The Cowboys Page #3

lady. Am l correct?

Why, yes, indeed.

- Mrs. Andersen.

- Ma'am.

You ever been on a trail drive?

The Oregon, Chisholm...

...Santa Fe, some without names.

l don't know.

l like to travel with

a man l'm used to.

You'll get used to me.

What do you want for wages?

All l can get.

This job pays $100.

A hundred?

That's the money.

Well, if you should get flooded

out, stampeded out, frozen out...

...or scalped by wild Red lndians...

...there'll always be substantial food on

the plate and coffee on the boil. But...

...that'll cost you $125.

You're a pretty independent

character, aren't you?

lt's been said of me.

Put your wagon in the barn.

Are all these small boys...?

No! They're my trail

hands, God help us.

Doesn't anything larger

wanna work for you?

We had a case of gold

fever around here.

They're all that's left.

l'll fix up some sugar

tits to take along.

Hey, Dan. What's "sugar tits"?

This one suits me.

lt smells of boy in here.

You're staring at me, children!

l feel your eyes on my back.

Now why is that?

Well, sir...

...you're the first

n*gger we ever saw.

Then it must be a treat for you.

Something different for a change.

Are you black all over?

Except for the white of my eyes.

ls your, you

know, your--?

lt is. Black too.

See? He's the same as

us, except for that color.

The same as you?

Oh, children.

My father was a brawny Moor.

Six feet six inches tall.

He bound his head in

a red velvet cloth.

He wore a curved sword...

...forged from the

finest Toledo steel.

He captured a lady...

... bright and dark.

He took her in his arms...

...and wrapped her in a warm quilt...

...and carried her off.

They came to a castle...

...and he battered down the doors

with the trunk of an oak tree...

...and killed everybody in it!

Just so they could rest the night.

Later...

...while she slept...

... he walked the parapets...

...and became a king.

ls that true?

lf it isn't, it ought to be.

Blow out those lamps!

You, that lamp!

Do your work.

Don't be profane and

don't listen to profanity.

Wash your feet daily.

Say your prayers nightly.

Yes, sir.

You have to go out in the

world and prove yourself.

l guess that's right.

God bless you, son.

- Don't be fresh.

- l won't.

And don't come to any harm.

Don't worry, l won't.

So long, Gramps.

Sixty days ought to see me back.

l want two things.

What?

You home again and a

string of blue glass beads.

You don't ask for much, Ann.

l don't need much.

Well, if you run into

any trouble, call Anse.

l'll think about you

before l go to bed at night.

You do and you won't sleep.

- Are you ready, Mr. Nightlinger?

- Long ready, Mr. Andersen.

Let's go to Belle Fourche.

Move them out!

Yes, sir! Move them out, Weedy!

Start them, Charlie!

Move them out, Bob!

Move them, Jim!

All right, cover them over here.

Keep them over this way!

That's good, Slim.

Right pace, Homer.

Any faster you'd be

running tallow off of them.

That's money out of my pocket.

We'll try and make

Still Meadows tonight.

Still Meadows.

All right, take them through.

Take them through. Come on!

Get with it! Head them down there!

Head them downhill!

Get up there, kid.

Get up where you were!

Get down, Hardy!

Hey, there's a stray.

You want me to get him?

Easy, easy! Don't stop, go with them!

Go with them!

Go on with the wagon!

Easy, easy. Don't stop them.

Go with them! Go with them!

You were sleeping.

l'm sorry, Mr. Andersen.

l pay a full day's wages,

expect a full day's work.

Drove you hard today,

didn't he, children?

- You think it's gonna be like this

every day? - Yep.

Sundays, too?

There ain't no Sundays west of Omaha.

Slim, give that to Hardy.

Watch it, it's hot.

l never noticed before...

... but most of the people l know

are quiet compared to Mr. Andersen.

He's quiet, it just comes out loud.

That youngster's been

following all day.

l know it.

Who is he?

A bur under my hide.

You just gonna leave him out there?

Mr. Nightlinger, you take care of the

kitchen, l'll take care of the drive.

You know, in the late

war between the states...

... l served under an officer...

...just like you.

ls that right?

As a matter of fact, l shot that

military gentleman in the buttocks...

...just outside Vicksburg.

l'd have hung you.

They gave me a medal.

ln my regiment, Mr. Nightlinger...

... l was known as Old lron Pants.

You might keep that in mind.

Rise and shine! Rise and shine!

Hey, Hardy, you wake up!

Homer! Get up and go wake

up good Slim over there!

Up, up, up!

Out of these sacks,

into your britches!

Come on, Jim, get up! Get up!

My God, get up!

Don't let the sun catch you sleeping.

Mr. Nightlinger, what's for breakfast?

Stewed apples, bacon and biscuits.

Well, forget the apples.

Slap some bacon on a

biscuit and let's go!

We're burning daylight!

Burning daylight?

All l see are stars.

You'll see a lot more of them

if you don't get a move on.

Bring them on!

Bring them on, Mr. Nightlinger!

Come on. Stay with

them. Keep them upriver.

Stay upriver, Mr. Nightlinger,

there's some soft sand down there.

Keep them upriver. Let them

go higher, up their head.

Well, come on.

Keep them upstream so

they won't have to swim.

Easy, now.

Push them upstream, that's it.

Good work.

Head them upstream more.

Hold it on up there in the

canyon till they all get across.

Settle down.

Help! Help!

Come on.

Here's one of your strays.

You all right?

Better sit on his

back and pump him out.

Get his feet up.

Move your gear into camp.

l won't charge you for the

days l've been following you.

You're hired on, just like the rest.

You work out, you stay.

lf you don't, it's a long walk back.

You!

You almost got him

killed, you know that?

- But l tried to tell you.

- The hell you did!

l tried hard.

lf you'd have been in that water

we'd have heard you loud and clear.

l couldn't get the words out.

You could've if you'd wanted to.

You just didn't want to bad enough.

Before God, l tried.

Trying don't get it done!

The fact is, you almost let your

friend choke to death out in that river.

- l'd rather die than done that.

- Then you're a liar!

lt ain't my fault l stutter.

Listen to me, you

whining little whelp...

...you're gonna stop stuttering

or get the hell out of here.

You're gonna stop it or

go home, do you hear me?

You son of a b*tch.

What did you say?

- You goddamn son of a b*tch!

- Say that again.

- You goddamn, mean son of a b*tch!

- Say it faster!

You goddamn, mean,

dirty son of a b*tch!

l wouldn't make it a

habit calling me that, son.

l did it.

Did you hear me?

l did it.

Hey, Cimarron.

l ain't had a chance to

thank you for hauling me out.

l sure am obliged.

- Well, l figure l owe you for it.

- Yeah?

How much in dollars?

Well, l can't pay you in

dollars. l ain't got any dollars.

Well, money's what cuts it with me.

Hey, wait a minute.

l picked this up on the trail.

l know it ain't gold, it's just

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