These Thousand Hills Page #4

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- Hello, Mr. Strain.

- Oh, hello, Mr. Evans.

- I got some mail for you.

- Good.

- There you are.

- Thank you.

- A bottle of whiskey.

- Mm-hmm.

- Cash.

- Your credit's good.

Not for whiskey.

- Howdy, Lat. Mr. Strain.

- Hello, Tom.

- Tom.

- Can I have a couple of scoops of flour?

- You bet ya.

- Taking up baking, Tom?

Not me. Callie.

Yeah, she's baking you a cake.

Oh, Lat, uh, what time will I tell Callie

you'll be over?

Tonight, after supper.

Here you are.

Two bits.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

Oh, Lat, there's something

else I got to tell you.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

Well, you see, we want

you should stand up with us.

- What?

- Well, you and Callie, that is.

- Stand up?

- Yeah.

Well,Jen and me,

we're gonna get hitched.

- You to her?

- Well, she says I'm good enough.

- Tom.

- We're gonna make it proper.

If old Brother Vaughn's in town,

we're gonna have him tie the knot.

Oh, I know I ain't got nothin',

exceptin' our partnership.

And-And Jen-well, she ain't

never saved a dime, but-

Well, I figure between us-

Well, we got each other, and- and that's

a pretty good hand to draw to.

And what she's been?

Well, I ain't so pure myself.

Neither are you. Neither is nobody.

Now, I asked you a question, Lat.

You gonna stand up with us?

- We'd like it the best in the worid.

- Tom, she's a tramp.

Wife or not,

she'll always be known as that.

Well, uh-

Pious, ain't you, huh?

A hunk of land, a banker's hello and nobody's

respectable enough for you, huh?

Well, whose money got you started?

A tramp's!

Why, you gutless-

You're a gutless-

Come on.

Hyah!

And you know what you can do

with the partnership.

Blessed Lord, make us truly thankful

for these, thy bounties. Amen.

Amen.

- Aha! Chicken and dumplings.

- Your favorite?

- Never get tired of chicken and dumplings.

- Just the chicken for me, Uncle.

Very well.

- A penny for your thoughts.

- There.

Oh. Two bits in this country.

- Two bits?

- A quarter. - Oh.

Are your thoughts

worth a whole quarter?

I was just thinking

how my pa used to say grace.

- At home?

- Yeah.

I'm holding a service tonight, Brother Evans.

New faces delight the Lord.

Well, uh, I was reared in the church.

- Praise be. And you see that

he don't backslide, sister.

I wish I could talk to a jury the way

Brother Vaughn hammers at us sinners.

Three things a town needs:

a good preacher...

a good lawyer

and a good school.

We've got two. In order to have

a good school, you have to have a board.

I'd like to see you serve

on that school board, Lat.

- Me?

- You, my son.

- Well, uh, I'm not much educated.

-''Much'' is a relative word.

Anybody smart enough to triple his herd

as quick as you have is educated enough.

Think it over.

But I'll tell you one thing:

A man starts in with property...

then if he's the right man,

he serves on the school board.

And after that, who knows?

I've known some me to go on

to the state legislature and even further.

Lat?

You gonna ask a gentleman

in for a drink?

The house is fresh out of liquor.

- If it's Evans you're expectin', don't.

- Why?

Well, they serve mighty long dinners

over at the Conrads'.

Besides, she's a pretty girl,

that Miss Joyce.

Tidy, educated.

Been to college and all that.

Looks like I'm the only one

with a real sweet tooth tonight.

You know how it is.

When a man ain't had somethin'

sweet for a long time...

he gets to cravin' it.

- Particular with your kisses?

- I am tonight.

Oh, stop it.

Let me go!

With my compliments.

- Two bits for your thoughts.

- Hmm? Oh.

Well, I was thinking

of buyin' some more cows.

Oh.

After this winter, a lot of men'll

have to sell if they can.

- It doesn't seem fair.

- I don't make the weather,Joyce.

Don't hold it against me

for being prepared.

Oh, Lat, I don't hold

anything against you.

Maybe I got a right to sit pretty.

You don't sit long enough to be pretty.

- So I'm ugly?

- As a mud fence.

I happen to like mud fences.

Well, here we are- home.

Good night, Lat.

When am I gonna see you again?

Mmm?

- It depends.

- On what?

Oh, on your reputation.

You know, I don't know

very much about you.

What would you like to know?

Oh, well, for instance, um,

do you gamble at cards?

All the time.

And use the Lord's name in vain?

- Often.

- And break the Sabbath?

Cows don't know when it's Sunday.

Well, when you're on the school board,

you'll have to educate your cows.

It was a lovely evening, Lat.

I'll be home whenever you call.

Callie?

Callie?

Lat! Lat!

Lat!

Hey!

What's the matter?

- Can't I be happy to see you?

- Not so happy you cry.

I'm sorry I'm late. I-

I was invited to dinner

by Mr. Conrad.

Who was there?

Conrad and his niece...

and Link Gorham, the lawyer...

and Brother Vaughn.

You liked that, didn't you?

I guess so.

Yeah.

Yes, I did.

But there are a lot of things

I don't like, Callie.

Like what?

Like... the way things are.

The way I am.

- For comin'here?

- I wanted to see you, or I wouldn't have come.

But to come here from dinner

with all those important people.

Mr. Conrad thinks I ought

to run for office someday.

He thinks I ought to start

with the school board maybe.

Are you goin' to?

I told them I'd think about it.

- You'll be a good one.

- I don't know about that.

But I...

I wanted to tell you.

You're the one

that's on the way up, Lat.

I owe my start to you.

But you gotta finish by yourself.

That's what you're tryin'

to tell me, isn't it, Lat?

- If I could only do something for you.

- Oh, there's nothing you can do for me.

What you want is a starched wife

and a starched home...

and a starched reputation,

and I'm spoiling your chances of getting it.

You just keep on being nice to bankers

and their nieces, and you'll get what you want.

- Stop it!

- Stop what? There's nothing to stop.

Everything goes on till it ends.

That's all.

Maybe you're right.

Maybe that is what I want.

I never lied to you, Callie.

But I'll always be grateful.

Men and their gratitude!

Don't you worry about me!

You just keep climbing, and you'll get there!

- The only place you and I ever got was right-

- Don't-

That bother you? You think your father's

gonna come in that door with a buggy whip?

- Stop it!

- And don't you dare feel sorry for me!

You think I'd marry you?

I wouldn't even marry you if you asked me!

You think I'd give up all this to scrub

and clean for you on some filthy ranch?

- All right. All right! I'll go! I'll go!

- Not on your life!

You better go! There's nothing more

for you to hang around here for!

Me- I'm unstarched!

She's your type, that little hymn singer!

-Are you going to the speaking, Tom?

- What for?

I've heard enough

four-flushers in my time.

Sure, I can hear him right now.

''Ladies, gentlemen

and horse thieves.''

I give you our next senator...

Albert Gallatin Evans!

Come on. Let's go.

No. I wanna hear

what the senator has to say.

I got a few questions to ask him myself.

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