Come on, Ethan. Don't put any more wood on the fire! I'm burning up.
Comfortable?
Are you all right?
-I'm just saying good night to you. -Well, good night!
Good night!
Thanks, you did fine.
Why, that's Futterman!
Ethan, what are you doin' anyway?
I'm getting my money back, you idiot! What do you suppose!
We did all right.
We? Why you just staked me out there, like a piece of bait!
You built up the fire. You fixed it so I could get my brains blown out!
What if you had missed?
It never occurred to me.
Let's get out of here.
Howdy, Mr. Jorgensen.
-Charlie! -Got me a letter here.
By golly, a letter?
It's for Ms. Laurie.
Two letters in one year! By golly!
Mama! Mama! It's Charlie McCorry.
He's come with a letter. He's come a courtin' too, by golly!
Good morning, Charlie.
Laurie, here's a letter for you. Charlie brought it.
I figured it might be the news you've been waiting for, so l...
-Thank you, Charlie. -You're welcome.
Say, I brought you some boiled sweets.
Why, thank you, Charlie!
Let's sit down while Laurie reads the letter.
I reckon, I really ought to be going...
No. You'll stay, Charlie.
After all, Charlie brought the letter. He's got a right to listen too.
Come on, read the letter.
But, Ma, it's my letter!
Why, sure, but... Go ahead. Read it.
Please.
"Dear Ms. Laury..."
He spelled it with a "y" instead of an "ie." You'd think he'd know better.
Oh, spelling...please! What's the difference? Read the letter!
"Dear Ms. Laury: I take pencil in hand to let you know...
"...Ethan and me are still trying to catch up with them Comanches...
"...the late Mr. Futterman told us about."
The "late" Mr. Futterman?
That means Mr. Futterman is dead, by golly.
Oh, the poor man! Go ahead, Laurie.
"We cut north through Indian territory...
"...and did not have no trouble...
"...finding Kiowas and Wichitas...
"...and even some Comanches...
"...camped by one of the agencies.
"But none of them was Nawyeckies...
"...nor claimed to know a war chief called Scar."
Scar?
"He's the one the late Mr. Futterman said had Debbie.
"At one of the agencies...
"...we outfitted with all kinds of trade goods...
"...figuring that'd make it easier for us to come and go...
"You'd laugh if I told you...
"...what was our biggest seller. "
Let's go. I think I stumbled onto something.
Scar...you found him?
When are you gonna learn to keep your big mouth shut?
Get your horse, and let's get out of here!
-I just bought me a good blanket. -Forget it. Move!
I heard that a band of hostile Comanches...
...came through less than a week ago.
I asked if a white girl was with them.
They got sullen and suspicious.
-You think it might have been... -I don't know!
What's she following us for?
Hey, you! You go on back now!
Go on!
Look, I changed my mind. You can keep your blanket.
Look, you don't understand. I don't want it!
You don't understand, you chunkhead!
You didn't buy any blanket, you bought her!
You got yourself a wife, sonny!
Oh, no! Ethan, tell her to go back!
What? And have her whole family after our scalps...
...for flauntin' one of their womenfolk? No, sir!
Come on, Mrs. Pawley.
Join our merry group.
Mrs. Pawley?
"There is one other thing I got to tell you...
"...before you hear it from Ethan.
"How I got myself...
"...a wife..."
He did?
Good!
A young man should get married early in life. Right, Mama?
Go ahead and read the letter, Laurie.
"A little Comanche squaw..."
Squaw!
Laurie, you come back and read the letter, please!
Come back and read it, please!
Mama, here, you read the letter.
My wife was a schoolteacher. She reads good.
I'll read it.
So he married a Comanche squaw.
"She wasn't near...
"...as old as you..."
How old does he think I am?
Hey, look! Coffee. Me. Coffee.
Could I have a little, Mrs. Pawley?
Looks like Mrs. Pawley's gonna make you a fine, dutiful wife.
Oh, cut it out, will you?
Look...I sure wish I could make you understand.
She says her name is Wild Goose Flying in The Night Sky.
But she'll answer to "Look," if that pleases you.
That's grounds for divorce in Texas!
You're really rough!
Well, I don't think it's a dead-bird funny!
Look, if you really wanna do some good, why don't you ask her where Scar is?
She heard you.
You ask her!
Do you know where he went? Did he have a girl with him? A white girl?
No, not a woman. It's...
Sister!
Look's gone!
Pulled out in the night.
She ain't goin' back to her family. That's for certain.
She took off the way that arrow is pointing.
Think maybe we ought to follow her?
How should I know? She's your wife.
"Maybe she left other signs for us to follow but...
"...we'll never know...
"...because it snowed that day and all the next week."
We were headin' north through buffalo country...
...when somethin' happened that I ain't got straight in my own mind yet.
On this day we sighted a small herd.
We needed meat, so we circled around...
...and came up on them on foot.
That don't make no sense!
Hunger! Empty bellies! That's the sense!
At least they won't feed any Comanches this winter!
Listen!
It was the Nawyecky Comanches, all right.
The ones we'd been looking for all this time.
It's Look.
What did them soldiers have to go and kill her for?
She never done nobody any harm.
We've got to catch up with them, maybe they've got Debbie with them!
Maybe they've got that chief they call Scar.
So, we figured Debbie'd been in the village.
What Look was doin' there... whether she'd come to warn 'em...
...or maybe to find Debbie for me...
...there's no way of knowing.
Come on, move along! Come on!
Yes?
We're looking for a girl. A white girl. A captive.
Should be about 14 now.
Fourteen? We have two about that age.
-All the white women are in the chapel. -What's this girl to you?
-She's my... -She's my niece.
One moment.
-White women? -Yes, sir.
Will you stand up?
Stand up, please.
It's hard to believe they're white.
They ain't white!
Not any more. They are Comanches!
Where are your casualties?
Maybe you can help us identify them. All white. All captives.
There's the white girl there.
No.
"So we're setting out for New Mexico territory in the morning.
"I am sorry I won't be back for Christmas again this year.
"I set pencil aside and hope you are enjoying good health.
"And your folks the same.
"I remain, respectfully...
"...yours truly, Martin Pawley."
They'll never find that girl.
Never!
"Yours truly."
He had to sign his whole name, "Martin Pawley."
He couldn't write just "Marty"!
I don't care if he never comes back!
Charlie, you stay for supper. I won't take "no" for an answer.
The thought of saying "no" never entered my head, Mrs. Jorgensen.
Ain't no place I'd rather be than right here...
...right now.
"Gone again, skip to my Lou
"Skip to my Lou, my darling"
-Recognize it? -That?
Couldn't be two like that in the whole world!
Mose Harper!
Mose, you look shabbier than ever!
How about a drink?
Ain't been too good. No, sir. Not too good.
-Getting old. -You were born old.
Been helpin' you, Ethan. Been lookin' all the time.
The reward still stands.
Don't want no money, Ethan. No money, Marty.
Just a roof over old Mose's head.
And a rocking chair by the fire.
My own rocking chair by the fire, Marty.
You help us find the girl and you've got your rocking chair.
Swear it, Ethan? Given word?
I told you, didn't I?
Ethan, I found a man who's seen her.
He knows where little Debbie is!
Where is he? Who is this man?
-Promise? -Who is this man?
I am this man, Señor.
At your service. For a price. Always for a price.
Sir, I'd like to...
Wait till you grow up.
Let's talk a little business.
Why not?
Let's go.
But I'm hungry!
While you're fillin' your belly...
...I'm goin' out to meet a Comanche named Cicatriz.
Never heard of him.
"Cicatriz" is Mexican for "scar."
Medicine country, huh?
Bad medicine, I think.
-This is the great Cicatriz, War Chief. -Scar, huh?
Plain to see how you got your name.
You, Big Shoulders.
The young one, He Who Follows.
You speak pretty good American for a Comanche.
Did someone teach you?
That's right. We've come to trade. Only not out here.
I don't stand talkin' in the wind.
You speak good Comanche. Did someone teach you?
-You, stay out here. -Not likely.
His sons are dead. So his wives sit on the honor side of his lodge.
Are all those his wives?
Two sons killed by white men.
For each son, I take many...
Scalps.
We've seen scalps before.
Seen this before?
I came to trade, not to admire his collection.
Tell him we'll pitch camp on the other side of the creek and talk tomorrow.
It is not that I am afraid.
Don't apologize. You got well paid.
But he knows who you are, and why you're here. This, I did not know.
Take it. I do not want blood money.
Do you think old Scar means to kill us?
He's got to.
We've been asking for it for five years.
Why didn't he make his move back there?
Hospitality, I guess. Comanche hospitality.
Why? Do you want to pull out too?
Big Shoulders!
Debbie, don't you remember? I'm Martin, your brother.
Remember?
Debbie, remember back...
Do you remember how I used to let you ride my horse?
And tell you stories?
Don't you remember me, Debbie?
I remember.
For always.
First I prayed to you, to come and get me...
...to take me home. You didn't come.
I've come now, Debbie.
These are my people.
Go! Go, Martin! Please!
Stand aside, Martin!
No, you don't, Ethan!
Ethan! No, you don't!
Stand aside!
Looks as though I'm gonna have to open that shoulder again.
To get the poison out.
Sure beats me, Ethan... how you could've stayed alive this long.
Read this.
"I...
"...Ethan Edwards...
"...being of a sound mind...
"...and...
"...without any blood kin...
"...do hereby..."
Bequeath. It means "leave."
"...bequeath...
"...all my property...
"...of any kind...
"...to Martin Pawley."
What do you mean, you don't have any "blood kin"?
Debbie is your blood kin!
Not no more, she ain't!
Well, you can keep your will!
I don't want any of your property!
Besides, I ain't forgettin' you was gettin' all set to shoot her yourself.
What kind of man are you anyway?
-She's been livin' with a buck! -Shut your dirty mouth!
I hope you die!
That'll be the day!
Good evening, everybody!
Here he is! All curried, combed and washed behind the ears.
Charlie, you look right handsome! I'd hardly know you.
Yes, ma'am. I can't hardly recognize myself.
Get it on, Luther!
Why don't you have a drink?
Oh, no, Nesby. Not till I'm finished my clergyin'.
Bar's closed. Right, Sister Jorgensen?
All right, let's go! Let's get it goin'!
Go ahead.
Bible.
-Get them spurs off! -Yes, sir.
All right, line up inside, boys.
"Yes, we will gather at the river
"The beautiful, the beautiful river
"Gather with the saints at the river
"That flows by the throne of God"
Hey, you don't suppose they're throwin' a party for us, do you?
That'll be the day!
I'm all right.
Ethan, Martin! You can't come in! The rangers are in there.
What's that got to do with us?
You're both posted for murder. The both of you!
That trader, the late Futterman...
The Reverend and the rangers are in there now...
Well, what's goin' on anyway?
Looks like you two will have a lot to talk about.
-Come on, Lars. -Ethan...hide in the barn!
What for?
Please! Look, everybody!
Look, Mama!
Look who's here!
Evenin'.
Is the bar open?
Any news of our little girl?
She's not a little girl anymore.
You've seen her? She's alive?
I've seen her and she's alive.
Good evening, Reverend. Or should I call you "Captain"?
I came here for a wedding, Ethan.
Till that's over, "Reverend" will do. Afterwards we'll talk.
-Is Marty with you? -Yep.
It's good to see you back, Ethan. We'll join you.
But I wrote you one letter.
One letter in five years!
I read it till the paper dried up and the writin' faded out.
It wasn't much of a letter, was it?
No, it wasn't.
Might've at least said you loved me.
You might've asked me to wait for you. At least that'd have been somethin'.
But I always loved you!
I thought you knew that without me havin' to say it.
It isn't fair, Martin Pawley!
It isn't fair and you know it!
-I wish you wouldn't cry, Laurie. -Who's cryin'?
I reckon the best thing for me to do is to go away.
You do, Martin Pawley, and I'll just die!
I'll thank you to unhand my fiancée.
You don't mean you're gonna be marryin' him?
She sure is!
And don't think your comin' back is gonna change it either!
Well, now, as to that, I just don't know, Charlie.
We hadn't gotten around to talkin' about marriage.
What right have you to talk marriage to any decent woman?
If you're referrin' to that crazy murder charge...
And other things.
You think you're gettin' away with bein' smart about the Indian wife you took.
I'll bet she ain't the first squaw you ever...
Why, you are a no good...
Oh, Marty, you've done it again!
Get out of my way!
Marty! Charlie! I ain't gonna have no fightin' in my house.
Well, then we're just gonna fight outside, doggone it!
I ain't totin' no firearms.
Well, that sure ain't gonna be no problem.
-After you, Marty. -After you, Charlie.
Look, here.
Thank you.
Spit over that piece of firewood.
Quit that, Marty! That ain't fair!
Marty, now you stop that!
Is this here altercation in the line of duty?
No, sir. It's more in the nature of a private fight.
All right, then, go ahead. But fight fair. No biting or gouging!
And no kicking either!
Get them up! Make them fight fair!
Now you fight fair, Martin!
Wait a minute!
Somebody's fiddle.
No choking! No gouging!
Mr. Edwards, make 'em stop!
Why? You started it.
Marty, watch his feet!
Don't forget, you're a lady.
Come on, Charlie. Get up!
Are you all right?
I reckon so.
Now, come on. I want you boys to shake hands and make friends.
Sorry I bit your ear, Marty.
It don't hurt none, Charlie.
Now you boys get cleaned up and we'll proceed with the wedding.
Where's my Bible?
There ain't gonna be no wedding.
Not till we get a few things cleared up around here.
It was a nice wedding party, considering nobody got married.
Ethan, I gotta ask you and Martin to take a ride with me...
...down to the state capital.
Is this an invite to a necktie party, Reverend?
No, I wouldn't say that.
Likely you had your reasons for killin' Futterman.
Probably needed killin'.
I'm talking to you now as a ranger, not as a preacher.
The fact that all three of 'em was shot in the back was...
...the only thing that raised some questions.
That, and...
...a missin' gold piece that was known to have been on him...
...just prior to his demise.
Ethan, I'll have to ask you for your gun.
Well, if it's all the same to you, Reverend...
...I ain't goin' to Austin!
You're goin' if the captain says so.
Stop it! Stop it!
I'll put both of you boys in the smokehouse to cool off.
Good evening, ma'am. Captain Clayton?
Excuse me, ma'am.
-Captain Clayton, sir? -No.
I'm Captain Clayton.
-You're Captain Clayton? -Yes, I'm Captain Clayton.
Col. Greenhill's compliments, sir. The colonel wants to know...
-Is your head cold? -No, sir.
I'm sorry, sir.
-All right, start at the beginning. -Col. Greenhill's compliments, sir.
Hold on, son. Who is this Col. Greenhill you're talking about?
Why, Col. Greenhill is Col. Greenhill, sir.
-Commanding officer of the 15th... -And who are you?
I'm Lt. Greenhill, sir.
What is it your pa wants to know?
Well, go ahead.
My pa wants to know... Col. Greenhill wants to know...
-...how soon you can put a company... -Turn around, sonny.
Yeah, he's a Yankee cavalryman.
Col. Greenhill wants to know how soon you could... I resent that, sir!
Just funnin', son, just funnin'.
How soon you could put a company of your men in the field...
...fully armed for joint-punitive action against the Comanches?
-Joint what? -Joint-punitive action.
We received information about a band of Comanches under a chief named Scar.
What information?
That maybe he's not far from here, holed up somewhere.
What makes you think he's not far from here?
One of our patrollers picked up a man...
...claims he was a prisoner with Scar till two days ago.
Talks kind of crazy, but we brought him along.
Says he lives here. Keeps mentioning a rocking chair.
Take his arms.
It's Mose!
Good evening, ma'am. I came for my rocking chair.
-Bring him to the fire. -Watch him!
Get him up!
Here, get him a chair.
Bring him a drink!
Watch his head!
-Take a drink, Mose. -Drink that down, Mose.
Mose. Scar...where is he?
My rocking chair. You promised me my rocking chair.
Ask him about Debbie. Is Debbie all right, Mose?
Made out I was crazy.
You don't think I'm crazy, do you, ma'am?
No, Mose, you're just sick and hurt.
Thank you, ma'am.
Mose, try and remember. You were at Scar's camp.
I ate dirt and chewed grass. I fooled them.
Where is Scar holed up?
I won't tell you.
I'll tell Marty.
Seven Fingers, Marty.
That's enough, Ethan. Let's get him to bed.
-Seven Fingers? -Beg to report, sir...
...that's what he told us, but there's no such place on the maps.
Isn't it the Caddo name for where all them canyons join under the Malapai?
Seven Fingers of Brazos!
My rocking chair?
We'll bring it.
You go tell your pa that a company of rangers...
...all 14 of 'em, fully armed and equipped...
...will be in the field by daylight.
We'll be headin' for the south end of the Malapai.
If he can catch up with us, all well and good!
We can't take the field tomorrow. For your own protection.
Sonny. Out yonder is a pack of murderers...
...complete with Texican scalps and a white-girl captive!
If you want to protect us, just keep out of our way.
Now you skedaddle back to your pa!
You and Martin are hereby appointed civilian scouts. Without pay.
Take the boys and get back to headquarters and pick up my company.
You're not going! Not this time.
Are you crazy?
It's too late. She is a woman grown now.
I gotta go, Laurie. I gotta fetch her home.
Fetch what?
The leavings of Comanche bucks sold time and again to the highest bidder with...
Laurie, shut your mouth!
Do you know what Ethan will do if he has a chance?
He'll put a bullet in her brain!
I tell you, Martha would want him to!
Only if I'm dead!
We can get within 200 yards of them.
There's a hub back off to the left.
How many, you figure?
About a dozen each.
Enough to go around.
Well, we found 'em!
Now, men...
...the state of Texas is paying you 12 Yankee dollars a month.
Now is your chance to earn it!
Tighten up your cinches. We'll go chargin' in about sunup.
-Now make sure that... -Just a minute, Reverend!
If we go charging in, they'll kill her! And you know it.
-That's what I'm countin' on. -I know you are.
Well, it ain't gonna be that way! She's alive and she's gonna stay alive!
Living with Comanches ain't bein' alive.
It's better she's alive and livin' with Comanches than her brains bashed out!
Now, son, I know this is a bitter thing to say...
...but there's more at stake here than your sister.
There sure is. I'm gonna tell you somethin'.
I didn't mean to speak of it, but I'm gonna tell you now.
You remember that scalp strung on Scar's lance? Long and wavy?
Yeah, I saw it. And don't try to tell me it was Aunt Martha's or Lucy's!
It was your mother's.
That don't change it. That don't change nothing!
Give me a chance to sneak in and get her out, before you come chargin' in.
What if you get caught?
-That don't tell them nothin', does it? -I said no!
You go right ahead, son. But at the first sign of an alarm, we're comin' in.
We ain't gonna have no time to pick and choose our targets when we do!
It's your funeral.
Captain Clayton!
What the Sam Hill...?
Go ahead! Why don't you have your bugler blow the charge too?
Oh, never mind. Does your pa know you're out here?
Yes, sir. The troops are 10 miles back.
The colonel sent me to find you.
You found me. Good work and goodbye.
Is there anything I can do, sir?
God forbid.
You just go back and tell your pa where we are and where he is.
But he knows that, sir. Can't I stay?
Please?
Oh, all right. But you watch me, boy.
I'm the hard case you're up against out here, not them childish savages.
If you don't hear my first holler...
...you better read my mind...
...'cause I don't aim to raise no two hollers on any subject at hand!
-Yes, sir. -Boy...
...watch that knife!
Sorry, sir.
Halt!
Mount!
Don't say anything!
It's your brother Marty!
I'm gonna take you away. I'm gonna get you out of here, Debbie.
Yes, Marty!
Brethren, let us go amongst them!
Charlie, Nesby, run off that pony herd...
Boy, you watch out for that knife!
Let's go!
No, Ethan!
Let's go home, Debbie.
-Does that hurt, Reverend? -Shut up!
Good work, Captain! Good work, Son.
You wounded?
-A bullet? An arrow? -No!
"A man will search
"His heart and soul
"Go searching way out there
"His peace of mind
"He knows he'll find
"But where, O Lord
"Lord, where
"Ride away
"Ride away"