"Git along little dogie Ride around them slow" "'Cause the fire and the snuff y are a-rarin' to go" "Now ol' Bill Jones had a daughter and a son" "The son went to Denver The daughter went wrong" "His wife got killed in a pool hall fight" "Now o!" "' Bill sings from morning until night" "Git along little dogie Ride around them slow" "'Cause the fire and the snuff y are a-rarin' to go" "Damn you, Will Penny!" "Steal all my damn biscuits and you don't bring me no firewood!" "What's got into you?" "Biscuits ain't for no nighthawk to steal." "They're for everybody, and they ain't to be et until I say so." "Now come on." "Give them back." "Leastwise you can give me some coffee." "Bring me some firewood." "Go on." "Pot ain't boiled yet anyhow." "Chuck!" "Come and get it, you cow nurses, or I'll throw it out!" "Chuck's on!" "Up and at 'em!" "Get up outta those blankets!" "Damn your hides!" "You wearing snowshoes, Bo?" "You should know." "You been walking all over my feet." "Old man belongs at the end of the line." "Us young ones do the work." "I'm plumb surprised you got this far... when you've earned yourself a warm corner someplace." "That's enough, shorthorn." "You wasn't about to do something, was you?" "'Cause I'd sure clean your plow for you." " Whoa!" " Ride 'em." "You stupid jughead bastard!" "Last day." "Work 'em easy." "Let's make it a good one." "We get there today and you make your bonus." "Get where, Anse?" "Ain't a bottle of whiskey inside a week of here... let alone a town to spend a dollar in." "Save your money!" "Get you a spread of your own like me." "It wasn't money started you in the cattle business, Anse." "What do you think it was, Will?" "More like along rope and a hot iron." "Let's go!" "Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, old man." "It's time you done something, the way he's ragging you." "Fighting don't get the work done." "Something chasing' you, Dutchy?" "Something chasing' you, Dutchy?" "If the augur sees you scratchin' a horse like that, he'll put you out." "I seen where they're taking us." " Where?" " Nowhere." "It ain't nowhere at all." "Who figures it out they put a spur there?" "What for?" "Everybody trying to get ahead of everybody else." "Train company wants to beat other rail roads to the cows." "Anse wants to get them to market first so he can get top price." "And the poor cowhand rides drag." "It's better than pushing a plow." "Down steer!" "Down steer!" "Bigfoot!" "Come a-running!" "He busted my damn leg." "Easy." "Over here." " Give me some air, boys." " Stand back, boys." "Easy now." "She's busted all right." "Grab ahold of his shoulders, will you?" " Here." " Damn, Ike, you been holding out." "That stuffs for doctoring, not for drinking." "Hang onto him." "That's enough." "Feels like it's all smashed to pieces." "He'll go to Kansas City with us." "Get proper doctoring and then I'll give him his train ticket home." "What if he can't work for you no more?" "What then?" "That's the fall of the cards, ain't it?" "He'll get a job someplace." "Ike, how did you manage that?" "Real slop." "But that's the way I like it." "Maybe you'd like to cook." "Then I can get one of those jobs where the horse has the brains... and does all the work." "Look who's here." "Where you been hiding, grandpa?" "Might not be good, but it's hot." "You ain't fighting proper." "You're the one that's down." "I told you that leaky mouth would jump up on you... one of these times, Boetius." "Hell, now, you gonna fight with these?" "I use my hands for working." "If the Lord had wanted men to fight like dogs... he would have given them teeth and claws." "He's some younger than you figure, ain't it, sonny?" "You go to your gun, Sullivan, and I'll hang you." "You boys want to fight or get paid?" "Paid!" "Can't write, make your mark." "Can't write?" "I done went to four grades of school." "Want your train ticket back?" "I don't need a train ticket." "I got my wagon." "Move on." "Let the next man in." "If you could cowboy as good as you write, you'd be a hell of a man." " Ticket?" " No ticket for me." "I think I'll ride along with Blue." "What's your whole name, Will?" "Penny." "Will Penny." "You got any family?" "Got another job to go to?" "This time of year?" "You know better than that." "You're a good steady hand." "You can be bull nurse with me." "Wait here for the train." "Then ride to Kansas City." "Sure thing." "Mr. Howard, can I go with you to Kansas City?" "You want to see the elephant?" "Nah, hell." "Nah, hell." "I've been there before." "My pa lives there now." "He's getting pretty old... and I reckon if I don't get to see him on this trip..." "I ain't ever going to get to see him again at all." "I already got Will Penny." "If you really want to go, you got enough to get there, more besides." "Well, you're a fair man." "I reckon I'll see you punchers sometime." " You ever been to K.C., Will?" " No." "I guess I'll see the elephant." " I got to talk with you." " Sure." "It's about my pa." " So long, Anse." " So long, Bo." "Damn haul gets longer every year." "See you back in cactus country." "I don't know, Bigfoot." "It puts me out of a job mighty sudden." "There's a place up north I hear." "Flatiron." "They might be hiring." " In the winter?" " I wouldn't lie to you, honest." "Hold on." "Look." "I'll give you some of my pay... $20." "Which one of you two is coming with me?" "Hell, go on, then." "Here, give me ten dollars so I don't feel like a damn fool." "Me, Mr. Howard, if it's okay." "Come on." "Much obliged, Will." "Hey, you fellas got room for one more hand?" "So long, boys!" "See you in the fall if I see you at all." "So long, boys." " Blue, come on." "Wake up." " What the..." "I bet a dollar there's someplace in this wilderness they got whiskey." "And some beds." "I forgot what it tastes like." "And a bath." "I think I got bugs." "Just one shot." "I sure hope we can find us a job." "Not the three of us together." "There ain't no place that hires three hands in the winter." "One job's all I need." "Sharing a blanket don't make us married." "Old Will." "I think he'd find that Flatiron spread to hire on." "Well, it's a damn good thing he can cowboy 'cause... he sure as hell ain't no navigator." "It ain't hot yet." "Come on." "Go get the water." "All right." "All right." "What the hell... it's an elk." "Fresh meat." "Hey, good shot, Blue." "You got him." "But I didn't." "Didn't you?" "Didn't I..." "Yeah, I shot him with my knife." " Let's get him out of here." " Somebody's going to be mad." "Madder than a stud at gelding time." "Careful." "They got the sun on us." "Rawhiders." "It's bad business." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Name's Quint." "Preacher Quint." "These here are my boys." "Mighty nice of you minding that elk for us." "We can clean it up ourselves." "Rafe here, he handles a knife just fine." "We give them the elk." "We were on to it first." "Next thing, they'll want our britches." "Then what?" "Come on, Papa, kill them." "Let's get on with it." "We seen a whole camp back there." "Where's the rest of the party?" "My shot brought it down." " Maybe we split him up with you." " Shut up!" "Now, that's some better." "There is..." "There is five of us." "Counting my woman." "However many they is of you... if you was only two, that elk might be enough to go around." "We work it out that way." " Then we all go away friends." " Damn you." "There's more of us, but we'll make do." "I don't see no more on you." "Maybe you're just saying that to get the better of us." "Or maybe you're just saying that because you know damn good... that there elk is our'n!" "And you're scared because the Lord... don't side with them that lies and steals." "Yes, sir, the Lord sides with the righteous." "So if you walk away, maybe the Lord would go easy... and forget you tried to do poor folk out of what's their'n." "Walk away in peace." "Leave them the damn elk!" "If'n they let us." "They killed Romulus!" "Beware the wrath of the Lord." "He strike down them that hath blood on their hands." "He punisheth the sinner." "Life for life." "Eye for eye." "Tooth for a tooth." "Burning for burning!" "Wound for a wound!" "Strife for a strife!" "Who sheddeth man's blood... by man shall his blood be shed!" "You ain't seen the last of me!" "Blue!" " What's wrong?" " I'm shot." "I think maybe I done it to myself." "Damn gun." "I couldn't get it out of the pocket." "Don't you move." "We'll go get the wagon." "Blue." "Don't forget the elk." "Here, pig, pig, Pig" "ls there a doctor nearby?" "We got a man hurt." "Come on in." "Maybe I could see to it." "No, thank you." "Isn't there a damn doctor close?" "Half day's fast ride up the road." "Town of Alfred." "I don't know the doctor's name." "Anyone here gets hurt bad enough to see a doctor... by the time they get there, it's too late." "I think there's a doctor there." "How bad is your friend hurt?" "Bad." "He's gut-shot bad." "Belly-shot out here?" "He's a dead man for certain." "He'll bleed himself out before you get him to Alfred." "Hello there." "Name's Catron." "Place is mine." "We got some good whiskey inside." "Best thing you can do is make him rest easy while he waits for the end." "Anything he drinks is on the house and we can bury him out back... and it won't cost much and I'll carve a nice head marker." "Twenty-five dollars sound good?" "Grounds hard so diggings hard." " You sound sure he's going to die." " Sure, I'm sure." "Best to face these things so you can make plans." "How you making out?" "Oh, Will, hurts like hell." "Oh, Will, hurts like hell." "We'll go on." "Maybe he's right, what he said." "That I die before we get there." "Nah, hell." "We have waited a longtime for a drink of whiskey." "Here is the last place before that town and... you know, maybe I never get there." "I like to have a sure drink here." "Better than a maybe drink later on." "It couldn't hurt so much, one drink." "Come on." "Yes, sir, planning makes all the difference, I always say." "That way a man don't get any unhappy surprises." "You take your friend there with the hole in the paunch." "You know he's gonna die." "He knows he's gonna die." "Don't have to fight over his goods." "You take his buffalo coat." "Why, for a coat like that, I'd give a man five... six dollars, whichever one of you get it." "Give us a bottle and three glasses." "Can you Pay?" "You got more guts than a man could hang on a fence." "We can pay." "How's she taste?" "Damned if I know." "But it sure burns a dollar's worth." "Good, ain't it?" "Ma!" "Ma!" " Ma!" " H.G., don't shout." "I can hear you." "There's a man out there and he's hurt." "He's just lying there in a wagon." " Is he alive?" " Sure is." "And he's cussing something awful." "Some words I never even heard before." "You have to get to a doctor immediately." "Too late for a doctor." "No, I'm just a dying cowboy." "Well..." "There must be something I can do." "If..." "Maybe you could... hold my hand." "Of course." "You're an angel, lady." "Tell me, how did it happen?" "Wild Indians they was, lady." "Maybe... 50." "My friends, they run away and left me to fight them all off." "Why, the cowards!" "That's a terrible thing." "Yeah, that's right." "Them bummers." "They wait until them Indians is all finished... then they come back and bring me here." "Here you go, Dutchy." "Thanks, Will." "Least I can do after all them Injuns you killed." "Are you one of the men?" "One of these "friends" who left him to the savages?" " Yes, we surely did." " You call yourself a man?" "You call yourself his friend and then you do this to him?" "If I were you, I'd never speak..." "I would never speak to them again." "Maybe I won't." "I cannot... comprehend behavior like yours, I simply can't." "It's easy to figure, ma'am." "We just ain't as brave as he is, that's all." " Dutchy's plumb brave." " Yes, he is!" "Then to top it off, you leave him hereto die in the cold." "At least you could bring him inside." "That don't figure to help him none... juggling that bullet around in his innards." "Is that going to help him?" "Now, it might not rightly put him back on his feet... but it ain't going to put him in his grave neither." "Is there anything more I can do to help you?" "What he said, that schwein .." "Is he..." "Is he right, you think?" "I will die?" "It happens to all of us." "No, Will, you know what I mean." "Is... now my time?" "We'll get you to that doctor right enough." "I don't know, Dutchy." "How do I know?" "There's a whole lot I ain't done yet... cowboying around." "Hurts like hell." "I'll get you another drink." "I'm only 27 years old." " You want part of the bet?" " What bet?" "Grass-belly here bet $50 Dutchy don't make it to..." "Whats that place?" " Alfred." " Don't make it." "You want some?" " All you got." " Another 50." " You got a bet." " Let's drink on it." "Seal up the bet like gentlemen do." "How the hell do you know how gentlemen do?" "Mr. Bodine." "You promised to get us across to California before winter set in." "That's what my husband paid you for." "Yes, ma'am, he sure did." "As soon as you finish that plate, we're going to leave here." "Is that clear?" "Yes, ma'am." "Let's have another bottle." "One of them St. Louis ones." "Mr. Bodine." "That'll be three dollars, ma'am." "Hurry up, H.G." "Get your stockings." "Hold on." "What do you think?" "About what?" "About Dutchy." " You known him a longtime?" " Nope." "Why did you bet?" "Why'd you?" "We been working the same outfits three, four years running." "He's a good old boy." "And this ain't no good way for him to go." "I'll tell you, Blue... ain't no good way to go." "Let's drink up and get out of here." " Sonny." " Yes, sir?" " Where's the doctor in this town?" " Doctor?" "They said you got a doctor." "Down the street at the barber shop." "Much obliged." "Giddap." "Where it says "Post Office."" "Doctor, there's a man hurt out here." "How about it?" "He's bad shot." "Shot, hell." "He's damn near froze to death." "He smells like a still." "Did you stop off on the way to celebrate?" "All right, slow and easy now." "Move too fast, they might miss something." "Over there on the couch." "Better go home, john." "I'll finish you later." "If I want any help, john, I'll send for you." "You can go home now." "Mattie!" "I'll need you!" "You must have taken your own sweet time about getting here." "This is my wife, Mrs. Fraker." "I don't know their names." "Mattie, if we straighten him out too fast, he's going to break." "He's that cold." "So lets warm him up and then we'll get his clothes off." "Why don't you boys go over to the hotel?" "Get yourselves a bath." "Come back tomorrow morning." "Children." "Dangerous children." " But it's so early." " Early, hell." "The sun's up." "Oh, the sun's up." "Go along now, huh?" "I'll see you again." "Not if I see you first." "You really all that set on going?" "This ain't someplace I'd care to winter." "The way the money goes, I'd be quick down to selling my saddle." "But damn, riding the grubline up here." "There's that Flatiron spread Bigfoot spoke about." "If that don't work out..." "I guess I'll head south." "You?" "I reckon I'll just hang around a spell." "Maybe get a job bar dogging." "See how Dutchy makes out." "Maybe we'll cut trail someday, south of here." "Maybe so, Will." "That's him, all right." "Ain't no way to forget him." "Not while he's alive anyway." "We sure as hell can fix that in a hurry." "Not yet." "Plenty of time." "He ain't going nowhere we can't find him." "And we just going to take our own good time about... about carving him up." "You make him out, Alex?" "Somebody riding grubline, I suppose." "That horse." "That's a Flatiron horse." "Ain't that Bright Eyes?" "Yeah, that's one of old Claude's string." "Want to talk about this?" "I found him like that." "I figured he bucked off and wrapped up the whole ball of wax there." "Old Claude was a pretty good horsebacker." "Pretty forked." "If you say so." "I never had the pleasure." "What brings you up here?" " You the stud duck?" " That's right." "I just shoved a big bunch up from Texas... put them on the train and went off the payroll immediate." "Now you're looking for a meal?" "Now you're looking for a meal?" "No, I'm looking for a job." "One of the Texas hands said you might be hiring." "I'll take him." "He ain't coming." "I come instead." "You must need a hand." "Don't know." "Claude was a pretty good cowpuncher." "Mighty good man all the way around." "Well, sure." "That's always the way, ain't it?" "What's always the way?" "Let a man die, right away he's good old Claude." "How was he before he bucked out?" "You boys go dig a proper grave." "We'll hold services for him later." "Come on over to the bunkhouse." "This here gentleman calls hisself Will Penny." "Come riding around here just as nice as you please... hoping to find hisself a nice job." "And there lays old Claude... just begging him." ""Take mine, Mister Penny." "Take mine."" "That's the story he gave the big augur." "Now we just no-account cowpunchers together here." "Ain't no need for you to tell us them lies." "Well, son... you dealt this hand." "I guess you'll just have to play it out." "Hold it!" "All of you!" "This man's on the payroll." "He's a Flatiron hand." "That means he's no stranger." "Any eyeballing done around here, I'll do it." "Hell, Alex, we just trying to help him out." "Yeah, like a sharp stick in the eye." "Take Claude's string." "You'll be line rider in ridge country." "Pays $30 a month." "Are you sure you rode line before?" "Sure enough to have some mighty strong feelings about it." "You can tell he's rode line before." "We got rules here on the Flatiron." "You hold to them and we'll be friends." "Break them and you'll be set down quicker than you say, "Excuse me."" "First, we got no drinking or gambling." "You can cut the wolf loose all you want to in town... but not nowheres on this layout." " Is that plain?" " Plain enough." "Now, about the pilgrims that come through." "As long as they keep moving, fine." "And if they take a beef now and then, don't do much about that, either." "But don't let nobody stop." "That's the most important thing." "Nobody stops on Flatiron range." "What if they don't move?" "They'll move, all right." "Won't nobody say nothing about it, neither." "One of the boys here will tell you how to get up to the old shack." "It's three or four days' ride." "Anything else?" "Nope." "I reckon you said it all." "About them nesters." "If there's too many to handle... you come back down here for help." "Otherwise, I don't want to hear from you till spring." "Hello, the shack!" "You may as well come out!" "This here is Flatiron range." "You can't squat here." "Don't..." "Don't shoot!" "Please, don't shoot!" "My name's Will Penny." "You remember me, ma'am." "From the road ranch." "That man Catron's place." "Don't come any nearer!" "I'm a woman alone and I won't let you..." "Don't come any nearer!" "I'm a woman alone and I won't let you..." "The boy's right." "Never tell a stranger you're alone." "Where's your guide, that Mr. Bodine?" "He went on up ahead." "Did he get paid?" "My husband paid him in St. Louis." "He ain't coming back, I can promise you that." "Anybody could see he didn't have no stomach for it." "Now look at you." "You and the Button, you can't sleep in the wagon." "Of course we won't." " You can't stay here." " Why?" "This here's Flatiron range." "Rules of the outfit say no squatters." "If you won't move on peaceable, somebody will come to see you move." "Are you going to do that?" "If I don't... they just send some..." "That's the way it is up here." "There's nobody using this old shack anyway." "A line rider uses it, son." "Look, there ain't no way you can..." "Don't come any nearer." "This thing may go off." "Please, don't be scared." "I ain't going to hurt you." "Look, I'll be on my way." "I'll just..." "Please be careful with that damn thing." "I'm gonna be gone three days, maybe a week." "I got to see how this place lays out." "That gives you plenty of time to pack up and get ready." "When I return, you got to be gone." "This is the line rider's shack." "Mr. Penny." "Who is the line rider?" "Me." "I am." "We'll have to get us more tomorrow." "Already?" "You want to be warm." "Especially in the morning." "You going somewheres, boy?" "He ain't as stout as he looks." "Aw, hell." "Just stand right there." "Stand right there." " Give me my knife back." " Get his boots." "Boots, hell, Papa." "We going to get everything here." "Come on down!" "Papa." "He ain't dead yet." "Ain't we going to get to kill him?" "That's bad." "Oh, that is bleeding real bad." "Well, we don't want that to happen." "I knew a fellow once... his wagon team got away with him and run a wheel spoke through him." "Bled hisself out right there." "Don't you know how easy it was?" "It was like... like taking a little sleep under a shady tree." "Didn't hurt at all." "He just got kind of... kind of drowsy and he just... he just dozed off." "Well, sir... it ain't going to be that easy for you." "No, sir." "Not that easy." "Remember me?" " He dead?" " No, he ain't dead." "Leave him." "Leave him?" "Pa..." "Leave him be." "Leave him be." "Out here by hisself." "No goods." "The winter coming on." "He's going to be along while dying." "And all that time... he going to know who done it to him." "Yes, sir." "A mighty longtime." "And then he'll be dead." "Ashes to ashes... dust to dust... the Lord giveth... and the Lord taketh away." "Blessed be the name of the Lord." "Come on!" "Up, LIP, UP" " Ma?" " Yes." "Is he going to die?" "Well, I hope..." "I hope not." "H.G." "Go and get some water." "Yes, Horace." "I thought we didn't like him." "We don't." "I just couldn't let him stay sick." "It wouldn't be... lt just wouldn't be Christian." "Like the Good Samar..." "Samaritan." "That's right." "I think that you should eat something." "It's been three days." "That long?" "Here." "Good." "Thanks." "I owe you thanks." "Let's be clear." "We are not friends." "You're welcome to stay until you're strong enough to leave." "But then when you are, you will, of course, leave." "Poor old cow's freezing out there." "You awake, mister?" "Not real sure." "Was it the Indians?" "The wild Indians?" "How many were there?" "Hundred." "Maybe 200." "Oh, a hundred?" "You're telling a fib." "That's right, Button." "Just a windy." "H.G., I think that Mr. Penny would like to get some rest now." "Mr. Penny!" "Hold on, woman." "We'll be burning it up so fast..." "I won't be able to chop enough to keep up even two-handed." "We worked very hard to make you better." "You could hurt yourself again doing something unnecessary." "Unnecessary'?" "Look." "I don't want to scare nobody... but we're going to have seven kinds of hell around here... before this winter is through." "Working all day, every day... we won't be able to get ready for it." "Most of this wood is so damn green." "What are we going to do?" "Winter has just hardly started." "Burn chips, I guess." "What's "chips"?" "Cow chips." "Buffalo chips." "They make a hot fire, burn slow." "You know." "No, I don't know." "What's "chips"?" "Chips are..." "Well, they're..." "Well, they're just dried up..." "Yeah?" "Aw, hell!" "I'll go get the Button." "We'll go find some." "Horace!" "Is it true what Ma says?" "You're going to chase us away?" "Look here." "There's more to it... than just sitting there with your feet hanging down." "Sit up straight." "Hang on with your legs." "If they find out about you and your ma down at the Flatiron..." "If you told them, would there be shooting?" " Might be." " Maybe you should tell them." "You want to see some shooting?" "Ain't never seen any." "I don't believe you'd like it much." "How many people have you shot?" "I don't think that's anything to brag onto a nice boy like you." "Come on." "Sit down." "Rest a spell." "I ain't so nice." "You could tell me." "Well, I guess there was a few times." " How did it feel?" " Bad." "Bad scared before, bad sorry after." " Ever shoot a red Indian?" " Yeah, once." "Didn't like that much neither." "How come Indians are all red and sunburned like that?" "That ain't sunburn." "They come that way." "Lnjuns don't get sunburn much." "How come?" "They're smart." "You seen them sunﬂowers that grow in the spring?" " Yeah." " Well, lnjuns take the seeds... and grind them up into a kind of butter." "Then they spread it all over theirselves." "Keep the sun out." " Aw, no!" " It's the straight-up truth." "Lnjuns make do with what nature gives." "How do you know all these things?" "Even a blind hog will root up an acorn now and then." "Will you keep telling me all these things you know?" "Sure, Button." "I'll have you a regular scout in no time at all." "Come on." "Come on, boy." ""Here comes the band." "Shall we call Mama and Sandy to see it?" "Let us stand still... and hear the men play as they pass." "I hope they will stop here and play for us." "See the large man in front of the band... with his big hat." "What has he in his hand?"" "Cold on the outside and warm on the inside." "At least that's the way I hope it works." "I'm almost finished, Ma." "Why don't you finish tomorrow, H.G.?" "Then you can tell me what you've read... how much has gone from hereto here." "How much has gone from hereto here." "Right now, jump into bed." "Hurry UP" " Good night." " Good night." " Good night, Will." " Good night, Button." "He reads real good." "That ought to do her." "When the snow comes hard... she'll seal up even tighter." "You seem well recovered, Mr. Penny." "Feeling real good now." "I'm glad." "Mr. Penny... it's time for a bath." "Bath!" "Yes, Mr. Penny." "A bath." "What for?" "I took a bath." "When?" "Well, it..." "Back there in Alfred." "At that hotel." "It was real hot too." "That seemed like a longtime ago." "It's about time for another." "So soon?" "Mr. Penny, how often do you bathe?" "What?" "I said, how often do you bathe?" "Well, eight or nine times." "It depends." " On what?" " On the weather!" "Eight or nine times a month?" "Eight or nine times a month?" "AWAY'.!" " A year?" " Well, sure." "You have a real good one... when you finish the shove up north." "Like at the hotel in Alfred." "Then one or two in the winter." "Hope you don't catch your death." "Then a couple in the spring and... then one more good one before you start the shove up again." "The rest depends on what kind of water you hit on the drive." "What's wrong with that?" "That's as much as anybody." "Not quite anybody, Mr. Penny." "Um, there." "Now, I think that will do." "That's hot." "Those clothes look like they could be washed." "May I have them, please?" "What am I gonna wear till they're dry?" "I have some of my husbands." "You could give them to me in here." "What are you fixing to do in Oregon?" "Farm." "We're farmers, Mr. Penny." "I hear tell that's mighty good cow country." "Well, we're not cowboys." "We're farmers." "Good thing too, I reckon." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Well, them horses you got." "Neither one of them is good for much... except a nice ride to church on Sunday morning." "Jim is a perfectly good horse, and so is Daisy." "Neither one of those horses have kicked or bucked... since the day that we got them." "I surely believe that." "Plain truth is..." "I'm going to have hell if I don't get me a decent cow horse." "I'll have cows all over the place." "Well, then get one." "Well, if I go down to the Flatiron main house..." "Alex will ask me what happened to the string he give me." "Well, tell him." "It wasn't your fault." "No, I know that, Mrs. Allen." "Well, then?" "Don't you know he's going to have every hand in the place... out looking for them rawhiders?" "Well, I hope they do, Mr. Penny." "You hope they do?" "Well, ma'am, you don't know sic 'em!" "First thing, they'll be poking around here... looking for them horses." "Then what?" "Oh, I see." "Does that mean, finally... that you won't tell them about Horace and me?" "No, I ain't going to tell them." "What?" "No, I ain't going to tell them!" "It's plain you'll be staying." "Cold weather like this, I miss it some." "You come, uh, all the way from Ohio alone?" "Yes." "No, uh, with H.G." "And, uh, Mr. Bodine." "From St. Louis with him." "You going on?" "In the spring." "Alone." "Unless I find someone to show us the way." "A guide or a wagon train." "Might be your husband will come back looking for you." "No, he won't do that." "If I was him, that's what I'd do." "Well, you see, you're not." "I hope that he doesn't." "He went ahead to start things for us." "And if he came back for us, it would just... be a waste." "I mean, it would all be a waste." "It wouldn't be very practical." "I don't know about that." "But this is hard country." "Double hard." "I hate it." "But you could turn around and go on back home." "No, I don't think I'd like that either." "Looks like you're caught between the sap and the bark." "Was it such a bad place, that town?" "We don't all have the same choices." "We just don't all have the same choices." "We did what we thought was right." "Seems an awful long way to go for wood, doesn't it?" "Reckon it is." "This looks about right." "Here, Button." "You cut it." "Right there where I marked it." "Is it really almost Christmas?" "Pretty near." "It's beautiful." "I chopped it down all by myself, didn't I, Will?" "He did it all." "Tonight I'll make some things to hang on it." "Next Christmas, will we be home?" "Yes, Horace, next Christmas, we'll be home." "I'm sure glad no one seen me do that." "I'd be laughed off the place." "What?" "Milking?" "No self-respecting cowhand would be caught dead milking a cow." "I won't tell anyone." "I sure won't go bragging on it none." "You remembered." "All the words that Grandpa taught you." "That's very nice." "Let's all sing it in English." "Oh, Christmas tree" "Oh, Christmas tree" "I don't know them words." "But everybody knows that one." "Not me." "Don't you know any Christmas carols?" "I guess not." "Well, we'll teach him one, all right?" "That will be our Christmas present." "Only that will be for tomorrow." "Now it's time to go to bed." " Good night." " Good night." "Good night, Will." " Good night, Button." " Good night." "Is it really almost Christmas?" "Yes, Horace." " Is it, Will?" " Sure enough, boy." "Good night." "We can never repay you." "You've done so much to help us." "Ain't nobody keeping books on it." "It looks like, uh, you're due for a singing lesson." "Looks like." "Is that so funny?" "You won't think so when you hear me." "You'll be fine with H.G. as a teacher." " He likes you." " That goes both ways." "He's picked hisself a mean chore, though." "Here, let me do that for you." "The sooner we start, the better." "What?" "I'll sing a line and then you follow." "Deck the halls with boughs of holly" "Aw, no." "Oh, come on." "For H.G." "Deck the halls with boughs of holly" "Very good." "Aw, it's plumb silly." "Now, let's do the two of them together." "'Tis the season to be jolly" "Maybe you was right at the start of it." "It would be better if I bed down somewheres else." "I think that you misjudge." "No, I was talking about me." "So am I. I think you misjudge yourself." "I ain't no better than the rest of them." "You don't know what it's like out here." "One woman for every 20, 30 men." "She ain't likely to be much for looks or temper." "Someone like you..." "You don't know." "Looking the way you do." "Going on about your business." "Not talking all the time like some." "That smile, like, in your voice... when you've got something to say." "No." "Please, no." "You do know, then." "You know." "I suppose I do." "I tell you, I've had some kind of hell these last weeks." "Pure hell." "I'm sorry." "No need for you to be." "I been alone since I was a button like him." "No family to speak of." "Just... helping around saloons." "Living with this one and that one." "Free and easy." "I never wanted it no other way." "Never knew no other way." "I thought that was the way it was supposed to be." "Now, here you are, you..." "You and him." "You ain't even mine!" "You got a way of making a man feel like he's a man." "I reckon it's just a case of too soon old and too late smart." "Stay, Will." "Merry Christmas!" "So, after all that time, you still ain't dead." "Well, that's good." "And you got yourself fixed up real nice around here." "Yes, sir." "This is real nice." "Hey, boy!" "Boy, come on!" "Boy, tell me, is this your pa?" "Is this your pa, boy?" "Is he your husband?" "No..." "Yes, of course..." "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth!" "Ask quick and the lies come out second." " What are you going to do?" " What we going to do, boy?" "We're going to stay here and rest from our labors, you might say." "But no work, see." "No work because... this strong and upright man there is going to do it all for us." "A hired hand all our own." "Never figured on having nothing like that, did you?" " Our own hired hand." " Come here, boy." " Wait!" "Please!" " Now, woman, look!" "Which one of my tall sons are you going to take up with?" "It's a hard choice, I agree." "Both is fine, upstanding young men." "Righteous in the eyes of the Lord." "Amen." "So which one?" "You're going to make your choice." "He ain't your lawful husband and you took up with him." "She never took up with me." "So you can take up with one of my boys." "Make a choice." "I don't!" "I can't!" "I need some time." "It's a very hard choice to make." "Of course it's hard." "I'll give you two days." "That's fair." "Two days." "Pick over all the fine points." "Rafe there is smarter, but he's meaner." "And Rufe there is stronger, but he's dumber." "If the good Lord had seen fit to put them both together... they would have been a perfect man." "Take your pick." "Hey, you." "Come out of there before you make trouble." "Get back there with the woman and the boy!" " Wait!" "Wait!" " Come on, boy!" "Now, then, you!" "Hey!" "Wake him up." "You." "We're going to keep you here... and we're just going to keep working your butt off." "And if you misbehave..." "I'm going to let Rafe there skin you." "And I mean skin, sonny." "He skinned a fellow once down in Texas." "Made a mighty fine job of it too." "What the hell!" "Go back to sleep." "You all right?" "Yes." "I don't know." "Someway I've got to get back down to Flatiron." "Will, they'll kill you!" "I got a plan." "Ain't going to be no party." "You'd have to deal with them." "You know what they want from me tomorrow." "I'll do anything." "Anything, anything." "Not now, Rufe." "I have to make supper." " When?" " In the morning." "In there." "In the morning?" "In there?" "Just you and me?" "Just you and me." "When?" "Well, everybody will be busy in the morning." "In the morning." "In the morning?" "Where?" "Where?" "Where?" "The lean-to." "In the morning." "All right." "In the morning in the lean-to." "I'll be there." "Yeah." "I can dance any one of you right down to your knees!" "If you don't believe me, give me a try!" "Come here!" "Come on now!" " Boy, get your mouth off her!" " Watch it, Rafe!" "Did you forget what you told me?" " What do you think you're doing?" " What's the matter with you?" " Who asked you to come in here?" " You want to know?" "She did, that's who." "You're lying to me." "She told me to come here, not you." "I asked the both of you." "I wanted to see who would be the better man." "And she made her decision, see?" "I think you better tell him you're lying, girl!" "I think you better tell him you're lying, girl!" "Rufus!" "Look there!" "Not at the cabin!" "There's a woman and a boy in there!" "Trouble runs to you like a calf to his mama." "Blue!" "What the hell?" "You sure forget your friends in a hurry." "I thought you was one of them from the Flatiron." "I was so glad to see you, I never even looked." "Lord was sure smiling down when he put you here." "Good Lord, nothing." "We come up looking for you." "We?" " Dutchy!" " Fa, it's me, all right." "That doctor in Alfred didn't take no credit." " Said we saved his life." " How?" "By leaving him out in the wagon." "It was so cold, his blood wouldn't run." "Just scabbed up." "If we had kept him warm, he would have bled right out." "What the hell happened over there?" "I need some help." "Bad." "How would you like to try and get us down there in this wagon?" "Close to the shack, though, hear me?" "Real close." "Load the gun!" "Get away from there!" "Get away!" "You want to tell me about all this, Penny?" "How did you fellows come to be up here anyway?" "A couple of your compadres come by looking for you." "I figured you might have in mind starting up with something." "Then one of the Lazy Bar 7 hands come by with the news... that we had cattle scattered all over this country." "He wondered if we had anybody up here taking care of this camp." "I can see now why we didn't." "You got it wrong, Alex." "Wrong all the ways." "It will be all right." "Don't worry none." "Them rawhiders made the trouble." "They damn near killed me." "They would have done it too, if it hadn't been for that lady." "What about them?" "We come to take him back down the road with us." "That man, Catron, he owes us 50 dollars each." "Them too?" "Hell, Alex, I couldn't turn them out to winter up here alone." "That must have been some comfort to both of you." "There's no call for that." "What would you have done in my place?" "I would have took them back down to headquarters." "We could have found work for them till spring... or at least till the wagon train come along." "Maybe you thought of that too." "Yeah, I reckon I did." "Yeah, I reckon I did." "We'll do that right now, then." "What happened?" "Oh, Alex has got his back arched up some." "Can't hardly blame him." "He's sending you down below." "You coming with us?" "You want us to go down and wait... while you work the winter up here?" "I ain't staying here." "Will we go with you?" "Cath..." "Shoot, you're still married." "Pardon?" "You got a husband." "I've never been married, really." "He'd never notice if we never showed up." "Except for the work." "You've been more of a father to Horace... than Reuben ever was." "That's not it, though, is it, Will?" "What is it?" "This come on so quick-like." "Before I married Reuben..." "I had two whole years to think about it... and all of that time never helped a bit." "Now I've got a few minutes and I'm sure." "I'm absolutely sure." "I'm damn near 50 years old!" "Yes?" "What could we do?" "There are lots of homesteads all over this land." "Will, before, when we talked... what did you think that we'd do?" "I don't know." "I never really come face to face with it, I guess." "Will, do you love me?" "What do I know about love?" "Love." "I guess you could call it that, and more." "I never felt like this about nobody." "I want you and the Button... for my own, but..." "But?" "It takes a heap of time, years... to build up a spread." "I don't have them years no more." "Homesteading." "We'd just be starting up with a few measly cows." "Come next January, I'd be in a storm... trying to feed you and the Button and the cattle and me." "We don't have to ranch!" "We can farm." "I don't know nothing about farming." "I do." "Cath, I'm a cowhand." "I've been a cowhand all my life." " Are you scared?" " You're damn right." "Bad scared." "I told you before." "I lived one way my whole life." "What would I do... trying to feed you and the boy... and some measly six-cow ranch?" "What would I do?" "Love us?" "Hell..." "You don't know how bad it can be, ranching." "Say I got a frostbit foot... or broke my hand." "There we are, starving." "How is love going to stand up to that?" "It's supposed to, isn't it?" "Yeah, I come closer with you than I ever will... with anybody." "I seen what it was meant to be like." "But it's too late, Cath." "Too late for me." "I ain't a good gamble for you." "I wish luck to you, though." "I surely do that." "I love that boy." "Going to pick us up them $50?" " That's right." " You bet." "I'm quitting, Alex." "I couldn't work here no more." "Any money you figure I got coming for my time... give it to Mrs. Allen and the boy." "Is he ever coming back, Ma?" "Is he?" "S-Say good-bye, Horace." "Horace, wave good-bye." "Bye, Will." "Bye, Will!"