The Ghost and the Darkness Page #8

PATTERSON:

Not to terrify you, Nigel, but it's worse

than you think- I've never even seen one.

CUT TO:

STARLING, not pleased with this news. He massages his calf, tries

to get comfortable, which is impossible. Patterson just stares at

the night.

CUT TO:

JUST BEFORE DAWN

The donkey dozes. So does Starling. Patterson has not so much as

moved.

Now the bushes behind the donkey shake just a little.

And the donkey is suddenly awake and scared-

-and then it all goes crazy- the donkey screams and a lion appears

from the bushes and Patterson fires one shot and the sound

EXPLODES-

-and Starling topples from the tree to the ground, landing shocked

but unhurt-

-he has landed close to the dead lion- he stares at it.

STARLING:

(amazed)

...one shot...

PATTERSON:

(even more amazed)

So that's what a lion looks like.

(Now from the tree-)

CUT TO:

THE HOSPITAL TENT AREA - JUST AFTER DAWN

HOLD for a moment.

SAMUEL (over)

One shot- one-

KEEP HOLDING:

Now Samuel comes walking into the shot, really excited-

-it's the first time we've seen his wonderful smile.

SAMUEL:

Patterson has made the nights safe

again.

KEEP HOLDING FOR JUST A MOMENT MORE.

As he walks on, behind him come THREE COOLIES carrying the body of

the lion. As dozens of men come running in from all over to see

the dead man-eater-

SAMUEL:

(mimes shooting)

BOOM!

(Now as the crowd

continues to grow-)

CUT TO:

A ROUGH ENGINEER'S DRAWING OF WHAT WILL BE THE BRIDGE

It has two embankments on either side of the river.

These embankments are big- forty feet wide, fifty feet high.

CUT TO:

PATTERSON AND STARLING standing on the high ground where the

embankment will start. From here, there is a slope down to the

river itself.

Also present is UNGAN SIGNH, who we saw earlier standing

precariously atop the water tower. Singh, enormously powerful, is

another assistant. Bright, a great worker, another main character

in what is to follow.

Now Patterson starts to walk down the slope towards the river-

it's not that easy to do without falling, but that doesn't bother

him. He talks and gestures as he explains to the other two who

move down with him.

Singh, for all his massive size, moves like a cat. Starling does

not, slipping and sliding.

PATTERSON:

(gesturing)

All right, I'd like to start the

embankments today-

(to Singh)

-sufficient supplies on hand?

SINGH:

(nods)

More than.

STARLING:

With much more on the way-

(loses balance, falls)

-John- we could have had this chat on

flatter ground-

PATTERSON:

-true enough- but without the comedy

relief.

(Starling, amazingly good

natured, smiles, gets

back up)

CUT TO:

THE RIVER as they scramble down to it.

CUT TO:

THE SLOPE they've come down- it's a long way back to the top.

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