"The passenger list, sir." "Oh, very good." "Who are the Edmunds boys, Private Brooke?" "Three brothers, sir, all posted to South Africa on the same day- my birthday in fact, sir." "Is that so, Brooke?" "I don't believe it." "Is that-?" "What on earth is he doing down here?" "Get down to the waterfront, Brooke." "Get customs to pull this chap to one side" "Van Diemen, South African Boer." " Escort him here, please." " Yes, sir." "Tell him- tell him" "Major Carlysle would very much like to see him." "Yes, sir." "This one's short." "Get me another." "Yes, sir." "Brooke, where are you off to in such a hurry?" "I've been asked to escort one of them Boers." "The major wants to see him." "Let me have a look at that." "We should have hung them all, shouldn't we, instead of giving them a king's pardon?" "What's his name?" "Bloody hell." "With me, Brooke." "Come on, girls." "Next, please." "Oi." "Uh, Mr. Van Dimon." "Diemen- Van Diemen." "So, Mr. Van Dimon, what brings you all the way to our remote little corner of the world?" "Well, I'm curious." "Curious?" "You'd have to be very curious to travel thousands of miles." "Bloody right, I'm curious." "I'm very curious to find out why you boys crossed two oceans to help the British burn down my farm." "Well" "Arjan Van Diemen." "And I thought the war was finished." "Not for you, you murdering bastard." "You're under arrest." "Give it over." "Go on." "Go on." "Give him his rifle back." "Now, you bloody fool!" "Put your weapon away." "Do you know who this is?" "That'll be all." "Thank you, Saunders." "Jesus." "Don't make me write you up." "Get back to the docks, Brooke." "Give some real soldiers a hero's welcome." "Yes, sir." "Apologies for the undignified welcome, Mr. Van Diemen." "Saunders there was with me in South Africa." "He seems to have forgotten the war's over." "I'm sure you understand." "Mm." "So you do exist." "I led a detachment of cavalry for nearly two years trying to catch up with you." "We chased you clean across the Transvaal whilst you caused havoc." "And you, Major- you couldn't even catch a simple farmer." "What's your plan here, Van Diemen?" "You're a long way from home." "You too." "On the contrary, this is home for me now." "Home?" "Huh." "Home these days seems to be most of the globe to you British." "So are you planning on buying some land here, perhaps take up farming again?" "No, I guess we didn't leave you with much, did we?" "Well, for what it's worth, Mr. Van Diemen," "I hope you do find your new home here." "Come here." "What is this?" "It's a piece of home." " Home?" " Mm-hmm." "What do you mean, home?" "It belonged to my grandfather." "Sometimes he would cry over this." "Looks like sand to me- red sand." "You're very pretty." "There's a lot prettier in this town." "Some of them officers' wives, they" "No no no no, I've seen lots of women- wahine on Tahiti." "You could be a princess there." "Take your hands off me." "I'm quite capable of walking by myself." "Come on, Sergeant." "You've had a bit too much." "Goes with the rank, Corporal Drake," " with the rank." " Yes, Your Highness." ""Goes with the rank. "" "Oh, watch yourself there, Teddy." "Don't you "Teddy" me." "Oh, hey." "Oi." "There's a lantern on in the stables." "I'll have his guts for garters." "Well well well, what have we here?" "If it isn't young Lucy and a bloody savage." "What are you two doing in here, besides the obvious?" "I don't think I know you." "Do you know him?" "Never seen him." "Wonder where he gets his money from." "Weren't interested in our horses, were you?" "He's talking to you." "You think he understands English?" "Anyway, you're trespassing on army property." "I think a thrashing might be in order, gentlemen, eh?" "Now come and take your punishment like a good little savage." " Hold him up." " Get up." "Eh?" "I'll teach you to mess with our women." "Get up." " What did you say?" " Leave him alone, you bastards." "You should have taken your thrashing, boy." "Savage!" "Christ, you bloody" "Jesus Christ." "Jesus." "Jesus Christ." "You bloody killed him." "You bloody killed him." "You bloody killed him." "We need a doctor." "Get a bloody doctor!" "Sir..." "You walked into the stables and he simply attacked you?" "Yes, sir." "Unprovoked?" "Well, we did ask him what he was doing in there." "We thought he was after the horses." " That was all?" " Yes, sir." "Levin." "That was about the way of it." "And this was the way of it?" "Yes, sir." "That were the way of it." "Yes, sir." "He was off that whaler that came in yesterday." "Sergeant Leybourne." "I don't think our man will be getting far, sir." "Let's make sure he doesn't." "He's been seen heading off up the coast." "I'll need half a dozen men." "That should be enough." "And horses." "He's on foot, so we'll soon catch up with him." "What about dogs?" "No, no dogs." "This isn't a blood sport." "I won't have it turned into one." "Now that local scout" "Mr. Bryce, sir." "Yes, Bryce." "I want him here, fully provisioned within the hour." "We'll leave at first light." "See to it." "Van Diemen." "I don't suppose you saw anything?" "You know, we could use another good tracker." "The reward is 100 sovereigns- 100 sovereigns alive, 25 if dead." "That's a lot of money." "You see that man?" "He butchered British officers." "I don't want that scum anywhere near me." "That needn't trouble you, Sergeant Major." "You shan't be accompanying us." "You and Corporal Levin are in no fit state to be chasing anybody." "The pair of you will return to barracks." "I trust I make myself clear." "Yes, sir." " Well?" " Yes, sir." "Look, when I arrived yesterday at the harbor," "I didn't see any whaler." "They left without him on the afternoon tide." "The skipper was angry as hell, charging around, shouting at everybody if they'd seen him." "I tell you, I was near to locking him up." "Why so angry?" "Well, he'd lost his harpoonist, didn't he?" "A good harpoon man's worth gold these days." "These all his belongings?" "Yeah, these and his kit bag over there." " That too?" " Yeah." "All right, dismount." "Sergeant Leybourne, these horses need a rest," " just a few minutes." " Yes, sir." "Mr. Bryce, what is it?" "Maori." "See?" "The weight's all on the toes." "No heel print." "The weight's right." "By the spacing- his height." "It's him." "If he keeps heading up this coast, he'll reach Dunney's Point, find a boat- whew, away at sea 'fore you know it." "Very well." " Private Barker!" " Sir." "Get up on those rocks, man, see if we can't get around the headland" " before the tide comes in." " Yes, sir." "Mr. Van Diemen, is there a problem?" "It's not him." "No disrespect to Mr. Bryce here, but our man was used to wearing shoes." "This man, whoever he was- he never wore shoes." "With respect, Major," "I don't think our man is just another sailor." "I think he's coming home." "Sir, if we go right away, we should be able to get around before the tide cuts us off." "Thank you, Barker." "All right, mount up!" "Van Diemen!" "Van Diemen!" "Blast the man." "Barker, get his horse." "Yes, sir." "Mr. Bryce." "Mr. Bryce." "Your man left empty-handed, didn't he?" "That's right." "Your Mr. Van Diemen was right." "Raupo bread." "Maori pollen bread." "Where would he get that?" "Look at the size of this fire." "Whoever this fellow was, he was in no hurry." "Mr. Bryce, are you seriously telling me that we've been following the wrong man all day?" "Same build, same height, wrong Maori." "I knew we should have gotten bloody dogs." "We'll double back, pick up the trail where our Mr. Van Diemen disappeared on us." "And you're quite certain you can do that?" "I'll have two trails to follow instead of just one." "Well, we'd better get on with it then, haven't we?" "Mm, been fishing, eh?" "Head, feet." "So you knew I was watching you, eh?" "Good." "Mm." "So you've made yourself some shoes?" "Mm, clever boy." "Horses won't be much use to us from here on, Major." "Al right." "Thank you, Mr. Bryce." " Private Barker." " Yes, sir?" "You'll take these horses back to base in the morning." "Yes, sir." " Crowther." " Yes, Major?" " We'll keep yours as a packhorse." " Sir." "Do not move unless I tell you to." "I said do not move." "Stand still." "Stop." "Shut up." "Argh!" "Bloody hell." "That's better, eh?" "How much are they paying you for me?" "How much?" "100 sovereigns alive, 25 dead." "25?" "Mm." "A lot of people would be happy with 25." "Lucky I got you." "If I have to kill you, I will." "Mind you, anybody who'd be happy with 25 would probably be too stupid to find me." "Yeah, they would." "That's 75 sovereigns' difference alive or dead." "I'll tell you what:" "what will you give me if I promise" " not to choke myself to death?" " Just walk." "What are you reading?" "Hey, I asked you a question." "That "the wicked will perish." "The enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. "" "Mm." ""But the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. "" "The 37th psalm." "I spent a lot of time in a missionary school." "That's where I learned to read." "You're an educated man." "Does that make a difference?" "Perhaps." "Why?" "Because education distinguishes the civilized man from the savage." "Ah, there are no savages here then." "The missionaries taught us all to read- all of us." "My father could quote your bible from cover to cover." ""You cannot know your enemy," he said," ""until you know his God. "" "And did he find their God?" "Oh yes, he met Him at the end of a rope." "So what's my life worth now?" "125 sovereigns?" "I am not a killer." "You'll have an honest trial." "I'll get an honest hanging." "What is that?" "Let me see." "You can trust me." "Wife?" "Daughters?" "Pretty." "Yeah." "How old are they- your daughters?" "Eight, and the twins are six." "And where do they live?" "Back in town?" "They don't live." "They're buried in South Africa somewhere." "They say when children die, they- they stay children forever." "You can't start a story and not finish." "It's not good." "It's not good for your soul." "Stop here." "Two hours." "All right, let's keep moving." "It's just mouku." "You can eat it." "You didn't know that, did you?" "Mind you, you weren't brought up here." "You see this?" "Meke-meke." "Just a little nibble on that and you'll be spewing your guts out for days." "I shouldn't have told you that, should I?" ""And His blessing covered the dry land as a river and watered it as a flood. "" "I could build us a raft." ""As He hath turned the waters into saltiness, so shall the heathen inherit His wrath. "" "Stop." "Sit." "Sit." "Don't move." "I'm not moving." "Turn around slowly." "Drop the pistol." "Drop the pistol!" "No." "What?" "Drop it." "No." "I'll shoot you." "You know, when I travel" "I always keep an empty chamber in case of accidents." "Before you cock it," "I'll have a bullet between your eyes." "You're lying." "Truth is I'm not really sure." "I've been careless these past two days." "Of course, we won't know until you pull that trigger." "I don't believe you." "Fine." "And I will pull the trigger." "Fine." "Well, if you're right, I'm dead." "If I'm right, you're dead." "But until you pull that trigger, we won't know." "Drop the gun." "No." " Drop the gun." " You drop your gun." " I'm not dropping my gun." " I'm not dropping my gun." "Fine." "Let's just walk to shore." "And keep your hands where I can see them." "No." "No." "I will pull the trigger." "I'll take my chances." "My legs are getting cold." "You should have stayed over there where it's dry." "You are the most annoying man I have ever met." "I should kill you for just being annoying." "I thought you weren't a killer." "I'm not, or I would have shot you right away." "In which case you'd be dead." "Well, we don't know that yet, do we?" "I'd like a smoke." "No." "Damn you." "Damn you." "Come on, come on." "They meet here separately." "Hold there." "There's two now." " Both of them?" "Two men, both of them?" " There's two." " All right, which way?" " This way." "Sa-bine." "Sabine." "Is that your wife?" "What language is this?" "I told you" "I'm from South Africa." "You're one of them Boers." "Sounds like a bushpig." ""Boer"- it means "farmer. "" "You're the strangest farmer I've ever met." "You fought the British, didn't you?" "My grandfather led our people against the British." "He was a great leader, a warrior." "But he lost." "He lost like you." "And this brought great shame on our people." "And we were labeled Tangata Hara- men of sin, rebels." "I never lost." "Well, why are you here then, in my land?" "Where is your farm, farmer man?" "You fought the British and you lost too, didn't you?" "You lost." "And that's not all you lost, is it?" "Where'd you learn to track a man?" "Hey." "Dabe." "What do you mean, Dabe?" "Dabe- my father's houseboy, old Hottentot." "Hottentot." "Hottentot." "What's a Hottentot?" "A South African bushman." "A bushman?" "I've never seen one." "You never will." "All gone, good as." "Like me." "As dumb as they are, they will catch you and probably shoot you." "If I were in your shoes, which I am," "I'd just worry about them finding me." "You can't run forever." "One of us will find you." "You best pray it isn't me." "But I'm not the one who's running." "I think you're the one who's running away." "And I think" "I think you left your soul behind." "Now untie these before I break your bloody neck." "You know, when you sail for a long time, you've got to get on with all the blokes." "If someone doesn't get on, we just throw them overboard at the next port." "With you, I don't think we would have waited till the next port." "Your wife- how did she die?" "Did she get sick?" "Did she get sick of you?" "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have said that." "Thanks." "Walk." " What is this?" " Biltong." "I'd rather die of starvation." "Right here." "Something here." "Blood." "Fighting or..." "Which way?" "Come." "Wouldn't it be easier if we just wait for the river to calm down?" "No, I'm not taking chances with the rain, not in this bloody country." "It's not going to rain." "I'm a sailor." "I can tell you the weather from the color of the water." "I lied, okay?" "I lied." "Come." "You're taking me back to be hanged for something I didn't even do." "Huh?" "What would you do, huh?" "What?" "Oh, Mr. Silence now, huh?" "Mr. Silence?" "You say another word- I'll hang you myself from that bloody tree over there." "You follow?" "Oh, you lie as well." "Huh?" "Jezus Christus Allemachtig!" "You lie just by saying nothing." "In fact, everything you don't say is one big lie." "What in God's name are you talking about?" "Well, that's the second question you've ever asked me." "You going to answer it?" "Well, you just said you'll hang me if I said another word." "Argh!" "Come, you, come." "Walk." "Your wife- she died in that war, didn't she?" "It's none of your concern." " She did, didn't she?" " It's none of your concern." "I was just asking." "Why do you-?" "No." "I just" "She never died in no bloody war." "But I thought you said" "I don't know how she died, all right?" "All right." "When the sporting British couldn't beat us," "Lord Kitchener sent his troops down to burn our farms." "He drove our women and children off like cattle." "He penned them in these barbed-wire camps." "I don't know how they died- sickness, starvation." "There's no one left to tell." "Listen, we both hate the British." "I don't hate the British." " Yes, you do." " I don't hate the British." "I hated my God for a time." "I stood naked in front of Him." "I reviled Him." "I was so angry." "I thought" "I knew Him." "Then I remembered that God did not create the savage in me." ""Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. "" ""But I will maintain my own ways before Him. "" "Mm." "I still think you hate the British." "You think you can get me to set you free?" " Well, I don't know." " You think that if you could make you and me the same, that would make me set you free?" "I fought for something." "You're just a bloody criminal." "I'm not a criminal." "You're walking on my land." "My tupunas named the mountains and the rivers." "It's my lineage." "And I saved your life, bushpig." "It's about respect." "Let me tell you about respect." "During the war me and my men- we would cut off the trigger fingers of the bravest British officers we captured- only the bravest officers, mind, the ones most worthy of respect." "You understand that?" "That's what I did to people I respected." "Doesn't leave much hope for me then, does it?" "Hope kills fools like you every day." "Sergeant, let's send Corporal Crowther back to base for fresh provisions." "This is taking a damn sight longer than I'd hoped." "Yes, sir." "You'd better show Crowther where you think we'll be this evening, 'cause I don't bloody know." "It'll just be a rough guess, Major." "Yes, I'm sure it will, Mr. Bryce." "Do you think he's got him, sir- that Van Diemen?" "Without a doubt." "Are the stories they tell about him true- you know, butchering our men?" "Well, let me put it this way, Private- if it weren't for the reward, we'd probably be spared the trouble of executing him." "I reckon that'd serve him right, sir." "Drake was a good man." "Drake was a trousered ape, Private, a disgrace to his uniform and his rank." "Begging your pardon, sir, but he didn't deserve to die the way he did." "No, you're quite right." "Indeed he didn't." "You haven't seen action yet, have you, Private?" "No, sir, not as such." "Not yet." "I hope to, sir." "A word of caution:" "just be sure that when your children ask you what you did" "what you did in defense of the realm, that you're able to give them a worthy answer." "I beg your pardon, sir?" "If he's still alive, he'll be given a fair trial." "If he's guilty, he'll be hanged." "An example will be made." "Te Ara Ruamano." "The path of Ruamano." "He's like our spiritual guardian." "And he's known to save those of his people in danger." "What?" "This- you pakeha call it Telson's Gorge." "Let me look." "Look, you can draw your gun and shoot me." "Don't doubt it." "I will shoot you." "That bullet will cost you 75 sovereigns." "Nice." "North, south, east." "Oops." "Damn you." "Come." "Come come come." "No no, I don't care much for that idea." " I will let you go." " Let go." "I'll let you go." "Go ahead, let go." "I swear I'll shoot you." "Well, you can try." "But to get your gun, you're gonna have to let go of this rope with one hand." "I'll break your bloody neck if you jump." "Or you could fall in with me." "And with that pack, the rifle and your fat puku, you could sink and drown." "I'll shoot you as you fall." "You might miss." "And I might drown." "Ruamano might save me." "But we won't know, will we, until you let go?" "You wish to fight me?" "Come." "Come." "Get up." "Get up." "I'm innocent." "I'm innocent." "What's the matter with you, eh?" "I'm just trying to uphold the law." "You're a liar." "It's got nothing to do with the law." "It's for money." "You've sold your soul." "You know they're going to hang me for something I didn't even do." "There were witnesses." "Yes, soldiers." "And a woman." "She's a pakeha woman and I'm a Maori." "It was soldiers who did it." "And it was soldiers who hung my father." "They made me watch." "Then they forced my head around and made me watch them hang my grandfather." "If you kill me, you will condemn yourself." "They will find you, no matter how long, how many years" "What's a few years worth, eh?" "Eh?" "What's it worth to a condemned man?" "Eh?" "Argh!" "Do it." "Do it." "Do it!" "You can't kill me." "You can't do it." "Are you all right?" "I'm quite well, Mr. Bryce." "Thank you." "You bloody little Maori." " That's enough." " No." "That's enough, Mr. Bryce, unless you plan to carry him back to town." "Sergeant, tie him up." "Renwick, get the rope and tie him up." "Well, Mr. Van Diemen, you've obviously endured" " a tough couple of days." " Yeah, Major." "You needn't fret, sir." "100 sovereigns are yours." "Admirable, most admirable." "Come on, get up." "Get up, you bloody savage." "Renwick, give us a hand." "Get up, your murdering bastard, you." "Major, with your permission, if you tie his hands in front of him, it'd help him walk easier and quicker." "All right." "Sergeant, do as Mr. Van Diemen suggested." "Sir." "Renwick." "I didn't expect to see you until our return, Sergeant Major," "Well, sir, Corporal Crowther said your orders were for me to bring supplies with due haste, sir." "I'm sure the corporal said no such thing." "Well, now you're here, you'd better get about it, I supposed." "Just remember, Sergeant Major, this is not a vendetta." "Yes, thank you, Saunders." "All right, Sergeant Major." "Tough bastards, aren't they?" "My family fought against them in the land wars 30 years ago." "Good fighters, clever as the weasels." "You face them doing one of those godless war-jigs of theirs, their haka, screaming like a pack of wild dogs, mate, you know you're in trouble then." "Fierce." "And the women are worse." "Excuse me." "I should know." "I married one." "Some meat." "Thank you." "Where's he going?" "Feeding our meat to a murderer." "What, is he comforting him?" "Feeding the savage." " Thanks." " Mm?" "For this." "You must have been quite a soldier." "I was never a soldier." "More like- we were a small rabble." "We stopped the British, but only for a short while." "You were fighting for your land, fighting for your freedom." "That'll make a soldier out of a man." "Fighting for my freedom?" "Well, you were, weren't you?" "I'll tell you about the freedom" "I was fighting for." "Late one morning the day after New Year's," "I was riding home to my farm." "I saw Dabe for the last time." "He was hanging from my neighbor's tree." "What, the British hung your Dabe?" "No." "Not the British." "My neighbor- he hung him for stealing a duck." "82 years old." "No old bushman was going to steal from a white man." "My friend- he hung him from a tree, left him there for six months as an example." "Did you avenge him?" "No." "I went to war and fought for that bastard's right to do it again." "That's the freedom I fought for." "Without freedom we're nothing." "When they hung my grandfather, he called to me" ""It's you now, Kereama." "You must rid us all of this hara. "" "The shame?" "But I ran away." "That's different." "You were only a boy." "That's why they never hung me." "I wasn't big enough." "Soldiers just threw the bodies into a hole." "I couldn't even bury them properly." "So I ran away." "But I always knew in my heart that I had to come back and set them free." "So that's why you've come home- to restore your family honor and your own?" "I almost made it." "It's just beyond that ridge." "But you denied me that." "You denied me that- you and your Dabe." "Saunders, I think the prisoner will be fine without your attention." "Come on, mate." "Come on, get up." "You'll be all right." "Come on." "These ropes were cut, see?" "Mm-hmm." "He has a way with rope." " He has a way with rope?" " Mm-hmm." "What, you knew?" "You let him go." "It was tough enough catching him." "In God's name, man, do you really think I'd let him go?" "Well, I'll tell you one thing for sure:" "Somebody let him go, and in a hurry." "He cut through his wristband as well." "We'll get him." "We'll get him." "How is he, Sergeant?" "The savage beat him pretty bad, sir, but he'll be okay." "Mr. Bryce." "How long?" "Two, three hours perhaps." "But he's in bad condition." "He'll leave an easy trail." "He won't get far." "Van Diemen?" "Mr. Bryce knows his business." "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, but I have a score to settle." "Right, we'll leave camp here." "Major Carlysle, sir." "This had better be important, Saunders." "I just wanted to ask, sir, now that the prisoner is armed, what your" "Armed?" "How armed?" "Did Sergeant Leybourne not bring it to your attention, sir?" "The prisoner made off with Renwick's rifle." "Unfortunately, it would appear that the niceties of justice are fast becoming a luxury we can no longer afford." "You have my permission to shoot him on sight." "However, this is not to be a game." "There's no place here for sport." "I'll see court-martialed any man who doesn't kill him cleanly with the first shot." "Do you understand?" "Mr. Bryce." "Mr. Bryce." "He could have gone one of two ways." "Take the wrong one" " Mr. Bryce, please don't tell me" " I'll find him." "Well, do so, and quickly." "This is a sacred place... the home of Ruamano." "I would come here with my grandfather when I was a little boy." "I'd have to wait outside while he entered into the cave to talk to our spiritual guardians." "Now it is my time- time to redeem the mana of my fathers." "There's only one way out of here." "You know this camp." "Bryce has lost the track, but only for a while." "That won't last." "We have to get you out of here." "Believe me, they will shoot you down." "I'm still curious to know why you cut the trigger fingers off the British soldiers." "God tells us it is a sin to kill other men unless you are protecting your home and your loved ones." "It stopped good men from sinning again." "Get up." "Come." "Bryce was better than- than you thought." "There's plenty of cover." "If we split up, we can get around them." "But they'll just keep on following us." "They haven't got us yet." "Look, I can't run." "I can't climb." "There's no way around them." " You have to." " I can't run." "We may not have to." "It's your life." "No, it's your life too." "And I'm not a killer." "We can fight." "Ja?" "I need you to do one thing- one great thing." "No." "You must." "I won't do it." "You must help me on my journey to Hawaiki." "What?" "It's the final resting place for our people." "Don't let them hang me." "I don't want to die like my fathers, hung from some post without mana, without dignity." "I'll take it from you." "Saunders, Bryce, round to the right." "Sergeant, with me." "Damn." "Van Diemen." "Another trophy for His Majesty's justice." "He had courage." "He needs respect." "Not your soundest economic decision, Van Diemen." "I have a little saved." "Bugger that." "I'd rather have his head." "The price will be on your own." "Yeah." "We have to take the body back." "At least have your men bury him, Carlysle." "We cannot leave him here." "I'm sorry, Mr. Van Diemen." "Enough time has been spent on this." " There you go." " Thank you, Murray." "You think Bridget will like it here?" "Without a doubt, sir." "I've ordered the linen you requested, sir." "It'll be here in plenty of time for your wife's arrival." "He's alive." "Sergeant!" "Sergeant Leybourne." "I want a man in every port, every harbor on the lookout for a Maori with his right index finger missing." "Now, damn it." "I want him arrested and brought here alive." "Van Diemen." "Major." "I heard you were leaving us." "This country has no interest for me." "Australia?" "There's a place they've named Van Diemen's Land there." "Mm, I like the sound of it." "Leaving without your reward?" "Thank you." "There we go." "25 sovereigns." "It could have been four times that." "Mm." "He's alive, isn't he?" "It must have been like old times for you." "He didn't even scream when you cut his finger off." "I suppose you have your reasons." "I suppose I'll never quite understand what they are." "It's quite the sum." "But why so generous?" "You were there, weren't you?" "Did you give the order?" "Did you give the order to burn down my farm?" "No, I did not." "Oh." "Tell me one thing:" "was anybody in the house when you watched it burn to ash?" "No." "I can assure you of that." "Sir." "Sir, we're ready." "The captain's gonna be wanting to weigh anchor." "Yeah." "Major." "Van Diemen." "You know, I've sent messengers to every port, every whaling station." "Seen one of these before?" "At most you've bought him a few weeks, perhaps a few days." "I sincerely hope it was worth it." "Do you know what a few days of life means to a condemned man?" "Right about there."