"Hello." "Hello." "I wonder what's holding them up." "Don't worry about that, Father." "We'll be going soon." "John, did you feed them hounds?" "Yes, Grandpa, yes." "All right." "Now tighten her up, Son." "She'll take us where we're going." "Yes, but where are we going?" "Now, Ma, they're thrashing' that matter out over there now." "Pa, they made you the leader." "Why don't you say where to go?" "I'm only leader of the Missourians, Daughter." "There are families here from every state in the Union, I reckon." "Can't be waitin' on 'em forever, Dad." "No, Son." "They're holding a powwow over there now." "I'll just step over and see what they got to say." "Well, bless our wild heart." "If it ain't Breck Coleman." "How are you, Zeke?" "Where at you been hidin' yourself for the last year, boy?" "Been down Santa Fe way, Zeke." "Just drifted in." "And here's Windy Bill." "Looks like you've wintered through in good shape." "Well, Coleman, most times I winter through in fair shape." "This year, when the first grass showed, I'd only put on 60 pounds." "Say, Bascom, he maybe could tell us of a likely stretch of country." "Breck, could you sight us to a second Missouri anywheres out yonder?" "Sure." "But it's a long, tough pull from here." "2,500 mile the way you'd have to go." "No, it's too far off." "No place is too far if it's what we want." "This is a land beyond Oregon." "There ain't no land beyond Oregon, mister." "West of Oregon comes the ocean, way it's been told to me." "This stretch is north of Oregon." "How many people settled on it now?" "It's Indian country." "Except for the trappers, never a white man has left his track there." "Only one trading post in that whole country." "Who owns it?" "A Missouri trapper owns it." "Hey, mister, will you tell me this..." "Hey, hey, there." "Since you all elected me the he-coon of this outfit, let me do the talking." "It's everything a Missourian's heart could crave." "There's two snow-capped mountain ranges with peaks lost in the sky." "And between them ranges, men, is a great valley." "Lakes and streams everywhere." "Fish, you ask, and game?" "There's salmon swarming' up them rivers thicker than blackbirds in a cane patch." "Friend, will you undertake to lead us to that valley?" "I'd like nothin' better, men..." "But our trails fork here." "I've got business that calls me back down the road Santa Fe way." "What business do you follow, friend?" "I'm a trapper." "Well, surely there's fur aplenty out in that land beyond Oregon." "Plenty." "But I gotta kill me a pair of skunks, back apiece on the road to Santa Fe." "Hey, wait, wait." "Friend, how do you find that valley?" "Wellmore here is sending a bull train clear through to old Tom Williams's trading post." "First time it's ever been tried." "String along behind them and, if they make it through, you'll find your valley." "And tell that great white mountain hello for me." "Good-bye, Zeke." "Well, thanks, boy." "Hey!" "Hey, maybe he fed us a fairy tale." "Now don't be a pig, you know." "Howdy, Mrs. Riggs." "Land's sakes!" "Well, you sure look fine, Mother Riggs." "It's a long time since I've seen you." "You know, you always was a great hand to wander." "Yeah, I ramble around." "And how are the little twins?" "Little?" "My lands!" "Them girls has grown since you seen 'em last." "No!" "Mm-hmm." "They in the house?" "Mildred is." "Elise went down to watch the boat come in." "I reckon I'll saunter in and surprise Mildred." "Oh, you sure will surprise them." "Well, Breck, I sure am glad to see you." "Well, you certainly have doubled in size since last I set eyes on you, Mildred." "You just must see Elise." "I'll surely see her before I leave." "There's the Peensie Bell whistling now." "Ooh, look at the crowd." "Oh, look." "Okay." "I guess it is important to have everything ready." "I have everything ready." "Well, Miss Cameron, we be landing' in a few minutes." "Got all your outfit together?" "Most everything's ready, Captain Hollister." "Listen, why don't you give up this plan and turn back?" "Why, there's no place to turn back to." "Why, there isn't a home in all the South that wouldn't welcome the daughter of Colonel Cameron." "True." "But we can hardly become perpetual visitors." "It's a tough proposition, girl, this pioneer life in a savage wilderness." "We realize that, Captain Hollister, but we must keep the family together." "Honey Girl wants to stay with her sister Ruth, doesn't she?" "Yes, I do." "And our brother Dave's almost a man grown." "Ruth is right, Captain." "The Cameron tribe must stick together." "Say, you're just the fella I want to see." "I want to play some more of that shell game." "Have you got any more money?" "Oh, sure I got some money." "Where'd you get that?" "From my mother-in-law." "She lend it to me, but she don't know it." "Here, I'll meet you below deck." "Get along." "Don't forget." "I wait there for you." "Are you still determined to be a sturdy pioneer?" "Quite determined, Mr. Thorpe." "I've told you about my plantation in Louisiana." "It must be wonderful." "Miss Cameron, those lands and servants are yours, if you'll take me with them." "Why, I do thank you." "But as I've said before, it's quite impossible." "Good-bye, Mr. Thorpe." "Now, if I win, I'm going to keep it." "But if I lose, I give my mother-in-law half." "Good afternoon, gentlemen." "Here we are again." "Hello, Thorpe." "Well, Gussie, you want to see the elusive little ball under the shells." "There you are." "Now it's bound to be under one of them." "There's one, there's two, and there's three." "Now we'll shuffle them just a little bit, just to confuse you." "And take your choice." "Now wait, I show you." "Here, I bet you two dollars." "Two dollars." "Covered." "I always do that for good luck." "Now wait." "I show you." "Now watch." "Ah, you see, Gussie, the hand is faster than the eye." "Better luck next time." "Oh, here." "Who wants to buy my mother-in-law's stocking?" "Gus!" "Oh, there you are." "What do you mean by spending my money?" "But, Mama, I'm going to give you half." "Give me my money." "Give it to her." "Hurry UP" "Give me the rest of it." "Why, madam, that's my own money." "That's my money." "No, no, Mama." "That's his money." "Captain, I demand that that man give me my money." "Hand it over." "See, Mama?" "Didn't I tell you we would win?" "Why, you big loafer!" "Get out of here!" "Spending my life's earnings!" "Now, Thorpe, you get off of my boat." "If you set foot on it again, I'll put you in irons and land you at St. Charles on my way back." "Davey, I think I better go find Mrs. Riggs, that lady Captain Hollister told us about." "Come on, Honey Girl." "No." "I want to stay here with Davey and watch them unload." "Well, you take good care of her, Davey." "I will." "I'll be right back, Honey Girl." "It's a nice place, ain't it, Mama?" "It's terrible!" "Look at the mud!" "Well, listen, Mama, I gonna go see if I can buy a horse." "Come on." "Come on." "I carry you over there." "I don't want you to get your feet wet." "That's it." "Here we go." "Now you stay there." "I bring Abbie over." "Come on, Abbie." "I don't want you to get your shoes all muddy." "That's it." "Come on." "Here we go." "Oh, stop laughing, will you, Abbie?" "That's it." "Now you wait here." "I bring Mama." "Come on, Mama." "I take you over, Mama." "Come on, Mama." "Come on, Mama." "It's..." "Here!" "What are you trying to do?" "But, Mama, I want to carry you across so you won't get your feet wet." "You?" "I'll cross my own mud." "All right then, Mama, but let me help you." "That's it, Mama." "Come on now." "Okay, step on that board, Mama." "That's it, Mama." "Ohh!" "Say, I come right back." "Ohh!" "Oh, Gus!" "Uh, Mrs. Riggs?" "Yes, miss." "That's me." "Well, I'm Miss Cameron." "Captain Hollister told me to see you." "Friend of Captain Hollister?" "Yes, lam." "Come right on in." "Oh, thank you." "Now don't tear your pretty dress on them logs." "Oh, it's nice and cool in here out of the sun." "Now you sit down, make yourself easy, and I'll brew you a cup of tea." "Oh, that's awfully nice of you, Mrs. Riggs." "Thank you." "No!" "Wha..." "Why, what do you mean by..." "Oh, I thought..." "Oh!" "Oh!" "It was thisaway, ma'am, I thought you were someone else." "Wait!" "It was thisaway." "I thought you were Elise, ma'am." "Elise?" "Yes." "Just thought I'd surprise her sort of." "Did you indeed?" "Let me tell ya." "If you'll light someplace, I'll tell ya." "Oh!" "Oh." "What is it?" "You're as pale as a ghost." "Oh, it's nothing, Mr. Thorpe." "Really." "I..." "But there must be something wrong." "Oh, nothing." "Just an unpleasant occurrence." "I'm gonna explain that play." "There's nothing to explain." "But I'm gonna tell you anyhow." "It seems to me you're forcing yourself on this lady." "Is that how it seems to you?" "How else can I take it?" "It's nothing to me how you take it." "But it matters a heap to me, ma'am, how you understand." "Perhaps not." "But if it concerns Miss Cameron," "I'll demand an explanation." "You will?" "Then speak your piece." "Mr. Thorpe, will..." "Will you please take me to my brother?" "With pleasure." "I'll be looking for you shortly." "Well, I won't be hard to locate." "Hello, Honey Girl." "Hello." "Thank you so much, Mr. Thorpe." "It's a great pleasure." "Just think." "This wagon will be your home for the next six months." "And after that, a cabin in the wilderness." "My mind is made up, Mr. Thorpe." "We're going with the settlers." "You know my brother David." "Yes." "Hello, Dave." "How do you do?" "Howdy, DOV!" "Hello, Zeke." "Howdy, Bill." "Hey, Jack, I been tellin' you about this here boy Coleman." "He can heave a knife into a mark so big every time." "I'll bet you a buffalo hide he can't heave it into that post back of ya." "Call the bet!" "Now here." "Show him, boy." "Bless our wild heart!" "Oh, I've seen him do it a hundred times, eh, Bill?" "That's another buffalo hide you owe me, Jack." "You remember, Bill, that time up, uh, on the Snake River..." "Oh, I sure do." "Say, boy, I want to know about old Ben Griswell." "I hear the Indians downed him." "Only it wasn't Injuns downed him." "No?" "Renegade whites done it." "How come?" "He'd been wolf in' all winter." "Yeah?" "Must've had $2,000, $3,000 worth of wolf pelts." "Oh, easy that." "He was hacked up and stuck full of arrows." "Looked like Injun work, all right." "The wolf pelts was gone." "If ever I find them hellhounds," "I'll sure make 'em hunt their holes." "Come on." "Lopez, who's that young buck over there with no hair on his face?" "That's, uh, Breck Coleman." "He very quick with his knife." "Oh, where's he come from?" "He come from the plains, the mountains." "He live with the Indians." "He can throw a knife through the heart in 20 feet." "He's the best shot in all this country." "He knows everything." "He'll know too much for his own good someday." "Yes." "All right." "If old Ben had lived, he'd be going on about 72 now, wouldn't he?" "Injuns never done this." "It was renegade whites." "And they've left their mark." "Oh, I'd say I do." "Say, Zeke, who was that he-grizzly that just went by?" "Why, that's Red Flack." "He's bullwhackin' for Wellmore." "He's gonna whack Wellmore's train clear through to Oregon." "You reckon you'll ever find out who downed old Ben?" "It's just possible that a certain low-down coyote left his sign there." "Well, hello, Coleman." "Howdy, Wellmore." "I've changed my mind." "I'll scout for that bull train after all." "Well, that's a ray of sunshine." "Shake hands afore you change your mind again." "Got a good wagon boss for the trip?" "Red Flack." "A burly ruffian, but he can maul the toughest traitor on the plains into a pulp without even working up a sweat." "He can do that, eh?" "Flack?" "Ha!" "Why, he likes to do it." "But he can run a bull train." "Here he comes now." "Well, Wellmore, all ready to start?" "Likely you two have met before." "Nah." "I reckon not." "Coleman's gonna scout for the train." "You understand, Flack, that he's to have final say in all matters dealing with the Indians." "Yes?" "Well, who's got the final say about bossing' this bull train?" "He understands that you're the wagon boss." "Yeah." "Another thing, another thing..." "Am I supposed to be wet nurse to them woodenhead pilgrims a-crossin' the plains?" "The more that goes along, the better it is for them and you in case Indians jump ya." "Well, all right." "All right!" "Make it clear to him that I'm wagon boss." "Oh, he understands that, Flack." "He seems to be a right pleasant cuss." "He's a ruffian, but he's a real wagon boss." "Likely he is." "Must've done a big trade in wolf pelts this year." "Yes, we had a big trade with the wolfers." "Flack sell you any of these?" "Flack?" "No." "He didn't do any wolfing last winter, I guess." "What outfit did you buy the biggest bunch from?" "Fella name of Lopez come in about a month ago with close on to 5,000 dollars' worth." "Lopez,eh?" "I guess I don't know him." "I signed him up as a bullwhacker on the train." "You did, eh?" "I'll see you next year." "Bring your scalp along back whole." "All right." "Good-bye." "Is that so?" "It certainly is." "I don't know whether they're gonna get through or not..." "Windy, I'm gonna scout for that bull train." "Good." "Oh, Mr. Cameron, this is Mr. Coleman." "Howdy, Mr. Coleman." "How do you do, sir?" "Uh, he can tell you more about that country where you're going, and what kind of an outfit you need than any man around here." "Thanks." "Windy, throw my bags in with yours and Zeke's, will ya?" "All right, I'll do." "Tell Zeke I'm going along." "All right, boy." "Mr. Coleman, would you mind looking over my outfit?" "Certainly not." "Uh, we'll go have a peek at it." "Where is it?" "Right over there, sir." "Honey Girl, it's time for your history lesson, dear." "Now, uh, how many stars in the flag?" "Twenty-six." "How many stripes?" "Thirty." "Now, you know better than that." "There's 13." "And what do they stand for?" "The 13 original colonies." "Now remember that." "Now, who discovered the Columbia River?" "Here's our outfit." "Mr. Coleman, this is my sister Ruth." "Robert Gray." "Honey Girl, it isn't safe to be sitting in a rocking chair, when there are certain persons present." "I think you'll find we have everything." "Plenty of guns?" "A rifle and a fowling piece." "How about ammunition?" "Plenty." "One thing..." "I don't see any barrel." "A barrel?" "Yeah, you'll need a water barrel." "There'll be long stretches without water." "I knew we'd forget something." "I'll go get one." "All right." "What I was aiming to tell you was this." "When I came in..." "The folks right next there had an extra one." "Oh, quick work, son." "Say, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take two barrels." "Suppose you go rustle another one." "I'll do that." "When I came romping into the Riggses' cabin, ma'am..." "How's this one?" "Oh!" "Well, that's fine." "Looks like barrels grow on trees around here." "Mr. Cameron, you better tell your sister to change that pretty dress." "She won't get very far in that." "Yes, sir." "Put on some traveling clothes." "Let's have a peek around here." "We have a trailer, in case we needed..." "I like him better than Mr. Thorpe." "Honey Girl, we'll finish your history lesson." "Ah, I know how that is." "Well, you won't..." "Thorpe!" "Thorpe, you get back on the Peensie Bell and make yourself scarce." "If you're here when the boat pulls out, the boys will certainly lead your pony out from under you." "Why, I had no intention of staying." "I'll be on the Peensie Bell when she leaves." "You see that you are." "My goodness." "I don't know what I'm going to do with you." "Well, I try again." "Come on." "Here." "Up you go." "Up." "Oh, you stubborn jackass." "I give you a "yab" in the "yaw."" "I bet you "yump." Come on." "Up." "Hello there, Gus." "What do you call that thing you got there?" "Oh, his name is Jack." "Jack?" "Oh, yes." "But that's only half of it." "Well, see, he's only a half a horse." "Well..." "What's the matter?" "Can't you get him up?" "I don't know." "I pull and I pull, but he won't come up." "Wait." "Wait." "I got an idea." "Say, what did you say to him then?" "Heh!" "I told him a joke about my mother-in-law." "Gus!" "Wait." "Shh." "Here she comes." "Gus, what have you got there?" "This is my new horse." "I just bought him." "You bought him?" "Sure." "Say, ya..." "That wasn't me, Mama." "No, it was the mule." "That rum's for you and me, eh?" "Ah, gracias." "Ahh." "Well, if it ain't Bill Thorpe, eh?" "I always thought you was hung and planted years back." "No, my time ain't arrived yet, Flack." "Yeah." "Though it looks as though it might be drawing close." "Ah, how come?" "Well, I've been promised a hanging bee if I don't get out on the Peensie Bell." "And the captain promised me a necktie party if I set foot on the boat." "It's a case of nowhere to go." "Yeah." "It appears to me you do your shooting by daylight, with too many people looking on, eh?" "Well, long as you can't go and you can't stay, just what do you figure to do about it, eh?" "Well, I've always been able to wiggle out." "Yeah." "Appears to me as if you was born to be drowned, eh?" "Come on, Zeke." "Get rid of that moonshine, and let's get out in the sunshine." "All right, big boy." "Hold your head up." "Don't leave me." "Yeah, so long, folks." "See you next year." "Yeah." "Are you just as handy with a gun as you was?" "I can drive a nail at 30 paces." "Yeah." "Well, as long as you can't go, and you can't stay..." "Wouldn't be a bad idea if you was to go along with me." "Well, that sounds reasonable." "Yeah." "Where do you happen to be headed for?" "Well, anyways, it's out there, where there ain't no noose awaiting' for you, eh?" "Hello, Breck." "Well, Windy, I trapped him with his jug down at Joe's." "Hey, Windy, here's the last you'll see of civilization for a long time." "That's worth tryin'." "Hey!" "Back up here, will ya?" "Back up." "I gotta finish that with Windy." "Hey, that's what you get for not drinkin' with me." "I'll drink at your next wedding." "Yeah!" "Windy, uh..." "Do some of them musical things, will you, with your mouth?" "Ah, that's old stuff." "Dab, no." "Something new." "Oh, well." "A coyote." "That's no coyote." "There's the stuff!" "Hey!" "Hey, did you ever kill a dead Indian?" "No, I never killed a dead one." "Before they was dead, did ya?" "No." "You see, the Injuns are my friends." "They taught me all I know about the woods." "They taught me how to follow a trail by watching the leaves." "And how to cut your mark on a tree so you won't get lost in the forest." "And they taught me how to burry in in the snow, so you won't freeze to death in the storms." "And they taught me how to make a fire without even a flint." "How could you do that?" "And they taught me how to make the best bow and arrows too." "Did they teach you how to make papooses?" "No, that's one of their own secrets." "Well, boys, I guess we better get going." "O God, our Father, as you sit on high and look down on us poor mortals, forgive our frailties." "I am about to lead these people into a wild and dangerous country." "Give me strength and wisdom, 0 God, to lead them through." "Where's my steps?" "Mama, I got everything packed up in the wagon." "But how can I get into the wagon, you idiot?" "Well, look, I show you." "Look, Mama, put your feets up on there." "That's it." "Now wait." "I lift." "That's..." "Up you go, Mama." "That's it." "Now one more foot up." "Now up, Mama." "Up, Mama." "That's it." "Up." "Wait, Mama." "You're sitting on my head, Mama." "Please..." "There you go." "Get in." "Get in, folks." "We're goin'." "Mount up." "We're goin' now." "Get in there." "We're on our way." "Pull out!" "Give us a song!" "All right." "We're off, boys." "Sam's got a wooden leg below the knee" "Sam's got a wooden leg below the knee" "Whoa, mule!" "Never mind!" "I walk there, Useless." "Come on." "You want these sacks, don't ya?" "Trade cattle." "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "About time we were movin' on." "Yeah." "Willy!" "Come on, Willy." "Forward!" "Ah, giddyap!" "Ah, giddyap!" "Ah, giddyap!" "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Move out!" "Yeah!" "Yee!" "You make me so tired!" "Get over there!" "I'm tired of this!" "Fi!" "Get up here!" "Get along here!" "Get in there!" "Get on!" "Go on!" "Howdy, Dave." "Hello, Coleman." "Oh, Miss Cameron..." "Glad to see you took my advice about saving that pretty dress." "You look so nice in it, it'd be a shame to spoil it." "Looking for anyone in particular?" "Honey Girl, a gentleman never comes to a lady's home when he isn't wanted." "Out here, this wagon's our only home." "Pony, that means us." "Come on, Useless." "What's the matter?" "Come here, Useless." "Hey, there." "Whoa!" "Wait." "Wait." "Whoa." "Get in..." "Get in there." "Get in there!" "Giddyap!" "Whoa." "Come on." "Get in there!" "Come on, Useless." "This way." "Git!" "Whoa." "Wait a minute, Useless." "Come on, Useless." "Come on, Useless." "Come on." "What do you think of this fella Thorpe?" "Ah, I've seen that there squawker somewheres afore." "Can't recollect just where." "He, uh, shoots a kind of a nasty look at you once in a while, boy." "We had a run-in the first day." "Yeah?" "You know, he ain't no settler." "Nah." "And he ain't no bullwhacker." "Uh-uh." "Wonder what he come along for." "Aha!" "He come along, uh, 'cause of that, uh, Cameron girl." "I'm still mystified, Mr. Thorpe, why you came here instead of returning to your plantation." "I've told you why I came." "I induced Captain Hollister, an old friend of mine, to put back to shore, and I followed you." "Yes, I know that's what you told me." "But I'm afraid you're a flatterer." "Oh!" "On my honor, no." "You got a chew of tobacco?" "Hey, Lopez!" "Tobacco's gonna be mighty scarce later on." "Boy, I'm goin' back to old Windy Bill and get a slug of "come on."" "Your name's Lopez, eh?" "Uh, Lopez, that's me." "You and Flack good friends, he tells me." "Ah, Flack and me been friends 12, 15 years." "You were out wolfing together last winter, eh?" "No, no, no." "Wolfing, she not good business." "No money." "Then you didn't get many?" "No, not much." "Funny." "Wellmore said you sold him more furs than any other half dozen outfits." "No." "He must have been talking about someone else." "Not me." "Well, no matter." "See you often." "Ah, you rascal." "Flack." "Got a good bunch of bullwhackers, Flack." "That, uh, Lopez strikes me as a good hand." "Ah, you bet." "Lopez can pound them along." "You and him old friends, eh?" "Who?" "Lopez and me?" "Nah." "I never see'd him till he signed on this trip." "My mistake." "Ah, Lopez." "I don't like this man Coleman." "Yeah?" "If he asks after me, you tell him you never see'd me, till you signed on this trip." "You're too late." "Why?" "He just speak to me, and I tell him we was old friends." "What?" "What do you use under your hat instead of brains?" "You need no brains if you got this." "Ahh." "Now you're talking sense." "Come on, you." "Come on." "Giddyap." "Pick your partner and a-promenade back." "First couple out to the right and follow the ca..." "Prepare to promenade back." "First couple out to the right and follow the call." "Now right in circles." "Take your partner and a-promenade back." "First couple out to the right and follow the call." "Maybe she won't, uh, talk with him, but she'll dance with him, eh?" "It's a lovely dance." "On with the next and follow the call." "And a lovely night." "And a lovely girl." "Now's your chance." "Go in and snag her away from him." "I claim the favor." "With pleasure, Mr. Thorpe." "Well, Zeke." "Hello, boy." "Thorpe just stole my partner and left me dancing with myself." "Yeah?" "Say, boy, it just come to me a minute ago, where I seen that there Thorpe before." "Where?" "Camped on the Cimarron with Flack and Lopez." "They're old friends." "Are you sure of that?" "Dead certain." "So keep your eye peeled on him, son." "Oh, I'm tired." "I think I'll go to my wagon." "Why, certainly." "Let me take you there." "And to think this same moon is shining on my old plantation in Louisiana." "All it needs is a lovely woman to preside there." "Someday you'll find her." "I have found her, Ruth." "Oh, please, Mr. Thorpe." "Look, I've told you before that there can be no happiness without love." "But love will come." "Ruth..." "I'm really tired, Mr. Thorpe." "Do you mind if I go to bed?" "Good night." "Good night." "We're getting into dangerous country, Flack..." "So I'll be riding to the Pawnee villages to pick up some Injun scouts." "Yes?" "Well, you're likely to lose your scalp out there." "I'll bet you a couple of wolf pelts I bring it back with me." "How long'll you be gone, Coleman?" "Three or four days, a week maybe." "Oh, back so soon?" "I thought maybe you wouldn't be coming back at all." "And just why did you think that?" "Well, after I sort of took the dark-eyed beauty away from you," "I thought you might be decamping." "Listen, Thorpe." "I never quit a job in the middle of the road." "Oh, quite so." "Quite so." "But after the girl quit you in the middle of the road..." "Say that again, Mr. Thorpe!" "I know who you are now, and I know why you quit the Cimarron country too." "Oh, well." "No necessity to have quarrels among friends." "Friends?" "You threw too wide a loop." "Remember this, the three of you..." "I'm not your friend." "Yeah." "Well, you let him scare you stiff." "Not at all." "Only an idiot, you know, presses a quarrel, when the other man has a knife pressed against his middle." "Yeah." "Good excuse." "Wolf pelts, eh?" "What does that mean?" "Don't mean nothin'." "It doesn't to me, but it does to you." "Yeah?" "Where'd you get that notion?" "When he mentioned wolf pelts, you looked as though he'd rammed a knife in you." "Not exactly what I'd call a poker face." "Yeah?" "Well, what of it?" "Oh, nothing." "Only I'm beginning to understand why you don't like Coleman." "Bye, Windy." "And, Zeke, I'll be seeing you in the happy hunting grounds if not before." "Good luck, boy." "Bye." "Well, Miss Ruth, I got some good news for you." "What?" "I'm gonna be away for a while." "I'm going scouting'." "Well, isn't that dangerous in the open country?" "Lord, no." "I love it..." "Especially now that it's spring and everything's so happy." "Why, there's trees out there, big, tall pines..." "Just a-reachin' and a-reachin'..." "As if they wanted to climb right through the gates of heaven." "And there's brooks, too, with the water smiling all day long." "But the part I like best is the night..." "Lying out there beneath a blanket of stars, with that old moon smiling down on you." "And every time you look up, there she is, sort of guarding over you, like a mother minding her young." "Sometimes it's so beautiful that I just lie there, listening." "Birds singing, brooks laughing, and the wind sort of crooning through the forest." "Like some great organ." "Oh, I've always loved it." "But I reckon I'm gonna be lonely this time." "You know, you can get sort of used to having somebody not like you." "And when they're not around, you miss them not liking you." "That's why I reckon I'm gonna be lonesome." "But I'll be thinking of you." "Good-bye." "And you just take care you don't lose your scalp!" "Zeke, is he leaving the train?" "Yes, miss." "He's riding out to Pawnee villages." "Well, how far are they?" "Oh, nigh on a hundred mile." "Well, isn't that dangerous?" "Well, he's likely to lose his scalp afore he gets there." "But once in the villages, he's safe." "So don't you worry about him, miss." "What..." "Why should I worry about him?" "I don't know, miss." "I don't know." "But seemed like as if maybe you was." "Oh, not at all." "He means nothing to me." "No." "No, in course not." "Good night." "Good night, Zeke." "Hey!" "You got back here at last, eh?" "Yeah." "There's plenty of buffalo sign out here, so I'll be riding out to pick up fresh meat." "Ah, well, who's keeping you?" "I'll see you at the river crossing." "Lopez!" "Lopez!" "Thorpe!" "Pull up here." "Come here." "You two have been waiting for your chance." "Here it is." "Go out on a buffalo hunt." "Me?" "Nah." "I kill hundreds of buffalo." "Why should I go?" "Ah!" "Get them cobwebs out of your brain!" "He means, Lopez, we might find better game." "Watch him till he leaves the Pawnees, and then give it to him in the back." "Go on." "Hey, you pilgrims!" "Come here!" "Come here!" "Bascom?" "Yes!" "Bascom!" "Yes." "I'll shove the horses and the cattle right on through." "Leave only the wheelers hooked to the wagons." "Once you take to the water..." "Well, it's every man and critter for hisself, eh?" "Get out of here!" "Get out of here!" "Go on!" "Mr. Flack." "Mr. Flack, how can I get my mule Useless across?" "Well, uh, get your mother-in-law to ride him, eh?" "Mr. Bascom." "Yes?" "Mr. Bascom, you know, I don't like that fella." "No?" "He's the kind who will pat you on your back to your face, and then laughs in your face behind your back." "Yeah." "And another thing." "Yes?" "If he had a mother-in-law like mine, he would never laugh." "The hunt was a great success." "We bagged our buffalo." "Hey." "Did you get your meat, eh?" "Ah, good." "Good!" "Well, we'd better shove on off then." "Boots off." "I see you took a bath." "Uh, yeah, yeah." "Is there..." "ls there a slug of whiskey?" "No, I left my jug..." "I hid it in the Camerons' wagon." "By the way, where is my little beauty?" "Well, she's, uh..." "She's somewheres around." "Well, now that you've got her all to yourself, what do you aim to do with her?" "I think I'll take her back and settle on my plantation." "Your..." "Your plantation, eh?" "Lopez, he's hollered so much about that there plantation of his, he believes it hisself, eh?" "What?" "The Señor Thorpe, he have no plantation?" "Plantation!" "Ha!" "All you got in the world is a dirty deck of cards and a crooked one at that." "Zeke." "Yeah?" "Coleman's been gone two days." "Yeah." "I've been kinda worried about that myself." "Eagle Tail says last time he seen him, he was headed for the train." "Well, another thing, the Camerons haven't crossed yet." "No." "I better saunter on down there and see what's holdin' 'em, huh?" "Yes." "We'd better help 'em across." "Yeah." "Go on." "Well, I think we can..." "We were just wondering what had become of you." "Where's your horse?" "He stepped in a prairie-dog hole and broke his neck." "Come near breaking' mine too." "Are you hurt?" "No." "I was knocked out for a spell." "Here, I'll put these in your wagon and help you across." "Flack said we could only use the wheelers." "Flack said?" "What does he know about water?" "He never took a bath in his life." "Shortie!" "There's the Cameron wagon." "I'll go greet the little filly." "Greet, eh?" "Well, Lopez and me will go greet a jug." "Whoa!" "You take 'em from here on in, Dave." "It's shallow water." "All right, Breck." "I'll go back and get my saddle." "All right." "Giddyap!" "Come on, Shortie!" "Come on!" "Come on, Shortie!" "Come on!" "Get up there!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "I was just coming over to help you." "Thank you." "We had the best of help." "Help?" "Who?" "What's the matter, Lopez?" "Seein' a few ghosts?" "Me?" "No, no." "Drive on into the corral, Dave." "All right." "Giddyap!" "Come on there!" "Get up there!" "Pull on up!" "I'll be seeing you three later about matters and things." "Why, hello, boy." "Howdy, Zeke." "Why, what happened?" "Pony stepped in a dog hole." "Yeah?" "I suppose a prairie dog shot that hole through your saddle and into your horse, eh?" "Natchie!" "Who was gone from camp, Zeke?" "Thorpe and Lopez come in during the night, and early morning, sent a wagon out for the meat." "Well, a nice mess you made of things." "Not at all!" "Two hundred yards running is considerable of a handicap." "Besides, other days are coming." "Well, don't you fool yourself." "Here he is, here he is, here he is." "Flack, the Injuns been sending up smoke signals for several days." "Yes, well, I seen 'em." "I'll skirmish around with the Pawnees for a few miles." "Well, go on." "There ain't no one keeping you!" "No, but you'd better keep Thorpe and Lopez here." "Why?" "I got a feeling that if either one of 'em leaves camp, they'll never come back." "What do you mean by that?" "Just the way it sounded." "Hey, look there." "Look there, eh?" "Injuns?" "Lopez, fire a long shot at 'em." "No fire!" "They're Cheyennes." "They want to palaver." "Ah, they look to me as if they're out for harm." "They will be if we take a shot at 'em." "That'll mean war." "I'll go out and palaver with them." "Go on." "Go on." "Maybe so you no come back, huh?" "Look how queerly his horse is acting." "Yeah." "He's riding zigzag." "That's Indian sign that he wants to palaver." "There's the chief riding out to meet him now for a powwow." "Zeke!" "Bascom!" "How." "This is Black Elk, an old friend of mine." "Do they mean peace or war?" "Peace, if as long as we march straight through the Cheyenne country without stopping to settle." "Now that we're gonna be friends, they'll probably bring their families over here to beg." "So feed 'em well and treat 'em right, and we'll have no trouble." "All right." "All right." "Fine." "No more trouble now." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Zeke, what's he saying about me?" "He says that Coleman wants you for his squaw." "Yes." "Yes." "And he says Flack or Thorpe will get you." "Flack or Thorpe?" "Why?" "Yeah." "Well, Flack's got a lot of horses." "Miss Ruth, you shouldn't be riding out here alone like this away from the train." "Why not?" "Because this is dangerous country and anything might happen." "You wouldn't care." "Care?" "Me?" "Why should you care?" "Listen, girl, if anything happened to you, it'd be like throwing my heart to the wol..." "Oh, what..." "Don't worry." "It's Black Elk and some of his braves." "Coleman squaw." "Coleman squaw." "Well, he's saying that I'm your squaw." "Seems like that's what he's driving at." "Well, you tell him that you don't want me for your squaw." "I've never told Black Elk a lie yet." "He knows my tongue is straight." "Well, what do you mean?" "Well, it wouldn't be true if I told him I didn't want you." "It happens I do." "And you've no better taste than to tell me that before all these savages?" "I'd tell you that in front of the whole world." "This silly joke has gone far enough." "Hey!" "Well, there's one down anyway." "Well, there's some more out there." "Let's go get 'em." "All right, here we go." "Here she goes!" "That's it." "That's it." "Another one." "Get over there." "Hey." "Hey, there." "Go on." "Yeah." "Hope we land in no trouble up ahead." "Help those..." "Help them take this stuff, the ones that are going down." "All right." "Hold tight." "All right." "Ah, you should be fine." "Hang on, boy." "You take Honey Girl from here on down, Dave." "It's a little easier going." "Hold on." "All right, Breck." "Careful of her, Davey." "Now, Miss Ruth, you cling on to me." "Put your arms around my neck, Honey Girl." "A little tighter." "Just a little tighter." "Let him down." "Come on, men." "Hurry up" "Hang on." "Let's take some in pairs." "Are you all right, Honey Girl?" "It was a pretty bad place, wasn't it, Breck?" "Yeah, but I sort of liked it." "Davey, let's see if our wagon's down yet." "Come on, Honey Girl." "Thank you, Breck." "Well, well, well, well!" "So I've seen that gal with her arms around your neck at last." "Yeah, but she sure unwrapped them when she got on safe footing'." "Yeah." "You know, she don't care nothin' about me, Zeke." "Well, you can never tell how a woman feels by the way she acts." "They's all riddles, all of 'em, and you just gotta guess 'em." "And no matter which way you guess, you're wrong." "Looks like as if the way they're puttin' some of them outfits over there, they're a-gonna lose 'em." "Hold it!" "Ha-ha!" "What did I tell you?" "Let's get out of here afore they get a bead on us." "Hold it!" "Zeke, did you hear that terrible crash?" "Hear it?" "I seen it." "You did?" "That was your wagon!" "Oh." "Was my mother-in-law in it?" "No, she wasn't." "Oh, that's too bad." "What'd you say?" "I said, "I am glad."" "Lucky for you that I wasn't, you loafing hound." "What you mean?" "Because I was with your wife, Sarah, and she gave birth to twins." "Twins?" "Are they both mine?" "Both." "Oh, Mama, are they boys or girls?" "One of each!" "Oh, Zeke, I am a papa." "Mama, I am a papa." "Papa, lam a mama." "Yeah." "I got two for one." "Yeah." "Let's drink to the happy event." "Wait a minute." "There was two events." "I have two drinks." "Here, give me that jug." "I'll take a pull at that myself." "Three more." "Hyah!" "Giddyap!" "Whoa!" "Well, who'd have guessed it?" "If it ain't Breck Coleman." "Howdy, Jim." "Where'd you blow in from, boy?" "All the way from the big river." "Flack." "How long are we gonna camp here?" "Well, just as long as it takes to fix up the outfit." "Bascom, you tell them pilgrims of yours, there's 500 miles of desert ahead of us and them that don't like what's comin' to them, now's the time for 'em to turn back." "Yes, sir, that pork is nearly done right now." "Shank me off a snack!" "Get out of there." "Fine piece of beef." "Ah!" "Fetch it on over here." "I hate to see you at menial tasks." "If we were only back at my old plantation in Louisiana, you'd have a dozen servants to wait on you." "Let's turn back." "Turn back, Mr. Thorpe?" "Why..." "Oh." "Why, I..." "Oh, Honey Girl, didn't I tell you to stay away from the fire?" "Yes." "And you told me not to be sitting in a rocking chair when Breck Coleman was around." "Hello, Coleman." "Howdy, Dave." "You shot these turkeys." "Won't you stay and help us eat them?" "No." "Uh, I just had supper with the Bascoms." "Sorry, Breck." "Think I'll go hunt up old Zeke." "How many's that for you, Windy?" "Number 84." "Well, here comes 85." "Hello, Zeke." "Windy." "Hello, boy." "I smell turkey a-cookin'." "That's all I got was a smell." "Deal me a hand of them flapjacks." "That's the way it's done, Gussie." "My old arm's giving out." "Now you try it." "I'll get a pail of water." "That's easy." "I can do that." "See, I've saw Zeke do that till he broke his arm." "Yes." "And you know, someday my mother-in-law's gonna talk so much, she's going to break her "yaw."" "Say, boy, I wouldn't let my mother-in-law boss me around like that." "Stand up to her like a man." "Face her down, boy." "Huh." "If it was me, I'd tell her what was on my chest." "You got nothing on your chest but wind!" "You old polecat." "I've just been talking with some trappers who've come out of the Southwest." "They say the country they call California is wonderful." "Yes, so I've heard." "Why won't you come with me to a land like that?" "Are you going there?" "If you'll come with me." "Well, what about your plantation in Louisiana?" "Oh." "Well..." "If we like California better, we could sell my holdings and buy vast lands out there." "Well, it's..." "It's a compliment to offer me all that, but it can't be." "I must join Davey." "Oh, Dave." "Dave, come over here." "Black Elk here says that you and your sister were so good to him, when he come in to visit that he wants to give you all them ponies." "Well, that's kind of him, Zeke, but we couldn't take their horses." "Oh, of course you could." "They got hundreds of ponies." "He wants you to show him where to put 'em." "You go and throw them ponies in with your herd." "Why, Zeke, you lyin' old coot." "That Injun's buying Cameron's sister for Coleman's squaw." "Well..." "Well..." "Well, why not?" "So Coleman's buying himself a squaw, eh?" "Zeke, you old whiskered Cupid, you!" "I loathe the very sight of you!" "What have I done now?" "You've made me the joke of the plains." "Me?" "Who else tried to buy me like an Indian squaw?" "You put me to shame before them all." "Why, girl, you're imagining things." "Oh..." "Ohh!" "Ohh!" "Zeke always told me women were damned funny." "Mr. Thorpe, I've changed my mind." "I'll go with you to California if you'll go at once." "At once?" "Why, yes, yes." "Uh, I'll make preparations immediately." "This is a fine state of affairs." "This man Thorpe isn't all he claims to be." "My mind is made up, Davey, and we're going to California." "Where's Flack?" "Hey!" "I just came in to tell you good-bye." "Uh, good-bye?" "Where are you going?" "I'm going to take my outfit and leave you here." "Uh, your outfit?" "All you got is one horse and two guns." "No, the Cameron outfit's mine now." "Oh, it is, eh?" "Yes, we're going to California, so I'll bid you a fond farewell." "No, you ain't!" "No?" "Nah!" "Why do you suppose I grubstaked you for, eh?" "So far, you've been a fizzle." "One try, one miss." "Oh, he's no longer in my way." "Well, he's in mine." "Well, tear him down yourself." "Oh, I'd like to kick him into pulp." "Oh, I'd like to break him in two like a..." "Well, why not?" "I don't mind fists or feet, or even a gun." "It's the way he throws that knife." "But why should I risk it?" "Because you're a dead shot." "You're a-going to stick." "You're a-going to prove how good you are, before you leave the fort." "And if I don't?" "Well, if you don't..." "I'll tell that little filly there's a wide-open noose waiting' for you in every river town." "Thorpe, you do your job before you leave the fort." "Howdy, Henry." "How's things, Coleman?" "Just fine." "Say, Black Elk was telling me that all the Injuns in the West was gathering to keep you all from passing' through." "So they tell me." "Black Elk and the Cheyennes are going west to hold a powwow with the Shoshones." "Yeah, Black Elk tells me that it's almost certain that the Cheyennes will declare war later." "Likely." "Old Pete Rubideaux was asking about you a while ago." "Pete?" "Where is he?" "Camped at the spring yonder with his new squaw." "I think I'll ramble down and see him." "Sure." "Say, Henry, will you put a new cap nipple on this gun?" "Sure will, boy." "And a new trigger spring in the pistol." "All right." "I'll leave 'em with you while I go see Pete." "Be ready when you come back." "We are about to unite this loving and devoted couple in the holy bonds of wedlock." "Hank Ginnis, do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?" "I do." "Abigail Vance, do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?" "She does!" "Hey, Flack." "Yeah?" "You recollect how Coleman done told you that if Lopez here, or Thorpe done strayed off into the brush, they weren't likely as how never come back?" "Sure!" "He made some kind of a bluff." "What of it?" "Well, uh, Thorpe strayed out and he ain't a-never comin' back." "Hey?" "No." "He's done gone back to his old plantation." "Yeah." "Well, you won't go to California with Thorpe now." "Why not?" "He and Coleman just met in the brush, and Coleman shot him." "Are you sure?" "I heard the shot." "And I saw Coleman standing there over him." "It suits me too." "So he'll even do murder." "And so I pronounce you man and wife." "And may peace and happiness be yours." "There's been a murder!" "There's been a murder!" "A murder?" "Where?" "Where, girl?" "Who?" "Coleman met Mr. Thorpe in the brush and shot him!" "That's a serious accusation, my girl." "Are you sure?" "My brother saw it." "Men, we can't have cold-blooded murderers among us." "There's the man that shot Bill Thorpe down like a dog." "Lopez, go and get a rope." "Get a rope." "Yeah, get the rope!" "And just who accuses me of killing Thorpe?" "It, uh..." "It was Miss Cameron." "Huh." "You, eh?" "So you'd like to see me hang." "Listen to me, you." "This boy, Coleman, here just couldn't have killed Thorpe." "Why not?" "'Cause he didn't have no guns on him." "He left his'n with Dutch Henry to be fixed." "Coleman and Thorpe were at odds with the Cameron girl." "If it wasn't Coleman, who was it who shot Thorpe?" "Since you're aimin' to know, I'll tell you who done it." "Who?" "I shot that skunk myself!" "Coleman's a friend of his, men." "He's lying to save his neck." "What could Zeke have against a man like Thorpe?" "You want to know that too?" "Yes, I want to know that too!" "Well, I'm a-tellin' ya." "I was camped out pretty close to you, and I heared that powwow you had with Thorpe." "Yeah?" "What are you driving at?" "Just this." "When a man begins to do a lot of talkin' about hangin', he'd better make pretty sure as to who's gonna decorate the end of the rope." "Get my meaning?" "Well, Thorpe ain't nothin' to me." "It's no affair of mine." "That's just what I was a-thinkin'." "Huh." "And Coleman ain't gonna do no scouting, while I'm boss of this train." "I'm leaving him behind." "Coleman would never..." "Ah, now, we're taking on a new scout." "Guess again, Flack." "I started with this outfit, and I'll be with it at the finish." "Who says so?" "I'm just telling ya." "I got two reasons." "One is I told Wellmore I'd scout the train through." "The other is a little personal business I aim to transact at the end of the trail." "See if you can figure out what that is, Flack." "Coleman, the settlers are willing to push on." "We'll follow you." "What's this talk about Injuns?" "It's true." "The Injuns are gathering to the westward to stop us from going through." "Injuns have never yet prevented our breed of men from travelin' into the setting' sun." "Go on." "Lead the way." "Well, get your outfits together." "We're going." "Never mind what you see or what you hear." "Red Flack is still boss of the train." "Get her going!" "Go on." "Let's pull out and follow!" "Giddyap!" "Hup!" "Ho!" "Fall in!" "Nag, giddyap!" "Get in!" "It's no use, men." "She's all dried up." "Hey, them settlers is dyin' off like rats." "We're for moving on." "Come on, Lopez." "Boy, they're scattered back all across the desert." "We gotta gather 'em up and shove 'em along." "Old Charlie died, Coleman." "We raised him from a colt." "Tough, boy." "But we gotta battle it through." "Hyah!" "Giddyap!" "Giddyap, Toby!" "Giddyap, Toby!" "Giddyap!" "Giddyap there!" "Giddyap, Toby!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Work 'em on through!" "Whoa!" "What's all this?" "Injun signs!" "Pull up!" "Pull up!" "Pull up!" "Pull up there!" "Pull over!" "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Here's your gun, boy!" "All right." "Get up there." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Get in here!" "Hurry up!" "Don't panic!" "Looks like Crows and Cheyennes, Zeke." "Yeah." "Now let's throw it into 'em!" "Stop shooting', everybody!" "Stop shooting'!" "They're ridin' off." "When they wheel back on us, reload it up and give it to 'em!" "Yes, sir!" "There they go, boy." "There they go." "Ha!" "I guess we was just a little too much for 'em." "Father, our good friends have perished here at the hands of the savages." "Open your arms to them and care for our loved ones until we meet again on the other shore." "Amen." "Well, Zeke..." "Ol' Windy's gone on another trail." "Windy, you and me was..." "Well, you and me was, uh..." "Oh, my baby!" "My baby!" "Oh, no!" "My baby!" "Well, Zeke, I'm gonna trail the Injuns and make sure they go back to their villages." "So you scout the train ahead, and I'll pick it up in a week or so." "Bye, Zeke." "Bye, boy." "Giddyap, there!" "Giddyap, there!" "Giddyap!" "Get over there!" "Giddyap, there!" "Come on, boys." "Get a hold of that wheel!" "Tough time!" "Lopez!" "Lopez, get 'em in line!" "Hey, sí!" "Put the whip to them!" "Hey!" "Pull the trailers!" "Giddyap there!" "Get on Up!" "Work 'em over!" "Go on!" "Get outta there!" "Come on, Bob!" "Get 'em movin' to the right!" "Get over there!" "Hey!" "Get over there!" "Giddyap, boy!" "Come on." "Come on." "Giddyap." "Giddyap." "There we go!" "I wonder how long we'll be bogged down here." "I don't know." "I heard there was three wagons already turned back." "Ma, let's turn back to Missouri!" "Me?" "Turn back because of a little mud?" "Say, Uncle, when did Bascom women ever turn back?" "Grandma, don't you and Ma know that Pa is only jokin'?" "Ha!" "All right now." "Be powerful on it now." "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Go on there, Fanny!" "Go on, Meg!" "Go on there, Jennie!" "Jennie, go on!" "Go on, go on!" "Oh, we're stuck." "Gus, you idiot!" "You see what you've done?" "You've got my wagon up to the hub in mud!" "What are you kickin' about?" "I am sitting on my mule." "Oh!" "But don't worry, Mama." "I think it's gonna clear up." "There will be no more rain." "Get up!" "Get up!" "Throw that idiot..." "Throw that idiot a rope and help him out of there." "Keep in line!" "Get up here!" "Take the settlers to the right!" "Get over here!" "Get up in there!" "Come over here and hold on." "Giddyap there!" "Keep it in line!" "Get over there!" "Get over there!" "Come on, boy!" "Giddyap there!" "Keep it going!" "Come on there!" "Keep it going!" "Here, Abbie." "Here's the water." "Mama, I got good news for you." "Ah, you're always bad news to me." "Get on your long underwear quick." "Why?" "Well, you're going in the snow up to your..." "Up to your..." "Your..." "Way up, Mama." "And hand me out my bear overcoat." "Well, Useless..." "You're going someplace you won't want to sit down." "It's so cold, it'll freeze your hooves off." "You wait and see." "Think I'll go say howdy to the Camerons." "This is my best overcoat." "Well, I'd hate to see your worst one." "Hello, Gus." "Oh, hello there, Breck." "I'm certainly glad to see you back again." "What are you wearing the heavy overcoat for?" "I'm getting all ready for that snow." "No, we won't be there for days." "Well, anyway, I'm going to keep warm by the camp." "Where's the Cameron outfit?" "Oh, we left them four or five days back." "Left 'em?" "Yes." "All their horses give out." "They couldn't go on." "Fifteen, 20 wagons." "They all went back to the fort." "I hated to tell ya, son." "Zeke, why did you let the Camerons go?" "Ah, not my doin', son." "Flack knows I savvy Injun sign, so he sends me on ahead to scout." "And when I come back, they'd all dropped out." "If Injuns chance on those wagons, they'll kill the lot of 'em." "I'm afeard so, Breck boy." "The Way's clear ahead, Zeke." "You scout 'em." "Yeah." "I'm going back for the Camerons." "Good luck, son!" "Giddyap, Jennie!" "Well, Useless..." "Giddyap, Jennie!" "I don't know who smells the worse, you or me." "Go ahead there!" "Come on." "Here we go again." "Pull, Fanny!" "Hello!" "Hello!" "Huh!" "I felt someway that you'd come." "I'd have been here a heap sooner if I could've." "Say, Dave, you'd better out off that trailer and throw everything into one wagon." "All right." "I'll hitch up Ol' Rhody and we'll see if we can get out of here." "After you left, old Zeke told me the truth about some matters." "Thorpe and Flack and all." "He did, eh?" "Sorry I was so stupid." "Oh, don't worry, Miss Ruth." "Things did look sort of queer." "I should have known better." "Well, we all get off on the wrong trail once in a while." "We'll make it through all right." "Well, that's fixed." "Can I do something, Breck?" "No, I guess not." "We oughta overtake those settlers in a week or so." "Here you are, Ruthie." "Take it." "We're goin' again, Davey." "Heave-ho." "Pull 'er there." "Come on." "Come on there, Shortie." "What did I tell you, huh?" "You wouldn't listen to me." "You wouldn't listen to me!" "We're lost!" "There ain't a man here that knows the pass over them hills!" "We're for turning back!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "Follow me and I'll lead you to that valley that Coleman told us about." "Coleman, huh?" "He's the only one that knows the way out, and he's deserted us!" "Sure, he quit!" "If he was here, I'd shoot him down in his tracks." "Well, Flack, just when you gonna start this shooting'?" "You're just in time, Coleman." "Did you find the Camerons?" "They're over yonder." "What's the trouble here?" "They're all against me." "They're turning back." "No, you're not!" "We can't turn back." "We're blazing a trail that started in England." "Not even storms of the sea could turn back those first settlers." "And they carried it on further." "They blazed it on through the wilderness of Kentucky." "Famine, hunger, not even massacres could stop them." "And now we've picked up the trail again, and nothing can stop us!" "Not even the snows of winter nor the peaks of the highest mountains." "We're building a nation!" "So we've got to suffer." "No great trail was ever blazed without hardship." "And you've gotta fight!" "That's life." "And when you stop fightin', that's death." "What are you gonna do, lie down and die?" "No!" "No!" "Not in a thousand years." "You're going on with me!" "The word is said, and we'll follow you." "Be ready to start at sunup!" "Well..." "Well, he's turned up again." "Yeah, well, he'll down the both of us." "You've got to get him tonight." "But they can hear a shot at night." "Well, they can't hear a knife." "They all know this knife of mine." "Well, here's a knife they don't know." "No, no, no, no." "I afraid of that knife." "I know where you got it." "Shh, shh, shh, shh!" "It will get us in trouble sure." "How?" "Because a dead man's knife is bad medicine!" "Here, just stop that drivel." "No." "Take the knife and wait for tonight." "There he goes." "Wait until he's bedded down, and then..." "Give me a drink." "God bless my sister Ruth and my brother Dave, and make me a good girl, and take care of us." "Aren't you going to ask God to take care of Breck Coleman?" "Oh, Zeke says that Breck Coleman can take care of himself." "You overplayed your hand that time, Lopez!" "Zeke, this is old Ben Griswell's knife." "Well, where'd you find it, boy?" "Lopez just left it sticking in my bedroll." "Their having it makes it certain that Flack and Lopez did it." "No question about it, boy." "What did they do, Coleman?" "Killed my best friend." "I been on their trail ever since." "That's a serious charge." "If you're sure, we'll call a settlers' meeting in the morning to try 'em." "You can call a settlers' meeting to bury 'em." "What do you mean?" "That I kill my own rats!" "They've jumped camp, Zeke, and I'm off on their trail." "Breck, you can't leave us here!" "You got to see us through." "He's right, boy." "Maybe so, the way you all look at it." "But those two men killed a man in cold blood, and they've got to pay." "It's not that I've got hatred in my heart, but that I'm the law out here, that's all." "And the law is justice." "Well, Zeke, I'll see 'em to the end of the trail." "But then I'm picking up a new trail here." "Get over!" "Get over!" "Get over here!" "Hah!" "Get over!" "Hah!" "Get over!" "Whoa, hah!" "Whoa, hah!" "Whoa, hah!" "Get over!" "Pull!" "Yonder stands the great white mountain." "And down below lies the valley I've told you about." "Coleman, you have fulfilled our hopes." "Neighbors!" "Friends!" "It is fitting that we give thanks to the Almighty." "Our Father, we thank thee for leading us to this land of promise, for guiding our footsteps safely through the dangers of our pilgrimage." "In this valley of our dreams, we'll build our homes and serve thee, O Father." "And our children's children shall praise thy name." "Amen." "The way is clear ahead." "All gentle slopes." "So drive down, my friends, and settle it." "Lead the way." "Zeke will lead the way down." "Our trails fork here." "You mean you are leaving us?" "There's a trail I've followed for over 3,000 miles now, and I'm headin' back to pick it up again and follow it to the end." "Coleman, you're the breed of man that would follow a trail to the end." "Thanks, Bascom." "Friends, we'll go on." "Boy, there's two of 'em." "Bad ones." "Now, I'm going with you." "No, Zeke." "You stay here and look after Ruth and her outfit." "Breck, you're not leaving." "Yes, Miss Ruth." "I'm pullin' out." "They say you're going to hunt down Flack and Lopez." "That's what I aim to do." "But you can't do this awful thing..." "Take two lives!" "It's frontier justice." "Don't go, Breck." "Don't go!" "It's a job I've got to finish." "But don't you see?" "It doesn't matter about them." "I'm afraid for you." "They'll kill you!" "You're everything in the world to me, Breck." "I can't let you go!" "I can't!" "The thing has to be done." "Someday..." "Somewhere..." "Our trails will cross again." "Now, now." "Come, come, miss." "You mustn't be a-carryin' on thataway." "He's gone." "He'll never come back." "Now, now, you just mustn't do this, miss." "You'll have me a-blubberin' here pretty soon." "I'm a-tellin' ya that everything is going to be all right." "When spring comes in that valley, he'll be tracking back again." "I know that boy." "I know him." "Now, come, come." "Come on, Ruth." "Come on." "My legs are froze to the knees." "I can't get up." "Yes, looks as if you're done for, Lopez." "But, Flack, don't go away and leave me, Flack." "What?" "Do you think I'm staying here?" "Well, then leave me a blanket!" "I'm frozen." "Ah, won't do you no good." "You'll be froze to death in an hour." "Flack!" "It may help me." "Now get away." "Flack!" "Flack!" "Flack, don't let me die alone!" "Stay with me!" "Flack!" "Flack!" "Well, Lopez." "It won't be long before you have company." "Flack!" "Yeah, Milt." "I got a hankerin' to trail on down into Mexico." "Old Bill Gillie done told me that them there black-eyed gals is just full of fire." "Zeke?" "Yeah?" "Zeke, you're not really leaving us?" "Yeah, gal, I'm a-pullin' out." "You is all nice and settled now." "And this here valley is gettin' altogether too civilized for me." "Whenever I get more than three or four families within a hundred mile of me," "I begin to feel kind of crowded." "That's not why you're going, Zeke." "No?" "Why else, gal?" "Breck has never come back." "You're going out to look for him." "Now, wherever that boy Breck Coleman is at, he's a-lookin' out for hisself." "Now don't you fret about him." "Did you give away all your little puppies?" "Why are you looking at that dress?" "This is the anniversary of the..." "The day that the wagon train left from Missouri." "Last time I had this on," "I was sitting in the Riggses' cabin." "In a rocking chair?" "Yes, Honey Girl." "In a rocking chair." "Zeke, I reckon that's a panther." "Yeah!" "It's a two-legged panther." "The only kind whatever gimme that Comanche yell as a signal." "We might just as well start to unpack." "What, ain't you going?" "No use of going now." "He's only a bit up in the timber there, and he's a-headed this way." "Zeke, won't you stay over for the anniversary?" "Yes, gal, I'll stay." "Aw!" "And I just recollected, I got a little present for you." "Oh, Zeke, what is it?" "Well, a young fella named Breck Coleman left it with me, and he told me to give it to you in case he didn't show up." "Where is it, Zeke?" "I hid it in the holler of the big tree at the bend of the trail." "You'll find it there." "Thanks, Zeke." "I'll go get it."