"That's about 10 pounds." "How much is beaver worth this year?" " Six dollars a pound." "I'll trade you for a new plow two tubs of lard, a barrel of molasses 25 pounds of chewing tobacco." "And you wouldn't have a wife under the counter?" "I'm looking for a wife." "Any special brand?" " Well, yes." "I like a widow woman that ain't afraid to work." "There's me and my six brothers." "Place is like a pigsty, and the food tastes worse." "So I made up my mind." "The next time I come into town, I'll get a wife." "That's a fine thing, I must say." "Thinking you could trade for a wife like a bag of meal." "No, ma'am." "I wouldn't say that, ma'am." "None of our gals is going to go off to bear country with you to cook and wash and slave for seven slumocky backwoodsmen." "There's 10 men for every woman out here." "You want a wife, go back east." "There's no unmarried females in this town?" "Good morning, Mrs. Bixby." "We're having a quilting bee." " Have any odds and ends?" "I'll see." "How about these?" " Just a minute." "What's the matter?" "They married?" " They're spoken for." "Just spoken for." "You had me scared." " I tell you, they're promised." "A lady can change her mind, can't she?" "Pay him no mind, girls." "Load his things." "Don't keep him waiting." "I'm in no hurry." "I got all afternoon." "You're wasting your time." "You won't find a girl in this town to marry you." "Whenever I set my mind to something, I get it." "Plowing 20 acres in a day or dropping a tree right where I want it." "I'm here to get me a wife." "I don't aim to go back home empty-handed." "You're all pretty and fresh and young." "And I'll keep you in mind." "But I ain't deciding on nothing until I look them all over." "Bless your beautiful hide" "Wherever you may be" "We ain't met yet But I'm willing to bet" "You're the gal for me" "Morning, ma'am." "Morning." " Mama, Papa wants you." "Bless your beautiful hide" "You're just as good as lost" "I don't know your name But I'm a-stakin' my claim" "Lest your eyes is crossed" "Oh, I'd swap my gun And I'd swap my mule" "Though whoever took it Would be one big fool" "Thanks, Adam." "Or pay your way through cooking school" "If'n you would say, 'I do'" "Morning, ma'am." " Morning." "Nice day for marrying." " That's a right good idea." "Oh, Lem." "I thought you'd never ask me." "Bless your beautiful hide" "Prepare to bend your knee" "And take that vow Because I'm a-tellin' you now" "You're the gal for me" "Pretty and trim But kind of slim" "Heavenly eyes But oh, that size" "She's gotta be right To be the bride for me" "Bless your beautiful hide" "Wherever you may be" "Milly." "A dozen men bellowing for victuals, and you chopping wood." "I'm coming." "Pretty and trim But not too slim" "Heavenly eyes Andjust the right size" "Simple and sweet" "And sassy as can be" "Bless her beautiful hide" "Yes, she's the girl for me." "Milly, let's eat." "Let's eat." " I'm dying of hunger." "You'll all eat, don't fret." "Just give me time." "Nobody can cook like Milly." "When are you gonna marry me?" " Next week, Sam." "She's gonna marry me." " What would your wife say, Tom?" "Anything you'd like?" " Could be." "But first, I think I'd better sample that cooking." "Oh, Harry." "I am sorry." "That's all right, Milly." " Awfully sorry." "That smells good enough to eat." " It tastes good too, so they say." "Got any ketchup handy?" "My stew can stand on its own feet." "Good?" "Good." "My name's Adam Pontipee." "Odd name, I must say." "I live up the mountain." "I got a farm." "Have you?" " Good farm and a house on it." "There's timberland, high-grazing meadows sheep, milk cows, 50 acres of wheat." "Only thing it ain't got, it ain't got a woman." "How about it?" "How about what?" "I just told you." "How about marrying me?" "I know it's kind of short notice." "Back east, we would have met on a Sunday leaving church." "Six months later, I would've asked you:" "'Could I walk you home?" "'" "Next few years, I would've set in your parlor every Wednesday night." "Finally I'd ask your father could I marry you?" "But there's not time." "I've gotta be home to tend to my stock." "It'll be another five months before I get down again with my grain." "You gonna keep me waiting that five months just for your pride?" "I have to finish my chores." "I knew it the minute I set eyes on you." "You were the gal for me." "I'll go get cleaned up a bit and root out the preacher." "Bless her beautiful hide" "Wherever she may be..." "Where's the preacher's house?" " Next to the church." "Thanks, pop." "She's the gal for me." "I'll say it plain and to your face." "I don't like this marriage." "Reverend..." " I don't know anything about you." "And I feel responsible." "Milly's like a daughter." "We're her only family." "Ever since I came here, you've been after me to marry." "A girl had no right to stay single." "The country needed to be settled." "We meant you to marry one of our young men." "You had your pick of them." "I tried." "Again and again I tried." "I'd say yes to one of them then a sinking feeling would hit me and I couldn't do it." "When I said yes to him I waited for that feeling, but it didn't come." "I feel just fine." "I feel so good I could cry." "I think it's wonderful." "Love at first sight." "Alice." "What kind of talk is that?" "You're determined, Milly?" "Yes, reverend." "Then step forward." "Take her hand in yours." "Repeat after me:" "I, Adam Pontipee..." "I, Adam Pontipee take this woman to be my lawfully wedded wife." "Where's she going?" "Never did like them Pontipees." "Now I know why." "Ma." "Ma." "He done it." "He got a wife." "It's Milly." "It's indecent, if you ask me." "One lone woman with seven scroungy backwoodsmen." "Bless your beautiful hide Wherever..." "I'm not much of a bride with only this for an outfit." "You'll find a trunk belonged to my mother." "There's things there." "I'd like that." "I'd like to wear something that belonged to your mother." "My mother left me these." "They're packets of seeds for a flower garden she meant to plant." "And my father left me these." "Plutarch's Lives and the Bible." "He taught me to read by them." "I hope that maybe someday I can teach our..." "How far is it up to the farm?" "About 12 miles." "Imagine." "On my way to my own home." "I feel so wonderful I could yell." "Go ahead." "Echo Pass." "It ain't safe to shout in the winter." "Might start an avalanche." "I cussed my horse too loud once, and we got snowed in till spring." "Most people think that'd be lonely but I can stand some loneliness after the inn." "I'd better water the horses." "My wedding bouquet." "Sorrel?" " It makes real nourishing soup." "Back at the inn, when I'd hear the men yelling for their dinner I'd think how wonderful it would be to cook and care for one man." "Just one man." "Now that it's happened I can't hardly believe it's true." "Ding-dong" "Ding-a-ling-dong" "Were the steeple bells Ever quite as gay?" "Wonderful, wonderful day" "Bluebirds in the bluebells Sing a song" "To send me along my way" "Wonderful, wonderful day" "Though I've got to own up" "I'm as grown up as can be" "Seems I've gone and flown up" "To a bright, merry airy fairyland" "And so you'll forgive me" "If I simply throw out my chest And say" "Beautiful, glorious" "Heavenly, marvelous" "Wonderful, wonderful day" "Big clouds floating' lazy" "Like a daisy in the sky" "Big things to be doing" "By and by" "Goin'" "Slowin'" "Growin' things" "Big love for my darlin'" "As we share whatever may come our way" "Beautiful, glorious" "Heavenly" "Marvelous" "Wonderful wonderful day" "This is my brother Caleb." "How are you, brother Caleb?" " My wife, Milly." "Your wife?" "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle." "Hey, Eph, Dan, he done it." "He got married." "This is my brothers Ephraim and Daniel." "Hi, brother Ephraim, brother Daniel." "Which is Ephraim and which is Daniel?" "Me." "And this here's Benjamin." "How are you, brother Benjamin?" "You didn't tell me you had brothers." "Must have been the wedding, threw it out of my mind." "You all live around here?" "Not around." "Here." "I guess I should have picked some more sorrel." "This is the house." "My, what a nice big room." "It might need readying up a bit but now that you're here..." "Come on, wake up and meet your sister-in-law." "This is Frank." "How are you, brother Frank?" " And this here's Gideon." "Drop that spoon." "We'll have human-cooking now that she's here." "Are there any more?" " No." "Gideon's the last-born." "Take a while to put the name with the right brother." "Just remember your ABCs." "Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank and Gideon." "They're fine-sounding names." "Bible names." "That was Ma's idea." "ABCs, that was Pa's so he could keep track of us." "He was gonna use all 26 letters right down to Zachariah but he looked at Gideon and went and chopped a tree on himself." "There's one of the names in the Bible I don't seem to remember." "Frank." "Is Frank a Bible name?" "That ain't his real name, is it?" "We just call him that for short." "His real name is Frank..." "Pay them no mind." "I'll show you around." "Up here's the bedroom." " Can't you stop them?" "You'll get used to that." " Was it something I said?" "Frank's just touchy about his name." "There was no 'F' names in the Bible so Ma named him Frankincense because he smelled so sweet." "Up there's the bedroom." "Down there's where the boys bunk." "Follow me, I'll show you the rest." "This is the washroom." "We're hard on clothes, so there'll be a lot of washing and mending." "But now that..." " That I'm here." "This is the kitchen." "You'll find flour in that barrel right there." "Salt pork over there." "Get out of here." "How do you expect her to get supper?" "Come on, all of you, get out of here." "You too, Gideon." "You'll find wood down the path, and water's outside the front door." "There's the dinner bell." "Ring it loud when you get supper ready." "What'd you do that for?" " You..." "All of you falling on the food that way." "Haven't you any decency to wait for grace?" "You don't even know what I'm saying." "Trouble?" " Look at them." "The victuals must be good." "All right." "If you're gonna act like hogs you can eat like hogs." "'Neither cast ye your pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.'" "It's time for you boys to turn in, ain't it?" "A big day of plowing ahead tomorrow." "It's 9:00 already, an hour past your bedtime." "Yours too." "I am getting a mite sleepy at that." "Who is it?" " It's Adam, your husband." "Come in, Adam." "Good night, boys." "I thought you'd be in bed." "Did you?" "It's been a right busy day." "You must be kind of tuckered out." "That's right." "Shall I turn down the covers?" "You can if you like." "But I'm not going to bed." "You don't want a wife, Adam." "You want a cook, a washerwoman." "A hired girl." "A hired girl's got a right to her own sleeping place." "Reckon that's so." " In the wagon, you let me talk make a fool of myself, talking about you and me." "You should have stopped me." "Maybe I should have but it sounded real pretty." "Besides if I'd told you, you might not have married me." "And I wanted you to marry me." "I wanted it real bad." "Sure, because I was young and strong, and there was lots of work in me." "That's partly true." "It's a hard life here in the forest and wilderness." "There's trees waiting to be felled land waiting to be plowed and fenced, stock to be fed." "A man wants a wife who can work alongside of him." "Of course if she's got eyes that are bluer than cornflowers and hair the color of wheat in the sunshine he counts himself real fortunate." "I'll work alongside you, Adam but I'm not sleeping alongside you." "She wants a drink of water." "She's thirsty." "Have a drink." "What are you doing?" "Bedding down for the night." "I don't know what the birds see in it." "It don't seem fitting for a groom to spend his wedding night in a tree." "It's your idea, not mine." "I guess I was pretty mad, Adam." "I built up such a store of dreams." "Dreams about love and marriage and such." "When you're in love" "When you're in love" "There is no way on earth to hide it" "When you're in love" "Really in love" "You simply let your heart decide it" "With every sigh" "With every glance" "With every heartbeat" "You confide it" "You'll want the world to know it too" "When you're in love" "As I'm in love" "With you" "I know how it is with your brothers." "You being the head of the house and all." "I wouldn't want you to lose face." "All things considered maybe you'd better come back in." "Bacon." "Fresh-made coffee." "Hot bread." "It's Milly cooking." "Adam must've told her what was what." " It smells good." "I'm hungry." " I feel like I haven't eaten for years." "Where's my pants?" "Where's my shirt and pants?" " I'm looking for my own." "Who did it?" "Who hid them on me?" "All I've got's my boots." " Good morning, my brothers." "Your outside clothes are drying on the line." "I came in and got them." "I couldn't get your underclothes, so I'll take them now." "Our underwear?" "Your winter underwear that you're sleeping in." "Hand them over." "You won't get clothes or food till you get clean." "And shaved." "Where's Adam?" "We wanna talk to Adam." "He's out plowing." "He had breakfast half an hour ago." "I got hot muffins crisp bacon, hotcakes, steak, fryer potatoes fresh-ground coffee." "Do I get that underwear, or do I come and take it?" "Don't listen to her." "She wouldn't dare." "Oh, wouldn't I?" "All right, all right, you'll get it." "I didn't know last night I'd married into such a handsome family." "You know, you're mighty good-looking boys." "Well, you are." "Every last one of you." "What you been doing hiding behind those whiskers?" "Afraid a girl will see you and run off with you?" "Why haven't I seen you at the dances or cornhuskings at harvest-time?" "Don't you like girls?" "We ain't never hardly ever seen one." "You got a big sister now that's gonna see that you do." "You want to eat?" "Lord, Thou has brought us through desert and wilderness to a good land, a land of wheat and game, where we need never hunger." "We thank Thee, Lord, for Thy loving care and Thy bounty." "Amen." "Amen." "After you." "Thank you." "Where you going?" " I've got to go to town, Gideon." "The flour's low, and I've worn a broom clear through." "I'd better help you." "What's going on?" " We're going to town." "I reckon I'll help drive the horses." " I'll drive." "Hey, Milly's going to town." "Let's go with them." "You boys set here and wait." "Gideon will help me." "And don't forget, mind your manners." "Hey, look." "Girls." "Quick." "Say something." "Care for a chaw of tobacco?" "What's going on?" "That oaf insulted us." "No such thing." "All he did was offer them a chaw of..." "Well, it's dang good tobacco." " It is, huh?" "It's us." "My window." "Stop it, Benjamin." "Stop it this minute." "Do something." "What for?" "There's only three." "Stop it." "Do you hear?" " All right, Milly." "It's stopped." "You get in that wagon." "Get." "What did I do wrong, Milly?" "First off, if you want to get a girl, you gotta learn to talk to her." "I'll show you." "I'm a girl." "You meet me coming out of church." "You raise your hat." "What's the matter, Caleb?" " My hair ain't combed." "Next, you got to say something nice." "Gideon, say something nice." "Nice night for a coon hunt." "You get out of here." "You'll never make jack-a-dandies out of them." "You pay him no mind." "You'll be just fine." "It's a month before the barn-raising and the picnic." "There's one thing you got to remember." "You'll have a lot of competition." "All the girls will have 5 or 10 men buzzing around her." "We'll clean them out first." " The whole lot." "That's one thing you mustn't do." "If they want to act like a pack of hyenas, let them." "You've got to be above such things." "You've got to act gentlemanly and well-spoken and show the girls you have etiquette." "Eti..." "What?" "Like I showed you at the table." "When you meet a girl, don't grab her like she was a flapjack." "Hold off for a while." "Offer her your arm." "When you've got her alone, steal your arm around her." "You've got to court a girl to get her." "You got to call her 'my darling my dear, my precious, my pet.'" "Goin' courtin', goin' courtin'" "Oh, it sets your senses in a whirl" "Goin' courtin', goin' courtin'" "Dudin' up to go and see a girl" "Oh, it's fun to hunt and shoot a gun" "Or to catch a rabbit on the run" "But you'll find it's Twice as sportin'" "Goin' courtin'" "Is this what you mean?" " It's what I mean." "Now there's lots of things you gotta know" "Be sure the parlor light is low" "You sidle up and squeeze her hand" "Let me tell you, fellows, That it's grand" "You hem and haw a little while" "She gives you kind of half a smile" "You cuddle up, she moves away" "Then the strategy comes into play" "See what I mean?" "Goin' courtin', goin' courtin'" "If you find it hard to break the ice" "Goin' courtin', goin' courtin'" "Here's a little feminine advice" "Roll your eyes And heave a little sigh" "Grunt and groan Like you're about to die" "That is what's known as emotin'" "Goin' courtin'" "How about sparking'?" " Parlor's darkened?" "And you're longing' for a fond embrace?" "What about petting'?" " And sofa setting'?" "Suppose she ups and slaps your face?" "Just remember, blessed are the meek" "Don't forget to turn the other cheek" "Pretty soon you'll both be larkin'" "Goin' sparkin'" "Goin' dancin'" " Goin' dancin'?" "At a fancy ball or minuet" "May I?" "Goin' dancin' You'll impress them with your etiquette" "Now you two try it." "Come on." "You mean, men are learning how to dance?" "Yes, it came direct from Paris, France" "It will help with your romancin'" "Goin' dancin'" "Come on, now." "You follow us." "Turn." "Down, up." "Turn." "Down, up." "Come on, this way." "Step to the right." "Then to the left." "Make a turn." "Now weave in and out." "I love dancing." "Now, boys." "Keep your dancin'." " And hunting'." "And shooting'." " And fighting'." "And trapping'." "'Cause we're goin' courtin'." "Cleanest fingernails I ever saw." "What happened to your thumb?" "Soaked it in lye." "Took off the dirt, but it nearly took my nail with it." "I'm so proud of you." "All of you." "Remember one thing." "Mind your manners and be gentlefolk." "And no fighting, no matter what happens." "What's holding you up?" "If we're going to a barn-raising, let's go." "Come on." "Who are they?" "I don't recall seeing them." "They're strangers to me." " Seven of them." "And all as tall as church steeples." "It's Milly." "Where are you going?" " To see Milly." "Looks like them Pontipee brothers." "Milly." "Alice." " Mil, I've missed you so." "I've missed you all so much." "I baked some things for the collation." "We'll take them over." "I'd be pleasured if you'd allow me." "Why, thanks." "We'll all help carry them." " I couldn't let a lady heft that." "Can we help?" " Please." "Allow me, ma'am." "If you'll just follow me." "To the ends of the earth." "Afraid that's all." "Sorry, that's all." "May I escort you back?" "You know, you're the prettiest girl I ever acquainted." "May I escort you to the ball, ma'am?" "It wouldn't hurt you to learn some manners too." "What do I need manners for?" "I already got me a wife." "Come on, get your partners." "There's gonna be dancing." "Faster." " Faster, Frank." "Thattaboy, Carl." "Take him, Dan." "All right, Frank." "Neighbors." "Neighbors, may I have your attention?" "You folk who have come from far and wide Henry wants to thank you for coming to raise his barn." "Thanks, folks." "And he thanks the ladies for the victuals they brought." "Since a barn's got four sides, there'll be four teams." "The team that gets their side up first wins the heifer." "Henry, show them Annabel." "Get your teams set up, and let's see who wins the little lady." "We could use her on the farm." "How about it, boys?" "Mr. Perkins, put the seven of us brothers down for one team." "Milly's taken a fancy to Annabel." "You hear, boys?" "That was Adam Pontipee." "He bragged how he always got what he set out to get and danged if he didn't." "He's a hard one to beat." "Don't worry." " We'll handle them." "That's the spirit." "We got a team set up here, Pete." "Here's your fourth." " That's fine." "Got your hammers and all?" "Take your positions." "The sooner you raise it, the sooner you get vittles." "Are you ready?" "Let's go." "I shouldn't have had my hand there." "What happened?" " Nothing." "Get that board up there." "Now what happened?" "I stubbed my big toe." "Come on, let's get going." "Get those sideboards up here." "Hurt yourself, Frankincense?" "Come on, let's go." "What's the matter with you boys?" " Just a little dizzy spell." "Hold it." "Take it easy." "He threw that hammer." "We promised Milly no fights." "So don't start anything." "Come on, we're way behind." "She's made you into a bunch of mama's boys." "They're out to kill you, and you apologize for living." "You're a disgrace to the Pontipee name." "You're a bunch of lily-livered, chicken-hearted lickspittles." "Serves you right." "I hope they break your necks." "Come on, Gideon..." "Why are you doing that?" "He ain't done nothing." "Boys, boys." "Stop the fight." "Witch hazel." "Split lip." "Don't smile for a few days." "Next?" "Two beefsteaks." "A kick in the pants." "Next?" "A loose tooth and swelled-up knuckles." "It's a wonder you have any teeth left." "Witch hazel, please." "I'm sorry, Milly." "But when that fellow took after Adam..." "I understand." "You all did your best, I guess." "Good night, boys." "Good night, Milly." "I feel awful strange-like, Milly." "Here." "If it's what I think ails you, witch hazel's not gonna help." "Alice is sweet, isn't she?" "Good night." "What's the matter with you?" "Somebody butt you in the breadbasket?" "I felt this way even before the fight." "Ever since I seen Alice." "Do you reckon I could be in love?" "Pa used to say love's like measles." "You only get it once." "The older you are, the tougher it goes." "Young fellow like you ought to get it kind of light." "I guess not." "I don't know as I can answer your question." "But according to Milly, and she's had a heap of book-learning..." "When you're in love" "When you're in love" "There is no way on earth to hide it" "When you're in love" "Really in love" "You simply let your heart decide it" "How can you tell?" "What's in its spell?" "How can you tell until you've tried it?" "Wait for that kiss you're certain of" "And let your heart decide" "When you're in love" "I guess I got the beginnings." "But them townspeople will never let us court them gals now." "Not after today." " Don't let it fret you." "If you don't get this one, another will come along." "One woman's pretty much like the next." "Come on, let's go feed the stock." "I'm a lonesome polecat" "Lonesome sad and blue..." "'Cause I ain't got no" "Feminine polecat" "Vowin' to be true" "Can't make no vows" "To a herd of cows" "I'm a mean old hound dog" "Bayin' at the moon..." "'Cause I ain't got no" "Lady friend hound dog" "Here to hear my tune" "A man can't sleep" "When he sleeps with sheep" "I'm a little old hoot owl" "Hootin' in the trees..." "'Cause I ain't got no" "Little gal owl fowl" "Here to shoot the breeze" "Can't shoot no breeze" "With a bunch of trees" "It is beautiful, isn't it?" "Not to me." "I've seen too much of it." "I'm getting out." "I'm not spending another winter here, snowed in for months." "What would we do without you?" "We'd miss you so." "There's plenty here to take care of the farm without me." "Adam." "Benjamin says he's leaving." " What?" "He says it's the winter, but it's not." "They're all grieving for their girls." "Why should they grieve?" "They hardly saw them once." "Once is all it takes if it's the right one." "I had such dreams about all of them living around." "Dozens of children, visiting back and forth at Christmas and birthdays." "If Benjamin goes, then another will go." "And another." "I'll talk to him." "If you could just get a look at yourselves..." "You look like a bunch of lovesick bull calves." "If you're sweet on them, why don't you do something about it?" "Why don't you go marry them?" "Sure, 'Go marry them,' as easy as that." "They wouldn't marry us in a thousand years." "Do as the Romans did with the 'Sobbing Women' or 'Sabine Women' or whatever they called them." "They were in the same fix you're in." "They was opening up new territory, and women were scarce, like here." "There were these sobbing women in town." "So what did the Romans do?" "They went down there, and they carried them off." "If you can't do as good as a bunch of Romans, you're no brothers of mine." "Course, this being Oregon and God-fearing territory you'd have to capture a parson." "Romans." "They the ones I heard about settled north of here?" "No, this was in olden days." "I read about it in Milly's book." "A book." " Why, this is history." "This really happened." "Tell you about them sobbing' women Who lived in the Roman days" "It seems that they all went swimmin' While their men was off to graze" "Well a Roman troop was riding by And saw them in their 'me-oh-mys'" "So they took them all Back home to dry" "Least that's what Plutarch says" "Them women was Sobbin', sobbing', sobbin'" "Fit to be tied" "Every muscle was throbbing', throbbin' From that riotous ride" "Seems they cried and kissed And kissed and cried" "All over that Roman countryside" "So don't forget that" "When you're taking a bride" "Sobbin', fit to be tied" "From that riotous ride..." "So then what happened?" " Gather round, I'll tell you." "They never did return their plunder" "The victor gets all the loot" "They carried them home by thunder" "To rotundas small but cute" "And you've never seen, So they tell me" "Such downright domesticity" "With a Roman baby on each knee" "Named Claudius and Brute" "Them women was Sobbin', sobbing', sobbin'" "Passin' them nights" "While the Romans was out Hobnobbin', starting up fights" "Is that so?" "They kept occupied by sewing lots Of little old togas for them tots And saying', 'Someday womenfolks will have rights'" "Passin' all their nights" " Just sewing." "While the Romans had fights" " Listen to this." "'When the menfolk Went to fetch them" "The women would not be fetched'" "Seems when the Romans catch 'em Their lady friends stay catched" "Now, let this be Because it's true" "A lesson to the likes of you" "Rough 'em up Like them there Romans do" "Or else they'll think you're tetched" "Them women was Sobbin', sobbing', sobbin'" "Buckets of tears" " Mighty sad." "On account of old dobbin, dobbin Really rattled their ears" "And that ain't all." "Oh, they acted angry and annoyed" "But secretly they was overjoyed" "You might recall that When corrallin' your steers" "Them poor little dears" "Why are you sitting there?" "Go get them." "Them women was Sobbin', sobbing', sobbin'" "Weepin' a ton" " Them sobbing' women" "Just remember what Robin, Robin, Robin Hood would have done" "We'll be just like Them there merry men" "And make them all merry once again" "And though they'll be A-sobbin' for a while" "We're gonna make them Sobbin' women smile" "Ho there." "Go get them." "Be quiet about it." "I'll wait for you here." "Dan, Eph." "Your two's in here." "They're coming out." "Good night, Liza." " Good night." "You got mine." "How about my good-night kiss, Sarah?" "Carl, you're so persistent." "Be a sport." "Just one kiss." "Well, maybe just a little one." "Close your eyes." "Why, Carl." "Frank." "Attaboy." "Get them in." "Come on, Frank." "Where's Gideon?" "I hear the cat outside." " I'll go, Mrs. Elcott." "Poor Pansy, out on a night like this." "Hurry it up, will you?" "Sounds like Pansy has the croup." " I'll look out in back." "It's all right, she's here." "Dorcas." "Dorcas." "Pa." "Pa, come quick." "Attaboy, Gideon." "What's keeping Benjamin?" " I don't know." "Keep them quiet." " Be quiet." "Let's get out of here now." "Let's go." "Sarah Kines is gone." " So is Alice." "Ruth Jebson too." " Where's Dorcas?" "It was them Pontipees." "All seven of them jumped me." "Come on." "We'll get them." "Make them stop yelling." "We're coming to the pass." "Quiet, or we'll have an avalanche down on us." "Here we go." "Hold your breath." "Keep her quiet." "Hurry up, I hear them coming." "All right, let them go." "There she goes." "On account of old dobbin, dobbin Really rattled their ears" "All right, boys, line them up." "Oh, Milly." "What have you done?" "Help us, Milly." "We've been kidnapped." "Make them take us back." " You take these girls back at once." "We can't." " The avalanche." "They'll just have to wait till spring, that's all." "It was your idea?" "It was more yours." "It came out of that book about them Sabine women." "What kind of men are you?" "Are you animals that you'd do this?" "Swooping down, carrying off poor innocents." "They're just young boys in love." "You said you wanted them married with wives of their own." "I want my mother." "Please don't cry, Alice." "I'm sorry, but it was the only way I could get to marry you." "What?" " We forgot to get the parson." "Don't worry." "Go on in the kitchen." "Nothing's gonna happen." "Cheer up." "You've got them, right?" "Everything's gonna turn out all right." "This house is for the girls." "You're not gonna set foot in it as long as they're here." "You'll eat and sleep in the barn with the other livestock." "Now get out of here." "I'm ashamed of you." "Go ahead, boys." "Go on." "Now, Milly..." " You too." "You're taking this too hard." "Everything will work out fine." "Me and the boys will get a parson here some way." "Do you think those girls would marry them now?" "You think because you got a wife so easily because I didn't make you court me, that that's all there is to it?" "I said yes because I fell in love with you the first time I saw you." "And I thought it was the same with you too." "You think a wife is just to cook and clean." "You got no understanding, you got no feelings." "How could you do a thing like this?" "When I think of these girls, sick with fright and their families crazed with worry, and..." "I can't abide to look at you." "This isn't the way we'd planned on spending the night." "In a barn." "What are you doing?" " I'm getting out of here." "Going to the cabin for the winter." "You can't do it." "You can't stay up there alone." "There's supplies for 6 months." "Don't go." "It's us she's mad at." "No, it's more than that." "It's something goes a lot deeper." "Suppose you get sick or break a leg or something, up there all alone?" "The wolves are mighty bad this year." "The wolves will be good company after what I've been through." "There's nothing like a hot cup of tea when you're all tuckered out." "Milly, it's me, Gideon." "I gotta speak to you." "What is it?" " It's about Adam." "He's going away up into the mountains to the trapping cabin." "Can you hear me?" " I hear." "Just speak to him." "Ask him not to go." "Please, Milly." "He can't treat people this way." "Now, let's start here." "What's the matter, you afraid of a snowball?" "Snowballs with rocks in them." "'Them poor little dears sobbing buckets of tears.'" "'When the sign was given, drawing their swords and with a shout they ravished away the daughters of the Sabine.'" "Who is it?" "It's me, Caleb." "What do you want?" "It's a mighty cold night." "I need an extra blanket." "Go and get one." "'It continues the custom today for the bride, not of herself to pass her husband's threshold, but to be lifted over in memory that the Sabine women were carried in by violence.'" "Who is it?" "Benjamin." "What do you want?" "My leg is feeling poorly." "I need some liniment." "Go ahead, but be quick about it." "'Some say too the custom of parting the bride's hair with a spear was in token of...'" "I got me a stiff neck." " That's enough of this." "We wanted..." " It was like this..." "Go to the barn and go to sleep or I'll bolt the door on you." "'It was in token of their marriages." "It began at first by wars and acts of hostility and then...'" "Doesn't it do anything but snow up here?" "We've had a blizzard every day for two months." "I'm going crazy, shut up in this house." "Alice, why don't you read out loud to us?" "We've heard that book three times." "Go on, read about the Sabine women." " Please, Alice." "I can't stand it again." "Get a dress from Milly, and I'll fit it." "Why, when there's no one to see it?" "No one?" "Well, I like that." "We're no one." "Where's Milly?" " Out in the barn hunting eggs." "I wish I could hunt eggs." "I love to hunt eggs." "Which of the boys slept in this bed, do you suppose?" "Dorcas Galen." "What's the matter?" "Didn't you ever think of that?" "That you're sleeping in one of their beds?" "I certainly never thought any such thing." "Liza, Alice..." "I think it's disgusting standing there where they can see you." "You peek out often enough when you think no one's looking." "I never." " I saw you." "So did I." "You take that back, you hear?" "Stop it." "Don't you dare say that about Martha." "And what were you doing last night out at the woodpile?" "Girls." "Girls." "Stop it this minute." "Please don't squabble." "Not now, when I need you so much." "You see, I'm counting on all of you to help me because I'm going to have a baby." "Oh, Milly, sit down." "Are you comfortable?" " You won't lift a finger from now on." "We'll take over everything." "We'll do your chores, cleaning, cooking..." "No, you can't." "That'd be silly." "Where are you going?" " I have things to do." "When's the baby coming?" "You have to be patient." "But when?" "In the spring." "I wish it was me." " Dorcas." "I've always wanted to be a June bride and have a baby right off." "In the spring, maybe." "Oh, they say when you marry in June" "You're a bride all your life" "And the bridegroom Who marries in June" "Gets a sweetheart for a wife" "Winter weddings can be gay" "Like a Christmas holiday" "But the June bride hears the song" "Of a spring that Lasts all summer long" "By the light of the silvery moon" "Home you ride" "Side by side" "With the echo of Mendelssohn's tune" "In your hearts" "As you ride" "For they say when you marry in June" "You will always be a bride" "The day a maiden marries" "Is a day she carries through the years" "The church is full of flowers Bridal showers are passe" "The groom's waiting at the altar" "Here comes the bride" "They're each promising To love and obey" "Best man is celebrating" "Every bridesmaid's waiting Just to see" "Which one of them Will catch the wedding bouquet" "For they say" "When you marry in June" "You will always" "Always" "Be a bride" "In November, the snow starts to fly" "Piling up" "Ankle-high" "Come December, it's up to your knee" "Still, the bride's a bride-to-be" "January, higher still" "To the parlor windowsill" "February finds a drift" "And a storm that seems never to lift" "March comes in like a lion..." "What else?" "Still the snow never melts" "April showers will come" "So they say" "But they don't And it's May" "You're about to Forget the whole thing" "All at once" "One day it's spring" "Oh, the barnyard is busy In a regular tizzy" "And the obvious reason Is because of the season" "Ma Nature's lyrical With her yearly miracle" "Spring, spring, spring" "All the hen-folk are hatchin' While their menfolk are scratchin'" "To ensure the survival Of each brand-new arrival" "Each nest is twitterin' They're all babysitterin'" "Spring, spring, spring" "It's a beehive Of budding son and daughter life" "Every family has plans in view" "Even down in the brook The underwater life" "Is forever blowing bubbles too" "Every field wears a bonnet With some spring daisies on it" "Even birds of a feather Show their clothes off together" "Sun's getting shinery To spotlight the finery" "Spring, spring, spring" "From his aerie The eagle with his eagle eye" "Gazes down across his eagle beak" "And affixin' his lady With a legal eye" "Screams, 'Suppose we set the date this week?" "'" "Yes, sirree, spring discloses That it's all one supposes" "It's a real bed of roses Waggin' tails, rubbing noses" "Each day is Mother's Day The next is some other's day" "When love is king" "Frank, Dan, Ben, Caleb." "Everybody." "Milly's having her baby." "Liza, Martha, Ruth, hurry." "Hurry." "I'm an uncle." "Couldn't stand the barn any longer, huh?" "I've come to get you." "To take you back with me." "Well, Milly has a baby." "It come day before yesterday." "I don't believe it." "It's as true as I'm standing here." " I don't believe it." "Just one of her tricks to get me back." "Tricks?" "You lived with Milly as man and wife and you don't know nothing about her." "She's proud and spunky." "She'd never bring herself to ask you back." "She'd be wasting her breath." "I don't figure to go." "Not even to see the baby?" "Your own kin?" "Your own little girl?" "A girl?" "I might have known she'd have a girl." "I'll be back when the pass is open." "I'll stay away till the shooting's over." "You're my eldest brother." "And I've always looked up to you, tried to ape you but today I'm ashamed for you." "I know you can lick me, lick the tar out of me but I wouldn't be a man unless I showed you how I felt." "Why, you..." "Now get." "The pass is open." "The pass is open." "All able-bodied men gather at the meeting house." "Bring your rifles, your sides, your guns, axes, any kind of weapon." "The pass is open." "The pass is open." "Ready, men?" "Let's go." "What are you staring at?" "I said I'd be back when the pass was open." "Go upstairs, girls." "Go on." "Quickly." "Let's get the guns." "Tell them to hitch up the wagon." "Put plenty of blankets and straw in it." "Go." "What do you call her?" "I was thinking of some name like Hannah or Hagar or Hephzibah picking up where your mother left off." "Hannah." "I got to thinking up there in the mountains thinking about the baby about how I'd feel if somebody sneaked in and carried her off." "I'd string him up the nearest tree shoot him down like I would a thieving fox." "I thought about you too while I was up there." "It seemed like I couldn't get you off my mind." "When you're in love..." "When you're really in love..." "The wagon's ready." "All right." "Get the girls." "I'll take them back back to their families." "Adam, you will be careful?" "We won't let you take them back." "We talked it over and we're agreed." " They ain't going." "They're our girls now." "I'm taking them back." "I'm still head of this family." "I reckon you'll have to show me." "Likewise." "What do I have to do, beat some sense into your dumb heads?" "Taking them back's the only way." "The whole town's coming here." " Let them come." "We'll fight them all." "Sure you will." "And who will you be fighting?" "The girls' kinfolk." "Someone's bound to get hurt." "A father, a brother." "Think the girls will marry you after that?" "Adam's right." "I stand with Adam." "Well, don't stand too close." "The girls have gone." "They've run away." "Go get them." "Get them back." "Come back here." "Dorcas." "Come back." "You'll get hurt." "Keep it quiet." "They can hear us from here." "We'll creep up on them." "Please, Alice." "Where are you?" "Come back, Martha." "Don't run away." "I'm not going back." "I want to stay here with you." "You've got to." "It's the only way." "It's Alice." "Come on, Ruth." "There they are." "Don't." "You'll hit Dorcas." "Oh, no..." "Not that." "Grab her dress." "Why, Pa." "What will you do?" "Hang him with the rest from the nearest tree." "Just a minute." "Before we go, there's one thing we've got to know." "Girls." "Girls." "Reverend, what is it you want to know?" "We're all fathers here, and we love you so don't be afraid to answer." "I heard a wee babe crying in the house." "Whose is it?" "Don't be afraid to tell." "Mine." "Do you, Alice, Ruth, Martha, Liza, Sarah, Dorcas take these men to be your lawfully wedded husbands?" "We do." "Do you, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense, Gideon take these girls to be your lawfully wedded wives?" "We do." "I now pronounce you men and wives."