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[Roald] Hmm. Yes.

4
00:00:45,458 --> 00:00:48,750
Well, here we are now
in the hut where I write.

5
00:00:49,875 --> 00:00:52,750
I've been in this hut for 30 years now.

6
00:00:53,625 --> 00:00:55,833
Well, it's important, uh, before I start,

7
00:00:55,916 --> 00:01:00,875
I like to make sure I have everything
around me that I'm going to need. Um…

8
00:01:00,958 --> 00:01:05,083
Cigarettes, of course.
Some coffee, chocolates.

9
00:01:06,958 --> 00:01:10,750
And always make sure
I have a sharp pencil before I start.

10
00:01:10,833 --> 00:01:12,708
[sharpener grinding]

11
00:01:12,791 --> 00:01:16,333
I have six pencils,
and then I like to clean my writing board.

12
00:01:18,541 --> 00:01:19,958
See how many bits of rubber.

13
00:01:21,833 --> 00:01:22,666
There.

14
00:01:24,958 --> 00:01:26,875
And then, finally, one starts.

15
00:01:30,125 --> 00:01:33,708
It's, uh…
usually a few corrections needed.

16
00:01:36,458 --> 00:01:37,291
Yeah.

17
00:01:38,916 --> 00:01:40,916
[mumbling]

18
00:01:42,416 --> 00:01:43,375
It's, um…

19
00:01:47,250 --> 00:01:51,041
Henry Sugar was 41 years old,
unmarried and rich.

20
00:01:51,666 --> 00:01:54,625
He was rich because
he had a rich father who was now dead.

21
00:01:54,708 --> 00:01:58,791
Was unmarried because he was too selfish
to share any of his money with a wife.

22
00:01:58,875 --> 00:02:00,583
He was 6'2" tall,

23
00:02:00,666 --> 00:02:03,291
and not perhaps as handsome
as he thought he was.

24
00:02:03,375 --> 00:02:05,958
He paid a great deal
of attention to his clothes.

25
00:02:06,041 --> 00:02:08,250
He went
to an expensive tailor for his suits,

26
00:02:08,333 --> 00:02:11,666
to a shirtmaker for his shirts,
and to a boot maker for his shoes.

27
00:02:11,750 --> 00:02:14,583
His hairdresser trimmed his hair
once every ten days,

28
00:02:14,666 --> 00:02:17,458
and he always took a manicure
at the same time.

29
00:02:17,541 --> 00:02:19,083
He drove a Ferrari motor car

30
00:02:19,166 --> 00:02:21,666
which cost him about the same
as a country cottage.

31
00:02:21,750 --> 00:02:23,208
[bell tolling distantly]

32
00:02:23,291 --> 00:02:24,583
All his friends were rich

33
00:02:24,666 --> 00:02:27,000
and he had never done
a day's work in his life.

34
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,500
Men like Henry Sugar can be found
drifting like seaweed all over the world.

35
00:02:32,583 --> 00:02:36,291
They're not particularly bad men,
but they're not good men either.

36
00:02:37,458 --> 00:02:39,416
They're simply part of the decoration.

37
00:02:41,375 --> 00:02:43,625
All rich people
of Henry's type, of course,

38
00:02:43,708 --> 00:02:47,875
have one peculiarity in common:
a terrific urge to make themselves richer.

39
00:02:48,791 --> 00:02:51,625
The 10 million is never enough.
Nor is 20 million.

40
00:02:51,708 --> 00:02:54,583
Always they suffer
the insatiable longing for more money

41
00:02:54,666 --> 00:02:58,250
and the terror of waking up one morning
and finding nothing in the bank.

42
00:02:58,333 --> 00:03:01,541
They employ various methods
to increase their fortunes.

43
00:03:01,625 --> 00:03:04,333
Some buy stocks and shares,
watch them go up and down.

44
00:03:04,416 --> 00:03:09,333
Some buy land or art or diamonds.
Some bet on roulette, blackjack, horses.

45
00:03:09,416 --> 00:03:11,416
Some, indeed, bet on anything.

46
00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:15,541
Henry Sugar was one of those,
and not at all above cheating, by the way.

47
00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:17,458
One summer weekend,

48
00:03:17,541 --> 00:03:21,166
Henry drove from London to the countryside
to stay with Sir William W.

49
00:03:21,250 --> 00:03:23,583
The house was magnificent.
So were the grounds.

50
00:03:23,666 --> 00:03:27,166
But when Henry arrived that Saturday,
it was already pelting with rain.

51
00:03:27,250 --> 00:03:30,750
The host and his other guests
whiled away the afternoon playing games,

52
00:03:30,833 --> 00:03:34,708
while Henry glumly stared out at the drops
splashing against the windows.

53
00:03:34,791 --> 00:03:38,041
Henry wandered out of the drawing room
and into the front hall.

54
00:03:38,125 --> 00:03:42,375
He drifted through the house, aimless.
Then finally mooched into the library.

55
00:03:45,250 --> 00:03:48,916
Sir William's father was a book collector,
and the walls of this huge room

56
00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,291
were lined with antiquated
leather bound volumes floor-to-ceiling.

57
00:03:52,375 --> 00:03:53,708
Henry wasn't interested.

58
00:03:53,791 --> 00:03:57,166
He only read detective novels
and thrillers. Nothing like that here.

59
00:03:57,250 --> 00:03:58,333
He was about to leave

60
00:03:58,416 --> 00:04:01,500
when his eye was caught and held
by something quite different.

61
00:04:01,583 --> 00:04:03,458
So slim, he never would've noticed it

62
00:04:03,541 --> 00:04:06,541
if it hadn't been sticking out
from the books on either side.

63
00:04:06,625 --> 00:04:08,166
He pulled it from the shelf.

64
00:04:08,250 --> 00:04:09,291
It was nothing more

65
00:04:09,375 --> 00:04:12,166
than a cardboard exercise book,
the kind children use at school.

66
00:04:12,250 --> 00:04:14,708
The cover was dark blue,
with nothing written on it.

67
00:04:14,791 --> 00:04:18,750
On the first page, hand-printed
in black ink, clear and neat, it said:

68
00:04:21,666 --> 00:04:25,416
Strange. Weird. What is this?

69
00:04:26,291 --> 00:04:29,750
He settled himself into an armchair
and started from the beginning.

70
00:04:29,833 --> 00:04:33,708
The following is what Henry read
in the little, blue exercise book.

71
00:04:37,958 --> 00:04:41,916
My name is Z.Z. Chatterjee. Head surgeon
at Lords and Ladies Hospital, Calcutta.

72
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,083
On the morning of 2nd December, 1935,

73
00:04:44,166 --> 00:04:46,291
I was in the doctors' rest room
having a cup of tea.

74
00:04:46,375 --> 00:04:49,916
Three other doctors were present with me.
Doctors Marshall, Mitra, and Macfarlane.

75
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:51,500
-There was a knock.
-[knocking]

76
00:04:51,583 --> 00:04:52,750
"Come in," I said.

77
00:04:54,458 --> 00:04:57,750
Excuse me, please.
May I ask you gentlemen a favor?

78
00:04:57,833 --> 00:04:59,500
"This is a private room," I said.

79
00:04:59,583 --> 00:05:01,750
I know. I'm sorry to burst in like this,

80
00:05:01,833 --> 00:05:04,791
but I have a most, I think,
interesting thing to show you.

81
00:05:04,875 --> 00:05:07,208
We were pretty annoyed
and didn't say anything.

82
00:05:08,208 --> 00:05:12,375
Gentlemen, I'm a man
who can see without using his eyes.

83
00:05:13,208 --> 00:05:14,666
He was a small man, about 60,

84
00:05:14,750 --> 00:05:18,375
white mustache and a matting of black hair
over the outsides of his ears.

85
00:05:18,458 --> 00:05:21,291
You may bandage my head
with 50 bandages in any way,

86
00:05:21,375 --> 00:05:23,500
and I'll still be able to read you a book.

87
00:05:23,583 --> 00:05:27,166
He seemed perfectly serious.
I felt my curiosity beginning to stir.

88
00:05:27,250 --> 00:05:28,250
Come in, please.

89
00:05:35,166 --> 00:05:38,791
All right. How many fingers
is Dr. Marshall holding up?

90
00:05:38,875 --> 00:05:40,291
-Seven.
-"Once more," I said.

91
00:05:40,375 --> 00:05:41,750
-Nine.
-"Once more," I said.

92
00:05:41,833 --> 00:05:42,833
-Three.
-Once more--

93
00:05:42,916 --> 00:05:44,291
-Three again.
-Once more.

94
00:05:45,250 --> 00:05:46,166
No fingers.

95
00:05:47,625 --> 00:05:49,333
Hmm. What's the trick?

96
00:05:49,416 --> 00:05:53,333
There's no trick. This is a genuine thing
I've managed after years of training.

97
00:05:53,416 --> 00:05:54,708
What sorts of training?

98
00:05:54,791 --> 00:05:57,208
Forgive me, sir,
but that is a private matter.

99
00:05:58,125 --> 00:05:59,291
What can we do for you?

100
00:05:59,375 --> 00:06:02,333
I work in a traveling theater.
We arrived in Calcutta today.

101
00:06:02,416 --> 00:06:05,791
Tonight we give our opening performance
at the Royal Palace Hall.

102
00:06:05,875 --> 00:06:07,375
I am billed on the program as:

103
00:06:07,458 --> 00:06:09,708
Imdad Khan,
the Man Who Sees without His Eyes.

104
00:06:09,791 --> 00:06:11,750
When our company arrives in a new town,

105
00:06:11,833 --> 00:06:13,250
I go to the largest hospital

106
00:06:13,333 --> 00:06:16,791
and ask the doctors to bandage my eyes
in the most thorough fashion.

107
00:06:16,875 --> 00:06:19,125
It is important this job
is done by doctors,

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00:06:19,208 --> 00:06:21,208
otherwise people may think I'm cheating.

109
00:06:21,291 --> 00:06:24,041
Then I go out into the streets
and do a dangerous thing.

110
00:06:24,125 --> 00:06:25,333
I looked at the others.

111
00:06:25,416 --> 00:06:28,458
Mitra and Macfarlane
had to go back to their patients. Go on.

112
00:06:28,541 --> 00:06:31,541
-But Dr. Marshall said…
-Why not? Let's do the job properly.

113
00:06:31,625 --> 00:06:33,708
Make it absolutely certain
he can't see anything.

114
00:06:33,791 --> 00:06:36,208
You are kind. Please do whatever you wish.

115
00:06:36,291 --> 00:06:38,000
"Before we bandage him," I said,

116
00:06:38,083 --> 00:06:40,250
"fill his eye sockets
with something soft, solid."

117
00:06:40,333 --> 00:06:42,500
-Dough?
-Perfect. Go to the hospital bakery.

118
00:06:42,583 --> 00:06:44,375
I'll take him and seal his eyelids.

119
00:06:44,458 --> 00:06:46,916
I led Imdad down
the long corridor to the surgery.

120
00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,250
"Lie down there," I said.

121
00:06:48,333 --> 00:06:50,666
I took a bottle of collodion
from the cupboard.

122
00:06:50,750 --> 00:06:52,916
I'll glue your eyelids shut
with this stuff.

123
00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:54,291
How do I remove it later?

124
00:06:54,375 --> 00:06:57,833
Just dab some alcohol carefully
below the lashes. That'll dissolve it.

125
00:06:57,916 --> 00:07:00,583
Keep your eyes closed
while we wait for it to harden.

126
00:07:00,666 --> 00:07:01,625
Two minutes passed.

127
00:07:01,708 --> 00:07:04,041
"Open your eyes," I said. He couldn't.

128
00:07:04,125 --> 00:07:08,000
I took some of Dr. Marshall's dough
and plastered it over one of Imdad's eyes.

129
00:07:08,083 --> 00:07:09,333
I filled the whole socket

130
00:07:09,416 --> 00:07:12,000
and let the dough
overlap onto the surrounding skin.

131
00:07:12,083 --> 00:07:13,791
I did the same with the other eye.

132
00:07:13,875 --> 00:07:15,500
I pressed the edges down hard.

133
00:07:15,583 --> 00:07:18,416
-"Isn't too uncomfortable?" I asked.
-[Imdad] Not at all. Thank you.

134
00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:20,458
"Do the bandaging," I said to Marshall.

135
00:07:20,541 --> 00:07:22,000
My fingers are too sticky.

136
00:07:22,083 --> 00:07:24,833
Pleasure. We'll just pop these here…

137
00:07:24,916 --> 00:07:28,333
Dr. Marshall laid thick cotton-wool
on Imdad's dough-filled eyes.

138
00:07:28,416 --> 00:07:29,375
It stuck in place.

139
00:07:29,458 --> 00:07:30,416
Sit up please.

140
00:07:31,125 --> 00:07:34,416
Dr. Marshall rolled a three-inch bandage
round the face and head.

141
00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:36,833
Please do leave
my nose free for breathing.

142
00:07:36,916 --> 00:07:38,083
[Dr. Marshall] Of course.

143
00:07:38,750 --> 00:07:41,500
Sorry, it's going to be
a pinch on the tight side.

144
00:07:42,166 --> 00:07:43,416
[Imdad groans softly]

145
00:07:44,166 --> 00:07:45,083
How's that?

146
00:07:45,166 --> 00:07:46,125
"Splendid," I said.

147
00:07:46,208 --> 00:07:48,708
Looked like he suffered
a terrible brain operation.

148
00:07:48,791 --> 00:07:49,666
How does it feel?

149
00:07:49,750 --> 00:07:50,833
[Imdad] It feels very good.

150
00:07:50,916 --> 00:07:53,916
I must compliment you gentlemen
on doing such a thorough job.

151
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,166
Imdad Khan stood up off the bed
and walked straight to the door.

152
00:08:04,291 --> 00:08:07,458
Great Scott! See that?
He put his hand right on the doorknob!

153
00:08:07,541 --> 00:08:08,958
Dr. Marshall stopped grinning.

154
00:08:09,541 --> 00:08:12,583
Imdad was walking normally,
quite briskly along the corridor.

155
00:08:12,666 --> 00:08:16,000
We followed five yards behind him.
Spooky it was to watch this man

156
00:08:16,083 --> 00:08:19,000
with an enormous,
totally bandaged head strolling casually…

157
00:08:19,083 --> 00:08:20,166
"He saw it!" I cried.

158
00:08:20,250 --> 00:08:22,875
"He saw that trolley!
This is unbelievable!"

159
00:08:22,958 --> 00:08:24,333
Dr. Marshall didn't answer.

160
00:08:24,416 --> 00:08:27,166
His whole face was rigid
with shocked disbelief.

161
00:08:27,250 --> 00:08:29,708
Imdad went down the stairs
with no trouble at all.

162
00:08:29,791 --> 00:08:31,208
Didn't even hold the stair-rail.

163
00:08:31,291 --> 00:08:34,166
Several people were coming up.
You can see how they reacted.

164
00:08:34,875 --> 00:08:38,750
At the bottom of the stairs, he turned
and headed out the doors to the street.

165
00:08:38,833 --> 00:08:41,166
Dr. Marshall and I kept close behind him.

166
00:08:41,250 --> 00:08:44,416
Below us, a crowd of 100
barefoot children shouted and surged

167
00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:46,166
towards our white-headed visitor.

168
00:08:46,250 --> 00:08:48,500
He greeted them
with his hands above his head.

169
00:08:48,583 --> 00:08:51,833
He walked to a bicycle,
mounted it, and pedaled a figure-eight.

170
00:08:51,916 --> 00:08:54,708
The barefoot children chased him,
cheering and laughing.

171
00:08:54,791 --> 00:08:57,583
He sped straight out
into the traffic of the busy street

172
00:08:57,666 --> 00:09:00,916
with honking motorcars
whizzing around him in every direction.

173
00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:02,625
He rode superbly.

174
00:09:02,708 --> 00:09:04,708
For a minute, we kept him in sight.

175
00:09:04,791 --> 00:09:06,750
Then he turned a corner and was gone.

176
00:09:06,833 --> 00:09:10,375
-"I can't believe it," Dr. Marshall said.
-I can't believe it.

177
00:09:10,458 --> 00:09:11,958
"I can't either," I said.

178
00:09:12,041 --> 00:09:14,250
I think we just witnessed a miracle.

179
00:09:14,333 --> 00:09:16,875
For the rest of the day,
I was busy with patients.

180
00:09:16,958 --> 00:09:19,541
In the evening,
I went to my flat to change clothes.

181
00:09:19,625 --> 00:09:21,000
I took a long, cool shower.

182
00:09:21,083 --> 00:09:24,500
I drank whiskey-soda on the veranda
with only a towel around my waist.

183
00:09:24,583 --> 00:09:27,416
At ten minutes to 7:00,
I arrived at the Royal Palace Hall.

184
00:09:27,500 --> 00:09:29,000
[Dr. Z.Z.] The show lasted two hours.

185
00:09:29,083 --> 00:09:32,458
To my surprise, I enjoyed it. The juggler,
the snake-charmer, the fire-eater,

186
00:09:32,541 --> 00:09:35,625
the sword-swallower who pushed a rapier
down his throat into his stomach.

187
00:09:35,708 --> 00:09:37,666
Lastly, to a great fanfare of trumpets,

188
00:09:37,750 --> 00:09:40,000
our friend Imdad Khan
came out to do his act.

189
00:09:40,083 --> 00:09:43,041
Members of the audience
were called onstage to blindfold him

190
00:09:43,125 --> 00:09:45,250
before he threw knives around a boy's body

191
00:09:45,333 --> 00:09:47,541
and shot a can off his head
with a revolver.

192
00:09:47,625 --> 00:09:51,458
Then, finally, a metal barrel was fitted
over his already bandaged head.

193
00:09:51,541 --> 00:09:55,291
The boy placed a needle in Imdad's hand
and some cotton thread in the other.

194
00:09:55,375 --> 00:09:57,708
A large magnifying glass
was placed in front of him,

195
00:09:57,791 --> 00:09:59,375
and with no false moves,

196
00:09:59,458 --> 00:10:02,458
he neatly threaded the thread
through the eye of the needle.

197
00:10:02,541 --> 00:10:05,166
-[crowd] Ah!
-[lively music playing]

198
00:10:07,208 --> 00:10:08,208
I was flabbergasted.

199
00:10:10,583 --> 00:10:13,125
Backstage, I found Imdad
sitting quietly on a stool

200
00:10:13,208 --> 00:10:14,625
while he removed his stage makeup.

201
00:10:14,708 --> 00:10:16,416
You're curious, doctor, correct?

202
00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:17,666
"Most curious," I said.

203
00:10:17,750 --> 00:10:21,583
Again, I was struck by the matting
of black hair on the outsides of his ears.

204
00:10:21,666 --> 00:10:23,916
I'd never seen anything like it
on another person.

205
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,458
I have a proposal:
I'm not a writer by profession.

206
00:10:26,541 --> 00:10:28,875
But if you tell me
how you developed this power

207
00:10:28,958 --> 00:10:31,833
of seeing without your eyes,
I'll take it down faithfully.

208
00:10:31,916 --> 00:10:34,833
I'll try to get it published
in the British Medical Journal

209
00:10:34,916 --> 00:10:36,125
or in a famous magazine.

210
00:10:36,208 --> 00:10:38,375
Would that help you?
To become better known?

211
00:10:38,458 --> 00:10:40,416
-It would help me very much.
-Splendid.

212
00:10:40,500 --> 00:10:43,333
I have a shorthand
for taking down medical histories.

213
00:10:43,416 --> 00:10:46,500
I believe I got everything
Imdad said to me, word for word.

214
00:10:46,583 --> 00:10:48,750
I give it to you now
exactly as he spoke it.

215
00:10:55,708 --> 00:10:58,791
I was born in Kashmir State in 1873.

216
00:10:58,875 --> 00:11:01,916
My father was a ticket inspector
on the national railway.

217
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,291
One day, a conjurer came to our school
and gave a performance.

218
00:11:05,375 --> 00:11:06,833
I was spellbound.

219
00:11:06,916 --> 00:11:08,833
Two weeks later, I took all my savings

220
00:11:08,916 --> 00:11:11,375
and ran away
to join a traveling theater company.

221
00:11:11,458 --> 00:11:14,708
That was in 1886. I was 13 years old.

222
00:11:14,791 --> 00:11:15,791
For three years

223
00:11:15,875 --> 00:11:18,500
I traveled with this group
all over the Punjab.

224
00:11:18,583 --> 00:11:21,125
By the end of it,
I was playing top of the bill.

225
00:11:21,208 --> 00:11:23,666
All the time, I was saving money,

226
00:11:23,750 --> 00:11:27,541
which finally added up
to just over 3,000 rupees.

227
00:11:27,625 --> 00:11:30,625
At this moment,
I heard tell of a great, famous yogi

228
00:11:30,708 --> 00:11:32,958
who had acquired
the rare power of levitation.

229
00:11:33,041 --> 00:11:34,666
It was said that when he prayed,

230
00:11:34,750 --> 00:11:38,208
his whole body left the ground
and rose up 18 inches into the air.

231
00:11:38,291 --> 00:11:40,250
At the very least, a terrific effect.

232
00:11:41,375 --> 00:11:42,208
Mustache?

233
00:11:44,125 --> 00:11:46,208
-Oh. I quit the theater company…
-[woman] Mm-hmm.

234
00:11:46,291 --> 00:11:49,375
…and made my way to the small town
on the banks of the Ganges,

235
00:11:49,458 --> 00:11:51,375
where rumor said this yogi was living.

236
00:11:51,458 --> 00:11:53,833
One day,
I overheard a traveler mention a hermit

237
00:11:53,916 --> 00:11:57,583
he had encountered not so very far away,
in the densest jungle, all alone.

238
00:11:57,666 --> 00:12:01,166
That was enough for me.
Um, I dashed out to hire a horse and cart.

239
00:12:02,083 --> 00:12:03,708
As I negotiated with the driver,

240
00:12:03,791 --> 00:12:06,291
a man appeared and said
he was going in the same direction,

241
00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:09,291
and suggested we share the ride
and split the cost.

242
00:12:09,375 --> 00:12:12,166
Well, what truly fantastic luck!

243
00:12:12,250 --> 00:12:13,541
Talking to my companion,

244
00:12:13,625 --> 00:12:16,625
I found that he was a disciple
of the great yogi himself,

245
00:12:16,708 --> 00:12:19,541
and on his way,
at that very moment, to visit his master.

246
00:12:19,625 --> 00:12:20,458
I blurted out,

247
00:12:20,541 --> 00:12:23,416
"This is the man I'm looking for!
Please, may I meet him?"

248
00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:26,291
My companion looked at me long and slow.

249
00:12:26,375 --> 00:12:28,458
"That is impossible," he said.

250
00:12:28,541 --> 00:12:31,750
From this point forward,
he refused to answer my questions.

251
00:12:31,833 --> 00:12:34,416
However, I managed
to learn one small thing:

252
00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:37,625
the time of day
the great yogi commenced his meditation.

253
00:12:37,708 --> 00:12:41,916
My companion signaled to halt the cart,
dismounted, and was gone.

254
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,583
I pretended to drive on.
But just around the corner,

255
00:12:44,666 --> 00:12:46,750
I jumped down
and snuck back along the path.

256
00:12:46,833 --> 00:12:49,083
Already, the man
had disappeared into the jungle.

257
00:12:49,166 --> 00:12:51,750
-[twig snaps]
-I heard a rustling in the undergrowth.

258
00:12:51,833 --> 00:12:54,125
"If that's not him," I thought,
"it's a tiger,

259
00:12:54,208 --> 00:12:56,750
and I'm about to be
pounced upon, thrashed,

260
00:12:56,833 --> 00:12:59,583
and eaten in little, torn morsels
of bloody flesh."

261
00:13:00,958 --> 00:13:02,125
It was him.

262
00:13:02,208 --> 00:13:04,041
-[insects trilling]
-[birds chirping]

263
00:13:04,125 --> 00:13:07,791
There wasn't even a shadow of a trace
of a path where the man was walking.

264
00:13:07,875 --> 00:13:10,000
He was pushing his way
between tall bamboos

265
00:13:10,083 --> 00:13:11,875
and every kind of heavy vegetation.

266
00:13:11,958 --> 00:13:15,833
I crept after him, very quiet,
keeping at least 100 yards behind.

267
00:13:15,916 --> 00:13:18,916
Whenever I lost sight of him,
which was most of the time,

268
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,458
I was able to follow
the sound of his footsteps.

269
00:13:21,541 --> 00:13:24,750
For half an hour, this tense game
of follow-the-leader went on.

270
00:13:24,833 --> 00:13:27,666
Then, suddenly,
I no longer heard the man in front of me.

271
00:13:27,750 --> 00:13:29,375
I stopped and listened.

272
00:13:29,458 --> 00:13:31,583
All at once,
through the thick undergrowth,

273
00:13:31,666 --> 00:13:34,166
I saw a little clearing
and two small huts.

274
00:13:34,250 --> 00:13:35,458
My heart jumped.

275
00:13:35,541 --> 00:13:37,833
There was a water hole
next to the nearest hut

276
00:13:37,916 --> 00:13:39,916
with a prayer mat beside it, and above,

277
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:44,208
a large baobab tree
with beautiful, thick, leafy branches.

278
00:13:44,291 --> 00:13:46,583
All through
the great noontime heat, I waited.

279
00:13:46,666 --> 00:13:49,500
On through the heavy wet heat
of the afternoon, I waited.

280
00:13:49,583 --> 00:13:50,958
As five o'clock approached,

281
00:13:51,041 --> 00:13:54,416
I quietly climbed up my tree
and hid among the leaves.

282
00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:56,625
Finally, the great yogi
came out of his hut

283
00:13:56,708 --> 00:13:58,541
and sat cross-legged on the mat.

284
00:13:58,625 --> 00:14:01,208
Each movement he made was calm and gentle.

285
00:14:01,291 --> 00:14:03,791
He put his hands
palm downward on his knees

286
00:14:03,875 --> 00:14:06,041
and took a long breath
through his nostrils,

287
00:14:06,125 --> 00:14:09,875
and already I could see
a sort of brightness was melting over him.

288
00:14:09,958 --> 00:14:13,291
For 14 minutes, he remained
perfectly still in this position.

289
00:14:13,375 --> 00:14:17,000
And then, as I watched,
I saw, quite positively,

290
00:14:17,083 --> 00:14:19,166
his body slowly lifting off the ground.

291
00:14:20,666 --> 00:14:24,333
Twelve inches. Fifteen. Eighteen. Twenty.

292
00:14:25,083 --> 00:14:27,166
Two feet above the prayer mat.

293
00:14:27,250 --> 00:14:28,958
Up in the tree, I said to myself,

294
00:14:29,041 --> 00:14:32,125
"There before you
is a man sitting in the air."

295
00:14:33,458 --> 00:14:37,416
Forty-six minutes, by my watch,
his body remained suspended.

296
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:39,708
And then he slowly descended
back to earth,

297
00:14:39,791 --> 00:14:42,333
until his buttocks
rested again upon the mat.

298
00:14:42,416 --> 00:14:44,916
I climbed down from my tree
and ran straight over.

299
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,291
The great yogi
was washing his hands and feet.

300
00:14:47,375 --> 00:14:49,583
"How long have you been here?"
he said sharply.

301
00:14:49,666 --> 00:14:52,208
Suddenly, he picked up a brick
and threw it at me so hard

302
00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:54,791
it broke in two
as it struck my leg below the knee.

303
00:14:54,875 --> 00:14:57,000
I have the scar still.
I'll show it to you.

304
00:14:59,916 --> 00:15:01,708
This was actually a stroke of luck.

305
00:15:01,791 --> 00:15:04,791
A great yogi isn't meant
to lose his temper and fling bricks.

306
00:15:04,875 --> 00:15:09,250
The old man was humiliated, remorseful,
and deeply disappointed in himself.

307
00:15:09,333 --> 00:15:12,625
He explained that though
he could not take me on as a disciple,

308
00:15:12,708 --> 00:15:15,541
he would, nevertheless,
give me some informal instruction

309
00:15:15,625 --> 00:15:17,708
in order to make amends for attacking me,

310
00:15:17,791 --> 00:15:20,125
an attack I fully deserved, by the way.

311
00:15:20,208 --> 00:15:22,041
This was in 1890.

312
00:15:22,125 --> 00:15:24,041
I was nearly 17 years old.

313
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,250
Now, what was
the great yogi's instruction?

314
00:15:28,333 --> 00:15:29,875
Here it comes.

315
00:15:29,958 --> 00:15:31,458
The mind is a scattered thing.

316
00:15:31,541 --> 00:15:34,541
It concerns itself
with thousands of different items at once.

317
00:15:34,625 --> 00:15:37,250
Things you see around you.
Things you hear and smell.

318
00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:40,208
Things you think about.
Things you try not to think about.

319
00:15:40,291 --> 00:15:42,250
You must learn to concentrate such that

320
00:15:42,333 --> 00:15:45,916
you can visualize at will one item,
one item only, and nothing else.

321
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,958
If you work hard, you may be able
to concentrate your conscious mind

322
00:15:49,041 --> 00:15:50,458
on any one object you select

323
00:15:50,541 --> 00:15:52,458
for around three and one-half minutes.

324
00:15:52,541 --> 00:15:55,625
This will take
about 20 years of diligent, daily effort.

325
00:15:55,708 --> 00:15:57,291
"Twenty years!" I cried.

326
00:15:57,375 --> 00:15:59,083
Twenty years. It may take longer.

327
00:15:59,166 --> 00:16:01,875
That's the usual time,
if you are able to do it at all.

328
00:16:01,958 --> 00:16:03,541
I'll be an old man by then!

329
00:16:03,625 --> 00:16:06,416
The time varies.
Some take ten years, some take 30.

330
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:09,333
On extremely rare occasions,
a special person comes along

331
00:16:09,416 --> 00:16:12,250
who's able to develop the power
in only one or two years,

332
00:16:12,333 --> 00:16:14,250
but this is one in a billion. Not you.

333
00:16:14,333 --> 00:16:16,625
Is it that difficult
to concentrate the mind--

334
00:16:16,708 --> 00:16:21,166
Almost impossible. Try it and see.
Shut your eyes and think of something.

335
00:16:21,250 --> 00:16:24,291
Think of just one object.
Visualize it. See it before you.

336
00:16:24,375 --> 00:16:26,458
In a few seconds, your mind will wander.

337
00:16:26,541 --> 00:16:29,541
Other thoughts will creep in.
It's a very difficult thing.

338
00:16:29,625 --> 00:16:31,625
Thus spoke the great, wise, old yogi.

339
00:16:33,708 --> 00:16:36,500
[Imdad] And so my exercises began.

340
00:16:37,083 --> 00:16:38,458
Each evening, I sat down,

341
00:16:38,541 --> 00:16:41,916
closed my eyes, and visualized the person
I loved best in the world,

342
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,333
which was my elder brother
who died, age ten, from a blood disease.

343
00:16:45,416 --> 00:16:49,208
I concentrated on his face,
but the instant my mind began to wander,

344
00:16:49,291 --> 00:16:52,166
I stopped the exercise,
rested for several minutes,

345
00:16:52,250 --> 00:16:53,458
then I tried again.

346
00:16:53,541 --> 00:16:55,291
After five years of daily practice,

347
00:16:55,375 --> 00:16:58,208
I was able to concentrate
absolutely on my brother's face

348
00:16:58,291 --> 00:16:59,750
for one and a half minutes.

349
00:16:59,833 --> 00:17:01,166
I was making progress.

350
00:17:04,791 --> 00:17:05,625
In the meantime,

351
00:17:05,708 --> 00:17:08,833
I began to earn quite good money
giving conjuring performances.

352
00:17:08,916 --> 00:17:11,041
By nature,
my sleight of hand is very good,

353
00:17:11,125 --> 00:17:13,708
but always, I continued my exercises.

354
00:17:13,791 --> 00:17:17,583
Every evening, wherever I was,
I settled myself down in a quiet spot

355
00:17:17,666 --> 00:17:20,333
and concentrated my mind
on my brother's face.

356
00:17:20,416 --> 00:17:23,583
Sometimes, I lit a candle
and began by staring at the flame.

357
00:17:23,666 --> 00:17:27,041
A candle flame, as you know,
has three separate parts:

358
00:17:27,125 --> 00:17:29,541
the yellow at the top,
the mauve lower down,

359
00:17:29,625 --> 00:17:30,875
and the black inside.

360
00:17:30,958 --> 00:17:33,833
I placed the candle
16 inches away from my face,

361
00:17:33,916 --> 00:17:35,458
absolutely level with my eyes,

362
00:17:35,541 --> 00:17:38,708
so I didn't have to make
even tiny adjustments of my eye muscles

363
00:17:38,791 --> 00:17:39,916
by looking up or down.

364
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,041
I stared at the black part in the center
until everything around me disappeared.

365
00:17:44,125 --> 00:17:45,458
Then I shut my eyes

366
00:17:45,541 --> 00:17:48,000
and began to concentrate
on my brother's face.

367
00:17:48,916 --> 00:17:53,750
By 1907, when I was 34 years old,
I could concentrate for three minutes

368
00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:56,125
without any wandering
of my mind whatsoever.

369
00:17:56,208 --> 00:17:59,458
It was also at this time
that I became aware of a slight ability,

370
00:17:59,541 --> 00:18:01,291
just a queer, little feeling,

371
00:18:01,375 --> 00:18:04,375
that when I closed my eyes
and looked at something hard,

372
00:18:04,458 --> 00:18:05,750
with fierce intensity,

373
00:18:05,833 --> 00:18:08,541
I could see the outline
of the object I was looking at.

374
00:18:08,625 --> 00:18:10,583
I thought of a thing the yogi had said:

375
00:18:10,666 --> 00:18:14,250
"Certain holy people have been known
to develop so great a concentration

376
00:18:14,333 --> 00:18:17,000
they can see without using their eyes."

377
00:18:17,083 --> 00:18:21,416
Each night after I performed
my exercises with the candle flame,

378
00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:24,333
I drank a cup of coffee,
then I blindfolded myself

379
00:18:24,416 --> 00:18:26,875
and sat in my chair
trying to see without my eyes.

380
00:18:26,958 --> 00:18:29,125
I started with a deck of playing cards.

381
00:18:29,208 --> 00:18:31,333
I studied the backs. I guessed the values.

382
00:18:31,416 --> 00:18:33,583
Immediately, I had a 60% success rate.

383
00:18:33,666 --> 00:18:35,833
Later, I bought maps
and navigational charts

384
00:18:35,916 --> 00:18:37,625
and pinned them up around my room.

385
00:18:37,708 --> 00:18:42,083
I spent hours looking at them blindfolded,
trying to read the small lettering.

386
00:18:42,166 --> 00:18:46,291
Every evening for the next eight years,
I proceeded with this kind of practice.

387
00:18:46,375 --> 00:18:49,000
By 1915,
I could read a book straight through,

388
00:18:49,083 --> 00:18:50,958
cover to cover, blindfolded.

389
00:18:51,041 --> 00:18:52,291
I had it!

390
00:18:52,375 --> 00:18:54,291
At last, I had this power.

391
00:18:55,833 --> 00:18:58,541
As you know,
it became my entire conjuring performance.

392
00:18:58,625 --> 00:19:01,791
Audiences loved it, but no one
believed it to be genuine. Still don't.

393
00:19:01,875 --> 00:19:05,333
Even doctors, like you, who blindfold me
in the most expert fashion,

394
00:19:05,416 --> 00:19:08,375
refuse to believe
anyone can see without his eyes.

395
00:19:08,458 --> 00:19:11,708
They forget there are other ways
of sending an image to the brain.

396
00:19:11,791 --> 00:19:13,208
Imdad Khan fell silent.

397
00:19:13,291 --> 00:19:14,208
He was tired.

398
00:19:14,291 --> 00:19:15,666
"What other ways?" I asked.

399
00:19:17,750 --> 00:19:19,333
Quite honestly, I do not know.

400
00:19:21,083 --> 00:19:23,958
The seeing is done
by another part of the body.

401
00:19:24,041 --> 00:19:25,458
[Dr. Z.Z.] Which part?

402
00:19:35,125 --> 00:19:36,666
That night I didn't go to bed.

403
00:19:36,750 --> 00:19:39,833
This man would have scientists
turning somersaults in the air.

404
00:19:39,916 --> 00:19:41,875
He must be the most valuable man alive.

405
00:19:41,958 --> 00:19:45,625
I had to find out exactly how it was,
biologically, chemically, magically,

406
00:19:45,708 --> 00:19:48,375
an image could be sent to the brain
without using the eyes.

407
00:19:48,458 --> 00:19:51,833
Blind people might be able to see.
Deaf people to hear. Who knows what else?

408
00:19:51,916 --> 00:19:54,541
"This incredible man
must not be ignored," I thought.

409
00:19:54,625 --> 00:19:58,333
I started transcribing with care
everything Imdad had told me that evening.

410
00:19:58,416 --> 00:20:00,416
I wrote for five hours without stopping.

411
00:20:03,125 --> 00:20:06,583
At eight o'clock the next morning,
I finished the most important part:

412
00:20:06,666 --> 00:20:08,041
the pages you've just read.

413
00:20:08,125 --> 00:20:10,958
I didn't see Dr. Marshall
until we met for our tea break.

414
00:20:11,041 --> 00:20:13,291
I told him what I could
in the time we had.

415
00:20:13,375 --> 00:20:15,916
"Back to the theater tonight," I said.
Can't lose him now.

416
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,291
I'll come with you.

417
00:20:17,375 --> 00:20:19,875
At 6:45,
we drove to the Royal Palace Hall.

418
00:20:19,958 --> 00:20:22,458
I parked the car,
and we walked to the theater.

419
00:20:22,541 --> 00:20:24,250
"There's something wrong," I said.

420
00:20:24,333 --> 00:20:26,625
There was no crowd,
and the doors were closed.

421
00:20:26,708 --> 00:20:30,666
The poster for the show was in place,
but someone had printed across it…

422
00:20:30,750 --> 00:20:32,833
"Tonight's performance canceled."

423
00:20:33,875 --> 00:20:37,208
I asked an old gatekeeper
by the locked doors: "What happened?"

424
00:20:37,291 --> 00:20:39,333
-[gatekeeper] Someone died.
-"Who?"

425
00:20:39,416 --> 00:20:40,958
Of course, I already knew.

426
00:20:41,041 --> 00:20:43,583
[gatekeeper] The man who sees
without his eyes.

427
00:20:43,666 --> 00:20:45,208
"How?" I cried.

428
00:20:45,291 --> 00:20:47,708
[gatekeeper] He went to sleep
and never woke up.

429
00:20:48,208 --> 00:20:49,375
These things happen.

430
00:20:52,750 --> 00:20:54,416
We walked slowly back to the car.

431
00:20:59,125 --> 00:21:01,500
I felt an overwhelming sense
of grief and anger.

432
00:21:01,583 --> 00:21:03,583
I should never have allowed him
out of my sight.

433
00:21:03,666 --> 00:21:05,500
I should've given him my bed,
taken care of him.

434
00:21:05,583 --> 00:21:07,000
Imdad Khan was a maker of miracles.

435
00:21:07,083 --> 00:21:11,333
He'd communicated with mysterious forces
far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

436
00:21:11,416 --> 00:21:13,083
Now he was dead.

437
00:21:13,166 --> 00:21:14,833
"That's that," Dr. Marshall said.

438
00:21:15,625 --> 00:21:16,541
That's that.

439
00:21:17,500 --> 00:21:18,500
"Yes," I said.

440
00:21:19,833 --> 00:21:20,750
"That's that."

441
00:21:25,625 --> 00:21:28,083
This is a true and accurate report
of everything

442
00:21:28,166 --> 00:21:30,291
concerning my two meetings
with Imdad Khan.

443
00:21:33,416 --> 00:21:34,625
Well, well, well.

444
00:21:35,708 --> 00:21:37,791
Now that is extremely interesting.

445
00:21:39,166 --> 00:21:41,333
This is a terrific piece of information.

446
00:21:42,916 --> 00:21:44,333
This could change my life.

447
00:21:44,416 --> 00:21:45,666
[rain pattering]

448
00:21:48,375 --> 00:21:49,375
[rain stops]

449
00:21:55,375 --> 00:21:57,375
[electrical buzzing]

450
00:22:04,041 --> 00:22:06,416
The piece of information
Henry was referring to

451
00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:10,333
was that Imdad Khan had trained himself
to read the value of a playing card

452
00:22:10,416 --> 00:22:11,833
from the reverse side,

453
00:22:11,916 --> 00:22:14,541
and, being,
as mentioned, a dishonest gambler,

454
00:22:14,625 --> 00:22:16,000
Henry realized at once,

455
00:22:16,083 --> 00:22:18,083
he could make a fortune.

456
00:22:18,166 --> 00:22:20,375
He went downstairs to the butler's pantry

457
00:22:20,458 --> 00:22:23,125
and asked for a candle,
a candlestick, and a ruler.

458
00:22:23,208 --> 00:22:24,916
He took them to his bedroom,
locked the door,

459
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,041
drew the curtains,
and turned off the lights.

460
00:22:27,125 --> 00:22:29,625
Put the candle on the dressing table.
Pulled up a chair.

461
00:22:29,708 --> 00:22:33,083
He noticed with satisfaction
that his eyes were level with the wick.

462
00:22:33,166 --> 00:22:37,000
Using the ruler, he positioned
his face 16 inches from the candle,

463
00:22:37,083 --> 00:22:38,541
as indicated in the book.

464
00:22:38,625 --> 00:22:42,125
Imdad Khan had visualized
the face of the person he loved best,

465
00:22:42,208 --> 00:22:44,666
which, in his case,
was his deceased brother.

466
00:22:44,750 --> 00:22:46,458
Henry didn't have a brother.

467
00:22:47,041 --> 00:22:49,958
He decided instead
to visualize his own face.

468
00:22:55,541 --> 00:22:56,666
[car engine revving]

469
00:22:56,750 --> 00:22:59,875
As Henry stared into the black area
at the center of the flame,

470
00:22:59,958 --> 00:23:01,583
an extraordinary thing happened.

471
00:23:01,666 --> 00:23:04,791
His mind went absolutely blank,
his brain ceased fidgeting,

472
00:23:04,875 --> 00:23:08,083
and all at once he felt as if
his entire body had become encased,

473
00:23:08,166 --> 00:23:09,000
snug and cozy,

474
00:23:09,083 --> 00:23:11,708
within that little black area
of burning nothingness.

475
00:23:12,291 --> 00:23:14,500
Admittedly, this lasted only 15 seconds.

476
00:23:14,583 --> 00:23:16,791
Then, no matter where,
or what he was doing,

477
00:23:16,875 --> 00:23:20,291
he made a point of practicing
with the candle five times a day.

478
00:23:20,375 --> 00:23:24,041
For the very first time, he threw himself
into something with enthusiasm,

479
00:23:24,125 --> 00:23:26,291
and the progress he made was remarkable.

480
00:23:27,166 --> 00:23:28,166
After six months

481
00:23:28,250 --> 00:23:31,625
he could concentrate absolutely upon
the image of his face for three minutes

482
00:23:31,708 --> 00:23:34,541
without a single outside thought
entering his mind.

483
00:23:34,625 --> 00:23:36,166
"It's me," Henry thought.

484
00:23:36,250 --> 00:23:38,416
"I'm the one-in-a-billion with the ability

485
00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:40,791
to acquire yoga powers
at incredible speed!"

486
00:23:40,875 --> 00:23:44,250
By the end of the first year,
he'd exceeded five and a half minutes.

487
00:23:45,250 --> 00:23:46,375
The time had come.

488
00:23:46,458 --> 00:23:47,541
[wings fluttering]

489
00:23:48,708 --> 00:23:50,291
[distant car horn blaring]

490
00:23:50,375 --> 00:23:52,833
The living room
of Henry's London flat. Midnight.

491
00:23:52,916 --> 00:23:55,083
He shakes with excitement as,
for the first time,

492
00:23:55,166 --> 00:23:57,291
he places a deck of cards
upside down before him

493
00:23:57,375 --> 00:23:59,041
and concentrates on the top card.

494
00:23:59,125 --> 00:24:02,833
All he sees initially is the ordinary
design of thin red lines on the back,

495
00:24:02,916 --> 00:24:05,750
perhaps the most common
playing-card design in the world.

496
00:24:05,833 --> 00:24:09,375
He now shifts his concentration
to the other side of the card.

497
00:24:09,458 --> 00:24:13,500
He focuses with great intensity
upon the invisible underneath of the card.

498
00:24:13,583 --> 00:24:16,416
Thirty seconds elapse.
One, two, three minutes.

499
00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:17,916
Henry doesn't move a muscle.

500
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,500
His now highly-developed concentration
is absolute.

501
00:24:20,583 --> 00:24:22,500
He visualizes the reverse of the card.

502
00:24:22,583 --> 00:24:25,000
No other thought
is permitted to enter his mind.

503
00:24:25,083 --> 00:24:27,375
During the fourth minute,
something starts to happen.

504
00:24:27,458 --> 00:24:29,333
Slowly, magically, but distinctly,

505
00:24:29,416 --> 00:24:33,125
a black blob becomes a spade,
a twisty squiggle becomes a five.

506
00:24:33,208 --> 00:24:34,708
The five of spades.

507
00:24:34,791 --> 00:24:38,083
Fingers quivering,
he picks up the card and turns it over.

508
00:24:38,166 --> 00:24:40,250
[gasps] "I've done it," he says.

509
00:24:41,333 --> 00:24:42,541
Henry becomes a fanatic.

510
00:24:42,625 --> 00:24:45,291
He never leaves his flat
except to buy food and drink.

511
00:24:45,375 --> 00:24:47,250
All day and often far into the night,

512
00:24:47,333 --> 00:24:49,583
he crouches over the cards
with the stopwatch.

513
00:24:49,666 --> 00:24:51,833
-Reducing his time, second by second.
-[cork pops]

514
00:24:51,916 --> 00:24:54,791
In a month, he's at a minute and a half.
Six months, 20 seconds.

515
00:24:54,875 --> 00:24:56,708
Seven more months, ten seconds flat.

516
00:24:56,791 --> 00:24:58,000
His target is five.

517
00:24:58,083 --> 00:25:00,708
Unless he can read through
a card in five seconds,

518
00:25:00,791 --> 00:25:02,875
he won't work the casinos successfully.

519
00:25:02,958 --> 00:25:06,916
Yet the nearer he gets to his target,
the more difficult it becomes to reach it.

520
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,166
Four weeks
to get from ten seconds to nine.

521
00:25:09,250 --> 00:25:11,083
Five more to get from nine to eight.

522
00:25:11,166 --> 00:25:12,791
Hard work no longer bothers him.

523
00:25:12,875 --> 00:25:15,375
He's able to work
12 hours straight, no trouble.

524
00:25:15,458 --> 00:25:17,791
He knows with certainty he'll get there.

525
00:25:17,875 --> 00:25:20,333
The last two seconds
are the hardest, 11 months.

526
00:25:20,416 --> 00:25:22,041
But late one Saturday afternoon…

527
00:25:22,125 --> 00:25:25,916
[watch ticking]

528
00:25:29,708 --> 00:25:33,583
Five seconds. Henry goes through the pack,
timing himself with every card.

529
00:25:33,666 --> 00:25:37,458
Five seconds. Five seconds. Five seconds.

530
00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:40,833
How long has it taken him
to reach this moment?

531
00:25:41,666 --> 00:25:44,666
Three years and three months
of uninterrupted effort.

532
00:25:46,208 --> 00:25:48,625
There were over
100 legitimate casinos in London.

533
00:25:48,708 --> 00:25:52,750
Henry was a member of no less than ten.
Lord's House was his favorite.

534
00:25:52,833 --> 00:25:56,041
It was the finest in the land,
in a magnificent Georgian mansion.

535
00:25:56,125 --> 00:25:57,166
Good evening, Mr. Sugar.

536
00:25:57,250 --> 00:25:59,916
…said the man
whose job it was to never forget a face.

537
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,125
Henry ascended the marvelous staircase
to the cashier's office.

538
00:26:03,208 --> 00:26:05,250
He wrote a check for £10,000.

539
00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:09,416
Well-fed women circled the roulette wheel
like plump hens around a feeding hopper.

540
00:26:09,500 --> 00:26:11,708
Men with crimson faces,
cigars between their lips

541
00:26:11,791 --> 00:26:14,166
counted their chips,
eyes glittering with greed.

542
00:26:14,250 --> 00:26:15,458
[choir vocalizing]

543
00:26:15,541 --> 00:26:17,541
Odd. For the first time in Henry's life,

544
00:26:17,625 --> 00:26:20,583
he looked with distaste upon a room
full of horrible rich people.

545
00:26:20,666 --> 00:26:23,500
He searched for a vacant seat
directly on the dealer's camera left

546
00:26:23,583 --> 00:26:25,166
at any of the blackjack tables.

547
00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:28,250
The dealer took Henry's plaque
and dropped it into a slot.

548
00:26:28,333 --> 00:26:31,458
He was a young-ish man
with black eyes and gray skin.

549
00:26:31,541 --> 00:26:33,791
He never smiled
and only spoke when necessary.

550
00:26:33,875 --> 00:26:36,583
He had slim hands.
There was arithmetic in his fingers.

551
00:26:36,666 --> 00:26:39,875
He picked up a wedge of £25 chips
and placed them in a pile.

552
00:26:39,958 --> 00:26:42,708
He didn't need to count them.
Those nimble fingers were never wrong.

553
00:26:42,791 --> 00:26:44,250
He slid the pile to Henry.

554
00:26:44,333 --> 00:26:45,708
As Henry stacked his chips,

555
00:26:45,791 --> 00:26:47,875
he glanced at the top card
in the dealer's shoe.

556
00:26:47,958 --> 00:26:51,375
In five seconds he read it as a ten.
He pushed out eight chips, £200,

557
00:26:51,458 --> 00:26:53,583
the maximum stake allowed at Lord's House.

558
00:26:53,666 --> 00:26:56,083
He was dealt the ten.
His second card was a nine.

559
00:26:56,166 --> 00:26:57,333
Nineteen all together.

560
00:26:57,416 --> 00:26:58,416
On 19, you stick.

561
00:26:58,500 --> 00:27:02,083
You sit tight and hope the dealer
doesn't get 20 or 21. It's a given.

562
00:27:02,166 --> 00:27:04,708
-When the dealer came to Henry, he said…
-Nineteen.

563
00:27:04,791 --> 00:27:07,333
…and passed to the next player.
"Wait," said Henry.

564
00:27:07,416 --> 00:27:08,958
The dealer came back to Henry.

565
00:27:09,041 --> 00:27:11,333
He raised his eyebrows,
looked with cool eyes.

566
00:27:11,416 --> 00:27:13,583
-You wish to draw to 19?
-…he asked crisply.

567
00:27:13,666 --> 00:27:17,208
There were only two ranks that
wouldn't bust a 19, the ace and the two.

568
00:27:17,291 --> 00:27:21,250
Only an idiot would risk drawing on 19,
especially with £200 on the table.

569
00:27:21,333 --> 00:27:24,375
The back of the next card lay visible.
The dealer hadn't touched it.

570
00:27:24,458 --> 00:27:27,833
"Yes," Henry said. "Another card."
The dealer shrugged and dealt it.

571
00:27:27,916 --> 00:27:31,083
The two of clubs landed in front of Henry
alongside the ten and the nine.

572
00:27:31,166 --> 00:27:32,708
-21.
-…the dealer said evenly.

573
00:27:32,791 --> 00:27:34,750
He glanced up again into Henry's face,

574
00:27:34,833 --> 00:27:37,500
and rested there,
silent, watchful, puzzled.

575
00:27:37,583 --> 00:27:38,583
[crowd murmuring]

576
00:27:38,666 --> 00:27:42,208
Henry had unbalanced him. He'd rarely,
if ever, seen anyone draw on 19.

577
00:27:42,291 --> 00:27:44,500
This fellow had
with a calmness and certainty

578
00:27:44,583 --> 00:27:46,750
that was quite staggering, and he'd won.

579
00:27:46,833 --> 00:27:50,166
Henry caught the dealer's look,
realized he'd made a silly mistake.

580
00:27:50,250 --> 00:27:52,500
He'd attracted attention.
"I beg your pardon."

581
00:27:52,583 --> 00:27:54,000
He must never do that again.

582
00:27:54,083 --> 00:27:57,125
He must be very careful,
even make himself lose occasionally.

583
00:27:57,208 --> 00:27:58,250
The game went on.

584
00:27:58,333 --> 00:28:00,041
Henry's advantage was so enormous,

585
00:28:00,125 --> 00:28:02,583
he had difficulty
keeping his winnings reasonable.

586
00:28:02,666 --> 00:28:04,291
In an hour, he'd won £30,000.

587
00:28:04,375 --> 00:28:05,416
There he stopped.

588
00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:07,916
It could just as easily
have been a million.

589
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,125
Thank you.

590
00:28:09,208 --> 00:28:11,541
Henry was almost certainly capable
of making money

591
00:28:11,625 --> 00:28:14,041
faster than any other person
in the entire world.

592
00:28:16,666 --> 00:28:17,500
Interesting.

593
00:28:22,041 --> 00:28:24,333
Had this been a made-up story
instead of a true one,

594
00:28:24,416 --> 00:28:25,833
it would have been necessary

595
00:28:25,916 --> 00:28:28,583
to invent a surprising
and exciting end for the thing.

596
00:28:28,666 --> 00:28:30,250
Something dramatic and unusual.

597
00:28:30,333 --> 00:28:33,416
For example, Henry could go home
and start counting his money.

598
00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:36,333
While doing this,
he might suddenly begin to feel unwell.

599
00:28:36,416 --> 00:28:37,875
He has a pain in his chest.

600
00:28:38,875 --> 00:28:41,333
He decides to go to bed.
He takes off his clothes.

601
00:28:41,416 --> 00:28:43,250
Walks naked and puts on pajamas.

602
00:28:43,333 --> 00:28:46,458
He passes the full-length mirror
against the wall. He stops.

603
00:28:46,541 --> 00:28:49,541
Automatically, from force of habit,
he starts to concentrate.

604
00:28:49,625 --> 00:28:51,833
All at once, he sees through his own skin.

605
00:28:51,916 --> 00:28:54,250
Like an X-ray, only better.
He sees everything.

606
00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:56,666
Arteries, veins,
the blood pumping through him.

607
00:28:56,750 --> 00:28:59,750
Liver, kidneys, intestines.
He sees his heart beating.

608
00:28:59,833 --> 00:29:01,791
He looks at where the pain is coming from

609
00:29:01,875 --> 00:29:05,833
and sees a dark lump inside the large vein
leading into the heart on the right side.

610
00:29:05,916 --> 00:29:08,916
A blood clot. At first,
the clot appears to be stationary.

611
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,083
Then it moves. The movement's slight.
Only a millimeter or so.

612
00:29:12,166 --> 00:29:14,708
The blood is pumping up behind the clot
and pushing past it,

613
00:29:14,791 --> 00:29:16,083
and the clot moves again.

614
00:29:16,166 --> 00:29:19,166
It jerks forward about half an inch.
Henry watches in terror.

615
00:29:19,250 --> 00:29:22,375
He knows a large clot that's broken free
and is traveling in the vein

616
00:29:22,458 --> 00:29:24,125
will reach the heart.

617
00:29:24,208 --> 00:29:25,666
He is about to die.

618
00:29:25,750 --> 00:29:28,375
Not a bad ending for fiction,
but this isn't fiction.

619
00:29:28,458 --> 00:29:29,416
This story is fact.

620
00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:32,333
The only untrue thing is Henry's name,
which wasn't Henry Sugar.

621
00:29:32,416 --> 00:29:35,750
His name has to be protected.
It still must be protected.

622
00:29:35,833 --> 00:29:37,875
Apart from that, this is a true story,

623
00:29:37,958 --> 00:29:41,000
and because it's a true story,
it must have the true ending.

624
00:29:41,083 --> 00:29:42,583
Here's what actually happened.

625
00:29:46,916 --> 00:29:49,875
Henry walked for an hour.
The evening was cool and pleasant.

626
00:29:49,958 --> 00:29:51,583
The city still wide awake.

627
00:29:51,666 --> 00:29:55,041
He could feel the thick bankroll
in the inside pocket of his jacket.

628
00:29:55,125 --> 00:29:56,500
He patted it gently.

629
00:29:56,583 --> 00:29:58,708
A lot of money for an hour's work.

630
00:29:58,791 --> 00:30:00,583
Yet, he was a puzzled man.

631
00:30:00,666 --> 00:30:04,583
He couldn't understand why he felt
so little excitement about this success.

632
00:30:04,666 --> 00:30:07,333
If this had happened three years ago,
before the yoga,

633
00:30:07,416 --> 00:30:09,041
he'd have gone crazy with excitement,

634
00:30:09,125 --> 00:30:11,666
he'd be rushing off
to a nightclub to celebrate.

635
00:30:11,750 --> 00:30:13,625
But Henry didn't feel excited.

636
00:30:13,708 --> 00:30:15,166
-He felt sad.
-[choir singing]

637
00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:17,916
Every time he made a bet,
he'd been certain to win.

638
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,083
There was no thrill,
no suspense, no danger.

639
00:30:21,166 --> 00:30:24,000
He knew he could travel
around the world making millions.

640
00:30:24,083 --> 00:30:25,750
But was it going to be any fun?

641
00:30:25,833 --> 00:30:28,000
Another thing.
Was it not entirely possible

642
00:30:28,083 --> 00:30:30,166
the process of acquiring yoga powers

643
00:30:30,250 --> 00:30:33,833
had completely and utterly
changed his entire outlook on life?

644
00:30:33,916 --> 00:30:35,041
It was possible.

645
00:30:35,750 --> 00:30:38,458
The next morning,
Henry woke up late, got out of bed,

646
00:30:38,541 --> 00:30:41,166
saw the enormous bundle
lying on his dressing-table,

647
00:30:41,250 --> 00:30:43,208
and didn't want it.

648
00:30:43,291 --> 00:30:45,291
[film projector whirring]

649
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,000
-[choir vocalizing]
-[birdsong]

650
00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:08,333
[man 1] Oy?!

651
00:31:08,416 --> 00:31:11,875
Good morning, sir.
That's for you! It's a present.

652
00:31:11,958 --> 00:31:12,791
[man 1] I…

653
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:14,833
A what?

654
00:31:15,625 --> 00:31:16,958
Put it in your pocket!

655
00:31:18,458 --> 00:31:19,375
[man 1] All right.

656
00:31:28,208 --> 00:31:29,291
[woman 1] What is it?

657
00:31:29,375 --> 00:31:31,041
-[man 2] It's money.
-Keep it!

658
00:31:31,125 --> 00:31:34,750
[passing footsteps]

659
00:31:37,583 --> 00:31:38,416
[man 2] Hey!

660
00:31:38,500 --> 00:31:40,583
[hurried footsteps approaching]

661
00:31:41,875 --> 00:31:42,833
[woman 2] Come on…

662
00:31:44,250 --> 00:31:45,791
[bicycle bell ringing]

663
00:31:45,875 --> 00:31:47,375
[bicycle thuds]

664
00:31:47,458 --> 00:31:49,083
[car horn honking]

665
00:31:49,166 --> 00:31:51,250
[people chattering excitedly]

666
00:31:52,666 --> 00:31:54,875
[people yelling indistinctly]

667
00:32:02,666 --> 00:32:04,958
-[car brakes screech]
-[car doors slam]

668
00:32:06,708 --> 00:32:08,541
[people clamoring violently]

669
00:32:10,291 --> 00:32:11,875
-[brakes screech]
-[car crashes]

670
00:32:11,958 --> 00:32:12,833
[whistle blowing]

671
00:32:13,750 --> 00:32:17,458
[doorbell ringing]

672
00:32:17,541 --> 00:32:19,291
[policeman] The doorbell rang.

673
00:32:19,375 --> 00:32:21,875
-What do you think you're doing?
-Sorry about the crowd.

674
00:32:21,958 --> 00:32:23,208
I was giving away some money.

675
00:32:23,291 --> 00:32:25,750
-You're inciting a riot!
-Just giving away some money.

676
00:32:25,833 --> 00:32:28,000
I won't do it again. They'll soon go away.

677
00:32:28,083 --> 00:32:31,000
The policeman took one hand off his hip,
produced a £50 note.

678
00:32:31,083 --> 00:32:34,333
-A-ha, you got one yourself.
-This is evidence. Where's the money from?

679
00:32:34,416 --> 00:32:37,166
I won it at blackjack.
I had a tremendously lucky night.

680
00:32:37,250 --> 00:32:39,875
Henry named the club
and the policeman wrote it down.

681
00:32:39,958 --> 00:32:41,333
They'll tell you it's true.

682
00:32:41,416 --> 00:32:43,250
The policeman lowered the book.
I don't care.

683
00:32:43,333 --> 00:32:44,958
-Don't you?
-Not whatsoever.

684
00:32:45,041 --> 00:32:46,583
In fact, I believe your story,

685
00:32:46,666 --> 00:32:49,541
but that doesn't excuse
what you did even the tiniest bit.

686
00:32:49,625 --> 00:32:51,958
I didn't do anything illegal, did I?

687
00:32:52,791 --> 00:32:53,708
Illegal?

688
00:32:54,458 --> 00:32:55,583
[shouting] You're an idiot!

689
00:32:56,333 --> 00:32:59,708
If you're lucky enough to win yourself
a big sum of money like that,

690
00:32:59,791 --> 00:33:02,750
and want to give it away,
you don't throw it out of the window.

691
00:33:02,833 --> 00:33:06,958
You give it somewhere it'll do some good.
A hospital for instance, or an orphanage.

692
00:33:07,041 --> 00:33:09,125
There's hospitals and orphanages all over

693
00:33:09,208 --> 00:33:12,375
got hardly enough money
to buy the kids a present for Christmas.

694
00:33:12,458 --> 00:33:14,208
Then comes a spoiled idiot

695
00:33:14,291 --> 00:33:16,666
who's never known
what it's like to be hard up,

696
00:33:16,750 --> 00:33:18,916
and you throw the stuff
out into the street!

697
00:33:19,750 --> 00:33:22,625
The policeman stomped down the stairs
and out of the door.

698
00:33:22,708 --> 00:33:23,625
Henry didn't move.

699
00:33:23,708 --> 00:33:26,375
Those words, and the fury
with which they were spoken,

700
00:33:26,458 --> 00:33:27,750
struck hard and deep.

701
00:33:27,833 --> 00:33:29,375
He was ashamed.

702
00:33:29,458 --> 00:33:30,708
It was an awful feeling.

703
00:33:36,916 --> 00:33:38,000
Then, all at once,

704
00:33:38,083 --> 00:33:41,500
Henry felt a powerful electricity
tingling through his entire body,

705
00:33:41,583 --> 00:33:45,208
and there began to come to him
an idea that was to change everything.

706
00:33:45,291 --> 00:33:46,791
He started pacing up and down,

707
00:33:46,875 --> 00:33:49,916
ticking off the points
that would make his idea possible.

708
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,333
One. I'm going to win
a very large sum of money

709
00:33:52,416 --> 00:33:55,416
each and every day of my life
from this moment forward.

710
00:33:55,500 --> 00:33:59,250
[different voice] Two. I can go to the
same casino only once every six months.

711
00:33:59,333 --> 00:34:01,875
Three. I must never win
too much money in one sitting.

712
00:34:01,958 --> 00:34:04,375
[normally] £50,000 pounds a night,
that's my limit.

713
00:34:04,458 --> 00:34:08,166
[in Texan accent] Four.
£50,000 a night for 365 days a year.

714
00:34:08,250 --> 00:34:10,916
That's £18.25 million.

715
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,166
[normally] Five. Keep moving.

716
00:34:12,250 --> 00:34:14,791
No more than three nights
at a stretch in any city.

717
00:34:14,875 --> 00:34:16,958
London, Monte-Carlo, Cannes, Biarritz,

718
00:34:17,041 --> 00:34:20,083
Deauville, Las Vegas,
Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Nassau.

719
00:34:20,166 --> 00:34:24,416
Six. I'll take the money and establish
hospitals and orphanages around the world.

720
00:34:24,500 --> 00:34:26,791
[in woman's voice] Corny and sentimental
as a dream,

721
00:34:26,875 --> 00:34:29,083
but as a reality,
I think I can make it work.

722
00:34:29,166 --> 00:34:33,208
I don't think it'd be corny at all.
It would be wonderfully stupendous.

723
00:34:33,291 --> 00:34:36,875
[normally] Seven. I need a partner who can
sit behind a desk and receive the money,

724
00:34:36,958 --> 00:34:38,541
then send it where it's needed.

725
00:34:38,625 --> 00:34:41,791
Someone I can deeply,
emphatically, categorically trust forever.

726
00:34:41,875 --> 00:34:45,041
John Winston was Henry's accountant,
and had been his father's too,

727
00:34:45,125 --> 00:34:47,708
and John's father had been
Henry's father's father's accountant.

728
00:34:47,791 --> 00:34:49,708
You could be the richest man on Earth.

729
00:34:51,833 --> 00:34:54,000
I don't want to be
the richest man on Earth.

730
00:34:56,583 --> 00:34:59,250
I can't operate in England.
The taxman'll take it all.

731
00:34:59,333 --> 00:35:01,416
I'll have to move to Switzerland.
But not tomorrow.

732
00:35:01,500 --> 00:35:04,125
I'm not unattached like you
with no responsibilities.

733
00:35:04,208 --> 00:35:07,000
I must talk to my family,
give notice to my partners.

734
00:35:07,083 --> 00:35:09,541
I must sell my house,
find another in Switzerland,

735
00:35:09,625 --> 00:35:11,916
take the kids out of school.
These things take time.

736
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,125
One year later,
Henry had sent just over £120 million

737
00:35:15,208 --> 00:35:16,875
to John Winston in Lausanne.

738
00:35:16,958 --> 00:35:18,958
The money was delivered five days a week

739
00:35:19,041 --> 00:35:21,250
to a Swiss company
called Winston Sugar, LLC.

740
00:35:21,333 --> 00:35:24,250
Nobody except John and Henry
knew where the money came from

741
00:35:24,333 --> 00:35:25,708
or what would happen to it.

742
00:35:25,791 --> 00:35:27,458
The Monday remittance was the biggest

743
00:35:27,541 --> 00:35:30,125
because it included the take
for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,

744
00:35:30,208 --> 00:35:31,333
when the banks were closed.

745
00:35:31,416 --> 00:35:33,041
[Henry] He moved with astonishing speed,

746
00:35:33,125 --> 00:35:35,750
changing his identity
several times in a single week.

747
00:35:35,833 --> 00:35:38,416
Often, the only clue John had
of Henry's whereabouts

748
00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:42,250
was the address of the bank which had
sent the money. It was stupendous.

749
00:35:42,333 --> 00:35:44,708
[choir vocalizing]

750
00:35:44,791 --> 00:35:46,416
[clock ticking]

751
00:35:47,833 --> 00:35:50,250
-[ticking stops]
-[choir continues]

752
00:35:59,416 --> 00:36:01,416
[birds and insects buzzing]

753
00:36:02,541 --> 00:36:05,958
Henry died last year,
age 63, from a pulmonary embolism.

754
00:36:06,041 --> 00:36:09,166
He saw it coming, quite literally,
but was very much at peace.

755
00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:11,833
He'd been following his plan
for just over 20 years.

756
00:36:11,916 --> 00:36:14,458
He'd made £644 million.

757
00:36:14,541 --> 00:36:16,041
He'd left 21 well-established,

758
00:36:16,125 --> 00:36:19,208
well-run children's hospitals
and orphanages around the world,

759
00:36:19,291 --> 00:36:23,333
administered and financed from Lausanne
by John Winston and his staff.

760
00:36:23,416 --> 00:36:24,666
His work was complete.

761
00:36:29,125 --> 00:36:33,166
Now, how do I know all this?
Good question. I'll tell you.

762
00:36:33,250 --> 00:36:36,708
Soon after Henry's death, John Winston
telephoned me from Switzerland.

763
00:36:36,833 --> 00:36:38,208
He introduced himself simply

764
00:36:38,291 --> 00:36:41,750
as the head of a company
calling itself Winston Sugar, LLC,

765
00:36:41,833 --> 00:36:44,000
and asked
if I'd come to Lausanne to see him

766
00:36:44,083 --> 00:36:47,000
with a view to writing
a brief history of the organization.

767
00:36:47,625 --> 00:36:49,250
I don't know how he chose me.

768
00:36:49,333 --> 00:36:52,125
Probably had a list of writers
and stuck a pin in it.

769
00:36:52,208 --> 00:36:54,375
He would pay me well, he said, and added,

770
00:36:54,458 --> 00:36:56,583
"A remarkable man has died recently."

771
00:36:56,666 --> 00:36:58,291
"His name was Henry Sugar."

772
00:36:58,375 --> 00:37:02,125
"I think people ought to know a bit
about what he has done for the world."

773
00:37:02,208 --> 00:37:03,208
In my ignorance,

774
00:37:03,291 --> 00:37:06,000
I asked whether the story
was really interesting enough

775
00:37:06,083 --> 00:37:07,541
to merit being put on paper.

776
00:37:07,625 --> 00:37:11,041
This annoyed John Winston very much.
Perhaps it even offended him.

777
00:37:11,625 --> 00:37:13,083
In five minutes on the phone,

778
00:37:13,166 --> 00:37:16,041
he told me
about Henry Sugar's secret career.

779
00:37:16,125 --> 00:37:17,541
It was secret no longer.

780
00:37:17,625 --> 00:37:21,083
Henry was dead and would never
enter another casino again.

781
00:37:21,166 --> 00:37:23,083
"I'm coming," I said.

782
00:37:23,166 --> 00:37:26,000
In Lausanne,
I met John Winston, now over 70,

783
00:37:26,083 --> 00:37:27,291
also Max Engelman,

784
00:37:27,375 --> 00:37:30,291
a renowned make-up artist
who traveled the world with Henry

785
00:37:30,375 --> 00:37:33,166
creating fantastic disguises
to conceal his identity.

786
00:37:33,250 --> 00:37:37,333
They were both shattered by Henry's death.
Max even more so than John Winston.

787
00:37:37,416 --> 00:37:39,625
I loved him. He was a great man.

788
00:37:39,708 --> 00:37:42,666
John Winston showed me
the original dark-blue exercise book

789
00:37:42,750 --> 00:37:45,666
written by Z.Z. Chatterjee
in Calcutta in 1935.

790
00:37:45,750 --> 00:37:47,833
I later copied it out word-for-word.

791
00:37:47,916 --> 00:37:49,375
"One last question," I said.

792
00:37:49,458 --> 00:37:52,958
"You keep calling him Henry Sugar,
yet you tell me that wasn't his name."

793
00:37:53,041 --> 00:37:56,250
"Don't you want me to say
who he really was when I do the story?"

794
00:37:56,333 --> 00:37:57,750
-No.
-…John Winston said.

795
00:37:57,833 --> 00:38:00,208
Max and I promised
never to reveal his identity.

796
00:38:00,291 --> 00:38:02,750
Oh, I suppose
it'll probably leak out sooner or later.

797
00:38:02,833 --> 00:38:04,833
He was from a well-known English family,

798
00:38:04,916 --> 00:38:07,500
but I'd appreciate it
if you didn't try to find out.

799
00:38:07,583 --> 00:38:09,791
Just please,
call him plain Mr. Henry Sugar.

800
00:38:11,833 --> 00:38:13,291
And that is what I have done.

801
00:38:42,291 --> 00:38:45,208
Ernie had been given a rifle
for his birthday.

802
00:38:45,291 --> 00:38:48,875
He took the gun and a box of bullets
and went to see what he could kill.

803
00:38:48,958 --> 00:38:50,166
Outside Raymond's house,

804
00:38:50,250 --> 00:38:53,000
he stuck two fingers in his mouth
and gave a long shrill whistle.

805
00:38:53,083 --> 00:38:54,166
[whistles]

806
00:38:54,250 --> 00:38:57,125
Raymond was Ernie's best friend.
He lived four doors away.

807
00:38:57,208 --> 00:38:59,250
He held up the rifle over his head.

808
00:38:59,333 --> 00:39:02,166
"Gripes!" said Raymond.
"We can have some fun with that!"

809
00:39:03,125 --> 00:39:06,333
The two boys set off.
This was a Saturday morning in May.

810
00:39:06,416 --> 00:39:08,416
The chestnut trees were in full flower,

811
00:39:08,500 --> 00:39:10,916
and the hawthorn was white
along the hedgerows.

812
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,833
As Ernie and Raymond
progressed up the narrow hedgy lane,

813
00:39:13,916 --> 00:39:15,916
they shot every little bird they saw.

814
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,833
Bullfinches, hedge sparrows,
whitethroats, yellowhammers.

815
00:39:18,916 --> 00:39:21,958
When they reached the railway line,
there were 14 small birds

816
00:39:22,041 --> 00:39:23,541
dangling on a line of string.

817
00:39:24,375 --> 00:39:27,541
"Look!" whispered Ernie,
pointing with a long arm. "Over there!"

818
00:39:27,625 --> 00:39:29,458
There was a small boy looking up

819
00:39:29,541 --> 00:39:32,125
into the branches of an old tree
through binoculars.

820
00:39:32,250 --> 00:39:33,791
"Watson! That little twerp."

821
00:39:35,291 --> 00:39:37,166
Peter Watson had a small, frail body.

822
00:39:37,250 --> 00:39:40,208
His face was freckled
and he wore spectacles with thick lenses.

823
00:39:40,291 --> 00:39:41,541
He was a brilliant pupil,

824
00:39:41,625 --> 00:39:44,416
already in senior class at school
though he was only 13.

825
00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:47,250
He loved music and played the piano well.

826
00:39:47,375 --> 00:39:49,875
He was no good at games.
He was quiet and polite.

827
00:39:51,750 --> 00:39:55,000
The two bigger boys
crept up slowly on the small boy.

828
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,541
He did not see them
because he had the binoculars to his eyes

829
00:39:59,625 --> 00:40:02,208
and was deeply captivated
by what he was looking at.

830
00:40:03,166 --> 00:40:05,541
"Stick 'em up!"
Ernie shouted, pointing the gun.

831
00:40:05,625 --> 00:40:07,250
Peter Watson jumped.

832
00:40:08,125 --> 00:40:09,166
[bird calling]

833
00:40:09,250 --> 00:40:11,916
He stared through his spectacles
at the two intruders.

834
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,208
"Go on!" Ernie shouted. "Stick 'em up!"

835
00:40:14,291 --> 00:40:15,583
Peter Watson stood still,

836
00:40:15,708 --> 00:40:18,416
holding the binoculars
in front of him with both hands.

837
00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:20,250
He looked at Raymond and Ernie.

838
00:40:20,333 --> 00:40:23,833
He wasn't afraid, but knew better
than to play the fool with these two.

839
00:40:23,916 --> 00:40:26,458
He'd suffered
from their attentions over the years.

840
00:40:26,541 --> 00:40:27,583
Hands up.

841
00:40:27,666 --> 00:40:29,541
It was the only sensible thing to do.

842
00:40:29,625 --> 00:40:32,458
Raymond stepped forward
and snatched the binoculars away.

843
00:40:32,541 --> 00:40:34,375
"Who you spyin' on?" He snapped.

844
00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:36,666
Peter Watson considered the possibilities.

845
00:40:36,750 --> 00:40:39,458
He could turn and run,
but they'd catch him in seconds.

846
00:40:39,541 --> 00:40:42,041
He could shout for help,
but no one would hear him.

847
00:40:42,125 --> 00:40:44,291
All he could do,
therefore, was to keep calm

848
00:40:44,375 --> 00:40:46,666
and try to talk his way
out of the situation.

849
00:40:46,750 --> 00:40:49,166
"I was watching
a green woodpecker," Peter said.

850
00:40:49,250 --> 00:40:52,375
"A what?"
"A male, green woodpecker." Picus viridis.

851
00:40:52,500 --> 00:40:55,750
"He was tapping the trunk
of that dead tree, searching for grubs."

852
00:40:55,833 --> 00:40:57,791
"Where is he?"
Ernie said, raising his gun.

853
00:40:57,875 --> 00:41:00,083
"I'll 'ave 'im!"
"No, you won't," Peter said,

854
00:41:00,166 --> 00:41:03,166
looking at the string of birds
slung over Raymond's shoulder.

855
00:41:03,250 --> 00:41:06,750
"He flew off the moment you shouted.
Woodpeckers are extremely timid."

856
00:41:12,541 --> 00:41:14,416
Raymond whispered in Ernie's ear.

857
00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:16,833
Ernie slapped his thigh. "Great idea!"

858
00:41:16,916 --> 00:41:19,625
He placed his gun on the ground
and advanced upon the small boy.

859
00:41:19,750 --> 00:41:21,125
He threw him to the ground.

860
00:41:21,208 --> 00:41:24,000
Raymond took out some string
and cut off a length of it.

861
00:41:24,083 --> 00:41:26,166
They tied Peter's wrists together tight.

862
00:41:26,250 --> 00:41:27,750
"Now the legs," Raymond said.

863
00:41:27,875 --> 00:41:30,500
Peter struggled
and received a punch in the stomach.

864
00:41:30,583 --> 00:41:32,291
That winded him, and he lay still.

865
00:41:32,375 --> 00:41:34,791
The bigger boys
tied his ankles with more string,

866
00:41:34,875 --> 00:41:36,333
trussed him like a chicken.

867
00:41:36,416 --> 00:41:37,875
Ernie picked up his gun,

868
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,125
and they began to carry the boy
towards the railway lines.

869
00:41:41,250 --> 00:41:43,166
Peter Watson kept absolutely quiet.

870
00:41:43,250 --> 00:41:46,041
Whatever they were up to,
talking wouldn't help matters.

871
00:41:46,125 --> 00:41:47,958
They dragged him down the embankment

872
00:41:48,041 --> 00:41:51,125
and laid him lengthwise
between the tracks. These tracks here.

873
00:41:53,125 --> 00:41:54,333
These tracks right here.

874
00:41:54,416 --> 00:41:57,375
This happened to me 27 years ago.
My name is Peter Watson.

875
00:41:58,916 --> 00:42:00,500
"More string," Ernie said.

876
00:42:04,625 --> 00:42:06,666
When they finished, Peter was helpless,

877
00:42:06,750 --> 00:42:08,416
tied fast between the rails.

878
00:42:08,500 --> 00:42:11,166
The only parts he could move
were his head and feet.

879
00:42:11,250 --> 00:42:14,083
Ernie and Raymond stepped back
to survey their handiwork.

880
00:42:14,166 --> 00:42:16,083
"We done a nice job," Ernie said.

881
00:42:16,166 --> 00:42:19,041
"This is murder,"
said the boy lying between the rails.

882
00:42:19,125 --> 00:42:21,041
"Not for certain," said Ernie.

883
00:42:21,125 --> 00:42:23,083
"Depends how much clearance
the trains have."

884
00:42:23,166 --> 00:42:26,666
"You keep down flat,
you might just get away with it." [laughs]

885
00:42:27,291 --> 00:42:30,708
The bigger boys climbed up the embankment
and sat behind some bushes.

886
00:42:30,791 --> 00:42:32,916
Ernie produced a pack of cigarettes.
They smoked.

887
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:35,208
Peter knew
they weren't going to release him.

888
00:42:35,291 --> 00:42:37,208
These were dangerous, crazy boys.

889
00:42:37,291 --> 00:42:39,750
Dangerous, crazy, stupid boys.

890
00:42:39,833 --> 00:42:42,583
"I must try to keep calm and think,"
Peter told himself.

891
00:42:42,666 --> 00:42:44,791
He lay there, still, weighing his chances.

892
00:42:44,875 --> 00:42:46,791
The highest part of his head was his nose.

893
00:42:46,875 --> 00:42:50,458
He estimated his nose was sticking up
about four inches above the rails.

894
00:42:50,541 --> 00:42:53,125
Was that too much?
Hard to say with modern diesels.

895
00:42:53,250 --> 00:42:56,291
His head rested
upon loose gravel between two sleepers.

896
00:42:56,375 --> 00:42:58,666
He must try to burrow down a little.

897
00:42:58,750 --> 00:43:01,500
He began to wriggle his head
pushing the gravel away

898
00:43:01,625 --> 00:43:04,333
and gradually making for himself
a small indentation.

899
00:43:04,416 --> 00:43:06,750
He reckoned
he'd lowered his head two inches.

900
00:43:06,875 --> 00:43:08,833
That would do. But what about the feet?

901
00:43:08,916 --> 00:43:11,750
He tucked them pigeon-toed
so they lay almost flat,

902
00:43:11,833 --> 00:43:13,541
then waited for the train to come.

903
00:43:13,625 --> 00:43:17,208
He wondered whether there might be
a vacuum created underneath the train

904
00:43:17,291 --> 00:43:20,333
as it rushed over him,
sucking him upward. There might.

905
00:43:20,416 --> 00:43:21,916
He must concentrate everything

906
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,750
upon pressing his entire body
against the ground.

907
00:43:24,875 --> 00:43:28,625
"Don't go limp. Keep stiff and tense
and press down into the ground."

908
00:43:28,708 --> 00:43:30,833
Peter watched the white sky
above his head,

909
00:43:30,916 --> 00:43:33,708
where a single cumulus cloud
was drifting slowly.

910
00:43:33,791 --> 00:43:35,541
An aeroplane came across the cloud.

911
00:43:35,625 --> 00:43:37,833
A small high-winged monoplane
with a red fuselage.

912
00:43:37,916 --> 00:43:42,000
An old Piper Cub, he thought it was.
He watched it until it disappeared.

913
00:43:42,083 --> 00:43:43,166
Then, quite suddenly,

914
00:43:43,291 --> 00:43:47,083
he heard a curious vibrating sound
coming from the rails either side of him.

915
00:43:47,166 --> 00:43:50,291
It was very soft, scarcely audible,
a tiny, thrumming whisper

916
00:43:50,416 --> 00:43:53,166
that seemed to be
coming along the rails from far away.

917
00:43:53,833 --> 00:43:55,166
[rails rattling softly]

918
00:43:58,916 --> 00:44:01,666
Peter raised his head
and looked down the railway line

919
00:44:01,750 --> 00:44:03,875
that stretched for a mile in the distance,

920
00:44:03,958 --> 00:44:04,958
and saw the train.

921
00:44:05,041 --> 00:44:07,916
First, only a black dot,
but as he kept his head raised,

922
00:44:08,041 --> 00:44:09,541
the dot grew bigger and bigger

923
00:44:09,625 --> 00:44:12,000
and began to take shape
and was no longer a dot,

924
00:44:12,083 --> 00:44:15,291
but instead, the big, square,
blunt front-end of a diesel engine.

925
00:44:15,375 --> 00:44:17,625
Peter dropped his head
and pushed it down hard

926
00:44:17,708 --> 00:44:19,750
-into the hole in the gravel.
-[bell dinging]

927
00:44:19,833 --> 00:44:21,291
He pigeon-toed his feet flat.

928
00:44:21,375 --> 00:44:24,333
He shut his eyes tight
and pressed his body into the ground.

929
00:44:24,416 --> 00:44:27,208
The train came on with an explosive blast.

930
00:44:27,291 --> 00:44:28,916
Like a gun went off in his head.

931
00:44:29,041 --> 00:44:31,625
With the explosion
came a tearing, screaming wind

932
00:44:31,708 --> 00:44:35,041
like a hurricane blowing down his nostrils
and into his lungs.

933
00:44:35,166 --> 00:44:37,833
The noise was shattering.
The wind choked him.

934
00:44:37,916 --> 00:44:39,916
He felt as if he were being eaten alive

935
00:44:40,041 --> 00:44:43,875
and swallowed up in the belly
of a screaming, murderous monster.

936
00:44:43,958 --> 00:44:46,708
[Peter] And then it was over.
The train was gone.

937
00:44:46,791 --> 00:44:49,250
Peter Watson opened his eyes
and saw the white sky

938
00:44:49,333 --> 00:44:51,833
and the big, white cloud
still drifting overhead.

939
00:44:51,916 --> 00:44:54,416
It was all over, and he had done it.

940
00:45:00,916 --> 00:45:02,583
-Cut him loose.
-…Ernie said.

941
00:45:02,666 --> 00:45:05,458
Raymond cut the strings
binding Peter to the rails.

942
00:45:05,541 --> 00:45:07,875
"Undo his feet, but keep his hands tied."

943
00:45:07,958 --> 00:45:10,250
Raymond cut the strings around his ankles.

944
00:45:10,333 --> 00:45:13,375
"Oh, you're still a prisoner, matey,"
Ernie said.

945
00:45:13,458 --> 00:45:17,416
The two bigger boys marched Peter Watson
across the next field towards the lake.

946
00:45:17,541 --> 00:45:20,125
The prisoner's wrists
were still tied together.

947
00:45:20,208 --> 00:45:22,208
Ernie held the gun in his spare hand

948
00:45:22,291 --> 00:45:25,208
and Raymond carried the binoculars
he had taken from Peter.

949
00:45:28,833 --> 00:45:30,250
The lake was long and narrow

950
00:45:30,333 --> 00:45:32,583
with tall willow trees
growing along its bank.

951
00:45:32,666 --> 00:45:34,458
In the middle, the water was clear,

952
00:45:34,541 --> 00:45:37,000
but closer to the shore
was a forest of bulrushes.

953
00:45:37,083 --> 00:45:39,750
"Now, then," Ernie said.
"What I suggest is this."

954
00:45:39,833 --> 00:45:41,791
"You take his arms, I'll take his legs,

955
00:45:41,916 --> 00:45:45,791
and we'll swing him as far out as we can
over them nice muddy reeds."

956
00:45:45,875 --> 00:45:48,500
"Look!" Raymond interrupted.
"There! Let's have him!"

957
00:45:48,583 --> 00:45:50,583
Peter Watson turned and saw it at once.

958
00:45:50,666 --> 00:45:53,583
A nest consisting
of a huge pile of reeds and rushes

959
00:45:53,666 --> 00:45:55,791
that rose up two feet above the waterline.

960
00:45:55,916 --> 00:46:00,041
And, on top, a magnificent white swan
sitting serenely as the Lady of the Lake.

961
00:46:00,166 --> 00:46:03,583
Her head was turned towards the boys,
alert and watchful.

962
00:46:03,666 --> 00:46:06,041
"Holy cats!" cried Raymond.
"What a beauty!"

963
00:46:06,125 --> 00:46:09,583
Ernie let go of the prisoner's arm
and lifted the gun to his shoulder.

964
00:46:09,666 --> 00:46:13,166
"This is… This is a bird sanctuary,"
said Peter, stammering.

965
00:46:13,291 --> 00:46:15,083
"A what?" asked Ernie.

966
00:46:15,166 --> 00:46:18,333
Peter felt a wild rage
beginning to build up inside him.

967
00:46:18,416 --> 00:46:20,125
He tried to keep his voice calm.

968
00:46:20,208 --> 00:46:22,541
"Swans are the most
protected birds in England,

969
00:46:22,625 --> 00:46:26,083
and nobody shoots a bird on its nest.
She may have cygnets under her."

970
00:46:26,166 --> 00:46:29,375
"Please don't do it. You can't do it.
Please, don't do it! Stop!"

971
00:46:29,458 --> 00:46:30,875
[wings fluttering]

972
00:46:30,958 --> 00:46:33,125
The bullet hit the swan
in her elegant head

973
00:46:33,208 --> 00:46:36,291
and her long white neck
sank slowly to the side of the nest.

974
00:46:46,666 --> 00:46:47,541
Open.

975
00:47:00,500 --> 00:47:02,875
"Cut his hands free, Raymond.
He's our gun-dog."

976
00:47:02,958 --> 00:47:05,833
Raymond cut the strings
binding the small boy's wrists.

977
00:47:05,916 --> 00:47:07,000
"Go get him!"

978
00:47:07,083 --> 00:47:08,291
"I refuse," I said.

979
00:47:09,166 --> 00:47:12,250
Ernie hit Peter
across the face, hard, with his open hand.

980
00:47:12,333 --> 00:47:14,916
A trickle of blood
began running out of one nostril.

981
00:47:15,041 --> 00:47:18,583
"Try refusin' one more time,
and I'm goin' to make you a promise:

982
00:47:18,666 --> 00:47:21,500
I'll knock out every one
of your shiny white front teeth,

983
00:47:21,583 --> 00:47:23,625
top and bottom. You understand that?"

984
00:47:23,708 --> 00:47:24,666
Peter said nothing.

985
00:47:24,791 --> 00:47:26,958
"Answer me!" Ernie barked.
"You understand?"

986
00:47:27,041 --> 00:47:29,708
"Yes," Peter Watson said quietly.
"I understand that."

987
00:47:30,583 --> 00:47:32,416
Tears were running down Peter's face

988
00:47:32,500 --> 00:47:34,833
as he went down the bank
and entered the water.

989
00:47:34,916 --> 00:47:38,500
He waded out to the dead swan
and picked it up tenderly with both hands.

990
00:47:38,583 --> 00:47:42,083
Underneath were two tiny cygnets,
their bodies covered with gray down.

991
00:47:42,166 --> 00:47:44,416
They were huddling
in the center of the nest.

992
00:47:44,541 --> 00:47:46,791
"Any eggs?" Ernie shouted from the bank.

993
00:47:51,416 --> 00:47:53,791
"No," Peter answered. "Nothing."

994
00:47:59,041 --> 00:48:01,708
He carried the dead swan
back to the edge of the lake.

995
00:48:01,791 --> 00:48:05,583
He placed it gently on the ground,
and he stood up and faced the two others.

996
00:48:05,666 --> 00:48:08,833
His eyes, still wet with tears,
were blazing with fury.

997
00:48:08,916 --> 00:48:11,333
"It's you who ought to be dead," he said.

998
00:48:11,416 --> 00:48:14,833
Ernie seemed just a tiny bit taken aback,
but he quickly recovered.

999
00:48:14,916 --> 00:48:18,041
A dangerous little spark
danced in his small black eyes.

1000
00:48:20,291 --> 00:48:21,791
"Give me your knife, Raymond."

1001
00:48:24,416 --> 00:48:27,333
There is a joint in the bone
where the wing meets the bird.

1002
00:48:27,416 --> 00:48:30,875
Ernie slid the knife into the joint
and cut through the tendon.

1003
00:48:30,958 --> 00:48:32,625
The knife was sharp and cut well,

1004
00:48:32,708 --> 00:48:34,916
and soon the wing came away
all in one piece.

1005
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:37,666
Ernie turned the swan over
and severed the other wing.

1006
00:48:37,750 --> 00:48:40,250
"String," he said,
holding out his hand to Raymond.

1007
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,333
Ernie cut eight pieces,
each about a yard long.

1008
00:48:45,416 --> 00:48:48,833
He tied the bits of string
along the top edge of the great wing.

1009
00:48:48,916 --> 00:48:50,166
"Stick out your arms."

1010
00:48:53,416 --> 00:48:55,875
Peter Watson stood in the sunshine
beside the lake

1011
00:48:55,958 --> 00:48:57,500
on this beautiful May morning,

1012
00:48:57,583 --> 00:48:59,916
the enormous, limp,
slightly bloodied wings

1013
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,291
dangling grotesquely at his sides.

1014
00:49:02,416 --> 00:49:05,416
Ernie clapped his hands
and danced a little jig on the grass.

1015
00:49:06,916 --> 00:49:08,916
[lively instrumental music playing]

1016
00:49:11,875 --> 00:49:14,708
-[music stops]
-"Have you finished?" Peter Watson asked.

1017
00:49:14,791 --> 00:49:17,291
"Swans don't talk," Ernie said.

1018
00:49:17,375 --> 00:49:21,375
They marched along the bank of the lake
until they came to a tall willow tree.

1019
00:49:21,458 --> 00:49:23,583
The branches hung down from a great height

1020
00:49:23,666 --> 00:49:26,166
until they almost touched
the surface of the lake.

1021
00:49:26,875 --> 00:49:28,500
"What you're gonna do, Mr. Swan,

1022
00:49:28,583 --> 00:49:30,750
is climb to the top,
and when you get there,

1023
00:49:30,833 --> 00:49:33,125
you'll spread out your wings
and take off!"

1024
00:49:33,208 --> 00:49:35,041
"Fantastic!" cried Raymond.

1025
00:49:35,125 --> 00:49:36,541
The thought of being high up

1026
00:49:36,625 --> 00:49:39,708
and out of reach of these hooligans
appealed to Peter greatly.

1027
00:49:39,791 --> 00:49:41,875
When he was up there, he'd stay up there.

1028
00:49:41,958 --> 00:49:44,458
He doubted
they would bother to come up after him.

1029
00:49:44,541 --> 00:49:46,875
If they did,
he could climb away on a thin limb

1030
00:49:46,958 --> 00:49:49,125
that wouldn't take the weight
of two people.

1031
00:49:49,208 --> 00:49:53,083
The tree was fairly easy to climb,
with low branches to give him a start up.

1032
00:49:53,166 --> 00:49:55,083
"Higher!" shouted Ernie. "Keep going!"

1033
00:49:55,166 --> 00:49:58,333
Peter eventually arrived at a point
where he could go no higher.

1034
00:49:58,416 --> 00:50:01,458
His feet were standing
on a branch as thick as a man's wrist,

1035
00:50:01,541 --> 00:50:03,958
and this branch
reached far out over the lake,

1036
00:50:04,041 --> 00:50:05,833
then curved gracefully downward.

1037
00:50:05,916 --> 00:50:07,875
He stood there resting after the climb.

1038
00:50:07,958 --> 00:50:11,500
He was very high up, at least 50 feet.
He couldn't see the two boys.

1039
00:50:11,583 --> 00:50:14,208
They were no longer
standing at the base of the tree.

1040
00:50:14,291 --> 00:50:15,458
"Now listen carefully!"

1041
00:50:15,541 --> 00:50:17,375
They had walked away from the tree

1042
00:50:17,458 --> 00:50:20,791
to a point where they had a clear view
of the small boy at the top.

1043
00:50:20,875 --> 00:50:22,125
Looking down at them now,

1044
00:50:22,208 --> 00:50:24,375
Peter Watson realized
how sparse and slender

1045
00:50:24,458 --> 00:50:26,125
the leaves of a willow tree were.

1046
00:50:26,208 --> 00:50:28,083
They gave him almost no cover at all.

1047
00:50:28,166 --> 00:50:30,125
"Start walking out along that branch!"

1048
00:50:30,208 --> 00:50:34,083
"Keep goin' till you're out over
the nice muddy water! Then take off"

1049
00:50:34,166 --> 00:50:35,916
Peter Watson didn't move.

1050
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:38,916
He kept his eyes on the distant figures
in the field below.

1051
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:41,458
They were standing quite still,
looking up at him.

1052
00:50:41,541 --> 00:50:42,750
"I'm gonna count to ten,

1053
00:50:42,833 --> 00:50:46,541
if you ain't spread them wings
and flown away, I'm gonna shoot you down."

1054
00:50:46,625 --> 00:50:49,083
"That'll make two swans
I've knocked off today."

1055
00:50:49,166 --> 00:50:50,583
"Here we go."

1056
00:50:50,666 --> 00:50:56,333
"One, two, three, four, five, six!"

1057
00:50:56,416 --> 00:51:00,833
Peter Watson remained absolutely still.
Nothing would make him move from now on.

1058
00:51:00,916 --> 00:51:04,166
"Seven, eight, nine, ten!"

1059
00:51:04,250 --> 00:51:06,708
Peter could see the gun
coming up to the shoulder.

1060
00:51:06,791 --> 00:51:08,166
Pointing straight at him.

1061
00:51:08,250 --> 00:51:09,833
He heard the crack of the rifle

1062
00:51:09,916 --> 00:51:12,625
and the zip of the bullet
as it whistled past his head.

1063
00:51:14,041 --> 00:51:15,916
[mimics gunshot, whooshing]

1064
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:17,958
It was frightening, but he didn't move.

1065
00:51:18,041 --> 00:51:20,333
He could see Ernie loading the gun.

1066
00:51:20,416 --> 00:51:23,500
"Last chance!" yelled Ernie.
"Next one's gonna get you!"

1067
00:51:23,583 --> 00:51:24,416
Peter waited.

1068
00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:26,208
He watched the boy among the buttercups

1069
00:51:26,291 --> 00:51:28,708
in the meadow far below
with the other boy beside him.

1070
00:51:28,791 --> 00:51:30,916
The gun came up
once again to the shoulder.

1071
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:34,291
This time he heard the crack
as the bullet hit him in the thigh.

1072
00:51:34,375 --> 00:51:37,083
There was no pain,
but the force of it was devastating.

1073
00:51:37,166 --> 00:51:39,875
Like someone had whacked him
with a sledgehammer,

1074
00:51:39,958 --> 00:51:42,875
and it knocked both feet
off the branch he was standing on.

1075
00:51:42,958 --> 00:51:44,916
He scrabbled with his hands to hang on.

1076
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:48,208
The small branch he was holding onto
bent over and split.

1077
00:51:49,833 --> 00:51:50,666
[wood cracks]

1078
00:51:57,375 --> 00:51:59,500
Some people, when they have taken too much

1079
00:51:59,583 --> 00:52:01,833
and been driven
beyond the point of endurance,

1080
00:52:01,916 --> 00:52:04,458
simply crumble and collapse and give up.

1081
00:52:04,541 --> 00:52:06,666
Others, however, though they are not many,

1082
00:52:06,791 --> 00:52:10,333
who will for some reason
always be unconquerable.

1083
00:52:10,416 --> 00:52:13,666
You meet them in time of war
and also in time of peace.

1084
00:52:13,791 --> 00:52:15,791
They have an indomitable spirit

1085
00:52:15,916 --> 00:52:19,416
and nothing, neither pain
nor torture nor threat of death,

1086
00:52:19,541 --> 00:52:21,625
will cause them to give up.

1087
00:52:21,708 --> 00:52:24,166
Little Peter Watson was one of these.

1088
00:52:24,250 --> 00:52:25,750
And as he fought and scrabbled

1089
00:52:25,833 --> 00:52:28,833
to prevent himself
from falling out of the top of that tree,

1090
00:52:28,916 --> 00:52:32,708
it came to him suddenly
that he was going to win.

1091
00:52:32,791 --> 00:52:35,958
He looked up and saw a light
shining over the waters of the lake

1092
00:52:36,041 --> 00:52:40,625
that was of such brilliance and beauty
he was unable to look away from it.

1093
00:52:40,708 --> 00:52:43,958
The light was beckoning him,
drawing him on,

1094
00:52:44,041 --> 00:52:47,958
and he dived towards the light
and spread his wings.

1095
00:52:49,791 --> 00:52:52,666
Three different people
reported seeing a great white swan

1096
00:52:52,791 --> 00:52:54,875
circling over the village that morning:

1097
00:52:54,958 --> 00:52:55,958
a schoolteacher,

1098
00:52:56,041 --> 00:52:58,833
a man replacing tiles
on the roof of the chemist's shop,

1099
00:52:58,916 --> 00:53:01,250
and a boy playing in a nearby field.

1100
00:53:01,333 --> 00:53:04,333
Mrs. Watson,
washing dishes in her kitchen sink,

1101
00:53:04,416 --> 00:53:07,583
happened to glance up
through the window at the exact moment

1102
00:53:07,666 --> 00:53:10,041
something huge and white
came crashing down

1103
00:53:10,166 --> 00:53:12,708
onto the lawn in her back garden.

1104
00:53:12,791 --> 00:53:14,458
She rushed outside.

1105
00:53:14,541 --> 00:53:15,750
She dropped to her knees

1106
00:53:15,833 --> 00:53:18,416
beside the small crumpled figure
of her only son.

1107
00:53:19,291 --> 00:53:22,291
"My darling!" she cried. "My darling boy!"

1108
00:53:24,666 --> 00:53:25,916
"What's happened to you?"

1109
00:53:46,583 --> 00:53:48,583
[bell tolling in the distance]

1110
00:54:01,166 --> 00:54:04,375
In the afternoon,
the rat man came to the petrol station.

1111
00:54:04,458 --> 00:54:07,375
He sidled up the driveway
with a soft, stealthy gait.

1112
00:54:07,458 --> 00:54:09,791
His feet made no noise at all
on the gravel.

1113
00:54:09,875 --> 00:54:12,458
He had an army knapsack
slung over one shoulder.

1114
00:54:12,541 --> 00:54:15,208
He wore an old-fashioned corduroy jacket
with large pockets.

1115
00:54:15,291 --> 00:54:18,958
Corduroy trousers were tied around
the knees with lengths of white string.

1116
00:54:19,041 --> 00:54:20,125
-Hello?
-Yes?

1117
00:54:20,208 --> 00:54:21,083
Rodent operative.

1118
00:54:21,166 --> 00:54:23,916
His small, dark eyes
moved swiftly over the premises.

1119
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:25,208
-The rat man?
-That's me.

1120
00:54:25,291 --> 00:54:27,208
He was lean, leathery, a sharp face,

1121
00:54:27,291 --> 00:54:28,791
two long, sulfur-yellow teeth

1122
00:54:28,875 --> 00:54:31,291
protruding from the upper jaw
over the lower lip.

1123
00:54:31,375 --> 00:54:34,333
His ears were round and thin,
set near the back of his head.

1124
00:54:34,416 --> 00:54:35,791
The eyes were almost black,

1125
00:54:35,875 --> 00:54:39,083
but when they looked at you,
there was a flash of yellow in them.

1126
00:54:39,166 --> 00:54:41,666
-You've come quick.
-Special orders from the Health Office.

1127
00:54:41,750 --> 00:54:43,958
And now
you're going to catch all the rats?

1128
00:54:44,041 --> 00:54:44,958
-Yeah.
-How?

1129
00:54:45,041 --> 00:54:45,875
Yes. How?

1130
00:54:45,958 --> 00:54:49,166
Depends what rats, where they is.
Different methods for different rats.

1131
00:54:49,250 --> 00:54:50,541
-Trap them, I suppose.
-What?

1132
00:54:50,625 --> 00:54:51,541
-Trap 'em.
-Trap 'em?

1133
00:54:51,625 --> 00:54:52,541
The rat man snorted.

1134
00:54:52,625 --> 00:54:54,666
Won't catch 'em that way.
Rats ain't rabbits.

1135
00:54:54,750 --> 00:54:56,000
He held his face up high,

1136
00:54:56,083 --> 00:54:59,708
sniffing the air with a nose that
twitched perceptibly from side to side.

1137
00:54:59,791 --> 00:55:03,166
Rats is clever. You wanna catch 'em,
you gotta know 'em.

1138
00:55:03,250 --> 00:55:04,916
You gotta know rats on this job.

1139
00:55:09,208 --> 00:55:11,541
You know what they do? They watch you.

1140
00:55:11,625 --> 00:55:15,333
All the time you're preparin' how to
exterminate 'em, they're watchin' you.

1141
00:55:15,416 --> 00:55:17,208
This ain't a sewer job, is it?

1142
00:55:17,291 --> 00:55:18,875
No, it's not a sewer job.

1143
00:55:18,958 --> 00:55:21,416
-Tricky things, sewer jobs.
-I shouldn't think so.

1144
00:55:21,500 --> 00:55:24,583
You shouldn't, should you?
I'd like to see you do a sewer job.

1145
00:55:24,666 --> 00:55:27,333
Just exactly how'd you set about it,
I'd like to know.

1146
00:55:27,416 --> 00:55:28,583
Poison them, I suppose.

1147
00:55:28,666 --> 00:55:30,833
And where exactly
would you put the poison?

1148
00:55:30,916 --> 00:55:31,750
Down the sewer?

1149
00:55:31,833 --> 00:55:33,333
The rat man sparkled, triumphant.

1150
00:55:33,416 --> 00:55:35,125
Yeah, I knew it. "Down the sewer."

1151
00:55:35,208 --> 00:55:37,541
Know what'd happen?
Get washed away completely.

1152
00:55:37,625 --> 00:55:39,541
All your poison. Sewer's like a river.

1153
00:55:39,625 --> 00:55:42,791
All right. Well, what would you do,
Mr. Rat Man? On a sewer job?

1154
00:55:42,875 --> 00:55:44,666
The rat man advanced a step closer.

1155
00:55:44,750 --> 00:55:46,916
His voice became secretive
and confidential,

1156
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:49,666
the voice of a man
divulging professional secrets.

1157
00:55:49,750 --> 00:55:52,833
You works on the understandin'
a rat is a gnawin' animal, see?

1158
00:55:52,916 --> 00:55:55,375
Anythin' you give 'em, they gnaws on it.

1159
00:55:55,458 --> 00:55:58,500
So you got a sewer job on your hands.
What d'you do?

1160
00:55:58,583 --> 00:56:01,416
His voice had the soft,
throaty sound of a croaking frog,

1161
00:56:01,500 --> 00:56:04,583
and he seemed to speak all his words
with a wet-lipped relish,

1162
00:56:04,666 --> 00:56:06,625
as if they tasted good on the tongue.

1163
00:56:06,708 --> 00:56:07,791
You go down the sewer

1164
00:56:07,875 --> 00:56:10,333
and you take along
some ordinary brown paper bags

1165
00:56:10,416 --> 00:56:13,083
filled with plaster of paris powder.
Nothin' else.

1166
00:56:13,166 --> 00:56:15,500
Then you suspend 'em
from the roof of the sewer

1167
00:56:15,583 --> 00:56:17,958
so they hangs down
not quite touchin' the water.

1168
00:56:18,041 --> 00:56:20,041
Just high enough so a rat can reach 'em.

1169
00:56:20,125 --> 00:56:21,541
Claud was listening, rapt.

1170
00:56:21,625 --> 00:56:25,833
Old rat comes swimmin' along the sewer,
sees the bag. He stops.

1171
00:56:25,916 --> 00:56:28,500
[sniffs] Takes a sniff at it.
It don't smell so bad.

1172
00:56:28,583 --> 00:56:30,083
-What's he do?
-He gnaws it.

1173
00:56:30,166 --> 00:56:33,125
That's it! He starts gnawin' at the bag,
and the bag breaks,

1174
00:56:33,208 --> 00:56:36,625
and the old rat
gets a mouthful of powder for his pains.

1175
00:56:36,708 --> 00:56:37,541
Well?

1176
00:56:37,625 --> 00:56:38,916
Well, that does him.

1177
00:56:39,625 --> 00:56:41,041
-That kills him?
-Stone dead.

1178
00:56:41,125 --> 00:56:43,375
-Plaster of paris…
-It swells when you wet it.

1179
00:56:43,458 --> 00:56:45,666
Gets into the rat's tubes
and swells right up

1180
00:56:45,750 --> 00:56:48,291
and kills him
quicker than anythin' in the world.

1181
00:56:48,375 --> 00:56:50,083
That's where you got to know rats.

1182
00:56:50,166 --> 00:56:52,208
His face glowed with a shifty pride.

1183
00:56:52,291 --> 00:56:56,208
He rubbed his stringy fingers together,
holding the hands up close to his face.

1184
00:56:57,791 --> 00:57:00,166
Now, where's them rats?

1185
00:57:00,250 --> 00:57:02,708
The word "rats" came out
with a rich, fruity sound

1186
00:57:02,791 --> 00:57:04,916
as if he were gargling with melted butter.

1187
00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:06,583
In the hayrick across the road.

1188
00:57:06,666 --> 00:57:09,041
-Not inside?
-Only in the hayrick. Nowhere else.

1189
00:57:09,125 --> 00:57:13,541
I'll wager they're inside too,
gettin' in your food, spreadin' disease.

1190
00:57:13,625 --> 00:57:16,875
-Got any sickness here?
-He looked pointedly at me, then at Claud.

1191
00:57:16,958 --> 00:57:18,458
-Everyone's well.
-Quite sure?

1192
00:57:18,541 --> 00:57:20,166
-Quite sure.
-You never know.

1193
00:57:20,250 --> 00:57:23,000
He'd taken upon himself
the mantle of a public health officer,

1194
00:57:23,083 --> 00:57:25,833
disappointed we were not suffering
from bubonic plague.

1195
00:57:25,916 --> 00:57:29,416
Nevertheless, the rats are in the hayrick.
How will you remove them?

1196
00:57:29,500 --> 00:57:31,750
The rat man grinned a crafty, toothy grin.

1197
00:57:31,833 --> 00:57:34,250
He reached into his knapsack
and withdrew a large tin,

1198
00:57:34,333 --> 00:57:36,750
weighing it up and down
in his hands as he spoke.

1199
00:57:36,833 --> 00:57:39,208
Poison. Special poison. Deadly poison.

1200
00:57:39,291 --> 00:57:42,958
They'd put you inside if they caught you
with even a spoonful of this.

1201
00:57:43,041 --> 00:57:45,250
There's enough here to kill a million men.

1202
00:57:45,333 --> 00:57:46,666
-Want to see?
-Yes, please.

1203
00:57:46,750 --> 00:57:48,916
He took a penny and prized open the lid.

1204
00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:49,833
There it is.

1205
00:57:49,916 --> 00:57:53,500
He spoke almost lovingly of the stuff
and held it forward for Claud.

1206
00:57:53,583 --> 00:57:55,125
[Claud] Corn or barley, is it?

1207
00:57:55,208 --> 00:57:57,583
Oats. Oats soaked in deadly poison.

1208
00:57:57,666 --> 00:58:01,333
You take just one grain in your mouth
and you're a goner in three minutes.

1209
00:58:01,416 --> 00:58:03,458
Never out of me sight, this tin.

1210
00:58:03,541 --> 00:58:05,541
[editor] He caressed the tin and shook it…

1211
00:58:05,625 --> 00:58:06,583
[rat man mimics rattle]

1212
00:58:06,666 --> 00:58:09,000
…so that the oat grains
rustled softly inside.

1213
00:58:09,083 --> 00:58:12,375
But your rats don't get this today.
They wouldn't have it, anyway.

1214
00:58:12,458 --> 00:58:16,750
That's where you got to know rats.
Rats is suspicious. Terrible suspicious.

1215
00:58:16,833 --> 00:58:19,375
So today they get
some nice, clean, tasty oats

1216
00:58:19,458 --> 00:58:21,291
as will do 'em no harm in the world.

1217
00:58:21,375 --> 00:58:24,125
Fatten 'em up, that's all.
And tomorrow, the same again.

1218
00:58:24,208 --> 00:58:26,541
And the day after that,
and the day after that.

1219
00:58:26,625 --> 00:58:29,291
And it'll taste so good,
all the rats in the district

1220
00:58:29,375 --> 00:58:31,083
will be comin' along soon enough.

1221
00:58:31,166 --> 00:58:32,000
Very clever.

1222
00:58:32,083 --> 00:58:34,958
You got to be clever on this job,
cleverer than a rat.

1223
00:58:35,041 --> 00:58:36,500
And that's saying something.

1224
00:58:36,583 --> 00:58:38,708
"You've almost got to be a rat yourself."

1225
00:58:38,791 --> 00:58:40,625
It slipped out before I could stop myself.

1226
00:58:40,708 --> 00:58:43,333
I couldn't help it,
I was looking at him at the time.

1227
00:58:43,416 --> 00:58:45,166
The effect it had on him was surprising.

1228
00:58:45,250 --> 00:58:46,208
-That's it!
-…he cried.

1229
00:58:46,291 --> 00:58:48,416
Now you got it, you really said somethin'.

1230
00:58:48,500 --> 00:58:51,458
A good ratter's gotta be
more like a rat than anythin' else.

1231
00:58:51,541 --> 00:58:53,083
Cleverer even than a rat,

1232
00:58:53,166 --> 00:58:55,791
and that is not an easy thing to be,
let me tell you.

1233
00:58:56,750 --> 00:58:58,208
Well, let's get on with it.

1234
00:58:58,291 --> 00:59:01,500
Lady Leonora Benson's
asking for me urgent up at the manor.

1235
00:59:01,583 --> 00:59:02,666
She's got rats too?

1236
00:59:02,750 --> 00:59:04,583
Everybody's got rats.

1237
00:59:04,666 --> 00:59:06,958
The rat man ambled off down the driveway.

1238
00:59:07,041 --> 00:59:09,875
The way he walked was so like a rat,
it made you wonder.

1239
00:59:09,958 --> 00:59:13,541
That slow, almost delicate, ambling walk
with a lot of give at the knees

1240
00:59:13,625 --> 00:59:16,541
and no sound at all
from his footsteps on the gravel.

1241
00:59:16,625 --> 00:59:19,750
He hopped over the gate,
and walked quickly 'round the hayrick,

1242
00:59:19,833 --> 00:59:22,333
scattering handfuls of oats
onto the ground.

1243
00:59:22,416 --> 00:59:25,000
The next day he returned
and repeated the procedure.

1244
00:59:25,083 --> 00:59:28,000
The day after that he came again,
and the day after that,

1245
00:59:28,083 --> 00:59:31,416
and finally, on the fourth day,
he put down the poisoned oats.

1246
00:59:31,500 --> 00:59:34,875
But he didn't scatter these.
Instead, he placed them in little piles

1247
00:59:34,958 --> 00:59:36,791
at each corner of the hayrick.

1248
00:59:39,291 --> 00:59:40,958
-You got a dog?
-[Claud] Yes.

1249
00:59:41,041 --> 00:59:44,916
Well, if you want him to die a horrible,
twisting death, let him in that gate.

1250
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:47,083
The next day he came to collect the dead.

1251
00:59:47,166 --> 00:59:49,875
Get me an old sack.
I'm gonna need one to put 'em in.

1252
00:59:49,958 --> 00:59:53,458
He was puffed up and important now,
the black eyes gleaming with pride.

1253
00:59:53,541 --> 00:59:56,791
He was about to display
the results of his catch to the audience.

1254
00:59:56,875 --> 00:59:59,750
Claud fetched a sack
and we walked across the road.

1255
00:59:59,833 --> 01:00:01,541
The rat man prowled around the hayrick,

1256
01:00:01,625 --> 01:00:04,416
bending over to inspect
one of his piles of poison.

1257
01:00:04,500 --> 01:00:06,375
-Something wrong here.
-…he muttered.

1258
01:00:06,458 --> 01:00:07,916
His voice was soft and angry.

1259
01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:11,416
He ambled over to another pile
and got down to examine it closely.

1260
01:00:11,500 --> 01:00:13,958
-Something wrong here.
-[Claud] What's the matter?

1261
01:00:14,041 --> 01:00:17,125
He didn't answer, but it was clear
the rats hadn't touched his bait.

1262
01:00:17,208 --> 01:00:19,333
"These are very clever rats here," I said.

1263
01:00:19,416 --> 01:00:20,583
The rat man was annoyed

1264
01:00:20,666 --> 01:00:24,125
and showed it on his face and nose
and by the way the two yellow teeth

1265
01:00:24,208 --> 01:00:26,125
were pressing into his lower lip.

1266
01:00:26,208 --> 01:00:28,708
-Don't give me that crap.
-…he said, looking at me.

1267
01:00:28,791 --> 01:00:31,625
Nothing's wrong with these rats,
somebody's feedin' 'em.

1268
01:00:31,708 --> 01:00:34,458
They got somethin' juicy
to eat somewhere, plenty of it.

1269
01:00:34,541 --> 01:00:38,625
No rats in the world will turn down oats
unless their bellies is full to burstin'.

1270
01:00:38,708 --> 01:00:40,333
The rat man turned away, sullen.

1271
01:00:40,416 --> 01:00:43,916
He knelt down again scooping up
the poisoned oats with a small shovel,

1272
01:00:44,000 --> 01:00:46,166
tipping it carefully back into a tin.

1273
01:00:46,250 --> 01:00:49,833
When he had finished, all three of us
walked back across the road.

1274
01:00:50,916 --> 01:00:52,791
The rat man stood by the petrol-pump,

1275
01:00:52,875 --> 01:00:54,791
a rather sorry, humble rat man now

1276
01:00:54,875 --> 01:00:57,541
whose face was beginning
to take on a brooding aspect.

1277
01:00:57,625 --> 01:00:59,958
He had withdrawn into himself
over his failure,

1278
01:01:00,041 --> 01:01:01,416
the eyes veiled and wicked,

1279
01:01:01,500 --> 01:01:04,750
the little tongue darting out to one side
of the two yellow teeth.

1280
01:01:04,833 --> 01:01:06,958
He looked up at me,
a surreptitious glance,

1281
01:01:07,041 --> 01:01:08,000
then over at Claud.

1282
01:01:08,083 --> 01:01:10,083
His nose-end twitched, sniffing the air.

1283
01:01:10,166 --> 01:01:13,208
He raised himself up and down
on his toes, swaying gently,

1284
01:01:13,291 --> 01:01:15,833
and in a soft voice,
soft and secretive, he said…

1285
01:01:15,916 --> 01:01:17,250
You want to see something?

1286
01:01:17,333 --> 01:01:19,625
He was trying to retrieve his reputation.

1287
01:01:19,708 --> 01:01:21,791
-What?
-You want to see something amazing?

1288
01:01:21,875 --> 01:01:24,916
He put his right hand
into the poacher's pocket of his jacket

1289
01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:28,541
and brought out a large, live rat
clasped tight between his fingers.

1290
01:01:28,625 --> 01:01:29,541
Good God!

1291
01:01:29,625 --> 01:01:31,166
[chuckles] That's it. You see?

1292
01:01:31,250 --> 01:01:33,916
He was crouching slightly
and craning his neck forward

1293
01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:36,916
and leering at us and holding
this enormous brown rat,

1294
01:01:37,000 --> 01:01:40,000
one finger and thumb making
a tight circle around its neck,

1295
01:01:40,083 --> 01:01:42,416
clamping its head
so it couldn't turn and bite.

1296
01:01:42,500 --> 01:01:44,333
Do you go around
with rats in your pockets?

1297
01:01:44,416 --> 01:01:46,375
Always a rat or two about me somewhere.

1298
01:01:46,458 --> 01:01:50,000
He put his free hand into the other pocket
and produced a small, white…

1299
01:01:50,083 --> 01:01:52,625
-Is that a ferret?
-The rat man snickered, hissing.

1300
01:01:52,708 --> 01:01:55,416
The ferret seemed to know him
and stayed still.

1301
01:01:55,500 --> 01:01:57,791
Nothing will kill a rat
quicker than a ferret.

1302
01:01:57,875 --> 01:02:00,125
He held the two animals
close in front of him

1303
01:02:00,208 --> 01:02:03,458
so the ferret's nose
came within six inches of the rat's face.

1304
01:02:03,541 --> 01:02:06,125
The pink beady eyes of the ferret
stared at the rat.

1305
01:02:06,208 --> 01:02:08,916
The rat struggled,
trying to edge away from the killer.

1306
01:02:09,000 --> 01:02:10,125
-Now.
-…he said.

1307
01:02:10,208 --> 01:02:11,041
Watch.

1308
01:02:12,916 --> 01:02:14,916
[editor] His khaki shirt
was open at the neck,

1309
01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:17,416
and he lifted the rat
and slipped it down inside,

1310
01:02:17,500 --> 01:02:18,625
next to his skin.

1311
01:02:18,708 --> 01:02:21,625
His belt prevented the rat
from going lower than his waist.

1312
01:02:21,708 --> 01:02:23,291
He slipped the ferret in next.

1313
01:02:23,375 --> 01:02:26,250
Immediately, there was
a great commotion inside the shirt.

1314
01:02:26,333 --> 01:02:29,916
It appeared the rat was running around
his body, chased by the ferret.

1315
01:02:30,000 --> 01:02:33,750
Six or seven times they went around,
the small bulge chasing the larger one,

1316
01:02:33,833 --> 01:02:36,916
gaining on it slightly each circuit,
drawing closer and closer

1317
01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:39,625
until at last the two bulges
seemed to come together,

1318
01:02:39,708 --> 01:02:42,416
and there was a scuffle
and a series of shrill shrieks.

1319
01:02:42,500 --> 01:02:45,666
Throughout this performance,
the rat man stood absolutely still,

1320
01:02:45,750 --> 01:02:47,958
legs apart, arms hanging loosely,

1321
01:02:48,041 --> 01:02:51,083
dark eyes resting calmly
on Claud's frozen face.

1322
01:02:51,958 --> 01:02:55,666
Finally, he took his hand
and reached down into his shirt

1323
01:02:55,750 --> 01:02:57,416
and pulled out the ferret.

1324
01:02:57,500 --> 01:02:59,875
With the other, he took out the dead rat.

1325
01:02:59,958 --> 01:03:03,166
There were traces of blood
around the white muzzle of the ferret.

1326
01:03:04,416 --> 01:03:06,708
"Not sure I liked that very much," I said.

1327
01:03:06,791 --> 01:03:09,708
You never seen nothin' like it before,
I'll bet you that.

1328
01:03:09,791 --> 01:03:11,083
Can't say I have.

1329
01:03:11,166 --> 01:03:13,833
You'll get a nasty nip
in the guts one of these days.

1330
01:03:13,916 --> 01:03:17,750
…Claud told him, but was intrigued,
and the rat man was becoming cocky again.

1331
01:03:17,833 --> 01:03:19,958
You want to see something
far more amazing?

1332
01:03:20,041 --> 01:03:23,125
Something you'd never believe unless
you're seeing it with your own eyes?

1333
01:03:23,208 --> 01:03:25,750
I glanced at Claud
more than slightly apprehensive.

1334
01:03:27,791 --> 01:03:28,625
Yes.

1335
01:03:29,375 --> 01:03:31,500
The rat man slipped the dead rat
into one pocket

1336
01:03:31,583 --> 01:03:32,833
and the ferret into the other.

1337
01:03:32,916 --> 01:03:36,833
Then he reached into his knapsack
and produced a second live rat.

1338
01:03:36,916 --> 01:03:37,750
Holy Christ!

1339
01:03:37,833 --> 01:03:40,208
Always got one or two rats
about me somewhere.

1340
01:03:40,291 --> 01:03:41,958
You got to know rats on this job,

1341
01:03:42,041 --> 01:03:44,625
and if you wanna know 'em
you gotta have 'em around.

1342
01:03:44,708 --> 01:03:48,291
This is a sewer rat, this one.
An old sewer rat, clever as buggery.

1343
01:03:48,375 --> 01:03:51,916
See him watchin' me all the time,
wonderin' what I'm gonna do next?

1344
01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:53,333
-See him?
-Most unpleasant.

1345
01:03:53,416 --> 01:03:54,666
"What will you do?"

1346
01:03:54,750 --> 01:03:58,083
I had a feeling I'd like
this demonstration less than the last one.

1347
01:03:58,166 --> 01:04:01,250
-Fetch me a piece of string.
-Claud fetched a piece of string.

1348
01:04:01,333 --> 01:04:03,708
The rat man
looped it around the rat's hind leg.

1349
01:04:03,791 --> 01:04:06,583
The rat struggled,
but the rat man held it tight.

1350
01:04:06,666 --> 01:04:08,208
Now, you got a table inside?

1351
01:04:08,291 --> 01:04:10,250
"We don't want the rat inside," I said.

1352
01:04:10,333 --> 01:04:12,708
Well, I need a table.
Or somethin' flat, anyway.

1353
01:04:12,791 --> 01:04:16,041
We walked over to the petrol-pump
and he put the sewer rat on top.

1354
01:04:16,125 --> 01:04:19,625
He attached the string to a post
so the rat was now tethered.

1355
01:04:19,708 --> 01:04:22,166
At first, it crouched,
unmoving and suspicious,

1356
01:04:22,250 --> 01:04:24,500
a big-bodied gray rat
with bright black eyes

1357
01:04:24,583 --> 01:04:28,083
and a scaly tail that lay in a long curl
on the metal surface.

1358
01:04:28,166 --> 01:04:30,666
It was looking away,
but watching him sideways

1359
01:04:30,750 --> 01:04:32,333
to see what he was going to do.

1360
01:04:32,416 --> 01:04:36,083
The rat man stepped back a few paces,
and immediately the rat relaxed.

1361
01:04:36,166 --> 01:04:37,541
It sat up on its haunches

1362
01:04:37,625 --> 01:04:39,875
and began to lick
the gray fur on its chest.

1363
01:04:39,958 --> 01:04:42,500
Then it scratched its muzzle
with both front paws.

1364
01:04:42,583 --> 01:04:45,791
It seemed quite unconcerned
about the other men standing nearby.

1365
01:04:45,875 --> 01:04:48,250
-How about a little bet?
-[editor] …the rat man said.

1366
01:04:48,333 --> 01:04:49,791
"No, thank you." I said.

1367
01:04:49,875 --> 01:04:53,291
-[rat man] It's more fun if you bet.
-[Claud] What do you want to bet on?

1368
01:04:53,375 --> 01:04:56,166
[rat man] I can kill that rat
without using my hands.

1369
01:04:56,250 --> 01:04:58,375
I'll put 'em in my pockets
and not use 'em.

1370
01:04:58,458 --> 01:05:01,166
[editor] It was apparent the rat man
was out to earn some money.

1371
01:05:01,250 --> 01:05:04,541
I looked at the rat that was to be killed
and began to feel sick,

1372
01:05:04,625 --> 01:05:06,541
not because it was going to be killed,

1373
01:05:06,625 --> 01:05:09,083
but because it was to be killed
in a special way,

1374
01:05:09,166 --> 01:05:11,291
with a considerable degree of enthusiasm.

1375
01:05:11,375 --> 01:05:13,375
-[Claud] You'll kick it with your feet.
-[rat man] No feet.

1376
01:05:13,458 --> 01:05:15,916
-No arms?
-No arms, no legs, no hands neither.

1377
01:05:16,000 --> 01:05:17,625
-You'll sit on it.
-No squashing.

1378
01:05:17,708 --> 01:05:19,500
-Let's see it.
-Bet me a quid first.

1379
01:05:19,583 --> 01:05:21,416
Don't be bloody daft. Why should we?

1380
01:05:21,500 --> 01:05:23,125
-What'll you bet?
-Zero. Nothing.

1381
01:05:23,208 --> 01:05:25,083
All right. Then it's a no-go.

1382
01:05:25,166 --> 01:05:27,500
-He made as if to untie the string.
-I'll bet a shilling.

1383
01:05:27,583 --> 01:05:29,583
The sick sensation in my stomach
was increasing.

1384
01:05:29,666 --> 01:05:32,291
But there was an awful magnetism
about this business.

1385
01:05:32,375 --> 01:05:34,791
I found myself
unable to walk away or even move.

1386
01:05:34,875 --> 01:05:35,791
-You too?
-No.

1387
01:05:35,875 --> 01:05:37,625
Want me to do this for a lousy shilling?

1388
01:05:37,708 --> 01:05:39,666
-I don't want you to do it.
-Where's the money?

1389
01:05:39,750 --> 01:05:41,541
Claud put a shilling on the petrol-pump.

1390
01:05:41,625 --> 01:05:44,416
The rat man laid two sixpences
beside Claud's money.

1391
01:05:44,500 --> 01:05:45,333
Bet's on.

1392
01:05:45,416 --> 01:05:46,666
Claud and I stepped back.

1393
01:05:46,750 --> 01:05:49,375
The rat man stepped forward,
put his hands in his pockets

1394
01:05:49,458 --> 01:05:51,833
and inclined his body
from the waist toward the rat.

1395
01:05:51,916 --> 01:05:53,500
The rat was crouching, alarmed.

1396
01:05:53,583 --> 01:05:56,166
It seemed it was preparing
to spring at the rat man,

1397
01:05:56,250 --> 01:05:57,958
but then it began to reverse away,

1398
01:05:58,041 --> 01:06:00,416
dragging its body backwards
with crouching steps

1399
01:06:00,500 --> 01:06:02,625
until the string tautened on its hind leg.

1400
01:06:02,708 --> 01:06:04,833
The rat man
leaned further towards the rat,

1401
01:06:04,916 --> 01:06:07,500
following it back and forth
with his eyes. Suddenly…

1402
01:06:07,583 --> 01:06:10,208
-It panicked.
-…it panicked and leapt into the air.

1403
01:06:10,291 --> 01:06:12,291
[wind gusting]

1404
01:06:13,083 --> 01:06:16,791
The string pulled it up with a jerk
that must've nearly dislocated its leg.

1405
01:06:16,875 --> 01:06:18,375
It crouched again at the edge,

1406
01:06:18,458 --> 01:06:21,333
as far away as the string would allow,
whiskers quivering,

1407
01:06:21,416 --> 01:06:23,208
the long gray body rigid with fear.

1408
01:06:23,291 --> 01:06:26,666
At this point, the rat man again
began to move his face very slowly,

1409
01:06:26,750 --> 01:06:27,875
closer and closer.

1410
01:06:27,958 --> 01:06:31,083
I wanted to cry out for him to stop,
but I couldn't speak.

1411
01:06:31,166 --> 01:06:34,666
Something extremely unpleasant
was about to happen, I was sure of that.

1412
01:06:34,750 --> 01:06:38,208
Something sinister and cruel,
but I had to see it now.

1413
01:06:38,291 --> 01:06:41,583
Not more than the length of a man's hand
was separating the two.

1414
01:06:41,666 --> 01:06:44,375
The rat pressed its body flat,
tense and terrified.

1415
01:06:44,458 --> 01:06:45,833
The rat man was also tense,

1416
01:06:45,916 --> 01:06:49,416
but with a dangerous active tensity
that was like a tight-wound spring.

1417
01:06:49,500 --> 01:06:52,041
The shadow of a smile
flickered around the skin of his mouth.

1418
01:06:52,125 --> 01:06:53,958
-[bell tolling]
-Then, suddenly, he struck,

1419
01:06:54,041 --> 01:06:55,083
as a snake strikes,

1420
01:06:55,166 --> 01:06:57,916
darting his head forward
with a swift knife-like stroke…

1421
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:00,041
…that originated in the muscles
of the lower body…

1422
01:07:00,125 --> 01:07:02,666
…and I had a glimpse
of the mouth opening wide…

1423
01:07:02,750 --> 01:07:03,791
…two yellow teeth…

1424
01:07:03,875 --> 01:07:06,541
[both] …the whole face contorted
by the effort of mouth-opening.

1425
01:07:07,875 --> 01:07:09,791
More than that, I did not care to see.

1426
01:07:09,875 --> 01:07:12,208
I closed my eyes,
and when I opened them again,

1427
01:07:12,291 --> 01:07:13,333
the rat was dead,

1428
01:07:13,416 --> 01:07:15,958
the rat man
was slipping the money into his pocket

1429
01:07:16,041 --> 01:07:17,666
and spitting to clear his mouth.

1430
01:07:19,666 --> 01:07:21,791
And that's what
they makes licorice out of.

1431
01:07:21,875 --> 01:07:25,791
Rat's blood's what the big factories
and chocolate-makers use to make licorice.

1432
01:07:25,875 --> 01:07:28,000
Nothin' wrong with a drop of rat's blood.

1433
01:07:30,708 --> 01:07:32,458
You are absolutely disgusting.

1434
01:07:32,541 --> 01:07:35,000
But that's it, you see.
You eaten it many a time.

1435
01:07:35,083 --> 01:07:38,166
Penny sticks and licorice bootlaces
all made from rat's blood.

1436
01:07:38,250 --> 01:07:40,375
We don't want to hear
another word, thanks.

1437
01:07:40,458 --> 01:07:43,208
Boiled up in great cauldrons,
bubblin' and steamin'

1438
01:07:43,291 --> 01:07:45,333
and men stirrin' it with long poles.

1439
01:07:45,416 --> 01:07:47,875
One of the big secrets
of the chocolate factories,

1440
01:07:47,958 --> 01:07:51,791
and no one knows about it,
except the ratters supplyin' the stuff.

1441
01:07:51,875 --> 01:07:54,791
Suddenly he noticed his audience
was no longer with him.

1442
01:07:54,875 --> 01:07:58,000
Our faces were hostile
and sick-looking and crimson with anger.

1443
01:07:58,583 --> 01:08:01,375
He stopped and turned away
without another word.

1444
01:08:01,458 --> 01:08:06,041
We watched as he sloped onto the road
with a slow, delicate, ambling walk.

1445
01:08:06,125 --> 01:08:09,000
His footsteps didn't make a sound,
not even on the gravel.

1446
01:08:17,875 --> 01:08:19,625
[bell tolling in the distance]

1447
01:08:22,291 --> 01:08:23,125
Strange.

1448
01:08:24,000 --> 01:08:25,958
The rats never ate the poisoned oats.

1449
01:08:27,291 --> 01:08:31,208
There must be
something nutritious… in the hayrick.

1450
01:09:15,958 --> 01:09:17,666
It was midnight when I drove home.

1451
01:09:18,625 --> 01:09:21,500
As I approached the bungalow,
I switched off the headlamps

1452
01:09:21,583 --> 01:09:24,625
so the beam wouldn't swing through
the window and wake Harry Pope.

1453
01:09:24,708 --> 01:09:27,083
I needn't have bothered.
His light was still on.

1454
01:09:27,166 --> 01:09:28,916
I parked, went up to the porch,

1455
01:09:29,000 --> 01:09:31,583
counting each step
so I wouldn't take an extra step,

1456
01:09:31,666 --> 01:09:34,416
which wasn't there, at the top.
One, two, three, four.

1457
01:09:39,333 --> 01:09:42,208
I went to Harry's room,
opened it quietly, and looked in.

1458
01:09:42,291 --> 01:09:45,500
He was lying in bed awake.
He didn't move or even turn his head.

1459
01:09:45,583 --> 01:09:47,791
But I heard him whispering,
almost inaudible…

1460
01:09:47,875 --> 01:09:48,791
[whispering] Help.

1461
01:09:48,875 --> 01:09:49,708
"Help"?

1462
01:09:49,791 --> 01:09:50,791
[clock ticking]

1463
01:09:52,625 --> 01:09:54,875
I pushed the door
and started across the room.

1464
01:09:54,958 --> 01:09:55,791
Stop.

1465
01:09:55,875 --> 01:09:57,666
"Stop"? I could hardly hear a word.

1466
01:09:57,750 --> 01:10:00,625
He seemed to be straining enormously
to produce sound.

1467
01:10:00,708 --> 01:10:02,458
-Help.
-"Help"?

1468
01:10:02,541 --> 01:10:03,958
What's the matter, Harry?

1469
01:10:04,041 --> 01:10:06,041
Take off shoes.

1470
01:10:06,916 --> 01:10:08,791
"Take off shoes"?

1471
01:10:08,875 --> 01:10:11,833
He reminded me of George Barling
after he got shot in the stomach

1472
01:10:11,916 --> 01:10:13,583
when he leaned against a crate,

1473
01:10:13,666 --> 01:10:16,375
gripping himself
and muttering about the Japanese pilot

1474
01:10:16,458 --> 01:10:19,458
in just the same straining
half-whisper Harry was using now.

1475
01:10:19,541 --> 01:10:21,791
Then George Barling bent over, of course…

1476
01:10:21,875 --> 01:10:22,708
and died.

1477
01:10:23,500 --> 01:10:24,500
Take off shoes.

1478
01:10:25,208 --> 01:10:26,291
"Take off shoes."

1479
01:10:28,375 --> 01:10:30,958
I couldn't understand,
but I wasn't going to object.

1480
01:10:37,875 --> 01:10:39,500
-What is it, Harry?
-Don't touch.

1481
01:10:41,916 --> 01:10:45,291
He was on his back with a sheet
covering three-quarters of his body,

1482
01:10:45,375 --> 01:10:47,666
wearing striped pajamas
and sweating terribly.

1483
01:10:47,750 --> 01:10:50,083
It was hot.
I was sweating, but not like Harry.

1484
01:10:50,166 --> 01:10:52,291
His face was wet
and the pillow was soaked.

1485
01:10:52,375 --> 01:10:53,833
It looked like malaria to me.

1486
01:10:53,916 --> 01:10:55,250
-What is it, Harry?
-Krait.

1487
01:10:55,333 --> 01:10:56,208
-What?
-Krait.

1488
01:10:56,291 --> 01:10:57,625
-"Krait"?
-Snake.

1489
01:10:58,833 --> 01:11:00,583
You've been bitten. How long ago?

1490
01:11:00,666 --> 01:11:01,500
No.

1491
01:11:01,583 --> 01:11:02,416
What?

1492
01:11:06,041 --> 01:11:07,250
Didn't bite yet.

1493
01:11:09,291 --> 01:11:11,541
That confused me.
I gave Harry a funny look.

1494
01:11:13,416 --> 01:11:16,250
Krait on stomach. Asleep.

1495
01:11:18,833 --> 01:11:20,833
I jumped backwards. I couldn't help it.

1496
01:11:20,916 --> 01:11:23,583
I stared at his stomach,
at the sheet that covered it.

1497
01:11:23,666 --> 01:11:26,625
It was impossible to tell
if there was something underneath.

1498
01:11:26,708 --> 01:11:29,833
You don't mean there's a krait
on your stomach now? Asleep?

1499
01:11:29,916 --> 01:11:30,750
Yes.

1500
01:11:38,291 --> 01:11:39,833
How'd it get there?

1501
01:11:39,916 --> 01:11:43,625
I shouldn't have asked a question.
I should've just told him to keep quiet.

1502
01:11:44,625 --> 01:11:50,958
Lying on back. Reading.
Felt something on chest, behind book.

1503
01:11:51,041 --> 01:11:51,958
Tickling.

1504
01:11:54,291 --> 01:11:59,750
From corner of eye,
saw little krait sliding over pajamas.

1505
01:12:00,583 --> 01:12:02,958
Small. Maybe ten inches.

1506
01:12:04,250 --> 01:12:07,750
Knew mustn't move.
Lay frozen, watching it.

1507
01:12:08,625 --> 01:12:12,041
Thought it would go over top of sheet.

1508
01:12:12,125 --> 01:12:13,750
[Woods] Harry was silent for a moment.

1509
01:12:13,833 --> 01:12:17,541
He was making sure his whispering
wasn't disturbing the thing laying there.

1510
01:12:18,958 --> 01:12:20,458
It went under.

1511
01:12:21,958 --> 01:12:26,000
Felt it through pajamas.
Moving on stomach.

1512
01:12:27,125 --> 01:12:31,333
Then it stopped. Now lying there asleep.

1513
01:12:35,208 --> 01:12:36,375
I've been waiting.

1514
01:12:37,291 --> 01:12:38,916
-[Woods] How long?
-For hours.

1515
01:12:39,750 --> 01:12:42,583
Hours and hours
and bloody hours and hours.

1516
01:12:42,666 --> 01:12:45,458
Can't keep still much longer.
Need to cough.

1517
01:12:48,750 --> 01:12:49,875
[Roald] In fact,

1518
01:12:49,958 --> 01:12:52,375
it wasn't a surprising thing
for a krait to do.

1519
01:12:52,458 --> 01:12:56,041
They linger around people's houses
and go for the warm places.

1520
01:12:56,125 --> 01:12:59,208
The surprising thing was
that Harry hadn't been bitten so far.

1521
01:12:59,291 --> 01:13:02,250
The bite is ferociously deadly,
unless you catch it at once,

1522
01:13:02,333 --> 01:13:04,625
with a dose of antivenom
immediately at hand.

1523
01:13:05,458 --> 01:13:07,541
Slim, little things. They look like this.

1524
01:13:09,833 --> 01:13:11,500
One might slip, discreetly,

1525
01:13:11,583 --> 01:13:15,583
through the just-cracked open door
of a small child's bedroom, for instance.

1526
01:13:17,166 --> 01:13:21,375
The manager of a tea estate once told me
about a sheep bitten on the hind leg.

1527
01:13:21,458 --> 01:13:25,750
When he cut open the carcass,
its blood ran pitch, black as tar.

1528
01:13:29,916 --> 01:13:33,208
[whispering] "All right, Harry," I said.
Now I was whispering too.

1529
01:13:33,291 --> 01:13:35,625
Don't move
and don't talk unless you have to.

1530
01:13:35,708 --> 01:13:38,250
It won't bite unless it's frightened.
We'll fix it.

1531
01:13:40,958 --> 01:13:42,708
[in normal voice] I went out softly

1532
01:13:42,791 --> 01:13:45,208
and fetched a small sharp knife
from the kitchen.

1533
01:13:45,291 --> 01:13:49,500
I put it in my pocket ready to use in case
Harry frightened the krait and got bitten.

1534
01:13:49,583 --> 01:13:51,958
I was ready to cut Harry
and suck out the venom.

1535
01:13:52,958 --> 01:13:55,583
[whispering] "Harry,
I think the best thing to do

1536
01:13:55,666 --> 01:13:58,750
is for me to draw back the sheet
very gently and have a look."

1537
01:13:59,375 --> 01:14:01,375
You idiot.

1538
01:14:02,833 --> 01:14:06,708
There was no expression in his voice.
He spoke too slowly and softly for that.

1539
01:14:06,791 --> 01:14:10,125
The expression was in the eyes
and corners of the mouth.

1540
01:14:10,750 --> 01:14:14,583
Light will startle. Snake will kill me.

1541
01:14:16,583 --> 01:14:17,625
Good point.

1542
01:14:18,208 --> 01:14:21,416
How about I whip back the sheet
and brush it off the instant--

1543
01:14:21,500 --> 01:14:22,583
Get doctor.

1544
01:14:24,375 --> 01:14:27,333
He looked at me as if
I should have thought of that myself.

1545
01:14:27,416 --> 01:14:30,125
A doctor. Of course.
That's it. I'll get Dr. Ganderbai.

1546
01:14:30,208 --> 01:14:32,708
[in normal voice] I tiptoed out,
looked up Dr. Ganderbai's number,

1547
01:14:32,791 --> 01:14:35,166
lifted the phone
and told the operator to hurry.

1548
01:14:35,250 --> 01:14:36,458
[phone ringing]

1549
01:14:36,541 --> 01:14:37,541
[clock ticking]

1550
01:14:40,083 --> 01:14:43,458
-This is Supervisor Woods.
-Hello, Mr. Woods. You're not in bed yet?

1551
01:14:43,541 --> 01:14:45,666
Come at once and bring serum. For a krait.

1552
01:14:45,750 --> 01:14:47,375
Serum? Who's been bitten?

1553
01:14:47,458 --> 01:14:50,000
The question came
like a small explosion in my ear.

1554
01:14:50,083 --> 01:14:51,208
No one. No one, yet.

1555
01:14:51,291 --> 01:14:54,166
Harry's got one
sleeping on his stomach under the sheet.

1556
01:14:54,250 --> 01:14:56,916
For about three seconds
there was silence on the line.

1557
01:14:58,291 --> 01:15:02,000
Speaking slowly, not like an explosion,
precisely, Dr. Ganderbai said…

1558
01:15:02,083 --> 01:15:04,958
He's not to move or talk.
Do you understand?

1559
01:15:05,041 --> 01:15:06,958
-Of course, Doctor.
-I'm coming now.

1560
01:15:07,041 --> 01:15:09,208
He rang off,
and I went back to the bedroom.

1561
01:15:11,500 --> 01:15:13,208
Harry's eyes walked me to his bed.

1562
01:15:13,291 --> 01:15:15,750
[whispering] Dr. Ganderbai's coming.
He said to lie still.

1563
01:15:15,833 --> 01:15:19,125
-What does he think I've been doing?
-No talking. Either of us.

1564
01:15:19,208 --> 01:15:20,333
Shut up, then.

1565
01:15:21,333 --> 01:15:24,583
The muscles on one side of his mouth,
the muscles used for smiling

1566
01:15:24,666 --> 01:15:26,500
started twitching, little movements

1567
01:15:26,583 --> 01:15:29,250
that continued for a while
after he finished speaking.

1568
01:15:29,333 --> 01:15:32,166
I didn't like that,
or the way he talked, either.

1569
01:15:32,250 --> 01:15:35,291
-[car approaching]
-Dr. Ganderbai's car sped up to the front.

1570
01:15:37,166 --> 01:15:38,333
I went out to meet him.

1571
01:15:41,583 --> 01:15:44,375
-Where is he?
-Dr. Ganderbai didn't stop for my answer.

1572
01:15:44,458 --> 01:15:47,791
He walked on past me into the hall.
He put his bag down on a chair.

1573
01:15:47,875 --> 01:15:49,791
He was wearing
soft-soled bedroom slippers.

1574
01:15:49,875 --> 01:15:52,791
He walked across the floor noiselessly,
like a careful cat.

1575
01:15:52,875 --> 01:15:54,875
Harry watched out the sides of his eyes.

1576
01:15:54,958 --> 01:15:57,625
Upon reaching the bed,
he looked at Harry and smiled,

1577
01:15:57,708 --> 01:15:59,833
reassuring, nodding his head as if to say…

1578
01:15:59,916 --> 01:16:03,083
Don't worry. This is a simple matter.
Leave it to Dr. Ganderbai.

1579
01:16:03,166 --> 01:16:05,375
He went into the kitchen,
and I followed him.

1580
01:16:06,916 --> 01:16:08,125
He opened his bag.

1581
01:16:08,208 --> 01:16:12,166
First is to try to get serum into him,
but I must do it neatly. He can't flinch.

1582
01:16:12,250 --> 01:16:14,500
He held a hypodermic and a small bottle.

1583
01:16:14,583 --> 01:16:17,333
He stuck in the needle
and drew up a pale yellow liquid.

1584
01:16:17,416 --> 01:16:19,875
-He handed it to me.
-Hold that till I ask for it.

1585
01:16:19,958 --> 01:16:21,166
We returned to the room.

1586
01:16:21,916 --> 01:16:23,916
[clock ticking]

1587
01:16:26,291 --> 01:16:28,416
[whispering] Harry's eyes were bright now
and wide open.

1588
01:16:28,500 --> 01:16:30,916
Dr. Ganderbai
cautiously rolled up Harry's sleeve

1589
01:16:31,000 --> 01:16:32,833
to the elbow without moving the arm.

1590
01:16:32,916 --> 01:16:35,208
He stood well away from the bed.
He whispered…

1591
01:16:35,291 --> 01:16:38,416
I'm going to give you an injection.
Just a prick. Don't move.

1592
01:16:38,500 --> 01:16:41,166
Don't tighten your stomach muscles.
Let them go limp.

1593
01:16:41,250 --> 01:16:44,708
Harry looked at the syringe.
His smiling muscle began to twitch again.

1594
01:16:45,708 --> 01:16:49,291
Dr. Ganderbai took rubber tubing
and tied it tight around Harry's bicep.

1595
01:16:49,375 --> 01:16:51,958
He sponged a small area
of the forearm with alcohol.

1596
01:16:52,041 --> 01:16:54,833
He held up the syringe,
squinting at the calibrations,

1597
01:16:54,916 --> 01:16:56,291
squirting out some fluid.

1598
01:16:56,375 --> 01:16:58,208
Harry was sweating all over his face

1599
01:16:58,291 --> 01:17:00,708
so it shone like face cream
melting on his skin,

1600
01:17:00,791 --> 01:17:01,833
running down the pillow.

1601
01:17:01,916 --> 01:17:05,458
I could see the blue vein on his forearm,
swollen under the tourniquet.

1602
01:17:05,541 --> 01:17:08,833
Needle above the vein,
Ganderbai holding it flat against the arm,

1603
01:17:08,916 --> 01:17:11,250
sliding the needle sideways into the vein,

1604
01:17:11,333 --> 01:17:14,166
slowly and firmly
so it went in smooth as into cheese.

1605
01:17:14,250 --> 01:17:17,208
Harry closed his eyes
and opened them again but didn't move.

1606
01:17:17,291 --> 01:17:19,583
Ganderbai leaned forward,
mouth close to Harry's ear.

1607
01:17:19,666 --> 01:17:23,791
Now you'll be all right even if it bites,
but don't move. I'll be back in a moment.

1608
01:17:24,500 --> 01:17:27,541
-"Is he safe now?" I asked.
-It might or might not save him.

1609
01:17:27,625 --> 01:17:30,416
Ganderbai wiped his forehead
and stood nibbling his lip.

1610
01:17:30,500 --> 01:17:33,458
There is a way to do this.
There is a way to do this.

1611
01:17:33,541 --> 01:17:36,458
He was speaking slowly
and trying to think while he talked.

1612
01:17:38,208 --> 01:17:42,291
We're going to administer an anesthetic

1613
01:17:42,375 --> 01:17:45,000
to the creature where it lies.

1614
01:17:46,875 --> 01:17:48,333
It was a splendid suggestion.

1615
01:17:48,416 --> 01:17:50,333
It's not safe. A snake is cold-blooded.

1616
01:17:50,416 --> 01:17:53,125
Anesthetic doesn't work well
with cold-blooded animals.

1617
01:17:53,208 --> 01:17:56,000
But I don't have any other ideas.
Ether or chloroform?

1618
01:17:56,083 --> 01:17:57,125
I nodded.

1619
01:17:57,208 --> 01:17:59,583
-Which one?
-Was he asking me? I don't know.

1620
01:17:59,666 --> 01:18:00,500
[loudly] Chloroform!

1621
01:18:01,083 --> 01:18:03,708
[in normal voice]
He pulled me to the hall.

1622
01:18:04,458 --> 01:18:05,375
Drive to my house.

1623
01:18:05,458 --> 01:18:07,291
The boy will be waiting for you.

1624
01:18:07,375 --> 01:18:09,291
Here's the key to my poisons cupboard.

1625
01:18:09,375 --> 01:18:11,375
Take chloroform. It has an orange label.

1626
01:18:11,458 --> 01:18:14,541
The name is printed on it.
I'll stay in case anything happens.

1627
01:18:14,625 --> 01:18:15,833
Be quick!

1628
01:18:15,916 --> 01:18:17,541
-My shoes…
-You don't need shoes.

1629
01:18:17,625 --> 01:18:18,666
[engine starts]

1630
01:18:20,250 --> 01:18:23,583
[Woods] I drove fast, and in 15 minutes
I was back with the bottle.

1631
01:18:26,250 --> 01:18:29,916
He knows what we're going to do,
but he's understandably losing his nerve.

1632
01:18:30,000 --> 01:18:32,083
I'm not sure how much longer he can last.

1633
01:18:32,166 --> 01:18:34,166
[lively music playing faintly]

1634
01:18:35,750 --> 01:18:38,708
[whispering] Harry was lying
in the same position as before.

1635
01:18:38,791 --> 01:18:42,250
His face was white and wet.
He turned his eyes towards me.

1636
01:18:42,333 --> 01:18:43,833
I smiled at him and nodded.

1637
01:18:43,916 --> 01:18:46,666
The doctor picked up the tube
he'd used as a tourniquet,

1638
01:18:46,750 --> 01:18:48,958
now with a paper funnel
fitted into one end.

1639
01:18:49,041 --> 01:18:51,750
He untucked a section of sheet
from under the mattress,

1640
01:18:51,833 --> 01:18:53,541
took the rubber tube, inserted it,

1641
01:18:53,625 --> 01:18:56,041
and slid it under the sheet
towards Harry's body.

1642
01:18:56,125 --> 01:18:58,541
Not sure how long it took
to slide that tube in.

1643
01:18:58,625 --> 01:19:01,708
It may have been 20 minutes, or 40.
I never saw the tube move,

1644
01:19:01,791 --> 01:19:04,291
but the visible part of it
grew gradually shorter.

1645
01:19:04,375 --> 01:19:06,333
Dr. Ganderbai himself was sweating now,

1646
01:19:06,416 --> 01:19:08,875
large pearls on his forehead
and upper lip,

1647
01:19:08,958 --> 01:19:10,291
but his hands were steady,

1648
01:19:10,375 --> 01:19:13,291
and his eyes were glued to the sheet
above Harry's stomach.

1649
01:19:13,375 --> 01:19:15,375
He held out his hand for the chloroform.

1650
01:19:15,458 --> 01:19:18,375
I twisted out the stopper
and put the bottle into his hand,

1651
01:19:18,458 --> 01:19:21,000
not letting go
until I was sure he had a good hold.

1652
01:19:21,666 --> 01:19:25,958
Mr. Pope, I'm going to soak the mattress.
It's going to be cold under your body.

1653
01:19:26,041 --> 01:19:29,208
-Be ready for it and don't move.
-[loud whisper] Get on with it!

1654
01:19:29,291 --> 01:19:31,000
For the first time,
Harry raised his voice.

1655
01:19:31,083 --> 01:19:34,208
Dr. Ganderbai looked up,
watched him and went back to business.

1656
01:19:34,291 --> 01:19:37,541
He poured into the funnel
and waited while it ran down the tube.

1657
01:19:37,625 --> 01:19:39,208
He poured more and waited again.

1658
01:19:47,541 --> 01:19:50,666
The heavy, sickening smell of chloroform
spread over the room

1659
01:19:50,750 --> 01:19:52,500
bringing faint, unpleasant memories

1660
01:19:52,583 --> 01:19:55,708
of nurses and surgeons
in a white room with a long white table.

1661
01:19:55,791 --> 01:19:57,375
Ganderbai was pouring steadily,

1662
01:19:57,458 --> 01:20:01,500
and I could see the heavy vapor swirling
like smoke above the paper funnel.

1663
01:20:02,083 --> 01:20:05,083
He paused, poured one more
and handed the bottle back to me.

1664
01:20:05,166 --> 01:20:07,625
Slowly he drew out the rubber tube,
then stood up.

1665
01:20:07,708 --> 01:20:10,500
The strain of this procedure
must have been enormous

1666
01:20:10,583 --> 01:20:12,625
because he sounded like this…

1667
01:20:12,708 --> 01:20:14,791
[softly] Give it 15 minutes to be safe.

1668
01:20:14,875 --> 01:20:16,291
I leaned over to tell Harry.

1669
01:20:16,375 --> 01:20:18,291
-We'll give it--
-[loudly] I heard him!

1670
01:20:18,375 --> 01:20:21,583
This time Dr. Ganderbai sprang 'round,
his face suddenly angry.

1671
01:20:21,666 --> 01:20:25,125
Stared at Harry, a cold stone.
Harry's smiling muscle began to twitch.

1672
01:20:25,208 --> 01:20:26,833
We waited 15 minutes by the bed.

1673
01:20:26,916 --> 01:20:28,958
Dr. Ganderbai watched Harry's face

1674
01:20:29,041 --> 01:20:31,541
in the most curious,
profoundly intense, arresting gaze,

1675
01:20:31,625 --> 01:20:33,250
concentrating all his will power

1676
01:20:33,333 --> 01:20:35,875
on keeping Harry
absolutely still and quiet.

1677
01:20:35,958 --> 01:20:38,583
He never took his eye away,
and although he made no sound,

1678
01:20:38,666 --> 01:20:40,541
he seemed to be shouting at him.

1679
01:20:40,625 --> 01:20:43,000
-Something like…
-[loudly] Don't move or speak!

1680
01:20:43,083 --> 01:20:45,375
You're not spoiling this now! You hear me?

1681
01:20:46,000 --> 01:20:48,583
In this silence,
Harry lay there twitching his mouth,

1682
01:20:48,666 --> 01:20:50,750
sweating, closing his eyes, opening them,

1683
01:20:50,833 --> 01:20:52,875
looking at me, the sheet, the ceiling,

1684
01:20:52,958 --> 01:20:54,541
never looking at Dr. Ganderbai.

1685
01:20:54,625 --> 01:20:56,750
Yet somehow,
Dr. Ganderbai was holding him.

1686
01:20:58,375 --> 01:21:00,416
It was like someone
was blowing up a huge balloon,

1687
01:21:00,500 --> 01:21:03,125
that it was going to burst,
but I couldn't turn away.

1688
01:21:03,208 --> 01:21:06,291
Finally Dr. Ganderbai nodded,
and I knew he was ready to proceed.

1689
01:21:06,833 --> 01:21:08,166
Go to the other side.

1690
01:21:08,250 --> 01:21:10,791
We'll each take a side of the sheet
and draw it back together.

1691
01:21:10,875 --> 01:21:13,000
Very slowly, please. Keep still, Mr. Pope.

1692
01:21:24,000 --> 01:21:26,541
[Woods] The whole of Harry's chest
was visible now.

1693
01:21:26,625 --> 01:21:28,791
I saw the white cord
of his pajama trousers

1694
01:21:28,875 --> 01:21:30,083
neatly tied in a bow.

1695
01:21:30,166 --> 01:21:32,875
A little farther below,
I saw a mother-of-pearl button,

1696
01:21:32,958 --> 01:21:34,791
something I never had on my pajamas,

1697
01:21:34,875 --> 01:21:37,000
a fly-button,
let alone a mother-of-pearl one.

1698
01:21:37,083 --> 01:21:38,291
Odd how one sometimes

1699
01:21:38,375 --> 01:21:40,500
has frivolous thoughts
at exciting moments.

1700
01:21:40,583 --> 01:21:42,375
Nothing else was on his stomach.

1701
01:21:45,000 --> 01:21:46,083
Don't move, Mr. Pope.

1702
01:21:46,166 --> 01:21:49,250
Ganderbai peered around
along Harry's body and under his legs.

1703
01:21:49,333 --> 01:21:52,125
Be careful. It could be anywhere,
up the pajama leg.

1704
01:21:52,208 --> 01:21:53,041
Harry sat up.

1705
01:21:53,125 --> 01:21:54,875
[breathing heavily]

1706
01:21:54,958 --> 01:21:56,625
It was the first time he'd moved.

1707
01:21:56,708 --> 01:21:58,000
[exclaiming]

1708
01:21:58,083 --> 01:22:00,916
Harry jumped up, stood on his bed,
shook his legs violently.

1709
01:22:01,000 --> 01:22:02,458
We thought he'd been bitten.

1710
01:22:02,541 --> 01:22:04,291
Ganderbai was scrambling for a scalpel,

1711
01:22:04,375 --> 01:22:06,208
but then Harry ceased leaping,
stood still,

1712
01:22:06,291 --> 01:22:08,000
looked down at the mattress and shouted…

1713
01:22:08,083 --> 01:22:08,916
It's not there!

1714
01:22:09,000 --> 01:22:11,583
Dr. Ganderbai straightened up.
He looked at Harry.

1715
01:22:11,666 --> 01:22:13,791
Harry was all right.
He hadn't been bitten.

1716
01:22:13,875 --> 01:22:15,916
He wasn't going to get bitten or killed.

1717
01:22:16,000 --> 01:22:17,625
And everything was fine.

1718
01:22:17,708 --> 01:22:18,583
Sort of.

1719
01:22:19,625 --> 01:22:21,875
[chuckling] Maybe you were dreaming,
Mr. Pope.

1720
01:22:24,458 --> 01:22:26,041
[heart beating]

1721
01:22:30,125 --> 01:22:31,500
[Woods] The way he said it,

1722
01:22:31,583 --> 01:22:34,125
I knew his teasing
was not seriously intended.

1723
01:22:34,208 --> 01:22:36,291
He was easing up after the extreme strain.

1724
01:22:36,375 --> 01:22:39,000
Harry didn't take it that way.
He stood in his pajamas,

1725
01:22:39,083 --> 01:22:41,958
glaring at Ganderbai. The color
began to spread over his cheeks.

1726
01:22:42,041 --> 01:22:44,291
Are you suggesting I'm a liar?

1727
01:22:47,083 --> 01:22:49,500
Dr. Ganderbai remained still,
watching Harry.

1728
01:22:49,583 --> 01:22:52,791
Harry took a pace forward on the bed.
A shining look in his eyes.

1729
01:22:53,958 --> 01:22:57,458
-You dirty, little, Bengali, sewer rat.
-"Shut up, Harry," I said.

1730
01:22:57,541 --> 01:22:59,791
-You dirty, brown, filthy, little…
-Shut up!

1731
01:22:59,875 --> 01:23:01,333
-Backwards-caste…
-Shut your mouth!

1732
01:23:01,416 --> 01:23:02,291
Stop!

1733
01:23:05,208 --> 01:23:07,541
Dr. Ganderbai left the room,
I followed him into the hall,

1734
01:23:07,625 --> 01:23:08,541
to the screened porch.

1735
01:23:08,625 --> 01:23:10,666
He's out of his mind,
doesn't know what he's saying.

1736
01:23:10,750 --> 01:23:14,458
We went across the drive in the darkness
to the doctor's old Morris Motor car.

1737
01:23:14,583 --> 01:23:17,625
He got inside.
"You did a miraculous thing," I said.

1738
01:23:17,708 --> 01:23:19,916
-"You saved his life."
-No, I don't think so.

1739
01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:22,750
I mean, you might've…
He owes you his life.

1740
01:23:22,833 --> 01:23:25,625
-I mean, he owes you his life, Doctor.
-No, he doesn't.

1741
01:23:28,208 --> 01:23:29,125
I'm sorry.

1742
01:23:30,583 --> 01:23:31,583
You can't be.

1743
01:23:35,125 --> 01:23:36,375
[engine starts]

1744
01:23:38,875 --> 01:23:41,416
Dr. Ganderbai started the engine
and drove off.

1745
01:24:06,500 --> 01:24:08,083
[sharpener grinding]

1746
01:24:12,875 --> 01:24:14,875
[mystical music playing]

1747
01:24:24,666 --> 01:24:26,291
[author] Here are some of the qualities

1748
01:24:26,375 --> 01:24:28,666
you should possess
or should try to acquire

1749
01:24:28,750 --> 01:24:31,041
if you wish to become a fiction writer.

1750
01:24:32,375 --> 01:24:34,875
You should have a lively imagination.

1751
01:24:34,958 --> 01:24:36,083
[music continues]

1752
01:24:36,166 --> 01:24:38,125
You should be able to write well.

1753
01:24:38,208 --> 01:24:39,166
By that I mean,

1754
01:24:39,250 --> 01:24:43,375
you should be able to make a scene
come alive in the reader's mind.

1755
01:24:43,458 --> 01:24:45,333
Not everybody has this ability.

1756
01:24:45,416 --> 01:24:49,208
It is a gift,
and you either have it or you don't.

1757
01:24:50,041 --> 01:24:51,375
You must have stamina.

1758
01:24:51,458 --> 01:24:52,750
In other words,

1759
01:24:52,833 --> 01:24:56,500
you must be able to stick
to what you're doing and never give up.

1760
01:24:57,458 --> 01:24:59,041
For hour after hour…

1761
01:24:59,125 --> 01:25:00,541
♪ Hour after hour ♪

1762
01:25:00,625 --> 01:25:02,166
…day after day…

1763
01:25:02,250 --> 01:25:04,083
♪ Day after day ♪

1764
01:25:04,166 --> 01:25:05,375
…week after week…

1765
01:25:05,458 --> 01:25:07,208
♪ Week after week ♪

1766
01:25:07,291 --> 01:25:09,083
…month after month…

1767
01:25:09,166 --> 01:25:10,500
♪ Month after month ♪

1768
01:25:10,583 --> 01:25:14,416
…year after year after year…

1769
01:25:15,416 --> 01:25:17,833
You must be a perfectionist.

1770
01:25:17,916 --> 01:25:21,500
That means you must never be satisfied
with what you have written

1771
01:25:21,583 --> 01:25:26,583
until you've rewritten it again and again,
making it as good as you possibly can.

1772
01:25:27,458 --> 01:25:29,500
You must have strong self-discipline.

1773
01:25:29,583 --> 01:25:32,791
You're working alone.
No one is employing you.

1774
01:25:33,791 --> 01:25:37,666
No one is around to give you the sack
if you don't turn up for work

1775
01:25:37,750 --> 01:25:40,166
or to tick you off if you start slacking.

1776
01:25:41,000 --> 01:25:44,041
It helps a lot
if you have a keen sense of humor.

1777
01:25:44,125 --> 01:25:46,875
This is not essential
when writing for grown-ups,

1778
01:25:46,958 --> 01:25:49,083
but for children, it's vital.

1779
01:25:50,333 --> 01:25:51,458
[Roald] Finally…

1780
01:25:54,000 --> 01:25:56,125
You must have a degree of humility.

1781
01:25:58,208 --> 01:26:00,375
The writer that thinks
his work is marvelous

1782
01:26:01,791 --> 01:26:03,000
is heading for trouble.

1783
01:26:15,708 --> 01:26:17,541
[music fades]