"All present and accounted for, sir." "Thank you, captain." "As of this moment you are the property of the penal administration, French Guiana." "After serving your full terms in prison those of you with sentences of eight years or more will remain in Guiana as workers and colonists for a period equal to that of your original sentences." "As for France, the nation has disposed of you." "France has rid herself of you altogether." "Forget France." "And put your clothes on." "Papillon!" "Papi!" "You'll be back, Papillon." "Don't worry, you'll be back." "No, you won't." "You, that way." "Down there." "You too." "Next, over here. ome along." "ome in here." "You too." "Over there." "ome along up there." "Hurry up!" "You too." "Down." "Down. ln there!" "ome along now." "Down!" "ome on down!" "Down there." "ome on up there!" "In there." "We're something, aren't we?" "The only animals that shove things up their ass for survival." "First time I shoved one up my gut it infected me so bad, the camp doctor had to cut it out." "He doesn't have any ether so he knocks me out with rum." "And you know what he did?" "He stole it." "The butterfly." "You're Papillon?" "Yeah." "The bastards gave you life." "Right to the end of the line, they think." "It may not be as long as you think." "Forty percent of us will die the first year out." "They gave him life too." "Kid's only 1 8." "Look at him." "No wonder he dreams." "He'll never make it." "But men like you can make it, if you have enough money." "How long were you there?" "Nine years work camp, nine years a colonist." "You were outside the walls." "Why didn't you run?" "There's no place to run to." "You're in a swamp, 1 000 miles from no place." "If you got a lot of money, that's a different thing." "I mean, you take somebody like Dega there." "Back there." "Louis Dega, the best counterfeiter in France." "National Defence Bonds." "Series 1 928." "Right." "Now, if you've got money like he has, there's a chance to buy your way out." "That is, unless somebody cuts his guts open first to get at all that cash." "Everybody up!" "Let's go!" "Everybody up!" "ome on, everybody up!" "Let's go!" "Mind if I sit down here?" "If you wish." "You're Dega, aren't you?" "Louis Dega." "Sorry to see you here." "I presume most of us have earned our passage." "You're Papillon." "You killed a pimp and then told the prosecutor you were going to escape and kill him too." "l was framed. I'm innocent." "No one is innocent." "I'm no pimp killer, for chrissake." "I'm a safecracker." "That's a profession of which I disapprove." "I put everything I had into National Defence Bonds." "Series 1 928." "1 928?" "Your instincts were sound." "How much did you lose?" "I wouldn't put any of my money on those bonds." "I'm relieved to hear that, but why are we having this chat?" "Every convict on this ship knows who you are." "Any of them would slit your belly to get what you're carrying." "So?" "You need protection." "From you?" "Remember what the chicken told the weasel?" "If he was a healthy weasel, the chicken didn't say anything." "Think about that." "Hose down!" "ome on, off your asses!" "ome on, you got a fever." "Do what I tell you." "Julot." "Got a question." "If I wanted to get a small boat when I got there, how much would it cost?" "I don't know, 3500, 45 maybe. lt all depends." "What if I pick up the money to buy one?" "Then you'd have a boat." "You know the country." "We could make it out of there." "The answer is no. lt's nothing against you, but the answer is no." "If I go to solitary for some escape that didn't work I want the mistake to be mine and not anybody else's." "The answer is no." "How'd it feel, kid?" "ome on." "All right, come on, move it!" "Move it a little!" "Let's go!" "Let's move!" "What do you want?" "Almost unbearable, isn't it?" "What?" "Heat." "It's not too bad." "You're closer to it than I am." "Oh, yes." "You're referring to last night, aren't you?" "Well, aren't you?" "May I tell you something?" "At first glance, I'm afraid that I regarded you with rather a large degree of unworthy suspicion." "Am I clear?" "No." "Well, it now seems quite possible that until we get to a decent jail with bribable guards I may stand in some need of rather close physical protection." "How long do you want to live?" "Oh, a long time." "Then you got a problem." "Well, I presume that you have some goal some particular need that outweighs all others." "I mean, if so, may I ask what it is?" "Money." "For what?" "Escape." "Very good." "You keep me alive until we land in Guiana I'll underwrite any escape you arrange." "Escape for me, not for us." "Oh, of course." "I have no intention of even attempting an escape, ever." "Done." "Thank you." "Leave him alone or I'll cut you up!" "Hide this!" "Over there is St. Joseph." "The other island is Royal." "The one on the right is Devil." "Julot." "Why is it so hard to escape from there?" "A man could swim to the mainland." "No, there must be a better way." "No, swimming's not the way." "The current is so strong, it'll push you back." "No, when you're on those islands, you're there for keeps." "Where do we go?" "We go up the Moroni River." "Then we dock at St. Laurent  where they decide whether to send you to the work camps or the islands." "See those two with the guns?" "Right over there." "They served their time, now they're colonists." "They've turned manhunter." "Manhunter?" "Yeah, you escape, they hunt." "For money, I presume, reward." "Jesus!" "All right, get ready to move!" "Line up to disembark!" "I'm gonna have an accident on the gangplank." "It's gotta look good, so lend me your shiv." "What the hell for?" "Because I'm a two-time loser." "No matter what happens, I'll be sent out to the islands." "I've got to get into that hospital to think." "Give me that shiv." "You're crazy, Julot." "Single file, march!" "Hold it!" "Let's go!" "Single file!" "Move!" "Let's go!" "Bring a stretcher." "Single file." "Take him away." "All right, move it!" "All right, let's go!" "Okay, come on, let's go!" "ome on, march!" "Keep moving." "You two, pick him up quickly." "Attention!" "Welcome to the penal colony of French Guiana whose prisoners you are and from which there is no escape!" "First attempts at escape add two years in solitary to existing sentences." "Second attempts add five more." "Of course, more serious offenses are dealt with in this fashion." "Make the best of what we offer you and you will suffer less than you deserve." "Dismissed." "into the bunkhouse!" "One, two, three, four!" "Go on!" "Get a move on!" "Mr. Dega." "Oh, yes, indeed. I know all about you, Mr. Dega." "Very intelligent man." "Thank you. I seem to be known in all the wrong places." "I have a friend who's a guard." "For very" "Yes, go ahead." "For very little money he can arrange for certain people to stay here instead of being sent to a work camp or one of the islands." "an he get us a job here?" "Perhaps a selection from which we may choose?" "Oh, yes!" "That is, my friend can." "Take our money, you put your life on the line." "Of course." "How much will it cost?" "My friend has a large family." "Many little children." "Do you understand?" "And his sergeant has a mother, heart" "He's asking you how much, not how many." "I'll do the negotiating." "How much?" "For you, 500." "For him, 1 500." "He made trouble." "Yes, indeed he did." "Nevertheless, I'll give you 1 250 for the both of us." "Now you take it or leave it, as you wish." "Try again." "Very well, I want two pairs of comfortable shoes and you get the 2000." "Don't you have to go to the toilet?" "Yes, of course." "Would you excuse me?" "Oh, you don't need to, Mr. Dega." "Unless, of course, you want to." "I can pick it up in the morning." "Get moving!" "Let's go!" "Wake up!" "ome on, move it!" "On your feet!" "Attention!" "Present arms!" "Mr. Dega, did you get the money?" "Move, move it!" "Get going!" "Move it!" "What the hell's wrong?" "Someone broke out of the hospital compound." "Julot." "Break it up." "We'll get him." "Next." "Next." "You're fine." "Next!" "I must be better than I feel." "You're in wonderful shape." "How do you fail an exam like this?" "Next!" "7551 ." "Dega?" "Yes, sir, Louis Dega." "lt was suggested to me that I speak" "We have it here." "We'll just keep you on here in the cleaning squad." "There's the matter of my friend." "You're Louis Dega?" "l am, and this is my friend Papillon." "We have much in common." "I'm extremely glad to see you." "Thank you." "Of course, if the circumstances" "My family lost everything in counterfeit National Defence bonds." "I'm very sorry to hear that, sir." "Even so, buying them was a tribute to their patriotism, wouldn't you say?" "And you're Mr. Dega's friend?" "Well, we" "There's one thing about St. Laurent we never separate old friends." "Kilo forty, both of them." "Today's transport." "What is " kilo forty"?" "Move!" "And heave!" "And pull!" "And heave!" "And pull!" "Don't touch him." "You'll wind up worse than he is." "Move!" "Get moving!" "Duck!" "Get up, you lazy bastards!" "You get that croc and bring him along!" "You, pick another man and grab that croc!" "ome on, move!" "He isn't dead, they just irritated him." "Get his tail." "You get his tail!" "Where's his tail?" "Over there." "Are you ready?" "Yeah." "So am I." "Go ahead." "Okay." "Ready?" "ls that the tail?" "No." "Oh, I better go over this side." "You get the head." "The head?" "You try the tail." "Okay, now you try the head." "Grab him!" "He's dead." "Still talking." "He's dead." "He's dead?" "Move it!" "ome on." "ome on, hands up." "Next!" "Two, three, four." "Bring it around here." "Just lay the croc right there!" "Just drop it." "Hold it." "Move out." "He's pretty big." "Skin is worth some money." "Move it!" "What the hell are you looking at?" "You're Louis Dega." "Yes, sir." "l'm lusiot." "How come you ended up in a place like this?" "Favouritism." "Your friend's kind of quiet." "He's dead." "He jammed a piece of wood down his throat, choked himself to death." "Three-way split." "Fair, isn't it?" "Quinine." "Worst country in the world for malaria." "Here, take them." "Go ahead, I've got some left." "Well, if I'm gonna get my sleep I'll have to take this poor bastard with me." "Decent man." "Dega." "The manhunters, the ones down at the dock." "Son of a bitches." "Butterflies?" "Yeah, that's right." "Some guy named Richter." "He works every camp on the river, buying the damn things." "We catch them, he buys them, the guards get the big payoff." "It's called the Blue Morphos butterfly." "Its wings are used for dye in making American currency." "How often does he come here?" "A few times a month." "Boat?" "No other way." "Why?" "Thinking." "I handle a boat pretty good myself, you know." "Yeah?" "You're supposed to catch them, you clumsy bastard!" "Where do you send these bugs, sir?" "United States." "How much to send this one to Panama?" "Guard, come here." "Don't turn me in, I got 1 000 for you." "I didn't hear you." "I said I got 2000, on me, right now." "What's the trouble?" "This man just brought me the finest Morphos I've ever seen." "Why don't you get him a net?" "Right away, sir." "I want a seaworthy boat." "ost you 4000, my friend." "Half now, half on delivery." "When will that be?" "One week from tonight." "Where will the boat be?" "Half a mile downriver." "About 300 yards this side of the river there's a big tree, you can't miss it." "I'll be there." "Bring the rest of the money." "I'll take you to your boat." "You're a goddamn burglar, and that proves it." "Are you asleep?" "No." "I've been thinking." "When you decide to go I'd very much appreciate going with you." "Why?" "an you handle a boat?" "No." "an you even see a boat without your glasses?" "l can help." "Jesus hrist!" "You didn't want to escape." "I didn't." "Now I have no choice." "If I stay here in this place I'll die." "Well, it's your money." "You two, got a job for you!" "You load a stiff into the boat!" "You load him right now!" "Julot." "Pick him up." "Dega." "Hey, sarge!" "He didn't mean it, sir." "He's sick. I'll take care of him." "Stop that, you pig!" "Leave him to me." "I'll take care of him." "Stop, you bastard!" "Do you realize that the first man who carved a wheel out of stone, used it as an ornament?" "Always admired him for that." "The search party gave up." "Instead of trying to make the orifice fit the lens I made the lens fit the orifice." "What do you think?" "Did he make it or didn't he?" "I'd say his chances are very poor, wouldn't you?" "Jesus!" "is that all you've got to say?" "What do you expect me to say?" "That man risked his life to save mine." "For me that's a new experience." "These may work better than I'd hoped." "I told you you couldn't miss it." "The only trouble is you're a week early." "It's up to you." "You're worth just as much dead as you are alive." "Guard!" "The rule here is total silence." "We make no pretense of rehabilitation." "We're not priests, we're processors." "A meatpacker processes live animals into edible ones we process dangerous men into harmless ones." "This we accomplish by breaking you." "Breaking you physically, spiritually and here." "Strange things happen to the head here." "Put all hope out of your mind." "And masturbate as little as possible, it drains the strength." "That's all, take him away." "One, two three, four, five." "One, two, three, four, five." "Oh, Jesus." "No." "You'll eat everything they give you." "I'm gonna be fine." "I'm gonna be fine." "One, two, three, four, five." "I'm Jojo." "Papillon." "How do I look?" "I feel pretty good but I need somebody to tell me how I look." "Fine." "You look fine." "" hew the coconut well." "Then swallow the pulp, one each day, for strength." "My thoughts are with you." "Squinter." Dega." "I'll be a son of a bitch." "Dega." "I'm still here, you bastards." "Prisoner!" "Show yourself!" "You've been receiving coconuts." "Unless you tell us who sent them, your rations will be cut in half." "How can I tell you who sent me stuff I didn't get?" "What stuff?" "Well, I don't know." "You, you said coconut." "I want that name and I want it now." "Put him on half rations, screen his cell for six months." "Darkness does wonders for a bad memory." "You know the charge!" "I'm innocent!" "I didn't kill that pimp!" "You couldn't get anything on me, and you framed me!" "That is quite true!" "But your real crime has nothing to do with a pimp's death." "Well, then." "What is it?" "Yours is the most terrible crime a human being can commit!" "I accuse you of a wasted life!" "Guilty." "The penalty for that is death." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "They know." "How did you hear?" "Trustee works on the launch between here and St. Joseph." "That's all that he said?" "Then it's only a matter of time." "You think so?" "He's on half-rations now." "He can't exist on that." "Forced to choose between starvation and telling, what would you do?" "We're not talking about me." "What would you do?" "I'd tell. I'd have to." "You get weak, you get delirious, you lose control and you talk." "Then you won't blame him, huh?" "Blame is for God and small children." "I eat bugs!" "I don't have enough sense to get out of the rain." "Prisoner, show yourself." "Give me the name and you're back on full rations." "Just one name." "I don't get that hungry." "You'll starve." "You should see yourself." "I was born skinny." "Then you'll die." "I'm Papillon." "Francisco." "How do I look?" "Do I look okay?" "You look swell." "That's 30 days more, pimp killer!" "I want to see the warden." "I want to talk." "I have something to tell him." "Who gave you the food?" "I...." "Jesus, warden...." "l had it." "I had the name, honest to God." "I must be light-- l must be lightheaded or something because...." "l'm trying. I'm trying." "I can't remember." "Honest to God, I can't." "I can't remember." "It's not there, Mr. Prosecutor." "I don't know. lt's not there." "He's dying." "You're dead." "Your term is completed." "Five." "Six." "Son of a bitch." "Welcome to the penal colony of French Guiana whose prisoners you are and from which there is no escape." "First attempt at escape add two years in solitary to existing sentences." "Second attempt, add five more." "Of course, more serious offenses are dealt with in this fashion." "Hello, Papi." "Don't take advantage, I'm in handcuffs." "Make the best of what we offer you and you will suffer less than you deserve." "Dismissed." "Move!" "into the bunkhouse!" "One, two!" "I have hot soup, with real meat in it." "Dega sent it to you." "My name is Maturette." "How are you?" "I'm pretty good." "You'd be in much better health if you'd given them my name." "I almost did." "Someone once said that temptation resisted is the true measure of character." "How'd you get out of kilo forty?" "It was the rankest sort of corruption." "Suffice it to say, the warden now has a new house and I've become his chief clerk." "Papi, look." "My wife and lawyer have convinced members in the Ministry of Justice that my sentence was a bit harsh." "Some months back I asked them to look into your case, and they've made some headway." "One of the principle witnesses against you may be willing to change his story, for a price." "If this happened, when would it be?" "You could be out in three years." "Too long." "No, it isn't." "And with a good job, the time will pass very quickly." "Listen, my friend." "You owe me nothing."