Original subtitles

So I sent a telegram to your supplier in Chicago.

Did you tell him I paid the price we agreed on? I warned him that you held up

your end of the bargain.

I told him that your contract is legally enforceable.

He said your fabric will be here in a week.

That's great, Matthew. That's just great.

I suppose you're going to want to be paid for this.

Just the cost of sending a telegram.

That's really fair.

I'll tell you what.

Next time you're in the store, I'll give you a soda.

Perhaps you should start charging for your work, Matthew.

You provide an important service, just like Michaela does.

It's not the same. Oh, yes, it is.

You help people just like I do.

You're a real doctor.

I mean, you passed a test. There's not a test to become a lawyer.

You've got to help me.

That seems to be the problem, Mr... Exner.

Rudy Exner.

Got a man tailing me. I want you to stop him.

What's he tailing you for?

Because he's no better than a bounty hunter.

Are you wanted by the law?

I paid for time.

I just got out of jail.

20 years for robbery.

This man doesn't seem to think I've done enough. But he ain't got no legal rack,

like I said.

I paid my time and then some.

This man won't leave me alone. He follows me everywhere. He means to kill

Well, if what you say is true, mister, I'll do what I can.

Perhaps Matthew can help you.

He's a lawyer.

Don't know what a lawyer can do.

Well, it could get you restrained in order.

Make it legal, he'd have to stay away from you. I can enforce it. So can any

other sheriff.

Well, thanks.

Nice to come across a friendly town like this.

Way to keep it that way.

Don't worry about me. I don't want to go back to prison.

Worry about that man on my tail.

Get to work on that right away for you.

Who is it that's following you?

I see him right there.

Well, that's Marshal Birch.

You know him?

Yeah. And you know he'll kill a man soon as you look at him.

Keep him away from me.

So what did Exner tell you?

Said that you were tailing him for a crime he already did time for?

20 years for killing two men and robbing a coach.

He didn't say anything about killing anyone.

About the gold.

From the stagecoach?

Never found it.

Robbed a stage somewhere between here and Soda Springs, so it must be buried

around here.

So now that he's released from jail, you think he's going to get that gold?

Well, the stagecoach company hired me to find it, and I haven't found it yet.

So that's why you're following him, hoping he'll lead you to it.

Well, I like to finish what I start.

The man's killed two men.

Don't tell him what he'll do next.

Why did he only get 20 years?

Should have gone to life.

Should have got executed, but he had a smart lawyer.

You know, lawyers are the only thing a coyote won't eat.

You think maybe Exner's telling the truth?

Birch has a pretty bad reputation.

Last year, when Matthew was sheriff and we tracked the Starrett gang with

Marshal Birch, we discovered that his reputation isn't really justified.

So he ain't trigger happy?

No.

I thought I was going to have to gun down that whole gang.

Birch showed me otherwise.

If Marshal Birch is after Etchner, there's a good reason for it.

Rebecca? Yeah.

Samson.

I had enough of you following me.

You want to shoot me?

That's what you are.

Yellow.

What are you waiting to do?

Shoot me in the back?

You see?

He knows he ain't got no right to shoot me.

Remember that!

And Marshal Birch didn't say anything?

Not a word. All that I could see in his eyes. I tell you, Rudy Exner is a dead

man. He wouldn't shoot unless he had to.

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

Marshal Elias Birch has had one obsession his whole career.

Red Hand Rudy.

Why do they call him that?

Because Birch caught Exner with blood on his hands.

Blood of two innocent men whose lives he terminated with no more care than you

would pinch out a candle.

They never found the unfortunate victims either.

That's why he wasn't found guilty of murder.

No corpus delecti, if you'll excuse the expression, ma 'am.

Ned Springer.

Lauren Bray.

This here is Brian Cooper.

That's Dorothy Jennings.

She's the editor of the town paper.

Ah, a fellow scribe.

Always a pleasure to meet the competition.

Is your newspaper mixed?

Alas, no.

My name doesn't ring a bell.

Of course it does, Brian. Mr. Springer writes dime novels. They're very popular

with certain people.

You write books?

Indeed I do, Sonny.

Have you never heard of Eagle Eye Ed?

Eagle Eye? You write Eagle Eye Ed?

Oh, those are great stories.

How come I never read them?

Oh, he's getting big enough?

Yeah, to show him one. Or two.

I'm afraid I don't own any.

Oh. Miss Dorothy's got lots of readers, too.

Sure she does.

This paper must come out, what, once a month?

Twice a week.

And Miss Dorothy wrote a book about our town.

I'm sure Mr. Springer isn't interested in my book, Brian.

Nonsense, Mrs. Jennings.

I'm sure it's a sweet little teacup of a thing.

And what brings you here, Mr. Springer?

Marshal Birch and his obsession with Red Hand Rudy.

A story that can only end in tragedy.

Rape and pillage by the time he's done with it.

And you're writing a book about it?

With your help, friend.

Seems like you're the man to talk to. Oh, yeah.

So I understand there was a confrontation between them right outside

establishment. That's right.

Marshal Birch come right up outside my window, see? And I was... So he blocked

Exeter's path as he was coming out the door?

Well, not exactly. Close enough.

Go on.

After Sully was pardoned, the federal government hired him to help set up the

new National Parks.

He's in Denver now, talking to the railroad company.

By the spur line?

Anything you need, Marshal Birch, I'll be happy to help you out. You just come

over to my store, Bray's Mercantile. I'll be happy to help you.

Give credit to...

I don't believe much in credit.

Neither do I.

But some of these folks, they insist on it.

Well, then, I'll be seeing you.

So what about you, son? Why did you give up that ten star?

Well, I had to make a choice.

Either I was going to help find Solly or I was going to do the Army's dirty work

for him.

That was really the last straw.

Being sheriff, I felt like I was hurting people as much as I was helping them.

So what are you doing now?

Studying to be a lawyer.

Never cared much for lawyers.

I mean it.

Not the kind of lawyer you're talking about.

But I started reading about the law to help Sally get pardoned, and I found out

that there are ways you can use the law to help people.

Matthew's been very helpful to the people in this town.

He's settled disputes peacefully.

In fact, I don't know what we would have done without his legal research.

The law is kind of like you told me about a gun.

Don't use it unless you have to.

What are you going to do about Red Hand Rudy?

Well, that's what they call Mr. Exner.

Well, I'll have to try to catch him getting the gold.

But you can't do anything until he makes a move.

Maybe I can give him a little push.

my treat. I was finished telling me your side of the story.

Gotta stay sober.

Got business.

Marshal Birch?

Let's just say Birch ain't never gonna see me again.

You're, uh, going after that gold, aren't you?

What gold?

Exner made it seem like he wasn't, but I could tell he was going to get that

gold.

Are you looking for me?

Exner just went to dig up the gold. He was riding towards the schoolhouse.

That's right on the old road to Soda Springs.

Let's tell Daniel.

So this is where you buried the gold.

What about the two men you killed? Where'd you bury them?

Now you turn around real slow and put your hands in the air.

I said turn around!

What are you doing here? I'm an eyewitness. Think of how many books

to sell.

He said something. What did he say?

There's no gun.

What do you mean, no gun? I saw a gun.

And where's the gold? There's no gold. You shot not our man, Marshal.

What a story.

He's still alive.

It's all right. It's all right. I'm a doctor.

He's dead.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you for your gun, Marshal.

Daniel, he's doing his job. He's shutting on our man that's murdered.

Judge Blaisdell?

Daniel Simon?

Yeah.

Glad you caught me before I got the matter to you, Sheriff.

They got a cattle rust and land dispute there that could take me to the turn of

the century.

Jail's down this way.

You'll be staying across the street.

The gold nugget? No.

I don't see as this should take too long by the sound of your telegram.

Anything else I can get for you?

Sign a telegram?

Marshal, listen for what it's worth.

I know you wouldn't lie.

The truth may not matter much.

Truth always matters.

Marshal Birch, this here's the judge.

We're old friends, aren't we, Lyon?

Judge?

Marshal Birch has brought many a villain to my court.

He always catches his man, one way or another.

You got Meadows with you?

Prosecutor Meadows will be here tomorrow.

As you know, he's a very efficient man.

Now, I'm sorry to see you in this position, Elias.

What the sheriff told me, your best course of action is to plead guilty and

throw yourself on the mercy of the court.

Now, we have a new circuit defender, Mr.

Hardway. I'm sure that's what he recommends, isn't it, Hardway?

I don't think I'll be needing your defender.

I've got my own lawyer.

Matthew Cooper.

The judge said the trial's got to start right away. He's got cases all over the

circuit. He doesn't know when he can get back here.

Matthew, I know you feel you owe this to Marshal Birch. Who else is going to

defend him?

The circuit defender said he was going to plead guilty.

If he can stay sober long enough, you know that Birch would never shoot a man

cold blood.

Unfortunately, what we believe doesn't matter. It's what the court believes.

I'm just going to have to make him believe it.

Matthew.

I know I don't have any experience with this, but you do it all the time.

You step in when a life is on the line, and you've got to do something that

you've never done before.

I'm going to need your help.

You've got to understand, I've been through the criminal code on this. Even

being a federal marshal isn't going to help you.

I shot him in the course of duty. You mean in self -defense.

I know, and we're going to try that.

But that's only going to work if we can prove that he had a gun. I saw a gun.

We've got to be able to prove it.

I thought you might be hungry.

No, thanks.

Thank you.

This is Marshall.

It was real dark out there.

And there was a lot of shadows. It may be easier for a jury to believe... I

what I saw.

I understand.

But you've got to put yourself in the position of a jury.

There ain't gonna be no jury.

I was thinking maybe it could be just the judge.

You mean in one way of a jury trial?

Judge Blaisdell's an honest man.

He's tough, but he's honest.

And I'm not opposed to putting myself in his hands.

Self -defense is the only way we got a case.

But I looked around and there's no sign of a gun anywhere.

Doesn't help the gold wasn't found either.

What if I were to examine Marshal Birch?

Well, he's getting older, and as I said, he was dark out there.

Perhaps his eyesight's failing.

I'd have to prove that he was getting so he couldn't do his job anymore.

Well, there's no shame in the physical degeneration of one's eyesight.

Retiring's better than being hanged for murder.

He ain't gonna like it.

All I know is that if you're gonna defend him as well as possible, you have

know the truth.

I knew Exeter was gonna be trouble the minute I laid eyes on him.

Maybe Birch is right.

Maybe the truth ain't gonna be all that matters.

Mr. Prosecutor, call your first witness.

Mr. Bray, you were a witness to an argument between Mr. Exler and Mr.

weren't you? Indeed, I was.

There I was, standing in my store, Bray's Mercantile, where you can always

bargain.

There I was, innocent to the cares of the world. Oh, Mr.

Bray.

Who started it?

Well, Marshall Birch.

Anyway, there I was. Wasn't Rudy Exner antagonizing Mr. Birch?

Objection. Your Honor, shouldn't he be referring to him as Marshall Birch? That

isn't his official title.

Overruled.

Just seems like he's trying to make it look like Marshall wasn't acting in his

official capacity.

I said overruled, son.

Wasn't Rudy Exner goading Mr. Birch trying to get him to draw on him?

Wasn't it really Rudy Exner who started the argument?

Your Honor, isn't Mr. Meadows leading the witness?

Is that an objection?

Yeah. Yes.

Son, I know this is your first trial.

You're trying to impress all these folks out here.

But it doesn't do your client any favors by irritating me with these frivolous

objections.

Well, as I was saying, there I was, standing there, innocent to the cares of

world, when all of a sudden... And that's when I discovered that to my

Mr. Exner was unarmed.

Marshal Birch had shot a man who faced him as defenseless as the day he was

born.

I'm finished.

Mr. Cooper, do you have any questions for the witness?

No, I, uh... Not right now.

Dr. Mike, maybe you'd better bring your eyesight test and stuff over to the

jail.

Sure. I'm afraid it might be our only hope.

Mr. Springer.

I hope that I'm receiving some substantial ink in your newspaper, Mrs.

Yes, you are. And I suppose it'll help sell your book. I certainly hope so.

Mr. Springer, how can you call yourself a reporter and be part of the story? How

can you be objective?

First of all, I don't call myself a reporter.

And what is so admirable about being objective?

Folks want a good yarn.

I just give them what they want.

Mr. Meadows?

Second of your time, sir.

My father and I used to go rabbit

hunting.

Even after he got old, he could spot a rabbit 50 feet away and two feet

underground.

Seems a good eyesight runs in your family.

Still, sometimes when you got closer, the rabbit wouldn't be there.

Sometimes I think he saw it because he wanted it to be there.

Well, you had every reason to believe that he was reaching for his gun.

I can't get that little girl's face out of my mind.

The daughter of one of the men Exner killed when I told her about her daddy.

And that's what these good eyes have been seeing for 20 years.

And I'm the one that's in jail.

Well, it's a cure. She's fine.

There's no sign of intraocular pathology.

There's nothing wrong with his eyes.

I'm afraid not.

Excuse me.

We call our final witness, Your Honor.

Dr. Michaela Quinn.

Did you swear to tell the truth, Dr. Quinn?

Yes.

You examined Mr. Birch's eyes yesterday, didn't you?

Dr. Quinn?

Yes, I did.

And what was the result of that test?

Objection. Your Honor, that was...

That was an art test.

Continue, Mr. Meadows.

The results, doctor?

I had to examine him in the jail. I was unable to conduct a complete

examination.

I will make this real easy on you, Dr. Quinn.

Is his eyesight good or bad?

Well, from what I could tell...

His eyesight was normal.

That's all.

No questions.

Prosecution rests, Your Honor.

You're smart, son.

You know this doesn't bode well.

Now, we all got places to go, things to do, and better whiskey to drink.

Here's what I suggest.

You change your plea to guilty.

I'll take Birch's long record of public service into consideration.

He won't hang.

I'll have to send him to life, but he won't hang.

I think you ought to take the deal.

You think I committed murder?

No.

That's because I know you.

The evidence... What do you think happened out there that night?

I believe you, Marshall.

I know you wouldn't shoot another man.

So why do you want me to take the deal?

Because I don't think I can do any better for you.

You think I should have got a trickier lawyer?

Yeah. Maybe that is what you should have done.

Well, I don't care much for tricks, Matthew. I care more about the truth.

Just tell the judge, no deal.

Elias, you do understand that if they find you guilty, they'll hang you.

Well, I don't want to tell you that I want to die or anything, but the worst

thing I can think of is just sitting up here in that prison cell for the rest of

my life, knowing that I had to lie to save my skin.

And son, I chose the right Lord.

And then I looked down, and I saw that Exner didn't have his gun.

When you saw him earlier that night, the gold nugget, did he have his gun then?

If he did, I never saw it.

I did. I was there. I saw it.

Mr. Bray, you're not testifying at the moment. Please keep your mouth shut.

I was just trying to be of help.

You see, Mr. Springer, there's something that just doesn't make sense to me.

Rudy Axner's been thinking about this goal for 20 years.

He finally gets a chance to go dig it up, and he leaves his gun behind?

Was that a question, Your Honor? Mr. Springer was there. I'm just asking him

clarify something for me.

You see, I went out there last night, and I could have told you the way he was

digging, anybody could have come up behind him. Isn't that right?

I suppose so.

You'd think he'd want to defend himself, wouldn't you?

Especially knowing that the Marshal was after him. Isn't that right?

Speculation again.

You don't have to answer that. The loss is good.

Why would he do that?

Objection, Your Honor.

That calls for speculation.

You're right.

It certainly does.

Exner didn't lose his gun. I looked all over the path he would have taken from

the gold nugget.

Besides, someone who's that worried about recovering his gun and being

is going to be more careful not to lose his gun and much less leave it behind.

But if we believe Marshal Birch and the gun's nowhere to be found, then Mr.

Springer's lying.

Why would you say that?

Maybe he took it.

To make a better story.

He was the only other person out there.

If Mr. Exeter had a gun, then Marshal Birch would have been defending himself.

But without a gun?

That makes for a famous trial and the end of an illustrious career.

It has to be what happened. You've done it, Matthew. Not exactly. You've still

got to prove it.

Matthew!

I just got a telegram from the warden of the prison where Exner did his

sentence. It seems Exner's cellmates have something he wants to tell you.

How did he find out about the case?

From reading Ned Springer's reports in the Denver Post.

I don't have time to write out there.

Matthew, perhaps you should find out what this man has to say. I've still got

figure out a way to get all this stuff about the gun entered into evidence.

The judge isn't going to do me any favors.

Well, the warden seems to think that what this fella Calvert's got to say

be important.

I better get going if I leave back in time for court tomorrow.

I'll go with you.

Elias, I'll give your lawyer five more minutes to get here. If he's not here,

I'm going to point the circuit defender.

Go take a look for Mr.

Hardway, will you? Try the saloon.

Sorry to be late, Your Honor.

Can I talk to you for a minute?

Your Honor, this witness is just coming forward with new information that will

prove that Rudy Exner set this whole thing up. Oh, please, Your Honor. And

Springer was his accomplice.

You're going to have to prove what you're saying, son.

I can't, Your Honor.

You swear to tell the truth?

You are a prisoner at the Colorado Territorial Prison in Denver, where you

Rudy Exner, is that right?

Shared a cell with him for 15 years.

Did Mr. Exner ever say anything to you about Marshall Birch?

Objection, hearsay?

Not yet, it isn't.

Mr. Calvert?

He talked about him all the time.

Wouldn't shut up.

Always, I'm gonna make him pay.

As soon as I get out of here, I'm going to make him suffer the way he made me

suffer. It's like it's the only thing that kept him going.

I'm going to make him suffer the way he made me suffer. What do you suppose he

meant by that?

Well, I figured that... Objection!

Only what he said, Mr.

Calvert.

Did Mr. Exner ever say anything else about Marshal Birch?

Not a one time he said to me.

Hope you're going to like having a federal marshal in the cell with you. So

Exner had a plan to get Marshal Birch arrested. That's what he meant by I'm

going to make him suffer the way he made me suffer.

Objection leading the witness.

Play by the rules, son.

All right.

We have heard testimony that Marshal Birch followed Rudy Exner out to a place

near the road to Soda Springs where he thought Exner was going to dig up the

gold that he buried there.

Gold ain't there.

Where is it, Mr. Calvert?

If I tell you, you won't have a reason to let me out of jail.

This felon is just trying to bargain his way out of prison, Your Honor.

How are we supposed to believe anything he says?

I'm planning to agree with Mr. Meadows.

You're going to have to provide some corroborating evidence. That means that

somebody else's testimony...

Isn't there anyone else who witnessed X's plan?

Even if they didn't know it?

That night, when you thought Mr. Exner and Mr. Springer had the golden nugget,

did they see you?

Oh, no. I hid as soon as I saw them. As soon as you saw them?

Yeah. But when you first saw them, you weren't hiding.

No, but... So if you saw them, they could have seen you.

They sure didn't act like they did.

What did they act like?

I see what you're getting at, but you're wrong.

Your Honor, would you please tell the wizard that he can't make statements,

only supposed to answer questions? He's trying to make me look like a fool.

Like the two of them are in it together and just use action.

And that's a classmate who's, um, is getting kind of interesting.

Mr. Cooper?

Now, what you're proposing is the two of them...

Set Mr. Bray up to get Birch to follow Exner.

Yes, Your Honor. Your Honor, this should be presented in testimony.

Well, let's save some time here.

What happened to the gun?

I can't prove it, but Ned Springer must have taken it.

Well,

Folly, it's a good story. It's good for the book.

There's just one problem.

To believe that, I have got to believe that Exner wanted to get back at Birch

much. That he allowed himself to be killed to do so.

That he got himself killed for revenge.

Why would he do that?

Why would anybody do that?

Marshall, listen.

You could appeal and get a new trial if the judge says your lawyer doesn't know

what he's doing.

Trial ain't over yet.

He's wrong.

It's over.

I got nothing left.

You had to question Lauren, Matthew.

You had to get your theory into evidence.

A lot of good it did.

When you think about it like the judge says, the whole thing falls apart.

my problem.

I get excited about an idea without thinking the whole thing through, not

load of shit.

And now, man, like...

I couldn't sleep either.

Matthew, when you agreed to defend Marshall Birch, you told me that you'd

my help.

I don't think you're going to like what I have to say.

Go on.

One of the most difficult things I ever have to do is to put aside my

frustration when I can't solve a problem.

Because frustration prevents you from being able to solve the problem.

You're telling me to stop moping around.

I'm telling you that the only thing that's preventing you from being the

lawyer you want to be is yourself.

Sometimes being personally involved in a case will help you.

Other times it'll stand in your way. It'll prevent you from being able to

the problem.

I think this is one of those times.

So what do you do?

Well, I write down...

Whatever I can think of.

No matter how silly it sounds.

All right.

That's a good idea.

So where do we leave it?

The judge asked a question. Why would anybody kill himself just to get

It's a good question.

Because he was crazy.

Well, it's a possibility.

Because he wanted to kill himself anyways?

It's another idea, I guess.

Wait, you may have something.

Why do people kill themselves?

Because they believe they don't have anything to live for.

But he had all that gold waiting for him.

Matthew, if you had all the gold in the world and no time left to enjoy it...

What if he was dying?

as good as prison food?

You'll find out soon enough.

I ain't never gonna have to eat that slop again.

What's funny?

They ain't never gonna let you out of here.

They want to know where the gold is.

Nobody gives a damn about the gold except me.

The stagecoach company?

They went out of business long ago.

The law.

When Exner's dead, they can't put him away.

So what's it to you?

Well, it ain't nothing to me as long as I'm in here.

But I've been studying this cell.

I know how to get out of here.

How?

Well, I've been trying to decide whether I want to tell you or just maybe bide

my time and wait till you go back to prison.

You're a... Federal marshal?

You was the biggest lawman I ever heard of.

You expect me to believe you're changing sides?

I was a federal marshal until Exner set me up.

You did a good job, too.

I'll tell you one thing.

I ain't gonna make prison my home.

I'm gonna be breaking out of here either with you or without you.

And you gotta make the choice.

This is yesterday's issue of the Denver Post.

There's an article in here written by you.

Would you read the part that I marked, please?

As I knelt beside Mr. Exner and the seasoned criminal drew his last raspy

breath, the lifeblood pouring out of him preparing to meet God or the devil, I

noticed that his Colt .44 thumb buster revolver was missing.

You wrote this, right?

Indeed, I did.

But yesterday in court you told us that you'd never seen Mr. Exner's gun.

How'd you know what it looked like?

Well, somebody told me. Who?

Objection!

Mr. Springer is not on trial here.

Maybe he ought to be.

Your Honor, even if Mr. Springer did take the gun, your well -directed

remains unanswered.

Why?

Why? would Mr. Exner kill himself just to get revenge?

I agree.

Mr. Cooper, if you have no other witnesses... I do, Your Honor.

Just one more.

And what did the autopsy show?

Mr. Exner suffered from a condition known as aortic stenosis.

It's the narrowing of the main valve of the heart which obstructs the flow of

blood into the circulation.

Can it kill you?

Yes. Once the symptoms start to exhibit themselves, it's rare to live for more

than a year or so.

And how far along was Mr. Exner?

The edges of his heart valve had thickened considerably, and his heart

greatly enlarged from working harder to pump the blood.

He didn't have much time left.

Your Honor, this is irrelevant.

Unless the victim knew he was dying, your well -posed question remains. Just

more question, Your Honor.

Did you send a telegram to the prison doctor this morning?

Yes, I did.

Dr. Anthony Racine responded that he diagnosed Mr. Exner with aortic stenosis

last winter.

A year ago?

Yes, Dr. Racine told Mr. Exner he had about a year to live.

One year.

To make Marshal Birch suffer the way he did.

Objection, Your Honor.

Save it, Mr. Meadows.

You'll need her when you prosecute Mr.

Springer.

A little

dirty.

It's still legal.

Don't you talk about me there for a minute.

The stagecoach company is going to be surprised to see this.

Calvert told me you said the stagecoach company had gone out of business.

I told Calvert a lot of things.

Well, I'm going to go make sure he gets on that train.

I'm not too happy about going back to prison.

Good.

Where would you go?

Back to work.

Thanks to you, son.

Thank you, Dr. Mike.

What for?

For believing in me.

For helping me believe in myself.

You never know when I may need a good attorney.