"Gangway for the United States Army!" "Gangway for the United States Army!" "Gangway!" "No more Rebel music out of that box!" "Come on, you loafers!" "Hurry it up, now!" "Look!" "White men stevedoring!" "They ain't no other jobs." "They gotta eat." "Eat what?" "Yankee leavings?" "There ain't any!" "Talking like that's treason!" "Shut up, Collins!" "Try and shut me up!" "Be careful." "Don't drop it!" "Thank you." "Say, miss, what've you got in them boxes?" "Tools, just as it says." "Yeah?" "Well, what kind of tools?" "Ranching tools for our ranch." "It's all there on the bills of lading." "Well, I got orders to inspect everything." "I'm gonna have them boxes opened." "Please." "I'm in such a hurry." "It's just a waste of time." "Sorry, miss." "Orders are orders!" "Hey, Grady!" "Send a couple of men over here!" "Yeah, just a minute." "Remember." "You men are still classed as enemies till you get out of those uniforms!" "We've got nothing else to wear." "That's your lookout!" "Only don't try to pass that tollgate in that outfit!" "Hey, Grady!" "How about those men?" "Be right over, Tommy." "All right, pass through!" "Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton" "Old times there are not forgotten" "Look away!" "Look away!" "Look away!" "Dixie Land" "In Dixieland where I was born Shut up!" "Tommy, let's go!" "Early on one frosty morn'" "Look away!" "Look away!" "Shut up!" "Look away!" "Dixie Land" "I wish I was in Dixie" "Hooray!" "Hooray!" "Shut up!" "In Dixieland I'll take my stand" "To live and die in Dixie" "Away!" "Away!" "Shut up!" "Away down south in Dixie!" "Shut up!" "Looks like the sergeant doesn't like our singing." "You'll find out who likes it!" "What's your name?" "Kirk Jordan." "Well, Jordan, you're under arrest." "For singing a song?" "That song is..." "It's revolution!" "It ain't allowed!" "All that for one little song?" "I did think the air was still free." "What are you doing in that uniform?" "Have you paid your landing tax?" "Your repatri..." "Your patriation tax?" "Your toll tax?" "Sergeant, I've paid every tax in Texas twice." "I can't get out of this town." "Well, you'll get out or go to jail." "Can you put us all in jail?" "Come on, fellows." "We'd better get along." "The war's over." "That's just one war." "Maybe this'd be a fine place to start another one." "We got a living to fight for now." "Let's go find it!" "All right, get going." "No gathering in groups." "Come on, get going!" "I beg your pardon!" "All right, go ahead." "All right, come over here." "But I paid my tax!" "Tell that to Mr. Middlebrack!" "You, soldier!" "I want to thank you." "You saved mo a lot of..." "A lot of time." "Saved you more than that." "Who are these guns for?" "For men like you." "For men like me?" "This war isn't over yet." "It's just begun." "We've found a way to lick the Yankees after all." "So we just wasted a lot of time shooting bullets at them." "They were two to one against us." "But we're getting help." "Help from where?" "From Mexico, from the new emperor, Maximilian." "From all I hear, he's got troubles of his own, hanging on to that emperor job in a country that don't want him." "Oh, they'll want him when our boys get down there." "Let's get this straight." "Who's helping who?" "We're helping each other." "We'll fight for him and he'll fight for us." "He'll cross the Rio Grande, and the whole South will rally round him." "Sounds easy, as you tell It." "It is." "Joe Shelby's cavalry has already escaped into West Texas." "300 strong and they're more every day." "Yeah, I heard about that." "Are those hotheads really going over to Mexico?" "Are they!" "And when they come back, there'll be French and Mexicans with them." "You, soldier." "Seth!" "Oh, Seth!" "Yes, Sergeant?" "Come here!" "French and Mexican troops fighting against the United States." "United Yankees." "But we'll show them." "Get down among those boxes." "I'll smuggle you right into camp." "Not me." "I'm through soldiering." "All Yankees ain't like these." "I met a sight of good ones in the last four years." "Now that we're back in the Union, they'll be helping us." "Help from Yankees?" "Mmm-hmm." "Maximilian will give land to every man who fights for him." "I'm an American." "I don't need an emperor to give me land." "Well, then, please don't let me keep you from your Yankee friends." "Grady!" "Sergeant Grady!" "Yes, Mr. Middlebrack." "Look here." "I just got word some stolen guns are coming in on this boat." "No!" "Yeah." "Shipped from Baton Rouge." "Cases marked "tools. "" "Here's a picture of the Johnny Reb who'll call for them." "Have you seen him?" "No." "Well, you will." "And put him under arrest the minute he arrives!" "Yeah." "Oh, Mr. Middlebrack, sir?" "Yes?" "Well, those boxes..." "Yes, what about them?" "Well, they've been claimed, sir." "What?" "You mean you let them..." "But the bills of lading..." "Never mind!" "Who took them?" "Girl in a wagon, driving a team of bays." "Oh, that one." "She just went through." "Well, send a mounted picket after her!" "Hurry!" "And bring me back that girl!" "Yes, sir!" "Hold on, there, miss." "There's a tax on tools," "I already paid it at the levee!" "But there's another tax for taking them through the tollgate." "How much?" "How much you got?" "Six dollars." "Well I guess a fair tax would be $5.85." "Here, take it." "I haven't got any change." "Keep it." "Ivy, come back here!" "Where you going?" "Come back here!" "I'll be back soon, Granna!" "Soon?" "What in tarnation are we going to do till soon?" "You tell me that, Chuckawalla!" "Me tell you?" "She ain't my granddaughter, Miss Preston." "Crazy girl!" "What do you suppose she's up to now?" "Ivy, I knew you'd bring them." "It wasn't easy." "Parker, bring that wagon here!" "Right, sir." "No time to lose." "Hurry, now." "Ivy, what is it?" "Nothing." "But you're trembling." "Oh, it's nothing." "The guns are here." "There's not a man in Texas could have got them through." "My chance to do something." "Do something?" "Why, you've done everything." "Where do you think we'd be if we hadn't had your ranch as a meeting place?" "And your faith in us to keep us up?" "You gave me something to live for." "I wanted to die when General Lee surrendered." "General Lee will march again." "Captain Sanford, sir!" "The wagon is loaded." "Right with you." "You're leaving tonight?" "We'll be across the river before morning." "Then Monterey, Mexico City in three weeks." "Oh, Alan, if I could only go with you." "Ivy..." "I can't stay here and do nothing but wait and wait..." "I..." "I hadn't planned this." "I planned to wait until I got back." "I'm glad you didn't." "But next time when we go north, you'll go with me." "Wherever you go, Alan." "All ready, Captain." "Goodbye, my little rebel." "Goodbye, Alan." "Six sacks of coffee, 10 barrels of flour, 15 kegs molasses, eight bags of beans." "$1,200, Mrs. Preston." "$1,200?" "And 25 cents for one pickle." "$1,200!" "Why, that's more than we paid during the war!" "That's my price." "Take it or leave it." "Well, you don't give me much choice, do you?" "All right, I'll give you a note." "Note against what?" "Our cattle." "We always pay by note till the roundup." "Chuckawalla, my foreman here, will tell you so." "Been doing it for years." "Everybody knows us." "I don't take no notes." "Only cash." "But I haven't got any cash!" "Well, now, maybe we can make arrangements." "Got a lot of land, ain't you?" "Oh, no, Mr. Boss." "You ain't cheating us out of our land." "We'll starve first!" "Get out!" "Did I understand you to say," ""Good afternoon, Miss Preston"?" "Good afternoon, Mrs. Preston." "Good afternoon, you carpetbagging thief, you!" "Oh, come along, Chuckawalla." "Let's get out of here." "Mr. Boss!" "Hey, Mr. Boss!" "Well, well, well." "What's going on here?" "This suit..." "They ain't enough of it!" "It's the only size we got." "Take it or leave it." "Are these worth anything in trade?" "We don't trade in rags!" "Well, I got to have these clothes or I can't get out of town." "How much?" "$64." "Take land scrip?" "Cent an acre." "A cent..." "Well, here's mine." "A cheap suit of clothes for ten square miles of land!" "Take it." "Well, I will, just to be accommodating." "Hat go with It?" "Help yourself." "Much obliged!" "Hey!" "Wait a minute!" "Right pretty, ain't he, boys?" "Well, we fit the Yankees, but we'll never fit their clothes." "You're under arrest!" "What for?" "You'll find out!" "Come on, Rebs!" "Get into it, boys!" "Come on, Rebs!" "Rebel cheer!" "Tommy!" "Joel!" "Jack!" "Where you going with that girl?" "Come along, you!" "That's all." "You took some boxes marked "tools" from the levy." "Certainly." "You took them through the tollgate." "Yes." "Where did you take them?" "Why, out Wishing Creek." "There's a ranch..." "You're lying!" "They were guns!" "No, they weren't!" "You've been running guns for the rebels!" "No, I haven't!" "Who'd you give them to?" "None of your business." "You know this man?" "No." "Where is he?" "I never saw him." "Don't lie to me!" "I'm not lying!" "I'll make you tell the truth!" "Stay there and don't yip!" "Oh, Ivy!" "Oh, my child, my baby!" "You mealy-mouthed carpetbagger!" "What've you been doing to my grandchild?" "Putting her under arrest!" "And you, too!" "I don't suppose you know she's been smuggling guns to the enemy?" "Yahoo!" "I didn't know it." "But I wouldn't blame her if she did!" "There wouldn't be no enemy if there weren't scums of the earth like you." "You, with your plundering, murderous, reconstruction." "You..." "Guards!" "Take the gun off that man." "We did, sir." "Well, put these two under arrest!" "Leave the girl here." "Don't crowd, gents." "Don't crowd!" "We can't handle that mob!" "They're coming in here!" "Grab that girl!" "Now, hit him, Chuckawalla!" "Take their guns away!" "Let's see." "Oh, it's nothing." "Just a scratch." "Oh." "You'd better stay here till dark." "I can't!" "There's Granna." "I've got to get back to town." "Haven't we had enough trouble getting you out of town?" "There's good men dead in the streets back there because of your tomfool gunrunning." "Good Southern men." "Well it's not the way I would have had it, but they died in a good cause." "No, they didn't." "They died so a lot of crazy galoots could go fight for a little tin emperor against their own country." "Come out or I'll shoot!" "Coming." "Coming gentle." "It's all right." "It's our foreman." "Put down that gun, will you, before you get nervous and..." "Chuckawalla, where's Granna?" "Back there a piece." "Is she all right?" "Course she's all right." "You don't think I'd let them soldiers bother her, do you?" "Will you take this girl back wherever you came from and keep her there?" "I will if I have to build a corral around her." "Never did want to go to town, gallivanting around in a wagon, losing my six-pistol and fighting half the Yankee army." "I suppose you think I ought to thank you." "If it comes that hard, don't try." "Oh, I am grateful, honestly." "I live at Boca Grande Ranch." "My name is Ivy Preston." "If ever you need help..." "You might give me a nice, soft job when the French and the Mexicans and the rest of your friends take over the government." "Adiós, señorita:" "And heaven send you better sense." "Hmm!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Welcome home, señora!" "Come on, you, all you hands!" "Here's Miss Ivy and Mrs. Preston!" "Chuckawalla!" "Boys, you've come back to us!" "Well, boys, I'm sure glad to see you all." "Seen anything of..." "Where is Uncle Dud?" "Well, he..." "He don't move so fast anymore." "Chuckawalla!" "Why don't you look where you're going?" "You'll fall and break your fool neck!" "I ain't quite so used to it yet." "Uncle Dud!" "Hiya, Miss Ivy." "Hiya, Miss Preston." "Uncle Dud!" "Oh, we're more than glad to have you back, boys, but we can't pay wages." "We can't even buy store food." "We ain't so bad off." "All we ain't got is money." "Why, we ain't been paid for four years in the army." "Sort of got plumb out of the habit!" "Now, if you'll just let us butcher a beef now and then..." "Why, of course we'll keep you boys and when we sell our cattle, we'll pay you in full." "Well!" "Now I got something to be foreman of again!" "Uncle Dud, he's Segundo, and..." "We'll start rounding up in the morning." "Why, howdy." "Say, you're the man who helped us in Middlebrack's office, ain't you?" "Yes, ma'am." "My name is Kirk Jordan." "This is my partner, Cal Tuttle." "Glad to see you." "Are you?" "How are you?" "Fine, thanks." "I've come out here on purpose to bring you the best news Texas ever had." "They've built the railroad through, all the way to Abilene in Kansas." "Don't you understand, any of you?" "The North's been short of beef ever since the war." "They'll pay $15 or $20 a head for steers." "I'm not interested in anything that concerns Yankees." "You mean you want us to drive our steers to this railroad up north, Mr. Jordan?" "Sure, they'll buy them right at Abilene." "One drive will make you rich." "One drive, 1,500 miles through Injun country and no trails?" "There is a trail partway." "A half-breed named Chisum drove it." "And Cal I know the rest of the country." "We used to hunt buffalo up there." "Hunting buffalo ain't driving cattle, especially through Injun country." "And there'd be rivers to cross." "Yeah..." "And we don't know anything about the grass." "Buffalo live on it." "Miss Ivy?" "Can't you see what this would mean to you and to the whole state?" "A new market for cattle." "A new future for Texas." "I'm sorry, but I have other plans for my cattle." "Don't be foolish, Miss Ivy." "We could blaze a trail for all of Texas." "It would pull the North and South back together." "I don't care about drawing the North and South together." "You and your friend are welcome to sleep in our bunkhouse." "Chuckawalla will show you the way." "Well, there's other ranches." "Some of them will see beyond their noses." "Come on, Cal." "Here, see." "Come on over to bunkhouse." "I wanna hear more about them engines." "Old Hickory said they had a whistle on them." "How'd they go?" "Ah!" "It's good to be home again!" "Especially after you've been bumping around for three days in a wagon." "Especially after Indianola!" "Yankee sinkhole!" "We're lucky to get out of there without catching something." "Middlebrack!" "Come to get us!" "Well, they ain't gonna get you!" "Now, go on, hide somewhere!" "Git!" "That's what I was gonna say to you!" "Not me!" "Not me!" "Good evening, Mrs. Preston." "Miss Preston." "It was right nice of you to return our visit so prompt." "Always prompt in returning what I owe." "Lieutenant Nichols, ladies." "I can't say as I'm exactly glad to see you." "I suppose you've come to take us back to Indianola." "Why, what for?" "For picking up a few cases of tools?" "If they were rifles now..." "But nothing like that ever happens while I'm running things." "Those guns never went through Indianola." "Understand?" "It was right nice of you to come all the way here to tell us that." "Don't mention it, ma'am." "Elegant head of hair, that man's got." "Dinner will be ready in about an hour." "I'm sorry we ain't got nothing but beef to offer you, but there's plenty of that." "Thank you, ma'am." "Jus how much beef is there on this ranch?" "Oh, 10,000 head, more or less." "Be ready to make a checkup first thing in the morning." "You'd better stay with your men." "Did you say dinner, ladies?" "Troop, prepare to dismount!" "Dismount!" "You're not drinking, miss?" "No, thank you." "You're not eating a mouthful, either." "I can't seem to swallow with a troop of cavalry sticking in my throat." "Well, don't let them scare you, miss." "They're just here to count the cattle." "What on earth for?" "Why, for the new tax, ma'am." "Are you sure you won't have a glass, miss?" "No, but I will." "What kind of a tax now?" "Head tax, ma'am." "Direct levy on all cattle." "How much?" "Oh, just a dollar a head." "A dollar a head?" "Why, we haven't got it!" "Nobody has." "Do you know how many cattle there are in this state?" "Four million." "And not a cattleman with a dime to scratch himself." "We thought of that, ma'am, and I'm empowered to accept land scrip in place of cash." "Oh, so that's it!" "Our land!" "That's what you're after!" "Oh, not me, ma'am!" "The State legislature passed the act." "Well, you go back and tell that bunch of bloodsucking horse leeches that..." "Mr. Middlebrack can't help it, Granna." "Can you, Mr. Middlebrack?" "Me?" "Heavens, no." "I'm just here to collect the tax." "There's one thing to levy the tax, another to collect it." "They tried that back in 1776 on tea." "You know what the people did?" "They threw it all overboard." "Got rid of it all, lock, stock and barrel." "Nothing left to tax." "No, you can't very well tax something that isn't there." "No, you can't, can you?" "But unfortunately you can't get rid of cattle that easy." "No, not that easy." "Pesky critters." "You know, you can't hide a steer, and your every steer has a hide!" "Funny, ain't it?" "Yes, very funny." "You have a great sense of humor, Mr. Middlebrack." "Well, the joke ain't on me!" "No, it isn't, is it?" "You're taking it very well." "You know, I think I will have a glass of wine." "Ivy." "It's all right, Granna, it's sort of a relief, you know?" "Makes me feel quite gay all of a sudden." "Pour me another one, Mr. Middlebrack, and I'll sing you a song." "Oh, Ivy, dear, don't you think you'd better excuse yourself?" "No, you just let her stay right where she is." "I like to sing, Granna." "It make me feel so light." "On my way, sort of." "Where are you going?" "To get my guitar." "She's just a little hysterical." "Is she?" "Oh, Granna?" "Yes, dear?" "Just keep your sitting!" "Never mind, I found it." "Roll out, heave that cotton" "We ain't got long to stay" "I don't know what's got into me, why I feel this way." "Well, it ain't every day you lose the biggest ranch in Texas!" "You're right." "Maybe." "Do you like Darkie songs?" "Oh, I love them!" "I love them!" "One wide river" "One wide river to cross" "There's one wide river" "One wide river to cross" "Don't seem to know that one so well." "How about this?" "Do you mind one with a little cussing?" "Not a bit!" "Not a bit!" "Not you, Mr. Middlebrack." "I was asking Granna." "I wouldn't do a thing without Granna's consent." "I can't tell what you mean till I hear it." "Old Cattle song!" "Ten thousand cattle straying" "Have left my range and wandered away" "And it's sons of guns I'm saying" "For I'm low man" "Low man today" "Ten thousand cattle straying" "Have left my range" "And wandered away" "And it's sons of guns I'm saying" "For I'm low man" "Low man today" "My, my!" "How about you, Granna?" "I always did like that tune." "Keep right on!" "Oh, I'm just starting." "Oh, darn it!" "Oh, what's the matter?" "The string." "Well, play without it." "Strings are kind of dry." "Haven't used it lately." "Oh, now I am in a fix!" "You don't mind waiting?" "Well, not if I don't have to wait too long." "Mr. Middlebrack, you're a flirt!" "Come, come, Mr. Middlebrack, drink hearty." "It's good liquor." "There's no harm in a gallon of it." "If she wasn't so stubborn." "If she could only be made to see it." "Look, we could cross the Red River right here and there's buffalo grass on this side, loads of it." "I know, but that's a tricky river." "No one's ever drove cattle through it yet." "Somebody will." "Yeah, ain't gonna be us." "No." "Too bad her daddy didn't have a son." "He did, young fella." "Her brother was just 18." "Old enough to stop a Yankee bullock." "Can't blame her for feeling the way she does." "Well, nothing more to be said, I guess." "But doggone it, somebody's gonna get to Abilene." "Listen!" "Miss Ivy, what's the matter?" "Chuckawalla, boys, we've got to get the cattle out of here." "Right away!" "Tonight!" "Tonight?" "What's the rush?" "We've got to get them over into Mexico." "Mexico?" "What?" "The whole herd?" "You're biting off a powerful chaw." "It's gotta be done." "What's the hurry?" "The soldiers." "They've come to levy a cattle tax." "More tax?" "A tax, eh?" "Cattle thieves!" "They'll take our land if we don't pay it." "They can't tax what they can't find." "That's it!" "If we could just get our cattle across the river..." "We can!" "You bet we can!" "We'll show them!" "Let's go!" "The soldiers will follow us!" "I'll take care of that." "They can't follow us into Mexico." "We'll get there by morning, recross the river, and head for Abilene." "Let's get to Mexico first." "Summon my horse, Slim, I'm going with you." "But look here, miss..." "Say it in Mexico." "Come on!" "You heard what she said." "Get off them uniforms, get your bedrolls and get going." "But I gotta get my leg fixed!" "I can't..." "They..." "She's been gone a long time." "Oh, I never notice time when I'm in good company." "You know, she had to get a catgut." "A cat..." "Maybe she had to kill a cat!" "Oh, that's rich!" "Come on, fill her up." "Oh, I don't know." "You know, us Southern ladies, you know..." "Southern ladies!" "A little toast." "Toast to General Grant." "Low man." "Now I'll give you a toast!" "You swine!" "Jefferson Davis!" "It's all right, Rosita." "It's all right." "Just hold that door steady." "Nichols?" "Nichols!" "Where is everybody?" "Nichols." "Nichols!" "Nichols!" "Nichols?" "Nichols?" "Nichols?" "Nichols?" "Nichols?" "Yes, sir!" "Open the door!" "Do you hear me?" "Nichols!" "I can't open it!" "Then break it open!" "I want to get in there!" "Open the goddamn door!" "Nichols!" "Break it down!" "This is Middlebrack talking!" "Let me in!" "Mr. Middlebrack?" "Where is he?" "Take it off!" "Get it off of him!" "I'm sorry, sir." "Sorry?" "You..." "Find your men!" "Find your horses!" "We'll follow them if they've gone to Halifax!" "That river's mighty high, Chuckawalla." "Yeah, so is that hangman's platform in Indianola." "Any sign of them yet?" "Not yet." "Have you seen the wagons?" "No, ma'am." "Sorry we had to rush you out of there, Miss Ivy, but you'll feel better once we're really started for Abilene." "We're not starting anywhere until I get some news about Granna." "There's the wagons coming now!" "I want that lashing tight, there." "Use that stick!" "Slim, did you see Granna before you left?" "Yes, ma'am." "How was she?" "Was she all right?" "Was she..." "Oh, good morning, child." "Granna!" "You all right?" "Yes, I am all right." "Oh!" "If only this wagon would stop and steady down." "Whoa!" "Whoa, there, now." "Darn you." "There, ma'am." "That better?" "Yes." "Yes, that's better." "Oh, dear, if I'd only have known what this..." "Oh, never in my whole life..." "Granna, darling, what did he do to you?" "What did he do to me?" "What did I do to him?" "Whatever you done to him or whatever he done to you, you sure kept him from following us!" "You saved 10,000 head of cattle, Granna." "Head?" "Hooves!" "And they're all stomping around in my head this very minute." "Oh, thank you, Rosie." "I'll be all right now." "Just as soon as we get underway." "You can't go, Granna." "Who says I can't?" "I drove for 3,000 miles in the wagon when your father was born." "And I m going to Abilene in this wagon if I..." "If I have to get out and push it there myself!" "Look!" "Boys, we're getting wet!" "Come on, Cal, let's lead them a chase." "Get around them wagons!" "No." "That's murder." "Shoot!" "Shoot!" "Shoot!" "No!" "Send your men after them." "That's Mexican territory." "We have no jurisdiction there." "I'll have you court-martialed!" "Very well." "But we are not gonna cross that river." "If I could just catch me one more Yankee..." "Not now, Dud." "Oh, just one!" "Are you all right?" "You weren't hurt?" "No, miss, nothing, except my dignity." "Look!" "Look a-yonder!" "Troops, line up!" "Maybe they've gone back after the Navy!" "I knew you'd make it, boy." "Thank you, ma'am." "We'd better get these looked at." "Take off that shirt." "Leave it be!" "Wait a minute, boys." "Thank you very much, but I think I can do it myself." "Better luck next time, partner." "Twist it the other way." "You poor boy!" "Oh, dear!" "Well, you got us safe into Mexico." "What do we do now?" "Follow the river north." "Uh-huh." "When we're sure Middlebrack's given up we'll crocs back to the American side and keep on north to Abilene." "Wait a minute." "We're not going to Abilene." "Well, where are you going?" "Back to give your cattle to Middlebrack?" "We're going to Mexico City to give them to Shelby's expedition." "Mexico City?" "Mexico?" "Driving these cattle there?" "Shelby?" "Are you serious?" "I am." "Shelby's army needs beef and the South needs their army." "It's little enough to do for the cause." "Little?" "Driving this herd through 1,000 miles of desert in enemy country full of Indians?" "Miss Ivy, that's bad country." "Me and Zachary Taylor like to lost a hunk of hair down there in '48." "It's not as far as Abilene." "But Abilene means something." "There's the railroad." "You can sell your cattle." "It's in America." "And Shelby's army means freedom." "With Maximilian ruling us." "Miss Ivy, I fought for independence." "We all did as long as we had a chance, but that's over." "We are one country again now, and..." "Some men are willing to fight till they win." "How about you?" "Miss Ivy, if you want us to, we'll try it." "You see?" "They believe in it." "They'll go, on account of you." "Out of pure loyalty." "But they'll be going to suicide." "Well, we are going." "Chuckawalla..." "Mrs. Preston, can't you do anything with her?" "Not that one, not when she gets like that." "But Mexico, with this herd, why..." "Why, it's plain impossible!" "Can't you beat some sense into her?" "Not her." "Women are like horses." "Some will take rawhide and some won't." "Well, it looks like Mexico." "How're we fixed for powder, Chuck?" "Well, got some." "Señorita Ivy, she says go north to Abilene." "What?" "Señorita Ivy, she says go north to Abilene!" "Overbearing Yankee bully." "Did you notice that sunset?" "Beautiful." "Only Walla says it means a norther tomorrow." "Cold." "Maybe a late blizzard." "I think it's gonna snow, maybe." "We'll have to see." "You wouldn't let a little blizzard bother you." "It's easy for you to laugh." "But I'm responsible." "These men are risking this trip for me." "Oh, but they're glad to do it." "Yes, for pure loyalty, as you once said." "If we can't get this cattle through, I can't pay them." "Or you, either." "I'm not doing it for pay." "Ivy, how comes it you can't talk to that boy without deviling him?" "I don't know, Granna." "Well, I'd find out if I was you." "You know, we're beholden to him." "And he's a good boy." "Too good." "And always right." "Order!" "Order!" "Order, Order." "Will this meeting come to order?" "Mr. Chairman." "What on earth have we got to have a meeting about?" "We got to take action on Administrator Middlebrack's complaint." "Oh!" "Ah!" "Good morning..." "Good afternoon, Administrator." "Gentlemen, as I was saying, in regard to lack of cooperation with the army, in pursuit of Mr. Middlebrack's duties..." "Gentleman," "I protest the use of the United States Army for private vengeance and legalized swindling." "Sir!" "I shall have your conduct investigated!" "I hope you do!" "Mr. Chairman, and all you fellows, let's not bother too much about investigation." "Gentlemen!" "Gentlemen!" "I cannot impress upon you too emphatically that unless the Preston outfit is caught and brought back here, they will blaze a trail that will be followed by every rancher in the state." "Nice trick, dirty rebels!" "The dirty rebels!" "Bring them back!" "They're slippery as eels!" "They're dirty dogs." "They're dirty dogs." "They must be made to see the error of their ways, for their own good." "That's it!" "That's it!" "This is gonna be a mighty rich state someday, and all of us..." "Order!" "Order!" "All of us..." "All of those in favor to give Mr. Middlebrack complete authority and to act as he sees fit in bringing the Preston crowd back for tax evasion, in accordance with the laws of this state, will signify by saying "Aye. "" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "The "Ayes" have it!" "How long you been coughing like that?" "Was I..." "Was I coughing?" "We're camping right here." "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "Any change?" "I can't see any." "The whole darn nation's blowing every which-a-way." "I'll never forgive myself." "It's not your fault." "Please..." "Please don't blame yourself." "If only I hadn't insisted on your coming." "It was I who decided to come." "Oh, please." "I didn't mean it quite that way." "It's nobody's fault." "All we can do is wait and hope." "Most of the cattle have drifted south 20 miles into the cottonwoods." "Let's keep them headed that way, put the best team on this wagon, in three days we'll have a home, the cattle within a week." "What are you two muttering about?" "Always muttering..." "We can have you home in three days, Granna." "Home?" "Who wants to go home?" "When I started for Texas with your grandfather," "I went to Texas!" "Now I've started to Abilene," "I swear I'm going to get there, dead or alive!" "Get me a drink!" "I'll get some fresh water." "Water?" "Who said anything about water?" "Go on, take another hunk." "She just wants to ask you a question." "I fetched him, Miss Preston." "You know, Cal, you're never in one place long enough to answer our questions." "What kind of a place is this Abilene?" "Oh, just kind of a town." "They're all alike." "Are many people there?" "Too many!" "A hundred, maybe, counting the young ones." "A hundred people!" "And all in the one place?" "Sure." "Why, them critters live closer together as prairie dogs." "I know, but is there a store there, with dresses from the east?" "Yes, ma'am!" "All the way from Kansas City." "And hats?" "Everything!" "Why, they're even fixing to build them a bank." "What for?" "To hear them talk, you'd think a bank was more important as a blacksmith shop." "Well, now, you tell me this." "What do they do with that railroad engine at night?" "At night?" "Yeah, after dark." "They got a barn to put it in where people won't steal it?" "Could I have my photograph picture took there, maybe?" "He's went!" "Now you done it!" "You plagued him till he won't answer my questions!" "Hey, Kirk." "Oh, don't go, Cal." "I'd like to ask some questions about Abilene." "Would you?" "Well, they just asked all there is." "I'll see you later." "I'm afraid Cal isn't very sociable." "How long have you known him?" "Oh, years." "One winter we ran a line of traps clear up to the North Platte." "Then Cal saw three white men in one day and quit." "Said the country was getting so crowded a fellow couldn't even get his breath!" "Then what'd you do?" "Oh, I decided to save the country." "Grabbed a gun and went to fighting." "I see." "You wasted the next four years." "That's what you mean." "The whole country wasted the next four years, as I see it." "Please!" "Let's don't start that again." "No, let's don't." "Why is it we can't be together five minutes without fighting?" "I don't know." "I don't want to fight you, Ivy." "I..." "I realize all you've done for me and I'm grateful." "I admire you in so many ways, but somehow you seem so blind, Kirk." "How do you mean, Ivy?" "We're living in a great day." "Can't you see it?" "It's a changing world, and you're not changing with it." "You go on grubbing along." "Get to Abilene, sell the cattle, make money, get more cattle." "And all the while there's a great shining destiny opening up." "For Texas, for all of us, for the whole South." "And you're blind to it." "Well, I'm just a dull, stupid fellow, I guess." "Ivy!" "Ivy, come quick!" "Miss Ivy!" "Miss Ivy!" "Ivy!" "Miss Ivy." "A friend here to see you, Miss Ivy." "I bet you can't guess who it is." "Followed our trail all the way from the ranch." "He's plumb tuckered out, too." "Alan!" "Ivy." "Coffee." "We used to dream about good coffee." "There's all you want." "But tell me what happened." "We got as far as Monterey, fighting for every mile and there the news met us." "Maximilian's throne had fallen." "Fallen?" "He was captured by rebel troops at Querétaro and executed with two of his generals." "The Austrian and French troops are fleeing the country." "And Shelby's Americans?" "Cut to pieces!" "They're straggling back across the border." "Here is one who will be, shall we say, not surprised at what has happened?" "Captain Sanford, this is Kirk Jordan." "Howdy, Sanford." "Jordan." "Private Jordan of C Troop." "Yes, I remember." "No, just plain Jordan now." "I'm working for Miss Preston, getting these cattle up to Abilene." "I haven't had time to fight any crusades." "Well, time was all you lacked, naturally." "Well Mr. Jordan, if you'll just be patient with me, I'll work my way along, too." "I'm not a bad dishwasher." "Alan!" "I'll able to ride with the hands in a day or so." "You see, I can't go back through Texas." "There's a price on my head." "Folks?" "Granna?" "Now is as good a time as any to tell you." "Alan and I are engaged." "I thought he'd come back from Mexico victorious and drive the Yankees out of Texas." "Well, it hasn't made any difference to me that he failed." "He tried nobly." "And if he still wants me," "I'll marry him in Abilene." "Ivy, I can't let you do this." "I'll begin to think you don't want me." "Time enough to think about marriage when we get to Abilene!" "But Alan, if my Ivy wants you, you both have my blessing!" "This calls for a shivaree, folks!" "Uncle Dud, get you fiddle!" "Choose your partners!" "Beat time, Mustang." "Can't stamp my leg anymore!" "Let her go, Dud!" "There's going to be a wedding in town" "A wedding in town A wedding in town" "There's gonna be a wedding in town" "And don't the bride look grand?" "You can bet your boots I'll come to the wedding" "If you will hold my hand" "She bought herself a long white gown" "A long white gown A long white gown" "She bought herself a long white gown" "In which to say I do" "You can bet your boots I'll come to the wedding:" "I've seen a lot of signs of buffalo and bear." "We could go to trapping again." "The last man's in, sir." "Well?" "Well?" "What about it?" "They were buffalo tracks." "I followed them clear across the valley." "Must've been 20,000 of them." "I didn't ask you to count them." "Any trace of the cattle?" "No, sir." "I doubled back and..." "You doubled back." "Well, you double back on that horse right now!" "We're going on." "But we've only an hour or so before sundown." "We don't know where the next water is." "Do you want a wet nurse?" "We're going to bring those people back." "Troop!" "Prepare to mount!" "They're out of grub and want a steer." "Steer?" "That'll make a mighty big sandwich!" "I don't see a reason for giving them a steer." "They wouldn't have asked for it, Ivy, if there wasn't a lot more of them around." "Better give it to them." "If it was just one steer I'd say yes, but if we start that now, there are a lot more Indians between here and Kansas than we got steers, remember that." "What do you think, Chuckawalla?" "Well, If they wore pants, I'd say kick them there." "I got a better idea." "You mean kill them?" "Well, it would keep them from starving to death." "Oh, no!" "This is a lot of nonsense." "We don't have to kill them, or give in to them, either." "Just tell them to get out, and get out fast." "Hold on, Cal." "It's not his herd yet." "Look, here, Ivy, it doesn't take those Indians long to put on paint." "No, and it doesn't take long to give away cattle when they're not your cattle!" "I wasn't thinking of cattle, I was thinking of our scalps, which is more than you're doing." "That's enough, thank you!" "Cal, do as Mr. Sanford says." "Tell them no steer." "Yes, sir, I'd give something to part your hair!" "I could make good Injuns out of you in about three strokes." "And don't think I don't know what you're thinking about." "Last year?" "Yep." "One of them fellas owed me four ounces of powder." "It appears to me them Injuns never heard you say this canyon was safe." "Partner, seems to me like we're getting to be poison to this outfit." "Never mind." "Let's swing them a little south so they'll miss this." "How are you making out?" "Well, I always knew you had to eat your peck of dirt before you died!" "I never thought I'd have to eat mine all at one time!" "Look out!" "Ivy!" "It's all right, dear, he was just loco." "We'll all be loco pretty soon if we don't get to some water." "Fine mess those guides of yours got us into with their shortcuts!" "If they hadn't been so scared of Indians..." "Been looking for you." "Why?" "Is anything wrong?" "No, just looking." "Wondered how you're getting along." "Oh, we're all right." "You're taking a lot of dust back here." "We don't mind a little dust to be alone." "Oh, don't go!" "Dust storm!" "Wagon goes first!" "Come on, you beasts!" "It's blowing over, Cal." "Let's dig them out." "Look!" "Injuns!" "Get out of the wagon!" "Right between the two feathers!" "More fun than I've had since Gettysburg!" "Look out, there!" "Stop that fellow!" "Stop that fellow!" "I missed him!" "Here." "Try it again." "Go ahead." "Got him!" "Juan!" "Juanito!" "Now!" "What's that trick?" "Beats me." "Listen!" "I never thought I'd be glad to see that blue uniform again!" "Glad?" "You jumping jackass, can't you see who it is?" "Middlebrack!" "Lay down your arms!" "Something he ate." "Acting kind of high-handed, ain't you?" "You're all under arrest." "Every last one of you." "You don't say so!" "What for?" "Tax evasion." "That fellow there, for treason." "You're all going back to Austin to stand trial." "Nichols!" "Yes, sir." "We march as soon as you can get underway." "And you, miss." "Are you going to tie me up, too?" "No, but I ain't gonna lose sight of you." "Come on." "Bring her along." "Kirk!" "Come along, now." "Yankee manners!" "Kirk!" "Kirk!" "Save your breath, Ivy." "He's run away." "No." "He ain't gone far, honey." "Not him." "Partner, I just can't figure you out." "Dad burn me if I can." "Why not?" "Well, for the last three days we've been following alongside of them wagons, doing nothing." "Tell me, how're things going to get to be different?" "We've got to wait for a break." "The only break that'll do us any good is to break his skull with this." "And darn me, you won't let me do it." "Look." "Comanches." "Probably the same war party." "But what are those torches for?" "That grass is sachuisto." "Firegrass." "It'll burn like shavings!" "Come on!" "Giddap!" "Come on!" "Giddap!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on, you..." "That's it!" "Hey!" "Here's the best hair remover you ever seen!" "Giddap!" "Go on!" "What are you stopping for?" "Leave that wagon alone!" "Alan, are you hurt?" "Not a scratch." "Where's Mr. Middlebrack?" "He kind of got out of the wagon." "What's that?" "He thought he'd get down and do a little running." "What happened?" "Well, them steers just naturally outrun him." "Yes, they did, sir, for a fact." "Where's your tomahawk?" "My..." "Oh, I just dropped it a piece back." "I was getting kind of tired of packing it." "So I just picked me out a good spot and dropped it." "Where have you two been, anyway?" "I haven't seen you since the river crossing." "Now you suddenly show up from nowhere." "That's it, Cap!" "Nowhere!" "We ain't been nowhere." "Just around." "Sergeant!" "Find Mr. Middlebrack." "Get a file of men and question everybody." "Don't anyone attempt to leave this spot until I give permission!" "All our boys accounted for." "There's the last wagon, Uncle Dud's." "You there!" "You there!" "I said no one was to move!" "A fellow ought to be able to do better than I am." "It's all choked up inside." "I can't say a darn thing." "Lord," "this old fellow was Segundo to me for 30 years." "He never done a mean thing to hurt nobody that didn't need hurting." "Take care of him, Lord," "and thank you." "They ain't going to like that cap up there." "Displaying Confederate uniforms is against the law." "Coming to arrest us all for Middlebrack's death, more likely." "They can't prove nothing." "Left turn!" "Squad, halt!" "Right face!" "This duty under Mr. Middlebrack was never of my seeking, Mrs. Preston." "My explicit instructions were to obey him in everything." "But I have sufficient proof that he is dead." "And I may do as I see fit." "I am going to escort you to the Kansas border with every aid I can give you." "And now," "I'd like to salute a brave man and a fellow American." "Squad, load!" "Aim!" "Squad, fire!" "Load!" "Aim!" "Squad, fire!" "Load!" "Aim!" "Squad, fire!" "Dig them out!" "Take the wagons through here!" "Look here." "My point is that the North and South are as different as daylight and dark." "They can never be one country." "But Kirk says..." "Kirk says!" "Kirk says!" "Kirk is himself a fine example." "He's a Yankee at heart." "Scheming, pushing..." "He seems to be pushing to some purpose right now." "If we had a little more manpower we could walk it right out." "Never mind." "Get the teams from the other wagons." "Hey, Slim!" "Unhitch them and bring them in on both sides!" "I haven't seen mud like this since Cold Harbor." "Cold..." "Cold harbor?" "Were you In that fight?" "Yeah." "Were you?" "Yeah!" "Well, you sure licked us there!" "Ah, seems a long time ago." "Say, when you two get through with that war, suppose you get into this war and pull us out of here?" "We just signed the treaty of peace, ma'am!" "Go on, there!" "Get us off to Abilene!" "What's the matter?" "Go on, there!" "There she is, just like I said." "Sure enough!" "See that circle of. 44s around that "L"?" "That's mine." "It ain't quite round." "Cal, hold the herd just over the hill while we look the town over." "All right." "What's the matter, partner?" "Somebody dead?" "Abilene's dead, looks like." "Say, what's wrong with this town, anyway?" "Mr. Jossup, President of the K.P. Railroad, is in the hotel." "Came in on the engine this morning." "Ain't he feeling well?" "We're the ones that aren't feeling well, my friends." "It's rumored the K.P. Is halting operations." "There!" "I never did have no faith in that engine." "Of course, the whole scheme seemed fantastic to me, but you had started before I got there." "Fantastic." "You speak of fantastic schemes." "I'll bet that engine got string-haltered or something." "To set at rest rumors that have been bruited about," "I consider it wise to make a definite statement which cannot be reassuring." "I..." "We..." "Well, that is, the K.P. Railroad, have been disappointed." "There has been no profit to speak of." "This country of Kansas remains unsettled and unproductive." "We find it no longer possible to feed the army of workmen necessary to extend our lines across the plains and over the mountains to California." "For a time, hunters brought in buffalo meat." "But as these animals are being driven farther and farther back, the cost becomes higher and higher." "It is therefore necessary, my friends, to abandon the extension of the K.P. Railroad." "Until further notice, trains will be turned back at Topeka and all work will be stopped." "Well, it's back to St. Louis, girls!" "Just a minute." "Would 10,000 Texas cattle delivered here change your mind?" "What's that?" "All you need for beef." "The rest to be shipped to Northern markets, freight paid on delivery there?" "Well, how about 10,000 tons of gold ore out of the Arkansas River?" "You're wasting our time!" "Mister!" "Mister!" "He ain't wasting no time." "I seen them cattle down by Solomon's River." "They go "moo"!" "Yes, sir, mister!" "Them cattle, they're there!" "Land sakes alive!" "Did you ever see so many people?" "Say, is my bonnet on straight?" "Huh?" "Say, is my bonnet..." "Say, what on earth are you gaping at?" "Oh, I was looking for that railroad engine." "Yeah, your bonnet's on straight." "Here, take the lines." "I want to get me a cigar." "Yeah, a cigar with petticoats on it!" "Here, go on." "Giddap!" "Oh, Kirk!" "Isn't it wonderful?" "Where's Alan?" "You don't see him anymore." "No." "I wonder..." "I don't." "Don't what?" "Don't wonder, and I don't give a..." "Kirk!" "I'm tired of "Alan!" "Alan!" "Alan!"" "I pushed these confounded cattle 1,500 miles." "Yes, I have, over mud, rivers." "Oh, what's the use?" "Of course, Kirk..." "Shut up." "You listen to me for a while." "There he is, girls." "There he is." "Oh, isn't he cute?" "Oh, don't they make a sweet couple?" "Oh, I do love tall men!" "Yes, listen to me for the last time." "I love you, confound you." "I've loved you ever since that day on the wharf." "I've worked for you, gone hungry for you, wet and miserable." "I brought your cattle through, and now I'm through!" "Goodbye!" "Kirk!" "Here they come!" "Whoa!" "Chuckawalla!" "Chuck!" "Where is that man?" "Chuck!" "Chuckawalla!" "Yahoo!" "Yahoo!" "Hi there, Miss Preston!" "Yahoo!" "Yahoo!" "Why didn't you knock?" "Somebody might hear me." "You can't tell who's in these rooms." "What you want, Kirk?" "Got a beaver outfit, 20 traps." "Fellow up the street trusted me." "Going up beyond Red Willow, as far as Frenchman Fork." "Thought you might wanna go." "Course I want to go!" "Ain't we gonna be cattlemen no more?" "No more." "Never again." "Eight-forty." "Howdy, Miss Preston." "I bet you can't guess where I been." "Ten-twenty." "Shucks!" "Can't a fellow have no fun?" "Ivy!" "I thought you'd never come." "Where were you, Alan?" "Inside." "The most wonderful thing..." "Didn't this mean anything to you?" "Getting the cattle here, everything we worked for?" "Well, I heard a lot of noise, the bands playing." "What's it amount to?" "Ivy, the most marvelous news." "What news?" "The South!" "A new plan!" "Oh, Alan!" "But this time it's real, it's practical." "We've been going over it for hours." "I met Jamison of Georgia and a friend of his." "We've got a new secret organization." "It's springing up everywhere in the South." "It's called the KKK." "Ku Klux Klan." "Why, Alan?" "Why?" "To drive the Yankees out of the South, of course!" "Now, we meet at night, and we wear masks." "How childish!" "I beg your pardon?" "I said, "How childish"!" "This is America." "We govern by law not by night-riding." "Ivy, this is the most serious thing in my life!" "Alan, I've heard enough, and I've stood enough." "You're a very sweet boy in many ways, but that's it." "You're just a boy, playing at soldiers!" "Kirk!" "Kirk!" "Where you going, Cal?" "We quit the cattle business, Miss Ivy." "Me and Kirk's going trapping." "So am I." "Ivy!" "Miss Ivy!" "Ivy, where you going?" "I got some trapping to do, but I don't think it'll take me long!" ""Some trapping to do"!"