Mutiny on the Bounty Page #4

- Aye, aye, sir!

Up helm!

Up helm!

Quickly there. Move!

Mills, Norman, Bennet...

Watch it!

Bennet!

Wait a moment. Go tell Mr. Fryer

to let her run before the wind.

Right!

We've got to get a lash on it.

- Mr. Fryer, sir.

- What is it, Mills?

Mr. Christian said,

let her run before the wind.

Before the wind?

We can't lash the barrels

until she steadies.

- All right, go below.

- Right you are, sir.

- Midships to helm!

- Midships to helm!

Quintal, stand away.

Now hold off till she steadies.

Hold her steady before the wind!

All right, she's steady.

Norman, Quintal, get a lash on that cask.

Pass me a line!

What the hell are you doing, Mr. Fryer?

Mr. Christian's orders, sir.

Barrel broke loose...

- Put the helm over instantly!

- But Mr. Christian's below, sir,

- with a work party.

- Put the helm over!

- Down with helm.

- Down with helm, it is, sir.

Idiots!

Secure those barrels.

Easy now, easy.

Careful.

Gently now.

Move him carefully.

I'll get the medicine chest.

- He's dead.

- Mr. Christian!

Mr. Christian!

Are you deaf as well as irresponsible?

I demand an explanation.

I thought she was holding

steadily enough, sir.

I ordered Norman under a water cask...

Never mind Norman. Answer me.

Never mind Norman, sir?

There was no justification

in your ordering the ship hove to.

We lost a full league

before I could countermand your order,

one full league!

- You countermanded my order, sir?

- Now, you heed me well, Mr. Christian.

We are embarked upon a King's mission.

Any further attempt at sabotage

and I will deal with you as a traitor.

When you countermanded that order, sir,

you crushed the life

out of Thomas Norman.

I suppose you would halt the ship again

for his burial service.

Since we are not at war, sir,

I would hope to give him a decent burial.

Yes, sir.

I am at war.

Against ill winds, contrary currents

and incompetent officers.

You'd best join my war, Mr. Christian,

for if I don't start winning soon,

the casualty list will be real enough.

Aye, aye, sir!

I make our position here

by dead reckoning.

If that's right, sir,

another three weeks will see us through.

We'll get through.

The pumps holding their own?

- Aye, sir.

- Good.

We'll go on the other tack now.

Tack ship, if you please.

Aye, aye, sir.

All hands on deck!

Tack ship! Come on, Williams, up top!

- Gently, gently.

- Get up, the Horn waits for no man.

He'll drown the lot of us.

I know the way that man's mind works.

- I felt it on my back.

- Stop your grousing.

Portsmouth or Cape Horn,

it's all one to a seaman.

Well, it can't stay overcast forever, sir.

Four weeks blind tacking is forever,

Mr. Fryer, and you know it!

Other tack, wear ship!

Downwind in this weather, sir,

is very dangerous.

We have no choice!

- Weather braces!

- Aye, aye, sir!

Starboard watch on deck!

Starboard watch on deck!

All hands on deck!

What's the matter?

Up helm!

Steer two points to starboard!

Be ready to reverse your helm!

Lay away lee braces! All the way!

All the way weather braces!

We're back where we started

four weeks ago!

Bad news, sir.

Your cabin's completely awash.

The pumps are barely able

to hold their own, sir.

We've lost, Mr. Fryer.

- Make way for the Cape of Good Hope.

- Aye, aye, sir!

Lay away lee braces!

Downward off the mizzen.

Here, here, here. What's all this, then?

That, old son, is half a ration of meat.

- What do you mean half a ration?

- Captain's orders.

Orders! You dish up a full plate of that

or I'll cut your curls off.

I don't make the rules, I just dish the stuff.

That's all you're gonna get,

you'd better take it.

He's right.

Half-rations are better than none at all.

- Why half-rations? What for?

- Make up time, I suppose.

Well, starving a man

doesn't make the ship go no faster.

It saves stopping for stores, doesn't it?

Oh, so to catch up a couple of weeks,

we starve all the way to Tahiti, eh?

I'll tell you one thing,

it's against the regulations.

Regulations?

If we can be flogged by the regulations,

we can be fed by them.

Good. You convinced me.

Now, go and convince the Captain.

All right.

Anybody coming along with me?

- To see the Captain?

- That's right, the Captain.

You sure it's regulation?

How do you know?

Because I read them.

A sailor with an education,

like a singing pig.

All right, I'm with you.

What are you men

doing in these quarters?

I brought them, sir.

They wish to state a complaint.

Let them do so.

Speak up.

I'm begging your pardon, sir.

We're sorry to disturb you, sir.

If this isn't a good moment, sir,

why, this is nothing that won't...

That won't keep a while, sir.

No, no, no. Please continue.

I'm always available to hear complaints.

Well, Captain, sir, we've...

We've come representing the whole crew.

It's about the half-rations, sir.

And they ain't right, sir.

I'd like to...

The crew would like to remind you, sir,

what it says in the regulations.

You dare to quote the regulations to me?

The regulations was made to go by, sir.

We don't mean no impertinence, sir.

But right is right, sir.

Five full months you've cost me,

you fumbling idlers.

Us? How, sir? What did we do?

This commission gave every man

in the ship's company

the key to opportunity,

the chance to show what he's made of.

Well, you've shown what you're made of.

Dirt and empty silk nightcaps.

Well, I thought I heard your voice, sir.

Good night.

So you want full rations, do you?

Well, I'll give you all the rations you need

to get us to Tahiti in time.

Now get out!

"All the rations you need

to get us to Tahiti on time. "

Those were Captain Bligh's words.

Rations of what, he didn't say.

But he soon showed us.

Rations of

his favorite commodity, punishment.

Served up to the tune

of his favorite music,

a cry of pain, a scream of agony.

That was the concert that played us

across three oceans

as the months vanished from the calendar.

And Captain Bligh's tension increased.

Three.

Come down on deck, you clumsy lubbers!

And that jib, hoist it taut.

Land ho!

Land ho!

This island is inhabited

by over 200,000 savages.

Eleven years ago,

when I was here with Captain Cook,

they were not dangerous.

However, the natives

of the Sandwich Islands

seemed friendly enough,

but without warning,

they turned on Captain Cook

and killed him.

We shall take all due military precautions.

In the event we find ourselves welcome,

you will discover that these savages

have absolutely no conception

of ordinary morality.

And you will, no doubt,

take full advantage of their ignorance.

It is a matter

of supernatural indifference to me

whether you contaminate the natives

or the natives contaminate you.

I have but one concern, our mission.

Let any one of you provoke an incident

which endangers it,

and I shall cause that man

to curse his mother for giving him birth.

Lee braces, Mr. Christian.

Stand by the anchor!

Let off.

Hoist out the launch. I shall want 12 men.

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