The African Queen Page #6

back to the reeds.

She's coming right toward us.

I thought for a minute they'd seen us.

They're going toward that island.

They'll probably anchor there

for the night and leave in the morning.

Don't you worry, they'll be back again.

You know how the Germans are.

They lays down systems

and then they sticks to them.

Monday, they're one place,

Tuesday, someplace else, and

then Wednesday, they'll be back here.

How long will it take

to get the torpedoes ready?

I don't know.

It depends on the detonators.

We've got to devise something.

I know what you're thinking, Rosie.

You're thinking of taking the Queen

out at night

when the Louisa comes back,

ain't you, old girl?

Well, we ought to manage it.

There, that ought to work.

When we ram into it,

the ends of these nails

will hit the percussion caps

and shoot the bullets into the gelatin.

Charlie, you're wonderful.

Can't put them in the cylinders yet.

They're pretty tricky.

We'll put them in

when we're ready to start.

It will be dark by then.

Do you think that you can do it

in the dark?

It's a case of have to.

You're quite sure

that they will come back

with the Louisa, aren't you, Charlie?

Dead sure.

Let me see, the lake's 100 miles long,

50 miles wide.

Louisa does about... About 12 knots.

That's 120 miles a day. Yep.

She'll be back here tomorrow.

When she comes,

we'll be ready for her.

Charlie, let's make the Queen

as clean as we can,

scrub her decks and polish her brass.

Sure. She ought to look her best,

representing, as she does,

the Royal Navy.

- You know, Rosie, I've been thinking.

- Yes, Charlie?

Now, there ain't no use

of us both going to do it.

Now that I've had time to study it,

I can plainly see it's a one-man job.

You couldn't be more right,

Charlie dear.

Well now, Rosie,

I'm glad you agree with me.

When the time comes,

I'll put you off on the east shore.

You'll wait there for me

while I attend to the Louisa.

Certainly not.

You're the one to be put ashore.

- Me?

- This whole thing

was my idea, wasn't it?

I'm the logical one to carry it out.

Why, Rosie, I'm surprised at you!

You're a very sensible woman as a rule.

Now, we won't have any more talk

along those lines.

Now, look here, Charlie Allnut,

I can manage this boat

every bit as well as you can

and you know it.

Rosie, you're cracked.

Didn't I steer going down the rapids?

You steer well enough, but you

don't know nothing about the engine.

Suppose she broke down on you

out there? Wouldn't you look foolish?

Now, me,

I'd just walk back from the tiller

and do a thing or two to that old engine.

You know, spit on her, kick her in the

slats and she'd go right to work again.

She knows who's boss, all right,

you bet that old engine does.

- I suppose you're right.

- Well, now, that's all settled.

I'll dive off a second before the crash

and swim over to where

you'll be waiting on the east shore

and we'll be off to Kenya together.

No, I meant it may be necessary

for you to come along.

Come along? What do you mean?

Didn't we just agree

this was a one-man job?

But you convinced me that it isn't,

so now it's settled. We'll go together.

No, we won't.

You'll wait for me on the east shore.

Who do you think you are,

ordering me about?

I'm the captain, that's who.

And I ain't taking you along.

You'd only be in my way.

I suppose I was in your way

going down the rapids.

Then what you said to me

back there on the river was a lie

about how you never

could have done it alone

and how you'd lost your heart

and everything.

You liar.

Charlie, we're having our first quarrel.

Rosie.

It's only that

I just can't bear the thought of...

Well, what I mean is,

suppose something should happen,

not that anything will, but...

Don't you understand, Charlie?

I wouldn't want to go on to Kenya

without you.

Rosie. All right.

It'll be you at the tiller

and me at the engine,

just like it was from the start.

And there's the Louisa, right on time.

It's blowing up a bit.

We'd better get started, all right?

Charlie. Charlie, I can't steer.

It's hard to steer.

Too much water in the bow.

Screw's out of the water half the time.

We've got to get her nose up

or we'll be in trouble.

Rosie, we're sinking.

Rosie!

Rosie! Rosie! Rosie!

Rosie!

What is your nationality?

French? Belgian? British?

- Yeah.

- Yes, what?

- British.

- What were you doing on the island?

Fishing.

You are aware that the punishment

for giving false testimony

before this court is death by hanging?

Who cares?

What were you doing on the island?

- I was fishing.

- How did you get there?

I swam.

Do you know that you are in an area

prohibited to all

but members of the forces

of His Imperial Majesty

Kaiser Wilhelm II?

Who cares?

You are accused of being a spy

in the service

of the British Armed Forces.

Have you anything to say that might lead

this court to believe otherwise?

I told you I was fishing.

The court sentences you

to death by hanging.

Sentence to be carried out immediately.

Was there a woman with you?

Rosie. Rosie! Rosie! Rosie!

- Charlie!

- Rosie!

Charlie!

Who's that woman?

- I don't know.

- You just called her by name.

I thought she was somebody else.

I shall hang you twice, I think.

- Charlie, dear.

- Rosie.

Who are you?

Miss Rose Sayer.

English?

Of course.

- What were you doing on the lake?

- I ain't told him nothing, Rosie.

Silence!

- What were you doing on the lake?

- We were boating.

Last night? In such weather?

We were not responsible

for the weather.

As your fellow prisoner

has already learned,

the penalty for not

answering this court is death.

You mean he... Charlie?

Stop that!

Order.

Are they going to hang you, Charlie?

Fraulein Sayer, you will come to order

and answer the question of this court.

Very well. Ask your questions.

What were you doing on the lake?

- We came here to sink this ship.

- Rosie!

- And we would have, too, except...

- Rosie!

Let's at least have the pleasure

of telling them about it, Charlie.

Sink this ship?

Don't you believe her, Your Honor.

She's touched, you know. Fever.

Stop that, Charlie.

We've been through all that.

I'm certainly not going to outlive you,

and that's all there is to it.

And just how, Fraulein, did you propose

to sink the Konigin Louise?

With torpedoes.

Torpedoes?

Will you be so good as to tell us exactly

where and how

you acquired torpedoes?

- Mr. Allnut made them.

- How very interesting.

You don't believe me, do you?

Charlie, tell them

how you made the torpedoes.

Well, I... See, what I did, I...

I took the heads off

two cylinders of oxygen

and I filled them up with live explosive.

You know, about two hundredweight.

That was easy enough.

It was the detonators

that took some doing.

And you know what I used?

Cartridges and nails

and blocks of soft wood.

Then I took the two cylinders

and I put them in the bows

of the African Queen,

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