Original subtitles

Yah!

Well, he hasn't gone far.

Fan out!

What are you doing out here, Kerry?

They said to give you this, Sheriff.

What is it?

We're calling off the search.

Why?

There's no reason to go after him.

Even without a horse, he won't make more than a dozen miles.

You mean, just forget him?

I mean just that.

Joe Hooker is a dead man.

Put out the fire.

Howdy.

I just rolled into town looking for a man.

You might be able to help me.

Know him?

Who are you?

My name's Randall.

Bounty hunter?

Mm-hmm.

He was here, but he's gone.

- How long? - About five days.

Tried to hold up the bank.

What do you mean, tried?

He didn't get a dime.

Took a shot at the teller Dody Evans, though.

- He hit her? - No. Almost scared her to death.

She passed out cold.

Yeah, I know. You figure I should be

out there in this hot sun, chasing him.

I took a posse out. We lost him in the hills.

I called off the search.

Wasn't any need to waste county money.

He isn't going far, though.

Why not? Somebody shoot him?

Might have been better for him if they had.

Old Ed Avery's dog bit him while he was trying to get away.

The dog had rabies.

See, you're sure about this rabies business, eh?

Well, ask Doc Blake. He examined the animal himself.

He's right across the street.

I know the sheriff in Val Verde, Randall.

He's not that interested in Joe.

Yeah? That's not what this poster says.

Oh, don't tell me about the poster.

Sure, they want Joe a little bit, but they want his brother Ben a lot more.

And they figure Joe will be the key.

You know this fellow here, Joe Hooker, huh?

Mm-hmm, and Ben too.

There's a real killer for you, one of the worst.

Ben Hooker.

Ben Hooker... Yeah, I remember him.

He was the fellow that was mixed up in that massacre

up in San Remo three or four years ago.

That's him, yeah.

Got shot up and dropped out of sight.

I feel sorry for the boy.

He was a nice kid.

But Ben always told him what to do and when to do it.

They figure on using

this young Joe Hooker here to get through to his brother?

Yeah, that's right.

What makes them so sure he's gonna tell them where he is?

Well, they don't, but they're willing to pay $500 for the chance to try.

The boy lost his gun trying to get out of town.

He's somewhere up in those hills. He's hurt and he's scared.

If you're as good as I hear, you'll have no trouble tracking him.

Just remember, Randall, wherever Joe is,

that's where you'll find Ben.

Yeah. Something to think about, isn't it?

And with Ben,

you'll likely find more trouble than you can handle.

So long.

- Howdy. - Howdy.

My name's Randall. I wonder if I could speak to you for a couple of minutes.

Yeah. Come in, come in.

- What can I do for you? - Well, the sheriff across the street said

that a man got bit by a dog and the dog had rabies.

That's right, Mr. Randall.

What's your interest in him?

Well, he's wanted in Val Verde. He's got a price on his head.

I plan on bringing him in.

Well, you won't bring him in alive.

Joe Hooker is as good as dead right now.

Yeah?

No hope at all, huh?

No, I didn't say that. There's an army doctor

up at Fort Lord who could help him.

I was up there a few weeks ago

and I heard about a cure for rabies

discovered by a Frenchman by the name of Pas...

Oh, Pas something or other. I can't remember the rest of it.

He's worked out a series of inoculations.

Wait a minute. I got something hereabout.

Yes, here it is.

I'll take your word for it.

Listen, is there any hope for him at all?

Joe? Well, I'd say

about two weeks at the most,

14 days from the time he was bitten.

And he was bitten five days ago, huh?

I hope you can find him, Mr. Randall.

I knew Joe as a boy.

He was an honest kid.

But he didn't stand much of a chance with Ben around.

Yeah, that's what I understand.

Listen, Doctor, I don't know much

about this rabies. What happens to a man?

Well, first they get

fidgety and restless like...

Well, like something was eating them.

And then their jaws get tender

and they begin to hurt. That's the beginning.

And their throat tightens up and they can't swallow.

And every muscle in them cries out for water,

but they can't drink. And then there's a pain

just like nothing that they'd ever felt before,

but they still can't drink.

Then they... they begin to drool.

And after that the spine goes rigid,

and then convulsions.

Whew. Boy, it's a rough way to die.

Let me give you a warning, Mr. Randall.

Joe's got rabies and you can get it from him,

now from the spittle,

from drinking out of the same cup

or from a bite.

Remember that when you go after him.

Yes, sir, I sure will.

You're not so smart, mister.

I guess I'm not a dud.

How many you got behind you?

Nobody behind me.

You're lying.

I said there's nobody behind me.

Your... your name Joe Hooker?

What's it to you?

Well, this might sound

kind of crazy to you right now,

but you need my help, boy.

Yeah, sure.

Your leg bothering you a little bit?

How's that concern you?

Well, I'll tell it concerns you.

That dog that bit you in town had rabies.

What?

The dog was mad.

I don't believe you.

Nevertheless, it's true.

And you had 14 days to get to a doctor and get treatment.

That leaves you less than a week.

You're lying.

How many you got with you?

I know there's a posse. I killed a woman back in the bank.

You didn't kill her. She just got scared and fainted.

You don't give up, do you?

Find it a little hard to swallow?

I don't know much about rabies, but when you get them,

they say you die on the ground with convulsions.

Shut up.

You sure must think I'm stupid.

Well, you're wrong,

real wrong.

Now where are they?

I don't know what you're talking about.

All right. That's the way you want it?

I may not be as smart as Ben,

but I'm not stupid.

I know there's a posse.

I know all this talk about a dog is just to scare me.

But it won't work, you understand? It won't work.

I said my piece.

And from here on, I'm doing the riding.

Put that around you.

Put your hands together.

Where are we going?

We're gonna go see Ben.

Ben. Ben.

Who's he?

Followed me all the way from Big Bend.

Well, why did you bring him here?

Well, I figured you'd know what to do with him, Ben.

You couldn't even figure that out by yourself, could you?

All right, I'll take care of it.

Did you get the money?

Well, there was a little trouble, Ben.

Where is it?

Where is it?

I didn't get it. It wasn't like you said.

The bank was changed. Everything was different.

I barely made it out of that town without getting killed.

This is the fourth job I've set up for you...

Banks a 10-year-old could take.

And you bungled them.

It was five years since you've been in that town.

Things were different. Wasn't my fault.

I was planning on that money.

We haven't got a dime between us.

We're broke. You understand that?

I'm sorry.

Everything was different. Wasn't my fault.

Oh, forget it.

First we'll take care of him

and then we'll figure a way out of this mess.

Josh Randall.

Bounty hunter?

Yeah.

You bungled that bank job, Joey,

but you did all right bringing him here...

A real bonanza.

A thousand dollars... that's what he's worth to us.

Who's gonna give us a thousand dollars for him?

Red Barrows.

Come on.

He's come around, Ben.

A long walk, wasn't it, Hooker?

I told my brother what you said.

- He says you're lying. - About what?

About that dog... That dog that bit me.

Scaring the kid ain't gonna help you none, Randall.

That dog had rabies.

Why don't you stop lying?

Here's what you's after...

$500.

Listen to me, Joe.

They don't want you. They want your brother.

You go ahead into Fort Lord, turn yourself in.

And you'll get maybe a year in prison.

If you don't,

you're gonna die, boy.

You're trying to save your own neck.

Yeah, and yours.

Hey, shut up.

Come on, boy, eat your dinner.

Here.

You'll get a chance to do a lot of talking, Randall,

to Red Barrows.

Oh, you remember him, don't you?

Yeah.

You ought to.

You helped put him in that Yuma territorial prison.

He's out now.

He's been wanting to see you.

I heard Red say he'd pay one thousand dollars

just for the privilege of meeting you again.

I don't feel so good, Ben.

Eh, it's just your imagination.

Not imagination... rabies.

Now you listen to me, mister.

If I thought Joe needed a doctor,

I'd see he got one.

It ain't Joe you're thinking about. It's yourself.

We'll be in Presidio by Wednesday.

That's just how long you've got to live, Mr. Randall.

No sign of anybody out there.

I told you there was no posse.

Now come on, eat. A long ride to Presidio.

I'm not hungry, Ben.

You're letting Randall get to you.

I just don't feel like eating, that's all.

I've got a headache.

If you keep listening to him, he'll have you dead and buried.

He's lying, I tell you.

He's only thinking of his own skin.

I'm going out to saddle the horses.

I don't want to hear any more talk about that dog.

Your leg bothering you, Joe?

Shut up.

You always do what your brother tells you to do?

Ben raised me.

There was nobody else after my folks died.

Well, it must have been kind of rough on you.

I can't tell you how rough it was, mister.

After the war, we were nothing.

We were traitors. We lost the war.

That was a long time ago. Old hates die.

No, they don't.

They live for a long time.

My brother...

He was a big man once.

He could plow an acre in a day.

He'd be the liveliest man in town

on a Saturday night.

Look how he walks now.

A Yankee Minié ball did that to him.

Is that what he told you?

No, that's what happened.

Listen to me, Joe. Your brother got shot in the leg

at the San Remo massacre. Him and a bunch of his friends

were on horseback running down farmers, cutting them into pieces.

That's why he can't ride a horse very well anymore.

That's why you carry a gun for him,

like right now, Joe. Your life is on the block, not his.

You're lying.

Maybe.

But if I'm not... now you figure this out for yourself...

Who loses?

No.

No.

Ben's right. You're trying to save your neck.

You don't seem to understand, Joe. Those men in town

weren't following you because they weren't even worried about you.

As far as they were concerned, you're a dead man.

And if you don't get to a doctor in three days, they're gonna be right.

Even if you're telling the truth,

we'll be in Presidio by Wednesday.

Ben can talk to a doctor then.

Joe, by Tuesday you'll be dead.

Where are we headed, Randall?

Fort Lord.

Now come on. You got the gun.

You don't have to lie anymore.

I said, Fort Lord.

You don't believe him, do you, kid?

Think we'll make it to Fort Lord in time, Randall?

I don't know, boy,

but I'm sure gonna try.

Go on ahead.