The Last of the Mohicans Page #8

HEYWARD:

pulling his fusil (short musket), seeing, firing, reaching

for the women...

CORA'S HORSE

bucking.

ALICE'S HORSE

bolting, dodging sideways, spilling Alice to the earth.

AMBROSE:

AMBROSE:

Company make ready!

The regulars slam into a firing line, stepping over the bodies

of their comrades. All thirteen face the incline.

FORESTED RISE - HURONS

flash downhill through the trees. Partnered in two-man teams,

one loads and prepares and fires while the other advances to

the next cover. He, then, prepares and fires covering his

partner's advance. Leaping fallen trees and boulders, they're

athletic, fast and rapidly closing.

Even though the disciplined English regulars are a killing

machine, we now see their tactics in the dense forest are

grossly inferior to the Hurons'...

AMBROSE:

Present!!

CORA:

covers Alice with her body, holding the reins of their bolting

horses.

HEYWARD:

from horseback aims his horse pistol, FIRES...

AN ATTACKING HURON

leaping at him past Alice & Cora drops.

MULE:

with baggage crashes off, down the ravine. Another two

Redcoats drop. Nine left.

Then eight.

AMBROSE:

AMBROSE:

Fire!!

A musket volley as eight muskets go off as one shot, sending

a lead scythe through leaves. But...

REVERSE:

Hurons were behind cover. Only one was exposed and hit.

AMBROSE:

(continuing)

Load! Prime!

The English rush to complete the reload. Will they do it in

time?

AMBROSE:

(continuing)

Present! Present!

Suddenly, Hurons - en masse - CRASH down onto the Redcoats

line with tomahawks, war clubs and point-blank musket fire.

ALICE:

on the ground, screaming insanely, covered by Cora who's

protecting her little sister, and...

HEYWARD'S

horse shot from beneath him, the animal folding, falling

straight to the earth, and...

MAGUA:

shoots Ambrose in the chest, and...

HEYWARD:

by the Munro daughters spins, swinging his fusil like a ball-

bat, upending one Huron and lunges with his bayonet in his

left towards another. But this Huron easily slips the thrust

and slams Heyward with his rifle butt.

BRITISH:

dead and dying.

AMBROSE:

blood gushing from his chest wound, fires his pistol, dropping

a Huron; slashes a second with his sword. Then he's chopped

down. Hurons begin scalping the British while four race

towards Heyward and the two women.

HEYWARD & CORA & ALICE

ready to die. Heyward has only his fusil as a bludgeon. He

readies...

THREE LOUD SHOTS

BLOW three of the Hurons sideways, head over heels down the

rise.

REVERSE:
THREE MEN

barely seen, running diagonally across the fall line of the

ravine. In parts, we recognize Nathaniel, recharging Killdeer

on full run, and Uncas.

HURON'S

not sure where the shots came from. Suddenly Chingachgook

slams him, head first into the ravine with the war club. He

didn't even slow down.

HURON:

warrior spins. Uncas tomahawks his shoulder. The Huron swings

downwards. Uncas ducks beneath the swing and slashes his

throat, sending him downhill into CAMERA as...

HAWKEYE'S

momentum and thrown tomahawk spread-eagles one Huron, near a

couple of wounded Redcoats who fight on...

MAGUA:

calmly sees the odds have changed. His attention becomes

focused. He commits a very revealing act seen through the

blurred foreground action of struggling bodies. We will

remember it. He raises his musket and aims at...

CORA MUNRO:

who's unaware she's a target. Why is he singling out a Munro

girl to kill?

HAWKEYE:

sees. Killdeer's at his shoulder...

TIME SLOWS:
MAGUA

senses Hawkeye. Moving through liquid, his eyes drift left.

The moment is frozen.

Their eyes lock, each to the other's. Then...

TIME UNFREEZES:

Magua swings at Hawkeye and FIRES...

HAWKEYE:

shifts. The .65 caliber musket ball rockets past his ear and

he's already squeezing Killdeer's trigger as...

HAWKEYE'S POV OVER BARREL: SMOKE

from Magua's musket blast clears. Magua's gone. He almost

shape-shifted, it happened so quickly. It's nearly mystical.

HAWKEYE:

lowers Killdeer, impressed.

CORA:

glances back at Hawkeye. She doesn't know why he's looking

at her.

CHINGACHGOOK:

pursues two fleeing Hurons up the incline. Two strides gain

him the first man, who he hamstrings and runs over to pursue

the second up the hill... as...

HEYWARD:

in the confused melee, grabs a found musket and aims it at

an Indian. We recognize that he's aiming at Chingachgook

pursuing the second Huron up the hill...

CORA:

No, Duncan!

Duncan ignores her.

HEYWARD'S MUSKET

is jerked from his hands.

HAWKEYE:

...case your aim is any better'n

your judgment.

He's drawn his sword, reflexively. Hawkeye flips the musket

around one-handed. It's pointed at Heyward's chest. And

Hawkeye FIRES, killing an attacking Huron behind Heyward. As

Heyward spins...

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