Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest
Elizabeth [plops down on an upright barrel] What’s that over there? [the Crew moves towards her; the fire from the lantern spells out ‘Tortuga’]
[on Tortuga the population is as disorderly and loud as before]
Gibbs [is sitting at a table, trying to find ninety-nine souls Willing to sail on the Black Pearl] And what makes you think you’re worthy to Crew the Black Pearl?
Sailor hopeful #1: Truth be told, I never sailed a day in me life. I figure I should get out and see the world while I’m still young.
Gibbs You’ll do. Make your mark. [indicates the roster sheet] Next!
Sailor hopeful #2: My wife run off with my dog, and I’m drunk for a month, and I don’t give an ass rat’s if I live or die.
Gibbs Perfect! Next!
Jack [holds the compass and mutters to himself] I know what I want, I know what I want, I know what I want. [opens the compass and it still won’t show him his bearing]
Sailor hopeful #3: Me have one arm and a bum leg.
Gibbs It’s the crow’s nest for you.
Jack I know what I want. [opens the compass and still nothing]
Gibbs Next!
Sailor hopeful #4: Ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to sail the seas. Forever.
Gibbs Sooner than you think. Sign the roster.
Sailor hopeful #4: Thanks very much.
Jack How are we going?
Gibbs Including those four? That gives us… four. [Jack shakes the compass vigorously; another hopeful comes up] And what’s your story?
Norrington My story? [Gibbs nods] It’s exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas. [Jack closes his compass and looks around for a spot to hide in] The pursuit cost me my Crew, my commission, and my life. [grabs a rum bottle down off the table, takes a swig; Norrington looks scruffy, dirty, and very much unlike himself]
Gibbs Commodore?
Norrington No, not anymore, weren’t you listening? [Gibbs looks uncomfortable] I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I would’ve, if not for the hurricane. [Jack takes a leafy plant and hides behind it]
Gibbs Lord. You didn’t try to sail through it?
Norrington So do I make your Crew or not? You haven’t said where you’re going. Somewhere nice! [upturns the table and Gibbs falls off his stool, then starts strutting around the tavern] So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow? [Jack tries to inconspicuously walk away with the plant clutched in front, Norrington spots him anyway and points his pistol at him] Or should I just kill you now?
Jack You’re hired.
Norrington Sorry. Old habits and all that. [is ready to shoot when two pirates raise his pistol hand to the ceiling]
Pirate Easy Sailor! [the pistol fires and the bullet ricochets off the lights and breaks someone’s bottle; a brawl breaks out]
Jack Time to go.
Gibbs Aye. [they carefully make their way upstairs]
[Elizabeth spots Norrington and helps him fight off his attackers; Norrington keeps on drinking]
Jack [Jack keeps trying on different hats, but not one seems to suit him well enough; takes another] Thanks, mate. [touches the pirate’s shoulder and the man falls off his perch on the railing] Ooh. [puts the hat he took off him onto another being carried off to be thrown off the second floor, steps aside] Carry on. [the man is thrown over]
Norrington [surrounded by unfriendly swords, Elizabeth at his back] Come on, then! Who wants some? For my lordly line, I’ll have you one by one. Come on, who’s first?
Elizabeth [grabs the bottle in Norrington’s hand and smashes it over his head] I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself. [the rest cheer; they heave him out into the pig pen and leave cheerfully; Mr. Mercer, Beckett’s man, is standing in the doorway watching; Elizabeth helps Norrington get himself out of the muck] James Norrington. [sighs] What has the world done to you?
Scene 10: (Will meets his father)
[on the Flying Dutchman Davy Jones is playing an organ with his tentacles]
Crew [hoist a cannon down] Heave! Heave! Heave!
Undead pirate: Secure the mast, man called Mr. Turner. Secure it! [both Will and Bootstrap rush off]
Will Step aside!
Bootstrap Hey, mind yourself! Let go, boy! [finally looks at Will and cannot look away] No. [they both let go of the rope, Will hanging on futilely, and the cannon smashes onto the deck]
Boatswain [pointing Will out] Haul that weasel to his feet. [Will is pulled to his feet, made to grad onto the ropes holding the sail] Five lashes are in my due. To stay honor.
Bootstrap [stops his arm] No.
Boatswain Impeding me in my duties? You’ll share the punishment.
Bootstrap I’ll take it all.
Davy Jones Will you now? And what would prompt such an act of charity?
Bootstrap [he hesitates] My son. He’s my son. [Will turns to look at his father]
Davy Jones [looks at the father than the son] Ahahaha ha! What fortuitous circumstance be this. Five lashes be owed, I believe it is. [reaches out his hand for the whip, which is handed over, then offers it to Bootstrap]
Bootstrap No. No, I won’t!
Davy Jones The cat’s out of the bag, Mr. Turner. Your issue Will feel its sting be it at the Bo’sun’s hand or your own.
Bootstrap [looks at his struggling son] No.
Davy Jones Bo’sun! [is ready to hand the whip to him]
Bootstrap No! [snatches the whip out of Jones’s hand; Will’s shirt is ripped across his back and Bootstrap delivers the five lashes]
[Will is dropped down the stairs into the hold, back covered in a crisscrossing of bloody lash marks]
Undead pirate: You’ve had it easy boy.
Bootstrap Will! [tries to help him]
Will I don’t need your help. [pushes his father’s arm away]
Bootstrap The Bo’sun prides himself on cleaving flesh from bone with every swing.
Will So I’m to understand what you did was an act of compassion.
Bootstrap Yes. [Will’s anger fades; they walk on deck] One hundred years before the mast. Loosing who you are, bit by bit. ‘Till you end up, end up like poor, Wyvern, here. [points to a pirate who’s become part of the hull] Once you’ve sworn an oath to the Dutchman, there’s no leaving it. Not until your debt is paid.
Will I’ve sworn no oath.
Bootstrap Then you must get away.
Will [takes out the drawing of a key from his pocket; softly] Not until I find this. [unfolds the cloth] The key.
Whidden [separates himself a little from the hull] The Dead Man’s Chest.
Will What do you know of it?
Wyvern Open the chest with the key and stab the heart. No, don’t stab the heart. The Dutchman needs a living heart or there’ll be no Captain. If there’s no Captain, there’s no one to have the key.
Will So the Captain has the key. [Wyvern plays mum] Where is the key?
Wyvern Hidden.
Will Where is the chest.
Wyvern Hidden. [attaches himself back to the hull]
Scene 11: (The Pearl gets a heading and Beckett negotiates)
[in Tortuga, Elizabeth follows Jack to the Pearl, still dressed as a boy]
Elizabeth Captain Sparrow?
Jack Come to join me Crew, lad? Welcome aboard.
Elizabeth I’m here to find the man I love.
Jack I’m deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea. [Jack looks alarmed and indicates to Gibbs to get the ‘lad’ away from them; Norrington throws up into the bay]
Elizabeth Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow.
Jack [finally turns all the way around] Elizabeth? [turns to Gibbs] Hide the rum. [Gibbs takes the bottle from his hand and walks onto the ship] You know these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin.
Elizabeth Jack. I know Will came to find you, where is he?
Jack Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with me, poor Will has been press-ganged into Davy Jones’s Crew.
Elizabeth Davy Jones?
Norrington [still throwing up] Oh, please. The Captain of the Flying Dutchman?
Jack You look bloody awful, what are you doing here?
Norrington You hired me. I can’t help it, if your standards are lax.
Jack You smell funny.
Elizabeth Jack!
Jack Hmm.
Elizabeth All I want is to find Will.
Jack Are you certain? Is that what you really want most?
Elizabeth Of course.
Jack [puts his hand onto her back and leads her to the side] Because I would think, you’d want to find a way to save Will most.
Elizabeth And you’d have a way of doing that?
Jack Well, there is a chest.
Norrington Oh, dear.
