"Sorry, old-timer but you're only part poison, and I'm hungry for meat." "Getting a little thirsty too." "Taggart?" "Bowen, go easy." "You peckerwoods just raised hell with our supper." "Find any water?" "I appreciate humor, boys but I'm beginning to think you're cutting it a mite thin." "What else we got to do?" "What did you find?" "Ten thousand gallons of sand, that's what we found." "We had you shaking, didn't we, Cable?" "Hold him, boy." "Get over there." "It's just like you said, Hogue." "There's water enough for two, but not for three." "You damn fool." "You had us." "You just wouldn't pull the trigger." "Because you're yellow." "Yeah, he's yellow." "Just plain yellow." "Hell, you're yellow, Hogue." "Cable's yellow." "Cable is yellow." "Old Cable"s yellow" "Old Cable is white Old Cable"s dying" "But that"s all right" "Taggart and Bowen as slick as you please Took all the water and left for the trees" "Hey, fellas." "Leave me a little." "Please." "lt's all yours, Cable." "Fifty thousand gallons of sand." "We've got your water, Cable." "Yellow!" "Call me yellow." "Leave me to dry and blow away." "Sing a song about it!" "Laugh at old Cable Hogue, huh?" "I'll get out!" "I'll get out!" "Don't you worry none about that!" "You just worry about when I get out." "I'll find you, Taggart." "You, Bowen, you mealy-mouthed little pimp." "You never could tell gold-shine from lizard shit, and there's a big difference." "A big difference!" "I'll live to spit on your graves!" "Old Cable"s yellow" "Yellow!" "We got your water." "Ain't had no water since yesterday, Lord." "Getting a little thirsty." "Just thought I'd mention it." "Amen." "Yesterday, I told you I was thirsty and I thought you might turn up some water." "Now, if I sinned, you just send me a drop or two and I won't do it no more whatever in the hell it was I did." "I mean that, Lord." "Four days without water." "You don't think I've put in my suffering time you ought to try going dry for a spell." "Listen to me." "Listen to me." "If I don't get some soon, I ain't gonna have no chance to repent." "Careful, now." "You're about to get my dander up." "Lord you call it." "I'm just plain done in." "Amen." "Hogue found it." "Told you I was gonna live." "This is Cable Hogue talking." "Hogue." "Me." "Cable Hogue." "Hogue." "Me." "Me. I did it." "Cable Hogue." "I found it." "Me." "Wagons." "Stagecoaches." "Buckboards." "With kids and mamas." "People." "Going somewhere on a road." "And I'm on it." "Me and my water hole." "I whipped them bastards." "Now all I gotta do is wait." "Get out of there, boy." "Get with it." "Hop on." "Hey, wait a minute, fellas." "Please." "is something the matter?" "Why are we stopping?" "Are we in trouble?" "He is, we ain't." "Nice evening, fellas." "You're a long way from home." "l'm halfway to hell and looking for help." "You got it, pilgrim." "You've fallen among good hands." "The Gospel says:" "Do unto others" "You want a ride in?" "He can ride inside with us." "Matthew, chapter 2, verse 3." "Daniel, are you sure?" "I've told you never to question my judgment." "As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just." "John, chapter 5, verse 30." "l've never questioned your judgment." "In the 26 years of our marriage, blessed by a devotion to the Lord I have never questioned your judgment." "But I am now." "It seems ridiculous to sit in the middle of the desert, watching men drink." "We're near halfway in." "How about $3?" "Nope." "If sugar were 2 cents a barrel I couldn't afford a pinch of salt or an egg to put it on." "l was robbed about five days back." "Robbed?" "Robbed?" "Robbery, did you say?" "They nailed me on the flats." "They took everything I had." "Mister, you're damn lucky to be alive." "Your language is disgusting." "Both of you." "Hell, we know that." "Well!" "More profanity." "Shoot, partner, crawl on up." "You can ride for nothing." "What do you expect me to do?" "l expect you to take action." "We should leave." "Will you please instruct the driver?" "No, thanks." "Driver, it's getting late." "Don't fret, Your Honor." "We're just fixing to leave as soon as I count my money." "Count your what?" "Soon as I water my mule." "Watering his mule?" "What on earth does he mean?" "l'll explain it to you later." "How far is it to town?" "Oh, Deaddog's" "Twenty miles." "And Gila City is about" "Same old 20 miles." "l don't see any mules." "Looks like you could use another stop." "Wouldn't be no good without water." "This stage appears to me to be driven by horses." "Please." "No water between Gila and Deaddog?" "Nope." "Sure don't seem to bother me none." "Daniel, are you going to do something or am I?" "Be worth a lot if a fella was to find it?" "Worth a damn sight more than gold." "Driver, it's getting dark." "Generally does about this time." "Damnedest thing I ever saw." "Get him to start this vehicle." "Got enough water to hold you?" "Never, anywhere." "Just-- Daniel." "Yep." "l demand you start this vehicle at once." "Fellas?" "Sure do...." "Well, many thanks." "Many thanks till you're better paid." "Start this vehicle." "I am going to report you to your superiors." "You shall never drive again, do you hear?" "The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." "Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 6." "Amen." "Hallelujah, brother!" "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." "Matthew, chapter 2" "When are you coming back?" "Next week." "You sure you don't wanna ride with us?" "No." "No." "I'll be right here, Hogue." "Right here." "Hey, feller." "Hey, hold up there a minute, feller." "That's 1 0 cents." "That's my water." "My land, my water." "Found it where it wasn't." "Ten cents." "Here's your pay." "You shouldn't have done that." "ls that so?" "Give me that rifle." "l'll give you what's in it." "Now get out." "Drop by again." "Always open for business." "You're my first customer." "Appears to me you've been 1 7 kinds of a damn fool." "Not that it seems to bother you none." "Peace and goodwill, brother." "I come as a friend." "Careful, son, I'm a man of God." "Well, you damn near joined him." "Anybody with you?" "l'm alone." "I am the Reverend Joshua Duncan Sloane, preacher to all of eastern Nevada..." "...and selected parts of northern Arizona." "Well, you're a sorry preacher." "And a hell of a sneak." "In my case, sir, those thus attributed often go hand in hand." "And speaking of such, here is mine in all good fellowship." "I'm Cable Hogue." "Cable?" "That's rather an unusual name, isn't it?" "You have builded an oasis out of this wilderness." "Oh, no, I just stumbled on that mud hole over there and I dug it out a little." "You might call this place Cable Springs." "Sound good?" "Yeah." "That excavation, a wine cellar perhaps?" "No, that's a three-holer." "Expecting a lot of business." "I see tragedy has already struck this cactus Eden." "No, that's no tragedy." "Shot the son of a bitch." "With his own rifle." "He tried to kill me." "He was my first customer." "You're my second." "Well said and well done." "Defend thyself with the jawbone of an ass if need be." "You're a Good Samaritan to offer help..." "...to a needy traveler" "Hallelujah, brother." "At 1 0 cents a head." "Water to men, sheep and hogs, 1 0 cents." "Horses, mules and cows, 2 bits." "Of course." "ln advance." "ln advance." "ln advance." "Which means before you drink, you pay 1 0 cents. ln advance." "Cast thy bread upon the waters, let this man have his just needs." "You talk like a man of God, all right." "But I worked like hell for that there water." "My poor, misguided friend, you are a sinner in need of redemption." "I will redeem you." "Ten cents, you pious bastard, or I'll bury you." "What church did you say you was with?" "The Church of the Wayfaring Stranger." "A church of my own revelation." "Just like that?" "Just like that." "Where's it located?" "Wherever I go, it goes with me." "Would you like to see some of my parishioners?" "Sisters of the spirit." "Why, that one's naked as a jaybird's ass." "Naked we come into this earth, naked we shall return." "Well, well, brother Hogue." "I foresee a great community springing out of the sand." "Busy thoroughfares, alabaster buildings a thriving community filled with the faithful." "Amen." "How much of this land is yours?" "To sell, of course. I wish to buy." "Well, considerable." "l didn't see any boundary stakes anywhere." "I suppose you've been too busy to go into the land office and file your claim." "You know, if anyone were to drop a word of this in Deaddog or Lizard there would be 47 men riding out here by sundown with a claim in one hand and a gun in the other." "Yes, this information could mean quite a lot of money" "What a blessing religion must be, preacher." "It touches my heart." "The loan of your horse." "It's nothing, my friend." "Ride in good health with my blessing." "I hate to go in among them but you've shown me the way to salvation and a secured claim." "My only aim in life is to help the misbegotten, the downtrodden and the members of my parish." "God bless you, preacher." "Make yourself to home." "Only don't forget, every time you take a drink, leave 1 0 cents in the cup or I'll blow your ass into next Wednesday." "Come on, get up there." "Get up there." "Well, get in get it over with then get out." "Please, miss." "Yes?" "Please...." "Well, hell, could you tell me where the land office is?" "Well, you're looking right at it." "Can't you see the sign?" "Well, you see, miss, I...." "Well, hell, I don't read too goddamn good." "My name's Cable Hogue." "Which one is it?" "It's right there, with the white sign." "Thank you kindly, miss." "The stage office?" "It's kitty-corner from here, across from the bank." "Thank you, miss." "My pleasure." "Thank you truly." "How much it cost to file?" "Will this be under the Desert Land Act or homesteaded?" "Well, I wanna do what's right." "Under the Desert Land Act, an individual can file for up to 320 acres at a dollar and a quarter an acre." "Plus proof of reclamation." "Now, whoa." "Hold up there, fella." "What the hell does all that mean?" "Land without water is not allowable." "If you can't substantiate either agricultural" "Hold on there, fella. I got water." "Water?" "Where?" "West." "Eight miles through that Red Rock pass." "Off by the wagon road there." "Seems to be open at present, but" "But my ass." "There's no water there." "Yeah?" "Come on out." "If you can't drink it, I'll fry that claim paper." "Speaking of which, where is it?" "All right." "What's your name?" "Cable Hogue." "C-A-B...." "L-E or E-L?" "How do you spell Cable?" "If you're bogging down on Cable, wait till you get to Hogue." "How much it gonna cost?" "Dollar and a quarter an acre." "Here." "What will that buy me?" "That will buy you two acres." "Hang it in, then." "Let's see what it'll do, as the lady said to the sailor." "Two acres, Mr. Hogue?" "lt's legal, ain't it?" "Well, yeah." "Mark it." "Two acres at Cable Springs, signed, sealed and delivered!" "You put her down right there." "Yes, sir." "l want a copy on my desk." "Right away, sir." "You the boss here?" "l'm Quittner." "Quittner?" "Well, I'll bet you ain't no quitter, are you?" "So you bought yourself a claim for two dollars and a half." "So what?" "So it was every last cent i had." "I can believe it." "Where is this claim, Mr...?" "Mr...?" "Hogue." "C-A-B-L-E." "lt's at Jackass Flats, about a mile" "What you got out there is so important you gotta bother me with it?" "You trying to tell me you found water between here and Gila?" "If you was to give me $35 I'd cut you in for half." "This stage line's been operating for 35 years." "We've looked under every rock between here and Gila." "If there was water in that 40 miles, we'd have found it." "l'm telling you straight!" "No, I'm telling you straight!" "I've had my belly full of broken-down prospectors, hoboes and get-rich-quick-on-my-money promoters." "Every one of you comes by here is trying to gouge money out of me." "You're the only son of a bitch that ever had the gall to pour water on my britches." "Now, I let you talk, I listened to you and I'm not interested." "Get out and stay out, partner." "By God, this is worth something." "Yeah, worth two acres of Jackass Flats." "Eleven hundred." "Twelve." "Thirteen fifty." "Forty, 45." "That's 1 500." "One thousand one, two..." "Ninety-two hundred." "...three, four..." "...five, six...." "Twenty-five, thirty...." "Something I can do for you?" "That chunk of paper there?" "That's me." "Mine." "Mine." "Across the street there, they think I'm lying." "They say there's no water." "No water?" "Listen." "I was robbed and left to die without a drop." "Well, do I look dead?" "No, sir." "Climbed up on my hind feet and walked straight to water." "W-A-T-L-E." "That grabs you by the short hairs, don't it?" "You've got the floor." "Those silly jackasses over there can laugh at me all they want, but they're in trouble." "Wouldn't you think a stage line could see that?" "In all the long, wrought-out, back-breaking, kidney-shaking, bladder-busting miles from here to Lizard, there's not one spot of wet relief for man nor beast." "Now, if I could bring comfort to the passengers, rest to the teams food and drink to the drivers, and water to all what would be wrong with that?" "A preacher out at my diggings will tell you." "Would you doubt a man of the Gospel?" "Of course." "That's the first man I'd doubt." "By golly." "I'll be damned." "Looks like I came to the right place after all." "What do you want?" "Grubstake." "Thirty-five of them green ones." "Have you any collateral?" "Do you own anything?" "Why, sure. I told you, there." "That is $2 and a half." "Well, I'm worth something, ain't I?" "I want to hear more." "Why?" "Why not?" "Hey, I always thought you bankers stole for the rich." "l didn't know you'd talk to trash like me." "We don't steal." "Well, lend, borrow, invest and mortgage and repossess." "What the hell else do you call it?" "What's your name?" "Cable Hogue." "Cable, with an L-E." "So, Mr. Cable Hogue is $35 all you want?" "Will a hundred get you started?" "Hey, Hildy, you got a new customer." "Go on in, mister." "She's just waiting for you." "Go on in." "Standing like a jackass eating cactus." "Yes?" "Hello." "Did you want to see me?" "Well, come on in." "Honey, you was smelling bad enough to gag a dog off a gut wagon." "I smell a lot better right now though." "Hey, look at that. inside plumbing." "As good as anything you'll find in Kansas City." "Sweet glory, love." "Well, I had to get you rinsed off, didn't I?" "I swear I never seen a man so dirty." "You know, you must have had a pound of dirt on you." "Well, feel a lot lighter now, Millie." "My name is Hildy." "Well." "Now, don't you be mixing me up with them other ones." "Don't worry. I won't." "You know, honey if you're ever thinking of quitting this job I'm building myself a place." "It's gonna be something." "No." "I've had enough of this damn desert." "Not me." "Not yet." "I'm on my way up." "Undo me." "San Francisco is my next stop." "San Francisco?" "And when I hit Frisco..." "Noisy, god-awful, claptrap town." "...I'm gonna hit it in style." "Two days and you're tired of it." "Tired of it?" "I ain't even got there yet." "Oh, you'll get there, all right." "You bet your sweet life I will." "One way or another, love." "And when I do hit Frisco I'm gonna be the ladiest damn lady you ever seen." "I'm gonna marry me the richest man in San Francisco." "Maybe the two richest men." "It's just a question of time." "Well, if you ever need any help...." "You remember my name?" "You remember mine?" "Come here." "God's pure and natural elements are being threatened by the devil, yes." "Sinners." "What's wrong?" "The devil seeks to destroy you with machines!" "Ask me how I know." "There are those of us who talk to God." "God talked to me the other day." "He said:" ""inventions are the work of Satan." "Tell them how it is, James."" "I gotta go." "That pious son of a bitch could have sold me out." "What?" "Taking the stage to Gila." "Sold me out." "Hogue." "Hogue." "Come here." ""Turn your backs." "And gather by the river with me, James."" "That's what the Almighty said." "Lost it." "No good." "Trouble is, l-- l forgot to mark my boundaries." "Build me a claim monument." "What in the hell are you talking about?" "Just know it." "Bother me." "Bother you?" "All the way through it." "Keep thinking of that damn preacher out there." "Maybe come here to cheat me." "Hogue." "Hell of a time to hold a goddamn prayer meeting!" "What is the matter with you?" "Hey!" "What?" "Ain't you forgetting something?" "What?" "Well, what about me?" "Me." "Me and my money." "Money?" "For what?" "Well, if you don't want me here." "Easy." "Easy." "Whoa, hold up there, now." "Careful." "Didn't take you long, mister." "Just a damn minute." "Hildy, listen to me. I told you." "He's gonna take the stage to Gila." "Sold me out." "l'll be back." "Back, hell." "You'll pay me now!" "Look at him go!" "Where's he going?" "Attagirl, Hildy." "There you are, you son of a bitch." "l told you I'd be back." "You call yourself a man?" "Well, of course I do." "l got business at the springs." "You got business with me." "Now, get up here and settle up." "Later, Hildy." "Later, hell!" "Well, you know how it is, folks." "Women." "Just a damn minute, Cable!" "Brothers, peace." "Everything will be all right." "Take your hands off of me." "Not you." "You!" "Will you get off my face?" "is that you, Robert?" "What are you doing?" "Get ahold of him, Frank." "He's getting away." "Get him!" "Get him!" "Go get him, Frank!" "Nasty man, we'll never see you again." "Hope he breaks his neck." "Get the hell out of here!" "Come on, let's ride him out of here!" "Why, you son of a bitch." "It's all right, folks." "Yeah, it's all right." "Hey, come back here!" "Cable Hogue, you're no damn good!" "l'll be back!" "You aren't either!" "You hussy!" "Welcome back to the fold, brother." "Drink up, preacher." "Gonna get spruced up." "Going back in amongst them." "I got unfinished business in Deaddog." "Amen." "Thank you." "That collar comes off as easy as it goes on." "Of course." "If I cannot rouse heaven, I intend to raise hell." "You see?" "I told you." "Went clean through." "She took her." "Children, we are gathered here under the sight of the Lord Almighty" "Not now, Josh." "Hildy...." "Now, Josh." "Children, we are gathered here under the sight of the Lord Almighty" "Cable Hogue, take off your damn boots." "Now, that's better." "Well, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." "Good evening." "Just passing through." "Yes?" "My apologies for intruding in your time of obvious grief but being a man of the cloth I could not pass your door without at least offering you the solace of my services." "I am Reverend Joshua Duncan Sloane." "Reverend, thank you for coming." "Come, child, take my hand." "The Lord works in many ways." "Sometimes, when he has dealt too much for one to bear he sends a messenger to comfort and love." "He does?" "Yes." "Such a messenger am I." "Come, child, lay your head on my shoulder." "This is a shoulder for the grieving a hand to be gripped in despair a vial to pour one's heart into." "My only mission in life is that of comfort and love..." "...which I humbly offer you now." "Oh, thank you, Reverend." "Now what great weight can I lift from your tortured soul?" "It's Frank." "Frank?" "Frank." "Where?" "He's dead." "I just got the telegram today." "Happened in Gila." "How terrible." "He's been gone two days and two weeks." "How pitiful." "Weep your heart into mine, child, for it is weeping with you." "I will be the reservoir for your sorrow." "And your guide for a brighter tomorrow." "Reverend Sloane, it's so good to know that somebody cares." "Thank not me, sister. I am but an emissary of the kingdom of heavenly love." "Out of the depth of your sorrow we shall find the beauty of his love." "Even now as we stand here in his shadow feel your grief subside as I absorb it through my palm and into my hand." "I do, Reverend." "Feel your pain flowing freely out of your heart and into my hand." "I feel it." "Come, child." "Together we shall purge this grief from your soul and release your true spirit as we search a path to righteousness." "Claudia, it's me." "It's my husband." "But he's the telegram." "No, that's Frank, my brother." "Clete doesn't know yet." "Clete?" "Claudia." "Open the goddamn door!" "Would you help console Clete like you did me?" "Claudia!" "They were very close." "What the hell is going on here?" "Silence." "There's been a death in the family." "It's Frank." "He's dead." "Kneel." "Bow your heads." "In this, your moment of need, I will comfort you." "Yea, I will comfort you." "And bring you to a better understanding of the mysteries of life and death and love." "Thank you, Reverend." "I loved that kid, Reverend." "Crazy loon that he was." "I know." "I know." "She was a treasure waiting to be found." "A dew-kissed flower sparkling in the sunrise." "Her breath was that of a wanton angel." "She's married." "I shall walk in her breezes, bask in the rays of her beauty lie in the golden arches of her passions." "Oh, brother Hogue, it grieves me bad to think of her with that goliath." "Your cup run dry, preacher." "Man's a poor sport when another pleasures his woman." "I don't pleasure them, brother Hogue." "I baptize them with loving care." "That's all she needs." "There's been a death in the family, and she needs help." "My help." "Her husband will give her all the help she needs or wants." "Hildy?" "Who gives her all the help she needs and wants?" "You, brother?" "Hildy ain't mine." "Nobody owns Hildy." "She's got her life and I got mine, right here." "Right where l wanna be." "That's not exactly true, Cable." "You love that girl." "Hey, up and at them!" "You're no help to me sitting there on your ass!" "Brother, sometimes I question your sanity." "You don't know nothing about swapping." "I gave a week's watering rights for all this." "That's a man's swap." "You can't sleep unless..." "...you're bedded on lizards and rocks?" "lt ain't true." "Only thing I like about cities." "City beds." "My little Claudia springs to mind." "l'll just bet she does." "I ought to venture into Deaddog and pay my respects." "Burning with passion, preacher?" "What about yours, brother Hogue?" "I ain't never had a passion." "What do you call that vengeance that gnaws at your soul?" "That's the passion that'll nurture the dandelions above your grave." "Taggart and Bowen left me to die." "If my feet don't get cold and my legs will stay under me I aim to kill them." "I don't call that a passion." ""Vengeance is mine," sayeth the Lord." "Well, that's fair enough with me." "Just as long as he don't take too long and I can watch." "Get up there!" "Did it ever occur to you, Cable how wise and bountiful God was to put breasts on a woman?" "Just the right number in just the right place." "Ever notice that?" "Well, where in the hell else would he put them?" "On their backside?" "It's a thought." "Have you ever noticed a female person's legs?" "Of course I have." "Some go all the way up to the lady's ass, others stop below." "The thigh, the soft abundance of the female thigh." "Have you ever noticed?" "Cable." "There appears to be a small hole in the sack." "Howdy, Mr. Cushing." "Afternoon." "Thought I might pay you a visit." "Well, this is it." "Cable Springs." "You've done remarkable things with $ 1 00." "Thank you, Mr. Cushing." "l see you've got neighbors." "Fred, keep that thing working." "Yeah, they'd like to be." "Tell me, have they found anything?" "Not a drop." "And they've been digging for 1 3 days." "Any sign of water down there, fellas?" "Looks like I bought the right two acres, eh, fellas?" "All right, Hogue, all right." "I give up, damn it." "Don't fill up the holes." "Just pick up those ladders." "Let's get the hell out of here." "Let's go get a drink." "Never did like water anyway." "Good afternoon, Mr. Cushing." "Well, you got us, Hogue." "We're beat." "Here's your contract." "I've already signed it." "Everything comes to he who waits." "Just sign your name right there." "That makes it official." "You're in business, Cable." "By the way, Hogue, I reckon this is about the most important thing of all." "Yeah?" "What's it gonna cost me?" "Nothing." "Well, now." "If that don't beat all." "Gonna have to buy you a flagpole." "I'll make my own." "Hey there." "Hey there." "More, please." "More." "Would you mind if I had a tiny bit more also?" "It's really very tasty." "Good heavens." "Nailed them down." "Makes them easier to wash." "Keep track." "lt's delicious." "Desert stew." "Good, fresh meat." "What's in it?" "Jack rabbit." "Coq au vin." "Coq au vin?" "What's coq au vin?" "Coq au vin." "Breast of quail, dove thighs, that sort of thing." "Yeah." "Rattlesnake, ground squirrel black gopher, horny toad, grasshoppers for seasoning and pack rats and prairie dogs to fill in." "Of course, if you get ahold of a wild onion, that'll help." "You see, out here what you gotta do is, you gotta work and make do." "Hey, wait a minute, there's dessert!" "Matthew, stop eating that!" "Matthew, I'll spank the living daylights out of you." "All aboard!" "Matthew?" "Matthew?" "Now, I said hurry, Matthew." "Come on." "All right, let's go, folks." "All aboard for Deaddog!" "Cable, I'm off into Deaddog." "The call is upon me and cannot be ignored..." "...without endangering my soul." "Your soul?" "Careful your ass don't get full of buckshot." "l'm doing the Lord's work." "It's a hell of a name to call it." "I reckon you're right." "Josh, tell Hildy-- -l will, Cable. I'll give her your love." "That's all you can do." "You can't convince Hildy with anything but hard cash!" "We'll see about that, Cable." "We'll see." "Hildy, I don't know why you're here, but I'm mighty glad you are." "I was asked to leave." "By the good people of the town." "Good people?" "Deaddog?" "I never met any." "Except you." "Ain't got around to doing my dishes yet." "Sun makes them real pure, you see." "See Joshua?" "Surely did." "Oh, he talks a lot, Cable and well too." "But, you know, I just ain't ready to be saved yet." "You make yourself to home." "Right at home. I'll be right back." "Now?" "Now." "You've been awful nice to me, Hogue." "Never bothered you none what I am?" "Hell, no, it never bothered me." "I enjoyed it." "Well, what the hell are you?" "Human being." "Try the best you can." "We all got our own ways of living." "And loving?" "Gets mighty lonesome without it." "You know, Miss Hildy, sometimes out here alone at night...." "Well, sometimes, I wonder what the hell I'm doing out here." "Why don't you live in town?" "l don't know about that." "In town I'd be nothing." "I don't like being nothing." "Been that before." "Out here I, well got a good start." "lf you'd like to stay on awhile" "Hogue, it's not my kind of life." "I can't stay." "We just don't think the same." "San Francisco for me." "But not tonight." "Now, that is a picture." "You've seen it before." "Lady nobody's ever seen you before." "Blackie!" "Get on, boy!" "Get up, boy!" "Three hours early." "What?" "Stagecoach." "Well, go get me a robe." "It's too little." "Go get my robe." "Welcome to Cable Springs." "Get up there!" "Won't be here much longer." "If I don't go now, won't be much use in going later." "Soon as they come." "What if they never come?" "Whoa, whoa, boy." "It ain't worth it, Hogue." "Revenge always turns sour." "You ought to just forget them." "Some things a man can't forget." "I got me two of them, Taggart and Bowen." "I've been waiting a long time, Hildy." "Well, you couldn't handle them last time." "Next time you'll probably just get yourself killed." "Even if you did get them, and you got to San Francisco, how'd you find me?" "Don't you worry none about that." "I'll find you." "But it's a big town, Hogue." "A real city." "I don't care where you are, Hildy." "I said I'd find you and I aim to do just that." "And quit changing the subject." "I think he's after me, Cable." "He's gonna kill me." "Then keep moving." "l'm serious." "So am I." "She was not a sister in purity." "I found her weeping by the stable." "Clete had taken to drink and left the child." "And?" "Well, I consoled her for days." "Lovely days and nights." "He returned, the woman went to him..." "...confessed and begged for forgiveness." "So?" "He never forgave me." "He swears I won't leave this desert alive." "Good luck, preacher." "Every moment we argue..." "...death rides closer." "We're in trouble." "We?" "I never diddled nobody's wife!" "To err is human, brother, to forgive is divine." "Somebody's coming." "You better hide yourself." "Don't go in the bedroom, Hildy's in there." "From Deaddog?" "That's the one." "And you better behave, or I'll come gunning for you." "Morning, Preacher Sloane." "Good morning, Hildy." "Can I help you, mister?" "Yeah, whose horse is that?" "Which one?" "The one that's all lathered up." "Oh, that." "That's mine." "What's its name?" "That?" "That's...." "Old Alexander." "I will protect you." "The violence might spread inside." "Joshua, what the hell do you think you're doing?" "Funny name for a mare." "Well like the lady said to the sailor, it all depends on how you look at it." "Yea, I will protect you as a shepherd protects his flock." "Yeah, well, I heard about them sheepherders and you ain't sticking my feet in your boots." "You listen to me." "I want that son of a bitch." "I'll pay a hundred dollars in gold, wet or dry, dead or alive." "A hundred dollars?" "lf l see him, you'll get him." "l better." "So long, fella." "Don't forget." "l won't." "You better not." "Preacher!" "I told you to stay the hell out of there!" "Thank you, Cable, for sanctuary." "My dear, this smells delicious." "Thank you, Joshua." "lt is good." "Hold up there, preacher." "That'll be 50 cents." "Oh, that's hardly fair." "Not fair?" "He should pay me double." "Why?" "You haven't charged me nothing." "That's because you haven't charged me nothing." "Oh, brother, you really are a true Samaritan." "Don't push your luck, Josh." "Wouldn't you like to say grace, Reverend?" "Not over my food." "Very well, then, I'll say grace." "Dear Lord, we thank thee for all this good food and that we can share it as one." "We thank thee for thy goodness and thy mercy." "Bless this food, O Lord...." "And bless this house." "Amen." "Amen." "Amen." "Thank you, Hildy." "Hogue..." "..." "I'll be leaving tomorrow." "Tomorrow?" "You knew I was only gonna stay one day, maybe two." "It's been over three weeks already." "lt can't be." "Has, though." "Guess I got used to your cooking and all." "It has been nice hearing you sing." "I admit, I thought a lot about staying." "You treated me like a real lady, Hogue." "You were good to me." "Not good enough?" "Maybe too good, I don't know." "I just can't handle it." "Thank you very much for everything, but I'm leaving." "Excuse me." "Sort of lost my appetite." "I better find you a place to sleep, preacher." "No need." "That bed in there will suit me just fine and dandy." "It's fine and dandy, but it ain't yours." "Well, isn't a guest entitled to bed and board?" "A paying guest." "Oh, stop it." "Both of you gonna sleep outside tonight." "Outside, both of you." "Good night, Cable." "Good night, Josh." "Morning, brother Hogue." "Sleep well last night?" "Nope." "ls Hildy up yet?" "Left early." "How do you know?" "Well, you know how it is, Josh." "Funny thing it doesn't matter how much or how little you've wandered around how many women you've been with." "Every once in awhile, one of them cuts right through." "Right straight into you." "What do you do about it?" "I suppose maybe when you die you get over it." "So long, Cable." "So long, Josh." "It's me!" "Cable Hogue!" "Right here!" "Waiting." "Right here!" "Waiting!" "Come on, boy." "Get with it." "Come on, Blackie!" "Get in." "Get in there, boy." "Whoa, boy." "Don't feed them, we're just staying long enough to water the horses." "And we're running late." "All right, Ben." "Welcome to Cable Springs." "It's out in the back, ma'am." "I was wondering and worrying if you got out of there all right." "Glad you made it." "Howdy, Cable." "Hogue." "Come on and have a drink of the best damn water for 50 mile around." "I found it where it wasn't." "How long you had this place?" "Three years and a half." "Pretty big layout." "Well, I owe it all to you boys." "When I come out of there, I found this water hole and just went into business." "Looks like you done real well." "Big, fat bankbook, huh, Cable?" "Hogue in a bank?" "You don't know him better than that, you don't know him at all." "Here you go, Cable." "Another month paid in full." "No, no banks for me." "I'll just put this in the old sock, and I got it well hid." "We're so glad to hear you're doing so well." "lf l was doing half as good I'd be a rich son of a bitch instead of just a poor one." "All right, folks, let's go!" "All aboard for Deaddog!" "Well, I owe it all to you boys." "Now, you come back and see me, now, you hear?" "We will." "One of these days." "Now, you can count on it." "Blackie, get out of there." "Come on, boy." "Get out of there." "See you, Hogue." "So long, Ben." "Taggart and Bowen As quick as you please" "Took all the money and left for the trees" "Hey, Cable?" "We come for that visit." "Cable!" "I don't think he's here." "No, I don't think he is." "You check inside." "Come on, get up there." "We'll drink all your water, Cable." "We"ll drink your well dry" "Water goes good with a bottle of rye" "Bowen." "Bowen!" "Just lookie what we got here." "Another one." "What do you think?" "Well, we found the copper." "Gold and silver gotta be next." "Why in hell don't we just wait till he comes back?" "Let him do the digging?" "Suits me, boys." "You heard that." "Shut up." "Come on out." "With your hands up, fellas." "Think it over." "I got lots of time." "What's he doing?" "Well, I ain't gonna poke my head over the edge to find out." "Hogue?" "You know you ain't got no guts." "Why, last time you had a gun on us you didn't use it." "Yeah, now, of course that's a fact." "You said I was yellow." "Wanna try your luck again?" "He's bluffing." "Yeah, yeah." "Sun's kind of hot, ain't it, fellas?" "Of course you could enjoy it if you had plenty of water." "And that's what I got, plenty of water." "Get over." "Right up there." "Right there." "I ain't running this time, fellas." "Staying right here." "Your gun." "Sooner or later you gotta come out." "Three count." "Ready?" "Ready?" "One, two now!" "We got him." "He might still be alive." "Take a look." "You're sure?" "Damn it, take a look." "Give me a boost." "Easy and up we go." "Little higher, Taggart." "Get up there." "No." "Just easy." "Easy." "Put me down." "Put me down, damn it, down!" "We never touched him." "Where is he?" "Well, why in the hell don't you take a look?" "Now what's he up to?" "Hey, Taggart." "Oh, my God." "Taggart, help me." "Hey." "Hey!" "Hey, Taggart." "Oh, my God." "Hey!" "Taggart!" "Taggart." "Son of a bitch, Taggart." "Please, Taggart." "God." "Taggart, I'm leaving this place." "Not without me." "Hold up there, boys." "Now, you can start taking off your duds." "Get them off." "Keep your underwear, that's all." "And your boots, get them off." "Boots." "Socks too." "Socks?" "Now you're gonna head back out through them hills." "Because if I catch you on a road, I'm gonna kill you." "But there's no water." "And don't that sound familiar?" "I ain't going." "You ain't got the guts, Hogue." "No." "No, no." "No, Cable." "No." "Hey, what's that?" "What?" "That." "I seen one once before." "Out here, on them roads?" "lt go anywhere." "Help!" "Help!" "He's gonna kill me!" "Kill me!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "You damn, dumb, dumb bastards." "Horseless carriage." "Don't look that good to me." "Went right on by." "Well that's gonna be the next fella's worry." "I can't go it out there, Cable." "That right?" "lt wasn't my fault." "All I did was...." "l'm sorry, Cable." "You know how it was with Taggart." "Yeah, I know." "Bury him." "Bury him." "He's under." "Good." "What else would you like me to do?" "What kind of a cockeyed schedule is this?" "Ain't got no passengers, just two, three sacks of mail." "Well, it don't matter really." "I'm leaving." "Leaving?" "You leaving the desert?" "It's a big world, fellas." "I wanna see some of it." "Next stop, San Francisco." "You serious?" "So you're really going in amongst them, Hogue?" "Shoot, that ain't like you." "Ain't it?" "You just watch me." "He means it." "You bet I mean it." "Now, hold on." "You just can't up and leave the station like this." "Well, what are we gonna do between Deaddog and Lizard?" "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my former partner Samuel D. Bowen." "Hey, get some clothes on." "Yes, sir." "Now, wait a minute." "You can't leave some fool..." "Samuel D. Bowen!" "...running around in his long johns in charge here." "My God, what's that?" "Ugly-looking damn thing, ain't it?" "Kind of strange, moving all by itself." "I seen two before." "That there lady is Hildy." "Hi, Hogue." "The ladiest damn lady I ever saw." "I beg your pardon, sir." "Might I borrow a tank of water." "No." "No, no." "Mr. Cable Hogue don't let nobody borrow nothing." "Hey, Cable?" "Cable." "How much water you think this thing will take?" "Three, maybe four horses' worth?" "Well, how the hell would I know?" "You're in charge here, Bowen." "That'll be five horses' worth, not a cent less." "Pull it up on the rise and help me fetch the water." "Get that damn thing out of here before my team takes a notion to tromp the hell out of it." "Hildy, you do look fine." "I guess you found one of those rich husbands you was always looking for." "Well, let's just put it this way, Hogue." "I ain't hurting no more." "I was just headed for New Orleans." "I stopped by to check to see if maybe you was ready." "I'm ready." "You'd leave your desert, Hogue?" "Hell, I've already gone, honey." "I'll go get ready." "I'll be back in a minute." "We got nothing but time, Hogue nothing but time." "Hey, fellas, I'm headed for New Orleans, in style." "By God, I wish I was going with you." "Hey." "I seen two before." "I guess you need the water for the steam, huh?" "No. lt burns gasoline." "Oh, yeah, burns it." "Yeah." "Did you hear that, Cable?" "It burns gasoline." "Well, of course it does." "You know, maybe a fella could pick up some extra money selling that too." "That gasoline." "Mister, that'll cost you 1 0 cents more." "Hey, Bowen." "Hogue, watch out." "Hold it." "Hold it." "Oh, my God." "Hogue?" "Son of a bitch kicks worse than a mule." "You hurt, Cable?" "Hell, I'm all right." "No, I'm not." "Hell, Hogue. lt's a long ways from your heart and on the wrong side." "Well, thanks, fellas." "Much better out here." "Josh." "Well, well, brother Hogue." "What's all this?" "What in the hell is that?" "Just a means of transportation." "Well, it sure is an ugly thing." "You don't look so good, Cable." "Are you in trouble?" "No trouble, just dying." "Last reckoning." "Well, it comes to us all." "Prepare yourself, Cable." "Oh, shut up, Joshua. lt ain't so." "You'll be up and around in no time." "Cable?" "Yep." "I wanna thank you for what you've done." "And here I waited three years to get even with you." "I was gonna piss on your grave." "Well, boys, when I go just bury me where the sand's soft and the digging's easy." "Oh, hush, Cable." "You're gonna be just fine." "Hildy." "That man you was married to...." "He died about a month back of a stroke, in bed." "But he died happy." "I'll just bet he did." "As a matter of fact, if you gents would be kind enough to move me inside..." "..." "I'd kind of like to throw a little" "Oh, Cable Hogue." "Hang in there." "Brother Hogue this is a time for deep and serious reflection, not of base and vile lust." "Josh, it's about time you earned your keep." "Preach me a funeral sermon." "Oh, for heaven's sake." "A good one." "Don't make me out no saint, but don't put me down too deep." "You mean now?" "Yeah." "It's not so much the dying that you hate it's not knowing what they're gonna say about you, that's all." "Now, all my life I've been scared of this living." "Now gotta do the other." "Well, come on, now, I can't wait all day." "I ain't got any time." "Brethren!" "Bull's eye!" "See?" "We are gathered here in the sight of God and all his glory..." "...to lay to rest Cable Hogue." "Cable Hogue." "Amen to that." "Now, most funeral orations, Lord, lie about a man." "Compare him to the angels, whitewash him with a really wide brush." "But, you know, Lord, and I know that it just is not true." "Hang in there, preacher." "Now, a man is made out of bad as well as good, all of us." "Cable Hogue was born into this world, nobody knows when or where." "He came stumbling out of the wilderness like a prophet of old." "Sounds right, is right." "Out of the barren wastes he carved himself a one-man kingdom." "l don't know." "Some said he was ruthless." "Who said that?" "More than one, Hogue." "But you could do worse, Lord than to take to your bosom Cable Hogue." "He wasn't really a good man, he wasn't a bad man." "But, Lord, he was a man." "Amen to that." "He charged too much he was as stingy as they come." "Yes, he might have cheated, but he was square about it." "Rich or poor, he gouged them all the same." "When Cable Hogue died there wasn't an animal in the desert he didn't know." "There wasn't a star in the firmament he hadn't named." "There wasn't a man he was afraid of." "Now the sand he fought and loved so long has covered him at last." "Now he has gone into the whole torrent of the years of the souls that pass and never stop." "In some ways he was your dim reflection, Lord and right or wrong, I feel he is worth consideration." "But if you feel he is not you should know that Hogue lived then died here in the desert." "And I'm sure hell will never be too hot for him." "He never went to church." "He didn't need to." "The whole desert was his cathedral." "Hold up!" "I'm coming in tonight." "Hogue loved the desert loved it deeper than he'd ever say." "He built his empire but was man enough to give it up for love when the time came." "Lord, as the day draws toward evening, this life grows to an end for us all." "We say adieu to our friend." "Take him, Lord." "But knowing Cable, I suggest you do not take him lightly." "Amen." "[english]"