Turgut! (Italian: Il Turgut) is the ninth episode of the third season, The Two Tigers from the animated series, Sandokan.
Synopsis
Following such a strenuous trial, our heroes are resting inside the monk’s refuge. Marianne has recovered from her wound and she is now able to walk. Sandokan must go and fetch Randi and Kammamuri and Morugan offers to accompany him, but this time Marianne has her saying that Morugan will stay with Yanez and she wants to go with Sandokan.
Marianne and Sandokan head towards the valley, while Yanez and Morugan go towards a mountain village where they shall be awaiting Sandokan’s return. The two of them immediately begin to quarrel over who has to take care of the dagger. Yanez wins the argument and Morugan leaves him alone. She walks around the village, freezing all the while, until she comes upon a tavern. There are quite a few horses tied to the post outside. She goes inside. There’s men making a racket and laughing out loud. When they catch sight of her, they fall silent. From the crowd comes a voice calling out to her: it’s Yanez. He is playing craps with a group of unreliable-looking people. He shoots his dice and wins. But the rogues add more money to the pile he has already won and each time Yanez wins, he drinks up a shot of very strong liquor. Morugan orders him to stop, but Yanez pays no heed. Morugan leaves him alone again. He goes on winning and drinking. He has practically stripped the rogues of their last cent, when he suddenly slumps down to the ground in a drunken state.
The bystanders look at each other and burst out laughing. In the meantime, Sandokan and Marianne reach the place where an ice bridge should be connecting the two valleys. The bridge has crumbled and they cannot walk ahead or go back to where they came from. They set up a makeshift shelter for the night and even burn their own sled in order to warm up a bit. It’s dawn and our two heroes have reached the end of their rope when an enormous avalanche fills up the crevice. The bridge is miraculously restored and they can take up their journey.
Morugan is anxious since Yanez hasn’t yet returned, so she goes looking for him at the tavern and finds him asleep on the ground, undressed of his clothes. She throws a bucket of water into his face, but it takes him a while to arouse from his sleep. He’s even been robbed of the dagger and they’ve got to find it before Sandokan’s return. The inn-keeper tells him that he’s been robbed by a group of bandits who live on the mountain.
Yanez e Morugan reach the robbers’ den. They hide and watch them as they quarrel over the dagger. The argument gets very heated and their leader is forced to step in: “Turgut!” Yanez and Morugan don’t understand what’s going on; they hear some noise coming from behind and immediately realize that they’ve been discovered. They are led before their leader who says: “Turgut!” and all the bandits reply in chorus: “Turgut!” Then he turns to the two prisoners and says to them: “Turgut or…”, as he makes an eloquent sign across his throat. “Turgut!”, agree Yanez e Morugan.
Sandokan and Marianne are certainly not going through better times. Their journey on foot has left them freezing and famished. They finally reach what they’ve been yearning for: a big crackling fire and the enticing smell of a roasting rabbit. Unfortunately, the three silhouettes that are sitting around the warm flames are three marauders armed to the hilt, whereas Marianne has only two bullets in her pistol. Sandokan removes the bullets from the pistol and lets the bandits capture them. He then draws up close to the fire and at the right moment he drops the two bullets inside; the ensuing explosion distracts them and with Marianne’s help he ties them down. Sandokan eats the rabbit with Marianne and then they take off on their horses.
In the meantime, the game begins to be somewhat dangerous back at the camp... in fact, Yanez and Morugan are wearing a necklace around their necks, with a tablet at the level of their hearts and they’re both holding a knife in their hands. The others are decked up in the same manner and at a signal they throw their knives towards the tablet upon their opponents’ chest. Only one of them is wounded in the leg and since Morugan hasn’t thrown her knife, a bandit looks at her menacingly: “Turgut!” Yanez shouts: “Hey, wait a minute...” and one moment later Morugan throws her knife and it hits bull’s eye. It’s a doubles game.
The one who misses is eliminated and the one who wins will get the magical dagger as a prize. The problem is that the distance between the two partners gets greater and greater; Yanez and Morugan reach the finals against another couple. Their opponents go wrong, without wounding the other partner. Now it’s Yanez’s turn, but it seems as if he’s decided not to throw from a great distance. Their opponents are already looking forward to victory when Yanez suddenly throws his knife and hits the mark.
Our heroes win the competition and Yanez retrieves the magical dagger from the hands of their leader. The bandits do not agree in the least, so Yanez and Morugan are forced to flee. But chance leads them to a wooden drinking trough: they turn it upside-down and slide off as quick as lightning. Finally, after overcoming a swollen river, Sandokan and Marianne reach the village where Randi and Kammamuri are waiting for them.
Yanez and Morugan reach the mountain village just in time to meet the others who immediately narrate their misadventures: luckily they had time to rest in the village! Yanez and Morugan exchange glances and say: “Turgut!”, all the while laughing merrily. Also, Paco breaks the fourth wall by happily sticks his tongue out and dances.
Characters
Heroes
Allies
- The Hermit
- Turgut Mountaineers
