"'You stay away from my diamond, boy.'" "Go on, go on!" "That's it, put your back into it." "Au revoir." "Merci beaucoup, Monsieur." "Godspeed." "Quick as you like, lads." "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Davey, to you!" "Quiet, please." "We're all done here, Elzevir." "Let's get off the beach." "The new man always takes the first watch." "We'll save you a glass of milk, Davey." "You see anyone sniffing about... you fire off one warning shot, you understand?" "Keep your eyes and your ears open, boy." "Hm." "Get the best brandy off to London." "I'll see to you later." "Who goes there?" "You should've seen your face." "The big smuggler!" "I'll blow yours off if you're not careful." "Let me hold the pistol, go on." "No chance!" "Just because they took me and not you, Trenchard." "Like they would ever take you." "From this moment on, gentlemen... the world changes." "No more blind eyes." "No more bribes." "Am I clear?" "We are the King's Hammer... and we show no mercy." "Load your weapons." "Davey, Davey!" "The Excise are coming, a whole posse of 'em!" "Run off home to your Aunt Jane and say your prayers." "Sh!" "Listen!" "Right, go to the inn and warn him." "Put down your weapon, boy, or face the consequences." "What's it to be?" "The Excise!" "The Excise!" "What?" "What are you doing here, boy?" "Talk to me, Mr Trenchard." "The Excise are coming." "They're all a-bed counting their bribes." "Have been for 50 years!" "Sh!" "Hm." "Everything away." "Now!" "One drop or stitch is found on us, we'll all swing." "Out of the way!" "Elzevir Block, is it not?" "Yes." "My name's Mohune." "Magistrate Mohune." "That's right, Block." "The Mohunes are back." "Well, if it's a drink you want er... you only had to ask." "No!" "You brutes!" "Not a bad catch, first night." "Two rats taken." "One dead." "Davey!" "Davey?" "Get up, boy." "Oh, no." "David." "My son." "My son!" "No!" "We should storm the manor now and slit Mohune's throat from ear to ear." "We raise a finger now... we destroy this village and everyone in it." "His time will come." "We'll lie low and we'll... decide when and where that will be." "It's starting again." "A Mohune back in the manor house, and already one boy is dead." "Elzevir Block will avenge Davey's death." "Elzevir Block will be swinging from the noose by Christmas." "There you go..." "Fishwife." "You catch them, Harry, and I gut them." "The only difference is that's the only thing you'll ever do." "Hey, John!" "Dream on, Trenchard!" "Dream on!" "The Great Hall." "I hope you're being gracious to the locals, Father." "Gracious?" "I've been entrusted by the King to rid this coast of its plague of smugglers, and I shall repay that trust." "Colonel Blackbeard Mohune." "During the Civil War, he knew which way the wind was blowing." "Sided with the rebels." "Eventually, he became the king's gaoler." "A traitor?" "A spectacular traitor." "And a murderer... and a thief." "The King offered him a bribe, this great diamond, in return for his freedom." "And erm... your noble ancestor accepted the bribe but then betrayed the king anyway." "Went to his death a cursed and wretched man." "Tell me about the diamond, Ratsey." "You're a devil for your daydreams, Trenchard." "Big as a walnut, they do say it was." "A diamond that would make a man richer than a king." "And that is why his ghost roams the churchyard, because of the diamond?" "That and the fact he murdered a boy for asking the same questions over and over!" "Do you think it could be in the Mohune crypt, buried with him?" "No." "How do you know?" "All I know is, anyone who's ever met Blackbeard's ghost in that graveyard has not lived to tell the tale." "Do you understand?" "'Sacred to the memory of David Block." "Of life bereft, I do not hate, for God will sure revenge my fate.'" "Who wrote this?" "The Reverend Glennie himself." "I told him Mohune will know they're about him." "Damn Mohune." "Damn them all." "John Trenchard." "Miss Arnold." "You come along home this instant." "Ma'am." "'By swearing and lying and killing and stealing, committing adultery, they break out.'" "Don't just look at it, boy, shut it!" "'Therefore shall the land mourn.'" "Ah!" "Damn it!" "You keep that language out of my house, you hear me?" "This is what you get when you hang around vermin like Ratsey and Block." "You stay away from them." "I won't tell you again, do you hear me?" "I hear you, Aunt Jane." "All day, every day." "What did you just say to me?" "Where you going?" "John Trenchard, you come back here!" "Elzevir, no!" "There comes a moment in the life of every man and woman where the road ahead splits in two." "Like the letter Y." "Davey Block reached his fork in the road." "On the one side was childhood and safety." "On the other... manhood and friendship and courage." "In that moment, Davey Block chose manhood." "And there are people in this village who will be forever in his debt." "However can you keep on preaching when the Mohunes be rising from their graves?" "Calm yourself, Miss Arnold." "The flood last night has filled the crypt with water." "The Lord has sent evil angels amongst us!" "The coffins are afloat and jostling into one another, that is all." "That's no angel." "Tis Blackbeard himself!" "We have to bury Davey Block!" "I'm ready, Elzevir." "Let me join with you." "It's not the time or the place, John." "I'm not like them." "I'm not frightened." "I know it's wine." "You should be frightened, boy." "You should be very frightened." "Who are you?" "My name's John Trenchard." "Come and talk to me..." "John Trenchard." "I cannot." "You certainly can." "You just did." "Now I see." "Would you like me to bring you your clothes?" "Yes!" "I thought as much." "Are you mad?" "They're all the clothes I have!" "Then you best come and fetch them." "If you say so." "Are you a smuggler?" "Are you going to cut my throat?" "No." "Good." "Then my father won't have to hang you." "That murderer?" "I beg your pardon?" "He shot Davey Block in the face." "I'm sure my father was only doing his job." "You tell him from me, he had better watch his back." "Tell him yourself." "If I were you, John Trenchard, I'd start running." "You're not me, and I never run." "What's happening here?" "Nothing, sir." "I was minding my own business " "He came naked out of the sea, Father, and quite startled me." "You dare to look at what is mine, boy?" "I look at what I please." "Ah!" "Please, Father!" "Let him go." "It was a misunderstanding, nothing more." "Let him go?" "I'll do better than that." "I'll escort this gentleman home." "One more job, a big 'un." "Then we lie low." "It's all right for you." "I still have children to feed." "Better a hungry child than a dead father." "Elzevir." "Some of the boys have been... talking." "Hm." "What with Davey's death and all..." "Nobody would blame you if you " "If you're no longer up for it, we'll find a man who is." "You ungrateful dog!" "Any more questions?" "Gentlemen?" "What's that?" "I understand this boy is yours." "I'm his aunt, sir." "I speak for myself." "If I see him so much as look at my daughter again," "I will have you evicted." "Am I understood?" "Yes." "Good." "Grace." "All right, lad?" "Good evening, sir." "Sh!" "My aunt will hear you!" "Your aunt?" "Where's your mother?" "Dead." "Yours?" "A drunken smuggler took a pot shot at my father and killed her instead." "Oh." "So you must forgive my father if he does not clap your friends on the back for their noble work!" "Let me see your back." "We're alike." "You and I." "We are not alike." "And we never will be." "But if I wasn't a pauper?" "I won't always be." "Upon that, you have my word." "I came to apologise for my behaviour." "Don't misconstrue my visit." "One day, I'll be a rich man." "There aren't enough fish heads in the world." "You have a pretty face, John Trenchard." "Don't get it shot off." "Who's there?" "Where are you, Blackbeard?" "We must keep up our guard." "It's not me I'm worried about!" "I was in Dorchester yesterday, Elzevir." "The boys are up before the judge next week." "They say Mohune has his ear and that it will end badly for them." "Will they speak against us?" "That's the question." "They will not." "You've more trust in people than I." "Mohune has his spies everywhere." "What about that Trenchard boy?" "Always asking his questions." "He's no spy." "You saw him dragged through the street." "I'll slit a smile in that boy's throat if he " "The boy's a brave boy, and no friend of Mohune's." "He lives till I say he doesn't, do you understand?" "Quiet!" "Listen!" "What is it?" "You are a revolting man, Ratsey." "Enough talk." "Let's get these on the cart." "Before the Revenue start knocking." "'Let not the water flood drown me, neither let the deep swallow me up.'" "Psalms." "Oh..." "Oh, no." "Help!" "Help!" "You're cheating." "I don't know how you're doing it, but you are." "I don't need to cheat to beat you." "Dancing girls have come at last!" "Where is he?" "I didn't have you down as a morning drinker, Miss Arnold." "Join me!" "My nephew's not been home for three nights." "I thought he'd be with you." "Why would you think that?" "He's wild." "He can't live under a civilised roof." "So you thought he might be in here?" "Well, as you can see, Jane... he's not here." "If you find him... will you please take him in?" "I can do no more." "This is no orphanage, woman." "Then God help him." "For you are the only man he has ever looked up to." "Three nights ago." "When we were last in the vault." "If he's in the vault, he already knows too much." "Let him die there." "Hello?" "Who's there?" "You should have killed him in the crypt!" "Not brought him back here to be the death of" " Not in cold blood!" "If you haven't got the stomach for the work," "I'll slip upstairs and do the deed myself." "The boy will live with me." "If he steps out of line - He's seen too much, as it is!" "What I saw and heard in the crypt will go with me to the grave." "I give you my word of honour." "His word of honour!" "Happy to teach you the notion, Meech." "You just have to ask." "I'll be watching you, boy." "Every minute of every day." "I told you to stay away from the churchyard, John." "So..." "You think this is some kind of game, huh?" "Hm." "You will stay with me but I will watch you." "Head down, mouth shut." "Yes, sir." "Head down, mouth shut." "You're just the boy that cleans the pots." "Nothing more." "Do you understand?" "You risked your life for some psalms?" "I risked my life for the Colonel's diamond." "It just wasn't there." "Ah, my wicked ancestor." "And yet, in the end, even he turned to the Lord." "Where is the diamond?" "Hidden, stolen?" "He may have been a great devil, but he was no divine." "Look." "'The days of our age are threescore and ten." "And although men be so strong that they come to fourscore years...'" "And so on and so forth." "He writes 'Psalm 90:21'." "So?" "Well, I know for a fact there are only 17 verses in it." "This verse comes tenth, and yet he calls it the 21st." "As he was your ancestor, I suppose it's rightfully yours." "Some inexact psalms and a rusty locket?" "I give them to you." "The law's arm has grown weak in these parts and will be strengthened by some wholesome hangings." "If you are a member of the Contraband... this is the fate that awaits you." "If you harbour a member of the Contraband, knowingly or unknowingly, this is the fate that awaits you." "If you handle a piece of silk, take a sip of wine, cheated from His Majesty... this is the fate that awaits you." "Yet even now, the King's mercy is bountiful." "Point out your accomplices." "Point out your accomplices and the noose shall come off." "You'll be free." "To take your families and leave." "So be it." "Where are you going?" "This is horrible." "You are a Mohune." "Now act like one!" "Don't turn your head." "Look them straight in the eye." "I'll see you in hell, Mohune!" "Yes." "But you shall be there first, sir." "Save me a seat by the fire." "I hope you've done your chores, boy." "What's it like to kill a man, Elzevir?" "To kill a man is a monstrous thing." "Hateful." "And any man who tells you different is one you wouldn't want to be in the company of." "But sometimes you have to." "Not to save a friend or yourself." "A shrewd man doesn't put himself in the position to do either." "Come." "Lift your arm." "Straighten it." "Hm." "Now clear your mind." "God help us all!" "Here." "I'll say this just one more time." "Raise your arm." "Yeah." "Straight." "Clear your mind." "Just gently pull the trigger." "This auction, carried out this day in the village of Moonfleet in Dorsetshire, to include The Ship Inn." "When the pin falls, the deal is done." "So, what am I bid?" "My offer is £12." "Same as last time and the time before." "Sounds eminently reasonable to me." "Mohune." "Good day to you." "Gentlemen." "Get... out... of my home." "Where's the bidding at, sir?" "We'll have no unpleasantness here, gentlemen." "Mr Block has offered £12 per annum." "I offer... £13." "I never had you down as a pub landlord, Mr Mohune." "I believe it's your..." "your legal duty, isn't it, to obtain the highest possible price, for the duchy?" "That is true, of course, but erm..." "This property has been in Mr Block's family for three generations." "£20." "£21." "I have no interest in fooling." "30." "31." "Gentlemen." "40." "41." "Are you mad, sirs?" "Save your breath and spare your money." "I'll give thee The Mermaid at Bridport." "And a snug parlour and ten times the trade of this." "£50." "Ratsey!" "Ratsey!" "Elzevir's losing the Inn." "141." "150." "Stop this, Block." "You cannot have this sort of money." "If he has, how was it accrued?" " That would be my question." " Out of my way!" "151." "160." "No, Elzevir." "Let him have it, and the Devil take it!" "Sound advice, for the money's but a fleabite to me." "161." "170." "200." "Congratulations." "You are the landlord of the poorest pothouse in the duchy... at £200 a year." "Thank you very much." "A bargain at half the price to rid the village of its King Rat." "No, Elzevir!" "When does this gentleman's lease expire?" "A week tomorrow." "Make sure you're gone from here by then, or I shall smash this door down and have you flogged in the street, do you understand me?" "Take the boy with you." "Good day to you all." "Must you go?" "Can you imagine yourself married to a fisherman?" "Married?" "You run ahead of yourself, John Trenchard." "That's just the start." "I'm going to do great things, Grace." "I believe you will." "We're alike... you and I, and you know it." "When will I see you again?" "I don't know." "But I know that you will." "Then I will put a light in the tower every night to guide you home to Moonfleet." "Goodbye, John." "It's your mother's Book of Common Prayer." "I never wanted a child, John." "Not my own." "Nor your mother's." "You must forgive me for that." "There's nothing to forgive, Aunt Jane." "Be careful, John Trenchard." "Come on, John." "What is it?" "Welcome to the Contraband." "John Trenchard." "She's sat out in the Channel, waiting for our signal." "Let's to work, gentlemen." "Come on, lads." "Meech?" "Hm." "Get more in there." "Come on, look lively." "That's it." "Round up the posse." "I'll stay here and watch them." "John!" "To you!" "You'll do." "Ratsey..." "To you!" "Come on, boys." "Let's get this job done." "Did you see that?" "What?" "Don't drink the brandy, boy." "First rule of the Contraband." "There's something..." "A flash in the grass." "There!" "John!" "No!" "John!" "I arrest you in the name of " "Hold fast." "You wouldn't have the guts to come alone." "What to do with him, Elzevir?" "That's the question." "He's seen our faces." "He has to die..." "and I'm the man to do it." "When his day of reckoning comes, tis I will reckon with him." "And here's the tool, Elzevir." "I am a magistrate of the County of Dorset!" "Where's the posse?" "Where's the posse?" "There is no posse." "I followed alone." "Meech has betrayed us." "The posse is coming." "Put the cargo in the old quarry." "You get back to Moonfleet and have yourself seen and heard." "I alone will be accountable for his killing." "John." "You go with them." "This is not a deed for a boy to witness." "I go where you go." "Go!" "Ratsey." "No, Elzevir, no!" "No!" "Go!" "Get off me!" "Elzevir, no!" "Make your peace with God, Mohune." "No, Elzevir!" "Get back." "Back." "Keep back, boy." "You have no part in this." "It makes you the same as him." "I have an only daughter." "None but me to guard her." "Would you... rob her of a father?" "Would you have my bloody corpse delivered to her?" "And did I not have a son?" "And did this pistol not flash in his face and take away his life?" "Don't blame me for trying." "There's no way out of this, John." "They have delivered him to my hands, well knowing that I will account with him." "Get on your knees." "On your knees." "Close your eyes, man." "It's Grace's father." "Get it done, sir!" "Fire!" "Jump, it's our only chance." "And be dashed on the rocks?" "Trust me." "They're running away!" "Keep firing!" "Don't lose them!" "You must sign the requisition for the immediate apprehension of your father's murderer, Elzevir Block." "There was a boy next to him when it happened." "Name of Trenchard." "Is he caught?" "Not yet, but he will be." "Blackbeard wrote down the secret location of his diamond." "Stop, stop!" "This could be the making of us, John." "We can go to the Moonwell with this and a new life." "You're a long way from Moonfleet, Dorset." "What I want is to see Moonfleet not in the new world." "Are you ready, son?" "I'm ready, father!"