"Ma'am." "I'm--I'm havin' a little trouble gettin' started, Father." "You are in the house of God now, my son." "Speak from your heart." "Well, uh..." "I've done a lot of killin'." "I've killed a lot of men and sinned with a lot of women." "But the men l--I killed needed killin' and the women wanted sinning', and--and I never was one much to argue." "Most of the men I killed was in the war." "So I suppose that makes it all right, don't it, Father?" "Go to the altar, my son," "light a candle, and ask God." "All right." "I'm home here now for good, Father." "I have a little family here." "And, uh, I don't want no more trouble." "I just want a peaceful life with God's blessing." "Did He forgive you everything?" "Perhaps another time?" "Lazaro, bring the men to the cantina for a drink." "Is this the kind you meant?" "Chuy, I want to go back to Cocatlan." "Six months you beg Chuy to take you to Ojo Prieto." "And when you see him talk to one blonde woman, you are afraid you'll lose him to a gringa." "It is not the woman that frightens me." "One man with his filthy hands in the church." "He touched you?" "He is still in the church?" "If he is, you will know him." "He is dirty and has a beard." "This is for you." "Thank you." "Before you finish, make one prayer to Our Lady" "to beg forgiveness." "All right." "Seòor, my woman wished to be married in this church." "She says you like to love here." "I think you should die here." "I don't know what you're talkin' about." "Seòor, my woman tells me you violated her here." "Oh, you got the wrong man, mister." "I don't know you and I don't know your woman." "I never..." "I haven't been here but one hour in this town." "I never violated no woman." "No, seòor, if you had," "He would have killed you." "Does you try, I will kill you." "Are you talkin' about that woman that was just in here?" "I never touched her." "If she told you that's what I did, then she's lyin'." "Because that's not true." "Get up." "You better start makin' some sense, mister, 'cause you're makin' a big mistake." "Get up!" "Chuy!" "She was tryin' to run away on that horse, Chuy." "I was buying that horse from the gringo in the church." "I tell her to mount the horse, to ride it to see if it rides as well as it looks." "You must forgive these stupidities, mi amor." "Now, you just tell me about the horse." "I, too, have always admired the appaloosa." "Such a beautiful animal." "Tell me, then, does he ride as good as he looks?" "You were tryin' to run away from me?" "In front of my pistoleros?" "No." "You were tryin' out a horse you wish me to buy for you." "Thanks for holdin' my horse." "Don't do it again." "It was all a misunderstanding', seòor." "You know how are the women." "She could not decide which one to choose, but now that she has ridden it, it pleases her very much." "I will buy it for her." "No, you won't." "This horse ain't for sale." "Oh, seòor," "I can understand your anger." "The horse is worth much more than I offered for it before." "But do not take that as an insult." "Seòor, I, uh, I, uh, must have your horse." "I will give you $500, American money." "All you're gonna give me, mister, is a bad case of worms." "No, seòor." "You agreed to sell me your horse." "You cannot now go back on your word." "Well, I'll give you my word." "The next time you point a gun at me, you better pull the trigger, because I'm gonna blow you into so many pieces, your friends will get tired of lookin' for you." "Tata!" "Mama!" "Tata!" "Tata!" "Tata!" "Tata!" "Tata!" "Tata!" "Tata, look!" "Ándale." "Get everybody inside." "Mama!" "Get everyone into the house." "Get in the house." "Why don't you ever listen to me?" "Where is the baby?" "In the house." "Get in the house." "Get in the house." "Tomas, Raimundo." "Get into the house." "Paquita!" "Ándale." "Go to the bedroom." "Tomas!" "Tomas!" "Paquita!" "Paquita, get into the house!" "Tomas, Ramon and Paquita." "Hurry up." "Inside." "Inside, in the bedroom." "No, Tomas, ven acá." "Take Esmeralda." "Huh?" "Mateo?" "Mateo!" "Ana, it is Mateo!" "You're back!" "Ana!" "Ana!" "It is Mateo!" "Mateo." "Mateo." "Mateo, this is Esmeralda." "This is Paquita." "Shy Paquita." "This is Raimundo and this is Tomas." "Hi, Tomas." "Well, I pretty near scared the dickens out of you." "Well, Paco," "you did real good." "It's the best family in the world." "Vamos, muchachos, go feed his horse." "Give him some water." "Treat him nice." "Well, let me get out of this rig and sit down." "What a beautiful appaloosa." "Where did you get it?" "Paco, Mateo is tired." "Mateo, I will go prepare you some food." "Bring me some water, Ana, will you?" "I'd like to wash up." "I'll put on some now." "Paquita!" "What are you lookin' at?" "How about a kiss?" "Give him a kiss." "Come on." "You smell like a goat." "I what?" "Smell like a goat." "Well, you don't smell like a goat." "You smell real good." "Go help your mother, Paquita." "Paquita, come help mamá with the tortillas." "Mateo." "Yeah, I can use that." "That's it." "You didn't have that the last time I saw you." "I'm older." "Well, to home, Paco." "You just don't know how to grow corn, Paco." "We had grasshoppers last year." "Grasshoppers?" "Oh, God, are you goin' to tell me about grasshoppers?" "Listen, I wanna tell you somethin'." "You've grown your last..." "You've grown your last ear of corn on this piece of ground." "Hear what I'm tellin' you?" "Paco." "Yes?" "Come here." "See them chickens up there?" "Yes." "Well, I say we fence it in and go out like this down here," "all the way down to the river." "That's where we're gonna put the yearling's." "Mateo, what yearling's, what?" "What?" "Well," "I'm gonna build..." "See where the pig house is?" "I'm gonna build my house right there, so I can look down at all them spotted ponies." "What ponies?" "I'm gonna tell you what ponies, brother." "You're gonna be a cowboy." "Cuesta dinero, money." "Where is the money?" "The money?" "Sí." "I got $200 American about yea big, and I got a horse up there that's the best damn stallion in the whole Southwest." "And we're gonna have un rancho." "And that's gonna be you and me." "Rancho?" "That's right." "We're gonna have ourselves a ranch." "Ana!" "Ana!" "Ana!" "Ana!" "Ana!" "Ana!" "Mateo." "Mateo." "Is it" " Is it true?" "We're going to have a rancho?" "Hmm, ranch." "Ranch." "Oh, Tomas, we're going to have a ranch." "Look, the horse!" "Mateo, the horse!" "Get inside the house." "Get inside the house." "Come back, Mateo." "Wait." "Mateo, please don't go." "Stay here with us." "Get inside the bedroom." "Mateo!" "Mateo, no!" "Mateo!" "Mateo!" "He will kill you!" "Come here!" "You are drunk, Mateo!" "What are you doing?" "Stop!" "Stop, Mateo!" "Lazaro, look at him." "He is drunk." "He is drunk." "Are we going to have some fun?" "Where is the gringo who is going to chop me into so many pieces no one would find me?" "If you see him, tell him Chuy Medina has his horse!" "Bring me more shells!" "Lazaro, you know, I think the gringo needs a bath." "Sí, amigo." "Come back, Mateo!" "Come back." "You tired, gringo?" "Then rest." "Lazaro, how is my appaloosa?" "You ready, gringo?" "You are wet, gringo." "Now I must dry you out." "Gives you a nice clean bath, sí?" "Sí." "But you are such a filthy gringo," "I could spend all day here cleaning' you up." "I want to thank you for your nice present." "I would have paid for him." "I pay all my debts, seòor." "You want your horse back, hmm?" "Would you like your horse?" "Well, then, come to Cocatlan." "Oh, you're not very good at that." "You're not very good at anything." "Adiós, amigo." "Well, I wanna tell you, it sure feels good to get that goat hair off of me." "You got somethin' I can wipe my face with, Ana?" "Where in the hell is Paco?" "Probably gettin' drunk all over again." "Okay, sweetheart, how do you like me now?" "It's so white from where the beard was." "Yeah." "Let's see," "hmm, if we can" "work this thing out." "Yeah." "That ought to do it." "Ana, bring..." "Oh, here, good." "Mmm-hmm." "Leave that stain on a while." "Coffee grounds do not make a Mexican." "Go and get the old man's jacket, will you?" "I wanna try it on." "Mateo, do not go." "Ana, excuse me, sweetheart." "Do not go." "I'll be back in a few days." "No, you will not be back in a few days, or a few weeks, or a few months." "We will be lighting' candles for the dead." "If we're gonna have a ranch, we gotta have a horse around here." "A ranch." "W-what do we need with a ranch?" "It's only more work." "Yeah, that's not what you were sayin' yesterday." "We want you, Mateo." "You're more important to us than any ranch." "Oh, Ana, I'll be back here with that horse before you can turn around." "It'll be as easy as cutting' butter." "It is your throat that will be cut, Mateo." "You do not know about Chuy Medina." "Well, the man stole my horse." "What the hell am I supposed to do?" "Go over there and, uh, and sit down in the river and forget about it?" "Horse." "Horse." "I am tired of hearin' about that horse." "You drifter." "You come in here worrying' about a horse." "What do you think will happen to my family?" "All right, go to Méjico." "Go get it." "He will cut you up in little pieces, and we will bury you and plant more corn." "You just don't understand." "It's not about a man stealin' my horse, Ana." "It's about somethin' that happened a long time ago, before you was even born." "It started when Paco's dad picked me up when I was a scared, dirty, skinny, little runt," "and brought me home here, to live." "Scrubbed me up and treated me like I was his own blood." "And he never gave up on me, Ana." "Not--not even when I stole." "Not even when I lied or when I cheated him." "I've seen him sweat like an ox in the corn field all so as he can get some grub on the table for us." "No matter how hard he worked, no matter how worn out he was after workin', he used to come here and sit in this chair" "and play the guitar and sing us a song, teach us a little bit how to read, best he knew how, anyway." "About that time, I left here with that old one-eyed mule and $1.86 in my pocket." "And that was all the grubstake he had to give me." "And I had big ideas about what I was goin' to do," "how I was going to get myself a hat full of gold, come back here with a real pretty lady," "and build us a big old hacienda out there by the pig house so as the old man wouldn't have to work no more." "I thought, maybe with a good stallion, we can build us a little horse ranch and give it to the kids." "That old man spent a whole lot of years tryin' to make... a decent man out of me," "and gettin' that horse was about the only way I can see to paying' him back." "I never realized that his arms were so short." "Well, here comes Paco." "Paco, Paco, reason with him." "Tell him not to go." "There is nothin' I can do." "Okay, kid, where are we goin' and how do we get there?" "Once you go across the river into Méjico, you take the main carretera to Cocatlan." "Always keep goin' in the southwest." "It's one, two days' ride." "Remember," "Chuy is not just one man, Chuy is an army." "Please, don't trust anyone." "Mateo," "you may get cold." "Hope not." "Flaco." "@Pulque?" "Sí." "Permit me, seòor, to buy you a pulque." "With pleasure, amigo." "Is this your first visit to this pulquería?" "Yes." "It's a nice little place, though." "They got a few flies in the pulque, but not too many." "Do you know, seòor, where the custom comes from, to drink the first litro without stopping?" "No, I don't know how that started." "I was just wondering." "I do not know, either." "For you." "No, gracias." "You don't have a light for my cigarro?" "Gracias." "Where you go, seòor?" "Do you have business somewhere in Sonora?" "No, I'm going to Batopilas." "Batopilas?" "Sí." "That is a long ways from here." "Do you know this town?" "Sure." "I want to ask you a question." "Does, uh, Catamaria still have her little cantina there?" "Catamaria?" "It's just one room and she has, uh, only two tables and she cooks on the floor, but her chicken mole, ay yi yi, compadre, it is the best." "There is a girl there now," "I wonder if you know her." "What is her name?" "Uh..." "She has red hair and almost white eyes." "I have" " I have not been there for a long time." "But I don't remember any girl with red hair and white eyes." "Hmm." "I'm going to tell you something, seòor." "I don't think that you know too much about Batopilas." "Hmm." "You are very smart, seòor." "And you are very impolite." "Unless it is the custom to try to make a fool of strangers in this little place." "That's for your pulque, amigo." "Flaco, you been in Batopilas?" "Sí." "Is there a woman there named Catamaria who is famous for her chicken mole?" "There is only one cantina in Batopilas run by a blind man named Pedro" "and his chicken mole is terrible." "Hmm." "Against the wall." "Now, who are you?" "I'm coming from the north, seòor." "I'm going to my home in Batopilas." "Then you are not one of Chuy's pistoleros" "looking for some lamb to roast?" "No, seòor." "Ah." "Batopilas, eh?" "You go to Cocatlan, seòor?" "Yes." "Come." "You will have something to eat first." "Hmm?" "Chuy." "The gringo you wait for is coming to Cocatlan." "I am sure it is him." "If the stew is not hot enough, here is some more pepper." "Very hot." "Poor Maria, her mother is in the stew." "She was killed by one of Chuy's pistoleros." "Just practicing to kill." "Enjoy, seòor?" "Is good." "She is pleased." "She watches." "You do not have to go to Cocatlan, seòor, to get to Batopilas." "I know a very good road." "It will save you five, maybe six hours." "Well, I've heard about the women in Cocatlan, and I've been alone for 2 weeks now, and I was looking forward a little bit to see them, you know." "And they look forward to you." "You will be wise to take, seòor, the road that Ramos shows you." "Do not go to Cocatlan, seòor." "Go back to your home." "Go back to Ojo Prieto, gringo." "When I woke up from siesta, that pig, Lazaro, was sitting on my bed." "It does not matter to you?" "Did he harm you?" "I run to Manuela's room." "Amigo, you are getting old." "I remember when your legs were faster than a woman's." "When your arms were strong enough to break down a door." "You sent him." "You are the pig." "Sí, I sent him." "And next time I will tell him not to stop." "Next time I will tell him to bring these two along." "Next time?" "Sí." "Next time you think to run away from Chuy Medina" "in Ojo Prieto, or anywhere." "Put that light out." "Put out that damn light." "If you holler once, I'm gonna blow your arms off." "Who are you?" "I'm looking for a horse with spots on his rump." "Remember?" "Come out of there." "Come the hell out of there." "Move over there." "Sit down." "Now you're going down them stairs and mount up." "You're gonna walk my horse out of town real slow and I'm gonna be behind you, staring at your spine in case you just don't twitch the right way." "I am not permitted to ride alone." "Chuy knows I would never come back." "I can get a lady to tell me lies better than that one, only costs me a dollar and a half." "I am telling you the truth." "They will stop me and find you." "Maybe." "But you cost me that horse and you're gonna get it back for me." "I am sorry for what happened in Ojo Prieto." "I know you do not believe that." "But you must believe that if I do as you ask, you will die." "Please, go." "Trini!" "I must go." "If I do not go down, they will come up." "They will kill you." "Trini!" "We have been waiting for you." "You gringos take so much trouble to go somewhere, and then you are in such a hurry to leave." "Come in." "Have a drink with us." "Come." "Venga." "You like my cantina?" "Mi casa es su casa." "Tequila." "Amigo, forgive me, you always did prefer the cognac, no?" "I don't mind." "Sit down." "Wouldn't hurt if I took my hat off, would it?" "Make yourself comfortable." "Salud." "Cigarro?" "I don't believe so." "I've got my own smokes." "The last time I see you, seòor, you were very drunk." "Do you remember?" "I remember taking a cold bath and getting hung up to dry like a pair of stinking old underwear." "You have humor." "It is very good." "Our lives would be very sad without it." "Another drink, seòor." "You don't want to see me drunk again, do you?" "No." "I just think that maybe now" "you are afraid to be in Cocatlan." "Hmm?" "A little bit?" "Yeah." "A little bit." "Bueno." "But then, I never was too much afraid of a horse thief." "Do not be impolite, seòor." "I was thinking, that day when I hanged you up on the gate and I made you an invitation to come to Cocatlan," "I did not think you would accept my invitation." "Seòor." "Why did you do such a stupid thing?" "Well..." "Suppose a fellow came into your backyard and made a damn fool out of you." "Stole your horse." "What would you do?" "I would kill him." "But I do not expect that you will try that here in Cocatlan." "Hmm?" "Well, I'll tell you something, Mr. Medina." "I don't know you and I don't like you." "But I didn't come here to kill you." "If that'd been any other horse," "I wouldn't have made a fuss about it." "But that Indian pony is a whole lot of things to me." "And, uh, if I don't leave here with it," "I'm not gonna leave here without it." "All right." "I'll give you a chance." "Do you have strong arms?" "Yeah." "As strong as mine, do you think?" "Yeah." "Then you think you can force my arm down, no?" "Yeah." "Then you'll have your chance." "Do you know alacranes, seòor?" "These are from Durango." "Perhaps you do not know that the scorpion of Durango is very deadly." "In Méjico, everything must be stronger to live." "We will use these." "Because if you wish your horse, you will have to kill me." "I have done this many times, seòor." "It is always I have never lost." "But it is possible." "Is it?" "If I lose, seòor, I fill my belly with tequila and I die with my woman." "If you lose, seòor, what is your wish?" "A priest?" "We have no priests in Cocatlan." "But we have a church." "If you lose, seòor, I will see to it personally that you die in the church." "Bueno?" "I'm not worried about losing." "I'm just thinking about what's gonna happen if I win." "Hmm?" "I said, I'm worried about what happens if I win." "Lazaro, the gringo is afraid for his life, if he should win." "Lazaro, if I lose, bring him his horse" "and escort him safely away from Cocatlan." "Now, we begin." "The sleeve, seòor." "The scorpion prefers the skin." "Hmm?" "Seòor, many generations of the Medina have defended Cocatlan with their hands." "Before my family, you gringos come and take horses, gold, women, whatever you wish." "Now, seòor, because of the Medina, it is we who take things" "and bring them back to Cocatlan." "I gave you your chance." "Adiós, amigo." "Good?" "Hmm?" "Is he alive?" "I do not know." "He was." "We have looked everywhere." "She is not in Cocatlan." "She must have gone with the gringo." "Find them." "Muy bien, Chuy." "It is a grave I have dug for myself." "One day when I am tired of living," "I will come here for a long rest." "Go down." "I must cover you both." "But it is a grave." "That is a word." "This is a place of safety." "You must hide here now." "Come." "Where are we?" "Ramos says you must be quiet." "How long have we been here?" "Most of the night." "Ramos says we will be safe here for a little while." "Where is the old man?" "He is in his hut." "Did you haul me here?" "Yes." "Thanks." "You must drink this." "As much as you can." "Ramos made it from herbs." "You've done about all for me that you can." "You better get on back now." "No." "If you go back now, you might have to take a bad licking, but he's not gonna kill you." "You're too good-looking to kill." "I do not go back." "Will you bring me with you just to the border?" "Lady..." "I, uh..." "I can't even bring my horse back." "I've come a long way to wind up in this hole." "I probably won't get more than 5 feet if I ever get out of it." "If he catches you trying to make a run for it with me, you won't have hardly any time to say your prayers before he'll open up your back." "You're better off staying here in Mexico." "You've got some pretty dresses and you've got some grub coming in." "You've got it a whole lot better than most of the women I know." "I was 15 when my father sold me to Chuy." "We were poor." "I was the only girl." "Chuy promised my father that I would be his woman and have a good life." "When I left, my mother gave me her wedding dress." "I thought I would be married in a church with a priest and all the pretty robes, three rings, silk cord around our shoulders." "But there was no priest in Cocatlan." "And I learned what the good life was." "When Chuy's finished with me, he will give me to his pistoleros like the other girls." "I will not go back to that." "I would rather be dead." "All right." "We'll give her a try." "Buenas noches, seòor." "What can old Ramos do for you?" "Old Ramos will not live to be any older unless he tells me where they are." "Where they are, seòor?" "The two who came here together on one horse." "Two on one horse?" "The gringo guy, the hembra linda." "The pretty one." "Horse tracks." "Oh..." "I have sheep, seòor, and goats." "These tracks are the same as the ones we found in the arroyo in Cocatlan where the gringo left his horse, and they lead to here, only heavier." "Oh." "Oh, many horse pass my humble casa, seòor." "I do not see them." "It is possible." "Maybe your goats see them." "Hola." "Have any of you seen the gringo and the girl?" "You have foolish animals, old man." "They do not answer." "I hope you are not so foolish." "I can tell you nothing, seòor." "I cannot shoot an old man who maybe wishes to help," "but only has trouble remembering." "I help you to remember." "Mateo!" "Hey!" "Seòor." "You do not go to the border now?" "No." "You are going back for your horse." "I know Cocatlan, I will help." "I'm not going in for the horse." "I'm gonna..." "I'm gonna kill Chuy." "I've got a word for Chuy Medina." "Tell me what else he say." "These words, they are not from my mouth, they are from the mouth of the gringo." "He said that the poison of your scorpion is weak" "like the blood of the Medina." "That you tie up your woman like you tie up your horse." "Or she run away." "He say that you are a coward." "Afraid to fight if we are not with you to help." "He wait until tomorrow." "He wait to see if you come alone." "You drink too much, amigo." "Hoya." "Where is the gringo?" "He waits in the high canyon, Chuy." "You think it is like the gringo say?" "I need help to fight?" "Pride is not enough, amigo." "Now we can go." "Mateo!" "Oha!" "Oha, gringo!" "You ask me to come." "Here I am!" "What is it you wish to do now, gringo?" "I tell you what:" "send me my woman, and I'll let you go." "I even let you have your horse." "I will go." "Stay where you are." "A Medina always keeps his word." "You know." "Gringo!" "Listen to me." "Soon my muchachos will come to look for me." "Then you are finished, gringo!" "Do not be a fool, seòor!" "I no longer wish to kill you!" "But no man can take away any woman of Chuy Medina." "You think maybe you wait till tonight and get away, seòor?" "You make a mistake." "My pistoleros will be here before then!" "What do you say?" "We make a deal, gringo?" "Here's the deal, Medina." "You keep the horse." "I'm sending him out." "You send out your horse and I will kill him to start with." "He will kill the horse." "He'll have to show his gun to do it." "He's all yours, Medina." "Mateo!" "It is Mateo!" "Mateo!" "Ana!" "It is Mateo!" "Mateo!" "Mateo!" "Mateo!" "Mateo!" "Mateo!" "Mateo!"