hello! the fire! ambush! get down!

man: hello!

( galloping horses )

( gunfire ) ( indians whooping; gunfire continues )

whoa! whoa! whoa! whoa! whoa! hang on, ma'am! i'd let go if i could! oa! whoa! you all right, ma'am? my father warned me never to twist a rope like that. ( spanish ) oh, thank you, juan. and thank you, um, mister...? mccullough, ma'am. flint mccullough. mr. mccullough, how do you do? i'm sister rita. how do you do, ma'am. are the children all right? frightened but unhurt, thank god. thanks to mr. mccullough. this is sister joseph. sister. mr. mccullough,

the way you came riding down that hill. navajo? poor little things are the only survivors of an entire village. massacred by another tribe. we found this little lad in the mountains half-starved and lost. you mean you headed into this country knowing there was indian trouble? our mission is to help the indians, mr. mccullough. they don't seem to know it, ma'am. father sebastian came to us in santa fe and asked for sisters to staff his new mission school and hospital in nevada. do you know st. joseph's? yeah. let me get this straight. you mean you started out from santa fe for nevada, with this kind of equipment, traveling alone? oh, no, mr. mccullough, we're not alone. god is with us. well, i'll be-- oh, i hope not, mr. mccullough.

get hold of yourself, man. you won't do him any good going to pieces. help me get him into the ambulance. come on, now. i'll do that, sister. oh, this is mr. mccullough. this is our sister superior, sister monica. sister. when you get tomasa into the wagon, i'll take care of that arm, mr. mccullough. up. easy. we'll need boiled water, sister. keep him flat. there. mr. mccullough. i'll have a look at your arm now. you've got your hands full with the old man. this'll wait. i was a surgical nurse in a field hospital for two years during the war. i'm quite able to decide what's to be done first. the first thing to be done, sister, is post a guard. juan, you better stand watch outside.

they will come back, senor? they'll come back. if they do, you won't find juan much help, i'm afraid. sometimes a frightened man fights better than a brave one. there's a saying: nuns rush in where angels fear to tread. the correct quotation is fools rush in. so you think we're fools, then? i think somebody's been making some mighty foolish decisions-- heading out in the first place and leaving that village and coming this far without a wagon train. there were no wagon trains scheduled for months, and our help at st. joseph's is urgently needed. you're not going to be any help to anybody if you get yourself killed. what's done is done. we must make the best of it now. do we have any chance of getting through? maybe. but the chances are getting slimmer all the time. we've got to get out of here, and the sooner the better. that's quite impossible. the removal of that arrow head will be a very delicate operation. and if it's successful, i shouldn't like to move him too soon.

ility? mm-hmm. in this case there are two lives. father sebastian is out there somewhere. he left before dawn to find help. how can we leave him behind? father sebastian is dead. he failed in his mission. no, mr. mccullough, he didn't fail. you came. juan: diablo! ( shouting in spanish ) juan! por dios! ( spanish ) juanito, no! por dios. por dios la madr juan, have mercy. mr. mccullough, will you help juan bring him into the wagon? you mean you're planning to bring him along? our mission is to save lives.

oh, mr. mccullough. did you bury him? father sebastian? there wasn't time. juan, you better tie him up. mr. mccullough, we're not savages. this man is our patient, not our prisoner. he can do no harm in that condition. you've got a lot to learn about indians, sister. we can be under attack within a matter of an hour. we've got to use every second to our best advantage. i'm quite aware of that, so sister joseph will assist me while juan sees to the horses. sister rita and the children will prepare the grave. that every second we lose lessens our chances of survival? oh, please, mr. mccullough... bring him back. make the service short, sister. "i am the resurrection and life. "he that believes in me, though he be dead, shall live, "and everyone that lives and believes in me shall never die."

no one ever knowing who lies there. god knows, sister. so he does, mr. mccullough, so he does. we're ready now. we're in your hands. if major adams could only see me now-- wagon master of a rolling convent and an orphanage. major adams? he's the wagon master of the train i scout for. senor. huh? in santa fe i have a wife and a small son. i do not wish to die. at we should turn back. now i say it again, senor. we must! amigo, our best chance is to get to the wagon train. sister, there are two of us to handle the driving chor and three wagons. you'll have to leave one behind. but we shall need everything in all three when we get to st. joseph's. we'll have to leave one behind. sister, i've driven a team before. could i try? you've never driven a wagon as heavy as this. no, i--i haven't. but i think i could manage.

all right, we'll give it a try. i'll lead out, you follow, juan, you bring up the rear. don't look so worried, mr. mccullough. i'm not so sure you can keep up. well, you can be very sure i won't be left behind. juan, give me a hand with this team. p, mr. mccullough. he's hemorrhaging very badly. hold it there. hold it. whoa, whoa!

onight? i suppose so. well, here's something that all of us ought to know. this is a rough idea of the trail. we're about here. we're gonna leave and go across some broken country to a canyon that i saw yesterday while i was out scouting. there's a water hole in it. i think it's a good idea that we hole up there for a while. how far do you think we are from the wagon train? they should be about here. if everything goes right, they'll be down this way

i'd hope so. you've changed your mind. why? because there's a sizeable ute war party gathering between us and the trail. you must have quite a way with horses. he's usually pretty skittish around strangers. i grew up around skittish horses. did you, ma'am? why don't you call me sister, as you do the others? at you seem different than the others. oh, i hope not. i mean, you don't expect a nun to handle a wagon and drive a team like a man... or capture the heart of a one-man horse. one isn't born in a convent, mr. mccullough. i rode before i walked, perched up on my father's saddle. i remember when i was a child i thought the greatest thing of my life would be the day of my first hunt. i'll bet you were the belle of the ball. oh, no.

not one of them would dance with me. i had the fastest horse in the state. well, he just carried the lightest load. that's plain to see, even in that outfit you wear. it's called a habit. whatever it's called, it makes you look beautiful. i assure you, that isn't its purpose. but you'll have to admit it's true. all you have to do is look in the mirror. there are no mirrors in convents. you mean you've never seen yourself? a mirror either, but the water in that pool is clear enough for me to shave by this morning. you don't understand, mr. mccullough. giving up mirrors is a sacrifice we make. seems to me you make a lot of sacrifices choosing this life. oh, it chose me. how do you mean? well, i don't know, it's hard to explain. it's just something you feel in your heart. why does a man become a scout? oh, that's different. you're a woman--

that, well, it could turn deadly in a minute. a lot of places have been lonely and deadly. people have changed them. sometimes the places change the people. juan, you take the first watch. okay. buenos noches, senor. buenos what? i beg your pardon, ma'am. juan is taking the first watch. if there's anything you want, you just-- you just give me a call. thank you. tomasa: hermana. si, tomasa, i'm here.

madrecita... si, tomasa. ( speaking spanish ) ( sister rita humming soothing melody ) you all right, ma'am? was it quite necessary to shoot to kill, mr. mccullough? the first thing you learn out here, sister, is, when you have to use a gun, shoot fast... and shoot to kill. i believe this belongs to you.

i don't know how to say it-- how do you thank someone for saving your life? i won't take credit for that, ma'am, until i've got you safely out of this. a man lies dead here, a man i only wanted to help, and now he's dead because of me. he's dead because he tried to kill you. he didn't understand. they seldom do. you might think they understand, then all of a sudden, in a minute they revert to their old ways. you'll be wasting your life out here. you think you can change these people, you're in for heartache, besides hardship. mr. mccullough, if we can plant just a few seeds of faith in a few souls,

yeah, but seeds have to be planted in fertile soil. you could spend your whole life out here and just give these people a veneer of christianity. i hardly think this is the place to discuss it. you ever hear of the zuni tribe in arizona? the franciscans came along and christianized them. everything was peaceful and quiet until one night in 1780 when they rose up and massacred every priest within miles. no one knows why. and last night here, the strongest argument for your death like i said, they revert. has he had breakfast, sister? no. well, then, where is he? flint: he's gone. gone? he's made a run for it. took one of the horses and left last night. you mean he's deserted? not that he's going to get very far. oh, poor juan. only last night he was speaking of his wife and child. i guess he just lost courage.

perhaps he's gone to get help from your wagon train. in that case, he'd better be quick about it. right now they just want to talk. well, then, we must go out and try to make them understand who we are and what we're doing here. wait a minute, sister. even if they could understand, they wouldn't listen to you. women aren't heard in council parley. ave to let me do the talking for you. i just wish i had something to bargain with besides words. wait a minute. no wonder he spends so much time by himself. he's not a navajo. he's a ute. and one thing about utes, they love their children. if we hold onto him as our hostage, we might be able to avert an attack. we must send him back to his people as evidence of our good faith.

for an idea like that, but i'm not. now, i don't mean the boy any harm, but if i can use him to get us out of here, i'm gonna do it. quite right. the important consideration is to reach st. joseph's and fulfill our mission. in this case, sisters, the end justifies the means. do as you think best, mr. mccullough. oh, mr. mccullough! now, sister, don't you worry about anything. i don't mean him any harm, but i need this for a while. be careful, mr. mccullough. don't worry about me, ma'am. i got strong medicine. perhaps this will make it even stronger. my brother wore it through the war. he said it brought him safely back to his home and sweetheart. may it bring you back to yours.

rico, we have sat together at the council fires of ouray the peacemaker, in the camp of the uncompahgre utes. you know the language of the white men. we are at war with the white man. you are not at war with such as these. the women in these wagons come in the name of the great spirit to heal the sick, to teach your children. mean your people no harm. in their wagons they protect our enemies, the navajo. does the great rico make war on children? the utes will make war on all who would try to steal our land. these women only wish to pass through your land. ( speaking ute ) the old one will speak. ( speaking ute ) when the old one was a little boy, he went to the mission school,

and the people felt the sharpness of their bayonets. and they grew angry. his father and the father of his father took part in the massacre, killing all the soldiers, and the black robes, too. all this he remembers. n, and that we must kill them. the soldier will come soon, and men without honor. and my people will suffer. if you make war on these people, you make war on a future brave...

is this the way the utes keep a parley? waneeko! the medicine bag belonged to his son. in camp, the women sing the death chant for the boy. tell him the boy lives. the women saved his life. for that, they should go free. it must be spoken of at the council fire.

man (in distance): amigo! amigo! juanito? amigo! ( gasps ) where do you think you're going? why, i heard a voice. i think it was juan. i think he's hurt. it's an old indian trick and it's lured a lot of people into ambush.

i'm gonna go out and have a look around. now, you stay here no matter what happens. do you understand? yes. oh, be careful. i've got very powerful medicine. remember?

behind you, mr. mccullough! behind you! ( war cries ) heeya! heeya! heeya! oh, you're alive! thank god you're alive. i told you to stay at the wagon. if anything had happened to you... i'm all right. truly i am. lady, you'll do to ride the trail with. why...thank you, mr. mccullough. come.

sister, what's the meaning of this? leaving your patient! i heard voices, and i thought it was juan. mr. mccullough went out and the utes were there. you might have cost him his life. she saved two lives, sister. the only reason this woman could have left the tribe is that she's tonino's wife. that means in a council tonino's decided he'd rather see his boy dead than spare the rest of us... and she's decided to die with her son. i'll take her to him. ( chanting in distance ) what's that?

please don't think i'm afraid. after what you did tonight, how could i? you know, the chinese believe when you save another person's life you're responsible for it after that. i guess if that's so, we're responsible for each other from here on out. from here on out-- how long will that be? thank you. well, our luck's holding. there's always a chance that juan got through. and now that we've got the ute woman, i'm hoping that rico will accept the bargain. oh, i hope so. we've come so close-- sister monica to her dreams of a mission hospital... sister joseph to celebrating her silver jubilee. silver, huh? 25 years, that's quite a celebration. yes. we were to make it a double celebration. i was to make my perpetual vows that day.

oh, no. the order gives us a very long time to make up our hearts and minds. even after our novitiate, we wait five years before we make our final vows. they must make very sure that this is the life for us. and so must you, ma'am... so must you. if the boy and his mother are released, we can leave rico's territory by the shortest route possible. ( relieved sigh ) wait a minute. there's more. we can leave, provided the navajo children are left behind. leave them to the tribe that slaughtered their whole village? we couldn't! they trust us.

mr. mccullough, you said that the utes love children. i said they love their own children. these are navajo. they'll serve as a warning as to what will happen to other navajo that try to enter ute country. you've got until sundown to make your decision. no more time is necessary, mr. mccullough, he can have our answer now. sister rita, as long as i am superior here, i will decide what we will tell rico, and when. ( all whooping ) don't look, ma'am. oh, my god, forgive them. rico thought this would help us make up our minds.

i'm quite aware of that. it would have been monstrous even to consider rico's proposal. but mr. mccullough has pointed out that every hour of delay brings the wagon train nearer. i wouldn't count on that now, sister. you understand, mr. mccullough, that for us there can only be one answer. we will all leave together... or we will all die together. surely not all, sister. we have it in our power to save two innocent lives. the boy and his mother must be sent back to their people. onger justifies the means. sister, you think far too much with your heart and far too little with your head. see that the children stay back, please. if we did send the boy and his mother back, it would mean an immediate attack, is that not so? mm-hmm. then we must wait until that last possible moment before releasing them.

sister joseph: come and have a cup of coffee, sister. when you were mistress of novices, you always knew when we were troubled.

we thought you could read our souls. come and sit down. thank you. remember that phrase you used to read so often, about the dark night of the soul? this is such a night. i'm growing old, most of my life behind me. when you're young, with so much ahead, it's hard to face the thought of dying. oh, i'm not afraid to die. live. oh, don't struggle so alone, little sister. pray! pray for strength and enlightenment! god has seen fit to test you. and i've failed him. it takes courage to acknowledge doubts, to face and resolve them. and in the end, your faith will be even stronger. i think sister monica could do with a little tea.

there. thank you. ( indian drums beating in distance ) dear god, help me to help her... to help all of them. ( sighs ) amen. he will help. in his own time and in his own way. you've got your faith, sister... i've got mine. oh, mr. mccullough. there must be some way to avert a massacre here. if we took the boy and his mother back to their people, surely they'd speak for us. their words wouldn't mean a thing against old lupe. what he says is law. and he connects missionaries with soldiers and opportunists who followed them

indian once, but he's all savage now. hmm. good night, mr. mccullough. not much chance of sleeping with those drums beating. this is not a night for sleeping, mr. mccullough. when will the drums stop? dawn. ome. mm-hmm. one thing you should know-- i'm saving three bullets. you and the sisters won't be taken alive. poor mr. mccullough. on a night like this, a man gets to thinking about things he might have done differently. any regrets, ma'am? no. and you?

i can't get you out of this... and the other? that we didn't meet a long time ago. being in the war and riding alone a lot like i do... a man builds a picture of a woman, kind of an image that... well, he keeps in his heart like a shrine. some men go their whole lives and never find it. i found it...in you. our few days here have been among the best days of my life. i'm sorry. i just wish things could have been-- well, worked out differently. i didn't mean to offend you. offend me, mr. mccullough?

sister monica: sister rita! mr. mccullough! how long has sister joseph been gone? five minutes? ten? gone? i don't understand. i wanted to talk to her, but she's nowhere to be found. while i was looking, i checked the lean-to. the boy and his mother are missing as well. ( sister joseph screams in distance ) they've... killed her. let's hope so. ohh....

? think of your fellow man. ? ? lend him a helping hand. ? ? put a little love in your heart. ? ? take a good look around... ? ? ...and if you're lookin' down, ? ? put a little love in your heart. ? ?put a little love in your heart.? (avo) the subaru share the love event is happening now and will have given ninety million dollars

from the moment you found us, i think you knew it would end like this. but it was a splendid effort on your part. you've done everything humanly possible. flint... yes? i want you to do one more thing. ride for help. we both know there's not time for that. not for us, perhaps, but what about the people on the wagon train? it's your duty to warn them of the danger. i'm not leaving, sister. do you remember what you said about the expendability of the few when the lives of many were endangered? the major can take care of the train. there's no sense in your getting killed because of us. at dawn, we're giving ourselves up. you could be miles away by then.

i know you people aren't afraid to die... but a lot can happen before you die. and i could never ride far enough to leave a memory like that behind. mr. mccullough, at a time like this, the heart has a way of playing tricks. no. it's been a long, lonely search, but it ends here. i'm sorry if you think that's wrong, but that's the way it is. one can't help the direction in which the heart goes. the right or wrong comes in what one does about it. i hope and pray that it's a love that doesn't hurt or trouble her. you wouldn't have said a thing like that last night. so much has happened since last night, so very much.

if i've seemed rough to you, it's just that i've never been around people like you before. i want you to know i'm very proud to have known you. and i you, my valiant friend. ( twigs crackling ) sister! mr. mccullough! someone's coming! i wonder what this means. his. come. the woman from the wagon, she dies. oh... oh, sister. oh...

she is a friend of my people. and for this, all go free. sister, forgive me my disobedience. you taught me the wisdom of following the heart, sister. it's i who must ask forgiveness-- for my sharpness, for my pride. you were right, sister. you got us out of it. llough-- god did it. i was only the instrument. for this, tonino shall die. will the white man scout take this knife and kill him now? no! no, mr. mccullough. you must not let them take a life for a life. perhaps tonino, too, did god's work.

the women wish tonino to live. the word of rico is law. is the law of rico greater than the law of the great spirit? we are servants of the great spirit, who forgives all. we do not kill-- not even our enemies! hear me, rico. it is not our way! ( speaking ute ) hermana... yo pecador... me confieso a dios todopoderoso... que pecado gravemente con el pensamiento, la palabra y obra... por mi culpa, por mi culpa... ( praying )

que nu siude... que nos pardone, los picados.. ( continues in spanish ) sister joseph: ...i beseech you, mary... ( lupe continues praying in spanish ) asi sea. "then joseph said to his brethren... "'i die, then god will surely visit you

"'unto the land which he swear to abraham... "'isaac... and jacob.'" you were right, mr. mccullough... they do revert. yeah, i... i guess it works both ways. come on, charlie, get hitched! we want to move! major... how long do you figure it'll take you to get to this st. joseph? about a week, i guess.

oh, i was just wonderin'. i thought maybe i'd like to ride up and take a look at the sierra foothills. that'll take you better than a week. that's right. listen, you-- maybe you do need a little rest. why don't you go ahead? thanks. good morning, sister. good morning, major. nuns and scouts, mr. mccullough-- their work is never done. work?! why, sister, haven't you heard? a whole week, nothing but pleasure. you were going without saying good-bye? well, i'm not much for saying good-byes. but i was gonna drop by your wagon and leave this for you. you're right, it's powerful medicine. i'd like you to keep it, mr. mccullough, so that wherever you go, you'll always know our prayers go with you. vaya con dios, sister. vaya con dios, mr. mccullough.

that's quite a fella, sister. always way out in front... lookin' for something. i hope he finds it soon, major...

? >> thought this was so difficult la maybe you're out of practice. >> don't recall it being easy for you either. >> daniel! >> there's a regular one out there! there's a regular trail up there. >> yeah? hya! >> see there.