"THE SEARCHERS" Revised Final Screenplay by Frank Nugent FADE IN Behind the main title and the credits: EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - CLOSE SHOT - MOVING JUST ABOVE GROUND LEVEL - A STUDY OF HOOFPRINTS - LATE AFTERNOON The hoofprints are deeply etched in the ground, picking their way through scrubby desert growth. An occasional tumbleweed drifts with the light breeze across the pattern of prints; and lightly-blown soil and sand begin the work of erasing them. The CAMERA FOLLOWING the hoofprints RAISES SLOWLY TO: EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON We see the rider now. BACK TO CAMERA, jogging slowly along -- heading down a long valley toward a still-distant ranch house with its outlying barn and corrals. EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - MED. SHOT - MOVING - LATE AFTERNOON The CAMERA FRAMES and MOVES with the lone horseman. He is ETHAN EDWARDS, a man as hard as the country he is crossing. Ethan is in his forties, with a three-day stubble of beard. Dust is caked in the lines of his face and powders his clothing. He wears a long Confederate overcoat, torn at one pocket, patched and clumsily stitched at the elbows. His trousers are a faded blue with an off-color stripe down the legs where once there had been the yellow stripes of the Yankee cavalry. His saddle is Mexican and across it he carries a folded serape in place of the Texas poncho... Rider and horse have come a long way. The CAMERA HOLDS and PANS the rider past and we see another detail; strapped onto his saddle roll is a sabre and scabbard with a gray silk sash wrapped around it... Horse and rider pass, moving closer to the ranch as a little girl and a small dog come tearing around the corner of the house. EXT. THE YARD OF THE EDWARDS RANCH - MED. SHOT - DEBBIE - LATE AFTERNOON She is staring wide-eyed at the distant horseman o.s. Her little dog has seen him too and is barking excitedly. DEBBIE quickly reaches to grab the dog by the scruff of the neck, crouching over him. Debbie is 11 years old with a piquant, memorable face. EXT. THE YARD - CLOSE SHOT - DEBBIE Here we must establish and dramatize what it is about her face that is memorable, so that if we were to see her again five or six years later, we would know it is she -- perhaps the eye color or the slant of eyebrow, or a trick of scratching bridge of nose with crooked forefinger. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. SHOT - AARON - LATE AFTERNOON The ranch house is of adobe, solidly built, with a sod and cross-timbered roof, deep windows. A small gallery or porch extends across the front. AARON EDWARDS comes through the door, attracted by the dog's barking -- and then he, too, sees the approaching horseman and comes farther out -- curious but not at all apprehensive. Aaron is a lean, weathered and tired man, with a down-swept mustache; a gentler-looking man than Ethan and possibly a few years older. As he squints off, studying the rider, his older daughter, LUCY, comes out to stand behind him. Lucy is from 16 to 18 -- a pleasant, feminine girl. She is carrying a mixing bowl with some sort of batter in it, which she now completely forgets to whip in her interest in the approaching stranger. In the next instant MARTHA EDWARDS follows the daughter onto the porch. Martha is a still-lovely woman, although the years have etched fine wrinkles about her eyes and mouth, and work has worn and coarsened her hands. Those hands will never be idle when Martha is on scene... And now, while she shares the family's interest in the approaching horseman, she automatically notes that Lucy has forgotten her task -- and she takes the mixing bowl from her and stirs the batter. EXT. YARD OF THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON Along the side of the house comes BEN EDWARDS, 14, with a man-sized armload of chunkwood clutched to his chest. He, too, has spotted the stranger and is all attention. So much so that he trips, but recovers his footing. He pauses to dump the wood into a woodbox by the door -- his eyes always riveted on the oncoming rider -- and then he moves toward the others, biting a splinter out of a finger. Beyond Ben, MARTIN PAULEY emerges from the barn and crosses the open ground heading toward CAMERA. Martin is somewhat under 20, a lithe, perfectly coordinated male animal, with Indian-straight hair and a white man's eyes. He is carrying bridle or other horse-gear. He looks to the family on the porch -- to see if they recognize the stranger -- then out again. He continues, followed by Ben, toward where Debbie crouches over her dog. EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - ETHAN - LATE AFTERNOON As he rides downslope toward the house. THE CREDITS END. EXT. THE EDWARDS RANCH - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA, LUCY, AND AARON - LATE AFTERNOON Suddenly, Martha's eyes widen as she -- even before Aaron -- recognizes the distant rider. Her hand goes to her mouth to check the name that trembles on her lips... An instant later Aaron, too, identifies the oncoming horseman. AARON (incredulous) Ethan? He looks at her, frowning, then slowly steps out onto the hard ground. Martha hands the bowl back to Lucy and follows Aaron. EXT. THE YARD OF THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP as Ethan rides in and sits his horse, looking down at them. There is a noticeable constraint on all of them. Finally: ETHAN Hello, Aaron... His eyes shift to Martha and hold. Ethan is, and always has been, in love with his brother's wife and she with him. ETHAN Martha... MARTHA (a bit shakily) Hello, Ethan. Ethan slowly, stiffly swings out of the saddle. Aaron and Martha exchange quick glances... troubled, puzzled. Aaron pastes on an uncertain smile as Ethan comes around his horse toward their side. AARON How's California? ETHAN How should I know? AARON But Mose Harper said... ETHAN That old goat still creakin' around?... Whyn't someone bury him? He goes to his saddle pack, begins unlacing it. Ben and Debbie have inched closer -- half-shy, half-curious. Debbie's dog begins sniffing at his heels. Ethan looks down at them - not unfriendly, just a man not used to children. ETHAN Ben, ain't you? Ben nods. ETHAN (frowning at Debbie) Lucy, you ain't much bigger than when I saw you last. DEBBIE I'm Deborah! (pointing) She's Lucy. Ethan looks in the direction of the pointing finger. EXT. YARD - ANOTHER ANGLE as Lucy steps down from the porch and approaches. MARTHA Lucy's going on seventeen now... BEN An' she's got a beau! Kisses him, too! MARTHA That's enough... Go on inside and help Lucy set the table... You, too, Deborah! EXT. YARD - FULL SHOT - ANOTHER ANGLE as Martin -- with slightly averted face -- crosses to take the bridle of Ethan's horse and lead him away. ETHAN (wheeling on him) MOMENTO! Martin checks his stride, stares in surprise. MARTHA (contritely) Martin!... Here we've been standing... Ethan, you haven't forgotten Martin? ETHAN Oh... Mistook you for a half-breed. MARTIN (levelly) Not quite... Quarter Cherokee. The rest is Welsh... So they tell me. ETHAN You've done a lot of growin'... AARON It was Ethan found you squallin' in a sage clump after your folks was massacred... ETHAN (bluntly) It just happened to be me... No need to make any more of it... MARTIN I'll take care of your horse for you, Uncle Ethan. Again, he starts to lead away. ETHAN Hold on! Martin stops again. ETHAN I'll take this... He completes unlacing the pack and takes it -- treating it as though it contained something of value. Martin watches with a touch of resentment: Ethan doesn't trust him. Ethan turns and sees the look. He doesn't care what Martin thinks, nor does he explain. Martin leads the horse off. MARTHA Supper'll be ready by the time you wash up... Let me take your coat for you, Ethan. He hesitates, then grudgingly surrenders it -- conscious of its sorry condition. MARTHA (smiling faintly) And... welcome home. He just nods, then turns to follow Aaron around the side of the house toward the wash-up. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA She stands alone, looking after Ethan -- his coat in her arms. She holds it against her breast for just a moment and her eyes are tender. DISSOLVE TO: INT. EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - NIGHT The family is finishing dinner -- and the scene is not quite, but almost, a still-life. Loud in the room is the pendulum tick of a Seth-Thomas clock on the mantel above the fireplace -- in which logs are burning briskly. Ben crouches near the fireplace, fascinatedly examining the scabbard and sabre Ethan has brought home from the wars. He tries to ease the blade just a bit out of its scabbard. Aaron sits at one end of the hand-hewn table, Martha at the other. At her right is Ethan, his fork scraping the last crumb off his plate. Lucy sits at her father's right and Martin at his left. Next to Martin is Debbie. In the center of the table is the sorry remnant of what was once a meal. Lucy and Martin have finished eating. Aaron is sipping his coffee, and Martha -- her own plate largely untasted -- is watching Ethan. Ethan has shaved, changed his shirt. He straightens contentedly and every eye is on him, expectantly. ETHAN Good. The clock rattles alarmingly -- the usual preliminary to its striking; and then it bangs out the strokes like a fire-alarm gong. Eight fast clangs. AARON Ben! Deborah! Bed! DEBBIE But I've got to help with the dishes. MARTHA Not tonight... Ben, put that sword back. BEN It's not a sword, ma... it's a saber! (moving to Ethan) Did you kill many damYankees with this sabre, Uncle Ethan? ETHAN (matter-of-factly) Some... BEN How many damYankees, Uncle Ethan? MARTHA Ben!... Martin, he'll sleep in the bunkhouse with you tonight. Martin nods and crosses to kiss Martha good night. MARTIN Good night, Aunt Martha... Uncle Aaron... (he hesitates) Good night, Uncle Ethan. Ethan doesn't like being called Uncle -- as we must know from the quick look he shoots at Martin. But he acknowledges it. ETHAN Night. Ben reluctantly puts the scabbard away, turns to Ethan. BEN Will you tell me tomorrow about the war? AARON The war ended three years ago, boy! BEN It did?... Then whyn't you come home before now? MARTHA BEN!... Go 'long with Martin. MARCH! As Ben reluctantly heads out with Martin, Deborah crosses to Ethan's side and studies him gravely. DEBBIE Lucy's wearing the gold locket you gave her when she was a little girl... ETHAN Oh? DEBBIE She don't wear it much account of it makes her neck green. LUCY (aghast) Deborah! DEBBIE (defensively) Well, it does... But I wouldn't care if you gave me a gold locket if it made my neck green or not. Ethan looks at her gravely. ETHAN 'Fraid I... (then he remembers something, rises) Wait. He crosses to where his pack is -- a side table or something -- and burrows into it. Debbie is at his side. ETHAN How about this? It is a gold medal or medallion -- something appropriate to Maximilian of Mexico -- suspended by a long multi-colored satin ribbon. DEBBIE Oh! LOOK! My gold locket! She holds it high for mother -- and all -- to see. Martha takes it and reacts at its weight. MARTHA It's solid gold... Ethan, I don't think she's old enough... ETHAN Let her keep it... Just something I picked up in Mexico. Martha reluctantly surrenders it to Debbie's eager hand. Aaron hasn't missed the word "Mexico" and looks sharply at Ethan. DEBBIE Oh, thank you, Uncle Ethan... LUCY (to Debbie) Come along... The two girls leave the main room. Martha and Aaron both look at Ethan -- half expecting some further explanation. He turns from them and looks into the fire. Martha begins to clear the table. Aaron gets up, takes a pipe and a spill -- lights it at the fire. ETHAN Passed the Todd place comin' in... What happened to 'em? AARON They gave up... went back to the cotton rows... So'd the Jamisons... Without Martha, I don't know... She wouldn't let a man quit. Ethan turns and looks at her -- still busy with her dishes. AARON (change of tone) Ethan, I could see it in you before the war... (Ethan looks at him) You wanted to clear out! Martha freezes in what she's doing -- listening. AARON And you stayed out beyond all need to... WHY? Ethan can't answer, but he takes it as a challenge and almost welcomes it. ETHAN (hard) You askin' me to clear out now? AARON (straightening -- with grave dignity) You're my brother... You're welcome to stay as long as you got a mind to... Ain't that so, Martha? MARTHA (almost a whisper) Of course he is. ETHAN I expect to pay my own way... Martha resumes her activity. Ethan crosses to his pack, reaches into it for a leather pouch, brings it back and tosses it onto the table. It lands with a resonant clink. Both Martha and Aaron draw close to the table. (NOTE TO WINTON HOCH: This scene should be dramatically back- lighted.) ETHAN There's sixty double eagles in there... twelve-hundred dollars. He opens a waistline shirt button and hauls out a leather money belt and drops that on the table. ETHAN An' twice that in here. He reaches into the belt and takes out a few mint-fresh gold pieces which he slides across the table. ETHAN ...only these got the late Emperor Maximilian's picture on 'em. Martha picks up one of the gold pieces, staring at the face on the coin: the same as that on the medal -- staring sharply then at Ethan. Aaron is examining another coin with a different interest. AARON Mint fresh... not a mark on 'em. He glances questioningly at Ethan. ETHAN So? Aaron shrugs and crosses to a barrel chair. He raises the seat and lifts out a pair of old boots, some rags of clothing and then raises a false-bottom lid and drops pouch and money belt into it. Carefully he replaces everything. During this Ethan's attention has gone to Martha's hand, to one cut finger, its wound barely healed. He takes the hand -- gently. ETHAN Cut yourself? She nods and withdraws the hand. ETHAN (softly) You were always hurting about your hands. She looks quickly at him and self-consciously tries to hide her hands, conscious of their work-worn appearance. Then for a moment their eyes meet and hold -- and a world of sadness and hopelessness is in the look. Aaron closes the seat of the barrel chair. AARON Time for bed... He picks up one of the lamps and starts away toward their bedroom door. Martha looks at Ethan again. His expression is bitter. AARON Night, Ethan... Come 'long, Martha. She turns obediently and follows Aaron. Ethan looks after them and waits as Aaron opens the bedroom door. Martha goes into it and Aaron follows and closes the door. Ethan crosses to the lamp on the mantel, blows it out. Only the firelight strikes his face as he stares broodingly at the closed bedroom door. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. YARD OF THE EDWARDS' HOUSE - FAINT DAWN LIGHT Debbie's dog is barking excitedly as six horsemen slowly ride toward the house and dismount. A lamp goes on inside. THE SIX HORSEMEN ARE: CAPTAIN, THE REVEREND SAM CLAYTON, a big man with frosty blue eyes, graying hair, a bristly full mustache and the air of grave and resolute authority. He is a minister of the Gospel with a .44 on his hip. LARS JORGENSEN, the Edwards' neighbor, is a harried little man, Scandinavian. As we shall find out soon, he has a brisk and buxom wife and a rather astonishing brood of children. BRAD JORGENSEN is one of these: sandy-haired, brash, amiable, impulsive. He is in his early twenties. CHARLIE MacCORRY, slightly older than Brad, is Sergeant of Company A of the Rangers. (He is also Company A.) Charlie is a taciturn, gently-spoken, competent man, clearly patterned by his association with Captain, the Rev. Sam. MOSE HARPER is an old scout -- a walking bone-rack, yet capable of tireless feats of endurance. Some think him "tetched" yet he has managed to endure to his age during a time and in a region where few men lived to see their grandchildren. He wears a ragged dark overcoat in all weather, a narrow-brimmed hat with a feather in its band. ED NESBY is a rancher and homesteader in his mid-thirties; resolute, honest, self-effacing; nothing picturesque or dramatic about him; just a solid citizen and a realist. 16-A INT. EDWARDS' HOME - CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA She is at the window of her bedroom, wrapper clutched with one hand, lamp upraised in the other as she stares into the dawn to see who these callers are. We hear the heavy foot- falls of the approaching men, then a loud knock thrice repeated -- an ominous sound. OMITTED 17-A INT. THE EDWARDS' - ANGLE AT DOOR SAM'S VOICE Aaron! Open up!... Sam Clayton! The door is opened by Aaron -- holding a lamp and a gun. He is only partly dressed -- pants, boots, undershirt. The bar of light slashes across the faces of Sam and some of the men behind him. AARON Reverend... Come in! INT. THE EDWARDS' HOUSE - FULL SHOT CLAYTON Sorry to get you out of bed so early... (as Martha enters, tightening her wrapper) Mornin', Sister Edwards. MARTHA What is it, Reverend? CLAYTON Lars Jorgensen claims someone bust into his corral last night and run off his best cows... AARON You mean those pure breds he just bought? Jorgensen enters -- an angry little man -- closely followed by Mose Harper, who is grinning foolishly. JORGENSEN Next time I raise pigs, by golly! You never hear of anyone running off pigs, I bet you. MOSE Injuns has 'em... Caddoes or Kiowas... Kiowas or Caddoes. CLAYTON (irritably) Caddoes! Mose spots Martha and at once whips off his hat and makes her an exaggerated cavalier's bow. MOSE Respects to a charmin' lady, ma'am. ...Respects, respects... Ed Nesby enters. NESBY Mornin'... MARTHA Coffee's made if you... CLAYTON Coffee'd be fine, sister... She heads for the stove. MOSE (an old man's whimper) My bones is cold... His eyes brighten as he looks toward the fire and spots a rocking chair. He shuffles toward it, plants himself and begins rocking and half-crooning to himself. JORGENSEN Or bumble bees, by golly... I show them dirty rustlers! MOSE (crooning) Lookit me, old Mose Harper, rockin' in a rockin' chair... I'm a-goin' to set 'n rock, 'n rock, 'n rock, 'n rock... The front door opens to admit Martin, fully dressed and armed, with Charlie MacCorry. CLAYTON Over here, Martin... Aaron... Martin ranges himself next to Aaron and both face Clayton. CLAYTON Raise your right hands. Martha sets out cups on the table, begins pouring the coffee. During the swearing-in, Ethan will enter the room from the inner door -- unnoticed by the other men, but not by Martha. And as the scene plays, the audience must always be conscious of the by-play of glances between Martha and Ethan as they face the prospect of being left in this house together. CLAYTON You are hereby volunteer privates in Company A of the Texas Rangers and will faithfully discharge the duties of same without recompense or monetary compensation -- meaning no pay!... Amen and get your shirt on, will you, Aaron. AARON (stubbornly) Ain't goin' volunteerin' after rustlers without my morning coffee, Reverend... Drink your own! CLAYTON (sternly -- as he reaches for his cup) From now on, call me 'Captain'! But Ethan advances and calmly appropriates the cup Clayton is reaching for... ETHAN (mockingly) Captain the Reverend Samuel Johnson Clayton!... Mighty impressive. Clayton marks his surprise. CLAYTON (dourly) Well... the prodigal brother... When'd you get back? Ethan sips his coffee and doesn't answer. CLAYTON Haven't seen you since the surrender. (a pause) Come to think of it, I didn't see you at the surrender. ETHAN I don't believe in surrenderin'... I still got my sabre, Reverend... never turned it into any ploughshare neither! JORGENSEN Is no time for kaffee-klatch while a man's beef is been run off. MOSE Injuns, Ethan... (taps his nose) Caddoes or Kiowas... Mose Harper, drinkin' coffee in a rockin' chair. ...ay-eh! Martha has left the room briefly to fetch Aaron's shirt and vest and stands behind him. Aaron drains his cup. AARON Ethan, countin' on you to look after things while I'm gone. Ethan -- cup to his lips -- looks over its rim at Martha as Aaron starts to put on his shirt. Their eyes meet briefly, then she looks away. Ethan sloshes the dregs of his cup into the fire -- some of it spattering Mose. ETHAN You ain't goin'... CLAYTON He sure is goin'... He's sworn in. ETHAN (angrily) Well, swear him out again!... I'll go with you. Martha stands submissively, with her head bent, eyes averted as Ethan crosses the room to get his coat, guns, etc. Aaron follows him. AARON Now, Ethan, I ain't sure... ETHAN Don't argue!... And stay close... Maybe they're rustlers... and maybe this dodderin' old idiot ain't so far wrong... MOSE Thankin' ye, Ethan... thankin' ye. Kind words... CLAYTON (grudgingly) All right... I'll swear you in... ETHAN You can forget that... (as Sam stares) Wouldn't be legal anyway. CLAYTON Why? (a pause -- then shrewdly) You wanted for a crime, Ethan? Martha waits -- intent. ETHAN You askin' as a Reverend or a Captain, Sam? CLAYTON I'm askin' as a Ranger of the sovereign state of Texas. ETHAN Got a warrant? CLAYTON You fit a lot of descriptions. ETHAN (levelly) I figger a man's only good for one oath at a time... I took mine to the Confederate States of America... (he pauses -- then) So did you, Reverend... He looks past him then -- at Martha and then at Aaron. ETHAN Stick close, Aaron... He looks at Martha again... and then strides out. EXT. THE EDWARDS' HOUSE -- DAWN LIGHT As Ethan emerges he is brought to a momentary halt by sight of a couple -- Brad and Lucy -- in each other's arms, standing near the saddled horses of the posse. Clayton and Jorgensen following him out, spot the couple, who now belatedly are conscious of their audience. JORGENSEN Brad!... Is no time for lolly- gagging... In confusion, Lucy runs back around the side of the house as Brad -- unrepentant -- grins at his irascible old man and heads for his waiting horse. Clayton chuckles and turns toward Martha, who has followed them out. CLAYTON Looks like I'll be reading the lines over that pair before long, sister Edwards. JORGENSEN Is no time for talking weddings... Better say prayers for those dirty thieves, by golly... running off a man's beef... Mose, last to emerge, bows elaborately to Martha. MOSE Grateful to the hospitality of yore rockin' chair, ma'am... The men are mounting. Mose nimbly vaults onto the back of his horse -- which he rides bareback, with only a blanket pad. AND OMITTED EXT. THE EDWARDS' HOUSE -- DAWN LIGHT as Ethan and Martin ride to join the group. CLAYTON Let's get on with it... DEBBIE WAIT! She comes flying out of the house in her long flannel nightie and runs to Martin. DEBBIE Martin! Ride me as far as the well! MARTIN Grab hold!... He swings her up in front of his saddle. They start away. Ethan is last to ride out. He is watching Martha. He brings a gloved hand up in a salute. She starts to raise her hand but only brings it just above her waist, a fluttering gesture with tremulous fingers. It is the last he will ever see of her alive. EXT. YARD OF THE EDWARDS' HOUSE - FULL SHOT as the posse slowly rides out, with Ethan last. Martin reins in to let Debbie slip to the ground. Ethan passes her. Debbie stands watching the men ride away, waving at them. AARON'S VOICE (calling) DEBORAH! She turns and comes running back -- CAMERA PANNING -- to the little group on the porch; Ben in the door; Lucy crossing the porch; Aaron and Martha at the steps. SLOW DISSOLVE TO: EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - POSSE - LATE AFTERNOON Ethan and Mose are advancing at a steady walk, both men leaning slightly out of their saddles to study the terrain -- the trail they are following. Out to one side -- fifty yards distant -- is the main body of the posse: Sam, Jorgensen, Charlie, Ed, moving roughly parallel to Ethan but at a faster clip. Martin comes riding in toward Ethan from behind CAMERA. MARTIN (calling) Uncle Ethan! Ethan reins in -- compressing his lips at the "Uncle." Mose waits. MARTIN Somethin' mighty fishy about this trail, Uncle Ethan... ETHAN Stop callin' me 'uncle'... I ain't your uncle. MARTIN Yes, sir. ETHAN Don't have to call me 'sir' neither... Nor grampaw neither... Nor Methuselah neither... I can whup you to a frazzle. Mose lets out a snickering laugh. MARTIN What you want me to call you? ETHAN Name's Ethan... Now what's so mighty fishy about this trail? MARTIN Well, fust off... He breaks and all turn at a distant hail from Jorgensen. JORGENSEN Look! Look! OMITTED EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - RISE OF GROUND - BRAD He is holding his rifle with both hands straight over his head -- and he repeats the signal until he sees they have seen him. JORGENSEN'S VOICE (excitedly) Brad! He's found them... Come on! EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE POSSE WITH BRAD IN THE DISTANCE as Jorgensen digs spurs and leads the way. The other riders follow. MED. SHOT - BRAD - RISING GROUND - LATE AFTERNOON He waits grimly until he sees them coming, then wheels his mount and takes off over the hill. FULL SHOT - THE POSSE as it comes up the rise and the men rein in on the crest. Jorgensen stares and his face mirrors shock and dismay. The other men look down into the long valley on the far side with equally grim expressions. ETHAN Call that young fool back! Jorgensen doesn't even seem to hear him. Angrily Ethan whips out revolver and fires into the air. Then he swings his arm in a come-back gesture. He rides out ahead then a short distance and dismounts... and slowly the others follow. We see now, the bodies of a few bulls stiffening in the sun. Ethan goes to the nearest one. A feathered lance is driven into it. He pulls the lance out. Mose comes over beside him. ETHAN (angrily) Caddo or Kiowa, huh?... Ain't but one tribe uses a lance like that! He hands the lance to Mose. MOSE (almost a whisper) Ay-he... Comanch! Brad rides in -- shrill with anger. BRAD Killed every one -- an' not for food either... Why'd they do a thing like that? ETHAN Stealing the cattle was just to pull us out... This here's a murder raid... (facing Jorgensen) It shapes up to scald out either your place... or my brother's. Jorgensen wilts and casts an anguished look back over the miles they have ridden. JORGENSEN Mama!... Oh please... please no... BRAD! And with that one word, Jorgensen calls upon his son to follow and they take off... fast. Ed Nesby and Charlie MacCorry follow. Sam Clayton pauses. CLAYTON Jorgensen's place is closest... If they're not there, we'll come straight on! Then he too rides. Martin swings his horse back to where Ethan and Mose still are standing. MARTIN Well, come on! ETHAN Easy! (he starts toward his horse) It's forty miles, sonny... Horses can do with some grain and a little rest. MOSE Comanch generally hits at moonrise. MARTIN Moonrise!... It'll be midnight before... I ain't waitin'...! He wheels his horse and goes tearing to catch up with the others. Ethan shrugs and stoically takes grain bag to feed his horse. Mose does the same. MOSE Wisht it was Caddoes... or Kiowas... (shakes his head) Comanche... Ethan just gives him an angry look and then ruthlessly begins discarding every bit of unnecessary equipment from his saddle. WIPE TO: EXT. THE EDWARDS RANCH - WIDE ANGLE - SUNDOWN Nothing moves. Nothing could be more tranquil. The shadows are long. A thin wisp of smoke rises from the chimney. And then Debbie's little dog trots around the side of the house out into the yard. EXT. EDWARDS YARD - CLOSE SHOT - THE DOG - SUNDOWN He comes to a standstill and his nose is working. He begins to make excited little sounds deep in his belly. Then he lies down, muzzle between his paws, watching, listening. INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - ANGLING TOWARD THE DOOR Debbie sits on the floor, playing with a little rag doll. The slanting blaze of the setting sun makes a brilliant area of light in which she is sitting. Beyond her, on the porch steps, Ben is squatting, whittling a piece of pine into a slingshot frame. We hear Martha and Lucy busy with the dishes. Aaron comes from behind CAMERA and stands in the doorway, absently rapping out his pipe. Near the doorway, on a wooden peg, hangs his gun, belt. He puts the pipe in his pocket and glances down at Deborah, intent on her play. He looks swiftly at where the women are busy - then stealthily eases the gun from its holster and slides it under his shirt. He hasn't made a sound and is sure he's got away with it. He clears his throat noisily and reaches for a light shotgun pegged above the door. AARON Think I'll see if I can pick off a sage-hen or two, Martha... INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA AND LUCY busy at the wooden sink. Martha doesn't turn. MARTHA You do that, Aaron... AARON (still pleased with himself) Won't go far... He steps out. Only then does Martha turn -- and her EYES GO AT ONCE TO: INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - ANGLING TO DOOR and FRAMING the empty holster, as Aaron pauses on the porch. LUCY'S VOICE My, the days are getting shorter! INT. EDWARDS HOUSE - CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA AND LUCY as Lucy heads for the lamp. MARTHA (sharply) Lucy!... We don't need the lamp yet... Lucy frowns at her mother. MARTHA (easily) Let's enjoy the dusk a while. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - AARON AND BEN - ON PORCH Aaron is slowly scanning the terrain. AARON (to Ben) Mind you sweep up them shavin's. BEN Yes, Pa... (undertone -- man to man) An' if you see any sage-hens, I'm ready. Aaron stares as the boy shifts a fold of blanket, or whatever, by his side -- to disclose Ethan's cavalry sabre. Aaron smiles and rubs the youngster's head, then sets out across the yard. EXT. THE EDWARDS YARD - FULL SHOT - MOVING Debbie's dog rises at Aaron's approach and joins his master as they set out across the plain. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY NEAR EDWARDS HOME - MED. CLOSE SHOT - AARON He is walking through the scrub and brush grass, every sense alive and straining. He pauses every three or four strides -- casting each quadrant in turn. Once he whips, gun ready, as a sage-hen or quail whirrs up not far from him. He smiles grimly as he watches it fly away. He keeps on. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - AT PORCH Martha comes to stand in the doorway. Ben doesn't look at her. His eyes -- like hers -- are fixed on the figure of the man. BEN (quietly) It's all right, ma... I been watchin'... Only I wish... MARTHA (quietly) What, Ben? BEN I wish Uncle Ethan was here. Don't you, ma? She doesn't answer. Lucy comes to the door. LUCY Mother, I can't see what I'm doing!... MARTHA NOT YET, LUCY!... EXT. RISING GROUND - WIDE ANGLE - PAST AARON He stands on the near slope of a rise and then gradually moves toward its summit, so that only head will be silhouetted. He drops to one knee, half-leaning against the slope and slowly looks out... The CAMERA PANS very slowly, following his careful sweep of the terrain. The scene is entirely peaceful. EXT. RISING GROUND - CLOSE SHOT - AARON with narrowed eyes slowly scanning the ground. Suddenly the head whips right. We hear a bird's sharp call. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - SKYWARD SHOT - A SMALL BIRD It is taking flight, sweeping away in erratic arcs. EXT. RISING GROUND - CLOSE SHOT ON AARON He squints closely at the ground from which the bird had flown. Then slowly his eyes range toward the left. EXT. RISING GROUND - WIDE ANGLE - PAST AARON Across the meadow, a shadow seems to touch the grass and at once a covey of quail takes off, whirring loud. Aaron waits no longer, but slides down the slope and starts running at a crouch for the house, stopping every so often to look backward. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA AND BEN - SUNSET NOTE TO W. HOCH: What J.F. has in mind for this and the following scenes is the same kind of dramatic use of red you achieved in "Yellow Ribbon" in the scene telling of Custer's defeat. They are standing in the ruddy glare of the sunset and Ben has Ethan's sabre in his hand. We hear Aaron coming at a run, breathing hard. Ben takes a step as though to go to him, but Martha's hand at once is on his shoulder. Aaron gains the porch. AARON In the house, boy... and... He puts finger to his lips, sign for Ben to say nothing. Ben nods and goes inside. Aaron and Martha face each other, the question large on her face. Slowly he nods the confirmation of her fears, then gently propels her ahead of him through the door. INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - SUNSET The room is deeply shadowed except where the dull crimson of the sun through door and windows slashes the blackness. Ben is waiting and Martha turns toward Aaron as he pulls the door shut, bars it and sets the shotgun down. He takes the revolver from his waist and Martha holds it as he reaches for his gun belt. AARON Ben, close the shutters. Buckling on his gun belt, he moves toward the middle of the room, looking around him, taking inventory of his resources. Lucy slowly approaches, biting a knuckle, eyes wide with fright. LUCY Pa? One shutter closes and the bar of light they were standing in goes out. Martha, Aaron and Lucy are dark silhouettes now against the red beam from another window. MARTHA (sudden fear) Where's Deborah?... (calling it) DEBORAH! Debbie emerges from a shadowed corner into a beam of light. She is clutching her rag doll, nibbling a cookie. She holds it for them to see. DEBBIE I only took one, ma... Topsy was hungry. Ben closes the shutter. And now the room is almost completely blacked out, except for the dying light filtering through the rifle ports of the closed shutters. WIPE TO: EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE SHOT - THE POSSE - DUSK This should be an expansive view to convey the fact that the posse has split -- the main group heading for the Jorgensen place, Martin forking off to race alone for the Edwards ranch. Coming toward and passing CAMERA is Martin, riding all out. Several hundred yards away and moving in a divergent direction are the others -- Brad and Charlie, Sam, Jorgensen and Ed Nesby. The men are not compactly bunched, but strung out, each taking his own best course and his own speed... As the riders pass and the dust of their passing, we see two other riders -- Ethan and Mose -- minute specks in the distance, possibly a mile or two behind. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - MOVING SHOT - ETHAN AND MOSE - DUSK (NOTE TO W. HOCH: What we are trying to get here is that moment of swift transition from twilight to night; of riders briefly touched with the last colors of day and then, as they pass, becoming one with blue shadows of night.) Ethan and Mose are holding their mounts to a jog, in marked contrast to the all-out pace of the others. The CAMERA PANS after them as the dark fingers of the night stretch across the valley. The wind begins to rise and somewhere off in the hills a coyote pack yaps. DISSOLVE TO: INT. EDWARDS - ANGLING PAST AARON AT WINDOW INTO ROOM - NIGHT Aaron is little more than a shadowy silhouette as he peers into the night through a partly-opened shutter. Suddenly the room leaps alight as Lucy opens an inner door and enters, holding a lighted lamp. Aaron closes the shutter, spins on her angrily. AARON LUCY! Martha crosses the room swiftly and blows out the lamp. In the brief moment the room has been lighted, we see that Lucy is carrying a dark shawl in one hand; that Ben is crouched at another window -- rifle ready; and that Deborah is on her feet -- standing like a child who is being dressed. LUCY I'm sorry... I couldn't find the shawl... AARON Hurry, Martha... Moon's fixin' to rise... He cautiously swings the shutters open. A pale light filters into the room. We see Martha wrapping the shawl around Deborah. MARTHA (softly to the child) We're going to play the sleep-out game... Remember?... Where you hide out with grandma? DEBBIE Where's she buried? MARTHA And you'll go along the ditch -- very quietly -- like a... (her voice breaks) DEBBIE Like a little mouse. AARON Now! He reaches for the child, but he has to wait for Martha's last embrace. MARTHA There!... And you won't come back or make a sound... no matter what you hear? Promise!... No matter what? DEBBIE I promise... Wait! AARON Child, child! DEBBIE Can't I have Topsy to keep me company? AARON There's no time... MARTHA Here she is, baby... Baby... Aaron takes the child, swings her out the window. AARON Down low -- go! Martha would come to the window to look out, but Aaron bars her with an arm and draws back to the side of the window to watch her go... Outside the little dog barks a welcome and presumably starts to follow the girl. Aaron reacts. AARON (hoarse whisper) Here dog... here! The dog whines but obeys. Aaron continues watching the child's course -- unconsciously imitating her every run and twist... Then he smiles and we may see the brightness in the corners of his eyes. AARON She reached the ditch... He closes the shutters and turns -- and his arms go around Martha, weeping soundlessly. AARON She'll be all right, mother... she'll be all right. EXT. A HILLOCK WITH TWO HEADBOARDS - MED. CLOSE SHOT - NIGHT Nothing stirs and we hear nothing. Then, with faintest little rustle, Debbie comes snaking along the ground into the hollow between the two graves and lies there face down, pressed against Topsy. She becomes one with the earth and the stillness. And then the moonlight strikes the tips of the scrub growth and as a cloud scuds by, the moonlight reveals something glittering -- like beads. And the CAMERA from that ground-level shot RAISES QUICKLY TO: CLOSE SHOT - FROM EXTREME LOW ANGLE - SCAR The Comanche we are later to know as SCAR is painted for war -- tall, savage, mockingly looking down at what we know is the child's hiding place... And in that instant, from a dozen quarters and a dozen throats, sounds the wild yammer of the warwhoop! DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. RISING GROUND - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTIN - MOONLIGHT He stands beside his spent and fallen horse. Its breathing is a rasping whistle. Martin tries to haul its head up. Useless. Breathing hard himself, his face ashen in the moonlight, Martin looks desperately off in the direction of the ranch. Then he jerks the rifle from its saddle scabbard -- struggling with it because it is under the horse. He freezes then -- listening... And we hear the steady beat of two horsemen approaching. Martin knows who they are and his face is alive with hope. He gets the rifle free at last and goes running toward the oncoming riders. MARTIN (shouting) Ethan!... Ethan! The CAMERA SWINGS with him and we see Ethan and Mose approaching at the same steady gait. MARTIN (waving) Uncle Ethan... it's me... Martin! Ethan doesn't slacken, nearly rides him down. ETHAN Out of my way! Martin goes sprawling to his hands and knees. Mose continues without slowing. EXT. RISING GROUND - ANOTHER ANGLE - PAST THE RIDERS - MOONLIGHT MARTIN (desperately) Mose! Wait!... He goes running, stumbling after the riders -- desperately calling to them... MARTIN Ethan!... Mose!... And then at the crest of the rising ground, he stops -- We see in the distance the glow of a fire leading from the barns and the hayricks and the house of Aaron Edwards. Martin runs down the slope. EXT. YARD AND APPROACH TO EDWARDS HOUSE - WIDE ANGLE - NIGHT (NOTE TO W. HOCH: Here again that use of red is suggested.) The ANGLE is past the porch uprights toward Mose and Ethan as they ride in. Little tongues of fire are licking the edges of the uprights. A few arrows, imbedded in the wood, are burning along their shafts. Beyond are the glowing ashes of the hayricks and the charred, smouldering rails of the corral. There are no bodies in evidence... The red glow of the burning is on the faces of the men as they dismount. Ethan strides to the porch, knocking away one of the blazing arrows as he heads to the door. He stops there -- and what he sees makes the big shoulders droop, the huge frame slump. Slowly then -- and removing his hat -- he goes in. Mose shuffles to the edge of the porch and squats there and rocks back and forth, his face working and crying soundlessly with senile grief. We hear a splintered door crash from its hinges within the room and Ethan's muffled voice calling through the house: ETHAN (O.S.) Lucy?... Deborah? Lucy? He strides back through the main room and out onto the porch just as Martin comes at a shambling run across the yard. Ethan takes a few steps out toward him. Martin would pass him, but Ethan grabs his arm. ETHAN (harshly) You stay out! Martin tries to fight his arm free. ETHAN Nothing for you to see. MARTIN Leggo... Ethan turns him and drives a brutal right to his jaw. Martin goes down -- out cold. And only now do we understand how merciful the blow was as Ethan looks compassionately at the fallen figure. ETHAN Don't let him go in there, Mose... And he takes off at a stumbling run for the hilltop. EXT. THE HILLOCK WITH THE TWO HEADBOARDS - FULL SHOT - ETHAN as he nears the graves. ETHAN (calling) Lucy -- Lucy! He runs in, looking around him. He sees the little dog, dead on the ground. And then he sees a shadowed something: The shawl Debbie had worn. It is spread out, almost as though concealing a body. Fearfully he stoops and pulls it away... There is nothing there, but the shawl. He drops to his knees, his head bowed, his face tortured. The moonlight is clear on the face of the nearer headboard. It is of weathered wood and the chiselled letters on it read: HERE LIES MARY JANE EDWARDS KILLED BY COMANCHES MAY 12, 1852 a good WIFE & MOTHER In her 41st year SLOW DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE HILLOCK - FULL SHOT - SLOWLY PANNING - DAWN LIGHT The funeral is begun. In the foreground are three newly- made crosses at the head of as many open graves -- which we need not see. With head bared, Sam Clayton is concluding his prayer. Near him stand the Jorgensen family: Mrs. Jorgensen, Lars and LAURIE -- blonde, just beginning to reach her maturity -- and a stepping-stone of tow-headed children. CLAYTON ...and to Your keeping we commend the souls of Aaron... Martha... and Benjamin Edwards... Mrs. Jorgensen and Laurie -- impelled by the same feminine sympathy and interest -- turn to look at Ethan and Martin. The PANNING CAMERA picks them up...Ethan standing dry-eyed, looking at the grave of Martha; Martin -- with bruised lip -- looking out across the plain. Clayton now opens his small, well-worn Bible to a marked page. CLAYTON Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble... Ethan looks at him, angrily, impatiently. CLAYTON He cometh forth like a... ETHAN (harshly) Amen!... Put an 'amen' to it! CLAYTON ...like a flower and is cut down... Amen! ETHAN ET AL. Amen! Ethan turns on his heel and walks -- CAMERA PANNING -- to where Ed Nesby has been holding the horses. Brad is already mounting. Mose is there too and Charlie MacCorry. Silhouetted against the dawn light are the rifles in each man's saddle scabbard. Clayton is right behind Ethan. CLAYTON Charlie--you and Brad ride point! ...Don't get too far ahead... The young riders spur out. EXT. NEAR HILLOCK - MED. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN AND MRS. JORGENSEN Ethan is about to mount when Mrs. Jorgensen comes up and catches his arm. MRS. JORGENSEN Ethan... (he turns impatiently) Those girls mean as much to me as though they were my own... Maybe you don't know my Brad's been sittin' up with Lucy... and my Laurie's real fond of Martin... Ethan glances back at where Martin and Laurie are standing. ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING LAURIE AND MARTIN The girl is looking at Martin full of compassion, tries to console him by taking his arm and squeezing it as he stares blindly at the graves and Jorgensen stolidly beginning the work of shovelling them full. EXT. NEAR HILLOCK - ETHAN AND MRS. JORGENSEN AS BEFORE Ethan looks back at her -- stone-faced. ETHAN (impatiently) I'd be obliged if you'd get to the point, ma'am. MRS. JORGENSEN I am... I am... It's just that I know Martha'd want you to think of her boys as well as her girls... And if the girls are... dead... Ethan, don't let the boys waste their lives in vengeance! Ethan shrugs his arm free and mounts. MRS. JORGENSEN Promise me, Ethan! He ignores her and turns angrily to where Martin is. ETHAN (harshly) Come on, if you're comin'... He digs spurs and rides out with the others. Martin comes over, with Laurie a step behind. His face is set, his eyes almost unseeing. MRS. JORGENSEN (a heartbroken murmur) Oh, Martin... Martin... MARTIN We'll find them, Mrs. Jorgensen... We'll find them... He swings into his saddle. Laurie impulsively runs to his side, steps onto the toe of his stirruped boot and pulls herself up to his level to kiss him hard and full upon the mouth. He looks at her dully, as though hardly conscious of it. And she is back beside her mother. Martin rides away after the others. MRS. JORGENSEN (slowly) I almost hope they don't find them! Laurie looks at her mother and understands. CUT TO: 61-A EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - THE SEARCHERS - EARLY MORNING LIGHT The SEARCH THEME begins as we see the riders in turn. A series of portraits of the men. CLOSE SHOT - BRAD AND CHARLIE - riding point, they come to a pause, surveying the terrain ahead. Charlie, with an arm signal, indicates he will take the left. Brad nods and he rides out to the right. THE MAIN BODY OF THE MEN, Clayton passing first, expression resolute, competent... Then Ed Nesby and old Mose, squinting at the ground as they ride, all but sniffing like an old hound dog. 63A MARTIN - Next to last in file. Finally: 63B ETHAN - His face a study of relentless purpose. WIPE TO: OMITTED. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - BRAD AND CHARLIE - AFTERNOON The two men are at a cairn of rocks -- their horses nearby. In the near distance, Clayton is leading the men of the search party at a fast clip toward the cairn. Charlie is standing, Brad tearing the rock cairn apart. In Charlie's hands is a Comanche head-dress of polished buffalo horn and feathers. Brad doesn't even look up as the men ride in and dismount, but continues his grim work of uncovering the buried Indian. CLAYTON Another one, eh? CHARLIE This 'un come a long way 'fore he died. CLAYTON Well, that's seven we can score up to your brother, Ethan. NESBY I don't like it. CLAYTON What don't you like? NESBY Injun's on a raid generly hides their dead so you won't know how many they've lost... If they don't care about us knowin', it only spells one thing... they ain't afraid of us followin' -- or of us catchin' up with 'em either. ETHAN You can back out any time, Nesby. NESBY Didn't say that... (angrily indicating Brad) What's he doin' that for... CHARLIE He wants to be sure... Brad shifts another rock and Looks grimly upon the face (O.S.) of the dead Comanche. Then he spits at it and stands. BRAD (grim) Let's get along... ETHAN (to Brad) Why don't you finish the job? With that he strides to the cairn, whipping a knife out. he crouches over the body (O.S.) concealing what he is doing, he bends to his bloody task. Sam Clayton crosses to stand behind him. CLAYTON (gravely) What good does that do? ETHAN By what you preach... none! He stands now and he faces Sam. ETHAN But by what the Comanche believe -- now he can't enter the spirit land, but has got to wander forever between the winds... because I took his mangy scalp! He flings the scalp down and grinds it into the dirt with his heel... He wipes clean the blade of his knife as he crosses back to his horse. The men mount (those who have dismounted) and they ride off. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. NIGHT CAMP - RAVINE - CLOSE SHOT - BRAD AND MARTIN Brad is looking out into the night -- strain and tension in every line. Beyond them we may see some of the other men -- sitting or sprawled on the ground near a sheltered fire. BRAD (a whisper) If only she's alive... I'll make it up to her... No matter what's happened... I'll make her forget... She's just got to be alive... Ethan crosses behind them carrying his blanket roll. He looks at them sourly. ETHAN Get some rest! They move off, heading for their blankets. The CAMERA HOLDS on Ethan as he rolls up his blanket and turns on his side. He fishes a miniature out of his pocket and gravely studies it by the light of the flickering little fire. 70-A CLOSE SHOT - THE MINIATURE - NIGHT It is a picture of Martha. The CAMERA PULLS BACK to show Ethan studying it gravely, then putting it away and lying back to stare broodingly into the night. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. RIDGE TOP - CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN, BRAD, MOSE, SAM - SUNSET The four faces are just over the ridge, peering at something far distant, far below. MOSE Could be a buffler... BRAD It's horses, I tell ya... ETHAN It's them all right... He starts to squirm down the ridge, the others following. EXT. HIGH COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE SEARCHERS - SUNSET Ethan's group crosses to where the other men are waiting with the horses. ETHAN They're camped by the river -- 'bout twenty miles from here. Soon's it gets dark we'll circle out so's to jump 'em before daybreak. CLAYTON (slowly) You're right sure you want to jump 'em, Ethan? Martin and Brad stare at Sam -- not understanding the question. But Mose knows what he means and studiously looks into space. ETHAN (touch of defiance) It's what we're here for, ain't it? CLAYTON I thought we were trying to get the girls back -- alive... We jump those Comanches, they'll kill 'em... You know that! BRAD (bewildered, angry) But... but what are we doin' then?... What are we supposed to do? CLAYTON What I had in mind was runnin' off their hoss herd... A Comanche on foot is more apt to be willin' to listen... NESBY That makes sense to me. MARTIN Yeah... ETHAN (angrily) What do you know about it?... What's a quarter-breed Cherokee know about the Comanche trick of sleeping with his best pony tied right beside him... You got as much chance of stampedin' their herd as... CLAYTON ...as you have of findin' those girls alive by ridin' into 'em... I say we do it my way, Ethan... and that's an order! ETHAN Yes, sir... But if you're wrong, Captain Clayton, don't ever give me another! They look into each other's eyes a moment, then Sam turns to mount... and the others follow. Slowly then they start riding down the slope. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. FLAT GROUND, LIKE MARSH COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE SEARCHERS - DAWN MIST EFFECT (NOTE: It is now planned to shoot this on sound stage.) Fog and heavy morning mist rise from the swamp. Some cattails in the near ground. The effect is eerie, very still except for the trilling of frogs. Then, very quietly, the men emerge from the mist swirling around them. They are leading their horses. Sam looks baffled, angry. They stand still, listening -- then slowly continue. EXT. FLAT GROUND - ANOTHER ANGLE - FULL SHOT - DAWN MIST (SOUND STAGE) The mist is thinning. In the f.g. is a small blackened area -- the ashes of a campfire. The men come through the mist -- wary, vigilant. It is Mose who first spots the fire. He runs to it and drops beside and feels the ashes. The others come up around him. MOSE Ay-he... They was here... ETHAN (to Sam) SURE!... They WERE here... Now they're out there... an' waitin' to jump us!... He looks at Clayton. ETHAN You got any more orders, Captain? CLAYTON (quietly) Just keep goin'... They move on, slowly. 74-A EXT. FLAT GROUND - FULL SHOT - MOVING (SOUND STAGE) The mist is thinning as the men warily move along. Suddenly there is the faint hoot of an owl from behind and to one side... the men turn slightly, hearing it... A moment later another owl hoot, from the same side but up ahead. From the interchange of looks, we must know that the riders are aware of its significance. Mose cups hand to his mouth and he hoots in exact imitation of the other calls. Clayton glares at him. MOSE (in soft apology) Jus' bein' sociable, Cap'n... Ethan grins wryly. And now the first, faint, ruddy touch of the sun hits the slowly moving horsemen and begins to burn through the mist. 74-B EXT. NEAR RIVER - PANNING SHOT - MORNING The CAMERA SLOWLY PANS from a sun-touched butte or crag to the file of men slowly walking their horses. An occasional shred of mist drifts by. Everything about the little cavalcade bespeaks tension, watchfulness. Suddenly -- and every man sees it at the same time -- we see a file of eight Comanches ride slowly out of a canyon at a distance, walking their horses at the same pace and on a course roughly parallel with, but slightly converging on, our group. CLAYTON (softly) Keep goin'... Brad, who has been looking up ahead, sounds a new warning. BRAD (tensely) Look! CLAYTON Easy! 74-C EXT. CANYON COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - PAST THE SEARCHERS Another Indian file of eight angles out of a different canyon and begins to cut in toward the group -- riding slowly, very quietly. Clayton slightly alters course, veering slightly away from the converging files, but still riding slowly. And then, from ahead but at a 100 yards, another Comanche group seems to rise out of the ground and slowly begins closing the gap. ETHAN (to Clayton) If you were tryin' to surround 'em, you sure succeeded. CLAYTON How far's the river from here, Mose? MOSE I been baptized, Reverend... yes suh, been baptized, thank ye... CLAYTON Well, you better brace yourself for another one... Ya-HEE! And with that yell, he drives spurs and cuts sharply at an angle to the converging Indian files -- and every man is with him. In the next instant, the Comanches whoop and give chase. 74-D EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE CHASE with the Ranger group short-cutting in such a way as to outstrip the Comanche horsemen in a mad dash for the river. 74-E EXT. THE RIVER'S EDGE - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP Clayton flings his hand up in a signal to halt as the Rangers reach the bank. They rein in, wheel their horses and are reaching for the rifles as the Comanche vanguard races into view -- to find themselves opposed by seven veterans, sitting their horses, rifles at their shoulders. The charge breaks as the seven rifles bark, almost in unison -- and the Indians wheel to shelter. CLAYTON YA-HEE! And once again he spins his mount and takes off, across the river, followed by the others. 74-F EXT. THE RIVER - FULL SHOT As the men pound across. 74-G EXT. FAR BANK OF RIVER - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP They dismount and Charlie and Nesby take the horses and run them to some place of protection as the men group around Clayton and Ethan. During this: CLAYTON (shouting his orders) This is as good as any... Charlie, you and Ed take the horses... Mose runs over and crouches beside Ethan. Beyond Ethan is Martin, then Brad... Nesby and Charlie will rejoin the group after an appropriate interval... with all the men shielded behind river boulders, etc. EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - ANGLING PAST ETHAN AND MOSE WITH MARTIN AND BRAD BEYOND Ethan and Mose are hunkered down behind some rocks, very casual and business-like as they check rifles, set out and carefully wipe cartridges. MOSE (chattily) Minds me o' the time Joe Powers an' me fit us some Kiowas... Martin is in the throes of buck-fever, wiping mouth with back of his hand, peering anxiously across the river. MARTIN You think they mean to charge us, Uncle Ethan...? MOSE ...We found us an ole buffler wallow... BRAD (staring across river) Criminy! EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - LONG SHOT - PAST THE GROUP On the opposite bank, we see the full force of Comanches riding into sight -- racing their mounts to the edge, then wheeling off -- jeering, taunting. Brad starts to bring up his rifle. ETHAN Steady, Daniel Boone! You don't want to miss... It makes them think their medicine's stronger than yours... MOSE Ay-he... That's jest what I tole Joe Powers... That un's gettin' kinda sassy, ain't he, Ethan? One Comanche rides a few yards into the water, brandishing his rifle, taunting the white men. A moment later he is joined by a second brave. ETHAN (grimly) Real sassy. He and Mose slowly bring their rifles to bear -- and then the two shots crack out almost simultaneously. And within split seconds both Comanches fall. The others race away. Sam comes charging over to Ethan and Mose. CLAYTON (angrily) I didn't give any order to fire! ETHAN That's all right, Captain... I don't need any formal invitation to kill a Comanch... CLAYTON (grimly) You got one now! And he drops behind a rock as, with a wild whooping, the Comanche forces swing from their places of hiding and hit the river. The men open fire, all but Martin, who has frozen, staring wild-eyed at the oncoming Comanches. EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - PROFILE SHOT - THE DEFENDERS Brad, Charlie, Clayton, Nesby are snapping shot after shot. Only Martin seems out of it. Ethan shoots him a glance. ETHAN Slack your shoulders... Slack 'em... Your hands'll take care of themselves... Some of the tension leaves Martin. Somehow his gun is in position and he is firing as fast and well as the others. 77-A EXT. THE RIVER - FULL SHOT - INDIAN CHARGE The Comanches are coming in, crouched low over their ponies' necks, whooping and firing. Men and horses go down, counted off by the expert marksmanship of the Texans. But they keep coming. 77-B EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - PROFILE SHOT - PAST MARTIN, ETHAN, MOSE They drop their rifles now and pull out revolvers for close- range work. One Comanche breaks through from the side, his buffalo lance ready for the thrust. Ethan whirls and fires. The Comanche horse charges through the defense line and out and there is a muffled scream of pain from Ed Nesby. 77-C EXT. THE RIVER - WIDE ANGLE - THE INDIANS The charge breaks and Comanches wheel left and right, racing back across the river. With magnificent horsemanship, one brave rides to an unhorsed warrior crouched in the shallows and swings him up behind. Two others, riding together, head for one of the two dead Comanches Ethan and Mose had downed on their first shots. Swinging simultaneously from their saddles, they grab the dead man and carry him off. 77-D EXT. THE RIVER'S EDGE - ANGLING PAST MOSE AND ETHAN MOSE (cackling) There goes yer scalp, Ethan!... Ethan snuggles his rifle to his shoulder as two other racing Comanches prepare to pick up the other dead Indian. Most of the Comanches have regained the far bank now and are racing away. The firing from the Texans has stopped. ETHAN I still got one out there. OMITTED EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - CLOSE SHOT - BEHIND ETHAN The angle is along his rifle barrel as it beads on one of the racing Comanches trying to pick up the dead Indian. Clayton's big hand grasps the rifle barrel. CLAYTON'S VOICE (quietly) No, Ethan. EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO Ethan looks up into Clayton's face. CLAYTON Let them bury their dead... Ethan pulls the gun free and looks out across the river. EXT. THE RIVER - LONG SHOT - PAST THEM The Comanches have done their work, are riding away -- and over the saddle of one lies the limp form of the dead Indian. Ethan looks back at Sam. ETHAN That tears it, Reverend... From now on, you keep out... (mad now -- facing the others) All of you!... I don't want you with me... I don't need you... for what I got to do! CHARLIE (quietly) No need to shout, mister. The CAMERA SWINGS to pick up the figure of Nesby outstretched on the ground, writhing in pain; with Charlie kneeling beside him. The men cross to stand around the fallen man. CHARLIE Reckon we got to go back -- Ed's shoulder is smashed -- bad! NESBY I can make it... just get me on a horse... CLAYTON No good, Ed... And Ethan's right... This is a job for a company of Rangers... or it's a job for one or two men... Right now we're too many... an' not enough... BRAD (facing Ethan) Only one way you can stop me lookin' for Lucy, mister... An' that's kill me... MARTIN That's how I feel, Uncle Ethan... (correcting the slip) Ethan, sir. Ethan glares at them, but has to accept it. ETHAN All right... but I'm givin' the orders... You take 'em or we split up here and now... MARTIN (quickly) Why, sure, Ethan... There's just the one thing we're after... finding Deborah and Lucy... ETHAN (grimly -- turning away) If they're still alive... He heads away, for his horse. Brad and Martin look at each other as the full import of Ethan's footnote strikes home. Then they head for their own horses. OMITTED 86-A EXT. THE RIVER - FULL SHOT Ethan, Martin, and Brad mount. Clayton crosses to them. CLAYTON You boys got enough shells? They nod. MARTIN Yeah... CLAYTON Vaya con dios. The three re-enter the river and slowly start across, with Clayton gravely looking after them. The three riders continue across the river... and the Search Theme resumes. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. WIDE ANGLE - DESERT COUNTRY - BLAZING NOON A region of buttes and giant rock formations; treeless, arid and seemingly reaching out to infinity. Far off we see a cloud of dust -- miles and miles off. Only the dust, nothing else. From behind CAMERA ride the three men -- Ethan, Brad, and Martin -- dust-powdered, eyes bloodshot. The three are watching that distant cloud of dust. They force their weary horses onward. WIPE TO: EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE - LATE AFTERNOON The ANGLE is past some spectacular butte or citadel of rock into another long reach of valley -- different from the first view of it, yet alike in its suggestion of endlessness. But now there is no cloud of dust far away -- nothing to suggest the passage of anything but time itself. Ethan, Martin, and Brad ride into the fringe of the butte's shadow and scan the terrain ahead. BRAD (shrill) They got to stop sometime... if they're human at all, they got to stop! ETHAN Naw... a human man rides a horse till it dies... then he goes on afoot... A Comanche comes along... gets that horse up... and rides it twenty more miles... Then he eats it. Ethan turns to catch Martin thirstily drinking from his canteen. ETHAN (angrily) Easy on that! MARTIN Sorry... We don't even know if Debbie 'n Lucy are with this bunch... Maybe they split up... ETHAN They're with 'em -- if they're still alive. Brad wheels on him. BRAD You've said that enough!... Maybe Lucy's dead... maybe they're both dead... but if I hear it from you again, I'll fight ya, Mr. Edwards! ETHAN (an aside) That'll be the day!... Let's ride. WIPE TO: OMITTED 89-A EXT. VALLEY AND CANYON WALL - WIDE ANGLE - THE RIDERS - LATE AFTERNOON (NOTE: This is the gap in the rocks near the "Medicine Country" at Monument.) The three riders come to where the trail they have been following forks... the main horseprint track leading ahead, a lesser track heading for a narrow gap between two buttes. MARTIN Four of 'em cut out here... Why? Ethan thinks he knows why. His face is bleak. But he tries to be casual. ETHAN I'll take a look... You keep after the others... He turns his mount toward the gap. MARTIN (eagerly) You want us to fire a shot if... ETHAN (disgustedly) No... nor build bonfires... nor beat drums neither. I'll meet you on the far side. He's still grumbling as he rides off. An abashed Martin rides ahead along the broad trail with Brad. (NOTE: Ethan's serape, tied behind his saddle, should be clearly seen as he rides away -- not pointed up, but visible.) WIPE TO: EXT. FAR SIDE OF BUTTE - TWILIGHT Martin and Brad, riding in a direction opposite to that in which they had taken off -- indicating their circle route -- haul up momentarily as they spot Ethan, standing beside his horse, his back to them, some distance along. They turn slightly off their course and ride out toward him. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - NEAR BUTTE - TWILIGHT Ethan turns, almost startled, as the two youths ride in. His serape is no longer behind his saddle. Ethan looks at them blankly for a minute -- as though not really seeing them. ETHAN Oh... it's you. They both stare at him. ETHAN (a vague gesture) I... uh... here's where they met up again... They both can see that. ETHAN (pointing) Trail leads off there... They look at him and each other -- for these are clearly unnecessary remarks and doubly surprising coming from Ethan. BRAD Why'd they break off? (no answer) Was there water in that canyon? ETHAN Huh...? No... no water. MARTIN You all right, Ethan? ETHAN Huh...? (more like his usual gruff self) Sure I'm all right... He goes to his horse, mounts. Martin is right beside him and he notes the missing serape. MARTIN Say!... What happened to your blanket? Lose it? ETHAN Must've... Anyway, I ain't goin' back to look for it... He leads out. Brad rides up beside Martin. Again the two exchange puzzled looks. Martin shrugs and the three continue along the broad trace of the Indian ponies into the setting sun. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NIGHT CAMP - A POCKET IN THE HILLS - TWILIGHT Ethan crouches over a small fire built into a slit trench so that barely the glow of the flames can be seen. Beyond him Martin is leading their unsaddled horses away. The men have come to the end of another long day. Both men look up as Brad comes over a hill slope and rides recklessly down the incline to their camp. His horse is lathered. BRAD (shouting it) I saw her!... I saw Lucy! Martin runs to his side as Brad slides off his mount. Ethan moves more slowly. BRAD (continuing) They're camped 'bout two miles over... I was just swingin' back when I saw their smoke... I bellied up a ridge an' they was right below me... MARTIN Did you see Debbie? BRAD No, but I saw Lucy all right... She was wearin' that blue dress... an' she was walkin' along... ETHAN (voice flat) What you saw wasn't Lucy. BRAD It was, I tell you! ETHAN What you saw was a buck wearin' Lucy's dress... (they stare at him) I found Lucy back there in that canyon... I wrapped her in my blanket an' buried her with m'own hands... I thought it best to keep it from you -- long as I could. He can't look at Brad or at Martin. Brad can't speak -- and then finally: BRAD Did they...? Was she...? Ethan wheels on him in shouting fury. ETHAN (blazing) What've I got to do -- draw you a picture?... Spell it out?... Don't ever ask me!... Long as you live don't ever ask me more! Brad wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He turns -- walking stiff-legged as though on stilts back to his horse. He bends his head against the saddle, as though to hide his grief. Martin turns away from him and walks back to Ethan. And in that moment, Brad mounts and takes off in the same direction from which he had ridden in. MARTIN (frantically) BRAD!... They run for their horses. CUT TO: 92-A EXT. ROUGH ROLLING COUNTRY - NIGHT - MOVING - CLOSE SHOT - BRAD He comes pounding down a slope, and he takes off his hat and skims it away. He rips off a neckerchief as though to relieve the rush of raging blood. 92-B EXT. THE EDGE OF A RISE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - BRAD - NIGHT He reaches the crest and reins in. A distant firelight is on his face. He takes one moment to look down into the Comanche camp o.s. Then he has his gun out. His eyes are wild, his face wet with sweat. Then he throws back his head and he yells -- and with the yell goes charging into the camp. 92-C EXT. A RIDGE - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - NIGHT They rein in -- staring -- as from afar they hear Brad's yell echoing and bouncing off the canyon walls. There is nothing they can do. They hear his shouts, then the quick bark of his .44, and the angry shouts of the Comanche. 92-D EXT. COMANCHE CAMP - EXTREME CLOSEUP - BRAD - RIDING - NIGHT His face is red with the reflected light of the fires he is passing o.s. and his eyes are alight with a crazy, savage joy. His gun cracks once, then again -- and the hammer clicks on a spent shell. 92-E EXT. COMANCHE CAMP - CLOSE SHOT - SCAR - NIGHT He stands apart, warbow drawn and arrow notched. He releases it at his running target. We hear its impact and a high gasp of pain... and then the jubilant, yammering yells of other Comanches. 92-F EXT. A RIDGE - FULL ON MARTIN AND ETHAN AS BEFORE - NIGHT The distant yammering of the Comanches doesn't quite drown out one stifled scream of pain; we can surmise a scalping knife was busy in the last instance of Brad's life. Martin slumps in his saddle. Ethan listens a moment, then turns to Martin. ETHAN Let's just hope he took some with him... He turns his horse back the way they had come. Martin stares at him. MARTIN What you goin' to do? ETHAN Get some sleep... Tomorrow's another day... Slowly, he rides away. Slowly, reluctantly but helpless to do otherwise, Martin follows. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LOW ANGLE SHOT - DAY A study of horseprints etched in the soil -- the mark of the passage of many horses; perhaps an eagle or turkey feather fallen from a warbonnet. And then we hear and see the approach of two plodding horses, and the dusty boots of the horsemen -- Ethan and Martin -- following the trail. The Search Theme resumes and continues over the next three shots, helping us suggest the passage of time, the change of scene. EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY The two figures are little more than specks in a vastness of savage country. WIPE TO: EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - LOW ANGLE SHOT - DAY Again we study the hooves of two horses, fighting their way up a rocky slope and past a thorn bush on which -- fluttering in the mountain wind -- is a torn scrap of scarlet cloth with a bit of beadwork or Indian decoration. WIPE TO: OMITTED EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LOW ANGLE SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - AFTERNOON It is a portrait study of two faces -- etched by wind and privation and cold into tragic, fanatic masks. Martin has aged years in a matter of months. Falling snow flakes touch their faces and begin to rime their stubbly beards. MARTIN (bitterly) Say it. We're beat! ETHAN (slowly) No... our turnin' back don't change anything... not in the long run. If she's alive, she's safe... for a while... They'll keep her to raise as one of their own, 'til she's of an age to... He turns his mount. MARTIN And you think we got a chance to find her? ETHAN An Injun will chase a thing til he thinks he's chased it enough... Then he quits... Same when he runs... Seems he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that might just keep comin' on... So we'll find them in the end, I promise you that... We'll find them just as sure as the turning of the earth. FADE OUT OMITTED FADE IN EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE AND APPROACH - WIDE ANGLE - TWILIGHT The time is spring. It is a year and a half later. The Jorgensen house is larger than the Edwards place -- of sod and logs, with a covered breezeway connecting the two separate buildings of the house: one being the keeping room, the other the sleeping quarters of the numerous Jorgensen brood. A meadowlark breaks into his sudden song. A dog or two come barking around the side of the house as Ethan and Martin ride slowly from behind CAMERA toward the house. In that instant a lamp is lighted within the house and Lars Jorgensen comes to the door. EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - FULL SHOT - NEAR DOOR - TWILIGHT Jorgensen peers at the two men as they ride up - recognizing them, of course, but ill-prepared for the change in their appearance and full of unspoken questions. Bearing a lamp, Mrs. Jorgensen hurries out to stand beside her husband -- and her face works and tears begin to well in her eyes. Two tow-headed boys -- 13 or 14 -- come after her. Jorgensen makes a little signal with one hand, not even looking at the boys, and they hurry out to take the reins as Ethan and Martin dismount. EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - MED. SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN The passage of time has stamped Martin -- and will continue during our story more and more to stamp him -- in the image of Ethan. Now it may show only in the set of his hat or trick of standing; later it will be in his walk, in his speech (or paucity of speech). Neither man is sure of his reception. They are thinking of Brad -- dead because of their search; and Martin is thinking of Laurie. And then Mrs. Jorgensen is running across to Martin and has him in her arms as though he were her son -- saying nothing, just holding him. He stands frozen a moment and then he returns the embrace. Ethan watches a moment, then crosses to Jorgensen. ETHAN (to Jorgensen) You got my letter about your son, Brad? JORGENSEN Yah... Just about this time a year ago... MRS. JORGENSEN It came the day before his... birthday. JORGENSEN The Lord giveth--the Lord taketh away... Mrs. Jorgensen starts to lead the way inside. Martin hangs back. MARTIN I ain't fit to go indoors, miz Jorgensen... These clothes is... Laurie rushes past her mother. LAURIE Martie! She kisses him hard and full on the mouth -- and has no eyes for anyone else. Mrs. Jorgensen looks on with amusement. Martin is just bowled over. MRS. JORGENSEN (teasing) And him probably forgettin' all about you!... Probably can't even call your name to mind. MARTIN (smiling) Laurie. And Laurie smiles triumphantly at her mother. MARTIN (continuing) But I fairly forgot just how pretty you was... Laurie grabs his hand then and pulls him indoors -- and there is no further resistance from Martin. Mrs. Jorgensen and her husband converge then on Ethan -- and her face is gravely questioning. MRS. JORGENSEN The little one?... Debbie? Ethan shakes his head. She squeezes his arm reassuringly and they start indoors. DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE SPARE BEDROOM OF THE JORGENSEN'S - MED. SHOT - MARTIN - NIGHT This is a room off the kitchen end of the keeping room -- and described in the book as the "grandmother room": with narrow, slit-like windows, a set of single bunk beds, possibly a fireplace. Martin is in a deep wooden tub, taking a hot bath, currying his back with a long-handled brush. Beyond him is the door. It opens and Martin turns casually -- and at once stops being casual as Laurie enters and purposefully crosses to a stool or bench on which his discarded clothing is scattered. MARTIN Hey... What you doin'...? She picks up the shirt, puts it over one arm; she reaches for his long-handled and ragged underwear, runs a fist through a hole in its seat, clucks and shreds it into rags. During this: MARTIN (a yelp) Don't go takin' that stuff... LAURIE Ain't worth the mendin'... She turns and looks at him, matter of fact. LAURIE What you gettin' red-in-the-face for?... I have brothers, haven't I? MARTIN Well I ain't one of 'em! LAURIE I'm a woman, Martie... (he tries to say something but she goes right on) We wash and mend your dirty clothes all our lives... When you're little we even wash you... How a man can ever make out to get bashful in front of a woman I'll never know... MARTIN You talk like a feller might just as leave run around nekkid... LAURIE Wouldn't bother me... (she heads for the door) I wouldn't try it in front of pa, though, was I you... And she is laughing as she closes the door behind her. INT. THE KEEPING ROOM OF THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - FULL SHOT It is a plastered room, everything bright and shiny; a big wood-burning cookstove, above it a row of shiny copper pots; the furniture handmade and probably not too much unlike the good plain Swedish modern of today. There should be Scandinavian accents in the decor. All told, a cheerful, warm-smelling room. Ethan is talking as Laurie enters the room still carrying Martin's shirt, the rags of his underwear. She will wait, listening for a break in what Ethan is saying, to try to get her mother's attention. Jorgensen is sitting in his usual chair -- with his boots off, puffing his pipe more or less in tune with what Ethan is talking about. Mrs. Jorgensen is in her rocker, darning or knitting. Ethan is standing near the mantel. ETHAN ...an' then it snowed and we lost the trail... No need to tell ya all the places we went... Fort Richardson, Fort Wingate an' Cobb... the Anadarko Agency... Trouble is we don't even know which band that war party belonged to... Mrs. Jorgensen looks up from her darning. MRS. JORGENSEN Well, you did all a body could, Ethan. ETHAN I got your boy killed. MRS. JORGENSEN (gently) Don't go blamin' yourself... JORGENSEN (angrily) It's this country killed my boy!... Yes, by golly! Mrs. Jorgensen stands. MRS. JORGENSEN Now Lars!... It so happens we be Texicans... We took a reachin' hold, way far out, past where any man has right or reason to hold on... Or if we didn't, our folks did... So we can't leave off without makin' them out to be fools, wastin' their lives 'n wasted in the way they died... A Texican's nothin' but a human man out on a limb... This year an' next and maybe for a hundred more. But I don't think it'll be forever. Someday this country will be a fine good place to be... Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come... The speech impresses everyone but Laurie, who probably hasn't heard a word of it. LAURIE Ma!... Martie's drawers is a sight! Ain't fit for rags!... Would it be all right if we gave him some of Brad's things? There is just the briefest hesitation... MRS. JORGENSEN Why...'course it would! They're in the chest... And she leads the way briskly, with Laurie following, to a big chest at the far end of the room. JORGENSEN (rising excitedly) By golly, the letter... In the chest, mama... It came for you, Ethan... last winter... Ethan and Jorgensen cross together to where Mrs. Jorgensen is raising the top of a huge dower chest. She extracts a letter, wrapped in oilskin against moths. JORGENSEN (continuing) Joab Wilkes of the Rangers brought it... Ethan takes the letter and studies it very carefully before venturing to open it. Jorgensen is quite curious, but trying not to