Little Big Man Page #7

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Our motto here is

"Whatever you want,

we've got it. "

Well, Jack.

Now you know.

This is a house of ill fame,

and I'm a fallen flower.

That widow hadn't lost

her style one bit.

"A fallen flower. "

Chokes me up to think about it.

This life is not only wicked

and sinful,

it isn't even any fun.

No, I reckon, I reckon not,

Miss Pendrake.

If I was married

and could come here

once or twice a week,

well, it might be fun.

But every night?

It's just boring.

Oh, I can understand that.

I can't seem to save any money.

Well, if I could just

save a few dollars

I could go to visit

my-my maiden aunt in Washington.

New clothes, a carriage.

And who knows,

I might even marry a senator.

Oh! You'd make a good wife

for a senator

Miss Pendrake.

You always were a sweet boy.

Do you know,

I often had wicked thoughts

about you?

Huh?

Oh, yes.

Several times.

I almost gave in to temptation.

And now... here we are.

Miss Pendrake,

what are you doing?

Do you know that once

I tiptoed into your room,

and stood over you

for the longest time?

It was the most awful

temptation to wake you up.

I wish that I had.

It would have been

deliciously wicked.

Is anything

the matter, Jack?

No.

Then I'll wait for you in the...

place of retirement.

You should have

woke me up that night

years ago, Miss Pendrake.

This is from Wild Bill.

It was his last wish

that you go to Washington

and live with your maiden aunt.

His last wish

was to save me?

Oh, Jack.

I must honor that wish.

You can do it, Miss Pendrake.

Yes, I can...

and I will.

I got to go now.

Good-bye, Miss Pendrake.

Oh, good-bye, Jack.

And thank you ever so much.

Oh, and Jack...

...if you're ever

in Washington, do look me up.

How are things with you,

Mr. Meriweather?

Splendid.

Well, now, look at that.

Buffalo hides.

There's a world of money

chewing grass

on those plains, Jack.

There goes

Buffalo Bill himself.

Oh...

Yes, sir.

Multiply that by thousands.

Little Jack, the buffalo

is getting scarce.

You were raised by Indians.

You should

know how to track them.

Yeah, but...

We could make a killing, Jack.

Haven't changed a bit, Jack.

Neither have you.

You'd better watch out,

Mr. Meriweather.

They're whittlin' you down

pretty serious.

You can't afford to lose

any more of your parts.

Every business

has a particle of risk.

Bye, dear boy.

That was my low.

I had reached the bottom.

I'd become a hermit.

I went deep in the wilderness,

as far away as I could get.

Then one day,

I found something

trappers see fairly regular.

An animal had gnawed off

its own foot

to escape from the trap.

Something snapped in my head.

I decided

life wasn't fit to live

and the only thing to do

was to mingle

with the twinkling stars.

Good-bye, Jack.

Good-bye, Little Big Man.

At that moment,

I really was crazy

and I was darn near

off that cliff when...

The time had come

to look the devil in the eye

and send him to hell

where he belonged.

The only question was,

how to get him there?

Sergeant, take this man...

...and give him some clothes.

This man will be invaluable

to me, Major.

Invaluable, sir?

I almost hanged that man

as a renegade.

Now, he asks me for a job

as a scout.

Oh, his game

is very obvious... to lead me

away from his Indian friends.

I still don't quite

follow you, General.

Anything that man tells me

will be a lie.

Therefore, he will be

a perfect reverse barometer.

Isn't that correct?

Of course, General.

Move them out, men. Ho!

In my belief,

Custer's hate for the Indians

and his ambition

had combined on him.

He figured he needed one more

dramatic victory

over the Indians

to be nominated for

President of the United States.

That is a true historical fact.

Men, hold!

We will take brief refreshment.

Water only!

Dismount!

Water break!

Oh, excuse me, Lieutenant.

It's the celibacy of the saddle.

I had muscle spasms all night.

The poison from the goo-nads.

Poison from the what, sir?

Goo-nads.

That's medical terminology.

General, it's my duty as your...

The poison rises

from the goo-nads

to the throat and then seeps

down to various muscles.

General...

the Crows want to know

if you're going down

in the Medicine Tail Coulee.

Oh, they do, do they?

Yes, sir, they do.

They claim they want time

to sing their death song.

Tell the Crows they're women!

But, sir...

if the hostiles

come in behind us,

and if they're

waiting for us down below,

we'll never get out of there.

Hostiles behind us?

I see no hostiles behind us.

Do you see any hostiles

behind us, Major?

No, sir, not at the moment...

Then, then, then...

...stop trying to cause

a reversal

of a Custer decision.

But, sir, wouldn't it...

wouldn't it be best

to send a squad down

Medicine Tail Coulee?

No, it wouldn't.

But, sir...

may I ask, sir, why it wouldn't?

Because Major, it would cost us

the vital element of surprise.

Surprise? General,

they know we're here.

Yes, but they don't know

that I intend to attack them

without mercy.

But, General,

that's no surprise.

Of course it is.

Nothing is this world

is more surprising

than the attack without mercy.

General...

General, I must protest

this impetuous decision.

A Custer decision, impetuous?

Grant called me impetuous, too!

The drunkard.

Sitting there

in the White House,

calling me impetuous!

General, General,

I implore you to reconsider.

Think of the men

whose lives depend upon you.

What do you think

I should do, mule skinner?

Sir, that man

doesn't know anything.

What do you say, mule skinner?

Should I go down there

or withdraw?

I had him.

But this time

what I held in my hand

wasn't a knife

but the truth.

Well?

What's your answer,

mule skinner?

General...

you go down there.

You're advising me

to go into the Coulee?

Yes, sir.

There are no Indians there,

I suppose?

I didn't say that.

There are thousands

of Indians down there.

And when they get done with you,

there won't be nothing left

but a greasy spot.

This ain't the Washita

River, General.

And them ain't helpless women

and children waiting for you.

They're Cheyenne brave

and Sioux.

You go down there

if you got the nerve.

Still trying to outsmart me,

aren't you, mule skinner?

You want me to think that you

don't want me to go down there,

but the subtle truth is,

you really don't want me

to go down there.

Well, are you

reassured now, Major?

Men of the seventh!

The hour of victory

is at hand!

Onward to Little Big Horn

and glory!

We've caught them napping!

Sound the charge!

We have them on the run, men!

Take no prisoners!

Now we've got them, men!

Men, Custer's with you!

Custer's honor!

Stay with me!

What are they doing?

Why aren't they charging?

There's nowhere to charge to!

Fight! Stand up and fight!

Fools! They're shooting

their own horses.

Arrest them! Arrest them!

Bugler! Sound the charge!

We've got to make breast-works!

I know all about that, Major.

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