The Hill Page #5

We'll see what he's got to say.

McGrath, what's wrong with him?

I'm not a vet, Staff.

Right, get your towels.

You've all had a busy time,

so I'm putting you under the showers

to sweeten you up and smarten you up.

We're taking Stevens with us.

Yes, Staff.

Thank you very much indeed, Staff.

Well get him on his feet.

Get him up, Bartlett!

Yes, Staff.

Come on, Staff wants you up.

- No, no, please.

- Staff wants you upsy-daisy.

- On your feet!

- He's in no fit state to walk.

So he's in a terrible way, is he?

We'll soon see.

Double over here, Stevens.

Please, Joe, make him leave me alone.

Please help me.

- I can't take any more. I can't.

- It's all right.

Okay, Stevens.

Very touching.

I'll get the preacher into you two

and get you married.

Right, double outside. Outside!

Drag that fairy out.

If I'd known you were on your honeymoon,

I'd have had you in a separate cell.

I don't hold with one of my staff

complaining about a brother officer.

Listen, Bert, if Williams cripples Stevens,

you'll take the can back, not Williams.

You telling me again

how to run this place?

If I have any more complaints out of you,

I'll have you posted.

Sir, I suggest you let the M.O. Decide

whether or not

Stevens is fit for punishment.

I make the decisions, me.

I'll see if he's fit or not. Now, get out!

Come on, Stevens, come on.

Come on, there.

All right, McGrath.

- Not that one.

- What?

That turns on the gas.

Quiet!

What's this I hear about Stevens,

Mr. Wilson?

Nothing to worry about, sir.

- Well, Staff Harris told me...

- Harris? He's like a dream walking.

If Stevens was sick he'd be here,

wouldn't he now?

Oh, yes, I suppose so.

Well, since I'm here, I'd better see him.

I don't know my job, sir?

Think I don't know what's going on?

I never said that.

- I know what Staff Williams is doing.

- Staff Harris told me...

Harris!

He's sand-happy.

I'm still in charge here, sir.

I want to see Stevens.

You've seen him, sir.

What do you mean?

You passed him fit,

fit for duty and punishment.

The hill, Sergeant Major, if one

of the staff overdoes the good work...

I could take it, sir.

Any fit man could take it, sir.

Yes, well, as you say, if he were sick

he'd be here, wouldn't he? Yes.

God, it's hot. It's like an oven in here.

- Lights out five minutes!

- Still no sign of the M.O., eh?

- Lights out five minutes!

- No.

Lights out five minutes!

- He looks better.

- Yeah.

- Five minutes.

- Maybe Harris will get the vet tomorrow.

It's a laugh.

- Lights out five minutes.

- What is?

All we ever get in this dump

is medicine and duties.

One lunatic, you know, in Tunisia...

That was a right nick, that was.

He made his blankets

up into a kind of nest, you see,

and he sat there all night

in the middle of them going,

''Cuckoo, cuckoo,'' all night long.

- He was trying to work his ticket.

- No. He was around the bend.

He'd been frightened by a hand grenade,

I think.

Anyway, the screw got the vet in, you see,

and you know what

the vet recommended?

- Medicine and duty.

- Medicine and duty.

Anyway, the vet had a bright idea,

you see. He sort of fancied himself

a bit of a trick cyclist,

and he put this dummy hand grenade

into the nest with the cuckoo.

- And you know what the cuckoo done?

- Aye, he tried to hatch it out.

You've heard it.

Anyway, you got to laugh, you know,

because some of these screws are comics.

I mean, take Williams.

There's Stevens there on his chinstraps,

all Williams can think of doing is giving

him the old, ''Attention! About turn!

''Double march! ''

- He's off.

- About turn!

I wonder if he could hatch out

a packet of Player's for Monty Bartlett.

Here, Stevens, that's it. You stick at it,

kiddo. You're a cert for your ticket you are.

Left, right, left, right.

Keep 'em up, boy. Keep 'em up.

About turn more.

About turn. About turn.

Left turn, left turn, right turn.

Double it up. That's it, boy. Double it up.

Come on, boy.

He's dead.

The M.O.'ll have to write out

a death certificate, won't he?

- What will he diagnose, carelessness?

- What's that?

Careless of Stevens to drop dead.

It's a bit late for your jokes, Charlie.

- Word got around yet?

- It will, Bert.

Might be some trouble.

We'd all better be on our toes.

- I'd like to make a suggestion.

- Yes?

Move Williams out of the block.

Put him on the gate

where he can't do so much damage.

But that would be as good as admitting

I think Williams killed the lad.

Bert, I'd sooner have Williams

doubling in here than anybody.

Listen, I ordered Williams

to smarten up the prisoners in Cell 8.

- Yes, we all accept that...

- lf Stevens was fit,

he'd still be here, wouldn't he?

The army judged him A-1.

The M.O. Passed him fit for punishment.

It looks like Stevens was only fit to drop.

That's not your worry, it's the M.O.'s.

Thank you, Bert.

You said you backed your staff.

We ain't celebrating

a glorious victory, Williams.

We're patching up a bloody disaster.

You realize I'll have to make a full report?

We all will, sir.

Well, he was perfectly fit

when I examined him.

- When you did what, sir?

- Oh, when I made...

When I examined him.

You only looked at his watch and chain.

Now look here, Sergeant Major...

You passed him fit.

So I handed him over to Staff Williams.

He was...

Well, he was kept out in the sun too long.

I've checked on his records.

Base job in an office.

Well, anybody could see that.

Suddenly, he's drilling for hour after hour

in the blazing sunshine.

It was fatal in his case.

- Sounds like accidental death, sir.

- Yes.

The man was A-1,

but to come from a base job to this place...

Well, you understand these things

better than me, sir. Accidental death.

- That's what I thought, sir.

- Well, I hope so.

I've dented a few, sir,

but I've never murdered any.

- I wasn't referring to you.

- That goes for my staff, too, sir.

Goodnight, sir.

Accidental death.

But if there's another accidental death,

and you're in any way connected

with it, Staff...

Waiting to find out

what Williams is gonna pull next

is like waiting to go into action.

You know the feeling?

I'm the fellow who refused to go in,

remember me?

You beat up your officer

because he ordered the boys in?

Yeah, that's right,

because he ordered the boys in.

Was he going in hisself?

No, I took them in.

Right away we lost half our tanks.

So I pulled the boys out.

I put the major in the picture.

I told him the situation was hopeless.

If the mines didn't get us,

Jerry's anti-tank guns would.

What'd the major say?

''Get back in.'' He was very calm about it.

He said that he had his orders.

The next thing I knew,

the boys were pulling me off him.

Man, there's too many people in this army

giving the wrong orders.

Somebody got to have the guts to cancel

some of them damn wrong orders.

We'd have no bloody army left

if we didn't obey orders.

Joe.

You feel pretty bad about this, huh?

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