"And he spake this parable unto them saying,
"What man of you having a hundred sheep,
"if you lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety-nine, and..."
"Doth not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness,
"and go after that which was lost, until..."
"Until he find it."
"And when he hath found it, he layeth it,
"on his shoulder and rejoiceth.
"And when he cometh..."
All right, Zeke, sit yourself down.
"And when he cometh home he calleth together his friends
"and neighbors saying..."
"He calleth to his friends and neighbors,
"saying unto them, 'Rejoice with me,
"'for I have found my sheep which were lost."'
I recollect the time Sam Harkness lost his old sow.
He come out one morning,
the pen be busted down, the sow was gone.
Sam lit out after it to find it.
He had six or seven other pigs that didn't run off.
But did Sam get down on his marrowbones,
and thank the good Lord for that?
No, siree, not Sam.
He hunted high and low for that old...
As I was saying,
he hunted high and low for that old sow.
About all he...
About all he done that summer was hunt for that sow.
Wouldn't even stop...
Wouldn't even stop hunting when winter come.
And sure enough, one night, when he was plowing home...
One night, when he was plowing home through the snow,
he seen something move in the shadows.
Sam... Sam's right scared.
Figures maybe it's a bear.
Then the...
Then the bear grunts and it ain't no bear at all.
It's the sow!
Well, Sam was fitting to be tied.
The rejoicingest man you ever seen.
Ten times as rejoiceful for the lost one as for 'em that stayed in the fold.
Now this here...
Now this here is the point!
It appears to me that the devil be a-knocking at the
door of the house of worship.
If there's any of you want to go get him, you're...
You'll be free to go.
'Cause the meeting's over.
Lookee here, Pastor Pile.
Alvin York done shot his initials in this tree.
"A-Y," plain as day.
It was Alvin York, lke Botkin and Buck Lipscomb in their liquor.
Who was you saying it was?
- It was Alvin, Mrs. York. - How be you know it?
It wasn't Alvin, Mother York, it was the liquor.
Mighty good shooting for a man in his liquor.
Ain't it?
Say, let's do it again.
- Howdy, boys! - Howdy!
- Howdy, Pastor. - Howdy, Luke.
- We were looking for you Saturday. - Couldn't get here no more than fly.
Roads are getting soggier and soggier between here and Rugby.
- Is that so? - Water is so deep
in some of 'em creek beds, had to use old Betsy's belly for a boat.
How are you, Zeke?
I reckon you could have got here quicker if you had carried Betsy.
Yeah, wished I could get me another mule like old Flora.
They ain't turning out mules like they used to.
No, sir!
Hey, what you got there, young fellow?
The very latest thing in ladies' hats, the cloche model.
Women folks around here wear split bonnets.
The young ones goes bareheaded.
Maybe so, but in modern merchandising,
the storekeeper endeavors to create a demand.
Now in this line of ladies' bloomers,
very moderately priced, has the finest elastic in the waistband,
also in the knees.
No amount of washing will make it lose its snap.
- Your first trip in these parts, ain't it? - Yes.
And we have them in three lovely colors.
Which we absolutely guarantee will not fade or shrink.
Plenty of room in the seat, too.
I can tell you these garments are mighty popular with the ladies.
- You can, huh? - Yes.
Well, folks hereabouts wouldn't know what 'em things is for.
- Lem? - Yeah.
- Lem, here's your Nashville paper. - Well, thank you, Pastor.
I got letters here for Tom Carver and Ed Watson.
Both back tax bills, I reckon.
- What does it say, Lem? - Well...
They're a-telling, Cordell Hull are speechmaking over in Jimtown.
Appears he's out running for Congress again.
- It says... - I mind when Cord Hull
wasn't knee high to a toad frog,
and running around in his shirttail.
Just goes to show you what a fellow can do if he gets book learning.
That paper is four days old, I read it over at Nashville.
Yep. It took Luke three days of mule-paddling
to bring the mail from Rugby.
I can believe that, after driving over here from Jamestown.
Jimtown.
- I thought it was Jamestown. - It are.
Well, anyway, since driving over here,
what I'd like to know is, how do you fellows get into this valley?
We were born here.
Now look, Mr. Pile,
I'd like to sell you some of these garments
before the price goes up on account of the war.
What war?
Why, the... The war in Europe.
Oh, that war.
Yes, certainly.
Look likes the Germans might get into Paris, don't you think?
Well, we ain't done much thinking on it, mister.
It ain't in our corner, nohow.
If you're hankering for trouble,
it ain't scarce right here in these mountains.
Oh, I ain't looking for any trouble.
Yep, fighting could have been mighty plentiful
down at the meeting house last night. Did you hear?
Alvin York and two other fellows done busted up the meeting.
That ain't a smithereen to what he done in Jimtown.
- Nigh split the jail, he did. - No...
Raised such a rumpus they had to turn him loose.
Do tell.
Old man Jarvis up Bear Creek way
told me he seen the three of 'em riding their mules,
hell-bent for election, toward the Kentucky border.
I reckon their liquor was getting low
and they wanted to get there before they sobered up.
Howdy, Mrs. York.
- Howdy, Luke. - Howdy, Mother York.
- Tolerable, Pastor. - What can I do for you today?
Could I be getting a can of baking powder and a...
- Poke of salt? - Sure thing.
I ain't having but five eggs and they're kind of puny.
Oh, eggs are eggs, I reckon.
I was plumb out of salt.
Don't be taking it hard, Mother York, what you just heard.
I ain't taking nothing hard, Pastor.
And I ain't making excuses for Alvin to nobody.
Of course you ain't, and I ain't asking you to.
- I'm right proud of Alvin. - Got a right to be.
Works hard, Alvin does.
Patching and scratching that poor land.
It's mighty hard work, getting corn out of rocks.
- Indeed it is. - Who's to blame him
if he busts loose now and again?
Nobody, Mother York, nary a soul.
Of course, I ain't for Alvin
doing like he does.
A little religion wouldn't do him no hurt.
No, it wouldn't.
Pastor, I wouldn't be against your talking to Alvin.
You reckon it'd do any good?
Well, it wouldn't do no harm.
I'd be riding up and having a talk with him.
I'm thanking you, Pastor.
- George. - Yes, Ma?
I reckon I know where your brother's at.
He's up at the Kentucky border.
- Go fetch him. - Yessum.
Better be taking a piece of corn for your supper, Son.
Yessum.
- Hiya, Marter. - Hiya, Alvin.
- Mart, we wants to get us a bottle. - Now look here, Alvin.
You know, I know and so do the Sheriff. You're from over here in Tennessee.
And I can't sell you no liquor less you gets over yonder in Kentucky.
Marter, you are the legalest fellow in these here parts, if you ain't nothing else.
You gotta be, in this business.
Maybe our credit ain't no good in Tennessee.
Bet it ain't no better in Kentuck.
What you be having, Alvin?
You got any corn without no lye in it?
No poison oak leaves in it, either.
Ain't no lye in this liquor.
Plumb hollow I am, like an old, burnt-out stump.
Me, too.
What are we drinking to, Alvin?
What'll we drink to, lke?
Why, I reckon we drunk to pretty near everything there is.
- I can't think of nothing new. - Me neither.
Reckon we better begin all over?
If we can't drink to something,
why don't we drink against something?
Against something? Against what?
Oh, against something or somebody we're against.
I ain't against nobody or nothing. Except getting sober.
We'll drink against that.
You... You'll be a-killing two birds with one stone.
- Come on. Sure. - Ain't never gonna get sober.
Never gonna get...
Well, I'll be blowed.
What are you doing here, George?
Young'uns like you ain't got no business in a place like this here, nohow.
- Now just you skedaddle. - Ma wants you home.
- Now look here, George... - Ma wants you.
- Shucks, son of a gun... - Well,
reckon I better go. I'll be seeing you.
His ma wants him.
Get up.
Here, here. Quit that.
Hold your horses, Marter.
Here we go.
Here we go again.
I'm still a-coming.
Say when you got enough.
Say it.
Enough, enough.
Ma wants you, Alvin.
Ma wants you.
Coming, George.
- I'll be seeing you. - So long, Al.
Here he is, Ma.
It took a heap of looking, but he come easy.
- Fetch me a pail of water, George. - Yessum.
Breakfast's ready, now it is. Better be getting at it.
South field needs a-plowing.
The Lord bless these victuals we done got
and help us to be beholding to nobody. Amen.
I reckon you'll want some salt on your pone.
Whoa, Fred.
Giddap, Noah.
Whoa.
- Howdy, Pastor. - Howdy, Alvin.
I've been kind of expecting you.
I'm right sorry about the other night, I...
I reckon I done the wrong thing.
See that rock, Alvin?
You've been plowing around that rock a heap of years.
Sure have.
Did you ever think when you start plowing your furrows crooked,
it's mighty hard to get 'em straight again.
- I never thought on it much. - It's that a-way, I reckon,
with other things besides plowing.
Satan's got you by the shirttail, Alvin.
Sure has. Giddap, Noah.
He's gonna yank you straight down to hell.
You are plum right, Pastor.
You gotta make him let loose of you before it's too late.
I sure wish I know'd how.
Wrestle him, Alvin, wrestle him like you would a bear.
I done wrestled him, Pastor, but... Whoa, whoa there, Noah.
Whoa, whoa. Whoa, Noah.
But old Satan, he hangs on tight.
You and the Lord could throw him, Alvin.
Why, twixt the two of you, you'd have old Satan down in a jiffy.
Why, I sure wish the Lord would throw in.
He will, if you ask him.
Oh, I done prayed, Pastor, till I was black in the face.
- But it wasn't no use. - It ain't only praying, Alvin, it's believing.
Now, you see here.
Take a look at the old oak yonder. Looks mighty strong.
Been standing there since your pa was a boy a-plowing in the same field.
Looks like it could go right on standing all by itself, don't it?
Yep.
Just a-resting itself and feeding on the earth.
Well, it can't. It can't stand there
without there's a lot of deep roots a-holding it up.
Can't see the roots, but they're there just the same.
It appears to me it's been planned a fellow's got to have his roots
in something outside his own self.
I reckon I ain't found no roots what'll hold me up, when...
When I'm hell-bent to fall.
And then take the animals in the woods.
Squirrels'd go mighty hungry
if nothing made 'em store up nuts for the wintertime.
- Sure would. - How do you reckon
birds get to fly north in the summer if there ain't something a-guiding 'em?
A bird ain't got no way of telling north from south.
And then there's the bees.
Bees'd sure be in a fix if they wasn't beholding to something
to show 'em how to get back to the hives.
Well, I ain't no bird and I ain't no squirrel.
- And I sure ain't no bee. - Well, that's right, Alvin.
The way I figure, there ain't no use for a fellow going out looking for religion. It's...
Well, it's just gotta come to a fellow.
It'll come, my boy. You'll see.
Maybe slow, like the way daylight comes.
And maybe in a flash, like a bolt of lightning.
- When? - When you ain't even expecting it.
Well, I hope so.
Giddap, Noah. I'll be seeing you.
Get after him, now.
Tracks are mighty fresh. Less than an hour old.
- Reckon it's a red fox? - Might be red and might be gray.
It's making a big circle.
Can't tell about his course till he gets out on the flat.
They took to the hill there. Yeah, that-a-way.
What's the matter, Alvin?
Howdy.
- You're Alvin York, ain't you? - Yes.
Let's get going, Alvin.
I ain't seen you in a coon's age. Where you been keeping yourself?
- Hereabouts. - What's ailing you?
Are you coming or ain't you?
You better go get that fox, George.
You're just tetched.
How's your ma?
I asked you how your ma was.
Tolerable.
I figured it was you out a-hunting.
No mistaking the voices of 'em hound dogs.
One's a-having a hook to the end of its bay
you could be hanging a bucket on.
The other's a croak, just like a frog, about moonrise.
- What... - You ain't Gracie Williams, are you?
Well, I ain't nobody but.
Why, you was only just...
You sure growed up all of a sudden like...
Reckon I have.
Sounds as if they've run that fox to ground.
I said 'em hound dogs run the fox to ground.
You better be getting along.
Reckon I had.
- I'll be seeing you. - Hoping.
Ma.
Yeah?
When you and Pa got hitched, what did Pa have to set up with?
Well, your pa had this here farm
and a mule and $5, no $6.
What did Grandpa have?
Your grandpa had this here farm, a pair of horses.
The mare was in foal.
I reckon I wouldn't, George.
Ma.
It's sure ripped down here. You reckon you can fix it?
I reckon. Come over here, Alvin.
Bend over.
You're a-figuring on setting up, ain't you, Son?
- Yessum. - Getting married?
- Who's it gonna be? - Gracie Williams.
Gracie Williams?
Asked her yet?
No, I ain't.
What's the matter?
I ain't said nothing.
Reckon that'll hold.
Reckon it better.
Hold it thataway, Zeb.
Thinking on going to that there shindig next Saturday night, Miss Gracie?
- I ain't been asked. - Well...
You've been asked now.
- I can't say, Zeb. I have to think it over. - Well, I don't...
Joshua, 14, verse 9...
You'd be a-coming if you wanted to, Miss Gracie.
Maybe I could and maybe I couldn't.
Why, it's Alvin York.
- Howdy, Miss Gracie. - Howdy, Alvin.
- You know Zeb Andrews, ain't you? - Howdy.
Knitting, Zeb?
He was just a-helping me.
I wasn't expecting you to be a-calling so soon.
Well, I said I'd be seeing you.
Last time I seen Alvin he was chasing a fox.
He stopped here for a spell to
kind of catch his breath.
- Did you kill that fox, Alvin? - I sure did.
- We run over there... - Was that a gray fox or a red?
Red. Just to the side of that...
Why, a red fox skin ain't worth nothing this time of the year.
That little hollow...
This one was.
"Asa begat Joshiat and Joshiat begat Joshua."
It's just Uncle Lige talking to himself.
Zeb here was telling me there's gonna be a dance over to Thomson's Mill.
Yeah, I hear that...
Ed Morgan's gonna do the fiddling.
I was figuring that...
Just about the best fiddler in these here parts, he is.
- He ain't. - lf he ain't, who'd be?
- Tod Haskins. - He can't hold a candle to Ed.
- You're a-thinking. - I'm a-knowing.
- Oh, you are, are you? - Now, now, now. Hush up, you two.
There ain't no call for fussing over a fiddler.
- We weren't a-fussing. I was telling him... - Well, I'm a-telling you...
The way I figure, Ed's better at the jigging and Tod can sure fiddle a square.
"It biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."
Uncle Lige there was a-telling me that corn's right good this harvest.
How's the crops up your way, Alvin?
We figure to get about 20 bushel to the acre.
We're gonna get about 60.
Well, there's a heap of difference
twixt farming the bottomland and the top.
- Well, there sure is. - I reckon...
You know, I don't see how you get five bushels off of that there land of yours.
Now look here, Zeb Andrews...
Miss... Miss Gracie,
I'd sure be much obliged if I could have a cup of water.
I got some nipping cider.
- Well, that'd go mighty good. - I'll be getting it.
"And the lion shall lie down with the lamb."
Here's your cider. It's coming from the...
Where's Zeb?
- What's he... - I reckon he lit out.
Well, isn't he be coming back?
No, ma'am, he ain't.
- That strikes me mighty queer. - Yessum.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,
"do it with thy might."
Alvin, you...
You was fighting.
- It weren't much. - Alvin York...
You ain't a-fitting to come a-visiting a girl.
He ain't got no business around here anyhow.
As much business as you have, Alvin York.
- No, he ain't. - Well, why ain't he?
- Well, he ain't because... - Because, why?
Because... Because I'm a-going to marry you.
- You what? - I'm a-going to marry you.
Now, now, now, Alvin, you stop that. Don't you be saying things like that.
- Don't you be saying 'em. - Well, I have.
It ain't...
- Oh, you are, are you? - Yessum.
Well, you can't...
- Well, your mother told me about it. - That's what I'm a-doing.
Well, I never... Lookee here...
I wouldn't have you on a Christmas tree, Alvin York.
Fine husband you'd make.
I allow Zeb Andrews would make a better one?
Oh, how should I know? Maybe he would.
Zeb Andrews got a piece of bottomland, that's it, ain't it?
You thinking that's it, aren't you?
Folks say you're no good except for fighting and hell raising
and I'm thinking they're plumb right.
If I had a piece of bottomland,
I'd guess it'd make a heap of difference, wouldn't it?
- A piece of bottomland! - Well, I can get some.
Well, go and get it. I ain't a-caring.
There ain't nothing I can't get if I set my mind to it.
You don't think much of yourself, do you?
Yes, I do.
Amen.
That there's bottomland soil, ain't it?
Queer how the folks that lives on the bottom
looks down on the folks on top.
It was always that way.
Ain't no changing it.
Well, I'm a-gonna change it.
I'm a-gonna get us a piece of bottomland.
Your pa set out to get hisself a piece of bottomland once.
Nary a man ever tried harder.
Liked to kill hisself trying.
It was a long time before he gave up,
but he had to in the end.
Well, I ain't a-setting myself up as a better man than Pa.
I reckon I ain't half as good,
but I'm a-knowing where there's a piece of bottomland to be had
and I'm a-gonna get it.
Maybe you will.
How old you say this here mule be?
- Nine year, but Abraham's sound. - Yes, he are.
He's kind of pussle-gutted, it appears to me.
Nary a bit. He's just mighty well fed, that's all.
Well...
I reckon I might allow you $30 on him.
- $30? - Yeah.
- You say $30? - Yeah.
Well, he's worth $40 if he's worth a cent.
Then he ain't worth a cent.
- What's all this here you got? - Well, there's two dozen pullets.
$6.
Why, that's 25 cents apiece. They're worth twice that much.
Not to me, they ain't.
- What are these? - Them's prime winter pelts, Mr. Tomkins.
Mighty poor. They won't fetch that much.
I might allow you $1.50 apiece for 'em.
Well, I can get $3 apiece for 'em in Jimtown.
It's quite a-ways to Jimtown.
Let's see now. That's $40.50.
- What else you got? - Well, there's
two sacks of rabbit skins,
this here clock and a sack of goose feathers.
I tell you, Alvin,
I'll give you 50 United States dollars for the whole caboodle.
- $50 for everything? - That's the best I can do.
- Sounds like an awful little. - Take it or leave it.
Can you... Can you do any better on the price of the land?
Not a cent. $120.
- How much time I got to pay for the rest? - Sixty days.
Well, it's a bargain. I'll take it.
Well, then I reckon we can put it in writing.
You understand now, don't you, Alvin?
If I don't get my money afore the 60 days,
you lose the whole caboodle and you don't get the land.
Now, $70 is a lot of money for a fellow like you to get his hands on.
It's more than a dollar a day.
Now then, 60 days is all you got.
Sixty days and sixty nights.
What?
Well, the way I figure,
if I count the nights, too, I got nigh onto four months to pay you off.
Well, that's one way of figuring it.
Well, I'll tell you.
I was figuring on taking 'em rocks out myself, Alvin.
But if you're willing to take on the job at 75 cents a day,
- well, I... - I'll take it.
- All right. - Yes, sir.
Well, I tell you. I was thinking maybe I could shoe your mules for you.
Sorry, Alvin. Had 'em shod just yesterday over to Possum Trot.
Might give you two, three days work though, splitting rails.
That's good.
Oh, I reckon it's worth about...
- $3. - $3?
Why, that's a right fair price, Pastor.
I only worked two days to get it.
It's worth it
to me.
All right, George, let him go.
Giddap, Noah, giddap. Come on.
- Giddap, Noah. - Giddap, Noah.
Come on, Noah.
Come on.
Whoa, Noah.
What... Why, Miss Gracie,
I was thinking you was to the dance.
No. I ain't at the dance.
No. No, I can see that.
Alvin, I...
Yeah?
- Alvin, I just... - Yeah?
I...
Alvin...
That's what I was wanting to tell you.
Giddap, Noah.
Lord...
Lord, if you can,
help him to be getting his land.
Amen.
All right, George.
Again.
Gotta get under there.
It ain't no use, George.
I can't do it.
- Yes, you can. - I tell you, I can't do it!
My time's up tomorrow night!
There ain't enough money for the bottomland.
I can't get the rest!
How?
How am I gonna do it?
- Howdy, Alvin. - Mr. Tomkins, I've got to talk to you.
Well, I reckon it's money what talks the loudest.
You got the rest of your payment?
- Well, no, I ain't got it all. - That's bad.
- But I can get it for you by Saturday. - Saturday ain't Tuesday.
All I'm asking is, is for four extra days.
How can I be sure you'll get it by Saturday?
Well, there's a beef and turkey shoot coming up. You must've heard about it.
- Yeah. - I'm aiming to cut five targets
and win the beef critter and then put him up for cash money.
- It ain't likely. - Oh, yes, it is.
- That'll take some shooting, Alvin. - But I could do it.
Well, I'd like to do you a favor, Alvin, but...
Will you?
There's another fellow asking for that land.
- You ain't letting him have it. - I don't know.
I was telling him your option was up Tuesday and...
But I got to have 'em extra days, Mr. Tomkins. I just got to.
Well, I oughtn't to do it,
but I reckon he can wait till Saturday.
Oh, thank you, Mr. Tomkins. I'll sure get it for you.
Yes, I sure will.
You plumb missed him but you cut wood.
It ain't the log you're supposed to shoot, Zeke, it's the critter behind it.
You better get yourself a pair of 'em specs, Zeke.
He won't stick his head up so I can get a shot at him.
Jim Corey, next shooter.
Reckon he's laying an egg back there, Jim?
Yeah, he might be.
You missed!
Doggone it, that turkey can sure hide.
Maybe he wants to keep his head.
Alvin York, next shooter.
Bust him in the eye, Alvin, if he winks at you.
Shoot him when he ain't looking.
You better sight him mighty fine, Alvin. That there is the last turkey.
You can't hit him if you can't see him, Alvin.
Better wait till he goes to roost, Alvin.
You got meat!
He sure busted him wide open.
I reckon you just got to talk their language, Alvin.
I reckon you do.
You sure got him, Alvin. Ought to be eating good if he ain't too tough.
This here bird ain't for eating.
Come on, fellows. Get your targets ready for the beef shoot.
Rules same as all as were. Shots are $1 apiece.
The two best shooters get the hindquarters.
The next two get the forequarters.
Fifth man gets the hide and the tallow.
The sixth man gets to dig the lead out of the tree.
All right, pay your dollar and draw your number.
Load her up careful, George. We got a long ways to paddle.
- Here you be, Alvin. - Thankee.
Hey, Zeke, you ain't paid your dollar yet.
Why, sure enough. I reckon it just slipped my mind.
How much for this here bird?
Well, I can't give you any more than one shot, I reckon.
I'll be taking it and give me four more.
Five shots? Am I hearing you right, Alvin?
I'm a wanting five shots, Lem.
You figuring to get that whole critter?
My mind's sort of running that a-way.
Where'd you get 'em ideas, Alvin?
You sure got some shooters against you.
They'll get a chance when I put the critter up again.
I'm a-needing cash money and I'm gonna get it.
Ain't nobody ever cut five centers unless it were Daniel Boone.
And you ain't wearing no coonskin hat.
I ain't a-needing one.
Number eight next.
Number nine.
How do they stand so far, Luke?
Ain't nobody cut center but Alvin York.
Alvin cut dead center all four times.
Two more shooters. Tom Carver, you're first.
Alvin's got one more coming.
Get going, Tom.
You better draw down, Alvin.
You got to beat Tom's shot if you want to get the whole beef, Alvin.
What do it look like?
It looks like plumb middle to me.
Well, Tom ain't more than a hair off,
but Alvin's done cut dead center, fair and square.
- Howdy, Daniel Boone. - There's your beef, Alvin. All yours.
- Five centers is right smart shooting. - I ain't seen it like since the big one.
Well, any of you fellows want another chance at that critter,
why, just drop a dollar apiece in this here hat.
Are you shooting against us, Alvin?
- No, hey, not this time. - I ain't got a dollar.
- Lend me a dollar, Lem. - Here's my dollar, Alvin.
You... You lend me a couple of...
- Howdy, Miss Miranda. - Howdy.
- Hello, boys. - Hello, there.
- You all come over to see the shooting? - Yeah.
It's all over now.
Alvin York cut center five times and won Lem's beef critter on the hoof.
- Alvin won Lem's beef critter? - Sure did.
- Well, I'll be danged. - And he's putting him up again.
Well, boys, get your targets ready.
Oh, Mr. Tomkins, I was just coming over to see you.
Here you be, $26. And I've got the rest of it right here in my pocket.
I'm right sorry, Alvin, but I just sold that bottomland to Zeb here.
- You're telling me you... - Now, don't go raring off, Alvin.
I never figured you'd get that money.
Anyway, your time was rightly up last Tuesday.
- Why, you allowed I could have more... - But it wasn't in writing.
But I was a-taking your word for it...
And Zeb here paid me cash money all down.
- He did, did he? - It ain't my fault. He sold it to me.
Now look here...
Alvin!
Business is business.
- Wait a minute! - Get out of here!
You better get, both of you!
It ain't no use, Alvin. You'd only be fixing yourself for trouble.
I was... I was aiming to get that piece of land.
Well, it weren't to be.
Mind you, Alvin, we can't always figure the ways of Providence.
Alvin...
- Alvin, it don't make no difference. - It do to me.
Come on, Buck.
Swing her, Buck, swing her!
I sure do admire big women. She's about that biggest that I ever did see.
Three women in one she is, Alvin. A whole passel of women.
Hey, a fellow who'd marry her'd be a bigamist.
See? Big-muss. Yes, sir, bigamist.
Told me I could have 'em extra days.
- Oh, come on, Alvin. - His word weren't no count.
Forget about Nate Tomkins, will you?
Quit pestering yourself. It ain't no use.
Look at that there big woman.
Why don't you have a turn with her, Alvin? Take you back to your log rolling days.
"Business is business."
Well, once around her is twice around Bear Mountain.
Look at Buck here, Alvin. He's plumb tuckered out.
- I sure am. - Well, he might be,
dancing around a whole passel of women that-a-way.
- Another bottle, Marter. - Sure.
That land were mine.
Ain't nobody gonna get it away from me.
I'd sure like to see you toad-hop her about, Alvin.
I'm a-drinking against Nate Tomkins.
Now, how about that there big woman?
Alvin, you better be a-staying here.
- Let go of me. - We'll go along with you.
What I got to do is my own.
It sure ain't a good night for a killing.
There's no stopping him now, I reckon.
Give me that old time religion.
- Howdy, Mr. Tomkins. - Look here. Stand where you are.
Don't you come any closer.
- Mr. Tomkins, I just want to... - Come closer and I'll hit you.
No need of getting riled, Mr. Tomkins.
- I ain't a-looking for no trouble with you. - What you doing around here?
- Well, I want to talk to you about... - What about?
About Abraham.
That mule's legally mine. You ain't got no claim on him.
Well, I ain't denying he's yours...
Stay where you are if you don't want to be laid out in two pieces.
Well, I was a-figuring on a-buying Abraham back.
- Buying him back? - Yes, sir.
My mule's kind of poorly,
and something done happened to him and I sure need a mule.
- Are you meaning it? - Yes, sir.
No hard feelings?
- Shucks, no, Mr. Tomkins. - Well, I'll be damned.
And... And there's one more thing.
I'm asking your forgiveness for a-flaring up at you the way I done.
It were Satan a-speaking out of me.
Zeke was a-telling me, but I... I couldn't believe him.
- About what? - That you got religion.
- Well, that's a fact, Mr. Tomkins. - Well, I'll be damned.
Well, I sure would like to be a-buying that there mule back.
- You would, huh? - Yeah.
- How much would you be asking for him? - Well, let's see.
You said he was worth $40 and I allowed you $30.
That's right.
Well, you can have him back for $20.
Mr. Tomkins, Abraham's worth a sight more than that.
Maybe he is,
but seeing as how I'm trying to do the fair and square thing, Alvin, $20.
I reckon I know what you're thinking. It's more blessed to give than to receive.
Maybe. Come on, get your mule.
And another thing, I'm gonna give you back the clock you sold me.
- Yeah? - Yeah, it don't run nohow.
- Howdy, Mr. Andrews. - Howdy.
I'd kind of like to see Zeb, are he hereabout?
Maybe he is.
I sure would like to have words with him.
You coming peaceful?
Yes, sir, Mr. Andrews. I ain't looking for no trouble.
Zeb. Come out of there.
There he be.
Howdy.
What you'd be wanting with me, Alvin York?
I want to talk to you, Zeb, about... About that there piece of land.
I bought it, it's mine.
I know it, but...
Sure it's yours, Zeb, but...
But Nate Tomkins was... Was a-figuring that...
I ain't caring what Nate Tomkins was a-figuring.
- Well, Nate was just thinking... - It's mine and I'm gonna keep it.
Well, sure it's yours, Zeb, but if you'll only allow me to talk...
Ain't nobody a-holding you.
Oh, yes, they are.
Well, anyway, Nate was a-thinking that your being so busy here,
maybe you need some extra help on the other piece of land.
- Well, what's that got to do with you? - Well, I'm asking you for the job.
- You mean you're aiming to work for me? - I'd be if you allow me.
Well, shucks. That sure got me stumped.
I was a-buying that land just to spite you.
Well, I sure don't blame you none.
Well, maybe we can figure it so you can sharecrop the piece.
Then you kind of be a-working for yourself.
No, I ain't asking for anything extra, Zeb.
Well, if you can farm that bottomland like you've been doing the top,
I reckon that land will be yours in a couple of seasons.
Well, with the help of the Lord, I'll make you a good crop.
Like I'm saying, Miss Gracie,
I ain't ever seen a prettier piece of land than that there Andrews farm.
Corn is thicker than fur on a squirrel.
And I seen eight beef critters a-grazing in the pasture there.
That are a lot of critters.
And that Zeb Andrews sure are a forgiving man.
- Is he? - Yes, sir.
Be sitting, Alvin.
- And a Christian man, if I ever seen one. - Reckon so.
What I done to him that night we were visiting you weren't right.
The devil was a-pushing me from behind.
It were too dark. I couldn't see.
I didn't have no call to come twixt you and him.
What are you getting at, Alvin York?
All I'm aiming to say, Miss Gracie, is,
a upstanding man like Zeb Andrews would make a girl a right smart husband.
- What's that? - And...
And if you change your mind about Zeb, well, I reckon I could...
- You could what? - I could rightly understand.
Oh, you could, could you?
Lookee here, Alvin York,
if I wanted Zeb Andrews for a husband,
I reckon I could get him without your acting so noble.
- I done kissed you, didn't I? - Yes.
Well, I don't go around kissing men I ain't gonna be a-marrying.
Now you be a-listening to me.
- Am I marrying a piece of land? - Yes. No.
- Or a beef critter? - No.
Or a field of corn?
No, it's you I'm marrying, ain't nobody else in this here world.
- Are you hearing me? - Yes.
Well, then don't you talk that way to me again, Alvin!
- No. - Don't you ever!
Oh!
The Lord sure do move in mysterious ways.
So that's what the Lord done said to Cain when he done killed Abel.
It was a way of telling him that he wouldn't get no crops no more.
And anybody that's a farmer knows what that means.
Alvin, how do you know that it happened just that-a-way?
A-seeing how you weren't there.
Well, the Book says so.
And there ain't nothing written in the Book that ain't the truth.
So, a long time after that
when the Lord was a-giving Moses the Ten Commandments,
he was a-saying, "Thou shalt not kill."
Now... Now go ahead with the reading.
Hey! Hey! War! Hey!
Hey! Pastor Pile!
- What's happened, Luke? - It's war.
President Wilson done declared war against Germany.
- You don't say? - Yes, sir.
It says so right here in this here paper.
Here you are, Jim. I reckon I won't wait to be drafted.
- I'm joining up as soon as the corn's in. - Me, too.
Attaboy, Tom. I heard my daddy talk about fighting Yankees.
And my granddaddy done fought in the Revolution.
Sure wish I was a young fellow.
Well, come along, Zeke. You load 'em and I'll shoot 'em.
- Hi, Alvin. - Hi, Alvin.
Hey, Alvin, what about you?
You joining up now or you waiting to be called?
I reckon I'm a-waiting.
- Howdy, lke. - Hi, Alvin.
Howdy, Alvin.
Good morning, Pastor. Reckon I need some coal oil.
I'm glad you come in, Alvin. I was gonna send for you.
You was?
- You ain't registered yet, have you, Alvin? - Of course I ain't.
Is that the new seed you was gonna send for?
It's Tuesday, Alvin. You only got till 6:00.
I ain't a-gonna register.
Come here.
- You gotta register, Alvin. - I ain't a-going to. I ain't a-going to war.
War is killing and the Book's against killing.
So war is against the Book.
You're plumb right, Alvin.
You got the using kind of religion, not the meetinghouse kind, but you...
- The kind I got's the kind you teached me. - I know that.
And I hate to be telling you, but I don't want to see you get in no trouble.
Now, you got to register
and there ain't no way you can get out of it.
You mean they can make you go to war even if it's against what you think is right?
No, no, no, they won't make you do that. It's what I want to tell you.
Come here.
It's right here.
Let me see.
Now, wait a minute. Here. There it is right there, see?
"Members of well-recognized religious sects
"whose existent creed forbids its members to participate in war
"are entitled to request exemption from military service."
What... What's that there exemption?
Well, that, it means, if you're exempted, you don't have to go.
Well, how do I get this exemption?
Well, you got to write a letter to the draft board.
- Is that all there is to it? - Yep.
Well. Well, sure I'll register. Will you write the letter for me?
Why, I'd be glad to, Alvin. Come on over here.
"Therefore, we find that we can't consider your church
"a well-recognized religious sect,
"organized and existing, May 18, 1917.
"We find further, that it has no special creed except the Bible,
"which can be interpreted by its members as they choose.
"And finally, there's nothing in the creed of the church,
"expressly forbidding its members to participate in war.
"Therefore your application for exemption is denied."
Is this here the last word or has he got some place to appeal?
He can appeal to the District Board at Nashville
and finally to the General Board in Washington.
- Thank you, sir. - Thank you.
You're welcome.
I'll be a-writing 'em appeals for you, Alvin, so don't you be worrying.
Oh, I ain't a-worrying.
We'll be a-fixing this here bridge.
There it is.
So, we'll be a-building the house right over there by that tree.
And the big room is gonna be...
The big room is gonna be right... Right here in front, just like this.
And it's gonna have three windows.
And the kitchen will be here, and it's gonna be good and big, too.
- And there'll be a stove. - Where?
Well, right about there.
And I'm gonna build you one of 'em sinks.
And I'm gonna give you a pump, so you won't have to carry
no water from the springs.
- A pump, Alvin? - Sure.
Alvin, pumps costs a heap of money.
Well, we're gonna have curtains in the windows and carpets on the floors.
And it ain't gonna take very long either
if the Lord keeps a-showering his blessings on me.
Won't take more than two, three years, I reckon.
Just to think, in two, three years, a house right there where we're looking.
And it will be our house.
- Alvin. - What do you want?
Pastor Pile wants to see you, Alvin.
Well, Gracie and me is kind of busy right now.
Well, tell him I'll stop by the store on the way home.
He said he wants to see you right off.
He said you best be a-coming.
Well, tell him I'll be there.
Shucks, just when we was having fun.
Would you be a-telling me again sometime?
I sure will.
- Howdy, Pastor. - Howdy, Alvin.
I got right bad news for you.
Word just come. They're a-taking you for the army.
Well, that can't be.
That letter we done sent to Washington, says that I was against fighting and...
They ain't going to exempt you, Alvin.
You got to report to Nashville tomorrow night.
I ain't a-going.
You ain't got no choice. This was the last appeal.
I don't care about that. I ain't a-going.
You've got to go, Alvin. It's the law.
What?
What kind of law is it that says a man's got to go
against the Book and its teachings?
Well, I reckon there ain't no answer, but,
if you don't go, they'll be a-coming after you.
Well, they won't get me. I'll go back in 'em hills.
Yeah, and they'll put hounds on your trail,
and they'll follow you no matter how far back you go.
Then they'd better not catch up with me, 'cause they'll be a-wishing they hadn't. I...
Sorry, Pastor, I... Them's sinful words.
I wasn't thinking of what I was saying.
I'll go.
War's away to the other side of the ocean, Alvin.
Lots of things can happen before you get there.
You put your trust in the Lord and he'll look out for you.
I done forgot the Lord.
I ain't never gonna forget him again.
Goodbye, Alvin.
Well...
I reckon these'll do till I get fixed up in government clothes.
The corn's doing right good on the south hill.
It might need a little extra hoeing.
Mule's at the gate. You got a long ways to go.
Well, you'll be taking care of things from now on, George.
Sure will.
I guess you'll be needing a man-sized gun.
- You can have my rifle. - I'm a-thanking you.
Well...
I'm going.
I had to see you again, Alvin. I just had to.
Now, now...
No, no, don't you be looking at me, please.
Don't want you to be remembering me like this.
Close your eyes, please?
Yessum.
- Are they closed? - Yes.
Bye, Alvin.
I'll be a-coming back.