"Help!" "Water..." "Water moccasins!" "Sean!" "I'll get him out!" "I got him!" "I got him!" "Coming!" "Hyah!" "Go, go, go, go!" "Ground his horse." "Snakes!" "Snakes!" "Newt!" "Get back, get back." "Watch them." "Watch that horse." "Get a hand on him!" "Pull him up here!" "Sean..." "Sean!" "Get out..." "Oh, Lord." "Ain't nothin' much we can do, Newt." "He's been bit too many times." "No!" "Pea, you snake bit?" "I think I whupped 'em off." "Jasper, give him a good look." "He must've struck a nest." "I've crossed this river a hundred times and never seen more than two snakes at once." "Storm stirred them up." "All he wanted was to return to Ireland." "Yes, I expect he did." "I don't see no bites." "Sean." "Oh, Sean." "If I'd a'known that storm was going to stir them snakes up," "I'd a'picked another place to cross." "Wasn't your fault, Deets." "Life is shorter for some." "Sean was an unlucky young sprout." "It was nobody's fault." "Nobody's." "Well, you boys best go find his brother, I reckon." "If you want to sing, go on and do it." "Sleep, O babe" "For I'd rather be home" "Outside..." "I'll say a word." "Just a word here." "This was a good, brave boy with a fine tenor voice we'll all miss." "There's accidents in life." "He met a bad one." "We may do the same if we ain't careful." "Dust to dust..." "Now let's the rest of us go on to Montana." "He's right, boys." "Best thing you can do with death is ride off from it." "Sean was the babe of our family." "I wish I could have finished the song for him." "'Twas his favorite." "Maybe you'll ride with me a while, Newt." "Sure." "Ol' Bol won't cross." "He don't want no part of it after what happened to Sean here." "He's going back to Lonesome Dove to be with his family, so I gave him a horse." "Adios, you old bandit." "You can go whack that durn bell all you like now!" "Well, we're going to need a new cook." "'I God, Woodrow, but it's a bad start." "Howdy!" "My name's Roscoe Brown." "Is..." "Is this Texas?" "I'm lookin' for a fella may a'rode past here." "His name's July Johnson." "He had a boy with him about yea..." "Yea high." "I been ridin' night and day tryin' to find him." "I'm from Arkansas." "Got any whiskey?" "Yes, sir." "I got a bottle right here in my poke." "I'd be glad for you to share it." "Come get this varmint, gal." "You having possum for your supper, are you?" "Yeah." "But you ain't, unless you go catch your own." "I got a biscuit." "Go on." "Cook that possum, like I said." "About this man that I was looking for..." "I ain't seen him." "You fixing to stay the night?" "If it's all right." "I've been riding real hard." "You can sleep down yonder by the creek." "Thank you." "You leave that gal alone." "She's mine, bought and paid for." "Sure." "You heard me, girl!" "Get yourself over here, or you'll wish you had!" "What's going on in there?" "Don't go a-hitting on that girl!" "Fare thee well" "Fare thee well, my fairy fey" "For I'm goin' to Louisiana for to see my Susianna" "Singing polly wolly..." "All right." "I know somebody's out there in the brush." "You just come on out and show yourself." "You." "I run off from Old Sam to go with you." "Why, why, girl." "You can't go with me." "Janey's my name." "Old Sam used me bad." "I ain't really his, anyway." "He just traded some skunk pelts for me." "I expect he's looking for you." "Nope." "No?" "Why not, pray tell?" "Because I broke his knees with a pan while he was sleeping." "That'll keep him a few days." "Goodness." "You're a rough customer, ain't you?" "I ain't rough." "Old Sam was rough." "Well, you can't go with me." "I'm headed down toward" "San Antonio to find a man." "I seen that man two days ago when he come through here." "Him and the boy." "Which way did he go?" "Ain't telling you, unless you take me along." "Oh, girl!" "I..." "I can't take you with me." "I got to travel fast." "Call this fast traveling?" "I been following you 6 miles and didn't do more than walk." "I can keep up with you, I reckon, and I can catch rabbits and possums to eat, too." "Possum?" "I'm going to follow you, anyway." "If I was to go back, Old Sam would kill me." "Yeah, I expect he would." "Well, you might just as well jump on up here then." "Which way?" "They was riding that way yonder." "His wife run off from him." "That's why I got to find him." "How many barrels you got of those?" "I'll get it." "Easy does it, now." "Took you a while, didn't it?" "I been waiting long enough." "Buffalo tongue." "Ain't that something?" "You got a buffalo tongue." "You're the one can eat it, too." "Who is that?" "Luke." "Luke?" "Luke." "What are you doing here?" "Me and Big Zwey partnered up." "Partnered up?" "We're going to Ogallala." "You ain't scared of Indians, huh?" "Well, I don't like them much, I guess." "I already killed five of them." "Won't bother me none to kill some more." "Well..." "Might not hurt for you to come along at that." "You'll be glad of it if the Indians get after you." "Big Zwey told me he was going to marry you." "He did, huh?" "He ain't as bad as some." "How would you know?" "You ain't never been married to him." "He ain't a man to be put off." "You know it." "I'm married." "I doubt he knows what the word means." "I know what it means." ""Dear Ellie," ""we have come a long piece" ""and have been lucky with the weather." ""It has been clear." ""No sign of Jake Spoon yet," ""but we did cross the Red River" ""and are in Texas now." ""Little Joe likes it." ""His horse has been behaving all right," ""and neither of us has been sick." ""I hope that you are well" ""and have not been bothered too much by the skeeters." ""Your loving husband, July. "" "Well, what do you think?" "It's a long letter." "You want me to write something on the bottom of it for you?" "You sure?" "Maybe put your name?" "She'll like it all right without nothing from me." "Well, we'll post it when we get to Fort Worth." "I know I'm slowing you down, but I'm glad you brought me on this trip." "Yeah." "Me, too, Joe." "This town sure growed since I was last here." "Darn people making towns everywhere." "It's our fault, too." "We chased out the Indians and hung all the good bandits." "Did it ever occur to you that everything we done was a mistake?" "We killed off the people that made this country interesting." "Nobody in their right mind wants the Indians back, nor the bandits." "If you like civilization so much, what are we doing riding to the wilds of Montana?" "We ain't riding to Montana now." "We're in San Antonio looking for a cook." "Buenos días." "Howdy." "We're taking cattle to Montana and lost our cook." "Yes." "I go with you." "My name is Po Campo." "Uh, can you cook?" "Our boys is awful particular." "Try one of these." "I fried them only this morning." "Dang." "That's tasty." "Is it some kind of candy?" "Grasshopper." "Grasshopper." "Kind of good, though, ain't they?" "Our boys ain't going to take much to eating bugs." "I cook good beefsteak, too, and bird egg pie." "Just one minute, I'll be ready to go with you." "Hang on there a minute." "You ain't going to get off down the trail a mile missing your wife like our last cook done?" "My wife's in hell where I sent her." "She made good biscuits, but her behavior was terrible." "I think this is our man." "Well, we need a cook, I reckon." "I'll buy you a horse." "No." "I will walk." "I do not ride animals." "What do you mean, you don't ride animals?" "It is not civilized." "Are we not animals, also?" "How would you like it if somebody rode you?" "That's why I like him." "He's a philosopher." "Yeah." "I hired him to give you somebody to talk to." "Free the rest of us to get work done." "We'd like a shot of whiskey if it ain't too much trouble." "Howdy, boys." "You got a good game going there?" "Who the hell is that?" "You got mud in your ears, or what?" "Rye or what'll it be, old-timer?" "Well, rye will do, provided it gets here quick." "You durn cowboys ought to broom yourselves off before you walk in here." "We got all the sand we need without customers bringing it in." "That'll be a dollar." "Now, besides the whiskey, I think we'll require a little respect." "Now, I'm Captain Augustus McCrae." "This is captain Woodrow F. Call." "If you turn around, you'll see how we looked when we was younger." "The people here wanted to make us senators." "Back then, we never tolerated dawdling service." "As you can see, we still don't tolerate it." "Now, then..." "If I could have a fresh glass, please?" "You broke my nose, you old son of a..." "Well..." "Here's to the sunny slopes of long ago." "Whatever happened to Wee Willie Montgomery?" "You didn't have to whack the bartender when he owned that saloon." "You're just mad 'cause they didn't know you." "You're lucky they didn't throw you in jail." "It ain't a crime, whacking a surly bartender." "I guess they may have forgot us, though." "Of course." "We haven't been here in years." "They forgot us 'cause we never got killed." "That's dang foolish to say." "If a thousand Comanches cornered us in a gully somewhere and wiped us out like the Sioux just done Custer, they'd remember us sure." "There never was a thousand Comanches in the whole world." "That ain't the point." "What, then?" "Another 20 years, we'll be Indians." "They be sticking us on reservations, just to get us out of the way." "Ha!" "That's danged unlikely." "Well, maybe you're right." "I reckon I am." "Yeah, well, I doubt we'll last another 20 years." "Gus!" "Now, where in the hell is he going?" "Gus..." "What in the hell's come over you, Augustus?" "I doubt you'd understand." "I doubt it, too." "When was you the happiest, Call?" "The happiest about what?" "About being a live human being, free on the earth?" "I don't know." "It would be hard to single out any one particular time." "Well, it ain't for me." "I was the happiest right here by this little creek." "Me and Clara discovered it one day when we was out for a buggy ride." "I might had knowed it had something to do with Clara." "That was a long time ago now." "Ah..." "God, she was beautiful." "I expect it was the mistake of my life..." "Letting her slip away like I did." "Well..." "You've always got your whores." "Yeah, I guess I do." "I don't know why you're down on whores." "You've had yours, as I recall." "The worst mistake I ever made." "It ain't a mistake to be human once in your life." "Maggie left you a fine son before she died." "You don't know that." "He could be yours," "Jake's, or some damn gambler's." "But he ain't." "He's yours." "Anybody with eyes can see." "Besides, Maggie told me." "We were good friends." "Ha!" "I don't know about friends." "I'm sure you was a good customer, though." "The two can overlap." "You'd know about overlapping with whores." "Know what hurt her most?" "You wouldn't call her by name." "You'd never call her Maggie." "So what if I had?" "It would have made her happy." "What?" "She was a whore!" "Whores got hearts, Woodrow." "Maggie's was the most tender I ever saw." "Why didn't you marry her, then?" "She loved you." "She sat in that saloon watching the door after you quit coming around." "A man's got more to do than sit in saloons with whores." "Like what?" "Clean his gun?" "Maggie needed you." "You let her down." "You know it, too, don't you?" "I don't know anything of the danged kind." "That's why you won't claim that boy as your own." "He's a reminder you failed somebody." "You'll never admit that." "Like I said, Maggie was just a whore." "'I God, Woodrow." "You finally called her by name." "That shows some improvement now, don't it?" "You want some prairie chicken?" "I ate enough." "I might catch you a frog for supper." "A frog?" "I ain't never et no frog." "Their legs jump out of the pan when you cook them." "No!" "Yes, they do!" "You got to catch them and throw them back in the pan." "I don't believe that!" "How can a dead frog jump out of a pan?" "What's the matter?" "Hey!" "Where you going?" "Howdy." "Howdy." "Howdy." "Could we borrow some tobacco off of you?" "I ain't got none." "Ain't got none?" "I reckon you're lying." "Oh, no, I ain't, neither." "Why travel with nothing to smoke?" "Because it never agreed with me." "I quit." "Well, we might have to smoke you." "What do you think of that?" "My name's Roscoe Brown." "I'm just going down this road." "I ain't looking for trouble." "Going down this road?" "Yes, sir." "Let's shoot him and take his horse." "Drop your gun." "Wait just a minute!" "Yes, sir." "Clamber down off that horse, mister." "I..." "I'm from Arkansas, and..." "Yes, sir." "Strip off them duds." "What?" "You come into this world naked." "Go out the same way." "I got some money." "There's probably $30 here." "I'll pull this trigger on you for your sass." "That's somebody shooting." "Why, it's just a damn little old girl!" "And she's a rock chunker, ain't she, Jim?" "She's done all the rock chunking she's going to do." "What are you going to do with that stick, Mister?" "Jim!" "Damn you!" "Get her?" "No, she's too fast." "I've never seen anything like it." "That little gal near chunked you to death." "I'm going to give her a bullet for every rock she throwed." "Shoot this one first." "I don't want to tear his clothes with my 10 gauge." "Put it down." "July!" "Roscoe, what in God's name you doing in Texas?" "I come for you, July." "It's a lucky thing I found you, too." "Who was that chunking them rocks?" "Oh, that is Janey." "You can come on out now." "July's here." "He's the man I've been looking for." "My God." "On a whiskey boat?" "Well..." "That's what Peach thinks." "It just don't make no sense for" "Ellie to go running off like that." "That don't make no sense at all, does it, Joe?" "Mama always been like that." "She never liked staying in one place too long." "Any idea where she might have gone?" "Maybe to go find Dee." "Dee?" "You mean your pa, Dee Boot?" "But Ellie told me he died of smallpox over in Dodge." "Joe?" "Joe, I don't reckon she'd lie to me." "Dee never had no smallpox." "Mama just married you when they run out of money." "They..." "They's something else, July." "Ellie's going to have a baby." "Peach seen her with the morning sickness." "A baby?" "I'm sorry to be bringing you this news, July, but I thought you'd want to know." "Joe." "Yes, sir?" "Where would she go to find Dee?" "He was up to Ogallala last we heard." "Ogallala." "We better go find her, I guess." "What about Jake Spoon?" "I can't worry about him no more." "Ellie might be needing me." "Ogallala." "Howdy." "I'm Joe." "That's Janey." "She's shy, but it don't last long." "You ever ate a frog?" "Looks like Jake." "No, it's just Lorie resting by a tree." "I bet Jake's gone off to gamble somewhere." "Hell, all I see's a puff of smoke." "I think I'll keep her company until that scamp gets back." "We got cattle to look after." "Well, what's keeping you?" "Hello, Gus." "Lorie, darling." "How long's Jake been gone?" "Two days." "He went up to Austin to play some cards." "He left mad." "He's been mad the whole trip." "Well, he'll be back." "Yes, I know he will." "He ain't going to take me to California, though, is he?" "No." "Don't be too hard on him." "He got you out of Lonesome Dove." "I didn't get all down in Lonesome Dove." "'Cause back there you was never expecting nothing." "Then here comes Jake." "Get you all full of hope." "Trouble is, Jake ain't a man to support nobody's hopes but his own." "What did you stop off for?" "Well, it's such a nice day," "I thought I'd just ride over and we'd cut cards or something." "What do I get if I win this time?" "Well, I'll be your whore." "You can have a poke on the man." "Why would I want one?" "All right, then." "If you win, we'll pretend you're a fancy lady in San Francisco." "I'll bring you a glass of buttermilk." "I don't even like buttermilk, Gus." "Then what?" "You name it." "I just want to go to San Francisco." "That's what I want." "Lorie, listen to me now, pretty little thing." "Life in San Francisco's still just life." "If you want only one thing too much, it's likely to turn out disappointing." "The only way to live is to learn to like all the little everyday things." "Yeah?" "Like what?" "Like a sip of good whiskey or a soft bed or a glass of buttermilk or say, uh..." "A feisty gentleman like myself." "Now, you close your pretty little eyes." "Now, go on." "Don't open them till I count to 23." "Ok, now no cheating." "Your cheating days is over, woman." "1... 2... 3..." "What are you doing?" "4..." "Don't open your eyes. 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10... 11... 12... 13... 14... 15... 16... 17... 18, 19, 20, 21..." "Better make it 27." "21... 22... 23... 24... 25..." "Don't cheat!" "Don't open them." "26..." "Ok. 27." "Why, Gus!" "Aren't you cold?" "Let's have us a bath!" "Come on, woman." "Hope you can swim." "I can't swim." "I can float for about 30 seconds." "Oh, Lord!" "Hold your damn nose!" "Oh, Lord!" "It ain't very deep, is it?" "I can float good here." "Man, this water's so cold." "I believe it's shriveled my pod." "Well, it wasn't getting no business today, anyway." "Gus, you scamp!" "Boy!" "Gus..." "Yeah?" "I'd go with you to California, if you was of a mind to." "You would, would you?" "Well, I'm complimented." "Mighty complimented." "Let's go then, all right?" "Jake can take his own chances." "I can't, honey." "I'm bound for Ogallala." "Ogallala?" "Where's that?" "Somewheres up in Nebraska." "What's there?" "A woman named Clara." "She's the only reason I ever come on this trip." "You'd go that far for a woman?" "You bet." "I'm a woman, and I'm right here." "You can have your pokes." "We both make it to Denver," "I'll buy you a train ticket to San Francisco." "Would you mind getting my pistol for me?" "I don't know if that fella's friendly or not." "Looks like an Indian." "How can you tell?" "Indians got their own way of riding, see?" "This one's a..." "Setting on an old Mexican saddle." "I reckon he stole it, maybe even killed for it." "Go on, go on." "Go on." "Go." "You want the rifle?" "No." "I shot many a sassy bandit with just my pistol." "Go hide yourself behind that scrub." "Go on." "I'll be all right." "You go on now." "Stay put." "Like to water." "Help yourself." "Hope you like it cold." "I ain't got time to warm it up." "I like it wet." "I know you, McCrae." "From the old days." "I know you, too, Blue Duck." "Where's your friend, Call?" "He ain't here just now." "It's my bad luck he's gone." "If I kill you, then I will have to wait here to kill him, too." "He be back shortly." "You could sit over in the shade and wait, if you're able, after you and me get through." "There's plenty others need killing besides you two." "I can't wait all day to shoot two wore-out old rangers" "with holes in their underwear." "That's a fine saddle you took." "With luck, it will last another mile or two." "Maybe." "You bring that tongue north of the Canadian river," "I'll cut it off and feed it to my wolf pups." "He's a Comanchero butcher we should have hung years ago, but we couldn't, because he was better at riding long distances without water." "But..." "He may be after our horses though." "I better go warn Call." "Come on with me, now." "No, I ain't going." "I don't like how them cowboys look at me." "You're sure hard on the boys that love you." "They've got truer hearts than Jake Spoon." "I left that behind when I left Lonesome Dove." "Durn it, I don't like leaving you here with Blue Duck around." "Jake will be back soon." "Oh, now it's Jake again?" "You were the one said something about going to Ogallala after some woman, didn't you?" "Still got enough light to see where he went." "I'm going to send somebody over here to stay with you till Jake gets back." "The herd's only a mile away." "All right." "Newt." "Yes, sir." "Ride over to Jake's camp." "Keep an eye on Lorena till Jake's back." "Me?" "Gus, what is it?" "Blue duck's in the area." "Oh, Lord." "Sure it's Blue Duck?" "I exchanged pleasantries with him." "Go on, Newt." "Yes, sir." "I'll take on the chore." "We need you here." "You know where she is?" "Yes, sir." "Why didn't you shoot Blue Duck?" "Hell, he was ready." "Me and Deets will track him." "He may be circling to steal our horses." "You boys best get back with the herd." "Get your pistols." "Wouldn't surprise me none to see Blue Duck riding in with a gang." "I don't like the boy going to the whore." "If I'd sent another one of these rowdies, Jake would shoot him." "She should have stayed in Lonesome Dove anyhow." "If you was a young gal, would you want to stay in Lonesome Dove?" "Look how long Maggie lasted." "She just happened to die in Lonesome Dove." "You don't never get the point, do you?" "It ain't dying I'm talking about." "It's living." "That's good, Po Campo." "All right." "Let's go, Deets." "Ok." "Let's see here, Newt." "Howdy, Miss Lorena." "Miss Wood, howdy." "Aw, Newt." "Hello there, Miss Wood." "I'm Newt." "Mr. Gus sent me to keep an eye on you." "He didn't come out anywhere on this side." "I don't find no tracks here." "Must have stayed in the creek." "He might have doubled back." "I don't see no blood." "We lost him in the creek." "What in the hell is Newt doing back?" "I told him to stay over there!" "Newt ain't back, just his horse is back." "Gus!" "What in the hell happened to you?" "Somebody hit me." "All right, Gus, where's Lorie?" "I know you're hiding her over here from me somewhere." "Blue Duck." "Blue Duck?" "Oh, God, he's got her." "That half-breed's around here?" "It's my fault for not shooting the son of a bitch when I had the chance." "Po Campo?" "Yeah." "I'm going to need some fresh water." "Lippy?" "Grab me a box of bullets from the wagon there." "I'm going with you, Gus." "This ain't none of your affair, you darn pup." "I ain't no pup." "And you're a gambling lowlife to let her get stolen." "My God, we'll see about that." "We'll see about that right now." "Now you boys hold that right there." "That ain't gonna happen." "I want me a horse." "Mine's rolled down." "You ain't going neither, Jake, not with me you ain't." "I'll go if I damn please!" "She's my woman!" "You should have stayed closer to her, if she's your woman." "The hell with you." "The hell with the whole bunch of you!" "You heard him, Jake." "He don't want you." "You was sent to watch her, huh?" "Well, I'd say you done a damn poor job of it!" "You ain't worth your darn wages!" "I ought to give you a lick or two!" "Not another word, Jake." "It ain't that boy's fault." "You're the one that went off to town." "Drink and gamble." "You watch yourself, Augustus." "Woodrow." "Don't drink so fast." "You'll flounder." "Old Monkey John will like that yellow hair." "Between him and the others, probably get most of their money and all of their hides when they see you." "I hope that damned old ranger hurries along." "I owe him a few." "Gus?" "He won't come." "I ain't his." "He's coming." "I don't know if it's for me or for you, but he's coming." "I got a treatment for women that try to run away." "Cut a little hole in their stomachs." "Pull out a gut and wrap it around a limb." "And I drag them 30 or 40 feet and tie them down." "That way," "I can watch what the coyotes are having for supper." "Fresh women is scarce in these parts, eh, Ermoke?" "Yeah!" "You're all welcome to a taste." "But she ain't free." "Understand?" "We got hides to trade." "And horses." ""And horses"?" "She won't talk." "By God, I will cut your tongue out, if you don't talk!" "What do you care if she talks?" "I wouldn't talk to you either, you damned old runt." "My God, we give all them hides for her." "She had ought to talk if I say talk!" "You're getting your money's worth." "Most of those hides were mine anyway." "Now get off her!" "I don't want her cut." "Hey!" "Let's gamble." "I ain't had a game in a while." "What with?" "You already got our hides and our horses." "The girl." "I ain't won her." "She's ours." "We don't want to gamble with her." "She's just half yours." "Ermoke and his boys own a half interest." "We're aiming to buy him out." "By the time you raise the money, won't be much left to buy." "You'd do better if you buy a goat." "We don't want no damn goat." "Let's gamble." "We want the woman." "If you win, I'll let you have your horses back." "Come in." "Come on." "What's wrong with him?" "He don't care about the horses." "He wants to keep the woman." "That damn chigger." "He's holding up the game." "By God, life is cheap up here on the Canadian." "It's apt to get cheaper." "Let's gamble." "Looks like I win again." "You're a damn cheat." "First you cheat us out of our horses, then you cheat us out of the woman." "I don't want the woman." "You can have her back as a gift." "And the horses, too." "There's an old man following me." "I want you to kill him." "You hear that, Ermoke?" "You kill the man, you can have your horses back, and the woman, too." "We'll take the woman." "The hell you will." "She's half ours." "You ain't taking her nowhere!" "You shut up." "I'll kill you like I killed that chigger." "If I were you, I'd get sober." "Get out of range!" "He'll kill us all!" "That old man's a tough one." "I'm going to show him something tough." "Hell, you ain't hit him yet." "I'll get him." "He ain't got anywheres to go." "Has he?" "By God, that's enough." "That is enough!" "Look at that." "He's shooting at us now." "He can't hit nobody from there." "He's just wasting his bullets." "Maybe an old man like him needs a better target." "Here comes anoth..." "Look what that son of a bitch done to me!" "Monkey!" "The Captain's worried about Mr. Gus, ain't he?" "Me, too." "I get to expecting to hear him talk..." "But he ain't here." "My ears sorta get empty." "Mr. Gus will be all right." "Maybe so." "But he will not catch Blue Duck." "Do you know him, Po Campo?" "Yes, I know him." "I once lived up on the llano." "He killed my three sons." "After that, I left the llano." "It's all Jake's fault." "He's a bastard for leaving her." "That's what started all this." "You sure are smitten, ain't you, Dish?" "Well," "I'll tell you this..." "If she's alive and Gus brings her back," "I aim to marry her." "Marry her?" "Marry a whore?" "Don't call her a whore." "If you're so in love with her, why didn't you follow her and leave Gus here?" "He's a damn sight more entertaining than you are." "So is that whore." "Get him, Dish." "You boys want to fight?" "Collect your wages first." "We're done with it, Captain." "Jasper?" "Yes, sir." "I'm done with it, too." "Let's get back to the herd." "Captain don't take much to sitting around." "Deets." "This one I made for you." "Why, thank you, Po." "Is it of somebody special?" "Like a little saint." "You know..." "To help protect you on our journey." "I heard they won't attack you at night." "They won't attack at night?" "That's what I heard." "I sure hope you're right." "Oh, boy." "It's awful quiet out here tonight." "We don't even know how many there is." "I can go find out." "They'll make soup out of you." "I'd like to know what they was shooting at." "They was shooting at me." "Easy!" "I'm Captain McCrae, Texas Rangers." "I'm coming in." "Don't nobody shoot." "Howdy." "Augustus McCrae." "July Johnson, and this is Roscoe." "July Johnson?" "'I God, you're the sheriff from over" "Fort Smith, Arkansas, looking for Jake Spoon, ain't you?" "Well, I have more urgent business than Jake Spoon now." "I was about to say, if you're looking for Jake, you missed him by 300 miles or so." "The Indians killed your horse?" "I killed him myself for a fort when them Kiowas got after me." "I appreciate your running them off." "We were riding by." "They started shooting at us." "We shot back." "They're Blue Duck's boys." "I'm after him and a woman he stole." "He stole a woman?" "Yes, sir." "A girl traveling with us." "He probably camped on the river and sent them bucks back to kill me." "It's quite a ways north." "Well, our horses are pretty near wore out, but if morning is soon enough, we'll help you track this outlaw." "There." "You see it?" "I see it." "I'll be damned." "The wrath of the Lord is about to descend come sundown." "I best go with you." "You don't know how many there are." "Thanks." "All I need's the loan of a horse." "I'll have him back." "You mean to go at them by yourself?" "There might be 10 of them down there." "Maybe even more." "They scare easy at night." "I just hope Mr. Duck's there." "I intend to kill him." "Look." "I can be of some help." "Stay with your party, Mr. Johnson." "You've got two young people to look after." "Well, Roscoe can stay." "Well, kind of chancey." "You might stop a bullet and never get to finish that urgent business you mentioned." "That urgent business is my wife." "She left home." "Look, I know it's unlikely, but it might be that she got stolen, too." "Well, I guess you're no more fool than me, chasing a woman across the plains." "I might have got one." "I don't know." "I doubt it." "Uhh..." "Ohh..." "I hurt bad." "Go ahead." "Shoot me." "You won't catch me wasting bullets." "Monkey can cut your damn throat if he wants." "He'll die soon enough." "What did she do to earn a kick?" "You mind your own damn business." "You're not worth selling." "The Kiowas can have you." "How come you're giving her to the damn Kiowas?" "Give her to me." "No." "I want them to carve her up." "Hell, I'll carve her up." "Maybe it will put some spirit in them, so they can go out tomorrow and run that old ranger into the ground." "Give her to me." "Hell, I'm mean as they are." "You better be." "If McCrae comes, you better be quick." "Well, there they are." "Have you ever killed, Mr. Johnson?" "No." "Well, you do what I do then." "Help her." "Monkey, don't let 'em get her." "Help her?" "We'll help her, all right." "Won't we, boys?" "Keep away from her, Ermoke." "She's part mine." "Part yours?" "Aah, God!" "What could you do with your part?" "Aah!" "Lorena." "Lorena." "Lorena." "Lorena." "Hey, it's Gus." "It's me." "Lorena." "Was Blue Duck here?" "Was Blue Duck here tonight, Lorena?" "Was Blue Duck here?" "You killed the whole bunch." "I didn't even shoot." "Get back to your people." "There's a dangerous man loose." "Your deputy can't handle him." "I know this is a shock to you." "It ain't a barroom scrape, so choke it down and get on back." "I'll follow when she's better." "Hey!" "Shoot me." "Go, Mr. Johnson." "Go now!" "Shoot me." "Sure was a lot of shooting." "I'll be glad when July gets back." "What?" "I heard something in that brush." "Might be an Indian." "I'll see." "No." "Wait." "Wait." "Wait." "I wish July'd get on back." "It's likely to be morning 'fore they get back." "Joe?" "Joe, where are ya?" "Shoot him!" "Shoot him!" "What?" "See him?" "Shoot him!" "Where you been, girl?" "Where's Joe?" "Was that his name?" "It's my fault." "If I'd done what you said, they'd still be alive." "'I God." "It's my fault." "Hell, you told me to stay." "I know." "I'm sure you wish you had, but yesterday's gone." "We can't get it back." "Go on with your digging." "I'll tidy up the dead." "Well..." "Guess that's all we can do." "I guess he took Joe's horse." "There." "There you go." "Yes." "And his life." "I'm sure he had more interest in the horse." "If you're going after him..." "I'd like to try and help." "He's better mounted than us." "We got to let him go this time." "Boy, I hate to do that." "These lives here are lost for good, son." "Giving pain for pain won't bring them back." "Best go on and try to find your wife." "If I ever run across Blue Duck again," "I'll kill him for you." "And for her, too." "We'll camp here, Zwey." "Go shoot us a turkey for our supper." "I'll help you build a fire." "I don't need any help." "Zwey, you take Luke with you." "Luke." "Howdy." "You went with Zwey." "I told him we'd hunt better separately." "Why ain't you hunting then?" "I am a-hunting." "Right here." "I'm having a baby." "I can't be doing that." "Not for a while." "You ain't having no baby yet." "I only want a little." "Won't take but six minutes." "If Zwey catches you, he'll kill you." "Zwey, he ain't no smarter than a buffalo." "I might shoot him." "Zwey!" "Get off me!" "Hold still!" "Was he trying to marry you?" "You could call it that." "He was trying to do me." "I want him to let me alone." "How'd the hunting go?" "You shoot a turkey?" "I got one." "Want me to pluck them feathers?" "No, I don't, Luke." "I want you just to stay there." "I wish you wouldn't be doing this." "I won't do it no more." "Next time you go hunting, make sure he's with you." "He can't pester me then." "No, I think I better kill him." "No, Zwey." "Don't!" "Don't!" "Zwey, that's enough." "You'll kill him." "Zwey, we might need him if the Indians come!" "Don't!" "Zwey!" "He's alive." "He'll quit it now, won't he?" "Quit trying to marry you." "Don't he look funny with that ear hanging off?" "I'll go pluck that bird, Luke." "Have us some supper to eat." "Hey!" "Don't be spitting on my floor." "Roy spits where he pleases." "That's why I mentioned it." "Melba, do it in the alley if you're giving it away." "Otherwise, get on upstairs." "You've been known to give it away yourself." "And it's about to break me, Mr. Spoon." "$10." "Spoon?" "You Jake Spoon, the Ranger?" "I've done some rangering." "He's Jake Spoon, the Ranger." "Never heard of him." "You rode with McCrae and Call." "Ain't that right?" "Not anymore, I don't." "McCrae and Call." "Never met them." "I hear they're tough men." "Let a half-breed steal my whore, that tough." "You can't find her?" "They lost her." "Let them find her." "We're going up to Kansas." "Me and my brothers," "Frog Lip there." "Kansas, huh?" "Going to rob some banks." "Ain't that right, Dan?" "Ain't got no objection to robbing banks, have you?" "It would depend on the bank." "I wouldn't enjoy too much law stacked against me." "Law?" "Damn!" "I want my money back." "I wasn't through." "You can't squirt in two minutes, you need doctors, not whores." "Look, I said I want my money back!" "Made her mad, by God, didn't he?" "Well, let's go." "Some sheriff will be poking around here soon." "Jake, help drag him out." "He's messing up my floor." "You coming, Spoon?" "Jake..." "Let's go, boys." "Jake..." "Jake, you come back here, you bastard!" "You ain't never getting me for free again!" "You understand that?" "Jake!" "That's Adobe Walls there." "Need to get us out of this lightning." "Find us a nice warm, dry spot." "That'll about do it." "It can rain all it wants to now." "We're nice and warm." "Real warm." "Yeah." "This used to be quite a lively place, till the buffalo run out a couple years ago." "They ran north, every darn one of them." "'I God, look what I found here." "Gold coins." "There's 5s and 10s." "There's even a handful of $50 gold pieces." "That's good luck." "Now we can play ourselves some high-stakes poker." "Now, all that on your side is yours, and all this over here is mine." "There you go." "Put the cards in your hand, darlin'." "Don't let me see them." "You remember how to play, do you, Lorie?" "Good." "Now, your bet." "But be careful, 'cause I'm mighty tricky." "Remember?" "Tricky old Gus?" "That's the idea but, we hadn't bet yet." "So we'll try it again." "They shouldn't have took me, Gus." "I know, honey, but they did." "They shouldn't have, but they did." "They did." "Now, you just go on, cry it out." "Yeah." "You got a long time to live, and you don't want this thing dragging you backwards, see?" "So you just cry it on out to old Gus." "You'll be all right, you hear?" "You're safe now."