Appaloosa Page #12

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"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 75.

83 CONTINUED:
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Cole gets off his horse and looks at the remnants. The hide

has been removed and a good part of the flesh.

COLE:

Scapula’s broke.

Cole picks something from the bones and blood-soaked grass.

COLE:

Shot.

He opens his hand and shows Hitch: BIG LEAD SLUG.

COLE:

Bigger’n a forty five.

HITCH:

Fifty, maybe.

COLE:

Sharps?

HITCH:

I didn’t see no sign of one with

the Shelton’s.

COLE:

Nope. Wouldn’t take the hide,

either.

Hitch rides a slow wide circle around the carcass and stops,

looking down.

Cole walks out toward him, squats to better see the

hoofprints in the dirt.

HITCH:

Indians.

COLE:

Yep...not more ‘n a day ago.

HITCH:

Looks like they’re headin’ west.

COLE:

Sheltons still headed south.

They continue on.

84

EXT. CAMP - NIGHT 84

Hitch sits by the fire. Cole stands alone watching the stars.

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 76.

85 EXT. FOOTHILL - THE CHASE, DAY TWO - MID DAY 85

Hitch and Cole make their way through the new ROCKY TERRAIN.

The hot sun blares down.

The terrain steepens as they carry on.

86 EXT. FOOTHILL CAMP - NIGHT 86

The men sit by a small fire, eating jerky and hardtack,

drinking whiskey. The animals grazing close by.

HITCH:

We ain’t going to be able to followthese tracks much more if it getsany rockier.

COLE:

Allie ain’t much of a rider.

may slow them down some.

She

Beat.

HITCH:

Hard business. Hard business.

COLE:

It’s all hard business, what we do.

HITCH:

You all right?

Cole is silent for a time.

HITCH:

How you feel? ‘Bout Allie and all.

Cole is silent again, for a long time.

COLE:

Everett, we been together nowawhile. Can’t exactly say howlong, but long. And there ain’t

anybody I’d rather do this workwith. You’re as good as anybody Iseen, ‘cept maybe the Sheltonboys... and me.

HITCH:

That’s pretty good.

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COLE:

And the reason you ain’t as good as

the Sheltons or me ain’t got

nothing to do with steady, or fast,

or fortuitous. The reason the

above-named folks are better’n you

is ‘cause you got feelings.

HITCH:

Hell, Virgil, everybody got

feelings.

COLE:

Feelings get you killed.

HITCH:

You telling me you don’t care about

Allie right now?

Cole is silent. One of the horses snorts, loudly.

COLE:

I cared about Allie in town. And

I’ll care about her when I get her

back.

HITCH:

But right now?

Cole holds out his hand, Hitch gives him the bottle. Cole

takes it, drinks, and hands it back.

COLE:

Right now there’s something runnin’

and I’m trying to catch it.

87 EXT. HIGH PLATEAU - THE CHASE, DAY THREE - MID MORNING 87

Cole and Hitch are halted on a ledge.

Down below a broad river winds through a deep canyon of

narrow tree lined banks that give rise to steep cliffs.

Hitch points far below. Cole looks through an eyeglass.

EYEGLASS:
IN THE FAR DISTANCE DEEP IN THE RIVER CANYON, ARE

THE SHELTONS, BRAGG, AND ALLIE MAKING THEIR WAY ALONG THE

RIVER.

COLE:

There they are.

Hitch nudges Cole and points way off to the Southwest. Cole

raises the eyeglass.

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87 CONTINUED:
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EYEGLASS:
ON A HIGH PLATEAU FAR ACROSS THE CANYON ABOVE A

BEND IN THE RIVER: A DOZEN OR SO INDIANS RIDE CLOSE TOGETHER.

Cole hands the eyeglass to Hitch.

look.

Hitch raises it for a

Apache?

COLE:

HITCH:

Gotta be. Chiricahua, I reckon.

Prob’ly broke out of San Carlos

heading down to Mexico.

COLE:

Looks like they stole some horseson the way. Few of them ain’t

Indian ponies.

Hitch lowers the eyeglass.

HITCH:

Pretty ragged lookin’ bunch...

They’re doggin’ those folks.

Yep.

COLE:

HITCH:

They’ll be a problem.

COLE:

Speculate they will.

They ride on.

88 EXT. NARROW GORGE - AFTERNOON 88

Cole and Hitch wind their way down through the shadows of a

steep narrow gorge.

89 EXT. RIVER CAMP - LATE AFTERNOON 89

The men reach the river.

side of them.

High canyon walls rise up on either

They ride on, following the river.

Smell it.

COLE:

Campfire.

HITCH:

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89 CONTINUED:
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Cole dismounts and moves up a small rise for a better view.

Cole motions for Hitch.

Some 200 yards away, in a bend of the river, smoke rises from

a campfire.

Hitch moves up next to Cole with the eyeglass. He steadies

his elbows on the earth and takes a look.

EYEGLASS:
MACKIE AND BRAGG SIT BY THE FIRE WITH A BOTTLE -

NO SIGN OF ALLIE.

EYEGLASS:
SLOWLY MOVING AWAY FROM THE CAMP.

Hitch continues to search with the eyeglass, he stops,

suddenly very still.

EYEGLASS:
ALLIE AND RING SHELTON STANDING THIGH DEEP IN THE

RIVER, NAKED.

COLE:

What is it?

Cole takes the eyeglass from Hitch and puts it to his eye.

A woman’s laughter ECHOES through the canyon.

Hitch watches Cole. Cole calmly lowers the eyeglass.

90

EXT. RIVER CAMP - MOMENTS LATER - LATE AFTERNOON 90

INTERCUT BETWEEN CAMP AND TREES:

Cole and Hitch, on foot move slowly through the brush until

they are FIFTY YARDS FROM THE CAMP.

Cole and Hitch watch the distant figures of Ring and Allie

leave the water, laughing as they disappear in the tall

grass.

Cole and Hitch watch the camp, then --

-- Suddenly, silently the Indians are in the camp on their

horses looking down at Mackie and Bragg.

Three Indians head for Ring and Allie in the tall grass.

Ring quickly pulls his pants on. Allie manages to get her

bloomers on. An Indian spears Allie’s dress and throws it in

the river.

They herd Ring and Allie back to camp.

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"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 80.

90 CONTINUED:
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One of the Indians scoops up Allie’s corset with his rifle

and waves it in the air. The other Indians laugh.

An Indian leans down from his saddle and takes the whiskey

bottle from Bragg, swigs, then passes it to the next Indian.

BRAGG:

Any of you bucks speak English?

The Indian with the SHARPS rifle puts the muzzle against

Bragg’s forehead - makes a silencing gesture.

The Indians go through the camp’s belongings.

Two Indians round-up the Sheltons’ horses.

Hitch and Cole ready their rifles.

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