THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

                                      Screenplay by

                            Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe

                      Adaption by John L. Balderston and Paul Perez
                                    and Daniel Moore

                       Based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper

                    Also based on the 1936 screenplay by Philip Dunne



























               FADE IN:

               The screen is a microcosm of leaf, crystal drops of 
               precipitation, a stone, emerald green moss. It's a landscape 
               in miniature. We HEAR the forest. Some distant birds. Their 
               sound seems to reverberate as if in a cavern. A piece of 
               sunlight refracts within the drops of water, paints a patch 
               of moss yellow. The whisper of wind is joined by another 
               sound that mixes with it. A distant rustling. It gets closer 
               and louder. It's shallow breathing. It gets ominous.

               We're interlopers on the floor of the forest and something 
               is coming.

               SUDDENLY: A MOCCASINED FOOT

               rockets through the frame scaring us and...

               EXTREMELY CLOSE: PART OF AN INDIAN FACE

               running hard. His head shaved bald except for a scalp-lock. 
               Tattoos. He's twenty-five. He seems tall and muscled. Heavy, 
               even breathing. We'll learn later this man is UNCAS, the 
               last of the Mohicans.

               PROFILE: UNCAS' ARMS

               flash as he runs. One carries a flintlock musket. Sweat on 
               the man's skin. A calico shirt is gathered at the waist with 
               a wampum belt of small white beads over a breechcloth. He 
               wears leggings to protect his legs. A long-handled tomahawk 
               is stuffed in his belt.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST - DAY

               MASSIVE WAR CLUB

               in the hand of another running man. He's heavier, older...

               CHEST

               A green bear claw is tattooed there. Silver armband. A snake 
               is tattooed over his left eyebrow. Silver rings in his ear. 
               He's forty to forty-five. His head is shaved into a scalp-
               lock. It says: "Come and lift this from me. Take it, if you 
               can..." That prospect strikes us as extremely unlikely. This 
               man is

               CHINGACHGOOK

               The French call him "Le Gros Serpent," the Great Snake, 
               because "he knows the winding ways of men's nature and he 
               can strike a sudden, deathly blow."

               WIDE ANGLE: CHINGACHGOOK

               runs, disturbing no leaves, no branches; making no sound. 
               He's running parallel to Uncas through the cathedral of mature 
               forest. It's heavily canopied. There's very little brush. 
               The girth of the trees is huge. Shafts of light illuminate 
               motes of dust and turn leaves emerald where the sun breaks 
               through. Sometimes there's ferns; rhododendron, sometimes 
               pale grass and outcroppings of rock.

               These men run the forest streams, over boulders, fallen trees 
               and down into ravines as if they own them. They do.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST - DAY

               LONG BLACK HAIR

               Rocketing through trees. His torn buckskin shirt is tied at 
               the waist with a wampum belt holding a tomahawk and a large 
               knife. A long rifle in which is carved the name "Killdeer" 
               is in his right fist. Indian tattooing on his chest.

               His name is NATHANIEL POE. He's a few years older than Uncas. 
               The French and the French-speaking tribes know him as La 
               Longue Carabine (Long Rifle). Other frontiersmen in New York 
               colony and the Iroquois and Delaware-speaking tribes know 
               him as Hawkeye. Sweat stains his shirt. He flashes through 
               the tree branches disturbing nothing. Making no sound.

               HAWKEYE'S POV: A PIECE OF TAN

               two hundred and fifty yards away, a few square inches buried 
               in the foliage...

               SUDDENLY HE STOPS

               Killdeer's at his shoulder...

               HAWKEYE'S THUMB

               cocks the lock holding the piece of flint: click.

               UNCAS

               stops dead, holding out his hand... no sound.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               slips through young trees and stops, shouldering his 
               smoothbore musket. Is this an ambush?

               HAWKEYE'S POV: RACK FOCUS THROUGH THE GUN SIGHT

               Five feet and fourteen pounds of rifle is elevated a half 
               inch and shifted left, off target. It's a precise, smooth 
               movement. No human quiver.

               KILLDEER'S TRIGGER

               tighter...

               THE COCK

               holding the flint hits the iron file of the frizzen, shooting 
               sparks into the pan of priming powder which flashes and...

               TAN

               is a huge elk that leaps at the sound.

               KILLDEER'S MUZZLE

               CRACKS like lightning.

               AN ELK

               leaps where the .59 caliber round was programmed to intercept 
               him. On the moment of impact...

               WIDE

               three men approach the fallen elk and each other. We realize 
               they're hunting together. Hawkeye steps aside for 
               Chingachgook. His massive war club is flat and angles to one 
               side with a stabbing blade. Hawkeye is stepson and 
               stepbrother.

               The two younger men treat Chingachgook with an easy deference 
               and affection.

               Hawkeye's a dialectic of two cultures. In his coloration and 
               worldliness he's more the Anglo-Saxon frontiersman. In his 
               independent views and candid manner and in his combat skills 
               and woodsmanship, he's more native American (Mohican).

               As Chingachgook takes out his long knife and they approach 
               the fallen elk...

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (low Mohican; sub-
                              titled)
                         We're sorry to kill you, Brother.  
                         Forgive us. I do honor to your courage 
                         and speed, your strength...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT./INT. CAMERON CABIN - NIGHT

               JOHN CAMERON

               roasts potatoes on a stick in the stone fireplace next to 
               CAPTAIN JACK WINTHROP, an American in very worn quasi-military 
               gear. On a rough table in the tiny cabin ALEXANDRIA, his 
               wife, is kneading bread. Three children climb on their father.

               He grabs their wild seven year old son, JAMES, who shrieks 
               laughter and dodges away. The cabin has two primitive rooms, 
               waxed paper windows, log walls. O.S. a dog barks. Others 
               pick it up. Cameron & Jack are suddenly alert, reaching for 
               weapons...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. CAMERON CABIN, DOORWAY - NIGHT

               CAMERON

               Appears warily, musket in hand.

               FENCE: CHINGACHGOOK

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         Halloo! John Cameron!

               Doorway: Cameron towards the interior...

                                     CAMERON
                         Alexandria! Set three more places.
                              (to the fence)
                         How is Chingachgook, then?

               Behind him, emerging from the dark trees are Hawkeye, Uncas, 
               cradling flint locks, blankets and packs over their shoulders, 
               leading a mule laden with skins and the elk carcass. Crossing 
               the splitrail fence...

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         The Master of Life is good. Another 
                         year pass...  How is it with you, 
                         John?

                                     CAMERON
                         Gettin' along. Yes, it is.
                              (warm)
                         Nathaniel.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Hello John. Cleared another quarter, 
                         I see.

                                     CAMERON
                              (shakes hands with 
                              Uncas)
                         Yes, I did.

               JAMES CAMERON

               tears past his father & runs full bore. Just before he's 
               going to collide into Uncas, he leaps into the air and Uncas 
               snatches him with one hand and swings him up onto his 
               shoulders. The kid screams with delight and rides back towards 
               the cabin that way. Alexandria comes to the door.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. CABIN - EVENING (LATER)

               CHINGACHGOOK

               lights & smokes a clay pipe. The scene says: this is a rustic, 
               frontier home and these people have known each other & live 
               in dangerous circumstances.

                                     ALEXANDRIA
                         If Uncas is with you, that means he 
                         has not found a woman and started a 
                         family yet.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         Your eyes are too sharp, Alexandria 
                         Cameron.

               They see into my heart.

                                     UNCAS
                         Your farm good to you this year, 
                         John?

                                     CAMERON
                         It was a good year for corn.

                                     UNCAS
                         Mohawk field we saw was 5 mile long 
                         on the river. Chief Joseph Brandt's 
                         field.

                                     CAMERON
                         You take much fur?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         That we did. John. But the horicane
                              (sic)
                         is near trapped out.

                                     JACK
                         Tradin' your skins in Castleton?

                                     UNCAS
                         No, Schylerville. With the Dutch for 
                         silver.

               French & English want to buy with wampum & brandy.

               Pause, then...

                                     HAWKEYE
                         So what is it, Jack? What brings you 
                         up here?

                                     JACK
                         A French & Indian army out of Fort 
                         Carillon's heading south to war 
                         against the English. I'm here to 
                         raise this county's militia to aid 
                         the British defense.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Folks here goin' to join in that 
                         fight?

                                     JACK
                         We'll see in the morning...

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         Fathers of England & France, both, 
                         take more land, furs, than they need. 
                         They're cold & full of greed...

                                     JACK
                         Few'd deny that? Where you headin'?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Trap over the fall and winter among 
                         the Delawares in Can-tuck-ee.

                                     UNCAS
                         So I can find a woman and make Mohican 
                         children so our father will leave my 
                         brother & me in peace.

               Alexandria laughs. So do Hawkeye & Chingachgook.

                                     JAMES
                         A son like me?

               Uncas grabs James & suspends him upside down.

                                     UNCAS
                         No. You are too strong. Turn me old 
                         too fast!

               Hawkeye grabs the kid from Uncas. The kid's laughing & can't 
               stay still.

               Chingachgook watches, content, smoking his clay pipe.

                                     ALEXANDRIA
                         That's what he's doin' to his mama...

               She ruffles his hair and lifts the heavy iron pot off the 
               tibbet. Uncas goes to help her, she shrugs his hand away and 
               carries it to the table herself. The men gather around. 
               There's pan-baked bread, a dish of salt, and the pot has 
               venison and yellow cornmeal in a kind of stew. Everyone waits.

                                     CAMERON
                         Dear Father, thank you for rewardin' 
                         the fruits of our labor with plenty. 
                         Amen.

               As they start to eat...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. CAMERON CABIN - MORNING

               MOHAWK BOY & JAMES CAMERON

               Slam into other kids as they battle through a Lacrosse game. 
               In the background are sixty men, women and children. It's a 
               community gathering held out of doors.

               We've entered mid-scene. Captain Jack is standing on a box. 
               Some women and kids mill around some tables and boards laid 
               over barrels. Cooking fires. Smoke.

               Most but not all around Captain Jack are men, nine settlers, 
               3 hunter/trappers, eight Mohawk farmers in mixed European 
               and native clothing. Off to the side are an English Lieutenant 
               on horseback and a ten-man escort from whatever regiment's 
               in Albany. A man named HENRI speaks in French. His son, 
               MARTIN, translates.

                                     HENRI
                              (O.S. in French)

                                     MARTIN
                              (translates)
                         My father says he was driven out of 
                         France by the black robe priests and 
                         he would fight them now but he lost 
                         his arm and so I will go in his place.

               Meanwhile...

               ONGEWASGONE

               is an unusually large Mohawk in a blue match coat with a 
               little girl holding his hand. He says something to 
               Chingachgook who nods. Hawkeye and Uncas are a little apart 
               in an outer grouping of the men. Ongewasgone is a war chief 
               and wears a white plume and is tattooed. As Martin finishes, 
               he steps forward.

                                     ONGEWASGONE
                         John Cameron, thank you for your 
                         hospitality...

               Twin River Mohawk got no quarrel with Les Francais. Trade 
               furs with Les Francais. Now Les Francais bring Huron onto 
               Mohawk hunting grounds...

               These people are English, Scots-Irish and Dutch farmers; 
               some French Huguenot "mechanics" (craftsmen). They're in 
               shirt-sleeves and Indian moccasins & leggings. The Mohawks' 
               vast lands and corn agriculture border the settlement. They 
               've been acculturated for over a hundred years. Some wear 
               European calico hunting shirts.

               Their heads are shaved to scalping locks and many are 
               tattooed. They've politically and commercially played France 
               & England against each other very adroitly for over a hundred 
               years because of their military power and geographic position. 
               Their relations with working farmers and settlers and their 
               families has been mostly one of co-existence because there's 
               always been more than enough for all. This is a WPA mural of 
               ethnic diversity and plurality of frontier America. The 
               Europeans are former indentured laborers, farmers exiled by 
               economics or religious persecution, frontier hunters and 
               trappers... working people.

                                     ONGEWASGONE
                              (continues)
                         Now Mohawk will fight Huron and Les 
                         Francais.

               My brothers have asked me to lead them in this war so I speak 
               for the Twin River Council.

               The importance of this commitment is apparent to the 
               lieutenant.

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         His Majesty King George II is very 
                         grateful for your support.

                                     IAN
                         How far up the valley?

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         To Fort William Henry.

                                     COLONIAL #1
                         ...two days from here.

               Some don't like this.

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         It should be enough to remind you 
                         France is the enemy.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Your enemy...

               Heads turn to Hawkeye at the periphery of the crowd.

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         What did you say?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (loud)
                         I said... France is your enemy. Not 
                         ours.

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         Really? Do you want them to overrun 
                         all New York colony?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         First place, you started it with the 
                         French over fur-trapping claims to 
                         the head waters of the Ohio.
                              (smiles)
                         Now you're sayin' these people have 
                         a fight on their hands...

                                     LIEUTENANT
                              (ignoring Hawkeye)
                         Will you men help us stop the French?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         ... and while they are cooped up in 
                         your fort, what if the French send 
                         war parties to raid their homes?

                                     IAN
                         What then, Lieutenant?

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         For your own homes, for king, for 
                         country, that's why you men ought to 
                         join this fight!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         You do what you want with your own 
                         scalp.  Do not be tellin' us what to 
                         do with ours.

                                     LIEUTENANT
                              (furious; to Hawkeye)
                         You, sir! You call yourself a loyal 
                         subject?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         ...No...Do not call myself much of a 
                         subject at all.

               Light laughter.

                                     COLONIAL #2
                         Nathaniel's right. But if I got to 
                         fight, figure I'll try and do it 
                         fifty miles north of here instead of 
                         my bean field.

                                     AD LIBS
                         Yes. Yeah.  No...

                                     CAMERON
                         I am stayin' on my farm. And any man 
                         who goes, his family is welcome to 
                         fort-up with us 'til he comes back.

                                     JACK
                         Boys. My sense of it is enough of us 
                         will join-up to fill the county's 
                         levy. But only if General Webb accepts 
                         a few terms I got in mind...

                                     HAWKEYE & UNCAS
                         cross through the people. A few men 
                         drift off to their women at the 
                         tables.

               It is apparent two-thirds of the men will join. A couple of 
               jokes, light banter, no hostility.

                                     AD LIBS (O.S.)
                         Webb? what's that, Jack...?

               As they cross through they start removing their shirts and 
               weapons.

                                     IAN
                         You boys marchin' with us? What do 
                         you say?

                                     UNCAS
                         We had our say, Ian.

               They approach the Lacrosse field. Chingachgook stands with 
               Cameron in the background, watching.

               LACROSSE FIELD

               Uncas joins James. Hawkeye goes on the other side. A couple 
               of young Mohawks and a young blonde farmer shout hallo's and 
               as the bodies crash into each other...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. BRITISH ENCAMPMENT, PARADE GROUND - DAY

               SIX HUNDRED REGIMENT ON FOOT

               in two rows. At each command the crack troops respond en 
               masse. Their hands slap the stocks of their brown bess muskets 
               in unison. These men are drilling in preparation for war.

               We witness a state-of-the-art, 18th century, precision killing 
               machine.

                                     REGIMENTAL SGT. MAJOR
                              (shouts)
                         Shoulder arms!
                              (slam)
                         Order arms! Handle cartridge!
                              (men bite the paper)
                         Prime!
                              (powder dropped in 
                              pan)
                         Load! Draw ramrods! Ram cartridge! 
                         Return ramrod!  Make ready!
                              (muskets at chest 
                              height)
                         Pre-sent!
                              (muskets shouldered)
                         Make ready!
                              (muskets returned to 
                              chests)
                         Pre-sent!
                              (muskets returned to 
                              shoulder)
                         Fire!

               Like a single shot, two hundred fifty black powder muskets 
               fire .65 caliber lead shot at chest height in a scythe of 
               death.

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Prime! Load!

               The Dutch roof lines of Albany are in the distance. Nearer, 
               a coach races past.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. ROAD - DAY

               HORSES GALLOP

               Six horses, wide with dumb, mute strain. Foam, manes fly, 
               their hooves pound the yellow road into dust. Military 
               outriders are on the three left side horses.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. COACH - DAY

               MAJOR DUNCAN HEYWARD

               Sits erectly in the brilliant scarlet coat of the First Royal 
               Regiment of Foot with gold braid, blue-black facing and blue-
               black breeches, cavalry boots, spurs, a tricorn, white wig 
               and a gorget (large medallion) around his neck. He's 28-30 
               and tough. He is self-sure, principled reactionary. He 
               believes human society is static & layered into hierarchies 
               of class and they are absolutely impermeable. He opens a 
               simple gold-clasped case & contemplates its contents...

               HEYWARD'S POV: CASE

               an enameled portrait of a dark-haired young woman.

               HEYWARD

               as a soldier is militarily first-rate in his milieu: the 
               open battlefields of Europe.

               Right now, however, he is about to enter the forests of North 
               America. He closes his clasp and glances out the window as 
               we enter Albany and as a facade of buildings & people pass.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. BRITISH HQ, ASSEMBLY ROOM - DOOR - DAY

               Four Grenadiers come to attention as Heyward enters mid-scene.

                                     JACK (O.S.)
                         ...if they are not allowed leave to 
                         defend their families if the French 
                         or Hurons attack the settlements, no 
                         colonial militia is goin' to Fort 
                         William Henry.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (low)
                         You, there. Help my man outside with 
                         the baggage.

               GENERAL JEROME WEBB sees Heyward and nods. Three of Webb's 
               Adjutants are on either side. Three remaining Grenadiers in 
               bearskin-covered mitred caps are at the door. Facing Webb 
               are a half dozen colonial representatives, including Captain 
               Jack Winthrop. Heyward watches Jack...

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         They will report or be pressed into 
                         service!

                                     LARGE COLONIAL REP
                         Any of the boys worth havin' can 
                         disappear into forest... time it 
                         takes you to blink. Where's that 
                         leave ya, then?

               Heyward, preparing to hand over dispatches, is interrupted 
               by the insubordinate tone.

               Equally wound tightly is the Lieutenant.

                                     LIEUTENANT
                         They will be found!  Arrested...

                                     WEBB
                              (cuts in)
                         I cannot imagine his Majesty, in his 
                         benevolence, would ever object to 
                         his American subjects defending their 
                         hearth & home, their women & children, 
                         if threatened by the "scourge" of 
                         attack from savages, aroused to such 
                         excess by our enemy, the ever-
                         perfidious French.

                                     JACK
                         Does that mean they will be granted 
                         leave to defend their homes if the 
                         settlements are attacked?

                                     WEBB
                         Of course.

               Heyward's more amazed by what he's just heard from Webb. 
               These Americans, including Jack, are streaming past him on 
               their way out.

                                     JACK
                         You got yourself a colonial militia, 
                         General.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Major Duncan Heyward reporting, Sir!

               Webb's pouring gin.

                                     WEBB
                         Duncan. How was your journey?

               The door closes. Dispatches are passed. They are now alone 
               except for the General's two Adjutants and a shadowy form 
               waiting patiently in a corner. He's MAGUA. In the dim light, 
               he's motionless. Webb slides a glass across to Heyward.

                                     HEYWARD
                         I didn't experience anything so 
                         surprising from Bristol to Albany as 
                         what I witnessed here today.

                                     WEBB
                         And what is that?

                                     HEYWARD
                         The Crown "negotiating" the terms of 
                         service?

                                     WEBB
                         I know.
                              (assuming a co-
                              commiserator)
                         One has to give Americans "reasons" 
                         and make agreements to get them to 
                         do anything at all.  Tiring, isn't 
                         it?
                              (throws up his hands)
                         But that's the way of it here.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (tight)
                         I thought British policy is 'Make 
                         the World... England', sir.

               A chill. Majors don't upbraid Generals.

                                     WEBB
                         You will take command of the 62nd 
                         Regiment of Foot. At Fort William 
                         Henry under Colonel Munro. I will 
                         march the 33rd to Fort Edward.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Sir!... Might I inquire if General 
                         Webb has heard from Colonel Munro's 
                         daughters? I was to rendezvous with 
                         them in Albany and escort them to 
                         the fort.

                                     WEBB
                         Yes. You may.
                              (to Magua, after a 
                              glance at Heyward)
                         You there. What does Munro call you?
                              (to Heyward)
                         The "Scotsman" has sent one of his 
                         Indian allies to guide you.

               MAGUA

               rises and slowly walks into the light. He is reserved and 
               over six feet tall. His head is shaved into a mohawk. Rings, 
               beads & feathers pierce his ears. A blanket is worn as a 
               shawl over his left shoulder exposing his right arm and heavy 
               tattooing. A long tomahawk is in the belt of his breechcloth.

                                     WEBB
                         The Scotsman's daughters are at the 
                         Poltroon's house. A company of the 
                         33rd will accompany you and Magua 
                         will show you the way.

                                     HEYWARD
                         By your leave, sir.

               Webb holds Heyward a moment.

                                     WEBB
                              (to Adjutants)
                         Explain to the Major we care little 
                         about toying with colonial militia 
                         because we have little to fear from 
                         the French. They have not the nature 
                         for war. Their Latinate voluptuousness 
                         combines with their Gallic laziness 
                         and the result is: they would rather 
                         make love with their faces than fight.

               Webb's Adjutants laugh uproariously at his wit. Heyward's 
               stiff, perfunctory smile. He's been made the butt of the 
               joke. He does not share Webb's derisive view of the French.

               Webb doesn't like Heyward's manner. We don't like Webb. Then:

                                     WEBB
                              (continuing)
                         Dismissed.

               Heyward stiffly salutes. Webb casually, perfunctorily salutes 
               the younger man in return.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (to Magua)
                         Dawn. At the encampment. Six a.m. 
                         sharp. See to it you're there.

               Beneath Magua's barely deferential manner we sense 
               intelligence & menace. None of these Brits see it. We do.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. POLTROON'S HOUSE - DAY

               DUNCAN HEYWARD

               Brushed clean, his wig freshly powdered, his tricorn in his 
               hand with a crimson sash and sword and his cavalry boots, 
               walks through the gate after knocking. He enters a small 
               courtyard. Suddenly he hears...

                                     CORA (O.S.)
                         Heyward! Duncan Heyward.

               Heyward looks to the side. An inner light turns on. In this 
               mode, this is a man we could like.

               REVERSE: CORA MUNRO

               enters from the garden. She's vivacious, dark-haired, 
               unconventional in that she's educated, but with conventional 
               values and attitudes. She hugs Duncan to her and then pushes 
               him away to look at him.

                                     HEYWARD
                         My God it's good to see you.

               He takes her hand in both of his and kisses it. He is open 
               and lit up.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. POLTROON'S HOUSE, BACK YARD - DAY

               CORA & HEYWARD

               A vegetable plot behind the Poltroon's house is a provincial 
               substitute for a formal garden setting. Heyward and Cora sit 
               on rough wooden chairs. Wind blows. In the background a 
               servant hangs laundry. The white sheets billow. A table holds 
               a tea setting. They're sitting close to each other, talking 
               seriously and quietly. Duncan's jacket is removed. Time's 
               passed. Long pause. Then:

                                     CORA
                         I'm embarrassed to be so indecisive... 
                         after so long apart and after you've 
                         traveled so far...

                                     HEYWARD
                         And by sea!

                                     CORA
                         You still have an aversion to the 
                         water?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Aversion?  No... "Hatred"... 
                         "Loathing"...

               Cora laughs.

                                     HEYWARD
                         But it was worth it all to end in a 
                         garden by your side.

               She looks askance at him. Then the banter drops.

                                     CORA
                              (difficult)
                         Dear Duncan, my affection is as 
                         towards a closest friend. Alice and 
                         I depend on you and respect you 
                         immensely... I wish they did, but my 
                         feelings don't go beyond that. Do 
                         you see?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Isn't respect and friendship, a 
                         reasonable basis for a man and woman 
                         to be joined? And all else may grow 
                         in time...?

                                     CORA
                         Some say that's the way of it.

                                     HEYWARD
                         "Some"?

                                     CORA
                         Cousin Eugenie, my father, but...

                                     HEYWARD
                              (interrupts)
                         Cora, in my heart, I know once we're 
                         joined, we'll be the happiest couple 
                         in England. Let those whom you trust, 
                         your father, help settle what's best 
                         for you. In view of your indecision, 
                         why not rely on their advice and 
                         judgment as well as mine?

               Cora stares directly at Heyward. Then she looks away. She 
               has no answer. Something subterranean disturbs her about 
               delegating judgment over the fate of her life.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Will you consider that?

                                     CORA
                              (pause; smiles)
                         Yes. Yes, I will.

               She's still unsettled.

                                     ALICE (O.S.)
                         Duncan!

               REVERSE: ALICE MUNRO

               eighteen years old, white-blonde hair, wide blue eyes. She's 
               effervescent and runs to hug him. Heyward is taken aback by 
               her enthusiasm and laughs.

                                     HEYWARD
                         My God, you've grown up.

                                     ALICE
                         We leave in the morning?!

                                     HEYWARD
                              (rises)
                         Yes, miss.

                                     ALICE
                         I won't sleep tonight. What an 
                         adventure!  I absolutely cannot wait 
                         to return to Portman Square, having 
                         laid eyes upon the full-blooded, red 
                         men in the wild!

                                     CORA
                         My God, Alice.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (smiles)
                         It can be dangerous...

                                     ALICE
                         Nonsense. Papa wouldn't have sent 
                         for us if it were dangerous.

               Alice takes Hewyward's hand. Cora pours Heyward more tea. 
               The white sheets billow.

                                     AMBROSE
                              (O.S. - barks)
                         Atten-shun!

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. BRITISH ARMY HQ - DAY

               TWENTY BRITISH REGULARS

               jolt upright as if electrified.

                                     AMBROSE
                              (entering)
                         Shoulder arms!

               AMBROSE

               a sergeant major of forty-one is wide and deep and built 
               like a fullback. You do not mess with Sgt. Major Ambrose.

                                     AMBROSE
                              (barks)
                         Form two companies of nine... MARCH!!

               THE MEN

               march in perfect drill into two groups, each three across 
               and three deep.

               MILITARY HQ, ENTRANCE

               MAJOR DUNCAN HEYWARD

               Steps out. Rigid salutes.

               HEYWARD

               climbs onto his white military charger. It's spirited. Cora 
               & Alice are in riding dresses and veils. The veil doesn't 
               completely cover Alice's golden hair and blue eyes and the 
               flush of her complexion. They're riding two sidesaddled 
               Narragansetts. The tight traveling dress reveals that Cora, 
               two or three years older than Alice, is fuller and more 
               mature. All three ride to the front of the column. The baggage 
               horses and mule are in the gap between the two companies.

               MAGUA

               cradling his musket.

               REAR SHOT: THE COLUMN

               down the path that leads into the wall of forest looks 
               impressive.

               WIDER: THE COLUMN

               marching. Now they look brave but smaller. The forest - with 
               all its mysteries and dangers - now impresses us as a towering 
               dark, sinister, and it's immensity swallows up the living 
               mass which slowly enters its bosom.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. FOREST - DAY

               TRACKING the Redcoats, their faces now filmed with dust, cut 
               with lines of perspiration. They march in perfect formation.

               We TRACK PAST the pack horses, the first company, Sgt. Major 
               Ambrose and on to Cora & Alice. Alice seems fatigued. Cora's 
               turned, looking up into the forest canopy, astonished at the 
               deep beauty of the place.

               CORA'S POV: FOREST CANOPY

               of trees is dark, except for spots where leaves are sparse, 
               and there the light is golden.

               It's the forest of childhood.

               In a ravine a buck disappears into a deeper stand of trees.

                                     CORA (O.S.)
                         Alice, did you see that...?

                                     CORA'S
                         reverie's broken by Heyward entering 
                         the frame.

                                     CORA
                         Alice?

               Alice rouses from fatigue.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Are you alright?

                                     ALICE
                         Can we rest soon?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Absolutely.

               Heyward rides to the front of the column to Magua, who's 
               twenty to thirty yards ahead of everybody else.

                                     HEYWARD
                         You there, Scout!

               Magua slowly turns towards Heyward.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (overly articulated)
                         We must... stop... soon. Women are... 
                         tired.  You... understand?

                                     MAGUA
                              (perfect English)
                         I understand. This is not good place 
                         to stop.  Two leagues from here. No 
                         water 'til then.  That where we stop. 
                         Better place.

                                     HEYWARD
                         No. Stop in the glade just ahead! 
                         When the ladies are rested, we will 
                         proceed. Do you understand?

                                     MAGUA
                              (in Huron: English 
                              subtitle)
                         "Magua understand paleface is a dog 
                         to his women.  When his women want 
                         to eat, he lay aside his tomahawk to 
                         feed their laziness."

                                     HEYWARD
                         Excuse me. What did you say?

                                     MAGUA
                         Magua say: "Yes. Good idea."

               As they begin to stop...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. MOUNTAINS & FOREST - DAY

               WIDE

               Silently entering on either side of us come Chingachgook, 
               followed by Hawkeye and Uncas. Even relaxed, they carry 
               themselves with a degree of alertness. They're eighteenth 
               century Viet Cong moving through the rain forest. The Maxfield 
               Parrish/Hudson Valley of tall trees, ravines and streams is 
               idyllic in front of them. All three cradle their long guns 
               and move silently on moccasined feet.

               FRONTAL: CHINGACHGOOK

               in a stream - relaxed but attentive, abruptly stops. The 
               others freeze in their tracks.

               Chingachgook sees and then stoops to examine...

               ROCK

               under the water in the stream. It's been turned from its 
               bed. Chingachgook finds another. Uncas, moving up on his 
               flank, climbs the bank and moves off into the trees, searches 
               and then he gestures... he's found another sign of something.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               has headed off further down the stream and discovers nothing. 
               Rapidly he rejoins Uncas and Hawkeye who've become extremely 
               alert. They move up the bank into the forest ninety degrees 
               from their previous path.

               TRACKING: HAWKEYE, UNCAS & CHINGACHGOOK

               moving. Fast. Nearly soundless. They hardly disturb a blade 
               of grass. The impression: expertise, deadliness and an 
               impression something's wrong.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST, TRAIL - DAY

               MAGUA

               On point. The trail cuts the side of a hill. The ground on 
               one side rises into a forest acclivity and on the other falls 
               off into a forested ravine. Magua walking towards camera.

               CLOSER - MAGUA'S

               slid his tomahawk out from the front of his belt that girdles 
               his waist. He lets the shaft drop into his hand. He shrugs 
               off his blanket. There is a solidity to his dark, tall figure 
               we didn't see before. Magua turns about face and advances on 
               the column.

               TRACK WITH Magua.

               Heyward and the Munro girls pass the camera as does Sgt. 
               Major Ambrose, marching in advance of the men. Magua is 
               approaching the soldier on the left in the first row.

               We see Magua has caught the Redcoat's eye.

               REDCOAT

               is curious, starts to smile. What does the Huron want to say 
               to him? When Magua is two steps away he caves in the side of 
               the infantryman's head at the temple with the spike end of 
               his tomahawk and, backhanded, hacks the blade through the 
               side of the neck of the center man in the first row.

               SIMULTANEOUSLY

               thirteen muskets EXPLODE from the wooded rise.

               FIVE REDCOATS

               are blown off the path, two others are wounded...

               AMBROSE

                                     AMBROSE
                         Form company! Left face! March!

                                     ALICE
                         shrieks. Cora grabs Alice's reins 
                         and her own.

               HEYWARD

               pulling his fusil (short musket), seeing, firing, reaching 
               for the women...

               CORA'S HORSE

               bucking.

               ALICE'S HORSE

               bolting, dodging sideways, spilling Alice to the earth.

               AMBROSE

                                     AMBROSE
                         Company make ready!

               The regulars slam into a firing line, stepping over the bodies 
               of their comrades. All thirteen face the incline.

               FORESTED RISE - HURONS

               flash downhill through the trees. Partnered in two-man teams, 
               one loads and prepares and fires while the other advances to 
               the next cover. He, then, prepares and fires covering his 
               partner's advance. Leaping fallen trees and boulders, they're 
               athletic, fast and rapidly closing.

               Even though the disciplined English regulars are a killing 
               machine, we now see their tactics in the dense forest are 
               grossly inferior to the Hurons'...

                                     AMBROSE
                         Present!!

               CORA

               covers Alice with her body, holding the reins of their bolting 
               horses.

               HEYWARD

               from horseback aims his horse pistol, FIRES...

               AN ATTACKING HURON

               leaping at him past Alice & Cora drops.

               MULE

               with baggage crashes off, down the ravine. Another two 
               Redcoats drop. Nine left.

               Then eight.

               AMBROSE

                                     AMBROSE
                         Fire!!

               A musket volley as eight muskets go off as one shot, sending 
               a lead scythe through leaves. But...

               REVERSE:

               Hurons were behind cover. Only one was exposed and hit.

                                     AMBROSE
                              (continuing)
                         Load! Prime!

               The English rush to complete the reload. Will they do it in 
               time?

                                     AMBROSE
                              (continuing)
                         Present! Present!

               Suddenly, Hurons - en masse - CRASH down onto the Redcoats 
               line with tomahawks, war clubs and point-blank musket fire.

               ALICE

               on the ground, screaming insanely, covered by Cora who's 
               protecting her little sister, and...

               HEYWARD'S

               horse shot from beneath him, the animal folding, falling 
               straight to the earth, and...

               MAGUA

               shoots Ambrose in the chest, and...

               HEYWARD

               by the Munro daughters spins, swinging his fusil like a ball-
               bat, upending one Huron and lunges with his bayonet in his 
               left towards another. But this Huron easily slips the thrust 
               and slams Heyward with his rifle butt.

               BRITISH

               dead and dying.

               AMBROSE

               blood gushing from his chest wound, fires his pistol, dropping 
               a Huron; slashes a second with his sword. Then he's chopped 
               down. Hurons begin scalping the British while four race 
               towards Heyward and the two women.

               HEYWARD & CORA & ALICE

               ready to die. Heyward has only his fusil as a bludgeon. He 
               readies...

               THREE LOUD SHOTS

               BLOW three of the Hurons sideways, head over heels down the 
               rise.

               REVERSE: THREE MEN

               barely seen, running diagonally across the fall line of the 
               ravine. In parts, we recognize Nathaniel, recharging Killdeer 
               on full run, and Uncas.

               HURON'S

               not sure where the shots came from. Suddenly Chingachgook 
               slams him, head first into the ravine with the war club. He 
               didn't even slow down.

               HURON

               warrior spins. Uncas tomahawks his shoulder. The Huron swings 
               downwards. Uncas ducks beneath the swing and slashes his 
               throat, sending him downhill into CAMERA as...

               HAWKEYE'S

               momentum and thrown tomahawk spread-eagles one Huron, near a 
               couple of wounded Redcoats who fight on...

               MAGUA

               calmly sees the odds have changed. His attention becomes 
               focused. He commits a very revealing act seen through the 
               blurred foreground action of struggling bodies. We will 
               remember it. He raises his musket and aims at...

               CORA MUNRO

               who's unaware she's a target. Why is he singling out a Munro 
               girl to kill?

               HAWKEYE

               sees. Killdeer's at his shoulder...

               TIME SLOWS: MAGUA

               senses Hawkeye. Moving through liquid, his eyes drift left. 
               The moment is frozen.

               Their eyes lock, each to the other's.  Then...

               TIME UNFREEZES

               Magua swings at Hawkeye and FIRES...

               HAWKEYE

               shifts. The .65 caliber musket ball rockets past his ear and 
               he's already squeezing Killdeer's trigger as...

               HAWKEYE'S POV OVER BARREL: SMOKE

               from Magua's musket blast clears. Magua's gone. He almost 
               shape-shifted, it happened so quickly. It's nearly mystical.

               HAWKEYE

               lowers Killdeer, impressed.

               CORA

               glances back at Hawkeye. She doesn't know why he's looking 
               at her.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               pursues two fleeing Hurons up the incline. Two strides gain 
               him the first man, who he hamstrings and runs over to pursue 
               the second up the hill... as...

               HEYWARD

               in the confused melee, grabs a found musket and aims it at 
               an Indian. We recognize that he's aiming at Chingachgook 
               pursuing the second Huron up the hill...

                                     CORA
                         No, Duncan!

               Duncan ignores her.

               HEYWARD'S MUSKET

               is jerked from his hands.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         ...case your aim is any better'n 
                         your judgment.

               He's drawn his sword, reflexively. Hawkeye flips the musket 
               around one-handed. It's pointed at Heyward's chest. And 
               Hawkeye FIRES, killing an attacking Huron behind Heyward. As 
               Heyward spins...

               CHINGACHGOOK'S WAR CLUB

               flashes up the hill. It cleaves the second man's back and 
               bowls him over. Chingachgook retrieves his club as his 
               scalping knife slashes down...

               UNCAS

               scalps the man he killed. Chingachgook dispatches the Huron 
               he hamstrung.

               WIDE

               Sudden silence. Heyward's motionless. The women are frozen, 
               as terrified of the savages and apparent half-breed rescuers 
               as they were of those who attacked them.

               ALICE

               Cora, holding her, is stunned but functioning. Moments ago 
               both women were clean and demure. Now their riding dresses 
               are torn, mud-stained, blood-spattered and their baggage is 
               gone.

               HEYWARD'S

               crossed to his slaughtered soldiers. Moments ago they were a 
               testament to British military power. Now they're dead meat. 
               Ambrose's body is against a tree. In the B.G.  two of the 
               wounded start to rise...

                                     ALICE (O.S.)
                         Stop it!

               Heyward spins.

               UNCAS

               just cut the throat of the second Narraganset. It drops into 
               the brush. Alice attacks him.

                                     ALICE
                         We need them to get out of here!

               Uncas gently restrains her. Cora reaches Alice and grabs her 
               away from the "savage".

               Heyward runs in to protect the women...

                                     HEYWARD
                              (to Nathaniel)
                         ...why the bloody hell he do that to 
                         the horses?!

               Uncas, all business, is now reloading, lifting powder horns, 
               scanning the trees.

                                     UNCAS
                              (matter of fact)
                         ...too easy to track...they can be 
                         heard for miles... find yourself a 
                         musket...

               Cora's surprised by Uncas' easy English. Hawkeye's scanning 
               the forest.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Heyward)
                         Your wounded should try walkin' back 
                         to Albany.  They'll never make a 
                         passage north.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (breathless)
                         We were headed...

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (appropriating a knife)
                         ...Fort William Henry.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (to Hawkeye:)
                         Let's go...

               Then a fast exchange of Delaware. Cora's surprised to see 
               it's Chingachgook's decision. Chingachgook looks at the 
               survivors, gives his assent, starts off.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         ...take you as far as the fort.

               Hawkeye throws Heyward a musket. Cora & Alice look towards 
               Heyward. He looks at them: the women are totally terrified 
               and do not move.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         If we are goin' to take you, we need 
                         to move.  Fast... And the fort is 
                         well off our course.  So if you all 
                         rather wait for the next Huron war 
                         party to come by, we'll be on our 
                         way.

               Heyward quickly decides to go. The women follow. Hawkeye 
               starts off after Uncas and Chingachgook.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST - DAY

               HAWKEYE

               Moves through the trackless forest. Uncas is far out on the 
               left flank. Cora, Alice & Duncan Heyward follow in Hawkeye's 
               and Chingachgook's steps...

               HAWKEYE'S FEET

               walking through a creek, stepping in the stream bed instead 
               of on stones.  The others follow. Hawkeye looks at Heyward.

               HEYWARD

               conforms. He's ill at ease not being in command, following 
               the lead of some half-Indian frontiersman through a foreign 
               wilderness.

                                     HEYWARD
                         How far is it, scout?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Day and a half
                              (pause)
                         Where did you get... the guide?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Colonel Munro sent him. He was one 
                         of our Mohawk allies.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         He is Huron and nothing else.
                              (checking the Munro 
                              girls are not too 
                              close)
                         Why would he want to murder the girl?

                                     HEYWARD
                         What?!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Dark haired...

                                     HEYWARD
                         Miss Cora Munro. He never set eyes 
                         on her before today.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         No blood vengeance? No re-proach or 
                         insult?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Of course not!
                              (pause)
                         And how is it you were nearby?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Came across the war party, tracked 
                         'em.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Then you're assigned to Fort William 
                         Henry?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         No.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Fort Edward, then?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         No. Headin' west. To Can-tuck-ee.

                                     HEYWARD
                         I thought all our colonial scouts 
                         were in the militia?

               Off to the side, Uncas smiles at the idea.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         I ain't your "scout". And I am in no 
                         damn militia.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (stops)
                         Then you are one of those who would 
                         allow England to fight alone while 
                         she protects you from France?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         England does not protect me and does 
                         not war against France on our account. 
                         She uses us to war against France on 
                         her own account...  of greed for 
                         land and furs.

                                     CORA'S
                         appalled.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (turns)
                         Clear it up any?

                                     HEYWARD
                              (loud)
                         I owe you gratitude or I'd call you 
                         out!

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (low)
                         Do not let gratitude get in the way...

               Cora's hand holds back Heyward's sword arm because suddenly 
               Chingachgook looms over him.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (to Hawkeye)
                         Yengeese no good in woods. Make more 
                         noise, I kill him.

               Heyward spins. Hawkeye coolly watches Cora. Her attitude is 
               hostile; aligned with Heyward. He turns away. Meanwhile...

               UNCAS

               stops, alarmed. Something in the air bothers him. Hawkeye 
               smells it, too.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               is already moving out front, low and fast...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST, TREE LINE - DAY

               GREEN BRANCHES

               After we HOLD, we realize Chingachgook's been there all along. 
               Hawkeye and Uncas join him where the branches meet the ground. 
               Smoke drifts through the trees.

               Hawkeye sees and dips his head, then looks again...

               EXT. CAMERON CABIN - DAY

               WIDE

               Burned, smoldering, having fallen in on itself. TRACK LEFT 
               past what was the doorway. A dead child's hand protruding 
               from the ruin. A fragment of a dress. Charred and smoldering 
               wood. John Cameron's body in the wreckage. And then, through 
               the collapsed posts and timbers, Hawkeye, Chingachgook and 
               Uncas have advanced and are seeing what we've just seen; and 
               then Cora and Alice.

               ALICE

               approaches and is frozen in horror. Cora shields her from 
               the sight. Cora is affected but confronts it directly.

                                     HEYWARD (O.S.)
                         Anything to be done?

               UNCAS

               returns from under one part of the wreckage, ashen, stoic, 
               as they all are. We know the degree of their inner pain.

                                     UNCAS
                         All dead...

               HAWKEYE

               bends over a moccasin print that Chingachgook's examining. 
               They look at each other grimly. Heyward joins them.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Who were these people?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (re: print)
                         Ottawa!

                                     HEYWARD
                         Excuse me...

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (to Hawkeye)
                         Ottawa.

               UNCAS

               enters, very careful where he places his feet... Hawkeye 
               gestures to Heyward to stay where he is: on the periphery 
               with the women.

                                     UNCAS
                         Mirrors... tools... clothes... all 
                         inside.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Chingachgook)
                         Movin' fast, not able to carry much...  
                         this was a war party?

               Chingachgook nods confirmation and indicates a direction in 
               Mohican. The significance is very ominous to them. We don't 
               know why yet. Chingachgook starts away...

                                     HEYWARD
                         Let us look after them...

               He starts approaching the bodies.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         Leave them.

               Heyward stops. Hawkeye and Uncas follow Chingachgook, leaving 
               the cabin.

                                     CORA
                              (hasn't moved)
                         Though they are strangers, they are 
                         at least entitled to a Christian 
                         burial!

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (shaking his head)
                         Let us go, miss.

                                     CORA
                         I will not. I have seen the face of 
                         war before, Mr. Poe, but never war 
                         made on women and children. And almost 
                         as cruel is your indifference.

               Hawkeye turns back and rapidly approaches her. She takes a 
               step back, fearful.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (contained)
                         Miss Munro.
                              (pause)
                         They are not strangers....  And they 
                         stay as they lay...!

               CORA

               realizes Hawkeye knew these people and is deeply affected. 
               She also realizes for the first time this is a whole new 
               world with dynamics and complexities, behavior and rhythms 
               she doesn't understand. He turns away from her and walks on. 
               She hesitates a moment.

               WIDE ON THE SMALL CLEARING IN FRONT OF THE FARMHOUSE

               as Chingachgook and Hawkeye, extremely alert and cradling 
               their cocked flintlocks, walk to camera, eyes sweeping the 
               forest perimeter; they're followed by Cora, Heyward helping 
               Alice and Uncas as rearguard.

               The ruined cabin and the dead dream of a family smolders 
               behind them.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. GLADE - NIGHT

               PROFILE: HAWKEYE

               moves through to where the trees seem sparse and are 
               unnaturally white birch and some thin grass grows. The land 
               rises into a mound. Chingachgook and the others avoid stepping 
               on the grass and cross to the other side of it.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               mutters something to Uncas. He nods and disappears amongst 
               the white birch, soundlessly.

               HAWKEYE

               throws Heyward a blanket. Heyward spreads the blanket below 
               the top of the mound and - maintaining silence - he gestures 
               for Cora & Alice to rest there.

               ALICE'S HEAD

               hits the blanket. She curls into a fetal position and she's 
               out. Heyward is nearby on watch.

               Hawkeye has taken a position two-thirds of the way around 
               the crescent shaped mound.

               Cora has sought him out.

               HAWKEYE

               doesn't react as Cora enters. He's scanning the trees; not 
               looking at her.

               They whisper...

                                     CORA
                         Why didn't you bury those people?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Anyone lookin' to pick up our trail, 
                         would see it as a sign of our 
                         passing...

                                     CORA
                         You knew them.

               Hawkeye looks at her and nods.

                                     CORA
                              (stiffly)
                         You were acting for our benefit. And 
                         I apologize. I misunderstood you.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Well that is to be expected. My 
                         father...

                                     CORA
                         Your "father"?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Chingachgook. He warned me about 
                         people like you.

                                     CORA
                         He did?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Yes. He said... "do not try to make 
                         them understand you."

                                     CORA
                         What?!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Yes. And "do not try to understand 
                         them.  That is because they are a 
                         breed apart and they make no sense..."

               Cora's indignation is cut off because...

               UNCAS

               moving fast. He gestures back the way he came and it means 
               they're in jeopardy. Uncas disappears around the mound.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. BIRCH FOREST - TREES - NIGHT

               Nothing. Imperceptibly we move closer and start to see shapes 
               blocking out part of the white birch.

               RED-PAINTED FACE

               white eyes. A ruff of red hair stands straight up at the 
               back of the large man's head.

               Slit and monstrously elongated earlobes are weighted with 
               silver. He's followed by others. Wary, silently, they hunt.

               DEEPER: MORE OTTAWA

               Towards the rear are two French Rangers ("Coureurs des Bois") 
               from Le Regiment de la Sarre. They're bearded, dirty, dressed 
               Indian-style in moccasins, leggings and breechcloths with 
               hooded hunting shirts. There's nothing clumsy about them. 
               They're the 18th century version of Special Forces who've 
               gone indigenous. If they and the Ottawa find our people, 
               it's all over.

               ALICE

               seeing the red-painted Ottawa approach, starts to panic. Her 
               hyperventilating and involuntary small sounds of fear will 
               reveal their position. A hand covers her mouth and silences 
               her struggling. WIDEN. It's Uncas. His other arm is around 
               her, holding her, looking towards the advancing Ottawa.

               HAWKEYE

               on his back, his tomahawk within reach on the ground.

               OTTAWA & FRENCH

               are fifty yards away from the crescent mound behind which 
               lie our people. Mist envelops them...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               His massive arms spread revealing his war club in his left 
               fist; his fusil in his right hand.

               HAWKEYE

               waiting for the attack. Cora's eyes are anxious, but there's 
               no terror there. Nathaniel's impressed with her cool. He 
               hands her a pistol. She takes it. He listens for the soft 
               drop of moccasined feet...

               OTTAWA

               through the grass. Thirty feet away they stop. They're 
               motionless. Then their leader gestures and they start backing 
               out. The French Rangers continue towards the crescent.

               The Ottawa chief takes one's arm and stops him. The French 
               Ranger whispers something inaudible. The Ottawa chief shakes 
               his head, "Non. Pas possible..."

               And means it. They retreat.

               SEPERATE SHOTS: HAWKEYE, UNCAS, CHINGACHGOOK, CORA

               tensely monitor the Ottawa retreat.

               UNCAS & ALICE

               He slowly removes his hand from her mouth. She's a little 
               shy, then she looks up, catches his eyes. Then she averts 
               her face.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               sees all of it; doesn't like it.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         The Ottawa are gone.

                                     CORA
                              (quietly)
                         Why did they turn back?

               In answer Hawkeye looks behind & above her head.

               CORA

               turns and makes out stilt platforms of skeletons and torn 
               strips of buckskin silhouetted against the night sky in the 
               distance. They have camped on sanctified ground, a burial 
               place.

               CORA & HAWKEYE

               She thinks it would be a mistake to ever underestimate the 
               skill of these men or the danger & complexity of this place. 
               She hands the pistol back to him. Their hands almost touch.

                                     CORA
                              (still pissed off)
                         "We're a breed apart and we make no 
                         sense"...?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (smiles)
                         In your particular case, miss, I 
                         would make some allowance...

                                     CORA
                              (sarcastic)
                         Thank you so much.

               Cora is angry. Hawkeye, staring at the trees, glances at 
               her. She settles, looking at him.

               Her mood changes. Then...

                                     CORA
                         You called Chingachgook your "father"?  
                         Where is your real family?

               Hawkeye's surprised by her question.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         They buried my ma & pa and my sisters.  
                         And Chingachgook - who found me with 
                         two French trappers - raised me up 
                         as his own.

                                     CORA
                         I'm sorry.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         I do not remember them. I was one or 
                         two.

                                     CORA
                         How did you learn English?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         My father sent Uncas & I to Reverend 
                         Wheelock's school when I was ten. So 
                         we would know both worlds... though 
                         we were told only bother learning 
                         readin' & arithmetic from yours.

                                     CORA
                         And what were the consequentialities 
                         of European culture you didn't bother 
                         with?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         The Bible. Monarchy. Many wrong ideas 
                         about the government of men. My 
                         father's people already know each 
                         man is his own nation. And only he 
                         can have dominion over himself. Not 
                         kings. No man is better than any 
                         other man.

                                     CORA
                         In London those radical ideas could 
                         land you in Newgate prison.
                              (changing the subject)
                         Why were those people living in this 
                         defenseless place...?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         'Cos frontier land's the only land 
                         affordable to poor people. So after 
                         seven years indentured service in 
                         Virginia, they headed out here where 
                         they are beholden to none and not 
                         livin' by another's leave...  Their 
                         name was Cameron. John & Alexandria.

               Cora sees the slate grey clouds and, in between, the fields 
               of stars. She looks at Hawkeye; then again up at the night 
               sky.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (continuing; looking 
                              up)
                         My father's people say... at the 
                         birth of the sun and of his brother, 
                         the moon, their mother died... so 
                         the sun gave to the earth her body, 
                         from which was to spring all life.  
                         And he drew forth from her breast 
                         the stars.  The stars he threw into 
                         the night sky to remind him of her 
                         soul.
                              (the sky)
                         So there is the Camerons' monument...  
                         my folks', too, I guess.

               CORA'S

               pensive. Hawkeye's watching her. Her reaction is enigmatic. 
               After a pause...

                                     CORA
                              (low)
                         You are right, Mr. Poe. We do not 
                         understand what is happening here.  
                         And it is not as I imagined it would 
                         be, thinking of it in Boston and 
                         London...

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Sorry to disappoint you...

                                     CORA
                              (eyes downcast)
                         On the contrary. It is more deeply 
                         stirring...  to my blood...
                              (then up into his 
                              eyes)
                         ...than any imagining could possibly 
                         have been...

               She closes her eyes, turns slightly and prepares to sleep. 
               Hawkeye is the one left staring into the birch forest, a 
               little surprised. Some of his assumptions about her were 
               wrong...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST - LATE AFTERNOON

               WIDE

               Deep fog has set in. A hand entering the frame scares the 
               hell out of us. It moves a branch aside. It's Uncas. Spread 
               to the right is Chingachgook, far to the left is Hawkeye. 
               They hike up a steep forested slope in the heart of the 
               Adirondacks.

                                     CORA
                         Much further?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Top of this ridge. Fort and Lake 
                         George are downhill of it.

               ALICE

               Re-energized, her spirits pick up.

                                     ALICE
                         Will we be able to bathe?

               Before Cora can answer they hear a deep, rolling roar. Alice 
               is alarmed.

                                     CORA
                         Thunder... Papa will arrange 
                         something.

               UNCAS

               looks over his shoulder, sees something in the far distance, 
               gestures to Hawkeye and Chingachgook.

               HAWKEYE'S POV: DISTANT HILLS

               and the band of red-painted Ottawa and Coureurs des Bois, 
               who have now split into two groups, are still on their trail. 
               Meanwhile, oblivious...

                                     HEYWARD
                         The men of the regiment will fetch 
                         water from the lake, build fires and 
                         provide every comfort you desire, 
                         Alice...

                                     ALICE
                         Duncan, you are absolutely gallant. 
                         If Cora doesn't marry you, I shall.

                                     CORA
                         Alice!

               Heyward laughs. Hawkeye sees them. It bothers us: will these 
               Europeans, including Cora, shed their frontier experience?

                                     ALICE
                         I can't wait to see Papa...

                                     CORA
                         And you, Duncan? What are you looking 
                         forward to?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Posting to a different continent.

               He and Alice laugh. Cora does not.

                                     CORA
                         I think it's very important and 
                         exciting.

               Heyward looks at her. She's not kidding.

               ANOTHER ANGLE: HEYWARD

               helps Alice. As he does, he stares at Cora's seperation and 
               now her proximity to Hawkeye, who's walking on ahead, is 
               something Heyward doesn't like. His dark thoughts are 
               distracted by a FLASH of light and more ROLLING THUNDER.

               WIDE FROM THE FRONT - HAWKEYE

               drops and pulls Cora to the ground.

                                     CORA
                         Lightning?

               Hawkeye doesn't answer as he, Chingachgook, Uncas and Heyward 
               make their way to the top of the ridge.

               CLOSER ANGLES: CORA & ALICE

               join them and look down upon their expectation of a secure 
               piece of England in the wilderness, a safe harbor, a father's 
               warm welcome.

               THEIR POV: FORT WILLIAM HENRY

               is none of those things. The thunder is the roar of French 
               siege cannon clouded in dense smoke. The flashes of light 
               are mortar bombs exploding and illumination rockets' red 
               glare. Fort William Henry is under a massive siege by a French 
               and Huron army.

                                     UNCAS
                         looks over his shoulder.

               HIS POV: OTTAWA

               pursuing them. There's no way back. They're propelled forward.

                                                               DISSOLVE TO:

               EXT. BATTLEFIELD, FRENCH BATTERY #1 - DUSK

               CLOSE SHOTS

               French cannons roar black smoke and gouts of red flame.

               TRENCH

               dug by sappeurs behind the cover of a huge gambio pushed 
               toward the fort by two poles and fascis on the sides.

               ENGLISH GUN CREW

               searching the night.

               POV: BATTLEFIELD

               is black.

               ENGLISH ROCKETS

               light the battlefield revealing the French trenches.

               ENGLISH GUN CREW

               excited. Colonial militia and Mohawk snipers fire their 
               rifles. The British gun crew scrambles to adjust their 18 
               pounders.

               FRENCH BATTERY #1

               FIRES.

               FRENCH BATTERY #2

               FIRES.

               EXT. FORT, WEST BATTERY

               TRACKING. French cannon FIRE rips into the fortifications, 
               exploding wood and earth, shredding the English gun crew 
               with cannister. The English fight stubbornly, but we feel 
               they're outgunned. Meanwhile...

               WIDE ANGLE FROM THE WATER

               A new artillery duel erupts. The action is to the west side 
               of the fort. On the north, the fire fight is reflected on 
               the black water of Lake George in our foreground. Then a 
               dark shape wiping to the right cuts off those reflections.  
               We see in silhouette the outline of a birch canoe moving 
               silently, barely rippling the mirrored surface of the lake.

               EXT. LAKE GEORGE BANK - DEBRIS

               Behind it, two Canadiens and a Huron alternately snipe at 
               the ramparts.

               LOW & WIDE: SNIPERS

               Behind them is black water. Its surface is broken by the 
               rising mass of Chingachgook, followed by Uncas and Hawkeye.  
               Muzzle flashes from the cannon reveal the canoe and the forms 
               of the girls further out. Chingachgook's war club is held 
               low. The Huron senses and turns and Hawkeye's thrown tomahawk 
               knocks him back. Hawkeye's knife flashes in the night. 
               Chingachgook drives the war club up, smashing a Canadien 
               onto the debris. The second Canadien jabs bayonet at Uncas, 
               slashing his side. Uncas jerks him forward by the musket, 
               folds him over and tomahawks him.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY, NORTH WALL - NIGHT

               SALLY-PORT TUNNEL 

               amidst the cannonade roar, ad-libbed shouts from Hawkeye and 
               Heyward convince battle begrimed soldiers to open the sally-
               port. Our people rush in.

               TORCH LIGHT

               the group moves through the long, dank, tunnel. Enlisted men 
               escorting them. Another torch from the other direction: 
               CAPTAIN BEAMS is revealed.

                                     HEYWARD
                         I'm Major Duncan Heyward!

                                     BEAMS
                         Captain Jeffrey Beams. We didn't 
                         think you'd make it through!

                                     HEYWARD
                         Where's Colonel Munro? His daughters 
                         are here, too.

               Beams raises his torch, sees the muddied, soaked women. He 
               is shocked that they traveled with Heyward.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY, PARADE GROUND - NIGHT

               GROUP

               Emerges from a sally-port tunnel. It's smokey. NOISE is 
               deafening. The group has traveled through a nightmare, only 
               to arrive in hell.

               HEYWARD WITH BEAMS, CORA & HAWKEYE, ALICE, UNCAS & 
               CHINGACHGOOK

               run diagonally past pyramidal stacks of cannon ball, 
               smoldering beams and shrapnel, wounded men. Just then a mortar 
               is fired and explodes, killing the gun crew. On the ramparts 
               Mohawks and Colonial Militia, sniping at the French. Women 
               huddle in corners next to the sick and dying.

               UNDER RAMPARTS: MILITIA

                                     AD LIBS
                              (shouts over roar)
                         Uncas! Nathaniel...

               HAWKEYE

               waves. One wounded man, IAN, intercepts Uncas.

                                     IAN
                         Thought you and Nathaniel weren't 
                         joinin'-up.

                                     UNCAS
                              (on the run)
                         Didn't!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Dropped in to see how you boys is 
                         doin'.

               COLONEL MUNRO

               running from his quarters is shocked to see them.

                                     ALICE
                              (hysterical)
                         Papa, Papa!!

                                     MUNRO
                              (enraged)
                         Why are you here?!

               Cora is stunned. Alice is decimated by her father's anger. 
               Munro sees and whips off his coat to cover them and takes 
               Alice under his arm. Bombardment resumes. Alice clings while 
               they race for the cover of his quarters:]

                                     MUNRO
                              (to Heyward; re: Alice 
                              & Cora)
                         Why did you allow them to come?... 
                         And where the bloody hell are my 
                         reinforcements!!

               They race into the yellow lantern light of Munro's quarters 
               and slam and bolt the heavy door. Heyward's confused...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. MUNRO'S QUARTERS - NIGHT

                                     MUNRO
                              (embracing his 
                              daughters; softer)
                         Told you to stay away from this hell 
                         hole!  Why did you disobey me?

                                     CORA
                         When? How?

                                     MUNRO
                         My letter...

                                     CORA
                         There was none!

                                     MUNRO
                         What?

                                     CORA
                         There was no letter.

                                     MUNRO
                         I sent three men to Webb!

                                     HEYWARD
                         One called Magua arrived.

                                     CORA
                         He delivered no such message.

               Munro's stunned.

                                     MUNRO
                         Does Webb not even know we are 
                         besieged?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Sir. Webb has no idea. And he 
                         certainly does not know to send 
                         reinforcements!

               Munro has nowhere for his rage to go. Meanwhile, Alice clings 
               to her father. At 45-55, the British Army has been his life.  
               He blindly believes in its institutions, though officers 
               like Webb would disdain his Scots origins.

               FROM UNDER HIS FURY:

                                     MUNRO
                              (flat)
                         What happened to you?

                                     HEYWARD
                              (suddenly tired)
                         Ambush... on the George Road. This 
                         Magua led us into it.
                              (pause)
                         ...eighteen killed. It's these men 
                         who saved us. They guided us here...

                                     MUNRO
                         Thank you. How can I reward you?

               No answer. Then...

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Help ourselves to a few horns from 
                         your powder stores.

                                     MUNRO
                         What else?

                                     UNCAS
                         Some food.

                                     MUNRO
                              (to Uncas)
                         I'm indebted to you. And get your 
                         side sewn up, young man.

               MUNRO

               sees his exhausted and bloodstained surgeon in the doorway 
               that leads to the next rooms.

                                     MUNRO
                              (bellows)
                         Mr. Phelps!

               PHELPS' face lights up when he sees Cora Munro.

                                     PHELPS
                         Miss Cora! How are you?

                                     CORA
                              (smiles)
                         Fine, Mr. Phelps. Have you cat gut 
                         and a suturing needle?
                              (for Uncas)
                         And we could use some rum, clothes, 
                         and a place to wash...

               Cora tries to remove Alice from her father, but she clings 
               to him. Munro holds her tighter. Then he whispers something 
               to her. She nods her head. And Cora takes her.

               They exit.

               MUNRO

               is moved beyond words by his daughters' presence. There's a 
               break, a pause...

                                     MUNRO
                              (to Heyward over table 
                              map)
                         What a place for them...

                                     HEYWARD
                         Might I enquire after the situation, 
                         sir, given that I've seen of the 
                         French engineering from the ridge 
                         above?

                                     MUNRO
                              (perfunctory)
                         Logistics are his guns are bigger 
                         than mine and he has more of them.  
                         They keep our heads down while his 
                         sappers make thirty yards of trench 
                         a day. His thirteen inch mortars 
                         have a two hundred yard range, so 
                         when they're close enough, they'll 
                         move them in, lob explosive rounds 
                         over our walls and pound us to dust.
                         They look to be three hundred yards 
                         out.  Bloody murderers.  You have 
                         three days.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         A man, here, can make a run straight 
                         through to Webb.

                                     MUNRO
                         ...not enough time to get to Albany 
                         and back with reinforcements...

               A Sergeant enters, snaps to attention, says something to 
               Beams, exits.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Webb's not in Albany. He marched the 
                         33rd to Fort Edward two days ago.

                                     MUNRO
                         Webb's at Edward?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Yes, sir.

                                     MUNRO
                         Only twelve miles away! He could be 
                         here day after tomorrow.
                              (to Hawkeye)
                         Find your man, sir! Captain Beams 
                         will give you the message.

               Beams nods. Munro turns back to the map. Hawkeye has something 
               else to say.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         John Cameron's cabin. We come upon 
                         it last night. Burned out. Everyone 
                         murdered. And it was Ottawa. They're 
                         allied to the French.

               Munro looks at him.

                                     MUNRO
                         Yes, Mr. Poe? So?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         It was a war party. It means they're 
                         on the attack up and down the 
                         frontier.

               Munro turns to look at him for a long beat. Munro doesn't 
               like what his response must be to this news. He turns to 
               Heyward and the map.

                                     MUNRO
                              (cold)
                         Thank you.

               Hawkeye's dismissed, frozen out.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Many men here, their homes are in 
                         the path.

                                     MUNRO
                         That's all, sir.

               Hawkeye is furious. Chingachgook gestures Hawkeye out. He 
               leaves Munro's quarters almost knocking over an entering 
               Adjutant who backs way up to let Chingachgook pass.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Things were done. Nobody was spared...

                                     MUNRO
                         Terrible feature of war in the 
                         Americas.
                              (beat; a mantra)
                         Best to keep your sight fixed on our 
                         duty.

               Our duty is to defeat France. That hangs on a courier to 
               Webb.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. MONTCALM'S MARQUEE - NIGHT

               CHORAL GROUP

               of three Seneca women and five boys, led by a Jesuit, sing 
               the Te Deum in the Iroquois language. This is a large tent 
               that could sleep twenty. Montcalm's four personal guards are 
               at the entrance as well as COMTE DE LEVIS in dirty lace, a 
               facial wound and a braceful of pistols on a sash. Inside is 
               simple campaign furniture and a six by eight foot battle 
               standard and flag of France.

               MONTCALM

               stands with a huge and fearsome elaborately tattooed and 
               robed Seneca chief in a silk turban...

                                     SENECA CHIEF
                              (low)
                         ... and the Black Robes of 
                         Michilimackinac left us no time to 
                         put our cabins in order before telling 
                         us our French father had need of our 
                         aid. We rolled our blankets and were 
                         the first to be here. Yet we are not 
                         the first and closest to my father's 
                         campfire.

               The Marquis de Montcalm is forty-five, wears a large wampum 
               belt as a sash over his waistcoat. He has an acute intellect, 
               an elegant manner. He is more aristocratic than Munro, but a 
               consummate professional soldier. Over the Seneca's shoulder, 
               Montcalm sees and nods to...

               MAGUA

               entering with four Huron braves. This is not the Magua we 
               saw on the trail. In his scalp lock, now red-stained and cut 
               to a Huron roach, are three blacl plumes. A match-coat blanket 
               drapes his left shoulder.

                                     MONTCALM
                              (to Seneca Chief)
                         For my children and the children of 
                         the true faith, my friendship and 
                         esteem is boundless...  I will give 
                         you three oxen for a feast and 
                         tomorrow I, myself, will sing the 
                         war song with you in the great council 
                         house.

               The Seneca Chief is satisfied and his people, plus the Jesuit, 
               exit. The look on Magua's face and the wry expression on 
               Montcalm's allows us to understand their relationship is 
               based on realpolitik.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Le Renard Subtil, how are things 
                         with your English friends?

               Magua exhales in derision as he brings a chair to face 
               Montcalm and sits, European style...

                                     MONTCALM
                              (over his shoulder)
                         Louis Antoine, join us.

               LOUIS ANTOINE DE BOUGAINVILLE enters. He wears a functional 
               melange of Indian moccasins over white linen breeches and an 
               officer's waistcoat.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Hear what le Subtil has to tell us...

               Bougainville published a book on integral calculus at twenty-
               five, at twenty-six was a secretary to the French Ambassador 
               in London, in January 1756 at twenty-seven he was elected a 
               member of the British Royal Academy of Science and at age 
               twenty-eight he's aide de camp to the Marquis de Montcalm 
               with the rank of captain. Later in life, he brought 
               "bougainvillea" from Tahiti to Europe to America.

                                     MAGUA
                         English war chief, Webb goes to Fort 
                         Edward with 33rd Regiment. He does 
                         not know my father's army attacks 
                         Fort William Henry.

                                     BOUGAINVILLE
                         But by now Munro knows his couriers 
                         didn't get through. He'll send 
                         another.

                                     MAGUA
                         The Grey Hair will try.

                                     BOUGAINVILLE
                         Four or five, including two women 
                         entered the fort...

                                     MAGUA
                         The Grey Hair's children were under 
                         Magua's knife but escaped. They'll 
                         be under it again.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Why do hate the Grey Hair, Magua?

                                     MAGUA
                         When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua 
                         will eat his heart. Before he dies 
                         Magua will put his children under 
                         the knife so the Grey Hair will see 
                         his seed is wiped out forever.

               Montcalm won't get a direct answer.

                                     MONTCALM
                         My sappeurs are advancing the trenches 
                         through the night, now. You may have 
                         your opportunity soon.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. SURGERY, ENTRANCE - NIGHT

               PHELPS

               Exhausted, sitting on a low stool, taking a breath.

                                     HAWKEYE (O.S.)
                         She know what she's doin'?

               Phelps looks up, then he looks over his shoulder at Cora. 
               She's in a borrowed launderess dress/blouse... She looks 
               different. He's a little indignant.

                                     PHELPS
                         First assisted me in Austria when 
                         she was fourteen. I would say she 
                         does...

               Her apron is stained. Hawkeye sees this may be her first 
               time in the New World, but it's not her first military 
               campaign. Still angered at Munro's dismissive response, he's 
               nevertheless falling for Cora.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         She does not shy away from much...

                                     PHELPS
                              (elsewhere)
                         What's that?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Nothin'.

               Alice Munro has caught Hawkeye's attention. Outside the 
               surgery where a casement meets a wall, she sits, withdrawn. 
               A catatonic older woman in a fine dress sits next to her.

                                     PHELPS (O.S.)
                         Miss Cora? Gentleman looking for 
                         you.

               HAWKEYE

               enters. Cora's sewing up Uncas.

                                     CORA
                              (looks up)
                         Mr Poe?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Miss.
                              (re: cotton)
                         May I?

               Cora, curious, nods. Hawkeye cuts some pieces from her ruined 
               and discarded dress that she now uses to bandage Uncas. We 
               don't know why; neither does Cora.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Uncas)
                         You 'bout done holdin' hands with 
                         Miss Munro?

               Uncas laughs, looking from her to Hawkeye. Then he's up and 
               he hurts. Cora starts to tend another wounded man. As they 
               start out, Hawkeye hesitates. Sensing it, Cora turns.

                                     CORA
                         What are you looking at, Mr. Poe?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Why, I am looking at you, Miss.

               Cora measures the directness of Hawkeye's manner. It's not 
               insolent, only unsettling.

               Feeling foolish; she turns. He leaves.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FRENCH TRENCHES - NIGHT

               SAPPEURS & ENGINEERS

               Having worked through the night, are still digging the 
               diagonally-advancing trench. We note it's closer than it 
               was.

               EXT. FRENCH TRENCHES - NIGHT

               FRENCH PICKETTS

               At their posts guard the sappeurs. Meanwhile...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY, WEST SIDE - NIGHT

               SALLY-PORT 

               Opens. Ten Mohawks and Rangers crawl towards the French lines. 
               Meanwhile...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY, PARAPET - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE & UNCAS -

               are low and out of French sight in the northeast battery. 
               Four others are with them, including Captain Jack. Stacked 
               rifles are against the casement. We don't know why.

               Each rifle is within reach of Hawkeye's hand. Hawkeye is 
               taking extra care loading Killdeer. He charges it once, then 
               overloads the powder by a quarter charge.

                                     UNCAS
                         You told him about the raid?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (nods)
                         He does not want to hear it.
                              (pause)
                         But he is gonna have to.

                                     JACK
                              (to one man)
                         Get together by the West Battery 
                         James & Ian, Sharitarish & William.

               Hawkeye uses the fine cotton he took from Cora. Uncas sees 
               it.

                                     UNCAS
                         Tight weave.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Another forty yards?

               Uncas nods. Hawkeye wets it to make a tighter gas seal and 
               rams it home. The tighter fit requires more effort.

               HAWKEYE

               looks below to ground level...

               FRONTIERSMAN - COURIER

               Two pistols are holstered in a sash around his chest. He 
               wears no hat and carries no pack. He waits by the sally-port 
               door.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FRENCH TRENCH - NIGHT

               THREE PICKETS -

               are suddenly tomahawked and knifed by stripped down 42nd 
               Highlanders and Mohawks. Alarm is raised. French and some 
               Huron run to advance. Shots are fired.

               The Rangers & Mohawks fall back.

               FRENCH

               emboldened, pursue...

               TRENCH IN FRONT OF WEST WALL

               suddenly Heyward and three companies of the 62nd regiment of 
               Foot (60 men) are over the top in perfect formation...

                                     HEYWARD
                         Sergeant! Form three ranks!

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Sir!
                              (bellows to troops)
                         Upon the center, wheel to the left-
                         about!  March!
                              (three motions; drums)
                         Rear ranks, proper distance!
                              (the rear ranks back 
                              up six paces)
                         Front ranks, take your distance! 
                         March!
                              (everybody moves)
                         Halt!
                              (in unison they slam 
                              to a stop)
                         Make ready!
                              (muskets snap to port 
                              arms)

               MOHAWKS & HIGHLANDERS

               dodge right & left of the 62nd's line of fire.

               FRENCH

               are coming forward. Their sergeants trying to stop and form 
               their men in ad-libbed French.

               62ND REGIMENT OF FOOT

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                              (dead cool)
                         First rank! Second rank! Present 
                         arms!
                              (muskets shouldered)

                                     HEYWARD
                         Fire!!!

               Like one shot, lightening, smoke and .65 caliber death screams 
               from the first two ranks like a scythe, cutting down...

               REVERSE: FRENCH

               Fourteen wounded or killed...

               62ND REGIMENT OF FOOT

               HEYWARD

               exposed. He's oblivious to incoming rounds. A piece of hat 
               is blown off, epaulet is shot off. The man next to him is 
               killed and bloodies Heyward's coat.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Advance, Sergeant Major!

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Sir!!!
                              (to soldiers)
                         Third rank! Twelve paces! Forward 
                         march!

               Drums. The rear rank walks through the first two ranks, who 
               are priming and loading in perfect order to their Sergeant 
               Major's commands. As the third rank becomes the first rank...

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Shoulder arms!
                              (slam)
                         Present!
                              (slam)

                                     HEYWARD
                         Fire!!!

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY - NIGHT

               COURIER

               sprints for the trees during the diversion of Heyward's sally.

               TWO HURONS

               materialize from nowhere and charge at him... both are BLOWN 
               off their feet by...

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY, CASEMENT - NIGHT

               UNCAS & HAWKEYE

               now handed already-loaded, primed and cocked rifles while 
               the four men behind them reload the two just fired. Hawkeye 
               gestures...

               EXT.  HILLSIDE - NIGHT

               THREE HALF-SAVAGE CANADIENS

               Are running down the hill to intercept the courier. One 
               fires...

                                     COURIER
                         a near miss.

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE FIRES. A half second later, Uncas FIRES.

               EXT. HILLSIDE - NIGHT

               One Canadien's falling through the trees as the second one's 
               hit by Uncas' shot.

               HAWKEYE

               reaches out his hand. Killdeer with the heavier load is 
               slapped into it. Hawkeye aims.

               Looks away a second and comes back to the sight in deep 
               concentration. The world goes silent...

               HAWKEYE'S POV:

               COURIER & CANADIEN

               pursuer are barely visible. Only patches appear momentarily 
               between the trees. They're three hundred yards away: an 
               impossible shot in 1757.

               EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

               THE CANADIEN

               will intersect the courier. His arm is back with his tomahawk 
               to throw...

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE

               Judges wind, elevates the long rifle... and FIRES at us.

                                                             JUMP CUT BACK:

               TREES

               Hawkeye's heavy round rips through. We HEAR the ball cut 
               air. A few leaves flutter...

               EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

               CANADIEN

               whacked head over heels by the impact.

               COURIER

               looks over his shoulder. He didn't know the Canadien was 
               there. He stumbles in the half light. Then he runs on...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY - WEST SALLY-PORT - NIGHT

               The three companies of the 62nd Regiment of Foot file back 
               into the fort in perfect order. The sally-port is closed. 
               Three men are wounded. The diversion worked perfectly.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Sergeant Major!

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Sir!

                                     HEYWARD
                         Thank you, Sergeant Major. Thank the 
                         men.

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Atten-hut!

               TROOPERS & MILITIA

               have seen no action for three days & nights. Heyward got 
               their blood running and won their respect. They step aside 
               and nod to him. Heyward keeps walking. He is home.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. MUNRO'S BEDCHAMBER - NIGHT

               DOOR

               A knock and Heyward enters.

               CORA & ALICE

               Alice is in her father's bed. Cora is collecting and tearing 
               linen into strips for bandaging.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Cora... I wanted to talk to you, but 
                         I'll come back another time...

               Alice looks at the two of them and rises out of the bed.

                                     CORA
                         Alice...

                                     ALICE
                         Talk to Duncan, Cora... I must 
                         manage...  I cannot be an invalid 
                         schoolgirl.
                              (starts for door)
                         I'll see if Mr. Phelps needs 
                         anything...

               She leaves.

                                     HEYWARD
                         I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...

               CORA

               Her nerves are shattered. She's trying to be brave.

               There's a lot going on under Cora's surface. We don't know 
               what it is, but it's disconcerting.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Cora, I adore you and, when we come 
                         together, we will be the happiest 
                         couple in England...  I am certain 
                         of that. More than ever before.
                              (softens)
                         I believe you must trust the judgment 
                         of others who hold your welfare so 
                         close to their hearts...

                                     CORA
                         Duncan...
                              (pause)
                         Duncan, I promised you an answer. 
                         You have complimented me with your 
                         persistence and patience... But the 
                         decision I've come to is I'd rather 
                         make the gravest of mistakes than 
                         surrender my own judgment.

               Heyward is stunned.

                                     CORA
                         And it's been unfair to you, while I 
                         search myself for feelings, which, 
                         if they were there and as strong as 
                         they ought to be, would've made 
                         themselves known long ago...
                              (pause)
                         Take my admiration and friendship, 
                         Duncan.  And please take this as my 
                         final answer.  It must be no.

               Heyward' shattered inside.

                                     HEYWARD
                         I see...

                                     CORA
                         I am sorry, Duncan...

               Heyward nods. He's speechless. He's errect as he leaves the 
               room.

               CLOSE: CORA

               The tension rushes out of her and she shudders and leans 
               against the quarter-timbered walls for support.  Then she 
               collects the linen and starts out.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. FORT, INNER CORRIDOR - NIGHT

               CORA

               Moving through the corridor past wounded. Two French mortar 
               bombs explode above one of the casements. We hear shrill 
               screams in the distance and...

                                     HAWKEYE (O.S.)
                         ... it was no raidin' party out for 
                         pillage. The cabin was attacked by a 
                         war party. They are sweeping south 
                         down the frontier spreading terror 
                         among farms and Mohawk villages 'cos 
                         all the men are here.

                                     IAN (O.S.)
                         And my cabin's not thirteen miles 
                         south of Cameron's!

               Cora, passing the open door to Munro's crowded office, now 
               hesitates.

               CORA'S POV: THE ROOM

               Hawkeye, Captain Jack Winthrop, Ian, seven or eight other 
               militia spokesmen, Munro, Heyward, two adjutants, one 
               lieutenant of Rangers.

                                     MUNRO
                              (to Jack)
                         I must receive proof more conclusive 
                         than Mr. Poe's opinion before I weaken 
                         our defenses by allowing militia to 
                         withdraw.

                                     JACK
                         Chingachgook's of the same opinion. 
                         Taken together, that's gospel. Your 
                         fort will stand or fall depending on 
                         Webb and reinforcements, not these 
                         colonials' presence.

                                     MUNRO
                         I judge military matters, Captain 
                         Winthrop, not you.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         That judgment is not more important 
                         than their right under agreement 
                         with Webb to defend their farms & 
                         families... Major Heyward was at 
                         John Cameron's. He saw what it was.

                                     MUNRO
                              (looking to Heyward 
                              for confirmation of 
                              his point of view)
                         What did you see, Major?

               Heyward looks around the room. And he catches the doorway...

                                     CORA
                         beyond the periphery of men, staring 
                         at him.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Munro is expecting him to be the 
                         good soldier in defense of British 
                         military interests.

               At the same time...

               CORA

               examines him with a cool, level stare.

               HEYWARD

               looks at Munro. More French rounds detonate O.S. What if 
               Webb gets here and they need to launch a counter-attack? 
               They need every man they have. It's his moment of decision...

                                     HEYWARD
                              (to Munro)
                         I saw nothing that would lead me to 
                         the conclusion it was other than a 
                         raid by savages bent on thievery.

               Jack Winthrop grabs Nathaniel.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         You're a liar!

               CORA'S

               saddened. Heyward's stature has fallen irrevocably in her 
               eyes.

               HEYWARD

               can't help it. He turns to look at Cora...

               HEYWARD'S POV: DOORWAY

               She's gone.

               HEYWARD

               suffused with an inner sadness, turns to Hawkeye.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         And the blood is on your hands!

               Heyward reaches for his sword.

                                     MUNRO
                              (to Heyward)
                         I'll have none of that!
                              (to colonials)
                         Montcalm is a soldier and a gentleman.  
                         Not a butcher.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Easy for you to suppose. While it is 
                         their women and children, not yours, 
                         alone in their farms!

                                     MUNRO
                              (exploding)
                         You forget yourself!

                                     JACK
                         We are not forgettin' Webb's promise!

                                     MUNRO
                         British promises are honored. And 
                         the militia will not be released. 
                         Because I need more definite proof 
                         than this man's word!

                                     JACK
                         Nathaniel's word been good on the 
                         frontier a long time before you got 
                         here!

                                     MUNRO
                         This interview's over! The militia 
                         stays!

                                     JACK
                              (to Munro)
                         Does the rule of English law no longer 
                         govern?  Has it been replaced by 
                         absolutism?

               This is very dangerous talk.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         And if English law cannot be trusted, 
                         maybe these people would do better 
                         makin' a peace with the French!

                                     HEYWARD
                         That is sedition! Treason!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         That is the truth!

                                     HEYWARD
                              (restaining himself)
                         I ought to have you whipped from 
                         this fort!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Major!
                              (changes down)
                         Some day I think you and I are gonna 
                         have a serious disagreement.

                                     MUNRO
                              (steel)
                         Anyone fomenting or advocating leaving 
                         Fort William Henry will be hung for 
                         sedition.
                         Anyone leaving will be shot for 
                         desertion.
                              (pause)
                         My decision is final. Get out.

               Hawkeye and the others are not intimidated. Their rage 
               smolders. The look on Hawkeye's face says this is not over.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT, PARADE GROUND - NIGHT

               BONFIRE

               sparks shower skyward. Impromptu music. Some Celtic proto-
               bluegrass played on fiddle & drums. It's stirring.

               ANOTHER ANGLE: SOME WOMEN

               laundresses, dance from soldier to soldier - English foot 
               and American Rangers. A few people lit by the firelight are 
               solemn. Most are stirred to lift their morale for a while.

               THEIR FACES

               underlit by the red firelight. They are a disposable people, 
               a diverse plurality stuck in a postage stamp-size fort in an 
               ocean of forest, locked into mortal deadly conflict because 
               of the policies of cold and distant European monarchs.

               A PLACE A LITTLE DISTANT FROM THE FIRE

               We can barely make out the eyes and faces of a number of men 
               behind logs, crates and new wreckage from the day's 
               bombardment.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (low)
                         ... got no kin in the settlements. 
                         If I did, I'd be long gone.

                                     IAN
                         You didn't think it right to be here 
                         in the first place.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         By my light that's how I saw it then 
                         and I see it that way now...

                                     IAN
                              (low)
                         But we are under English military 
                         authority.

                                     JACK
                              (low)
                         I believe if they set aside their 
                         law as and when they wish, their law 
                         no longer has rightful authority 
                         over us. All they have over us is 
                         tyranny, then. And I'll stay here no 
                         longer.  No force on earth will keep 
                         me here... Anyone caught leavin' the 
                         fort could be shot. So each man make 
                         your own decision... Those who are 
                         goin', be back here in an hour.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Out the northern sally-port. Strike 
                         for the east side of the swamp until 
                         you clear the French picket line. 
                         Head north over the ridge, then come 
                         about southeast and fork left in 
                         Little Meadow and you're free of the 
                         outpost and skirmishers...

                                     A COLONIAL
                              (grumbles)
                         Should've skinned outta this long 
                         ago.

                                     COLONIAL #2
                         Got no families, Captain. Figured 
                         we'd stay and give 'em a hand even 
                         though...

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Colonial #2)
                         I'll cover them from the top of the 
                         casement.

                                     JACK
                              (in amazement)
                         You're not coming with us?

               Hawkeye shakes his head.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Got a reason to stay.

                                     JACK
                         That reason wear a blue dress and 
                         work in the surgery?

               LOW LAUGHTER

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (dry)
                         It does and it is a better lookin' 
                         reason than you, Jack Winthrop.
                              (more laughs)
                         Push hard, 'cos you got to clear the 
                         French outpost by dawn.
                              (sticks out his hand 
                              and grasps Winthrop's)
                         Good luck, Jack.

               The men split up...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               FIRE - HAWKEYE

               wanders among the dancers and musicians clustered in groups, 
               lit by the firelight.

               Someone catches his eye and he moves in that direction...

               HAWKEYE'S POV: CORA

               in the shadows, leaning against the wall, searching... we 
               sense she's been looking for him. He comes up to her. She 
               turns in surprise.

               CLOSER

               Somehow she breathes easier because he's there. She's in a 
               white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Hawkeye leads her 
               away from some of the people.

               CORA & HAWKEYE

               Hawkeye takes Cora's hand. Cora is awakening to a new spirit, 
               a new wind blowing through a new land, a new self-
               determination... She's drawn to this rough yet graceful man 
               with his direct manner. Hawkeye settles against a wall. She 
               leans next to him.

               Their shoulders touch.

               CORA

               To her everything about him seems to be somehow right. She's 
               discovered that the passions and outrage that move him, move 
               her... And her readiness to give herself to what stirs the 
               deepest resonances of her soul is the same as his.

               HAWKEYE

               looks at her. She's beautiful in the firelight. Cora's eyes 
               find his and she folds into his arms. His lips find hers and 
               tears stream down her face. She's suffused with an elation 
               she can't explain. In the night before doomsday a romance is 
               born in rebellion amid the huddled people in this small 
               stockade ripped from the black earth of the forests of a 
               wild continent.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. BARRACKS - DAY

               LOW & WIDE

               Door CRASHES inwards. Twelve British sentries storm in. Four 
               bear torches.

               REVERSE: HAWKEYE, UNCAS, CHINGACHGOOK, TWO COLONIALS & SOME 
               MOHAWKS

               are out of the bunks and moving with them with tomahawks, 
               knives, a flintlock...

                                     SERGEANT (O.S.)
                         You! Halt!

               BRITISH SENTRIES

               their muskets aimed mostly at Hawkeye.

                                     SERGEANT
                         As you were!!

               Hawkeye freezes. The others slow down, indecisive... Hawkeye 
               drops his tomahawk and says something in Mohican to restrain 
               Chingachgook and Uncas. The British in the torchlight with 
               the long muskets and bayonets are an image out of Goya.

                                     SERGEANT
                         Take him!

               Hawkeye's spun around and while his hands are bound.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (Mohican; subtitled)
                         Why do they make my son prisoner?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (Mohican; subtitled)
                         I helped Winthrop and the others 
                         leave...  This fight is not yours, 
                         father. I love you and my brother. 
                         And you should leave this place now 
                         and go to Can-tuck-ee...

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (Mohican; subtitled)
                         What will they do with my white son?

               One of the guards - scared to death by Chingachgook - 
               nervously fingers his musket.

                                     GUARD
                         Get back from him!

               HEYWARD

               enters.

               HAWKEYE

               shrugs in answer to Chingachgook's question.

               HAWKEYE'S

               moved out. As he passes Heyward, his eyes lock on his.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. MUNRO'S QUARTERS - DAY

               CORA 

                                     CORA
                         He saved us! We are alive only because 
                         of him...

               WIDEN:

               Heyward, Munro, Cora. We've entered mid-argument. An adjutant 
               comes and goes.

               Heyward and Munro are sensitive to appearances in front of 
               the adjutant. Cora couldn't give a damn.

                                     MUNRO
                         The man encouraged the colonials to 
                         desert in this very room, in my 
                         presence. He is guilty of sedition 
                         and must be tried and hanged like 
                         any other criminal, regardless of 
                         what he did for my children.

                                     CORA
                         He knew the consequences. And he 
                         stayed.  Are those the actions of a 
                         criminal?  ...Duncan, do something.

                                     HEYWARD
                         He knew the penalty for breaking 
                         regulations.  He ought to pay without 
                         sending you to beg.

                                     CORA
                         You know he wouldn't send me...!  
                         You misrepresented what you saw and 
                         caused this.
                              (frustrated)
                         I, too, was at that farm. It was as 
                         he said...

                                     MUNRO
                         Not with enough certainty to outweigh 
                         British interests in this fort.

                                     HEYWARD
                         And who empowered these provincials 
                         to pass judgment upon England's 
                         policies in her own colonies? To 
                         come and go without so much as a "by 
                         your leave."

                                     CORA
                         They do not live their lives "by 
                         your leave."  ...They hack it out of 
                         the wilderness with their own two 
                         hands, burying their dead and their 
                         children along the way.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (distant)
                         You are defending him because you've 
                         become infatuated with him.

               Cora is having her intelligence written off as a hormone 
               attack. She contains her fury.

                                     CORA
                         Duncan, you are a man with a few 
                         admirable qualities. But taken as a 
                         whole, I was wrong to have thought 
                         so highly of you.

               Heyward's shot through the heart.

                                     MUNRO
                         But the man is guilty of sedition 
                         and subject to military justice and 
                         beyond pardon.

                                     CORA
                         "Justice"?  If that's "justice"..., 
                         then the sooner French guns blow the 
                         English army out of America, the 
                         better it will be for these people.

                                     MUNRO
                         You do not know what you are saying!

                                     CORA
                              (explodes)
                         Yes I do! I know exactly what I am 
                         saying.  And if it is sedition, then 
                         I am guilty of sedition, too!

               She exits, leaving them there.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. FORT, STOCKADE - NIGHT

               Heavy timbered door. A sentry. They stand at attention when 
               Cora passes as opposed to barring her entry.

               INT. CELL - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE

               comes to the door, grips the bars with his hands and looks 
               at Cora.

               THROUGH THE BARS TO CORA

               They are silent for a moment, then...

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Sorry... can't ask you in.

               Cora's pale smile.

                                     CORA
                         They're going to hang you.
                              (pause; soft)
                         Why didn't you leave when you had 
                         the chance?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Because what I am interested in is 
                         right here...

                                     CORA
                         What would you have me do?

               He touches her hand.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Webb's reinforcements will arrive or 
                         not.  If they do not arrive, the 
                         fort will fall. If that happens, 
                         stay close to your father.  The French 
                         will protect the officer class among 
                         the English.

                                     CORA
                         No. I will find you.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Do not.
                              (pause)
                         Promise me.

               Cora drops her forehead to Hawkeye's hands wrapped around 
               the bars. She acquiesces, nods. Then HEAVY SHELLING commences. 
               Cora & Hawkeye look up. Mortar bombs begin striking the 
               fortress. Still dark. The final French bombardment has 
               started.

                                     CORA
                         The whole world's on fire, isn't it?

               A pause.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         This part of it sure is...

               Reaching through the bars set in the thick door, their hands 
               clasp each others. On that image...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY - DAWN 

               VARIOUS CUTS (2ND UNIT)

               French cannoneers in Batteries #1 and #2 fire again and again. 
               They work like precision drill teams.

               FRENCH TRENCH

               ending in Battery #3 is complete and surprisingly close to 
               William Henry's walls. Crews reload the squat and massive 
               newly arrived thirteen inch mortars.

               MORTAR ONE

               The flash-hole is primed. The burning fuse is jammed into 
               the bomb. The primer charge is lit off and the crew ducks as 
               the crude iron belches red flame and black smoke into the 
               lightening sky. The second mortar ROARS. Then a THIRD.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. FORT WILLIAM HENRY - DAWN

               ENGLISH CANNON CREW

               Tries to return fire but can't under the heavy French 
               bombardment. The French mortar bomb arcs in and EXPLODES 
               smoke, flame and shrapnel, wiping out most of the crew. The 
               fortress is under the heaviest attack we've seen. Wounded 
               are in shock or terrorized. Another mortar bomb arcs in and 
               explodes part of a building and casement, starting a fire.

               Another lands in the grounds. People scatter. It doesn't 
               explode. One soldier dashes to rip out the fuse. As his hand 
               is inches away... EXPLOSION.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. STOCKADE - DAWN - LATER

               HAWKEYE

               protects Cora through the bars as she half sleeps through 
               the muffled roar. Then the thundering stops. Hawkeye seperates 
               himself from her and crosses to the window.

               EXT. FORT, MAIN GATE - LATER

               HAWKEYES POV: CHEVALIER DE LEVIS

               bows deeply to Major Beams. A French honor guard of five men 
               is behind him. A white scarf is on his sword tip. The fresh 
               destruction of the fort is apparent. Debris smolders.

               INT. FORT - STOCKADE - DAY

               HAWKEYE

               Crosses to an awakened Cora. He touches her face. He's 
               desperate to drill these next words into her brain.

                                     CORA
                         What is it?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         I don't know. Whatever happens you 
                         stay with your father. You stay among 
                         the officers.

               Cora looks up at Hawkeye. We feel forboding. O.S. are heard 
               drums...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FRENCH LINES - DAY

               MUNRO, HEYWARD, BEAMS 

               The drums are from Munro's honor guard. They stop.

               REVERSE: FRENCH SOLDIERS

               Marquis de Montcalm, immaculate, backed by his guard of honor 
               in white, grey and medium blue with six foot by eight foot 
               regimental colors and the French flag (gold fleur-de-lis on 
               a field of blue).

                                     FACES
                         They carried two hundred and forty-
                         five bateaux across a ten mile 
                         portage, all their supplies and 
                         artillery, and then rowed down the 
                         length of Lake George to get here.  
                         To them, assaulting this fort is the 
                         easy part. The drummers of the honor 
                         guard play a tattoo behind them.

               INDIAN FACES

               Huron, Ottawa, Osage, Choctaw, Fox... hear the drum of the 
               honor guard and wait.

               They're in war paint. Many tattoos. Split ears. The Osage 
               scalping locks are hennaed red. Canadiens among them are 
               bearded, dirty, half savage... At their head...

               MAGUA

               in full war paint, with a coterie of Huron warriors, silent, 
               waiting. Drums.

               INT. FORT - DAY

               ENGLISH TROOPS (TABLEAUX)

               grim, silent, watchful.

               COLONIAL MILITIA & MOHAWK INDIANS IN WAR PAINT (TABLEAUX)

               watching the parlay from a blown apart battery. Silent.

               WIDE: FRENCH & ENGLISH

               and their honor guards. Montcalm steps forward and sweeps 
               his plumed hat to the ground in a courtly bow. Munro bows 
               coldly.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Colonel Munro, I have known you as a 
                         gallant antagonist. I am happy to 
                         make your acquaintance as a friend.

                                     MUNRO
                         And I to make yours, Monsieur le 
                         Marquis.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Please accept my compliments for the 
                         strong and skillful defense of your 
                         fortress. Under the command of a 
                         lesser man it would have fallen long 
                         ago given the superior numbers and 
                         material... mere chance has allowed 
                         me to array against you...

                                     MUNRO
                         Monsieur le Marquis, I am a soldier, 
                         not a diplomat. You called this parlay 
                         for a reason.

                                     MONTCALM
                         You have already done everything 
                         which is necessary for the honor of 
                         your Prince. I will forever bear 
                         testimony that your resistance has 
                         been gallant and was continued as 
                         long as there was hope. But now, I 
                         beg you to listen to the admonitions 
                         of humanity. I beg you to consider 
                         my terms for your surrender.

                                     MUNRO
                         However I may apprise such testimony 
                         from Monsieur Montcalm, Fort William 
                         Henry is strong and stands.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Honor that is freely accorded to 
                         courage, may be refused obstinacy... 
                         These hills afford to us every 
                         opportunity to reconnoiter your works 
                         and I am possibly as well acquainted 
                         with your weak condition as you are 
                         yourselves.  Is Webb really en route 
                         and Montcalm hopes to take the fort 
                         by duplicity before British 
                         reinforcements arrive?

                                     MUNRO
                         Perhaps the General's glasses can 
                         reach to the Hudson and he knows the 
                         size and imminence of the army of 
                         Webb...?

               Montcalm takes a moment to reply and appears genuinely 
               sympathetic to Munro.

                                     MONTCALM
                              (quietly)
                         My scouts intercepted this dispatch 
                         intended for you.

               Munro is puzzled, suspicious.

                                     MONTCALM
                              (to Bougainville)
                         Read the dispatch.

               HEYWARD & MUNRO

                                     BOUGAINVILLE (O.S.)
                              (reading)
                         "Colonel Munro - Fort William Henry. 
                         I have no men available to send to 
                         your rescue. It is impossible. I  
                         advise you to seek terms for 
                         surrender. Signed Webb."

               Munro is rocked, as if struck by a blow. Bougainville hands 
               Heyward the letter.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (confirming)
                         This is the signature of Webb.
                              (to Munro)
                         And I know the temper of our men. 
                         Rather than spend the war in a French 
                         prison hulk in Hudson Bay, they'd 
                         fight to the end.

                                     MUNRO
                              (to Montcalm)
                         You have heard your answer, Monsieur 
                         le Marquis.
                              (salutes)

               Munro starts off. Montcalm stops him.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Sir.
                              (challengingly)
                         I am incapable of mistreating brave 
                         men.  I beg you not to sign the death 
                         warrant of so many until you have 
                         listened to my terms.

               Munro turns.

                                     MUNRO
                         Such as...?

                                     MONTCALM
                         My master requires the fort be 
                         destroyed.  But, for you and your 
                         comrades, there is no privilege that 
                         will be denied. None of your men 
                         will see the inside of a prison barge. 
                         They're free to go so long as they 
                         return to England and fight no more 
                         on this continent, and the civilian 
                         militia return to their farms.

                                     MUNRO
                         Their arms?

                                     MONTCALM
                         They may leave the fortress fully 
                         armed, but with no ammunition... 
                         Other than that, ask what you wish.

               Munro's impressed with Montcalm's generosity.

                                     MUNRO
                         The honors of war?

                                     MONTCALM
                         Granted.

                                     MUNRO
                         My colors?

                                     MONTCALM
                         Carry them to England to your King 
                         with pride.

                                     MUNRO
                         Allow me to consult with my officers.

               As he turns away something's been disconnected inside Munro 
               that can never get put back together. As the men move away 
               from the French...

                                     MUNRO
                         I have lived to see two things I 
                         never expected.  An Englishman afraid 
                         to support a friend. And a Frenchman 
                         too honest to profit by that 
                         advantage.

                                     HEYWARD
                         General Webb can burn in hell. We'll 
                         go back and dig our graves behind 
                         the ramparts! Our mission is to fight.

                                     MUNRO
                              (flares)
                         Death and honor are sometimes thought 
                         to be the same. Today I have learned 
                         that they are not.

               Munro looks at the fortress behind him.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Sir!

                                     MUNRO
                              (stops him with his 
                              eyes)
                         The decision is final.

               A beat. Then Munro turns toward Montcalm. Their eyes meet 
               across the churned, scarred earth of the battlefield.

                                     MUNRO
                         I am deeply touched by such unusual 
                         and unexpected generosity... The 
                         fort is yours under the condition 
                         that we be given until dawn to bury 
                         our dead, prepare our men and women 
                         for their march and turn our wounded 
                         over to your surgeon.

                                     MONTCALM
                         Granted, Monsieur.

               And Montcalm bows deeply and as he does so...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FRENCH LINES - NIGHT

               CLOAKED MAN 

               Passes away from the little city of tents in the direction 
               of the beach and towards William Henry. He seems to head 
               towards a vantage point from which to observe the fort. As 
               he approaches a sentry:

                                     SENTRY
                         Qui vive?

                                     MONTCALM
                         France.

                                     SENTRY
                         Le mot d'ordre?

                                     MONTCALM
                         La victoire.

                                     SENTRY
                         C'est bien, vous vous promenez bien 
                         matin, monsieur!

                                     MONTCALM
                         Il est necessaire d'etre vigilant, 
                         mon enfant.

               The cloak parts. By the light of the moon the man's face is 
               dimly perceived by us and the soldier as General Montcalm. 
               The soldier snaps erect as Montcalm continues walking out 
               beyond the line to a small stand of trees.

               ANOTHER ANGLE: MONTCALM

               The moon is broken into pieces of light on the water and 
               behind Montcalm; from the front of the stand of trees emerges 
               a tall figure.

                                     MAGUA
                         Is the hatchet buried between the 
                         English and my French father?

                                     MONTCALM
                         Yes.

                                     MAGUA
                         Not a warrior has a scalp and the 
                         white men become friends.

                                     MONTCALM
                         My master owns these lands and your 
                         father has been ordered to drive off 
                         the English squatters. They have 
                         consented to go. So now he calls 
                         them enemies no longer.

                                     MAGUA
                         Magua took the hatchet to color it 
                         with blood.  It is still bright. 
                         Only when it is red, then it will be 
                         buried.

                                     MONTCALM
                         But so many suns have set since Le 
                         Renard struck the war post. Is he 
                         not tired?

                                     MAGUA
                         Where is that sun?! It has gone behind 
                         the hill.  It is dark and cold. It 
                         has set on his people, they are fooled 
                         and kill all the animals and sell 
                         all of their lands to enrich the 
                         European masters who are always greedy 
                         for more than they need.
                              (threatening)
                         And Le Subtil is the son of his tribe. 
                         There have been many clouds and many 
                         mountains. But now he has come to 
                         lead his nation.

                                     MONTCALM
                         That Le Renard has the power to lead 
                         his people into the light, I know 
                         well.

               Magua grabs the hand of the French commander. Imperceptible 
               surprise in Montcalm's eyes. Magua jams Montcalm's fingers 
               to his chest.

                                     MAGUA
                         Does my father know that?

               MAGUA'S CHEST

               A deep indentation and scar.

                                     MONTCALM
                         That's where a lead bullet has torn 
                         you.

                                     MAGUA
                         And this?

               Magua turns his naked back to Montcalm and puts Montcalm's 
               hand on his back...  deep ridges of a scar a half inch wide.]

                                     MONTCALM
                         My son has been sadly injured. Who 
                         did this?

                                     MAGUA
                              (laughs; sardonic)
                         Magua slept hard in the English 
                         wigwams.  And the sticks left their 
                         mark...
                              (pause; for real)
                         Magua's village and lodges were burnt.  
                         Magua's children were killed by the 
                         English.  Magua was taken as a slave 
                         by the Mohawks who fought for the 
                         Grey Hair. Magua's wife believed he 
                         was dead and became the wife of 
                         another. The Grey Hair was the father 
                         of all this.
                              (pause)
                         In time Magua became blood-brother 
                         to Mohawk to become free. In his 
                         heart he always was Huron.  And his 
                         heart will be whole again on the day 
                         when the Grey Hair and all his seed 
                         are dead!

                                     MONTCALM
                         My son Magua's pain is my pain.

                                     MAGUA
                         Does the chief of the Canadas believe 
                         the English will keep the terms?

                                     MONTCALM
                         Munro would. But General Webb will 
                         not send their soldiers across the 
                         salt lake.  Having let them go, I 
                         fear I will only fight the same men 
                         again when I move south.
                              (pause; shrugs)
                         And yet, I cannot break the terms of 
                         the capitulation and sully the lilies 
                         of France...

               LONG PAUSE, WHEELS TURN. THEN:

                                     MAGUA
                         Many things my French father cannot 
                         do, Magua can.

               Montcalm reacts as if he hadn't thought of that.

                                     MONTCALM
                         As the English march away, our 
                         soldiers and the Canadiens will be 
                         drawn to the looting of the fort... 
                         except for a small guard...

               Magua abruptly leaves Montcalm.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

               MAGUA 

               Walking back to the Huron camp. Reveal a Huron sub-chief has 
               been in the woods, waiting for Magua. Now he joins him. They 
               walk in silence. Then...

                                     MAGUA
                              (in Iroquois; re: 
                              Montcalm)
                         I wonder at the blindness and pride 
                         of the white man. He believes only 
                         he knows how to speak falsely to 
                         make other men do his bidding.

               Magua exhales in derision.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FORT, MAIN GATE - DAY

               MUNRO

               At the end of the column, rides out on his horse. Both sides 
               of the gate are jammed with armed French troops standing at 
               attention. The French colors and honor guard are just outside 
               the gate along with Bougainville, Chevalier de Levis, both 
               on horseback as is - at the head - Montcalm.

               CLOSER: MUNRO

               trots past his walking column out the gate. He does not look 
               at the French.

               MONTCALM

               salutes Munro and bows gravely from the saddle.

               CLOSER: MUNRO

               salutes Montcalm.

                                     MUNRO
                              (eyes forward)
                         Monsieur, the fort is yours.

               MID-COLUMN - ON HEYWARD

               marching with his 33rd Regiment of Foot well beyond the fort. 
               The French troops have thinned out. Repressing shame, his 
               backbone is rigid, his face is straight ahead. The 33rd 
               marches in perfect cadence to the drum. In the B.G. Munro on 
               his horse passes Heyward as he rides towards the front of 
               his column. Heyward does not look at him.

               FRONT OF COLUMN - CORA WITH ALICE

               on the back of a mare. Alice, living through a wide-awake 
               nightmare, is huddled under the arm of her sister. They ride 
               behind the standard bearers. In the B.G. her father is seen 
               approaching and takes his position at their side. Cora looks 
               down the column, sheilding her eyes against the sun. We know 
               who she's looking for... Hawkeye.

               CORA'S POV: THE COLUMN

               The 62nd and 42nd Highlanders including Heyward... thirty to 
               forty women and a number of children - for safety - in the 
               middle, some frontiersmen, Ongewasgone and many Mohawk, 
               walking wounded. The column is still snaking its way out of 
               the fort.

               No Hawkeye.

               CORA

               straining to see.

               EXT. FORT - DAY

               PRISONERS

               being assembled, their hands shackled. Hawkeye is among twelve 
               or thirteen. He stands erect, walking out of the gate. The 
               French are starting to pour in to loot the interior.

               Hawkeye looks to his left about twenty paces in front of him 
               and sees...

               UNCAS & CHINGACHGOOK

               on the other side of the column. Chingachgook cradles Killdeer 
               as well as his own musket. They fall back to walk beside the 
               prisoners on the other side of Hawkeye.

               Their eyes connect... We don't expect Hawkeye to stay shackled 
               for the duration.

               RANK AND FILE FRENCH

               A few insults. The British soldiers answer. Nobody breaks 
               rank. It's just talk.

               EXT. ROAD - DAY

               HAWKEYE

               his eyes sweep the column snaking its way into the v-shaped 
               valley. The path cuts through the forested hills ahead. He 
               sees...

               HAWKEYE'S DISTANT POV: CORA

               riding near the front where there are no more French soldiers. 
               Only a few scattered and curious Huron and Ottawa. She does 
               not see him.

               PROFILE OF COLUMN - HIGH & WIDE

               as it passes left to right below like a long snake through 
               the narrow valley. We're shooting from inside the dark woods. 
               Lower, in the light, we see a scattering on both slopes of a 
               couple of hundred Ottawa and Huron. They are in no order, 
               are spread out and don't constitute a threat. They watch the 
               column.

               SLOWLY THE CAMERA... slides across the shoulders and back of 
               a large man wearing black plumes in his scalp-lock and other 
               than a breechcloth is almost naked. He is heavily war-
               painted...

               FRONTAL - MAGUA

               and the left two-thirds of his face is painted red. The right 
               third is painted black. Much silver is in his ears. His 
               tomahawk is in his left hand. His cut-down musket in his 
               right fist. Magua's attention is all focused to one point.

               MAGUA'S LONG & TIGHT POV: MUNRO & CORA & ALICE

               at the head of the column. This is the focus of Magua's 
               attention.

               WIDE FRONTAL: COLUMN, STANDARD BEARERS & MUNROS

               Cora turns again to look for Hawkeye.

               CLOSER: CORA

               doesn't see him, but something else has caught her eye.

               YOUNG HURON

               running toward the column. Just one man. No musket. He's 
               running and whooping like a dog charging from his master's 
               front yard. Why?

               CLOSER

               the Huron arrives at the column, his tomahawk swings into 
               his hand and he brains a British trooper who falls dead. The 
               single Huron never breaks stride. He simply runs off again...

               CORA

               horrified, holds Alice tighter.

               MUNRO

               has seen it too. And now he sees...

               ND REGIMENT OF FOOT

               fixing bayonets. A large sergeant unsheathes a two-handed 
               claymore, facing the Hurons and other Indians...

                                     TROOPERS
                         of the 33rd present arms. Did they 
                         violate the surrender by carrying 
                         ammunition? Locks are cocked. There's 
                         the answer.

                                     MUNRO
                         Steady! No one fires!

               EXT. FORESTED HILLSIDES - DAY

               OTHER TRIBES

               Are watching what happens.

               HEYWARD

               scanning them.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (to Sergeant Major)
                         Men are to stay in file, Sergeant 
                         Major!

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Yes sir!

               Drums beat the cadence.

               TROOPERS

               step over the fallen soldier. Heads turn, they're on edge...

               END OF COLUMN

               HAWKEYE, UNCAS & CHINGACHGOOK

               watching. They exchange looks. This is not good. Chingachgook 
               cocks both Killdeer and his own musket.

               HAWKEYE'S POV: FORESTED SLOPES

               Hold. We start to make out details in the shadow. Tree trunks. 
               We become accustomed to the dimness. Now in the lower light 
               we see deeper in the forest.

               CLOSER

               Many Huron and Ottawa are hidden in the shadows. They're 
               moving along parallel to the column, stalking it. Waiting...

               ANOTHER BRAVE

               racing down the hill from the opposite flank towards the 
               62nd.

               TWO SOLDIERS

               look at their sergeant. He nods. They wait until he's within 
               ten feet of the column. Both bayonet the Indian. He's dead.

               EXT.  HILLSIDES - DAY

               HURON & OTTAWA

               saw what happened. But, they hold their ranks.

               MOHAWKS

               among the British are slipping tomahawks into their hands, 
               surreptitiously. Some are cocking flintlocks.

               MUNRO

               gallops his horse away from Cora and Alice towards the scene 
               of the last attack. We hear him from the distance ordering...

                                     MUNRO
                         Do not break ranks! I want these 
                         ranks to hold...!

               Cora's frightened.

               HAWKEYE'S

               frustrated. He saw Munro leave Cora. He knows events have a 
               momentum and it's accelerating.

               CHINGACHGOOK & UNCAS

               move next to the sergeant with the shackle keys who looks at 
               them curiously as...

               WOMEN

               with children nervously search the threatening trees, hoping 
               against hope these are isolated incidents.

               HEYWARD

               draws his sword and is passing orders to his sergeant major, 
               scanning the hills...

               EXT. FORESTED SLOPE - DAY

               MAGUA

               His eyes see Munro.

               WIDER & LOWER: MAGUA

               raises his musket in his fist and emits a war whoop. WE NOW 
               SEE... hundreds have been stalking the column, hidden in the 
               trees, maybe thousands. Then...

               WIDE: ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE

               FIRE from the trees crescendos within seconds revealing a 
               spontaneous and massive ambush of mostly Hurons. They appear 
               from behind every tree and it turns to a ROAR of musket fire, 
               war whoops and screams as...

               SOLDIERS & CIVILIANS

               dropping like flies and seemingly thousands of Hurons attack 
               down both slopes.

               HAWKEYE

               is being unshackled by Uncas. The sergeant is rising from 
               the ground where Chingachgook knocked him. Chingachgook throws 
               Hawkeye Killdeer and Hawkeye shrugs into his pouch and powder 
               horn as he races with Uncas for the head of the column...

               EXT. FORESTED SLOPE - MAGUA

               charging down the hill... with his coterie of twenty Huron 
               warriors, heading for the area in which he saw Munro.

               CORA & ALICE

               at the head of the disintegrating column. Cora's holding 
               Alice's head to her bosom, covering her ears as if to protect 
               her from the sounds.

               HEYWARD

               shouting orders.

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Right - about face! March! First 
                         rank present!

                                     HEYWARD
                         Fire!

               REVERSE:

               The volley knocks down fifteen of a horde of attacking Hurons.

                                     SERGEANT MAJOR
                         Prime! Load! Second rank six paces 
                         forward!  Present!

               Hurons are twenty yards away and closing.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Fire!

               As the line of muskets belch smoke and fire...

               WIDE: THE HILLS & PATH

               We're shooting into the "v" of the valley with Hurons and 
               other tribes pouring down from both sides. (IMPORTANT: the 
               combined musket fire of Hurons, English and Mohawks generates 
               tremendous clouds of smoke which obscure action, close off 
               views, isolate pockets of combat into surreal tableaux that 
               we'll move in and out of.

               BRITISH TROOPERS

               using their useless muskets as clubs or with fixed bayonets - 
               as the smoke and fog swirls among the men - fighting for 
               their lives...

               MAGUA

               glides through the scenes, striking and hunting. Some of his 
               coterie of braves near him.

               He sees...

               BLONDE WOMAN

               hugging the ground in fear. Magua throws her over. It's not 
               Alice Munro. It's a woman protecting her baby. Magua walks 
               on. One of the braves behind Magua raise his tomahawk. On 
               his downswing...

               HAWKEYE

               running through surreal patches, thinks he glimpses Cora two 
               hundred yards away.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Cora!

               Chingachgook, on Hawkeye's left, slams down two Hurons with 
               his war club.

               CORA & ALICE

               running through the chaos and murder and British troopers 
               and Mohawks locked in struggle with Hurons. Cora's dress is 
               torn. She holds Alice to her. There's a pistol in Cora's 
               hand.

               ONE HURON

               scalping a prone soldier, rips the trophy from his head, 
               turns and faces us.

                                     CORA
                         shoots him in the face.

               EXTREMELY CLOSE: ALICE

               and her eyes take it all in. And her affect starts to flatten. 
               A blankness suffuses her expression and the girl withdraws 
               from this reality into a deep dark cave inside her head.

               HAWKEYE

               locked in combat. He tomahawks one Huron's arm with a slashing 
               downstroke and comes right back into the face of the second 
               with his backswing while his right hand fires Killdeer at...

               HURON

               six feet from Uncas and about to shoot him in the back.

               HAWKEYE

               free for a moment, spins. He has no idea of direction any 
               more. Everything is death in strange tableaux. Meanwhile:

               MUNRO

               hollering

                                     MUNRO
                         Cora! Alice!

               He cuts down a Huron with his sword who is trying to leap at 
               him from the right. An Osage warrior with red scalp-lock 
               leaps on the back of Munro's horse, reaching over to stab 
               down into Munro's neck. The old man's left hand grabs the 
               warrior's knife hand in an iron grip. His right hand pulls 
               his horse pistol and under his upraised arm fires backward, 
               point blank, blowing the Osage off the back of his horse.

               WIDER

               Just then Munro's mount is shot. His horse rears up, throws 
               Munro and falls on him.

               HEYWARD

               shouting orders over the deafening noise.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Second rank fire! Six paces back! 
                         Prime!  Load! Third rank! Present!

               A well-oiled, well-drilled fighting machine, but there are 
               fewer of them. They're getting cut off. They close ranks 
               automatically as a man drops. They're retreating in perfect 
               order.

               HURON WARRIOR

               about to strike a downwards blow is pushed aside by Magua.

               CLOSER: MAGUA

               his eyes drop to what's in front of him. The field goes quiet.

               OVER MAGUA'S SHOULDER:

               MUNRO

               his lower body is trapped under his dead horse. Magua leans 
               in towards him.

                                     MAGUA
                         Grey Hair. I will cut your heart 
                         from your living chest in front of 
                         your eyes. As you die, know that I 
                         will put under the knife your children 
                         and wipe your seed from this earth 
                         forever...

               Magua pulls his knife and as he leans down towards Munro...

               MOHAWK & HURON

               spin and flail furiously at each other with tomahawks and 
               knives. The Huron goes down and then the Mohawk is shot. The 
               Huron who shot him is cut down by a Ranger with tomahawk in 
               one hand and bayonet in the other. Two Mohawks and three 
               Rangers fighting back to back. They become an island swamped 
               by Huron and Ottawa: amidst bodies and ground slippery with 
               blood. As smoke obscures their image.

               CORA & ALICE

               in a group of civilian militia. Two of the militiamen are 
               shot down. The third engages a Fox warrior. Cora & Alice 
               run.

               MUNRO'S FACE

               frozen in agony by shock.

               MAGUA

               reaching down and up into something, emerges and jams an 
               object we barely see into the air. But his arm and shoulder 
               and half his chest are splashed red with blood.

               LONG SHOT: MAGUA

               seen from far away, holding aloft the heart of Munro.

               REVERSE: HAWKEYE

               saw him and fights his way to attack when...

               WHITE HORSE

               crazed, CRASHES through men, knocking Hawkeye over...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               protecting Hawkeye, slams his war club into one Huron, 
               breaking his attack, his arm and his skull and swings the 
               other way burying the bladed end into the chest of an Ottawa 
               who's behind him. Then...

               HAWKEYE'S

               up, looking wildly...

               CAMERA JAMS INTO CLEARING SMOKE:

               33rd Regiment of Foot and Heyward. They FIRE into our face.

               CLOSER: HEYWARD

                                     HEYWARD
                         Six paces back! Prime! Load! Rank 
                         two, present! Rank two, hold!

               He grabs a partially loaded musket, the ramrod still in the 
               barrel. They're taking fire.

               Men are dying. They're being pushed back.

               AN ABNAKI

               wearing a large cross, attacks Heyward from the side. One-
               handed, Heyward fires the musket into the man's chest, sending 
               the ramrod through him. Then Heyward's shot in the thigh and 
               a thrown tomahawk hits him in the head and knocks him 
               sideways.

               Dazed. Barely able to stand. He uses the musket as a cane 
               and...

                                     HEYWARD
                         Rank two, six paces back! Rank one, 
                         present!

               Rank two did not retreat six paces. They stand in confusion. 
               Heyward looks to see what's wrong.

               HEYWARD'S POV: THE REMNANTS OF THE 33RD REGIMENT OF FOOT

               are standing in water. They're up against Lake George. Their 
               backs are to the wall. Last stand. Heyward straightens.

               TWO FRENCH OFFICERS

               on horseback try to intercede in the slaughter of five women. 
               One French officer is shot by a Huron. The other French 
               officer runs through that Huron and shoots the second.

               Then his horse is shot out from under him and he goes down...

               JESUIT

               pleads with an Abnaki to give up a child he's holding by the 
               legs in one hand. He offers his cross. The Abnaki throws the 
               baby to the Jesuit, Pere Roubaud.

               UNCAS

               sees a flash of something yellow. So does Hawkeye. They charge 
               into the swirling chaos of attacking bodies. As we lose sight 
               of them...

               ALICE

               on her hands and knees. A massive Ottawa pulls her upright 
               by her hair about to take her life and her scalp.  He's struck 
               by a rock in the hands of Cora which barely phases him. He 
               bats her aside and returns to Alice, when suddenly...

               OTTAWA WARRIOR

               is spun, punched and tomahawked into the ground by Hawkeye. 
               Uncas has Alice and Cora...


               TWO RANGERS AND A MOHAWK WARRIOR

               from the earlier group are nearby. They combine with Hawkeye 
               to fight their way out with bayonets and tomahawks.

               HAWKEYE, UNCAS, CHINGACHGOOK, TWO RANGERS, A MOHAWK & MUNRO'S 
               DAUGHTERS

               back through the swirling smoke. There seems to be a lull. 
               Then they're hit from the side by musket fire. One of the 
               Rangers is shot, the other wounded. Hurons attack. The Mohawk 
               supports the wounded Ranger.

               HAWKEYE

               shields Cora as they back up.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               smashing his war club straight down on a Huron, reaches for 
               the man's musket and shoots another. Then he sees...

               SMOKE DRIFTING OVER WATER

               It's glass-smooth. And the bows are barely visible of three 
               or four Huron war canoes.

               THE SHALLOWS

               HAWKEYE, CHINGACHGOOK, UNCAS, CORA, ALICE, THE RANGER & THE 
               MOHAWK back into the water. They're pursued by Ottawa and 
               Hurons as they fight their way to the canoes.

               CORA

               held up by Hawkeye, suddenly screams.

               ANGLE

               something underwater is pulling her down. An Ottawa brave 
               rockets out of the shallows. Before he's erect, Hawkeye slams 
               him back into the water and FIRES.

               WOUNDED RANGER

               has shoved a large birch canoe at them.

               HAWKEYE

               Suddenly, the Mohawk fighting with them is shot and spins to 
               face Hawkeye. His hands rest on Hawkeye's shoulders. Hawkeye 
               looks into his face. Tries to hold him up, tries to rescue 
               him. A frozen moment. Hawkeye's staring into his eyes and 
               the man is staring into Hawkeye's as the light goes out...  
               Hawkeye lets him slide into the water and float away. He 
               moves Cora and Alice towards the canoe...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. LAKE GEORGE - DAY

               WATER & SWIRLING SMOKE

               the bottom of the frame is water like glass. Smoke obscures 
               the background. Fingers tendril towards us. Out of the mist 
               we HEAR small splashing and then the high bow of a war canoe 
               defines itself. It's paddled towards us.

               HAWKEYE, CHINGACHGOOK & UNCAS

               Cora's behind Hawkeye. Alice and the wounded Ranger are near 
               Uncas.

               CLOSER: HAWKEYE & CORA

               Cora looks left. Her eyes go wide.

                                     CORA
                         No!

               HAWKEYE

               spins.

               HEYWARD & TWO TROOPERS OF THE 33RD IN A SECOND CANOE

               have emerged from the smoke ten feet from them. Heyward's 
               aiming a horse pistol at Hawkeye.

               HAWKEYE

               is non-plussed. He doesn't stop paddling.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         You got nothin' better to do today 
                         on Lake George than shoot me, Major, 
                         then go ahead...

               Heyward's a hair's breadth from firing. Suddenly they hear 
               the boom of muskets and rounds come in.

               WIDE

               They're being pursued by three boatloads - and then a fourth 
               and fifth - of Huron.

               HEYWARD

               is indifferent to Huron musket balls. Hawkeye hasn't stopped 
               paddling and pays Heyward no heed.

                                     CORA
                         Stop it!!

               Heyward comes to his senses. His head is gashed. A scarf, as 
               a tourniquet, is tied around his leg. He lowers the gun.

                                     HEYWARD
                         When you fall into British hands 
                         again, Nathaniel Poe, I will have 
                         you hanged.

               HURON CANOES

               paddle hard and deep and the canoes power across the lake.

               HAWKEYE & HEYWARD'S CANOES

               with less paddlers, plus wounded, are slower and will be 
               overtaken.

               HAWKEYE

               looks to Uncas. They both realize the same thing. Hawkeye 
               nods and he, Uncas & Chingachgook begin to paddle furiously. 
               The others match the doubled pace. They're sprinting ahead 
               but the effort is exhausting.

               HURON CANOES

               maintain their steady pace. Three or four Hurons fire.

               HAWKEYE'S CANOE

               Musket balls ricochet on the water's surface. One rips a 
               hole through the bow.

               Hawkeye sees one of the Redcoats in Heyward's canoe is giving 
               out...

                                     REDCOAT #1
                         Can't... keep it up...

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Pull!

               He renews the attack on the water with the paddle.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (shouts)
                         How long?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (shouts)
                         Only chance we got is...
                              (breathless)
                         ... to get more distance on 'em and 
                         go to ground!

               Heyward digs in. Like firecrackers in the distance, Huron 
               muskets sound. A new hail of musket balls cut the fabric of 
               the canoes. One Redcoat is shot in the back. He falls 
               overboard.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (shouts)
                         Pull!!

               HAWKEYE CANOE

               sprints forward.

               CLOSE: HAWKEYE

               looks over his shoulder.

               THE HURON CANOES

               They're pulling away from them.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Pull...!

               More Huron musket balls hit water nearby.

               REDCOAT

               in Heyward's boat is shot. BUT... the .65 caliber ball didn't 
               penetrate his skin. The Redcoat - amazed - picks it off the 
               floor of the canoe.

               REDCOAT #2

               Spent.

               Distance caught up with eighteenth century ballistics. They're 
               out of smoothbore musket range.

               HAWKEYE CANOE

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Heyward)
                         Head for... for the white water.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Do you hear me, sir!
                              (exhausted)
                         If you ever fall... into British 
                         hands...
                              (breathes)
                         What white water?

               HEYWARD & REDCOAT'S POV: 

               LAKE

               divided by a spit of land. The right fork becomes a river 
               with white water rapids.

               HAWKEYE CANOE - HAWKEYE

               paddling now, too, as they furiously jam for the white water 
               that will shoot them way ahead of the Hurons.

               UNCAS

               leaps off the stern of Hawkeye's canoe and climbs up the 
               stern of Heyward's and takes control. He roughly gestures to 
               the Redcoat and the Major to stop paddling. He and Hawkeye 
               will pilot the two canoes.

               EXT. WHITE WATER - WIDE - DAY

               The canoes enter the white water and they're so light, they're 
               jet-propelled.

               CANOE POV: EIGHT FOOT WAVE

               racing in the same direction they are. They hit it straight 
               on and it shoots over them and they're drenched by two waves 
               coming from the sides.

               HAWKEYE & CHINGACHGOOK

               paddle like fiends to get momentum and control.

               UNCAS' CANOE

               Same thing. When they crested the wave Uncas hollers at them 
               to "pull" and they do.

               As soon as they're through it, Uncas slams the paddle in the 
               water and makes the canoe revolve a hundred and eighty degrees 
               in a vortex so that now it's going through stern-first or 
               the stern becomes the bow, so that Uncas could pilot it a 
               different way through a hazard of...

               EXPOSED ROCKS

               jutting out of the water.

               WIDE - BOTH CANOES

               Hawkeye didn't have to turn because Chingachgook, at the 
               bow, uses his paddle to shove the canoe away from jutting 
               rocks. Uncas does the same. Past the jutting rocks, Uncas 
               swings it back around while...

               WHITE WATER

               smashes into the camera.

               ALICE & CORA

               as the canoe roller-coasters and water bursts the bow. Then 
               suddenly it's through and the water is miraculously smooth.

               CANOES

               The Ranger, the Redcoats and even Heyward feel the 
               exhilaration of the ride. That's because they think they're 
               home free.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Here's where it gets tricky...

               Heyward turns to look in front of him. He doesn't know what 
               the hell Hawkeye's talking about.

               HEYWARD'S POV: THE RIVER AHEAD

               looks glass-smoth. Although there is a distant ROAR of sorts. 
               Then Heyward realizes: something's wrong with this picture.

               CLOSER: HEYWARD

               The look on his face starts to change.

               HEYWARD'S POV: TIGHTER

               The glass surface of the river continues to a line then falls 
               off the end of the world. The river just ends...

               BOTH CANOES: HEYWARD, REDCOATS, THE RANGER

               realize they're heading for the lip of a waterfall. There's 
               a couple of outcroppings of rock in the center at the very 
               edge. We are at Glen Falls.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Don't move...

               AERIAL SHOT

               from the other side of the falls. It's a two hundred foot 
               high, death-defying cataract.

               The canoes - slightly above us - will go right over.

               TWO CANOES

               At the last moment, Hawkeye & Uncas land both on either side 
               of the larger rock outcropping. It is literally at the lip 
               of the falls.

               HEYWARD

               grabs a rock to anchor the bow of the canoe. He loses his 
               grip. The canoe rockets for the edge.

               UNCAS

               lurches sideways, grabs a tree root. He is the only link of 
               the canoe to earth. The bow, with Heyward, is literally 
               hanging over the edge. Uncas strains and pulls the canoe to 
               the rock. He gestures to Heyward.

               HEYWARD

               crawls forward and makes the island. Then the two Redcoats. 
               Finally Uncas. The canoe rockets over the falls. Meanwhile...

               THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

               Hawkeye has beached his canoe and is camouflaging it with 
               driftwood and brush. As they clamber over the high pieces of 
               broken limestone, we see Hawkeye is slipping into a crevice. 
               He motions to Cora. Uncas carries the wounded Ranger. Heyward 
               helps Alice...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. GLEN FALLS CAVES - FISSURE - TWILIGHT

               The irregular opening of medium blue sky is obscured by the 
               black silhouetted forms of Hawkeye, Cora and then the others 
               entering.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Where do we go from here?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         We don't.

                                     HEYWARD
                         I don't understand!

                                     HAWKEYE
                         This is it, as far as we can go... 
                         If we're lucky, they'll be figurin' 
                         we can't have come this way and 
                         must've beached our canoes and headed 
                         cross land. If we're very lucky, 
                         they'll figure we went over the falls.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Then what?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Then we take the south rim down the 
                         mountain and it's 12 miles cross 
                         country to Fort Edward.

                                     HEYWARD
                         And if we're unlucky?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         You will have to forego the pleasure 
                         of hangin' me.

               REVERSE: WIDE

               Hawkeye helps Cora; Heyward, the Ranger. Chingachgook carries 
               Alice, down the rockface into a cave. We hear a distant ROAR 
               reverberating off the walls.

               ANOTHER ANGLE: THE WALLS

               are scooped out, bone-like hollows eroded by tumbling water. 
               At an earlier time the formation was part of the falls.

               HAWKEYE & CORA

               reach the irregular floor of the chamber. The ROAR is louder.

               WIDEN TO REVEAL

               a curtain of falling water. They're behind the cataract, 
               probably a third of the way down its height. Light through 
               the water stikes them with a silver luminescence. They're 
               exhausted. The others join them. They almost have to shout 
               to be heard.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               followed by Uncas, takes stock of their supplies. They check 
               their powder. They have almost none. Uncas shares his with 
               Hawkeye. The Redcoat's cartridge case is soaked, the paper 
               cartridges a soggy mess. Heyward has none. The Ranger has 
               two left. In Mohican, Chingachgook decides some things. 
               Hawkeye and Uncas nod. Heyward approaches Hawkeye.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Any powder?

                                     HAWKEYE:
                              (crossing to Cora)
                         Only one or two loads.

               CORA

               is soaked to the bones. Hawkeye strips off his buckskin 
               hunting shirt and wrings it out.

               Cora turns her back, strips off her white blouse and puts on 
               the faster-drying chamois.

                                     CORA
                         Are we safe?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Maybe...

                                     CORA
                         Our father? Did you see my father?

               EXTREME CLOSE UP: HAWKEYE

               The look on his face tells it all

                                     CORA
                         Tell me!

               TWO SHOT

               Hawkeye takes Cora away from the group and turns her by her 
               shoulders and whispers to her. We don't hear what he says. 
               Cora drops to her knees and places her hands over her eyes 
               and face like a little girl trying to make something bad go 
               away.

               HAWKEYE

               Leads her to a depression, his arm around her shoulders, her 
               face covered and she cries softly into his shoulder.

               EXTREME CLOSE UP: CORA

               says into Hawkeye's ear, after she looks O.S....

                                     CORA
                         Say nothing to Alice...!

               Hawkeye nods.

               ALICE

               stands in the chamber not far from the wall of water, 
               fascinated with its shimmer. She's oblivious to all the events 
               and everything going on around her...

               HEYWARD

               sees Cora & Hawkeye together and turns away.

               GROUP

               Uncas watches Alice. The wounded Ranger has fallen asleep. 
               The Redcoat is exhausted. Hawkeye & Cora against the wall.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. RIVER BANK - TWILIGHT

               RIVER FALLS ARE IN MIST & RED SKY

               a landscape with mist rearlit by the red light of the sun 
               that's already behind the mountains. The blues are turning 
               purple and the greens are turning black and the white 
               highlights of the foaming water are going rose.  Reflecting 
               the darkening sky, where the surface isn't broken, the water 
               is fast-moving metal... SUDDENLY: a shaved head and muscled 
               back stands into the foreground. It moves down the shore 
               away from camera.

               He's followed by other Huron warriors. They're two hundred 
               yards away from Glen Falls island.

                                     HURON
                         looks at the island of rock & trees 
                         and tilts his head curiously...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST ABOVE CANYON & FALLS - TWILIGHT

               GREY WOLF

               Watches the Hurons below make their way towards the edge of 
               the falls.

               OVER HIS SHOULDER: THREE MORE WOLVES

               join him, moving frenetically, uneasily... The leader of the 
               pack looks up & howls as his eyes go white reflecting the 
               new moon.

               INT. GLEN FALLS CAVE - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE 

               Hears the distant howl. He's now lit silver blue by the 
               moonlight through the falling water. Hawkeye knows it means 
               Hurons are out there. He exchanges worried glances with Uncas 
               & Chingachgook.

               UNCAS

               immediately starts up the right acclivity to one fissure, 
               and Chingachgook moves carefully to the first fissure. Hawkeye 
               follows.

               HAWKEYE

               His countenance gives way momentarily. All his experience 
               seems of no avail. He touches the side of Cora's face. Grabs 
               Killdeer and follows Chingachgook.

               ALICE

               sensing new danger, slips away on her own.

               CORA

               crosses to the Ranger who's semi-conscious, feverish and 
               getting delirious. She can't do a thing except hold his hand 
               and think of her father.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. SOUTH FISSURE - TWILIGHT

               HAWKEYE & CHINGACHGOOK

               below the edge, listen & wait, testing the environment with 
               all their senses...

               NORTH FISSURE - UNCAS

               against one wall, has his ear cocked, monitoring, facing 
               away from the sky...

               ALICE

               looks at the sky through the fissure. She sees the starfields 
               and feels silver moonlight pull her forward. She starts out 
               onto the island, oblivious, unaware she'll expose them.

               Suddenly...

               UNCAS

               yanks her down next to him. He pulls her head into his chest, 
               looking out over the edge, his tomahawk in front of him, his 
               musket near his right hand. There is no sign she was seen.

               UNCAS & ALICE

               He relaxes, looks at her and puts his finger to his lips 
               telling her to be silent.

               Languorously, she lies back, closes her eyes and lays a hand 
               on his shoulder, palm up, as if he were a prince in a romantic 
               fantasy. Uncas tries to restrain her.

               ALICE'S

               eyes slowly open. Oblivion disappears. It's replaced with 
               escalating fear. She holds onto Uncas with desperation. Her 
               fingers claw his shoulders. She buries her face in his chest.

                                     ALICE
                         Uncas...

               Her body shudders. Her terror's total. He tries to restrain 
               and calm her. She won't let him. Then her mouth seeks his 
               and in the passion of despair and fear and wanting life, she 
               holds him between her thighs. And Uncas is confused, but 
               Alice whispers his name and he responds. He loves her in the 
               half-light.

               UNCAS

               his hand buried in her hair irradiated by the moon, then she 
               seems to reach some emotional climax and begins to cry softly, 
               and Uncas stops making love to her and holds her. Then she's 
               flooded with shame. He reaches for her. She jerks away. He 
               reaches for her again and clutches her to him. And she breaks 
               down. Then he turns her face to him, but her expression has 
               completely flattened.

               WIDER ANGLE

               She's not a lover to Uncas now. She's pitiful & stricken and 
               he comforts her.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. RIVER - NIGHT

               MAGUA

               Beaches a canoe on the bank. He and eight braves ease out. 
               His war paint is fresh: green handprints on his chest and 
               black and green on his face. Black plumes are affixed to his 
               scalp-lock and his shawl is over his left shoulder. The right 
               arm carrying his musket is exposed. Many scalps are tied to 
               his tomahawk. He walks towards us approaching the island, 
               two hundred yards away...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. SOUTH FISSURE - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE

               Checks his powder horn. Nearly empty. He looks at 
               Chingachgook.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. GLEN FALLS ISLAND, CAVE - NIGHT

               CORA 

               With the Ranger, looks up. Hawkeye enters. The look on his 
               face. Then hers. They've been discovered. Now they're backed 
               into a hole in the ground with no powder and no way out.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. GLEN FALLS, CAVE - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE & CHINGACHGOOK 

               Chingachgook talks to him in Mohican. Momentarily the anger 
               and frustration is seen on Hawkeye's face. All his experience 
               & craft has been to no avail. He looks at Cora.

               Back to Chingachgook. Chingachgook states something terse in 
               Mohican. Hawkeye agrees. Heyward's confused. He doesn't know 
               what they're talking about. Cora has understood Chingachgook's 
               intent perfectly.

                                     CORA
                         Yes. Go ahead.

                                     HEYWARD
                              (explodes)
                         What the bloody hell plan is this?

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Cora)
                         In this there is a chance. If I live, 
                         I can try to free you. If we don't 
                         go, there is no powder, there's too 
                         many of them.  Though my heart would 
                         keep me here, in that there is no 
                         chance. None. I can do nothing. Do 
                         you understand?

                                     CORA
                         Yes. I want you to go.

                                     HEYWARD
                         Coward! Coward back at the fort.  
                         Coward here.

               Hawkeye uses discipline not to kill the man.

                                     CORA
                         You try. With all you have. To save 
                         yourself. If the worst happens, and 
                         only one of us survives, something 
                         of the other does, too...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. NORTH FISSURE - NIGHT

               UNCAS 

               Listens. Hears. Then he inches above cover to see...

               UNCAS' POV: THE RIVER & SIX WAR CANOES

               of Hurons approach to assault the island carrying torches.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. GLEN FALLS CAVE - NIGHT

               CORA & HAWKEYE 

               She's holding him. In the rigid language of her body is the 
               struggle to contain her fear.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (very close)
                         If they don't kill you, they may 
                         take you north up into Canada. A 
                         warrior may take you for a wife.

               CORA

               turns aside. Hawkeye insists.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (continues)
                         Listen. Submit. You hear me?  You're 
                         strong. You stay alive. I will find 
                         you...  no matter how far, how long 
                         it takes...

                                     CORA
                              (nods, low)
                         ...never doubt what you are doing.

               RANGER

               conscious now, arranges his crushed body to face the direction 
               from which will come the attack as...

               HEYWARD

               puts Alice, who's entered, behind him as... Uncas hits the 
               floor of the cave. Now the first glow from Huron torches 
               starts to light the walls. They're coming...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               has their weapons slung over his back. He says something in 
               Mohican.  Uncas spins looks at Alice: her expression's vacant.

               HAWKEYE'S KNIFE

               cuts a lock of Cora's hair. He folds it into his shirt. The 
               orange light from Huron torches, now closer, plays on the 
               wall behind her. We hear many Huron approach.

               CHINGACHGOOK & UNCAS

               now run out of the cave and throw themselves into the curtain 
               of water. This is their exit.

               HAWKEYE

               engraves her image in his memory one last time and then 
               sprints across the floor towards the water...

               WHAT HAWKEYE SEES: JAMMING AT THE WATERFALL

               and then through it into...

               SUBJECTIVE CAMERA: UP

               An awful crushing roar. We explode out the front of a white 
               cataract a third of the way from the top and we fall down 
               away from the world.

               EXT. GLEN FALLS - NIGHT

               HAWKEYE 

               Tumbles down the falls; rolling, tumbling through the white 
               water; then through air; then back into cascading white water 
               again, disappearing...

               THE RIVER BELOW - NIGHT

               UNCAS & CHINGACHGOOK'S

               Bodies hit, disappear and don't surface. It looks 
               unsurviveable.

               HAWKEYE'S POV: FALLING

               Sheets of water fall with us. The bottom races towards us at 
               a hundred miles an hour...

               Just before we hit...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               INT. GLEN FALLS, CAVE -  NIGHT

               FLAMING TORCH

               WIDEN. The cave is filled with Hurons. The Redcoat is dead 
               in the corner. A group of braves moves away from the body of 
               the Ranger.

               HEYWARD'S

               surrounded. The women are behind him. He slashes at one Huron 
               with his sword and is clubbed down by a giant.

               MAGUA

               enters. His blanket, like a shawl, over his left shoulder, 
               black plumes in his hair. He's imperturbable.

               MAGUA'S HAND

               reaches out and touches Cora's hair. Cora is frozen to the 
               spot. His hand drops away from the hated Munros and as Magua 
               turns to go, he says something low in Huron and the two women 
               are jerked towards the fissures. Heyward is dragged by the 
               arms.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. RIVER - NIGHT

               WHITE WATER

               Miles from the falls. We see a figure. It's Chingachgook, 
               nearly spent, rolling and tumbling through the fast-moving 
               white water. He submerges, then surfaces again. He appears 
               exhausted by the fall and ride.

               CHINGACHGOOK'S POV: WATER

               rocketing at us, battering and drowning us. We glimpse 
               something downstream...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               tries to focus, slammed against rocks, he's striking out 
               towards the right, swimming against the current. He's grabbing 
               for something.

               KILLDEER'S MUZZLE

               and leather shoulder-strap. Chingachgook's hand grabs it. 
               The current rushing past tries to steal him from Uncas and 
               Hawkeye, who're also beaten, bloodied, exhausted. They pull 
               the older, larger man from the water and...

               ON THE ROCK

               all three lie there, almost devoid of energy. Then Hawkeye 
               rises, looks at the others.

               Chingachgook nods. He's up. Then Uncas, and they're moving 
               off into the calm eddy between the rock they landed on and 
               the shoreline.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST - DAY

               HURONS 

               Move along animal paths.

               CORA & ALICE

               struggle through the branches of trees. No one helps them. 
               When they fall behind, they are pushed forward.

               HEYWARD

               badly beaten, bound, staggers ahead to get behind Maqua. 
               Then:

                                     HEYWARD
                         If Magua give women to Yengeese 
                         soldiers... will receive many gifts.

                                     MAGUA
                              (as if considering)
                         Gifts?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Three, four oxen... much wampum.

                                     MAGUA
                         Wampum?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Yes.

                                     MAGUA
                         Does Yengeese Major have property 
                         across salt sea?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Yes.

                                     MAGUA
                         Yengeese Major give all property to 
                         Magua.  Magua give Yengeese Major 
                         much wampum, many gifts, maybe three, 
                         four oxen.

               Magua looks at Heyward derisively. Does this white man think 
               he's an idiot?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Gold could be arranged.

                                     MAGUA
                         For Munro children?

                                     HEYWARD
                         Yes.

                                     MAGUA
                         How much gold has the master of the 
                         Yengeese?

                                     HEYWARD
                         The King? The King has mountains of 
                         gold!

               Long pause as if Magua and King George II were seriously 
               considering this transaction.

                                     MAGUA
                         Not enough.

               Heyward is first realizing with whom he's playing.

                                     HEYWARD
                         What is enough?

                                     MAGUA
                         Heart. Give Magua new heart.

               Magua totally disdains the Englishman and walks away from 
               him, starting up a steeper forested hill.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST - TWILIGHT

               HAWKEYE, UNCAS & CHINGACHGOOK

               Running cross-country after the Huron column. They leap over 
               fallen logs and keep going.

               FRONTAL: HAWKEYE

               breathing hard, his lips are drawn back, sweat stains his 
               buckskins.

               PROFILE: UNCAS

               runs. Then sees something.

               BENT BRANCH

               where Cora & Alice were struggling up the animal path.

               REAR SHOT

               as they race across a stream away from us after the war party 
               and into the night...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

               CORA 

               Supporting Alice, is dragged forward by a Huron warrior by a 
               woven rawhide thong tied to her neck.

               MAGUA

               is imperturbable.

               HURONS

               move quickly down into a ravine.

               HEYWARD

               is shoved forward.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST - DAY

               RUNNING FEET

               Long, loping strides.

               HAWKEYE & UNCAS

               cover ground like long-distance runners. No noise except 
               their hard, even breathing.

               They're moving down a clear trail.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               out on the flank. Running hard.

               CLOSER: HAWKEYE

               lips are drawn back, determined, flashing through the hard 
               verticals of the forest, now leaps down an embankment into 
               the soft loam and keeps going.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. HURON VILLAGE - DAY

               ORNATE CHAIR 

               on a rude platform. The entire village is crowded in a large 
               circle. They all wait for someone. They've been waiting a 
               long time. In the perimeter warriors keep Huron at bay for 
               some reason. We see Magua. He stands apart. They wait. Then...

               ANCIENT SACHEM

               is led to the dais by three women down the main street between 
               the neat rows of birch bark lodges. Many scalps and trophies 
               from the massacre are in evidence. He sits on the raised 
               platform. He looks to be in his nineties. His dark wrinkled 
               face is contrasted by his long white hair. His robe is painted 
               in hieroglyphical representation of combat. He wears numerous 
               silver & gold medals, gifts of French, English and Dutch 
               governors.

               Most startling is his face. His dark & lined skin is enhanced 
               by delicate lines of tatooing. He looks up to Magua.

                                     SACHEM
                              (in Huron; subtitled)
                         The tomahawks of your young men have 
                         been very red.

                                     MAGUA
                              (in Huron; subtitled)
                         Many of the Yengeese are dead, great 
                         Sachem.
                              (sound dissolve to 
                              English)
                         I have brought three of my prisoners, 
                         to honor you. Two are the children 
                         of Munro. Whose scalp hangs on my 
                         lodge pole. And whose heart I cut 
                         from his chest.

               Now we see Cora on the ground. Defeat & fear are held in 
               place by her determination.

               Alice looks around, in another place. Heyward's hands are 
               bound between his back with a piece of wood wedged through 
               his elbows.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. DIFFERENT FOREST - DAY

               WIDE FRONTAL: UNCAS, HAWKEYE & CHINGACHGOOK

               running. Then Uncas drops and the other two follow.

               WIDE OVER THEIR SHOULDERS: THE HURON "CASTLE"

               seen in the distance through the sparse trees. They have 
               dropped at the very periphery of the forest where the woods 
               end. (The lay of the land is important for action that 
               follows: the village is built in a meadow. To the left is a 
               cliff face that rises to a rocky promontory. On the right is 
               a path that winds up to the promontory and beyond, across 
               the mountains.)

               Hawkeye sees...

               HAWKEYE'S POV: THE VILLAGE, CAPTIVES & HURON CROWD

               in the center, outside the largest lodge.

               HAWKEYE

               slams the earth with his fists. They didn't intercept them 
               in time. Difficult odds just became impossible.

                                                                    CUT TO:


               EXT. HURON VILLAGE - DAY

               MAGUA 

                                     MAGUA
                         ... the earth was pale. Our tomahawks 
                         were bright. Now they are dull from 
                         war.  And the Huron rich with the 
                         trophies of honor... Magua will sell 
                         the English officer to Les Francais 
                         and the reward is my gift to you, 
                         wise one... The women - children of 
                         the white war chief - will burn in 
                         our fires so all can share in this.

               The sachem considers this. Then he looks up and sees something 
               beyond Magua.

               MAGUA

               senses the sachem's eye line...

               HAWKEYE

               unarmed, walking through the Hurons. A young boy rushes at 
               him. Hawkeye, at the last possible second, dodges.  Others 
               catch and restrain the boy. The Hurons are astounded a 
               European would simply walk into their camp.

               CORA

               sees him enter, doesn't believe he's there.

                                     CORA
                         Nathaniel!

               Hawkeye glances at her, doesn't respond. The situation is a 
               stick of dynamite ready to go off.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Heyward; low)
                         Translate for me, Major. Into French.  
                         Every word... as I say it.

               Magua starts towards Hawkeye, his tomahawk slipping into his 
               hand.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Sachem)
                         I come to you unarmed and in peace 
                         to unstop your ears, wise one. Because 
                         the Hurons are mislead by the words 
                         of the wolf who's never spoken the 
                         truth.

               Sachem gestures with his hand to Magua. Magua reluctantly 
               stops advancing on Hawkeye. Heyward's French translation has 
               faded to a murmur. We hear Hawkeye's English.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Let the children of the dead Colonel 
                         Munro go free and take the fire out 
                         of the English anger over the murder 
                         of their helpless ones.

                                     MAGUA
                              (to Sachem)
                         Our father, Montcalm, is greater 
                         than the Yengeese in the arts of 
                         war. The Huron do not fear English 
                         anger.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Sachem)
                         Wise one, the French fathers made 
                         peace and swore to their honor not 
                         to break the friendship. Magua broke 
                         it. It is false that the French would 
                         not be friends, still, to the Huron.

               Sachem reacts.

                                     MAGUA
                              (laughs)
                         It made our French father happy to 
                         never have to fight the same Yengeese 
                         again.  He told me this without 
                         telling me this.

               Hawkeye realizes this is true.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         So the Huron are the servants of the 
                         French?  To do what the French are 
                         shamed to do?

                                     MAGUA
                         No.
                              (to Sachem)
                         Huron serve no one. The French father 
                         believes he fooled Magua because he 
                         is so proud of his cleverness, he is 
                         blind. But it is the Huron path that 
                         Magua walks down, not the French 
                         one... Now, Les Francais, also, fear 
                         Huron. That is good. When the Huron 
                         is strong from their fear, we will 
                         make the terms of trade with Les 
                         Francais. And we will trade as the 
                         white man trades. Take land from the 
                         Abnakes; fur from the Osage, Sauk & 
                         Fox. And make the Huron great. Over 
                         other tribes. No less than the whites, 
                         as strong as the whites.

               Hawkeye appears to be losing his debate with Magua.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (to Sachem)
                         Magua would use the ways of Les 
                         Francais and the Yengeese...

                                     MAGUA
                              (to Sachem)
                         The red man put down the bow, picked 
                         up the fire stick and became the 
                         best warrior in the forest. Yes. It 
                         is the only way.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Would the Huron make his Algonquin 
                         brothers foolish with brandy and 
                         steal his lands to sell them for 
                         gold to the white man?  Would the 
                         Huron have greed for more land than 
                         a man can use? Like Francais Black 
                         Robes do?  Would Huron kill tribes 
                         with disease? Would the Huron fool 
                         Seneca into taking all the animals 
                         in the forest for beads & brandy? 
                         But sell the fur to the white man 
                         for gold?...
                              (to Sachem)
                         Those are the ways of Yengeese and 
                         Les Francais masters. Are they the 
                         ways of Huron men who hunt & work 
                         the land? Or of dogs?  ...Magua's 
                         heart is twisted. He would make 
                         himself into what twisted him. A 
                         Dog, become Master of Dogs. But are 
                         Hurons dogs?  ...Magua's way is false. 
                         It is like the white sickness. Magua's 
                         way will bring only sadness and shame. 
                         Is there another way? I don't know.
                         (pauses)
                         I am Nathaniel of the Yengeese; 
                         Hawkeye, adopted son of Chingachgook, 
                         of the Mohican people... Let the 
                         children of the dead Munro go free... 
                         I speak the truth.

               Magua starts to rebut. Sachem holds up his hand and stops 
               him. Nobody talks. Sachem whispers to the older men on either 
               side of him.

               MAGUA

               waits for the decision.

               CORA

               looks to Alice, then to Hawkeye.

               HAWKEYE

               exchanges a desperate look with Cora and then senses the 
               Sachem is staring at him from the perspective of nearly a 
               century of laws & judgments. Then... to every word.

                                     SACHEM
                         The white man comes like a day that 
                         has passed. And night enters our 
                         future with him...
                              (pause)
                         Our council talks since I was a boy: 
                         What is the Huron to do?
                              (pause)
                         But Magua would lead Huron down paths 
                         that make us not Hurons.
                              (the judgment)
                         Dark girl burn in fire to heal the 
                         twisted heart of Magua.

               Cora, hearing the sentence... Hawkeye's losing her.

                                     SACHEM
                              (continuing)
                         Munro daughter with moon in her hair 
                         must be Magua's wife so Munro's seed 
                         doesn't die.

               Alice is gone, living in some dark recess of her mind.

                                     SACHEM
                              (continuing; dissolves 
                              back to French)
                         ... and Yengeese officer not go to 
                         Les Francais, but back to Yengeese 
                         so their hatred burns less bright. 
                         La Longue Carabine, go in peace.

               People move, start to implement the sentence. Hawkeye's 
               panicked. Cora is jerked upright. She looks at Hawkeye in 
               terror: Sachem is starting to depart.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         No! listen.
                              (to Heyward)
                         Tell him I'll trade him! Me for her! 
                         Tell him!!

               Heyward translates into rapid-fire French.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (shouts)
                         I am La Longue Carabine! My death is 
                         a great honor to the Huron. Take me!

               Cora is jerked forward by three Hurons. Magua grabs Alice. 
               Cora strikes at Magua. He knocks her aside. Chaos & confusion. 
               Meanwhile:

                                     MAGUA
                              (French; subtitled)
                         This is not the voice of wisdom. I 
                         go to the Hurons of the Lakes! You 
                         are women.  Send your arrows and 
                         guns to the Seneca, beg from them 
                         venison to eat, corn to grind.  
                         Slaves, dogs, rabbits, thieves... I 
                         spit on you!

               Those Hurons who hear, do so in deadly, boding silence. Magua 
               and his fourteen hard core braves start out as...

               SACHEM

               heard Heyward's translation. He looks at Heyward, then looks 
               at Hawkeye and he nods his head.

               HAWKEYE

               sees this. His eyes go to Cora. They've stopped dragging her 
               towards the fire pit.

               Hawkeye steps forward to surrender. Cora is thrown at him. 
               Cora looks around wildly.

               Instead of taking Hawkeye, two warriors grab Heyward.

               HEYWARD

               is immediately hamstrung and his legs collapse. He gasps. 
               He's caught under the arms and dragged forward.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         I said to trade me!

               Hawkeye's holding Cora. Heyward struggles to be seen.

                                     HEYWARD
                         ... compliments, Mr. Poe.
                              (pause)
                         Take her and get out.

                                     CORA
                              (standing)
                         What are they doing to Duncan?  
                         Duncan!

               He's gone. They start to ease away from the mass of Hurons.

                                     HAWKEYE
                              (low to himself)
                         And my compliments to you...

                                     CORA
                         Alice?

               Hawkeye's concentration is on backing out of the Huron mob. 
               Will the Sachem's judgment be honored? Will some warriors 
               hack down Hawkeye & Cora? As they go...

               CORA

               moves towards her sister. But Hawkeye holds her tightly as 
               they retreat.

               CORA'S POV: ALICE

               with Magua's group crosses the path. He drags Alice behind 
               him like baggage. She regains her feet. Magua is oblivious 
               to her. He's heading towards the plateau.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. FOREST, TREE LINE - DAY

               CHINGACHGOOK & UNCAS 

               Uncas sees Magua's direction. Uncas touches his father, grabs 
               his musket and races off.

               Chingachgook reaches to stop him, but he's too late. 
               Chingachgook's hand in the air...

               TWO-SHOT: HAWKEYE & CORA

               near the tree line. Hawkeye has eyes only for...

               HAWKEYE'S POV: HURONS

               moving towards fire pit. One turns to watch Hawkeye & Cora 
               depart. Will he arouse others to attack? Behind him, others 
               are doing something to Heyward and flames leap up.

               CORA'S EYES

               are on Alice, off to the right in the meadow.

               HAWKEYE

               tense. They're almost there.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               holding Killdeer.

               CHINGACHGOOK'S POV: MASSED HURON

               Sky & flames. Suddenly, Heyward's stood upright into the 
               fire, bound to a bracket by his arms. As the flames start 
               devouring him...

               HAWKEYE & CORA

               close to Chingachgook and the tree line...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               tosses Hawkeye Killdeer. As fast as he jams it into his 
               shoulder he FIRES.

               HEYWARD

               among the hollering Hurons, is shot dead. It goes unnoticed.

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. PROMONTORY - DAY

               UNCAS

               Half-way up the rock face. He's approaching an overhang. He 
               climbs with a reckless desperation...

               EXT.  STREAM - DAY

               HAWKEYE & CHINGACHGOOK

               pound across the (sic) to the meadow towards Magua's path...

               CORA

               trying to stay with them, scrambles up...

               EXT. PROMONTORY - DAY

               UNCAS

               reaches the overhang. It juts away from the face six feet.

               THE CEILING OF THE OVERHANG

               Uncas' hand jams into a crack in the granite, forms a fist 
               and twists, making a wedge.

               He swings out, dangling in space by the hand wedged into the 
               rock. His right hand reaches out and up, searching the 
               vertical face for...

               UNCAS' HAND

               ... a rock flake. An indentation. Anything... His fingers 
               find a diagonal crevice and...

               UNCAS

               swings out, now hanging by the vertical face above the 
               overhang. His features are distorted with determination. 
               Nothing will stop him. His right hand grabs another rock.

               His arms snap him up. Then push. He's on the ledge. Moving 
               fast...

                                                                    CUT TO:

               EXT. PROMONTORY - DAY

               HURONS

               On point are approaching the path above the promontory. Five 
               warriors are ahead of Magua. One behind him drags Alice.

               FIRST

               Huron starts up the narrow path. Suddenly...

               UNCAS

               slams him off the rock with the butt of his musket.

               WIDE ANGLE

               Two's musket coming up. Uncas swings. FIRES. Before he's 
               fallen, Uncas bayonets Three.

               FOURTH

               FIRES, misses, swings. Uncas slips the swung musket, but it 
               catches his elbow. Uncas' musket falls. Before it hits the 
               ground his tomahawk is out and hacks Four over the edge...

               MAGUA

               running forward past Five, confronts Uncas head on. It's 
               incredibly fast.

               UNCAS'

               three tomahawk swings are dodged by Magua whose own knife 
               streaks like silver flashes. Uncas, gashed on arms and chest, 
               feints right and slams Magua with an open hand, closes and 
               the men are intertwined steel and muscle... and Magua throws 
               Uncas.

               Going with him and rolling off Uncas, Magua's knife flashes 
               into his armpit. Uncas' right arm is useless. He scrambles 
               up. Next to the expertise of a mature warrior like Magua, 
               Uncas' raw, young determination may not be enough.

               EXT.  MEADOW - DAY

               CHINGACHGOOK

               Freezes.

               EXT. PROMONTORY - DAY

               UNCAS

               closing, swings. Magua moves inside, stabs Uncas twice, turns 
               him to face the edge, ripping his head left to expose the 
               right underside of his throat.

               CLOSE: MAGUA'S

               knife arm punches forward.

               WIDE: PROMONTORY

               Uncas falls down the face onto to the rocks.

               CHINGACHGOOK

               seeing his boy killed, CRIES out and is charging up the path, 
               Hawkeye following.

               EXT. PROMONTORY - ALICE

               backs to the edge.

               MAGUA

               moves on Alice. His knife is low, about to strike. She stares 
               at him. Her eyes are like pools of deep water, calm, open, 
               almost beatific. It stops Magua...

               MAGUA

               inexplicably, drops his knife hand. He's riveted by her. 
               About him, there's a glimmer of something else. He wears a 
               human face for this one moment. He reaches out with his other 
               hand to offer her safety. To bring her back from the edge...

               ALICE

               looks down at Uncas, her lover, dead on the rocks below. She 
               turns to Magua with enigmatic calm. Her eyes seem to see 
               into him. She steps off the edge. She falls to her death 
               next to Uncas...

               EXT. MEADOW - DAY

               CORA

               collapses to her knees on the ground and her face falls 
               forward into her hands...

               HURON WARRIORS

               are running down the path to intercept Chingachgook, charging 
               uphill, fueled by a father's rage, and Hawkeye. One Huron 
               aims at the center of Chingachgook's chest...

               HAWKEYE

               FIRES past his father's side. The Huron's blown off the path. 
               Hawkeye races to reload on the run...

               EXT. PROMONTORY - MAGUA

               sees the approach of Chingachgook.

               TO CHINGACHGOOK

               Huron warriors are an irrelevance. He slams one aside with 
               his musket.

               HAWKEYE FIRES.

               HURON

               with tomahawk, about to blindside Chingachgook, is SHOT DOWN.

               MAGUA

               charging Chingachgook.

               VERY WIDE

               Two men, like dots, race to collide at the center of the 
               promontory. Now the others fall back... It's one-on-one. 
               Hawkeye slows...

               COMBATANTS

               Magua - confident, pumped up - feints with his left, his 
               tomahawk appearing in his right, sweeping backhand, while 
               his left, magically holding his blade, is jamming up to gut 
               Chingachgook. Chingachgook's dead. Except...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               isn't there. He rolled and, on one knee with his back to 
               Magua, his arm slams rearward.

               The massive war club crashes into Magua's back.

               MAGUA

               stunned, turns to hatchet Chingachgook...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               now up and towering - slams his club right into Magua's 
               assault... destroying it, breaking Magua's right arm. And...

               CHINGACHGOOK

               ... with his momentum, spins like a shot-putter and the next 
               blow cripples Magua's left side and crushes part of his chest.

               ANOTHER BLOW

               destroys Magua's collar and shoulder.

               MAGUA

               amazed. His body is broken and crippled, but he still stands. 
               He looks into the eyes of the last warrior of the Mohicans.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         UNCAS!!!

               And he spins and swings. The blade side of the war club 
               punches into Magua's chest, caving him in two.

               WIDE

               Magua dies in the dust.

               HAWKEYE

               watching Chingachgook's heaving back. It's over.

               CORA

               alone, kneeling in the meadow. Her eyes downcast...

               WIDE REAR SHOT

                                                                  FADE OUT:

               FADE IN:

               EXT. - MOUNTAIN TOP -  NEXT DAY

               Chingachgook's at the edge, facing the endless rolling forests 
               to the west. A haze of sunlight illuminates silver and lead 
               clouds. Hawkeye is a little apart, watching his father.

               HAWKEYE'S POV: CHINGACHGOOK

               speaks to the sky.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                              (Mohican)
                         Great Spirit and the Maker of all 
                         Life...

               ON HAWKEYE & CHINGACHGOOK

               We HEAR Hawkeye's English translation in VOICE OVER:

                                     CHINGACHGOOK/HAWKEYE (V.O.)
                              (in English)
                         ... a warrior goes to you swift and 
                         straight as an arrow shot into the 
                         sun. Welcome him and let him take 
                         his place at the council fire of my 
                         people.
                              (pause)
                         He is Uncas, my son.
                              (pause)
                         Bid them patience and ask death for 
                         speed; for they are all there but 
                         one I, Chingachgook - Last of the 
                         Mohicans.

               Chingachgook's hands drop to his sides. He lets out his breath 
               with a weariness. His eyes seek Hawkeye's. They hold...

               CORA

               is standing, her back to us, in front of a rock-covered grave 
               with a wooden cross. Next to it is Uncas' burial platform. 
               Cora [says a] silent prayer. Then she pauses, crosses herself. 
               Her emotions are spent. She moves next to Hawkeye. He takes 
               her hand.

               HAWKEYE & CORA

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Will you go back to England?

                                     CORA
                         I have nothing to go back for.

               Long pause.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Then will you stay in America?

               She turns to face him.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         And will you be my wife?

               Pause.

                                     CORA
                         Yes.

               They hold each other's eyes. She searches his face.

                                     CORA
                         Where will we go?

                                     HAWKEYE
                         Winter with the Delaware, my father's 
                         cousins. And in the spring, cross 
                         the Ohio and look for land to settle 
                         with my father in a new place called 
                         Can-tuck-ee.

               They move next to Chingachgook. He senses they're beside 
               him. Hawkeye's arm is around her shoulders.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         The frontier moves with the sun and 
                         pushes the red man of the wilderness 
                         forests in front of it. Until one 
                         day there will be nowhere left.  
                         Then our race will be no more, or be 
                         not us...  The frontier place is for 
                         people like my white son and his 
                         woman and their children.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         That's my father's sadness talking.

               Hawkeye puts a hand on his shoulder.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         No. It is true... One day... there 
                         will be no more frontier. Then men 
                         like you will go, too.  Like the 
                         Mohicans.
                              (pause)
                         And new people will come. Work. 
                         Struggle to make their light... One 
                         mystery remains.

                                     HAWKEYE
                         What is that?

               Cora, listening to Chingachgook, takes Hawkeye's hand.

                                     CHINGACHGOOK
                         Will there be anything left to show 
                         the world that we ever did exist?

               REAR SHOT

               Cora stands next to her man. Hawkeye puts his arm around his 
               father. They stare out over the wilderness.

                                                                  FADE OUT:

                                         THE END