Original subtitles

[Horses approaching]

[Man] Whoa.

Might you be Mr. Andrew Carter?

I always have been.

I'm Abe Hughes from Indiana.

Farmer by trade, preacher by preference.

Our wagon party's going on to Oregon,

and the young lady's traveling along with us,

to join her married sister who'd come across last spring.

Now, uh, I brought her on ahead

because she's hunting something that she thinks you might have.

[Carter] She might be polite enough to ask,

before she looks for it in my house.

[Hughes] A mite strong-minded.

When we heard of you, our last stop back,

nothing to do, but she had to hire me

to get her to you, right away.

Why, you have got it!

This harp belonged to my mother and to her mother.

It came all the way from France, it's a genuine cousineau,

and it cost over $400.

Would you put it in the wagon, please, Mr. Hughes?

But be very careful.

These strings are irreplaceable.

Now, wait a minute, ma'am.

My name is Mary Ann Duncan.

You know, there's an old saying

that possession is nine points of the law.

It kind of goes along with "finders, keepers."

"Losers, weepers"?

Well, I'm not the weeping kind, and this is my harp!

Would you put it in the wagon, please?

Well, now... [Clears throat]

I can't go against the law and custom of the trail.

You see, if your sister and her husband dumped your harp

out of their wagon...

But they had to.

In order to get over the mountains,

they had to lighten their load.

If folks choose to leave things behind,

then they've given up their claim on them.

I suppose you've been strumming on this

as if it were a banjo?

I've plunked it a few times, yes.

With those hands.

You're tempting me to use them where they'd do more good.

Why, you...

You scavenger!

Say that again.

You're nothing but a scavenger.

Reverend, you'd better get her out of here, right now!

When I go, my property goes with me.

I don't see any of your property around here.

Uh, now, stop. He's right.

Law of salvage is same on land as it is on sea.

Uh, now, Miss Duncan,

if you was to, uh...

Oh, I see.

$20.

The price has gone up since you started calling names.

That's all you're going to get.

I can see from here it's not enough.

Why, you... you...

"Scavenger," I believe you said before.

Uh, Miss Duncan, you'd best come along with me.

It's getting toward sundown,

and we should be back to the wagon.

There's a lot of preparation

before we tackle crossing the divide.

I suppose there'll be a lot of other families

leaving treasures behind for you to gloat over.

What counts is getting across them mountains.

When I cross those mountains, my harp goes with me.

Then I've got a hunch you're gonna be

on this side of them a long, long time.

I loathe you.

I despise you.

And I want my harp!

You know, I'll bet if you tried,

you can learn to yell louder than that.

You know, she's just a young girl

that don't know how to deal with men.

Then I'd say it was high time she learned.

You don't really want that harp, now?

The question is, "how bad does she want it?"

[Chuckles]

We'll set up camp down the road a piece,

for the next few days.

Then there'll be time for him and you to cool off,

and maybe you can set up a deal.

I figured he'd have a change of heart.

Well, Mr. Carter?

How bad do you want that harp?

As if you didn't know.

No, I don't know,

but I'm willing to be convinced.

I'll make a deal with you, with the reverend as a witness.

How much?

Oh, I didn't mention money.

I said, I'd make a deal with you.

You can earn the harp.

How?

Well, to start with, by doing my washing for me.

There's twice as much around here as I've gotten to.

You couldn't be serious.

Why not? I'm talking about a woman's work.

You're a woman, so you can clean my house for me,

and you can milk the cow, and you can do the cooking,

and you can learn some things that a woman's supposed to know,

like respect for a man and his house.

No, you couldn't handle it.

Not you and your high and mighty pride.

You want your harp back, but you're not willing to work for it.

You and your fancy frills and laces.

Go on in and get it!

The harp-- she can have it. They belong together.

Pretty on the outside, and nothing on the inside.

All right, scavenger.

Now, how long must we play this childish game of yours?

[Hughes] Oh, easy-- easy, now-- before this thing goes too far.

He made an offer, and I've accepted.

[Hughes] You can't.

Why can't I?

Well, because you...

Because you and him...

Both in the same house!

You said you'd be camping right down the road.

Yeah, sure, but...

How long?

I'll say a week.

Won't be here that long.

Don't worry about it, Reverend.

She won't last a day.

Won't I?

We'll just wait and see.

I don't approve of this!

It ain't proper, her staying here.

She's safe.

I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole.

Now, there's no earthly reason why you should sleep outside.

I'm used to sleeping out. Now, you go back on in,

and I'll bed down out here.

You are the stubbornest woman i--

Good night, Mr. Carter.

All right, good night!

[Screams]

Indians! They're after me!

It's all right. You can come out now.

You're not being chased.

But that-- that savage...

He's a very peaceful savage.

His name is Chapitoulas. He's a friend of mine.

He didn't look friendly to me.

You see, he picks up things along the trail,

and he brings them to me, and we trade.

Oh, I see.

That's right.

He's a scavenger just like me.

[Speaks foreign language]

[Speaks foreign language]

Go look.

That's heirloom sterling.

And Willow ware.

Why, some family brought this all the way from england.

And look at this vase.

Why, this vase is worth a lot of money.

Not out here, it isn't.

Is anything worth anything to you?

Probably not. Not the way you see it.

Well, I think it's a sin to gather up precious things

that people loved.

Maybe they figured that getting over

the continental divide to the promised land

is a whole lot more important.

Trade?

[Speaks foreign language]

No rifle. No.

[Speaks foreign language]

[Laughs]

What's so funny?

How much do you figure you're worth?

What?

He wanted to trade this painted vase for you.

[Laughs]

You look around. We talk later.

Did you really think I'd trade you to that Indian?

I don't know what you might do.

Your opinion of me gets lower and lower, doesn't it?

Looks like my garden crop will be picking ripe,

any day now.

It'll be the first crop I grew out of the ground

in this part of the country.

You talk as if you planted

a little of yourself along with it.

You might say, in a way, I did.

Will I have to help you pick the vegetables?

Oh, I wouldn't expect you to do that.

You know, I've been thinking.

As far as I'm concerned, you've earned your harp back.

There won't be any need for you to go on tiring yourself out.

No, a bargain is for keeping. I made one, and I'll keep it.

You're the stubbornest woman.

Well, at least you can sleep in the house

and get some rest for a change.

I'll sleep outside.

I'm perfectly comfortable sleeping under the stars.

When was the last time you washed your face?

I had sort of a disagreement with a bobcat

a couple weeks back.

It looks like he won.

Well, here. That's too much for you.

Let me help you.

Thank you.

Why, that's a beautiful painting. It must be valuable.

Only to me. That was my house before the war.

I painted it.

You painted it?

I use to like to paint.

I thought you told me you'd always been a wanderer.

My folks wandered. I settled down,

but it didn't last long.

What happened?

A war happened.

[Muffled grunt]

[Screams]

[Muffled scream]

[Mary Ann screams]

[Mary Ann screams]

[Mary Ann screams]

Now, go! Don't come back.

No more trade! No more friend!

No more trade? No more friend?

Get out before i--

What have you been doing to her?

He didn't do anything to me.

I heard you scream. I was just driving over here,

and I heard this poor young woman yelling for help.

It was all a misunderstanding.

That's right, and come to think of it,

I don't like being accused when I'm not guilty!

Ease down. Ease down.

Now, the way I figure it,

this young lady is my responsibility.

Thank you, Mr. Hughes, but I'm perfectly capable

of taking care of myself.

Maybe so in Boston, but this the wild west.

I don't notice anything wild.

Miss Duncan!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.

Come to think of it, so do I.

Hold on-- [stammers] Hold on, you two!

[Harp playing]

[Footsteps approaching]

Well, I can't believe my eyes.

I didn't know you were invited to the Governor's ball.

Anything wrong with dressing up on Sunday?

No, that's right. Sunday is our day of rest,

but don't you feel a little odd

all dressed-up in somebody else's

castoff finery?

For your information, Miss Duncan,

I bought this outfit right before the war.

And it was about all I had left when I got home.

I'm sorry. I'll put dinner on the table.

Say, how about a little wine before we dine?

Why, Mr. Carter, you're a poet.

It says it's from France just like your harp.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

What were you?

I mean, what did you do before the war?

I grew cotton.

Until this very moment, I could never imagine you

the wealthy, aristocratic owner of a plantation.

It wasn't a plantation. It was just a farm,

but it was a start.

At last crop, it was really wonderful.

There were long rows of soft, white tufts

like bright faces of children looking into the sun,

just as far as the eye could see.

Nothing there now but charred ruins

and dead grass.

[Wind blowing]

Seems like a storm blowing in.

Good. Maybe it'll be cooler tomorrow.

Oh, it'll be cooler. We're headed into the rainy season.

Were, uh...

Were you ever married?

There wasn't time for that.

[Thunder booming, rain pouring]

It sounds like a real cloudburst.

Is the weather so important?

Well, it is, if it ruins my garden crop,

and it might.

There must have been a girl.

She married somebody else.

[Thunder booming]

It's really coming down.

For now, let's talk about.

How is it that you never married

and had a house with a husband and children?

I was engaged,

and he was killed in the war.

Then, after the war, my sister got married,

and I taught school.

Then, two months ago, mother died, and I came west.

I...

I guess we both have a lot to forget.

[Hughes] Whoa.

I knew it.

I had a feeling!

A feeling about what?

Let's just say I'm glad I didn't put it off any longer.

Didn't put what off?

We're setting off first thing in the morning,

rain or shine.

Get started over them mountains

before the weather gets any worse.

I can't leave tomorrow.

Well, you can't stay, unless you marry him.

Marry her? Marry him?

Why, I wouldn't marry him

if he were the last man on earth.

I wouldn't marry her if I was.

Now, listen to me, both of you...

[Thunder booming]

Your garden crop-- it'll be ruined.

Forget about my garden crop.

But it's the first one you ever planted here.

Well, he can always plant another.

[Thunder booming]

Where are you going?

Hey, where are you going?

All right. All right, you two.

Now, like I said,

before you went off to pick his vegetable patch,

it's got to be one way or the other.

Either you come along with us or you stay and marry him.

Now, wait a minute, Reverend.

I ain't gonna argue the point.

Well, who's arguing?

What are you waiting for?

That's a good question.

Well, I got a good answer for it.

[Clears throat] Join hands.