Every day for 35 years she's been sitting down there
in that infernal rocking chair right under my nose.
Hannah Hoyt, Hannah Sempler, whatever her right name is.
Rocking and smiling and keeping the truth about Ethan Hoyt all to herself.
And now, today of all days, Ethan Hoyt Day.
The day they are dedicating his statue in the city square.
She has to hide inside the house somewhere
and pretend she doesn't know it's any different from 10.000 other days.
What is it?
Eastern reporters, huh? On the square, huh?
Call off my bloodhounds.
Who's watching the back of the house?
Burns.
Tell him to hop over to the square.
Eastern reporters, hmm? They're up to something.
Hello?
Yes.
No.
No. Not a sign of life.
You bet. Yeah, right away.
Who's watching the front of the house?
Pierce.
Tell him not to let those Eastern reporters out of his sight.
I bet the old lady's going to talk.
Hello?
Depth bomb.
Yeah, this is Pierce.
Yeah, I've been watching all morning.
No, just a few glasses of beer.
I'm practically there.
All clear.
And so, my friends, it is only fitting and proper
that we celebrate the anniversary
of the birth of a great American.
A man who founded this great city of ours.
Who served unselfishly in our country's halls of Congress.
A man who died here
with the shining armor of his ideals untarnished.
That's Froman of the AP over there near Forbes.
That's Paula Wales from Washington.
The other guy's Quentin of The New York Times.
united in peace...
You know, they're not here for buttons.
The chief was right. I'll bet she's gonna talk.
to a man who devoted the last 30 years of his colorful life
to an unselfish fight for the weak against the powerful.
Even at the expense of his own personal fortune.
My friends, I give you a great man,
a great American,
Senator Ethan Hoyt.
Hannah Sempler's.
Miss Sempler's, please.
The Sempler woman's home.
Miss Hannah Sempler's house.
Follow them.
Hey, wait for me.
This is my cab.
Be a sport, share it.
Where are you going?
Miss Hannah Sempler's.
Shake. The whole world's going there.
All right, Forbes. Bring up the artillery.
Well, that's one way.
I say, old boy, that's a little unsporting.
If you want a story, you get it.
She's not just news anymore, she's history.
Tell the old lady she's got guests. Impatient guests.
Oh, the old boy himself.
To what do I owe this peculiar honor may I ask?
That's fine. Hold it, Mrs. Hoyt.
My name is Hannah Sempler.
May I ask why you intrude here?
Well?
Miss Sempler, I'd like to apologize for all of us
for our rudeness in breaking in like this.
Very well, you may go.
The fact is, Miss Sempler, forget our rudeness.
It's the public who's broken in.
The public who has the right to know.
The public, in who's eyes Ethan Hoyt has grown
to the size of a national hero.
The public, sir? You are the public?
Miss Sempler, you misunderstand.
We come here humbly as it were,
seeking the answer to a great human enigma.
A matter of history.
Were you married to Ethan Hoyt?
Why did he die in your home?
Was his real wife there?
You and he had any children? Where are they?
Your claims, if true, would make him a bigamist.
We ask you to prove these claims in the public interest.
The public, sir?
You aren't the public.
The public is made up of millions of private homes like mine.
In our homes, we draw inspiration
from the memory of our great men.
Like Senator Hoyt.
You seek to destroy that memory.
You break in here with cameras and threats...
If that thing goes off again...
You seek nothing but scandal.
You'll find none here.
I bid you good day.
She can't prove a thing. Because her story is nothing but a pack of lies.
She's just an old windbag trying to crash the limelight.
Stop it! Stop it. Leave her alone.
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Whether her story is true or not,
what right have you got to persecute her like this?
Can't you see she's helpless and all alone?
She's a very old lady.
Yes, it's true. I am old. Very old.
But I've made no claims, I've told no lies.
Whatever I know is a matter of my own private history.
I am content to remain silent the rest of my few days on Earth.
That is all.
Well, you came with the rest of them.
What are you waiting for?
Because... Because I...
Yes, I know. Got a public, too?
Not yet.
Of course not. You're just a child.
But I will have. I'm a biographer.
A what?
I'm writing on the life of Senator Ethan Hoyt.
Ah!
Nice job.
You like your work?
I think he was one of the most... Well, the most wonderful...
So do I.
Guess I ought to know about that.
Then you have to help me. Please, Miss Sempler.
I've spent three years writing my book. All the money I could raise.
I've got to know what part you played, were you married to him...
All sorts of things.
My book is worthless without your help.
That's why I had to see you.
Look away, girl. Look all you like.
There's nothing much to see.
Just a hundred years of memories.
Some good, some bad.
I ought to have been buried years ago.
But you know, I...
I can't really say that.
I'd like to live to be 200 years old.
Then you and I'd both be old ladies
and we could compare notes.
That is, if you had any to compare.
Now, you run along and leave me alone.
You come back in a hundred years and I'll talk to you.
You go along now.
Hmm.
One of the meanest things about growing old.
You forget how important everything seems to young people.
Hey, girl.
Scat. Go on.
I'm all right. I'll go now.
Nothing of the sort.
Listen, I have something very special upstairs.
Twenty-year-old stuff.
Now, come on.
We'll have our own drink to Senator Hoyt.
Over here. Now you give me a hand.
That's a girl.
I'm as wiry as the devil, mind you,
but a climb gets me down.
That's a girl.
You know, girl,
you need more gumption and spirit.
Yes, that's what you need.
Oh!
Where'd you say you learned about Ethan Hoyt?
Books.
You'll never learn a man out of books.
Or a woman either.
Books.
Psst.
Ah, yes, girl. Men were different in those days.
Men like Ethan.
A drink in one hand,
and luck in the other.
Open the door, girl.
There was a band playing in his heart
and the devil in his eyes.
And I...
I was a very young lady in a stuffy Philadelphia house.
In the year 1848.
Well, I must say.
What's the matter?
Making a public spectacle of yourself.
Mama says...
Oh, don't be stuffy. Did you see how he smiled?
A gentleman would never have dared.
You mean, like my Mr. Cadwallader?
Mama says...
Because I dare say he's never smiled in his whole life.
But I almost died laughing when he proposed to me.
"Miss Sempler, I...
"I have the great honor to address myself to your favor.
"I am quite willing to overlook the fact
"that you have grown up without a mother
"to instruct you in the duties of a proper wife.
"But your father and I are thoroughly agreed that..."
That's not right and proper. What's not?
Making fun of the man you're betrothed to marry.
Oh, rats! He's really betrothed to my father.
Hannah Sempler...
Well, they made the agreement, not I.
Parents know better.
How do I look? I think he likes me.
Who? Ethan Hoyt, of course.
Hannah Sempler! Well, he smiled, didn't he?
He always smiles. Every time I see him, he smiles.
That's because he's a ne'er-do-well.
A what? It means he lives with the Indians...
Mama says...
...and smells dreadful like a buffalo.
Prove it.
He makes his clothes from dead animals.
Oh, that isn't buffalo.
It's all the same.
Well, then I think buffalos must smell lovely,
like the fresh air and the sun.
Where are you going? Downstairs.
But you can't. Why not?
He's down there.
That's why I'm going.
Where are you going, honey? Downstairs.
Don't you go in the library.
Why not?
There's a big private confabulation in there.
But, Delilah, I need a book.
You gonna need two books when your father catch you eavesdropping.
And they ain't going to be in your hands neither.
Don't you go.
Gentlemen, I wish I had the power to make you see it with my own eyes.
Two great rivers coming together like an arrow.
Like a sign from the Almighty, gentlemen.
Pointing out the natural site of a great new city.
And the public buildings, gentlemen,
all grouped around a great square
filled with fountains and trees.
And behind the city, a hill.
And on the hill, homes. Homes, gentlemen. Filled with light and air.
And the country itself...
Oh, if I only had the power.
A virgin land, like a poem.
Like a young maiden, just awaking from a long sleep.
As beautiful and as lovely as an unexpected smile.
I'm sorry, Father. I thought you might like some brandy.
Miss Sempler. Mr. Cadwallader.
My daughter, Hannah, Mr. Hoyt.
Miss Hannah.
Mr. Cadwallader is betrothed to my daughter.
I see.
Leave the room, Hannah.
Yes, Father.
To your health. I'm sure you'll be very happy.
Leave the room at once, miss. We've had enough of your childish pranks.
Yes, Father.
You were saying, Mr. Hoyt?
Oh.
Yes, I was saying...
Well, the truth of the matter is, Mr. Sempler,
I need your help. Money and supplies.
You have a branch in St. Louis
and I came to you because... Well...
Because no other business firm would carry your risk.
Because you knew my father, Mr. Sempler.
Yes, and I had great respect for his judgment. Great respect.
That's why I have listened to you.
I've named the city for him. Hoyt City.
He was a man of great vision.
Exactly.
Enough vision to say no to a venture like this.
Exactly.
Well, then you mean...
I mean no.
But there's talk of a railroad.
Don't you wild men realize what you're doing?
Talk of expanding the country.
All you're expanding is the national debt. Larger army, more taxes.
The country's large enough as it is.
Well, you listen to me Mr. Sempler. You too, Mr. Cadwallader.
This country's going to be bigger. A whale of a lot bigger, too.
There are 2.000 miles of America out beyond the Mississippi.
Land and riches beyond belief.
And it's not going to belong to men like you. Men who won't take a risk.
It's going to belong to men that aren't afraid.
Men with luck in one hand and risk in the other.
Oh, you're so right. You're so absolutely right.
Excuse me, please.
You think he's really going to...
I do, indeed.
Then you really believe in...
She's a very headstrong young girl, Mr. Hoyt.
And I suppose after your marriage you really intend to...
Oh, yes, indeed.
It helps maintain the home.
Of course, out where I come from...
You have women out West?
Oh, yes. Some.
Yes, but mostly Indian squaws, I presume.
Mostly. Only the Indians have them.
I've heard otherwise.
Well, don't let me influence you.
Exactly. I thought so.
I suppose that you...
Rope them.
You what?
Rope them, Mr. Cadwallader, and brand them with hot irons
and hang them on forked sticks over a hot fire.
Who?
Cows, Mr. Cadwallader.
Oh, I thought we were talking about women.
Women?
Why, if we had women like you have back here, we'd treat them like queens.
Mr. Hoyt, I'd ask you to remain for supper, only...
I understand.
Now, just one thing more.
About the matter of risk.
I don't want you to go away with the wrong impression.
A good safe risk is another story.
We take risks every day.
Why, right this very year it's a fair risk
that we'll make only 10% profit instead of 12.
Exactly.
That's all right, gentlemen.
I think you both lost something.
My odds are all or nothing. Good night.
I done warned you, honey lamb.
What? About the books.
Appears like to me you need the whole library.
Oh, that. It didn't hurt.
Then what you standing up for, child?
Delilah.
Yes, honey?
Were you ever engaged?
I ain't telling.
I mean, engaged, it's not like being married, is it?
Sakes, no, child.
Engaged is maybe. And married is done done.
Then if a girl got married she'd have to let him kiss her?
Who kiss who? What all this nonsense?
Mr. Cadwallader.
That little Cadwallader been trying to fun around?
Oh, of course not, Delilah.
Then what for you worrying?
You don't fool Delilah none, honey.
Oh, Delilah, I'm in love.
Foolishment.
Were you ever in love?
I ain't telling.
You're the "ain't telling-est" person.
Ain't telling is ain't fooling. You're just a child.
No, Delilah, not now.
I'm in love. I...
Fum-de-diddle. Get in bed.
Good night, sugar lamb.
Please go away.
In the morning.
For goodness sake.
I mean, I'm going for good.
Oh!
But you'll wake everyone. Father...
I warn you. I'll wake the dead.
Are you mad?
Stark, staring mad.
I believe you are.
Then come down here.
Oh, I can't.
Then I'll come up there.
Oh, no, no.
Oh!
It's...
It's night.
Mmm-hmm.
It's
quiet.
Awfully quiet.
Uh-huh.
But it's... It's public.
Awfully public.
Uh-huh.
Well...
Well, sir?
Well, then.
They say a full moon makes people do strange things.
Yeah, I guess so.
Like it's not me here, not really.
I think we'd better go back.
Do you feel strange, too?
Uh-huh.
You're afraid of something.
Uh-huh. Of what?
I don't know.
Indians?
No, there aren't any.
I know, but pretend.
Pretend what?
That there are Indians. There really are. Listen.
How do you stalk them?
Do what? Stalk, you know, like hunting.
Well, different ways.
Show me one.
Go on.
Well...
Go on.
That's fine.
Get down. They're coming.
For goodness sake.
You shouldn't be here.
Well, of all things.
I mean... Go on.
You know what I mean.
I can't imagine.
I love you.
Indeed.
Believe me.
Maybe.
Oh, but you have to. I'm going away.
You love me?
Maybe.
Oh, please, you know you do.
Oh, Ethan, yes.
You don't smell like a buffalo.
Well, not exactly.
You're crying.
Here.
May I keep it?
Yes.
To take with me?
Something of you.
Oh, Ethan.
Take me with you, too.
Storm a-coming.
For the good Lord strikes asunder what man would join, yea verily.
I can't find the place.
Just read the high spots. Rain's almost here.
Maybe I can do it without the book!
Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?
I do.
And do you...
...take this man to be your lawful wedded husband till death doth you part?
I do.
Then let no one put asunder whom God hath joined. I pronounce you man and wife.
Plain one's two bits, pretty one, a dollar.
Of course, the only difference is the flowers and things.
I'll take the plain one, please.
Flowers fade, anyway.
Yes, flowers fade.
Name?
Ethan Hoyt.
All right. Let's go.
Come on. We've got to find shelter.
Forgot to kiss the bride.
"Forever", the man said.
That's right, forever.
This looks like a good place to camp for the night.
But, Ethan, it's only three more miles.
Look, Hannah. There's something I've got to tell you.
Won't it wait?
Well, I mean, you take the morning. Things look brighter.
What do you mean?
Hoyt City. Oh, don't worry about that.
The way I feel right now Hoyt City will look like Philadelphia almost.
That's what I mean. You mean, it won't.
Well, not exactly... Well, I don't expect it to.
But just imagine. A real bed to sleep in.
People, lights, hot water and clean clothes.
I know, Hannah, but...
A home on the hill overlooking the city.
A public square filled with fountains and trees.
What kind of trees, Ethan?
Well...
Oh, don't tell me. I like surprises.
That's fine.
Hoyt City.
Oh, I can't wait. Come on, Ethan.
Well, here we are.
Everything has to start somewhere.
I'm sorry, Hannah. I wanted to tell you.
I know how it must have sounded,
like I'm just a plain liar.
A great city can grow here.
You really think so?
We'll build it, Ethan, you and I.
You bet we will.
People will help us.
That's how I meant it, what it can really be like.
A city glittering in the sun with towers like silver and gold.
And people, Ethan.
Thousands of people building something all new and shiny.
Just like you said.
It wasn't all talk either. Look.
That's where we're going to live. There's a start.
Hoyt City is nothing but a jumping-off point for the gold fields.
But if the railroad came here...
My dear Mr. Hoyt, railroads cost money.
Can you raise any?
No. So, you see...
Yeah, but I'll get the money somewhere.
I'm afraid that's not enough.
Then what do you want?
Hoyt City.
A fair share of it.
Say three-quarters of the land.
But you can't. It's mine.
Sit down, Mr. Hoyt. You're in no position to argue.
Now play fair with us. Take my advice.
Three-quarters or nothing.
No, I can't.
Why not?
Indians?
My wife. Rabbits again for dinner.
Look here, Hoyt. You'll make money on this deal.
My wife won't listen to it.
Well, what's that got to do with business?
She owns half.
Then get her to see it our way.
It's to her own advantage.
Now listen, Hoyt.
I happen to know her father. Fine man. Fine Philadelphia home.
What's she becoming out here?
A crack shot, among other things.
She deserves better.
Give her back what she had.
A real home, clothes, social position like my wife and daughter.
Get her to sign over the land.
You don't want her to turn into one of these prairie women, do you, Hoyt?
Hannah, this is Mr. Frisbee.
Howdy.
Got to clean these here rabbits, Ethan.
Uh, Mr. Frisbee wants you to sign this little paper, dear.
Uh, let the rabbits wait, dear.
This is important.
Nothing ain't important as vittles, Ethan.
You see?
Please, dear. Stop this foolishness.
It's just a matter of signature.
It's a land transfer, Hannah.
You mean you want me to sign it, Ethan?
Yes.
But I forgot how to write.
Well, here. Just make your mark on the paper there.
Oh.
There you are. Hannah.
Well, I must say. Scat!
Go on. Get out.
Get out and stay out, you miserable, little, sneaky, little, stuffy, little...
You rabbit!
Now he'll never come back.
You mean you really wanted me to sign it, Ethan?
It's not a matter of what we want. It's a matter of fact.
Hoyt City's a failure.
I don't believe it.
Don't believe what? That you can change like this.
Give up so easily.
But it's not me, it's...
Look.
Oh, I don't mind.
I want to fill it with diamonds and gold.
Ethan. Yes?
I had a dream.
So did I.
No, I mean a dream about gold.
Oh, maybe it sounds silly, but I really did.
A misty sort of dream about a mountain of gold.
A black mountain with a sunny peak,
like a beckoning finger in the sky.
But I thought you said...
I've changed my mind.
You mean we'll go? Tomorrow.
Hannah. But, Ethan.
Yes? We'll come back.
With our pockets bulging. Gold flowers for your hair.
No, I mean to Hoyt City. To finish what we've begun.
You bet we will.
We'll come back and lick Dawson and Frisbee and the whole Western Railroad crowd.
I'm off.
Where?
Down to see the boys. Get things organized.
What's up? We're off.
Where for? California.
How much gold you need, Ethan?
Fifty, maybe a hundred thousand.
Dawson and the railroad gang got millions.
Then make it a million.
Million-dollar Hoyt.
A mountain of gold, boys.
Well, it takes money to get there.
How much you got?
$100.
Right over here, friends. Try your luck with Steely Edwards.
Turn your dollar into 100.
Turn your 100 into 1.000.
How much did you say you had?
Got $100.
Here's your chance.
I got to get home, boys.
Get things organized.
We could use that $1.000 he's talking about.
Turn your 1.000 into a million.
You can't lose without trying.
It's all in the cards three-card monte, gentlemen.
I want your money.
The game's crooked, the cards are fixed. You can't win.
But who's got the money?
I take no bets from widows, paupers, orphans or cripples.
Now, who's got the money to bet on the ace?
The winning card, the ace of hearts.
Watch closely, the hand is quicker than the eye.
And you're beaten before you start.
Come, come, gentlemen. Who's got the money?
I got $100.
Eye on the ace, friend. Watch closely.
Here it is. Now here. Here.
And now where?
I told you, you can't win, friend.
Try it again.
For what stakes?
My horse.
Eye on the ace, friend. Watch it closely.
Here it is. Now, here, here.
Now where?
Two horses.
Two cows.
Six pigs.
Chickens.
Hannah Hoyt.
I wasn't counting on you, madam.
But I assure you after I get the animals bedded down for the night...
I didn't come here to talk nonsense.
You better be careful. That thing might go off.
It might.
You're a very frightening young lady.
I want everything back.
But a very lovely one.
You heard what I said.
Naturally.
But that's contrary to the sport.
Sport? You call it sport to cheat a man.
To take advantage when he...
He was only slightly, madam.
As a matter of fact, I'm drunk, too.
Completely intoxicated by the mere sight of the loveliest little assassin
that ever had designs on my heart.
Stop that silly talk or I'll shoot.
I believe you might.
Then do as I say.
Madam, you're welcome to the animals. But as for the money...
I want that, too. We need it.
It's all we have in the world. It means we can go away.
I'll tell you what. I won't give you the money, but I'll play you for it.
Against what?
A kiss. Just a little one.
Otherwise, you'll have to shoot me, I guess.
You deal.
I'm on the wrong side of the table this time.
Wow.
Hannah.
Yes?
Aren't you gonna say something?
Supper's almost ready. Better wash your hands.
No, I mean, aren't you gonna say something about...
No.
Eat your supper, Ethan.
There's a lot of work to do if we're going to be leaving tomorrow.
We were as young as you in those days.
All three of us.
Ethan and I and Steely Edwards.
He tagged after me for eight long years.
The gambler?
The man.
He was the other man in my life.
"Gambler."
Things don't turn out the way you expect.
Just like we thought we'd find that mountain of gold
and come right back here to Hoyt City.
But Senator Hoyt discovered silver.
In a way he did and in a way he didn't.
But that was after eight years.
Eight wonderful, terrible years.
Wandering up and down the whole Pacific Coast,
wherever there was a mountain.
Wonderful times, when Ethan and I were alone.
Terrible times when he was away.
Every time he came home
there was Steely Edwards.
You mean you and Steely Edwards?
Hold your horses, girl.
I don't deny there were moments.
Hmm.
There was something pretty nice about Steely.
But that's as far as it went. I loved Ethan too much.
That was when Ethan was in the Washoe Mountains, a place called Virginia City.
Yes, I was running a boarding house in Sacramento and...
I bought two tickets for the concert.
I can't go, Steely, but thanks.
That's what you always say.
By this time you ought to know what I mean.
I don't know. All I know is...
Do me a favor. Anything.
Go down to the faro house and leave me alone.
Thought you said you didn't like gambling.
I don't call it working for a living.
Thanks. I suppose Ethan never gambled in his life.
He's got nothing to do with it.
That's just the point.
For eight years he hasn't had anything to do with anything but himself.
Except when he comes home for a bath or a...
Oh, Steely, forgive me.
It's just that... I'm not quite myself.
You see, Ethan and I, we're going to have a baby.
Take your hands off my wife.
Ethan!
Steely, please go.
Not till we settle this once and for all.
That's all right with me.
Ethan, please.
Every time I come home...
You don't know what you're saying!
I know what I see.
I never carry a gun, friend.
Lucky for you. Get out and stay out.
Go on, Steely. Go on now, please.
Ethan, come eat something.
In the morning.
I can't help wondering.
About what?
Steely.
You know better.
I'm sorry.
But there's something else.
Will it keep?
Mmm-hmm.
Well, then save it till morning, will you? I'm tired. Dog tired.
Got a spare bed for a miner down on his luck, Mrs. Hoyt?
Mmm-hmm.
Fine.
Nothing?
Same old story.
A little gold, but you can't get it out of that blue stuff.
Sticky-as-pitch blue stuff.
Some people claim it's silver, but they're crazy.
It just gets in the way.
Oh, look out. It's all over my boots.
Strange country up there, Virginia City.
A black hill called the Sun Mountain.
Like a beckoning finger in the sky.
Sun Mountain.
Like a beckoning finger in the sky.
Great Scott! It's silver! Literally solid! lt'll run $5.000 a ton.
We're rich.
We're rich! We're rich!
Who is rich? Steely!
Your humble servant. Who's rich?
It's Ethan that's rich! On his boots, silver, gobs of it!
Big feet but a small mind.
Steely, lend me some money.
Why?
You know why. For him?
For me. I'll pay it all back.
Every cent from the Hoyt House. I'll cook, I'll scrub.
Oh, Steely, I'll pay it all back.
You mean you're going to stay here?
Yes.
And he'll let you stay?
He doesn't know about me. I couldn't tell him, not now.
Then he wouldn't go. Not if he knew. You wouldn't go, Steely.
No.
Oh, don't you see?
It's his big chance. It's what he's been looking for.
Grubbing and digging his way through the mountains for eight years.
He's got to go, Steely! Alone.
You know, if some woman felt like that about me,
and her name was Hannah...
Steely.
Oh, Steely!
Silver! Solid silver, I tell you! Richest ore I ever saw in my life.
Silver! Silver!
Who found it?
Ethan Hoyt. His wife!
Silver! Silver! Silver!
Ethan! Huh?
Ethan, wake up! Hmm, what is it?
Silver. That blue stuff on your boots!
Solid silver!
Oh, Ethan, hurry.
Here, get out the back way. Hurry!
What's that? Money to buy mines.
Money to buy... Where did you get it?
Hurry, don't argue.
Where'd you get it?
Steely Edwards.
That's what I thought.
You're coming with me.
No. Why not?
I can't. Why not?
I can't tell you, Ethan.
Oh, you can't tell me, huh? Or maybe I can guess. Look at me.
Yes, Ethan.
Straight in my eyes. Yes.
You can't tell me? No.
Then I know.
Oh, Ethan, please. You can't go like this thinking what you do.
Well, what else am I to think, Hannah?
Ethan, you have to go.
Answer me.
Oh.
All right, I'll go.
But I'll never come back.
Good luck, Ethan.
Why don't you go, too?
Like all the others, over the next hill?
Because I've already come over that hill, Hannah.
This is all I want.
Looks like everybody is getting out of Sacramento as fast as they can.
They're all going down to the boat, Mr. Steely.
You better throw away this horse and get back to San Francisco.
Maybe you're right. Go on back and save my place on the boat.
Armor's Diggings, Salmon Flats, Placerville and Carson City!
Connections for the Washoe stage, Cold Hill and Virginia City!
Last stage out of Sacramento, mister. The flood's coming.
Do you connect with the stage for Virginia City?
Yeah, at Carson City. Get in.
Not for myself.
For a lady and two small babies, for Virginia City.
Steely Edwards, you're a Godsend!
Had no idea it was this bad.
Here, take the babies. Help us down to the boat.
Boat?
Yes, we're going to San Francisco.
What's the matter?
Nothing.
Well, come along. You always said you wanted to take me on a trip.
If you wait any longer, it'll be too late. Come on.
It's been too late. Ever since the first time I met you, Hannah.
What do you mean?
You're not going to San Francisco.
You're going to Virginia City.
Oh, no, Steely. No, I can't.
Why not?
Well, I've never heard from him.
Look, Hannah, you love him, that's all that matters.
All your life you've swallowed your pride and gone back to him.
You can do it again.
All aboard.
Oh, I almost forgot.
I got something for Mary.
Oh!
I got Ethan a horse.
A what?
It's on rockers. Little one. It's up on the roof.
Oh, Steely!
All aboard.
Whoa!
Giddyup!
My sweet babies.
You know, if they were alive today,
they'd be 76 years old.
My children, 76.
Goodness, I must be the oldest woman in the world.
Mrs. Hoyt.
Hmm?
Perhaps you're tired.
Steely thought I was dead, too.
That's why he went up to Virginia City.
One snowy night way back in 1860
or '61...
Whiskey.
Leave the bottle.
Look out.
Save your money, stranger. Have another bottle on me.
When Ethan Hoyt buys drinks, he buys them all.
That right, boys?
That's right, Ethan.
Million-dollar Hoyt!
A mountain of silver and Ethan Hoyt on top. You hear that, stranger?
A mountain of silver and Ethan Hoyt on...
Stop where you are.
Take your hand out of your pocket.
You know I never carry a gun.
Drop that bottle.
I only came to tell you something.
Then start talking.
It's about Hannah.
What about her?
She's dead.
He killed my wife.
That's what he did. My wife, Hannah.
I know now what you meant when you said, "Come back in 100 years."
A hundred years of greatness, heartbreak, sorrow.
Only in spots, girl. That's the way life goes.
You get used to it after a while.
Hello, Martha. Hello, John. How are you?
Glad to see you.
Oh, there's Mary.
Be with you in a minute. The lady's bag.
That's it. One more bag.
I thought you were dead.
I am.
Ethan thinks we're both dead.
Ethan?
He shot me.
Where is he?
He went back to Hoyt City.
Hannah, he's married. He married again.
To whom?
A girl named Martha Dawson.
Hmm.
It's all my fault, Hannah. I sent you on that stage.
I wanted to go.
I'll win some money. I'll send you back east.
No.
But, Hannah, he doesn't know you're alive.
Better this way.
I can't stop him now. He's doing what he wanted.
What I want him to do. To build a great city. To be a great man.
He will be, Steely.
I can't stand in his way.
Hannah, you can't do this to yourself.
I don't matter.
But if my babies...
I buried them, Hannah.
Where?
Where...
Where little angels sleep.
Then we're all dead for him. All four of us.
That's how it was meant to be.
Steely.
Yes?
That's the boat to San Francisco.
You said it was too late one time.
Now it's too late for anything else.
One of our very finest show places, sir.
Just as modern as 1868 itself.
A credit to the city of San Francisco, sir.
Erected by Mr. Steely Edwards.
Save your oratory for the Senate.
For the Senate.
You say the woman who calls herself Hannah Hoyt works here?
That's right, Mr. Sempler.
Well, come along.
No, let me handle this, please.
And why?
Because if Steely Edwards knows what you're after,
you'll never get past the door.
Come right in, gentlemen. Try your luck with Steely Edwards.
Friends of mine, Steely. From the east.
They're interested in seeing your establishment.
Delighted to show you around, Senator.
You know, gentlemen, it's a peculiar thing.
But the more I tell people that the game is crooked and they can't win,
the more they seem to enjoy losing.
Of course we let them win once in a while. But they lose it right back.
If it isn't faro, it's hazard or three-card monte or roulette.
Fascinating game, roulette.
You can't lose without trying, gentlemen. Why not test your luck?
Delighted.
The special table with the most beautiful croupier in the business.
She'll help you lose your money with the greatest of pleasure.
But she won't help you spend any of it.
No more bets, gentlemen.
Keep your eye on the little ball.
Don't expect miracles, gentlemen. Lose with a smile.
Excuse me, sir. Hannah?
Father.
Is there some place we can talk?
Steely, take my place, please.
All bets down, please. All bets down.
Forgive this clutter. It's Steely's office.
I straighten it up myself every day, but you know how men are.
Oh, tell me all about yourself.
About sweet old Delilah and Bettina and Persis, too.
I bet you married one of them. Which one, Mr. Cadwallader?
"Mama says." I mean Bettina.
Father, I'm so glad to see you.
Now stop it, Hannah. There's a time and place for everything.
I came here with a business proposition, nothing more.
A what?
Everyone thinks you're dead. So did I, until today.
I want you to remain dead, legally.
But I...
I don't know what you mean, Father.
You still call yourself Hannah Hoyt?
Yes.
I don't suppose you're married to this Steely Edwards fellow?
I'm married to Ethan Hoyt.
But he's married to J.B. Dawson's daughter.
I know it.
He has a fine reputation. Fine home. Two fine children.
Two children?
So I want you to change your name and go away. Far away somewhere.
I'll make it worth your while.
It means everything to me. Everything.
Then if you won't do it for me, do it for Ethan. You owe it to him, Hannah.
He got nothing but wild ideas from you and failure.
He's come a long way without you.
The least breath of scandal would ruin him.
Dawson and I need him in Congress.
He's running against a hothead from Hoyt City.
A dreamer who thinks that building Hoyt City
is more important than building a railroad.
Why, great Scott, if Ethan's not elected,
I hate to think what it would mean for all of us!
Please go.
I might have known.
Get out.
For the last time...
Get out of here! Get out!
The house wins, gentlemen. The house always wins.
What's the matter?
I'm going back to Hoyt City, Steely.
No more bets, gentlemen.
Ethan?
Double O.
The game is against you, gentlemen. You can't win.
Better luck next time.
Better luck yourself, Steely Edwards.
My friend Ethan Hoyt says that if he's not elected,
the Western Railroad Company will change its plans
and cross the river 10 miles south of here.
This is a threat, folks.
Ethan Hoyt never used to talk like this.
He used to say like all the rest of us,
"Give us the railroad on fair terms or we'll build one ourselves."
Now he tells us, "Boys, give the Western Railroad
"three-quarters of everything in sight, or we'll ruin you and your city forever."
Oh, if I only had the silver tongue of Ethan Hoyt...
I object to that last remark as a mean and unprincipled slander!
I meant no slander, sir.
If the word "silver" bothers your conscience in any way, suppose I say "golden."
If I had a golden voice like Ethan Hoyt's,
I would use it to tell the truth.
I would use it to speak for all of us.
We're the little people, but we're trying to build something big.
Ethan Hoyt.
Friends, I beg your indulgence for just a few final remarks
in reply to my old friend and rival for Congress, Hank Allen,
who reminds me of a dog I had when I was a boy.
The dog's name was Hank, too.
Well, one day Hank... The dog, mind you.
One day Hank caught a squirrel all by himself.
It was a pretty miserable little old squirrel,
but it was a squirrel just the same,
and I needed a piece of its fur
to finish a hunting cap I was making myself.
That poor squirrel was no good at all to Hank
because he didn't know what to do with it.
But do you think he'd let me have it? No, sir.
He just growled and barked and kept it all to himself,
till it was no good to anybody, not even himself.
That's what Hank Allen is trying to do.
I founded this town. I and others.
But the time has come when we must face the facts.
Hoyt City is nothing but a jumping-off place for nowhere.
The railroad would put Hoyt City on the map.
I came back here a month ago
to live in the same little cabin I built here 21 years ago in 1847.
I am one of yourselves.
True enough, I own a great deal of land here. I don't deny it.
But most of this land I shall have to deed over to the railroad, the same as you.
I shall be poorer, not richer. Hank Allen to the contrary.
My friends, I take my stand for the Western Railroad Company and progress.
And now for Mr. Frisbee.
As for you Ethan Hoyt,
guilty conscience, huh?
No wonder you thought you saw her there in the crowd.
Hank Allen was right. "Silver-tongue Hoyt."
Remember the moonlight, Ethan?
Hannah.
What a strange, lovely night.
And we rode away, you and I.
All the wide, bright way to the Pacific sea.
Then it was really you this afternoon.
Yes.
Yes, I didn't die.
I was bringing you our babies.
They were as tiny as kittens.
Little twin kittens.
Steely found them after the flood. He thought I was dead, too.
And after he came back from Virginia City, he...
He told me about you.
And then I went away with him.
Oh, God. Forgive me, Hannah. Forgive me.
I failed you. I've always failed you.
Oh!
Oh, my goodness, Ethan.
Get up off the ground. There are no Indians to stalk around here.
I remember. And then I...
And then I went away with you for 12 glorious years.
It's chilly. Come inside, Ethan.
Light your candle again, Ethan.
I'm like a blind man, Hannah. A man in the dark.
That's why I came back.
You'll see again, Ethan. You'll see what Hank Allen sees.
What you yourself used to see better than any man on Earth.
A fine, bright world. We started to build it once.
But it's not as simple as all that, Hannah. I've changed.
I came back here alone and tried to build what we dreamed together.
You and I. But it was no good alone, Hannah.
The heart was gone out of me.
Oh, I don't want to make any excuses, not anymore.
I guess I just took the easiest way.
Just like I've always done, except when you've been around to keep me straight.
I'm in this thing just as deep as the rest of them.
Corrupting judges and legislators to get what we want.
Money is a great power, Hannah.
And my money is tied up with the Western Railroad Company.
So, you see, if I fight Dawson and those people,
I'd really be fighting myself.
But that's right. That's what you must do.
Then you've got to help me, Hannah.
I can't do it alone. Without you I've been lost.
You're not alone, Ethan. You have a family.
Yes, a little boy and a little girl.
But there's you, too, Hannah.
I'm all mixed up.
No, you're not. I've divorced you.
When?
Before I came here.
Not because I don't love you, because I always will.
But because our marriage was the only weapon they could use against you.
But I can't let you do this.
You've got to do it, Ethan.
Speak for all the things we dreamed together.
Speak for the truth and fight for it.
Speak for all the people to hear.
Help them to build something fine and free.
A country that your little boy and girl,
that all our children will be proud to inherit and live in.
I'll do it.
I know you will, Ethan.
If only we were beginning all over.
Spring never comes again, Ethan.
Perhaps in the Indian summer we'll meet once more.
Now, go.
Go, Ethan.
And don't look back.
Good luck, Ethan.
And so he rode away on his horse.
Just like he rode into my life on one.
Right straight down that hill.
Well, where there used to be a hill.
He rode down it into greatness and glory. Yeah.
The other man in my life turned out pretty well, too.
Poor old Steely.
I guess I must be the only person in the whole world
who really remembers him.
He died the same year as Ethan, in 1906, in the San Francisco fire.
He died the way he always lived. Helping other people.
Help me down the steps, girl.
I get a bit creaky at night, it seems.
Do you mind if I say something?
No. Speak ahead, girl.
I think the wrong person is on that horse in the square.
It ought to be you.
Oh. Nonsense!
Girl, I'm nobody. Just an old lady who talks too much.
Fum-de-diddle. What was I saying now?
Mmm... Oh, yes.
I wanted you to know how men like Ethan climb a long, hard road to greatness.
They need help, mind you, and then all of a sudden, there they are.
Up there on their own.
You see, Ethan's light never went out again.
He used it like a torch against all the dark, unscrupulous things
that men like Dawson and Frisbee do.
He used it like a beacon to give men hope,
men building a place of their own.
Hoyt City and a thousand other places all over the 48 states.
Yes. That's what he did, girl.
And he did it all alone.
Taxi!
I never saw him again until he came back home to die in 1906.
Then he was all alone again in the world, like I was,
and he came back here to die, a bright spring day.
His truth is marching on
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Come out of that.
Haven't the likes of you newspaper cubs any shame at all?
Oh, let me go, Murphy. I want the news.
Is the senator dead? What's he doing in Hannah Sempler's house?
The public must know. I want to get at the bottom of things.
The bottom of it, is it? Sure, and I'll be glad to help you along.
Come on, get along with you.
And let a great gentleman die in his own proper time as he likes.
Hannah.
How'd I do?
Fine, Ethan. Fine.
You gave me the strength.
And the courage.
But you did it alone, Ethan.
All alone.
No, Hannah. Not alone.
You were with me every step of the way.
I...
I wanted you to be proud of me.
I am proud of you, Ethan.
Prouder than a cat with a dozen kittens.
Hannah?
Yes, Ethan.
Come closer, girl.
Just... Just one thing more.
A kiss.
And now, there he is. Up there on his horse.
And nobody is ever going to change it.
He stirs the heart like a challenge.
That's it. That's what he always did.
Wherever there were people trampled by life,
wherever men wanted to rise up in all the bright glory of hope,
he lifted them up.
He still does. He always will.
I...
I'm kissing my biography goodbye.
Now run along.
You've got 100 years of your own to live,
if you can take it.
But I'd better help you home.
Oh, listen, girl, I've been getting home on my own since Abe Lincoln died.
But thank you just the same.
Run along.
Forever, Ethan.
Now no one can change it.
Forever.