Hell on Wheels s01e07 Episode Script

"Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, "as is fitting in the Lord.
"Husbands, love your wives "and do not be harsh with them.
"Children, obey your parents in everything, "for this pleases the Lord.
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, "not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, "but with sin" Sincerity.
" sincerity of the heart and reverence of the Lord.
" Well, I don't believe it.
How old are you, boy? I ain't but nine years, sir.
Pay up, gentlemen.
It's dangerous, you know, teaching them to read.
- That's true.
Nat Turner was taught to read.
- Nonsense.
Let me show you.
Boy, can you explain to me the meaning of what you just read? No, master.
See? It's like a parrot reciting Shakespeare.
Well done, Elam.
Well done.
"Now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, "whom the Egyptians hold in slavery, "and I have remembered my promise.
"Say unto the children of Israel, "I am the Lord.
"And I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, "and I will rid you out from under their bondage, "and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, "and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
" Behold Robert Bell's legacy, gentlemen.
We follow the North Platte clear into Wyoming, and we skirt the Black Hills to the south, and strike the Rockies here.
He found the way through.
Now, we have payroll, we have manpower, we have material.
I expect no further delays in making the 40 miles by the government deadline.
- Am I understood? - Yes, sir.
- Yes, sir, Mr.
Durant.
- Good.
And we will finish on schedule? We won't finish anything if I don't dig myself out of this hole we're in.
- How long will you be gone, sir? - A few days.
I'm escorting Mrs.
Bell to Chicago.
Oh! You can wipe that lascivious look off your face.
It's not what you think.
I'm seeing Senator Crane.
But I have seen how she look at you.
- Nonsense.
- No, it's true.
Hmm.
I guess you're leaving.
I'm going to Chicago, to see my late husband's family.
Then it's on to England.
You don't sound too excited about going home.
I don't have a home anymore.
I had hoped to stay here, with Robert, forever, settle down on a ranch or a farm, raise a family, grow old and die together.
The world don't care much for our plans, Mrs.
Bell.
Indeed it don't, Mr.
Bohannon.
Do try and stay out of trouble.
I'll try, ma'am.
Mr.
Bohannon! Mr.
Bohannon! Mr.
Bohannon! You've got to stop them.
- What the hell happened? - Elam, they're gonna hang him.
- How the hell is that my problem? - You've gotta do something.
Talk to the Swede.
He's the head of security.
He's the one gave them the go ahead.
Said his men are gonna let off some steam.
Move them tables aside! Move that table! Clear out! Anybody squeamish about a hanging had best move along right now! Let him loose! Let him loose or there's going to be a river of Mick blood flowing in here! There'll be an ocean of nigger blood.
I guarantee that.
Boys.
Looks like you've brung shovels to a gunfight.
Well, no matter.
We'll use them to dig your graves.
We'll take our chances.
Put them weapons down.
This here's between them and me.
Ain't no use in none of y'all getting shot dead for it.
I can't do that.
- We can't just walk away.
- You've got to walk away, else the rest of y'all gonna get killed, too.
I say we finish him now.
Mr.
Toole.
Mr.
Toole.
Give me your word they ain't gonna come to no harm if they walk away.
You have my word.
Tell your men to put their guns down.
Lower your guns, boys.
Go on now.
- Elam.
- You all git.
Go on! You hear me? Get out of here.
Go on.
Tuck your tails! Ain't nothing we can do.
I don't know whether you're aware of it, but we Irish are the niggers of the British Empire.
That's what this is about? You showing the world you ain't at the bottom of the barrel no more? You're damn right it is.
Any last words? I'm gonna kill your lily white ass.
When we meet in hell, perhaps.
Go on, now! Go to it, boys! Drop him.
Shoot him! Will somebody please shoot the bastard? Well, you shoot him.
Cut his ties.
Let's go! Got a horse outside waiting for you.
Any of y'all thinking about coming after me best get fitted for a shroud and a box.
Just climb on the sumbitch and hang on.
Sure is a stupid-looking spud muncher, ain't he? Some respect for the dead, Mr.
Bolan.
In the end, when all is said and done, all we really own is our death.
It is given us the moment we is born, and we carry that burden the best we can.
I've seen men die screaming.
I've seen men die with nary a peep.
Well, this one here died trying to draw down on Cullen Bohannon.
Well, then, perhaps he was stupid after all.
Now, this hanging of yours went not so well.
He was as good as dead till Johnny Reb came busting in here.
What do you propose to do about it? What do you mean? Well, this brigand, this rebel has upset the balance once again.
And he must be dealt with.
I still don't follow.
Why does that not surprise me? You must pursue Bohannon.
Hmm? - Me? - Yeah.
I don't know nothing about warfare and such.
You created this mess, and you'll clean it up or die trying.
I'll not do it.
Jesus! Now, all of you that was involved in this hanging will accompany Mr.
Toole on his noble quest.
How the hell do you expect these bogtrotters to track down Bohannon? Well, that's their problem.
Let me and Dix take them.
Hmm? I'll track him down like a rabid dog.
Hold.
Slow up, slow up, slow up.
- Why we stopping here? - Good a place as any.
Bohannon.
- What you did for me back at that saloon - What the hell was you thinking? You carrying on with a white woman? - I'm a free man.
- You ain't that free.
- Why you get to decide that? - I ain't decide nothing.
That's the way of the world.
What's it like to own somebody, Mr.
Cullen? Any different than owning a dog or a pig or a plough? I treated my people well, if that's what you're asking.
Your people? You make it sound like they was family to you.
Well, one of them practically raised me after my mother died.
Yeah, but You be owning her.
Even if she changed your dirty drawers, you still be owning her.
I wouldn't mind owning me a white woman.
Yes, sir.
That might be nice.
Maybe I'd bring her in from the fields of an evening and have me some fun.
Watch yourself.
And what if she give me a baby boy? Would I own that, too? Or would half of him be free? And what if I bring that boy into my house from time to time and teach him to read and write? And I give that boy just enough hope to think that maybe, just maybe, he different.
Different than all the other white folk I own.
Nah.
He ain't no different.
He just a mule.
Everybody know a mule ain't no horse.
Ain't that right, Mr.
Cullen? Damn it all.
Damn it all.
- I'm sorry, I - No! Ma'am, please, stay.
You weren't at dinner.
I supped on brandy.
Five course meal.
Do you know what this is? - It's a penny.
- I wish it were just a penny, rather than the seed of my own destruction.
I don't understand.
I was raised in a shanty town, in Hell's Kitchen.
Only difference between us and the rats were the rats were better fed and cleaner.
I'm sorry to hear that.
I don't want your sympathy.
One day, while I was rummaging through the trash for a meal, some gentlemen passed me by.
One of them told me he would give me a penny if I ate a putrid apple that even the rats had passed over.
I I will never forget that taste.
It was all I could do to keep it down.
They had a good laugh, and one of them tossed me the coin.
And on that day, my bark was set on a course that neither tempest nor Leviathan could alter.
I would have it all, and I would have it on my terms.
I know no other way, Lily.
I faced ruin many times and I always found a way out.
But this time, I fear, I may not recover.
Is this Thomas Durant or some blubbering schoolboy I see before me? I gave you those maps so you could finish the railroad.
For Robert's sake.
I won't let you quit.
Get your head out of that bottle and figure out a way.
I gave my slaves their freedom before the war started.
Damn near went broke paying their wages.
I'm supposed to thank you for that? No.
I only did it for my wife.
I sure as hell didn't understand it.
It pissed me off, tell you the truth.
So why'd you do it, then? Well, Mary had a way of talking me into things.
It wasn't until I come home from the war, right then, actually, that I understood that she was right.
I found Mary where she was hanged, you know, but I couldn't find my boy.
We'd always play hide and go seek, and he'd always hide up in the hayloft.
Every damned time, every time.
He'd And I'd just pretend like I couldn't find him.
See, the Yankees, they burned the barn, but it was still standing, and there he was, up in the hayloft.
His body was curled up, and his arms was hugging his knees to his chest.
But he wasn't alone.
Bethel, the woman who raised me, she was with him.
She had her arms wrapped around him, like she was protecting him from the flame.
Both their bodies, they were scorched black, fused together.
Couldn't really tell where one of them ended and the other one began.
And I just remember standing there and thinking to myself, "God's got a funny way of teaching you things.
" Huh? Yeah.
I wouldn't give a shit if I was you, either.
- You ever shoot a gun? - Oh, yeah.
Massah let us shoot guns on the plantation all the time.
You try.
You got to cock it.
Again.
Keep firing.
- Damn.
- You're ready.
What do you mean, I'm ready? I can't even hit the dang tree.
Well, you're just gonna have to get in close, then.
How am I going to get up close without getting shot? Whoever you're shooting at is going to be just as scared as you are.
You take your time.
Don't lose your head.
Count your rounds as you fire.
If you're calm, you'll count their rounds, too.
The trick is making sure the other man has to reload before you do.
And if I don't? You're dead.
End of lesson.
- Good morning.
- LILY: Good morning, Thomas.
I think I may have found a way out of my mess.
Now, this is a map of all the other railroads, an intricate web of iron connecting all the eastern cities.
But something is missing.
Can you see it? There is no direct route connecting the Union Pacific to New York, yet.
Well done.
Why not? Well, I have two choices.
I can build a beltline to the R&R or to the M&M line, further south.
I own substantial stock in the R&R.
I don't understand how this helps you out of your mess.
A stock tip like that could have the President himself eating out of my hand.
If I know Senator Crane, that's exactly what he's after.
I didn't know they had something planned.
I don't know them well.
I've only met them once.
I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you.
I'm not so sure.
Can't you stay a while? I have to meet with Senator Crane, but I'll be back later to take you to your hotel.
- Lily.
- Mrs.
Bell.
I am so sorry to see you under such circumstances.
Thank you, my dear.
- Emily.
- Lily.
Charlotte.
I see, by your dress, you're already out of mourning.
- I didn't know.
- Let's go meet the guests, shall we? Jordan, I'm afraid you have me by the short hairs.
I came here today, hat in hand, to beseech you.
Show some mercy.
I'm almost tempted to see this through and let you rot in jail.
Almost? So there's hope? There's hope.
But it's going to cost you.
Name your price, sir.
I want to know if you're connecting to the R&R or the M&M.
Prison it is then.
I shall contact the authorities now.
You'll be ruined, Doc.
Your railroad snatched from you.
It's the R&R.
- When will you announce? - Friday.
You still have plenty of time.
Put everything you have into it.
You'll be a millionaire by the end of the week.
But don't tell a soul.
Robert brought this painting with him to London.
It was on display when I went to see him lecture.
I'm sure you're sorry you ever left the comfort of London after what you've been through.
Soon you will be returning to your old life, and your dreadful experiences out there will seem like a bad dream.
The nerve of her, showing up with that Durant.
Look at her peacocking around in that garish dress.
I'd like to give her a good drubbing.
If she hadn't been there, Robert may have been able to save himself.
He killed that savage with his dying breath so she could live.
I begged Robert not to marry the woman.
Spoiled, pampered aristocrat.
Fair-haired maiden of the West.
Indeed.
Robert didn't kill the savage, Charlotte.
I did.
You lying little brat.
- Lily.
- Hold your tongue, madam.
Robert did give his life saving me.
He is the reason I still draw breath, but I didn't just stand back and watch it happen.
We fought together, side by side, just as we lived.
I wouldn't expect you to understand that, Charlotte.
Robert fought hard, but the Indian prevailed.
I watched him murder my husband, and he would have killed me next.
But I tore an arrow from my shoulder and thrust it through his throat.
And I pushed.
And I didn't stop pushing until he was dead.
So that's your fair-haired maiden of the West.
Lily.
I think it's time to go.
Right here.
Yeah, they've been gone for hours.
This is madness.
We're never gonna catch them.
Shut the hell up.
We ain't done nothing wrong.
If you guys had been better at tracking, we would have found them already.
Still warm.
Ambush! Ambush! Where are they shooting from? Am I dying? Yeah.
Will I find peace where I'm bound? I don't know if men like us ever find peace, Mr.
Bolan, in this world or the next.
But I hope so.
I really do.
What are you smiling at? You empty.
Any last words? Go to hell, you black My name is Elam Ferguson.
You be sure to tell the devil that when he asks who killed you.
Why so glum, Jordan? The stock could always recover.
I lost everything.
- You still have your Senator's salary.
- This isn't over.
There's still the matter of the missing $147,000.
Already back in the company's till.
Some strange sort of accounting mistake.
People have already lost their jobs over it.
And just to be sure, I've applied grease to all the proper machinery.
Rumor has it, you made three million off the deal.
Five.
I managed to buy the M&M stock at quite a discount.
But don't tell a soul.
Thomas, please, I have a family.
Don't worry, Jordan.
You're still of some use to me.
Well, in the meantime, here's a shiny new penny for you.
- Are you sure about this? - Yes.
But what will you do? Where will you live? I haven't figured it out yet.
I do know that I cannot go back to London.
I cannot go back to a life I now despise.
Then it's decided.
I knew you would understand.
Lily, there's something I must tell you.
- Thomas - No, no, I must say this.
I am a man, and what I have with my wife is It is not what a man needs.
Ours was always a practical marriage.
I mean, there was a time when But that time has passed.
What I'm saying is if I had a woman like you by my side, then No.
If I had you by my side, Lily, there is nothing I We couldn't do together.
This isn't fair on you.
I know.
I know that.
Don't say anything.
If there is a chance, if there is the glimmer of the faintest chance, then you will make me a very happy man.
What about Toole? He out in them woods with a bullet in him.
They all dead? Yep.
Found this in one of his saddlebags.
You reckon I should say something? Suit yourself.
I don't really know my Bible verses.
Twenty-third Psalm.
"The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
"He maketh me to lie down in the green pastures.
"He leadeth me beside the still waters.
"He restoreth my soul.
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness "for His name's sake.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.
"Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, "and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
"