Original subtitles

Okay, just hold it until I get this chain good and tight around it.

Okay, hit it, Gus!

More gas!

Okay, that's it!

We got it!

Yee-haw!

Let's hit another one.

Oh.

Right over there.

Okay.

You get back in there, sir.

You're big enough to pull us up. You're big enough to drive over there.

Thanks, Dad.

Uh-oh.

You can't be too shy on the gas pedal. And you can't beat it all at once.

Now go ahead, start it up again.

This machine has got a personality.

Sam?

What's Gus doing driving?

I told you we had a secret.

For the last month, I've been teaching Gus how to drive.

You can't pull these roots out by yourself.

It's easy, Mom.

Easy? He's just a little boy in a truck like that.

He's safe enough around here.

Sure. There's hardly any traffic at all.

He's growing up so fast, I can't believe it.

A boy will grow just as fast as you let him.

And what's the matter with our truck? Oh, nothing, except it only runs when it

wants to.

Sam, when are we going to trade it in?

That's the best set of wheels I ever had.

Got us all the way out here, didn't it?

Oh, you just get attached to things.

You never want to let go, do you?

I know a good thing when I see it.

And that better be lemonade.

Tis?

I'm first because I'm the most beautiful.

Now you.

You know, I'm glad you came up from the house.

I didn't want you in that house.

All of these stumps have interlocking roots. When we pulled that one, that one

came up. We pulled one over there, and this one came up. Now I'm afraid when we

uproot this one, the ground under the house is going to collapse.

Oh, no!

What's getting me, huh? You're a city girl. A city girl?

Will you show me a city girl that can make 32 jars of homemade jelly and

beans? You haven't tasted them yet, are you?

on dad let's go i get in the cab i'll be right with you you know i want you to be

sure i worry about you so far out here away from anybody well i haven't

complained yet have i we've been out here a month well it's still spring this

winter we're gonna have four or five feet of snow out here there'll be just

the three of us well that's all the people i need maybe uh maybe soon we'll

have another baby huh

That sounds good to me. Not yet. You get back to work.

Sam, I'm going to love it here.

You sure?

You think those stumps are tough?

You couldn't get me out of here with this pickup and that crowbar.

Even with this hard man of yours helping.

Now, you don't pull out any stumps that are hooked to the kitchen unless you

don't want any supper.

All right.

Crank her up, Gus, and start for it real slow.

to get some of these roots.

and respect for your elders.

Thank you.

Must have gotten up early to get a head start on that planting.

Gus, would you feed the chickens for me? Sure.

Sam?

Sam, you big fool.

Come on, it's too early in the morning for jokes.

It's no joke.

Come on, Sam.

It's no joke this time.

What's wrong, Dad?

Now stay back of that line. You stay back of that line that I drew on the

floor.

What is it, Sam?

I've been bitten by a skunk.

A skunk with rabies.

When we flushed out of that stump a couple of weeks ago.

Sam. Now stay back of the line.

Why did you wait so long?

I didn't know it was rabbit. It didn't look rabbit. You get lots of bruises,

cuts and bites on a farm. I didn't give it a thought.

The last night I came out in the barn and came upon the skunk and he frothing

at the mouth.

I killed him with a shovel and I buried him outside.

Well, it could have been another skunk that bit you. No, there's no such luck.

Gus, you remember the skunk that sprayed us from under the stump and had one hind

foot missing, lost in a trap?

Yeah.

No, there's no mistake in that skunk.

Oh, Sam.

No.

Oh, honey.

No. Look, you've got to go back. You've got to do what I say.

Please, Sam, it's not too late. We'll go to the doctor now.

Look, I know what I'm doing, but you've got to do what I tell you. Look.

You read in this medical book. Read what it says under rabies, but get back

behind that line. It's on page 63.

Read the symptoms.

Rabies.

Hydrophobia. An acute infectious disease of mammals, especially the carnivores,

characterized by central nervous system irritation followed by paralysis and

death.

Dogs have been most commonly responsible for transmitting the virus to man.

Although in recent years, wild species, especially the wolf, raccoon, skunk,

almost Sam.

Babies in man has an incubation period starting 10 days after exposure.

And those who've been bitten about the head, the incubation period is usually

shorter.

And I was bitten two weeks ago, so that fits me. Now read the symptoms.

Depressions, restlessness, fever.

Restlessness increases to uncontrollable excitement with excessive salivation and

excruciatingly painful spasms.

And you become terrified at the sight of water, and it drives you crazy, and you

become violent, and you die in convulsions and paralysis.

Did I get it right?

Stop it, Sam. Stop it.

I've been looking at the water, and it's not bothering me yet.

Sam. Take the chain off. Let me get you to a doctor.

Now, you read.

I've waited two weeks, Delta. I can't take a chance on it coming over me in a

pickup. Well, then you take the pickup alone.

And if it comes on me anywhere out there, and I come back here, and there's

nobody to save you and Gus from me?

Now, you leave Gus here to take care of me and to take care of the stock, and

you go for help.

This chain will keep me from doing it.

the first one to be chained.

Saw a hired hand chained in a line shack when I was a little boy, just about

Gus's age.

Delta, it's the way to do it.

But I've never driven it alone. I don't know the way.

I can show you. You can do it. There's a farm about 40 miles from here. I can

show you how to do it.

It's easy, Mom. You can do it. Look, here's our farm.

And here's the creek that runs right out here.

Here's our road. It goes straight out. Just make sure you always keep to the

right. Don't go to the left. You go off into the woods.

Out here. It's marked with a number 18. The county road.

Turn to the right. Don't turn to the left. You'll go into the mines.

Just keep following, following, following it down. There's a farm down

here. I must have a telephone.

Phone the hospital in Well Rock and have them send a doctor right out.

Honey, I love you, but you're wasting time.

Take care of Daddy for me, okay? Okay.

I hope I don't get lost.

Just don't turn left.

She'll be okay.

What happened to that hired hand you saw?

Oh, uh, he was fine. He was just fine.

Dad?

Yeah.

Now, look, everything's fine.

As long as I can look at that water, everything's fine. Go on, now. You got

chores to do.

I cooked you some beans and some toast.

First, we gotta discuss the rules.

What rules?

You feed me and yourself three times a day.

You stop there by the door.

You never come across this line that I drew in the dirt.

You... Then you come forward and put it on the line. Do that now.

Now, get out of there.

Now, I'll come back and get the food.

You gotta understand the nature of the sickness I might have, Gus.

I might look just fine, but it's working inside of me.

Now, you gotta listen, and you gotta remember everything that I tell you.

You swear?

I swear.

Say it again.

I swear.

I may get wild and mean. Well, that's easy to see, and it's easy for you to

stay away from. But it might take another course. I might become tricky

and very clever.

I might promise you anything if you'll help me get out of these chains.

But don't you believe it.

Don't you believe anything I say, no matter how scared you get.

You promise?

I promise.

Louder! I promise!

You gotta stop thinking of me as your father.

You gotta start thinking of me as someone who's sick.

I guess your mother must be to the county road by now, huh?

Thank you.

Oh you fed those chickens twice.

You okay, Dad?

Why don't you go get your school books, Gus?

Today? Well, you know, when we came up here, we promised we'd continue your

studies.

I'd better wait for Mom.

Well, your mom may be the real teacher, but I wasn't a very bad student myself.

Go on, go on, go on.

Okay, Dad.

Now sit down right there, just the way you used to do it, Mom.

What's that you're hiding?

Math.

You don't like math?

Uh-uh.

Can I do my reading instead?

No, you're good at reading.

Let's do the hard one first, just the same way as we pulled the biggest stumps

first.

Let's see.

I was doing my multiplication tables with Mom.

Man, these reading problems are really tough.

Try one.

This is all about two planes going to New York.

I don't see why we have to learn about that.

You might go to New York someday.

I'll never leave here.

You felt the same way about Chicago before we left there.

I was little then.

And now that you're big, you've got it figured that all you need to know is how

to run this farm.

Well, I can already drive the pickup.

Ah, you can. That's pretty exciting. It's a good start.

And driving that pickup is a long way from those numbers written up and down

on the page, huh?

Yeah.

All right.

The heck with planes to New York.

We can figure on buying ourselves ten calves.

Let's say $20 a piece.

Then we gotta figure out... What it costs to feed them, multiply that by how

many weeks fattening it's going to take, so we can figure out the best time that

we can take them to market to make the best profit.

So let's say $2 a week feed, right?

36 weeks fattening.

We buy them at 100 pounds, and we sell them at 1,000 pounds, and we sell them

for 60 cents a pound on the hoof.

rich. We'd have $500.

some blankets i thought it might get cold tonight i

told

you the rules you you gotta stay out of the circle you can't just come running

in here you never ever hit me before well gus i had to teach you gus

Flood's on this roof, and I can set out one more. Flood? What flood?

Where you been?

It's been on the radio all day long.

Three towns washed out already.

I've been driving all day trying to get to a phone. My husband needs a doctor.

Oh, well, there's a phone right inside the door. Door's open. Oh, thank you.

Your phone is dead.

Must be the flood took down the lines.

Are there any other farms around here? You might try the Millard place.

How far is that?

Maybe 30 miles down the highway.

30 miles?

I don't think I can get that far. I'm just about out of gas.

Where'd you come from?

Canyon Creek.

Oh, well, then I guess you're my closest neighbor.

You, uh...

You know how to use the siphon?

I can try.

Well, I've got an old car up on blocks in the shed.

Never use it now that the mister's passed on.

Yeah, how long you lived up yonder?

About a month. Is the siphon in there with the car?

Yeah. Well, I came here as a bride.

One that wasn't anything for 200 miles.

Yes, ma'am. It is a hard life.

But a good one.

Thank you.

There's something wrong with the crick.

See?

It looks like the same old crick to me.

The water level.

The measuring pole I put in, what did it read?

Four feet.

All right, see?

You see that tree there?

Sure. The water yesterday was about a foot above the fork.

I don't understand, Dad. Is the water scaring you like you said it might be?

Oh, no, no.

The level of that creek that's got me worried.

It's down a foot or two from yesterday.

That's not normal, don't you see? There's heavy rains up in the mountains.

And the snows are melting up there.

The creek should be up, not down.

I don't understand, Dad.

Why are you getting so excited over a dumb creek?

I mean, who cares if it's up or down?

I've seen this before.

I know these creeks. They're treacherous in the spring. You've got to watch them

all the time. If that creek is down...

It means that there's a blockage upstream, some kind of a dam holding

back the water.

There's no dam up in the mountains, Dad.

No, no, not a big hydroelectric dam. I mean a natural dam, an accidental dam, a

bunch of rocks that have been washed down by the rain or a whole tangle of

dead trees. Yeah, yeah, that's it.

Trees? From where?

Josh, you're going to have to let me go.

Gus, you listen to me, and you listen good.

You don't know what's going to happen, but I do.

That blockage is going to hold and hold and build up that water until it just

can't hold anymore.

And then all of that pent-up water is going to come roaring down here on us.

Gus, I've seen walls of water ten feet high.

No, Deb, please.

Gus, if you won't let me go, then you go.

flood can take away this barn and that house and you and me and everything in

it go on up the stream follow the stream and find out what it is

it's seven or it's 15.

How can you tell it's not the rabies? Gus, you've got to help me get Freya

here.

The water's bothering you just like you said it would.

Highway Patrol spokesmen have reported that travel is impossible.

Ten miles on either side of the river, owing to rising waters.

Evacuation of both persons and livestock is underway north of Prathersville,

where three feet of water is reported in low-lying areas.

Listen for further reports as they come in. Get that filthy animal out of my

front room and I'm going to throw you both out.

Birds, I've got to clean him up.

Clean him up in the barn.

It's cold in the barn.

I'll steal.

Please, could you help me? Do you have a phone?

What's your problem?

I have to call a doctor.

Yeah?

How'd you get here?

I walked up here from the road. My truck broke down.

Get on out of here. Go on.

Best we can't let a poor lady in trouble stand out in the cold. Let her in.

No need to do that. Phone's not working.

Well, then could you give me a ride into Well Rock?

Can't do it.

but you don't understand.

It's an emergency.

Whole area's flooded out.

It's not flooded yet. I wouldn't mind a ride into Well Rock.

Guess you wouldn't. You'll never mind a ride into Well Rock.

But you ain't gonna take a chance on some stranger.

Please, I'm not a stranger. I live up in the hills at the old Murdoch place.

Murdoch place? Ain't nobody lived up there for years. Body gotta be crazy to

live up there.

Could you take me part of the way?

Please.

You sure don't look nor sound like anybody from these parts.

I come from Chicago. We've only lived here a month.

Never miss spotting city folk.

What difference does it make?

My husband was bitten by a... The whole area's flooded out.

Sorry, but sometimes the body's got to look after number one.

Well, there must be other people around here, other farms.

Yeah.

There's old man Haney's place. It's about...

Five miles up the road.

Give him a try.

I really did it to myself.

I threw away every tool, everything I could use to get out of this chain.

You must really think I'm a madman.

I don't know.

Gus, I really can't blame you.

I can't fault you for doing what I told you to do.

Now, we gotta talk about this.

Did I hurt you when I hit you before?

No.

You mad at me?

Tell me, what do you think I feel about that skunk that hurt me before?

You hate him. No, I don't hate him.

He was just defending himself. He was sick. He was scared.

He was defending himself the only way he knew how. The way nature taught him how.

That's what I'm trying to do here.

Is to protect my family any way that I can.

But, Gus, I'm chained up, Gus.

I can't get out of here. You're going to have to get me an axe.

Forget what I told you before.

Just get me an axe and help me get out of here. Gus, because the water is going

to come down and sweep us both away.

Gus? Gus!

Excuse me.

Yep.

Please, could you give me a ride into Welrock? My husband needs a doctor.

I couldn't drive you. The king of England was waiting.

See these eyes?

Cataracts.

Can't see so good no more.

My son-in-law's just all my driving.

I had me five daughters, married them off, and got me five son-in-laws.

If you can't drive me, could I buy your truck?

Now, where you gonna get the kind of money a fine truck like this calls for,

huh? Them pockets of yours ain't full of dollar bills, are they?

Please, Mr.

Haney. Please, my husband needs a doctor. Yeah, no matter what the reason,

dude.

My husband may die. Just tell me how much you want.

You didn't rob no bank, did you?

How much?

Well, now, for an outstanding truck like this, tank full of gas,

mind you, new brakes, new seat covers just two years ago,

$1,000.

That's ridiculous.

Take it or leave it.

I ain't running around no floods, my husband's sick, whatever your problem

is.

Here.

I'll give you my ring.

Let me see.

I ain't no fool, you know.

I'm not trying to cheat you, Mr. Haney.

It ain't much.

Please, Mr. Haney. I'm not trying to cheat you. That's a valuable ring. It's

an antique.

It's been in my husband's family for years.

I can't cash in sentiment.

Just called me an old soft heart.

I'm being sweet-talked by Lady Gil.

You can have my truck.

Well, get on with you now, before I change my mind.

You see my measuring pole? It's down. That creek is dropping.

And the water is building and building.

What is it my imagination?

Maybe the creek isn't doing anything at all.

Nice. It's all right, Mr. Hadley.

I'll handle it myself.

Sam, get away from that window.

Hello, Sam.

How are you?

I, um...

I'm sorry I'm not gonna get to help you break that horse... your pa will give

you for your 12th birthday, but... you know, I figure you can handle it all by

yourself. Mr. Griffey, why are they chaining you like that?

Son.

Griffey's doing this to protect the rest of us.

It's what he has to do when a man comes down with rabies.

I remember you, Griffey.

Chained in the line shack. Just like an animal.

I brought you food and I saw you get sicker and sicker.

Don't worry, Griffey. You're doing fine. That's what they told you.

I know my grandmother's coming to heal you.

I'm just going to clean you up a little. Get away with that.

I won't hurt you.

I'm going to heal you.

Heal me?

Listen, old woman.

Maybe you can heal Carson and Bruce's and everyday aches, but you might never

tackle nothing like this.

Grandma can do it, Griffey. You know that.

Get that water away from me. Don't touch me.

Sam, get my things and go.

What's in that jar?

Leeches.

Poison goes into the bite.

And it travels up the nerves up into the brain.

And it waits.

Herbs and weeds and spices.

There's nobody left with the gift of healing. You couldn't heal old Griffey.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought my family out here.

But I did it with every good reason a man can have.

Can anybody hear me?

Wait a minute, lady.

Now, whose truck are you driving here?

It's... it's mine.

Well, I'd say this truck is a spitting image of Mr.

Haney's truck.

What do you say, Roy?

It don't seem like it'd be two trucks the same color, the same age, and the

same this.

What do you got to say about that, lady? You're right. It was Mr. Haney's. I just

bought it from him.

You mean to say that you just up and bought this old truck, and now you're

going to drive it off into a flood?

Well, it was an emergency, you see.

The truck I was driving quit on the highway.

Can I get through, please?

You just hold on.

You're not going to drive off in Mr. Haney's truck.

It's not his truck anymore. I bought it from him.

I gave him my wedding ring.

You mean to say you paid for this truck? Yes.

Well, okay.

Now you show us the bill of sale, and you are on your way.

Please, I didn't sign any papers. I didn't have time.

Well, in that case, you vacate yourself from personal property, and we'll take

this truck back to Mr. Haney's.

Mr. Haney wouldn't happen to be your father-in-law, would he?

Or yours?

You've got my ring, and I suppose you want the truck, too.

Hello, my baby.

All right, tonight you get dinner out and you get the whole works. Oh, Sam,

that's beautiful.

What happened? Oh, new contracts of beauty. We got everything that we asked

for. And? We got the raise.

We got the health and welfare plan.

We got the pension fund. And best of all, if you stay with this company for

15 years, you get a whole year's salary as a bonus.

I know something we can really celebrate.

You know that farm you've been talking about up in Oregon?

You know what about it? Let's... Let's buy it.

The day... The day that I get a raise?

God, you're crazy. No, I think it's now or never.

You'd be willing to give up your family and your friends and your home? And

don't forget about Gus. Now, Gus is doing very, very well in school.

Well, I'm a teacher. I'll teach him.

Honey, I don't think you quite understand. Now, this farm is way out in

the wilderness. There's not a neighbor for miles.

It's way up in the wilderness where you pump your own water and you grow your

own vegetables and Gus can look at the sky and breathe fresh air.

Honey, you know what you're saying.

Oh, honey.

I'm taking you to the best restaurant in town. Now, get me out of here.

Oh, dear.

Zelda?

Over by the creek.

Someone might catch us some fish or supper.

You stay away from that creek. That creek will kill you.

It's just a creek, Dad.

And you sit in there digging like an old dog after a bone or something.

Why don't you just stop and talk to me?

to do is take it easy and relax.

Right.

Until your mother gets back.

All right.

I'll tell you what.

First thing we've got to do is make this place kind of livable.

Why don't we build a fire on this old dirt floor?

It's going to be freezing in here.

I'm chill to the bone.

You get the firewood from the pile next to the house. You know, the pile of wood

that we cut together.

Huh? You remember how to build fire?

You put the firewood crisscross like this so that the air can get in.

And then you put little bits of wood underneath, tender, kindling to

get the big wood caught on fire.

Well, you're going to need the axe to cut up the kindling.

You want to go get it?

It's next to the house over there.

Yeah, that's good, that's good. Now show me how to build a fire.

Aren't you forgetting something?

Kindling. Yeah, right.

There's some over by the henhouse.

Yeah, that's good. That's good.

All right.

Oh, wait a second. That's not... That's green.

That's never gonna burn.

You're gonna have to get some oil to prime it. You know where it is?

Yeah.

Okay, go ahead and get it.

Okay.

Bye.

Gus, give it to me.

Gus, give it to me!

Gus, come back!

Thank God.

Oh, thank God.

Face look familiar?

Yes.

I thought I'd find you out here somewhere.

Are you going to take me to Whale Rock?

Well, you want to go, isn't it?

I'm sorry about my wife.

Oh, it's all right.

She'd be scared to budge off that farm fine at the end of the year.

Thank you very much.

I couldn't let a lady like you wander around here all alone.

Looks like I picked you up just in time. It's starting to rain.

Could we listen to the flood reports?

Oh, if anything breaks, it'll come on here, don't you like it?

Oh, no, it's fine.

Where'd you say you come from?

Chicago.

That's a big job.

It is.

Must be pretty rough on someone like you, living out here in the wilderness.

Oh. When you're nice with only the kudos to keep you company.

I find plenty to do.

Oh? What?

Well, I have a wonderful husband and a son.

I do some counting.

That sounds just too exciting for words.

You take me.

I'm honest with myself.

I say I've had enough of a little woman and the chores, and I hightail it into

town.

Have me some fun.

Got me a little waitress over at the Red Bird Inn. You know where that is?

Crazy for me.

You want to hear how I give her a good time?

No.

I've had me a lot of women.

I'm a student of human nature, and that adds up to a man who knows just how to

treat a lady.

Why are we stopping?

You didn't think I was going to risk my life and use up all this gas and all for

nothing, did you?

I'll pay you for the trip. I'll be happy soon.

That's better.

I'm not just out for a joyride, you know. I mean, I'm not just some kind of

fool who says, let's go drive through a flood.

Please. I'm not running a taxi service.

Please.

Please start the car.

I've been thinking about nothing but you since you came to my door today.

You're just about the prettiest little woman I ever did see.

Get your hands off me.

You didn't think you were going to get this ride for free, did you?

You heard nothing free these days, huh?

You come here now. Just relax. You come right here. Don't you touch me!

Just... Don't... Get away from me!

No one's gonna mock me!

you should see yourself all right come on you got a ride

I promise I won't lay a hand

Congratulations.

We're fools not to go back now.

We can still get back.

Power line's down.

Why?

I did it.

We can get through.

Go on, we... What happens if that wire hits this car?

Well, just time it. Drive through when the thing goes off the road.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Please, there's enough time.

No, I'm turning back.

Oh, no, no, please.

not lady i don't think it's any use oh no please please just a little while

longer

well

another 10 minutes if we have found it by then we'll just wait a minute i think

i see something

What happened, baby?

Delta!

Delta!

Sam!

Sam!

Sam!

Sam, the truck broke down. I had to sell the ring to get another truck.

All caught up in them. I knew the water was going to come. I looked down and I

saw only dust.

Sam, you're all right. It was the rabies. But when it wasn't the rabies...

This kid can really keep a promise.

But, but, Dad, but... Oh, I didn't know how long we were going to be up here.

Besides, I wanted to see if a city girl could really put things up. Good job.

Sam, this is Dr. Kahn. Oh, hi. You're making a house call on a man without a

house. Well, as long as you can laugh, there's certainly no symptoms.

Right now, I couldn't feel better.

Come on, we'll get you back to the hospital right away. I'll give you an

antirabies shot while we're in the chopper here. You're going to get a

vaccine for 21 days in a row. It's liable to be painful.

After this, it'll be a pleasure.

That was just a dream.

All we got left is a couple of jars of string beans.

Well, after we get the house back in shape, I guess that means I'll have a

lot more canning to do.

You are something.

You are really something.