"Get up, girl." "Get up!" "Whoa!" "Little Josey!" "Come on in." "Let´s get you cleaned up." "Better go." "Josey!" "Pa!" "Ashes to ashes dust to dust the Lord gives the Lord takes away." "The name´s Anderson." "Bloody Bill is what they call me." "Redlegs?" "You´ll find them up in IKansas." "They´re with the Union." "And we´re going up there and set things aright." "I´ll come with you." "All that a fellow has to do is ride into that Union camp down there raise his right hand and swear you´ll be loyal to the United States." "Then he can take up his horse again and go home." "They´ll give us full amnesty then?" "Yep." "Everyone else has done it but us." "We´re the last holdouts." "I´m going in." "I´ve had enough." "Better go with them, boy." "You coming with us?" "I reckon not, Fletcher." "They´ll be coming after you." "Yep." "There´s nowhere to go to get away." "I reckon that´s true." "Good luck." "Put the rifle down too." "I´ll need it for squirrels and such." "Put it down." "IKind of young, ain´t you, kid, to be riding with this rabble?" "Who you calling rabble, you blue scumbelly?" "Hell, we showed these boys, anyway." "Lee might have had to surrender, but we didn´t." "Shut up, kid." "Yes, sir." "You showed us." "Now get in line before I kick you so hard you´ll wear your ass for a hat." "Here´s the man you asked for, sir." "Fletcher." "Good to see you." "Senator." "Well done." "Thank you." "What the hell is this Redleg doing here?" "You said regular federal authorities would handle this." "Captain Terrill is the regular federal authority now." "Captain Terrill is a bloodthirsty son of a bitch!" "He is a looter and a pillager!" "He´s those men´s worst enemy!" "The war´s over." "Our side won the war." "Now we must busy ourselves winning the peace." "And Fletcher, there´s an old saying, "To the victors belong the spoils."" "And there´s another old saying, senator:" ""Don´t piss down my back and tell me it´s raining."" "Which side is this man on, senator?" "Easy." "He brought them in, didn´t he?" "All but one." "Who´s that?" "Josey Wales." "Josey Wales." "Captain Terrill, I want you to currycomb the countryside." "You beat the brush and root out everything disloyal from a Shanghai rooster to a Durham cow!" "We´ve got to clean up this country." "Now you take five men and go up there and get Josey Wales." "Captain Redlegs Terrill and five men against Josey Wales?" "We stopped those bushwhackers pretty good during the war." "You go with Captain Terrill." "Bring in this damn insurrectionist rebel." "Here´s the money for bringing the others and there´ll be more for Josey Wales." "I´ve had enough of your money, senator." "Let Wales be." "Let me be." "I´m finished with you." "All right I want you men to raise your right hands." "What for?" "So you can pledge loyalty to the Union." "Hell, pledge loyalty to the Union?" "You ought to have us turn around and bend over." "All raise your right hands so I can take your oath." ""I pledge that I will be loyal to the United States of America."" "I pledge that I will be loyal to the United States of America." ""That I will...."" "Let´s see. "I will abide by its law that I will never bear arms against it."" "I will abide by its law that I will never bear arms against it." ""And recognize that it is one nation."" "And recognize that it is one nation." "I ain´t doing it." "Come on, kid." "Let´s get this over with, damn it!" "But I been thinking." "I think it´s them who owes an apology." ""And I further swear, that though I be murderous...."" "Look!" "That´s Josey!" "Verminous, lying, Missouri scum!" "Damn you, senator!" "You promised me those men would be decently treated." "They were decently treated." "They were decently fed and then they were decently shot." "These men are common outlaws, nothing more." "Run for it, Fletcher, it´s a trap!" "Josey, we best be on our way." "Get moving, boy." "They´re coming after us." "We´ve got to take to the brush!" "You get going!" "You can´t get them all." "That´s a fact." "Why you doing it then?" "I´ve got nothing better to do." "Fletcher was in with them." "It was a trap!" "Fletcher?" "Never would have figured that." "You dumb kid." "I´ve got to tell you something." "I´m scared of dying." "Move out!" "You are going after him, after all." "Fletcher, I´m giving you a commission." "Hound this Wales to kingdom come." "Hound him, senator?" "A man like Wales lives by the feud." "Because of what you did here today, I´ve got to kill him." "He´ll have to run for it now." "And hell is where he´s headed." "He´ll be waiting there for us, senator." "Don´t hold back on account of me." "I can ride." "I ain´t holding back on account of you, you thick-headed grasshopper." "If we ride in the open, there´s enough posses over in South Missouri to start another war." "And if we try riding instead of thinking we´ll end up hanging by a rope by nightfall." "Where are we headed?" "The Indian Nations." "It´s a good place to hole up and get you healed up." "Then we´ll go get Fletcher?" "Right, boy." "Then we go back and get Fletcher." "There´s some riders coming up behind us." "Get down here, boy." "Lay across his neck." "IKeep him down there." "Can you hear me?" "Now if you see me get up, you stay there, understand?" "If you hear shooting and me headed back north get back on that horse." "He´ll get up with you and you head south, now you hear?" "You can let him up now, boy." "Let him up!" "Get up, goddamn it!" "Whupped them again, didn´t we?" "Whupped them again, boy." "Ten years I´ve been ferrying IKansas Redlegs Union Cavalry, Missouri guerrillas you name it!" "Mad dogs, them guerrillas!" "You look sideways at them they kill you!" "Hard men to do business with." "You bet!" "You know, in my line of work you got to be able either to sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" or "Dixie" with equal enthusiasm depending upon present company." "Can´t say as I blame you for that." "Only good business to play it safe." "Thank God they all been disarmed now except for a few of the nastiest ones who they´re busy running down." "Where I´m going, they know how to handle that kind." "Where are you headed?" "I´m going to ply my wares down in Texas." "Texas, huh?" "How much for the ferry ride?" "10 cents." "By coincidence, I happen to have a bottle of this remarkable elixir for that exact amount." "Sim Carstairs is the name." "Mister...?" "Figured we´d give you some ferrying business." "With pleasure!" "Bill Quantrill used this ferry all the time." "Good friend of mine." "What have you got there?" "Just the store with Grannie Hawkins up there." "I´ll tell you what." "We´ll all just amble over to that store." "Him and me will ride." "We´ve got a touch of the cramp." "You´re in luck!" "I just happen to have the perfect thing here for cramps." "We´ll need half a side of bacon 10 pounds of beef jerky, 20 pounds of horse grain." "And when we get over there, there won´t be any need for you to go inside." "Just tell Old Grannie through the door, we´ll need a lot of clean bandages and a boiled poultice for a bullet wound, in a hurry." "Come on." "So you´ll be Josey Wales." "How might you know that, Grannie?" "Soldiers were here looking for you two hours ago." "I was going to mention that to you as soon as I got the chance." "They say you killed your own men." "Those lying blue scumbellies!" "They say you´re a hard-put and desperate man." "They´re going to heel and hog you to a barn door." "You know what I say?" "What´s that?" "I say that big talk´s worth diddlysquat." "Now them poultices be laced with feather moss and mustard root." "Mind you drop water on them occasionally and keep them damp." "Much obliged, Grannie." "You can pay me when you see me again, Josey Wales." "I reckon so." "That sure is a sweet sound to the ears wouldn´t you say so, Mr. Wales?" "Your young friend can use some help." "This is it." "One dollar a bottle." "It works wonders on wounds." "Works wonders on just about everything." "It can do most anything." "How is it with stains?" "Here we go." "Dismount." "Disembark, children." "Get that back!" "Bring it back!" "Bring that barge back!" "Bring it back!" "Whupped them again, Josey." "They´re hollering for me to come over!" "I can´t hold on." "But I´ll hold on until you fellows get out of sight." "All right?" "I´ll make do something´s wrong" "Pull, Lemuel." "Pull!" "I´ll make do something´s wrong, until you get going." "I wish you all lots of luck." "Pull, Lemuel, pull!" "He ain´t going to hold up no ferry." "He´s going to bring that cavalry over fast as he can." "Reckon there´s a nice reward out for us about now." "We got him now." "We´ll get those two first, then the others." "What others?" "Wales and the kid are the last ones." "Texas is full of rebels." "Lots of work to do down in Texas." "We get Josey Wales and it ends." "Doing right ain´t got no end." "We best hurry on, Josey." "They´d catch up to us by the end of the day." "Judging by these tracks, there´s maybe 40, 50 horses ahead of us." "What we´ve got to do is space some time between them and us." "What are we going to do?" "Stay right here." "Welcome." "Welcome, gentlemen." "Pull, Lemuel." "He´s still there." "What does he think he´s doing?" "Don´t know." "Some of you men get down there." "Prepare to fire." "Captain Redlegs I advise you to turn back." "You can catch him later." "Turn back?" "Are you crazy?" "He´ll try to pick us off one by one." "He´ll never do it." "At best, he´ll get 2 or 3 up front." "I advise you to turn back, captain." "They´re coming." "Do you really think you can shoot all those men down before they shoot you?" "No, Mr. Josey Wales!" "There is such a thing in this country called justice." "Well, Mr. Carpetbagger we´ve got something in this territory called the Missouri boat ride." "God Almighty!" "Is it bad?" "It´s bad." "Don´t look at it, boy." "It´ll just make you get feelings in it." "If I don´t make it I want you to know I´m prouder than a game rooster to have rid with you." "You are a game rooster." "Now shut up." "You could make it without me." "Take a little drink of this." "This here linsey-woolsey shirt I got that all you boys wore." "We didn´t have no ma." "So Pa did all the fancy needlework for me." "Told me not to tell no one." "Imagine a grown man doing that for his own kid?" "Sang a little song while he sewed it." "You know "Rose of Alabama"?" "Now you just do that, cousin." "You bring that old pistol right out." "We got him, Lige." "It´s him, Abe." "It´s him." "We got the Josey Wales, Abe!" "I seen him ride side by side with Bloody Bill." "We got reward money coming." "Watch it, Abe." "He´s meaner than a rattler and twice as fast!" "You´re a real bush hog, ain´t you, Mr. Josey Wales?" "Tell you what." "Move on back." "Move on back!" "Watch him." "I seen him do some things." "Shut up, Lige!" "Now Mr. Josey Wales I´d just as soon shoot you now except it´d be hard to drag the body to where we can get our price for you." "Shoot him now!" "Shut up, Lige." "Move your left hand down and unbuckle that pistol belt." "Make it nice and slow so I can count the hairs on that hand." "See, Lige?" "You pull his teeth he´s harmless as a heel hound." "Always wanted to face out one of these pistol fighters they all fuss about." "Only way you handle them." "Abe, watch out." "He´s probably got another pistol" "Shut up, Lige." "Call Benny back there on the horse." "Benny!" "Come out!" "We got us the Josey Wales!" "Who is that?" "He´s just a boy." "He´s got a fever." "Tell him to shut up." "Pa?" "Is that you, Pa?" "It ain´t your pa!" "Now shut up!" "I got the gold right here, Pa." "What gold is he talking about?" "There´s no gold." "He´s crazy." "The gold me and Josey robbed from the bank." "Take a look under that blanket." "I got it right here." "Thought you could use some help." "You get those holes leaking, I´m going to whomp you with a knotted plow line." "They ain´t honest." "I feel as pert as a rutting buck." "Good." "Because I ain´t hauling you all over hell´s creation dribbling blood over half of Missouri." "Wish we had time to bury them fellows." "To hell with them fellows." "Buzzards got to eat, same as worms." "A real frog strangler." "10, 20 more miles and we´ll be safe in the Nations." "Some cavalry between us and the Nations." "We´ll have to wait till they bed down then walk through quiet." "Here, have some beef jerky." "Don´t swallow nothing but the juice." "I´ll go have a look-see." "You feel all right?" "I feel real good, Josey." "We got them whupped." "I want to thank you." "For what?" "For saving my life." "Forget about that, Jamie." "You know something, Josey?" "I ain´t scared no more." "We can start working our way through now, boy." "This rain is giving us the" "This boy was brought up in a time of blood and dying, and never questioned a bit of it." "Never turned his back on his folks or his kind." "I rode with him, I got no complaints." "The bluebellies will give you a better burial than I can, boy." "My name is Josey Wales." "I´ve heard of that name." "Some said you´d be headed this way." "And they said a man could get rich on reward money if he could kill you." "Seems like you were looking to gain some money here." "Actually, I was looking to gain an edge." "I thought you might be someone who would sneak up behind me with a gun." "Where´d you ever get an idea like that?" "It ain´t supposed to be easy to sneak up behind an Indian." "I´m an Indian, all right." "But here in the Nation, they call us the civilized tribe." "They call us civilized because we´re easy to sneak up on." "White men have been sneaking up on us for years." "Cherokee, huh?" "They sneaked up on us and they told us we wouldn´t be happy here." "They said we would be happier in the Nations." "So they took away our land and sent us here." "I have a fine woman and two sons." "But they all died on the Trail of Tears." "And now the white man is sneaking up on me." "Again." "Seems like we can´t trust the white man." "You bet we can´t." "I wore this frock coat in Washington." "Before the war." "We wore them because we belonged to the five civilized tribes." "We dressed ourselves up like Abraham Lincoln." "We got to see the secretary of the interior." "And he said:" ""Boy!" "You boys sure look civilized!"" "He congratulated us and he gave us medals for looking so civilized." "We told him about how our land had been stolen and our people were dying." "When we finished, he shook our hands and said:" ""Endeavor to persevere."" "They stood us in a line." "John Jumper, Chilly Mclntosh Buffalo Hump and Jim Pock Mark and me." "I´m Lone Watie." "They took our pictures." "And the newspaper said:" ""Indians Vow to Endeavor to Persevere."" "We thought about it for a long time." ""Endeavor to persevere."" "And when we had thought about it long enough we declared war on the Union." "Sergeant said this kid tried to ride through their camp." "They got him." "They did, did they?" "They´ve had men on guard here night and day." "No way Wales could get to the Nations." "Where are you going, Fletcher?" "I´m heading into the Indian Nations." "Why don´t you stay here, Redlegs?" "Wales may be back in a year or two." "When we get to the Nations, I want you men to fan out." "$5000 to the one who gets him." "A horned toad can tell you which way to go." "I used to know these things when I was young." "But when I got civilized, I forgot all these things." "I didn´t know which way to go." "The horned toad says we should go to Mexico." "Well, Mr. Lone Watie you can take your horned toad down Mexico way." "I´ve got some unfinished business in Missouri." "I heard General Joe Shelby and some men refused to surrender." "They´re going down to Mexico." "I think I´ll join them." "Shelby, huh?" "I didn´t know others hadn´t surrendered." "I didn´t surrender, neither." "But they took my horse and made him surrender." "They have him pulling a wagon up in IKansas, I´ll bet." "You haven´t got a horse." "What do you plan on doing, walking to Mexico?" "No, there´s a trading post right near the Creek Nation." "They got horses to trade." "You have any food here?" "All I have is a piece of hard rock candy." "But it´s not for eating." "It´s just for looking through." "All right." "I´ll get you a horse." "What have you got there?" "Muskrat." "Muskrat?" "What the hell´s that?" "Muskrat." "No, sir." "You got to come up with something more." "Beaver?" "Beaver ain´t no good no more." "Get me 10 muskrats and 30 beaver pelts and I´ll give you red cloth." "Now that´s a very good bargain for you." "Here." "You go have a drink and think about it." "You bring some drink inside, you hear?" "I´ll tell you, this jerky put it on our bill." "What about these cougar pelts?" "Going to put them on our bill too?" "This what you give those Indians." "Where´s the real stuff?" "What do you take for the squaw?" "She ain´t for sale." "I mean, she ain´t mine." "She works here." "See that nose scar?" "IKnow what that means to a Cheyenne?" "One too many bucks." "Little squaw likes the bucks, huh?" "Tell you, Zukie, you put her on the bill too." "I´ll be looking for a horse." "A horse?" "The horses belong to these gentlemen." "More than likely-- That is I´m sure they´d sell you one." "Look, I´ve got some beer." "Some good brewed choc." "It´s on the house." "You suppose these gentlemen will be available to discuss business before long?" "Give me a bucket of that choc." "I got him!" "I got me Josey Wales!" "5000 gold simoleons walked right in." "Right to us." "Wait a minute!" "He´s in my place." "I recognized him too." "I´m due an even split." "Mr. Chain-Blue Lightning himself." "The one that everyone´s so scared of." "Well, Mr. Lightning move a muscle, twitch a finger and I´ll splatter your guts all over the wall." "When I say move you move real slow like molasses in wintertime." "All right, drop that hammer." "Now, just ease your hands down." "Take them guns out, butt first so´s you can get hold of them." "You understand?" "Nod, damn you!" "Now ease them pistols out." "Well, let´s see you say those horses belong to them pilgrims?" "I´m getting better at sneaking up on you like this." "Only an Indian can do something like this." "That´s what I figured." "You figured?" "Only an Indian could do something like that." "It´s not right, this damn woman doing something like this to me." "I used to have power." "Now old age is creeping up on me." "I think it´s more like old habits than old age." "Who the hell is this woman?" "She was back at the trading post." "Got in some kind of trouble." "She´s not going to Mexico with us." "With us?" "Now wait a minute." "I got you a horse." "You´re on your own now." "I´ve seen a lot today." "I´ve seen patrols of soldiers all day." "Everybody´s looking for you." "She´s not going with us." "She says she´s Navajo but she was captured by the Cheyenne." "She was violated by one of the bucks of the Arapahos." "Their sign is the dirty nose sign." "Cheyenne Chief, Black IKettle figures that she did not resist enough." "Hell, man, can´t you get her to shut up?" "Anyway, she says when she came to that trading post she didn´t know this man, Zukie Limmer was selling liquor." "She also wants you to know that although he beat her a lot nothing happened between them." "And she says you are a great warrior and that she sort of belongs to you for what you done for her." "Look, you tell her I don´t want nobody belonging to me." "That meal was damn good." "I´m going to take up tepee living if it´s like this." "You know, she thinks I´m some kind of a Cherokee chief." "I wonder where she ever got that idea." "Chief!" "I was just wondering." "I suppose that mangy hound´s got no place else to go either." "He might as well ride along with us." "Hell, everybody else is." "Hey, you!" "Want to buy some Indian scalps?" "Nasty habit, young fellow." "You born in the barn?" "The wheat is from IKansas and the molasses comes from Missouri." "We´ll do without molasses." "Anything from Missouri has a taint about it." "Grandma, you´ve got to tread lightly now we´re here in Texas." "Lots of nice elements from Missouri coming West." "Nothing nice comes from Missouri." "And treading lightly is not my way." "We´re from IKansas." "Jayhawkers, and proud of it." "I know how you feel." "I´m a Hoosier, myself." "Personally, I don´t think much of Hoosiers neither." "Yes, friends, yes!" "This is a positive remedy for weariness turgidity of the bowels and" "Say, you´re an Indian, aren´t you?" "You speak any English?" "Well, sir, this is the very best thing for those who can´t handle their liquor." "What´s in it?" "I don´t know." "Various things." "I´m only the salesman." "You drink it." "What´s that?" "You drink it." "What can you expect from a nonbeliever?" "That old lady don´t know the trouble she can get into talking like that." "Too many folks around here with thin skin." "Lots of Southern boys been getting into trouble here." "Cullen Baker and Captain Bob Lee been fighting over in Fannin County." "Bill Longley, Creed Taylor and all them other Taylors down in Gonzalez." "IKilled Simp Dixon over in Cotton Gin weighted him down with lead." "I got a picture postcard of it." "Here." "Have a look." "Josey Wales." "What say?" "Josey Wales." "They say he´s coming into Texas." "Won´t come through here, though." "IKilled 50, 60 men." "Regulators are all over the place looking for him." "How much for all this?" "Three dollars." "Those regulators would pay plenty to the man who could identify Josey Wales." "Reckon so." "How about you, sir?" "Just a few bottles left." "You won´t regret it." "Oh, my God!" "It´s Josey Wales!" "You going to pull those pistols or whistle "Dixie"?" "Goddamn Indian squaw!" "Let´s go!" "Welcome to Texas, Mr. Lone Watie." "I guess we ain´t going to see that little Navajo girl again." "I guess not." "I kind of liked her." "But it´s always like that." "Like what?" "Whenever I get to liking someone, they ain´t around long." "I notice when you get to disliking someone they ain´t around long neither." "How did you know which one was going to shoot first?" "That one in the center had a flap holster and he was in no itching hurry." "And the one second from the left had scared eyes." "He wasn´t going to do nothing." "But that one on the far left had crazy eyes." "Figured him to make the first move." "And the one on the right?" "Never paid no him no mind." "You were there." "I could have missed." "Yes, sir!" "It was Josey Wales, all right!" "Saw him heading north out of town with a renegade lnjun." "I can identify him." "And I´d certainly be glad to share in any reward." "IKnew him quite well, actually." "Well, not a hard man to track." "Leaves dead men wherever he goes." "He´s heading north now riding with a renegade Indian." "He´s heading north now, but he´ll turn southwest head for Mexico." "Then we´ll turn southwest and head for Mexico." "Tell them to head north." "What are you talking about?" "Look at those boys over there with tied-down guns." "Bounty hunters." "Come out of a war, got no other way to make a living." "Every last mother´s son of them wants that money you´ve got on Wales´ head." "You and me didn´t ride all that way for that." "I don´t want to hear Wales is dead." "I want to see Wales dead." "We´re heading north, men." "Let´s ride." "They´re following us." "Couple of horses, far off, moving fast." "I don´t hear nothing." "Got to be an Indian to know those things." "All right, let´s take them out in the sand." "Glad you stopped me when you did." "I might have killed her." "I noticed that." "She got some supplies and our horses and followed us around." "She said we were the only kin she had." "I bet we are, at that." "You know, every man I ever knew who was good with a gun and lived always had an edge." "Some of them would like to have the sun behind their back." "That´s always a good idea." "Sure pays to have an edge." "All kind of edges." "Howdy." "Is something wrong?" "I guess you were right." "I ain´t that old after all." "Not many men west of here." "We´re getting into Comanche country." "Wagon tracks." "But I never seen tracks like these." "Never heard of Comanches traveling in two-wheeled carts." "Comancheros trade liquor and guns to Comanche for horses." "Trade women too." "How many?" "Eight maybe nine horses, and a couple of carts." "Those poor pilgrims from IKansas." "They don´t look too proud now, do they?" "You son of a bitch!" "Ten Bears is going to want a fresh woman!" "Fresh, that little gal will bring maybe 20 horses." "Now if one of you has to, take that old woman over there." "She might be worth maybe one donkey." "Fix yourself." "Move faster!" "If you fall they´ll let you die." "IKeep walking." "Come around here, bitch." "Come around here." "Now you listen to me." "I want you looking real good when we get to Ten Bears." "So I want you to jump in that wagon and put on one of your best little dresses." "It might boost your price." "If you look good enough, I might outbid old Ten Bears and take you for myself." "If I figure this right we´re facing the sun." "This ought to give him an edge." "Who are you talking about?" "What the hell does he want?" "Looks like a parlay." "Are you just going to sit there or you going to see what he wants?" "Get ready, little lady." "Hell is coming to breakfast." "That´s a mighty nice horse you got there, mister." "Would you sell it?" "We will give you a good price." "Now spit!" "Just get off the horse." "Get out of the way!" "Now you´ll kill us, I suppose." "I´d have been halfway to Mexico by now except for that crazy squaw." "I can´t understand a word she says." "I knew that would bring you." "Help us!" "Help us." "Comanches." "They won´t like us killing friends of theirs." "We better get moving." "Looks like a family of hogs just moved out of the seat of these britches." "I had such beautiful clothes I was taking to our ranch." "Whereabouts is this ranch?" "My son´s ranch, he found before the war near a town called Santa Rio." "Creek with good water trees, cattle, black-tailed deer." "It´s a regular paradise we´re headed to." "Out there?" "Your son told you this was out there?" "He told me that." "Near a place called Blood Butte." "My son was true-blue, Mr. Wales." "He never lied." "It´ll be there, all right." "Yes, ma´am, I´m sure it will be." "Cottonwoods, live oaks wild horses antelope lots of quail." "You see them?" "What?" "The clouds over there." "Clouds are like dreams floating across a sky-blue mind." "I never thought of them that way." "Indian this Mr. Wales is a cold-blooded killer." "He´s from Missouri where they´re known to be killers of innocent men, women and children." "Would you rather be riding with Comancheros, Grannie?" "No, I wouldn´t." "What´ll you have?" "Whiskey." "Whiskey, he says!" "How about something else?" "Beer then." "And get those gents whatever they´re drinking." "You too, ma´am." "That´s mighty decent of you." "Been a long time since anybody bought a drink around here." "About as long as we had anything to drink around here." "Or anything else." "Yeah, first the silver run out of the Santa Rio." "Then the people run out." "Then the whiskey." "Then the beer run out." "Well, no matter." "It´s good to see a high roller wander through." "I didn´t mean to offend him." "I guess some fellows just don´t like to be called high rollers." "You know, I knew a fellow once, he didn´t like to be called highhanded." "We´ll have whiskey all around." "Comanchero brand." "Angels of mercy come to Santa Rio!" "This ain´t Santa Rio." "My son, Tom Turner, said it was a thriving place." "It was." "But when the silver ran out, the thriving ran out." "That´s right." "I do declare." "Might you be the mother of Tom Turner whose Crooked River Ranch is over by Blood Butte?" "That I might, miss." "I am Rose." "Rose of Santa Rio." "I reckon he wrote you all about me." "I don´t recollect that." "After his Lucy passed on he didn´t show much interest in women." "My sonny-boy kept his nose to the grindstone, making a future for me and his daughter there." "I do seem to recall him telling me something about a daughter who was a little odd." "He was killed in the Border War by Missouri ruffians." "He died a proud member of Senator Jim Lane´s Redlegs fighting for the just cause!" "I am sorry to hear that." "I mean, he was of the finest sort." "Señora, please sit down." "You must be very, very tired." "I am deeply sorrowed to hear this." "In past years my friend and I were of service to your Tom Turner." "And now we are at your service." "Why, I appreciate your concern." "I am glad to find manners at last, here in the wilderness." "We have endured hardship of the worst sort on the way out here." "Grandpa Samuel and Uncle Enoch fell prey to Comancheros." "Let´s drink to the silver running out." "Gave us some peace and quiet here!" "Bad luck, the silver running out." "I wouldn´t have any other kind!" "What´ll you have?" "I´m looking for Josey Wales." "That´ll be me." "You´re wanted, Wales." "Reckon I´m right popular." "You a bounty hunter?" "A man´s got to do something for a living these days." "Dying ain´t much of a living, boy." "You know, this isn´t necessary." "You can just ride on." "I had to come back." "I know." "Comanche?" "Comanches, all right." "Any more of them?" "I think that´s all there is but they have horses packing antelope so I figure they´re not a raiding party." "But you never can tell, these Comanches." "You stay with the cart." "Just looking us over, I guess." "They´re packing heavy." "They may return." "All right, let´s move out." "If they ride with Ten Bears they will come back." "Ten Bears is the greatest Comanche war chief." "But he´s angry." "Each year, he has met with one of your bluecoat generals." "Ain´t my generals." "And each year he is pushed further across the plains." "General Sherman has come with more promises." "But Ten Bears will move no more." "It´s so beautiful." "All right, we can get to work dusting first." "Got a nice Dutch oven in the fireplace here." "Mr. Wales, you men chop some wood." "Now, get everything done." "Mr. Wales!" "Did you come all this way to gawk?" "If you don´t work, you don´t eat around here." "Didn´t figure you for a loafer." "You know, she told me it´s the first time she ever had a place of her own." "Grandma says it´s our home." "It is all of ours." "I´m glad there will be a man around to take care of things." "I´ll be dropping back from time to time probably just to hole up." "Why don´t you stay with us?" "Be our partner." "They won´t miss you." "Maybe they´ll forget you." "You know there ain´t no forgetting." "Pa!" "Hey, there, Josey!" "We´re going to Santa Rio!" "Lord thanks a lot for bringing us to this place." "Pa and Daniel died at the hands of that low-down, murdering trash out of hell that done them in." "But they put up a good fight and died the best they could." "And thanks a lot for Josey Wales who you changed from a murdering bushwhacker on the side of Satan to a better man in time to deliver us from the Philistines." "And thank you, Lord, for getting us together in Texas." "Are you all right?" "Ten Bears he got Travis and Chato." "He´ll be riding here in the morning." "If I was looking for a place to hole up, I´d pick this one." "Walls and ceiling, 2 feet thick." "All made out of mud, nothing to burn." "Two doors, front and back, right in sight of one another." "These here crosses are to fire rifles through." "Up and down, side to side." "Tom Turner knew what he was doing." "You bet." "I´ll be shooting out that door." "I´d rather have you sit right there and do the loading." "Can you do that?" "I can." "Moonlight I want you to go to this door." "You fire through here, all right?" "Laura Lee, right through this window." "Can you shoot?" "I´ll try." "Lone, you take this window right over here and the door." "Where there´s the most firing." "You´ll have to keep an eye on that hallway there because the only blind spot is the ceiling." "They´ll get around to it eventually." "They can´t shoot through it, but they might dig a hole in it and drop down, maybe in the back bedroom." "Now remember when things look bad, and it looks like you won´t make it then you got to get mean." "I mean plumb, mad dog mean!" "Because if you lose your head and give up, then you neither live nor win." "That´s just the way it is." "Use pistols at short range." "More fire power and less reloading." "IKeep this fire going." "IKeep an iron on it red-hot." "Anybody gets hit, slap iron to it." "That´s the fastest way to stop the blood." "What´s all that paint about?" "It´s my death face." "You know, we´re sure going to show them redskins something tomorrow!" "No offense meant." "None taken." "Where´s he going?" "He knows he can do the best for us on the back of a horse." "He´s a guerrilla fighter." "He figures he can carry the fight to the enemy." "He´s going down into the valley to kill Ten Bears and as many of the men as he can." "How will he do that and come back here?" "He won´t come back." "You be Ten Bears?" "I am Ten Bears." "I´m Josey Wales." "I have heard." "You´re the Gray Rider." "You would not make peace with the bluecoats." "You may go in peace." "I reckon not." "Got nowhere to go." "Then you will die." "I came here to die with you." "Or live with you." "Dying´s not hard for you and me." "It´s living that´s hard when all you ever cared about has been butchered or raped." "Governments don´t live together." "People live together." "Governments don´t give you a fair word or a fair fight." "I´ve come here to give you either one." "Or get either one from you." "I came here like this so you´ll know my word of death is true." "And that my word of life is then true." "The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche." "And so will we." "We´ll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does." "And every spring when the Comanche moves north he can rest here in peace butcher some of our cattle and jerk beef for the journey." "The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge." "That´s my word of life." "And your word of death?" "It´s here in my pistols and there in your rifles." "I´m here for either one." "These things you say we will have, we already have." "That´s true." "I ain´t promising you nothing extra." "I´m just giving you life, and you´re giving me life." "And I´m saying men can live together without butchering one another." "It´s sad that governments are chiefed by the double-tongues." "There is iron in your words of death for all Comanches to see." "And so there is iron in your words of life." "No signed paper can hold the iron." "It must come from men." "The words of Ten Bears carry the same iron of life and death." "It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life or death." "It shall be life." "So will it be." "I reckon so." "I´ll be damned!" "Look at this!" "Come." "Sit down." "Oh, I´m so glad to see you!" "Sit down." "I never been so glad to see an Indian." "I´ve got something to show you, Mr. Wales." "I made this chain for you." "I braided it from my hair." "That´s real nice." "It really is." "It´s a watch chain." "It´s a nice one." "It will come in handy." "I thank you for it." "You do have a watch, don´t you?" "I´ve been meaning to get one." "Could we play a song for you?" "I´m afraid I don´t really know too many songs." "Could we play something you like?" "Come on." "Only song I can think of is "Rose of Alabama."" "We remember that old piece." "Rosie, come here." "Do you dance?" "Me neither." "I could see him through this window when he shot my partner." "He was traveling with an old lnjun and a squaw and some old lady and a scrawny girl." "Had to be him." "He had this scar right on his face, right here." "I wasn´t about to face him down alone." "You men get them horses out of sight." "If Josey Wales comes back here, we´ll buy him a drink." "IKansas was all golden and smelled like sunshine." "I always heard there were 3 kinds of suns in IKansas." "Sunshine sunflowers and sons of bitches." "At least that´s something." "I heard a joke about Missouri once." "Something about how people from Missouri are always saying, "Show me."" "Do you know it?" "I think it was:" ""What does a man from Missouri say if someone asks him to see a Missouri mule?"" "He says, "Show me."" "Get it?" "They teach dumb jokes to pretty girls in IKansas." "They teach other things." "Show me." "Pa!" "You´re up kind of early, aren´t you?" "It´s been nice riding with you." "Same here." "When you get to town, get some nice dresses for the ladies, you hear?" "I will." "Get something specially nice for Laura Lee for when I come back in the spring." "Or the following spring." "Sometimes trouble just follows a man." "Hell, I´ve been here way too long as it" "I reckon so." "You´re all alone now, Wales." "Not quite alone." "Now we´re really going to show these palefaces something!" "No offense." "None taken." "These freebooters are a slander to IKansas attacking innocent women like this." "The bullets were flying and people running every which way." "Church bells were ringing." "Me and Miss Rose were ducking for cover." "Because one didn´t know where the shots were coming" "Mr. Wilson!" "Good morning." "Hello, Mr. Wilson." "We were just telling a little story about an outlaw passed through this way a while back." "I don´t suppose you´d know about him but" "These two fellows down here is Texas Rangers." "Been on his trail, along with this other fellow over here." "What did you say your name was, friend?" "Fletcher." "That´s right, Mr. Fletcher." "Anyway, they´ve been chasing this outlaw and it just so happens old Ten Spot here knows all about it." "Yes, sir." "It was down in Monterey, Mexico, a little while back." "Anyway, this outlaw fellow he went up against 5 pistoleros." "He got 3 of them before they cut him down." "Is that right, Miss Rose?" "That´s right." "His name was Josey Wales." "Yeah, that´s it." "Josey Wales." "If that´s what happened, then Josey Wales must be dead." "He is dead." "He sure is dead." "Dead, all right." "Will you sign this affidavit?" "Sign?" "I sure will." "That´s it." "Nice seeing you, Mr. Wilson." "Must be 5000 lawmen in Texas right now." "Can´t get them all." "I guess that´s the truth." "You fellows get back up this way, stop in." "I reckon we won´t be coming back this way." "I don´t believe that story about Josey Wales." "You don´t?" "No, sir, I don´t." "I don´t believe no 5 pistoleros could do in Josey Wales." "Maybe it was 6." "Could have even been 10." "I think he´s still alive." "Alive?" "No, sir." "I think I´ll go down to Mexico to try to find him." "And then?" "He´s got the first move." "I owe him that." "I´ll try to tell him the war is over." "What do you say?" "I reckon so." "I guess we all died a little in that damn war."