04x08 - Under Color of Law

[bunniefuu]

Previously on AMC’s Hell on Wheels…

Doc?

I want justice.

Straight to Cheyenne after this.

My name is "Bear k*ller".

Your name is Elam Ferguson.

He went looking for you.

Brother Hatch charges you presided over this ward as an impostor.

You turn around real slow.

Few weeks, we won't ever have to see Cheyenne or the Wyoming territory again.

Or my family? Will I ever see them again?

[Thunder rumbling]

[Thunder rumbling]

[Thunder rumbling]

[Man talking incoherently]


Well, mornin', little missus!

[Chortling]

Care for some breakfast with some God-fearing men?

Hey, hey, what's the matter?

Don't you want to spend a little time with us?

Don't listen to him, ma'am!

[Laughs riotously]

[Chuckles]

[Metal clanking rhythmically]

[Tool thuds on wood]

You weren't anywhere.

Didn't even look like you came to bed for one minute.

I had this idea.

It's a dredge.

It's a steam dredge.

It's on its way to us.

Should be here any day now.

We'll have to convert it to a steam shovel.

Had a notion just this mornin'...

I could build an undercarriage...

You need to sleep and eat or...

I don't know what.

You don't understand.

Better take William on along home.

Shouldn't be out here. You neither.

[Metal clanking]

I'll be along. Go on.

[Metal clanking]

[Thunder rumbling]

[Western folk music]

♪ ♪

I know we can reach the summit in seven diagonal cuts.

They're called "switchbacks," all right?

I'm familiar with the concept.

I'm an engineer, Bohannon. Chief engineer.

Before you start givin' me orders, it's Mr. Durant I work for.

You work for The Union Pacific.

Our job is to get the railroad movin'.

I need a dozen men to help fashion a reinforced chassis so I can...

You need?

Gentlemen!

Mr. Bohannon was just tellin' me what my job is. Yours too.

Dredge'll be here any day now and we ain't ready.


He is requesting 10 men...

12.

To be taken off their labor on the wall to assemble parts.

And build a car.

And do we have the expertise to show the men how this is done?

I got a notion.

A notion? Mm.

But I'll need Mr. Delaney's know-how.

Well?

It can be done.

If you settle for 10.

Hold up!

Let's go!

I said stop the train right there!

Damn it.

Excuse me.

Sit down.

[Gears grinding]

[Loud bang]

Pull the men off your train.

They've been reassigned.

On whose say-so? Mine!

What's this with pullin' my men?

Take your ten best off the train, and you too.


I need you in charge.

Charge of what?

Either you come or I take 'em without you.

Dead in the water until you get that slide off.

Virgil!

Mr. Bohannon!

Shouldn't these men be out shovelin' rocks?

I been thinkin' the same thing.

All right, we're gonna take them two freight trucks and set 'em on the rails.

They'll hold the platform for the dredge.

You think we got an ironworks here?


We ain't in Chicago.

You best build new bolsters and kingpins for the extra weight.

I had a look this mornin', figure it's somethin' like this.

You hear me? We fix what's broke and that's all.

I barely got the manpower for that.

Oh, I brought you the manpower.

I'm talkin' about skilled labor.


Psalms?

My men'll learn.

Some of them worked on ploughs and cotton gins where they from.

Railroad cars ain't cotton gins.

And I think you heard him.

They can learn.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Get her in position.

Man right there?

Thinks all you good for is diggin' ditches.

You wanna prove him wrong?

[Sighs]

I know what you see when you look at me.

Doubt that.

The man who k*lled Elam.

But that wasn't Elam.

The one you and me knew. He never come back.

That's all I'm gonna say about it.

Now or ever.

I see to it my crew give Virgil no reason to complain.

Y'all watch your feet mountin' them wheels now.

You thought about what you're gonna do now?

I mean, will you go home now?

St. Louis.

What?

St. Louis.

That's home.

But I got no one there.

No one and nothin'.

No, that ain't true.

You can read.

You talk nice.

You got a pretty face.

You don't have to be a whore.

You can be somethin' better.

You don't know.

Could be a lot worse, I know that.

Before I was with Elam...

Elam.

Stay with me till we find you somethin' to do in Cheyenne.

We'll think on it together.


Mornin'.

Mornin'.

For you.

They found Heckard's body in Nebraska.

By the side of the track.

Somebody bashed his head in.

Yes, sir.

What kind of a place have we found ourselves in, atwood, where the life of a U.S. Marshal can be snuffed out at the whim of an arrogant, pompous, self-important toad?

Durant?

sh*t flows downstream.

From the headwaters.

[Man whistles]

[Indistinct shouts]

Naomi?

Whoa.

Come on.

[Clicks tongue]

Hold it right there!

Tell father Hatch his daughter's at the gate!

Brother Hatch!

Ho.

Feels a long time since we've been here.

It wasn't.

Feels like it, though.

[Hinges squeaking]

Oh, God be praised!

Oh, look at him.

Oh.

Brother Bohannon.


Father Hatch.

Well, come in.


Why are we stayin' out here?

The Bishop?

Ah. He's long gone, you needn't worry about him.

Now, you've been traveling.

You're tired and hungry.

Your momma's gonna be so happy.

[Naomi laughs]

Come on. [Clucks tongue]

Wait here.

You look rather cavalier for a man who's set to hang.

[Laughs]

Is it your habit to take the law of the land so lightly?

Ain't the usual thing for a governor to come down here and conversate with condemned fugitives.

I'm askin' if you hold the law in contempt.

The law and me have been at each other pretty hard for a long time now.

We know each other well.

You have certain skills, Mr. Snow.

I may have need for those skills.

The question is whether you can put them to use for someone other than yourself.

I have never tried.

What if it were worth your life?

Do you swear to enforce the law of Wyoming, its letter and its spirit, without prejudice of persons in pursuance of your duties?

Right, yeah. I do.

Then you're our new marshal.

Lots of individuals would be surprised.

Cheyenne's full of men wanted elsewhere.

Bail jumpers, fugitives.

Also indentured freedmen among the railroad workers, vagrants.

Durant hasn't paid their bond in years.

That means they're illegal too.

I want you to arrest them all.


Gonna need some deputies.

Take those.

[Laughs] Damn, boys, it's your lucky day.

Travel one inch outside my orders, I'll tie the noose myself.

Not to worry, governor.

My honor.

[Spits]

As a gentleman.

You start with those.

Charlotte can cook, wash, keep house.

Does her figures like anything.

She can read and write like nobody's business.

Folks can see she's a respectable person.

We'll get you a change of clothes.

I'll find something for you to do here.

Can't even imagine what you've been through.

Thank...

It's okay.

Thank you.

[Crying]


[Singing indistinctly]

He's got eyes like his papa.

Don't he have brother Bohannon's pretty eyes?

[Giggles]

How dare you say that about my husband.

Esther's got her own beau.

Brother Michael Doone.

He's got eyes like an old ox sittin'
in the sun.


[Giggles]

Girls.

This is Naomi's first meal home.

She's happy to be among them.

She's missed this.

That's a fact.

Well, I can only guess at what's brought you back from Cheyenne.

But is there any good reason you shouldn't stay on?

Both of you, together.

With us.

I have authority here.

I can smooth your way with the congregation.

You will be made welcome.

Perhaps Bishop Dutson was right after all.

How's that?

Only that everything a righteous man could ever want is here.

What'd you mean, Dutson's gone? Gone where?

Brigham young.

To Utah.

[Log thuds]

Your father wants us to stay on for good.

You still ain't said if that's what you want.

I can't think about goin' back.

Naomi.

We're better off here.

Me and William, and don't say that you don't see that.

[Pebble plunks]

You ain't had it easy in Cheyenne.

I know that, all right?

I do.

But it ain't always gonna be Cheyenne.

The railroad'll move on, we'll...

This isn't about Cheyenne!

I washed the blood off of you.

Washed the blood off of you of a man that you k*lled, that you loved.

I ain't forgettin' that.

That's you.

That's who you are.

End of the line, folks!

Cheyenne. End of the line.

[Background chatter]

What we got here, old timer?

Y'all go ahead around the back side of those wagons over there, yeah?

Yes, sir. You heard him.

Hup!

That's it, brother.

Even that out.

Hup!

Get it on up, brother.

Get it in there.

That's it, brother.

All you men!

It appears some of you are wanted by the law.

Else you're here on bonds that ain't been paid.

I am here to see that y'all are brought to justice.

Less trouble you give me, easier it'll be.

'Course, I don't mind trouble.

[g*ns cock]

All of these men, all of 'em, are legitimate employees of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Yes, sir. [Men murmuring]

Virgil Farnsworth.

Wanted in New York.

[Men murmuring]

It was a bar fight down at the bowery.

Other guy walked away.

Don't that count for nothin'?

Hey! [g*n cocks]

[Grunts]

Dutch Dufray.

Armed robbery in the city of brotherly love!

Anybody gets in our way, you arrest them too.

Now... who do we have here?

Julius Hankey.

Whoo! Look at that boy run.

Enoch Buell.

Psalms Jackson.

Durant didn't pay my bond.


Why don't you arrest him?

It might come to that.

Move. Come on!

That's it, that's all.

Round up the goodies, gentlemen. Follow me.

[Loud thud, men shouting]

Get outta here! That's right!

[Overlapping shouting]

What kind of cra... I never robbed nobody!

Not in Ohio anyways!

I don't care what the poster says!

We gonna drag you down to the judge, and you can talk his ear off.

[g*n cocks]

[g*nsh*t]

[Woman screams]

Son of a bitch!

Mm.

"I" is for...

Is... is-land?


Island.

Island.

That sits in the sea.

'J' is for...

Jack-kal?


Jackal!

Jackal.

That Springs from the tree.

"K' is a...

[Thud]

Ruth! I'm in need.

Mickey?

I need a place to stay, to hide.

[Panting] I'm a wanted man.

They're coming now.

You see I have a child here.

You come with a g*n to a place of worship?

The place I saved your life.

As for a g*n, I've no mind to use it if you help me.

I have nowhere to hide you.

[Men's voices approaching]

[Loud knock on door]

[Whistles]

I believe I'll take this myself, boys.

Hot damn.

I got to go to church more often.

Can I help you?

Well, I can think of a thousand ways you could, darlin', but for now...

We're just lookin' for these men.

It's just me and the boy.

You know lyin' to a federal marshal ain't just a sin, it's a felony.

There's no one here.

You see for yourself.

I ain't seen what's back there yet.

Satisfied?

I don't satisfy easy.

[Front door closes]

[Chuckles]

[Thunder rumbling]

[Thunder rumbling]

[Rain pattering]

I'm comin' back for you and the baby.

Don't say it.

I will.

I'll see you when you do it.

[Infant cooing]

Yeah.

[Clicks tongue]

[Hinges squeak]

[Thud]

[Clicks tongue]

[Overlapping male chatter, laughter]

[Tinny piano music]

♪ ♪

Miss Palmer done you up real nice.

It can make you feel different.

Better.

I'd forgotten.

Mrs. Palmer put me to work in the dining room.

Funny how you lose your appetite servin' food all day.

There's somethin' I have to say to you, since I haven't been myself.

What?

I've forgotten to thank you.

There's somethin' else as well.

It's about Elam.

I know you've wanted to talk about him.

From what people say, he...

He wasn't always the man I knew.

No, he wasn't.

I know that now.

And you loved him.

Then I want you to know that I believe it was you he was thinkin' of.

And lookin' for.

[Door opens]

I know, I know!

He's arrested our key railroad men.

All on trumped up charges or crimes long forgotten.

What exactly are we doin' about it?

I'll do what I should've done before: I'll make you chief of railroad police, with authority to reclaim our workforce.

Insist they be released!

Railroad badge won't mean nothin'
to Campbell.

He's federal.

So is the railroad.

Damn it, I need you, Bohannon.

I need your g*n.

I see you aren't even wearing one anymore.

Lost my taste for it.

Well, you picked one hell of a time to turn Saint!

You are under arrest.

For the m*rder of Dwight Heckard federal marshal.

You're the new marshal?

You know, it surprised the hell out of me too.


Take your hands off me!

Hey!

He don't need to be cuffed. Ow!

He'd be doin' me a favor if he puts up a fight.

You too, Bohannon.

Like I said, Bohannon, one hell of a time!

In you go, fancy man.

The Lord's peace is upon this place.

I feel it, brother!


[Chortles]

[Laughs]

Ah.

While we rest here from travel...

You may tell me who you are.

I know you are not Dutson.

Mm, it's true.

My name is Anderson.

I came upon a tragic scene one day.

Bishop Dutson, his wife and child lying slaughtered by Indians beside a river.

As I prayed over them, I received a message...

Message from Heavenly Father...

That I should take this unfortunate man's identity and do his bidden work.

If I have done wrong.

You have done wrong by lying to me now.

Hmm?

Heavenly Father endowed me with the spirit of discernment.

Begin again.

I swear...

That I am mormon and my faith is strong.

And what then of the Dutsons?

When I found them...

They were alive.

I say again, it was a sign from God.

His will that I should take their earthly lives and d-drape myself in Dutson's name and person.

Thereafter, I did all I could to...

To honor him.

In every way at Fort Smith.

Everything I have said now is true.

I'm thankful that my path has led me to...

To the sacred privilege of aiding in...

Aiding in your work.

I do believe in your remorse, and that you seek forgiveness.

Good.

I do.

I do.

I do. I do.

I do.

And what is your name?

I... I am Thor Gundersen. Of Norway.

Well... Thor Gundersen of Norway. You may go forward with me and begin life again.

[Chuckles]

[Chortles]

[Sputters]

But where shall we go?

Time will reveal.

[Both chortling]

Few things I find pleasant in Cheyenne.

But this wine's one.

What else?

Sittin' across from you while I drink it.

I agree.

About the wine.

Mm.

Now...

You are not the kind of lady I expected to find out here.

How is it that an east coast sophisticate like yourself ends up in a frontier town surrounded by charlatans like Durant, ruffians like Mickey McGinnes...

And a defrocked Johnny Reb like Bohannon?

I notice you forgot to mention Sidney Snow.

How does a man who sh**t up a store and kills a young boy end up wearing a marshal's badge?

And how do you justify giving it to him?

Good question, Miss Ellison.

Mr. Bohannon.

You're interrupting our dinner.

I aim to hear your answer.

How's a man appointed by Grant to bring law and order put a badge on a mad dog like Sidney snow, and that's what he is, we both know it.

I'm just lucky I had a man like him to put a badge on.

I've lost two marshals to v*olence in this town, and I don't need to lose more to know that I'm a long way from being able to use peaceful means to bring "law and order,"

as you put it.

I think my new marshal's methods exactly fit the bill.

What Sidney's bringing ain't law and order, and I can't build a railroad with them men in jail.

Then the railroad and everything else will have to wait until I bring this town to heel.

Let me spell it out for you, Mr. Campbell.

Release them prisoners.

I'm only askin' you once.

If that's a thr*at, I didn't hear it.

Now would you let this lady and me go on with our dinner?

You remember: I asked you as a gentleman first.

Miss Ellison.