- i'd like to see mr. noonan. - your name, please? just tell him josh randall is here. if you will wait. you're the bounty hunter randall? - that's right. - i am luis portilla. - juan portilla's father. - uh-huh. i know why you are here and i want to tell you this. n. he's not a killer. he would have little chance against that. look, mr. portilla, i don't know anything about your son. if you speak the truth, you have nothing to worry about. but if you lie, you go after my son at your own risk.

( theme music playing ) se?or, this is josh--

r trademark. i've heard people talk about it. it does the job. what about the poster? oh, yeah. you'll want to know the details. what do i have to do to get the $500? find juan portilla. what's he wanted for? grand theft. about $10,000 worth. used to ride fence for me. one fine morning last week he showed up missing. the safe here was busted open. cattle sale money was gone. what about the local law? local law, ha. local burying society is more like it. last two posses gone out after rustlers, they buried the men they were after. i thought you wanted this man portilla. well, i do want him. but i want him alive. see, i have more than 20 mexicans on this spread including juan's father. if juan doesn't get a fair hearing, they're apt to get pretty mean. mean enough to start busting up things and maybe come looking for me. and you figured i could bring him back in one piece. that's part of your reputation. that's why i waited for you. there were three other men who wanted the job.

there's more to it than just bringing him back. there's a time element. old man parker is coming out from the east and if he finds out about this, i'm gonna lose my job. doesn't say anything in here about a theft. of course not. i haven't been able to do anything myself. for the past two months, it's been one doctor after another. i've got to go to tucson tomorrow to see a specialist. i want this whole mess cleaned up before i get back here. i can't guarantee that. well, all i ask is that you try. now, you say this man portilla, - he was a fence rider? - one of the best. did he bunk here? he stays out at a range cabin. that way he can cover the whole spread. how do i find it? just follow the north fence. you can't miss it.

hyah! you get around pretty good, don't you? i thought you worked at the ranch, not here. are you looking for juan or waiting for him? that is no business of yours, se?or bounty hunter. looking for him is my business. your business is to kill him. to find him.

se. think it out, miss. does he stand a better chance with them or with me? i don't know. - who are you? - conchita morales. you must be very fond of juan. we plan to marry. that is why i know he would not steal the money and go away. he would not do that. he is not that kind of a man. well, i think it's up to him to answer that question. all i know is he's gone. something must have happened. an accident. well, it was an accident he was ready for. he took his clothes with him. and you knew that, too, didn't you? but his winter clothes, they're gone, too. everything. where does he keep his traps? i don't understand. animal traps. fence riders usually have them.

where'd he go? the sooner you tell me, the sooner you'll see him again. i can track him if i have to. once a year he goes to the pasture. the shack is there. if that's where he went, he's out of season. but if a man wanted to go to a cabin and hide out in the mountains, stay awhile, he'd take traps for meat. juan has nothing to hide from. if juan's innocent, he's got nothing to fear from me. if there was no reward, you would not be here. job. finding them guilty isn't. to the mountains in the north, there is a place they call the door to the diablo. the shack is there. you know, if time wasn't important, i'd just keep my eyes on you. 'cause he's show up sooner or later. you best ride back now, hear? let me come with you, please. well, if he shows up, he's gonna come to you.

tell him i'll be waiting.

( whinnies ) ( snorts ) get off! get off! well, you warned me. i didn't figure you'd go through with it. - about what, se?or? - bushwhacking me. oh, if i wanted to do that, you would be dead now. you didn't come up here for the ride. se?or, put yourself in my place.

i don't know you well enough to figure what you'd do. i wish to see my son live. i only desire to ride with you. to keep you from harming him. i'm an old man. i cannot do you any harm. you just said you could have killed me if you wanted to. a sleeping man. it would have been easy, even for a child. i told you, your son's got nothing to fear from me. then, se?or, you have nothing to fear from me. ( hissing ) the way you handle that knife takes years off your age. if your son's up ahead, portilla, you better hope he sees you before he starts shooting. because after the first shot, you ain't gonna be around no more.

i must have some water. this may be all for nothing. who can say my boy's gone to the shack? you wanted along. you're going the rest of the way. girl who thinks my boy is in love with her tells you such a thing? i saw you leave the cabin. well, she didn't tell me anything i couldn't have figured out for myself. she's just trying to do what's best for juan. she's jealous. she hates him for leaving. that's the way she tries to pay him back. - by lying. - well, if she's lying, we've got nothing to lose but time. she will be sorry. you know, if i judged juan by your actions, i think i'd think the worst. any man who hunts another man for money

deny an old man a moment's rest? you're not as old and as tired as you want me to think. come on, let's go.

looks like your son dropped one of his traps. my son is not so careless with such things. a man does careless things when he gets in a hurry. i tell you, se?or, this is no accident. accident or not, we know he's been this way. se?or, you are a fool. you know nothing about my son. that's right. but i plan to, se?or. ( screams )

ve your legs? uh-uh. maybe something's broken. - maybe not. - i think yes. you well enough to travel? se?or, you joke. well, i'm gonna have to leave you here. i'll give you food and water for two days. se?or, you'd leave an old man to die alone? well, what do you suggest? as you claim to be, a kind fair man, there's only one answer. stay here till luis can travel. how long do you figure that might be? a few days. maybe a week. ever since you joined me, you've been trying to keep me from going after juan. it's been one thing, then another. se?or, you have no faith. there was nothing wrong with that cinch strap and the saddle didn't slip. you just figured if you could keep me here for a while, it'd give your boy a chance to get away. - you think this of me? - get up.

there will be no forgiveness if you do this, se?or. on your feet. ( gunshot ) next time it's your head. you mend real fast. for an only son, an old man does many things. i hope murder isn't one of them. and, se?or. if i do these things, it is for him, not for myself.

se?or randall. does this belong to juan, too? s?. you're thinking the same. no man can be that careless. for the first time, i agree with you. it's as if he's leaving a trail for us to follow. i tried to tell you this from the beginning. something is wrong. something is very wrong. unless he wants to ambush me. then he would have done it and you would be dead now. - how much farther? - maybe two hours. something is wrong. better we hurry. for the first time, you're more anxious to get there than i am. come on. come on.

- josh: that his horse? - s?. wait. let me go first. i can talk to him. all right. but don't keep me waiting long. juan, it's your father. se?or randall. come on over. whoa.

you see? there's no one here. he can't be far. we'll just wait until he shows up. i do not like this. he left everything here. he'll be back. if he stayed here, why is there no sign? his clothes, his traps, they've not been used. all right, let's take a look around. juan! juan! juan, where are you? juan! - save your breath. - huh?

luis. it's juan. juan. - juan! - ( gunshot ) man: drop it! pretty good for a cripple, huh? that's what you're thinking. i was thinking it's pretty good for something that crawls on its belly. you can't rile me. - i'm ready to kill you. i will. - like you killed juan?

you're gonna be juan's partner in this theft. luis i didn't figure on. he can be the third member. they'll find three bodies up here now. yeah, you had a falling out with the old man and his son. money will be missing. they'll figure one of you hid it someplace. only juan didn't steal the money. how did you manage it? two months ago i was trampled by a bronc. let people think i was hurt worse than i was. then i sent juan up here to repair the cabin. i followed him up and shot him. then i rode back to the ranch and cleaned out the safe. blankets, the trap, it was your work. kind of freshening the trail. putting a little bait in the trap. you forgot one thing. those ranch hands you were so concerned about. they know you were gone when juan was shot and they'll realize you're missing this time. - they'll tie you in with it. - i forgot nothing. as far as they're concerned, i'm in tucson. besides, who'd ever suspect a cripple in a wheelchair to ride up here, shoot three men, then ride back again?

i can't feel a thing. my legs are numb. you'll be all right. i don't want to be like this. i don't want to be a cripple. you're a little late with the thought. ( groaning ) leave him alone. give me a gun, please. give me a chance. like the one you gave juan? sorry, mr. noonan, fresh out of favors. - is the travois ready? - s?. i'll get the horses. and, luis, you leave him alone. my son is dead. his death will not change that.

tomorrow will come and i will have to look at it.

you're high. i'll bet 50. raise you 100. show your cards. kind of reckless, weren't you, with luck crowding me the way it's been? oh, i don't know. poker's pretty much like the rules for living. sometimes it feels right to be reckless. sleep warm, gentlemen. - excuse me. - you just can't... whiskey, please.

your name randall? uh-huh. got a message for you. who from? big fella wearing a corduroy jacket, stood right here and watched you take in that last pot, said he wanted some words with you. don't know him. look, randall, i'm just delivering a message. says he wants to talk to you upstairs in your room. i don't have a room here. you do now. he just paid the rent on it.

guessed right about you, didn't i? ah, you're pretty sure of yourself for a man that never met me before. oh, i've heard of you. i know you go for a deal anywhere where there's money. my name is poe, william poe. did you ever hear of a man called shawnee bill?

just look at the price. i know what he looks like. he's about 6'1", weighs 210 pounds, has gray eyes and sandy hair. could be anybody. could be the banker here in hooker. could be the bouncer in the bar. ( laughs ) yes, but i know where he is. now, for half that reward money in advance, i'll take you to him. sure you will, to his grave. i heard he's been dead for five years. oh, he's not dead. then why don't you take him? not without the use of one arm. he's a tough customer, randall. the reason i've cut you in on this is because, aside from your interest in cold, hard cash, i understand that you have a strong hankering to uphold the law. ( chuckles ) not this strong. when a man's investing $1,000 in advance, he's only thinking of one thing. shawnee bill might not be where you say he is. ( laughs ) then i lose. well, nothing in life is that sure, but that's the gamble,

or maybe you've lost your nerve. you know, i watched you play poker downstairs. you were betting like a man who bet long odds, but i was wrong about you. you only play that kind of poker when you've got three kings up your sleeve against a sucker who thinks that luck and no brains will get him through. ( chuckles ) too bad, randall. whoa. where do we find him? little town called trinidad, colorado, about 80 miles across the texas border. all in all, it's about 170 miles from here. you could make it in six days. poe, you'll liable to have gotten yourself a headache. we're going to stay closer together than two fleas in a prairie chicken. ( laughs ) you might as well go over and make yourself comfortable. you going to be here for the night.

that's enough. say, boy, would you like to make a dollar? - sure. - hold this. i want you to take this letter, put it on a butterfield stage. got ya. i want you to hurry, huh? thanks, boy.

( clicks tongue ) come on. your horse is saddled, poe. ho. now, look, now, that shoulder's going to bother you, let's get it taken care of now. don't you worry about the shoulder. whoa, boy. ( winces ) hup. hah! hyah!

hey, what's the matter with you? that $1,000 that you gave me is in a united states mailbag on board that stagecoach that just left town. and about that long trek to trinidad, colorado, trip really isn't necessary anymore. you see, i'm shawnee bill. ( laughs ) hold it. s, 6'1", about 210 pounds. ah, william poe, alias bill poe, alias shawnee bill. well, you got a funny sense of humor. i figured a gambler like yourself would appreciate it. oh, you can put that up. look, randall, you bet into a hand that's a little too big for you this time. we're not through playing yet. of course you're going to take me in to colorado and turn me in, but i think you'd best consider that 170 miles is quite a long ways.

yes, but you can't carry a dead man far across rough country like that. now, look, why don't you save us both needless wear and tear on the flesh? take your licking. just mark it up to profit and loss. only your loss. i'll get you back, and i'll get that reward. that is if we both get to colorado together. for $1,000, i'll take you to hades. now get on your animal. i might at that. hyah! hyah!

that's the third time we've backtracked in the last hour. you wouldn't know why. there's nobody out there, if that's what's bothering you. uh-huh. there isn't, huh? i'm telling you nobody. ( horse snorts ) just you and me and all this loneliness and 150 more miles to go. maybe you'd like to back out now. yeah, just like cutting off my right arm. here. - i don't want any. - drink it. i'm delivering you to colorado, hy, now. hear?

nobody out there, huh? we've been followed ever since we left hooker. well, maybe the best thing you can do is let me go - right here and now. - who is he? i told you 170 miles was going to be a long way to take me. you think your partner's going to get you away from me, you're wrong. you better start getting used to traveling at night. you're wasting your talents. that's no partner of mine. i'll tell you one thing. he's not losing our trail.

his name is galt. he's half-cherokee. you can't shake him. you can't catch him. but whether you like it or not, mr. randall,

wiping out those trail tracks isn't going to save you either. if he doesn't get you, i will. will you, now? i'm not lying. he's after me. you're good. ( chuckles ) real good. look, i'm telling you. six years ago, galt and i were in a robbery together with two other men. the other two men were killed. galt got himself captured. i managed to get away with the money.

well, he came back to get his share. i no longer had it. money kind of burns a hole in my pocket. well, easy come, easy go. just talked him out of that too, huh? i got away. he hasn't caught up with me till just now. how do you suppose i got this wound in my shoulder? from him, the day before i hit the town of hooker and found you. look, he wants that reward money as bad as you do. he feels that he's entitled to his money. he'll kill you to get it. like it was when we first started. you might both kill me, and that's my gamble. get on.

ho. here. i don't want any. drink it. ( horse neighs )

hah! ( crickets chirping ) well? if he's out there, he's walking on velvet. you think you lost him?

no rest for the weary. look who's down there. galt! i'm waiting, randall! thought i lost you at bed river. i want the man you're taking in, shawnee bill. you're a little late. galt? galt! let's you and me make a trade. nobody gets hurt, just shawnee bill. what kind of a trade? i'll split the reward with you. that's not a good deal for you, josh. you'll only just get your money back. and besides, how do you know he won't double-cross you? oh, well, that's great coming from you. randall!

now get the horses cinched. i'll outwait you. i may not have a chance against that gun of yours, but you're going to make one slip. now do you believe me? maybe. what real chance do you think you got at cashing me in? you're going to fall on your face at any hour, and you know it. he's going to kill you to take me. the only chance you've got - is to let me go. - no. look, randall, this is my fight with galt. why do you want to get your head blown off for a pocket of money you'll never see? thank you, but i paid to be here. you know, it's too bad. we'd have made a great team,

yeah. we're going to walk the horses up that slope. when i tell you, you mount quick. all right. giddyap.

( gunshot ) i hit him. come on. hyah. whoa.

shawnee! randall! there's only one way out of that pocket. that's up toward me.

( clicks tongue ) ( clicking tongue )

- who is it? - bill poe. - bill poe? - yes. - sure? - isn't any mistake.

seems like he was known. ought to be. he's lived here six years. whatever trouble you went to, we want to thank you for it. poe was a good man, lived by the letter of the law. he ain't been gone more than two weeks. funny. he left town here to raise $1,000 to send his wife back to st. louis. she needed an operation. he was going to join her, settle there, sell out his ranch. the money come in by stagecoach yesterday. she died the day before. well, the little girl will need the money anyway, now that she ain't got nobody - a little girl? - ( laughs ) prettiest thing you ever saw. just five years old. you haven't told us where you found him, mister, or who you are. my name's randall. i found him up near squaw canyon. somebody probably tried to rob him for a $10 bill. we'll tell the little girl someday that a man named randall was kind to her father. yeah. you do that.

?? ?? ?? - well, mr. paladin, it's early you've returned! - maggie, it's 3:00 a.m. - well, i said it was early. - hmm. maggie?

- people are less polite. i think i'm beginning to yearn for things pastoral. trees, tall and green, that scrape the sky when the wind blows, and clouds, white and fat. - well, for that, i could qualify myself. - (chuckling) open spaces... vast, empty, untouched. - are you tired of people, mr. paladin, sir? - most of them, maggie. - ah! here it is. hey boy says, "maggie, to give it to mr. paladin the minute he came in." and i says to hey boy, i says, "what will that darlin' man think of me... - uh-huh. - "pouncing on him like a... like a man-hungry leech the minute he saunters in here?" - thank you very much, maggie. - mm. oh, it isn't bad news, is it, dearie?

it's an invitation to a breath of mountain air and peace and quiet and serenity. - all that on only one sheet of paper? - listen to this. "orrville, texas. "dear paladin, spring is here. "there are trout in the stream and deer in the mountains. "my mouth is watering for fried trout and venison. "can you come down for some fishing or hunting? your friend, ernie backwater." (laughing) ernie backwater. ?? - yeah. blue skies and wide spaces. clouds like your letter said. not many trees, though. how are you, ernie? - go ahead and get it over with. - get what over with?

be happy until you do, so go ahead and get it over with. i might not be as forbearing tomorrow or the next day. - your name ernie backwater? - that's right. - that mean you back water? - not while i'm alive. how about you? have you grown soft in two years? - why? - what's this? - it's a fishing pole. - fancy. what's it for? - fishing. trout, you said. - i'm going hunting. - for what? - a man... who killed five people, killed one of my posse, got sentenced to hang, broke my jail, burned it down, killed my deputy, shot me in the belly, and left me for dead. it's a miracle i'm still alive. you want to come? - now, ernie, you knew about this when you wrote me that letter about the six-pound trout and the 400-pound bucks. - i don't ask favors, and i'm not now.

i'm going hunting for something else, that's all. - ernie. - most men lie to themselves about something... that they're stronger than they are or faster than they are. well, i lie about standing on my own two feet. i never asked another man's help or ever will. you want to come? - my pleasure. - i thank you for that, but it won't be a pleasure. he'll probably kill us both. - a force of nature, huh? - like a force of nature. savage, fearsome. the comanches have a name for the kind of texas man who took this part of the country away from the mexicans, drove the apaches into the chiricahuas and the comanches into the state plains. you know what it is? - ammantophori. - "savage american." - "savage american." that's not really a good translation, ernie. it's more like...

- pay is $3 a day. raise your right hand. - no badge, ernie. - why not? - well, i always have to consider the possibility that some fool won't be able to resist the temptation of using it for a target. how long? - 20 minutes. he do sleep sound, don't he? - that's a rag doll down there. he's out in the brush. - that's right. or up there, looking down our throats. three months for my belly to heal enough to go after him.

really found him. - i'm going out in the brush. you're good here. - no. my eyes are going on me. and the light's bad here. i won't trust a rifle. i'll get a little closer. - ernie... don't break a leg. - you mean don't make any noise.

(gunfire) - don't do that. - that last shot, you could have killed me. - that's right. - but i put one in your shoulder, so you put two in mine. - that's right. - i wouldn't have done that. i would have killed you. - me, too.

- that gonna hurt? - like nothing ever hurt before. - him, too. twice.

- what's the matter, ernie? you afraid i'd chew through them? - no. just that you might get desperate and tear the tree up by the roots or break the chain in half. - ernie? did they all die? two of them were still alive when i left. - they all died. why, will? ee of them? - that's a fact. - (sighing) there's one place for you cripples: a way station between us and a trip back without water. you ain't gonna lose that arm on me before we get there, are you?

- well, go to sleep. you need your rest. - yeah. - (grunting) - ernie? - yeah? - ernie, you don't want to hang him, do you? - i never want to hang a man. - no, i mean, some less than others. - no, they're all the same to me. i bring them in, the court tries them, the jury brings in a verdict, the judge sentences them. i got to get some sleep. (grunting) - ernie? - yes? - ernie... you say his... it was his son? - that's right. - he was murdered by five men? - that's right. for a ten-dollar gold piece his pa gave him his 15th birthday. - and he hangs for that? - for revenging his son? no. he killed the wrong men, paladin.

ep, though. he woke them up, and he killed them. - does he know? - no. we tried him for killing one of my posse, not for those saddle tramps. we thought they'd done it, too. you got to understand the facts of life. no jury in the world was gonna bring a verdict against him. only thing is, he did kill one of my posse, then my deputy in escaping. a month later, the five men who had killed his son were taken in sonora for murder. they were gonna hang anyway, so they told what they'd done. - ernie. - yes? - you're not gonna tell him. - for what purpose? - he shot you. why didn't you kill him, paladin? - i told you.

leep, ernie.

- ernie? - yes? - i want my boots. - i told you, no. - that was yesterday. - that was for the last 13 days. - we gonna reach town tomorrow? - i hope so. - well, then you're gonna have to shoot me, because i am not gonna ride into town without my boots. - i could make you walk, tied to my horse's tail. - ernie, you do that, and i might lose my temper.

i don't want to do that so close to dying. - i'll give you your boots just before we get into town. - you heal slow, gunfighter. - all right, will. well, you took yours off... - i didn't holler as loud as you did either when ernie put the iron to me. - that's just because you were making so much noise you couldn't hear yourself. - ernie, who hollered the loudest? - you was both as brave as pussycats. now, let's get riding.

- could you spare another of those fancy cigars, paladin? thanks. when, ernie? - tomorrow morning. - that's right. no sense in wasting time. now i wish you'd have shot a little more on target. - all right, let's go. - where to, ernie? or have they rebuilt your jail already?

i thought maybe the schoolhouse. - no. - why not? - the children, ernie. - they'll be leaving in ten minutes. tomorrow's saturday. - and they'll be back monday. you don't want to hang a man out of a schoolhouse. find someplace else. cellar, hotel room. - all right, the hotel. but first, we get a barbershop bath. we need it. - thanks. i keep wondering if i could take you in a fair fight. i keep thinking about it. does it bother you?

?? - ah, there's nothing like a barbershop bath. nothing in the world. i almost feel like a new man. - you smell better, too. - well, downwind, you weren't exactly a rose garden, ernie. aw, come on, ernie. - um, shave first, sir? - uh-huh. you got something to read? - uh, yes, sir. it was, uh, due last week, but it just came out today. all fresh news. uh, i-- i haven't had a chance to see it myself yet. - i making you nervous, sim? - yes, sir.

all for nothing. - what's that, mr. tybee? - oh. how's your wife, sim? - oh, fine. - how many children do you have now? - oh, four, sir. - if you mean to use that shotgun, ernie, get on with it. ll use that razor. - i've killed seven men since christmas. two of them were men i liked. now, you put that shotgun over here and unlock those chains,

(chains thudding) now, put your handgun down at my feet. sim, tell mr. paladin how many children you've got. he didn't hear you. - please, sir. - now put your gun over here with ernie's. stop thinking, paladin, because no matter how fast you get that bullet off, my reflex will make his children orphans. now back against the wall, your hands high.

now, sim, you and i are gonna kneel together. careful like. you're gonna pick up mr. paladin's gun and put it in my left hand, real careful like. now, sim, take off the sheriff's boots.

- i truly hope you don't try something foolish. (door slamming) - well, i guess it's this. - he is a murderer. - yeah. - [narrator] what if you had a medical emergency away from home? - my chest hurts, i can't breathe. - [narrator] what you need is mobilehelp, america's premiere mobile medical alert system. most systems only work at home,

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able to press the button. there is no equipment to buy and no long-term contract. act now and we'll include an emergency key box free with your plan purchase. call now and ask how you can save with our special holiday promotion. don't settle for a medical alert system that only works at home. - mobilehelp has given me my life because i'm not restricted anymore. i have freedom to live now. - [narrator] join the thousands of people nationwide already using mobilehelp, will! - you know, i expected you to come up with something, paladin.

- it doesn't have to be this way, will. - you better not shoot fancy this time, friend. you're not that good. - i know. i'll shoot straight. - why, paladin? those men are murderers. even the newspaper says so. - what about the seven men you killed who weren't murderers, will? what about them? - i still have to try. (gunshots) - go on. get away from him. go on home. well, let's get him to the undertaker. and i'll buy a beer. - ernie, whiskey.

he was a man. - ammantophori. american primitive. ?? - ? "have gun will travel" ? ? reads the card of a man ? ? in a savage land ? ? his fast gun for hire ? ? heeds the calling wind ? ? paladin, paladin ?

?? ?? (thudding) (dishware breaking)

- time to get ready. early worm catch the bird. - hey boy, my train doesn't leave for three hours yet, and besides, it... ah... um... it's "the early bird." - oh. - what horse? - saddle on horse back, saddlebag on saddle, train ticket in saddlebag. you have to get dressed right away. - hey boy, there are the deserts and mountains of nevada, utah territory, wyoming, not to mention the great prairie lands

now, go and get the ticket back out of the saddlebag. the horse and i will take the train. - oh. oh, mr. fairchild, is he bad man? - mr. fairchild is a very bad man and has seven dead wives to prove it. fairchild's last wife was the daughter of an old friend of mine, and i intend to see him stand trial. - that case, don't go by train. - hey boy... no horse! - gee. then stableman win bet. - what bet? - i say mr. paladin can ride to missouri very fast, in less than four days. stableman say no can do. i say, "i from missouri, show me." we make two-dollar bet.

and get my ticket out of the saddlebags and bring it back here. the horse and i will take the train... (speaking chinese) - (speaking chinese) - hold it. - what is it? - it's an extra day's life for you and a good night's sleep for me, thanks to an osage funeral ceremony.

is mighty good for cotton. you know, i have two sections prime cotton land down near denton? a man with land like that don't need nothing more. - and you'd be very happy to write me out a deed free and clear to turn you loose, hmm? which one of your seven wives did it belong to? was it emma? did you poison her, or is she the one you stabbed with a pitchfork? - i drowned her. i couldn't keep the land if i killed her straight out. - i think, fairchild, ??

i beg your pardon, ladies. is there a house in this community that takes boarders? - ain't no boardinghouse. not for you. - oh, i see. well, do you have a jail? - kind of. we got us a sheriff. down the road yonder. half a mile to the right. sheriff stinchcomb. - much obliged. - he gonna take billy mcguire's place? (thunder rumbling)

have mercy, if you see fit. amen. that's me. - good evening, little lady. - i saw the tree with the paint on it. i'm prepared to honor the osage request for privacy. i'd like the use of your jail for my prisoner until their ceremony's finished. - they'll be having their burial in the morning. we can put you up for the night. letty may, get on down to the house

- mighty pretty woman, your daughter. - what's his crime? - he had seven wives. he probably killed all of them. the last one, in fort smith, he poisoned for ten dollars' worth of paste jewelry. - how did you come by him? (thunder rumbling) well, let's get him over to the shed.

. him up there in his grave... - that was billy mcguire your father buried, huh? - (sniffles) you knew him? - i only heard his name. - he didn't mean to kill nobody, not down in his heart. if you could've seen him, you'd've knowed that. there just wasn't no reason for him to suffer the way he done, penned up out there in that shed. - he was a prisoner? - for three months. he couldn't stand it no longer, so he killed hisself.

- yes, ma'am. - i, uh... i saved some money. $17. it's yours, if you let me go along. - well, letty, there are 100 different ways that you could get hurt between here and wichita. - mister, i do know what hurt is. i... (door opening) - there's enough water coming down out there. what are you sniveling about? something gnawing on her. like to know what it could be. - what did billy mcguire do? - killed his uncle. shot him down in the street in locust grove. took a deputy four days to catch him. - and you brought him here to die three months later,

what's that? - that's the way it is. hat what the deputy got for billy? - that's what everybody gets who brings us a prisoner. - and what will you do with fairchild... (sack clatters on table) if i sell him to you? - now, don't goad me. you know what we'll do. - the osage chief can't be buried without a scalp to send him to glory, and you expect fairchild to provide the scalp. - there's a hill ten mile from here. we'll take him out there.

coming down at night, picking out anybody they could find. so, one night we had us a horse thief out in the shed, ready to hang come dawn. an osage chief died, so we took the horse thief out by the hill and left him by one of them painted trees. we were never bothered again. - and how many others have you left by the painted trees for slaughter? - there ain't enough of us to fight them osages! - mr. stinchcomb, i have had a rather trying week. from a lynch mob in fort smith at considerable risk to my own life, and i do not intend to see him used as a human sacrifice. he will stand trial in wichita, and then he will be hanged... legally. - ain't ever gonna make it. not without horses. - oh? what did you do with the horses? - run 'em off into the brush.

you make no mistake about this, stinchcomb. i will ride out of here tomorrow morning...

you asked for. - oh, bless you, ma'am. they took me away from the schoolhouse so fast, i didn't get a chance to bring nothing with me. - you a schoolmaster? - down in the choctaw nation. - i never got cooking like yours down there. (laughing) them... them pork dumplings was something.

(horse neighing) (knocking) - come in. - that the prisoner? - then we better get started. - he's a christian man, papa. you can't do this to him!

who would gladly kill you for 15 cents. however, your point is well-taken. now, is there anyplace else you can stay? i don't want you here tonight. - she can stay down the road a piece with mrs. white. she'll take her. - good night, letty. - help yourself. - you fixing on giving us a rough time? - if you force me to it, i'm fixing to give you a rough time. now, gentlemen, i suggest that you stack those rifles against the table.

us take that man out there for them indians, they're gonna come riding down here, 10, maybe 15 of 'em, and they're gonna take somebody. well, maybe somebody like letty there. maybe somebody like my ma. you figure that killer out there, he's worth more than either of them? - what makes you so sure he's a killer? - you said so. - i could have been lying. i could have picked up some strange little man, brought him in here for the hundred dollars. you people are so anxious to save your own skins, you didn't even question that possibility. what proof did the deputy give you to turn billy mcguire over to you? - billy mcguire killed a man. that makes him a murderer. - you put fairchild up on that hill, what does that make you? - we got no choice. and he's gonna die anyway. - most of us are. why fairchild? i saw an old woman at the general store. why don't you take her? her life's almost over. and when you finish with her, you could start on the lame

to keep you people safe for a long time. - that ain't the same and you know it! - isn't it? when you start to evaluate human life to decide who can and who cannot survive, then there's no place to stop. - hey, now the rain stopped. now, we're wasting time! - gentlemen, so there won't be any misunderstanding about tomorrow morning, when i ride out of here, fairchild goes with me. privilege of taking fairchild out of here, but i will if it's necessary. i suggest you gentlemen adjust yourself to this. sit down on that sofa, make yourselves very comfortable

i mean, there's something i have to know. you didn't kill nobody, did you? he did bring you up here for the money? - money? - they're gonna give you to the indians, mr. fairchild. to be killed! - oh, no, they wouldn't do that to a peaceable widower like me, little lady. i can prove them charges against me as false.

ouldn't rest easy unless you came with me now.

- (groaning) ah... well, it won't be long. it's almost daybreak. - paladin? come out here! now, let's talk a little business, paladin. - get back inside and stay out of the way. turn her loose, fairchild! - no, sir. there's some horses out in the trees. send somebody to fetch 'em. - jenkins.

- now, give me the key to these chains... and your gun. put 'em on the stump. now, turn around. - letty... move!

now maybe it won't make no difference to them indians if he is dead. - you can't have fairchild, dead or alive. - paladin, we'll find another way to handle the indians next time. this time, let us have him. - i'm gonna bury fairchild. i'll dig one grave or two... either way you want it... and you make up your mind what you're gonna do with that thing. either use it or put it down. letty, i will be riding south to san francisco. if you like, i'll take you with me. - where's my father? - he's in the house. - thank you, mr. paladin, but i won't be going now.

ll excuse me. - there's $100 in the house, paladin, if you leave him. - you stall the osage until noon. they'll have to bury their chief with a totem scalp... you get 'em to do it once, and you'll never be bothered again. - we can sell some of the land if $100 is not enough. - you can get those two shovels over there and i will watch you bury mr. fairchild.

- ? "have gun will travel" ? ? reads the card of a man ? ? in a savage land ? ? his fast gun for hire ? ? heeds the calling wind ? ? paladin, paladin ?

>> are we on the high cap role happaral yet, mom? >> do you have to ask so many questions? >> your face gets sad and lonely. i wonder what it's like to live on a big ranch. >> i don't know.

who are they? >> get in the back. >> why? [gunshot]

[gunshot] [gunshot]

>> ma'am? may i ask you a question? what are you two doing alone out here in the desert? >> we are visiting. we are coming to see mr. buck cannon. >> dhe to see him? >> no, but he's an old friend. >> old fr -- i'll take you. ?

>> you mind telling me what's happening? >> victoria? >> you sound so silly. mrs. simmons and her little girl? >> what does that have to with do with me? she got a first name? >> she didn't say she had come out all this way to see you.

your little game. i'd be grateful if you took care of my horse. >> ? come out tonight ? >> are you mr. buck cannon? >> yes, ma'am. who are you? >> is jennifer simmons. my mother and i came a long way to see you. you can call me jenny. >> that's better. i'm glad you done that -- you have the upper hand.

>> ma'am? >> by golly. you come all this way to see me? you got me. i tried it to find you once. couple hundred miles and then i turned back. >> why did you turn back? >> i guess i didn't think you wanted ghosts from the past. >> why didn't you keep going? >> sure, she can stay. john will be back in in a month. >> is john cannon your daddy? >> that's a good one.

brother. >> are you a daddy, uncle buck? >> no, no. i've never been that lucky. >> would you rather have a girl or a boy? >> a pretty little girl like you. >> i would come at too. -- i would, >> she's something. >> what's that? >> would you like to help me? maybe we will find some sugar cakes. >> i loved sugar cakes, mrs.

-- she is wonderful, just wonderful. >> like her father. >> is that so? i meant to ask you, where is he? annie? done? >> no. >> he left us, buck. it's gone to the pate where i hate that word, sorry.

one day i would look out to see how the clouds were coming. >> i would call that taking off. i thought you deserved better than that. >> i thought so, too. i'm not sure anymore. >> that is foolish. >> i think i have been foolish up until now. it used to be he would take off for a day or two and then come home. he's been off for a month. that's a long time to think. you have or take a long hard look at yourself, buck? >> wanted to, but i'm afraid. i pretty much just what you see. >> all this time, i've been

i come to think on it, i was the one who had the idea to farm. i wanted green grass and white pickets. he wanted open range. i guess what i wanted most was jack. >> i would say that i would have liked to have been him. >> i wanted him him like i wanted him. i wanted him my way. i'm beginning to wonder if all the things i fell in love with were the things i tried to twist out of him. >> i wish you would hush. >> will you help me? i've got no one else to turn to. >> there's nothing i won't do

the border. sorry i wasted your time. will you find him for me? bring him back? >> why do you want him? >> i have to be able to look at him and tell him what i just told you and be gone, that's all right. jenny needs a father. i've got to try. >> if i was to bring him back, i'd be killing those good things and you.

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know she meant so much to you. >> she was a long time ago. what has passed is over and done with. >> whatever you decide is going to be the right thing. >> thank you, victoria. >> may i sit down? my mommy wanted you to bring my daddy back. are you going to? do you love my mommy? >> no. we are good friends.

he is very good, deep down. didn't she tell you? >> of course she told me. >> i miss him. he sings to me. >> he sings? what kind of songs? >> about animals that talk. everybody knows animals can't talk. >> except your daddy. >> he is a good fighter. he got medals from the war. >> the war. >> from the president? >> no, not from the president. >> sometimes, he gets mixed up. you understand, don't you? >> you miss him a lot?

i can't put it into words. >> don't you ever bring him back, please. make him come. >> it sure would help if i had something to take with me. >> from me? i don't have anything. >> yes, you do. >> is that enough?

eep down is also a very foolish man. if i had a girl like you, i would hold on to you and never let you go. >> buck -- >> yes, ma'am. >> take this. mother't. -- jack's mother's it was my wedding ring. i put it on a chain. maybe if you have it with you, you will realize that she will realize how important it was for me to have them back -- he will

back to you safely. >> bless you.

>> hello, ma'am. excuse me. if you was to stand straight up -- excuse me, sir. two bit whiskey or four bit whiskey?

i don't drink it. i just serve it. >> your real sharp. i like that. the whiskey will make me real happy. >> isn't that nice? my daddy always said keep company and cheap booze.

>> the apaches from the scalps they take. >> i ain't never run away from a fight. i figure that's a couple weeks pay their. what you think? >> you know a fellow named simmons? >> you the law, mr.? mouth. >> this simmons fellow come at you know where i can find them? why would a man deliberately go and poison himself? >> that's a real pretty ring there. >> it is pretty come and get?

your name simmons? >> no. >> would there be a house in this town? if i can drink your whiskey, i could like anything. >> bedbugs? >> i don't like bedbugs. if mr. simmons you change your mind, tell him i have his wife's wedding ring. i will be in town this same time tomorrow. you hear? >> coming to town about the same time tomorrow. you hear?

>> you to stay there. -- you two stay there. >> hold it right there. >> yes, sir. >> get up real nice and slow like.

we want that nice, pretty ring. >> you mean this ring? >> shoot him! >> hold it. that's enough. i don't know what this is all about, but get out of here! stranger, i'm sure glad you come along. >> the good fight lays ahead.

how and where you got my wife's ring. >> you are jack simmons? >> you have five seconds left to start talking. >> annie gave me this ring so that you would know i come from her. >> she told you i was appear? -- up here? >> home you ended up at a lonely band. >> you some sort of preacher man or something? >> one day come up mistook for a long man in that a preacher. >> i've never seen a preacher

>> as you probably know, my name is candid. buck cannon. we finally get a chance to meet. i got to hate buck cannon over the last 15 years. >> you hate easy, jake. >> i've been hearing about buck cannon ever since i started courting any. -- courting annie. how much fun you and her used to have. >> a long time ago. >> she's always comparing me to you! >> maybe not so many words.

maybe i should've let those two phil you full of holes. maybe i will. who'd blame me? >> she would. >> did she tell you i ever looked mistreated her? >> that's a nice little girl. >> what did she do? send you out here to bring me back? >> it's up to you. >> you think you're man enough? >> are you man enough to saddle up and write back to her without

>> what is a big thing is what you are family and loved ones expect from you. we pretend like were having old fun. deep down, we would like to change. we are a lot maybe you ain't got the guts. >> i was right. you are a preaching man. >> i ain't. it's that two bit whiskey yet been drinking.

>> you want your ring? that's just a warning, cannon. i will drop you in the ground. if you come for, you walk real

>> just came by to tell you i'm leaving town. there's one thing before i go. i made a contract with any. i don'ex >> you talk too much, cannon. >> yeah, i do.

>> i'll be much obliged if you kick his brains in, but you're not going to mess up my saloon. >> pretty good right hand. >> that's enough. >> that's funny, huh? >> that's funny.

>> a mighty pretty blackeye. her eyes are going to pop out when i come walking in. >> you've got my ring. that's nice. you pick my pocket. >> sure did. mighty lean pickings. get a lot more business with you. i have to pay you back. >> forgot about that. you sure do. why don't you get on with it? >> we've got plenty of time.

if i thought ababt it, i'd bring you some bedbugs from old ben's. >> i may tenderhearteded fellow. i have to know whoho notified y. you're in bad shape. >> you mean the rest of us goo through all this trouble for nothing? not going to get anything out of this at all? >> there ought to be something for everybody. there is fair, ain't it? >> there is fair. -- fair is fair.

[laughter] >> good idea! >> will divvy up your clothes. you can have his. -- you can have his hat. you can have his britches. i will have his boots. we will leave you with your

[snoring]

horses, you don't write them anymore, but you give them a blanket on a cold night. >> maybe it will keep your mind off w wt we have planned for you tomorrow. it will get mighty warm.

[gunshot] >> good morning. >> well, while you were shivering and checking, think about how warm it will be tomorrow.

which one of m mnoble qualities made you decide you will see me through thihi and thin and all that? >> never had a dog? >> of course i had a dog. >> the kept wanting me to get rid of him. do something elsls i would jump in and protect. ever had a dog like that, cannon? >> much obliged and goodbye, jake. >> still two days until the ranch. what if a bunch of apache decide to jump you? i will you reload with just one good hand.

>> it's buck. >> que pasa? >> yououll right? >> i lost.

>> it's him. >> it's him. >> papa? >> ginny. -- jenny. -- yet. -- yep. >> let's have fun in our own home, papa.a.

>> brought you your ring back. annie, took a man like him to show what a fool i've been. maybe we can start over?

>> why don't you put it on,

>> well, jake -- >> buck. >> visit us sometime. we'll have another go round. >> you'll have your hands full

>> well, jake, take care. >> so long, but. -- so long, buck. >> will your arm get better?r? >> in no time at all, honey. >> i love you. >> i love you too, jennifer. >> you. i will miss y y.

? ?

dick! it's all right. i'm all right. this can't go on. it's the third time. you want me to run fromom bunch of hoodlums? they're not hoodlums. they used to be our friends. we can't stay here any y nger. we have to go. if we went out west... we can't. not with the baby coming. i'm thinking about the baby. that's why we have to go. oh, dick, it's a new world out there,