idiot. int. willoughby's rooms.  barracks - day. a fifth friend, lieutenant willoughby, stares at himself in the mirror. his hair like his uniform is perfect. there's a loud knocking on his door. trench o. s . miss willoughby, miss willoughby we're waiting. willoughby finally stops preening himself as he hears his friends picking the lock. he gets up reluctantly, taking one last look at his reflection in the mirror. ext. barrack gates.  london street - day. the officers pour out of the barrack gates in full regimental unifom, a sea of gleaming red. we pick out harry, durrance, trench, willoughby, and castelton, laughing amongst themselves, taking turns to tease each other, inseperable. int. carriage.  hansom cab.  london streets - day. the friends share a flask of whisky as they sit in the back of the carriage. willoughby passes it on without taking a sip. harry who are you planning to impress tonight? trench anna what's-her-name.
ask me that when we're in bombay. trench rolls his eyes and turns to durrance. trench is ethne going to be there? we catch a hint of shyness in durrance at the mention of ethne's name.
your sole purpose in life is to annoy me. trench she couldn't see me.
i could see you. i can see you everywhere i look. pulling those stupid faces at me. willoughby now ladies. durrance joins in the laughter but he seems distracted. he takes another gulp of whisky and looks around the crowd. his eyes stop as he sees ethne. a smile lights up his face, but it's short lived. across the courtyard harry appears, greeting ethne. their hands touch briefly. the noise fades in durrance's head. he stares in silence. harry shakes dermod's hand warmly. dermod slaps him on the back, as if he's congratulating him. durrance's eyes take in the smallest details now. even though he can't hear a word, the scene before him reveals itself more and more clearly. colonel sutch raises his glass. general feversham, dermod, and caroline adair respond. harry and ethne move closer, a little coyly, as if the toast is for them. durrance looks pale. we feel the disappointment in his eyes as he realises what's happened. harry's arm moves around ethne's waist, a libery that can only mean they're engaged. int. fountain area.  durbar court.  india office - night. harry and ethne glance at each other tenderly.
we don't know the circumstances yet. i think we should give harry a chance to explain. willoughby harry's gone. he left this morning. whilst you were all asleep. willoughby turns away in frustration. he's as upset as the others, but he shows it in anger. trench and castelton look stunned. durrance stares ahead in silence. trench did he say anything to you, jack?
sniper! panic erupts. the soldiers leap off their camels, using them as shields. the sniper's bullet rings out and sends one of the animals crashing to the dirt. the men start to run now, seeking shelter in the surrounding hutments. the sniper's gun rings out repeatedly. ext. hutment.  burnt out fortress.  desert - day. durrance and castelton duck into the hutment.
it's only a scratch. trench you wouldn't understand. you haven't looked into the abyss.
shut up trench.  durrance joins in the laughter but he still seems far away. willoughby are you alright, jack?
i'll go. castelton looks relieved to leave the tent, worried that his conflicting emotions will betray him. durrance stares after him, not entirely free of the memory of harry himself. ext. desert camp - night. castelton follows the corporal through the windswept camp. up ahead they can hear the camels screeching. castelton covers his eyes from the dust. suddenly he sees the silhouettes of two riders, charging out of the corral. one of them stops and stares at him momentarily.
harry? the rider turns and charges out of the camp. the corporal blows a whistle, reaching for his gun, firing after them. castelton stares at the disappearing figures, wondering if what he saw was real, or a figment of his troubled conscience. ext. hills above the desert camp - night. harry and abou fatma ride up a steep hill, shots ringing out behind them. ext. ridge above the desert camp - night. as the sands sweep past we see the mahdi's scouts for the first time: four nuer tribesmen, standing on a ridge, looking down on the british campfires below. as they hear the shots, they turn away from the cliffside, and mount their camels. ext. view from a cliff.  desert - day. the sand storm is still blowing, obscuring the sun. in the distance, the tiny figures of the nuer scouts, can be seen riding across the arid sandscape. harry and abou fatma watch them from the cliffs, and set off in pursuit. ext. ridge.  view on nuer's campfire.  desert - night. the nuer's camp-fire glows far below on the valley floor. harry and abou fatma have built their own fire in a crevice on the cliff wall, hidden from view. harry's eyes are fixed on the nuer scouts, abou fatma's are fixed on him.
what is it jack? durrance's eyes stare at the horizon, still not sure. ext. hills beyond abou clea - day. at a signal from the mahdi, his army splits in two, some following the green flags, others the black. harry and the dervish riders in british uniforms are told to wait. ext. british camp.  desert valley - day. willoughby and trench join castelton and durrance at the edge of the camp. durrance is still staring at the ridges above them. as they listen, they can just make out a distant rumble of thunder. durrance looks up. the sky is perfectly blue.