"Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Hold on, hold on!" "It's Frapp, for christ's sake!" "You damn fool!" "You could've killed my horse!" "Well, what's wrong with ya?" "Huh?" "Don't you wanna have fun no more?" "Too old for this, I reckon." "Damn you, Henry!" "Oh, shit." "Damn." "I thought you lost your hair down in the bayou sallot." "Hell, no!" "I aim to keep my scalp a while." "Whoo!" "Looks like you been trapping'." " Where you been?" " Absolutely." "Yellerstone." " Where you up from?" "Been back in the settlement." "I just come from St. Louis." " See any sign?" " Heap." "Whole war party, Blackfoot, workin' right here abouts." "Nah, they're Crow." "I seen the moccasin tracks." "They've been tryin' to steal my horses for a week." " Them are Blackfoot." " Crow, I reckon." "Blackfoot!" "I can read sign!" "Goddamn it!" "What's beaver in St. Louis?" "Five dollars." "Five dollars!" "Be a cold day in hell 'fore I sell my plews for five dollars." "How about in Taos?" "Same thing." "Where the hell you been?" "Don't you go to rendezvous no more?" "Not for a couple of winters now." "You headin' there?" "Damn right!" "I gotta get some whiskey." "If I don't get some whiskey soon, I'm gonna die!" "Well..." "I've a mind to rendezvous myself." "If you don't mind the company." "Glad to have ya." "I need somebody to shoot center in case we got to fight them Blackfoot." " Crow!" " Blackfoot, goddamn it!" " Got any "backy"?" " Oh, I guess so." "Give us a chaw." "Yeah." "No hard feelings, old coon?" "Oh, shit!" "Nary a one." "Son of a bitch!" ""Buffaler" on the platte?" "Mighty thin." "Goddamn Pawnees've been shootin' them again for the hides," "Leavin' meat out there to rot in the sun." "What is old bridger doin'?" "Oh, I heard he was in Santa Fe, bushwayin' for a bunch of greasers." "Mr. Frapp!" "Whoa!" "My god, Mr. Frapp..." "Where you been, asshole?" "I made the assumption you had gone downstream." "You "assumpt" that?" "Well, don't do no more goddamn "assumptin'."" " I thought you got lost again." " Haven't you ever been lost?" "Fearsome confused for a month or two, but I ain't never been lost." "This here's Bill Tyler." "You, uh, you gonna shoot me with your ramrod?" "Now, that's Nat Wyeth from Massachusetts." "Says he's a ice merchant." "Ice?" "Got to take him to the rendezvous." "I'm traveling to Oregon, Mr., uh, Mr. Tyler?" "I have a plan to send salmon east in barrels." "Salmon?" "Well, let's get to the rendezvous." "I'Ve got a powerful dry on." "How are you gonna get them barrels over the rockies?" "Wagons, mr." "Tyler." "Wagons?" "You can't get wagons over the..." " I'm joining a train of immigrants." " Immigrants?" "Hah." "Immigrants." "Immigrants." "It's the promised land, Mr. Tyler." "What in the hell would anyone want to go to Oregon fer?" "To trade, to build," "To, to till the soil, to farm the land." "You can't farm in Oregon." "Won't nothin' grow there." "Could've told you that." "But he won't listen to me." "Mark my word, Mr. Tyler." "One day, there'll be a wagon road..." "All the way from St. Louis to Oregon." "Aw, bullshit!" "It's a new empire, virgin and untrammeled." "Hey, give us another chaw." "It's a land of limitless opportunity." "Jesus." "Shit!" " What's wrong?" " You can see what's wrong." "I don't see anything." "Well, you don't see it 'cause it ain't there." " What ain't there?" " The goddamn rendezvous ain't there, goddamn it!" "What's it say?" "How do I know what it says?" "You read it." ""Come on to Popo Agie." "Plenty whiskey and white women."" "Popo Agie?" "That can't be." "Well, the hell you say." "They got white women, ain't they?" "It's clear the hell and gone the other side of the divide!" "Well, you don't expect them to go draggin' those women across the Rockies, do ya?" "Traders been comin' to rendezvous for ten years." "Now they got white women, they won't leave the prairie." "'Fore long, they'll have us packin' our plews clean back to St. Louis." "Listen, what do you plan to do about them Blackfoot..." "That's been follerin' us all day long?" "Crow." "Blackfoot, goddamn it!" "I know Blackfoot." "I can smell 'em a mile off!" "Well, you don't know hog jaws from horseshit, 'cause they're Crow." "They won't bother us none, if we keep an eye on the horses." "Crow ain't so bad." "I spent a couple of winters with them in the Absaroka." "You trust their honor, you'll be safe enough." "Trust their honesty, you're gonna lose your long johns too." "Hey, Henry, I hear you got into the money end of this miserable business." "Yeah." "I packed in supplies from St. Louis," "Watered down the whiskey, jacked up the prices, went to trading' for beaver." " Yeah?" "What happened?" " Lost my ass." "Turned around and sold everything to fontenelle." "Well, beaver'll shine again." "Look at these here plews of mine." "Took you two years to get 'em, too, didn't it?" "I mind the time you get that many beaver in one fall hunt." "Wait till you see what Fontenelle's gonna give you for 'em." "Damn Fontenelle!" "I'm a free trapper, by god." "I trade my plews to the highest bidder, cash money." "Well, you're shit outta luck, 'cause Fontenelle's the only bidder you got this year." "Stand clear!" " Ohhh." " What was that?" " What was what?" " I heard something." "You been hearin' somethin' all the way from Missouri." " Mmm." " Shhh!" "You hear somethin', Tyler?" "I told you." "Shut up!" "Hear that?" "I'm telling you, there is something out there." " 'Course there's somethin' out there." " There's always somethin' out there." "There's rabbits and coons and mule deer," "And sometimes there's just your own horses." "That's it again." "Set down, flatlander." "Blackfoot!" "Mind your scalp!" "They're Crow!" "And mind your own scalp." "What the hell are you doing, tyler?" "Is he just gonna lie there?" "Wanna get us killed?" "Them goddamn Blackfoot's tryin' to steal my mules!" "Strikes me they're doin' you a favor." "Now look here." "Them crow put the sneak on us half a' hour ago." "There's at least 20 of them." "Shit, I mind the time when ten-to-one was good odds for mountain men." " Seven-to-one." " You don't count." "Now, I ain't gonna lay here and let them..." "You go out there now, you'll lose half the horses and all your hair." "I aim to keep 'em both." " Come on." " What the hell!" " Roll out, roll out!" " Jesus!" " There's your cayuse." "Saddle him, and let's ride!" " How'd you get 'em back?" "I stole 'em back." "Come on!" "We ain't got all day." "That's Cross Otter." "Damnedest pirate you ever saw." " Blackfeet?" " No, he told you they was Crow, didn't he?" "You goddamn idiot." " What's he want?" " He wants the damn horses back." "What the hell do you think he wants?" "He says, "smoke pipe, friendly, go away."" "My ass." "Come on in, Cross Otter!" " What should I do?" " Just keep your hand on that scatter gun..." "And don't take your eyes off 'em, that's what you do." "Jesus." "God." "Well, speak your piece, Cross Otter." "Tyler..." "Your heart is black." "Damn it, you stole them horses first, and you know it." "I have many men in my camp." "Strong." "Young." "Maybe they kill you." "Keep a hold of your young men, or I'll lift their hair." "But you stole our horses in the winter." "You stole them from me last fall." "You're lucky I didn't take your whole remuda." "You give us presents." "We go in peace." "You can go in dog shit, dingleballs." "Had about enough out of you." "Well, we take..." "we take horses!" "Well, that'll be after the fight." "You speak with your tongue like young girls." "You eat dung of white cows!" "Shit!" "I assume now there's going to be a fight." "I told you there was Blackfoot hereabouts, goddamn it!" "You might be right." "Open your eyes, son." "Come on, son, load!" "Load, damn it!" "After one two of them bastards gets killed," "They sure lose their stomach for fightin'." "Crow dogs!" "I crap on the graves of your fathers!" "Crow and Blackfeet don't get along, it seems." "Blackfoot don't get along with nobody." "I've seen 'em take off a man's skin a strip at a time." "Blackfoot!" "Come out and fight!" "Send me your men!" "Cross Otter, why don't you quit your cussing' and send for your braves?" "Men without balls!" "Well, that's somethin' now, greenhorn." " I just took an arrow." " I can see that." " Here, hold still." " No!" "No!" "Hold still, damn it!" " Good thing it weren't in too deep." " Thank you." "Ah!" "Crow warriors!" "Right on time, huh, shithead?" "Yeah, Crows some warriors!" "You oughta stick to stealing' horses." "Horse'll carry you, at least." " Did you kill her?" " She damn near killed me." "You got yourself a heap of trouble is what you done." "Well, what was I supposed to do?" "Let cross otter cut her up for wolf bait?" "She's dead, Mr. Tyler." "Oh, shit." "If you wanna run, show some sense, for christ's sake!" "Run the other way!" "'Fore you know it, Cross Otter'll be back here with a fist full of bloody scalps!" "He won't make no bones about cuttin' your fine, long locks, neither." "Excuse me." "Oh, yeah." "Heap of trouble." "How many more will you kill?" "We have always fought the Crow." "Not over squaw." "Let the girl go." "She means nothing to you." "She is my woman." "You treat her like a coyote bitch." "It is not the girl for what she is." "It is the long knives," "The hair faces," "More and more of them." "If they are not stopped," "There will be no food to hunt," "No lands left for us." " Then why not try and make peace with them?" " Trade with them?" "They spit on our land," "Destroy our buffalo herd," "Trap our beaver." "Hair face..." "Big one," "He opens the path for others." "But he will not have her..." "Or one more thing belonging to my people." "You are a Blackfoot, ain't ya?" "I come from another village." "My father sold me to Heavy Eagle." "One horse, one gun." "Slave?" "Wife." "The same." "Heavy Eagle." "He beat you some, huh?" "Where'd you learn American?" "Fort Mckenzie." "In the summer, we trade beaver there." " You learned good." " I go with you." "No." "You go your own way." "I cannot go back to Heavy Eagle." "Hell, you... well, you can come to rendezvous," "But, look here, after that you gotta clear out." "I packed a squaw along before." "Six years." "Damnedest slut as ever cried for foofaraw." "Always wanting' vermilion and blue beads..." "And mirrors and such." "Beddin' down with every buck that come her way." "She was pretty, though." "What's your name?" "Running Moon." "You'll clear out if I tell ya?" "Ohhhh, whiskey!" "Ohhh, whiskey!" "Ahhhhh!" "I'm a mountain man, by god!" "I can whip any ten of you niggers!" "Oh, oh, I'm sorry." "Mi-mistake." "Accident." "Ahhhhh!" "Whee-haw!" "I was weaned on rattlesnake blood!" "My mammy was a wolf, and my pa was a gore grizzly!" "Ahhhh!" "Ha-ha-ha!" " Three dollars." " Three dollars?" "Goddamn it, Fontenelle, you know this beaver's worth a heap more than 3 dollars." " This here is prime fur." " Three dollars." "This here's a five-dollar plew if there ever was one." "Three dollars seems fair enough to..." " What are you doing?" " Three dollars." "I don't go no higher." "You got the buffalo robes, I give you $20 a piece for them." "I never thought I'd see the day when buffalo brought more'n beaver." "You're robbing' him blind, Fontenelle." "I never traded cutthroat like that." "Take it while you can, boys." "Next year, you may not be able to sell beaver at all." "The way things are going, this may be your last rendezvous." " What do ya mean?" " Silk." " What's that?" " Silk." "Hats." "They're not making 'em out of beaver no more, Bill." "Silk's the fashion now, in London." " Hell." " Ah, shit." "A heap of fat meat can't shine forever." "I seen it comin'." "Beaver'll shine again, Henry." "Actually, it seems reasonable that if there's no demand..." "Silk." "What the hell is silk?" "Don't ya know nothin'?" "Silk is made out of worms." "Oh, no." "Injuns comin'!" "Injuns comin'!" " Asshole." " Blackfeet." " Shit." " Blackfeet!" "They found us." "No, them are Crow, for christ's sake." "Ain't we learned you nothin'?" "That's Iron Belly's village." "They sure do make a spectacle, don't they?" "I'll be damned!" "That's Medicine Wolf!" "He come west with me in '23." "We raised hell from South Forks to Three Pass, we did." "Hey, Medicine Wolf!" "Let me through there!" "Clear away!" "Come on, let me through." "There!" "Let him through!" "Let him through!" "Let him through!" "Hey!" "Medicine Wolf, how the hell are ya?" "Goddamn!" "Here, old hoss, have a drink." "Goddamn!" ""Oh, shenandoah"" "" I Long to hear you "" "" Away "" "" I'm bound away "" "" 'Cross the wide "" "" Missouri "" "Mean as if he had a red-hot poker up his asshole." "Well, listen..." "Maybe Iron Belly help you." "He knows the beaver like his own children." "Christ, I thought he was dead." "He outlived seven squaws." "Last winter, he had a son." "Say, what the hell is that stuff?" " Kinnikinnick." " Tastes like "buffaler" shit." "It is." "You can't hurt me!" "That's a good one!" "I don't care if it's true or not!" "Iron Belly?" "Iron Belly, it's me, Tyler." "How old is he?" "A hundred and ten." "Look at that." "That's spanish armor." "Iron Belly?" "Iron Belly, it's Bill Tyler." " Bill Tyler?" " Yeah..." "It's me." "Bill Tyler?" "The same." "I thought you were dead." "He who runs with the wind, speak your heart." " Beaver's gettin' mighty scarce, Iron Belly." " Uh-huh." "And damn Fontenelle's payin' next to nothin' for the plews." " What?" "What?" " Outfit's are goin' sky high." "Vermilion and beads and scalping' knives and such are mighty dear these days." "Some say fur's down for good, beaver won't never shine again." "I am old, Bill Tyler." "Beaver gone." "Soon I gone too." "Damn it, Iron Belly, it can't all be trapped out." "In the mountains of the river of wind..." "There is a valley." "The wind river range?" "The land of our enemies, the Blackfeet." "Their hearts are bad, their eyes red with blood." "And it's chock-full of beaver, ain't it?" " Ain't it?" " No." "It has to be." "The Blackfeet been keepin' everybody out of there for years." "Must be so full of beaver, you don't have to trap 'em." "Just club 'em in the back." " Sure." " Iron Belly..." "High in the mountains there is a valley." "It is guarded fiercely by the Blackfeet..." "For there are beaver there." "As many as the stars in the sky." "Well, you said that already." "Wind rivers is a big range." "Can you narrow it down some?" "I have no more words." "Huh?" "Iron Belly." "Ahhh." "You will know when you find it." "Ahhhhh!" "Damn your eyes, Running Moon." "I left you possibles to get you home, didn't I?" "Ahhhh!" "Well, damn it!" "Ohhhhh!" "Voila!" "You are sober now, huh, Billy Tyler?" "You can take her!" "Better watch out, Billy!" "She's gonna lick your hair!" " What'd ya do that for?" " You lied to me!" " You said you'd go when I asked ya!" " You have not said so." "Running Moon, why don't you go home?" " I have no home." " Oh, for christ's sake!" "It is the custom of my people." "I go with you." "Tribal custom?" "Sacredamn!" "She's tres bon, Billy Tyler." "I never heard of no such tribal custom." "Tyler does not want you, squaw." "I'll take you, squaw." "That's my tribal custom, huh?" "What you wanna latch onto me for?" "I have nowhere to go." "Hey, Tyler, you give me that crow bitch, huh?" "I'm not afraid of her." "She won't hurt me, huh?" "Excuse me." "You don't wanna get him riled, froggy." "He might have you for lunch." "There he goes." "Well, I, uh, thank you." "Why don't you learn trapping'?" "Take up a decent trade..." "Instead of latching' on to that damn wagon string." "Train." "Wagon train." "Come on." "We're goin' clear to Oregon, Mr. Tyler." "You won't get past the snake." "Ha-ha!" " You can't get wagons through them mountains!" " Oh, ho-ho-ho!" "Damn pilgrims." "Dumb asshole." "Hyah." "Reckon you're gonna keep her?" "Reckon I got any choice?" "I don't know." "Got sand in her, she does." "Hell." "Kicked the shit outta you." "Christ!" "Sand." "You ain't gonna catch nothin' up here 'cept rheumatism, Tyler." "Ah, we'd best move on in the mornin'." "This sure lord ain't the place." "Yes, sir, whole valley swarming' with beaver." " Fightin' to get into your trap. "Take me, take me," they say." " Damn it, Henry!" "Place like that ain't gonna be easy to find." "It stands to reason." "See any sign?" "Sure as shit ain't no sign of beaver." "I don't mean the beaver sign." "Oh, maybe." "I can smell Blackfoot a mile off." "No offense, Running Moon." "This child smells Blackfoot too." "Nothin' particular, just a feelin'." "My people come here many times." " You've been here before?" " Many times." " Why in the hell didn't you say so?" " You did not ask." "You know about this valley all full of beaver?" "My people kept it a secret from the other tribes." "They say it was rich in fur, thick and sleek." " Where in the hell is it?" " I don't know." "I don't remember." "You don't remember?" "You was raised here, for christ's sakes!" "Henry, she says she don't know." "It was only a legend." "Where you been?" "Trappin'." " Any indian sign?" " Oh, some." " Reckon they'll be back?" " Not the ones that tangled with me." "You look all tuckered out, Bill." "I think you're gettin' too old for the mountains." "Losin' your wind." "Could be, Henry." "Ahhhh." "Could be." "Aaaah!" "Injuns!" "Injuns, goddamn it!" "Damn Blackfoot stealing' my mules!" "If I was you, I'd let 'em keep 'em." "Anyways, you was guarding' the stock." "They snuck up on me, goddamn it." "That's what Injuns do for a livin'." "Heavy Eagle." "Him?" "You reckon he saw you?" "Looks like they crossed here." "Must be halfway to Three Forks..." "Running Moon?" "Running..." "Oh, I thought you'd gone under." "Heavy Eagle will hunt us." "His blood burns." "He will..." "Where's Frapp?" "Hey, where's my shirt?" "Damn it." "Running Moon, where's my shirt?" "You promised to mend it." "Damn thing's plumb wore out, anyways." "Well, what's..." "Well, now, that..." "That shines." "That..." "That truly shines." "The woman is of our nation." "She's mine." " Go on, get!" " I stay with you." " You'll go under if you do." " I stay!" "Running Moon!" "Running..." "Where is Running Moon?" "Is the long knife a swift runner?" "What do you mean, run?" "It was not for me to decide." "The council of elders are like squaws." "The white man's medicine makes us weak." "We die like flies at fort Mckenzie." "You mean the pox?" "We trade at the fort, and our faces rot and fall off." "Even the wolves will not touch us." "This is strange, evil medicine." "And we can do nothing about it." "But you and I are the same." "A few passing suns will see us no more." "Our bones will bleach in the sun with the bones of the buffalo." "But we shall be remembered." "Tomorrow you'll see your last sunrise." "Where is Running Moon?" "She is dead." "Run." "He cannot be found." "You hunt for him still?" "No man can live in that water." "Not the gros ventre." "He is dead." "I survived." "When his scalp..." "Hangs from my lodge," "When his head sits on my spear, then he will be dead." "It will be winter soon." "Running Moon, go." "Bring us wood." "We have little to eat." "We must move the village." " When the snow fall, it will hide his tracks." " We need no tracks." "We will move the village before the snow come." "Then we will hunt." "There is only one place he can survive the winter..." "In the village of Iron Belly, the Crow." "Get!" "Go on!" " You black your face for a hunt?" " For this hunt." "Christ!" "I am dying." "There is no more." "I am hungry too." "I am Medicine Wolf." "I will not die like a slave." "Medicine Wolf!" "You know Bill Tyler?" "He spoke of you." "Bill Tyler is my friend." "When did you see him?" " Was he not in your village?" " No." "He escaped from Heavy Eagle before the winter." "Maybe he go under." "No." "I know that he's alive." "Maybe he go north." "Yellowstone country." "Many trappers winter on the Madison river." "I am Tyler's woman." "I will bring you more." "What the hell took you, Tyler?" "Henry?" "Sit your ass down and have a cup of coffee." "Oh." "Oh, that's good." "That's mighty good." "Look here, Henry." "If I'd known that..." "You was laying there scalped..." "If I'd knowed you weren't dead," "I never would've left you, not for nothing." "Well, you don't have to tell me that, for christ's sake." "I know that." "Well, I was laying there." "Come to all by my lonesome." "Them Blackfeet was so busy taking off after you," "They even forgot to take my rifle." "I got back to camp, I seen you was gone." "Just walked the hell out of there." "Takes a lot more than a scalpin' knife to put this child under." "It sure must've smarted some, though." "Well, I guess." "Isn't that the shits?" "I'll tell ya, it felt mighty queersome." "Mmm." "Hey, where in the hell is Running Moon?" "She's gone under, Henry." "And Heavy Eagle stove her head in." "Oh, shit." "Goddamn!" "She was some pumpkin too." "Well..." "Say, you ever find that valley?" "The one that's always swarmin' with the beavers?" "Where they run up on the banks and fight one another to get in your trap?" "Hollerin', "take me, Bill Tyler!" "Take me!"" "Beaver many as stars in the sky." " There's an old horse outside." " What?" "There's an old horse outside." "You are only a slave." "They will not go after you." "Find Tyler." "Tell him I wait." "Go." "Before I got there, he had burned it out." "Killed the old man and the squaws and the young 'uns too." "Left me between a rock and a hard place." "All I could do was try for the flathead countries," "See if they'd take me in." "I worked across the Yellowstone." "Yeah, you got the hair of the bear on you, Tyler, that's for damn sure." "I've seen the back door to hell, Henry." "Yeah, look there." "There she is." "You little rascal." "Go on, get." "I traded a good pinto for her." "Of course, I stole him from her pappy first." "The old son of a bitch has got so goddamn many horses," "He didn't recognize his own when I brung him back." "She don't know a damn word of english, but she can be mighty comforting... on a night like this one." "I do miss my mules, though." "Hey, Tyler." "Where's your squaw?" "Oh, I know." "You get too old, huh?" "Gros ventre bitch." "Big melons." "What'd you pay for her?" "Huh?" "I bet she hump you good, huh?" "Shut up, shit for brains." "I like red meat, huh?" "I said shut up, you goddamn pork-eatin' frog turd!" "I can't stand that nasty-talkin' bastard." "You know, it's goddamn lonesome out here." "It took you 20 years to figure that one out, huh?" "I'm gettin' long in the tooth for this." "Well, that ain't an elk." "I reckon not." "No presents now, Tyler, ya hear?" "No damn meat, either." "Watch yourself, Bill, goddamn it." "He's liable to have the pox." "He ain't got the pox." "The whole tribe caught it over at Fort Union last fall, goddamn it!" "What the hell..." " I am Medicine Wolf." " I know who you are, damn it." "What happened?" "Medicine Wolf hunting." "They take prisoner." "All die." " H-h-hungry." " Yeah." "You'll eat just as soon as we get you back to camp." "How'd you get away?" "Running Moon." " What?" " Running Moon." "She helped Medicine Wolf." "Give horse." " She says..." " She's alive?" "She... she w... she waits." "What'd he say?" "What did he say?" "He says he's hungry." "God." "For christ's sakes." "Tell him we ain't got no meat to spare." "We can't go feeding' every starving'-ass Indian come wandering' into ca..." "Oh, Jesus." "I don't reckon he'll eat much, Henry." "You fellas ever find that valley you was huntin'?" "The one Iron Belly told you about?" "There ain't no valley, Joe." " I hear Iron Belly tell you different, huh?" " Iron Belly's an old man." "He was just yarnin' me." "It didn't make no never mind to him." "Maybe-- maybe he tell you the truth." " Which way might you be headin' come breakup?" " North." "Drop on over Kickin' Horse pass, trap the wolf." "Maybe the Peace River." "It's British territory." "Hudson's bay ain't gonna be too happy to hear you, uh, trapping' their ground." "If the Blackfeet couldn't lift my hair," "I reckon I can stay ahead of the Britishers." "Coyote?" "Remember the first time we saw the tetons?" "Standing tall and white as a woman's breast." "The whole country so new, it made a man think..." "He was the first one to set foot on it." "You could walk for a year in any direction with just your rifle." "Live good and easy." "Never say "sir" to nobody." " What made you change your mind?" " What do you mean by that?" "I mean, Running Moon ain't dead, is she?" "Well, no more than I am." "So I don't reckon you're headin' for no Peace River, are ya?" "No, she ain't dead." "That bastard Heavy Eagle lied to me." " There ain't no valley, Henry." " I wasn't thinkin' about that." "There ain't no beaver up there, goddamn it!" "I just thought you might need some help..." "Stealin' Running Moon back, that's all." "I don't need no help." "I don't reckon I need any help." "Heavy Eagle might have something to say about that." "Maybe." "Well, I was only tryin' to help you, you contrary old fart." "I know it." "Mmm." "Good luck to ya." "Good luck to you too, Henry." "Well, somebody's gotta look after you." "What happened to your squaw?" "Ah, I traded her back to her pappy for the pinto." "You ain't riding' him." "The old fart stole him back again." "Goddamn thievin' redskin." "Whoa." "Tyler." "Didn't figure on meeting' you two up here." "Wind River's a long ways from Kickin' Horse pass." "I changed my mind." "Yeah, I can see that." "You're free trappers." "You hunt where you want." "But I'm telling you, there ain't no valley up here," "And there ain't no beaver." "No?" "So why you here, then?" "You boys are on your own hook." "Stay out of my way." "Why?" "You forsake your people." "I have no people." "I am the people." "They will not die while I live." "You cannot leave, Running Moon." "He will come..." "As I did." "And he will die." "That wasn't here this mornin'." "Two, three hours old." "Six, seven of 'em." "War party." "Don't try to teach me my business, Henry." "Travelin' too fast for hunters." "Maybe they was in a hurry." "Where in the hell do you think they're goin'?" "Church social?" "You best get back on to camp, check up on them two chee-choppers." "I'll scout around some." "That crap Walker don't come in by now, he don't come in." "Quit worrying." "You've been out longer yourself." "I think you one goddamn Injun." "If I was an Injun, you'd be dead." " I thought you was huntin' with Walker." " Oui." "You bury him." "Bullshit!" "You'll kill us all, Tyler!" "And you'll take all the beaver for yourself!" "Maybe you kill my friend." "Then maybe you kill me, huh?" "That ain't a bad idea, frog ass." "I seen the village, Henry." "I got close enough to spit on it." "Is Running Moon up there?" "It's near empty." "The braves are out huntin' us." " Only a bunch of old men and boys guarding' it." " Is running moon up there?" " Sure, she's there." " Well?" " Figured how to get her out of there?" " We walk in and take her." "Take her?" "Christ's sakes, Tyler. "Take her."" "The village is down at the end of that valley." "We ride into the valley from the east, then we work up a side canyon." "I know they're watching us all the time, so I'm certain they'll go after us." "Go after us?" "You tetched?" "Jesus christ!" "Once we draw off Heavy Eagle and his boys, we put the sneak on 'em." "We work past 'em in the thick country..." "And walk into that village as slick as you please." "Who in the hell do you think you're messin' with?" " Them boys kill for a livin', you know." " No." "By the time they get wind of where we're at, we'll be long gone." "Hey, wake up, you old fart." " La Bont lit out on us, did he?" " Yep." " Took the pack stock with him too." " Asshole." " Well, you was guarding' the horses." " The hell you say!" " It was your turn, goddamn it!" " My turn?" "My turn?" "You old bastard!" "Well, it's never your turn to guard the goddamn horses!" " Every goddamn time we lose the horses," " Oh, shut up!" "It's my turn to guard 'em, ain't it?" "Yeah, well, what about the time the rees snuck off..." "With old Gabe's mules down on the Big Horn, huh?" " You was guarding' the stock." " I was guarding' the stock?" "Bullshit, I was guarding' the stock!" "What about that time down on Sidskidee when the Sioux jumped your ass?" " You was... - what the hell?" " Oh, balls!" "He's leadin' 'em right back to us!" "Asshole!" " Damn." "They nearly got me." " Where the hell's my horses?" "What you think?" "The goddamn indians get 'em." "Well, what the hell did you come back here for," "You goddamn, ignorant, foreign goddamn shithead frog?" "Whoa!" "We sure put the sneak on them." "Yes, sir." "Sure fooled 'em." ""Ain't nobody guardin' this village."" "Yes, siree." "All we got to do is..." "Give 'em the slip in the thick country..." "And then whip right up there and rescue good old Running Moon..." "Slick as you please." " You got any ideas?" " Well," "Maybe if we can hold 'em off till dark." "Get our asses out of here and up to that village before sunup." "'Cause you know Heavy Eagle ain't gonna try to butcher us until daybreak." "By then, we could be halfway to Yellowstone." "What makes you think he won't butcher us at night?" "Blackfeet don't fight at night." "You know that." "Henry, you ain't got the brains god give geese." "Hey, what you think?" "Maybe we make deal?" "We give them horses, they let us go, no?" "I've been down that trail before." "He wants parley." "We give it to him, no?" "You suit yourself." "I got nothin' to say to him." " He's way out of range." " I know it." "I just don't like him." " Don't miss." " I never miss." "Say, Henry," "Ain't no need for you to fight your way into that village." "We-we could join up after..." "I ever tell you about the time the 'rapahos..." "Chased me up a canyon over in the big lost?" "No, but I reckon you're gonna tell me." "Well, it was over on the horse prairie." "This band of 'rapahos had been chasing me three days." "So I seen this canyon." "I figured, well, I'll whip in there, then I'll slip out." "The trouble was that there was a way in but there wasn't no way out at all." "Nothin' but cliffs half a mile high all the way around." "A whole damn tribe of Blackfoot down there..." "Just madder than turpentine wildcats." "So I holed up behind some rocks, but that didn't do no good..." "Because they just kept on a-comin'." "Entire Sioux nation." "Me out of powder, out of lead." " I was one scared nigger." " I thought you said they was 'rapaho." "No, goddamn it!" "They was Pawnee." " Well, what happened to you?" " I got killed, of course." "Say, did you see anything of Heavy Eagle..." "After La Bont got killed?" "Reckon not." "You're gettin' too old for Injun fighting', Henry." "You're losin' your wind." "You call this fighting'?" "Jesus." "I told you you needed somebody to look after ya." "You just lay quiet there for a spell, and I'll have ya out of here." "Oh, bullshit." "I'm goin' under, ain't I?" "Son of a bitch!" "Well, we trapped a heap, didn't we?" "The country was ours for the taking'," "And by god, we reached out and took it." "Yeah, them was shinin' times." "You and Running Moon gotta move fast." "Get the hell up in the high country." "Injuns don't like it up there." " You can have my pack mule." " You ain't got no pack mule." "Look, don't talk so damn much." "Oh, christ's sakes." "I'm bleedin' to death." "I'm gonna talk all I damn want." "Listen, you..." "you old son of a bitch." "You tell me the truth." "That valley's up there." "You and Running Moon found it, didn't ya?" "It's up there, ain't it?" "Ain't it?" "Yeah, Henry." "Yeah, it's up there." "A whole valley full of prime beaver." "A man could live easy the rest of his days." "Was they like stars in the sky?" "Yeah." "Did they holler, "take me, take me"?" "Like it was in the ashley days..." "When we was free trappers." "Oh, goddamn it!" "Goddamn you, Henry Frapp!"