The Patriot Page #13

-- Snow's Island. Marion sits with his muddy feet on

Cornwallis' campaign desk, reading Cornwallis' journal,

with Cornwallis' Great Danes at his side.

EXT. CAMDEN - NIGHT

Glittering lights shine from the Camden Inn, a grand

structure in the center of town.

A line of OPULENT CARRIAGES discharges well-dressed

passengers, arriving for a ball. Ladies in their finery.

Patrician husbands. Redcoat and Green Dragoon officers in

magnificent dress uniforms.

INT. CORNWALLIS' PERSONAL QUARTERS - EVENING

Cornwallis, standing in front of a full-length mirror, is

dressed by his VALET while Major Halbert, Colonel

Huntington and Tarleton look on.

CORNWALLIS:

Why am I here, Colonel Halbert?

MAJOR HALBERT:

For the ball, sir?

Cornwallis holds his temper.

CORNWALLIS:

Why, after six weeks, are we still

here to attend a ball. By now, we

should be attending balls in North

Carolina, not South Carolina.

MAJOR HALBERT:

Our supply line, sir?

CORNWALLIS:

Excellent guess, Major.

The valet puts a dress coat on Cornwallis who looks at the

garment with deepest disdain.

CORNWALLIS:

And what, praytell, is this?

VALET:

Uh... I borrowed it from Colonel

North. I took it in at the back,

added wider epaulets, a court sash

and looped gold braiding on the

cuffs...

CORNWALLIS:

It's a horse blanket.

(to Major Halbert)

First my personal baggage, then half

the bridges and ferries between here

and Charleston burned, a dozen

convoys attacked. Colonel, if you

can't secure our supply line against

militia, how do you expect to do so

against Colonial regulars or the

French when they come?

COLONEL HALBERT:

Sir, they're not like regulars, we

can't find them and we don't know

when or where they're going to

strike.

CORNWALLIS:

How impolite. And who leads these

clever, secretive fellows?

COLONEL HALBERT:

We don't know, sir. He's called,

the Commander by some, the Swamp Fox

by others.

CORNWALLIS:

Colonel, I'm a civilized man but I'm

finding to difficult to remain

civil. Secure my supply line.

COLONEL HALBERT:

Yes, sir.

Cornwallis looks at his reflection with dismay, sighs and

strides out. Tarleton, amused, follows.

EXT. CAMDEN STREET - NIGHT

At the far end of town Marion, Gabriel, Billings, Dalton,

Scott and several other men slip through the shadows into

an alley. The lights from the ball shine from down the

street and the MUSICAL STRAINS of a MINUET drift to them

through the night.

EXT. ARMORY - NIGHT

A block-like building on the far edge of town. A pair of

REDCOATS stand guard. A PAIR OF DRUNKEN REDCOATS stagger

out of a side-street, SINGING A MUMBLING SONG. The

Redcoat guards look at the drunk Redcoats enviously.

REDCOAT GUARD:

Hey, what you got there?

The drunken Redcoats look up, bringing their faces into

the light -- THE DRUNKEN REDCOATS ARE BILLINGS AND DALTON.

BILLINGS:

We got our own little party...

DALTON:

To hell with the officers and their

fancy dress ball...

GUARD:

Give us a nip, here.

Billings and Dalton walk over to the Redcoats guards. As

the guards reach for the bottles, Billings SLAMS one of

the guards back against the building...

Dalton DRAWS A KNIFE and PLUNGES IT into the second

guard's belly and HACKS HIM OPEN...

Dalton shoves Billings out of the way, SLITS THE OTHER

GUARD'S THROAT. Billings is taken aback by the speed and

ferocity of Dalton's attack...

Marion and Scott duck into the shadows of the doorway,

pull out hammer-less carving chisels and quickly and

silently start gouging out the wood around the hinges of

the heavy door.

Billings and Dalton take the posts of the guards while the

other men drag the bodies of the real guards out of sight.

Everything appears as it should.

INT. BALLROOM - NIGHT

Grand. Opulent. Cornwallis speaks with a small gathering

of loyalist civilians, among whom is the spectacular MRS.

TALBOT, who wears a daring dress that reveals an enormous

expanse of bosom. At her side stands her toady of a

husband, MR. TALBOT.

MRS. TALBOT

No! The beasts took your dogs, as

well?

CORNWALLIS:

Fine animals, a gift from His

Majesty. Dead now, for all I know.

MRS. TALBOT

Is there no decency?

MR. TALBOT

Among the rebels? We know the

answer to that.

CORNWALLIS:

Yes, we have learned.

INT./ EXT. CAMDEN ARMORY - NIGHT

Marion and Scott shove their chisels through the door

which falls away from the hinges. They all duck inside

finding barrels and casks of gunpowder, boxes of weapons

and hundreds of muskets.

Gabriel and the others load themselves up with the best of

the weapons as Marion opens a cask and pours a trail of

gunpowder across the floor.

EXT. BALCONY - CAMDEN INN - NIGHT

Cornwallis, taking the night air with Mrs. Talbot, gazes

at the moon, achieving the calculated effect.

MRS. TALBOT

You seem far away.

CORNWALLIS:

It's the weight of command and the

lot of a widower -- memories,

loneliness...

(with a self-

deprecating laugh)

... and long gazes at the moon.

Mrs. Talbot sympathetically sighs and touches her

fingertips to her heart which is conveniently located

inches above her stunning cleavage.

MRS. TALBOT

Oh, you poor man...

A MASSIVE EXPLOSION LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT as a FIREBALL

erupts from the armory. British officers, including Major

Halbert and Tarleton, RUSH OUT along with Mr. Talbot and

other Loyalist civilians.

MAJOR HALBERT:

Good God!

Mr. Talbot tears his eyes from the flames and looks at

his wife, clinging to Cornwallis' arm.

MR. TALBOT

These rebels seem to lack fear as

well as decency, eh, General?

Cornwallis registers the insult, glances at the hapless

Major Halbert, then turns to Tarleton.

CORNWALLIS:

Colonel Tarleton, you deal with

these damned rebels.

TARLETON:

Yes, sir.

Tarleton smiles grimly and strides off the balcony.

EXT. VIEW OF PEMBROKE VILLAGE - DAY

The village of Pembroke lies nestled in a valley,

surrounded by tilled fields and small farms.

EXT. PEMBROKE VILLAGE - DAY

Forty of Marion's men water their horses. Marion, with

the two Great Danes at his side, speaks with PETER GREEN,

a middle-aged storekeeper with a marked limp.

GREEN:

... four baskets of apples, salt

pork, sweet potatoes, jerky, hard

tack, salt and powder. It's not

much, but I'll get you more.

MARION:

We can't pay for this...

GREEN:

I'll give you what I can, when I

can. You pay me what you can.

Green's daughter, ANNE, very attractive, around sixteen,

joins them. Gabriel sees her and sidles over.

GREEN:

Francis, you remember my daughter,

Anne.

MARION:

Nice to see you again, Anne.

Gabriel clears his throat. Anne looks at him coolly.

ANNE:

I know who you are, Gabriel Marion.

The last time I saw you, I was nine

and you put ink in my tea.

GABRIEL:

I... uh... that wasn't me, it was

Samuel... I mean Nathan...

ANNE:

It was you and it turned my teeth

black for a month.

GABRIEL:

Uh... uh... I...

GREEN:

He's sorry. Come.

Green heads across the square where some townspeople are

giving Marion's men provisions. Anne and Gabriel follow.

Marion turns to some waiting men, new recruits.

Billings, nearby, reads A POSTED BROADSHEET that

announces:
"Reward Offered: For the capture or death of

the rebel known as 'The Swamp Fox'".

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