Original subtitles

- Whoa.

One to the right, one to the left.

Get him over there.

- Hey.

Let me go, let me go!

Let me go.

Let me go!

- Take it easy.

The army'll make a man outta you.

Get on!

- Whoa.

- One man around the back.

Your boy was supposed to report

for conscription this morning.

Him and about 10 others never showed up.

- It isn't right.

This family has done its part.

We lost our eldest at Chickamauga.

Sergeant, look here.

This is all that's left of him.

Hasn't this family sacrificed enough?

- Well, I'm sorry about that, ma'am,

but the law don't say nothing

except every able-bodied man has got to join up.

I just have to do my job.

- He isn't here, I swear it.

- Can't find hide nor hair of him, Sergeant.

- Davis!

All right, search the barn.

And don't forget the privy.

You know, if I find him, ma'am, he just goes into the army.

But if somebody else catches him,

they're liable to hang that boy of yours.

- Stay put and don't move till I tell you.

They may decide to come back and look some more.

- Ma? - Hmm?

Can you see if they got Fred Chennelworth?

- Yeah, I'm afraid so.

Drew.

I'm sorry.

- It's all right, they're gone.

Now.

We ain't got any time to waste.

The minute you hit Saint Joe,

you go right to the land office

and book on the first wagon train bound for Virginia City.

Once you're out of the union,

there ain't no way they can get you in that damned army.

Now here.

This is $100.

It's as much as I could draw out of the bank.

Joe.

I don't need all that.

- You just take it, and you write regular, hear?

You keep in touch.

And once this blasted thing is over, why,

we'll see you then.

- Yes, sir.

- Well, I guess I better go saddle up Dinah.

- Oh, give me this.

What a mess.

You don't know the first thing

about packing, do you?

I don't know what you're gonna do without your,

you poor mother to-

- Ma.

- Now, Drew, when you get to a town,

you seek out the Methodist church

and you ask the preacher

where you can find a good, cheap meal.

Most likely, he'll direct you.

Methodists, we know our food.

That's your father.

Good-bye, son.

- Bye, Ma.

- Wait.

Take this.

And don't ever forget your precious brother.

Don't ever forget him.

- September 30th, 1863.

Arrived in Saint Joseph, Missouri, after an uneventful trip.

I have found clean lodgings in a respectable hotel,

and will now book passage on a wagon train going west,

where I hope to flourish in my career.

The sun is shining today, and it seems to be a suitable sign

for my high expectations.

Uh, excuse me, sir.

Is this line all for the wagon train?

Thank you.

- Morning.

Hey, you.

- Who, me?

- You new in town?

- Yes, I am.

- What you running from?

- Running?

- I was watching you back there

when them recruiting boys gave you the once-over.

I don't know what you're talking about.

- Hey, don't worry.

I'm in the same boat and I don't blame you at all.

- Oh, yeah?

- Well, not that I'm running from the sign-up boys,

you understand, I done a year with them.

God damn their miserable souls.

I locked horns with this sergeant.

Big tubby bastard named Egan.

Time and time again,

he had me pulling these shit-sweeping details, you know.

So one fine day, I broke his nose.

I been running from him ever since.

Sergeant Egan, Honest Abe,

the whole kit and caboodle of 'em.

- Uh, well, if you'll excuse me,

it's nice to meet you. - Where you headed?

- Virginia City.

- Well, you're gonna be a silver baron, huh?

- Mm, yeah, yeah.

- How you plan on getting there?

- Uh, wagon train.

- Oh, no.

Not unless you planting on sticking around for six months.

- Six months?

- Yeah, that's how long the waiting list is.

Don't expect them army boys are gonna give you

the nod politely every morning, neither.

What about the stagecoach?

- No, it's worse.

And the riverboats,

they're all plugged up on account of the war.

And those things cost money, you got that kind of money?

- Well, I mean-

- All I mean is you better be careful,

‘cause this here town is the armpit of America.

A man will rob you blind as soon as look at you here.

- You don't know

where I could find a Methodist church, do you?

- Why, why, yes, sir, I, I do.

As a matter of fact, I know a shortcut

that will take you there in about five minutes.

That's right this way. - Oh.

You a Methodist yourself?

- Uh, no, not exactly.

Right here, right here. - Ow!

- Here, stop that.

Stop that this minute.

Get off of him.

You big bully.

Poor baby.

There, there.

What?

- 85 cents.

That's something.

Who is it?

- I'm Drew Dixon, ma'am.

I'm from Ohio.

- What happened to you?

- Well, I been hit over the head and robbed, ma'am.

- I bet it was the same as robbed me.

I don't know what's become of this town.

Come on in, son.

Parson Clum's home is always open to the Christian traveler.

Thank you, ma'am.

- All right.

I got $10 and change, what about the rest of you?

- Oh, I'm clean, Jake.

Loney's got all of it.

- I swear, you're about the biggest tattletale I ever saw.

$2 and some cents.

And that's all.

- Simms?

- I got $2 and, uh, no cents.

- Just like you, Simms.

- Huh?

Just put it in the pile.

- Hey, Jake, I been thinking a bit.

Maybe now's not the best time to hit the trail.

You know, with the bad weather coming.

Ah, tub of guts.

If it was up to you,

we'd be talking till we was all gray and six feet under.

I say we go now.

Ain't that right, Jake?

- That's wrong, you little pissant.

How far we gonna get on $10 and change?

Got to go out and get us some more ante.

Here, let me see that.

"Reverend and Mrs. R. Clum, Curbin Street."

- Well, now, won't she be happy to get her purse back.

I'm thinking about $2 worth.

- There.

- Thank you, ma'am.

- Well, you just make yourself to home

while I take the Reverend his lunch over to the church.

When I come back, we'll fix you up a good, hot meal.

I won't be but a few minutes.

- Get back here!

Get back here!

- Give me back my boot.

Give me my boot!

- All right, now give me back my money.

- You son of a bitch!

Let go!

Now just hold on.

I wanna talk.

Now listen to me!

I wanna talk to you.

Listen to me!

Ah!

Ow, all right, all right, all right, all right.

Let go, let go, let go!

I'll give it back, I'll give it back.

Jesus, I'm bleeding.

Probably poisoned.

- You just give me back my darn money.

- Now.

Let's you and me have a talk.

- You liar!

- Goddamn, boy, you're gonna wear me out.

I said, let's talk!

- No!

- You may not look like much,

but you're a real tiger, ain't you?

- My money!

- I never heard anyone carry on so much

about a couple of damn dollars.

Listen!

Now, listen.

Now, you got about as much chance getting on a wagon train

as a dead Nigger.

You stick around here, the army is gonna get you.

You can't go it alone.

There's outlaws and Injuns and all them things.

Now.

There's safety in numbers, if you heard of that.

It just so happens I'm heading west myself.

Me and some others handpicked for gumption,

which you got.

So, unless you're dumber than I think,

you'll throw in with us.

- What?

- Well, just ‘cause we started on the wrong foot,

that don't mean nothing.

Drew?

Drew!

- Well.

- Wait!

- Goddamn, I feel like I'm running barefoot in horseshit!

- Come on!

- You ain't got much choice, now, do you, pard?

That lady's gonna have the whole town after you

with tar and feathers.

Where's your stuff?

- Delesseps hotel.

- You're paying $2 a night for the right to sleep?

- Yeah.

- You got a lot to learn,

and I'm gonna give you your first lesson.

You're pulling the drummer's farewell.

- What's that?

- Out the back window, pard.

Hey, come on!

Keep up!

- All right.

Now, give me back my money.

- What?

- The money you stole off me.

- Didn't I give that back to you?

No.

- How much was that again?

- $7.85.

- I could have swore it was more like five.

- Mm-mm.

- It doesn't matter, we'll call it seven even.

One, two, three.

And how much was that hotel room?

$2, right? - $2.

- Four, five, six, one dollar for me, and we're even.

How do you figure that?

- Well, that's fair, ain't it?

I saved you $2 back there.

I keep one, and you're still a dollar ahead.

Boy, you're lucky you fell in with us.

Yes, sir, we're gonna have us some high old times.

Living off the land, hunting and fishing.

That's our racket, you know, living off the land.

- Mm-hmm.

Well, call me a chink.

I didn't even introduce myself to ya.

Jake Rumsey, Pennsylvania bred and born.

- Drew Dixon.

- Pleased to meet you, Drew.

Hey, boys!

I want you to set your eyes on Drew Dixon here.

I got him to throw in with us.

He may look like old Solomon

but Drew here is raised by the ragtail and the bobtail.

Ain't that right, Drew?

- Well, that's about as near to the truth, I suppose-

- Yeah, Drew here was dodging the army of the Potomac.

Ah, hell, don't take on.

We got to lay our cards out on the table,

if you've heard of that.

Them two boys right there are the Logan brothers.

That's Jim Bob and Loney, they're running from the same.

Oh.

Is that right?

- Hell, we had the whole militia of the state of Illinois

chasing our tail, didn't we, Loney?

- When are you gonna stop flapping your jaw, damn it.

Howdy, Dixon.

- And, uh, this here is Arthur Simms.

He's on the long, long road from his pa.

- Pleased to know you.

- Here you go, junior, wet your whistle on this.

That piece of peckerwood sittin' there is Boog Bookin.

He barely got off the tit.

How old are you, Boog?

- 11.

- No, he's 10.

- Cut it out, shit-toad bastard!

- How did you do on that lady's purse?

- Well, the ways of the Lord are strange, ain't they?

- Meaning what?

- Meaning that it just didn't pan out.

Well, what the hell are we gonna do now?

I mean, we got about enough left for beans and coffee.

- There's no rest for the wicked.

We just go out and get us some more, that's all.

- Come here a minute.

Loney, don't preach me

no more goddamn sermons, will ya?

- Just hold your horses.

Now, lookee here.

You bring in this new boy don't none of us know.

I mean, how do we know he's worth spit?

- You take my word for it.

- That don't mean nothing to me.

- What do you want him to do, Loney,

shoot a hole through a $5 gold piece?

- What we need is more money, right?

Let's see this tiger of yours go out and get it.

I mean, that's fair, ain't it?

September 30th, 1863.

My plans have changed somewhat.

I have fallen in with some rough types,

but it seems to be the only way to get to the west,

where I can find my fortune and make my parents proud.

I resolve never to do a dishonest act,

nor take part in any thieving, robbing,

or false undertaking.

I will always keep to the straight and narrow,

so help me, God.

It is still a sunny day.

- What the hell happened to you?

- Boys, just don't go near that hardware store.

It's nearly hell.

What happened?

- Well, I edged on in there,

and I seen where they kept the money.

Now, there wasn't a soul around,

and I reached in the till, pretty as you please,

and all-

- There's $12. - Shh.

And all of a sudden,

this big galoot come charging at me

with a knife about a foot long.

Here, see what he did, see?

- Did you shoot him?

- No, I didn't shoot him.

Damn, I didn't wanna pull a crowd, now, did 1?

I almost, I broke my hand, though.

Well, I knocked him out cold,

then I went about my business, and here I am.

- What'd I tell you, isn't this boy a wildcat!

- Yeah. - Nice going.

- I'm hungry.

- Well, you deserve it, sit on down.

Come on, let's get that chow!

- My favorite kind of dinner, dessert.

- All right, slow down, Boog, you'll live longer.

The first piece here is for old Drew,

‘cause he took most of the chances.

Next piece is for me.

$25, that's gonna do us just fine.

Simms, give me that list you made out, will you?

Now, Drew, when you go back into town to get your horse,

I want you to pick up these items

that I've written out here.

You see if you can jew 'em down on the price a little.

- Hey, you know, this is mighty good.

- Boys, this time tomorrow,

we're gonna be out on our high and lonesome.

Being your leader, I say, we ought to set down

some rules and regulations before we go,

meaning who's gonna take what watch.

- Watch?

What are we watching for?

- Injuns, mostly.

- What do mean, Injuns?

You told me there were no hostile Injuns anywhere near.

As sure as I'm sitting here, you told me that.

Remember that first day we met in Jefferson City,

and you says "Come along, then."

And I says "Is there Injuns?"

And you said "Hell, no."

I mean, he said "Hell, no."

- He told you that? - Yeah.

- Old Jake? - Jake.

- He must have had his fingers crossed behind his back,

‘cause we're gonna be crossing the hunting ground

for the Oto, and the O-sage,

and the Cherokee, and the Pawnee and the Arapaho.

- You're just joshing, ain't you, Loney?

Come on, I wish you wouldn't.

Yeah, and you know, them savages,

they could catch a white man on their hunting ground.

You know the Arapaho?

Well, they're the nicest bunch.

You know what they do when they catch a white man

in the hunting ground?

- No.

- First, they cut your pecker and your balls off.

And then they feed it to you.

- And then they kill you.

- Drew, Drew, they're lying, ain't they?

Now you know that ain't so.

Right, I mean, would you tell 'em?

- Oh, well, Arthur, I mean,

a man's got to have courage to spare

before he goes striking off in, in the wilderness to,

to face the dangers and perils that might befall us.

I, I mean, I ain't building myself up, you understand,

but you take me and that mad dog at the hardware store.

Now, if I hadn't had the foresight to sense

he was behind me, and the courage to face up-

What are you-

What are you doing?

You're gonna get it!

I'm gonna get you!

- I'll get him for you, come here.

I'll get him, Jim Bob.

- I think you killed him.

You did kill him.

Damn it!

- All right, Boog.

- Oh, come on, Jake, it ain't time yet.

- Boog!

- Good night, Drew.

Glad to have you with us.

- Good night, Boog.

- Boys, take your last look at the US of A.

You mind if I say something?

- No.

- You're a damn fool

to go digging for silver in Virginia City.

- You tell me that when you hear I struck it rich.

- Oh, bull, only one in a million does that.

- Well, maybe that one will be me.

- Suit yourself.

Come on, quit lagging!

Goddammit, Boog, that's the fourth time since sunup!

- I can't help it, it's all this bouncing up and down.

- Damn near a whole day gone already,

and we ain't covered 10 miles.

What time you make it, about 4:00?

- It's, uh, 3:45.

- Hey, that's some timepiece you got there.

Is it gold? - Uh-huh.

Belonged to my brother.

He was killed at Chickamauga.

- Hey, let me see that.

- Uh-uh. - I'm not gonna bust it.

Let me see it.

Fancy damn watch like that.

Good with your fist, too.

See, you know that stunt you pulled off

at the hardware store?

I'll be honest with you.

I don't know nobody except me that could have done that.

- Look, now.

Why don't you come along with me to Virginia City?

- Oh, no, Drew, I got plans of my own.

- Well, suit yourself.

- Thanks for the invite, though.

Come on, it's already 3:45!

There it goes!

- He's a heavy one, ain't he?

- He oughta be, must have about 40 rounds in him.

Didn't I tell you boys we'd live off the land.

Clean him, Boog, I'm hungry.

You don't know how to do it, do you?

Well, somebody do it.

Oh, for the love of Jesus.

Don't any of you pea-shooters know how to clean a rabbit?

Give it here.

Damn, I'm sick and tired of being the only boy

who gets the job done around here.

Dad-blame babies.

I'll have to cut your meat for you too.

It's the easiest damn thing in the world.

You slit this on back here.

Pull this on back.

Tough one, this bastard.

Then you gotta cut this off here.

Snap that off.

Then you gotta, you gotta slit this up here.

There you go.

Dinner.

- "From somewhere in the upper recesses of the house,

there came an unearthly shriek.

The scream was that of a woman,

but what creature whom life's vicissitudes

had driven to that pitiful outcry, I could not say.

Fearful for the child, I went quickly to the drawing room,

where I had left the girl reading-"

- What's a drawing room?

- Maybe it's a place where you practice on your fast draw.

- Oh, no, no, Boog, a drawing room is like a parlor.

That's what they called it in the olden times.

- All right, is everybody satisfied?

Now get on back to that screaming gal.

- "Reading to her father, Mr. Rochester-"

- We had a parlor once.

- Bullshit you did.

You never ate more than one meal out of the same plate

till you met up with us.

- Oh, yeah?

Shows all you know.

We had a dining room and a parlor and a whole damn rig-out.

I can remember it now.

It was when I was real little, before we lost the farm.

- That must have been hard luck.

- No, sir.

Then come the best time in my whole life.

Me and Pa used to travel around together.

We had us this Nigger, old Dan.

Pa made up this deal, you see.

First thing he would do when we got to a town

would be he would go out and find some idiot farmer.

And then he would sell him our Nigger.

Then, come nightfall,

Pa and me'd sneak out and steal him back again.

Before they missed him,

we'd be on to the next town down the line.

My Pa thunk it up.

Pretty smart, ain't it?

- It was so smart, how come you still ain't doing it?

- Well, one day, old Dan got tired of it

and shot my Pa dead.

- He did?

- Yep.

- Shot your Pa?

Just like that?

- Never figured out how that old coon got the drop on Pa.

- Goddamn it, am I supposed to sit here listening

about some dumb Nigger, or you gonna tell us

who was doing that yelling at Jane?

- Well, you can tell me the rest of it later, Boog.

I'd like to hear it.

- You're a gentleman, Drew.

Not like Jake Rumsey, who'd rather hear some horseshit

about a gal in a house full of drawing rooms.

- Boog.

- If you had ever seen my Pa-

- Boog!

- "Mr. Rochester, however, was no longer in his chair.

In haste that might have alarmed the girl,

I passed quickly through the room in my anxiety to find him,

but he was neither in his chambers, nor in the hall.

At this point, I had to consider whether my duty lay

in remaining with the child."

- Now, believe me, boys, it's hell on wheels.

The worst goddamned idea in the world is to go west.

- Oh, come on, now.

- I ain't lying to you, son.

We tried farming the first year, twister wiped us out.

The next year, it was the cattlemen,

then just pure de-rotten soil.

There ain't nobody got no money except a few,

and even if you do had,

there ain't a damn thing worth having.

Rains so damn much, it will give you the chilblains.

Dry spell come along, and you choke to death on the dust.

That is, if a bushwhacker don't come along

and take your last damn dollar.

No, I mean it, boys.

Turn around and go on back.

- Amen!

- Listen now.

Farming is always the roughest go, that ain't our line.

Besides, you probably struck out too late in your years

if you know what I mean.

Now, we're boys in our prime, we take it as it comes.

Uh.

You know, seeing as you boys ain't gonna hit a town

for quite a while,

you must be getting kind of itchy here on the trail,

you get me?

- What do you mean?

- Now you take Min here, she's a gal and a half.

I mean, she's not exactly virgin territory

if you know what it is I mean.

I'll tell you what I'll do.

I'll make a bargain with you boys,

seeing if you kinda playing it close to the vest.

$10 for the lot of you, what you say?

It's your last chance to get poontang.

- You make that $8, you're on, honey.

- Zeb?

- Well, you boys drive a mighty hard bargain, but $8 it is.

- Oh, you can cut that down a bit, Jake, I ain't interested.

- What?

- Well, I just-

Well, nothing to get riled about, I just ain't interested.

- You dumb shit, you're turning this down?

- Yeah, I am.

- God Almighty.

He's saving it for his wedding day, I'll bet.

- Well, what if I am, damn it?

- Ah, honey, don't do that.

- Ma'am, I ain't discussing it.

- Yeah, leave off him you goddamn sons of bitches.

What the hell you wanna waste your money

on a stupid gal for?

We got little enough as it is.

- Yeah, in your case, Boog, that's the gospel truth.

- Go to hell!

Come on, Drew.

Let them kill themselves for all we care.

- Loney and Jim Bob?

- You just show us where to line up and we'll do the rest.

- I'd kinda like to make sure

we ain't buying no pig in a poke.

- Min?

- Lord.

Oh, Jesus.

- Simms, you in?

- Yeah, sure.

But, well, you ain't got no disease, have you?

- Well, that's a helluva thing to say.

- No, I just thought that-

Well, I heard of fellas dying from it.

They say your brain rots away.

- Simms, you trying to spoil it for the rest of us?

Where to, honey?

- That grass looks real soft.

- Well, you name it, I'm first.

Watch your step now.

Drew, you're a disappointment to me, boy.

Come on, you sweet thing.

I told you boys we'd live off the land.

- I get seconds.

- I get seconds.

- Well, it looks like you're getting hind tit, Simms.

- That's all right.

Well, you're sure you're clean, ain't ya?

I know I am, hon.

But I can't vouch for your friends.

That was a deal!

- Are you done already?

- I do not waste my time, mister.

After that ride I gave her

I expect she'll be too tuckered out

for the rest of you boys.

- October 20, 1863.

I have resisted temptation, but how hard it was.

How I long to be in the bosom of my beloved family.

I begin to think that I should find somebody to toil with me

through life's weary way.

Unless I do, I will settle for some poor means

of bestowing my affections on some poor, pitiful creature.

The same as my good companions did this afternoon.

What you getting up for?

It's at least another hour till your turn.

- I can't sleep.

I was dreaming about old Min.

- About who?

- About the gal this afternoon.

Oh.

- It's gonna be a cold day in hell

before she forgets that reaming I gave her.

Yeah, I suppose so.

Say, Jake, I figure we better get us an early start

this morning to make up for the time we lost,

don't you agree?

- I still can't figure out why you took a pass.

- All right, Jake, you got something to say,

why don't you just say it?

- Damn it, I got the feeling you're looking sideways at me

and the boys ever since we plowed old Min.

- What?

No, I wasn't.

You see, I ain't got anything against you doing that,

it's just that I was brought up different.

- Well, don't you wanna do it?

- Well, yes, I wanna do it, it's just that.

I was raised to honor a woman.

You understand that?

- No.

- Well, where I come from

there's some real good women, Jake.

- They do it just the same as the other kind.

- Well, you just don't get it, do ya?

All right, lookit.

I made myself a promise about staying

on the good side of life.

Now, is that all right with you, Jake?

All right?

All right, then that's the end of it.

- You really do come from good stock, don't you?

- Well, here.

This is them.

- That's real nice.

Makes me wish I took a picture of something.

For a reminder, sort of.

Yeah.

I do miss my mama sometimes.

I think about her every once in a while, how she's doing.

Hey, don't tell them that I been jabbering on like this.

So, you plan on getting married

before you give it a try, huh?

- Something like that.

- To each his own, you've heard of that.

- Yeah, I've heard of it.

Well, seeing as how you're up and all, why don't-

- Yeah, I'll take over for you.

Go get some shut-eye.

- Here.

Take it.

It's just so you don't wake us up too soon.

- Right.

- Well, that's a charming picture, ain't it?

Are we just gonna stand around here looking at it,

or are we gonna rob 'em?

- On your feet.

- Get up.

- Oh, my Lord.

Come on, get up.

- Very nice.

That's what I call a perfect waking-up job.

Nobody fainted, nobody screamed.

I didn't think you could do it.

- Well, we ain't got anything, mister.

- Yeah, sure you ain't.

- Good, Hobbs, good.

Very threatening.

Now we've all had our little laugh.

How about setting to work?

Hold it.

That's mighty brave of you, Hobbs,

considering that gun is pointed at me.

- I'll shoot if I have to.

- Shut up, boy.

You're lucky you're still alive.

Now, which one of you is supposed to be covering

this unruly mob of angered youth?

Goddamn, Jackson.

I wouldn't mind you being stupid if you was good company,

but you ain't even that.

- Come on, Jake.

Shoot the son of a bitch.

- My boy, let me give you a little piece of advice.

If you're gonna pull a gun on somebody,

which happens from time to time in these parts,

you better fire it about a half a second after you do it

because most men ain't as patient as I am.

Ain't lost my touch yet.

Well, what are you jackasses standing around for?

Clean them out.

Here it is, almost lunchtime,

I ain't got the change together for breakfast yet.

- You thought it was pretty damn funny,

what that bastard said to me, didn't you?

This here is all I could find.

- $2.14.

I'd like to get my hands

around the throat of the son of a bitch

that told me to go west.

- Hey, there's beans and molasses and jerky,

and a little bit of coffee.

- Well, you boys must have brought along a cook

from Paris, France.

Take it all.

Come on, Jackson.

Goodbye, boys.

Just think of us as some terrible nightmare

that come and went.

By nightfall, you'll forget we was ever here.

- Who was on guard?

Jake?

You idiot.

- Yeah, well, they got everything.

- They cleaned us out, Jake.

Hey, God darn it, Jake, I'm talking to you.

- No, they didn't.

- Pigs.

And a cow.

That means milk, fellows.

- What do you plan on using for money?

- We're starving, Jake.

Nobody's gonna turn starving boys away.

Besides, there's always some kind of work

that needs to be done around a farm.

- Chores?

I ain't doing no chores.

- Well, maybe we can sweet-talk him.

- We could take this place, I bet.

If I tip my hat forwards, we go for our guns.

If I tip my hat back, we play her straight.

- Jake!

- Howdy.

- Yeah?

- Me and my friends, we had a little bad luck,

I was figuring you'd have some food.

- I might.

- Must be plenty of food to eat around here.

- There is, for a price.

- Say, look, now, sir.

W-w-we're sort of short of money, so could we make a trade?

- Hey, that's mine!

- Shut up, Boog, you never had the ass to swing it, anyway.

Here.

- Some sowbelly, turnip greens, and coffee.

- For a gun like that?

You ought to give us a turkey dinner.

- I don't recollect inviting you here, boy.

- It's all right.

We'll make the trade.

- Something wrong?

- No, sir.

It's the best damn sowbelly I ever had.

- Food's all right, Jake, just eat it.

- It's kind of hard to enjoy my meal

with a shotgun barrel pointed right at me.

- You do complain, don't you, boy?

- You think I'm scared of you?

- For a dead-broke, you talk awful big.

- I should have plugged you back there.

- You're so full of shit, you're stinking up my yard.

Take it easy.

Take it easy.

- All right.

You get.

All of you!

Get, while you can get.

- Let's go.

Come on, Jake!

- I ain't done yet.

I paid for it, damn it, I'm gonna finish it.

Damn turnip greens are sour anyway.

- Didn't have no right to give away my gun.

It was the only gun I ever had.

- You'll starve to death before you ever get west.

It's Jake's fault.

- The hell.

It wasn't our fault.

- If you'd had any brains,

you would have given us some warning

so as we could have thought about it.

- How did you expect us to rob that place

when you up and told us about it one minute

before we got there?

Damn it!

- That's as far as I go.

You yellow babies, you sure backed me up

when that fellow pulled his gun, didn't you?

To hell with you.

- Hey, what, what are you doing?

- I'm leaving.

What's it look like I'm doing?

Should of had more sense than to tie up with you ignoramuses

in the first place.

- Aw, now just hold on.

Look, now.

I ain't gonna say Jake's right, and he ain't.

The business back there with the farmer was pretty bad.

But now, everybody in this world makes a mistake or two.

The way I figure it, we all of us learned us a lesson.

- Yeah, well, well, what's he acting so damn high

and mighty about?

- Listen here.

Ain't none of us would have got out of Saint Joe

if it weren't for Jake, now would we?

He got us this far, he'll get us the rest of the way.

- Lads, I appreciate you asking me to stay.

And I'll be honest with you.

What you said about that farmer, you was right.

It was dumb of me to spring it on you sudden like that.

But this time,

I'm gonna work out the whole plan with you now

so there won't be no complaints,

we got plenty of time to prepare.

There's a stagecoach heading this direction.

We can take her easy.

This is gonna be a professional piece of work.

- Are you crazy?

- Bushwhack them, huh?

- Good thinking there, my boy.

Loney's getting smart in his old age.

Now here's how we do her.

One of us is gonna flag her down.

You see like you're,

like you're a traveler or something,

stuck out on the prairie, that will be you, Simms.

You got that pitiful look.

- Why me?

- Thought you said you wanted me to tell you ahead of time?

Now you know.

The rest of us, we're gonna be hiding out in this gully.

- No, sir.

We know as much about robbing stagecoaches

as we do skinning rabbits.

- There ain't nothing special to it, Drew.

- Oh, no, no, sir.

Now, I ain't taking part in no robbing of stagecoaches.

And I'll tell you something else.

I ain't asking you to side with me.

And I tell you something else.

Come on, come on.

- And I don't want no share of the loot.

Now, that's fair, ain't it?

Now, I'm gonna sit myself right back here

till this foolishness is done.

This way, I won't see nothing

and I can't bear witness to it.

You gotta admit that's fair.

- Lookee here.

- I ain't part of it, Jake.

- Drew, what about that hardware store business?

What about that?

- That's a hell of a lot different,

every one of us could be dead.

Jake?

- Get out there!

Put your gun away!

All right, now, get ready, here it comes.

He's waving her down.

- Hold it.

Whoa, whoa, what do you want?

- He's talking to the driver.

- What's he saying?

- All right, now, get ready.

- What the hell is he doing?

- He's opening the door.

He's getting in.

He closed the door.

- He's going away.

Simms!

Simms, come back here!

Hush up, now.

No need to announce ourselves.

Let's try to do something right for a change.

Pie!

- That dumb little pissant.

Come on.

Come on!

Boog!

- I'm shot!

My arm.

- Come on, come on!

- I'm shot!

- Goddamn, you sure picked a time

to get in front of a load, didn't you?

Hold still, damn it!

- Blew his head off!

- If it wasn't for you, we would go right back there.

Yeah, that's what we're gonna do.

We're going back there and blow that bastard

to kingdom come.

Son of a bitch.

Bastard!

Loney, hand me a rag, will you?

- Get it yourself.

- What?

- We've had our fill, Jake.

You ain't doing us no good at all.

- Me and Loney can't see the sense of it.

- And I'm sick of you putting on airs and giving out orders.

I came west to get away from that horseshit.

- What are you gonna do?

- We're going our own way.

I'm sorry to hear it.

- Well, that's life.

- What are the guns for?

I ain't stopping you.

- Well, we're taking the horses.

We'll leave you the mule.

You two try it for a while.

- You son of a bitch.

Leave us one.

Come on, don't be a bastard.

- Come on, don't worry, Jake.

We're better off without that kind of trash.

- You got the time, Drew?

- What do you mean?

- I think I'll just take that gold pocket watch

you set so much store by as a going-away present.

- That belonged to my brother, I can't let that go.

- Well, hell, I'm doing you a favor.

You'll travel a lot faster on that old mule

if you travel light.

- I'll kill you, Loney.

- Shut up, Drew.

- That's all I got to remember him by, don't you understand?

- I can fix it so you can join him, if you'd rather.

- Give it back, please.

I'm, I'm sorry about what I said before, please?

- So long, Drew.

I hope your arm heals up.

- You son of a bitches, you better run!

I'll kill you if I get the chance!

- Jake, you son of a bitch.

- That is not fair, it is my watch!

- Oh, your watch, your watch!

Who gives a damn about the hunk of tin?

I'm sorry, it wasn't no cheap hunk of tin.

It kept good time.

I said I was sorry!

Oh, goddamn it, Lord Almighty. - You want me to stop?

- No, no, keep going.

Nearly hell, though, I'll tell you.

Count yourself lucky, Jake.

You ain't never been shot, have you?

- You want me to stop?

You just say the word and I'll stop.

- No, not me. - You want me to stop?

- I ain't gonna hold us up.

- Goddamn!

Jesus!

Take that rein.

What time do you make it, 5:00?

- Uh, that son of a bitch.

- Whoo, well, it's come to this.

Two saddle tramps wandering, Godforsaken.

- And in pain.

- Look who's gonna be a silver baron.

- It's only a way station for the stagecoach, though.

Don't you see?

Wells Fargo.

There's usually just one old man in those places

to feed the horses and stuff.

I don't know.

I thought that chicken deal would be all right.

Look at that.

- This ain't the same kind of thing.

Hell, Jake, there ain't no stage coming by this time of day.

I bet he ain't even there.

- You think so, huh?

- Yep, I do.

- Boy, I sure want one of them chickens, that's the truth.

- So do I.

- All right.

We go down there quiet, we take one, just one, now,

and then we hightail outta there as fast as we can.

- Well, I can't, Jake, my arm.

Well, I'm no good to you this way.

I mean, if I fell, I'd just scream.

- It's that bad, huh?

- Well, hell, one chicken is all we need.

I'm just talking sense, Jake.

- All right.

You wish me luck.

- Mm-mm, smells wonderful.

- You think she's done?

- Yep.

- Well, she's done enough for me.

Hey, where's mine?

- Yours?

- Come on, come on, you hog, I get half.

- Fair is fair, Drew, ain't you heard of that?

- What do you mean?

- I did all the work, I took the risk.

Went down there and stole a bird.

I could have got myself killed.

Now I get to eat it.

Unless you got some money, you wanna buy yourself a share.

- I ain't got no money, you know that.

- Well, then, you lose, don't you?

- I wouldn't have been any good to you Jake, my arm.

- Bullshit!

Bullshit, your arm!

- Well, eat your damn chicken, then.

I hope you choke on it.

- Hey, pard?

Hey, pard, I been thinking about going to Virginia City

with you, give it a try.

- You have? - Yep.

And I figure I got to where I'd miss hearing you spout off

from time to time.

Listen, it beats going to the opera.

Besides, I think that Virginia City

would be a right nice place

for an ambitious young fellow like me to settle down.

Not that I'd go busting my ass digging

in a silver mine like you,

but I wouldn't mind robbing those folks

who was digging it up.

- Boy, that's just what I'd expect to hear

from somebody who won't even share a chicken

with a friend that's starving.

- You are past savin', my boy, I swear to God.

Highest pockets in the USA,

probably be governor of this territory one day.

You'd like that, wouldn't you?

- Yeah.

‘Cause there'll come a day

when they'll get you ready to hang,

and all the citizens are gonna gather together

to watch Jake Rumsey die, and then some smart lawyer

is gonna come running to me and say,

"Governor, sign this reprieve.

Spare that poor fellow's life."

Boy, that will be the best day ever.

- Well, you wouldn't sign that?

- What do you think?

- I bet you would,

else I'd tell them how their fancy governor turned tail

and run from defending his own country.

Not to mention stealing $12

from the hardware store, Your Honor.

- You would, too, wouldn't you?

- You're damn right I would!

You're damn right!

I'll tell you something else.

I was gonna give you some of this chicken here.

I can't see it would be to my advantage sharing chicken

with a man who's gonna hang me.

God Almighty.

I ain't never seen a dead body before.

- 1 did, but it didn't look like that.

You aren't gonna vomit, are you?

- No.

- Who do you suppose done it?

- Well, the Lord punished them, Jake, for stealing off us.

But why would anybody have wanted to kill them?

Besides us, I mean.

You see their horses around here anywhere?

Just to get their horses?

- Our horses is more like it.

- Hey.

- Where the hell you going?

- Well, whoever done it, maybe they didn't get my watch.

- I can't see why they would pass that up.

Hey, be careful, don't touch that dead man's skin.

Why not?

- I don't know,

you just ain't supposed to touch it, that's all.

Well, I guess, we got to bury these sons of bitches.

Hate to waste the time.

- We got us some customers, Joe.

Come on, let's go get them.

- Uh-huh.

Wait all day, and nothing happens.

Wouldn't you know, we just set down to supper,

and somebody comes by.

- You go on and eat your beans, Joe.

Me and the boys can take them easy.

There's only two.

- My boy, if it is a blind woman in a wheelchair,

I'd still give her the odds.

- Come on.

We can handle this.

Let's go.

- I just know I'm gonna regret this.

- Oh, shit.

- What are you two doing?

- Oh, just passing through, just passing through.

- Looks to me like you're standing still.

- Oh, we thought we seen a jackrabbit.

See, we wanted to get a shot at him, that's all.

- Well, I don't see no jackrabbit.

You, Orin?

- Nope.

I see two jackasses, though.

- Well, we'll be moving along now.

- That's your horse, Jake.

- No, it ain't.

It looks a little bit like him, but no, no.

Adios.

- Adios?

What's your hurry, amigo?

- Say, uh, mister, I had this watch.

T-t-this gold pocket watch, it was, and, um-

Drew.

- No, it belonged to my brother, and it ain't worth nothing,

except to me, but t-t-the thing of it is

that I promised my ma-

- Drew, these men ain't seen your watch!

Well, now, we'll be moving on, so long.

- Tick, tock.

Tick, tock.

Tick, tock.

- Sir, I would advise you to hand that over

on account of my friend here is a lightning gunman.

- A lightning gunman, is he?

Hobbs, you must be crapping all over yourself.

- Well, I guess we ain't got no choice

but to try to defend ourselves.

- Look, now, we don't want no trouble.

We're just gonna get on this mule

and light out of here, all right?

- You little sack of shit!

They killed you, Orin!

Get one of them before you die!

- I'm gonna blast the first one I see

right in the balls!

I'm dead.

The little runt got me.

Drew, Drew, I'm out of bullets.

Jake?

- Stop, you son of a bitch!

- Drew!

- You murdering bastard, come back here!

Drew!

- Don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot.

I'm coming, Jackson!

Hold on!

- Your friend has passed on.

You're welcome to keep coming, though.

- Are you threatening me?

I can stand plenty, but I can't stand that.

I'll kill you.

- Well, we done it.

That's the lot.

- Go get your watch.

You sure as hell earned it.

Whoo, ain't we a pair!

I never let on, Jake, but ever since I left home,

I been thinking I was a coward, you know what I mean?

I mean, if I'd of really had to go to war,

I wasn't sure how I'd of been.

Well, I ain't worrying no more.

I mean, sure, I was scared, at first,

but when the chips were down, it was clear sailing.

I just, uh.

You never did rob that hardware store, did you?

- By God, I got it.

Jake?

Jake!

Jake!

Where you hiding?

Hey, give me back the money.

Why don't you just-

Jake!

I was gonna split the money with you when we got to a town.

Really and truly, I was.

There wasn't no place to spend it here.

Jake!

Jake, you son of a bitch!

You come back here with my money, or I swear, I'll kill you!

November 27, 1863.

I have tried to look on the bright side of all of this,

but I can't think of what it would be.

I have been robbed of all my money

and left to die on the prairie, alone and friendless.

Weather good.

November 28, 1863.

I have determined not to die after all.

If the children of Israel

could endure 40 years in the desert,

then a Greenville, Ohio boy ought to not give up.

I shot and ate a skunk today.

Taste didn't enter much into it.

November 29, 1863.

If I ever find Jake Rumsey, I will kill him.

- Marshal.

- How long you been with Joe Simmons's gang?

- About a month, sir.

- What jobs you pull?

- A couple of stagecoaches over by Oletha,

a few stray travelers a little east of here,

a cafe down in Mansfield, and then this.

- That all?

Yes, sir.

- How many Joe got in his gang now?

- Uh, 10, no, nine.

Not counting me.

- Where's he hid out?

Son, in a couple of minutes,

you're gonna be face-to-face with your maker.

Now, after what you did here to these people,

I think it will go down a lot easier with the Lord

if you'll help us out now as much as you can.

- Follow that trail out front west about 20 miles,

till you come to a cutoff heading north.

Take that till you come to an old, run-down shack.

That's them.

- Hoist him up, boys.

- Excuse me.

Uh, this man, Simmons.

Did a young fellow join up with him in the last day or so?

About my age, his name is Jake Rumsey.

Well, thank you.

- We're all set, Marshal.

- Good luck, boy.

- Marshal.

I'd like to join up with you, sir.

- Now, as long as I'm paying for these bullets,

I wanna see a man drop for every shot.

- About ready, Bobby?

- Just a minute.

All right!

Fire!

Jake.

Damn it!

- Chaw?

When I wanna chew on horseshit, I'll let you know.

Say, you was in Wichita in '63, wasn't you?

- Yep.

- You must have known "Curly" Bill Brosius, then.

Curly Bill?

Always wore white gloves?

- That's the one.

- Bet you don't know why, do you?

Covered up his warts.

- He was good with a gun, though.

- He was fair.

Just fair.

- Fair?

Did you ever see him do that, uh, fancy spin of his?

- Well, boy, where do you think he learned that?

I taught it to him one day when I was feeling generous.

It must have been Christmas.

- Bull.

- Smart.

Smart.

You got some real thinkers in your outfit, Bobby.

I tell you, boys.

I'm the oldest whore on the block.

- You sure come up in the world, ain't you, pard?

- Well, you laugh all you want, young man.

But just remember,

they're gonna hang you, and I'm gonna watch it.

- You think they'll really hang a young fellow like me?

- I know it for a fact.

- Ah, shit, you're probably right.

- Remember when you left me back there

on the prairie to die?

Remember that?

Well, when I was wandering, alone and forsaken,

just about the time I was ready to give up the ghost,

I said to myself, "Hang on.

‘Cause if there's any justice left in this world,

you're gonna live long enough to see Jake Rumsey dead."

- Listen, pard, let's clear the air,

if you ever heard of that.

What I mean is I ain't mad at you no more.

- What?

- I consider we're even.

- We're even?

You stole my goddamn money!

- You hid it from us.

You lied every minute since I known you.

You let me take all the chances,

you let your pals near starve to death,

you bullshitted us about that hardware store

just to get in with us.

You bullshitted us right to the end.

- Well, you dirty bandit.

You know what you are-

- Come on, you're a two-faced shit-kicker,

and I'm glad to finally know it.

But like I said, now we're squared.

I figure I paid you back for all your lying.

You know what I done with your money?

- What?

- I spent it on whores,

just ‘cause I knew that's what you wouldn't have done.

Now, let's bury the hatchet and talk turkey.

- I wouldn't talk nothing with you.

- Wait!

I bet you'd talk $1,000.

- You ain't got a nickel.

- No, not on me, but I know where a thousand is buried.

Come on, we can split it right down the middle.

You can get your $85 back, and then some.

- I got no reason to believe you.

- Now, you got that backwards, don't you, pard?

You're the liar, I'm the crook.

I never lied to you in my life.

- You never did nothing for me, Jake.

- You got the time?

See, you still got that watch

that meant so much to you, don't you?

I didn't take that.

- Marshal, you ain't even listening

to what I'm trying to say.

- Now, listen, son.

I got a bunch of people to hang in the morning.

The night is half gone.

Why don't you go tell your friend that you tried,

and I said no.

Now, good night.

- Marshal, I know you're a fair man.

And Jake ain't, I know it looks bad,

but he ain't one of them.

He really ain't.

It looks bad, I grant you that.

But I know Jake real well.

We started out west together.

Well.

Well, sir, he's white all the way through.

- That's a real nice speech, son.

Why don't you tell it to that poor woman

whose husband we had to bury back there?

- Jake didn't do that, Marshal.

He don't want no part of killing at all.

Why, his only brother was shot dead at Chickamauga.

Every dollar he gets,

half of it he sends back to his mother.

I know he don't look like much, sir,

but he's true-blue.

I swear it.

- Now, boy, I don't usually take on strangers in my outfit,

but you seemed like a Christian sort, so I did.

Don't make me regret my decision.

- Marshal, you don't want it on your conscience

that you hanged an innocent man.

- Get out of here, boy, I wanna go to bed.

- Shh, it's me.

- It's about damn time.

Come on.

- Hold still.

- Come on.

Where are the horses?

- I got a couple saddled up over this way.

Now, keep quiet.

Hey, slow down, we got two days on that posse.

They ain't never gonna catch us now.

Trying the drummer's farewell, huh, Jake?

- Look, you and me got to have a talk.

- There's no need for that.

You don't know where no money is hid, do you, Jake?

- Nope.

- And you called me a liar.

- Better shoot me and get it over with.

- No.

No, I ain't gonna shoot you, Jake.

I ain't letting you out of my sight till I get back my $85.

I'm sticking to you like glue, you son of a bitch,

till you pay me back every cent.

You ain't running out on me, Jake.

Not anymore.

- Say, how did that Jane Eyre turn out in the end?

- Fine, just fine.

Stick 'em up.