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Make it a shot.

Are you gonna tell me what you want or not?

Heh-heh-heh. I'd like to have a beer.

John?

Maybe you ought to just bring me what you think I ought to have.

I can't do that until you let go.

Looks like you got it pretty bad.

The worst.

Two beers, Sam.

Hello, Ollie.

You know, I been looking a long time for you. Four, five months.

Seems even longer now.

I'm working. Please get out of my way.

Ollie.

Now, I came here ready to forgive you.

Don't make me change my mind.

Let go of me.

You know him, Joe?

No, never seen him before.

Now, what's going on here? Nothing, Johnny, honest.

You heard, cowboy. You go get lost someplace.

I'll see you later, Johnny. Don't count on it.

Now, you let go of her.

Come on, cowboy, go for your gun.

Well, come on. Draw on me.

AI, no, don't.

Come on.

Ollie, honey,

looks to me like our friend is just a little bit yellow.

Hey. Hey, Joe, do you see these new boots?

They're fancy enough to dance all by themselves.

You trying to barbecue us, Joe?

Stop poking that fire.

I'm sorry, Pa.

You should put that whole incident right out of your mind.

It's not that easy.

Johnny and I have been friends since school.

To have to watch him be humiliated like that...

Would you feel better if he was dead?

Because that's what he'd be if he'd gone for that gun.

The way he feels now, I bet he wished that's what had happened.

He'll get over it.

How would you know?

You've never been afraid of anything in your whole life.

That ain't true, Joe. Joe.

I think he handled it absolutely correctly.

Civilized men oughtn't to settle their differences with guns.

Especially in a crowded saloon.

How do you think Johnny would have felt

if he'd gone through with the fight and some innocent bystander

had been killed?

If I could only make Johnny see it that way.

I know him too well, Pa.

All he feels right now is that he turned yellow,

not only in front of the whole town, but in front of his girl.

Little late for a social call.

Johnny Chapman.

How are you, Johnny? Evening, Mr. Cartwright.

Good to see you. Hi, John.

Joe. Climb down. Come on in.

I'll take your horse. I've got some chores in the barn.

Thank you kindly.

Come on in, Johnny. Here, give me your hat.

Sit down.

Uh, how about something to eat?

No, I ain't much hungry. Thank you, Mr. Cartwright.

I bet you'd like a cup of fresh coffee. I'll make some.

Good idea.

Well...

How are you feeling, John?

Not too poorly, Joe.

I know how you feel. I wish there was something I could do.

I want to thank you kindly for asking me in here

and treating me just the same as always.

Well, Johnny, you're the same young fella you always were.

You're our friend.

You better not go saying that around town, not after what happened today.

Come on. Now you're talking silly.

Anybody that was your friend yesterday is your friend today.

Little Joe,

I carry this thing for the same reason most cowhands do, I guess.

You know, shooting snakes, coyotes, signaling.

But I don't know how to use it for anything else.

Well, John, just because you've never used a gun to shoot at a human being,

it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Well, that's not it.

I'm glad I never shot at anybody. I never will, if I can help it.

But I don't even know how to handle a gun.

Joe, will you learn me how?

Look, John, I...

There's no one else I can ask.

John, you just said that

you wouldn't shoot at a human being if you could help it,

and now in the same breath,

you're asking Little Joe to teach you how to do just that.

I appreciate what you're saying, Mr. Cartwright, and why.

But that's not my meaning.

If I could just know,

inside myself, that I didn't have to be afraid,

well then I wouldn't be.

It's either that or leave.

Johnny, what are you saying? This is your home. Your girl is here.

I know that.

John...

...I have known you

since you were just a little gaffer.

Your pa and me, we were real good friends,

and because of that, I feel a certain responsibility.

And I agree that you should not be afraid.

You should know how to handle yourself.

But I'm not sure that

learning how to handle a gun

is gonna give you the answer you're looking for.

But Little Joe wouldn't have crawled out of that place like I did today.

I wouldn't be so sure of that, Johnny.

No, you can't be too sure of that. Heh.

Not even a man who had been in that situation many times

could be sure of that.

I appreciate what you're trying to say, Mr. Cartwright,

but you and me both know better than that.

Now, I've seen Joe shoot and draw. He's real good with a gun.

Who learned you, Joe?

My pa and my brothers.

You know my pa died when I was 10 years old.

Joe, you're the closest thing I got to a brother.

All right, I'll...

I'll help you any way you want me to.

Thank you, Little Joe.

You won't be sorry, I promise that.

You see, Joe?

Hm? Yeah, try one more time.

Hey, wait, wait. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let me see this thing.

I don't believe it. How long has it been since you cleaned this?

Couple of months ago, I guess.

Oh, just a couple of months?

Look, put it away and don't use it again until you clean it.

You got rust on there from last winter.

That thing isn't good for anything expect cracking walnuts.

Okay, Joe.

And these bullets, when did you get these?

Oh, uh...

I imagine you got them the same time you got the gun.

I'm surprised they fired at all.

Get rid of them and get new ones.

You were serious when you said you didn't know anything about guns.

I sure was. Now, about shooting...

One of the first things my pa ever said to me was:

"Make sure the first shot counts because you may not get another one."

In other words, don't miss or the other guy will kill you.

Look, I want you to stop thinking of your gun in just those terms.

Pa was talking about shooting animals, not men.

Something like a mountain lien or a wounded bear.

You're right, Joe. I'm sorry. Go ahead.

Now, it's important to be relaxed.

After you've been practicing for a while and you get used to the gun,

that's just gonna come natural to you, so don't worry about it.

And take your time. In the beginning, don't rush it.

Stay relaxed.

You see what I mean?

After we've practiced for a while,

I'll show you how to fire if you're in a hurry.

You don't always have to bring the gun up to eye level.

You can sheet from the hip.

And don't jerk the trigger.

Squeeze it. Squeeze it slow and easy.

Okay, let's get started.

Just relax.

Giddyup.

Well, Joseph.

Oh, hi, Pa. How are things in town?

Oh, about the same. Pretty dull place.

Sure glad to see you doing some chores around.

Well, thank you. Heh-heh.

You didn't happen to see Olive while you were in town, did you?

No, no, I understand she's working nights now.

Huh. What about that character that was hanging around her?

That, uh, AI Mooney?

Oh, he's, uh-- He's still around.

Still playing poker and still winning most of the time, I understand too.

You know, Joe, I don't think that he's planning to leave.

Well, it's a free country.

Hey, uh,

how's your pupil getting along? All right.

I hope he's getting the idea

that learning how to handle a gun with skill

also carries a certain responsibility with it.

I think he understands. There hasn't been a day

I haven't mentioned it to him. Mm-hm.

I know he understands it. Yeah.

I hope so.

I know you understand,

because I believe I had something to do with convincing you.

You know, there's quite a difference between hearing something

from someone your own age

or hearing that same thing from, well, your father.

You're not saying I shouldn't have helped Johnny learn how to use a gun?

Oh, no, no, of course not. I'm glad you're teaching him.

He was pretty determined to learn anyhow.

Well, I'd prefer that it be you teaching him than someone...

Well, someone with a different set of values.

Hey, now that's more like it.

You know, you learn pretty fast, Johnny.

That's because I got me a good teacher, Joe.

How about that fast draw? When you gonna show me your secrets?

There aren't any. Oh, come on, Joe.

No, look, I'm telling you the truth. Drawing is just like shooting.

It's a matter of practice and familiarity, and that's all.

Of course, good reflexes help, but you got those.

Not as good as yours.

We got the same reflexes. All I got is the practice.

Show me one more time, Joe. All right.

Ready? Ready.

Now.

I wanna do just the same as you do, but you do it so fast, I don't even see it.

How do you start, Joe? Slow.

Just start slow. Just like you're shooting.

And, uh...

I want you to start with these, just in case.

Blanks, but what for?

I'm the teacher. Just do what I tell you, all right?

Don't try to be like lightning the first time.

Take it slow, that's the important thing.

Just get the move. Get it smooth.

Face the target. I'll teach you to turn around later.

All right. You ready? Yeah.

Now.

You see why the blanks?

How you been, Joe?

I was about to give you up. Heh.

Didn't think you'd come back here at all.

Well, I had a bunch of chores pile up on me before I knew it.

Been practicing without me?

Couple of hours every day. Good. That's what I like to hear.

Graduated from those blanks a long time ago.

You, uh, still got all your toes?

Heh-heh-heh. Sure.

For some reason, I favor these tin cans to them plain rocks.

You start me off, huh, Joe? All right.

You ready? Yep.

Now.

Well, I guess you've been practicing without me.

Heh-heh. Johnny, that's good.

That's as good as I've ever seen.

You mean it, Joe? You bet I mean it. Every word of it.

I'm gonna get back to my chores. Boy, you don't need me anymore.

Heh-heh-heh. Take care.

I'm awful grateful, Joe.

I don't rightly know how to thank you.

Yeah, well, the best way to thank me is to stay out of trouble.

And only use that the way you promised.

Just in self-protection.

Those are exactly my intentions, Joe. Believe me.

I do.

I, uh...

I suppose you'll be going into Virginia City.

Suppose so. I'm not afraid now, thanks to you.

Well, I just hope you...

Give my best to Olive, will you?

Proud to.

How you been, honey? Good to see you.

Johnny. Johnny, please, I...

It's pretty stupid of you to come back here, cowboy.

I didn't come in hereto make trouble, Mr. Mooney, truly I didn't.

I just come to see my girl.

You're a liar, and she's not your girl.

AI, leave him alone. Johnny, please go.

Get me a beer, Sam.

Sure.

Mr. Mooney?

I'll overlook the insult this time.

I expect you're upset about something.

I don't wanna shoot anything,

so if you'll just pick up your winnings and walk out that door,

I won't have to mm you.

Cowboy, you leave me no choice.

I'm gonna have to bury you right now.

Now, you've got a choice, Mr. Mooney.

You can walk out that door as I suggested.

Because there's no need for us-- All right. All right.

You can keep that mouth of yours shut long enough

to get your hand on your gun.

That is, if you got the nerve.

After you.

After you...

...tinhorn.

Joseph.

I'd like to, uh, say something to you before you go.

All right.

Now, you're blaming yourself for that man's death.

Pa, who else am I gonna blame? I taught Johnny how to use that gun.

Joe, you don't know what happened, do you?

You don't know whether it was self-defense--

If it wasn't self-defense, then I shot and killed that man

just as if I pulled the trigger myself.

Why?

Because you taught him how to draw a gun?

Suppose you taught a man how to ride a horse

and three weeks later he fell off.

Would that be your fault too? Pa, that's not the same thing.

He's liable to need some help. Let's go after him.

Just what I was thinking.

Don't worry, Pa, we'll take care of him.

Yeah.

So help me, Joe, he really tried to avoid it.

He even called him "Mr. Mooney" and said he didn't wanna hurt him.

You sure of that, Sam?

It was Mooney insisted on a fight, and even then--

Even then, Johnny wouldn't draw first.

You'd have been proud of him, Joe. Especially you.

Yeah, why especially me?

You're the one taught him all he knows, aren't you?

Yeah, I guess I am.

Who is it, please? Joe Cartwright.

I'm sorry to bother you, Olive. I was looking for Johnny.

He's not here, Joe.

Are you expecting him at all?

What do you want him for?

I just wanted to talk to him.

Haven't you talked to him enough, taught him enough?

He wouldn't have killed anyone if you hadn't taught him how.

Now, will you please leave him alone?

Yeah, I guess you're right.

Joe, I'm sorry.

Come in.

I hope Little Joe is not taking his orneriness out on that little gal.

Oh, fine.

I must say, he looks a whole lot more confident

than he did the last time I saw him.

Come on.

Hello, Johnny.

Well, Adam, Hoss. Mighty glad to see you.

Say, is Little Joe with you? Not at the moment.

He's gonna be sorry he missed you, John. Hey, uh, I'll buy you a beer.

Well, I was just about to go over

to see Olive for a couple minutes before she goes to work.

When have you ever heard Hoss here offer to buy anybody a drink?

Yeah.

Thank you kindly. I'd be proud to accept.

Come on.

I was in love with Al Mooney once,

until I found out what he was, and I ran away.

I'd heard he was in jail for a while and I prayed they'd keep him there,

but he swore he'd find me, and he did.

He figured if he couldn't have you, no one else could either.

I knew if he came to Virginia City someone would get killed.

Johnny, if he tried to see me.

I was hoping I could stop it in some way.

But then Johnny did come to see me and it's AI that's dead.

You still love Johnny, don't you, Olive?

Why shouldn't I?

He's the only decent man that ever talked marriage to me.

So he killed a rat like AI Mooney. That's not gonna change him.

Yeah, I know that.

Though at first when I heard about it, I wasn't so sure.

I was sorry I ever taught him to use that gun.

Joe, you shouldn't feel that.

He would've learned-- I know.

He would've learned from somebody else.

Also that he tried to avoid the gunfight as long as he could.

That's true, Joe. He did.

Yes? Ollie, it's me.

Hi, honey.

Hi, Johnny.

How you been, Little Joe?

Adam, Hoss, won't you come in?

No, thank you, ma'am.

We just came by to pick up Little Joe on the way home.

Thanks.

Johnny, uh, Joe came here looking for you.

I'm glad you've come, Joe.

I was gonna ride out to see you. I wanted to explain everything.

Thought maybe you might have heard things wrong.

Yeah, well, I heard everything right finally.

Olive told me what happened, so did the bartender.

You didn't think I rode into town and picked that fight deliberate,

did you, Joe?

To be honest, that's exactly what I thought at first.

I'm glad I was wrong.

There was nothing else I could do.

I had to see Ollie. That or...

Well, I ain't afraid anymore. Thanks to you, Joe.

I understand.

And listen, good luck to both of you. Thanks, Joe.

Oh, thanks, Hoss, Adam. Thanks for your hospitality.

Pleasure, John. Ma'am.

Mm...

I come to town just as soon as I could get the time off.

Do you realize I never knew how many friends I had?

And I mean good friends.

Wasn't a person I ran into didn't have something nice to say to me.

Oh, I'm so glad, Johnny. And listen,

you know my boss, Mr. Wilkins.

Well, he said it's all right if I put up that cabin on that creek properly.

That means we can get married.

As soon as I get enough put away.

Johnny, I can save too.

No, honey, I don't like you working in that saloon.

It won't be for long, I promise you that.

And nobody's gonna be bothering you.

Not now. I guarantee that.

Why'd you two follow me? The mood you were in.

Why don't you mind your business? You listen to me--

No, you listen to me. Howdy, boys.

Looking for Johnny Chapman. You seen him?

He's upstairs with Olive. Oh.

He's not in trouble over the Mooney killing, is he?

Well, I wouldn't quite say that. In fact, just the opposite.

AI Mooney that he killed was wanted in Colorado.

It seems that him and some others broke jail

and on the way out, they killed a guard.

So Mooney was a killer. That's right.

Listen, let me go tell Johnny myself. All right, Joe.

And tell him that he's got $2,000 in reward money coming, will you?

Yeah, I'll tell him.

I've got to go to work, Johnny.

All right, you, uh, change your clothes.

I'll meet you over at the saloon. We'll have some supper.

Well, Little Joe.

You forget something? No, I just have some news for you.

What about?

AI Mooney was wanted for killing a guard

in a jailbreak, according to Sheriff Coffee.

You mean, I did the law a favor killing him?

By the way, there was also a $2,000 reward on his head.

Two thousand dollars?

That's right.

You mean, I get $2,000 for killing him?

Do you hear that, Olive?

Two thousand dollars.

Now I can start thinking about my own ranch.

And we don't have to wait to get married.

Heh. How about that, Little Joe? Two thousand dollars.

That's more money in two seconds than I've made in the last two years.

And just by pulling a trigger.

Whoa.

Any mail, Pa? Yeah, some.

I also got some news. Not too good.

Johnny Chapman has quit his job and left town.

Is that all? No.

He's asked the sheriff to deputize him. Of course Roy wouldn't do it.

What would Johnny want with a badge?

Figures it will help him in his newline of work.

He's gonna be a bounty hunter.

Hi, Olive. Let me give you a hand.

Oh, thanks, Joe.

Have you, uh...?

Have you heard from Johnny lately? Yes, I'll show you the letter.

This is the last time you heard from him, huh?

The only time.

That was a little more than a week ago from Placerville.

Looks like he's keeping real busy making money.

Yes, he said we wanted to start our marriage off right

with a place of our own and everything.

Oh, I know what everybody's saying, that he's turned bounty hunter.

And I know what that means.

But it doesn't mean that he's going to have to use

his gun all the time, does it?

No, not necessarily.

Johnny wouldn't shoot anyone unless he absolutely had to.

We both know that.

The bounty, the reward that's offered for wanted men,

it's not always dead or alive, is it?

Well, the reward is always more for a man who's wanted dead or alive.

If you're gonna hunt, I guess it doesn't pay to hunt any other kind.

Johnny wouldn't. I know he wouldn't.

Look, Olive, we were wrong about him.

Sheriff Coffee just got word from Placerville.

Johnny was out after another wanted man.

The reward was $800,

and Johnny killed him.

"Local boy grows richer.

Word has reached us from Stockton, California,

that Virginia City's own Johnny Chapman

is on his way to becoming our first famous bounty hunter.

Young John, according to the Stockton Sun,

last week disposed of his fifth, or is it his sixth, fugitive,

and collected a tidy $1,500 for him.

While other frontier towns of America

are busy producing presidents and senators,

we can at least point with pride to John Chapman,

dealer in death and human misery."

Olive.

Olive, open it up.

Go ahead, open it.

Yeah, she's still alive. Stay with her. I'll get the doctor.

I don't need any more lectures, Joe.

You sure of that?

I'm sure.

The doctor says I'm very lucky.

If it hadn't been for you, the poison might have worked.

Well, I'm glad I got here in time.

What made you come?

I was worried about you.

That article in the paper about Johnny.

He's not worth it, Olive.

I know that.

Well, then why?

The only decent man that ever wanted to marry me

and he turns into a killer like AI Mooney.

Olive, he's not worth dying for.

He's not worth living for either.

You're just gonna have to learn to live without him.

I hope I can.

Oh, sure you can.

You wait and see.

An awful lot of things in this world

are worth living for besides Johnny Chapman.

How you been, Sam? Fine.

The beer cold? Sure is.

Sure.

Where's Olive?

I asked you a question, Sam. Where's Olive?

Ask somebody else.

Like me for instance, Johnny.

All right, Roy.

Where is my girlfriend?

Son, she ain't your friend no more.

Neither is anybody else in this town.

So if I was you, I'd just ride on out and never come back.

I suspect, Roy, you're mighty envious

because I'm doing your job and getting paid a whole lot more for it.

You shouldn't have said that, you know that.

My job is to protect the people of this town.

Not to go around killing men at so much a head.

But you wouldn't understand that, would you?

So go on, do like I tell you.

Not till I see Olive.

You got no law that can make me leave till I do.

All right. She's out at the Ponderosa.

The Ponderosa?

Little Joe?

My friend.

Ooh, I thank you kindly for the information.

I surely do.

Ollie.

How you been, honey?

Wait a minute.

Ain't you glad to see me? No, I'm not.

You're just another AI Mooney. Now, let go of me.

Now, wait a minute.

I've been out trying to make us some money.

What have you been doing? Two-timing me with Joe Cartwright?

Now, where do you want him killed?

Here, in town, or on the road?

"Thanks for taking such good care of Olive for me. Johnny."

Miss Olive.

You're quite sure you wanna leave town with him, huh?

Yes, I'm sure. Thank you, sheriff.

You truly do have a suspicious nature, Roy.

Olive, honey, we got a couple of hours before the stage leaves.

Why don't we go to the saloon, have a beer or two?

Roy? So long as you're on that stage.

Johnny, you promised.

Oh. I just changed my mind.

Sam, can't you stop them? Nobody can, Olive. Not anymore.

You'd just get in the way.

Stage left yet?

Joe.

How you been, Little Joe?

Where's Olive?

Well, now, you're just in time to say goodbye.

We're gonna be leaving in a little bit.

Not until after I talk to Olive.

Joe, she's in love with me.

I think you better just stay away from her.

She's in love with what you used to be, John,

not what you are now.

Where you going?

I told you before, I'm gonna talk to Olive.

Joe, don't you go doing anything you're gonna be sorry for.

It's too late.

There's too many things I'm sorry for already where you're concerned.

Mainly what I wasn't able to teach you.

Oh. You taught me all I needed to know.

No, I taught you a skill, that's all. You taught yourself to be a paid killer.

Well, why don't we just stop talking and, uh, you go for your gun, huh?

Well, go for it.

Seem to remember somebody saying that to you once.

And he's dead now, Johnny.

The same as you're gonna be when you meet a faster gun.

You want to try me, Joe?

What's your excuse gonna be? There's no bounty on my head.

Tell me something. How many of those men that you killed

could you have brought in alive?

You're afraid of me, Little Joe. Heh.

No.

No, I'm sorry for you.

Real, real sorry.

Don't you turn away from me, Cartwright.

Thanks for not killing him, Little Joe.

I didn't have to.

He did that to himself a long time ago.

They all watched it happen.

All my friends.

Everybody.

Now I'm nothing.

Nothing.

I'm going to take that stage when it comes in, Johnny.

You can too.

Maybe together we can put the pieces back again.

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