"You ever think about dying?" "Yeah." "You?" "Yeah." "Some." "You think there's a heaven?" "Yeah." "Don't you?" "I don't know." "Yeah, maybe." "You think you can believe there's a heaven if you don't believe in hell?" "I guess you can believe what you want to." "This ranch has been in my family as long as anyone can remember." "My granddaddy used to tell me this was heaven on earth, just like his granddaddy used to tell him." "Everything's changed now since he died." " I appreciate you lighting' them candles." " Como?" "Las candelas." "Las velas." "My mother?" "Si." "She was here?" "Si." "All I ever wanted was to live out there like he did, work my own spread." "Can't imagine no better life." "I've come to find out mama aims to sell it." "Says the oil company'd pay three times what it's worth." "Mama lives in San Antonio now with her new husband." "May the lord bless and keep you." "She wants to be in live theater." "As your granddaddy's only child, your mother inherits outright." "It's her property now." "She can do whatever she wants with it." "I don't have any say-so?" "What about my father?" "They're divorced." "You could talk to her." " You're a lawyer." " Well, I have talked to her, but..." "It's a sorry piece of business, but, son, not everybody thinks that life on a cattle ranch in west Texas is the second best thing to dying' and goin' to heaven." "She don't wanna live out there, that's all." "If it was a paying' proposition, that'd be one thing, but it ain't." "It could be." "I could run it." "It's his own damn fault." "Your father signed every piece of paper she set in front of him, never lifted a hand to save himself." " I told him to get a lawyer, hell, I begged him." " Well..." "I'm sorry not to have no better news for you, son, but some things in this world can't be helped, and I believe this is probably one of 'em." "She went back to San Antonio." "Don't call her "she."" "Mama." "You know I thought the world of that old man, don't you?" "Yeah." "Don't go crying on me now." " I ain't." " Well, don't." "I ain't." "What do you think I should do?" "I don't think there's much you can do." "Will you talk to her?" "I can't talk to her." "You could talk to her." "Last conversation I had with her was in San Diego, California, in 1942." "It ain't her fault." "I ain't the same as I once was." "I like to think I am, but I ain't." "You are, inside." "Inside, you are." "It's hard to watch the very people you came from waste away right before your eyes." "And when the land is gone, too," "I reckon there's nothing to stand on or stand for, either." "When do y'all have to be out?" "Closing's the first of June." "You could wait till then." "What for?" "Down in Mexico, they got ranches so big, you can't ride from one end to the other in a week." "It ain't all fenced in and sold off and played out." "Not down there." "You think they can't use two more top hands?" "Real cowboys?" "Just like the old-time waddies." "If I don't go, will you go anyways?" "I'm already gone." " Is that you, bud?" " You'd better hope so." " You ready?" " Yeah." "They suspect anything?" "No." " Let's go." " Hang on a minute." "I gotta pile all this stuff..." " Yonder goes the light." " Damn!" "You gonna be late for your own funeral." "He could just be gettin' him a glass of milk or something." "He could just be loadin' a shotgun." "Yeah." "Lacey, shut up." "Lacey." "There's been somebody following us." " Somebody a-horseback?" " Yeah." "Come on." "Some kid." "That's a hell of a horse." "Ain't it, though?" "You hunting' us?" "No, I ain't hunting' you." "Then how come you following' us?" "I ain't." "I'm goin' to langtry." " I don't even know who y'all are." " Where'd you get that horse?" " This is my horse." " How old are you?" "Sixteen." "You're a lyin' sack of spit!" " You don't know everything." " I know you ain't no God damn 16." "What'd you do, run off?" "What if I did?" " We could sell this horse in Mexico." " Yeah." "You want to?" " I ain't diggin' no grave like we done that last one." " Hell, that was your idea." "I was the one that said just leave him for the buzzards." "Call it." "Heads." "Damn!" "Let me have your rifle." "It ain't fair." "You shot the last three." "You go on then." "You can owe me." "Better hold his horse." "Might not be gun-broke." "Y'all ain't never shot nobody." "What makes you think you wouldn't be a good somebody to start with?" "Y'all just funnin'." "I knowed it all along." "Who's huntin' you?" "Nobody." "They're huntin' that horse though, ain't they?" "You ain't riding' with us." "Get us throwed in the jailhouse." " He belongs to me!" " Son, I don't give a shit who he belongs to, but he damn sure don't belong to you." "Now, let's go, bud." "I thought he'd put up more of a argument." "We ain't seen the last of his skinny ass." "That's her, ain't it?" "That's the God damn Rio Grande." "Just think, over yonder's old Mexico." "Yep." "You reckon you wanna cross now?" "Yeah." "You?" "Yeah." "Maybe we'd better rest these horses up first." "All right." "Shit." "I got a uneasy feelin' about that little son of a bitch." "I do too." "He ain't as green as he looks, neither." "There won't nobody be huntin' me in Mexico." " That all depends on what you done." " What's your name?" "Jimmy blevins." "You got any grub?" "No." "You got any money?" "No." "You're just a deadhead." "Just tell me one thing, what the hell would we want you with us for?" "'Cause I'm a American." "When'd you eat last?" "Other day." "Your name ain't blivet, is it?" "Blevins." "You know what a blivet is?" "No, what?" "A blivet's 10 pounds of shit in a 5-pound sack." " Y'all ain't said what y'all's names was." " I'm John Grady Cole." "This here's Lacey rawlins." "We're from San Angelo." "Where you from?" "Uvalde county, near the sabinal river." "What made you light out for Mexico, blevins?" "Same reason as you." "What reason is that?" "'Cause you know they'd go bowlegged and blind finding' your ass down here." "There ain't nobody hunting' me." "I told that son of a bitch he wasn't whuppin' me again," " and he didn't." " Your daddy?" "No." "My daddy never did come back from the war." "Your stepdaddy." "Yeah." "Lord, I know what it's like to get a beatin'." "You didn't shoot him, did you?" "I would've, and he knowed it." "Suppose we want to trade that horse off there for one less likely to get us shot." "I ain't trading' horses." "We ain't no God damn wet nurses." " Well, I can take care of myself." " Sure, you can." "Hell, you're a regular ol' desperado, ain't you?" "I reckon you got your own gun and everything." "Well, yeah, I got a gun." "What kind of a gun?" "30-220 Colt." "Bullshit!" "Well, that's a rifle cartridge." "Let's see it." "Where'd you get a gun like this?" "At the gettin' place." "You ever shot it?" " Yeah, I shot it." " Can you hit anything with it?" "Anything you want." "Bullshit." "All right, let's go, outlaw." "Come on." "You ready, Annie oakley?" "Waitin' on you." "God damn!" "Let me see it." " Let me see it." " We better get goin'." "Come on." "Give it to me." "You know what it looks like." "It's my wallet." " Hey!" " Hoo!" "Look at this kid." "She got anything to drink?" "Tiene algo que tomar?" "Si." "What is that?" "Que es?" "Sidra." "Cider." "Let's have three of 'em." " Mande?" " Tres." "How much is it?" " Cuanto?" " Para todo?" " Si." " Uno cincuenta." "That's like three cents." "Let your ol' dad buy it then." "He about dead-centered your pocketbook, didn't he?" "I want you to look at my God damn driver's license." "And my pool hall card." "You won't need them down here." " Look at this shit." " Appreciate it." "Shot Betty ward right between the eyes." "What's she doing in there?" "I didn't know you liked her." "What is this?" "Cactus juice or somethin'?" "I don't know." "Got a little kick to it, though, don't it?" "I think it does." "Pretty daggone good." "Well, say it again." "Say my name again." "I know, Santiago." "Golly!" "What am I doing leaving my hat on the bed." "Shit!" "That's what I'm gonna do." "You shouldn't have no more cider." "Hey." "Shit." "Hoo." "I'm drunker than shit." "Well, can you ride or not?" "Hell, yeah, I can ride." "I was ridin' when I fell off." "I'm a regular buckaroo." "Certified damn bronc filly." "Just leave the son of a bitch to lay there." "Get on the horse and quit assing around." "It's fixin' to come a good one." "Come on." "We can't be out in this." "Well, where do you think you're gonna go?" "Why can't you be out in it?" "On account of the lightning." "Well, damn if you don't look halfway sober all of a sudden." "You afraid of lightning?" "It runs in the family." "My grandpa, he was killed in West Virginia in a mine bucket." "It run all the way down the hole to get him, 180 feet." "I got a great-Uncle on my mother's side, he was killed off a horse." "It didn't singe a hair off that horse, but it killed him graveyard dead." "I got a cousin not four years older than me." "He was struck by lightning comin' back from his barn." "Melted the filling's in his teeth and soldered his jaw shut." "He's gone completely dipshit." "Man, I done been struck twice myself." "I completely deaf in this one ear." "I'm born for death by fire, man." "You better get away from anything metal at all." "You don't know what it'd get you." "Spurs in your boots, buttons on your shirt..." "What do you intend to do?" "Outride it." "You can't outride a thunderstorm." "What the hell is wrong with you?" "Man, it's the only chance I got." "I knowed it from the first time I seen him, that son of a bitch had a loose wing nut." "What the hell are you doin'?" "Just setting' here." "If this rain hits hard, there's gonna be a river come down through here like a train." "You thought about that?" "You ain't never been struck by lightning." "You don't know what it's like." "You gonna get drowned setting' there." "Well, that's all right." "I ain't never been drowned before." "Well, I'll say no more." "Your horse is gone." "Yeah, I know." "I done been on foot lookin' around this mornin'." "Where'd you find that boot?" "On the ground." "Well, what do you aim to do?" "I don't know." "Well, get your ass up outta there." "Let's go." "Got a spare shirt in my saddlebag." "You can put that on." "Appreciate it." "Rawlins is gonna pitch a pure hissy when he sees you." "I don't give a shit." "There's my damn pistol." "Hold on." "Hold on." "Keep ridin'." "Good God almighty." "I ain't leaving' here till I get my stuff back, my gun too." "There you go, listen at that." "Get us all shot dead for horse-stealin'." "Don't mean a God damn thing to him." "Hey, it ain't horse-stealin'." "It's my horse!" " Listen here, shit-for-brains..." " Y'all hush." " Both of you." " If it weren't for your buddy here..." "And get over here and sit down." "We're gonna stick here until about a hour before daylight." "Now, you gotta play this exactly like we say." "If that don't satisfy you, you tell us right now." "Yeah, okay." "All right." "You go on and get some sleep." "And no fire tonight." "Every dumb thing I ever done in my life, there was a decision I made before that got me into it." "It was never the dumb thing." "It was always some choice I made before it." "You understand what I'm sayin'?" "Yeah, I think so." "Meanin' what?" "Meanin', this is it." "This is our last chance, right now." "There won't be no other time, I guarantee it." "Meaning, just leave him?" "Yes, sir." "What if it was you?" "I wouldn't leave you." "You wouldn't leave me." "That ain't no argument." "You realize the fix he's in?" "Yeah, I realize it." "It's the fix he's put himself in." "I can't do it." "Well, if you can't, you can't." "I guess I knew what you'd say anyways." "No." "Damn it." "That little son of a bitch!" "Hold up." "Hold up." "Let's listen." "You little son of a bitch." "Boys, they're comin'." "Cars or horses?" "Horses." "And there ain't no way y'all can keep up with me." "Listen, I'll take the road." "They'll follow the dust since it's me they're huntin'." "Y'all get out in the woods." "I'll see y'all down the road." "He's right." "Let's get off this damn road." "You think they caught him?" "I don't know." "I'll say one thing for him, anyways." "What's that?" "Little son of a bitch wouldn't stand still for nobody hijacking his horse." "You got your boots on?" "Yeah." "All right." "You reckon they're friendly?" "Shoot, I hope so." " Buenos dias." " Buenos dias." "Buenos dias." "He said "maybe."" "Gracias." " Si." " Si." "Hyah!" "Did you see that little darlin'?" "Watch it, Lacey." "Bring him over here." "Get in there." "Bueno." "Hey, bud." "How long you reckon you'd like to stay here?" "About 100 years." "Now go to sleep." "Me alegro, mi jefe." "Conseguiste El caballo?" "There's don Hector Rocha y villareal." "Owns this whole shebang, one of the last great ranches in Mexico." "27,000 acres." "Flies his own plane back and forth to Mexico City every week." "Manuel said this ranch'd been in his family 170 years." "You reckon that was his daughter we seen yesterday?" "Yeah, I guess it was." "Let me go get my boots on." "Looks like there's about 12 or 13 of them." "I make it 16." "Armando said the old man's got something like 400 mustangs up on that mesa." "Damn." "You think you and me could break all 16 of 'em in four days?" "Why four days?" "You think we could do it?" "You'd be about a wore-out-sum-buck, I'll tell you that." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "We'll have a look at 'em and go talk to Armando." "How you doin'?" "I'm all right." "We mess this up, bud, it's gonna be a long ride back to Texas." " Ho." " Give him some slack, bud." " That's it." " That's it." "Boy." "Take him, bud." "I'm gonna put a saddle on you right now." "Gracias." "Gracias." "Gracias." "Senores." "Senores." "You tired?" "Hector de la Rocha, y Villareal." "John Grady Cole." "Armando says you know a lot about horses." "I been around 'em some." "Do you know what a criollo is?" "Yes, sir." "It's a Argentine horse." "You're from Texas?" "Yes, sir." "San Angelo?" "Why are you here?" "I just wanted to see the country, I reckon, or we did." " You and your friend." " Yes, sir." "But you are the leader." "We don't have no leaders." "No, we're just buddies." "Of course." "I recently purchased a thoroughbred stallion of excellent blood." "You gonna raise race horses?" "No." "Quarter horses." "I'm thinking of breeding my stallion with my mustano mares." "What's your opinion on that?" "Well, I've known it done." "There's been some good cow horses sired out of thoroughbreds." "What importance do you place on the mare?" "Same as a sire." "In my opinion." "Most breeders would place more confidence in the stallion." "Yes, sir, they do." "But I agree with you." "And you rode all the way here from Texas?" "Yes, sir." "You and your friend?" "Yes, sir." "Just the two of you." "Yes, sir." "Just me and him." "Well, Mr. Cole, would you like to see some horses?" "Yes, sir." "It ain't like you is going off some place." "No." "We'll still be working together." "It's a good opportunity for you." "Hell, I'd do it." "They told me to come bunk in here." "I was gonna put my horse in one of these stalls." "Well, I guess we can talk later." "Gracias." "That's your mare, right there." "Look at the eye on her." "She's not as big as the other one, but that's your mare right there." "Looks like some of 'em got their hats on, bud." "I figure you just must be ready to cry yourself to sleep every night." "She's probably used to dating' guys got their own airplanes, let alone cars." " You're probably right." " Well, I'm glad to hear you say it." "It don't change nothing, though, does it?" "Con permiso." " Hi." " Hola." "Hola." " Como estas?" " Muy bien." "My name is John Grady Cole." "My name is Alejandra." "I know." "I hoped that you would come." "I come because I..." "I thought you'd be here." "I know." "My granddaddy lived his whole life on that ranch, seventy-four years." "Seemed there could hardly be one without the other." "Well." "I guess country lasts forever." "People ain't but for a little while." "And how will you live now?" "Where will your home be?" "What's wrong?" "I dreamed about you last night." "What'd you dream about?" "Someday I may tell you, but not tonight." "I have something in my nose?" "No." "I have something in my nose." "Yo y solo yo." "A hell of a horse." "Hola." "I want to ride him." "What?" "I want to ride him." "When?" "Now." " I want to ride him now." " Well, he don't have a saddle on." "I know." "Well, I don't think the patron would want me to give him to you without a saddle on him." "Your father." " Get down." " You sure about this?" "Yes." "Hurry." "Well, what do you aim to do with your horse?" "I want you to take him back to the barn for me." "Somebody's gonna see me." "Fixin' to get me in trouble." "You are in trouble." "I am senorita alfonsa." "I'm John Grady Cole." "I'm happy that you have come." "Alejandra will be in Mexico City with her mother for two weeks, then she'll be here for the summer." "Alejandra and I disagree strongly." "In fact I..." "She's so much like me at that age that I seem, at times, to be struggling with my own past self." "So, you see, I cannot help but be sympathetic to Alejandra." "But I won't have her unhappy." "I won't have her spoken ill of or gossiped about." "I know what that is." "It is not proper for you to be seen riding in campo together without supervision." "I considered whether to speak to my niece about it, but I..." "I've decided not to." "What do you want me to do?" "I want you to be considerate of a young girl's reputation." "I never meant not to be." "I believe you." "But, you see, this is another country." "Here, a woman's reputation is all she has." "There's no forgiveness for women." "A man may lose his honor and regain it again, but a woman cannot." "I guess I'd have to say that that don't seem right." "It's not a matter of right." "It's a matter of who must say, and, in this matter," "I get to say." "Quien es?" "Un momento." "What is it?" "You're gonna wake Esteban." "Then invite me in." "What did she say to you, my aunt?" "What?" "You wanna sit down?" "Go on." "What did she say to you?" "Didn't she tell you what she said to me?" "Of course she did." "What did she say?" "She said she didn't want me bein' seen with you in the campo." "And you agreed?" "You are afraid of her." "No." "Just like everyone else." "It ain't like that." "I hate the way she treats me." "I thought you were my friend." "You tell me what you want me to do." "I'll do anything you say." "Me quieres?" "Si." "See you after a while." "Look, I know the old man likes you." "That don't mean he's gonna set still for you courting' his daughter." "Yeah, I know." " Well, I don't see you holdin' no aces, bud." " Yeah." "What I see is you fixin' to get us fired and throwed off this place." "Take it easy, bud!" "Pero no me quiero ir!" "What's this all about, partner?" "Do you understand "shut up"?" "I ain't above whipping' your ass, you know." "Don't you think if we're gonna get out of this jackpot, we might better start thinking about how to get out of it together?" "What?" "The way we got in it?" "You think it was Rocha?" "You think he sold us down the river?" "I tried to reason with you." "I tried any number of times." "I know." "I know." "Some things ain't reasonable." "Look, I'm the same man you crossed that river with." "How I was is how I am." "And all I know to do is stick." "I don't believe in signing on just until it quits suiting you." "You either stick or you quit." "And I wouldn't quit you, I don't care what you done." "That's about all I got to say." "I never quit you." "All right." "Hey, y'all." "God help me." "How long you been in here?" "I don't know." "A long time." "At least a month." "You told 'em to hunt us, didn't you?" "Nah." "I wouldn't do nothin' like that." "Bullshit." "They wouldn't be hunting us if they got that horse back." " He done something." " It was my damn horse." "My gun too." " What'd you do?" " I didn't do nothin' nobody else wouldn't have." " Did you come back here?" " Damn right I come back here." "Jesus." "God." "What'd you do?" "He said he killed three men." "That's a damn lie." "Cuidado con El bote." "Don't step in the bucket." "We're dead." "We're dead men." "I knew it'd come to this." "I knew it from the first moment I seen him." " Don't start that." "It's not gonna help anything." " Ain't but one of 'em died." "Tell me what happened." "Well, I got me a job on this farm." "Saved me up some money." "Then I rode back here to get my pistol." "And I seen it sticking in some bitch's belt," " so I just went up behind him and grabbed it." " And shot him?" "Well, he come at me." "What choice did I have?" "What choice..." "Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at, they done all caught back up with me." "An old boy, I shot off his horse." "He throwed down on me with a shotgun." "A rurale?" "Did you shoot a rurale?" "Yeah." "Dead?" "Yeah." "What do you think they mean to do with you?" "Send me to the penitentiary, I reckon." "You ain't gonna be that lucky." "Well, I'm too young to hang." " They'll lie about your age for you." " Don't listen to him." "There ain't no capital punishment in this country." "You knew they were comin' hunting' us, didn't you?" "What was I supposed to do, send you a telegram?" "What happened to your feet?" "They busted the hell out of 'em." "They didn't give you no bandage or nothin' like that?" "No." "Shit." "Vamonos." "You tell 'em whatever they want to hear, bud." "It won't make a diff." "What'd you tell 'em?" "I told 'em we was murderers and horse thieves." "You will too." "Your friend told us everything." "Better that you do the same, and that way you avoid some trouble." "You had no right to beat up on that boy." "We don't know nothin' about blevins." "He asked to ride with us, that's all." "We don't know nothin' about that horse." "Horse got away from me in the thunderstorm and then showed up here." "And that's when all the trouble started." "We've been working for senor Rocha going on three months down in LA purisima." "He went down there and told them a bunch of lies." "Lacey rawlins' as good a boy as ever's come out of tom green county." "Is that the criminal Smith's?" "The name ain't Smith, it's rawlins." "And he ain't a criminal." "I grew up with him." "The assassin blevins, he did not have any documents." "He lost his clothes." "He lost his clothes?" "He has no feathers." "He what?" "He has no feathers." "I wouldn't know anything about that." "That don't interest me." "Why does he come over here and steal the horses?" " It was his horse." " No, it's not his horse." "Well, you have it your own ignorant way." "Como?" "As far as I know, that horse is his horse." "He had it with him in Texas, and I know he brought it down to Mexico, 'cause I seen him ride it across the river." "That is not the facts." "We can make the truth here or we can lose it here." "But in three days, you're going to be going to saltillo." "And then it's gonna be too late for the truth." "Too late, because you're gonna be in the hands of other peoples." "Who's to say what the truth is gonna be then?" "And then you're gonna think about this day, and you're going to blame yourself." "There ain't but one truth." "The truth is what happened." "It ain't what come out of somebody's mouth." "The people in this town are very quiet people." "Very quiet people all the time." "And then comes this assassin blevins, and he kills everybody and steals their horses." "Why does he do this?" "Was he a good, quiet boy, that he'd never do no harm to nobody?" "And then he comes over here and does something like that?" "Is that what happened?" "No." "No, that's not what happened." "That's not the truth." "The truth is that he was always the other kind of boy." "He was never a quiet boy." "He was always the other kind." "What happened?" "Nothing." "I think we're going to saltillo." "What's in saltillo?" "Penitentiary." "I think he wants to make some kind of deal with us." "What kind of a deal?" "Keep quiet." "That kind of a deal." "Keep quiet about what?" "About blevins." "About what about blevins?" "I think they aim to kill him." "I think they aim to kill blevins." "Boys?" "This is gonna be a long trip." "The old man said it was gonna take all day." "I asked him." "He said it was gonna take all day." "What's here?" "What do we do here?" "Take a leak, I reckon." "Against this wall." "What are they gonna do?" "Vamos." "Vamos." "Wait a minute!" "Wait a minute!" "Let go of me, damn it!" "Vamos." "Vamos." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute." " Let go of me!" " Vamos." "Vamonos." "This man came to me." "Don't go to this man." "He came to me to talk with me about justice and how his own brother had died at the hands of the assassin blevins." "Then when it came time to do justice..." " Vamonos." " He could not shoot." "He was like a woman." "A man cannot go out to do something and then not do it." "No." "A man does not change his mind." "That's always been my way in this world." " You didn't have to kill him." " Como?" "You could've just walked him back to the truck." "You don't know nothin'." "See, in my country, we don't have death for criminals." "So monies have to be paid," "And arrangements have to be made." "I tell you this because you're going to have to be making "arrangement" with these peoples." "We don't have no money." "Cucaracha." "And here we have a boss, El jefe." "Everybody pays him." "Everybody does what he says." "I don't have any money." "We ain't fixing' to make any arrangements." "Excuse me, but you will." "And I'm telling you this because I like you." "You cannot stay here." "You stay here, you're gonna die." "And then comes other problems." "The paperwork is lost." "People cannot be found." "Who's to say you're really here?" "Some crazy people can say that God is here..." "But God is not here." "Everybody knows that God is not here." "I never dreamed there was such a place as this." "I guess there's probably every kind of place you could think of." "They're gonna kill us." "Don't let 'em think they ain't gonna have to." "They either kill us or let us be." "Only way to get by in a place like this is go about your business." "Don't act scared." "Where you goin'?" "I don't know, bud." "What is it?" "A knife." "A good one." "What's it like to be dead?" "It ain't like nothin' at all." "What's it like to be dead?" "It ain't like nothin' at all." "Yes, sir, you're a good healer." "Fast." "You been doin' any doctorin' on a boy named Lacey rawlins?" "I'll send you some soap, some towels, so you can wash up?" "Adios." "You don't know a Lacey rawlins?" "You are fortunate boys." "Fortunate boys." "Where's rawlins?" "He wait outside for you." "Right now?" "Yes." "Now." "Where we goin'?" "You're going away." "You're going to your house." "Now?" "Now." "Thought you died." "I thought you had." "Why ain't we dead?" "She paid us out." ""El" senora?" "The aunt." "Yeah." "Why?" "I don't know." "It's got to do with that girl, don't it?" "I expect it does." "You goin' back down there, ain't you?" "Yeah, I guess I am." "On account of the girl?" "Yeah." "But what about the horses?" "The girl and the horses." "What about Rocha?" "Well, he'll have to do whatever he has to do." "Don't go down there." " I ain't asking' you to go with me." " I know you ain't." "Gracias." "They put Mexican blood in me in that hospital." "So?" "So, what does that mean?" "About what?" "Well, does that mean I'm part Mexican?" "How much did they put in you?" "They said it was over a liter." "Well, a liter would make you at least a half-breed." "It don't, does it?" "No." "No, it don't mean nothin'." "It's just blood." "We don't know where it come from." "You heard about what happened, didn't you?" "In the mess hall?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I never thought I'd do that." "You didn't have no choice." "He'd have done it to you." "You don't gotta try to make it right." "It is what it is." " Shit." " What?" "Nothin'." "Just shit." "What is it?" "I keep thinkin' about ol' blevins, about how scared he was." "You're gonna feel better when you get home." "I don't think so." "I ain't blevins." "I know you ain't." "I just wonder how much better off you are than him." "I reckon I'll see you one of these days." "You take care." "Yeah." "You take care too." "All right." "I think I'm owed an explanation." "I think the accounts have been settled quite in your favor." "You have been a great disappointment to my nephew, and a considerable expense to me." "No offense, ma'am, but I've been some inconvenienced myself." "Sit down, please." "The officers were here once before, you know." "My nephew sent them away until he was able to have his own investigation conducted." "He wanted so much to go on believing in you." "Why didn't he say something to me?" "He'd given his word to the comandante." "He should've let me tell my side of it." "You had already lied to him once." "Why should he not assume you would do so again?" "I never lied to him." "The affair of the stolen horse was known here, even before you arrived." "The thieves were known to be Americans." "When he questioned you about this, you denied everything." "Why did you buy me out of jail?" "I think you know why." "Because of Alejandra." "Yes." "So what'd she have to give in return?" "I think you know that also." "That she won't see me again." "Yes." "You didn't have the right." "You should've left me there." "You would've died." "Then I'd have died." "We're willing that you should have a horse." "I'll..." "I'll trust Esteban to supervise the selection." "Do you have enough money?" "Do you have enough money?" "I aim to see her." "Am I supposed to be surprised?" "I'll even give you my permission." "Although that doesn't seem to be a thing you have ever required." "Her telephone number." "In the end, Mr. Cole, we all get cured of our sentiments." "Those whom life doesn't cure, death will." "She will not break her word to me." "You will see." "Yes, ma'am." "We will." "Si?" "Alejandra?" "I knew it would be you." "I have to see you." "I can't." "You have to." "I'm coming down there." "No." "You can't." "I won't be here." "I go to la Purisima in two days." "I'll meet you at the train." "No." "You can't." "My father will have men there." "Alejandra, I love you." "I love you." "You didn't have no right to make that promise." "Even if they killed me, you didn't have no right." "And I ain't gonna leave here until I see you." "Even if it's the last time, I don't care." "Even if they kill me now." "Okay." "I will leave a day early, tomorrow morning." "I will say that my aunt is ill." "All right." "Okay." "Meet me in Zacatecas." "I will be there." "Bye." "Bye." "John." "My God, you're beautiful." "Gracias." "Gracias." "It's all my fault." "No." "You couldn't have saved us." "You couldn't have saved blevins." "I told my father we were lovers." " Why?" " Because she threatened me, my aunt." "She said that I must stop seeing you, or she would tell him." "I couldn't stand for her to have that power." "She left me no choice." "I told him myself." "I love you so much, I thought I could make him understand." "But I was so foolish." "It was her arrogance." "I told her I would not be blackmailed." "She made me crazy." "But I broke my father's heart." "I broke his heart." "I put you in danger, and you almost died." "He had Armando lock me into my room, so that I couldn't warn you." "The next morning, he flew me back to the city." "I thought I would never, never see you again." "Don't cry." "Alejandra?" "Alejandra?" "Don't cry." "Don't cry." "I destroyed everything." "I'm gonna make it right." "You can't." "Well, I will make it right." "Somehow, I will." "You don't understand." "What don't I understand?" "I didn't know that my father could stop loving me." "I didn't know he could." "Now I know." "What are you doing?" "I saw you dead in a dream." "Just like the dream I had the night before we danced together." "It was dawn." "Men in sarapes stood over you." "And you were dying." "Don't say that." "I want you to marry me and come to Texas with me." "When I found out you were in prison, I made a promise." "I know." "For my life." "Yes." "I love you." "I'm gonna love you till the day I die." "I believe you." "I swear to God." "I believe you." "No." "I cannot do what you ask." "I love you very much, but I cannot." "I have no honor except my promise." "If I lose that too, then what am I?" "No." "Mi Amor." "Mi corazon." "What do you want?" "I come for my horse." "Rawlins's and blevins's horses too." " I don't have your horses." " You by God know where they're at, though." "You make bad trouble for yourself." "Mister, I got trouble you never even heard of." "You're free to go." "Okay." "No tiren!" "No tiren!" "No... no tiren!" " Don't shoot!" " No tiren!" "No dejen que se escapen." "Si se huyen, matenlos." "Hagan lo que dicen." "I'm going to die." "Yet you just keep talking." "When I die, you die." "Why don't you let me go?" "Because you're my hostage." "Stay close, or I swear to God, I'll shoot you." "I'll shoot you." "Had to come back to my town," "I told you, for my horse." "My head is sick." "I can't ride no more." "You'd be surprised at what you could do." "You're going to die." "You're going to die." "We're gonna let God decide about that." "You're not afraid of God?" "I'm not afraid of God." "I got no reason to be afraid." "I even got a bone or two to pick with him." "God damn you!" "Die, you son of a..." "Give me your damn hand right now." "I'm not gonna kill you." "I'm not like you." "Well, go on." "You're free to go as far as you can tote that saddle." "Oye." "Oye." "Muchachos." "No te muevas." "Quieto." "You doing okay?" "Thank you." "Thank you." "Vamos." "Levantate." "Howdy." "Howdy." "How you doin'?" "Wonder if y'all could tell me what day it is." "It's Thursday." "I mean the date." "It's Thanksgiving." "Don't either of y'all wanna buy a rifle, do ya?" "No, I'm not interested." "So I come back across and was ridin' on the road, and I run into this man." "And he told me that I had to come see a judge." "There was a problem with the horses." "Your honor, the fact of the matter is this boy ain't got a lick of proof." "Three different horses and three different brands on 'em." "Deputy Smith, do you know what the trouble with a liar is?" "The trouble with a liar is, he can't remember what he said." "I know that's right." "I ain't a liar." "I know that, son." "I know that." "I can't believe that anybody would've made up a story like the one you just got done telling' us." "Can I ask you a personal question?" "Yes, sir." "Do you think you'd mind showing' the court them bullet holes in your leg?" "All right." "That's where it come out." "That's fine, son." "Thank you." "You didn't have no medical attention?" "No, sir." "Wasn't none to be had." "Deputy Smith?" "Your honor?" "I want you to see that this boy gets his horses back." "Son, you're free to go." "Thank you." "And the court wants to thank you for your testimony." "You know, in all the years I been settin' on this bench," "I heard lots of things that give me grave doubts about the human race." "But this ain't one of 'em." "All right." "You can go, boy." "Thank you." "Thank you." "I don't like to bother you, but they told me this is where you live." "Well, that's all right." "They were right." "Come on in." "Thank you." "Pleased to have you." "When I was down there in the penitentiary," "I killed somebody." "I'm sorry to hear that." "He come at me with a knife." "I just happened to get the best of him." "But that keeps bothering me somehow." "Something else, ain't that?" "Yes, sir." "Later, I wanted to kill that other one, too." "That Mexican captain." "Why do you suppose that is?" "'Cause I just sat there, and he walked that boy out there in the trees and shot him." "I didn't say nothin'." "I didn't say a word." "Would that have done any good?" "No, sir." "It don't make it right." "And it never will." "It bothered me that you might think that I'm something special." "I ain't." "You know what you strike me as?" "One of them people that has a tendency to be a little tough on themselves." "There's nothing wrong with you, son." "You'll get it sorted out." "I hope so." "If I live." "You'll live, all right." "Lacey once asked me if I thought God looks out for people." "I guess he does." "I'd say he's just about got to." "I don't believe we'd make it a day otherwise." "Thought you might want your old horse back." "Damn, bud."