That's your Uncle Ethan!
Welcome home, Ethan.
You ain't much bigger than when I last saw you!
I'm Deborah.
There's Lucy over there.
And you're Lucy?
Yeah, I'm Lucy. I'm mighty glad to see you, Uncle Ethan.
She's got a fella. Kisses him, too!
Go on with Lucy and help with supper.
Deborah, you too!
I was just gonna ask Uncle Ethan what he's gonna do with his saber.
Well, I kind of figured to give it to you.
Thanks. Thanks, Uncle Ethan.
-How was California? -California? How should I know?
-Well, Mose Harper told us... -Mose Harper?
Is that old goat still creekin' around?
Why doesn't somebody bury him?
No, I ain't been to California.
I don't intend to go either.
Supper will be ready as soon as you wash up.
Let me take your coat.
Welcome home, Ethan.
Thanks, Aaron.
Marty, it's Uncle Ethan!
Debbie, sit down.
Good evening, Uncle Ethan.
Welcome home, sir.
It's Martin. Martin Pawley.
I'm sorry for bein' late, Aunt Martha.
A fella could mistake you for a half-breed.
Not quite, I'm an eighth Cherokee and the rest Welsh and English.
Least that's what they tell me.
Go on, son.
It was Ethan who found you squallin' under a sage clump...
...after your folks had been massacred.
It just happened to be me. No need to make more of it.
Thank you, Lucy.
Good night, Aunt Martha.
Good night, Martin.
-Uncle Aaron. -Good night, Martin.
Good night, Uncle Ethan.
Good night.
Good night, Ma. 'Night, Pa.
Uncle Ethan, will you tell us about the war?
The war ended three years ago, boy.
It did? So why didn't you come home before now?
Ben, go on with Martin. March!
Lucy's wearing the gold locket you gave her when she was a little girl.
She doesn't wear it much on account of it makes her neck green.
Well, it does!
But, I wouldn't care if you gave me a gold locket...
...if it made my neck green or not.
A gold locket! Lucy, where are my saddlebags?
Look at my gold locket!
Oh, it is pretty.
-Ethan, I think she's too young... -Oh, let her have it.
It doesn't amount to much.
-To bed, young lady! -Yes, Daddy.
I passed the Todd place comin' in. What happened?
He gave up, quit, went back to chopping cotton.
So did the Jamisons.
Without Martha...
She just wouldn't let a man quit.
Ethan, I saw it in you before the war.
You wanted to clear out.
You stayed beyond any real reason. Why?
Are you asking me to clear out now?
You're my brother, Ethan.
You're welcome to stay here as long as you have a mind to.
Ain't that right, Martha?
-Of course, it is. -I expect to pay my way.
There are 60 double eagles in there.
And twice that much here. Yankee dollars.
That's fresh minted.
There ain't a mark on it.
So?
Open up! It's Sam Clayton.
Reverend, come on in!
Good morning, Sister Edwards.
What is it, Reverend?
Lars just said somebody busted into his corral last night...
...and ran off with his best cows.
Yeah, next time I'll raise pigs, by golly!
You never hear of anyone runnin' off pigs, I bet you!
-Bumblebees, by golly! -Coffee'll be just fine, Sister.
Good morning, Lucy.
Debbie, you been baptized yet?
-No, sir, I haven't. No. -Aaron, get Martin, will you?
I can sure use that coffee. Pass the sugar, son.
Wait a minute, Sister. I didn't get any coffee yet.
Just hold on a second, Sister. I'm sure fond of them doughnuts.
Aaron! Martin! Come on up here.
Come on.
-Raise your right hand. Martin? -Yes, sir.
Raise your right hand.
You're hereby voluntary privates in Company A of the Texas Rangers...
-...and you will faithfully discharge... -Can I go with you?
-Quiet! Where was I? -Faithfully fulfill.
You will faithfully discharge your...
Mrs. Edwards?
Shut up!
You will faithfully discharge your duties, as such...
...without a recompense or monetary consideration.
Amen. That means no pay. Better get a shirt on, Aaron.
I ain't goin' volunteering till I've had my coffee. Drink your own.
Just call me "Captain."
Captain. The Reverend Samuel Johnson Clayton!
Mighty impressive.
Well...the "Prodigal Brother"!
When did you get back? I ain't seen you since the surrender.
Come to think of it, I didn't see you at the surrender.
I don't believe in surrenders.
I still got my saber, Reverend.
Didn't turn it into no plowshare neither.
The Indians did it, Mrs. Edwards.
Caddos or Kiowas. Old Mose knows. Yes, sir.
-Oh, shut up, Mose. -Thank you.
Ethan, I'm countin' on you to look after things while I'm gone.
-You're not goin'. -He is going. I already swore him in.
-Swear him out! I'll go with you. -Ethan, I don't think I should...
Stay close, Aaron.
It might be, this is rustlers.
Might be this dodderin' ol' idiot ain't so far wrong.
Could be Comanches.
Kind words, Ethan. Thank you kindly.
Children, go with Lucy.
All right. I'll swear you in.
No need to. It wouldn't be legal anyway.
Why not? You wanted for a crime, Ethan?
Coffee, Ethan.
Thank you, Martha.
Are you asking me as a captain or a preacher, Sam?
I'm asking you as a ranger of the sovereign state of Texas.
You got a warrant?
You fit a lot of descriptions.
I figure a man's only good for one oath at a time.
I took mine to the Confederate States of America.
So did you, Sam.
Stay close, Aaron.
Thank you, Mrs. Edwards. We have to be going.
Thank you, Mrs. Edwards.
Grateful to the hospitality of your rocking chair, ma'am.
"Brad and Lucy, Lucy and Brad"
Debbie and Ben Edwards, I'm gonna tell Ma on you!
Somethin' mighty fishy about this trail, Uncle Ethan.
Don't call me "Uncle." I ain't your uncle.
Yes, sir.
No need to call me "sir" either.
Nor "grandpa," nor "Methuselah." I can whip you to a frazzle.
What do you want me to call you?
My name is Ethan. Now what's so mighty fishy about this trail?
-Well, first... -Look! Look!
Reverend!
Look!
Caddos or Kiowas, huh?
Ain't but one tribe uses a lance like that.
Hey, Pa, your prize bull. Killed every one of them!
And not for food either. Why'd they do a thing like that?
Stealing the cattle was just to pull us out.
This is a murder raid.
Shapes up to burn down either your place, or my brother's.
Mama! Laurie!
Oh, please, God! Please, no!
Jorgensen's place is the closest, Ethan.
If they're not there, we'll come straight on to you.
You do that.
Well, are you coming, or ain't you?
That farm's 40 miles from here, boy. And these horses need rest and grain.
Ain't Caddos. Ain't Kiowas.
-Break out the grain. -Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Quiet, boy.
I'll see if I can shoot a couple of sage hens before supper.
Yes, you do that, Aaron.
Ma, the days are getting shorter.
Lucy, we don't need a lamp yet.
Let's just enjoy the dusk.
It's all right, Ma, I've been watching. Only...
-What, Ben? -I wish Uncle Ethan was here.
Don't you, Ma?
Close that shutter, Ben, like a good boy.
We're gonna play the "sleep-out" game. Remember?
Where you hide out with Grandma?
Where she is buried?
And you creep along the ditch very quietly, like...
Like a little mouse.
Hurry up! The moon's fixin' to rise!
You won't make a sound or come back, no matter what you hear!
-Promise? -I promise.
-Wait. Can't I have my doll? -There's no time. There's no time.
Now, down low. Run!
Chris, go back. Go back, Chris! Go back!
Wait a minute, Uncle Ethan.
Next time you'll mind your Uncle Ethan.
-Thank you kindly... -Wait, Mose! We can ride double, Mose!
Aunt Martha!
Let me in.
-Don't go in there, boy. -I know she's in there!
Don't go in!
Don't let him look in there.
It won't do him any good.
Put an "Amen" to it!
There's no more time for praying. Amen!
Those girls mean as much to me as though they were my own.
Maybe you don't know that my Brad has been keeping company with Lucy.
I'd be obliged if you'd come to the point, ma'am.
It's just that I know Martha would want you...
...to take care of her boys, as well as her girls.
If the girls are dead, don't let the boys waste their lives in vengeance.
Promise me, Ethan!
Come on, if you're going with us!
Captain Clayton!
Another one, huh? Give me a hand, Charlie.
This one came a long way before he died, Captain.
Well, Ethan, there's another one you can score up for your brother.
-I don't like it! -What don't you like?
Indians on a raid generally hide their dead.
If they don't care anything about us knowin'...
...it only spells one thing:
They ain't afraid of us following, or of us catchin' up with them either.
You can back out any time you want, Nesby.
Ethan, I didn't say that! I didn't say such!
Easy, Nesby, easy.
Why don't you finish the job?
What good did that do you?
By what you preach, none. But what that Comanche believes...
...ain't got no eyes, he can't enter the Spirit Land.
Has to wander forever between the winds.
You get it, Reverend. Come on, Blankethead!
All right, boys. Let's mount up.
They're camped by the river, about 20 miles from here.
We'll wait till dark, then circle out so we can jump 'em before daylight.
You're sure you want to jump 'em, Ethan?
That's what we came for, ain't it?
I thought we were tryin' to get them girls out...alive.
If we jump them Comanches, they'll kill 'em. You know that.
What are we doing then, Reverend?
What are we supposed to do, Ethan?
Well, what I had in mind was maybe runnin' off their pony herd.
A Comanche on foot is more apt to be willin' to listen.
Yeah, I think the Reverend's right. Don't you?
You think the Reverend's...
What does a quarter-breed Cherokee know about the old Comanche trick...
...of sleepin' with his best pony tied right by his side?
You've got about as much chance of stampeding that herd as...
As you have of finding them girls alive by raidin' into 'em!
I say we do it my way. And that's an order!
Yes, sir.
But if you're wrong...
...don't ever give me another!
Well, they were here.
Sure. They were here.
And now they're out there, waiting to jump us.
Any more orders, "Captain"?
Yes. We'll keep on going.
Well?
You want to quit, Ethan?
That'll be the day!
-Horses! -Horses!
Keep on going.
Keep moving! Keep moving!
Well, Reverend, it looks like you got yourself surrounded.
Yeah, and I figure I can get myself un-surrounded.
Mose, how far is the river?
I've been baptized, Reverend. I've been baptized.
-Shut up, you fool. -Thank you, kindly. Thank you.
You'd better get yourself set for another one...
...because when I holler, I want you to move out in a hurry!
Let's go!
-Take it easy, Nesby. -You'll be all right, Nesby.
Here is my Bible. Hold it. It'll make you feel good.
Thank you, Reverend. Thank you very kindly.
Do you think they'll charge us?
-Are you asking me? -I am.
Well, thank you.
Yep. The Death Song.
The War Chief. He's got to, to save face.
Yes, sir. He'll be right in your lap in a minute, sonny.
For that which we're about to receive, we thank Thee, O Lord.
You got him, Marty!
Hallelujah!
Dang! Blast it!
Watch it, it's loaded!
Leave them to carry off their hurt and dead.
Well, Reverend, that does it!
From now on, you stay out of this, all of you! I don't want you with me.
I don't need you for what I've gotta do!
Well, Edwards, I guess you're right.
We gotta get Nesby back.
This is a job for a whole company of rangers...
...or it's a job for one or two men.
Right now, we're too many and not enough.
Me, I'm going on alone.
Any objections?
Good luck.
There's only one way you can stop me from looking for Lucy, mister...
...and that's kill me!
That's the way I feel, Uncle Ethan.
All right. But I'm giving the orders, you hear?
I'm givin' the orders...
...and you'll follow 'em or we're splittin' up right here and now.
Sure, Ethan.
There's just one reason we're here, ain't it? It's to find Debbie and Lucy.
If they're still alive.
Mount up.
They gotta stop sometime.
If they're human men at all, they gotta stop!
No, a human rides a horse until it dies, then he goes on afoot.
A Comanche comes along, gets that horse up, rides him 20 more miles...
...and then he eats him.
Easy on that!
Sorry.
We don't even know if Debbie and Lucy are in this bunch.
Maybe they split up.
They're with 'em, all right. If they're still alive.
You've said that enough!
Maybe Lucy's dead. Maybe they're both dead.
But, if I hear that from you again, I'll fight you, Mr. Edwards!
That'll be the day!
Spread out!
Found a main trail, but...
...four of them cut out here and rode on up through that pass.
How come they'd do that, Ethan?
I'll take a look. Keep after the others.
If you want us to fire...
No, nor build bonfires, nor beat drums.
I'll meet you on the far side.
Move!
Do you want some water, Ethan?
The trail leads over there.
Why'd they break off?
Was there water in that canyon?
Huh?
No water.
Are you all right, Ethan?
I'm all right.
What happened to your coat? Did you lose it?
I must have.
But I'm not going back for it!
I found 'em! I found Lucy!
They're camped a half-mile over. I was swinging back and I saw their smoke.
Bellied up a ridge, and there they were, right below me.
Did you see Debbie?
No, but I saw Lucy all right. She was wearing that blue dress...
What you saw wasn't Lucy.
Oh, but it was...
What you saw was a buck...
...wearin' Lucy's dress.
I found Lucy back in the canyon.
I wrapped her in my coat.
Buried her with my own hands.
I thought it best to keep it from you.
Did they...
Was she...?
What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture? Spell it out?
Don't ever ask me! As long as you live, don't ever ask me more!
I'm awful sorry, Brad.
Wait a minute!
Get back here, Brad! Get back here!
Why don't you say it?
We're beaten, and you know it.
Our turnin' back don't mean nothin'.
Not in the long run.
If she's alive, she's safe. For a while, they'll keep her...
...and they'll raise her as one of their own until...
...she's of an age to...
Do you think maybe there's a chance we still might find her?
An Indian will chase a thing till he thinks he's chased it enough.
Then he quits.
Same way when he runs.
Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as...
...a critter who'll just keep coming on.
So we'll find 'em in the end. I promise you.
We'll find 'em...
...just as sure as the turnin' of the earth!
-Hi, Ethan. -Hello, sir.
-Hi, Marty. -How are you, sir?
You got my letter about your son, Brad?
Just about this time a year ago.
Oh, Ethan, this country...
Him? Probably forgotten all about you, can't even call your name to mind!
Her name is Laurie.
But I fairly forgot just how pretty she was.
What about Debbie?
Hey, what are you doin' anyway?
Don't go taking that stuff!
Well, it ain't worth the mending.
What are you gettin' so red in the face about? I got brothers, ain't I?
Yeah, well, I ain't one of them.
Look here, Martin Pawley, I'm a woman.
We women wash and mend your dirty clothes all your lives.
When you're little, we even wash you!
How you can ever make out to be bashful in front of a woman, I'll never know.
You talk like a fella just might as well run around naked.
It wouldn't bother me none.
Sure wouldn't try it in front of Pa, though, if I was you!
"Oh, I got a gal prettier than you"
We kept trackin' 'em till the blizzards hit. Then we lost their trail.
Don't need to tell you where we went: Fort Richardson, Wingate, Cobb...
Trouble is, we don't know which band the war party belonged to.
Well, you did all a body could, Ethan.
I got your boy killed.
Don't go blamin' yourself for that.
It's this country that killed my boy. Yes, by golly, I tell you Ethan...
Now, Lars, it just so happens we'd be Texicans.
A Texican is nothing but a human man way out on a limb.
This year and next...
Maybe for a hundred more. But I don't think it will be forever.
Some day this country's gonna be a fine good place to be.
Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come.
Bedtime.
She was a schoolteacher.
Ma, Marty's drawers is a sight.
Would it be all right if we give him some of Brad's things?
Of course. They're in Grandma's chest.
Ethan, you're going to sleep in the bunkhouse.
The letter! In the chest! It came for you, Ethan, last winter.
Charlie McCorry brought it.
I'm looking for that letter Charlie McCorry... By Jiminy!
Here it is. By golly, I forgot.
Excuse me.
Take a look at this.
Just a snip of calico.
Ever see it before? Maybe on a dress Debbie wore?
Yes, it was an apron.
Have they found her yet?
Not yet.
You might at least have left me my britches!
It's time for bed anyway. Here, try these on.
I ain't gonna.
Well, likely they'll need some takin' in.
You're that gaunt.
Ma's having turkey for dinner tomorrow.
Laurie, come. Let the boys get to bed.
All right, Pa.
-Good night, Marty. -Good night, Laurie.
-'Night, Mr. Edwards. -'Night, Ms. Jorgensen.
Jorgensen's been runnin' my cattle with his own.
Your cattle?
You mean Debbie's cattle.
He's agreed to take you on and split the increase in my herd while I'm gone.
I'm pushin' on tomorrow.
Well, I sure ain't gonna stay here!
I started out lookin' for Debbie, I intend to keep on.
Why?
Why? Well, because she is my...
She's your nothing! She's no kin to you at all!
I always kind of thought she was.
The way her folks took me in and raised me...
That don't make you no kin.
All right, maybe it don't. But I intend to keep on lookin' anyway.
How?
You got any horses, or money to buy 'em?
You ain't even got money for cartridges.
Jorgensen's offerin' you a good livin' here.
Martin, I want you to know...
I know what you want me to know!
I've got no kin, no money, no horses!
All I got here is a bunch of dead-man's clothes to wear!
You told me that already, so, shut your mouth!
Mornin', Laurie.
Mornin', Marty. Did you sleep well?
Well, no.
I kind of tossed and...
...turned and dreamed.
I'll get your coffee.
You know, Laurie, I...
...I was thinking maybe it's time you and me started goin' steady, huh?
You and me have been goin' steady since we was three years old.
-We have? -About time you found out about it!
Gosh, Laurie, I've always been fond of you, but...
...with all this trouble with Debbie and Ethan, I...
Ethan rode on an hour ago.
I don't know what you can do about findin' Debbie that he can't.
He'll find her now, Martin. Honest he will!
That's what I'm afraid of, Laurie, him finding her!
I've seen his eyes at the very word "Comanche."
I've seen him take his knife and...
Never mind. He's a man that can go crazy wild!
And I intend to be there to stop him, in case he does.
I was hopin' I could hold you here, but I guess I knew better.
I stole that for you.
"I...bought..."
Here, let me read it for you.
"I bought a small-sized dress off of an Indian.
"If this here's a piece of your child's dress, bring the reward.
"I know where they've gone. Jerem Futterman."
He's got a small trading post on the south fork of the Brazos.
Listen, I just gotta get me a horse! Do you think your Pa...
Finish your breakfast!
I've got to find him!
-All right, go on and find him! -Oh, Laurie, don't you understand?
But that's your own good horse!
You take him and welcome!
But don't you count on findin' me here when you get back.
I've been hanging around this Godforsaken place...
...for two long years waiting for you.
I ain't cut out to be no old maid!
I'm sorry, Laurie, but I just gotta catch up with Ethan.
Well, go ahead and catch up with him!
-Futterman? -Yeah.
Let's talk.
You sent me a letter.
Yeah?
About a dress.
How'd you come by it?
-You said there was a $1,000 reward. -That's what I said.
Got it with you?
You'll get the reward when I find her, and if she's still alive.
A man's got a right to expect some kind of payment.
I laid out for that dress and sendin' you that writing.
Twenty Yankee dollars.
A man's time is worth something.
Talk.
A young buck fetched it in late last summer.
Said it belonged to a captive child of Chief Scar.
Scar?
We ain't never heard of him, have we?
Me neither. But this buck claimed he was a big war chief...
-...with the Nawyecky Comanches. -Keep talkin'.
Scar's band was headed north to winter at Fort Wingate, eatin' agency beef.
That's what this buck said. Maybe he lied.
Maybe you lie.
In that case, my friend, you won't find her...
...and I won't get my $1,000 dollars.
You can spend the night. Cards, a jug...
No thanks.
Don't forget to come back with my $1,000!
It ain't yours yet!
Do you have a feeling that maybe we're being followed?
That's the Indian in you. Go to sleep.
Them horses there... they're sure actin' mighty nervous.
They smell a change in the weather.
Don't put any more wood on the fire. I'm burning up.
We might get a frost before mornin'.
I'm getting to be like old Mose Harper.
My bones are cold tonight.
It's funny, but last winter when we passed through Fort Wingate...
...I didn't have any recollection of a mention of Nawyecky Comanches.
Not so funny when you recollect what "Nawyecky" means.
-What's that? -Sort of like "roundabout."
A man says he's goin' one place, means to go to the other.