The Sons of Katie Elder Page #3

to know more about me than l do.

Pretty smart, considering

we haven't met for ten years.

l'm asking you. How many?

- What did Katie tell you?

- Not Mom, other people.

- Howdy, Miss Gordon.

- Hello, Bud.

Miss Mary runs the boarding house.

These are my brothers...

Hello, Matt. Tom. Hello, John.

lt's been a long time.

You're not that skinny little kid that used

to live next door to the Fergusons?

No, l'm the skinny little kid

who lived next door to the Mastersons.

l hate to break in on your grief,

but you'll need some food.

Katie asked me to look in on you,

if you came to the funeral.

That's mighty nice of you, ma'am.

l wasn't doing it for you, or any of you.

l'm doing it because Katie asked me to.

She liked that rocker.

She seemed to have confided

a great deal in you, Miss Gordon.

lf she'd had her sons around her

she wouldn't

have had to confide in strangers.

She told me what fine men you were,

never forgetting her,

sending her money, helping her

send Bud through school.

She was so proud.

Her tall sons for whom she kept making

up lies so she could hide her shame.

Blamed Texas for taking her sons.

Texas is a woman, she used to say,

a big, wild, beautiful woman.

You raise a kid

to where he's got some size,

and there's Texas

whispering in his ear and smiling,

saying, ''Come and have some fun.''

''lt's hard enough to raise children,''

she'd say.

''But when you've got to fight Texas,

a mother hasn't a chance.''

That's why she pushed Bud. She let

Texas beat her with the rest of you.

She was going

to see Bud through college or die.

Well, she died.

Miss Gordon, tell me, why did

she set so much store by this rocker?

Your pa gave it to her. She wouldn't

have swapped it for a diamond ring.

Thanks for being so nice to her.

Nice to her? More like

she was nice to me, or anybody.

She deserved better from her own.

- Miss Gordon...

- l see you're still wearing your gun.

Anybody hungry?

l'll bet you ten to one

she's a good cook, too.

l'm glad l didn't bet. l'd have lost.

How did anybody in this family

ever get to college?

l didn't want to go to college.

lt was either that or jail.

- For what?

- They said l stole a horse.

People are trying to stick me

with things like that all the time.

- Did you steal it?

- l rode him, but l didn't steal him.

Ma wouldn't back me up. There

wasn't anything else to do, so l went.

- You went where?

- To the School of Mines.

lt was September 3rd.

lt was a week before school started,

and l clumb Pike's Peak.

- Why?

- lt was there.

- You done what to Pike's Peak?

- l clumb it.

- You didn't, you climbed it.

- What's the difference? l got to the top.

- There ain't no such word as clumb.

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