"Somebody took her." "Someone came and snatched up my baby and took her away." "They ain't had time to get far." "Hey!" "Hey!" " Chicken?" " I didn't do nothing." "Get the hell out of here." "Who would steal a little baby?" "Where is she?" " Baby?" " I know who got her." "No, Elam." "What the hell you doin'?" "Same as you'd do." "It's a good way to get yourself shot." "He's been wanting my little girl." " She ain't here." " He ain't neither." "Declan Toole got our baby." "I know he do, Eva." "Elam." " Where is she?" " Get off me!" " Where is she?" " Get off me, boy!" "Where's my baby?" "I don't know what you're talking about." " Easy, Psalms." " Where's my baby?" "Easy!" "Mr. Toole, did you take Mr. Ferguson's baby?" "No." "Mr. Toole, if you know where she is," " you've got to tell us." " I don't know." "You lyin'." "I'm not a liar, Mr. Bohannon." "I don't have the child, and if I did," "I wouldn't let her be taken away and right from under me own nose." " Where you take her to?" " Where you take her?" "Mr. Quinn?" "He's been with us all morning, sir." "Let him go." "Let him go." "We ain't got no reason to believe him." "Ain't got no reason not to." "Irish lie for Irish, Mr. Bohannon." "That's true." "Elam, don't." "It ain't worth it." "She's gone." "All right, Elam and Eva's baby's been took." "We got to find her before we go, but that don't give us much time." "The river's up a foot since Sunday." "Our surveyor's reporting heavy rains out west." "We don't get loaded up and moved, we could get washed out." "We're not to move without finding the baby, are we, Mr. Bohannon?" "I know that's not what you're suggesting." "I ain't sayin' we stop looking, but we keep packing." "Livestock and railroad supplies ship first, but we need to be out of here by midday." "Moving this town more important than finding me and Eva baby?" "I ain't said that." "But you ain't said we don't move till she found." "I got no concern for the whore's child." "If this rain sets in, how are we to load these wagons?" "600-pound rails, tons of steel and gear." "We'll be swallowed up for certain." "Thank you, Mr. Quinn." "We don't move, you don't work." "You don't work, you don't get paid." "If there's no pay, you'll have no men." " That's right!" " We'll walk off this railroad." " Hold on, now." " Aye." " Hold--hold on." " Mr. Bohannon, I know we got jobs to do, but speaking on behalf of the freedmen, we got to find Elam's baby before we do much anything else." "That child is no darkie's baby." "What?" "What the hell you talking about?" "It's me brother's, Gregory Toole's." "Bullshit!" "Here I stand, her bona fide uncle." " That Elam Ferguson baby." " Yeah?" "We gonna find her, don't you worry about that." " What y'all talkin' about?" " I don't have time" " for this ar" " My baby been took." "The Irish'll find her, not you!" "Stop it!" "Stop it, all of you!" "It's my baby that's been took!" "This ain't got nothin' to do with y'all!" "Eva." "It's the injuns that came and took him, Elam." " I know that's what happened." " What you talking about?" "Ain't no Indians come in and out of here in broad daylight." "That don't make no sense." "All I know is we ain't never gonna see her again." "Uh, it's your railroad now, Mr. Bohannon, and none of my business how you conduct yours, but surely you would agree a short delay is in order until the child is found." "I will guarantee 20 of these gold eagles-- that's more than two months' wages-- to the man or woman who finds the child and returns her safely to her mother." "Hold up-- hey, hold up!" "All right, I can spare five teams, five men per team." "You search every corner of this camp." "The rest of you keep packing." "Once that baby's found, we move." "Sir, you've done a lot of low down and dirty things, but this ain't one of 'em." "Thank you." "You're welcome, Mr. Ferguson." "We gonna find her." "Eva, this ain't your fault." "We was only out the house a minute." "Bohannon got a search" "They ain't gonna find her, Elam." "It's the curse on me for all the wrong I done to Mr. Toole." "No, don't say that." "I told you something bad was gonna happen, and it did." "It happened." "Stop that, woman." "I want you to stop that." "That foolish talk." "It ain't no curse." "Somebody done took our baby out this camp, that's all." "I'm gonna bring our baby back to us." "I'm gonna make all this right again, Eva." "I promise you." "Eva, you hear me, woman?" "Hmm." "Rail cars have all been searched, the hotel, whore tents, and slaughterhouse as well." "There's a lot of mudsills and shit heels in this camp, murderers, layabouts, backstabbers." " Yes, sir." " And Durant shows up right when that baby's took and we're supposed to move camp, and he offers a reward that further slows our progress." "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Sean?" "No, sir." "I do know Mr. Durant is about to leave town on the noon coach... if that's any help." "Yeah." "Hold them horses." "Now... where you going?" "Business elsewhere demands my immediate attention," "I'm afraid." "I trust the search will continue in my absence." "That baby didn't go missing till you got here." "Surely you're not suggesting" "I had anything to do with the child's abduction." "Never was one for coincidence." "Perhaps you'd like to search my bag." "Our personal enmity aside, Bohannon, my offer of the reward is sincere." "If the child is found, I will make good on the gold." "Mr. Bohannon, come quick." "It's, um--it's about the baby." "This here's railroad property, Durant." "You come back, I'll have you arrested for trespassing." "Don't be surprised if someday soon," "I return the favor." "He, uh... he knows." "He as much as said so." "Sean, if he knew, you would have a hole in your head right there." "Find your manhood and embrace it." "We're in the endgame." "Two of 'em-- they was right there, tacked and ready to move out, and then they was gone." " Two horses all they took?" " And the tack." "Hell, the tack's worth more than the horses." "Herschel there said they went straight south." "Couldn't say if they was carrying a baby or not," " but hell, he's half blind." " Horse thieves." "Ain't no horse thieves risking' a hanging and leavin' out in broad daylight." "He's right." "It doesn't sound like rustling to me." "What I'm saying is, what would horse thieves want with a baby?" "But baby thieves need horses, sure." " Where you going?" " Drop my reins." "You don't know who these people are, Elam, or if they even have the baby." "We ain't found her yet." "This got to be them." "Now, drop my reins like I say." "I can't wait for you." "Got to move this camp." "Then move it." "Come on, now." "Come on." "Come on, move!" "Ezra Jacob Dutson, on this day of your eighth birthday, per the teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith, you are baptized into the Church of the Latter-Day Saints." "Kneel down, son." "Yes, father." "O, Lord... pour out thy spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart." "I have baptized thee, having authority from the almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to mortal body, and may he grant unto you eternal life." "Happy Birthday, Ezra." "Thought the camp couldn't move without you." "Can't and won't." "Those the tracks?" "Look like." "Can't tell which way they gone." "Denver." "Denver?" "That's where that trail leads." "Other one leads to an old surveyor camp." " Ain't nothin' for 'em there." " Denver 150 miles from here." "They get to Denver, she gone for good." "She ain't got her mama's milk." "How's she gonna make it to Denver?" "She ain't." "Ha!" "It's Declan Toole." "What do you want?" " May I come in?" " Go away." "I have nothing to say to you." "Now, we gonna talk some." "You holler," "I'm gonna gut you like a fish." "You hear?" " I'm a New York City copper." " Out here... that don't make no nevermind." "Enough!" "I've not taken the child." "I was looking for her, same as you." "You was looking for her in Elam tent?" "That don't make no sense." "Why would I take the baby?" "On account of you don't want no negroes raising her up, that's why." "She's my own flesh and blood, she is, and I'd do nothing to endanger that child." "You tell me, where my baby niece at?" "Hmm?" "Easy." "I don't see no horses." "Damn it, Elam." "What?" "What'd you find?" "This is hers." "It's a fool's errand." "You know that, don't you?" "You got the whole story right there." "We don't know if she dead or alive." " What you think?" " I don't know." "I ain't gonna stop till I do." "Might be best you never know." "You killed them men." "Wasn't to bring your family back." "Why?" "Made you feel better?" "It give you peace?" "You go on back if you want." "I'm gonna go do what I got to do for my little girl." "Ha!" "Come on!" "Ha!" "Shit." "Eva." "Eva." "I've been looking for you." "She's better off... away from me." "I couldn't give her nothing." "You could give her a mother's love." "You don't know nothing about it." "Eva." "Eva, there--there was a time I was intimate with Joseph." "It destroyed my father, but..." "I had fallen into darkness and sin." "As time went on, I... discovered I... was with child." "I was frightened." "Mm." "I... thought through all the possibilities if I were to have the child, and... none of them were good." "I prayed to the Lord every night to... take it away." "Then... nature took its course." "I was not to be a mother, and I felt... unworthy of God's love." "I was a sinner... and I had sinned." "But God did not spurn me... as others surely would have." "Even though I had been thinking evil thoughts, he was not ashamed of me." "The good Lord gave me permission to feel how I was feeling, and however you're feeling right now, Eva, it's all right with him." "The good Lord has infinite capacity to take our sins." "And all you have to do is let him." "Shh." "Shh." "Shh." "Ugh." "There's kindness in you yet, Psalms." "Not much." "You were named for a book in the Bible." "Mm-hmm." "My mama named me after verse 37, the one about God slaying the wicked and offering comfort to the suffering." "Have you considered what you're doing?" "I know what I'm doing." "Is it Christian?" "I'm gonna make you give me back that baby." "That's Christian enough." "I can't give you what I don't have." "You've given me enough pucks to the face for me to confess by now." "You're gonna have to kill me... or let me go." "You're not a killer, Psalms." "You think you'd be the first white man I ever kilt?" "You gave me water... comfort." "You don't want the blood of an innocent man weighing on your soul." "Release me, and I swear by Holy Mary, the mother of God," "I won't raise a mob against you." "All my life..." "I done did what the white man told me... so he won't kill me." "White man tell me when to work, where to work, how long to work." "Mm." "White man give me what food he got left over, not what he got to share." "White man take all the best women for hisself, even take out the best part of the Bible." "Mm-hmm." "See, white man don't leave much for old Psalms except for what he don't want for hisself." "Mm." "But old Psalms-- he get the last laugh." "Hmm, Mr. Toole?" "Now, you gonna tell me where she is, or Mother Mary gonna sit right here with me and watch you die." " Where's my baby?" " I'm sorry." " Where is she?" " I didn't mean it." "Can't tell you if he's dead, now, can he?" "I thought we'd be in Denver by now." "She's fine-- a real sweet child." "I think she's getting hungry, though." "Please don't hurt him." " Elam." " He done it for me." "Killing them won't make you feel any better." "It might." "We didn't mean no harm." "We was gonna be a family." "It didn't seem Eva wanted this baby." "We got her now." "Let's go." "Sara's bleeding bad." "I don't know what to do." "Can she ride?" "Not much and not for long." "We got to go." "My baby girl gettin' hungry." "You take this and ride on." "Come back to hell on wheels, I'll hang you both." "You run into Indians, you hold two of these back-- one for her, one for you." "Her first." "Leave 'em be." "We got to ride." "Mr. Bohannon... don't leave us out here." "We all been left out here, son." "I hear you're getting ready to move the trains." "I'm ready to move the trains, yes." "Even though Mr. Bohannon isn't yet back with the baby." "Mm-hmm." "And who knows when he will be?" "That'd probably suit you, wouldn't it?" "When Mr. Bohannon comes back, his train is ready, all right?" "And if he doesn't, the train will be ready for your friend, Mr. Durant." "I've got work to do." "Run along back to your whores, all right?" "You're playing a very dangerous game here, Sean-o." "The wrong bet may cost you your life, man." "Smart money always hedges its bet." "The smart money's on Bohannon." "Look here." "She doin' it." "I'll be damned if she ain't." "Weather's getting close." "How you know?" "Caught a bullet in the war." "My knee swells up every time the weather's coming." "You done enough." "Go on back." "Move the camp." "We'll be along directly." "What was you doing out there?" "I'm only gonna say this once." "This here baby white." "I know that." "I do, but she mine." "I don't care what color she is." "She mine." "She ain't got no other father but me." "Who else gonna love her?" "Elam... that baby ain't gonna bring you nothing but a heap of trouble and pain for the rest of your life." "Don't matter what you think." "My family was took from me, just like yours." "And she the first thing I ever got... that's mine, all my own." "I'm keeping her." "See her grow up... real smart, real pretty." "She gonna know I'm her daddy... and I love her." "Tell you true, Elam." "You'd do best to unwrap your heart from her right now." "I can't do that." "It's too late." "I'm in it now." "We'll leave at first light." "♪ I'm thinking of friends" "♪ whom I used to know" "♪ who lived and suffered" "♪ in this world below" "♪ they've gone off to heaven" "♪ but I want to know" "♪ what are they doing there now?" "♪" "♪ Oh, what are they doing" "♪ in heaven today?" "♪ Where sin and sorrow" "♪ have all gone away" "♪ Peace is fine" "♪ like the river they say" "♪ but what are they doing there now?" "♪" "♪ There are some whose hearts" "♪ were burdened with care" "♪ who spent their moments" "♪ so frightened and scared" "♪ they clung to the cross" "♪ with trembling and fear" "♪ but what are they doing there now?" "♪" "Hmm?" "What'd I tell you?" "Told you I'd find her." "She all right." "I told you, ain't nothing gonna come between me, this little girl, and her mama." "I thought I weren't never gonna see her again." "What'd I tell you?" "♪ Peace is fine like..." "Rain's coming!" "Got to move this camp!" "♪ But what are they doing there... ♪" "♪ Now?" "♪ Mm, mm" ""And if they be evil," ""they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations..."" ""Which doth cause them to shrink" ""from the presence of the Lord..." ""into an awful state of misery" ""and endless torment" ""from which they can no more return." ""Therefore, they have drunk damnation into their own souls."" ""O..." ""That ye would awake... awake from a deep sleep."" ""Yea... even from the sleep of hell."" ""O..." ""That ye would awake..." ""awake from a deep sleep." ""Yea..." ""even from the sleep of hell," ""and shake off the awful chains" ""by which ye are bound," ""the chains which bind the children of men."" ""They are carried away," ""captive down... into the eternal gulf..."" ""of misery... and woe.""