Hey, what the devils going on here . Are you out of your head . Well, i made us equal, didnt i . Well, you stay away from my girl, or ill break off our kinship, brother. All right, get back to your wagons, folks. Come on. All of you get back. No more fuss. Why did thee let him make a fool of thee . Why didnt thee break him in half . Thee could have made two of him without trying. I dont want to make two of him, benjy. I found one of him quite enough. Thees the bravest man in the whole shh, shh quiet. Nothing to trouble thyself over, major adams. Jed otis felt id done him a wrong. I heard him tell you to stay away from his girl. In the first place, i didnt know she was his girl. And second, i didnt think youd be interested in her. He aint. She aint interested in him neither, cept to add him to her collection. Shes a maneater. Runs after a fella till shes caught him and then picks his heart clean and chucks him away. Thee is talking of thy own granddaughter. Look at her. Shes got him. Oh, shes getting ready to jilt him. Ah whens mccullough coming with the mail . Hes got to bring it from a little town called antioch about 20 miles west of here, grandma. He ought to be here by sundown. Then you and mell have a little reading session tonight, benjy, huh . If thee wishes, rebecca. There ought to be a sentinel tonight. I missed it last mail. Beautiful as a peacock youre gonna have a peck of trouble with that girl. I can feel it in my bones. Matthew, uh, that jed otis has done nothing but give me trouble ever since he joined this train. You just say the word, ill give him his money back and send him on his way. No, thats not fair. Anyway, my brother and i are leaving the train. No, matthew. Thee heard me promise Rebecca Pruitt id read for her well go when we reach this town of antioch. Ing away, huh . What are you running away from, matthew . Jed otis or marion . Say rather. From myself. What does that mean, hes running away from himself . I dont know, bill. Hes a strange man. Hes been holding something pent up inside of him ever since he joined up with us. Its that girl, thats what it is. Shes no good, just like her granny said. Making sheeps eyes at every man on the train. Even me. Oh, charlie, shes not that desperate. I got work to do. Wipe thy grim look off thy face, benjy. Thee looks much handsomer smiling. Matthew, why doesnt thee tell them what really happened at antietam . Ng . Should i tell them that i have a temper like a fiend . When it comes over me, i lose control, go berserk, do mad, murderous things . Ishat what you want me to tell them . No, not that. Only enough to know that thees a brave man. Not a coward, as they think. In this one thing, i am a coward. Jed otis thinks im afraid of his fists. Hes not through with me yet. Hell try again. Ill take about as much as i can stand. Then ill run amok again. Thats why we must leave this train. Matthew, they forgave thee for what happened at antietam. So they did. And one day, maybe god in his mercy will forgive me too. Then well quit running. Help mister please help mrs. Christie. Miller. Lewis. And kelly. Youve got no more sentinels . No, thats all there is. I only got two. There should be four. Maybe therell be more next time. Oh, always late. Benjy. Benjy, the papers has come. What do you got laid out for us for tomorrow . I dont want any of that stuff. Give me some coffee. Due west. Got a detour around a high mesa about eight miles out, and thats about all. Hey, isnt this the same route we took last year . Mmhmm. Hey, thats pretty good rememberin for a fella thats gettin on in years. Thats pretty good forgettin for a young buck like you too. As i recall, there was a Little Canyon just beyond that mesa youre talking about. Saved us two days traveling time, didnt it . Thats right. Pretty narrow, though. Some places youd just be able to get your wagons through. And kind of reminds you of a rattlesnake thats getting ready to strike. You trying to scare me, flint, old boy . Why, major, id as soon try and scare a tornado. I seem to remember a little stream of water going through that canyon too, huh . Yeah, theres a spring in the canyon, a little one, but if you go up on the high mesa, theres all kinds of fresh water. Its only a day out. We got plenty of water to get through there. You, uh, kind of forgot about that canyon, didnt you, boy . No, i didnt forget about that canyon. I just didnt think youd want to chance it, thats all. Look, if youd just let me get my foot out of my mouth. Thanks, charlie. Oh, by the way, if you decide to fire me during the night, would you kindly not inform me until morning, because i dont want to be disturbed. Ill wake you up real softlike with a bucket of cold water. Kind of slipped up on his scouting this trip, didnt he . Oh, he didnt either. Just trying to keep us out of trouble, thats all. Benjy, get close to the fire so we can see good. And get to the interesting part the death notices. Its on the back page. Always on the back page. Oh, wait a minute whoa, boy, wait a minute. Almost forgot. Since thee cant read, rebecca, why does thee always put on my spectacles . Oh, i guess it takes the sting out of my being so ignorant. Go on, now. Beloved husband of margaret. Samuel carter gone. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I always knew id outlast him. Why, he cant have been more than 70. A man in the prime of life. How old is thee, rebecca . A woman getting on for 90 doesnt tell her age. Oh, marions in a fret about you and matthew leaving the wagon tomorrow. How did she know . I told her. How did thee know we were going . Oh, things get to me, benjy. Truth is, i snooped. A bodys got to know whats going on in the world or she might as well be dead. Now, go on, go on. Who else has departed this world of struggle and sorrow . Cleveland, jesse. Departed this veil of tears while he was running for office at alderman. Cleveland couldnt run for anything. Unger than me. I always warned him spirits dont preserve everything. Thee mustnt believe matthews afraid of jed otis. Such a thing never entered my mind. I watched him fighting. Ah, what matthews afeard of is his own heart. Carries a secret about with him, i wouldnt wonder. And that can be bad. A secret held too long can fester till it drives a man plumb out of his mind. Hmm. Got a real wild temper, hasnt he . How does thee know all this, rebecca . Well, i never learned to read writin, so maybe the lord gave me the gift to read the human heart. Couple of months ago, it was very hot one night. I couldnt sleep, so i wandered about to cool off. As i was passing your wagon, i heard matthew let out an awful cry. Then i heard him say, theres blood on me hands me hands is covered in blood. I peeked in the wagon, and. There you were, comforting him and crooning to him like he was a baby. Ah, it was his conscience clawin at him in his sleep. Thats what made him cry out. He was remembering something awful he did once. Thats his secret. Rebecca, thee mustnt ever let on that thee knows. And to a quaker, thats a worse sin than it would be to any other man. Oh, dont worry, benjy. I dont know nothin. ceptin that your brother matthew once had a bad dream. Come on, now. Who else has the grim reaper been mowin down in sedalia . Smith, charles. . . If youre on medicare, remember, the open Enrollment Period is here. The time to choose your Medicare Coverage begins october 15th and ends december 7th. So call unitedhealthcare to enroll. In a plan that could give you the benefits and stability youre looking for, an aarp medicarecomplete plan. What makes it complete . It can combine medicare parts a and b, which is your hospital and doctor coverage with part d Prescription Drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan for a low monthly premium or in some areas, no plan premium at all. 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Call unitedhealthcare today dont wait. Call unitedhealthcare or go online now. . . There it is. You might have to pull your belly in a couple of miles up to get through, but its the route you wanted. You need me anymore . No, i wont need you anymore, till we get through the canyon anyhow. Sounds like you got Something Else figured out to do. What is it . A blonde or a brunette . Major, you know i never mix business with pleasure. Ill meet you in antioch, all right . All right. The lights were kind of low, but it seems to me she had red hair. Dark red, about the color of mud get out of here chuckles figure well make it through by dark . Oh, i think so, bill. Its only about 10 miles, including the twists and turns. You go back and check on the wagons. Make sure everythings tied tight on the side. Right. Matthew . I want to talk to you. complaining whats this about you leaving us . Theres nothing that calls us to california. We have no friends or kin there. Youre going because of what happened yesterday. That is the reason, isnt it . That has some bearing on it. Well, it shouldnt have. Im not jed otiss girl, in spite of what he said. I may have flirted with him a little, much as i like him. More, maybe. Benjamin and i think very highly of thee, marian. Well, thats just peachy. Benjamin too, huh . Is jed otis scaring you away . No. Are you afraid of me . Why, marian, if thou art an ogre, thou art a beautiful one. Well, then, why leave . I just said that i liked you. You say that im beautiful and then you run away. I never met a man like you before. Im exactly like any other man, marian. But i just cant stand to see a girl i told you to leave her alone how many times do i have to warn you . If you had guts enough to put up that one good arm of yours instead of hiding behind that holierthanthou hogwash, id push your face in so far youd have to back up a mile to blow your nose now, you listen to this. Stop bothering her or i wont let that stand in my way well, dont let it stand in thy way, jed otis. Nged thee. No, matthew, no horse whinnies rebecca whoa help granny shell be hurt thee almost did it again, matthew. Help youre all right, mrs. Pruitt. Ive got you. Oh, my goodness i mightve been kilt, for all she cares. Oh, now, mrs. Pruitt, you just hush up. Youre all right now. No harm done. No harm done . I was scared out of ten years growth, held still, granny, and not tried to drive. When im in the drivers seat, i drive. Oh, you start after matthew, you end up with that. scoffs its a nice comedown, eh . Come on, boys. Lets get to work on this thing. Come on, get down in there, bill. Bring those poles in there. Come in on that wheel so you can grab up. Get down there and put some rocks under those wheels. Get that barrel off of there. The rest of you unload this wagon. Both hands. Come on. Hold it. Remember, we still have some Unfinished Business to take care of. I will not fight thee, jed otis. God willing, i shall never fight another man again. Again . When did you ever fight anyone . At harvard college, he was boxing champion for two years benjamin. A great wrestler too. We have many trophies. Benjamin, i said enough. Hes nothing but blubber and bluster. Even now he can lick thee with one blow. I will not offend thee, jed otis. Thee didnt have to knuckle down to him. I know were quakers, and so we turn the other cheek. But thee might have given him just one nt have settled anything, benjamin. Anyway, in another couple of hours, well be at the other end of the valley and away from the train. Wagons, ho hello there, wagons anyone here . Wait a minute. Thank heaven youve come. Wed about given up hope of anyone coming this way. Whats the matter, miss . Dont come any closer. Were in terrible trouble. We need help desperately. But you may not want to help us. We have sickness here. A very bad sickness. We have cholera. The kind that sickens and kills. Is there any other kind . Yes. Theres one thats not quite so deadly. If its the asiatic kind, theres nothing we can do. But if its cholera nostra, sometimes called summer cholera, which flourishes in heat like this, there might be some hope. How come you know all about this . I studied medicine for two years. Im going over to try to help. Wait a minute. You know youre taking an awful chance. Major, all life is a chance. Im deborah parkman. My fathers the wagon master or was, until he got sick. I suppose im in charge now, if you can call waiting for people to die in charge. Where do you want to start . Lets start with thy father. Wilst thou lead the way, please . Youre a quaker . Yes. If youve come here to pray for us, you may as well go back. Weve tried that. Everything in its place, deborah parkman. First well tend to the sick. Then if need be, well pray. Whats he doing over there . Hes making a call. A social visit, you knot head hes doing something that none of the rest of us had guts to do hes helping those people. 59, 60 seconds. Id like to take thy temperature too, noah parkman. Ill fetch them when i go back. This canyon is no place for folks with cholera. The humid heat prolongs and intensifies it. Could not the wagons have been moved to a higher and more open place . Theres a rock fall half a mile ahead at the narrowest spot blocking the trail completely. Hmm. All right. Wilst thou lead me to the others . Ill go back to my wagon and get my medicine case. Youre not coming back here, lowry youre not bringing cholera germs into this wagon train just a minute, otis. Im wagon master of this outfit. You were. Im taking over. He went to that sick camp hes not coming back here why, you yellowbellied disarm him m up move ill bury you for this, otis. Ill stay on this side, jed otis, but there are some things i need from my wagon. Matthew, they said thee had gone over to where there was cholera. Benjy, stay right there. I want you to go back to my wagon and get my medicine case. Why is thee standing off there alone . Benjy, quickly. How soon can we get through . Not soon. All but one are desperately ill. They cant move their wagons. You know about cholera . Youve seen it before . Yes, ive seen it at shiloh, missionary ridge, bull run, antietam. There he goes again, talking abt battles he fought. men laughing yes, i fought, jed otis. Deadlier battles than those of guns. The warfare in the hospitals unending battles against bullet wounds, against men dying. And in the main, well, if them battles are so tough, we dont want em over here. Hold it, kid you go over there, you cant come back. Stay right there. Put the case in the middle and ill pick it up. Im coming over. I belong where thee is. Not this time, benjy. When the sickness lets up. When our parents died, thee said theed never leave me. Thees breaking thy word. Still even worse than that, thees making me cry in front of people. Wipe thy nose and come over. Im coming too. No, rebecca, not thee. And why not me . Cholera is not something to be taken lightly. Aint figure on taking it lightly. Aint figuring on taking it at all. Now, you listen to me. Ive been through three husbands and brung up 11 children. Im reaching 90. I may be past it, but im not telling. And ive had my granddaughter on me hands ever since me son died, and she aint broke my spirit. I aint gonna be broken by a little bit of cholera. Now, come on. What is there to be done . A great deal. Thank you. No great change in anyone. The heat is draining them of their strength. This is almost the last of the water, matthew. If the water hole runs dry, i dont know what were gonna do. Deborah, look on top of that cliff. Up there theres always a breeze. If we could get them up there, theyd regain their health in no time. Cant we . Who would move them . Rebecca . Thee . Benjamin . I . Theres no trail to take the wagons up either. Why dont you pray for the wagons to be given wings . Winged wagons. Thats very poetic. I like that. Thee has a streak of poetry in thee, deborah. Poetry will not cure sick people. I wouldnt be too sure about that. Look at the night bird spreading its wings to the moon. Wings. They say faith can move mountains. Why not wagons . Well, why not . What are you talking about . A rope is a wing, if need be. So is a pulley and a hoist. It could work. And the idea came from thee. As have many other things to heal and comfort me. Deborah, i have not felt such peace of mind in many years. Ive seen her before, often, looking across at us. Who is she . Its rebeccas granddaughter. Shes probably concerned about her grandmothers welfare. She could call across and ask. Shes never here when rebecca is. I dont know what she wants. You, uh. You had some plan, matthew. Yes. Yes. Has thee a knife . A sharp one . What do you want it for . 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Well send you everything you need, including this base station, the patented mobile device, and the waterproof pendant and wrist button. That automatically detects falls and signals help help even if your unconscious and unable to press the button. There is no equipment to buy and no longterm contract. Act now and well include an emergency key box free with your plan purchase. Call now and ask how you can save with our special holiday promotion. Dont settle for a medical alert system that only works at home. Mobilehelp has given me my life because im not restricted anymore. Nationwide already using mobilehelp, marian dont you do that, jed dont you ever grab me again jed why have you been avoiding me . I had things to do. What things . Staring for hours across to that sick camp . Ive seen you, standing, staring like a sick calf. Are you still pining over that onearmed holierthanthouer . Eve you cared for me. So anything you do is my business. You get one thing into that empty little head of yours anybody goes across to that cholera camp and tries to come back here, i shoot can i talk to you a minute, jed . Be right with you. Anybody at all. Talk to me about what . Is train . Get out of here as soon as we can move. Whenll that be . As soon as they move their wagons, or as soon as they die off and we can plow right through em. Thats not good enough, jed otis. In the meantime, youre doling out our water. Its almost gone. Food aint holdin out too good either. Uhuh. You got to give us a quicker plan than just waitin. Then we get tough with them, sick and all. Give em till tomorrow to get their wagons out of the way. Man and if they wont or cant . Fire oughta get em to move. Isnt thee finished with the boiling yet . They all ask for water. I think its ready. Help me take it off the fire. Wed better put it over here to cool. Matthew says that if the heat would let up, theyd get well. Ppen, she says. Whats. Whats rebeccas granddaughter like . Marian . She makes googoo eyes at all the men folk, and some of them make googoo back. Does thee remember reading about the witch circe . The one who turned men into beasts . By a magic charm. Well, marians like her, sort of. She sure made a beast out of jed otis, though i think he must have affectionate feelings for thee. Ive heard him whisper thy name in his sleep, very tenderly. Bring some water to the kelly wagon when it cools. You shouldnt be here. Are you afraid ill charm him away from you . Your wagon master said no ones to cross the line. So the high and mighty Matthew Lowry finally found someone he can condescend to love. Hes far from high and mighty. Hes humble and modest. And im not good enough for him . I dont know what you are, and i dont know what youre doing here. If youve come to make trouble, we have enough to find out what matthews taste was like. Now i see. scoffs he likes them haggard and washedout looking. Where is he . He went across to. I mean, he. To our side . Well, now i can go back and tell jed otis that we have a visitor. No, dont, please. Theyll kill him over there. So you do love him. A nobility ive never seen before. Hes renewed my faith in human beings and hes given god back to me. Thank you for making it clear to me, marian. Yes, i do love him. Seth you ought to be real proud of yourself, blane gunderson, keeping us tied up here, lettin that maniac run the outfit. I hear hes run it into the ground too, huh . Only. Im more scared of getting the cholera than i am ashamed of what im doing to you. Matthew you got a knife . I have. Thy help and guidance are needed, seth adams. Jed otis threatens to set fire to the parkman train. Water is running low in both camps. One of the canyon walls has collapsed, blocking the trail completely. Now, can the wagons be made to fly to the top of the cliff . You mean, can we lift these wagons over that cliff . Why, sure. We did it the first trip out. We ran into a landslide in the rockies. We lifted up the whole train. Come on. Weve got work to do. What about this fella here . em out seems kind of cruel. Lot of sick folk. You asked me to make a plan. This is it. We warn em, give em time to get the sick out. If they dont do it, we. Wait a minute. What are you doing over there, marian . I just came over to to see your sweetheart who dont want any part of you . I told you anyone who goes over there stays no, jed, i cant stay here. They dont want me i told you id shoot anyone who tries to come back here. Youd shoot me, jed . trigger clicks im marian, the girl you love im coming back to you. I dont want you back. You made your choice stick to it jed, this is marion screaming groaning lord willing, shell be all right. Oh, thank god theres the man that you people picked for a leader a mad dog. What in gods name has come over you . You used to be brave people. You fought off indian attack time after time. D miles and miles of hot, waterless desert. And now you come up against a sickness, you let this murderous bully make cowards out of you. Well, ive got some news for all of you. Up ahead theres been a rockslide. The whole canyons caved in. Thats why these people got stuck here till the cholera hit em. Im glad this thing has come to a head finally, because the only way you can help yourselves well all of us die right here in this canyon. Theres no turning back. Youll starve to death. Now, tomorrow morning, were gonna start lifting these wagons, every one of em, to the top of these cliffs. And anybody that doesnt want to help can stay here till you rot a happy sound. How is marian . Shes all right. Rebeccas taking care of her. Im preparing the sick for tomorrows hoist. groans thats not a very good joke, is it . Medium. Didst thee think it up, benjamin . Im afraid so. Anyway, theyre all so excited, theyre forgetting their aches. Which is good news, isnt it . Couldnt be better. I thought theed be pleased to hear it. The riley baby is clamoring for more food, so im going now to milk one of the cows. Does thee know how . Whats to know . One pulls the under hanging equipment, and the cow does the rest. Its really quite simple. Well, whats the trouble, deborah . Tonight thee should be very happy. Benjamin tells me that you and he are e going toeave us at some nearby town. Yes, thats the plan. But you fought a great battle here against death, and youve won it. Why do you want to leave the scene of your victory now . Because of another battle that ive fought and lost. You see, i quit college and joined the medical corps. Wouldve been less trying if id have been a soldier. Certainly less bloody. Deborah, dont let anyone ever tell thee that god created hell he dididt. It was mans own invention. I know, because i constructed an annex to hell. I killed a man. How . I have a temper. It happened at antieiem. All that long and bloody day, they brought in the wounded. There was one soldier, a johnny reb. Hed been lying neglected on the battlefield from the night before. They brought him i io the surgeons tent where i was. His right leg had gangrened. It was wounded. It had to come off. But they wouldnt touch him. They said that he was the enemy. Union sosoiers first. The enemy. Since when do dying men have a nation . So i operated. And while i was doing my work, a big lout, who called himself a surgeon, tried to take the scalpel from me. He was drunk. As we struggled in that tent, the dying around us, my scalpel fell, and then i hit him in the face with hatred in my heart, and he fell ononhat scalpel. Pierced his lungs and he died. And the johnny reb . Thats the irony of this whololstory. You see, i tried to save a man who couldnt be saved. Hed lost too much blood. I killed one man for a man who was already dead. God punished me. A week later. Thee doesnt seem shocked, deborah. Oh, yes, im shocked. Im shocked at the fact that i could be in love with a fool. You tried to save a mans life, and there wawaan accident involving a drunken brute, and you lost an arm. Because you loved your fellow man too much. Now, madam cow, if thee will be patient, please, and submit. Since itssor a good cause, ill be happy if thee will help me. Madam, thees not being very cooperative. Weve done about all we can do tonight. Well start again in the morning daylight. How do you sick people feel about flying . Happy as larks, major, to coin a phrase. By the way, benjamin and i are gonna stay with the train. Oh, im glad. Id hate to lose youou benjamin help, matthew come here, kid. Come here. Help, matthew let me go matthew so long, kid. Hold it, otis take off that gun belt. Throw it over here. Thee is a poor thing, jed otis, trying to kill a little boy. I must said id never fight thee, but now i must destroy thee, as i would a snake. You dont have to fight him. Let me take care of him. I must. Now, put up thy hands. I told you id bury you let me give you a hand. Hes no burden. Hes my brother. Look out below, major here she comes all l ght, charlie. Rig it the same way you did last year. Right, right. You fellas get her tied off and get her done. How are you doing up there . To stay while we give the signal. All right. Bring that next wagon down her and get her ready to roll up. How dodo one thank thee, major adams . One waits till the job is done, matthew. Hows benjamin . His head aches, but hehel be fine. Were all set get back. There may be rocks coming down here. All right, take it away, bill take it away come on, heave about 10 more feet whoa thats good right there. Slack off on the block. Untie that line. Thats the last one, bill. Woosters coming up with the stock the back way. Get him his stuff as soon as he gets here, will you . Right. Well, sir, weve got everything but water now. How about the sick folks . Are they ready to travel . Look at them. Theyre recovering to the point where theyre becoming nuisances. Ne. Bill, get all the wagons loaded as soon as you can. I want to move a asoon as the stock gets here. Yo there should be some papers for thee at the next camp. Ill read to thee if t te wishes. But not the death notices anymore. They scare me now. Id have been all alone in the world. Well, shes getting better, thank heheen. With matthew about to marry deborah, ill b bsort of alone too. Will thee be my girl, rebecca . chuckles now im in me second childhood, youre getting a bit old for me. Then i always did like you older fellas. Ill have to get back to our wagon soon. Father isnt Strong Enough to drive for long. Oh, hes well. Theyre all well. Where will thee marry me, deborah . In antioio . Or must i wait till we get to california . Is antioch closer . You know something . Ever since matthew and deborah gogotogether, marians been kinda, well, so to speak. You might even say. Might even say what . What are you trying to tell me . Go on. Oh, no not that, charlie why shouldnt she . Im a man, aint i . Well, i, uh, i always hope so, charlie. I dont know what else youd be, except. Maybe a bearded lady. Say, thats pretty good. A bearded lady ha, ha, ha, ha going for a cup of tea you bet. Cup of tea captain . Cup of tea . What about this then hey . Bly me