"Up, boys, up!" "Comanche, they're nearly on us." "Let's git!" "Pearl!" "Don't!" "Don't!" "Pearl!" "Oh, my God." "Oh, Mrs. Forsythe." "The dead... them's the lucky ones." " Don't say that, Pearl." " No, Maggie." "I'm ruint." "Bill won't have me now, and it's my fault." "He give me a gun to kill myself with, but they was on me too quick." "Five of 'em was at me, Maggie." " All right." " Oh, I'm shamed forever." "It gets lonely not having no woman to hold onto when you bunk down at night." "That's why I tend to patrol at night." "Don't bunk too much." "I don't know that little Maggie Tilton well, but I do know she wasn't meant to be no whore." "She's meant to be a wife." "That's my view too, Woodrow, so the sooner you give up and marry her," " the happier me and Billy will be." " Amen." "I didn't know I was put on this earth to make the two of you happy." "I do miss my Pearl, though." "Take cover, men." "It's Comanches for sure." "Hey, hey, hey, hold on." "Hold on." "I know this ol' pup." "Hey, this is Howler." "This is that ol' bear hunter's dog." "Ben Lily." "Bet that old scamp has killed a bruin." "There you are, Famous Shoes." " Any word on Scull?" " I remember Scull." "Took him on a hunt once in a canebrake." "He wounded a big ol' boar bear and went in right after him." "Not every man will run into a canebrake like Scull did." "we need more recent news." "Ahumado has Scull in a pit." "He wants a ransom for him." "Ben Lily and I have mostly been burying people." "There's no shortage of burial work between here and Austin." "Not since the raid." "What raid?" "What raid?" "Buffalo Hump came raiding with 600 warriors, maybe more." "Buried ten dead yesterday." "People trying to farm where they oughtn't farm." "They killed most of the settlers along the Brazos and the Trinity, then they hit Austin." "Killed lots of people, burned lots of buildings, stole thousands of horses." "Oh, God. what if they killed my Pearl?" "Would you lead us back to Austin by the quickest way?" "I ain't waiting', Captain." "I'm goin' right now." "Whoa, Bill, hold your horses." "Listen to me." "We'll get you back as quick as we can," " but our horses are poorly now." " He's right, Billy." "If we push these nags too hard, most of us'll be walkin' back to Austin." "Do you like my pit?" "I preferred my cage, frankly." "Fewer vermin, better view." "You made too much noise up there." "You might have made Parrot angry." "I might anyway if I get the chance to have a word with Parrot." "I speak Parrot, you know." "I've asked the Texans for a ransom... but my snakes might get you before it arrives." "No, these snakes are pets." "It's the flea population that I'd rather be rid of." "If the Texans don't bring the ransom..." "I might have at you myself." "I just gotta tell you straight, Clara." "There's no way to sugarcoat it." "Buffalo Hump hit Austin." "The store's burnt down." "Your ma and pa are dead." "I'm sorry." "What about the Rangers?" "Did any of them get killed?" "Three of the town Rangers, I believe." "Your friend Captain McCrae was gone." "He was hunting Captain Scull." "I'm so sorry, Clara." "You got no reason to stay in Austin now, Clara." "The store's gone." "Stores can be rebuilt." "The store wasn't the only thing I had in Austin." "I wish you'd let me take you to Nebraska, keep you safe." "Safe?" "There's Indians and sickness and bad luck everywhere." "How can anybody feel safe?" "I wish you'd marry me, Clara." "Well, Bob..." "I thank you for your offer... and I take it seriously, I do." "But I need time." "Time to get over Ma and Pa." "Of course." "I won't make you wait forever." "If I promise that you'll have my answer within a year..." "Will that seem worth the wait?" "Well, of course it would, Clara." "You know I'd wait for you." "It'd give me time to get a house built... just in case you say yes." ""Down to a sunless sea." ""Amid this tumult," "Kubla heard from afar ancestral voices prophesying..."" "The ransom better come quick." "El jefe, he's not patient." "He may let me skin you yet." "Bible and sword!" "My skinner died of that snake bite." "Well, he was something of a fool, wasn't he?" "Yes." "He was a fool." "But he was my fool." "Pearl must be a mighty good cook for him to take on this bad." "For all we know, she's safe." "I've et Pearl's cooking." "It was only fair." "I suspect it was the pokin' that Billy's most interested in." "What?" "The poking'." "Yeah, Well, you would think that." "Well, the big ladies, they're..." "they're a pleasure to poke." " What is it, Deets?" " Mr. Coleman." "He gone." "Oh, dear Lord." "Oh, dear Lord." "Oh, please, God, not my Pearlie." "Not my Pearlie." "Pearlie." "Pearlie, Pearlie!" "Thank God you're alive." "Oh, thank God!" "You might be wastin' your thanks, Bill." "Honey, don't say that." "I rode all night and all day to get here." "They done me." "And you wasn't here to protect me." "I had arrows in me, but not deep enough to kill me... and I lost our baby." "I was so scared." "Did... did they..." "Pearlie, did they..." "I couldn't get to that gun you left me in time." "So I'm ruint now, Billy." "I can't be a wife to you no more." "Better blow out your lamp and get to sleep, Pearlie." "Billy." "It's come to me." "If you quit the Rangers, you never have to be gone ever again." "I know just what you could do for a living." "I don't have the faintest notion of how to do anything but rangerin'." "All right, tell me what you're thinkin', and then let's get on to bed." "Our preacher got killed in the raid, and his wife, too." "I know for a fact you'd be a fine preacher once you got the hang of it." "Pearlie, I can't read, and the only verse I know is that one about the green pastures, and even that one's..." "cloudy in my mind." "Well, I can read." "I can read you the text in the morning before church, and then you can preach on it." "I swear, honey, I don't know where you got such a notion." "'Sides, them boys would laugh me out of town if I was to put myself up to be a preacher." "Would you help me off with my boots, Pearlie?" "I swear, I am tired to the bone." "Oh, my God." "It's Clara." "I went away, and now she's dead." "That ain't Clara, Gus." "There's two graves." "It's her ma and pa." "They got the preacher and his wife." "Blacksmith, too." "Oh, Lord." "There's Neely, and Finch and Teddy." "I hope this means Ikey's still alive." "Oh, no, Bill." "Stove!" "Get her out of here." "Why would he do that, Deets?" "Probably something to do with the missus, Mr. Pea." "And the Comanches." "I was so scared." "Did they... trouble you?" "No, no, I hid under the smokehouse like you told me." "There was a snake under there, but he didn't bother me at all." "There's no need to worry about Miss Forsythe, Captain McCrae." "She's safe in Galveston with her aunt and uncle, and her friend, Mr. Allen." "Oh, I expect Miss Forsythe and Mr. Allen are more than friends now." "They had a matrimonial look about them when they left." "Now, I know you men just got back from a pointless trip, and you've had a bad shock, but there is the urgent matter of Captain Scull that needs attending." "That scoundrel Ahumado has Captain Scull." "He's offered to trade him for a thousand cattle, delivered in 30 days." "Now, the legislature... when it gets its wits together, will vote up the money to pay for the cattle... but somebody's got to convince the South Texas ranchers to yield 'em up on credit." "It may not be an easy task, captains." "Easy?" "Why, Richard King's the biggest rancher in Texas." "I'd like to hear what Richard King has to say when these two Rangers ride in and ask him to spare a thousand head of cattle to rescue my husband, whom he cordially detests." "We'll go if we're sent, sir... but right now we've got the sad task of burying Ranger Long Bill Coleman." "Well, of course, Captain." "I merely wanted to make you aware of the situation." "Captain McCrae, can you spare a moment?" "Ma'am?" "I have a bureau that's too heavy to move." "Bingham's wounded, and my yellow gal got taken by Comanches, so I'm short of hands, and..." "I would like to move my bureau." "It'll just take a moment." "Right against the wall." "Lovely." "That will be all, Ben." "Mrs. Scull." "Did Miss Forsythe actually say that she aimed to marry Bob Allen?" "Well, women don't actually need to make speeches when they've decided to... have a fella." "I'll show you how it works." "Ma'am?" "Now, now." "Don't be contrary, Captain McCrae." "Clara Forsythe... is gone... but I... am here." " Ma'am." " Captain." "We'll need to caulk this coffin, or else the worms and maggots'll be at Billy in no time." "The hardware store burnt down." "I doubt you'll find anything to caulk it with." "Billy Coleman was a fine fellow, and he deserves better than to be all bloated up with screw worms and ain't been two days." "Will you stop talking about worms and maggots and screw worms eating' Bill Coleman!" "Maybe Bill's up in heaven." "Yep, maybe Bill's up in heaven by now, playin' the harp, Ikey." "I don't know about heaven, but I do know about worms and varmints." "Shut up!" "You just shut up 'fore I strangle you." "It was too fine and sunny a day to be dyin'... but our ol' pard Long Bill Coleman died despite the sunshine." "That's the harsh fact." "I recall he liked the scripture about the green pastures." "Well, it's spring now, and lots of sweet, green grass will be growin' over him." "It's good-bye today to a damn good Ranger." "It's our baby." "He's kickin'." "I bet you kicked aplenty when you were in the place he's in." "How do you know it's a he?" "I doubt a girl baby could kick that hard." "I wonder what Long Bill was thinkin' there at the end." "You can wonder all you want, but we'll never know." "That's one puzzle." "Another one is..." "Why would Clara marry Bob Allen and not me?" "What the hell is wrong with you?" "Maggie thinks that baby she's carryin' is mine." "Well, I have no doubt that she's right." "I admire Maggie, I really do." "She's been good to me." "But she's a whore." "How can a whore know which man gave her a baby?" "Maggie has been good to you, Woodrow, and if you were a generous man, you'd give her the benefit of the doubt." "But how can she know?" "That's my question..." "how can she know?" "Do somethin' normal for once in your life, Woodrow." "Marry Maggie." "Hell, if I didn't have such a love for Clara Forsythe, I'd marry Maggie." "I'd turn her head and I'd take her right away from you, and I wouldn't give a thought to who fathered the baby." "You're one of the luckiest men in Austin, or probably in all of Texas, and you don't even realize it." "I suppose you would just." "What do you think, Deets?" "I think bluebonnets are mighty pretty flowers." "You should cut that man's tongue out." "He may be calling the Great Snake who lives in the mountain." "There is no Great Snake in that mountain." "Scull sings to keep up his spirits." "He could be calling Parrot." "He could even be calling Jaguar." "What if Jaguar comes?" "Yesterday you killed a horse that didn't belong to you." "You tried to jump a gully." "The horse broke both its front legs." "The horse was lazy and stupid." "And you beat the new captive when I told you to leave her alone." "She's a disobedient slave." "Why shouldn't I beat her?" "Because that's the women's job." "You cause too much trouble here." "I want you to leave the band." "Leave the band?" "You've been rude and disobedient your whole life." "If you stay here... one day, I will lose patience and kill you." "You can take five horses, but go." "And go now!" "We'll see who kills whom, old man." "I would not want a son who hates me as much as he hates you." "You believe I'm in danger from that whelp?" "That boy is reckless." "I doubt he'll last long enough to be a threat to me." "Honey, you're droppin' more stitches than you're catchin'." "I know." "Aunt Jessie, it's this business with Bob Allen." "I can't make up my mind to marry him, but I don't want to lose him, either." "You ain't the first woman caught in that bind." "I took my time marrying' your Uncle Dan." "Six years, I took." "I wish Gus McCrae would come." "I'd just like one more visit with Gus." "Then I might be ready to settle down with Bob." "Maybe so, honey, but then again... maybe not." "If this damn shrubbery gets any thicker, we'll have to turn into armadillos just to get through it." "Well, Famous Shoes is lookin' for a clear route." "I expect he'll report pretty soon." "She don't look too friendly." "She gored my horse!" "what'll I ride?" "Take one of the pack mules." "They make decent mounts." "Does anything feel wrong to you, Woodrow?" "Ain't these the very cattle we're supposed to drive to Mexico and trade for Scull?" "I'd say we have as much chance of driving' a thousand jackrabbits." "Never thought I'd have to ranger against anything meaner than a Comanche, but them damn cows are meaner by far." "Lord Almighty!" "Deets, if you don't mind, would you please grab one of those pack mules and put Spoon's saddle on it?" " Are you Mr. Fogg?" " Yes, sir." "This is a piece of worthless foolery, Captain." "The Mexicans steal half our cattle, anyway." "Ed Pease does nothin' about it." "Now he wants us to give him a thousand more?" "State of Texas means to pay you for 'em, sir." "We got legal IOUs." "Not good enough." "But cash money'd be good enough." "You come back with cash money, I'll deliver the thousand head myself." "We ain't got cash." "Would you know of a man named Richard King?" "Governor Pease seemed to feel he might be willin' to help us." "I expect Dick's around here somewhere, branding' every calf his vaqueros can get a rope on, just as I am." "But Dick didn't get where he is givin' away cattle." "He wouldn't be givin' them away." "We told you, the State of Texas will pay." "If the State of Texas survives." "Hell, Dick King's ranch may be the State of Texas someday." "'Course, it's a free country so far." "You wanna try Dick?" "Go and try him." "There's a kind of a half town by the Rio Grande, south a ways, owned by a French couple." "Dick stays there some." "Likes the whiskey... or the women." "Does this town have a name?" "It's called Lonesome Dove." "Who told that fella he could have those cattle he's branding'?" "They're wild cattle." "Anyone who wants to brand one can do it if he can catch the calf." "If that's all it takes to be a rancher, then me and you could be ranchers." "Where'd we put 'em if we caught 'em?" "We don't even own these horses, much less the land for a ranch." "We've been rangerin' for the State of Texas most our lives, Woodrow." "All we own's our saddles and our guns." "I might want to be rich someday." "Might want to own a mansion or keep a fancy mistress." "Well, I ain't sayin' we gotta ranger forever, but right now, we've got a job to do." "What's that critter there, Lee?" "It's big, whatever it is." "What's wrong with you fellas?" "Ain't you ever seen a land shark before?" "That one's monster-big, and he's headed right for us!" "I'm Dick King." "You must be the Ranger boys who are hoping' to get some fool to loan you a thousand cattle to take to some ol' slaver who has no interest in cattle and who will kill Inish Scull whenever it pleases him to do so." "That's us, sir." "What's got you lookin' so jumpy?" "It's that land shark wallowin' in the river down the way." "Now, I works on the prairie." "We're rarely required to deal with aquatic monsters." "You must be McCrae!" "I heard you were a jester." "Yonder land shark is one of Madame Therese wanz's blue pigs." "If you were to harm one, you'd have to flee the country, which you could do from here just by trotting' across that river." "Hey, that's my bull." "Solomon." "You won't find his equal in America." "I have a letter from the governor." "Thank you." "Oh!" "My, my." "Oh, no." "Pardon me." "I wish you'd read it before you let it get wet." "I apologize." "I don't normally throw letters into the river... particularly not if they're from high potentates like Ed Pease." "But I have no intention of wasting any cattle on this scheme to rescue Inish Scull, who's a competent man, oughta be able to rescue himself." "I heard there's a town somewhere near here, Mr. King." "I'm mighty dry." "Yes, sir, Lonesome Dove." "There's an excellent saloon." "All it lacks is a roof." "I recommend the brandy." "Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one..." "Do you know what day it is, Captain?" "I know what day it is." "Hell, this ain't a town." "No, but it's a nice-sized clearing." "You could put a town in it." "I expect those French folks are hoping' the cattle business'll pick up." "I only see one Frenchman so far... and he's dead drunk." "Xavier!" "Xavier, vite." "Vite, the customers arrive!" "The tablecloths, the brandies!" "Hell, the fella's puttin' tablecloths on all them tables." "Why would he bother with a tablecloth when he ain't even got a roof?" "You'd have to ask him that, Lee." "I suppose they order things different in France." "Monsieur, la serape, s'il vous plaît." "I think she wants your slicker, Captain McCrae." "Darn." "Merci." "First the brandies, then the hairs off." "Hairs off?" "You think she means to scalp us?" "Voila." "I think she just wants to give us haircuts, and if they ain't too expensive, I plan to invest in one." "Myself, I'll invest in a brandy or two." "Hey, hey, watch that, watch that." "Your brandy's good, huh?" "want more?" " I already had..." " Just a little." "Deets, you in or out?" "Bonjour, ma petite!" "How you doin', darlin'?" "Xavier." "Now, why would they call this place Lonesome Dove?" "Hell, there's a dove everywhere you look." "Well, I can tell you the origin of that misnomer." "There was a traveling preacher, Herman windthorst, who used to wander through this border country." "I knew him well." "Well, Herman stopped in this clearing, and he preached a sermon to a bunch of vaqueros one day, but while he was preachin', a dove lit on a limb above him." "OI' Herman took that as a holy omen, because he decided to stop wandering and start up a town." "Where is he now?" "Well, in heaven, I expect." "OI' Herman preached his last sermon five years ago." "Thought he had a nice crowd of vaqueros one day, but in fact it was Ahumado and some of his men who stopped to listen." "As soon as Herman said amen, they shot him... dead... and they took everything he had." "They still call it Lonesome Dove." "Yes, sir." "The preacher's gone, but the name stuck." "It's curious, ain't it, what sticks and... what don't." "Where's your carpenters, darlin'?" "They leave." "That way." "They're afraid your bull might get them... or the pigs." "Nonsense." "Now, that bull wouldn't harm a kitten." "Those carpenters were here not more than an hour ago." "I don't see how the wanzes are ever gonna get a roof if the damn carpenters keep runnin' away." "If they're that close, Famous Shoes can round 'em up and bring 'em back." "Not my turn for a haircut yet, anyway." "You must be the carpenters." "we they." "Those French folks are eager to have you back at work, and so's Mr. King." "If you come back with us, we'll try to protect you from the bull." "What do you got?" " Straight." " Come on!" "Lucky Lee." " Change your name." " Cheating nine years already." "If I had money, I'd be..." "Three dollars." "There you go." "Cheater." "I don't trust you." "Damn, that was a shock." "Never had a hair cut out of my nose before." "That damn bull of yours nearly got us all, Mr. King." "The proximity of all them Mexican heifers stir him up." ""How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world."" "Oh, my!" ""...rank and gross in nature possess it merely."" ""How weary, stale, flat, and un..." "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable."" "Be careful." "It's very hot, please." "If more folks knew they could be fed like this," "Lonesome Dove would be a town in no time." "When we're through rangerin', I might move here myself." "Move here and do what?" "I don't know yet, but I might soon think of somethin'." "Dick King's a rough old cob, but he's right about us." "The governor sent us on a fool's errand." "We go no cattle, we ain't gonna get any, and we couldn't drive them to Mexico if we had 'em." "'Sides, it's fly season." "What?" "Fly season." "A thousand cattle would attract a million flies, which is more than I care to swat." "Why don't we just go get Captain Scull away from Ahumado ourselves?" "We could do it." "I'm game if you are." "It's about time we made somethin' of ourselves." "Buffalo Hump's held the plains ever since we been Rangers, and we never whipped him, and Ahumado's held the border, and we never whipped him either." "That's poor work in my book." "You oughta give up and open a store if you feel that low about it." "There's need now the Forsythes are dead." "You could marry Maggie while you're at it." "I don't want to run a store." "I don't wanna marry, either." "We rarely agree, Woodrow, but we do agree about Mexico." "I'm restless." "Let's go tonight." "It's a fine moon." "Think we should tell 'em we're leavin' 'em to their fate?" "No, it'll just spook 'em." "All they have to do is find their way back to Austin." "I thought you didn't care for Mexico, Famous Shoes." "I have a duty to Three Birds and his family." "He was not like the other Comanche." "He was once my friend." "I need to find his remains and give him a proper burial." "we're plannin' to travel fast." "If you yet ain't noticed, he's mostly in front of us, Woodrow." "He'll keep up." "I know I can't do much, but I'd like to go with my captains." "Now, you got it turned around, Deets." "It's not that you can't do much, it's that you can do too much." "You see what we're leavin' you with, don't you?" "Fine men, but rank incompetents, mostly." "You're the one who can cook or build fires or dress wounds or find bee trees, or all those useful skills." "You're the only man who'll be able to get 'em back without us." "Well, if that's the way it is, captains," "I'll be happy to get the boys home." "They left?" "Left us here?" "Yes, sir." "Gone to get Captain Scull." "Calm down, Stove." "At least they left us someplace." "Yeah, you may consider this someplace, but I don't." "She was the best wife, and yet she produced a bad son." "I hear Blue Duck raids along the Arkansas River with a band of half-breeds." "Now that his mother is gone, if he ever comes back, I'll kill him." "The spider who hides has bit you." "This is bad." "If you tell anyone, I will cut your throat." "Soon your leg will begin to rot." "People will smell it." "Someone might have a grudge." "Someone might want to kill you." "I cannot cure you." "No one can cure me." "Everyone in the camp would like to kill me... including you." "In the south, there's a tree of medicines." "If you can make it there, the tree might save you." "Then keep my secret today." "By tomorrow it won't matter." "When I put men in a cage or in this pit... soon they find they want to die." "But I have put you in my cage... and in my pit... and you still don't want to die." "I don't for a fact, and I don't intend to die anytime soon." "I was once like you." "Nothing could make me want to die." "My Rangers will be along with my ransom any day now." "They are not coming." "The cattle are too wild for the Texans." "No aces." "That damn Lee Hitch stole every one of 'em." "I mean to give him a good lickin' when we get back to town." "what's wrong with you?" "I wish you'd talk more, Woodrow." "You don't talk enough to keep my mind off of gloomy topics." "Like?" "Like Billy Coleman, our OI' Pard." "This is the first time in ten years we've gone rangerin' without Billy." "Now, if he were here," "I'd have someone to help me complain... you'd be more comfortable." "I hate a thing like death." "Well, everybody does, I expect." "Yeah." "Folks don't always get to do what they intend." "Ol' Billy had it in mind to be a carpenter, only he couldn't drive a nail." "He was only a fair shot, too, yet he survived a lot of scrapes." "You're only a fair shot yourself, Woodrow." "Now, me, I'm a fine shot, and yet I might be the next to die, for all we know." "Rangers oughtn't to marry." "Have to leave their womenfolk for too long a spell." "Things like that raid can happen." "Things like that happen, married or not." "Just said what I believe." "Rangerin' ain't a settled life." "I expect Bill'd be alive if he hadn't've married." "Well, then I guess it's bad news for Maggie if that's the way you feel." "Gracias." "Gracias, señora." "Ahumado." "Salido." "Gone away?" "where?" "Del sur." "To the south." "So..." "My rival is gone." "Durn horned toad would have a hard time makin' it in this country, Woodrow." "There are many tracks, all going south." "Everyone is leaving the Yellow Cliffs." "Did Captain Scull make any of the tracks?" "No." "We better get a move on, then." "Gracias, señora." "Cuerda..." "Cuerda." " Cuerda." " Sí, sí." "Gracias." "Like a bird on the wing, onward the sailors cry..." "Deets, the nice man who cooks for the Rangers, he done the flowers." "Then I'm much obliged to him." "When I see a bunch of the boys ride in," "I always think my Billy will be with them." "I don't see Captains McCrae or Call." "They usually lead the pack." "Well, men, where are your captains?" "They snuck off in the night." "Just took the tracker." "I believe they thought to slip in and bring out Captain Scull quiet-like." "If he's alive to bring out." "You men go unsaddle." "Yes, sir." " Mr. Deets?" " Ma'am?" "I wanna thank you for the care you've taken with my parents' graves." "They're lovely." "Bluebonnets were my mother's favorite." "Oh, no trouble, ma'am." "No trouble at all." "Captain McCrae tell me, "Please keep 'em nice."" "How is Captain McCrae?" "Oh, he's fine, ma'am." "Real fine." "Last time I seen him, he was sippin' whiskey." "That's my Ranger." " Thank you, Pearl." " Good-bye." "Governor." "Hello, Miss Forsythe." "I told you once to call me Clara, and I meant it." "Yes, thank you, Clara." "And you must call me Maggie." "With pleasure." "I'm glad to see that you survived, Maggie, you and your precious cargo." "Yes." "I hid under the smokehouse like Woodrow told me to." "It's lonely for you, I know, waitin' for your man." "It'd be bad enough if I was certain he was my man, but with Woodrow Call, it's hard to know." "Well, maybe your precious cargo will help convince him, Maggie." "Ahumado." "They're from Parrot." "Parrot must have driven the Black Vaquero off this cliff." "Why would a bird do that?" "Parrot is more than a bird." "Before men came out of the earth, Parrot ruled." "Now men rule." "Parrot has not forgiven." "Looks like a cougar got her." "No cougar." "It was Jaguar who killed the old woman." "I see it." "Right there!" "Gus, take a shot!" "I never expected to see a jaguar." "He acted like he owned the world." "Damn, I expect he'll be worrying the horses." "Why would it kill something big like a horse when it could kill something puny like us?" "I have found my friend." "I can make a fine burial scaffold for him." "We'll help you bury him if you want us to once we know what's what with the captain." "I'll look up in those caves." "You stand guard with Famous Shoes in case that jaguar shows... up." "That's Captain." "I'd know that Yankee voice anywhere." "Good Lord, Woodrow." "What do you suppose Mrs. Scull's gonna say when we bring him back like this?" "I don't know and I don't care." "As far as I can tell, Woodrow, that's the captain's problem, not ours." "Well, maybe once he's been out of that pit for a few days, his mind'll come back from wherever it's wandered off to." "What I do know is once we get the captain back to Austin," "I plan to stay as far away as I can get from that she-bear wife of his." "There, there, honey." "You're doing fine, just fine." "How much longer you expect it'll be?" "I don't know how much longer I can..." "I don't know how much more I can stand." "You're nearly there." "Just one more push." "One more push." "Here we go." "Here we go." "That's it." "Here we are." "That's it." "Maggie, you have a son." "Here he is, Mag." "As fine-Iooking a boy as there ever was." "Makes me wish I had one of my own." "Oh, maybe you will soon, Clara." "I want to find Three Birds' family, tell them I found him, treated him in the Comanche way." "Well, good luck to you, then, but don't be gone from Austin too long." "Keep 'em comin'." "Don't make me break my count." "I'd be tempted to hang a man who makes me break my count." "Keep 'em comin'." "I see you found your man." "I hear he's mighty jumpy even when he's not in the saddle." "Appears that way, sir." "Well, you're a persistent fella, Captain Call." "You two strike me as able men." "I'm in the process of putting together a million-acre ranch in this part of the country, and I could use able men." "What would we mostly do, sir?" "Fight Mexicans." "They still seem to think they own this part of the country, and the cattle on it, too." "I mean to disabuse 'em of that notion." "You boys could help." "I expect I could offer triple what the State of Texas is paying you." " We appreciate the offer, Mr. King." " Yep." "Comanches ain't beat." "Neither are the Kiowa or the Apache." "Who would fight for the settlers if you hired us away from the State of Texas?" "I'm not a do-gooder, Captain." " When's the last time you had whiskey?" " Too long." "Well, a man needs his grog." "I'm damn surly myself when deprived of my grog." "Make a stop in Lonesome Dove." "Theresa'd be happy to take a pair of scissors to your captain, and you two can have your fill of whiskey and consider my offer." "I sometimes think it's the surprise element in life that keeps us going, gentlemen." "In this last week I was in a filthy pit, being irritated by vermin of every description." "Now here I am, a week later... drinking a finer grade of brandy than I expect to find in South Texas... being barbered by a... beautiful-breasted French woman, which is the best kind of French woman, I can assure you." "Monsieur, stop the wiggles, please!" "I don't want to cut you." "Speed, bonny boat, like a bird on the wing" "Onward, the sailors cry" "Carry the lad that's born to be king" "Over the sea to Skye" "So you're gonna deliver me back to Austin, gentlemen?" "After all, I now know the ways of the flea." "When you're not looking, I may just pop off and disappear." "Well, we'll always be looking, Captain." "What about you, McCrae?" "I suspect you tupped my wife in the boot closet." " Isn't that correct?" " Sir?" "He wears a guilty look about him, doesn't he, Captain Call?" "And this Dick King who thinks he's going to poach you two from the State of Texas... he's got to think again." "There's a civil war brewing." "Half the troops down this way will be fighting brother against brother." "You two are the best this fine old state's got." "You and McCrae aren't going anywhere." "If there is a war, Captain, what will you do?" "Yankees will need experienced men." "I expect I'll join the fray." "But the war ain't started yet." "I've still got time to get home to take a buggy whip to my wife... a pleasure I intend to pursue vigorously." "If OI' King really did offer us three times as much as we're gettin' now... would you be in for takin' his offer?" "Oh, we ain't gettin' any younger, and we both know rangerin' is gonna play out eventually." "If it takes ten years to play out, we'll be that much older but no richer." "What about the settlers then?" "Well, they chose to take the risk." "They ain't all gonna survive." "What about Maggie?" "You may be a pa by now." "Somebody might." "Maybe they'll be home soon, Clara." "Gus McCrae says to me, I have to leave, but I'll be back for sure by Friday." "Well, that's one thing." "I can get by till Friday, I expect." "It's these uncertain absences I just don't seem to be able to handle." "I know, it's hard." "I keep lookin' for them to appear, and then they don't." " Give me this fella." " Yeah?" " All right, there he is." " Give me this little fella." "Hello." "I named him Newton, after my grandfather." "We can call him Newt." "I wish Woodrow had been here to help me decide." "But I asked Jake, and Jake, he seemed to like Newt." "I haven't noticed any meanness yet in Mr. Jake Spoon." "Jake's been a real help to me." "I don't know how good a man he is, but he likes a laugh now and then, which is more than I can say for your Woodrow." "Woodrow don't laugh much." "Or help much either, for that matter." "You still love him." "Yes, ma'am." "And now there's Newt." "I have seen you before." "You saw me when Slow Tree came to Buffalo Hump's camp." "Slow Tree wanted to put scorpions in your nose, but Buffalo Hump let you go." "Blue Duck was very angry." "He has his own band of thieves now." "You are the Kickapoo who tracks." "I found the body of Three Birds and buried him in the Comanche way." "The cholera came to our camp." "There are no People anywhere now." "Is Buffalo Hump alive?" "He has gone north looking for buffalo." "What about Kicking Wolf?" "Kicking Wolf is alive, too." "You ask too many questions." "Leave us alone." "Gussy!" "Gus!" "Gussy!" "Clara, honey, when I heard your voice calling my name," "I was sure it must be a dream." "You ain't asleep, Gussy." "It's me, all right." "Where's Bob Allen, then?" "If he catches me kissing his wife... he'll for sure give me a lickin'." "Even if I was married," "I guess I could still kiss my friends if I want to, but the fact of the matter is I have yet to plight my troth, to be fancy about it." "Gus." "I don't have a husband." "I'm not married." "If that's the truth, honey, it's the best news I've heard in months." "I should have never believed Inez." " She had me thinking..." " Inez?" "Inez Scull?" "Just what did she happen to say, and why were you around to hear it?" "She came into the governor's office while we were gettin' orders." "She gave me to understand that you and Bob Allen had gotten married." "And you believed her?" "I had no reason not to." "Oh, Gus, common sense would have been a reason not to." "I wouldn't do such a thing without telling you first." "Inez Scull was just angling' for a little sport." "I have no doubt she got some, Miss Forsythe." "That's Inez's way." "What she angles for, she usually gets." "Clara, I thought that..." "I'll give you that to think about if you want to think, Gus McCrae." "I booked a seat on the Galveston stage, and I mean to take it." " But Clara..." " No buts about it, Gus." " Clara, I don't care for Inez..." " Don't talk to me, I said!" "I'll keep my love for you where it's always been... in my heart." "If you talk to me right now, I will rip that love right out." "Good-bye." "Why, the fool!" "What's he hopping for?" "Sometimes he thinks he's a... flea, ma'am." "Hard to explain." "You lied to me." "You told me Clara was married, and she ain't." "Why, surely you could see through my little deception." "All's fair in love and war." "Why should I let you waste yourself on that whey-faced shop girl?" "Here now!" "Hello, my dear." "On your back as usual, I see." "Well, I suppose we're free to do as we please now, ain't we, Woodrow?" "Yeah, I guess so." "Me, I'm gonna go find myself a saloon and open it... if it ain't open already." "Subripped by:" "Tantico (Croatia)"