Original subtitles

[Inspiring music]

*

He was a good man, davie.

Yes, sir.

Here's the key to the schoolhouse, sir.

Thank you.

I'll go with you as far as the ford.

Yes, sir.

Well, davie, are you sorry to leave this place?

I could answer that, mr. Campbell,

If i knew where i was going or what was likely

To become of me.

'Tis a good place indeed.

But then i've never been anywhere else.

[Chuckles]

And now that my father's dead, i'm-

I'm no nearer to him here

Than i would be in the kingdom of hungary.

To tell you the truth, sir, if i knew i was going

Where i could better myself,

I should be leaving with a good heart.

Very well, davie.

Then it behooves me to tell you your fortune.

Or so far as i may.

You see, davie, when your father,

That worthy christian man, began to sicken for his end,

He gave me this letter, which he said was your inheritance.

"So soon as i am gone," said he,

"Give my boy this letter in his hand

"And start him off for the house of shaws near cramond.

It was there i came from," he said.

"And it's there it befits my boy should return."

The house of shaws?

What did my father to do with the house of shaws?

Who can say?

But the name of the family is the name you bear-

Balfour of shaws.

"To the hand of ebenezer balfour, esquire, of shaws,

"In his house of shaws,

This will be delivered by my son, david balfour."

Mr. Campbell, if you were in my shoes,

Would you go? Indeed i would.

A lad like you should get there in but two days of walk.

Good-Bye, mr. Campbell.

May god be with ye.

And, davie! Yes, sir?

Mind you do not shame us

In yon great house with all those domestics,

Upper and under.

Show yourself as nice and circumspect as any.

Yes, sir.

And as for the laird.

Remember, he's the laird.

I'll say no more.

It's a pleasure to obey a laird

Or should be to the young.

Of course, sir.

Good-Bye, sir.

Good-Bye, davie.

[Rattling]

Which way is cramond?

Down the road, mannie.

Have you heard of a house by there

That they call the house of shaws?

Aye.

'Tis a great house?

Aye.

But the folk that are in it?

Folk? Are you daft?

There's no folk there

To be called folk.

Not mr. Ebenezer balfour?

Ou, ay, there's the laird, to be sure,

If it's him you're wanting.

It's none of my affairs,

But you seem a decent-Spoken lad.

And if you'll take a word from me,

You'll steer clear of the shaws.

Mother.

Which way is the house of shaws?

The house of shaws?

- Aye. - That is the house of shaws.

Blood built it,

Blood stopped the building of it,

And blood will bring it down.

And if you see the laird,

Tell him what you hear-

That this makes the 1, 219th time

That jennet clouston has called down her curse

On his house, byre, and stable,

Man, guest, or master,

Wife, miss, or bairn!

Black be their fall.

[Tapping]

[Birds cawing]

[Knocking]

[Coughs]

Is anybody there?

[Coughs]

Is anybody there?

Is mr. Balfour there?

Open this door.

You can hear me!

Open this door!

[Creaking]

It's loaded.

I'm here with a letter to mr. Ebenezer balfour.

Then put it down on the doorstep, and be off with ye.

I will not.

'Tis a letter of introduction.

And i will deliver it to mr. Balfour's own hands.

And who are yourself?

A balfour just as he is-

David balfour.

Is your father dead?

Aye, he'll be dead no doubt,

And that'll be what brings you to my door.

Enter the kitchen, will ye?

And touch nothing!

Are you sharp-Set?

Can you eat that drop of porridge?

But no doubt that's your own supper.

Oh, i can do fine wanting it.

I'll take that bit of small beer.

It slockens my cough.

Now give me alexander's letter.

How did you know my father's name?

It'd be strange if i didn't,

For he was my born brother.

And little as you seem to like me

Or my house or my good porridge,

I'm your born uncle and you, davie,

My born nephew.

So the letter's for me and for nobody else in the world.

Now sit down and fill your belly.

Do you ken what's in this?

The seal wasn't broken.

You saw that yourself.

Aye, but what brought you here?

You'll have had some hopes, no doubt.

Aye, sir.

When i heard that i had kinfolk well-To-Do,

I did think they might help me in life.

But i want no favors that are not freely given.

Hoot-Toot, do not fly up in the snuff at me.

If you're done with that bit of porridge,

I could just take a sup of it myself.

Has your father been long dead?

Three weeks, sir.

He was a secret man, alexander-

A secret, silent man.

He'll never have spoken much of me?

I never knew he had a brother

Till you told me so yourself.

Dear me.

And the house of shaws?

He never spoke of that either, i dare say.

Not so much as the name.

To think of that.

Strange nature of a man.

And now come away to your bed.

Yes, sir.

[Key rattling]

We'll agree fine yet, davie, my man.

I'm just as glad i let you in.

Good night, dear davie.

Will you leave me no candle?

Did nobody ever tell you that a candle costs money?

[Key rattles]

Ebenezer balfour, esquire...

of shaws...

in his house of shaws.

Your breakfast's ready!

Bond, wholesome food porridge.

And cheap.

Aye, and cheap.

I don't imagine that you'd take small beer

To your breakfast.

I do, but don't put yourself out.

No, no, i'll deny you nothing

In reason.

[Chuckling] you see, davie,

You came to the right place

When you came to your uncle ebenezer

For i have a great notion of the family,

And i mean to do right by ye.

But i'm a poor man.

Never forget that.

For my father sinfully wasted the estate

When he began to rebuild this house.

Mind ye, i sent the workmen packing ten minutes

After he was dead, but it was too late, davie.

It was too late.

That's not how jennet clouston tells it.

Jennet clouston?

And what did jennet clouston say?

That blood built it,

Blood stopped the building of it,

And blood will bring it down.

And she told me to tell you

That this makes the 1,219th time

That she called down a curse on your house.

A witch. A proclaimed witch.

1,219?

That's every day since i had her sold up.

I'm off to see the session clerk.

I'll have her roasted in red peats

Before i'm by with her.

There's too much here.

I can't leave you by yourself in the house.

I'll have to lock you out.

If you lock me out,

It'll be the last you see of me in friendship.

David, this is not the way to win my favor.

Sir, with a proper reverence for our common blood,

I do not value your favor at the penny's purchase.

And if you are all the uncle

And all the family i have in the world,

I wouldn't buy your liking at those prices.

Well-Ell, we must bear and forbear.

I'll not go.

That's all that's to be said of it.

[Lightning crashes]

[Thunder]

When my father was little,

Was he quick at his book?

Alexander? [Chuckles]

Not him.

I was far quicker myself.

I was a clever chappie when i was young.

I found this on the shelf.

"To my brother ebenezer

On his fifth birthday."

In my father's own hand.

Yet you are the laird of shaws.

So wasn't he younger than you?

What made you ask that?

Because if he wrote this when he was only four,

He must have been very quick indeed at his book.

And take your hands from my jacket.

This is no way to behave.

You shouldn't speak to me of your father, davie.

That's where the mistake is.

He was all the brother that ever i had.

[Thunder]

Nevertheless, there are things that i don't understand.

And whether you like me to speak of my father

Or whether you do not,

I intend to find them out.

So be it, davie.

So be it.

Go on up there.

At the top of the tower, there's a wee room

With a chest in it.

Bring the chest down to me.

There are papers in it that'll tell you everything.

Very well.

Uh, do not take the light.

I'm not well, davie.

I'm an old man, and i'm not well.

Get along, lad. Get along.

[Gasps]

[Thunder]

Are you alive?

Oh, man, are you alive?

That i am, and small thanks to you.

The wee bottle on the mantelpiece.

[Whimpers]

It's the trouble.

The trouble, davie.

It's the heart. [Hiccups]

You're quite well enough to speak now.

So follow on with your explanation.

And now you have one more thing to explain-

Why you tried to kill me.

For pity's sake, let me go to my bed, davie.

I'll tell you everything the morning.

As sure as death i will.

Very well.

But this is where you'll sleep.

- Good night to ye. - Good night, uncle ebenezer.

[Locks door]

[Knocking at door]

What cheer, mate? Here's a letter for your master.

From captain hoseason himself.

And who might captain hoseason be?

Never heard of hoseason,

Captain of the brig covenant?

And a man what minds for nothing

In heaven nor on earth.

Why, he'd crack on all sail into the day of judgment, he would.

And i'm his cabin boy and proud of it.

You see, davie,

I have a trading venture with this man hoseason.

And now he writes that he's ashore at queensferry

And ready to sail.

Look for yourself.

He wants to meet me at the inn

For we have business to settle.

So have we. And ours comes first.

No, no, davie man, do not be hasty.

For after all that's come and gone,

I doubt if you would believe me upon my naked word.

Your doubt is right.

But, you see, there he writes

Of mr. Rankeillor, the lawyer.

Now after we're done at the inn, we'll jog on to mr. Rankeillor,

And there's a man you will believe.

For he's lawyer to half the gentry in these parts-

An old man, forby, highly respected,

And he knew your father.

Very well.

We'll go to the inn

And directly afterwards to mr. Rankeillor.

What do they think of mr. Ebenezer here abouts?

That he's a wicked old man.

Many would like to see him dancing at the end of a rope.

Jennet clouston, all the other folks

He's hurried out of hearth and home.

He was a fine young fellow once,

But that was before the report went out about mr. Alexander.

Mr. Alexander?

What was the report about mr. Alexander?

Only that ebenezer killed him.

You never hear that, man?

What would he kill him for?

Just to get the place.

The house of shaws?

No other place that i ken.

Then my--Then alexander was the eldest son.

Indeed he was.

What else would he have killed him for?

Master davie, your uncle tells me great things of you.

I wish i was for longer here

That we might make the better friends.

But you must come aboard my brig for half an hour

Till the ebb sets and drink a bowl with me.

Well, i'm on my way to mr. Rankeillor, the lawyer.

And so is my uncle.

Aye, he passed me word of that.

But the boat'll set you ashore at the town pier.

Rankeillor's...

take care of that old fox. He means mischief.

Come on board till i can get a word with ye.

We must be fast on board.

Welcome to my ship, mr. Balfour.

And now let me show you the lie of her.

Mind ye, she's only a small, trading boat,

Sailing for the most part from here to the carolinas.

But she's home to me, mr. Balfour.

That's my berth.

Now since the mates are never off duty together.

They use the other- Turn and turnabout.

Here i keep all the valuable of the ship stores-

Brandy, for instance.

But to tell the truth,

My first mate's only too fond of that.

In here, pistols, powder, and shot.

You never know what sort of ruffian

You may ship up on your crew.

- Over here-- - Wasn't there something

You were going to tell me?

Something about my uncle?

Was there, young man?

Was something about my old friend mr. Ebenezer?

Where is my uncle?

That's the point, young man.

Come back! Come back!

Bring back that boat!

[Creaking]

Take the boy out of this hole

And put him in the forecastle.

Why should he not bide here?

After what you did to him

And the fever he has in consequence,

It wouldn't be beyond him to die in a place like this.

Well, you was paid to get rid of him, wasn't you?

Mr. Shaun, you've been with me three cruises,

And if you'd spent less time at the bottle,

You might have got to know me.

I'm a stiff man, and i'm a dour man,

But i'm a man of principle.

And i'll have no part in murder.

Very noble of you.

Besides, if he's dead when we reach the carolinas,

He'll not be worth a scotch shilling.

Mr. Shaun, take the boy to the forecastle.

Drunk or sober, you'll obey my orders.

Take him to the forecastle,

And be quick about it.

Told you that's where he should have been

In the first place.

One day, he'll go too far.

Look. I'm sick and tired of being knocked about.

And, one day, i'm gonna use it.

Well, who got you into this?

My uncle.

Gah, i'm lucky.

Don't have no relations at all.

I had a father once, though.

I remember he kept a jackdaw in the parlor

What could whistle rule, brittania!

But i ain't heard tell of him or the jackdaw

Since i went to sea when i was nine.

I'd tell you how long ago that was,

But i lost count.

Come on.

Can you walk, matey?

I think so.

Lean on me.

I'm little, but i'm strong.

What did your uncle want to get rid of you for?

I don't know the whole fact of it yet.

But he's a crafty, old miser who's stolen an estate

That doesn't belong to him.

Who do it belong to?

Me.

And when i get out of here, i'll be rich.

Well, ain't that lucky.

But you know something, matey, it may be a longish time.

Didn't you hear what they said about the carolinas?

It's as plain as the nose on your face.

The captain's planning to sell you off as a 20-Pounder.

A 20-Pounder?

You know what they is.

Indentured servants on the plantations.

Yes, matey,

You may be rich,

But you'll be hoeing tobacco in the carolinas

For the next seven years.

Mr. Balfour, you mustn't think i hold anything

Against you personally.

An uncle must be judge of what's best for his nephew,

For the ways of providence are inscrutable.

Very well. If you wish-

[Indistinct arguing]

Mr. Shaun! Mr. Shaun!

[Boy screams]

I knew it would come.

Mr. Shaun has done for him at last.

Mr. Balfour...

mr. Balfour, move your berth aft.

You'll serve in the deckhouse in his place.

You were not here before.

There was another boy.

Yes, sir.

I thought so.

The boy is dead, mr. Shaun.

The boy is dead?

That was the other boy.

The other boy's dead.

[Glass shatters]

You sot and you swine,

Do you know what you've done?

You've murdered the boy.

Balfour, put him in his bunk.

Go on. Do as i say.

He made me throw away a bottle of brandy,

And there's no sense in that.

Here, get me another one from the locker over there.

Balfour, this night's work must never be known.

The lad went overboard, that's it.

That's what the story is.

And i'd give five pounds out of my pocket

If it were true.

[Snores]

Listening for the breakers.

We're not past the hebrides,

And weather like this you don't see in ireland,

You hear it.

Look out!

Starboard! Hard to starboard.

Hard to starboard, sir.

A fishing boat from the shore.

We must have cut her in two.

What were they about on a night like this?

It's no use lowering a boat.

There's a man here on the bowsprit.

When we struck, her stern went in the air.

He must have jumped for the bowsprit.

There's something strange about this.

That's no ordinary fisherman.

Good evening to you, captain.

It seems to me you keep a poor lookout on this ship.

I could say the same about the crew of your boat.

You have nothing against them, sir.

They were my friends,

And now they're at the bottom of the sea.

You have a scottish tongue in your head,

But the french king's uniform on your back.

You see ill in that, sir?

Now there's no need to do a mischief

Before you see the need of it.

There's many a highland gentleman

Who fought for prince charlie in the year '45

And, when he was beaten, followed him to france.

Are you one of us, captain?

No, sir.

I'm for king george, i'm a true-Blue whig,

And i thank god for it.

But for all that, i can be sorry to see a man

With his back to the wall.

David.

Very well, i'll be plain with you.

I was on my way back to france,

And there was a french ship

Cruising here to pick me up,

But we missed in the fog.

And if i get into the hands

Of any of the red-Coated gentry,

Very likely it'll go hard with me.

So if you can take me to where i was going,

I'll reward you highly for your trouble.

To france?

No, sir, that i cannot do.

But to set you ashore where you came up from...

[coins clinking]

Now we might talk about that.

Half of what's here, and i'm your man.

The money's not mine.

It belongs to my chief.

And i wouldn't use it to buy my carcass any too dearly.

30 guineas if you set me on shore at the linnhe loch.

You can take it if you like, or do your worst.

And if i hand you over to the red coats?

You'll be making a fool's bargain.

My chief has forfeited, and his estates are in the hands

Of the man from hanover that they call king george.

And his officers collect the rents or try to,

Because, for the honor of scotland,

The tenants have not forgotten their chief in exile,

And they send their rents to him under the nose of king george.

And this is it--The money king george is looking for.

So, you see, sir,

You could bring it within reach of the government-

How much of it will come to you?

Little enough to be sure,

If they knew whose money it was.

But i think, if i was to try,

I could hold my tongue about that.

And i'll have you there too.

Play me false, and i play you cunning.

If a hand is laid upon me,

They'll know what money this is.

Very well. What must be must.

30 guineas and done.

Here's my hand on it. And mine.

[Door opens and shuts]

Well, boy, doubtless this is the first time

You've seen a wicked rebel.

Aye, sir.

By your long face, you should be a whig.

I am for king george, my lawful king.

He's not the--Well, we won't quarrel about that just now.

Your bottle's dry.

It's hard if i'm to pay 30 guineas to be denied a dram

On the back of it.

I'll fetch the key, sir.

It's not an easy thing with no pistols with us,

Only our cutlasses.

And the man has a look of a fighting man.

I take your meaning, mr. Shaun,

But i'll give you my word.

You'll get your finger on half the guineas in his purse.

Does that satisfy you?

Aye.

Better where he is.

He hasn't room to use his sword.

We'll keep the man in talk.

Well, what is it?

The gentleman's seeking a dram,

And the bottle's out.

Very well.

- David. - Yes, sir?

Do you know where the pistols are?

In the locker by the other door.

You see, david, that wild highlander

Is a danger to my ship,

Besides being a foe to king george, god bless him.

Now the trouble is that all our firelocks

Are in the deckhouse under this man's nose,

Likewise the powder.

Now, if we were to go in and take them,

He might fall to thinking.

But a lad like you might snap up

A powder horn and a pistol or two

Without remark.

If you can do it cleverly,

I'll bear it in mind

When it'll be good for you to have friends-

And that's when we come to the carolinas.

Aye, sir.

One of our good captain's pipes

And his excellent carolina tobacco.

There's no other way, sir.

I have to tell you. Tell me what?

That they're planning to kill you.

But it's true, sir.

They're all murderers here.

They've murdered a boy already,

And now it's to be you.

Would you stand with me?

I will.

It'll be the two of us against the whole ship.

I'll stand with you, sir.

Well, then. What's your name?

David balfour... of shaws.

And mine's stewart.

Alan breck stewart.

Now, mr. Balfour, let's look to our defenses.

I have my sword and my dirk.

You'll have to make do with a sailor's cutlass.

I have the key to the pistols, sir.

Good. Then you can fight like a gentleman.

Now there are two doors, four windows,

All weather-Boarded.

You bolt your door...

yes, sir. And i'll open mine.

Why open it?

Now don't argue with me so soon, mr. Balfour.

That door is the best part of my defenses.

I only have one face,

And if the door is open

And my face towards it,

The best part of my enemies will be in front of me,

Where i would always wish them to be.

Your post is at the window.

And don't fire to this side unless they get me down.

I'd sooner have ten foes in front of me

Than one friend cracking pistols at my back.

This is a strange return of a hospitality.

Sir, i am come of kings.

And i bear the king's name,

And this sword has slashed the heads off more whigs

Than you have toes to your feet.

So call your vermin to your back...

and fall on.

I'll mind this, balfour.

Now let your hand rule your head,

For the grip is coming.

Mr. Shaun, you will attack to the open door

Where no doubt they expect the main battle.

While you engage them there,

My men will break through the door on the other side.

As you will.

Ye afraid, mr. Balfour?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir, i am.

Bravely said.

There's many a fine, handsome gentleman

That wouldn't a-Dared to say it.

Very well, mr. Shaun.

Come on.

[Shouting]

That's him that killed the boy.

Look through your window.

Right, break it down.

[Gunshot]

[Moans]

[Gunshots]

Hey, come back!

Come back!

I've settled two. How about you, mr. Balfour?

- I think i winged the captain. - Good.

That makes three.

There's not enough blood let.

They'll be back again.

[Muffled whispering] i can hear them.

I think they're planning something.

That's just what we want.

Unless we can give them a distaste of us

And be done with it,

There'll be neither sleep for you nor me.

[Creaking]

They're all around us.

Aye, mr. Balfour.

And this time, they'll be in earnest.

[Whistle blows]

[Gunshot] [shouts]

Mr. Balfour, mr. Balfour!

Mr. Balfour!

Get below, you scurvy rats.

[Laughs]

[Footsteps]

Man, am i not a bonny fighter?

David balfour, i love you like a brother.

[Sobbing]

Oh, is it because you've killed a man?

I ken what you're feeling.

I remember it myself.

When i was an age to you.

It's rest you're needing.

I'll take the first watch

And clean up this filth.

There's one thing i mislike about your tale

Than the villainy of your uncle,

And that is that your minister has the name of campbell.

Mr. Campbell.

But he's a man you'd be proud to give your hand to.

I'd give nothing to a campbell,

Unless it were a leaden bullet.

If i was dying, i'd crawl on my knees

To a window to get a shot at one.

What ails you at the campbells?

I'm an appine stewart.

And the campbells have long harried and wasted

The people of my name.

Aye, and taken lands of us out of treachery

And never with a sword.

Heh. What happened

When the clans were broken at culloden,

And the good cause came down, and the horses ran up

To their fetlocks in the best blood of the north,

And my chieftain had to flee like a deer in the mountain

And his lady and his bairn?

And the campbells stripped him of his land

And plucked the weapons out of the hands of the clansmen

That held arms for 30 centuries.

Aye, and the very clothes from their backs,

For now it is a crime to wear a plaid tartan.

And a man may be cast into jail

That he has a kilt about his legs.

But the one thing they couldn't kill

Was the love they bore their chieftain.

These guineas are proof of that.

Then there steps in a campbell-

Red-Headed colin roy that men call the red fox.

He gets a paper from king george

That he's an agent in the lands of appin.

And when he finds out

The tenants are sending their rents overseas

To their chieftain, the black campbell blood in him runs wild.

Oh, will a stewart get a piece of bread

That i cannot prevent it.

So he's sending for lawyers and papers and red coats

To stand at his back.

And soon the kindly folk of the country

Will have to pack and tramp,

Each father's son from his father's home

And from the lands where he was fed and bred

And played as a lad.

[Chuckles]

The red fox-- If ever i get you at gun's end,

The lord have pity on you.

I mean that, david.

If a day comes when i have time and leisure

For a bit of hunting, there's not enough heather grows

In scotland that can hide him from my vengeance.

It seems to me, mr. Stewart,

That you're neither very wise nor very christian

To blow off so many words in anger.

For they will do the man you call the red fox no harm

And yourself no good.

That's a good observe,

Barring that about christianity,

Of which my opinion is quite otherwise,

But i'm much of your mind.

Opinion here or opinion there,

It's a known fact that christianity forbids revenge.

Aye?

It's easily seen that a campbell taught you.

It'd be a very convenient world for them and their sort

If there was no such thing

As a lad with a gun behind a heather bush.

[Chuckles]

But you're a grand man in a fight, david,

Even though you have whig blood in you.

These i had from my father.

And he from his father before him.

Here, a keepsake for the fight we made together.

And wherever you go, if you show that button,

The friends of alan breck will come around you.

Balfour, tell your friend i'm here for a parlay.

Will you give me your word you'll try no treachery?

I do.

I give my word.

Put those things up.

Have i not passed my word?

I doubt not your word is breakable.

Last night, you haggled and argle-Bargled

Like an apple-Wife, then gave me your word

And your hand to back it,

And you ken well what was the upshot.

Be damned to your word.

You'll get little good by swearing.

And there are other things to speak of.

You've made a sore hash of my brig.

I've not men enough to work her.

There's nothing left but to run south to glasgow

For fresh hands.

And you'll have a bonny tale to tell there.

A dozen tarry sailors on the one side,

A man and a halfling boy up on the other.

Oh, it's pitiful.

Tell 'em what you like.

But first set me ashore as we agreed,

And my friend too,

For i intend to see him on his way to his estate.

How can i put you ashore?

My first officer's dead.

You know best how.

There's none of us acquainted with this coast.

And it's one very dangerous to ships.

You want the 30 guineas or do you not?

If you do, set me on dry land at appine,

Morven, or ardgour-

Anywhere within 20 miles of my own country,

Excepting the country of the campbells.

That's a broad target.

If you miss it, you must be as feckless

At sailoring as i found you at fighting.

It's to risk my brig and your lives along with her.

Take it or want it.

As you will.

But if i'd lost less money on this unchancy cruise,

I'd see you with a rope's end before i risked my ship.

Are you acquainted with this coast?

I've been picked up and set down in it often enough.

Then come and help me pilot my ship.

Is this one of your tricks? Do i look like tricks?

My brig's in danger.

What do you call that?

The sea breaking on the reef.

So you know where the reef is. What better do you want?

Aye, if it was the only one.

If i'd known about these reefs, it's not 30 guineas,

No, nor yet 300 would have made me risk my brig

In such a stone yard.

I'm thinking that's what they call the torran rocks.

Are there many of them?

I'm no pilot, but it sticks in my mind

That there's ten miles of them.

Is there a way through them?

Doubtless, but where?

It also runs through my mind

It's clearer in under the land.

Very well, sir. We'll try your way of it.

But i may as well trust to a blind fiddler.

Pray god you're right.

Pray god i am.

Hard to port! Hard to port.

Hard to port, sir.

This is not the kind of death i fancy.

You're not afraid, are you?

No, but i'm more of a fighting man than a sailor man,

And you'll allow it's a very cold ending.

Clear water ahead, sir!

You were right, sir.

You've saved my brig.

And i'll mind that when we come to clear accounts.

Bring her up a point.

One more reef to leeward.

A point to port.

A point to port, sir.

Easy now. Easy.

[Gusting wind]

[Wood creaking]

Look out, forward!

Hold on. Hold on!

[Speaking gaelic]

You're wasting your breath.

I'm no highlander, and i have no gaelic.

[Speaking gaelic]

You mean you're going to steal from that stinking tub.

Don't fuss yourself, for i'll not interfere with you.

[Speaks gaelic] och, no.

I was swept ashore last night

On the other side of the island.

And all i want is someone to guide me to the mainland.

Well, that'll cost you two shillings.

So you do have english.

Only when it's needful.

Did you see anyone from the ship?

- Aye. - Did any get ashore?

Aye, they went away to the mainland.

A man dressed like a gentleman

With a uniform under his coat?

Aye, there was a great gout like that.

Oh, no two shillings to guide you,

But then you'll be hungry, and i'll have to give you food.

And when i'm gone, maybe someone else will come

And find this wreck of mine

And take what doesn't belong to him.

All together it'll cost you five shillings.

You said two shillings!

Oh, well, find your own way then, manny.

Very well.

Five shillings.

Come then.

There's where you go, manny.

Over the hills and far away.

And where you go too.

I paid you good silver to guide me.

[Speaks gaelic]

I know what will bring your english back.

[Coins rattle] aye, another five shillings,

And i'll lead you to the ferry.

You're a cheat, and you're a liar.

And i'd starve to my death in the mountains

Before i gave you one penny more.

Give me five shillings in my hand.

[Dog barks; gulls cry]

Is it you that keeps a ferry?

Everybody knows that.

I'm seeking somebody,

And it comes in my mind that you may have news of him.

His name is alan breck stewart.

I am very much affronted.

This is not the way

The clan gentleman should behave to another.

The man you ask for is in france,

But if he were in my sporran and your belly full of shillings,

I would not hurt a hair of his head.

[Barks]

Now pick up your dirty money and be off with you.

Yes, sir.

Just a minute.

Are you, by any chance, a shipwrecked man?

Aye.

And have you, by any other chance,

A silver button?

Yes, sir.

Well, i think you might have started

With that end of the stick, whatever.

Now come you with me to my boat,

For i've the word to see you come safe.

Two things i tell you plain, young man.

There is a name you must never take in your mouth,

And that's the name of alan breck.

And there's a thing you must never do,

And that is to offer your money to a highland gentleman.

Well, i've just left one over on the other side

Who wouldn't do anything without it.

There are highland gentlemen and highland gentlemen.

And as you are only a lowlander,

You have not the sense to tell the one from the other.

[Dog barks]

It's the land of appin-

And a hard country for men to care as much about

As the appine stewarts do.

Yonder is duror of appin,

And there you must ask for james of the glens,

Who is brother to the chief.

Your friend is on his way there

And will join you when he can.

When he can?

The noise is that colin roy campbell,

The man they call the red fox,

Is coming with his soldiers to turn the stewarts

Out of hearth and home.

It's a chancy day in appin,

And you must take care to walk softly.

But i'm no jacobite or no rebel,

For i was born a true-Blue whig.

We can none of us help what we were born.

[Jangling]

Well, boy, where are you off to?

To duror of appin, sir.

And if you know it, i'd be obliged

If you'll tell me where i will find james of the glens.

James of the glens.

There's many a man who would think this is an omen.

Here am i on my road to duror

For the job that you ken,

And a young lad waits in a wood

And asks me for james of the glens.

This is an ill subject for jest, mr. Campbell.

Very well.

What does it mean?

Does it mean that james is gathering his people against us?

If you're thinking of me, sir,

I am neither of his people nor of yours,

But an honest subject of king george,

Owing no man and fearing no man.

Very well said, sir.

But if i may make so bold,

What does an honest man so far from his country?

And why does he seek james of the glens,

Brother to the chief of appin?

I have power here, sir, i must tell you.

I am the king's agent

With 12 files of soldiers at my back.

If you'd asked me for james of the glens

On any other day but this,

I should have set you right and bidden you godspeed.

But today when you ask me this,

Today-

Take care, sir.

[Gunshot]

[Gasps]

Mr. Campbell. Mr. Campbell.

There he is!

Stop that boy!

He's an accomplice, posted here to keep us in talk.

Ten pounds if you take him.

Follow them! [Gunfire]

- In here. - Alan.

Come on.

Spread out! Spread out!

There they go.

[Gunfire]

In here.

Come on.

[Sighs]

Well, yon was a hot burst.

[Groans]

Are you still wearied?

No, i'm not wearied now,

And i can speak.

I liked you very well, alan breck,

But now a campbell man lies dead on the road,

And your ways are not my ways,

And they're not god's ways.

And the long and the short of it is that we must part.

Oh, so that's it.

Well, let me tell you, mr. Balfour of shaws,

If i was gonna kill a man, i wouldn't do it

In my own country and bring trouble on my clan,

Nor would i set out to shoot him without any gun in my hand.

You mean you had nothing to do with it?

I swear by the holy iron

That i had neither art nor part, thought nor act in it.

Such a fuss about a campbell.

They're not so scarce.

That i ken.

Still, you do know who did do it.

Well, i wouldn't conscientiously swear to it.

But he must have run close past you.

Aye, to be sure.

But it's a strange thing that, just at that moment,

I was tying my shoe.

Further more, if i had seen him,

I have a grand memory for forgetting.

And another thing,

It seemed to me that, once or twice,

You exposed yourself to draw the soldiers after us.

That's very likely.

And if you were in the shoes of the lad that fired the bullet,

You'd be a deal obliged for it.

You see, mr. Balfour, them that haven't dipped their hands

In any little difficulty should be very mindful

Of the case of them that have.

And that's the good christianity.

Well, i'll not say it's the good christianity

As i understand it,

But it's good enough.

[Chuckles]

Tomorrow there'll be a fine to-Do in appin.

You and i must be far away.

You and i?

You may have reason to run from the red coats,

But it seems to me that i'm running away

From plain, common sense.

Alan, this is no quarrel of mine.

My quarrel is with my uncle,

And eager i am to get back to settle it.

So let me go my way as an honest traveler.

And if they take me,

I've done nothing wrong.

And i'll trust to the justice of my country.

Justice!

[Laughs]

Man, sometimes i wonder about you.

That was a campbell that was killed.

If you're taken, you'll be tried at inverara,

The head place of the campbells,

With campbells swarming all over the jury box

And the biggest campbell of them all lording it on the bench.

No, david, we're in the highlands,

And if i tell you to run,

Take my word and run.

Mind you, i'll be no small thing.

You'll have to lie bare and hard and brook many an empty belly.

Your bed'll be the moorcocks,

And your life will be like a hunted deer's,

And you'll drag many a weary foot ere we get clear.

But if you ask me if you have another choice,

I'll answer, "none."

Either you take to the heather with me, or--Ssk!

You'll hang.

Well, that's a choice very easily made.

I'll prove myself a gomerel.

The day has found us where we never ought to be-

Glencoe, and a pass they're bound to watch.

Well, now it's no worse to go forward than back.

Spread out on the right!

Down there.

Come on.

Come on. Jump!

Jump!

[Whinnying]

[Metal clacks]

[Shouts in gaelic]

I'm me, alan breck stewart.

Alan breck stewart.

[Speaking gaelic]

We couldn't have fallen better. These are cluny's men.

We're to bide with them until they get word

To their chief that i'm here.

Well, i do not ken who cluny is,

And i do not care for his men,

But i would like finally to get some sleep.

Well, mr. Stewart, come awa', sir,

And bring in your friend that as yet i do not ken the name of.

And how's yourself, cluny?

You do brawly, i hope, sir. I'm proud to see you.

And to present my friend, the laird of shaws, david balfour.

I'm glad to make the both of you welcome to my house.

It's a queer, rude place for certain,

But since my estates are forfeit and there's a price on my head,

This is one of the burrows that serves me well.

And now we'll take a dram for luck.

And as soon as these rascals of mine have the venison ready,

We'll dine.

And then we'll take a hand at the cards

As every gentleman should.

My life is very dry.

I see little company.

Just sit and twiddle my thumbs

And think of a great day gone by,

And weary for another great day

That we all hope is upon the road.

And so here's a toast to it-

To the restoration of our own true king.

Mr. Balfour was born a whig.

But i believe he's learning.

And now, gentlemen, let's stick a hand at the cards, eh?

- Good. - Come, mr. Balfour.

Sit you down.

I don't play at cards, sir.

You--You--You do not play? Why not?

Well, i've no call to judge others,

But i was taught that it was wrong to gamble.

In the devil's name, what kind of whiggish, canting talk

Is this for the house of cluny macpherson?

Sir, i'll put my hand in the fire for mr. Balfour.

I bear a king's name,

And any man i call friend is company for the best.

But now mr. Balfour is tired and must sleep.

In this poor house of mine, i'll have you to ken

That any gentleman may follow his pleasure.

If your friend would like to stand on his head,

He's welcome, but if he or you or any other gentleman

Is not precisely satisfied,

I'll be proud to step outside with him.

Sir, i am very wearied, as alan says.

And what's more, as you're a man who likely has sons of your own,

I may tell you that it was a promise to my father.

Well...

say no more. Say no more.

There's good heather to lie on,

And you may sleep if you must.

Yes, sir.

Have you got any money?

- A little. - Well, give it to me.

- What for? - For the loan, man.

Just for a loan.

But why? We'll need the money.

David, would you begrudge me a loan?

For five guineas...

for five guineas, aye. [Coins clatter]

[Birds chirping]

[Speaks gaelic]

Well, have you rested quite enough, mr. Balfour?

For the news is that the road is clear in the south.

The sooner we start, the better.

The little money we have has a long way to carry us.

I've lost it, and that's the naked truth.

My money too?

You shouldn't have given it to me.

I'm daft when i get at the cards.

Toots-Toots, man, you'll have your money back.

It's not to be supposed that i'd be a hindrance

To gentlemen in your situation.

But can i take it, sir?

For my friend fairly lost my money,

And it puts me in a painful position.

You attack my conduct, sir?

No, but i ask your advice,

For whatever i do, it must be hard on a man with any pride.

Aye, and it's hard on me too,

For you give me the look of a man

Who has cheated poor people to their hurt.

I wouldn't have my friends come to my house

To accept affronts, no, nor yet to give them

As it seems that you're doing.

You see, sir, there is something

To be said on my side-

That gambling is a very poor employ for gentlemen.

[Sighing] mr. Balfour,

You're too nice and covenanting,

But, i must confess, you're a gentleman of spirit.

On my honest word, you may take this money.

It's what i would say to my own son.

And there's my hand on it.

[Chuckles]

Uh, this is no way for two friends

To take a small accident.

I-I have to say i'm sorry,

So it's said.

If you have anything, you better say it.

- No, i have nothing. - Nothing?

After i said i'm to blame?

Why, of course you're to blame,

And you must bear me out that i never reproached you.

No, you've done worse.

I've long owed you my life,

And now i owe you money too.

You must try to make that burden easy for me.

You ask me to speak.

Well, then i will.

You own that you have done me a disservice.

And now you blame me because i cannot laugh or sing

As if i was glad of it.

And the next thing will be that i'm to go down on my knees

And thank you for it.

You should think more of others, alan breck,

And then perhaps you might speak less about yourself.

And when a friend has passed over an offense

Without so much as one word,

You would be glad to let it lie

Instead of making it a stick to break his back with.

Oh, well, we'll say no more.

[Coughing]

Seems to me that you're ill and can stand no more.

I am ill. I know i'm ill.

But as to the other,

I can stand anything you can, mr. Stewart.

Further down the burren, there's bound to be a croft

Where i can find you shelter.

And the red coats too? What silly talk is that?

David, i'm not a patient man.

I never said you were.

Mr. Balfour of shaws,

You're a stiff-Necked, ignorant whig.

And you, sir, are old enough to know your manners.

And from now on, i'll thank you to speak civilly of my king

And of the campbells too, who have never done me any harm.

Have a care, sir.

Do not forget i'm a stewart.

Oh, i know you bear a king's name.

But since i've been in the highlands,

I've seen many of those that do,

And the best i can say of them is this-

That they'd be none the worse for a good washing.

There are some things said that cannot be passed over.

I never asked you to, for i am as ready as yourself.

And i am no blowhard and boaster like some that i could name,

So come on!

David, don't be daft.

I cannot draw on you.

That was your lookout when you insulted me.

David, i cannot, i cannot.

Defend yourself, mr. Stewart.

Defend yourself!

Defend yourself. Defend-

David!

"Described as 5'10" in height,

"Brown, bushy hair,

"Round-Shouldered, and a little knock-Kneed.

Shabby with an inclination to be genteel."

[Chuckles] so you've finished your sleep at last.

I told you we'd find a croft along the burren.

And by good fortune, donald dhu maclaren is of the right party.

- Alan. - Hmm?

Can you forgive me for what i've said?

Hoot-Toot, you were so taken with fever,

You didn't know a thing you did.

Besides, that's precisely what i thought i liked about you,

Is the fact that you never quarreled.

Now i find i like you better.

When i heard there was a stranger here,

I did not think i would be so unchancy

As to find an appine stewart.

And when yon door opened,

The last kind of man i hoped to see

Was the son of rob roy macgregor.

Oh, indeed, sir.

Then i must console myself

With the bill i found on the way,

Which tells me that this painful meeting may be turned

To the profit of 100 pounds.

By a macgregor, no doubt.

For your tribe have long held money above honor.

There are words that i could say to that, sir,

But i think i will have heard

That you are a man of your sword.

Unless you were born deaf,

You'd have heard a great deal more than that.

Now when my chief drew steel on a gentleman of your name,

I never heard that it was a macgregor

That got the best of it.

You mean my father, sir, rob roy macgregor?

I wouldn't wonder at it.

My father was an old man,

And the match was unequal.

You and i would make a better pair.

I was thinking of that.

Gentlemen, gentlemen,

I've been thinking of a different matter, whatever.

Here are my pipes.

And here are you two gentlemen,

Both acclaimed pipers.

It is an old dispute which one of you is the best.

Here is a broad chance

To settle it.

Well, sir, have you music?

I can play like a macrimmon.

That is a very bold word, sir.

I've used bolder words before this...

and against better adversaries.

[Bag pipe music]

*

That's not very bad, mr. Stewart,

But you show poor device in your warblers.

Me! I'll give you the lie.

Do you own yourself beaten at the pipes

That you seek to change them for the sword?

Well said, mr. Macgregor.

So i'll appeal to donald.

You need appeal to no one, sir,

For it's the god's truth you're a creditable piper.

For a stewart.

*

Enough. You can play the pipes.

Make the most of that.

*

You're a great piper, robin macgregor.

I'm not fit to play in the same kingdom with you.

A while ago, i could have given you a lesson with my sword,

But no more.

It'd go against my heart

To slice a man up that can play the pipes like you can.

[Laughs]

There it is, the old bridge of stirling.

When we get across that, we can throw our bonnets in the air.

We're away from the highlands.

Ah, to have come this far

And be bocked at the last step.

We could set about him.

And have the whole garrison after us at his first cry.

Could we swim across?

I swim like a stone.

But there are boats.

If i set my mind to it, doubtless i could steal one.

No. If you pass the bridge, you can tell no tales,

But if you leave a boat on the other side,

Somebody must have brought it.

And the whole countryside's in an uproar.

Well, there's nothing else for it.

We'll have to go back the way we came

And creep around the head of the river.

Look.

Well? Did you not observe?

He didn't even turn his head to see

Whether it was a man or a woman,

Which means they're not on the lookout for us here.

They didn't think we'd be such gulks as to cross

Under the noses of the garrison.

David, it's a chief military principle

To go where you're least expected.

So this is where we cross.

Your very humble and obedient servant, madam.

Have you got a twist of tobacco?

For which i'll give you sixpence.

I'll need something to light it with,

So if you've got a tinderbox,

I'll give you a shilling.

But, madam, i'll need something to smoke it in.

So make it two shillings for your pipe.

May god bless you, madam.

What are those for?

I'll tell you, since you seem so inexperienced

In such matters.

Hunted men are always on the run.

- You'll grant that? - Aye.

So we must seem to be in no hurry at all.

That's what i want this for.

I'll wander up there, and then light it

As slowly as can be.

You saunter by,

And after a while, i follow.

- [Chatter] - Look at that.

- [Indistinct chatter] - At least it's not raining.

Hoot-Toot, twice the redcoats, half the risk.

Now he's got someone to talk to,

Why should he fuss himself over us?

Now, david, keep a cool head.

If you lose your courage and take to your heels,

We're both dead men.

And what a time i had.

Didn't we just?

Five weeks in the punishing mountains

And not a thing to show at the end of it.

Fellow by the name of campbell, wasn't it?

I don't know.

One scotsman's just like another to me.

[Chuckles]

But we were supposed to be there

To guard him, so when he got done in, well,

We had to chase off after the two blokes what done it.

You never nabbed either of 'em, eh?

Nah, and couldn't they run?

Like a pair of blooming rabbits.

Took us over half of scotland they did.

I heard they got a reward out for 'em now.

Yeah, yeah, they have.

100 quid for the big one,

And 50 for the little one. Bloody hell.

Blimey, what i could do with 150 quid.

Yeah. Yeah, you know what i'd do?

Yeah, what?

I'd buy myself a nice, little pub

Right in front of the barracks.

[Laughs] i would.

And i'd sit there out in the sun,

Drinking me own beer from noon onward...

[dog barks; clopping hooves]

Mr. Rankeillor?

Are you mr. Rankeillor, the lawyer?

I am, but i do not know your name nor yet your face.

My name is david balfour, sir.

And i believe i have some rights on the estate of shaws.

David balfour.

And where did you come from, mr. David balfour?

From many strange places, sir.

'Tis six weeks since i started for that door,

But i was kidnapped on the way

By someone who did not want me to reach it.

And who was this villainous person, mr. Balfour?

Someone whom i think you know, sir-

My uncle ebenezer.

Pray come inside.

No, mr. David, your uncle did not steal

The house of shaws.

It came to him in a much more singular way

As the result of a love affair.

- A love affair? - Yes, mr. David.

Your uncle was not always old,

And, what may surprise you more, not always ugly.

So when he and your father fell in love

With the same young lady,

Oh, he made mighty certain of the victory.

But when instead the young lady chose your father,

He screeched like a peacock.

Well, mr. David, the end of it was

That they came to a sort of bargain.

Your father took the lady, who became your mother,

But he left your uncle ebenezer with the estate.

They talk a lot about generosity,

But i often think the happiest consequences flow

When a gentleman consults his lawyer.

Certainly, your father's hasty decision brought no joy at all

To your uncle ebenezer, as you've seen for yourself.

I have indeed, sir.

Money was all he got out of his bargain.

And he came to think the more of money.

He was selfish when he was young.

He's selfish now he's old.

And the latter end to all this selfishness you know yourself.

Yes, sir, but in all this, what is my position?

Oh, the estate's yours.

Beyond a doubt, your father might give up his own rights.

He couldn't sign away yours.

So the day he died,

You became the laird of shaws.

However, getting possession- Quite another question.

A lawsuit is expensive,

And a family lawsuit is always scandalous.

But what possible answer could my uncle have?

Well, he would begin, no doubt,

By denying you were his nephew.

How could he?

He as much as admitted it by having me kidnapped.

Very true.

How are we to prove that he had you kidnapped?

Mr. Rankeillor, i do not intend

To haul down my colors and leave my uncle

A fortune that isn't his.

Quite so.

So the only thing to do

Is to make him admit the kidnapping

In front of witnesses.

And just how are you gonna manage that?

Oh, i could not manage it,

And i do not think that even you could,

For it needs a violent man without too much concern

For what is proper and correct.

And for that, sir, i think i know just the man we need.

[Window screeches open]

Well?

[Chuckles]

Have a care with that blunderbuss.

They're nasty things to burst.

Who are ye, and what brings you here?

What brings me here is more your affair than mine.

And if you're sure it's what you'd like,

I'll set it to a tune and sing it to you.

Well, what is it?

David.

I'm thinking i had better let ye in.

I dare say that, but the point is, would i go in?

And i'll tell you what i'm thinking.

I'm thinking it's here upon this doorstep

That we must confer upon this business.

And it shall be here or nowhere at all,

For i'll have you to understand that i'm as stiff-Necked

As yourself, and a gentleman of better family.

Oh, well,

What must be must be.

One step nearer, and you're as good as dead.

A very civil greeting, to be sure.

This is a very chancy kind of a proceeding,

And i'm bound to be prepared.

And now that we understand one another,

You can name your business.

Well, you that are a man of understanding

Will doubtless have perceived that i am a highland gentleman.

My name has no business in my story.

But the country of my friends

Is not very far from the torran rocks.

Well, it seems that there was a ship that went aground there.

A gentleman of my family came upon a lad

That was half-Drowned.

He brought him to, and he and some other gentlemen

Clapped him in an old, ruined castle where,

From that day to this, he's been a great expense to my friends.

Now they, not being so particular about the law

As some i could name,

In finding out the lad owns some decent folk,

Asked me to give you a call and confer upon the matter.

And i can tell you this from the start-

That unless we can agree on some terms,

You're not likely to set eyes on the lad again.

For my friends are not very well off.

I'm not very caring.

He was never a good lad at the best of it,

And i have no call to interfere.

Oh, come on, you wouldn't desert your brother's son.

It wouldn't make you very popular in the countryside.

I'm not just very popular the way it is,

So that's idle talk, my buckie.

[Laughs]

Mr. Balfour, we thought you liked david,

Would pay to get him back.

But it seems that's not the case.

And i'm thinking you've very good reasons

For not wanting him back,

And, instead, you'll pay us to keep him.

That'll put as pretty a penny in our pocket as the other.

I do not follow you there.

Now see here,

You don't want the lad back,

What do you want done with him

And how much will you pay?

Come, sir. I'm a highland gentleman,

Not a sniveling beggar to kick my heels at your hall door.

Either give me an answer in civility,

Or i'll run three feet of steel in your vitals!

Hey, sir, give me a minute.

I'm trying to be as civil as it's morally possible.

Just tell me what you'll be wanting,

And we'll agree fine.

In two words--Do you want the lad killed or kept?

Oh, kept, kept.

Have no bloodshed, if you please.

That'll be the dearer.

The dearer? What for the dearer?

Killing is easier and quicker.

To keep the lad will be a troublesome business.

I'll have him kept, though. I'm a man of principle.

And if i have to pay for it, i'll pay for it.

Ah.

What about the price?

Of course, i'll have to ken first

What you paid captain hoseason.

Captain hoseason? What for?

- For kidnapping the boy. - It's a lie!

It's a black lie. He never was kidnapped.

He lied in his throat that told you that.

Hoseason wouldn't like to hear you say so.

What do you mean? Was it hoseason that told ye?

How else you think i ken, you stupid, old runt?

Oh, hoseason and i are partners.

We gang shares.

But i'm bound to say you struck a fool's bargain

When you let a man like that sail a man so far forward

In your private affairs.

The point in hand is this-

How much did you pay him?

How much does he say i paid him?

That's my concern.

Well, i do not doubt that he lied.

I don't care what he said. I tell you that he lied.

And the solemn god's truth is this-

I paid him no more than 20 pounds.

- You paid him 20 pounds? - Aye.

- To kidnap the lad? - I swear it.

20 pounds.

Mind ye, i'll be perfectly frank with you.

He was to have the selling of the lad in carolina,

Which would be 20 pounds more,

But not out of my pocket, you see.

Thank you, mr. Stewart.

I think we have just what we need.

Good evening, uncle.

It's a fine night, isn't it?

David, is that you, man?

Yes, it's me, uncle.

Then i have wasted my 20 pounds.

It's a braw new suit, mr. Balfour of shaws.

I don't have just the hang of it yet.

You're none too early, davie.

The tide's on the turn.

I'm waiting for a signal to go aboard.

So you have a ship.

There she is.

The captain's the right party.

I'll be in france within the week.

How about you?

It's all settled and sealed.

[Laughs] to think of it, davie,

Only a week ago, you lay under heaven with an empty belly

And in fear of death.

And now you're the laird of shaws.

I suppose so.

You don't seem very joyful about it.

I'll get used to it.

[Cannon shot]

There's the signal.

- When will you be back? - [Chuckles]

The highlands will be no safe place

For alan breck for a while.

But, later on, when the noise dies down,

You'll come away one day behind a heather bush

Or watching you from the wood about you.

Well, good-Bye.

Good-Bye, alan breck.