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I don't know why Hoss couldn't come out and load supplies.

Well, somebody had to watch the ranch.

Why, where's it going?

Excuse me.

You know where I could find a Mr. James Clayton?

Old Colonel Clayton? Probably in the saloon.

Thanks.

Hey, uh, you wouldn't wanna sell that horse, would ya?

No. I might trade him if you got one just as good.

If I had one just as good, I wouldn't be offering

to buy that one.

Well, he's not for sale.

Thanks.

How do you do, Mr. Clayton?

Davis?

- Just about ready to go? - Yeah, this is the last of it.

Good.

He shot Colonel Clayton!

Get mounted!

Jess, you want us to help you?

No, we'll catch him before you get your horses.

I don't think so, not on the horse he's got.

All right, catch up with us.

Come on, let's get our horses.

Well, well, well, this is the first time

I ever seen a lawman when I needed one.

Go get these horses some water.

- Tell us what happened. - They tried to break in here

just before dawn.

Who tried to break in?

Why, them Utes went and gone off the reservation.

I don't know nothing about that.

We're chasing a killer from Wells Junction.

Well, that figures.

And we haven't eaten since last night.

Looks like we're gonna have to split up, Ben.

You actually see those Indians?

Oh, no, I wasn't gonna go out there and get myself killed.

- I set the dogs on 'em. - Did they take anything?

Ain't nothing to take.

What about those horses?

Oh, they's pulling horses,

they ain't riding horses.

Huh.

These water bags, you leave these out overnight?

Oh, yeah.

If that was him that was here,

then he's either headed on east, or he's backtracked west.

Or headed south.

Oh, there's 80 miles of desert between here and Tonopah.

- Yeah. - He'd have to be crazy.

Yeah, that's true.

But if he has plenty of water, Jess, he can make it.

And every time we pick up his trail, it's been away from a telegraph point.

If he gets to Tonopah,

be nothing between him and the border.

You're guessing, Ben.

Sure. So are you.

All right, you want the desert? You can have it.

Little Joe, I guess we got the desert.

Dusty, you and Jimmy ride west.

- The rest of us'll cut east. - Sure.

Anything cold to drink?

Consuela, shut up.

If you haven't cut their sign

by the time you get to the Diamondback waterhole,

you better come on back here. It's about 30 miles out.

- All right. - Since there's only two of you,

you'd better watch out for them Utes.

How many were there?

Somebody said there was eight, but only four of 'em had horses.

There's, there's a cavalry patrol out looking for 'em.

- They'll catch up to 'em. - Good luck, Ben.

Dusty, take it easy.

Thank you.

Feels like the mouth of an oven, yeah?

Yeah.

Be a lot worse farther out.

I wonder if we're right.

Joseph, there's only one way to find out.

How's that?

I bet you it's 130 degrees or more.

Well, we oughta be able to reach that waterhole before sundown.

Wonder if he's up there.

We'll know soon enough.

He's down there, all right.

I'll go this way.

Raise your hands up high.

High!

Freeze right there.

Drop the gun.

You can turn around now.

I thought you were sleeping kinda sound.

Oh!

What you doing here?

Well, my packhorse spooked, and lost my water supplies.

You a prospector?

Oh, now and then.

You're sure kinda jumpy.

Yeah, well, I had to outrun me a whole pack of Indians this morning.

Well, I ain't one of them.

Could I get me a drink of water?

Could sure use some.

Help yourself.

Thank you.

All right, all right! All right, that's it!

Hold it! Hold it.

Keep those hands still.

All right, just stay put.

Now, we'll be starting early in the morning.

Joe, I'll go get the horses.

You got a nice, nice way with rawhide there, mister.

It's not too tight, not too soft.

You don't seem too worried, mister.

It's a long way back to town, mister.

Long, hard way.

You're wasting your time. Why don't you get some sleep?

Why are you going through all this trouble?

You could just hang me up to the nearest tree and be done with it.

You haven't been tried yet.

Oh, that's right.

First, the trial, then the hanging.

That depends.

Well, you don't think they're gonna believe me, do ya?

Is that what you think?

Or is that what you want me to think?

I don't really care one way or the other what you think.

Hope.

That's what you're telling me, right?

Hope?

See, a man who's gonna have a fair trial, he's got hope.

And a man who's got hope... well,

he just ain't gonna give you much trouble, is he?

You killed a man, you're gonna be tried.

What'd you expect?

That was self defense.

Then they'll turn you loose.

You really believe that, don't you, kid?

- Almost finished? - Yeah.

Got two more canteens to fill.

It's gonna be kinda hard for you to ride with your hands tied behind your back.

Now, if you were to give me your word, you wouldn't try anything?

You mean, you'd take my word for it?

Yeah.

Then you a bigger fool than I thought you was.

Hey, how's my horse?

He's gonna be all right. You did a good job on him.

Where you hit?

The leg.

Don't you know how to use that gun?

I don't know yet whose side I'm on.

You better make up your mind fast.

See anything?

Uh-uh. I see nothing.

Horses!

I'll take that now.

The rifle. I said I'll take it.

- Are the horses gone? - Yeah.

Let me take a look at that.

Here, take that pot and fill it with water.

I need some boiling right away.

Go on, move!

It's a good clean wound, bullet went right through.

It's like fire.

I don't know how bad that's gonna bleed.

Now, fill that coffee pot and bring it up here.

Well, we got two canteens.

That should be enough water for one man

to make it across the desert.

Yeah, with luck.

Well, you're not gonna be able to walk for about a week.

That leg needs doctoring now.

I can't very well send him.

Not even if I was to give you my word?

Be back by tomorrow night.

Thank you.

Take good care of yourself now.

I'll tie him up before I go.

Don't worry, mister.

Ain't nobody going nowhere.

Ain't nothing to carry no water in, and besides, he got the gun.

I'll see ya tomorrow night.

Hey.

You.

I'm talking to you.

The name is Davis.

Mr. Davis, would you get me a drink of water, please?

You know where that spring is as well as I do.

I don't think I can get to it.

Then you got troubles.

A man could die out here without water.

All day today, all night tonight,

all day tomorrow...

you're gonna get pretty thirsty.

Unless we can come to some kind of understanding.

And it could be longer.

You might not get through.

This desert is a ugly place, full of ugly things.

Will you get some water for me, please?

Look, I don't fetch and carry for you, mister.

No, sir.

But I think that I'm gonna fetch me some water.

I don't drink... you don't drink.

Mr. Davis?

Mr. Davis?

You be dying, ain't ya, boss?

The name is Ben.

Well, you got to excuse me, Mr. Ben.

It's kinda hard to forget them ol' ways, Mr. Ben.

Just Ben.

It's gonna take more than that though to get you a drink of water.

Ain't nobody around here seen him.

Sheriff wired from Blainesville, they didn't get him either.

He musta gone south then, like Mr. Cartwright said.

Yes, or cut around us and headed back for Wells Junction.

Sheriff's already started backtracking.

We gonna join him?

No, we'll go on back to Verdon.

Maybe Ben and Joe caught up with him.

They may be all the way to Tonopah.

Well, then we'll just have to go on back to Wells Junction,

it's right on the way.

Well, how are we gonna know?

They don't have a telegraph in Tonopah.

That's right.

You're in pretty bad shape.

Another couple of hours, you gonna be talking to yourself.

We still haven't come to an understanding.

I don't like being told what to do, I wanna be asked.

I asked.

When a man holds a gun,

ain't no matter how he says it, he's telling.

That gun getting heavy?

Yeah.

Tired?

And I'm all nice and rested.

All right, Mr. Davis.

You hold the gun and I'll rest.

You must have a lot of faith in me.

No.

You'd have got the gun sooner or later.

Be careful now, not too fast, not too fast.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Davis.

Tell you what, I won't call you Mr. Ben if you don't call me Mr. Davis.

- Is that your first name? - No, that's my middle name,

they didn't give me no first name, no last name, just Davis.

That's kinda strange.

Yeah. What you call your horse?

Buck.

That his first name or his last name?

Huh.

Now, this is gonna need doctoring.

Can you do it?

Well, I can tend it, but I don't know about doctoring.

I appreciate anything you can do.

Think Joe's gonna make it to Verdon?

With two canteens?

Uh, he'll be tired, but he'll make it...

by midnight, and somebody'll be here in the morning.

That's when I'll need you.

Trade you in for a horse, some water...

and a head start.

Suppose they won't trade?

Then you ain't gonna need no doctor.

Come on!

How you feel?

Oh...

about the same.

You hungry?

Yeah.

That feels good.

Yeah, gotta keep you strong.

Mmm.

Answer me a question.

You'll believe in the answer?

Why'd you kill Clayton?

Is he a friend of yours?

No.

He only got here about a year ago, hardly knew him.

Well, I knew him better than you did.

I knew him all my life.

He's the one that named me Davis.

That a reason to kill him?

There was others.

You ever own a man?

- No. - You ever been owned?

Mm-mm.

Then you can't begin to understand the reasons.

Well, I can understand hate though.

Men kill for a lot of reasons, hate's just one of 'em.

You don't know nothing about it.

A man that knows something about hate,

he don't give away his gun.

You figure I made a mistake?

No, mister.

I don't hate nobody now.

All my hate died with that man back there in Wells Junction.

All I wanna do now... is stay alive.

That's where I need you.

You still haven't answered my question.

Why'd you kill him?

They coulda got to Tonopah

and started back to Virginia City another way.

Yeah, they could've.

Then we oughta head out too.

All right, Jimmy, you go get the horses.

We've kept this man from his work long enough.

Oh, no, no, that's all right.

I was proud to have the company.

If any of that posse straggles in,

would you tell 'em we went on back to Wells Junction?

- Who's we? - Well, me and him.

Oh. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'll... do her, I'll do her.

Much obliged.

It's beginning to fester.

I gotta do something.

The only thing I know to do is to cut it open and...

and let it drain.

Yeah, well...

You had that knife all this time?

Wasn't you I wanted to kill.

It was him.

Now, it's gonna hurt.

Well, it can't hurt much worse than it does now.

Oh, yes, it could.

You better bite down on something.

Go ahead, do it.

Easy, easy. Easy.

Ah, yeah.

That does it.

Okay, hold on a minute.

There you go.

You all right?

Yeah.

- Sure. - Okay.

That should- you should be all right now.

Thank you.

You know...

I wanted to kill that man for a long time.

I began making this knife to do it with.

Ten years ago, right after- right after Callie.

Ten years ago.

Right after Callie was moved up to that big house.

Callie was my girl, mister.

Ever since we... played together down in the quarters,

till we was old enough to work in the fields...

She was the only thing I ever wanted.

And he saw...

moved her up to the big house,

so he could have her there whenever he wanted her.

Never will forget that day.

Never will forget... them screams for help

I saw in her eyes.

Never will forgive myself

for not doing something about it then!

Well...

I won't be needing this no more.

Come on, Joe, sit up.

Not too much now, just a swallow.

You can have some more in a few minutes.

You all right?

Yeah, I am now.

Pa is back at the waterhole, he's been shot.

- Can you ride? - Yeah.

Somebody's coming out there.

I guess it's time for the horse trading.

Uh, uh...

What happened to Callie?

I don't know.

She worked in the house about a year.

She didn't smile no more, and he sold her.

See, after the war down there,

everything just come apart, you know?

People went every which way, and... I couldn't find her.

So, I went looking for him.

I thought I was free... but a free man is a man on a big horse, you know?

So, I got me a big horse.

A free man is a man who can take care of himself.

So, I learned how to use a gun.

A free man is a man who can read and write,

so I taught myself to read and write.

I still wasn't free.

All I was, was a man with a gun riding a big horse,

reading the signs along the way,

telling me I was getting closer and closer to Wells Junction.

But for a minute there, back in that saloon...

I was free.

Just after you killed him.

No... just before, when I walked into that saloon,

with the looking all done.

There he was, sitting right in front of me.

But he wasn't the man I was looking for.

The man I was looking for was big and strong

with a voice like a cannon, with the power

of life and death over everybody.

And all I saw there was this ordinary, everyday looking man,

just... blinking up at me,

through them glasses, with no more power over me.

And I felt sorry for him, I didn't wanna kill him.

But then, I saw his gun coming up, and I had to do something.

Well then, you killed him in self defense.

That's what I told you.

Well, there must have been witnesses.

Yeah, the other man at the table, he saw Clayton draw first.

- Then, why'd you run? - Why did you chase me?

A man is killed.

You have to answer for it, one way or another.

You're right.

Well, I have come a long way, and I'm... and I'm getting tired.

All right, Ben.

You hold the gun, and I'll get some rest.

The cavalry caught up with them Indians.

We saw 'em in Verdon and recognized your horses.

- Yeah. - But they didn't have your gun,

so I figured maybe you're still out here someplace,

and hurt maybe.

Well, I've done all I can do for you out here.

You'll be all right till we get you back to town.

Thank you.

Joseph, when we get to Wells Junction,

get the best lawyer in town for him.

You bet.

You know, you did a pretty good job cleaning out that wound, considering.

All right, Trooper, bring them horses.

Dusty?

Get in there and see what's going on.

Well, Joe'll be out as soon as it's over, Ben.

I just wanna know why it's taking such a long time.

Oh, it's not taking such a long time, I just went and-

Dusty, it seems like a long time.

All right, if it'll make you feel any easier,

I'll go have another peek.

Happened just like you said it would.

Oh, yeah?

The man at the table- the other man at the table,

he admitted that, uh, Clayton drew first.

- And they dismissed it. - That's right.

See, sometimes it-it comes out right.

Yeah.

Sometimes it happens right.

- What now? - I don't know.

Any ideas?

What you wanna do, or where you wanna go?

Well... I ain't never been there yet.

But I'll know it when I see it.

Yeah.

I hope you find it.

Thanks.

- Thanks. - Davis.

- So long. - So long, Ben.

Hey, I'd still like to buy this horse.

You don't think I could walk all the way across that desert

to Tonopah, do you?

Why not? I almost made it.

Yeah... but you almost didn't.

Get outta here, will ya?

Take it easy.

Hey, Pa, do me a favor, will ya?

- What? - Next time there's a posse,

don't volunteer for the desert.