? here we are getting a late start again, and it's your fault, you little buzzard. how could it be my f flt if the horses strayed? i wasn't the night wrangler. you snore, it's the only way a horse can get any peace and quiet. man: major adams? i'm adams. i've been told that the next town is 100 miles away and this is indian country. i'd be obliged to join your train for that distance. i can assure you i'm not a fugitive from justice. well, if you are, i'd say you left it a long ways behind. what's your name? cato. jasper cato.

igrant. what are you, then? i'd prefer not to say at this time. but i assure you, my mission is quite legitimate, and i'm willing to pay my way. well? we might be able to arrange fofoyou to come along with us. i judge from your tone that i'm being taken on probation. that's right, you are. all the same, i'm obliged, major. fall in behind that third wagon there. thank you, major.

here ya are, major. i just poured it. thanks, charlie. oh, uh... now, mr. cato... i've been expecting you, major. we don't have to beat around the bush, huh? no, i don't lilike quibbling myself. that's good. some of the folks on the train are getting a little stirred up the way you're walking around looking at 'em, looking into their wagons. that makes it my business to find out just what the devil you're up to. well, i guess maybe i did go a little too far.

i want to know who you're looking for, and why. the man i'm looking for is not a member of your train. i've established that to my satisfaction. or maybe he is, and you're just biding your time until circumstances are more favorable for you. i have been combing this country for this man, first east of the mississippi, now west, for nearly two years. no, major, if i'd found him today... i'd have got down to my business right then and there. and for your further information, the day i do find him will be the most fortunate day of hisisife. oh? you're surprised? yeye a little. a little? yeah. you see, mr. catat out in this country, when one man is looking for another-- seriously, t t way you've been going about it-- one of those men is apt to end up dead. of c crse, i suppose that would be the standard objective

you know, you kind of rouse my curiosity. one man scours the country for nearly two years, you saidid looking for another, just to hand him a real pleasant surprisese i don't feel obliged to reveal the details of my mission. you have a choice, mr. cato. either you convince me that you mean no trouble for anybody on this train, or-- well, it's a nice, moonlit night, i'm sure you'll have no trouble finding the trail. okin' for disappeared from his home in the east about two years ago. shortly after he left, a relative died, leaving a considerable estate. most of it was willed to this man. there were other heirs, but they can't benefit until the estate is settled. you represent this estate, huh? i was engaged by the law firm that handles the estate. i would hardly consider that making trouble for anyone. no, no... not unless you were looking for him for some other reason.

you don't have to be in some kind of trouble to want to disappear! trueue maybe he wanted to make a new life for himself as far away as he could get from the old life that wasn't good to him. true, true. now, why don't you put your britches back on and just sit down? you convinced now? not necessarily, no. all right, i'll go a step further. i'll describe the man i'm looking for. there's a a re chance that you might have encountered him sometime, somewhere, . could be, yes. his true name is john thomas daly, known to his friends as jack daly. name doesn't mean a thing to me. what's he look like? well, he'd be about thirty now... a hundred and sixty, hundred and seventy pounds, wiry build, green eyes, brown hair, a slight scar on his upper left cheek.

i wouldn't know, mr. cato. yep, that was it... an arrow-pierced heartrt i'd kind of like to see this young fella. what'd you say his name was, jack what? daly. jack daly. i'd like to see the look on his face when you hand him that big inheritance. but, then, i guess i never will... 'cause i don't recollect ever having seen him. i'm sure i'd remember if i had. i'm sure you would. you want me to put the stock in the center of the circle? major? what? you want me to put the stock in the center of the circle? yeah, sure, bill, use your own judgment.

cato? yep, cato. that fella he was talking about sounds just like-- yeah, i know he does. 'course, he e uld be telling the truth. could be. i've heard about these missing heirs-- takes years to find 'em sometimes. well, we should know by tomorrow, we hit clearwater by dark. i'm gonna take a little ride. you and charlie take over, will ya? clearwater? i'm m outing an indian party. you savvy? i follow ya. i won't be back by morning, so you and charlie get 'em m lling. at happens if these people ask why we quit three hours before dark? just tell 'em that this is the lala good water there is before clearwater. that's right, it is. major, say hello to-- well, just anybody you might run into.

jim.m. major adams! jim collins. by gosh, it's good to see ya.

that's my boy! seth adams collins, you're my man! ha ha! ( baby crying ) ? we ride a big horse, here we go ? major, you're going to spoil him haha to death. oh, i'm not either. or scare him to death. he's gonna make a fine, big wagon master with those lunun! even a future wagon master has to have his beauty rest. you know, jim collins... you're a mighty lucky young fella. you're so right. u're here. well, a man doesn't need a reason to visit his own godson, does he? no. wouldn't hold out on the press, would you, major? by golly, that's right. i forgot. jim, i never did figure you to be a newspaperman. well, i never was one before. never was much of anything till i met millie. well, you were a right handy boy around the wagon train, for a greenhorn. jack of all trades, master of none. besides, i was trying to make an impression on a pretty girl.

not that i gave him any encouragement, you understand. first time i laid eyes on him i vowed i wouldn't give him the time of day. and the first time i ever laid eyes on her, i vowed she'd be giving me all her time for the rest of her life. love's like catching the measles. you don't just decide to break out in spots, you do. anyway, a girl'd be out of her mind to marry a man with two wives. with two--what?! ask anybody in clearwater, they'll say, "jim collins, he isn't just married to millie, he's married to that newspaper as well." i'm afraid she's right. anyway, he spends more time with bessie than he does with me. bessie? bessie who? oh, a printing press. kind of a temperamental old girl, needs a lot of love and attention. oh. you think i don't, huh? no, you're spoiled already. oh, i am, am i? come on, got to get the front page to bed. if bessie doesn't get her rest, there's no newspaper in the morning. major, would you like to come along? shouldn't take over an hour or so.

i think i'll just sort of hang around here and flirt with this pretty wife of yours, if you've got no objections. would it make any difference? not a bit. that's what i figured. if it gets too late, don't wait up. he says that every week; every week, i wait up. naturally. see you later, jim. he's a good editor. he's like my dad. he used to say, "a real newspaperman, cut him and he'll bleed printer's ink." yeah, i've heard that. uh...millie, i-- your father. yes? we all liked him very much. he was a fine man. yes, he was. he was fine and brave and generous. somehow i figured he'd get well out in this country-- drdrclimate, high, clean air...

they did. it wasn't his lungs, it was his back. what was the matter with his back? had four bullets in it. what happened, millie? well, dad bought the clearwater record by mail. he thought it was cheap. when we got here, we found out why. nick dawson-- you ever hear of the man? yeah. gambler, isn't he? gambling is a part of his business, i guess. was he the one thth did your father in? this was his town. it was wide open, tough as they come. dad decided to fight him. you know, the pen is mightier than the sword. you ever try to stop a bullet with newsprint? what about the law, millie? there wasn't any. that's why jim took over. ran the newspaper... he talked to the people.

he even petitioned to get us a u.s. deputy marshal here. there was an election coming up, and dawson's boys always won. well, this time, they lost. what happened to dawson and his gang? three of his men were hanged. the court let dawson off. insufficient evidence. you know, folks say this is jim's town now. and it's gonna grow, because jim made it happen. millie, i'm mighty proud to hear you say that. i'm proud too. hey, hey-- that's nothing to o y about. you don't cry when you're happy. come on, honey, what's the matter? i guess i'm just scared, that's all. what are you scared of? surely not dawson. no...it's just that everything's been so wonderful, so perfect,

now, now, now, it's not gonna end. it's gonna stay the way it is, believe me. is it? sure it is. i think you better tell me, major. tell you? it? tell you what, millie? is he in trouble? well, i... i don't know yet, millie, you see, we didn't know anything about jim before he joined the wagon train-- where he came from, what he was-- but it just seemed like when he crossed that mississippi river he crumpled up his past like an old dirty shirt that he didn't need-- he left it on the other side of the river. well, there were 100 wagons in the e ain, major. some of 'em were filled up, like my dad's,

i felt that was their business. sure it was, millie. but you're married to jim now. did he ever say anything about his past to you? you may not believe this, major, but when a woman loves a man the way i loveveim, she doesn't ask questions. did he ever mention to you the name of jack daly? no. or jasper cato? ( baby cries ) excuse me. sure. ( millie screams ) daly's dead. you're sure of that, huh? i'm sure. there's a fella on the train coming into town tomorrow says h hs looking for jack daly. says he's got some kind of an inheritance for him.

two years. two years! for what? !! who is he, jim? jasper cato? he's a detective for the boston police department. and daly? well, i guess i was wrong about daly. i guess he isn't dead.

two years ago in boston he stole a thousand dollars. he stole it from the best friend he ever had. why don't you say it? nothing to say, jim. just a common criminal. hunt him down, trap him, cage him-- a menace to society.y. chuckles ) and stupid, too. thought he could make a fresh start, change his name... fall in love, have a home, wife, kids. a thief and a fool. you wouldn't want to have anything to do with a man like that, major.

but you take a man like jim cololns, now... jim collins is a friend of mine... and i love his wife. his kid is my godson. if there was ever anything i could do for him-- well, it's like i said, jim collins is my friend. there were reasons-- the war, my folks being killed-- well, maybe not reasons. just excuses. doesn't matter. te. no, it doesn't. it's too late. tomorrow jasper cato comes to clearwater. cato: hehe here now. i didn't suspect at first, major, why you made camp so early and rode leisurely off to the north. but when i found that your tracks turned sharply to the west,

looks like i decided r rht. ready, daly? my pressman comes in before breakfast. i have a few things i'd like to set up for him, if you don't mind. why not? i'm a patient man, remember? i remember. drop it! i'm not foolin'! jim, you're out of your head. there's rope in that drawer. get it for me. all right now, sit down.

jim, this is not gonna help any. d? if you start running again now, you're never gonna stop. i am. how the devil can you do this to thehe i told you i'd stand behind you. i'm sorry it had to end this way, , jor. just tell millie-- well... tell her i love her. jim, there's anonoer way to handle this whole thing.

good work, major. now, if you'll help me with these handcuffs. i think you'll find the key in one of my hip pockets. hurry, man, hurry. it's a moonlit night-- he'll leave a good trail. if we have any luck at all we'll catch upupy morning. "we"? i thought you'd like to be in on the kill.

his time, thouou. i'll meet violence with violence. i'm no fool. no, you're not, are you? you don't propose to leave me like this? i don't know yet. i haven't made up my mind. it's your duty to release me, and assist in apprehending an escaped felon. i've heard there's a deputy u.s. marshal in this town. seems to me it's my duty to turn this whole business over to him. he's not in town, otherwise i wouldn't have faced your friend alone. if you aid in the escape of a wanted man, you become his accomplice-- in law and in fact. maybe so. you'll be legally and morally responsible for his future crimes. if there are any crimes. there will be, major, believe me. this man is a thief! a confirmed criminal! he's still a man. sometimes men change. once a thief, always a thief. it's an old saying, major, but a true one. there's another old saying, too. "the exception proves the rule."

i never found an exception. nevever found any, or never saw any? does this look like the work of a reformed man? you know, mr. cato, there's a little animal around these parts called a jack rabbit. he's a very peaceful little animal. but if you chase him long enough, and run him hard enough, and get him in corner, he'll fight back. i regret your stubbornness, major, and your sentimentality. distasteful though this may be, i'm going to unmask your jim collins and show you what kind of a man jack daly really is. sit down, major. this'll only take a minute. surely i ieserve a hearing. all right, mr.r.ato. i'll listen. go ahead.

ng, no happy ending-- but it points a moral, major, a moral that could benefit you. to you, and the nation, the war's end was a moment of triumph. to the police, it was just another problem. the whirlpool of battle had cast up a backwash of scum. in boston, it clung to the waterfront. returned soldiers, shirkeke, deserters, cheap bravos from a dozen states, all without visible means of support, save for raw whiskey and a marked deck. some, the dregs of the city; others, the proverbial black sheep-- weak, vicious, depraved, already hopelesslylyired in the muck of vice and crime and violence. as inspector-in-charge, i ordered special patrols to maintain a 24-hour watch over the docks and warehouses on which the commerce of the city depended.

it was over by the time i arrived. two of the robbers had gotten what they deserved... have a look. yes, sir. the other one. yes, sir. what's your name? your name. daly. jack daly. you know who i am?

and you're alive. that's lucky, isn't it? lucky for you. yes, sir... i guess so. on the other hand, maybe they're the luckckones. take him to jail. i'll see him in the morning. yes, sir. inspector cato, what about, uh...? the morgue, of course. the city of boston will provide a suitable burial. unmarked graves in potter's field. but sir, the young one-- simms. yes, sir. i'm not hungry. man's gotta eat to live.

l call. oh? wanted to congratulate you on your new home, so to speak. you got what you wanted, cato. i was convicted. not what i wanted-- what society demanded. a murderer, a thief-- are they really so different? a man kills, probably a climax of years of passion or despair, his neck is snapped on a gallows' rope. his motives are greed, viciousness, selfishshss-- but he lives to steal again. i'd hang you as high as haman. my job is to enforce the law, not to frame it. fortunately, i like my work. so i've noticed. quick capture, a sure conviction,

you made a criminal of young simms. he joined your gangg and was killed for it. it wasn't my gang, it was his. i don't believe you. in six months when you walk out of this cell, my shadow will fall across your footsteps. from that day on, wherever you go in the city you'll be known-- known, jack daly-- for what you are: a thief. get out! guard.

half a year later, jack daly was a free man... free to steal again. when a plague stalks the city, the conscientious physicician he uses every means in his power to prevent the spread of the contagion, to isolate the sick from the well. as a policeman, i had a similar duty to perform. ten times in as many months, jack daly sought to camouflage his true character behind a front of so-called "honest work." i had a job to do, and i did it.

tell me, lad, this blather-- is it true? yes, sir, it's true. i committed a robbery. i spspt six months in jail. and i haven't been able to hola steady job since. because of him? yes, sir. a man don't sail for 40 years without coming to know the good ones from the bad ones when he sees 'em. i'i've got good eyes-- they've never fooled me, not once. i warn you, captain, this manan is a thi, a born criminal. he served his time, ain't he? you got t cause against him. not yet-- because of my vigilance. then weigh anchor before i toss you over the side. captain, i don't know how to thank you. but you won't be sorry, i promise you that.

was a comparatively minor one. a talk with her master convinced him of the dangers in hiring a hand with a record such a adaly's. it was hardly a surprise when less than two weeks later the humanitarian captain pederson reported that his shop had been broken and enterere his locker rifled-- missing: $1,000 in cash. the rest was routine. the money found in jack daly's pocket amounted to over $900-- it was an open and shut case. your honor, this previously convicted and habitual thief-- just a minute. judge, it's my money involved here. i oughta have the right to do the complaining. but-- it's contrary to procedure, captain, but you have a point. proceed. well, it's true i was robbed, judge,

that was my money, but i gave it to this lad. gave it to him so he could starara new life away from this man... the man who has hounded him ever since his release from jail, and will keep on until the poor lad has to be a thief to feed his belly! your honor-- inspector cato! proceed, captain. i demand that my friend be released at once and his money returned to him. that's not all, judge. i also demand that inspector jasper cato be charged with robbery. he took jack daly's money without his consent. and if that's not robbery, i'll stand six watches in the crow's nest in the dead of winter, naked as a plucked chickck. ( laughter ) cato: your honor, there's something i'd like to say.

captain pederson, you have ridiculed me before this court. now the whole town will be laughing at me too, i know. but the evil that you have accomplished here today is not that. you ridicule justice. your lie has made a hero out of a thief. but it did not absolve h h of the crime of which you know and he knows and i know that he's guilty, and for which he will yet come to justice. you have no other evidence to present, inspector? not at this time, your honor. you may step down. insufficient evidence. case dismissed. ( chatter ) well, jack dalal i suppose you feel lucky. i can't prove your guilt in this court. only your own confession can do that. but i swear to you before all these people and before the almighty i'll get that confession.

, if i must, till you confess that crime and pay for it. by morning, daly had disappeared. when a thorough searched revealed that he was not hiding in the boston area, i requested and received a leave of absence from my superiors. just to hunt for daly, huh? of course. my search covered all the sea ports on the atlantic coast from bangor to charleston. the mississippi, the prairie, and, thanks to you, here to clearwater. two years, 2,000 miles. and that, major adams, is the story. as i said, not a very pretty one. no, it's not very pretty. i don't think so. i do. in the first place, you lied to me. i'll see to that later. but secondly, and more important,

two years, 2,000 miles, just to hunt for one man. why? he's a thief. no other reason? none. now, if you will kindly remove these handcuffs, i'i' try and salvage some of the time that your curiosity has cost. yeah, you'll probably catch up with him sooner or later, anyway. where's that key? hip pocket. but i'm gonna tell you one thing. you lied to me once-- you're not gonna get another chance, just remember that. 'cause i'm gonna keep my eyes on you. it's yours, mr. cato.

i got to thinkin', major. maybe if i'd never met millie, if there weren't the baby... but now, after all i've had, to go back to the old way of life, running, hiding, afraid-- i just couldn't do it. it's better to go back to boston and get it over with. now you're taking like a man, jim. what's this, daly? some new trick? if it is, it won't work. i promise you. no, mr. cato, no trick. it's too late for that. visions for the front page. i have a responsibility now, too-- the town, the paper. i don't want to leave without finishing my job. all right. quite a distinction for a thief. your scribblings are of no interest to me. jack daly alias jim collins, i hereby arrest you in the name of the commonwealal of massachusetts.

no statement. i prefer to have you placed in temporary confinement. you've been free long enough. free?

hey! come here, look at this! come here, l lk! what's that? jim! millie! you ready, daly? i am. your name cato? that's right.

out of the way. so this is t t trick you had up your eeve, huh? instructions to your pressman. well, it won't work. it's nothing like that, mr. cato. this is just an explanation for these people who believed in me and gave me a chance. hmm. it's thehe whole story, and the truth. you surprise me. i was willing to do this thing quietly, without any fuss, mr. cato... why don't you try a different word? what word, major? out in this country we call it "guts." back in boston you'd probably call it "moral couragege." a quality not found in a thief. we've got a long r re ahead of us. ( all protesting ) my friends, please! please! mr. cato h he has a duty to perform, and so do i. no! no!

it wasn't until i came to clearwater that i learned what it's like to live as a m m...by the law. now i've got to apply those rules to a man named jack daly... a man i used to be. it's true that most of the money stolen from captain pederson has been returned. take you back! nonetheless, it was stolen... and i was the thief. we'll run him clean back to boston where he belongs! no, wait, listen-- i'll not be scared by a mob. and don't you interfere with a servant of the law. i swore i'd gett a confession of guilt from this man-- i've got it. and i'm taking him back with me. you folks all know what jim collins has done for this town. we let him go now, it'll be just like giving clearwater back to the nick dawson gang! is that how you want it? all: no! you hear that, mr. cato? hold it! hold it! hold it just a minute!

come over here. ( angry chatter ) you know, there's a couple of questions that i'd like to ask you. yes, major? supposin' you take that boy back to boston-- what happens? he'll have a fair trial under due process of law. seems to me i remember you told me he had a trial, and was acquitted. the constitution says you can't try a man twice for the same crime. correction, majojo he never had a trial before a court of law. r lack of evidence. i now have that evidence in his confession. he'll be tried. all right, suppose he's convicted. then what? he'l'lbe sent to prison, of course, as the law says. why? because he's a thief. you know, cato, i've had a feeling all along thatathere was more to this case than is on the surface. i think there's got to be some other reason fofoyour relentless persecution of jim collins.

what is that reason, cato? well, the reason for imprisonment is quite obvious, majojo society must be protected from the criminal. and, if possible, the lawbreaker must be regenerated so he can occupy a useful place in the world againinif possible. i think it's possible. i think it's already happened. this boy collins ran the worst bunch of crooks in this territory out of clelewater. now, i think that's useful, don't you? and as for him being a menace to society, my duty remains clear. your duty? or your desire? i've told you before, major, my interest in jack daly is purely professional. i didn't believe you then, i don't believe you now. there's a difference between honest policework and persecution. you don't want justice, cato, you want revenge. why? why and how is jack daly different than any other thief? go on, tell me, cato.

do you? i dodot know, major. i've always thought what i did was right. now i don't know. do you remember that dock robbery i told you about? there were two other men ininhat with jack daly-- they were both killed. one of them was my son. i married late, for love. i realize that now. she finally y ft, took my boy. i hardly ever saw him again until... that night he was killed. but he was a thief, major-- just like jack daly! but he paid the price. now, why should he-- well, i've always told myself it doesn't make any difference, it's just my job-- and i believed it. but i'm afraid i don't believe it anymore.

it appears as if i'veveost, major.

here's a present for my godson.n. i i t one for you, too. thank you, major. ( happy chatter )

? roll along ? ? wagon train ? ? rollin' over prairie where there ain't no grass ? ? pullin' over mountains where there ain't no pass ? ? sittin' on a board, eyein' the weather ? ? prayin' to the lord we stay together ? ? side by side on the wagon train ?

? roll along ? ? pickin' up a passenger in every town ? ? wonderin' if he's ever gonna shoot you down ? ? lookin' for a pal, ain't it a pity ? ? lookin' for a gal, needn't beberetty ? ? if she'll ride on the wagon train ? ?agon ho! ? ? gotta keep 'em on the run ? ? time to go ? ? and follow the sun ? ? roll along ? ? wagon train ? ? never had a cabin near the general store ? ? only had a wagon and a .44 ? ? sittin' on a board, eyein' the weather ? ? prayin' to the lord we stay togegeer ? ? side by side ?

rerecca: here, dan. daniel: becky, we haven't got room for anymore these things. rebecca: well, can't we stow it in sally martins soap kettle. daniel: there is no soap kettle. rebecca: oh, dear, it must still be on board the ship. daniel: that is all this wagon needs is a hundred pound soap kettle. rebecca: now, daniel boone, we only bought what the people back home have to have. don't fuss. i will go see if it is on the ship. daniel: nevermind, i will go. rebecca: just in case anything else was forgotten, i will go along.