Original subtitles

All right, now.

Come on, Charlie, put some weight on that.

How much weight do you think I got?

Well, put something on it!

Now, ready?

I'm back, Major.

Well, it's about time. Get off of there and give us a hand here.

Not today.

Let her down.

What'd you say?

I said not today.

The last week, I've been through a blizzard,

a sandstorm, and two cloudbursts.

I've been sitting on this pony for the last day and night solid.

I haven't had any sleep for three days.

'Sides, when I signed on, I hired on to scout,

not to work as some day laborer.

You signed on to do whatever I tell you.

Get off that horse and give us a hand or I'll get somebody that will.

Get 'em.

That's good enough for me.

Sure gets mad easy, don't he?

So do I!

Get the wheel, will you? Wheel! Wheel!

You needn't worry none, Judge.

We'll get him.

He won't get far.

Whiskey.

You look tired.

You always drink alone, handsome?

Leave the bottle, huh?

And another glass, Judge.

Do you mind?

You're mad, aren't you?

I've seen so many chips on shoulders...

I can spot them a day away. That so?

Sure.

And I'm a good listener, too.

You ever work for a hardheaded,

opinionated, stubborn old relic?

Wait a minute. Let's sit down.

Rangy too.

Type has a lot of endurance.

Hm. Yeah.

You reckon we ought to...?

L-Leave it to Sophie.

We might be shy a hand.

You said you'd get him back.

Oh, we will, we will.

'Course, he won't be fit to work for a spell.

Now, this 'un here...

he's...

he's fresh fish!

I don't blame you a bit.

Imagine a big oaf like this Adams.

Oh, it's not as if he's not a good wagon master.

He is.

It's just that he's so stubborn.

So you just up and quit?

A man's got his self-respect, ma'am.

Did you tell him where you were going?

Well...

I don't rightly know myself.

Oh, my handkerchief.

Huh?

I dropped my handkerchief.

Allow me.

Thank you.

You've just got to be from the South, Mr. McCullough.

Virginia, ma'am. Ooh! The Old Dominion!

We ought to drink to that.

To Virginia.

I always say you can tell a Virginian by the way he treats a lady...

And the way he can hold his liquor.

As far as ladies are concerned, ma'am, it just comes natural.

And any man that's been across the Missouri

and he can't hold his liquor...

he ain't much of a man.

What's the matter?

Nothing, ma'am. Just...

looks like maybe I need a little...

little fresh air.

You've earned yourself a bonus, Sophie.

He's wakin' up. That's nice.

Now, you listen here, McCullough.

If you're anxious to get movin',

why, you can.

See, we kind of run a little charitable institution here, see?

Now, you don't have no job

or visible means of support,

so we give you a job.

You earn your keep and make yourself useful at the same time.

What's that supposed to mean?

Well... you ever do any diggin'?

No.

And that's only part of it.

Well, you're gonna help dig a tunnel, McCullough,

and you're gonna work hard and you're gonna work long,

and you're gonna do what you're told,

or you're gonna get a taste of this.

Hold it, there! Take it easy with that rifle!

I don't want him damaged.

They, uh, they got a lot of spunk...

at first.

MAN: All right, let's move along, now.

Hurry it up if you want anything to eat.

Come on.

Back away, McCullough.

I said back away!

In the name of God, what kind of a place is this?

It is blasphemy!

What's your name, son?

Flint McCullough.

My name's Tom Duncan.

This here's Bill Collier.

Moose Ginette.

Miles Van Vender.

I reckon you met Judge Tremayne and Morton.

Well, you've been shanghaied,

just like the rest of us.

You see, Tremayne figured the railroad's coming through here someday,

so he's building 'em a tunnel.

He figures they'd rather go through the mountain than around it.

He stands to be a wealthy man if he's right.

Trouble is, this whole mountain's full of hot springs.

Did you ever dig a hole standing knee-deep in boiling water?

Well, you're going to.

The only reason you're here is that no man in his right mind

would work in this tunnel, if he had a choice.

What happens when the tunnel's finished?

Morton will take care of that.

He used to be in the China trade.

He knows all about shanghaiing.

From the outside, this still looks like an honest operation.

When Tremayne first started this tunnel,

he had engineers, workmen, a full crew.

Then they ran into the hot springs,

and they all up and quit him!

Now he's got us.

We're all able-bodied men.

We work for free.

But that's slavery.

Amos will get us out. If any man can, he can.

Who's Amos?

He's the smartest man I ever knew.

More man than I ever saw.

He knew books. He knew the law.

And he's coming back here with the law,

in just a day or so. You'll see.

He thought up a way of getting a man out of here too.

We hid him in the dump cart.

Amos was the one to go...

but he didn't want to leave the rest of us here.

He was that kind of a man.

So now we wait.

What if he didn't make it?

He made it!

Don't worry about it.

Aren't you kind of whistling in the dark? What if he didn't make it?

Watch your mouth!

Now, Amos said he'll be back, and he will be.

Billy, Billy.

McCullough, he doesn't know.

Well, I know you can't just sit here and wait.

You'll end up dead!

Son,

we've been here a long time.

I've been here almost from the start.

Don't jump ahead of the traces.

I've seen a lot of men like you come in here

and right off the bat try to make a break for it.

They're dead, boy, every one of them.

That Morton, he's got ways.

We'd hear screams...

two, maybe three days.

And then nothin'.

No, no, no! Not that one, son! That's mine!

Hey, that looks like gold.

Yep, it is.

Where'd you get it?

In here, in the tunnel. Ain't no more of it.

You know, I've been mining for a lot of years,

and I never seen nothin' like that.

As far as I can tell, there ain't another hunk of gold

in this whole mountain.

Wouldn't make any difference to us

if the whole mountain was made out of gold.

You think Tremayne's ever gonna let you out of this tunnel alive?

Well, Tremayne keeps saying

when we bust through, he'll give us our back wages and let us go.

Well, maybe that's what he's saying, but do you believe it?

A lot of people believe what they want to believe.

Do you?

I mean, if he's gonna kill you anyway,

why don't you just quit, get it over with?

Maybe something'll happen.

Amos is coming back.

Maybe.

And even if he don't, you've got to go on living, Flint,

no matter how miserable you are.

Well, living is living.

You're alive, and people want to live.

You'll put up with an awful lot to live.

Like this?

Well, I don't know.

Go a lot faster if they'd use dynamite.

Well, I guess I'll have to blast.

They let you handle the dynamite?

Nobody else knows how.

I've been around so long, they don't worry much about me.

Quit talkin' and dig!

Aah!

Never mind him! Get that hole blocked!

I said forget him!

Never mind. Let him come.

I want to see just how hard his head really is!

All right, let's get back on it!

You ain't gonna be around here too long.

I don't intend to be.

You're just gonna walk in and walk right out, huh?

Maybe you think the rest of us, we're not as smart as you.

He always have this chip on his shoulder?

You make me sick, McCullough.

What about that wagon train you scouted for? Don't they miss you?

You may be an important man outside,

but in here, you're just fresh fish.

Billy, Billy, calm down. Why should I?

Because we'd get a lot further working with each other.

Don't gimme no sermons.

Not you or anybody else is gonna tell me how to get along.

Have you ever gotten along with anybody? What's that supposed to mean?

I figured you were always being told what to do, getting pushed around.

Nobody worries about me, and I don't worry about nobody.

I get the feeling you're a little worried about Amos Gibbon.

Amos was d-different.

He... he didn't want anything.

And everybody else does.

Yes! Everybody else does!

Everybody's on the squeeze.

Everybody just looks for somebody to push around.

Well, I've been pushed, ever since I was a kid.

When I get out of here,

I'm gonna do a little pushing on my own.

Got some company for you boys.

Amos.

Oh, God.

Amos.

Now, remember,

that's just a sample of what I'm gonna give the next man.

Please, Mr. Morton, d-don't hit me anymore.

Please. Don't, please.

Well?

Are you ready to talk? About what?

About getting out of here.

Look what they did to him.

And he's a better man than any of us.

All right, Billy. You stay here until Morton's ready to gun you down.

W-What do you want us to do?

Like I said.

Talk.

It's all right to talk.

Nobody ever made it out of here yet and got away.

Flint, have you been to Canada?

No. Why?

Ah, it's a big country. Free.

The wind, she blow for a week without anything stopping her.

What are you talking about?

I want to go to Canada!

I talk with you, Flint.

Billy.

You said you wanted to start pushing somebody around.

Why not begin with Morton?

Yeah. Why not?

All right. The way I see it...

The way I see it, we don't stand a chance in the cell,

but once we're in the tunnel, we're moving around.

The guards can't watch us as close.

Wilkins has got that rifle of his.

And we've got picks and spades.

Against rifles?

Nobody said it was gonna be easy.

Now, as you know, there are two guards

at the working face of the tunnel.

But, Miles, suppose you got sick. Real sick.

Fall-down-on-the-ground sick, and not move.

One of the guards has got to come and check you.

That leaves only one guard to watch.

There'll be others on down the tunnel.

We can't even begin to handle them,

but with two guards as hostages...

Wait a minute, McCullough.

Morton and Tremayne stand to go to jail if we get out of here.

Suppose they just let us kill those guards?

Yeah, I'm afraid they might.

If we could just get Tremayne or Morton into the tunnel.

You'll never get Tremayne in here.

He's scared to death of the tunnels.

He gets panicky every time he gets inside.

He's right.

All right. So it doesn't work.

But, look, at least we'd have guns.

We'd have something to fight with.

We'd have a chance.

Flint, come here.

You think we'd still be in here

if it was easy to get away?

We'll get out.

We've got to get out.

I got a wife out in San Francisco.

I've got a baby son I've never even seen yet.

I'll run so fast...!

Not so fast for me.

I'm gonna take my time and kill me about five guards

and Tremayne.

Billy, if you get out, the law will do it for you.

The law won't do anything for me. Never has, never will.

Have you ever given it a chance?

Don't worry about Billy.

When he get out, he'll put the Rocky Mountains

between him and this place, fast!

He won't be the only one.

I get the feeling you're willing to do it.

We'll do it.

Somebody's gonna get hurt.

Somebody'll get killed.

When do we go?

Tomorrow night.

So soon?

The sooner the better. What've we got to lose?

No! No, no, you don't do it.

No, you can't get away. Take it easy, Amos.

No, you can't!

I tried.

I couldn't. Nobody can.

Oh, they whipped me, Billy, they whipped me!

I begged 'em to stop, but they wouldn't.

"Please, Mr. Morton," I said,

"Please, Mr. Morton, don't whip me!"

It's all right. Amos, it's all right.

They won't hurt you anymore. Morton can't hurt you.

"Please, Mr. Morton," I said...

Stop it! Stop it!

Now, listen, Amos, can you understand me?

Morton will not hurt you anymore.

No, no, no. They'll do it to you,

just like they did it to me,

or maybe they'll kill you.

Now, you got to listen to me!

Now, we can't try this no more!

At least we're alive right now.

We've got to do what they say. You can't let them...

You got to listen to me now!

You got to do what they say! You got to do what they say!

Anything's better than what they do to you!

Here comes your garbage.

C'est bon! Ah!

Garbage is right.

I never thought Wilkins and I would agree on anything.

Well, you ain't been here long enough.

This food gets better every week.

When do we go? When we quit work?

'Bout an hour before we knock off.

Wilkins will be tired then.

He won't expect anything that late in the day.

Good. That may change.

Wish we could make it quicker.

Take it easy. He's watching.

One more thing.

We've got to be sure and take Amos along.

We take everybody.

Guard!

Guard! MAN: Shut up!

Guard, please! I said shut up!

Please, it's important.

It better be.

All right, shoot.

Please. I have to talk to... Mr. Morton.

Well, he don't have to talk to you.

Listen!

My friends...

It's about time.

Just about. Miles.

Ohh! Ohh!

Hey, Wilkins, Miles is sick!

What's the matter with him?

How do I know? I ain't no doctor.

Well, I am!

And I got the right medicine!

Well, you boys learn hard.

I knew what you were trying to pull long before you did!

He knew! He knew all the time!

You murderin' filth!

Billy, wait!

Well, you heroes have just put yourselves on water for three days.

Maybe an empty belly will learn you one thing...

You ain't gettin' out of here

until we're ready to let you go.

Now, get 'em back to the hole.

Let's go.

All right.

From now on, I want another three feet of digging

every day out of this crew.

We can't do that.

Well, then, you don't eat.

There.

That's all right, Amos.

They won't be leaving, now.

You kept 'em nice and safe.

And you know something?

Since you've been such a good boy,

you're gonna get to eat tonight.

Mm-hmm.

That is...

if you're able.

You turned us in.

You did it. No.

You killed Miles! Leave him alone!

You done it! You killed Miles!

Leave him alone!

Moose, wait.

Moose, he didn't know what he was doing.

He kill Miles like Billy say.

Moose, you said it yourself,

he's the bravest man you ever saw.

What'd you expect when Morton got through with him?

You did tell Morton, didn't you?

I had to.

See, he... he would have caught you, and...

I didn't want him to hurt you, that's all.

You're my friends.

He would have hurt you, and I didn't want him to.

Miles. Where's Miles?

Did he get away?

Yeah.

He got away.

Oh, they're gonna catch him too,

and I just wanted to help you

'cause I know what'll happen to you.

You don't know how much it hurts.

Please, don't you see?

We want to leave.

We'll see.

Sure gettin' antsy, ain't he?

Yeah, he sure is. Gimme some coffee, will ya?

Yeah.

Thanks.

Sure is a pretty place to make camp, isn't it?

Sure is.

Peaceful. Yeah, it's real peaceful.

Quiet. Sure is quiet.

You know...

I was just thinkin'...

we've been makin' pretty good time the last few days.

Maybe we ought to just lay over here for a day or so.

You know, folks would appreciate that.

Been pushin' pretty hard lately.

That's right.

Probably use a rest.

How long has it been since the three of us

bellied up to a bar and put our feet on a brass rail?

Been so long, my mind won't even go back that far.

Fort Howard's a day's ride north of here,

and they got a saloon.

Ah, that bartender over there is a crook.

Waters his whiskey.

How do you know? You been there?

Everybody knows that, stupid!

All right, all right! I just wanted to know!

We could take a little run into Silver Creek.

BILL HAWKS: Folks tell me it's right pretty over that way.

Yes, sir, a little recreation wouldn't do us any harm.

Say, that's the way McCullough went, wasn't it?

That's got nothing to do with it.

Never seen the place. Kind of like to take a look at it.

It's all right with me as long as they've got a saloon. When do we leave?

We'll go right now.

Why aren't you saddling up the horses

instead of sitting there like a cow waiting to be milked?

You know, Charlie, sometimes I don't think

you have a brain in that head of yours.

What'd I do? What'd I do now?

Take cover!

Fire in the hole!

Tom, can you round up some of that dynamite?

Why? I got an idea.

Get us out?

I been rat-holing sticks ever since I got here.

Well, why didn't you use them?

I didn't want to until I was sure.

MAN: All right, clear it up!

McCullough, I'm gonna give you a break.

You can push her outside.

Old Doc Wilkins says sunshine is good for the rickets.

Only don't get no ideas.

I wouldn't think of it, Mr. Wilkins.

What happens if that beam should come down?

Then you got a home for life.

So would you, wouldn't you?

It ain't broke yet. It ain't never going to.

How much money do Morton and Tremayne pay you?

Enough. Maybe we could make a deal.

Cash on the line?

Where would I spend it in jail?

And that's where I'd be if any of you guys got out.

Let's get moving.

If you change your mind, let me know.

He's asleep. Are you sure?

Oh, sure.

MOOSE: Ho ho!

I figured someday I could use it.

But I wanted to be sure.

What's your idea?

Why bother? You know what happened to Miles.

You know, for a tough kid, you fold awful easy.

You wanna try me? Shut up, Billy!

How do we get out? How do we get past the gate?

The key is getting Tremayne and Morton inside the tunnel.

We told you, Tremayne won't come inside.

Tom, where's that chunk of ore you've got?

Do Morton or Tremayne know about this?

Nobody but us.

Do you think Tremayne trusts Morton?

Morton's runnin' things, ain't he?

That's not what I asked.

What if Tremayne thought Morton was up to something...

Like a vein of gold, but was holding out on him?

Everybody knows there is no gold here.

But there is, Moose, there is.

McCullough, what have you got on your mind?

Getting Tremayne and Morton inside the tunnel,

and then making a small trade.

What kind of a trade?

Our freedom for their lives.

Boy, you get some stupid ideas.

Now, listen to him. He's got something working here.

I don't think I understand, Flint.

I'm gonna bait both of them into the tunnel with Tom's gold.

It's not gonna work.

It will if it's played right.

Then what?

Tom, you know where the roof of the tunnel sags, where the big timbers are?

Yeah.

You got enough dynamite there to blow those timbers out?

I think so.

All right.

We plant the dynamite under the big brace.

If we lure them into the tunnel right up to the face,

then they either let us out, or we bring the roof down.

Then we'll be killin' ourselves at the same time.

That's the risk.

Take it, or spend the rest of your life in chains.

What do you say, Tom?

I been figuring. Now, we got enough to bring her down.

The question is, is it worth it?

That's up to you. But one man can't do it alone.

I go along with you.

All right, Moose.

Billy?

Well, what about the other work teams?

Look, I say we keep it quiet.

Now, the less people that know about it, the better.

You don't trust anybody, do you?

I trusted him once.

That's about all the trusting I'm gonna do.

AMOS: Is it time to go to work yet?

Not yet, Amos. You go back to sleep.

But I can help. You need me.

You'll be more help after you sleep.

You'll be stronger.

You think so? Sure. You go back to sleep now.

I don't think he heard.

Look, I don't care how sick he is,

I say we get rid of him.

You want to kill him? Well, what else can we do?

If you get out of this prison,

I think you're gonna walk right into another one.

I can take care of myself.

Can you?

That's McCullough's horse, Major.

I can see.

That kind of figures.

McCullough's probably been lollygaggin' around here

while we've been sweatin' it out.

That's not like McCullough, Major.

He's not a jug hound like some people we know.

Well, come on, jug hound. Jug hound! Hmph!

'Mornin', ma'am.

'Morning, gents.

Whiskey.

Why don't you wait until the lady asks you, Charlie?

I like to get things done, that's why.

'Mornin', fellas.

Howdy. How are you?

I ain't seen you boys around here before.

Well, we haven't been around here before.

Just passin' through, huh?

That's right.

Say, that's a good-looking spotted horse

standing out there.

You like him?

Yeah, I like him. You wanna buy him?

He for sale?

Mister, anything I've got is for sale.

He, uh, belongs to you, huh?

Yeah.

Maybe you'd like to go out and take a closer look at him.

Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that.

Thanks, ma'am. Thank you.

Finest horse I ever owned. Sure is gonna pain me to sell him.

Stand up. He's all yours, Bill.

All right, where is he?

I-I told you, I bought him from a fella.

You know, mister, you started this fight.

If you want to, you can just keep it up till Bill here gets tired

and then till I get tired and Charlie gets tired.

That could go on for two or three days.

We don't get tired very easy.

I'm tellin' ya, I don't know! I don't know!

All right, Bill.

Come on, mister, let's go!

Don't hit me again! Don't, please!

All right, then, where's McCullough?

In the tunnel.

What tunnel?

Come on, you show us. Bring my stuff, Charlie.

First time I ever saw a rock like that come out of here.

Like what?

Like that.

All right, outside, and don't dump it.

All right, that's far enough.

Wait here.

Hank, are you sure there hasn't been more of this?

I never saw anything like it before.

You're seeing it now.

It's a freak. I've been over every inch of the working place.

I-I'm sure you have. Now, who brought it in?

McCullough.

Did you dig this?

Yeah, a few minutes ago, why?

Is there any more of it? There's a whole wall of it.

Is it any good? Why you...!

No, no, no, Hank.

What's the matter with him?

A whole wall of it?

Yeah.

We brought some of it out a couple of days ago.

You were, uh, checkin' the dumps, Mr. Morton.

Ah, he's lyin'.

Shh, shh, shh.

This sample ought to assay out at about $1,500 a ton.

You wouldn't be keeping any secrets from me, would you?

Y-You know how I feel about going into that tunnel.

I'm gonna kill you, McCullough.

No. I'll decide who's going to be killed.

I'll see for myself. I'm going in.

Bill.

Well, you do just that.

Go ahead, go in there.

And you and me are gonna have a little talk.

Get movin'.

There's nothing but rock here.

McCullough, I'm gonna...

You're not gonna do anything, Morton,

because that torch is not an inch away from enough dynamite

to bring this whole mountain down on your head.

So just relax, and we'll have a nice little talk.

Why you...! D-Don't shoot, Hank! They might do it!

Eh, they're bluffin'!

You try us.

You'd be sealing yourself in.

Yeah, but we're used to the dark.

And I understand you're afraid of it, Mr. Tremayne.

You're lyin'. You ain't got no dynamite.

Moose, show Mr. Morton.

Now, don't get any ideas

because there's 12 sticks of dynamite under that brace,

and if we blow it, you know what happens.

You can't do a thing like that. Somebody might get hurt!

Shut up!

What do you want? We want to get out of the tunnel, all of us.

All right! All right! You want to hang?

I'd rather hang out in the open than be buried down here.

Every one of us out, or we blow it.

Oh, Moose, you can't! You can't!

I told you I was gonna kill you, McCullough.

Don't hurt them, Mr. Morton.

They didn't do anything wrong.

They tried to trap me down here.

Kill them! Kill them, Hank! All of them!

They... they tried to bury me! I'm not gonna let you hurt 'em!

I'm not gonna let you hurt 'em!

No! Stop it! No!

I won't let you! I'll stop you!

Mister, if anything's happened to McCullough when we get in there,

I'm gonna put you back in this hole and seal up the entrance.

If I could just remember to keep my galdarn mouth shut when I get mad,

this would never happen.

Hey!

Hey, come on!

Well, what kept you?

Seal up that hole!

Come on, Flint, boy! Come on!

What's next?

Guess I'll be movin' on.

Where to, sonny?

Somewhere. Anywhere. Abilene, maybe.

Abilene?

Look up a fellow named Jake Rivers

there at the Trail House.

Tell him I sent you to him. He'll give you a job.

What kind of a job? Well, it won't be digging.

Good luck, Billy. So long.

You know, I never had too many friends, Flint.

You can find 'em about anywhere you look,

but you have to look.

Thanks.

What's so funny?

I was just thinkin'.

For a fellow that made so much fuss

about doing a little common, ordinary labor,

you sure made the dirt fly

when you were digging yourself out of that hole there.

Major, it was a matter of principle.

I know. Principle.

Come on, let's get back to camp.