(man #1) Building a railroad that long is somebody's crazy dream.
(man #2) It's a wonderful age we live in.
[laughing] A railroad from Omaha to California?
One might as well think of flying.
President Lincoln is for it.
(Smith) This is the most monumental folly...
ever conceived in the mind of man.
In all this broad land of ours...
who wants this railroad...
that will start at the outer edge of civilization...
and wander expensively through the wilderness?
Who, I ask you, except a small group...
of money-grabbing financiers, self-seeking politicians...
and fanatical engineers?
[senators chattering]
[gavel tapping] Mr. President. Mr. President.
(President) Does the Senator yield to the gentleman from California?
I am not done, Mr. President.
I would like to read...
from a speech by the late Daniel Webster on this subject.
Delivered from this very floor.
"What do we want with this vast, worthless area...
"this region of savages and wild beasts...
"of deserts and endless mountain ranges?
"What can we ever hope to do with 3000 miles...
"of cheerless rockbound coast...
"and not a harbor on it?"
[senators chattering]
Not a harbor on it?
[gavel pounding] (President) Order! Order!
[snickering] Why, there's room in the San Francisco Bay...
to float all the navies of the world.
[senators laughing]
His word against Webster's.
[all cheering] Mr. President. Mr. President.
(President) Mr. Sargent.
Gentlemen. The learned Senator asks...
Who wants this railroad?
Well, I'll tell you.
This nation, crippled by four years of war, wants it.
[senators chattering]
A great artery...
through which may flow the gold and silver of the West...
into the empty treasuries of the East.
(Sargent) Grain and cattle into a war-torn South.
And thousands of men released from both armies...
want it for the work and the wages it will bring.
And the merchants of the whole world...
who need a shorter route to the Orient, they want it.
[senators exclaiming]
[gavel pounding]
Gentlemen...
I move you the adoption of this railroad bill...
that shall bind us together, East and West...
forever as one people.
[senators cheering]
[gavel pounding]
(Lincoln) Mr. Ames...
I want to take a ride on this railroad...
the first thing after I retire from the presidency.
(Ames) Mr. Lincoln had the vision to conceive this railroad.
You gentlemen must have the vision to help us finance it.
(Barrows) Frankly, Mr. Ames, the only vision I can see...
is a lot of loose dollars rolling away over those prairies.
Good day, gentlemen.
(Ames) But there's more than profit...
in the lap of this undertaking.
This railroad is the future of the United States.
Along its rails, new cities will rise.
Is there not some danger that the Central Pacific...
which is building east across California, may reach Ogden first...
and keep you out of the Salt Lake Valley?
President Lincoln wisely arranged...
that the Central Pacific will build only to the California state line.
Here, where our tracks will join with theirs.
General Dodge, uh...
as Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific...
are you quite sure that a railroad more than 1000 miles long...
can actually be built through such a wilderness?
Yes. Yes. My brother Oliver and I...
are staking our fortune on General Dodge's word...
that it can be done.
How much of your fortune, Mr. Ames?
We'll back the Union Pacific down to the last shovel in our factory.
You're enthusiastic.
I promised Mr. Lincoln to see it through.
Mr. Lincoln is dead. Well, my promise to him is not dead.
Splendid, Mr. Ames, splendid.
I'm beginning to see a golden harvest in these iron rails.
Then you are with us?
My hand on it.
(Ames) Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Barrows.
On the contrary, I am indebted to you for showing me the fortune...
there is to be made out of Union Pacific. Good day, gentlemen.
(all) Good day, sir.
(Barrows) Good luck, General Dodge.
Good luck. (Dodge) Goodbye, all.
Goodbye, sir.
Who is Barrows?
The biggest moneybag in Chicago.
He makes them and breaks them out there.
I never thought he'd join you.
What do you think would happen if the Central Pacific...
should build all the way to Ogden in the Salt Lake Valley?
It would bust the Union Pacific higher than a kite.
Much higher.
But he said that Lincoln had arranged for the Central to stop...
at the California border. Lincoln is dead...
and there are those in Washington who do not wish the Union Pacific well.
Can't both lines have terminals in Ogden? No, Whipple.
You miss the point.
The Union Pacific has authority to build only...
to where it meets the Central. Well?
And if the Central should pass through Ogden first...
and meet the Union in the wilds of the Wasatch Mountains...
Yes. Exactly.
The Union would have 1000 miles of track...
and a gopher hole for its Western terminal.
Splendid.
We'll sell Union stock short and buy Central.
We'll make millions, Mr. Barrows. A golden opportunity.
Pure gold. Oh, yes. Yes, indeed.
But suppose the Union Pacific gets to Ogden first?
It won't, Whipple.
I can assure you.
It won't.
(Rose) # They call me the rose of St. Louis #
# The rose of this river town #
##[Rose humming]
Gentleman to see you, boss.
Mr. Barrows.
Bring in a bottle of that extra-dry champagne.
Yes sir, extra dry.
Take a seat.
Oh. Rose...
# They call me the Rose of St. Louis ##
Sit down.
We ain't had the pleasure of seeing you here before, Mr...
[chuckles]
Interesting decorations.
Only one like it in St. Louis.
I suppose you brought the idea with you from Panama.
Panama?
This biography of yourself, written by the best detective agency in Chicago.
What's on your mind, mister?
How's that partner of mine doing? Very good, sir.
Mr. Campeau...
in the past, your operations have always been, shall we say...
of a minor nature.
Do you think you could manage the biggest gambling outfit in America?
Do you think you could handle 10,000 workmen...
with plenty of money...
out in the wilderness?
Supplying them with liquor...
and any excitement the devil can brew?
Do you think you could keep them drunk and discontented, month after month?
Go on.
Excuse me, Mr. Allen.
Mr. Campeau would admire to see you in the other room.
Excuse me, gentlemen. Al. Al Brett...
take over.
It's your deal.
It means keeping your tent with its many diversions at the end of the track...
as it moves West...
and selling the tracklayers all the trouble they'll buy. You'll be protected.
What's the split? None. You take it all.
Including orders from me.
What kind of orders?
They will all add up the same. Delay.
Anything... I might say everything...
to delay the building of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Why not?
Longer it takes, the more money I make.
Mr. Barrows, this is my partner, Dick Allen.
Late of the Union Army...
but never late with a gun.
He'll be very handy, I assure you.
I've been making a deal with your partner. A big deal.
We're leaving St. Louis.
For where and for what? West, Mr. Allen...
for excitement and profit.
[chuckling] All right. Deal me in.
Where's my drink?
Here. I don't use it.
No?
Never take another man's drink.
It's bad luck.
Well, gentlemen...
here's to...
[laughing]
whatever it is.
[all laugh]
'Tis that cottonwood you're feeding him.
He won't eat it.
It gives him a pain in his boiler.
[train whistle blowing]
Hey, Monahan.
Do you want I should spell you a bit, Monahan. In case you fall asleep?
Mollie Monahan, will you come down out of that before some Indian...
beats me to the pleasure of killing you.
I brought you supper.
Suppose you fell off, and I had to stop the train.
If you were half the dutiful daughter...
that this engine is to me...
Hold your whist. Here's your bite.
Heavens above. What's in it? Coupling pins?
Cartridges. I forgot to put them in your valise.
Get back to the caboose, you brat.
Twenty hours to Cheyenne...
and I'm supposed to live on powder and lead.
I think you've been eating dynamite.
(Mollie) Good night, Mr. Barley.
(Barley) Good night, Mollie.
[snoring]
[Fiesta muttering]
Down.
I want it up. No. Down.
I said up.
Now listen, lady...
I want some fresh air.
Sure, and you'll get it, right through your skull.
The Indians relish shooting at the lighted windows.
[Fiesta chuckling]
That woman, she's just like my wife I had in Omaha.
You know my wife, she's so mean...
she barks like the dogs, but me, well...
you know what I do? You married her.
Oh, sure. You bet yourself.
She can cook frijoles. Mmm.
The best in the whole world.
(Fiesta) Mollie.
(Fiesta) But I look around and...
pretty soon I marry my wife in Santa Fe.
The best woodchopper in the country.
You bet you my life, the best.
But one day she gets bite by a rattlesnake.
She did? Yeah.
Did the doctor get there in time? No, she's already dead.
Your wife? My wife?
No, no, the snake. My wife...
My wife, the next day, she's so angry, she bites her brother.
Sure...
and his whole family is poisoned.
[snorting]
(Fiesta) And, anyhow, I'm already gone to Yuma...
and there I marry Carmelita.
(Mollie) Now what did you marry her for?
You think to cook for me?
No. To chop me firewood? No.
Well, what did she do?
She...
[both laughing]
Yes, sir. Carmelita sure is a honey.
Yeah.
Hey, what you know?
(Fiesta) Leach, what you do here anyhow?
Hunting for you.
General Dodge wants to see us back in his car.
At the rate you're going, Leach, General Dodge won't live that long.
New troubleshooter is getting aboard, somewheres hereabout.
Thanks, Sergeant. Good luck.
General Dodge aboard, Conductor?
Yep. If you're Jeff Butler, he's looking for you.
I'll report, soon as I wash off some of the prairie.
Yeah. A fella gets kind of sweaty riding.
Campeau's crowd's in this car, Mollie.
##[man humming]
Rattlesnakes.
No self-respecting rattlesnake would ride with them.
[chuckling]
##[humming]
##[whistling]
(Dick) Mollie.
Mollie Monahan.
Dick.
Sure, Dick, they told me you'd not be back this year.
Did you think you'd get rid of me that easy?
[Dick laughing]
Something's dead.
[sniffing]
Easy.
We'll bury him when the time comes.
Every minute that passed had your name on it.
Oh, that's easy to listen to, but hard to believe.
Me father said... That he doesn't like gamblers.
Neither do I.
Here you are practicing to fleece the poor lambs at the End of Track.
Marry me, Mollie, and I'll reform.
You haven't changed a bit.
Except maybe for the worse.
You're in love with her and her three sisters.
You've got cards in your blood.
And you in my heart.
Go along with your soft talk. You'll die with your boots on...
and your four ladies won't be walking behind you.
Would you walk behind me?
Would be safer than walking beside you to the altar.
[chuckling]
All the pasteboard ladies in the world aren't worth one of your little fingers...
with a ring on it.
I'd better be getting back to the caboose. No. Not yet.
Turn your back to me.
Close your eyes. Both of them.
Turn your head away.
This is to keep your heart warm for your wedding day.
Oh. 'Tis never for me.
Not if it doesn't fit. Oh, it'll fit.
It is the most beautiful thing ever was.
But far too grand for a poor engineer's daughter.
Not that Monahan's a poor engineer. He's the best there is, but...
I suppose a good engineer's daughter can get...
just as cold as a poor engineer's daughter.
And a gambler can love you just as much as a saint.
[train whistle blowing]
We might as well face the facts.
Central Pacific has not stopped at the California state line as agreed.
They're over the Sierras, and they've surveyed...
right through to Salt Lake and Ogden.
What do you think? But they've got an agreement!
The devil himself is against us!
(Dodge) And what happens to the people...
who backed us with their savings?
Busted. And so are we.
We're going to reach Ogden first.
Well, the Central will be there in 10 months. Then we'll be there in nine.
Look at the map, General Dodge.
We've built only 516 miles in three years.
And we're still 500 miles from Ogden.
And we're still going to get there first. What?
Over the Rockies and Wasatch Mountains with Indians claiming your food supply?
[scoffing]
Only the Irish could do it. And I doubt if they can.
Good news or bad? Good.
We had a council at Broken Bow.
Red Cloud says the Indians'll lay off the railroad...
if the whites will lay off the Indians.
Captain Butler served with me in the war. He's just signed on with us.
Meet the two gentlemen you'll be working for.
General Casement, in charge of tracklaying. How are you?
How do you do, sir? Mr. Reed.
You tell him what your job is, Sam.
I see that the tracklayers don't catch up with the graders...
the graders don't catch up with the tie cutters...
the tie cutters don't catch up with the tunnel and bridge builders...
and the lunatic asylum doesn't catch up with me.
[all laughing]
My job, sir?
To establish and maintain order along the entire right-of-way.
Troubleshooter, huh?
Yeah, and there's plenty of it.
(Reed) What's the worst problem?
Sid Campeau.
His whiskey and cards and what goes with them follow the End of Track...
like a flock of vultures. They've cost us a life every day.
Men drugged, robbed, murdered.
Crews disrupted by hired agitators.
Leach Overmile and Fiesta here have been assigned to you.
They can tell you how Campeau operates.
I don't believe I'll need bodyguards.
Oh, no? You'll need them, all right.
You think we no good, eh?
No. It's not that, I...
We've had a lot of experience, Captain.
We bodyguarded the last two troubleshooters...
right up till the very minute they was killed.
[chuckles]
We'll get along all right.
[train whistle blowing]
(Butler) There's just one question I'd like to ask, General.
Yes? What's the limit?
None.
Because our town's on wheels, we've no civil law out here.
You're the law. And it's up to you to smash anything that threatens to delay us.
That's all the orders there are. Yes, sir.
I declare, he seems like a right nice young fella.
I hope he lives long enough so as we can get acquainted.
[whistle blowing]
[horse whinnying]
[train whistle blowing]
Hey, what's moving? You are.
Oh, am I, now? Yep.
Lady, you're on a brake wheel, and one whistle means turn it.
Are you running this train all by yourself?
No, but passengers aren't allowed on the platform while the train's moving.
Passengers. Me?
[exclaiming]
You poor tenderfoot.
[door slamming]
[creaking]
The new troubleshooter's looking for you, Mr. Campeau.
For what?
I don't know. Heading this way, though.
Keep an eye on him.
Al.
Al Brett, Cordray.
Rose, you and Mame better get to the other end of the car.
A lady can't get no rest.
A lady don't need none.
Sit down and keep your eyes open.
(Campeau) Dick.
Sit down, Mollie, and keep low.
Why? What's going on?
Campeau's expecting company.
[train whistle blowing]
That's him.
Wait here.
Lonesome, handsome?
[woman giggling]
Jeff Butler. Dick.
You old dogcatcher. You old chicken thief.
[both laughing]
(Dick) Remember the last time I saw you in Philadelphia...
Baltimore... Oh, now wait.
We started celebrating our discharge from the Army in New York...
and we came up for air in Philadelphia.
I put you to bed in Baltimore, and I woke up in Washington.
Old army pals, huh?
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive.
Jeff, this is Sid Campeau.
(Butler) I've heard of Mr. Campeau.
This is Mr. Brett and Mr. Cordray. Captain Butler.
Howdy. Hello.
Howdy.
[laughing] You old sharpshooter. What are you doing here?
I'm working for the railroad.
Doing what? I'm assistant superintendent of the...
Just a fancy name for troubleshooter?
Maybe.
It looks like we'd see quite a lot of each other...
for a while.
I was figuring on having a little talk with you.
Maybe you'd better have a little talk with your friend here first.
Tell your playmates they can sit easy for a while.
[laughing] Same old Jeff.
This is my seat, and this is Miss Mollie Monahan. Jeff Butler.
Sit down, Jeff.
Jeff and I fought, bled and died together, all during the war.
It wasn't you two that won the war, was it?
[chuckling] Practically.
How much of a friend of yours is Campeau? Sid?
He's my partner.
You'd better get yourself another partner, Dick.
[chuckles]
I've already got my eye on one.
Oh.
Is it another slap you're asking for, Mr. Butler?
Darling, will you kindly hold your temper...
your tongue, and your two little fists. They ain't little.
(Dick) You can't fight Mollie and live.
[laughs]
She's the postmistress at End of Track.
The eyes and tongue of 1000 men who never learned to read or write.
She belongs to the railroad.
Although you'd think the railroad belonged to her.
What about Campeau?
What about him?
Part of my job is to clear him and his outfit off the line.
No, you can't do it, Jeff.
Don't try.
We've been through a lot of storms together, Dick.
We've slept under the same blanket, eaten off the same plate.
Join up with me again.
I'm standing pat and liking it.
Well, I'm afraid we're in different armies this time.
You think there'll be a rope around my neck someday?
Maybe.
[chuckles]
Sure now, that's a crazy way for two friends to be saying hello.
[all laughing]
(woman) Hey, what's that? Hey, look.
The Injun boy, he race the iron horse.
[all laughing]
Monahan will bust his boiler if the Injun keeps up with him.
[Fiesta laughing]
(man #1) Come on, Indian boy.
(man #2) Open up, Monahan.
(Bessie) Say, he's cute.
(woman #1) Now, Bessie.
$5, I get him on my first shot.
You're on.
(man #3) He's going to beat us.
(man #4) Oh, no, he won't.
[woman laughing]
[laughing]
(woman #1) What did he do that for?
(woman #2) Oh, that's a shame.
(Brett) Pay up.
(man #1) That ain't nothing. Why you all...
(man #2) Look out, Brett.
(man #4) Get out of the way.
[people clamoring]
[grunting]
No, Dick.
Everybody just stay in their seats.
Just keep eating your vittles, Mr. Campeau, with both hands.
[groaning]
[all chattering]
(man #2) Use your feet.
[women exclaiming]
[gun firing]
You weasel.
One at a time, gentlemen, you'll all get your turn.
[people clamoring]
[people chattering]
There's the man. Now, what's going on here?
What are you fellas trying to... Conductor, stop the train.
One of my men got thrown off.
Thrown off? Where? Don't pull that cord, Conductor.
But Mr. Campeau said... This train doesn't stop.
All right.
That shot didn't just kill an Indian.
It killed a dozen white men, and scalped and tortured women and children.
Tsk.
What's a dead Indian, more or less?
The Army's been killing them for years.
The Army doesn't kill Indians for fun, Campeau.
And I don't think you do, either.
He's sure gonna be unpopular.
Not with me.
[men chattering]
[train bell ringing]
[workers chattering]
(man) Get along.
[men chattering]
Thank you kindly. Good day to you, Shamus.
Good day, Paddy.
'Tis news of me wife I've come for, Mollie Monahan.
I've no letter for you, Paddy.
Why don't you send for her?
I've all but $20 of the passage money.
I'm on me way to the Big Tent to win that.
Sure, Paddy, you fool. You can't win at Campeau's.
I can't lose.
Only this morning...
I found this shamrock in a prayer book she sent me.
Now, the shamrock's not for that kind of luck.
Wait till you see.
(barker) One man's money is as good as another's in the Big Tent.
Step right in, my friends.
If you don't feel like taking a chance...
there's plenty of dancing, at $1 a couple.
$1 a couple and there's sweet music on the house.
Step right up, my friends, and enjoy your luck.
##[band playing music]
Don't lean on my chair. It's bad luck. Get away.
It's not your rightful card. You took it off the bottom.
Say that again.
I'll clout it into your thieving head.
Stay where you are. (Paddy) With me own two eyes...
I saw you slip it off...
[gun firing]
[Paddy groaning]
[band stop playing]
(Paddy) You dirty blackguard.
[groaning]
The music. It stopped right with it.
Jeff.
Nothing I can do for him.
Where's his gun? He had none...
and he couldn't shoot one if he had.
(man #1) Who got plugged?
(man #2) Just some Irish tracklayer.
(man #3) Is he dead yet?
(man #4) I don't know.
Who was it? Oh, the pity of it all.
It was Paddy O'Rourke.
(Leach) One side, gentlemen, please. Easy there.
Paddy.
Paddy O'Rourke.
The letter, Mollie. It came?
The letter?
From Nora.
Yes, Paddy.
Paddy's letter.
Could you be reading it to me?
Sure, Paddy.
Paddy, my darling...
my...
my heart's so full of love for you, sure...
sure 'tis spilling out of me eyes.
'Tis such an impatient husband you are, Paddy, but...
after all the work and worry is done...
we'll be together again.
And there will be no night...
nor day between us...
at all.
"No night...
"nor day between us."
Nora.
A lad lies murdered, and nothing will be done about it.
From a far country he came...
to do his little part building the railway.
A great and good thing for us all.
And what will you tell his widow, you men that run this...
this hell on wheels?
That's what it is.
A hell on wheels that claims a man's life for every day in the year.
Here's a mite for the widow. Who's next?
Come on you Paddies, put it in the hat.
[men chattering]
(croupier) Twelve, red and even.
Don't touch that money. Why not?
I had that pot won. Maybe.
The hand wasn't played out, was it?
No. (man) No.
Which was Paddy's hand? This one.
Three treys.
Now deal yourself one.
Off the top.
A busted flush. Paddy wins.
Mollie Monahan. Keep your hand above the table, Cordray.
I got manners. I'll pick them up for you.
That belongs to Paddy's widow.
Leach! Take Mollie home.
Just as you say, Jeff, but these fellas... Go ahead.
It is a fine thing you've done, Mr. Butler. I'm thanking you for Paddy.
Come on, Mollie.
Clear out of Cheyenne, Cordray, and keep off the UP right-of-way.
You got a big mouth, bucko.
Better keep it shut.
If you're not out of this town in an hour...
one of us will keep his mouth shut for a long time.
Come on, Jeff.
Let's go get a drink.
All right.
[people chattering]
[woman screams]
(croupier) Number two. Black, even.
Say, you got eyes in the back of your head?
I'm glad you keep that mirror clean.
He seen him in the looking glass.
(man #1) Doctor! Somebody get that doctor!
(man #2) When Jeff shoots, they don't need a doctor...
they need an undertaker.
(woman) Come on, boys! Drink up!
[people chattering]
Keep your games going, boys. Hit her up, Joe.
##[music playing]
Spin that thing, Tom.
Train for End of Track...
pulling out in five minutes.
(man) Come on, Terry. Not me. I'm staying.
Me, too.
Train for End of Track!
[people chattering]
(man) Let's go. I gotta go.
(woman) Come on back for a while. Come on.
Come on, you gandy dancers. Get out there and go to work.
(conductor) Board!
Free drinks, boys and girls. Everybody have a drink on the house.
Free drinks!
[all cheering]
Board for End of Track.
There's not many men boarding your work train, Jeff.
They'll be on it.
Are you going to clean out the tent all by yourself?
Maybe.
I never thought one glass of liquor would do that to you, Jeff.
But when the shooting starts, let me know.
I'll be right over there, dealing blackjack.
[laughs]
By doggies, I knowed I'd miss all the fun.
Where's that good luck piece of yours?
Oh, you mean that gold nugget I picked up out in California?
I got it here somewhere.
I always keep it with my knickknacks.
There it is, right there in number five, Jeff.
Say, let me tell you how I happened to pick that up.
How do you know that's real gold?
What do you know about gold nuggets?
Are you doubting that that's gold?
I wonder if there's any old-timer here that knows real gold when he sees it.
I do.
Take a look at that.
That's gold, all right. Where'd it come from?
Leach here picked it up at End of Track.
End of Track? A little mite west of there.
Gold.
At End of Track?
Gold? Who found gold?
Who said "gold"? Gold?
What about gold?
(all) Gold!
(man #1) Who said "gold"?
They struck gold at End of Track!
He's found gold! (man #2) What was that, gold?
Train for End of Track. Board!
[all shouting]
They found gold at End of Track.
Come back, you fools! There's no gold! Come back!
[people shouting]
Get them on that train and keep them there.
I sure will. All right, Jeff.
[train whistle blows]
(man) Come on, Charlie. It's starting!
[train whistle blowing]
The shooting's all over, Dick. Where were you?
[both chuckling]
That puts you one up on me, bucko.
[train chugging]
Bucko's got a nice broad back.
Ain't he?
Hmm.
The way to get him ain't with a gun. He's too fast.
Get me Duke Ring.
(Dick) # How I missed her, how I missed her #
# How I missed my Clementine #
# Here I kissed her little sister #
# Then I forgot... ##
I'm looking for the lovely postmistress of Hell on Wheels.
And what do you want to see her about?
About one of her little fingers.
The one she put in your eye the first time you met her?
No. Not that one.
[both laugh]
Here, let me see them all.
That's too bad. What's the matter with them?
No rings.
They'll catch cold. Rings!
Rings don't grow on trees. Oh, no, not on trees.
But there's a certain weed scientifically known as the Ringus Weddingbellikus.
Well, upon my soul.
[laughing]
'Tis some more of your black magic, but gorry it's beautiful.
Grown especially for this finger.
No. You'd be pulling a wedding bell out from under the next rail.
Well, keep it till your finger changes its mind.
'Tis too much of a...
'Tis too much of a temptation, but...
the offer deserves thanking.
Wait. And what will the bold Captain over there be thinking?
Hey!
(Mollie) Hey, hold on there! Good morning.
Please, and who gave you the right to use my handcar?
Oh, I thought it belonged to the railroad. Hello, Dick.
It's mine to deliver mail at the End of Track.
You going to End of Track? I am.
[train approaching] So am I!
[train whistle blowing]
That puts you two up on me, bucko.
Is it that you can't talk when there's no gun in your hand?
Maybe.
'Tis a fine job you've done in a few months, Mr. Jeff.
Restoring a bit of order along the right-of-way.
It must give great pride to your lady back in...
in Boston.
Is she your wife?
No.
[sighing]
Be like it's some sparrow's got hold of your heart.
Is she very beautiful? Very.
And does she love you very much? Very much.
Now how about delivering your mail?
The wind just whisked it out of me hand.
Well, seems a word from her is more important than your business.
Yes. She's my mother.
Oh, 'tis sorry I am, Mr. Jeff, and ashamed, besides.
[buffalo snorting]
Get back! Get back! Get back to the car!
[snorting]
Gorry, what are we getting into? Come on, Jeff, run for it!
At least, now, you'll have plenty of time to read your letter.
Yeah. If one of the buffalo doesn't want a ride.
Your mother worries a great deal about you, I'm thinking.
With all the fighting and killing you're mixed up in.
I didn't know when I started.
What didn't you know?
No, you wouldn't be interested.
Captain, I've reached the point of being fair crazy trying to understand you.
Mind if I smoke? That's what I mean.
The manners of a gentleman, the smile of a boy, and the quick hand of a gunman.
Now. Now, however did you get started on a career of death and destruction?
I couldn't decide between being a pirate and a fireman, so took up engineering.
Driving an engine?
[grunts]
Get out of there!
No, building bridges and things.
But along came the war...
And they needed your guns more than your bridges.
My dreams went up in smoke.
Then there's much in common between us, Mr. Jeff.
How's that, Mollie?
Both of us seem to be wanting things that don't want us.
You seemed to be getting what you wanted just before we got on this car.
Oh, Dick.
I know. You think I'm an outrageous flirt. Well?
But did you never know that flirting gets into a woman's blood...
like fighting gets into a man's?
Now, a girl begins coquetting to discover if she has the power.
Then she goes looking, like a fighter after a bully...
for the hardest man to conquer.
But 'tis never the man she wants...
'tis the pleasure of bringing him to her feet.
Till the right man comes along and gives her the spanking she deserves.
That's the man she dreams of.
And the man she kisses.
The buffalo are most gone, and I'm thinking we'd better be going, too.
We might have harnessed a couple and had them pull us to End of Track.
[whistle tooting]
[bell ringing]
[men chattering]
(man) Rail!
[all chattering]
Rail!
Bend your backs to it!
(Dusky) Lay ahold of that rail, me lad...
you're slowing us down.
Sure, if I was your mother, I'd be ashamed of the strength you have.
'Tis the whiskey you drank in Cheyenne...
not the work you're doing here that gave you such a thirst.
Get along with you! Any trouble, Dusky?
Trouble?
Say, what was the matter with them crazy muckers you sent out here the other day?
Why?
All over the hillside they started digging for gold.
Found plenty iron, huh?
And they're laying three miles of it a day, pay or no pay.
Hey, what is this I hear about the railroad brass hats coming up?
Inspection tour. General Grant's with them.
He'd win a lot of votes in the next election...
by bringing our pay along with him.
He will.
Come on. Move it ahead.
[bell ringing]
Here's one to mail, Mollie. Give it here.
Mollie, did my cousin from Cork write? No, she didn't.
Any mail, Mollie? It is sorry, I am.
(woman) Have you got a letter for us? No. Mrs. Cassidy.
(woman) Saint's alive! Who's dead?
Mrs. Hogan, I hear your new baby came yesterday.
And a fine broth of a boy he is, too. Shouldn't you be in bed?
Well, I had a mind to stay in bed this morning...
but there was the washing to do, so I says to meself, I says:
"Now, this is no time for playing sick."
What're you going to name the baby?
Union Pacific Hogan. Was that your husband's idea?
Mike? Sure he's after going to Cheyenne to celebrate.
The lad'll be half-grown by the time he sobers up.
[laughs]
[bell clanging]
Injuns! Get the kids in!
[women clamoring]
Redskins!
(man) To your posts, men! Get ready for action!
Hold your fire till they get closer.
[all chattering]
There's only two of them.
And they look like my men.
I smell worse trouble than Injuns.
Get back to work, you mollycoddles...
or I'll be banging on somebody's pants with me pick-handle.
(man) Get back to the job, you terriers!
(Fiesta) We got plenty troubles this time, Captain.
You know that Andy Calahan, the foreman over at the grader's camp?
Yeah. What about him?
Nothing, only he's dead.
How?
Fella named Duke Ring sort of lost his temper.
Yeah. Now, nobody's working at all.
But they gotta work.
We can't lay track if there's no grade.
Couple of hundred of them over there yowling about no pay...
so we didn't start nothing.
I'll go on up and entertain Mr. Ring. Back by sundown, maybe.
You better take us with you, Jefferson. That foreman is awful dead.
Dusky! Dusky Clayton!
Would you give me the loan of this team to take mail to the graders' camp?
That's no place for you to be going now. Thanks.
Sorry, Mollie. Hey, what's this?
[bell ringing]
Well, by the soles of me feet!
What're you working for?
It ain't money because you don't get none.
Are you working for your sweat?
That's all you'll get out of it.
Unless some Injun comes along and tears the hair off your head.
Whoa.
[hammering]
Give me that.
That's Duke Ring.
You ain't gonna need this.
Oakes Ames would hate to see his shovels used like that.
Wait here.
'Tis suicide you're contemplating, going against that mob.
Maybe. Jeff.
No one's ever put any sense into a man's brain...
through a bullet hole in his head.
Maybe you're right.
Whatever happens...
you keep out of it.
The fool ain't got a gun on him.
Hello, boys!
Where's your foreman?
Your foreman was a fine fellow.
This bruiser taking his place?
What're you going to do about it, bucko?
Nothing, Mr. Ring...
if these men are fools enough to believe a lying windbag like you.
Lying, am I?
Have you been paid for two months or ain't you?
(all) No.
Sure, sure. You've all got wages coming. So have I.
We'll get every cent that's due us.
The railroad won't pay you for sitting around...
watching Mr. Ring break shovels.
Now, let's go to work.
That sounds like horse sense.
Oh, does it?
I'll kill the first man to move a shovel of earth.
You'll go out of here feet first, bucko.
[grunting]
[all laughing]
I'm not there. I'm over here, Mr. Ring.
I see you, you stinking railroad cop.
Still here, Mr. Ring.
This way, Mr. Ring.
Well, mates, there's your bully.
Nobody can make you work.
But if you're through with the job...
get out of camp and make room for men who do want to work.
Well, boys, it's 1:00. That's still horse sense.
What are we waiting for? Come on, boys.
Come on, boys, bring your shovels.
(all) # I've been working on the railroad #
[sighing]
# All the livelong day #
# I've been working on the railroad #
# Just to pass the time away # Hit the ties, Ring.
And don't stop to say goodbye to Campeau.
# Don't you hear the whistle blowing? #
# Rise up so early in the morn #
# Don't you hear the foreman shouting #
# Oh, Dinah, blow your horn #
Gorry, what a man.
# I've been working on the railroad #
# All the livelong ##
Can you see him?
Last time I seen him, I was shooting at him from a huckleberry patch.
[laughing]
Plenty big talk, but no payroll.
(Ames) Such a move means disaster, General Grant.
Our credit is stretched to the breaking point.
An element, lawless beyond all reason, hangs onto our coattails...
here at the End of Track.
It's like a monstrous conspiracy determined to wreck the railroad.
And now Mr. Barrows proposes a new survey west of Laramie.
Reputable engineers advise me our present route is impractical.
I'd rather take the advice of one old buffalo.
A buffalo? Oh, come now, General.
This railroad is being built on an old buffalo trail.
Those animals are practical travelers, Mr. Barrows.
And I never knew one that changed his route for financial reasons.
And we can't do it and reach Ogden before the Central.
My only concern, General Grant, is to lay an honest stretch of track.
(Dodge) Mr. Barrows wants 90 miles of additional track.
If that is ordered, then I must resign as Chief Engineer.
But, General Dodge...
The Government expects the company to finish the railroad as contracted.
It also expects General Dodge to remain in authority.
Mr. Ames.
How much money do you need for immediate bills and wages?
At least a million dollars.
You seem to have the interest of the road so deeply at heart, Mr. Barrows...
I suggest you lend Mr. Ames the money.
A million dollars? Yes.
For the Union Pacific.
I consider it a privilege to serve the road...
and the next President of the United States.
The first shipment of cash will be sent before the week is over.
General. Gentlemen.
Thank you, General. Thank you.
(all) Thank you, General.
It takes money to put iron over those mountains, General.
[people chattering]
(barker) Come on in, boys. An equal cache for one and all.
Can I trouble you for a light, stranger?
Sure.
Shipment of money is coming in on a special, Tuesday night.
Payroll, huh? Yes. I prefer that it should not arrive.
How much?
$200,000. My money. I want most of it back.
We'll get it.
Thank you for the light, stranger.
[barker chattering]
(Campeau) The money belongs to Barrows.
So it ain't a real holdup.
Does Jeff Butler know that?
What if he don't?
Is there any reason why you wouldn't plug that yellow-livered skunk?
Jeff and I aren't partners in this game.
I'd plug him...
as quick as he'd plug me.
But don't go calling him names.
You ought to call him a couple.
He's certainly got the whole town giving you the horselaugh.
Yeah, he's...
two up on me right now.
Mollie seems to think so.
Are you looking for something between the eyes?
[chuckling]
After I lift that payroll...
nobody's gonna laugh.
Nobody but me.
[train rumbling]
So long, Art. Hello, Jeff. Where are you from?
Laramie. What's there?
Nothing. Tomorrow it'll be a city.
They're packing up Cheyenne now and loading it on the cars.
Will you have a cup of tea while I'm patching Monahan's pants?
No, thanks. But I'll sit on your front porch till the special gets in.
Special? Who's on it?
Old John Dough. Jeff, it's never the payroll?
I could do a jig for joy.
[train approaching]
I've sat on quieter front porches.
And you've spooned on them with better company, no doubt.
Not better company.
I'll dust the blarney off that and be thankful.
There's no blarney between you and me, Mollie.
I often wonder if I'll ever have any other front porch than this.
Someday you'll have your house anchored under you.
I don't know.
I've never lived without wheels under me head when I lay me down to sleep.
You'll be darning socks for some happy man before long.
I hope his heart won't be far from the rails.
And where do you think you'll spend your declining years?
I probably won't have any declining years.
Don't say such a thing.
You change the night to fear and the wind from warm to cold.
Feel my hand, 'tis ice.
In my job, Mollie...
a man can't look very far ahead.
Maybe when the road's done, I...
What do you mean, the wind's cold?
There isn't any wind.
'Tis no ordinary wind. 'Tis the kind that witches ride on.
It blows trouble.
If you'll are making any promises dealing with the future...
you're taking a lot for granted.
What's up?
Well, sir, it might be a sewing bee, and it might be a hayride...
but there's eight of Sid Campeau's top gunfighters missing from the Big Tent.
Is Dick with them? I reckon he is. He ain't there.
Hey, Jeff! Yeah.
Eight horses, they're gone from Campeau's corral.
Could you pick up their trail? The Mexican boy said they ride east.
Maybe the Injuns is giving an ice-cream social.
Pay train. That's what I figured.
Mollie, run for the telegraph office.
Tell Calvin to stop the pay train at Pine Bluff.
Leach, get an engine and a flatcar. I sure will.
Put our horses on the flatcar and round up a few men.
You bet yourself. We have good time tonight.
[bell ringing]
[telegraph tapping]
Oh, dear.
Pay train went through Pine Bluff 10 minutes ago...
gathering speed for the Pole Creek Divide.
Calvin, get that chief dispatcher over here. Take the key, Mollie.
Try Egbert Siding. Oh, no. It is closed after 6:00.
Maybe Joe's playing solitaire. Try anyway and keep trying.
I'll see you later.
The saints ride with you, Jeff.
[whistle tooting] (Jeff) Let her go, Clancey!
[bell ringing]
Let the silver lay. It's too heavy. Not for me, it ain't.
There's the headlights.
Slow her down.
(bandit) Train coming from the West!
All right, boys. Let's get out of here.
(man) Whoa.
Split up! Every man for himself.
Each of you, pick a man.
[laughing]
We got good fun, eh?
That all depends. Yeah.
[laughing]
[gun firing]
[steam hissing]
[bell ringing]
[glass shattering]
What in the name of...
Tell Campeau to send a couple of men over to this car. Run!
Gee, sure.
Why do you throw mail through the window?
Hide that or you'll have a killing on your front porch.
What's happening?
Quick. Well...
[horse approaching]
Hiya, Jeff. Where's the fire?
Man ride by here just now? Yeah.
You can still see his dust.
You can get him with a little...
hard riding.
Thanks.
You been here long?
Just waiting for a cup of tea and a kiss from Mollie.
I'll join you.
For the tea.
[train whistle blowing]
[knocking on door]
Come in. Come in.
Hello, Mollie.
So it's the pair of you.
Can we give this bucko some tea? Sure, sure. But...
Did you get to the pay train in time? No.
Well, what happened?
Who broke your window? Oh, I...
[laughing] Monahan must be back.
No, some gandy dancer feeling his liquor was throwing a bottle at the moon.
What'd you do with it?
Do with what? The bottle.
Sure, now, I think you're both a bit cracked.
Much of a crowd at the Big Tent tonight, Dick?
I don't know. I was out at the End of Track.
The dirt at the End of Track is white gypsum.
You've got the same dust on your boots I have.
It's red. Like a rose, huh?
More like the ground where the pay train was held up.
Now, don't tell me they got away with the payroll.
You should have asked that fellow that rode by here.
Well, say, that's mighty serious for the railroad.
Where were you, Jeff?
Now drink your tea, and you'll both be feeling easier.
How much did they get? A mail sack full.
A mail sack?
Will you drink your tea and stop staring like there was bullets in it.
Well, out here, Mollie, you never can tell where you're gonna find a bullet.
That's right. A man can't even trust a friend.
Hello.
There's no letters for you, I'm not boiling tea for the house...
and we don't want to make up a male quartet.
Captain Butler's a little upset over a pay train holdup.
Too bad, bucko. Somebody put one over on you?
Maybe.
You've had your refreshment, Jeff, and now you'll want to be traveling...
after the robbers.
Sounds like good advice.
Maybe.
Lost something? No.
I just thought I might find the bottle that broke that window.
You know, there's a fellow named Pullman...
that just invented a new kind of bunk that folds up like this.
(Dick) Curiosity killed a cat once, Jeff.
You'd better say good night.
Why? You leaving? No.
But you are. This is Mollie's place, and she told you to get out.
Hold your yelps, all of you.
Never in me whole life have I seen two such outrageous fortunes.
Sit down, Jeff, and look what's in store for you.
The little leaves, all crooked and helter-skelter.
Now, they tell you of life and love and hope and grieving.
Will the tea leaves tell me everything that's in this car, Mollie?
No.
(Mollie) No, they...
They're warning you to get moving...
or you'll be taking the long journey on a one-way ticket.
What do you see in mine?
(Dick) A girl with Irish eyes?
About your size?
No, I see two horns and a pointed tail.
I feel that cold witches' wind, Mollie.
How about some wood on the fire?
Don't let your hand slip, bucko.
That's your second mistake, Dick.
What was the first? Sending for help.
What are you waiting for, Dick? Let him have it.
Dick, wait.
Will you...
Will you look at this now? This circle in your cup here.
Does it look like a noose? No.
It looks like a ring.
A wedding ring? Well, now, maybe it does...
but let's not be talking about it until after Jeff is gone.
Does it look like this one, that was made for the third finger of your left hand?
Why...
If this prying troubleshooter ever gets out of me house...
I'll tell you, it's... It's yes.
Mollie.
Dick's been with me all evening waiting to plight me his troth.
Dick's been with you? Yes.
Now, will you please go home?
Or are you waiting to see it sealed with a kiss?
[laughing]
Did you hear that, bucko? Yes.
I heard it.
I'll be on me oath there's no money here but $6.70...
in the cash drawer, and I'm keeping Monahan's savings...
sewn up in the mattress.
Will you swear to that by the little cross you wear?
Yes, I...
I must have lost it.
But I swear by what's dear on this earth...
and by all the love that's in me...
and...
Please go, Jeff, there's nothing in this car you want.
I guess that's right.
[Mollie sobbing]
Mollie, my darling, you were glorious.
Me heart's still jigging on me back teeth.
Where'd you hide it? Me heart?
No, I know where that is. I mean the pay sack.
The pay sack?
Now what would I be doing with a pay sack?
Quit the blarney and turn it over while you're still able.
Threaten a Monahan, would you? If I knew, I wouldn't be telling you!
[chuckling] Don't hurt him, Mollie.
All right now, clear out, the both of you.
Tell Campeau I'll be there pronto.
Maybe I'd better stay and help you with it.
I carried it quite a way without your help.
Out.
[sniffling]
[sighing]
First it's me heart, and now it's me knees.
Where does Monahan keep his Rule G? On top of the shelf.
How long will it take you to pack?
Why did you do it, Dick?
We've a lifetime together to talk about that.
Suppose we find out first...
if they've got lakes in Ireland the color of your eyes?
Take off your sweet lip and say what you're meaning.
Or if you'd rather stay in America...
there's New York, St. Louis, San Francisco.
And there's General Casement's car across the tracks.
What do you mean? Back it goes. Every penny of it.
I'll not be helping you rob the railroad that's been mother and son to me.
You're crazy, Mollie.
Do you know what there is in that sack?
Champagne and carriages and pretty dresses...
and a good time for the rest of our lives.
There's nearly $200,000 in cash.
Use your wits, man.
Do you think you could travel one mile with it now?
Jeff Butler suspicions you. The whole railroad will be after you.
The only chance of saving your neck is to return it yourself.
Me? You.
Or you'll be dancing with your feet off the ground, and that's not a pretty sight.
Not for a bride on her wedding day.
I love you, Mollie.
I believe you do.
But there'll be no talk of a wedding till you've done as I say.
It's the first time I've ever discarded aces for a queen.
Where's the money? You're sitting on it.
Nobody knew the money was on that train but you, Casement, and myself.
And Campeau.
How did he find out? I don't know.
Campeau's partner is a close friend of yours, isn't he?
He was.
I want that payroll, Butler.
(Reed) Or I want your resignation.
Good evening, gentlemen.
'Tis sorry I am to be interrupting you, General, but this belongs to you.
To me? What is it? The payroll.
The payroll? The payroll? What?
Where'd you get it? 'Twas like this, I was...
Wait. How did you know it was the payroll? By the bullet holes.
I wasn't shooting as badly as I thought.
Sure, that explains it.
The poor bandit running for shelter, dropping the bag from weakness...
with your bullets in his back. The bullets didn't go through the bag.
Where did you find it? Well, Mr. Allen and I were taking a walk...
there's such a beautiful moon tonight... Never mind the moon.
How long have you been with Miss Monahan?
Not long enough.
Watch your talk, Allen. We intend to hang the man who did this job.
No fooling.
Mollie, how did you come by this?
Well, now, I'll not remember a thing...
if you all keep charging at me like a bull at red flannels.
Go on.
Well, we were taking some tea over to Grandpa O'Shaughnessy...
Grandpa O'Shaughnessy has drunk nothing...
but straight whiskey since the war of 1812.
Well, except when he's got the misery in his back...
and then he puts one part of tea to seven parts of whiskey.
Miss Monahan, are you telling the truth? Well, not quite.
As a matter of fact, we were on our way to Father Ryan's to talk about getting married.
(Casement) Getting married? You two?
Yeah, show him your ring, Mollie.
I'm waiting to hear where you found the money.
On the tracks near Mollie's car.
How near? As near as you might throw a stone.
Or a bottle? Well, anyway, we brought it right here...
didn't we? Yes.
Before we even talked to Father Ryan about our wedding...
in the morning.
Yes. Mollie, it's a medal you deserve for this...
as well as congratulations.
I agree with General Casement, but the wedding will have to be tonight.
But there's no great hurry. Sure, there is.
We're moving up to Laramie...
and Father Ryan's church will be on a flatcar in two hours.
You gonna be best man, bucko? (Reed) Captain Butler has work to do.
I want the man who robbed that train, Butler.
Yes, sir.
I hope you deserve her, Dick.
We're all very grateful to you, Miss Monahan.
Now, Mollie, what can we do for you?
(Reed) I'll tell you what we can do for her.
We'll give her a wedding tonight that'll go down in history.
I wouldn't want to be putting you to that trouble.
We could wait until... (Casement) Trouble?
I'll drive you to the church myself.
(Reed) That's little enough.
Why, she saved our bacon.
Mollie, you've saved the railroad.
[bell ringing]
[people chattering]
(man #1) The church goes on the next train, George.
(man #2) Hey, lend us your hammer.
(man #1) The board house comes now.
(foreman) All right, Donovan. Come on, O'Toole.
Don't take all week.
(man #1) McGukkin's a sound sleeper, ain't he?
Hot or cold, he goes.
Murder alive! If you wanted to come in, why in blazes didn't you knock at the door?
Leave hold of it, Mike. Everything goes to Laramie.
And where is Laramie? It's wherever we set down this town.
[bell clanging]
All right, boys, come on, we'll take the block. The roof comes next.
All right, Sullivan.
Come on, take the block.
(men) # The fireman rang the bell #
# Oh, Lulu in a pink kimono says #
# Baby, fare thee well #
(woman) Where's Jeff Butler taking them tracklayers?
(man) Wherever they're going, they mean business.
# I ain't gonna lie in jail #
# But I'm goin' down to Cheyenne town #
# To live with my Lulu gal #
# My Lulu's tall and slender #
# My Lulu's tall and slim #
# But the only thing that satisfies her #
# Is a good big drink of gin #
# My Lulu hugged and kissed me #
##[playing]
(men) # My Lulu gal's a daisy #
What is that? The Irish are coming.
Jake, give him a free drink. Okay.
Keep the ball rolling.
# My Lulu, she's an angel #
# Only she ain't got no wings #
# I guess I'll get her ##
Hello, Campeau.
I hear you're moving to Laramie.
What about it?
Go on over in the corner and turn your back and keep your hands up.
Come on back. You've got visitors.
[woman screaming] One yelp and you'll get the ax!
[all exclaiming]
[people clamoring]
Get over here!
(Dusky) That's what claps me ax through skull.
(man #1) Don't you reach for your gun.
(man #2) Who do you think you're shoving?
Get those Irish clodhoppers out of my place.
They just came down to help you move.
Fiesta, take Mr. Campeau in there.
Please. (man) Get one for me, Jeff.
[men laughing]
Leach, watch the door.
Come on, boys. Free drinks for everybody.
[all cheering]
Nobody ain't drinking, Jake.
Ain't you heard the Irish is teetotalers?
[crowd laughing]
It's the first time I've heard about it.
Who held up that train, Campeau?
How should I know?
What'd he say, Fiesta?
He say, pretty soon he will tell you all about it.
[Fiesta chuckling]
Pretty soon.
There were eight horses missing from your corral. Where'd they go?
I don't know. Somebody must have borrowed them.
Did you hear that, Fiesta? Sure. You bet yourself.
Sure, I hear.
He say he think he knows who take those horse.
Who rode those horses? I don't know.
I ain't left the tent tonight.
Look here, Butler.
You and your railroad cutthroat can't bully me.
He called you a cutthroat, Fiesta.
[laughing]
He knows me pretty well.
Who led those men?
Butler, you're nailing the lid on your own coffin.
Dick nailed the lid on yours tonight. I ain't seen Dick.
Then you didn't know he turned the money back to the railroad.
I don't know what you're talking about.
He sold you out to the railroad, Campeau.
That's what you get for picking a man in love.
You're lying. He turned the payroll over to Casement.
I saw Dick give that girl a ring, and she promised to marry him.
Looks like you're the sucker this time, Campeau.
Now you talk.
All right, all right. What's it to me? I wasn't there.
Sure. Dick stuck up the train.
What am I supposed to do about it? Nothing.
Just come with me. You, too.
[yelping]
I'm going.
I declare, it won't seem natural in Laramie without you boys.
[coughing]
Don't reach for your handkerchief, Brett.
Just use your sleeve if you want to wipe your mouth.
[crowd laughing]
Leach, the mule's ready? Yeah.
You and Fiesta take all the dealers outside and get them started.
[Fiesta laughing] Yeah.
And here. Don't forget this rat.
Sure, we have big fun with him.
[Fiesta laughing]
For every crack of that half-breed's whip...
I'll put a bullet through that pig's hide of yours.
[crowd chattering]
(man) Come out from under the table, you.
Dusky Clayton, it's all yours.
(man) Take your hands off me.
Spit on your hands, you terriers, and smash into it.
Yeah! Yeah!
[tables crashing]
[glass shattering]
I hope Dick don't get you, Butler.
[continue banging]
I don't want nobody to get you but me.
There's a train east tonight, Campeau. Be on it.
You're seen out here again, you'll be shot on sight.
Now, dust!
Come on, Jeff, get into the shindy.
Haven't time. I'm going to a wedding.
(Leach) All right, boys, put them back.
(man) Cut it out!
Now you boys has got your options of getting out in 30 seconds...
or being buried in 30 minutes.
Why, I can't ride this way.
It's a mite on handy, but the Indians can't sneak up on you from behind.
[laughing]
Hey, you can't do this to us.
Well, come on, mule.
[mule braying]
[both laughing]
[gun firing]
Hang the mule. I'm leaving.
And I plight unto thee my troth.
(Dick) And I plight unto thee my troth.
(Father Ryan) Allow me to wish you every happiness, Mrs. Allen.
Thank you, Father.
Congratulations. Thank you, sir.
##[organ playing]
Dick. Why, hello, Jeff.
Come to kiss the bride? No, Dick. I've come for you.
You've got guns, I haven't. That's your hard luck.
Have you found proof, Butler? Yes, Campeau talked.
'Tis a terrible thing you're doing, Jeff.
And for what? They've got the money back.
The soldier that was guarding it hasn't got his life back, Mollie.
Killing?
Dick would have been safe away but for me. I got him into this.
(Casement) Come with me, Mollie. No.
The railroad gives short shrift to a train robber, Mrs. Allen.
Come on, Dick.
'Tis a brief honeymoon you're giving the bride.
There's no other way, Mollie.
Can I kiss my husband goodbye?
All right.
[inaudible]
Could you know the heart-scald that's inside me...
there's much you'd understand, but I...
I know the railroad law and I...
(Mollie) The window, Dick! Run for it!
[all shouting]
(Jeff) Don't shoot. Don't shoot into that crowd.
(woman) What did he do?
(man) He robbed the pay train.
What's the ruckus? Dick Allen. Got away.
Well, I declare.
[crowd chattering]
Leach, get a couple of horses. (Casement) No, Jeff.
You go on to Laramie. They'll be needing you there.
Leach and Fiesta will stay here and give Allen his medicine.
It might be better that way, I reckon.
Maybe.
When you reach Laramie, pack your things...
and turn your car over to the superintendent.
Your service with the railroad is finished.
##[scatting]
Lot of warm winter overcoats on the hoof out there.
[whistle blowing]
I hope the hogger don't hit one of them.
[whistle blowing]
My apologies, Mrs. Allen.
Disgraceful hour for a bridegroom to be coming home.
[laughing]
I'll wash off some of Wyoming before I kiss you good morning.
A fine wedding night.
Under a car with a floor between me and my wife.
You're not gonna give me lead for breakfast, are you?
You shouldn't be on this train. Jeff Butler's aboard.
Jeff? Back in the caboose.
'Tis an awful chance you're taking, being here.
You're here, aren't you? I'm not sure where I am.
[whistle blowing]
Now, don't look so glum.
Here I am, all washed and beautiful and wanting a most important kiss.
I loved you before, Mollie.
But after last night... Dick, I must tell you straight out.
I don't feel for you what a woman should for the man she's just married.
The cards are dealt, Mollie.
I'm the husband you found in a teacup. I know.
Till death do us apart, but...
All I'm asking for is a little time to... Time?
I'm borrowing it from the devil.
Why should I wait? You're asking me and I'll tell you.
Do you know why I married you so quick?
Yes.
To stop Brett from putting a bullet in Jeff's back.
You married me knowing that?
I love you enough to take you any way I can get you.
Listen to me, Dick. I...
I've loved Jeff ever since I clouted his face on the Omaha train...
but I'm married to you and I'll stay that way, but...
Don't start out by making me hate you.
You won't hate me, Mollie.
You'll love me.
Gorry. What's hit us?
[guns firing]
Keep down. It's a big war party.
[bullet whizzing]
[ululating]
What are they, Jeff?
Sioux, and a lot of them.
[guns firing]
[speaking Sioux]
[guns firing]
The saints forgive me for taking human life. The red devils.
[Sioux yelling]
[horse neighing]
[horn blaring]
[Sioux ululating]
Are you all right? I don't know. I think so.
Now's our chance. Once we're clear of the train they won't get us.
I'm going to find Mollie. It's too late to do her any good.
Maybe.
Come on, you fool, before they see us.
I hope you make it.
[Sioux ululating]
[gun firing]
[Sioux ululating]
[speaking Sioux]
No, don't shoot.
You'll lead them right to us.
[Sioux chattering]
[key striking]
[speaking Sioux]
[Sioux chattering]
[speaking Sioux]
What do you think happened to the caboose?
I hope he's okay.
[footsteps approaching]
[Sioux continue chattering]
Jeff!
Glory be.
Well, I'll be...
Hello, bucko. Me prayers were answered.
I guess we're the only ones alive.
How much ammunition you got? A few for the pistol.
About 16 for the carbine.
Any chance of getting help? If we could telegraph Cheyenne.
Wires cut? No.
But we've got nothing to send with.
Mr. Calvin showed me how to send without any key.
How? Manna from heaven.
The wires across the window. Cut one and give me your gun.
When I break it, pull the other end down through the smashed roof.
Through your private entrance?
Now where's me poker?
[Sioux whooping]
All right, try it.
What'll I say? Cheyenne.
[surging]
Is there anyone left there? Leach and Fiesta.
They're looking for you.
[laughing]
What are you chuckling at, Mr. Calvin?
Some operator feeling his liquor, Alida.
When a man's on his trick he ought not to... Wait.
[tapping]
Get Leach and Monahan. They're outside.
Indians wrecked Number 11 near Skull Rocks.
It's Mollie calling for help!
(Alida) Mr. Monahan! Mr. Overmile!
[yelling]
[speaking Sioux]
It's near an hour and I'm thinking our message didn't get through.
Sure it got through.
They had to get soldiers from Fort Russell.
[all chattering]
[ringing]
Do you hear it? Help's coming!
Some buck's pounding the bell of the dead engine.
[all yelling]
[speaking Sioux]
Here's a bite so we'll not be dying on an empty stomach.
Jeff.
They're working down this way.
What do you think?
We'll try again, Mollie.
Keep sending.
[electricity surging]
We'll have no chance after they see us.
What do you say we...
[gasps]
That does it.
[speaking Sioux]
[men whooping]
Take this gun, Mollie.
Let them have it, Dick.
Something like old times, huh?
Yeah, only you didn't have a wife with you then. Make a barricade.
Faster, faster!
Feed him more wood. You're starving him.
Hope your old kettle don't blow up.
Why don't you get out and push?
Mollie's all right, Monahan. Jeff's on that train.
This engine she...
she never gets full.
[guns firing]
##[Sioux beating drums]
[Sioux chattering]
Why do you keep me loading when there's shooting to be done?
Because you wasted a shot on that cigar store Indian out there.
Yeah, what did you have against him?
You're just joking to keep me spirits up...
because you know Cheyenne never got our message.
Sure they got it.
I'm no surer than you are.
Jeff, behind you!
[screaming]
Hey, look up there.
Trestle over Dale Creek's afire, Leach!
(man) Keep going, Monahan, we're all right!
If we're gonna burn after we're dead, let's get some practice.
(man) Here we go.
Dale Creek Bridge afire, Major!
Got your asbestos pants on?
Let her go!
Lie down men, and cover your heads!
[whistle blowing]
[speaking Sioux]
Flat on your face or your wives won't know you.
Smoked herring!
[guns firing]
Hey, my coat's on fire!
(man) Well, take it off! Take it off!
Get it off!
This is nothing.
You know, I got a wife in Yuma.
She...
My mustache.
My mustache, she is gone. My mustache!
[laughing] I declare I never liked it no way.
There's one in there and none for that.
How many have you got?
Three.
Just enough to go around.
You won't let them take me alive, will you, Jeff?
No.
Maybe you'd better do the honors all around...
before they find we're out of ammunition.
[gun firing]
Give me mine while I'm not looking.
That's the last of mine.
[speaking Sioux]
[gun firing continues]
I'll say a bit of a prayer for the three of us.
##[Sioux singing]
##[drum beating]
[gun cocking]
Did you hear it?
What? The whistle.
Jeff! Dick!
Didn't you hear it?
Or am I so close to the other shore I'm hearing things?
[gun firing]
Go on with your prayer, Mollie.
Mollie, darling.
[train whistle blowing]
There! Can't you hear it?
It's Monahan's old engine. It's McPherson.
I know the shrill voice of him.
[train whistle blowing]
You hear it, Jeff? Yeah.
Come on, Monahan. Good old Monahan.
It's his old iron horse. I know his bray from here to Omaha.
Oh, Jeff!
[guns firing]
[speaking Sioux]
[guns firing]
[Monahan shouting]
(soldier) Forward!
Charge!
[neighing]
They got them on the run.
Dick! Not all of them!
By gorry, they're rushing the car.
Scat!
Clear out of here!
Scat!
[gun firing]
[gasping]
[groaning]
Mollie.
Mollie, darling.
She's badly hurt, Jeff.
I'll get her to the army doctor.
No, you can't, with that arm.
I'll carry her. No, you won't.
Get up to Skull Rocks. I'll bring you word there tonight.
No, I'm not going to leave her.
She's mine. She's my wife.
When Leach and the soldiers come back here, you'll be a dead man.
You're still wanted, Dick.
[crying] Mollie, my darling.
[coyote howling]
[crickets chirping]
Hello, bucko. Hello, Dick.
How is she?
Doctor says she'll come through all right.
My thanks to the Big Dealer.
I'm afraid it's going to be a long pull for her, though.
And you won't let me see her?
Dick...
you and I have fought side by side many times.
We've been through hell and high water...
robbed the same chicken coop, chewed on the same bone.
But you're on the other side in this fight...
and the next time I see you on Union Pacific property, I'll have to...
You got a match?
Won't your conscience bother you for letting me go?
There's grub and blankets in the pack on that horse.
I won't be hung for horse stealing, will I?
[chuckles]
Belonged to an Indian. He won't need it anymore.
All right.
All right. I'll get going.
Where to?
Central Pacific.
You're going to help the road that's trying to beat us?
Yeah.
I'm gonna help them the same way I helped the Union Pacific.
Here. You might need that.
Don't deal any cards off the bottom with it. Thanks.
Extra cartridges in the pack. Thanks.
You're all aces, bucko.
But you're in love with Mollie...
and don't you ever forget she's my wife.
I might. She wouldn't.
Now, when the Central meets the Union's tracks, I'll be there, Jeff...
and you and the Union Pacific and the devil himself...
won't keep me from my wife.
I'd hate to kill you with your own gun.
I'll be there, Dick.
Oh, Jeff...
you're wasting your time on Campeau.
The man behind him is Barrows, the banker.
Thanks.
So long, Dick. So long, bucko.
[wind howling]
Thirty days? Thundering Hades! We can't lose one day.
The ground in that tunnel is frozen harder than rock. We can't dig through!
We've got to blast every inch for 900 feet.
Stuck here for 30 days?
And Ogden only 60 miles away.
And the Central on the plains...
with nothing to stop them but daisies and buttercups.
In the Army, when we can't smash through the enemy's center...
we always go around the flanks.
What's that, Butler?
Lay a track on the snow.
What? On the snow?
On the snow? No one ever laid track on snow.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Go ahead, Butler. I'll show you what I mean.
Go around the mountain instead of through it.
Then finish your tunnel later. Impossible.
Impossible?
It was impossible to lay four miles of track a day...
impossible to clear out the gamblers...
impossible to make engines climb mountains.
Jumping Beelzebub! It was impossible for Moses to cross the Red Sea.
Why can't we lay track on top of snow?
Well, let's find out.
[all muttering]
You never seen the like.
A track laid on 10 feet of snow.
We have the race as good as won.
[chuckling]
Come here before you hang yourself.
That Jeff Butler...
don't wear all his brains in his holster.
Who's going to take the first train over?
Now, who else would they be trusting to it but me and old McPherson.
It is a chancy thing, so don't go breaking your neck.
Well, 'tis the first time for an engine to run on snow...
and if he don't like it, I'll put snowshoes on him.
Here, open your mouth and take what's good for you.
Tastes like it come out of McPherson's boiler.
The highest and longest railroad in the whole world...
had just come out of McPherson's boiler.
So don't you be insulting him.
Here...
take this along in case you...
Let me kiss you to keep you warm.
Looks like you won't need to put those snowshoes on him, Monahan.
Well, he's been through fire and snow...
and if he comes to a river, he'll swim it.
[laughing]
They're going to make it. Sure they are.
Jump, Monahan! Jump!
There she goes! Look out, Monahan!
They're both gone!
(Casement) Poor old Monahan.
[gasping]
[panting]
I know you're hurting me...
no more than you can help.
Monahan!
Monahan! Praise Heaven, you're alive.
I fell clear. We'll get you out.
It's no use, Jeff.
Me and him has come to End of Track.
Oh, no.
Now. Oh, no, it's no use.
You'll have to beat the Central...
to Ogden without us...
if you can.
That'll be hard without you.
Mollie's cross.
Bury us both together, Jeff.
Here where we can hear the trains thundering by.
There's nothing like hearing an engine whistle...
in the still night.
What's to be done now?
Start shoring up that track, Dusky.
And what will happen to the railroad now?
As soon as the track's shored up, we'll try again...
with another train.
Hook this car on it, will you?
There's only one thing wrong about dying in the snow, Jefferson.
A fella's liable to catch cold!
Here she comes! Tighten up!
Good boy, Jeff! The Central can't beat us now.
He's over! They've made it!
[all cheering] I told you they could do it!
You passed the 1000 Mile Tree back there, General.
We're gonna beat them, Jeff.
We lay six miles of track today, seven tomorrow...
Then wire your congratulations to the Central Pacific.
Why? What's wrong?
That parlor engineer that Asa M. Barrows brought with him just condemned...
27 miles of our track.
What? Condemned 27 miles?
Why, that'll let the Central into Ogden ahead of us.
Barrows, huh?
Boy...
Get me Leach Overmile and Fiesta. Yes, sir.
You lay the track into Ogden, General Casement...
I'll handle Mr. Barrows.
You'll regret this.
You'll regret this as long as you...
Don't you worry none about us, Mr. Barrows.
You just think about yourself. Here.
This is plain abduction.
Do you hear that, Fiesta?
Abduction.
[chuckling]
That is why I had to marry my first wife.
[laughing]
How much do you want?
We don't want nothing. We're just interested in the Union Pacific, same as you are.
Here, put that on.
Now, about this track you say won't pass inspection.
What about it?
You and us are going to walk over every inch of that 27 mile of track...
and then you're going to show us every place that needs fixing.
What?
And then you're going to fix it.
Walk over 27 miles of track.
Here's your cane, Mr. Barrows. Time's a-wasting.
##[Leach and Fiesta humming]
Here's another one, right there.
[sighing]
Seems to me like I've found more the matter with this track...
than you have, Mr. Barrows.
He will ruin the railroad.
You're all mixed up, Mr. Barrows.
You're trying to drive the tie through the spike...
instead of the spike through the tie.
##[humming]
I do declare, he's improving.
General Casement. Yeah?
At this very moment, the Union Pacific's first train...
is pulling into Ogden, Utah.
The victor in the great race to girdle the continent.
Say, does the New York Tribune own this telegraph line?
We're about to turn it over to the Boston Post.
Gentlemen...
President Grant has chosen Promontory Point, west of Ogden...
as the place where the two Pacific railroads shall meet and join their rails.
Promontory Point? Where is that?
And so President Grant has chosen Promontory Point as the meeting place...
[all chattering] for the two railroads.
The actual meeting place...
[knocking on door]
Jeff.
I've not seen you in a month of Sundays.
Sit yourself down.
I just came over to say goodbye before you get lost in the crowd out there.
Everybody's coming to see the engines meet.
You know...
California sent a golden spike to clinch the last rail.
But when they drive it...
it will mean the end of everything.
Not for you.
Dick'll be out there...
waiting to take you to a home that's not on wheels.
And no engines whistling to put me to sleep.
And where will your restless boots be taking you?
Texas.
They're starting another road down there.
Dodge asked me to go as an engineer.
It's the coming true of your dream.
I am glad for you.
Sure...
sure there'll be some girl to throw you sheep's eyes...
and boil the tea when you call for your mail.
Mollie. 'Tis just the excitement...
of joining the rails and all.
Remember me to yourself sometimes when you're...
when you're riding the handcars with some of them beautiful Texas women.
It's you I'll always want.
Some of your sweetness got into my blood.
I guess it's there for life.
And my heart will be answering you...
as long as ever it beats.
And now you'll be merciful if you'd take yourself out of here as quick as you can.
Goodbye, Mollie.
[sniffling]
[sighing]
##[band playing music]
[people cheering]
(man) Laurel wood, eh?
Ain't no hard feelings on our part, Mr. Barrows.
I'd put you in jail but for one thing. You like us, eh?
I hate the sight of you. You've cost me millions.
But you've cured my indigestion.
[both laughing]
(bartender) How come you ain't out to the big jamboree?
I got something else to do.
...and that this mighty enterprise maybe unto us...
as the Atlantic of thy strength...
and the Pacific of thy love. Amen.
I'll bet that all them that lies under the sod between here and Omaha...
would love to see this sight.
They're laying golden rails in Heaven.
And Monahan's giving the angels a free ride on old McPherson.
He is that.
(Dodge) Ladies and gentlemen...
Dr. Harkness of California.
Ladies and gentlemen...
the last rail needed to complete...
the greatest railroad enterprise of the world...
has just been laid.
And the last spike...
needed to unite the Atlantic and the Pacific...
is about to be driven.
(Harkness) To perform these acts...
the East and the West...
have come together.
Never since history commenced her record of human events...
has man been called upon...
to meet the completion of a work so magnificent in contemplation...
and so marvelous in execution.
California, within whose borders...
and by whose citizens the Pacific Railroad was inaugurated...
desires to express her appreciation...
of the vast importance...
[inaudible] to her and her sister states...
of the great enterprise, which by your joint action...
is about to be consummated.
From her mines of gold...
she has forged a spike.
From her laurel woods...
she has hewn a tie.
And by the hands of her citizens...
she offers them to become a part of the great highway...
which is about to unite her in closer fellowship...
with her sisters of the Atlantic.
From her bosom was taken the first soil.
Let hers be the last tie and the last spike.
May God confirm the unity of our country...
as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world.
[crowd cheering]
The honorable Leland Stanford...
Governor of California...
and President of the Central Pacific...
will strike the first blow at the golden spike.
##[band playing]
(girl) Mama, he missed it.
We'll take the will for the deed, Governor.
The next blow will be struck by Vice President Durant...
of the Union Pacific.
[crowd applauding]
[all laughing]
By doggies, looks to me like this railroad ain't never going to be finished.
I now call upon the man...
whose financial aid came to us in a time of great need.
Mr. Asa M. Barrows.
[crowd applauding]
[crowd cheering]
I didn't think he could do it.
Maybe we go drink our health now. Yep.
[both laughing]
The hand is quicker than the eye.
Now stop your flapdoodle and watch... Miss Mollie...
I can't find Mr. Jeff nowheres...
to tell him Campeau's in town looking for to shoot him.
Don't worry.
Jeff'll make that tinhorn look like... But he's not wearing his guns.
Well, that's different.
Use this for an anchor till I get back.
Attention, please!
Before the engines come together...
will everyone please take positions...
for a photograph.
[footsteps approaching]
[gun firing]
[groaning]
I thought you was Butler, but you had it coming anyway.
Dick. Dick!
Watch yourself.
Campeau.
I'll get you to a doctor first. No. No use, Jeff.
I've drawn the black deuce.
Bend closer. Mollie...
I'm just a...
[panting]
I'm just a busted flush.
It's your deal, Jeff.
[gun firing]
Yes, sir.
The very next day she trotted a mile in two minutes flat.
Thank you!
And so this great nation is united...
with a wedding ring of iron.
Mr. Bradford! Mr. Booth!
[crowd chattering]
The saints be praised, you're safe.
Where's Dick?
He'll be waiting for us, Mollie...
at the End of Track.
[crowd cheering]
[train whistle blowing]