Original subtitles

No, no, that's not right.

Um, ov- over here, by the pots an' pans.

That's right, stove grates belong with pots an' pans.

Stove grates? What do you think we are?

A little exercise is good for you, lucas.

I'd say you two have earned yourselves

A fried chicken dinner, Sunday.

Well, that's more like it.

Well, I gotta get back to the office, I'll see you Sunday.

All right, thanks again, micah.

Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you.

Is there something I can do for you?

You should have called out a work detail, lieutenant.

Mccain, isn't it?

Yes, but I'm afraid I- chase, harry chase.

Company b, 11th indiana, you were my training officer.

Oh, yes, yes. How are you?

Well, fine, fine.

You know, I haven't seen this fella since-

Well, since the beginning of the war.

I was transferred to mcdowell's 3rd infantry.

3rd infantry?

Why, er, yes, ma'am.

My brother was with mcdowell, ted scott.

He- he was killed at bull run.

Ted scott.

Did you know him?

Oh, yes, ma'am, he died right alongside o' me.

Oh, oh.

I didn't mean to upset you, ma'am.

Just that I wasn't expecting to...

Milly, why don't you go lie down? We can come back later.

No, I want to talk. I want you to tell me-

Milly.

Please.

Just what is it you wanna know, miss scott?

How did he die? Did he suffer?

Please understand, we were very close.

I could never find anyone who knew him.

I never knew where he was buried, or even if he...

If he was buried.

He's restin' peaceful, him an' the rest that fell that day.

I saw to it personally, a small grove by a stream, pretty place.

An' as for suffering, he didn't.

He was running one minute, the next, he was lying there,

Quiet, still, not moving.

I guess that's just all there was to it.

Please forgive me-

Oh, no, that's all right, ma'am,

Sometimes it's better to talk about it,

Keeps the nightmares away.

Nightmares?

Yes, it isn't easy, mr. Mccain, leading men into battle,

Watching them fall all around you.

Say you were- say you were leadin' those men?

Don't tell me you earned a stripe.

Field commission,

Probably the worst mistake the army ever made.

What have you been doing since?

Oh, living under my hat, around any convenient poker table.

Are you staying in north fork?

Well, if there is any worthwhile reason why I should,

Ma'am, I will.

Well, why don't you join us for dinner Sunday?

I know, we'll have a party. I'll invite micah.

That's a lot of fried chicken, isn't it?

Well, I accept with pleasure, ma'am.

Meanwhile, I'll look around and see your town.

Yeah, the poker table is over at the saloon.

Thank you.

Well, until Sunday then, unless we meet sooner.

Nice seeing you again, mr. Mccain.

Yeah, same here.

Until Sunday, then.

Go on.

That sure was good.

I'm glad you liked it, mark.

Now if you're through,

Do you suppose you can flap your way out back,

And feed your relatives for me?

Huh?

Well, I think what milly means, son,

Is that you've been goin' at it so hard,

You're liable to turn into a chicken.

What do you mean, I've only had about, uh...

About, uh..

Oh, yeah, excuse me.

Funny thing how good cooking makes a man wonder sometimes.

What about?

Oh, the life he leads, what he's facing up to, as the years pass.

Well, I wouldn't think a professional card player

Like you ever thought about such things.

Why is that, marshal?

Well, I don't know, sometime you might wanna settle down,

And it wouldn't be good, change your luck.

What's wrong with settling down?

Nothing, nothing at all.

Well, lucas, how about you an' me cleaning up, eh?

Huh?

Oh, don't be silly, either of you, that's woman's work.

Now, you stay out of this, milly scott, you did the cooking.

Well, if you say so.

While they're doing that, I think I'll take a look around,

I- I would like to see your place.

I'd like to show it to you, excuse us.

Thanks...

Friend.

Chick, chick, chick. Come on.

This is really delightful out here, especially for a boy.

Yes, lucas and mark are very happy.

I'm sure they are.

I often wondered how happy I would be, if my boy had lived,

He would have been just about mark's age by now.

Your boy?

Fortunes of war.

I was wounded in mechanicsville, leading a charge.

I was lying in a field hospital for 3 weeks,

While the doctors were trying to save my leg.

Back home there weren't any doctors.

They saved my leg all right,

But nobody back there could save my wife and child.

When I got back, they were gone, cholera.

I'm so sorry.

That was a long time ago.

Fighting a war, you forget quickly.

You went back?

All the way to gettysburg, it was good for me in a way though,

I thought that my men needed me.

I was their captain, gave me a sense of responsibility.

You were a captain?

Why, yes, mark, I was promoted at chancellorsville.

Time to go, son, will you get the horses?

Sure, pa. Excuse me.

We'd better go in.

Ah, not just yet.

Miss scott, there's just one more thing I'd like to say.

I never even heard of north fork,

'til I just happened to ride in,

It was just another town, another place, I've...

Well, I've always been very lucky at cards,

An' not so lucky at other things.

But like I said at the dinner table,

A man's luck can change.

I hope for your sake, yours will.

I think it already has.

I guess we're leaving now.

Pa, you still awake?

What is it, son?

Miss milly, isn't she sorta like ma was?

Why do you ask that?

Well, I mean, I kind of figured that you liked her,

Like you did ma, and I like her,

I'm pretty sure that she likes us.

Well, go on.

That mr. Chase, he likes her, too.

Milly has a lot of friends, son.

Pa, he almost kissed her.

It's getting late, mark, you better get to sleep.

Yeah, good night.

Milly?!

Lucas, what are you doing in town?

I just rode in.

Looking for milly, she is not in.

It's not like her to close up this time of the week.

No, it isn't.

Maybe she's a little tired, you know,

After cooking that chicken, Sunday.

The man who gets her is, er, sure gonna be lucky,

The way she cooks, that's if she ever figures on settling down.

Yeah.

You know, it's kind of strange,

Seeing you in town this time of day, lucas.

Something wrong with my being in town, micah?

Well, no, I- I was just wondering.

Well look, if it's bothering you so much,

I came in to get a couple of beers, play a little poker,

And see if harry chase's luck is still holding out.

Oh, I don't think you'll find him in the saloon,

With his luck he's been having a hard time getting a game going.

Where is he?

Well, I... I haven't seen him.

He, er, well... Maybe he went out for a ride.

Oh, look, what's the big secret, he's out with milly?

Well, I-

Why do you act this way, micah,

It's not the end of the world.

Harry chase will be moving on soon,

Gamblers never stay in one spot for too long.

Lucas, that depends on what the stakes are.

Well, you just said he couldn't find a game.

Oh, well, I was, er, I was talkin' about poker, but he...

He hasn't had any trouble findin' this store.

Now you were saying something about a beer?

This stream branches down to bull run.

I was leading my platoon up this side of it,

When the rebels attacked.

They were all pouring out of a place called sudley springs.

That was our objective. If you should wanna go back, milly...

No, there'd be nothing there for me, not now.

No, I don't suppose there would be.

Here was where your brother and the others...

When it was over, I went back, brought a burial detail.

You?

Well, I was their commanding officer.

You see, I was very close to my men, it somehow seemed fitting.

All these years I've wondered, an' now to know that...

My brother was with someone who... Who cared.

I can't thank you enough, harry.

And harry, what you said last Sunday,

I don't think you just happened to ride into north fork,

I think something led you there.

I hope you never leave.

Well, now, who said anything about leaving?

Well, look who is here.

Hello, mark.

Hi.

Hello, boy.

Hello, miss milly, mr. Chase.

You heading into town, boy?

Well, I'm going to have supper with my pa.

Supper? Is it that late?

My goodness we better be getting back.

Yes, I guess so. Let me help you with this.

Thank you.

What's that?

Sudley springs.

Huh?

Mr. Chase was just telling me about...

Where he buried my brother.

Oh, mr. Chase, you being a captain an' all, I bet you

Can really tell some interesting stories about the war.

Well, if you've got the time to listen, I'd be glad to tell you.

I sure do.

What would you like to hear about? Vicksburg, gettysburg,

Bull run?

I got a lot of stories. Oh, I know the one.

The one when I went on patrol one night very late,

An' there were rebels all around us.

It was a very, very cold night that night.

Well, I didn't know you three were together.

I met them on the road, pa.

They were having a picnic.

If mark hadn't come along, we'd probably be still out there.

Thank you.

Milly, mark and I are having dinner at the hotel,

Would you like to join us? You too, chase.

Oh, thank you, luke, the fact is I had too much lunch.

I couldn't eat a thing, not right now.

And I did promise harry that I'd join him for supper later.

Maybe some other time?

Well, I guess that leaves the church social Sunday,

What time shall I pick you up?

I didn't think you asked me to go with you, did you?

I don't know, I forgot, I thought we talked about it.

Well, half a bet is not quite good enough, luke.

Huh?

Milly's accepted my invitation.

Oh.

Well, I'll...I'll see you two Sunday.

Yeah.

Harry: Here you are, milly.

Milly: Thank you, harry.

Hmph.

Pa, let's eat supper at home tonight.

All right, son. You wait here, I'll be back in a minute.

Milly, I figure we're pretty good friends.

Of course we are, why do you ask?

Well, it might be none of my business,

But harry chase isn't for you.

I don't see where that's any concern of yours.

Well, I'm making it my concern, I don't wanna see you get hurt.

Harry wouldn't hurt a soul,

He's a kind, sweet, understanding person,

An' I find him very attractive.

Now if that's what you wanted to hear me say, lucas mccain,

I've said it, is it clear?

Yes, it's clear, but I'm gonna tell you something,

If harry chase were half the man he thinks he is,

And half the man you think-

Half the man compared to whom?

You figure it out.

It was at chancellorsville, where he got his decorations.

He captured 12 men, even after he was shot, brother!

Where did you hear that?

He was telling us on our way back from millers pond.

He told milly and me about how-

Say, pa, how come you never got to be a captain?

I never gave it much thought.

Oh.

What's the matter?

Oh, nothing, I just didn't know mr. Chase was wounded

Twice during the war.

Well, he wasn't, just once.

He told you he was wounded at chancellorsville?

Mm, that's when he got the medal, why?

Oh, nothing, nothing important.

Sure is a nice thing he did for miss milly,

I mean about her brother and all,

Then meeting her after all this time.

They sure do like each other.

Mark, ah, I don't think I can eat anymore, lets wash up, huh?

Pa, I'm awfully tired.

All right if I do the dishes in the morning?

Sure.

Were you in the whole war?

In most of it.

Were you at sudley springs?

Mm-mm.

Well, how about bull run?

Why do you ask?

That's where miss milly's brother was killed.

Mark, you can go on to bed, I'll be there in a few minutes.

All right.

Thank you very much, boy, oh, you're leaving?

All right better luck next time.

Well, hello, luke, how are you?

Fine, how about yourself?

Never better.

You're not leaving, are you?

As a matter of fact I've got an engagement with milly.

Oh, I'm sure she'll wait,

I feel lucky, harry, and like you say a man's luck can change.

What about this afternoon?

No, harry, now.

Come on.

Or would you rather just sit here and talk?

Well, luke, we've got nothing to talk about.

Oh, come on, harry, that's funny,

Two men who were in the army together not having

Anything to talk about?

Oh, you're afraid those nightmares will come back,

I'm sorry, harry, I forgot. I had a nightmare myself once,

Terrible thing.

I dreamed I was a training officer again,

Trying to teach my men,

And wondering if I'd done a good enough job

When they went to the front lines.

I felt kind of responsible for them in a way.

You know what I mean, harry, you were an officer.

Responsibility does funny things to a man,

Even when he has only himself to worry about,

Much less all those youngsters in uniform,

Like milly's brother.

I'm glad you've got responsibility, harry.

Do you know, I have to admit, I was worried about you

Back in training time.

I never did think you'd take to army life,

Like that time you tried to go absent without leave,

You know you could have got yourself shot.

Don't worry, harry, I wouldn't tell anybody about it,

Not after the way you turned out.

Promoted to captain, winning a combat medal,

Bringing your patrol back

After you were wounded at chancellorsville.

Risking you life to stop an' bury your dead.

You were on patrol, weren't you?

Why do you ask, luke?

You must have been, mcdowell's 3rd infantry was...

40 miles away at the time.

Now are you through?

No, harry, but you are.

You don't intend to pull that trigger, do you?

Because if you do, you won't be able to run away again.

An' harry, you have to be able to run away, don't you?

I've been a coward all my life, luke.

Now I'd like to ask a favor of you,

I'd like to borrow this book for a few minutes.

Milly, don't say a word, just listen.

-But- -please.

Milly, everything I said to you about the war was a lie,

And this book will prove it.

Now, my life has been full of lies,

It's been easier for me that way.

I'm leaving now, milly, and I'm gonna try and change.

I don't know whether I can, but I'm gonna try.

Milly, believe me, there was one thing...

I didn't lie about.

Never take a woman for granted, luke, especially her.

You're not paying any attention.

You know, women don't get over hurts easy. Come on, your move.

I- I think this belongs to you.

Harry... Mr. Chase told me everything.

I didn't... I mean, it was very hard for me to believe him,

Until I read this, and then he was gone.

I'm sorry, I'm interrupting your game.

No, no, the game is over, milly. Isn't it, micah?

Oh, yes, yes.

Um...

May I walk you home?

That would be nice, lucas.