contempt to his superior officer,

"such superior officer

being in the execution of his office,

"he shall be punished

according to the nature of his offense."

Two dozen lashes.

Ship's company, on hats.

You just remember,

it ain't me that's whipping you.

Don't worry, I'll live.

You know, mate, it ain't me. Remember.

Stop worrying. You're making me nervous.

Lay on, Quintal.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

- Six.

- You're going too lightly, Quintal.

Lay on with a will or you'll take his place.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Eleven.

Twelve.

You were ordered to witness punishment.

You can't turn away.

Thirteen.

Fourteen.

Fifteen.

Sixteen.

Seventeen.

Eighteen.

Nineteen.

Twenty.

Twenty-one.

Twenty-two.

Twenty-three.

Twenty-four.

Company dismissed!

Lay away lee braces!

You are not eating, Mr. Young.

- With your permission, I'm not hungry, sir.

- Permission denied.

We'll not have food wasted.

- Eat your supper.

- Aye, sir.

Not a very sociable group tonight.

As a matter of fact, sir,

I was about to make a remark

when you spoke.

You're pardoned.

Something troubling you, Mr. Christian?

No, sir. It's nothing. I just...

Well, I don't feel my cheeriest after

watching a man take a severe lashing.

Pass Mr. Young the potatoes, please.

You've witnessed punishment

before, surely.

Go ahead, speak your mind.

Well, sir, since you ask, it's...

It's the question of degree

that troubles me.

You see, if one flogs a man half to death

for a minor infraction,

then how does one punish him

for a serious offense?

Minor infraction, you said?

Yes. I think that two cheeses, sir...

Plus the word "thief"

applied to his Captain.

But you still feel, though,

that stopping the man's grog

was sufficient punishment?

Well, I agree with you.

- You agree?

- Eat it up. Excellent stew.

If we were concerned

with only the one case, certainly.

- Well, I don't know...

- Hear me.

You will, all of you, no doubt

command your own ships some day.

Let us suppose

that your vessel is running in heavy seas.

The shrouds are covered with ice.

A gale is blowing.

It becomes necessary, in your opinion,

to order a seaman aloft.

He realizes, of course,

that if his fingers slip from the icy shrouds

for a split second,

he'll perish immediately.

Now, this is a typical seaman,

a half-witted, wife-beating,

habitual drunkard.

His whole life is spent evading

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