Original subtitles

DRIVER: Hyah! Come on!

JIM: Still another link in the chain

that forged the future of the West

was Wells Fargo's Pony Express.

Picked riders faced the dangers of the frontiers.

Chosen for their horsemanship and durability,

these young men fired the imagination of America.

80 men and 400 swift horses

sped the mail on the overland trail

from St. Joe, Missouri, to San Francisco.

This is Stan Blake, one of the youngest,

but certainly one of the bravest that ever rode

the Wells Fargo Pony Express.

We're gonna have to have a push.

All right, everybody out.

Well, I'd say somebody slipped a flat wheel over on you.

Oh, this dress came all the way from St. Joe, Jim Hardie.

This muck's gonna ruin it!

Well, I'd say that was poetic justice, Pearl,

because some miner had to work a week

in the muck to pay for it.

I had to go to Laramie.

You had to go to Laramie,

but I hadn't planned on pushing the stagecoach

all the way.

Oh, I won't be able to deal for a week.

Leastwise not off the bottom of the deck.

Hee-yup, men!

Hee-yah!

What are you trying to do, Jim,

break your back?

Hello, Stan.

If you were any kind of a gentleman,

you'd get on over there and help us.

All right,

but I kind of like the view from back here.

I see what you mean.

All right, everybody.

Now once more.

Hee-yah!

Git-up!

I wrote a customer in Laramie,

figured the letter would take about 10 days.

How big a liar you figure the Pony Express made out of me?

Not at all, mister.

There hasn't been a late run

since the Wells Fargo took her over.

It's more than I can say for the coaches.

Don't worry about it, Pearl.

The miners will still be there

for the skinning.

You've grown a little, Stan.

How long had you been riding for the Pony Express?

Oh, about six months now.

That Laramie run's a little tough on a beginner, isn't it?

No, I haven't had any trouble.

Besides, there's a bonus for riding it.

There's usually a reason for a bonus.

Sure.

Here she is.

By golly, that's a pretty girl.

Who is it?

It's my wife.

Been married six weeks now.

See?

"To my beloved husband. Jenny."

Yeah. By golly, time sure passes.

Look us up in Laramie.

Gee, it's getting a little late, Jim.

You ought to ride up on top.

Need some company, Blinky?

DRIVER: Hyah!

That pony rider's a might late.

You think maybe he might have gone around Sandy Creek?

Ain't likely. That's the long way to the relay station.

Here he comes now.

Make this shot count, Finn.

Finn.

There's nothing on him we want.

Us Clantons ain't petty thieves.

No, Pa.

They ain't here!

You sure you heard Jake Banner say

he was sending them ore samples by Pony Express?

Sure did. I was standing right there.

Oh, it's too bad this boy had to die for nothing.

Let's go.

Stan's horse.

Saddlebags are gone.

Let's have a look.

He's dead.

Looks like he was bushwhacked.

Yeah.

And from the looks of these tracks,

there were three of them.

Sure scattered this stuff around.

Let's see those.

Unopened.

It's a cinch seems they weren't after the mail.

There might be some of them missing.

No. I believe they would have opened them

to find what they were looking for.

The crown for his watch,

he must've lost it when he fell.

Here's something.

The watch?

No.

Ore samples.

Could've been what they were looking for.

It just don't make sense killing him this way.

Killing never makes sense.

Keep this to yourself.

What will I do with Stan?

Take his body on in to Laramie.

I'll finish his run for him,

and, I guess, I'll have to tell his wife.

I sure wouldn't wanna be the one to do that.

JIM: Riding the Pony Express wasn't just a job.

Stan knew that.

It made me feel better somehow

to be finishing his run.

That's the way he'd have wanted it.

Mail was important to the men who spent their lives

in lonely, outlying places.

Stan knew that, too.

Relay stations like this

spread clear across the West.

It was a big job,

but the demand for mail from home was there,

and in the West, a demand for service

meant one thing to Wells Fargo...

Supply it.

All right, folks, you'll get your mail

soon as it's sorted.

Incoming from Cheyenne.

I'm Jim Hardie, Wells Fargo Special Agent.

Frank Trainor.

Where's Stan Blake? He's dead.

He was killed on the way here.

Stan's dead?

Was it an accident, Mr. Hardie?

No, he was murdered.

They got him just the other side

of the Sandy Creek relay station.

Did they get any mail?

No, it's all there.

It's unopened.

This wasn't with the mail.

Quartz.

Looks rich, too.

It is rich.

We're gonna have to suspend

the Cheyenne-Laramie run for a few days.

We can't do that.

These miners hold their breath

from one mail day to another.

Besides, it's completely against company policy.

It's completely against company policy

to risk men's lives unnecessarily, too.

But there's a bonus on a run, and...

Certainly there's a bonus on the run.

There should be.

But a dead man can't spend a bonus.

Those men, whoever they were, didn't get what they were after.

It's my guess they'll try again.

Anybody trying to make that run

is gonna be nothing but a target.

All right, Jim, we'll suspend.

I'll send the word along.

Good.

I'm going out to tell Miss Blake.

What did he say her name was, Jenny?

That's right.

Pretty little girl.

Yeah.

She's gonna have to grow up awful sudden, though.

Miss Blake? Yes?

I'm Jim Hardie from Wells Fargo.

Won't you come in?

Thank you.

What I have to tell you doesn't come very easy.

Stan's been hurt?

It's worse than that, I'm afraid.

Worse?

You mean, he's...

he's dead?

Yes, ma'am.

But it just can't be.

I'm sorry.

I just don't understand.

We didn't have to come way out here.

My father offered Stan a job in St. Louis,

and we could've stayed there and been safe.

They've got sidewalks in St. Louis,

and on Sunday, the band plays in the park.

You'd be better off

if you went back there, Miss Blake.

Stan won't be there.

How'd he die, Mr. Hardie?

He was killed by someone who wanted something

he was carrying.

These are his personal belongings.

You won't find the watch there.

He showed it to me when he met on the road.

But when we found him, we couldn't find the watch.

What kind of a man would kill for a watch?

I don't know,

but I intend to find out.

I hope you do, Mr. Hardie.

I don't like to question you at a time like this.

Yet, there are certain facts we have to know.

Did Stan ever mention anything to you

about a mining deal that he might have been interested in?

No.

He was carrying some ore samples.

It's against the regulations of our company

to carry a payload on your person.

Are you suggesting Stan did anything wrong?

No, ma'am.

I've known him since he was a boy,

and I'm sure if he did anything

that might be considered irregular,

he had a reason for it.

You can be certain of that.

I'll make all the arrangements to get you back to St. Louis

as soon as possible.

Meanwhile,

if you could remember anything

that Stan might have told you,

perhaps it will be of help to us.

I'll try.

Thank you, Miss Blake.

JIM: I went to the Assay office.

It didn't take Frazier long

to tell me the ore was rich.

Now I was sure that the men who killed Stan

were after that ore.

It could be a sure-fire way of claim-jumping.

This way, there'd be no gamble.

The jumpers would know they were horning in on pay dirt.

Yes, sir.

This will come in real rich.

Somebody's mighty close to a big vein.

Uh, come from Cheyenne or thereabouts?

Might be.

"Might be."

Why, I can tell by the structure.

That's my business.

Last time I was in Cheyenne,

Jake Banner showed me a rock just like this.

Did you tell anybody about it?

Ooh, not me.

No, my business is confidential.

The only reason I'm telling you

is because you're a detective.

Why, only the other day, old man Clanton

stuck his nose in that door and asked if Jake Banner

had sent any samples through.

What'd you tell him?

To ask Jake Banner. Then he told me

some cock-and-bull story about going shares with Jake,

and, well, he was sort of afraid

that Jake might be holding out on him.

By the way, do you know the Clantons?

Only by reputation, and it smells.

Yeah. It sure does.

I sure would hate to be carrying insurance

on the man that's going shares with him.

Thank you, Mr. Frazier.

Oh, say, by the way,

if you ever need any help,

just ask me. Be glad to talk to you.

Well, you can help a great deal by not talking

to anyone else about this.

The Clantons have big ears.

You ought to be helping your brother, Finn.

I've done my share, Pa, cutting the wood.

How much longer are we gonna be out here?

Long as I say so.

Finn's taste don't run to the outdoors.

He likes them smoke-filled saloons.

Dancing and card playing ain't decent, Finn.

Fun though, Pa.

What was that you had in your hand?

What do you mean?

Let me see it.

You disobeyed me, Finn.

I don't care nothing about the watch, Pa.

I just wanted the picture.

IKE: He just can't resist a pretty face.

Well, it will be your downfall, Finn.

They'll trap you, and they'll destroy you.

Aw, you're just getting old, Pa.

Don't be disrespectful, Ike.

I said it and it's true.

There was a time when we'd have just gone

and taken Jake Banner's mine.

And what good would that be if it wasn't worth anything?

We'll do it my way.

Your way, always your way.

You better be careful, son.

I'll say it again, Pa.

You're getting old.

All right.

I guess I'll just have to show you.

He's getting younger every minute, ain't he, Ike?

JIM: I asked the bartender in the Laramie Saloon

if he'd seen the Clantons.

He had.

They'd come in that morning,

and he'd be happier when they left town again.

He was scared. I could see that.

I told him to ask the Clantons to get in touch with me.

He couldn't understand why anybody

would wanna talk to them,

but he agreed to pass the word along.

OLD MAN CLANTON: Hey, Hardie.

I understand you've been looking for me.

Are you Clanton?

That's right.

Maybe we'd better go inside.

No. Speak your piece right here.

You've been talking to most everybody else in town.

That's my job.

I don't see no star on your chest.

You ain't the law. Did I say I was?

Then don't go sticking your nose in our business.

It ain't healthy.

You don't sound like you'd bear much looking into.

Just remember what I said.

Wells Fargo's got a franchise

to deliver the mail, ain't they?

Then why ain't they doing it?

FINN: Well... I'll tell you why.

JIM: Why? Because they got

some kind of a notion that it's dangerous.

I'd say murder was a pretty dangerous business.

I'm real sorry about that boy, Hardie.

I'm sorrier still about his widow,

but that don't say it's gonna happen every day.

We don't need you to tell us

how to run our business, Clanton.

You men got your mail before,

and you're gonna get it again.

But right now, we need a little bit of time

to clear this up.

You make it sound real dangerous.

Why, me or one of my boys could ride that run any day

and twice on Sundays.

Yeah.

But I doubt if there'd be much chance of raising a bond

on anyone of you.

You ready to back up to that kind of talk?

Anytime you say.

We don't want no trouble, Hardie...

right now.

I've got more than my share of trouble...

right now.

We weren't going to announce it so soon,

but we're gonna reopen

the Laramie-Cheyenne run tomorrow.

Well, I'd like to shake hands with the man

that's riding it.

I'm afraid that won't be possible.

It's me.

All right everybody, belly up. I'm buying.

Good evening, Mr. Hardie.

Won't you come in?

I'm afraid I don't have the time.

I thought I better stop by and tell you your stage

leaves at 8:00 in the morning.

Thank you.

We're reopening the Cheyenne to Laramie run.

I have to leave tonight for Cheyenne,

so I better tell you goodbye now,

and good luck to you.

Thanks again.

You've been very kind.

I don't like it, Pa.

That Jim Hardie's greased lighting with a gun.

If he suspected us, he would've come after us.

Well, maybe he's just waiting for proof.

If we set up an ambush like this,

it could be a trap for us.

You just do like I tell you.

I'll be riding along with Hardie.

You be waiting at the fork.

I still don't like it.

You ain't even gonna be there.

Hold on a minute, Pa.

Maybe... You listen to me

and do like I say.

All right, Pa.

That's better.

Now, Hardie thinks the heap of that Jenny Blake.

You go get her.

Tell her you know the man that found her husband's watch.

In case anything goes wrong, we'll have her

for an ace in the hole.

I sure gotta hand it to you, Pa.

Take her over to the Sandy Creek relay station.

What about the stock tender?

I'll take care of him.

I'd kind of like to spend a little time alone

with that Jenny Blake.

You make sure you mind your manners.

Good morning, ma'am.

You Mrs. Blake?

Yes.

This is you, ain't it?

Oh, where did you get that?

Fella down the road.

He's got a watch goes with it.

He says he wants a reward.

You do want the watch, don't you?

Thought I'd ride along, make certain you get there.

That's nice of you.

I got to stop by Jake Banner's mine on the way.

Banner getting special service these days?

No, it's a personal errand.

Well, meet you on the road to Laramie.

JENNY: Oh!

Package from Banner?

I didn't say anything about a package.

You didn't?

Oh, I guess you didn't.

Let's go.

Come down out of there!

Hurry up, move!

Come on down! He's got me!

Throw that rifle down.

Now turn around.

Back over here.

You, get down off your horse.

Where's the other one? Heading to Cheyenne.

He had nothing to do with this.

Yeah, I'll bet.

Turn around and back up to him.

Untie them, Hardie, or the girl gets it.

JENNY: Don't do it, Jim. They'll kill us anyway

just like they did Stan.

I'll make you a deal, Hardie.

You and the girl for us.

Fair enough?

I'll give you my word.

Your word?

A thief and a murderer?

When you killed Stan,

you took my only reason for living away.

Go ahead, shoot!

Kill them, Jim! Kill them!

You don't mean that.

No, I suppose I don't.

Keep this gun on them.

Untie him.

We'll take them back to Laramie.

People thought a lot of Stan there.

Those will be the people that'll be sitting

on the jury at their trial.

JIM: The Laramie run would be open again.

A miner in Cheyenne would have news from home.

The cost,

a few cents to him,

but the real cost appears

on the Role of Honor in Wells Fargo.

Under the simple legend "in the line of duty,"

you'll find the name Stan Blake.