EPISODE 2 Close Quarters
My clothes are becoming impossible to wear. I have to put them on damp.
That is rain water, sir. The salt will be irritating the rash.
But I thought rain water was fresh.
It may be, if you live far enough from the sea.
Is that why my soap won't lather?
Did your servant, Wheeler not give you the ship's issue before he left us?
Good God, is this soap?
I thought it was a brick...
It's saltwater soap.
I do not detect any scent.
And I suppose you think soap's naturally scented, do you?
Is it not?
Come with me, Mr Talbot.
And bring as many of your clothes as you can carry.
We have moved at last out of the fair weather of the Equatorial regions
and are now pushing south.
There is, once more, an unsteadiness in the deck.
A constant canting to the right.
Time hangs heavy.
I amuse myself... pass the time.
What else can a poor devil of a landsman do to occupy himself
on a voyage from the top of the world to the bottom?
Mr Hall!
Mr Hall!!
Cut them away! All hands!
Look to Mr Talbot there!
Mr Willis!
Where is Mr Willis?
You should be tending to the ladies, Phillips.
- What happened? - The wind sir.
The sails was taken aback.
Round Mr Pitts to check the gudgeons.
Have you any idea how much canvas has been flogged into ribbons?
How much hemp there is now good for nothing but stuffing fenders?
- You were on watch Mr Willis! - Sorry, sir.
What are you doing on the deck, boy? Get up when I'm talking to you!
- Sir, Mr Deverel... - What's the boy done now? Curse him!
Mr Deverel!
- You were on watch I believe. - Young Willis was on watch!
There is a Standing Order against leaving a midshipman on watch at sea, sir.
Your absence on deck was criminal neglect, sir.
You may consider yourself under open arrest.
Sod you, Anderson!
- You sodding by-blow! - And Mr Deverel!
You are forbidden to drink!
How is she?
The foremast is sprung so at the moment we cannot fully rig it.
What happened?
A squall must have struck on the wrong side of the sails. We were taken aback.
You should get some more rest, Mr Talbot. You were struck with a rope's end.
I'm fine, Mr Summers.
Only glad the sea has chosen to be calm.
It is no reason for celebration, sir.
The damage has set us back considerably.
We've been borne back into the doldrums.
Talbot! Talbot! Dear fellow, have you heard?
A sail! They've sighted a sail on the horizon!
- Let us hope it's one of ours. - Where's your spirit, man?
They spied her royals and they're white as a lady's kerchief.
She's an enemy, depend on it!
They gave no indication of having seen us?
No sir.
With two topmasts down, there is some chance of us avoiding her.
I have no intention of avoiding her, sir.
If we'll be drawn together and she's the enemy than I shall fight.
We have six grade guns on either beam.
Can we man the starboard side with seasoned men?
Hardly, sir.
Mr Summers, ask the passengers to retire to the saloon.
And instruct the ladies as to the way down to the orlop deck.
They must retire there immediately upon my command.
Come, Mr Talbot.
Just keep her full by, boys.
My precious children.
Come, Mr Pike. Never fear, man.
We're all in this together and we shall give a good account of ourselves.
As for the little girls, be easy. They are far too young for the French.
Mr Talbot!
You have excelled yourself.
- No, I only meant... - The French are as civilised as we.
We may expect to be treated with the same -indeed more- liberty and
generosity as they are by us.
Mr Bowles, you have some experience with the law, I believe.
A solicitor's clerk, sir.
Well, may we civilians not fight?
Seen on deck with a sword and pistol in hand we are legally entitled
to have our throats cut.
Yes, well, you are indeed matter-of-facts so you might even be called...
cold blooded.
There is a way out of it, sir.
Passengers could volunteer,
be sworn in and entered on the ship's books.
Don't know what the situation would be over naval pay in that event.
I share a glass with you, Mr Bowles. You show us all where our duty lies.
How could you volunteer before you know what enemy we face, sir?
Suppose it is...
a ship from the United States of America. - We are at war with America, sir.
Some of us believe she deserves her independence.
I understand they hate the French... almost as much as they hate the British.
I will fight as well as any man here. But I will not fight for my country!
I am leaving it!
I will not fight for 'my ship', or 'my king', or 'my captain'!
So. Mr Bowles will shed any blood, provided writing of his agreement is precise.
Mr Pike will fight for his family, but nobody else.
And Mr Prettiman will aid us against the French and the Dutch but
will spare any American who should be rash enough to come his way.
How could you joke so?!
What does it matter what ship is out there, hidden in the mist,
if it has guns and may shoot them at us!
Come, let us consider the situation.
Now. Maybe the ship... most likely she's not concerned with us.
If she has seen us, well, we are a Royal Navy ship of the line.
The most fearful engine of destruction in this modern century.
A thousand to one we will neither see nor meet that ship again.
I fear it is not so.
That ship, whatever she is, is becalmed as we are.
In a prolonged calm,
ships are drawn together by the mutual attraction of heavy objects.
If the wind does not get up, then we shall inevitably lie side by side.
- I do not find this credible. - it is true, nevertheless.
The captain feels you are better able to conduct yourselves with propriety
if the plain facts are laid before you.
And what are we to do, then?
The gentlemen here have engaged themselves to help in what way they can.
I expected no less and will provide you all the suitable employment.
So much for your attempt at heartening us, Mr Talbot.
Mr Summers has got a better way about it.
I have no sword. Have you a sword, Bowles?
Good God! No, sir.
The ship will have a supply, no doubt.
Mr Brocklebank, you are, forgive me, of a full habit.
Will you descend into the orlop with the ladies?
I have an inclination to stay on deck.
Though I have on numerous occasions depicted the war at sea
yet I have never before had the opportunity of taking notes in battle.
I have often inquired of military men precisely how a cannonball in flight
is visible to the naked eye.
We could not be better situated for the observation!
I only hope darkness is not too far advanced before we are engaged.
On your reckoning, sir, the perfect idea of a cannonball is to be formed by the
gentleman who's having his head knocked off by it.
If it comes, sir - why, it comes.
Half a point to starboard!
Bring her half-a-point to starboard. Roundly.
The oddest thought has occurred to me. I might, in actual fact, be killed.
I have only now realized it -which may seem strange to anyone who
has not been in a like case.
The knowledge is... oppressive.
Edmund.
I thought you was closed up at the guns.
I had letters to write, Deverel.
The captain has lifted your arrest?
Battle pays all debts.
The others have gone down, I urge you to join them.
Good luck to you.
..you gentlemen and emigrants
you lay your hands at such ropes as the captain to the guns may command.
And when he says 'Haul!', you will haul until your guts fall out!
Then you will be as quiet as little mice
So the Frogs do not hear us coming.
And when you have run the guns out -silence, you pick up your guts
you put'em back and you stand waiting.
If we should open fire,
them gun tracks run back so fast you cannot see'em move.
Now.
I've seen gun trucks here.
And I've seen gun trucks back there.
But I have never seen'em half-way. They move so quick!
So, you do not want to be lounging behind'em
or the Frogs will think that you are what they calls... 'confiture'.
Jam, gentlemen. Jam.
Will the... will the enemy be firing by then?
How do I know, sir? Eh?
What do I care?
When fire is opened, things is different.
Very queer how different things is. When a gun is being fired in anger.
Then, gentlemen, you have the full permission of His Majesty the King
to shout. And yell. And shit yourselves.
So long as it's fucking noisy and you hold your guts in as you when told to!
God!
And if any volunteer should think that the far side of the ship is a bit cooler,
or a little bit further from the enemy,
these two little fire irons in my belt are loaded.
Now, my heroes. Run out that gun!
Not that one, sir. That one.
Haul!
Now, now, Mr Talbot, sir. Where was you goin'?
Had we been in action, I'd be forced to put a pellet in your head,
you've come so close to the midpoint!
The gun deck is no place for a man of your heights.
You'll be better on deck where the Frogs can get an eyeful of you
all bloody and glaring.
Keep low as you go, sir.
Come on my lads a round of applause for a gamecock of the afterguard!
- Talbot! You're our first casualty! - Give me a weapon, Deverel.
- A meat axe, a sledge hammer, anything! - You'll board with me?
I will carve up and eat the first Frenchman I come across.
Spoken like a true Briton.
Can you use it?
Well enough.
Wait till Oldmeadow's men have fired or you'll get a lead through you.
- And don't forget your boots. - Boots?
Kick'em in the balls. It's as good as anything. It will all be over in a second.
One way or another. If you're alive after a minute, you'll be a hero.
Might I suggest some heartening message be passed among the men, sir?
Why? The men already had their rum.
Trafalgar, sir.
If you think it proper.
Have the men reminded of the unforgettable signal.
O, and Summers! Remind the men that, with the war going the way it is,
this may well be their last chance for prize-money.
Death or glory...
- They brought out the guns. - Present arm!
- Aloft there! - She missed us, sir!
It was a signal rocket, you young fool!
Here she comes.
Bring her half a point to starboard.
His Majesty's frigate Alcyone. Captain Sir Henry Somerset.
27 day out of Plymouth.
The war with the French is over! God save our gracious King!
God save the King!
God bless you boys, God bless you!
Wheeler?
- Curse it, you drowned. - Allow me, sir.
You're a ghost, Wheeler.
- Surely... - You're wounded, Mr Talbot.
I will bring water to your cabin.
Only think, Mr Talbot! I have served at the guns!
- My congratulations, Pike - Mr Askew remarked
that a few days of gun drill and he would have turned us into prime gunners.
He said that we would be fit enough to fight all the Frogs in the world!
- You are still excited, sir. - Well, I was... and I am.
Bates, some brandy. Bates please consult
with my servant Wheeler about a bottle of brandy and a glass for my hutch.
A glass for Mr Pike. - Thank you, sir.
No... I'm not accustomed to brandy, it
burns my mouth. An ale, if you please.
D'you hear brandy... d'you hear Bates?
Sorry to see you struck down, Mr Talbot.
I had to laugh, it seemed so comical...
Though, of course, it must have been very painful.
It still is, Mr Pike.
Call me Dick. Will you not?
There in the office, they would call me Dickie,
or Dickie-bird... - No, no, the ale is for... um...
When Mr Askew said that you would come so close to the midpoint...
I remember, Mr Pike. I wish to forget the whole lamentable episode.
Of course, sir. If you wish...
Mr Pike, Mrs Pike would appreciate your assistance with the twins.
They're very over-excited.
- Of course, ma'am. - Please be seated, Miss Granham.
I expected to find Mr Prettiman. Phillips was to cut his hair.
- I will look for him for you... - Good heaven! You're wounded! Bates!
Sit down.
- Yes, ma'am. - Fetch me a clean cloth and some water.
Now you do not look at all the thing.
My skull contains now a large fragment of the ship's deck...
You have a lacerated contusion.
Tear it into pieces.
The Alcyone will have a surgeon aboard, I believe.
I've taken harder knocks in fisticuffs, ma'am, I pray you
be not concerned with it.
I'll get you something to eat, sir.
The episode was made to seem... a little comical.
Now I see the result I berate myself for having been amused by it.
It seems that I covered myself with blood, but not glory.
Not as far as the ladies are concerned, sir.
You're quite the hero.
You are tired and concussed, Mr Talbot.
The war is over. And you should rest.
I've yet to ask you, Wheeler, how you came to fall overboard.
I slipped, sir. Three days in the water before the Alcyone picked me up.
You are a lucky dog, Wheeler.
- But you were pushed, surely. - Sir?
You informed on Billy Rogers to the captain, did you not?
And he... the others say he tried to do away with you.
If you say so, sir.
But you drowned...
You must have.
I did, sir.
And the life in me's so strong.
Then you're a ghost, Wheeler.
Ghost.
- I'm sure that it's in your trunk. - I can't wear it!
Well, your trunk is not in there. Oh, I don't know what's happening.
- What are you doing, Mr B? - Papa! Papa!
Oh, wake up man!
No, you can't wear that shirt...
Wake up, man!
Wheeler!
Find something else! Quick!
Yes, that's it!
Found the scarf!
Oh, dear...
Where is... Wheeler!
No, it won't do! It's no good!
Morning, Miss Granham.
Like it, ma'am, you are radiant.
A pretty speech from our gallant defender.
How does your head, sir?
I now know what is meant by heart of oak I appear to be roofed with the stuff.
- Bates, have I missed breakfast? - I've put aside a plate, sir.
All you ladies are going out of your way to delight us.
You do not think highly of the nature of the ladies, sir.
We are prepared for a whole day of festivity.
We shall dine in Alcyone's wardroom.
There is to be a ball, on our own deck and an entertainment presented.
- By our own seamen. - Good God!
Captain Anderson agreed to a ball? Surely not!
Not at first, Mr Talbot, he sat up most upright.
But then Lady Somerset managed Sir Henry who had a word with our captain.
Supposing there is wind
Surely we cannot sail together and dance at the same time.
Oh, no. Lady Somerset feels that there will not be...
Sir Henry says that he relies on her to make the weather behave.
Oh, they are such a delightful and charming couple!
Lady Somerset has a 'fortop' piano but she declares herself sadly out of practice
so she presses Miss Chumley to play it. Oh, she does so delightfully...
- Who is Miss Chumley? - Miss Chumley? Miss Chumley is
An orphan and Lady Somerset's 'prodigy'.
God! She be as finished a musician as that, ma'am?
Ah, well, they taking her with them to India to live with her distant relative.
for she's quite without fortune -except for her skills- her tal...
Ah! So much to do!
Good Heavens! It feels as though I've woken into a dream.
A ball, in the middle of the ocean...
I must own to a most eccentric feeling, in the circumstances.
Almost a universal fright at the prospect of peace.
We are set free from the simple and understandable duty of
fighting for our king and country.
It was all so unexpected and quaint that I had forgot the ringing of my head.
- Mr Talbot. - Captain Anderson.
I came near to being myself, once again.
Sir Henry Somerset, may I present Mr Edmund Fitzherbert Talbot...
Who is to serve His Majesty in the Antipodes.
Mr Talbot. I know of your godfather, of course. How is he?
Troubled by his gout, Sir Henry. But in good spirits, the last I heard.
Good, good. Lunch, gentlemen?
Mr Talbot! Come forward, do.
Lady Somerset, may I present Mr Talbot?
- Lady Somerset. - Such a pleasure.
Come in, Marion. I was laying odds you'll be up and about.
The lightning that struck the top of the mizzenmast ran down and melted
conductor into white hot drops the deck had burst open
and the electrical fluid destroyed me.
It surrounded the girl who stood before me with a white line of light.
Mr Talbot... May I present Marion Chumley?
Poor Marion. She's been positively prostrate with the 'mal de mer'.
Slightest movement - good God! - Up it all comes...
- The Alcyone is lively then Sir Henry? - So-so, Captain Anderson.
An utmost dispatch is utmost dispatch, after all.
- And your ship? - Ooh... steady as a rock, sir.
And even when she were taken aback, she only put her rail under for less than 10...
Gentlemen, you are making the poor child quite pale. You'll say no more about it.
The floor is as steady as a ballroom and I've seen you happy enough on that.
I believe we are to hold the ball aboard of my ship, ma'am, which is
even steadier than this.
Anything is steadier than this... beautiful, wild thing.
I am certain beyond a peradventure
that Captain Anderson would offer up his vessel as refuge
for the rest of your journey, Miss...
Miss Chumley...
Now, now, Mr Talbot.
We're not going to India, we're going to Sydney Cove.
Besides, our ship is full of... passengers, emigrants, cargos...
Miss Chumley, if you would take passage with us, I would abandon my cabin to you.
I shall sleep in the orlop or the bilges.
I shall guarantee to pace the decks at night.
But come sir, we have an empty cabin. I shall move there immediately and
Miss Chumley shall take mine.
To India you must go, Marion. And on Alcyone too... mhmm.
Oh, come straight in, Janet! Down there.
You need not be scared,
nor say anything. You were only brought in to make up the numbers.
...entirely different from theirs...
I understand you are to give us a recital, Miss Chumley.
Where did you hear such a thing?
Rumour went that you was a prodigy, which word I first discounted.
Now...
I see that it was no more than the truth.
- Prodigy, Mr Talbot? - Prodigy, Miss Chumley.
The word was wrongly reported to you, sir.
Lady Somerset is sometimes kind enough to refer to me as her "prot�g�e".
To me, Miss Chumley, prodigy. Ever and always.
Miss Chumley...
I am dazed. No, bedazzled, dazzled.
Have bewitched me already. You must have done so before.
Have we met in Cathay, Tartary, Timbuctoo... where was it?
Mr Talbot, are you travelled?
- No, Sir Henry. - But you... aam...
- Well, I'm sure Marion has not been... - Mr Talbot is making up a fairy story, uncle.
I'm certain he intended for you not to listen, for it is a great nonsense.
Nonsense? Miss Chumley...
- You cut me to the quick. - I would never be so cruel, Mr Talbot.
Fairy tales are not nonsense to some.
The Alcyone is a flyer to have made such a time out of Plymouth.
You must have judged what she will carry to a hair, sir.
As far as Gib she was positively snoring.
You should have been with us back at Plymouth Sound though,
right across from Shit Creek -
they took us out with a steam tug. Good God!
I've never been so astonished in my life!
The smoke! The smoke from that chimney!
My coach cloak was quite spoiled by it.
- Marion said her pillow was black. - Helen!
You did, my dear.
Don't you remember the trouble we had with your scalp?
Come, Lady Somerset! Miss Chumley is not a Red Indian.
Very good.
If I may enquire, Sir Henry, what is a steam tug?
Well, Mr Talbot, it is an extraordinary invention.
And I swear,
nothing but the native genius of our nation could have brought it forth.
It is a craft with a steam boiler.
The force from which makes great paddle wheels rotate on either beam.
That's too much fire for me I cannot like the things.
If one should explode than it might set off an entire fleet like tinder.
Well, that's probably right, but they're building a larger one in Portsmouth.
This shall be the ruin of real seamanship.
Well, they make a devil of a mess.
But there's no denying they towed us out against the wind in under two hours,
whereas it would have taken a whole day kedging.
Might not a larger vessel operate on the high seas?
It's possible, Mr Talbot. But there's not a necessity for it.
Once given sea room, a ship may do well enough for herself.
But might one not build a steam warship that would
paddle out of the harbour and seek the enemy.
When you come in the Government,
I beg you, accept any post but that of the Admiralty.
But you have not answered Mr Talbot's question, uncle.
I'm sure he would make a splendid admiral or.. whatever it is.
If we would have a steamed tug large enough to engage an enemy.
We'd need double the crew to keep'em clean.
Let alone feed'em with coal.
I'm sure the mechanical genius of the British would overcome such difficulties.
Well speak up, Captain Anderson.
You have so much brain as to be found in the service, I think.
The real objection,
if you will have an answer to such a preposterous question,
is this:
If she is to be a warship,
then a paddlewheel on either beam will reduce her broadside.
Secondly: during an engagement,
if a single ball were to strike the flimsy members of her paddle,
she would be rendered uncontrollable.
Well said. Yeah.
We are answered, Mr Talbot. We are beaten from the field.
I'm sorry...
- Oh, really? - Now, isn't that surprising?
One would hardly have thought it.
How true. You're most welcome, Miss Granham.
Miss Granham...
...I wonder...
...if you'll be kind enough to consider...
... the possibility...
...that we might...
...dance.
Tonight, there is to be a ball, Miss Chumley.
And we must dance the night away.
I will beg the allemande of you. And the quadrille.
And the round, and the waltz. And the cotillion.
- Whichever shall I chose? - All, if you please.
It would be improper, sir. You must know that, surely.
Then I'm an advocate of impropriety.
Peace has been declared, sir. Better share it.
You cannot be so cruel as to let me go.
The wind will do so, Mr Talbot.
And tonight I must take your hand for as many -and perhaps rather more-
dances than I thought proper.
If I am seized by the wrist, what can I do but submit?
- The fault will be yours. - I will be brazen.
Wheeler! Wheeler!
- Sir? - Ah, Wheeler.
I need you to take my...
- Devil take it, man, you stink of rum! - I was owed a few seepers...
I require you to take all of my gear across the lobby, to the cabin Mr Colley used.
- I can't do that, sir. - What do you mean, you can't?
- I haven't an order. - I'm giving you an order!
- Captain Anderson... - I've just been with him and
he raised no objection so you need not. Now go! Hurry!
'Non pi� andrai, farfallone amoroso,'
'Notte e giorno d'intorno girando,'
'Delle belle turbando il riposo,'
'Narcisetto, Adoncino d'amor.'
'Delle belle turbando il..' - Mr Talbot!
What is this?
You're not dressed for the ball, Mr Summers.
Why do you wish to change cabin?
I could not think of asking Miss Chumley to use a bunk in which
the poor Mr Colley willed himself to death.
I shall sleep here, she across the lobby, in my hutch.
'Cabin', I should say.
This is impossible. You cannot just...
I will do as I wish! Now answer me, why are you not dressed for the ball?
I told you before. I do not dance.
Oh, come, Mr Summers. All officers dance.
My background is not like other officers'.
Unlike your friend, Lt Deverel,
I was promoted from the lower deck.
A common sailor?
Well then, Mr Summers, I must congratulate you.
What for, Mr Talbot?
For imitating to perfection the manners and speech
of a somewhat higher station in life.
'Delle belle turbando il riposo,'
'Narcisetto, Adoncino d'amor...'
'God save our gracious king'
'Long live our noble king'
'God save our king'
'Send him victorious'
'Happy and glorious'
'Long to reign over us'
'God save the king'
'Thy choicest gifts in store'
'On him be pleased to pour'
'Long may he reign'
'May he defend our laws'
'And ever give us cause'
'To sing with heart and voice'
'God save the king.'
'Here's a health unto his Majesty'
'With a fa la la la la la la'
'Confusion to his enemies'
'With a fa la la la la la la'
'And he that will not drink his health'
'we wish him neither wit nor wealth'
'Nor yet a rope to hang himself'
'With a fa la la la la la la la la With a fa la la la la laaaaaaa'
Well done! Well done!
Bravo!
'The sheep's in the meadow the kye are in the corn'
'Thou ower lang in thy bed, o, bonny at morn'
'Canny at night, oh bonny at morn'
'Thou ower lang in thy bed, bonny at morn'
'The birdie's in the nest, the trout are in the burn'
- She sings well, does she not? - Oh, yes...
A singing master would have wished more tremolo.
And, of course, more practiced presentation, but...
What sir, you...
I apologize, Miss Chumley.
I've been hit over the head and I'm not entirely myself.
You must recover slowly from such injuries
and not be exposed to the profound of human emotions.
I am recovered, Miss Chumley. I must ask you to forgive me, again.
'The lad will not work and the lass will not learn'
I've yet to ask you: why do you travel to India?
Lady Somerset is persuaded that India is the natural paradise.
I believe she may be disappointed.
What about you, Miss Chumley? What are your reasons?
Young persons are like ships, Mr Talbot.
They do not decide their fate, nor their destination.
May I take your hand for the next dance, Miss Chumley?
Oh, perhaps a refreshment first, Mr Talbot.
At once.
No, no, no. Right foot. Sir.
It seems unnecessarily harsh, when room maybe found upon our ship, to subject
your protÃ©gÃ©e to such suffering at the hands of the sea...
Come, come, Mr Talbot. We know who is suffering and who will continue to.
I will not allow circumstances to fault me.
A proper sentiment on a young man.
Why. This is the stuff of poetry.
And here am I, a devotee of the Muses
forced to be the one all poets deride.
No, ma'am.
If you are yourself, and not suffering from your injuries, you would see it as I do.
Marion is in my care. She must remain on the Alcyone.
Mountain won't come to Mahomet...
You dance very well, Mr Deverel.
It's the rum - keeps me in a straight line
Without the rum, sir, can you still dance?
Still in a straight line, only...
Mr Deverel! My chair, I think.
Mr Deverel!
You are placed under open arrest and forbidden to drink, sir.
- Return to your quarters. - By Christ, Anderson!
Quiet, you fool! Say nothing.
Come, Miss Chumley. Let us take the air.
One of the Deverels, is he not? How very unfortunate... mmhm.
How happy they are! How gay!
If only I...
You would not understand, sir. We should return. It is the cotillion.
And I do not wish to disappoint your Mr Willis.
Mr Willis?!
- Impertinent scamp! I'll have his ears for this! - Come, sir.
A moment, Miss Chumley.
Marion...
We must not part.
I offer you...
Can I offer you?
Yes...
I offer you the ruin of my career and the devotion of a lifetime.
I beg you will say no more, sir.
I cannot leave you with as little mark of favour as might be accorded
any gentleman in either ship.
Please, sir, say no more.
Marion, dear.
Stay one minute.
I cannot.
Than tell me you do not regard me as little as these other gentlemen.
I do not, sir.
Good night, Mr Talbot.
Good night, Captain.
Anderson! Anderson!
Turn in, Mr Deverel, you are drunk!
I resign my commission.
As a private gentleman
I issue a formal challenge to a duel.
Mr Deverel, I urge you to turn in.
You are a coward, sir! Accept my challenge or you are a coward!
Inform the blacksmith the prisoner is to be restrained in irons.
Coward!
I did not receive it, Mr Talbot. Pray be witness to that.
Kindly take charge of it.
I do not wish to interfere in a service matter.
Pick it up!
- Mr Talbot! - Sir Henry!
Sir Henry, I must talk to you.
Mr Talbot, come aboard, dear boy.
It's about little Marion, is it not? Hmm.
Charming girl. But if you wish to correspond, dear boy
you must seek permission from Lady Somerset.
- It is more than that, sir. - Good God, the little minx!
She's all sweetness, but sir, I beg you I wish to take passage at Alcyone.
Your face, Talbot. It's bleeding.
Bring forward the ship's surgeon. Quickly, Mr Saunders.
It's just my head. 'Tis but a trifle. I am Mahomet.
Good God! You've been drinking, that's what it is.
No sir! I wish to take passage on Alcyone. You must allow me!!
- But your career my boy... - It means nothing!
- But your godfather. Your mother... - I beg you, sir!
Sir Henry, you must take me to India with you, you must!
- You must! - Hurry man, he needs medical assistance.
I do not! I am Mahomet!!
Sir Henry!
I am Mahomet!
Marion! Marion!!
I tell you who I am. I am Mahomet!
I am Mahomet! Marion!!
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Oh, Lord, hear us. Oh Christ, hear us.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost have mercy upon us.
'We're all laid idle, we're keeping the bairn'
'The lad widnae work and the lass widnae lairn'
Dobbie...
- Dobbie... 'Canny at e'en, oh bonnie at morn'...
'...Thou's o'er lang in thy bed oh bonnie at morn.'
Wheeler!
Marion...
Marion!!
Marion!
You were nearly gone there, Mr Talbot!
You have the advantage of me, sir.
Francis, you careless bugger!
If I see you slip out of the strop I'll have you at the grating!
Forgive me, Mr Talbot, sir. I am Lt BenÃ©t.
with one 'n' and an acute accent on the second 'e'.
French?!
Distantly, sir.
Then you're from Alcyone?
Where else, in this waste of water?
You should return to your cabin, sir.
This is no place for passengers.
Make a run for it!
Now, sir!
If to be restored to a complete understanding of one's situation
is to be healed, then let us all prefer sickness.
You should keep down what you can, sir.
All that I wish for is that this motion would hurry up and finish me.
Lt BenÃ©t has said to be takin' measures to make our passage more tolerable.
He's a valuable addition to our crew.
Then why would Sir Henry want rid of him?
- I believe it was an exchange, sir. - Exchange for what?
Lt Deverel.
By this time, Dashing Jack would be the other side of the Cape.
With my beloved Marion!
It cannot be within the confidence of mere captains to decide such things!
The saying is, once the ship's out of sight of land, a captain can to
anything he likes to you but get you in the family way.
This is too much!
The exchange was a benefit to both captains, sir.
Lt BenÃ©t would still be on the Alcyone now, had he not been so sweet on the captain's lady.
- Lady Somerset? - Sir Henry caught them.
Him on his knees and she not trying to get away very hard.
So, Captain Anderson having an unhappy officer to dispose of and
Sir Henry having an officer to get rid of, the exchange was made.
Carry on!
- Good afternoon, Mr BenÃ©t. - Mr Talbot.
- Are we making good progress, sir? - Four and a half knots.
Surely soon we shall find those westerlies
and be blown all the way to Sydney Cove.
- Indeed, sir. - Mr Benet, a moment.
It had occurred to me that, during your passage aboard Alcyone, perhaps...
you had the opportunity of forming some opinion on the character of Miss Chumley.
She has none.
- I beg your pardon? - She can have none, Mr Talbot.
She's a schoolgirl.
- Miss Chumley... - I have no opinion of schoolgirls.
It's useless to look to them for sympathy or understanding or anything.
They are blown by every wind, sir.
Miss Chumley is no longer a schoolgirl, sir!
She's pretty, I grant you.
Amiable.
- With a trace of wit. - Trace?!
- Malleable... - Mr BenÃ©t!
She's a sporty girl, though. I give you that!
Why, as man to man, had little Marion detained her uncle with some plea
about the conduct of the ship, then -I don't mind telling you-
I should've been a devil of a sight nearer
being caught 'in flagrante delicto' than I was.
She knew about you and Lady Som... She understood?
A criminal connection!
She was accustomed to keep 'cave' for us.
You'll excuse me, Mr Talbot. I have duties to carry out.
Marion...
The voyage continues. A man cannot weep forever.
The ship is making what way she can over a beam sea and with much wind
But our foremast is still shot and we can spread no sail.
We've been too long in the Doldrums and our hull is incrusted with weed.
Miss Granham!
You should take to your cabin in these conditions.
I am perfectly able to reach the passenger saloon, Mr Talbot.
Then perhaps Mr Prettiman should escort you.
He took a fall yesterday, a severe one and has been unable to leave his bunk.
Good God!
I had hoped to ask for a little warm water.
Wheeler!
- Wheeler! - Sir?
- We want some hot water at once. - There isn't any, sir.
Nonsense. You brought some to me just this morning.
Miss Granham is not on my side of the lobby, sir.
Well neither am I since I've changed over.
- Yes, sir. But, sir, I ... - Hot water, Wheeler, and quick about it!
And if necessary, light the damn fire again. And tell whomsoever it should
concern that it was under my instruction.
Please allow me to escort you to your hutch...
'cabin', I mean to say, for you're not a rabbit.
Wheeler will bring your hot water, I promise you.
I will see to that.
Under my instruction.
Now!
Haul away on the messenger, Mr Toner!
- Come on, you idlers! - Tell me, what are the crew doing?
They're rigging a dragrope. Weed on the hull, Mr Talbot.
I was informed that such an operation can only be performed in a harbour or tidal creek.
You will notice that neither are at our disposal, Mr Talbot.
But how can you insure that the dragrope will stick to the hull?
A careful officer will exercise his wits in finding a way round such difficulties.
The dragrope may be held from several directions;
not merely side to side, but fore and aft.
Mr BenÃ©t has proposed a plan which we think will work.
Mr Benton, your men are idling!
You have benefited from the exchange of officers.
Mr BenÃ©t is a real seaman, sir. He's all ropes and blocks and canvas.
There's no steam about Mr BenÃ©t...
Certainly very energetic man...
As far as your opinion of his seamanship is concerned, I must take it on trust.
He will go far in my opinion.
A veritable marine Adonis...
You have a fancy way with words, sir.
I trust he will find a way into your journal.
Pull away at the dragrope!
Roundly now!
The devil take the sea and the Navy together!
They do their best, Oldmeadow.
Well, it's not enough, that's what I say.
Aaaa, Mr Brocklebank, sir.
I've been told you've been forced to keep to your bunk
It is supposed that a little movement may improve me.
Talbot!
Oh... I'm in a sad way.
But so, I am informed, is our ship.
Mr BenÃ©t is endeavouring to rid the hull of weed.
Yes, but will it ease the motion?
I am not sure. But it will increase our speed
- I hear Mr Prettiman took a heavy fall. - Yes, his leg has been smashed to pieces.
I fear, gentlemen, that we shall all be tossed about in this broad ocean
until it finishes us all...
Nonsense, Brocklebank. We shall reach the Antipodes in no time at all.
I have it on good authority from Lt Summers.
Devil take it, men! Would I be this... happy if...
we was going to sink?
I have given much thought to the situation, sir.
I had ample time to consider the future.
It was a question, you see, I've been able to formulate - the great question.
We know how ships are lost:
they run on the rocks or they are sunk in action.
You would have seen in a dozen pictures the battle smoke conveniently placed
And in the foreground - smashed stump of a mast
with three small figures clinging to it.
'HMS Whatnot' ablaze. It's all been seen. All recorded
- I'm not sure, sir, quite what it is that- - Ah, the question. It is this:
How does the ship sink when it is not recorded?
Huh? Every year ships will disappear.
They pass over a horizon and they enter a mystery, gentlemen.
The water may be fair; the water -stealthy.
It creeps on them. Over them.
They pump until they are exhausted. And the water wins!
No one paints a picture of them disappearing into the sea...
swallowed up by... - Damn it, Brocklebank, we will not sink!
You cannot think away of painting the event if...
No, you mistake me, sir. It is not a question of paint.
But a question of conduct.
By Jove, Talbot, he's put his finger on it!
Mr Oldmeadow understands.
How does a man drown when he sees it coming? Huh?
It is a question of dignity, Mr Talbot.
I must have my dignity. How must I drown?
Oblige me, someone, by calling the servant Wheeler.
- Wheeler! - Wheeler!
I beg your pardon, sir. You called for me?
We are interested, you see, Wheeler.
You're about the only man alive who had what must have been a
deuced unpleasant experience.
You'd oblige us by describing...
Brocklebank! Don't! Stop! No - Wheeler...
I don't believe the man's recovered - if he ever will.
No, no Wheeler. Mr Brocklebank spoke in jest.
It would be like asking some poor devil what had happened
after he'd been turned off.
No matter, my man. I am a minority.
That will be all, sir?
Yes, Wheeler. That will be all.
I am at a loss to understand you, sir.
We had what might well be a unique opportunity to understand life.
And what is even more important: understand death!
Unlike you, Mr Brocklebank, I intend to wait on the event.
Ah, Wheeler.
I... feel it is my duty to apologize
on Mr Brocklebank's behalf.
The man's clearly not been well and I...
Good Heavens, man. You're as white as a...
Ghost, sir?
I can't drown, sir. I can't drown!!
For goodness sakes man, pull yourself together!
You'll just have to put up with what happens like the rest of us!
Steady the course, Mr Smiles!
Nicholas! Boatswain!
That was part of the keel.
It was flotsam. Nothing more.
How could it be flotsam, Mr Talbot? It has sank!
Ladies and gentleman! You are in no immediate danger!
The ship has lost her false keel and that is all.
Would you all please return to the lower deck.
Charles! What's happening?
We were dragging a whole coral reef halfway around the world.
I saw a wood.
One through bolt has been torn. Mr Gibbs is plugging the hole.
- Then we are not drowning? - No, Mr Talbot. We are not.
Not today.
Let me through!!
Wheeler!
Poor boy.
He has more sensibility than he knows.
You must lie still for a while, sir.
You must lie still, sir!
Thank you, Mrs Brocklebank.
Believe me, I think I'm now able to rise.
Better, Mr Talbot?
- I'm fully recovered, thank you. - He's not, Mr Summers.
Believe me, ma'am, I regret the necessity,
but I require a moment alone with Mr Talbot.
Your fiancÃ© has also been asking for you, ma'am.
FiancÃ©?
Have you not heard, Mr Talbot?
Why, it is the only good news to grace our ship in weeks.
Mr Prettiman has proposed marriage and Miss Granham has accepted.
- It's a love story. - Is this true, Miss Granham?
It is customary to offer your congratulations at such news, sir...
Of course. I mean - congratulations.
I shall pass on your kind words to Mr Prettiman.
Now, excuse me, sir.
I have been in a faint. But now I'm ready to return, Mr Summers.
- Return, sir? - Why, to my own...
The sooner you answer my questions, Mr Talbot, the sooner Colley's...
-that is, your cabin- is able to be tidied.
Tidied?
That is... landsman's talk.
- You should've said 'made all shipshape' - You were the only witness, Mr Talbot.
Who did it?
Good God man! You know already he did it himself!
- You saw it happen? - Yes.
And I wish to talk no more on the subject.
Only one more question, Mr Talbot.
Have you any knowledge why the wretched man did it?
To the best of my knowledge, he was afraid of drowning.
Men, like cables, each have their breaking strain.
I cannot help but feel there is death on my hands.
Like the ghost of Colley, the spirit of Wheeler is still aboard.
Perhaps it was a young man in the grip of a fever who dreamed of a meal
on board a neighbouring ship.
And all that followed...
A young person will always remember the time
when two ships were side by side in the middle of the sea
And hopes that one day they may put down their anchors in the same harbour.