A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die Page #2

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It was you who gave it away.

- It's a personal matter.

- Also military.

Once I've done it I'd disappear.

You never see me again.

You have my word on it, Charlie.

You know me.

I can't risk it. I have already

lost a third of my men.

Not with a frontal attack...

...but from within.

Surprise them from within.

From the defense platform, called the

Pulpit, and across the suspension bridge...

- ...through the gallery and into the fort.

- You must be completely out of your mind.

- It's impossible to reach the Pulpit!

- It's not for me.

With a few men.

The orders are crystal clear.

- I'm not allowed to spend one more soldier.

- If the Fort's fallen, the route is to the north is open.

You can get reinforcements from Gen. Canbie,

you can take Santa Fe in one day.

Sibley is in Arizona with his forces

left the city practically defenseless.

If you're wondering how I know,

I just escaped from there.

If we capture Santa Fe, Sibley will be

cut off from his troops south of there.

You'll cut him to pieces and

chase him down to Rio Grande

right through Texas, all the way to New Orleans.

The whole southwest is yours again.

It could decide the outcome of the war.

I need twelve men... General.

- When does that take place?

- Tomorrow morning.

- What are you waiting for? Get it over with!

- Shut up, private pighead!

The Major has an announcement to make.

There is only... one hope that you still

have lo let you escape the gallows.

Volunteers are needed for a mission

which is as dangerous as it's important.

And if any of you are prepared to

volunteer, I'll release you...

in his custody...

Gentlemen, I can't promise you nothing.

Except a chance to die honorably,

and possibly live.

In any case, freedom at the end.

Donald MacIvers, mule skinner.

He fraud the army for $ 4,000

with a false requisition for a

live stock he never delivered.

- What about it, MacIvers?

- All right.

- Private Samuel Piggott. - Yeah, I'll accept.

- Murdered his commander at Sandy Creek.

Then raped that officer's wife when she

discovered him trying to hide the body.

Ted Wendel, caught stealing food supplies.

- What do you say, Wendel?

- You bet your ass!

- This sir, we can't identify him.

- Well, I know this one.

The Lord set you on my trail?

It's better I come with you then.

But lead me not into temptation.

I thought you'd gonna whistle, you rat!

Will Culder. Stole vital medicines

and sold them to a Confederate agent.

What do you say, Culder?

Yeah, I'll ride.

Jeremy, half-Cheyenne. Killed a white

man for selling alcohol to the tribes.

You wanna come?

This is the worst, a religious fanatic.

Arrested in front of an army recruiting center

for urging men not to enlist

and assigning them rebellion.

Eternal doom awaits you!

Renounce war, repent!

- Are you in or out?

- The Lord is my shepherd...

- "Vengeance is mine," saith the Lord.

- Saith the Lord.

- That's the cross your wife always wore.

- Yes.

- And Sergeant Brent wishes to volunteer.

- Yes, sir.

Corporal, free all these men.

Except the last one.

What would your life be worth

out there with those cut-throats?

What's it worth now?

Thank you, Charlie.

- Sergeant Brent!

- Sir.

- Organize the men in some

kind of ranks. - Yes, sir.

Here is your authority.

Assume your responsibility.

Excuse me, but just out of curiosity

what direction are we going?

East.

According to the Colonel, we are heading east.

You've got anything to do back east?

- No, I don't think so.

- And what about you, Will?

East, west, north, south...

it's all the same to me.

What I don't like we're getting

told where I got to go.

Just you wait, you fat son-of-a-b*tch.

I'm gonna see you're gonna learn to

whistle when I give you the finger.

Pig stinking fat pig!

If I ain't mistaken,

this is the Rio Puerco.

You are right. This running water

has the name Rio Puerco.

- MacIvers! - Yeah?

- What's "Puerco" mean?

All I know that it's Spanish.

Ask the Colonel. He knows everything,

that's why he is a colonel.

He knows that it means dirty. But

he's too fine to use words like that.

- You should not have called him that, he'll

be offended. - He ain't no Colonel no more.

That's right, I had plumb forgotten.

They adjusted the gentleman out.

Because of treason.

No, I can't believe that.

An officer and a gentleman...

- He was discharged dishonorably.

- Tell me the reason why is not a Colonel anymore?

- Because he is a traitor.

- And we'll be judged by the company we keep!

It's time we separate the men from

the boys. Let's choose up sides.

Well? What do you say?

- Any of your guys want to

stay with the Colonel? - No.

I think it's a good idea to

stick with the Colonel for a while.

As long as he's heading for Santa Fe.

I got me some unfinished business there.

The Colonel is taking his assurances we'd

be to leave and he'd be there alone.

This is blackmail.

He has got our guns!

Piggott, I'll quote you an old maxim.

"The innocent will inherit the earth."

It's a long way to the sierra,

anything can happen.

- The first time he got of his horse, he's

dead as a doornail! - Calm down, Willie.

- Yeah, it's easy for you to talk.

- He sounds like a big man.

Sure, that's what makes an officer.

Without a gun, they are no better than us.

Something worse than an officer,

is one who suck up to an officer!

- He's letting all the horses!

- What the hell is gong on?

He let the horses go!

The horses are free,

but we're still prisoners.

You... dirty, rotten

double-crossing traitor!

- Looks like you gonna walk to Santa Fe, Piggott.

- He's gonna carry me on his shoulders!

We're moving over to Confederate territory.

So we can't do it on U.S. branded horses.

- Bravo, Piggott!

- Stop, that's enough.

I said, hold it!

- Just nerves. Why don't you guys relax.

- Just a goddamn minute!

Let's find out what this

chicken Colonel has in mind.

We are on to Fort Holman, gentlemen.

To enter it, and retake it.

- Let's go. We've got a train to catch.

- What makes you think we're going with you?

- Eight of us on foot are gonna storm that fort?

- You must be crazier than we thought.

- It's the job you men volunteered for.

- Yeah, but that was with a rope around our neck.

Well, Colonel Pembroke, it looks

like your mission ends here.

Speak for yourself. I want to know why the

Colonel is in such a hurry to get back there.

He wants to risk our ass to save

his face - isn't that right?

No, gentlemen, for gold.

- Gold?

- That's what he said.

- Gold?

- What gold?

Captured Confederate gold that's

buried down near a sundial at the fort.

- That's what we're gonna get.

- How much gold is it, Colonel?

I would say, roughly there's

around $ 500,000 worth it.

- How much?

- 500,000.

One, two, three, four,

five hundred thousand.

- You can sure save a lot of face

for 500,000. - Would you repeat that?

Roughly there's around

half a million dollars.

- How much is Ballard's cut?

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