Hostetler says if the men of the camp want to kill the horse, that's on them. He guesses it's their right. "But they ain't," he adds, "gon' get to kill me."
The NG scoffs. "'Cause when it comes to them cases," he says, "you'll blow your own fuckin' head off. And once you've cheated those white cocksuckers, won't they just roll around and gnash their teeth." Good one, NG. Hostetler asks him what he means by "cheat," and the NG continues his sarcastic rant: "'Goddamn! Hostetler beat us! He done come out victorious with his fuckin' head blown off!'"
Hostetler gets indignant, refusing to play along, saying he ain't never cheated no white cocksucker in his life, and for that matter, no n*gger, either. The NG sits up, rolling his eyes. "They ain't hung you yet, Hostetler," he says, looking over at his stubborn friend, "and maybe they won't even get the chance...but they sure have made you crazy with pride."
Hostetler thinks on this, deciding to ignore it. "A man that did go back to tell his part," he postulates, "and brought the horse that he set loose...to them that he caused to suffer...paid respect for the pain that he couldn't fix..." Let me interrupt to say, BAD IDEA. Please run, Hostetler. He goes on, saying that, you know, hypothetically, if he were to do this, and everyone forgave him (making it unnecessary for him to kill himself, lest he be killed), well...maybe THEN he'd go to Oregon "with whatever fuckin' loudmouth went along with him" and maybe, MAYBE, they could open a livery. "Well, then," the NG says, resigned to it, "let's find that fuckin' horse."
At the Bella Union, business is in high swing. Cy smokes a cigar as Wolcott sits, looking bored, probably mentally calculating the minutes until he can kill someone again. Jarry shows up and tells them all about his meeting with Al and Adams. He lays out the story as truth, adding that "it emerges further that, pretensions to holiness notwithstanding, your Sheriff Bullock is the courtship's go-between." Hee. Pretensions to holiness, indeed.
Cy laughs at this. "There's all kind of sense in that...Bullock bedding down with Swearengen," he says, "being that they nearly killed each other." Nevertheless, Jarry says, that seems to be the case. Wolcott asks, with limited patience, what information the rest of the meeting yielded. Jarry reveals the $50,000 deal Bullock and Swearengen would allegedly get from Montana to back their interest. Again, Cy is in disbelief, saying Al's "losing his belly for the grift. I'd have said they offered a hundred."