Original subtitles

(Wind whistles)

(Birds cry)

The Highlands are quiet now.

It was not always so.

(Bagpipes)

Not long ago, the glens shook to the sound of drums.

The Bonnie Prince had come from France

to reclaim the English throne for the House of Stewart.

In the Highlands, men dug their claymores out of the earth

and flocked round his standard.

Others stood firm for the English King.

(Drums)

They met on a moor near Culloden.

I was not there,

but I heard tell of it on all sides.

Use your bayonets, damn you!

No quarter for the King's rebels.

Move them along. Come on. Get them up.

Take a message to my father the King.

Tell him the pretender to the English throne has been thrashed

this day on Culloden Moor.

And that Bonnie Prince Charlie, as he calls himself, is in flight in the heather.

Tell him that it only remains

for the pacification of the Highlands to begin,

and this is now underway.

(Screaming)

Take that message to King George and tell him further that we have taken note

that the public order of the rebels yesterday was to give us no quarter.

And therefore may may expect none.

We shall end this nonsense once and for all

so that never again will the Jacobite rebellious spirit disturb the peace of our two countries.

This generation must be wore out before Scotland is quiet again.

Never again will the presumptuous Stewarts lay claim to the British throne.

Their escapade is over.

They have dared and they have lost.

Inform my father that upwards of 3,000 prisoners are on the roads to Edinburgh

to be cast into jails pending their transportation...

...or execution.

There will be no more rising of the clans in Scotland.

Come on.

Keep them up. Push them up.

(Thunderclap)

(Window opens)

What do you want?

It's loaded.

- Is this the House of Shaws? - Aye.

I've come with a letter for Mr. Ebenezer Balfour.

- Put it on the doorstep and be off with you. - I'll do no such thing.

I'll deliver it into Mr. Balfour's hand as was intended.

It's a letter of introduction.

- Who are you? - I'm David Balfour.

David...Balfour?

Is your father dead, then?

Aye, he'll be dead, no doubt.

Wait there. I'll come down and let you in.

(Window closed)

(Bolts slide open)

(Lock rattles)

Come inside.

Touch nothing.

I suppose you'll be hungry.

Do you want the porridge?

I wouldnae want to rob you of your own supper.

Ah, that's nothing.

I'll have the ale.

- Let's see the letter. - I told you. It's for Mr. Balfour.

And who do you think I am?

Give me Alexander's letter and get on with your porridge.

- You'll be my uncle, then? - Aye, and you're my born nephew.

Do you want the porridge?

Is your father long dead?

Three years. And my mother three years before that.

Aye.

Now there's a shame.

A bonny lassie.

A bonny lassie.

You'll be just 18, then?

I am. Mr. Campbell, the minister who took me in when my father died,

gave me that letter on my birthday a week ago.

It was given to him by my father.

Aye. Just so. Just so.

Is that all you're going to eat?

Cannae afford to waste.

(Clap of thunder)

You knew nothing of me or of the...

...House of Shaws

afore ye come here? - No, sir.

- Nor did these...Campbell friends of yours? - No, sir.

So you'll be all alone in the world?

Apart from me, that is.

Well, Davie, my man.

You did well to come to your Uncle Ebenezer.

I've a great notion of the family and I mean to do right by you.

And I will, no matter what it costs.

The only question is, what to put you to, whether to the ministry, or the...the law.

Well, Davie, my man,

we can discuss all this in the morning.

You'll be wanting to get to your bed.

Here...

Take this key.

You'll find a room at the top of the tower through that door there.

You cannae miss the way.

Good night...Uncle.

Can I have a candle?

Nae candles.

I dinnae approve of lights in a house.

I'm uncommon feared of fire.

Just stick to the wall you'll be all right.

(Thunder crashes)

Good night, Davie, my man.

Aagh!

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come...

(Screams)

Man, are you alive?

That I am, small thanks to you. Come, sit up.

Davie, my man!

My poor heart.

My medicine, David. The blue bottle on the sideboard.

- More medicine. - No more medicine till I know why you did it.

Davie, you wouldnae be so cruel as to stop a man's medicine.

Give me the bottle and I'll away to my bed.

I'll tell you all in the morning, as sure as death.

Very well. You can take your medicine and go to your bed.

I'm sleeping by the fire. You'll answer to me in the morning.

Aye.

You're a good lad, Davie. You're a good lad.

You will nae keep the fire burning all night?

It's a terrible waste of fuel.

(Door opens)

(Voices)

MAN: Then let's hurry.

If we don't sail with the tide,

I hear the military may commandeer the ship for taking rebel prisoners to London.

David, my man.

This is Captain Hoseason.

He and I have a venture for trade in the West Indies.

Well, well, so this is the young man.

I like his looks, Mr. Balfour.

He's a credit to you, I'll tell you that.

And...a lucky young man at that.

Lucky, sir?

Your uncle's just told me he wants the profits of the trip made over to you,

to set you up for life, no less.

(Timbers creak)

Back!

You're at sea, and there's nowhere else to go, except in it.

Now, calm down, or I'll have you locked up in the hold.

Where are you taking me?

Where are you taking me?

We're on our way to the Carolinas.

Come. Sit ye down and have some rum.

Why am I being taken to the Carolinas?

You're to be indentured on a plantation.

A slave?

Aye, if that's what you want to call it.

But why?

Why?

For money. That's why.

- Is he better now? - Aye, he'll be all right.

He can serve as our cabin boy.

Take him to the roundhouse, Mr. Riach,

and show him his duties.

- Come on. - Go now.

(Sighs contentedly)

Lads, lower that foreyard.

Come on. Heave ho, my hearties.

Come on, will you? Stir yourself, man.

Move yourself. Move.

Have you got the men listening?

Aye. Listening for breakers up and down the deck.

Is there any danger she'll run aground, Mr. Riach?

Oh, no, lad. She'll not do that.

What, man? You spoke too soon.

No, sir. Sounds more like we've run down a boat.

Come on.

Well, now. You're the wrong lot.

And not only are you the wrong lot,

you've run me down and sunk my boat.

- You were expecting a boat of a different kind? - I was.

French, maybe?

Do you have any objection to that?

None at all...necessarily.

Necessarily, is it?

Or do I detect a loyal subject of King George hearing the jingle of coins?

I'm no rebel Jacobite!

But I can be sorry when I see a man with his back to the wall.

Can you, now?

Well, then, your sympathy and my money should get together and do business.

Come to the roundhouse.

Bring the gentleman some food, Davie.

You er...were for France?

That's right.

If you'd take me there, I'd pay you well.

I'm bound for the Carolinas.

All right, then.

60 guineas to put me down on Loch Linnhe.

Let's see your money first.

(Coins jingle)

Half the belt, and it's done.

What do you take me for? A blithering idiot?

I'll hand you over to the soldiers.

Ah, well, now.

If that's the way you want it...

Oh, 60 guineas it is, then.

There's my hand on it.

Sit down and eat your food.

Come along, Mr. Riach.

Did you fight at Culloden Moor?

Aye. I was at Culloden Moor.

Have you been to France before?

I've lived in France for five years, raising arms and money.

And it won't be that long before I'm back again.

This bottle of yours is dry.

I'll go and ask for the key.

We should never have put him in the roundhouse.

You're always so full of hindsight, Mr. Riach.

How was I to know he had a belt full of Jacobite gold?

Whisht, man!

Captain, the gentleman's seeking a drink and the bottle's dry.

Will you give me the key?

Why, here's our chance. He can go where we cannot.

Come here.

Come here, boy.

That man's a rank foe of King George.

He's a danger to this ship and we must settle with him.

- You'd do that for King George, wouldn't you Davie? - But of course he would.

The trouble is, all the guns are in the roundhouse.

But you could snap up pistols and a powder horn and he'd be none the wiser.

And there will be a few golden guineas

for you, too.

So, what are you staring at now?

They're planning to come at you. They sent me in to get pistols and powder.

- How many? - 15.

15? Well, that cannot be cured.

Will you stand with me?

I'm with you.

You have the keys to the pistols, you say? Get them out and charge them.

Leave the door open. I prefer a clear view in front of me.

You get up on the bunk.

Watch the skylight.

I'll watch the door.

It's a bit cramped in here for this sword.

I'll have to use the point.

More's the pity.

My genius is with the cut, slash and upper guard.

Oh, and don't shoot in my direction, unless they get me down.

I fight better without holes in my head.

I said I was with you. I didn't say I was a crack shot.

- What's your name? - David Balfour, of Shaws.

Oh, of Shaws, is it?

Well, mine's Alan Breck.

And I have the right to put the King's name after it.

Alan Breck Stewart.

But I prefer to keep it plain and simple.

(Footsteps)

Naked steel.

A strange return for hospitality.

It's the only one for yours.

HOSEASON: I'll mind this, Davie.

Watch the skylight, Davie.

The skylight.

Watch the skylight.

(Shattering of glass)

Aaagh!

Oh, man.

Am I not a bonny fighter?

That's Mr. Riach.

Aye.

I dare say it was.

They're not through yet.

They'll come back again. Recharge the pistols.

Ssh!

David, ssh.

(Creaking and thumping)

What's that?

There's no-one at the wheel. The tiller's swinging free.

They're as poor sailors as they are fighting men. Just a bunch of treacherous Campbells.

My father's friend was a Campbell, and he was a good friend to me.

Oh, I dare say.

But you're a Lowlander.

Ask a Highlander what he thinks of a Campbell, and he'll have to spit before he tells you.

HOSEASON: You in there...

What do you want?

There'll be no more fighting.

(Whispers) Give me a pistol.

Cover on that door.

Put that down.

- There's not enough crew left to sail this ship. - Alan, look out!

Up here.

Davie, come on.

Quickly, Alan.

Davie.

Davie. Davie, wake up. Wake up.

Are you all right?

You're cold. Rub yourself. Rub yourself. Rub yourself.

Rub yourself. Rub yourself. Rub yourself.

I thought I saw you go under.

No, water and me don't mix.

I was born to be hanged, not drowned.

There's no sign of the others.

Where are we?

It's Campbell country.

More's the pity.

Listen, Davie, I'm a wanted man,

and there's nowhere between here and France that is safe for me.

So I must get a boat, and that means Edinburgh.

Now, between here and Edinburgh,

there's 100 miles of heather with a Redcoat behind every rock,

and if they catch me, they'll take you, too.

So I think it's best for you if we part and travel alone.

But I must get to Edinburgh, too. I've a score to settle with my uncle.

- Your uncle? - Aye.

He had me kidnapped aboard that boat, and I want to know why.

You've not been very lucky with your relatives, have you?

All the more reason to be choosy with your friends.

I tell you, I wouldn't know how to walk from here to Edinburgh.

Aye, that's true.

Lowlanders have no sense of direction.

So you'd better stay with me till we get to my Kinsman,

James Stewart.

He'll give us money and food to take us on. I lost my money belt in the water.

Come on, then.

On your feet.

Now, listen to me.

When I say run, you run.

And when I say hide, you hide. Do you understand?

For our lives will be like the hunted deer.

Come on, Davie. Come on.

You know, Davie, France is a beautiful place.

But when I'm there,

I long for the lochs and the heather.

Come on.

(Women singing)

They're from Culloden, taken to the hills.

Perhaps we'll get a bite to eat.

(Gunshot)

Come on! Run!

Get him!

(Screams)

(Gunshots)

It's Mungo Campbell.

(Dogs bark continuously)

Alan! Alan!

Lassie.

Lassie.

Oh, there's been a few sad days since I saw you last.

And there'll be more before the good days come again.

We heard you were away to France.

I was, and I would have met with a nasty end aboard the ship

had it not been for this gentleman here.

- David Balfour of Shaws. - A Lowlander?

Aye, but as brave a man as you'll find, and a good friend to me.

You're welcome to our house, Mr. Balfour.

I wish you could have seen us in happier times. This is my daughter Catriona.

(Clatter)

What are you doing, man?

Throwing dirt on good arms? Wrap them up before you bury them.

It makes nae difference, Alan. Guns will not be needed again.

Maybe not by you, James Stewart.

But there are those who'll need them one day. Wrap them up, I tell you.

There'll be no "one day".

There's a rightful king out there in the heather,

with nothing to cheer him but the thought of his return.

I know. I met him eight months ago when he landed.

I told him then we didnae want him. He should go home.

He said, "I've come home." And everyone cheered.

Aye. For a Bonnie Prince.

For a bit of a lad who knew no more of Scotland than does the English King.

Go on, I say. Bury them.

It'll be different next time.

Can't you understand? There'll be no "next time".

There was never a "this time", either. That was plain before Culloden.

That's why I left him and made peace with the English.

I wish to God the rest of my Kinsmen had done the same.

And turn their back on a rightful King?

What do they know of a French-born King?

He bears the name of Stewart.

Aye, and so do you and I and many others who know more of Scotland than he ever will.

He's a Scot at heart and he cares for his people.

Does he, now?

Does he, now?

Then tell me this, Alan Breck, and tell me true.

Did the clansmen eat before the battle? Did they have a meal to fill their bellies?

I know they didnae eat the day before

and half the day before that.

Aye.

I see the answer in your face.

It wasn't the Prince's fault.

The food was left at Inverness.

Aye, their food, but not his.

It's not the food in his belly that makes a clansman.

It's his Highland heart and his loyalty to his clan and his chief.

Have you forgotten that, James?

Nae, I've not forgot it, nor will I ever abuse it.

I'll not make them pay one rent to a King in England

and another to keep an exiled king in France.

Nor will I force them out onto the moor again to face the English grapeshot.

Enough blood has been shed in the cause of the Stewarts.

JAMES: The lad's dropping with tiredness. Catriona.

Take him to the barn and make him a bed.

- Good night, Mr. Stewart. - Good night, sir.

And I thank you for being a friend to my cousin when he needed a friend.

And now, Alan, it's money you'll be needing to get you to Edinburgh.

Aye.

And a dirk.

And a pistol.

If it's not against your new-found scruples.

You shall have all three.

- Have you known Alan long? - He's my born cousin.

Though I've only seen him three times.

I was just 12 the first time.

He gave me a ride on his big grey,

and we raced across the heather as if all the devils were after us.

And him with that bonny laugh.

He has no fear, Alan Breck.

Those were the good days.

There was enough food, and the bairns weren't always crying like now.

And we had our men.

Aye, and our pride.

But, Mr. Balfour, Alan Breck will bring those days back.

Maybe. Though your father...

My father has seen the starving, and too much of the killing.

But don't think that he wouldn't have it as it was, if he could.

There. That'll do you.

Shall I see you in the morning?

I don't suppose so.

Alan will be wanting to leave at dawn.

Why? Was there something special you had to say to me?

Then I bid you good night and a good journey.

DAVIE: Redcoats.

Quick.

Tell James. Hurry.

- Redcoats. - I saw them.

Mungo Campbell.

In the King's name!

James Stewart!

They maybe just want food. I'll try and get rid of them.

(Gunshot)

- Father! - Run! Run!

Let me go. Let me go.

Catriona, run!

SOLDIER: Here they are, boys.

There's some round the back there.

This way.

(Sobs) Alan.

Alan, they shot my father.

- James? - Aye. He went down with blood on his head.

Oh, lassie.

Lassie.

I can't leave him, Alan. I must go back.

You can't go back. You'll get yourself killed.

Who could have done such a foolish thing?

As killing Mungo Campbell?

That wouldn't be so foolish.

Nae, nae, lad. Don't look at me.

I was tempted. I won't deny it.

Come on.

On your feet.

The Redcoats can't be far behind. Come on.

(Laughter)

No! No!

Aargh!

(Chuckles)

Cluny!

And Mungo Campbell has been shot, you say?

Well, he will not be missed, except by the animal that gave him birth.

But I am sorry to hear about your father, Miss Stewart.

You can stay with us until we get word it is safe for you to return.

You've made yourself comfortable here.

Aye.

Aye.

It will be a long stay, I am thinking.

How can you set your mind to living in a cave when you could come back to France with me?

You are a warrior bold, Alan, and born to it. You know no other life.

Would you not care to play a little of the cards, Mr. Balfour?

Is that all you can do? Sit here and play cards?

There's the grand restoration to work for.

You forget. I went to France after the rising 30 years ago.

That was different.

Aye. Aye.

It is always different.

But I remember my years of exile.

You were just a lad listening to the stories of the grand uprising, at your father's knee.

And great stories they were, too.

Did he tell you of our Highland chiefs strutting like peacocks on the streets of Paris,

drinking and quarrelling over the day they would return? Did he?

Did he tell you how they died?

Lonely old men in attic rooms without even the respect of the chambermaids.

Did he tell you that, Alan Breck?

Would you not care to play a small hand at the cards, Mr. Balfour?

It passes the time.

I was brought up to believe that the gambling did no good for anyone, winner or loser.

What kind of canting, Whiggish talk is this in the House of MacPherson?

I'll have to remind you, Cluny,

that any friend of mine is company for the best.

Anyone in my house may follow his own pleasure.

Your friend may stand on his head if he wish.

And if you're not satisfied...

...we could step outside.

It was a promise to my father, Mr. MacPherson, and I am tired.

Say no more. Say no more.

If it is beds you are wanting, you will find them at the back.

And, Alice, find something for Miss Stewart to wear.

It is not fitting she walk about in such attire.

Will you deal the cards, Cluny?

It's all right, Davie. I can handle myself at cards.

Mr. Balfour, your scruples are a credit to you.

But it is not required that everyone else adopt them.

I hope you are a better card player than your father, Alan Breck.

Deal the cards, Cluny, and you'll find out.

ALAN: Lost your faith, that's your trouble. CLUNY: Maybe.

CLUNY: There surely wasnae any to be found at Culloden.

ALAN: We could have won there.

- You know we could have won. - I doubt it.

I doubted it when I saw the artillery the English brought up.

I doubted it when I saw the dispositions we made.

ALAN: Then you're... you're full of doubts.

ALAN: That was mine.

- A Highlander in doubts a poor thing, Cluny. - Hmm

And what is he in Paris?

A foreign gentleman talking strange politics that no-one understands or cares about.

You've lived there. You'll have seen it yourself.

You cannot pluck the heather and expect it to bloom in a Paris street.

ALAN: We will return whether you're with us or no.

CLUNY: When you do, I will be with you.

Till then, I will stay here and sniff the air outside my own front door,

the sweet-smelling air of my own country.

And play a little at the cards.

Goodbye, lassie.

Take care.

I wish I could come back with you.

Give it back to Alan.

Go on. You will need it to get to Edinburgh.

You did not think I would be keeping money from gentlemen in your position?

It was just between friends.

Aye. if they lose, you give them back their money.

If they win, they carry away yours.

I cannae see the sense to it,

but then, neither could my father.

Goodbye, Mr. MacPherson, and thank you.

Aye, but I like to play at the cards!

Goodbye, Miss Stewart.

Goodbye, David.

Perhaps we'll meet again.

Aye. Perhaps.

What's this?

The money you lost.

- You asked for it back? - No, he gave it back.

Well, you keep it, then.

I'll not touch a penny of it, not one penny.

You shouldn't have lost it in the first place.

You had no right to take it. He won it fair and square. The money was his.

I saw no sense in starving all the way to Edinburgh.

Oh, to hell with your belly!

You shamed me in front of Cluny MacPherson. That's what you did.

I've never heard anything like it.

Taking back a man's winnings.

I can see it was a Campbell that brought you up.

That's the trouble with you Lowlanders. You've no pride.

You'd sell yourselves and everyone else for a few miserable pence.

Look, I did what you should have done, only you're too high and mighty.

Aye. I am for that.

- I'm a Stewart. - Aye, you bear a king's name.

Well, so do plenty more I've seen and they'd be none the worse for a washing.

A king's name.

No, I cannot do it.

I cannot do it.

I'm sorry.

Look, I said I'm sorry.

Are you going to hold it against me for the rest of my life?

(Chuckles)

What are you laughing at?

"None the worse for a washing."

Oh, Davie, what a thing to say.

You know, you're not too clean yourself.

Alan!

Father's alive, but they've taken him to Edinburgh Castle.

- What for? - For the killing of Mungo Campbell.

- But he didn't do it. - I know, I know.

I must go with you. I must see him.

Oh, Alan, they won't harm him, will they?

Don't cry, lassie. Don't cry.

It's going to be all right.

Come on.

Come on, Davie.

(Horses approach)

Get your fresh vegetables here.

Fresh fruit and vegetables.

(Door opens)

Are you mad coming here? There's £200 on your head, man.

Could you not have a care for me, if not for yourself?

Your description's all over the town.

Charlie, Charlie, it's been plastered all over Scotland for years.

But it's for the murder of Mungo Campbell they want you now.

The whole country's in an uproar.

- But they've arrested James Stewart for that. - He'll hang along with James if they find him.

James Stewart's innocent.

You have that on the best authority?

Aye, mine. I was standing alongside him when the shot was fired.

That's what I'm here to tell the Lord Advocate.

- Are you making a mock of me? - No, sir, I am not.

You think to give such evidence to the Lord Advocate?

- I do. - You muckle ass, he'll never allow it.

I've a better opinion of the Lord Advocate than that.

The Lord Advocate, be damned. It's the Campbells, man.

They'll put you in the dock, and you'll swing alongside James.

- Have a dram. - You'd better watch what you say.

Mr. Balfour is a loyal subject of King George,

and has Campbells for friends.

And you'll be the Duchess of Cumberland, I suppose?

I'm James Stewart's daughter.

Another relative!

Oh, I might have known.

Look, I am a lawyer.

I'm fond of my books and my bottle, and a turn of the golf on a Saturday.

What have I to do with your Highland plaids and claymores?

- Charlie, would you desert your own kin? - Would I what?

Do you ken how many relatives have been through this office afore you?

Upwards of 30.

And that's 30 times I could have swung from a gibbet afore you even got here.

You want my advice? Stay away from the Lord Advocate.

- But he's a witness. - You are beside the point, Miss Stewart.

It is your father they've got, it is him they'll hang. You, too, if you try to give evidence.

- I'll not deny there's some risk. - Risk?

To be tried by a Campbell, judged before a Campbell jury?

Man, it's not a risk, it's a foregone conclusion.

(Knock at door)

Anyone in there?

- Oh, it's my clerk, Andrew. - Send him away.

Man, he's seen more rebels this last two weeks than you've got hairs on your face.

Come away in, Andy. Quickly. Quickly.

I've a relative here who needs a boat for France.

There's one tomorrow afternoon.

- It's Alan Breck. - Aye, can you find a place for him meanwhile?

- Can I not stay here? - No, you cannot!

There's 30 nails in my coffin already. I'm getting tired of the sound of hammering.

Well?

He can stay in the stone hut the other side of Queensferry.

- And my friends here? - There's rooms in the house next door to me.

Does he have any money for the boat? There's only £20 left in the kitty.

Damnation! How much will it cost?

For him? 50.

£50?

They could collect 200 for turning you in. They're still doing you a favour.

I cannae lay my hands on £30 at such short notice.

I think I know where it might be had.

Open up.

Open up, I say, or I'll knock here all night.

Open up!

(Window opens)

Who are you? What do you want?

Mr. Balfour, is it?

Aye, aye. State your business and be on your way.

I can state that in one word.

David.

David?

What's he to you?

Some friends of mine found him on a beach half-drowned in Mull,

and they've been to great expense to keep him.

So, if you want to see him back, you'll have to pay.

The lad's nothing to me. I'll pay nothing to get him back.

Ah, that's what I thought. So you want him killed, then?

My friends will do that too, provided the price is right.

I dinnae want him killed. Who says I do?

Why, Hoseason said that's what you'd want,

since he couldn't fulfil his part of the bargain and drown the lad in the sea.

Lower your voice, man.

Lower your voice. Did Hoseason say that?

He lied.

Why, I paid him 20 guineas to sell the lad in the Carolinas, nothing more.

Why, I wouldnae want him killed. He's my born nephew.

I paid to have him kidnapped.

- That's all. - Thank you, Uncle.

My friends here will testify in court to what you've just said.

26, 27...

28 guineas and a few shillings. It'll have to do.

Is this all you have in the place?

Aye. Aye.

You've turned my place upside down.

Your place?

Why, you thieving old rascal. Your place is jail. And that is where you'll go.

David,

I hoped I'd die afore ye came looking for your inheritance.

Aye, it's yours.

I cannae keep it now your father's dead.

He was the elder. It belonged to him.

Then why did he give it to you?

He cheated me.

Stole my girl from me.

He went behind my back and stole her from me.

Oh, aye.

They broke my heart.

I didnae want to live.

I dinnae want to be thrown onto the street, Davie.

You can stay here till you die, if you want.

ALAN: But you'll see Charles Stewart,

the lawyer, in the morning, and set things right with him.

Aye.

Aye.

Your father died a poor man thinking I was rich,

but he was rich...far richer than I'll ever be.

It's time we left, Alan.

Well, Laird of Shaws, then.

A man of property, and a title, too.

Goodbye, lassie, and don't forget the good old cause, for I'll be back.

Take care, Alan.

Take good care.

My cousin's right.

Stay away from the Lord Advocate.

James is for the rope, and I couldn't bear to see you swing alongside him.

You're too good a rebel.

I'll be waiting for you tomorrow.

(Bell)

I'll see Mr. Balfour now.

Yes, my Lord.

Mr. Balfour, I'm sorry if you've been kept waiting too long.

Barely four hours, Your Lordship.

We are busy, Mr. Balfour, as you've no doubt seen.

No criticism was intended, my Lord, but you did ask.

Well, let's waste no more time.

You...wish to see me on an important matter?

Yes, my Lord.

I'm here to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

Well, that's certainly an important matter,

and I may say, you've come to the right place to do it.

The miscarriage of justice I refer to concerns James Stewart.

I think there is no miscarriage of justice there, Mr. Balfour.

But there has been no trial.

Can you have made up your mind already?

I think it was you who first used the expression "miscarriage of justice".

No, my Lord. I merely referred to preventing one.

You should have trained for the Bar, Mr. Balfour.

I intend to when I've got this matter straightened out.

I've just come into some property.

Let us hope that this little matter does not blight the prospects of your enjoying it.

Well, then, you came here to testify. Let's have it.

But before you begin, let me warn you

to volunteer nothing beyond the questions I shall ask nothing.

I understand.

But I couldn't be party to concealing information for want of the right questions.

Were you present at the house of James Stewart when murder was done?

I was.

- Were you there by accident? - In a way.

I was walking to Edinburgh and needed help.

You write nothing down, my Lord.

I'm not yet inclined to regard the facts as material.

I thought all facts were material in such a case.

You forget we're trying James Stewart.

If ever we come to be trying you, it will be different.

You er...say you were walking to Edinburgh.

Were you alone on the walk?

No.

I was accompanied by Alan Breck.

You are either extremely simple or extremely the reverse.

I hope I am only extremely honest, my Lord.

You observe I still write nothing down.

I do.

You still wish to state that you walked to James Stewart's

in the company of a notorious rebel?

Would you have me perjure myself and deny it?

Mr. Balfour, I tell you pointedly, you go an ill way for your own interests.

My Lord, we are both here to see justice done.

When the shot that killed Mungo Campbell was fired,

James Stewart stood beside me in the kitchen.

Unarmed.

And that is the burden of your testimony?

Yes, my Lord, it is.

- Mr. Balfour, a great issue hangs on this. - An innocent man's life.

Thousands of innocent lives, lives that are mine to protect.

- I understand that. - But you do not understand the position.

The Highlands can be ruled only through the Campbells,

and one has been foully murdered, on Stewart ground, at that.

- Have they no right to justice? - Yes, my Lord, but not to vengeance.

In the Highlands, the difference is small.

Aye, but it's not in your mind, or mine.

Young man, try to understand that this is a political trial.

It is political.

If I allow this crime to go unpunished,

the Campbells will take vengeance, and then where am I?

- Well, stop them taking it. - I cannot.

I rule Scotland through them, and no other.

James Stewart is a good man, and he's innocent.

And I'm prepared to establish that at the trial.

Then your evidence will not be called by me.

If you do not want my evidence, the other side will be glad to have it.

I desire you to withhold it.

As Lord Advocate you're proposing to me a crime?

Mr. Balfour, I nurse in these two hands the interests of this country.

Will you bring your country down to protect the life of one man?

That man is innocent.

And if to prove it the country has to fall, then it has to fall.

I know no other way.

You know...

...if it pleases me, you could sleep the night in jail.

My Lord, I've spent the night in worse places.

Er, I have more people waiting.

Come back and see me tomorrow,

and give me your word you'll say nothing of this to anyone.

Until tomorrow, willingly.

So you've come into some property, have you?

Do you not think you should come into a suit of clothes?

(Knock at door) - Come in.

Ah, my dear, you've come at quite the right moment.

Mr. Balfour, this is my daughter Barbara.

How do you do, Mr. Balfour? I was just going out, Papa.

Then you can take him with you

and help him choose a new suit and a sword befitting a gentleman.

- I have no money as yet. - Let me do this small thing for you.

It's a simple thing to arrange a credit. Off you go, then, both of you.

And remember, Mr. Balfour, what I said.

(Door opens)

You heard?

Aye.

Why did you let him leave?

I felt if I pressed him too hard, he'd be stubborn.

Others have been stubborn, at first.

Too much zeal can be as bad as too little, Simon.

This is hardly the time for moderation.

And James Stewart must hang.

We can afford no blunder there.

The boy says he did not fire the shot.

It confirms what I've always thought.

- That it was Breck. - We haven't got Breck.

No, not yet, but we may.

- Well, if we had both. - Both? We don't need both, Simon.

Forgive me, but I sometimes think Your Lordship a little too...

Soft? - Generous.

Now, you've asked me to prosecute the case.

Leave the boy to me.

No. He'll come round.

I'm sure of it.

- Good lad. - Here's the rest of the money.

Charles Stewart bids you goodbye.

Aye, and good riddance, too, by the sound of it.

Well, Davie.

It's me for France and you for a life of ease.

The horse, David, the horse. Over there.

You were followed. You went to see Grant and I told you not to see him.

- I never thought he'd... - What do you expect?

He's nobody's fool. Now stay away from him and forget James Stewart.

- I can't forget him, Alan. - I loved him just as much as you did.

But he's a dead man. There's nothing you can do.

Now go back to Charles Stewart and get another boat.

- Will I bring you news of it here? - No.

I'll come to you. It's safer. Now, go on.

Now, go on. Go on.

Catriona?

Did he get away?

No.

They followed me there. We escaped by the skin of our teeth.

Damnation!

More trouble.

More arrangements. More nails in my coffin.

There'll be more nails than wood by the time they bury you.

I've taken on the defence of James Stewart.

I thought you said it was a foregone conclusion.

So it is. So it is. But I couldn't say no.

When the piper pipes, the clan must dance.

What happened with the Lord Advocate? Did he take your evidence?

Ah, it is clear he did not.

No more did I think he would.

Will you give your evidence for the defence?

There's a risk, I cannae deny it, but I have to ask you.

I've to hand in my list of witnesses by tomorrow morning, nine o'clock.

All right. Put me on it.

Here's permission for Miss Stewart to see her father.

You can go along with her tomorrow afternoon.

What about Alan?

I'll fix another boat. Andy will give you the details.

For a Lowlander with Campbells for friends, you make a hell of a good rebel.

A few minutes, that's all.

Father.

Oh, Father. Father.

Catriona.

Catriona.

Child...

...let me look at you.

To think you've come all this way.

Charles Stewart was in here this morning and told me what a good friend you've been.

I know not how or why you come to be such,

but I thank you for it.

What have they done to you?

Never mind about that.

Listen to me.

We've not much time.

I'm going to die.

- No. - Aye.

I know it, and I want you to be prepared for it.

But you didn't kill the Campbell.

It makes nae difference. They want me anyway.

I marched with the Bonnie Prince.

But you made your peace with the English King.

Aye, but not with the Campbells.

There'll be no peace for us until we raise the clans again.

That way is dead, lassie. We must put away the claymores.

Enough blood has stained the heather.

Don't cry.

I know. I know.

These are hard times, but they will nae always be so.

David will testify for you at the trial.

You must nae do that.

- I've entered my name on the list of witnesses. - Then dinnae appear at the trial.

You can do nothing for me and you'll just bring harm to yourself.

Promise me now.

Promise me?

I'm confused, Mr. Stewart.

I don't know what to think.

I came to Edinburgh to tell what I saw,

and I find myself threatened on all sides with the dire consequences of telling it.

I won't say I'm not afraid, because I am.

But I was brought up to believe that the law meant what it said;

and not what some people might want it to mean.

So...l don't know.

And I can promise you nothing, except I'll think about it.

I put you very high, David Balfour.

Long after you've gone away,

I'll remember you and what you did.

(Door opens)

JAILER: Time is up.

Oh, Father!

Father!

(Door slams)

(Footsteps)

Be damned! Are you blind?

- No, I'm not, but perhaps you are. - It was you that was looking the other way.

I talk to the master...not his baggage.

Well...

This must be settled...like gentlemen.

You don't sound much like a gentleman to me, but if that's what you want.

Oh, Davie, no.

Hector Duncansby at your service.

If you'll follow me.

Oh, Davie, don't do it.

Pick it up.

I'll not fight with you. You don't know the back end of a sword from its front.

Sorry I can't give you better satisfaction.

It's not from you I'm looking for satisfaction, Balfour, but from someone else.

I'm an officer and a gentleman.

And I'll not commit murder, even for the Lord Advocate.

Murder, Davie?

He tried to have you murdered.

He'll kill us all if need be.

Well, lad, you have it nice and cosy here.

It's better than my stone hut. What happened to the ship?

There's one the day after tomorrow. They can pick you up off Gillane Sands.

- Aye, I do. What time? - About dusk.

Good.

- Alan! - Lassie.

My heart leapt when I saw you go into that shop. I knew you'd gone for my breakfast.

You shall have some.

Oh, this is wonderful. Look.

(Knock at door)

Alan.

(Knock at door)

Ah, David, I see I'm as unwelcome as I thought,

which is why I took the precaution of bringing my daughter.

Hello, Mr. Balfour.

I should allow him In. He comes to apologise.

I'm sure it will be the only time in your life you'll receive an apology from a Lord Advocate.

This is Catriona Stewart, James Stewart's daughter.

Lord Grant and Miss Grant.

David...your name on the list of witnesses

provoked Simon Campbell to overreaching himself.

It was he who made that idiotic, fatuous attempt on your life. I had nothing to do with it.

Perhaps that was fortunate for me.

Your Lordship is well known for not making mistakes.

Young man, I came here to offer you an explanation.

I do not expect to be abused for my pains.

It seems to me you show a fine sensitivity.

Simon Campbell bungled his attempt on me

but you won't bungle yours on James Stewart.

It's clear I'm better off with Simon Campbell.

Then you know not where your true interests lie.

You live by simple rules, David, because your world is simple.

But who protects that world for you?

I do.

Who enables you to practise your religion as you please?

I do.

If your king must bend to the law and not be above it,

you owe that to me, too, not to Highland savages like the Stewarts.

who enthroned a man with delusions of divine right.

I've seen Campbells as savage as Stewarts.

Aye, but they're savages on the right side, and the Stewarts are savages on the wrong.

I'm a Highlander myself, Mr. Balfour.

I know of not any finer people in the world, but they're 500 years behind England.

They're a tribal people and must be brought into the realm of the nation state.

A struggle has been going on in these islands for centuries,

of which you are only dimly aware.

A struggle to curb the absolute right of kings, and I believe in that struggle.

If a sparrow must fall that a lark can rise, then the sparrow must fall.

I can't argue with you.

You have answers to questions I haven't even thought of.

But if they all add up to the statement that James Stewart must hang,

then I say they're wrong.

And I think maybe you would have...

Once

I wish to protect you.

I'm not sure why.

But you will not be advised.

I have no more wish to see James Stewart die than you have.

- You could prevent it. - No, I could not.

But there is someone who could.

If we had him...

Alan is no more guilty than James.

I think we should go.

I feel sorry for Alan Breck.

The future of Scotland belongs more to James Stewart dead than it does to him.

He dreams of new Cullodens.

Better he'd died on the field of battle than end his days in some squalid French tenement.

I am sorry, Miss Stewart.

Goodbye, Miss Stewart.

Goodbye, Mr. Balfour.

I said you should have an apology.

That lying, treacherous Scot.

He'll live to regret every word.

Did you kill Mungo, Alan?

Do you really think I would do a thing like that?

Oh, be damned to the Lord Advocate!

The porridge is all burnt.

(Groaning)

- (Mumbles) - I think he means you're to go nearer.

He wants to tell you something.

Send the doctor...

...outside.

- Would you mind, Doctor? - Oh, of course.

What is it, Uncle?

I just want to tell you...

...dinnae let him charge you too much.

It's all yours now, Davie.

The house and all the land.

I don't want you to give evidence at the trial.

I couldn't bear it, to lose you both.

Even my father says you can't help him.

I'll not let you go.

I'll not.

Please, Davie.

What shall we do, then?

We'll stay here. They'll leave us alone.

They'll leave us alone if we don't interfere.

They'll leave us alone if we stay here, buried. Deaf and dumb and blind.

I don't agree with Alan.

But he's ready to die for what he believes in.

I cannae do less.

He taught me that.

Alan?

Alan?

Alan?

Alan?

Lassie. What are you doing out here? Has something happened to the ship?

Oh, no, the ship's all right.

Alan, you've got to stop him. David's going to the trial tomorrow to give evidence.

- I thought that was what you wanted. - No, no, I'll lose them both. I can't bear it.

You've got to get my father out of prison.

Don't be daft, girl. Break into Edinburgh Castle?

You can do it. You're the only one that can. Listen, I've a plan.

No, I will not listen.

You must be insane. Your mind has become unhinged.

But, Alan, he didn't do it.

No! I will not risk myself on such a mad errand.

For what? For James? What's he to Scotland?

What would he do for Scotland if he were set free,

except bury the claymores and let them rot in the earth?

No.

You should not be thinking of your father now...

...but Scotland.

Scotland, lassie.

Do you know what that means?

But he didn't do it, Alan. He didn't do it! He didn't kill the Campbell.

You have never left these shores.

So you don't know what it's like to long for the sweet-smelling air of the Highlands...

...where a man could be free.

Or the sound of pipes, plaintive on the wind.

Oh, Alan, Alan, Alan!

Would you hand it all to the English on a platter?

Because that's what James would do.

But not me.

I'm for France, where there are others waiting for the day when we raise the clans again.

Aye, Stewarts and Camerons,

Appin, Clan Chattan, Fraser and Atholl, Clan Macintosh and Lochiel -

all fine, bonny men who wait for the day when we'll return.

I promised them we'd be back.

Would you have me desert them?

I'll not do it, not for James. I'll die for Scotland, but not for him.

Aye, you'd die for Scotland, but who wants you to?

Who wants you to?

It's over, Alan. Can you no see?

It's finished. Finished.

There's no more fighting in us.

It's not over.

Not yet.

We'll come again.

They're waiting for us to return.

They're just waiting for us to come back.

LORD ADVOCATE: I feel sorry for Alan Breck.

Better he'd died on the field of battle.

JAMES: Don't you understand? There'll be no "next time". There was never a "this time", either.

CATRIONA: But he didnae do it, Alan.

He didnae do it.

CLUNY: Did he tell you how they died, lonely old men in attic rooms?

JAMES: Enough blood has been shed in the cause of the Stewarts.

CATRIONA: But he didn't do it, Alan. He didn't kill the Campbell.

(Gunshot)

I don't understand it. He should have been here by now.

- He's not here yet. - We can't wait.

You must wait. I know he'll be here.

Halt! Who goes there?

Alan Breck Stewart.

To see the Governor of the Castle.

It's Alan Breck.

Alan Breck. It's Alan Breck.

Call out the Guard!

♪ For all my days

♪ In many ways

♪ I'll think of all

♪ I've lived to see

♪ The mountains high

♪ Clouds in the sky

♪ I thank the Lord

♪ For sharing them with me

♪ A summer's glow

♪ The winter snow

♪ Are not to me

♪ Just scenery

♪ When treetops sway

♪ I long to say

♪ Oh, thank you, Lord

♪ For sharing them with me

♪ Life I believe

♪ Love we receive

♪ We shouldn't take

♪ Too casually

♪ For all my days

♪ In many ways

♪ I'll thank the Lord

♪ For sharing them with me