"Welcome home, Ethan." "You ain't much bigger than when I last saw ya!" "I'm Deborah." "There's Lucy over there." "And you're Lucy?" "Yeah, I'm Lucy." "I'm mighty glad to see you, Uncle Ethan." "She's got a fella, kisses him, too!" "Ben, go on with Lucy and help with supper." "Deborah, you too!" "I was just gonna ask Uncle Ethan what he's gonna do with his saber." "Well, I kinda figured to give it to you." "Thanks." "Thanks, Uncle Ethan." "How was California?" "California?" "How should I know?" "Well, Mose Harper told us" "Mose Harper?" "Is that old goat still creekin' around?" "Why don't somebody bury him?" "No, I ain't been to California." "I don't intend to go, either." "Supper will be ready as soon as you wash up." "Let me take your coat." "Welcome home, Ethan." "Thanks, Aaron." "Marty, it's Uncle Ethan!" "Debbie, sit down." "Good evening, Uncle Ethan." "Welcome home, sir." "It's Martin." "Martin Pawley." "I'm sorry for bein' late, Aunt Martha." "A fella could mistake you for a half-breed." "Not quite, I'm eighth Cherokee and the rest Welsh and English." "Least that's what they tell me." "Go on, son." "It was Ethan who find you squallin' under a sage clump after your folks had been massacred." "It just happened to be me." "No need to make more of it." "Thank you, Lucy." "Good night, Aunt Martha." "Good night, Martin." "Uncle Aaron." "Good night, Martin." "Good night, Uncle Ethan." "Good night." "Good night, Ma." "Night, Pa." "Uncle Ethan, will you tell us about the war?" "The war ended three years ago, boy." "It did?" "So why didn't you come home before now?" "Ben, go on with Martin." "March!" "Lucy's wearing the gold locket you gave her when she was a little girl." "She doesn't wear it much on account of it makes her neck green." "Well, it does!" "But I wouldn't care if you gave me a gold locket if it made my neck green or not." "A gold locket!" "Lucy, where are my saddlebags?" "Look at my gold locket!" "Oh, it is pretty." "Ethan, I think she's too young" "Oh, let her have it." "It doesn't amount to much." "To bed, young lady!" "Yes, Daddy." "I passed the Todd place comin' in." "What happened?" "He gave up, quit, went back to chopping cotton." "So did the Jamisons." "Without Martha...." "She just wouldn't let a man quit." "Ethan, I saw it in you before the war." "You wanted to clear out." "Yet you stayed beyond any real reason." "Why?" "Are you asking me to clear out now?" "You're my brother, Ethan." "You're welcome to stay here as long as you have a mind to." "Ain't that right, Martha?" "Of course, it is." "I expect to pay my way." "There are 60 double eagles in there." "And twice that much here." "Yankee dollars." "That's fresh minted." "There ain't a mark on it." "So?" "Open up!" "It's Sam Clayton." "Reverend, come on in!" "Good morning, sister Edwards." "What is it, Reverend?" "Well, Lars just said somebody busted into his corral last night and run off with his best cows." "Yeah, next time I'll raise pigs, by golly!" "You never hear anyone running' off pigs, I bet you!" "Bumblebees, by golly!" "Coffee'll be just fine, sister." "Good morning, Lucy." "Debbie, you been baptized yet?" "No, sir, I haven't, no." "Aaron get Martin, will ya?" "I can sure use that coffee." "Pass the sugar, son." "Wait a minute, sister." "I didn't get any coffee yet." "Just hold on a second, sister." "I'm sure fond of them doughnuts." "Aaron!" "Martin!" "Come on up here." "Come on." "Raise your right hand." "Martin." "Yes, sir." "Raise your right hand." "You're hereby voluntary privates in Company A of the Texas Rangers..." "...and you will faithfully discharge" "Can I go with ya?" "Quiet!" "Where was I?" "Faithfully fulfill." "You will faithfully discharge your" "Mrs. Edwards?" "Shut up!" "You will faithfully discharge your duties, as such without a recompense or monetary consideration." "Amen." "That means no pay." "Better get a shirt on, Aaron." "I ain't goin' volunteering till I've had my coffee." "Drink your own." "Just call me "Captain."" "Captain." "The Reverend Samuel Johnson Clayton!" "Mighty impressive." "Well...the prodigal brother!" "When did you get back?" "I ain't seen you since the surrender." "Come to think of it, I didn't see you at the surrender." "I don't believe in surrenders." "I still got my saber, Reverend." "Didn't turn it into no plowshare neither." "The Indians did it, Mrs. Edwards." "Caddos or Kiowas." "Old Mose knows." "Yes, sir." "Oh, shut up, Mose." "Thank you." "Ethan, I'm countin' on you to look after things while I'm gone." "You're not goin'." "He is going." "I already swore him in." "Swear him out!" "I'll go with you." "Ethan, I don't think I should" "Stay close, Aaron." "It might be, this is rustlers." "Might be this doddering' ol' idiot ain't so far wrong." "Could be Comanches." "Kind words, Ethan." "Thank you kindly." "Children, go with Lucy." "All right." "I'll swear you in." "No need to." "It wouldn't be legal anyway." "Why not?" "You wanted for a crime, Ethan?" "A coffee, Ethan." "Thank you, Martha." "Are you asking me as a captain or a preacher, Sam?" "I'm asking you as a ranger of the sovereign state of Texas." "You got a warrant?" "You fit a lot of descriptions." "I figure a man's only good for one oath at a time." "I took mine to the Confederate States of America." "So did you, Sam." "Stay close, Aaron." "Thank you, Mrs. Edwards." "Grateful to the hospitality of your rocking chair, ma'am." ""Brad and Lucy!" "Lucy and Brad!"" "Debbie and Ben Edwards, I'm gonna tell Ma on you!" "Somethin' mighty fishy about this trail, Uncle Ethan." "Don't call me "Uncle." I ain't your uncle." "Yes, sir." "No need to call me "sir," either." "Nor grandfather, nor Methuselah." "I can whip you to a frazzle." "What do you want me to call ya?" "My name is Ethan." "Now what's so mighty fishy about this trail?" "Well, first" "Look!" "Look!" "Caddos or Kiowas, huh?" "Ain't but one tribe uses a lance like that." "Look, Pa, your prize bull." "Killed every one of them!" "And not for food either." "Why'd they do a thing like that?" "Stealing the cattle was just to pull us out." "This is a murder raid." "Shapes up to burn down either your place, or my brother's." "Mama!" "Laurie!" "Oh, please, God, please, no!" "Jorgensen's place is the closest, Ethan." "If they're not there, we'll come straight on to you." "You do that." "Well, are you coming or ain't ya?" "That farm's 40 miles from here, boy." "And these horses need rest and grain." "Ain't Caddos, ain't Kiowas." "Man, sure!" "Break out the grain." "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Quiet, boy." "I'll see if I can shoot a couple of sage hens before supper." "Yes, you do that, Aaron." "Ma, the days are getting shorter." "Lucy, we don't need a lamp yet." "Let's just enjoy the dusk." "It's all right, Ma, I've been watching." "Only" "What, Ben?" "I wish Uncle Ethan was here." "Don't you, Ma?" "Close that shutter, Ben, like a good boy." "Go play the sleep-out game." "Remember where you hide out with Grandma?" "Where she is buried?" "Creep along the ditch very quietly, like" "Like a little mouse." "And you won't make a sound or come back, no matter what you hear!" "Promise?" "I promise." "Wait." "Can't I have my doll?" "There's no time." "There's no time." "Now, down low." "Run!" "Chris, go back." "Go back, Chris." "Go back." "Wait a minute, Uncle Ethan." "Next time you'll mind your Uncle Ethan, boy." "Thank ya kindly...." "Wait, Mose!" "We can ride double, Mose!" "Let me in." "Don't go in there, boy." "Don't let him look in there." "It won't do him any good." "Put an "Amen" to it!" "There's no more time for praying." "Those girls mean as much to me as though they were my own." "Maybe you don't know that my Brad has been keeping company with Lucy." "I'd be obliged if you'd come to the point, ma'am." "It's just that I know that Martha would want you to take care of her boys, as well as her girls." "If the girls are dead, don't let the boys waste their lives in vengeance." "Promise me, Ethan!" "Come on, if you're going with us!" "Another one, huh?" "Give me a hand, Charlie." "This one come a long way before he died, Captain." "Well, Ethan, there's another one you can score up for your brother." "I don't like it!" "What don't you like?" "Indians on a raid generally hide their dead." "And if they don't care anything about us knowing' it only spells one thing:" "They ain't afraid of us following or of us catching' up with them, either." "You can back out any time you want, Nesby." "Ethan, I didn't say that!" "I didn't say such!" "Easy, Nesby, easy." "Why don't you finish the job?" "What good did that do ya?" "By what you preach, none." "But what that Comanche believes ain't got no eyes, he can't enter the Spirit Land." "Has to wander forever between the winds." "Do you get it, Reverend?" "Come on, blankethead!" "All right, boys." "Let's mount up." "They're camped by the river, about 20 miles from here." "We'll wait till dark, then circle out so we can jump 'em before daylight." "You're sure you want to jump 'em, Ethan?" "That's what we came for, ain't it?" "I thought we were tryin' to get them girls out alive." "We jump them Comanches, they'll kill 'em." "You know that." "What are we doing then, Reverend?" "What are we supposed to do, Ethan?" "Well, what I had in mind was maybe running' off their pony herd." "A Comanche on foot's more apt to be willin' to listen." "Yeah, I think the Reverend's right." "Don't you?" "You think the Reverend's...." "What does a quarter-breed Cherokee know about the old Comanche trick of sleeping' with his best pony tied right by his side?" "You've got about as much chance of stampeding that herd as" "As you have of finding them girls alive by raiding' into 'em!" "I say we do it my way." "And that's an order!" "Yes, sir." "But if you're wrong don't ever give me another!" "Well, they was here." "Sure." "They was here." "And now they're out there, waiting for us." "Any more orders, "Captain"?" "Yes." "We'll keep on going." "You want to quit, Ethan?" "That'll be the day!" "Horses!" "Horses!" "Keep on going." "Keep moving!" "Keep moving!" "Well, Reverend, it looks like you got yourself surrounded." "Yeah, and I figure I can get myself unsurrounded." "Mose, how far is the river?" "I've been baptized, Reverend." "I've been baptized." "Shut up, you fool." "Thank you, kindly." "Thank you." "You'd better get yourself set for another one because when I holler, I want you to move out in a hurry!" "Let's go!" "Take it easy, Nesby." "You'll be all right, Nesby." "Here is my Bible." "Hold it." "It'll make you feel good." "Thank you, Reverend." "Thank you very kindly." "Do you think they'll charge us?" "Are you asking me?" "I am." "Well, thank you." "Yep." "The death song." "The war chief." "He's got to save face." "Yes, sir." "He'll be right in your lap in a minute, sonny." "For that which we're about to receive, we thank thee, oh, Lord." "You got him, Marty!" "Watch it, it's loaded!" "Leave them carry off their hurt and dead." "Well, Reverend, that does it!" "From now on you stay out of this, all of ya!" "I don't want you with me." "I don't need you for what I've gotta do!" "Well, Edwards, I guess you're right." "We gotta get Nesby back." "This is a job for a whole company of rangers or it's a job for one or two men." "Right now, we're too many and not enough." "Me, I'm going on alone." "Any objections?" "Good luck." "There's only one way you can stop me from looking for Lucy, mister and that's kill me!" "That's the way I feel, Uncle Ethan." "All right." "But I'm giving the orders now, do you hear?" "I'm givin' the orders and you'll follow 'em or we're splitting' up right here and now." "Sure, Ethan." "There's just one reason we're here, ain't it?" "To find Debbie and Lucy." "If they're still alive." "They gotta stop sometime." "If they're human men at all, they gotta stop!" "A human rides a horse until it dies, then he goes on a foot." "A Comanche comes along, gets that horse up, rides him 20 more miles and then he eats him." "We don't even know if Debbie and Lucy's in this bunch." "Maybe they split up." "They're with 'em all right." "If they're still alive." "You've said that enough!" "Maybe Lucy's dead." "Maybe they're both dead." "But, if I hear that from you again, I'll fight you, Mr. Edwards!" "That'll be the day!" "Spread out!" "Found a main trail, but four of them cut out here and rode on up through that pass." "How come they'd do that, Ethan?" "I'll take a look." "Keep after the others." "If you want us to fire shot" "No, nor build bonfires, nor beat drums." "I'll meet you on the far side." "Move!" "Want some water, Ethan?" "The trail leads over there." "Why'd they break off?" "Was there water in that canyon?" "Huh?" "No water." "Are you all right, Ethan?" "I'm all right." "What happened to your coat?" "Did you lose it?" "I must have." "But I'm not going back for it!" "I found 'em!" "I found Lucy!" "They're camped a half-mile over." "I was swinging back and I seen their smoke." "Bellied up a ridge, and there they was, right below me." "Did you see Debbie?" "No, but I saw Lucy all right." "She was wearing that blue dress" "What you saw wasn't Lucy." "What you saw was a buck wearin' Lucy's dress." "I found Lucy." "Back in the canyon." "I wrapped her in my coat." "Buried her with my own hands." "I thought it best to keep it from you." "Did they was she...?" "What do you want me to do?" "Draw you a picture?" "Spell it out?" "Don't ever ask me!" "As long as you live, don't ever ask me more!" "Get back here, Brad!" "Get back here!" "Why don't you say it?" "We're beaten, and you know it." "Our turning' back don't mean nothin'." "Not in the long run." "If she's alive, she's safe." "For a while they'll keep her and they'll raise her as one of their own until she's of an age to...." "Do you think maybe there's a chance we still might find her?" "An Indian will chase a thing till he thinks he's chased it enough." "Then he quits." "Same way when he runs." "Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter who'll just keep coming on." "So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you." "We'll find 'em just as sure as the turnin' of the earth!" "You got my letter about your son, Brad?" "Just about this time a year ago." "Oh, Ethan, this country...." "Him?" "Probably forgotten all about you, can't even call your name to mind!" "Her name is Laurie." "But I fairly forgot just how pretty she was." "What about Debbie?" "Hey, what are you doin' anyway?" "Don't go taking that stuff!" "Well, it ain't worth the mending." "What are you gettin' so red in the face about?" "I got brothers, ain't I?" "Yeah, well, I ain't one of them." "Look here, Martin Pawley, I'm a woman." "We women wash and mend your dirty clothes all your lives." "When you're little, we even wash you!" "How you can ever make out to be bashful in front of a woman, I'll never know." "You talk like a fella just might as well run around naked." "It wouldn't bother me none." "Sure wouldn't try it in front of Pa though, if I was you!" "We kept tracking' 'em till the blizzards hit." "Then we lost their trail." "No need to tell you where we went." "Fort Richardson, Wingate, Cobb." "Anadarco Agency." "Trouble is, we don't know which band the war party belonged to." "Well, you did all a body could, Ethan." "I got your boy killed." "Don't go blaming' yourself for that." "It's this country killed my boy." "Yes, by golly, I tell you Ethan" "Now, Lars, it just so happens we'd be Texicans." "A Texican is nothing but a human man way out on a limb." "This year and next...." "Maybe for a hundred more." "But I don't think it will be forever." "Some day this country's gonna be a fine good place to be." "Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come." "She was a schoolteacher." "Ma, Marty's drawers is a sight." "Would it be all right if we give him some of Brad's things?" "Of course." "They're in Grandma's chest." "Ethan, you're going to sleep in the bunkhouse." "The letter!" "In the chest!" "It come for you, Ethan, last winter." "Charlie MacCorry brought it." "Here it is." "By golly, I forgot." "Take a look at this." "Just a snip of calico." "Ever see it before?" "Maybe on a dress Debbie wore?" "Yes, it was an apron." "Have they found her yet?" "Not yet." "Not yet." "You might at least have left me my britches!" "It's time for bed anyway." "Here, try these on." "I ain't gonna." "Well, likely they'll need some taking' in." "You're that gaunted." "Ma's having turkey for dinner tomorrow." "Laurie, come." "Let the boys get to bed." "All right, Pa." "Good night, Marty." "Good night, Laurie." "Night, Mr. Edwards." "Night, Ms. Jorgensen." "Jorgensen's been runnin' my cattle with his own." "Your cattle?" "You mean Debbie's cattle." "He's agreed to take you on and split the increase in my herd while I'm gone." "I'm pushin' on tomorrow." "Well I sure ain't gonna stay here!" "I started out lookin' for Debbie, I intend to keep on." "Why?" "Why?" "Well, because she is my" "She's your nothing!" "She's no kin to you at all!" "I always kinda thought she was." "The way her folks took me in and raised me...." "That don't make you no kin." "All right, maybe it don't." "But I intend to keep on lookin' anyway." "How?" "You got any horses, or money to buy 'em?" "You ain't even got money for cartridges." "Jorgensen's offering' you a good livin' here." "Martin, I want you to know" "I know what you want me to know!" "I've got no kin, no money, no horses!" "All I got here's a bunch of dead man's clothes to wear!" "You told me that already, so shut your mouth!" "Mornin', Laurie." "Mornin', Marty." "Did you sleep well?" "Well, no." "I kinda tossed and turned and dreamed." "I'll get your coffee." "You know, Laurie, I I was thinking maybe it's time you and me started goin' steady, huh?" "You and me have been goin' steady since we was three years old." "We have?" "About time you found out about it!" "Gosh, Laurie, I've always been fond of you, but with all this trouble with Debbie and Ethan, I...." "Ethan rode on an hour ago." "I don't know what you can do about findin' Debbie that he can't." "He'll find her, now, Martin." "Honest he will!" "That's what I'm afraid of, Laurie, him finding her!" "I've seen his eyes at the very word Comanche." "I've seen him take his knife and" "Never mind." "He's a man that can go crazy wild!" "And I intend to be there to stop him in case he does." "I was hopin' I could hold you here, but I guess I knew better." "I stole that for ya." ""I...bought...."" "Here, let me read it for ya." ""I bought a small-sized dress off of an Indian." ""If this here's a piece of your child's dress, bring the reward." ""I know where they gone." "Jerem Futterman."" "He's got a small trading post on the south fork of the Brazos." "Listen, I just gotta get me a horse!" "Do you think your Pa" "Finish your breakfast!" "I've got to find him!" "All right, go on and find him!" "Oh, Laurie, don't you understand?" "!" "But that's your own good horse!" "You take him in welcome!" "But don't you count on findin' me here when you get back." "I've been hanging around this God-forsaken place for two long years waiting for you." "I ain't cut out to be no old maid!" "I'm sorry, Laurie, but I just gotta catch up with Ethan." "Well, go ahead and catch up with him!" "Let's talk." "You sent me a letter." "Yeah?" "About a dress." "How'd you come by it?" "You said there was a $1,000 reward." "That's what I said." "Got it with ya?" "You'll get the reward when I find her and if she's still alive." "A man's got a right to expect some kind of payment." "I laid out for that dress and sending' you that writing." "Twenty Yankee dollars." "A man's time is worth something." "Talk." "A young buck fetched it in late last summer." "Said it belonged to a captive child of Chief Scar." "We ain't never heard of him, have we?" "Me neither." "But this buck claimed he was a big war chief..." "...with the Nawyecky Comanches." "Keep talkin'." "Scar's band was headed north, to winter at Fort Wingate, eatin' agency beef." "That's what this buck said." "Maybe he lied." "Maybe you lie." "In that case, my friend, you won't find her and I won't get my $1,000 dollars." "You can spend the night." "Cards, a jug." "No thanks." "Don't forget to come back with my $1,000!" "It ain't yours yet!" "Do you have a feeling that maybe we're being followed?" "That's the Indian in you." "Go to sleep." "Them horses there..." "they sure actin' mighty nervous." "They smell a change of weather." "Don't put any more wood on the fire." "I'm burning up." "We might get a frost before morning'." "I'm getting to be like old Mose Harper." "My bones is cold tonight." "It's funny, but last winter when we passed through Fort Wingate I don't have any recollection of a mention of Nawyecky Comanches." "Not so funny when you recollect what Nawyecky means." "What's that?" "Sort of like roundabout." "A man says he's goin' one place, means to go t'other." "Come on, Ethan, don't put any more wood on the fire!" "I'm burning up." "Are you all right?" "I'm just saying good night to you." "Well, good night!" "Thanks, you did fine." "Why, that's Mr. Futterman!" "Ethan, what are you doin' anyway?" "I'm getting my money back, you idiot!" "What do you suppose!" "We did all right." "We?" "Why you just staked me out there, like a piece of bait!" "Building up the fire just so I could get my brains blown out!" "What if you had missed?" "It never occurred to me." "Let's get out of here." "Charlie!" "Got me a letter here." "By golly, a letter?" "It's for Ms. Laurie." "Two letters in one year!" "By golly!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "It's Charlie MacCorry." "He's comin' with a letter." "He's come a courtin', too, by golly!" "Good morning, Charlie." "Laurie, here's a letter for you." "Charlie brought it." "I figured it might be the news you've been waiting for, so l" "Thank you, Charlie." "You're welcome." "Say, I brought you some boiled sweets." "Why, thank you, Charlie!" "Let's sit down while Laurie reads the letter." "I reckon I really ought to be going" "After all, Charlie brought the letter." "He's got a right to listen, too." "Come on, read the letter." "But, Ma, it's my letter!" "Why, sure, but go ahead and read it." ""Dear Ms. Laury--"" "He spelled it with a "y" instead of an "ie." You'd think he'd know better." "Oh, spelling...please!" "What's the difference?" "Read the letter!" ""Dear Ms. Laury:" "I take pencil in hand to let you know...." ""Ethan and me still are trying to catch up with them Comanches..." ""...the late Mr. Futterman told us about."" "The "late" Mr. Futterman?" "That means Mr. Futterman is dead, by golly." "Oh, the poor man!" "Go ahead, Laurie." ""We cut north through Indian territory..." ""...and did not have no trouble..." ""...finding Kiowas and Wichitas..." ""...and even some Comanches..." ""...camped by one of the agencies." ""But none of them was Nawyecky..." ""...nor claimed to know a war chief called Scar." ""He's the one the late Mr. Futterman said had Debbie." ""At one of the agencies..." ""...we outfitted with all kind of trade goods..." ""...figuring that'd make it easier for us to come and go...." ""You'd laugh if I told you..." ""...what was our biggest seller."" "Let's go." "I think I stumbled onto something." "Scar...you found him?" "When are you gonna learn to keep your big mouth shut?" "Get your horse, and let's get out of here!" "I just bought me a good blanket." "Forget it." "Move!" "I heard that a band of hostile Comanches came through less than a week ago." "I asked if a white girl was with them." "They got sullen and suspicious." "You think it might have been" "I don't know!" "What's she following us for?" "Hey, you!" "You go on back now!" "Go on!" "Look, I changed my mind." "You can keep your blanket." "Look, you don't understand." "I don't want it!" "You don't understand, ya chunkhead!" "You didn't buy any blanket, you bought her!" "You got yourself a wife, sonny!" "Oh, no!" "Ethan, tell her to go back!" "What?" "And have her whole family after our scalps for flaunting' one of their womenfolk?" "No, sir!" "Come on, Mrs. Pawley." "Come on, Mrs. Pawley." "Join our merry company." ""There is one other thing I got to tell you..." ""...before you hear it from Ethan." ""How I got myself..." ""...a wife--"" "He did?" "Good!" "A young man should get married early in life." "Right, Mama?" "Go ahead and read the letter, Laurie." ""A little Comanche squaw--"" "Laurie, you come back and read the letter, please!" "Come back and read it, please!" "Mama, here, you read the letter." "My wife was a schoolteacher." "She reads good." "I'll read it." "So he married a Comanche squaw." ""She wasn't near..." ""...as old as you--"" "How old does he think I am?" "!" "Hey, look, coffee." "Me." "Coffee." "Could I have a little, Mrs. Pawley?" "Looks like Mrs. Pawley's gonna make you a fine dutiful wife." "Oh, cut it out, will ya?" "!" "I sure wish I could make you understand." "She says her name is Wild Goose Flying in The Night Sky." "But she'll answer to Look, if that pleases ya." "That's grounds for divorce in Texas!" "You're really rough!" "Well, I don't think it's a dead bird funny!" "Look, if you really wanna do some good, why don't you ask her where Scar is?" "She heard you." "You ask her!" "Do you know where he went?" "Did he have a girl with him?" "A white girl?" "No, not a woman." "It's" "Sister!" "Look's gone!" "Pulled out in the night." "She ain't goin' back to her family." "That's for certain." "She took off the way that arrow is pointing." "Think maybe we oughta follow her?" "How should I know?" "She's your wife." "Maybe she left other signs for us to follow but..." ""...we'll never know..." ""...because it snowed that day and all the next week."" "We were headin' north through buffalo country when somethin' happened that I ain't got straight in my own head yet." "On this day we sighted a small herd." "We needed meat so we circled around them on foot." "This don't make no sense!" "Tired, empty bellies!" "That's the sense it makes, you blankethead!" "At least, they won't feed any Comanches this winter!" "Listen!" "It was the Nawyecky Comanches all right." "The ones we been looking for all this time." "What did them soldiers have to go and kill her for?" "She never done nobody any harm." "We've got to catch up with them, maybe they've got Debbie with them!" "Maybe they've got that chief they call Scar." "So, we figured Debbie'd been in the village." "What Look was doin' there..." "whether she'd come to warn 'em or maybe to find Debbie for me there's no way of knowing." "Come on, move along!" "Come on!" "We're looking for a girl." "A white girl." "A captive." "Should be about 14 now." "Fourteen?" "We have two about that age." "All the white women are in the chapel." "What's this girl to you?" "She's my sis" "She's my niece." "One moment." "Will you stand up?" "Stand up, please." "It's hard to believe they're white." "They ain't white!" "Not any more." "They are Comanches!" "Where are your casualties?" "Maybe you can help us identify them." "All white." "All captives." "There's the white girl there." "No." ""So we're setting out for New Mexico territory in the morning." ""I am sorry I won't be back for Christmas again this year." ""I set pencil aside and hope you are enjoying good health." ""And your folks the same." ""I remain, respectfully..." ""...yours truly, Martin Pawley."" "They'll never find that girl." "Never!" ""Yours truly."" "He had to sign his whole name, "Martin Pawley."" "He couldn't write just "Marty!"" "I don't care if he never comes back!" "Charlie, you stay for supper." "I won't take "no" for an answer." "The thought of saying "no" never entered my head, Mrs. Jorgensen." "Ain't no place I'd rather be than right here right now." ""Gone again, skip to my Lou." ""Gone again, skip to my Lou." ""Gone again, skip to my Lou." ""Skip to my Lou, my darling!"" "Recognize it?" "That?" "Couldn't be two like that in the whole world!" "Mose Harper!" "Mose, you look shabbier than ever!" "How about a drink?" "Ain't been too good." "No, sir." "Not too good." "Getting old." "You were born old." "Been helping' you, Ethan." "Been lookin' all the time." "The reward still stands." "Don't want no money, Ethan." "No money, Marty." "Just a roof over old Mose's head...." "And a rocking chair by the fire." "My own rocking chair by the fire, Marty." "Help us find the girl and you've got your rocking chair." "Swear it, Ethan?" "Given word?" "I told you, didn't I?" "Ethan, I found a man who's seen her." "He knows where little Debbie is!" "Where is he?" "Who is this man?" "Promise?" "Who is the man?" "I am this man, señor." "At your service." "For a price." "Always for a price." "Wait till you grow up." "Let's talk a little business." "Why not?" "Let's go." "But I'm hungry!" "While you're fillin' your belly I'm goin' out to meet a Comanche named Cicatriz." "Never heard of him." "Cicatriz is Mexican for scar." "Medicine country, huh?" "Bad medicine, I think." "This is the great Cicatriz, War Chief." "Scar, huh?" "Plain to see how ya got your name." "You, Big Shoulders" "The young one." "He Who Follows." "You speak pretty good American for a Comanche." "Did someone teach you?" "That's right." "We've come to trade." "Only not out here." "I don't stand talkin' in the wind." "You speak good Comanche." "Did someone teach you?" "You stay out here." "Not likely." "His sons are dead." "So his wives sit on the honor side of his lodge." "Are all those his wives?" "Two sons killed by white men." "For each son, I take many scalps." "We've seen scalps before." "Seen this before?" "I came to trade, not to admire his collection." "So then we'll pitch a camp on the other side of the creek and talk tomorrow." "It is not that I am afraid." "Don't apologize." "You got well paid." "But he knows who you are." "And why you're here." "This, I did not know." "Take it." "I do not want blood money." "You think old Scar means to kill us?" "He's got to." "We've been asking for it for five years." "Why didn't he make his move back there?" "Hospitality, I guess." "Comanche hospitality." "Why?" "Do you want to pull out, too?" "Big Shoulders!" "Debbie, don't you remember?" "I'm Martin." "Your brother." "Do you remember?" "Try to remember back." "Remember how I used to let you ride my horse?" "And tell you stories?" "Don't you remember me, Debbie?" "I remember." "From always." "First I prayed to you, to come and get me." "To take me home." "You didn't come." "I've come now, Debbie." "These are my people." "Go!" "Go, Martin!" "Please!" "Stand aside, Martin!" "No, you don't, Ethan!" "Ethan!" "No, you don't!" "Stand aside!" "Looks as though I'm gonna have to open that shoulder again." "To get the poison out." "Sure beats me, Ethan..." "how you coulda stayed alive this long." "You read this..." ""..." "I..." ""Ethan Edwards..." ""...being of a sound mind..." ""...and..." ""...without any blood kin..." ""...do hereby...."" ""Bequeath." It means to leave." ""Bequeath..." ""...all my property..." ""...of any kind..." ""...to Martin Pawley."" "What do you mean, you don't have any blood kin?" "Debbie is your kin!" "Not no more, she ain't!" "Well, you can keep your will!" "I don't want any of your property!" "Besides I ain't forgetting' you was gettin' all set to shoot her yourself." "What kind of man are you, anyway?" "She's been livin' with a buck!" "Shut your dirty mouth!" "I hope you die!" "That'll be the day!" "Here he is!" "All curried, combed and washed behind the ears." "Charlie, you look right handsome!" "I'd hardly know you." "Yes, ma'am." "I can't hardly recognize myself." "Why don't you have a drink?" "Oh, no, Nesby." "Not till I'm finished my clergyin'." "Bar's closed, right sister Jorgensen?" "All right, let's go!" "Let's get 'er goin'!" "Go ahead, Lawrence." "Bible." "Get them spurs off!" "Yes, sir." "All right, line up inside, boys." ""Yes, we will gather at the river" ""The beautiful, the beautiful river." ""Gather with the saints at the river" ""That flows by the throne of God!"" "Hey, you don't suppose they're throwin' a party for us, do ya?" "That'll be the day!" "I'm all right." "Ethan, Martin!" "You can't come in!" "The rangers is in there." "What's that got to do with us?" "You're both posted for murder." "The both of you!" "That trader, the late Futterman...." "The Reverend and the ranchers are in there now...." "Well, what's goin' on, anyway?" "Looks like you two will have a lot to talk about." "Come on, Lars." "Ethan...hide in the barn...please" "What for?" "Please!" "Look, everybody!" "Look who's here!" "Evenin'." "Bar open?" "Any news of our little girl?" "She's not a little girl anymore." "You've seen her?" "She's alive?" "I've seen her and she's alive." "Good evening, Reverend." "Or should I call you "Captain"?" "I came here for a wedding, Ethan." "Till that's over, I reckon "Reverend" will do." "Afterwards we'll talk." "Is Marty with you?" "Yep." "It's good to see you back, Ethan." "We'll join you." "But I wrote you one letter." "One letter!" "In five years!" "I read it till the paper dried up and the writing' faded out." "I guess it wasn't much of a letter, was it?" "No, it wasn't." "Mighta at least said you loved me." "You mighta asked me to wait for you." "At least that'd a been somethin'." "But I always loved you!" "I thought you knew that without me havin' to say it." "It isn't fair, Martin Pawley!" "It isn't fair and you know it!" "I wish you wouldn't cry, Laurie." "Who's cryin'?" "I reckon the best thing for me to do is to go away." "Do, Martin Pawley, and I'll just die!" "I'll thank you to unhand my fiancée." "You don't mean you're gonna be marrying' him?" "She sure is!" "And don't think your comin' back is gonna change it, either!" "Well, now, as to that, I just don't know, Charlie." "We hadn't gotten around to talkin' about marriage." "What right have you to talk marriage to any decent woman?" "If you're referring' to that crazy murder charge" "And other things." "You think you's gettin' away with bein' smart about the indian wife you took." "I'll bet she ain't the first squaw you ever" "Oh, Marty, you've done it again!" "Get out of my way!" "Marty!" "Charlie!" "I ain't gonna have no fightin' in my house." "Well, then we're just gonna fight outside, doggonit." "I ain't totin' no firearms." "Well, that sure ain't gonna be no problem." "After you, Marty." "After you, Charlie." "Look, here." "Thank you." "Spit over that piece of firewood." "Quit that, Marty!" "That ain't fair!" "Marty, can you stop that?" "Is this here an altercation of the..." "in the line of duty?" "No, sir." "It's more in the nature of a private fight." "All right then, go ahead." "But fight fair." "No biting or gouging and no kicking, either!" "Somebody's fiddle." "Mr. Edwards, make 'em stop!" "Why?" "You started it." "Don't forget, you're a lady." "Now, come on." "I want you boys to shake hands and make friends." "Sorry I bit your ear, Marty." "It don't hurt none, Charlie." "Now you boys get cleaned up and we'll proceed with the wedding." "Where's my Bible?" "There ain't gonna be no wedding." "Not 'till we get a few things cleared up around here." "It was a nice wedding party, considering nobody got married." "Ethan, I gotta ask you and Martin to take a ride with me down to the state capital." "Is this an invite to a necktie party, Reverend?" "No, I wouldn't say that." "Likely you had your reasons for killin' Futterman." "Probably needed killin'." "I'm talking to you now as a ranger, not as a preacher." "The fact that all three of 'em was shot in the back was the only thing that raised some question." "That, and a missing' gold piece that was known to have been on him just prior to his demise." "Ethan, I have to ask you for your gun." "Well, if it's all the same to you, Reverend I ain't goin' to Austin!" "You're goin' if the captain says so." "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "I'll put both of you boys in the smokehouse to cool off." "Good evening, ma'am." "Captain Clayton." "Excuse me, ma'am." "Captain Clayton, sir." "No." "I'm Captain Clayton." "You're Captain Clayton?" "Yes, I'm Captain Clayton." "Col. Greenhill's compliments, sir." "The colonel wants to know" "Is your head cold?" "No, sir." "I'm sorry, sir." "All right, start at the beginning." "Col." "Greenhill's compliments, sir." "Hold on, son." "Who is this Col. Greenhill you're talking about?" "Why, Col. Greenhill is Col. Greenhill, sir." "Commanding officer of the 15th" "And who are you?" "I'm Lt. Greenhill, sir." "What is it your pa wants to know?" "Well, go ahead." "My pa wants to know-- Col. Greenhill wants to know..." "...how soon you can put a company" "Turn around, sonny." "Yeah, he's a Yankee cavalryman." "Col. Greenhill wants to know how soon you could--I resent that, sir!" "Just funnin' son, just funnin'." "How soon you could put a company of your men in the field fully armed for joint punitive action against the Comanches?" "Joint what?" "Joint punitive action." "We received information about a band of Comanches under a chief named Scar." "What information?" "That maybe he's not far from here, holed up somewhere." "What makes you think he's not far from here?" "One of our patrollers picked up a man claims he was a prisoner with Scar till only two days ago." "Talks kinda crazy, but we brought him along." "Says he lives here." "Keeps mentioning a rocking chair." "Take his arms." "Good evening, ma'am." "Come for my rocking chair." "Bring him to the fire." "Watch him!" "Here, get him a chair." "Bring him a drink!" "Watch his head!" "Mose." "Scar...where is he?" "My rocking chair." "You promised me my rocking chair." "Ask him about Debbie." "Is Debbie all right, Mose?" "Made out I was crazy." "You don't think I'm crazy, do you, ma'am?" "No, Mose, you're just sick and hurt." "Thank you, ma'am." "Mose, try and remember." "You were at Scar's camp." "I ate dirt and chewed grass." "I fooled them." "Where is Scar holed up?" "!" "I won't tell ya." "I'll tell Marty." "Seven Fingers, Marty." "That's enough, Ethan." "Let's get him to bed." "Seven Fingers...?" "Beg to report, sir that's what he told us, but there's no such place on the maps." "Isn't it the Caddo name for where all them canyons join under the Malapai?" "Seven Fingers of the Brazos!" "You go tell your pa that a company of rangers all fourteen of 'em, fully armed and equipped will be in the field, headin' for the south end of the Malapai." "If he can catch up with us, all well and good!" "We can't take the field tomorrow." "For your own protection." "Sonny." "Out yonder is a pack of murderers..." "If you want to protect us, just keep out of our way." "Now you skedaddle back to your pa!" "You and Martin are hereby appointed civilian scouts." "Without pay." "Take the boys and get back to headquarters and pick up my company." "You're not going!" "Not this time." "Are you crazy?" "It's too late." "She is a woman grown now." "I gotta go, Laurie." "I gotta fetch her home." "Fetch what?" "The leavings of how many Comanches?" "Sold how many times?" "Do you know what Ethan will do if he has a chance?" "He'll put a bullet in her brain!" "I tell you, Martha would want him to!" "Only if I'm dead!" "We can get within 200 yards of them." "There's a hogback off to the left." "How many you figure?" "About a dozen each." "Enough to go around." "Well, we found 'em!" "Now, men the state of Texas is paying you 12 Yankee dollars a month." "Now is your chance to earn it!" "Tighten up your saddles." "We'll go charging' in about sunup." "Now make sure that" "Just a minute, Reverend!" "If we go charging in, they'll kill her!" "And you know it." "That's what I'm countin' on." "I know you are." "Well, it ain't gonna be that way!" "She's alive and she's gonna stay alive!" "Living with Comanches ain't being' alive." "It's better she's alive and livin' with Comanches than her brains bashed out!" "Now, son, I know this is a bitter thing to say but there's more at stake here than your sister." "There sure is." "I'm gonna tell you somethin'." "I didn't mean to speak of it, but I'm gonna tell you now." "You remember that scalp strung on Scar's lance?" "Long and wavy?" "Yeah, I saw it." "And don't try to tell me it was Aunt Martha's or Lucy's!" "It was your mother's." "That don't change it." "That don't change nothing!" "Give me a chance to sneak in and get her out, before you come charging' in." "What if you get caught?" "Well, that don't count on nothin', does it?" "Just one man alone." "You go right ahead, son." "But at the first sign of an alarm, we're comin' in." "We ain't gonna have no time to pick and choose our targets when we do!" "It's your funeral." "Captain Clayton!" "Captain Clayton!" "What the Sam Hill...?" "Go ahead!" "Why don't you have your bugler blow the charge, too?" "Oh, never mind." "Does your pa know you're out here?" "Yes, sir." "The troops are 10 miles back." "The colonel sent me to find you." "You found me." "Good work and goodbye." "Is there anything I can do, sir?" "God forbid." "You just go back and tell your pa where we are and where he is." "But he knows that, sir." "Can't I stay?" "Please?" "Oh, all right." "But you watch me, boy." "I'm the hard case you're up against out here, not them childish savages." "If you don't hear my first holler you better read my mind 'cause I don't aim to raise no two hollers on any subject at hand!" "Yes, sir." "Boy watch that knife!" "Sorry, sir." "I'm gonna take you away." "I'm gonna get you out of here, Debbie." "Brethren, let us go amongst them!" "Charlie, Nesby, run off that pony herd" "Boy, you watch out for that knife!" "Let's go home, Debbie." "Does that hurt, Reverend?" "Shut up!" "Good work, Captain!" "Good work, son." "You wounded?" "A bullet?" "An arrow?" "No!" ""A man will search His heart and soul" ""Go searching way out there." ""His peace of mind He knows he'll find" ""But where, oh, Lord?" "Lord, where?" ""Ride away" ""Ride away" ""Ride away.""