Original subtitles

Heeyah! Heeyah!

NARRATOR: Tales of Wells Fargo.

JIM: Charley Dormer was one of Wells Fargo's best.

He'd been with the company for eight years

and had never lost a payload until now.

Sheriff Eaton? That's right.

I'm Jim Hardie, special investigator

for Wells Fargo. Yes. I got your wire.

Really not much use of you to come.

How's that?

Sit down.

It's cut-and-dried as far as I'm concerned.

Clyde Bender's the man you're looking for.

Of course I can't prove it, but he's the one

that killed Charley Dormer.

You know him? I should.

I sent him to Marysville prison.

Well, then you can see my point.

You could take Black Jack and Cherokee Bill,

roll them into one ball and you got Clyde Bender.

You mean had.

He served his time.

I understand he spent it learning

to become a schoolteacher.

Clyde Bender, a schoolteacher?

That's ridiculous.

Is it?

It's hard to figure what goes on

inside a man's mind.

Maybe he figured if he could teach kids

to be what he wasn't

might make up for some of the wrong things

that he's done in his life.

He wasn't even carrying a gun

the last time I saw him.

He don't now... Not so folks can see.

Where is he? I'd like to see him.

The schoolhouse at the other end of town.

I wouldn't want anybody like Clyde Bender

cramming ideas in my kid's head.

The learning he'd get, he'd get from me.

I see.

Is there an undertaker here?

I'd like to make some final arrangements.

Sure thing.

Len Spears is just down the street.

Furniture's his main line,

but he handles funerals on the side.

You know, it's kind of too bad about old Charley.

There wasn't a man in town that didn't like him.

Except one.

Yes, sir. Something I can help you with?

Sheriff Eaton tells me you make

funeral arrangements over here.

That's right. Right back this way, sir.

Right here.

Now, we have three kinds of funerals.

Step in here, if you will.

Forty dollars...

seventy-five dollars...

and the real deluxe, $100 one.

Now, this is a real beauty... dignified,

but not showy, if you know what I mean.

All right.

I'll take this hundred dollar one.

Send the bill over to

Wells Fargo at Fort Smith.

Are you with Wells Fargo?

Yes. Detective, huh?

Something like that. I'm a special investigator.

Services will be held Sunday.

That way, most folks will be there.

Is that all right with you?

Be fine. I think that's the way

Charley would want it.

Real fond of him, wasn't you?

I think everybody was that knew him.

He used to come over here to the store,

he'd stick his head in the door there

and he'd yell out, "Hey, Len!

Hey, Len, save me one of them there $100 boxes!

Then he's laugh, nearly shake down the store.

Sounds like him, all right.

Is there a preacher, anybody around town

that could say a few nice words about him?

Well, the circuit preacher won't be around

for quite a spell, but I'll talk

to Clyde Bender about it.

He's got a real nice way with words.

That's him ringing the school bell now.

Clarence? Clarence?

Bye, Dad! Bye, son.

That boy likes school better than any kid I ever saw.

Never did before Clyde Bender come here.

Beats all the way that man's got with kids.

Some don't care whether the kids get

the value of learning or not.

I do.

No matter what's said about Clyde

and his holdup business,

give him a decent chance, huh?

When I rode into this town, Mr. Spears,

I felt a lot of eyes on my back.

Between you and the sheriff,

I imagine before long, they're gonna know

who I am and why I'm here.

While you're talking, you tell him this,

as far as I'm concerned, Clyde Bender

is as innocent as any man in this town.

That's all I meant.

And when I find the man that did it,

you can save him a forty dollar box.

He might need it.

Hey, heading the wrong away, ain't ya, sonny?

Sound of the school bell, the school's sitting

on that end of town.

My pa won't let me go to school,

so I ain't... I mean,

I'm not going anywhere in particular.

Now, ain't that a fine thing to say?

Young man like yourself, your whole life ahead

of you saying you got no place to go in particular.

Who is your pa? His name's Tiles.

He runs the livery stable.

Mine's Stan.

Of course, he's not my real pa.

I'm a town boy.

Well, it seems to me that

being a ward of the town,

you could have picked whoever you wanted.

How come you choose him?

He's the only one who'd take me.

Most folks here about got more family

than they can handle.

I'd sure like to get me an education.

You just keep thinking that way and you will.

Hasn't stopped Abe Lincoln.

See you later, boy.

And then we'd talk a little later on, huh?

Yes, sir.

You take that back! That's enough.

That's enough of that.

I said that's enough.

You take that back or so help me I'll kill you!

Now, listen, no amount of name calling

is cause for that kind of talk.

Besides which, violence is never the end

of an argument.

Now tell me what happened.

He said you wasn't fit for teaching.

Sometimes I wonder about that myself.

Well, I just repeated what my pa said.

I'll have to have a talk with your father.

Now you two shake hands.

Come on.

This is an end to it.

Come on.

Hello, Jim. Hello, Clyde.

Heard you're in town.

Are you here about Charley Dormer?

Yes, I am.

Go on inside and start your reading.

Mind your manners.

Been too much talk around town,

no need for 'em to hear anymore.

Kind of a new role for you, isn't it, Clyde?

Playing down violence, avoiding talk?

I learned. I learned the hard way maybe,

but I learned.

Whoever killed Charley Dormer

had to know him pretty well.

He had powder burns on his clothes.

I knew him.

I knew him well.

It's kind of hard to live down your past, Jim,

but I'm trying.

Some people in town agree with that, some don't.

It wasn't long ago I'd have killed a man

for even intimating I was lying.

There's no need for you to take it that way.

It's a part of my job to ask

unpleasant questions, you know that.

Now, don't ride me, Jim.

You sent me up once and I deserved it.

But now I'm trying to build a new life,

one with meaning and purpose.

I'm not gonna let anything spoil it.

I hope nothing does.

The West is a big place,

it's gonna do a lot of growing, gonna be a call for

a lot of school teachers in the future.

Maybe this will convince you.

The first teaching job I had over

at a place called Blackton.

You know it? Been there.

There's a man over there...

At least he walked on his two legs...

He said, "Go get your guns."

Then he kicked me right out in the middle

of the street where everybody could see.

Every time he met me after that, he'd kick me.

Three days it happened.

Till you finally got your gun?

No.

I crawled out of town

in the middle of the night.

I've been here two, three months now.

Len Spears, head of the school board,

he wants me here.

I like it that way.

Nothing's gonna make me run anymore, Jim.

I hope it won't be necessary.

Good boy.

You ain't gonna get done that way, boy...

What you got there?

N-Nothing, sir.

Don't add a lie to your wrong.

Mr. Bender loaned it to me.

I told you to stay away from Bender.

You've got to learn to mind, boy.

You've made your point, Tiles.

You got no call interfering.

The boy is my charge and he's got to learn.

What are you teaching him now? To hate?

Let go of my arm. I ain't no match for you.

He's not exactly in your class either.

He'll do as I say.

Maybe, but you're not gonna beat him into it,

not while I'm around.

Now put that belt back around

your belly where it belongs.

You've had your say, now I'll have mine.

You stay away from the boy.

With me teaching him, he may not wind up

talking fancy, but he won't wind up

dangling at the end of a rope neither.

CLYDE: Tiles, you're a sanctimonious psalm singer.

Living by the Good Book wouldn't have hurt you none.

Seems to me that Good Book

says you ought to forgive those who trespass against you,

or maybe you just use the parts that suit your purpose.

It suits me now to tell you to get out of here

and leave us alone.

Son, you keep right on with your reading.

You want another book, you come to me.

We'll see what Sheriff Eaton has to say about that.

I'd say you're not thinking much of Stan's future, Hank.

Schooling's gonna count more than ever in the coming years.

Depends on who's doing the schooling, is that right, Hank?

That's what I say.

A man don't change,

leastwise not Bender's kind.

If you want a man to change, you've got to give him a chance.

HANK: Don't talk to me about chances.

I know the breed,

had a brother just like him.

Fighting and killing was second nature to him.

You're kind of long on giving Bender a chance,

aren't you, Hardie?

If I had my say-so, I'd have torn the truth

out of him long ago.

What is the truth, Eaton?

Clyde Bender killed Charley Dormer.

I'll stake my life on it.

You might be doing just that.

He can roll out of bed

fast than you can draw a gun.

Tiles, you think I killed Charley Dormer?

I don't mind telling you to your face.

A wolf never changes his ways,

and you're a lobo,

a man-killing lobo, Clyde Bender.

And what about you, Len?

You've always been a fair-thinking man.

How do you feel about it?

Well...

I don't honestly know, Clyde.

Eaton, why are you doing this to me?

Doing what?

Look, all I ever asked of this town is a chance,

a chance to start from scratch.

And a good cover-up?

I know your kind.

Are you so sure of yourself that you can judge me?

Sure enough to say what I think.

Even though there's a chance you may be wrong?

I'm not, but you can figure it out for yourselves.

It's plain enough.

You think any man with as many notches on his gun

as Clyde Bender is worried about having another one?

He's been living here, pretending to go straight,

and all the time, he's just waiting for his chance.

Well, he got it.

Clyde Bender killed Charley Dormer

without even batting an eye.

That's not true and you know it.

Are you calling me a liar?

He's not carrying a gun, Eaton.

That's a mistake I won't make again.

Evening, Sheriff.

You ought to be through by now, son.

Just about.

What's this?

History of the New West.

Where'd this come from?

I've got to take it back to Mr. Bender.

That'll be all for the night, son.

I haven't finished the cell-block.

Well, it don't look like we're gonna have

any company for a while,

so you just put the broom away.

Yes, sir.

Thanks for letting me off early, Sheriff.

I'll give her a real going-over tomorrow.

Say, aren't you forgetting something, son?

Oh, yeah. Thanks.

I thought we'd said everything there was to say.

Why don't you get that chip off your shoulder?

I'm trying to help you.

Whatever it is you're looking for,

you won't find it here.

I know peeking's not very nice.

Sometimes in my business it becomes necessary.

I saw you a minute ago through the window.

I have a full pardon.

There's no law says I can't have a gun.

No, there isn't. Would you mind showing it to me?

Funny thing about a gun,

it sometimes takes on

a man's characteristics.

Take this one now,

clean as a whistle.

I keep it that way. Now get to the point.

I keep telling myself that,

"That's not Clyde's way. With a gun, he's sure.

He doesn't have to get so close to a man

that he burns his shirt when he shoots him.

I told you before I had nothing to do with this thing.

Why keep whipping a dead dog?

All I want to do is to be left alone

to run my school.

They're not gonna leave you alone.

Who?

JIM: The people in this town.

You been talking to Tiles and Eaton?

It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease

and they're doing all the squeaking.

Maybe it'd be a good idea if you did move on, Clyde.

I'm not running away.

As long one child shows up at that school, I'm staying.

Sheriff Eaton's sworn he'd run you out of town.

What are you gonna do about that?

Well, that's between Eaton and me.

Even if it leads to killing?

Man's got to take a stand someplace.

Well, that would be all right for some.

Maybe.

But not for you. You kill one more man

and you're right back where you started.

I felt good knowing we were on the same side of the law,

or at least I felt sure we were.

I'd hate to think of it any other way.

Well, you can talk till you're blue in the face, Len Spears,

but I'll have you know, that boy of mine isn't going back

to that school as long as Bender's running it.

Teachers ain't easy to come by.

It will mean closing the school down.

I never did hold to hiring Bender.

Why not?

Killed his first man when he was 15,

11 more I know of,

and more than likely some I don't.

They all came looking for him.

He was looking right at him when they died.

A man can change.

Not Bender. I know the breed.

The way he looked at me today, it'd fair shake a man up.

Threatening, that's what he was,

plumb threatening.

Well, why didn't you see me?

I didn't wanna make trouble.

If you weren't tearing a man to pieces,

that would be funny.

Trouble is your middle name, Pick.

You know what I think?

I think Bender's too good for this town.

You wanna know what I think?

Not particularly. Give me a beer.

Well, you're gonna listen anyway.

Bender killed Charley Dormer.

And if you had any sense, you'd help me tear

that place of his apart looking for the money,

and I'm betting we'll find it.

Well, I'll take that bet.

We'll go there tomorrow. Never mind the beer.

And if you get any more ideas, I'll be in the stable.

Well, I guess I'll ride out and tell the folks

there'll be no school.

No sense the young'uns walking all that way for nothing.

Powerful lot of crying you're doing, boy.

Aren't you up kind of late?

What are you reading here?

I never knew a history book

could be that sad before.

You wanna tell me about it?

If a man was your friend,

if he did something terrible wrong,

would you tell on him?

Well, I'd say that depended on how

terrible the wrong really was.

Like killing and robbing?

What are you talking about, boy?

This. A fifty dollar bill,

it was fifty dollar bills that were taken in the holdup.

Where'd you get this?

It was in the book.

He's been lying all along.

I was on my way back to Mr. Bender with the book

and the money fell out.

You say you were taking the book back?

He was always talking about living right.

I don't see how he could have done it.

I don't think he did do it.

But the money was in his book.

You say you found it after you read the book?

Well, then it only figures that it couldn't

have been in there before.

Someone had to put it in there after you'd finished.

Did you lay that book down anywhere?

Well, I went to sweep up over

at the sheriff's office.

That was the only place I laid it down.

Did anyone come in while you were there?

Just Sheriff Eaton.

He let me off early after I told him

I had to take the book back.

Now, you think hard, boy.

Did you leave that room even for a minute?

Sure I did.

I had to put the broom away out back.

You just keep listening to Mr. Bender, boy.

You're not ever gonna go far wrong.

Yes, sir.

Someday when I have me a boy,

I hope he's a whole lot like you.

You're dandy.

Incidentally, this is between me and you, huh?

If you say so, Mr. Hardie.

Well, I do say so.

You can stop that racket.

There ain't gonna be no more school.

This is your doin's, Eaton.

Yeah. And it's high time.

Hard for me to believe.

Like I've been telling you all along.

He's there now, Hardie.

Might as well get it over with.

He'll keep.

Have a drink, I'm buying.

What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen

a fifty dollar bill before?

Yeah.

Yeah, I've seen a few.

I'll have that drink.

Still wanna search Clyde Bender's room?

I haven't changed my mind.

Since you're so set on a search party,

why don't we start with your office?

You're not making sense.

Hey, what has he been telling you?

What are you driving at, Hardie?

I think the money that Wells Fargo was carrying

was too much of a temptation for you,

and if we search your office, we'll find it.

Are you saying I killed Charley?

Well, he's a friend of mine.

Mr. Bender's coming up the street and he...

Don't try anything

if you want this boy alive.

Now, see here, Eaton... He means it, Tiles.

He's right, Hank.

He's all you got now.

You don't wanna lose him.

Turn around, Eaton, and turn shooting.

What is it gonna be, Eaton?

Throw that boy aside and turn around.

It's all right, Stan. It's all right.

Take him over and lock him up in his own jail.

When it came right down to it,

I couldn't even draw,

not even to save my own skin.

Like I've always said, Clyde,

it takes a certain type of man

that has to carry a gun.

You're not that type at all.

Mr. Bender,

we're a little late this morning,

I'll try to do better.

I want you to know we're all

mighty sorry about the way we acted.

You've already proven that by entering Stan at school.

I'll bet you not even Abe Lincoln

has a good teacher as me.

As I.

Come on, Stan, let's get in school.

Well, Jim, thanks.

JIM: A man with a gun can be mighty lonely.

Clyde Bender knew all about that,

he'd been there.

That's all changed now.

How can a man with a room full of kids

and a heart big enough for all of them

ever know loneliness?