play for me fool.  harry picks up his zither, and starts to play a tuneless din.
you're not mad. harry pretends not to understand. the emir suddenly cracks his cane down on harry's hands, breaking his fingers. harry screams in agony: harry . god loves the fool.
the fool feels no pain. the emir beats him again with the cane. harry holds up his broken fingers in supplication, singing softly in his madman's gibberish. harry . god loves the fool.  the emir's cane cracks open his face. he doubles over in agony, spitting out blood. abou fatma watches, sickened, unable to do anything. even the other spectators look shaken. harry slithers away in the dust, whimpering like an animal.
you're not mad. tell me who are you? tell me or i'll kill you.  abou fatma stares in silence, willing harry to speak. many in the crowd turn away, fearing the worst. the emir raises his cane. with a surge of effort, harry lifts up his blood soaked face, and grins at the emir. he looks barely human, his face ripped open, swollen beyond recognition. harry god loves the fool. god loves the fool.  the emir hesitates, convinced nobody in their right mind could take this much pain.
he's mad. take him to the prison. let him sing for them there. he turns away and disappears into the crowd. abou fatma stares at harry, with both pity and admiration. he whispers a prayer for his friend's safety. ext. prison of omdurman.  banks of the nile - night. the evening prayers drift over the waters of the nile. in the distance we see the prison of omdurman, a huge dome of stone, surrounded by fifty foot walls on three sides, and the river itself on the fourth. int. house of stone.  prison.  omdurman - night. hundreds of shapes move forward in the darkness. at first they look like a herd of animals, but slowly we recognise the grunts and cries as human. faces come at us out of the dark, screaming and cursing, shoving each other violently, raising their faces to the ceiling, gasping for air. as our eyes adjust to the light, the vision of hell intensifies. the prisoners are manacled and herded into a space no more than thirty feet wide. they circle the room in a clockwise direction, pushed on by each other in perpetual motion, afraid that if they stop they'll be sucked under the maelstrom and trampled underfoot. the most fortunate are those who've found a resting space in the corners of the room. they cling to the walls, fighting off anyone who tries to share their sanctuary. from somewhere amongst them we hear a familiar voice: trench get away! this is ibrahim's space! trench protects his corner, lashing out at anyone who tries to breach the space. he bellows at the top of his voice: trench ibrahim, where are you?! a voice answers from the heaving mass. trench holds out his hand and drags his friend, ibrahim, out of the scrum. trench you mustn't fall. you musn't fall. as if to prove his point, a fight breaks out at the far side of the room. trench stands on tiptoes, as eager as everyone else to see the outcome. two prisoners try to strangle each other with their chains, fighting for an inch of space. it's hard to make out anything in the dark, but the savagery of the fight is reflected in the speed of flailing fists and feet. one of the prisoners finally loses his footing. in an instant he's sucked under. the victor laughs maniacally. the loser's cries continue for a moment and then stop suddenly as the trampling feet break his neck. trench turns to ibrahim, with the knowing look of an expert. trench we mustn't fall ibrahim. we musn't fall. suddenly there's a cry from outside the cell door. prison guards o. s back! get back! the prisoners closest to the door push away. the head guard, the towering idris-es-saier, tosses in a blazing torch to clear some space. a new prisoner is flung inside and the door slammed shut behind him. the other prisoners surge back, trying to reclaim their space. there are cries of pain as some of them tread on the blazing torch. the sheer weight of men quickly puts it out. the new prisoner holds onto anything he can to stop himself falling. from his corner trench looks on grimly. trench watch ibrahim. he's going to fall. the new prisoner is swept up in the savage wave. as he approaches trench's corner he tries to claw his way to safety. trench beats him back with a flurry of blows. the prisoner disappears under the heaving bodies, but then he pops up again, gasping for breath. he fights with all his might, swinging his fists, clutching at anyone in his way. trench looks impressed, but he knows it won't be long. trench he'll fall. youssef will get him. as the new prisoner swings towards them again, the prisoner behind him, youssef, slams his chains down on his head. the new arrival goes down hard. as he disappears, he screams out the name: "trench!!!" trench stares in disbelief, frozen for a moment, then bellowing like a bull, he charges out of his corner and flails his way through the heaving mass, trying to retrieve the fallen prisoner.