by Nevil Shute
(They pause on the bank and study the river. A fish jumps in the pool.)
[DISSOLVE TO:
The River
(Thorgunna and Leif are shown wading waist-deep in a pool, one at each side of the river with the net stretched across between them, working it up the pool. They are intent upon the water, and moving quietly and stealthily, but they are smiling; it is great fun.)
[DISSOLVE TO:
The River Bank
(Thorgunna and Leif are dragging the net into a shallow with a sandy or a flat stone beach, to get the fish ashore. They pull it in; it has perhaps one salmon and a few parr or trout in it. They crouch down together by the water’s edge to examine their catch. This scene should be sunny and beautiful.)
THORGUNNAThese little ones with spots are very sweet; I like them best, myself. But your men are so big — (She glances at Leif shyly.) — that I think they will like the big ones better.
LEIFThey are grand fish. We catch fish in the sea, but not so good as these. We have no fishing of this sort at home.
THORGUNNAAre there no rivers in your country?
LEIFNone like this. You’d think our country was a poor place if you came to visit it.
THORGUNNA(Looking round over the wild Hebridean scenery.) Is your country much worse than ours?
LEIFMost of it is covered in ice and snow all the year round. We tell everybody that it’s the best land in the world, and we get along all right there, but it’s not so good as this. I don’t mind you knowing.
THORGUNNA(Wistfully) I want to travel some day and see other places. I do envy you, going to Norway. They say it’s a wonderful country. The trees there grow seventy or eighty feet high in the valleys.
LEIFNo!
THORGUNNAIt’s quite true. I’d like to go there and see trees like that. I’d like to see your Greenland, too.
LEIFYou wouldn’t like Greenland. It’s not a good country.
THORGUNNA(Thoughtfully) A good country is a country where there are good people, a place where men are kind, and generous, and simple. I think your country is a better one than this. (She rouses, and picks up the net.) There is a good pool down below that rapid, but we must get over to the other bank.
(They turn and splash knee-deep through the water, laughing together. Leif takes her hand to help her through a deep bit.)
[DISSOLVE TO:
Hill Overlooking Leif’s Camp
(It is evening. Thorgunna and Leif come up to the crest and see the ship upon the beach below them, and the camp, not very far away. Leif is carrying the net upon his back; it is full of fish. They stop on the crest of the hill.)
THORGUNNAI will not come down to the camp with you; I will go home from here.
LEIF(Taking her hand) Lady, I have to thank you for two things; for these fish, and for a very happy day. Shall we meet again?
THORGUNNAI know where there are seagulls’ eggs on the rock face. Do your men like those?
LEIFLady, my chaps will eat anything from seaweed to a bit of walrus hide. If they could get eggs now and then it would be fine.
THORGUNNAI can show you where those are, if you like. We might meet out here.
LEIFTo-morrow — two hours after sunrise?
(They smile at each other.)
[DISSOLVE TO:
The Cliff
(Leif and Thorgunna are seen clambering about on the face of a cliff, with the sea beating upon rocks hundreds of feet below them. The effect should be one of terrifying height. They do not consider it dangerous; they have a woven fish basket with them and they are gathering seagulls’ eggs. They are chatting and laughing together.)
LEIFThere’s a slippery bit here; be careful how you come.
THORGUNNABe careful yourself, or else give me the eggs.
LEIF(Looking at the sea far below him) If I fell down there I don’t suppose I’d worry much about the eggs. I might bounce once upon that sticking out bit, but then it’s a clear drop down to the rocks.
(Thorgunna is standing on a rocky ledge. She is leaning a little against the rock wall behind her, and she is staring at the far horizon, motionless. All the gaiety has gone from her, and her face is set and expressionless.)
THORGUNNALeif, you mustn’t fall.
LEIF(Turning to look at her) Of course not. Hullo — what’s the matter?
THORGUNNA(Motionless) You mustn’t fall.
(Leif goes to her quickly, and takes her hand.)
LEIFThorgunna, what’s the matter? Are you feeling queer?
THORGUNNA(Looking down at his hand holding hers) I — I don’t quite know.
LEIFWe’ll sit and rest a bit. This isn’t a very good place to feel faint, you know. Wake up.
THORGUNNA(Passing her hand over her eyes) I’m all right. I thought . . . oh, I don’t know what I thought.
LEIFWe’ll knock off for a bit, and get up to the cliff top, and sit down.
THORGUNNAIf you like.
[DISSOLVE TO:
The Cliff Top
(This is an open, grassy slope high above the sea, sunny and windswept. Thorgunna and Leif are sitting close together.)
LEIFWhat happened down there, Thorgunna? Did you feel ill?
THORGUNNANo — not ill. I just got a — a sort of feeling that you mustn’t fall. It seemed to be so urgent . . . suddenly. (Turns to him) I don’t suppose you can understand.
LEIF(Grinning) I’ve a kind of idea that I do.
THORGUNNA(Laughing) It wasn’t that. It wasn’t anything to do with us. (Seriously) It was bigger than that. It seemed to be terribly important, suddenly, that nothing should happen to you. Not only to me.
LEIF(Puzzled) Who to, then?
THORGUNNA(With wonder in her voice) Sort of — to the world. To every man and every woman still unborn, living in countries far beyond our own that we know nothing about. It seemed to me that if you fell, something would be lost to all those unborn people we shall never know, and God would grieve for them, and I should grieve with God.
LEIFYou’re a queer girl, Thorgunna.
THORGUNNAThat’s what they used to say about my mother.
LEIFI never met any one like you before. I never before met any woman that I could — respect.
THORGUNNA(Gravely) If I repeated that it would sound silly, but it would be true.
LEIF(Putting his arm round her shoulders) Tell me, what was it you were thinking about me before you went all funny on the cliff?
[DISSOLVE TO:
The Hayfield
(This is a low field beside the sea; the western beach runs up to this field so that you look out over the sea towards the sunset. The hay is cut and in stacks upon the field, ready for carting the next day. It is evening. Leif and Thorgunna are standing hand-in-hand looking at the sunset, silhouetted against it. This is a very beautiful scene.)
LEIFBeyond those clouds, you say there lies the Happy Land. What was its name?
THORGUNNAHy Breasail. The land beyond the sunset, the place where everything is clean and beautiful and good.
LEIFThe Happy Land. Surely, the place where you are happy is that Happy Land.
(He slips his arm around her shoulders; she smiles up at him. They turn again and look at the glory of the sunset.)
THORGUNNAIt’s lovely, Leif. Let’s sit and watch it for a bit. You haven’t got to go back yet, have you?
LEIFNot yet.
(They sit down together with their backs against a haycock, Leif with his arm around her shoulders, watching the sunset. The colours change and deepen; a star or two shows in the sky. The colours glow and fade till there is only a thin gold streak against the deep blue sky, pierced with a thousand stars.)
LEIF(Gently) You haven’t got to go back yet, have you?
THORGUNNANot yet.
[FADE TO:
The Camp
(Daytime; Leif and Tyrker are looking at the burgee at the masthead of the ship. It is blowing away from the land, in the reverse direction to the previous shots of it.)
LEIFWell, we’ve got our west w
ind at last. We’ve been here over a month.
TYRKER(Sourly) We’ve been here seven weeks.
LEIFNot so long as that, surely?
TYRKERWe got here on the twenty-fifth of May. This is the fifth of July.
LEIFIt hasn’t seemed like seven weeks.
TYRKERIt’s seemed like seven years to all the rest of us. We haven’t all got —
LEIFThat’s enough of that. Do you think this wind is settled in the west?
TYRKER(Looking round the sky) I think so. The sky looks quite different now. It’s got much warmer. I think it will be west now for some days.
LEIF(Heavily) All right, we’ll sail at dawn. Tell the men; get everything cleaned up and on board to-night. It’s high water about two in the morning; we’ll float off on that, and lie at anchor till the dawn.
TYRKER(Gently) You will have other business to attend to. I will see to everything.
LEIFAll right. I am going to the town now, to see the King, to tell him we are leaving.
[DISSOLVE TO:
The King’s Hall
(This is a wooden building with a high, vaulted roof. It should be larger than any building we have seen so far but not enormous, because later in the story the hall of King Olaf in Norway has to be very much larger. It has one or two long benches for meals, a sleeping dais at one end, and near this dais a large open fireplace. The King is seated on the dais, informally, with a number of his warriors about him; they are all heavily armed, and are real toughs. There are one or two very fierce, large dogs about the place that snarl as Leif speaks and are held back by the men. Leif stands before the King.)
LEIFSir, the wind has changed, and we can get away for Norway with the dawn. We have been here for seven weeks. I am sorry that we had to stay so long. I want to thank you for allowing us to camp here, both for myself and also for my father who sent me on this mission.
KINGI want no thanks from an outlaw. Still, you have behaved yourselves and made no trouble. Lucky for you. If you had started messing with our women I would have slaughtered the whole lot of you; not one man would have got away to boast of it. However, go with my goodwill. Tell King Olaf, when you see him, that I keep this country clean.
LEIFI shall tell him that, sir. I shall tell him that you keep this country as clean as our own.
KING(Fiercely) You are insolent.
LEIFI meant no insult, sir. But we are a proud people, too.
KING(Sinking back) Go in peace, before I change my mind. Get out.
[DISSOLVE TO:
Leif’s Camp
(It is almost dark; there is a thin band of sunset light still showing in the night sky to the west. The tents have been struck and the camp site has been cleared except for the fire which was in front of Leif’s tent; this is still burning, and Leif is sitting by it; there are one or two packages of his personal goods still there, and some furs.)
(Thorgunna walks in from the darkness. Leif gets up to meet her.)
LEIFI am glad you have come down. If you had not, I would have come up to your window in the night and tapped on it, because I had to see you. My dear, we sail at dawn; the wind is fair for Norway.
THORGUNNAI know; I heard about it at the Hall this afternoon. You went to see my father. He is glad that you are leaving. (She sits down on a heap of furs before the fire.)
LEIFHe hates the sight of me.
THORGUNNAHe hates everybody. (Turns to him) Leif, I want you to take me away with you in your ship, to Norway.
LEIFDoes your father know anything about this?
THORGUNNANo. I wouldn’t dare to tell him.
LEIFOh . . .
(There is a pause. He stares at the fire, considering. She glances at him.)
— I’ve been thinking about this. If we were free people, you should come with me to Norway and beyond, Thorgunna.
THORGUNNA(Puzzled) We are free to do what we want to.
LEIFNo, we’re not. You are the most high-born lady in this land, and I’m an outlaw. Your father would kill me if I asked for you in marriage. If I carry you off with me, he will come after us; in this poor ship I cannot get away beyond the range of his galleys. I cannot fight your father’s warriors, and we so few in number. If I try that, I and all my people with me will be killed in battle. Back in Greenland, the wives of all these men will wait for them until they sink down mourning. That is the truth of it.
THORGUNNAI never thought about the galleys. I think you’re right in one thing; my father would do everything he could to have you killed.
LEIFIf I were here as a lone man I’d take the chance. But, Thorgunna, I’m on a mission for my father. Back home in Greenland, people depend on what I can achieve for them in Norway, and I’ve got to get there. (Pause) My dear, I can’t take you with me in the ship.
THORGUNNAI don’t think that’s the right decision, Leif.
LEIF(Heavily) Thorgunna, as one goes through life one has to make the best decisions that one can, and work on them. You can’t do more than your best. I’ve thought this over a long time, and that is how I’m going to take it.
THORGUNNAYou don’t know all the facts for your decision. I’m no longer a lone woman, Leif. I’m going to have a baby, and it’s yours.
LEIF(Smiling) I wondered about that. (He slips his arm round her shoulders, and kisses her.) It looks as though this decision has been made for us, after all. You shall stay here to-night; we sail at dawn. We will declare our marriage at King Olaf’s court. You’ll have to come just as you are. I have some rough, men’s clothes that you can wear; we’ll get a proper outfit for you when we get to Norway.
THORGUNNA(Shivering) Leif, my father will come after us. He’s a terrible man when he is angry.
LEIFI have a black hen in the hencoop, that I brought with me in case we got into a jam. I will make a sacrifice, and ask Odin to send a fog.
THORGUNNALeif, there is one God only, and He is not Odin. Killing your black hen will do no good. My father will come after us, and we shall all be killed in battle.
LEIFHe would never kill you.
THORGUNNAI think he would.
(They sit together silent for a minute. The leaping flames illuminate their faces; there is dark, velvety blackness behind them.)
THORGUNNA(Much distressed) Leif, I want to tell you something. Some of my people have the gift of second sight. My mother said once that I would bear a son to a strange man who came up from the sea. We all laughed about it at the time, but now I think that she was right. I can see things in the smoke clouds sometimes, Leif.
LEIF(Shocked) You mustn’t go playing with that sort of thing. It brings you in touch with devils.
THORGUNNAI haven’t done it since the holy man came from Ireland, because he said that it was wrong. But as for devils, Leif, I never saw much harm in anything that happened. Ought I to try to see what lies ahead of us? I think I might get something that would help.
LEIF(Gently) I don’t know much about these things. I never saw a devil myself; perhaps there aren’t any, really. Go ahead and do it, if it will help you, Thorgunna.
THORGUNNA(Distressed) The holy man said that if I did it again it would bring damnation to my soul.
LEIFI should leave it alone.
THORGUNNADo you think I might just ask Mother?
LEIFI didn’t know you had a mother. Where is she?
THORGUNNAShe is dead. She died last year.
LEIFOh . . .
THORGUNNA(Slightly offended) You don’t have to be afraid of Mother; she’s not a devil. She was kind, and good, and very, very wise.
LEIF(Uneasily) What have you got to do?
THORGUNNA(Showing him a satchel) I brought the things down with me. It’s only a matter of burning a few of these dead leaves and rare herbs in the fire to make a smoke. And I must sing the Warlocks’ Song.
LEIF(Very uneasily) The Warlocks’ Song . . . That calls up spirits from the grave. (Instinctively he loosens a dagger at his belt.)
THORGUNNA(Sadly) There is nothing to fear. You will see noth
ing but a silly, frightened girl staring at the smoke that she is making in the fire, and singing a little.
(She begins to throw the herbs and leaves from her satchel into the fire; smoke begins to rise and wreathe about them. Leif sits tense, his hand upon his dagger. In the background, in the semidarkness, Two Men working at the moorings of the ship look up and notice what is going on. They stare appalled, leave their work, and hurry off into the ship in superstitious awe. The smoke swirls up and thickens to a dense screen.)
(The wreathing smoke turns to a wet mist, grows thin, and gradually discloses Niagara Falls, shot from somewhere at the bottom. The scene merges to an interior shot of the power station at the bottom and a turbo-generator running; a close-up of the rotor gradually fills the screen with a whirl of machinery, changing back into the wreathing smoke.)
(Thorgunna, puzzled, passes a hand across her eyes and throws more herbs into the fire. Again the smoke swirls up as a dense screen.)
(Upon the background of the smoke slowly appears a shot of Leif talking to the Scotch slave, Haki, who comes later in the story. They are examining some ears of wheat that the Scot has brought. The scene merges to a panorama of a vast wheatfield in the Middle West at harvest time. A large reaper and binder comes straight at the camera, noisy and terrifying. Thorgunna gives a slight cry, and the scene merges back into smoke.)
(Thorgunna is very distressed, and rubs her eyes again.)
LEIF(Uneasily) Is it nearly over?
THORGUNNA(Distressed) I am only allowed one more, and I can’t understand what it all means.
(She throws her last handful of herbs into the fire. Again the smoke wreathes up to form a curtain.)
(The smoke clouds wreathe apart and disclose a shot of New York City from across the waters of the harbour, not clear cut, but a sunlit scene seen through a film of smoke. This merges in a swirl of smoke to a repeat of the shots of Niagara, the power station, and the wheatfield, and then to a shot of Leif at the steering oar of his ship in a rough sea. Finally this merges to a head and shoulders shot of an old lady, Thorgunna’s mother; she nods slightly, without smiling.)
