Original subtitles

♪

Yah!

Yah! Yah!

Whoa. Whoa.

Oh, Reedy.

Miss Duff, look. That fence, it's cut.

Killers. Murderers!

The man who cut my fence murdered my cattle.

Who did it to me, Lon? Who did it?

I don't know, Laura. Reedy, how is he?

Oh, he's still breathing.

Maybe he didn't eat too much of that locoweed.

You know, this is a pretty finicky old bull, Miss Duff.

Don't let him die, Reedy, don't let him.

I'll sure do my best.

Hey, old bull?

You heard what the boss lady said now.

Come on, get up from there.

- Get up! - Please, old bull.

And get up and get well.

Maybe you should vomit him, Reedy, that might help.

Well, sir, I'm sure gonna do my best.

Old bull, old bull...

dear God, are they gonna kill you, too?

There's no sense in it,

killing animals like this for no reason.

It's horrible. It's cruel.

♪

Good afternoon.

I'm looking for the Duff Ranch.

Kind of chilly, isn't it?

Is this the Duff Ranch?

The Adam Duff Ranch.

Adam Duff.

That's a good Scot-sounding name.

Is your dad around?

My pa's dead. So's his history.

It died with him.

I'm sorry. Is your mother here?

She wrote that she had some cattle to sell.

Angus stock?

- You from Shiloh Ranch? - Yes.

Rode all the way out here just to see our herd?

That's right.

Try the west range.

Much obliged.

♪

Mrs. Duff?

Yes?

I'm the foreman of Shiloh Ranch.

Oh, yes, Colonel Mackenzie wrote you were coming.

What's happened here?

Well, as you can see, we had a little trouble last night.

Somebody came and cut my fence wire

and let all my cattle go through.

They must have known they'd eat from that patch

of locoweed up there.

Any idea who did it?

Could be a man named Gus Muller, don't you think so, Mr. Worth?

I wouldn't be too quick to accuse a man

without proof, Reedy.

Why would he want to do a thing like that?

Well, he'd had his differences with my husband,

and he had no love for us.

He lives on the other side of that hill over there.

Yeah. He ain't no friend of ours.

I'm sorry, this is my foreman, Pat Reedy.

- Hi! - Howdy.

And my neighbor and very good friend, Alonzo Worth.

Times like this, good neighbors are appreciated.

Sorry to bring you all the way up here just for this.

I hope there's enough cattle left to suit you

and to sell you.

I hope so, too.

Let's go see.

So you folks are from Ohio, huh?

Originally, yes.

Well, I'm sorry to say that's one state I've never been in.

If I were to guess, I'd say you were from Virginia.

How would you know that?

Oh, by your manner

and you're very slight trace of an accent.

And Colonel Mackenzie wrote you were from Virginia.

Oh, please start while it's hot.

Say, is that what I think it is, hominy grits?

I like to make my guests feel at home.

Well, this smells like real down home.

What's the matter, Jimmy?

I don't like it.

Well, have some potatoes then.

I made them for you and Reedy anyway.

I didn't think he'd appreciate my efforts

at Southern cooking either.

Seems like a good man, your foreman.

He is, except that he drinks a bit too much.

I don't care for that,

but it never seemed to bother my husband.

He had that rare quality

of helping what you might call misfits.

Must have been a big-hearted man.

He was a Scot.

He was as good as he was strong and hardheaded.

He'd just come to Ohio from Ayrshire when we met,

met and married and had Jimmy.

We raised dairy cattle back then,

but he was never really very happy with that life.

"Cup and saucer country" he used to call it.

It was too soft, too fragile.

Do you remember, Jimmy, how he used to say,

"Land's too fragile.

Good for a night's sleep, aye, but not for a man's dream."

And this was his dream.

This ranch, to raise Angus cattle

and make it the finest ranch in this avengin' valley.

And now his dream's all gone.

I don't even know where the blame lies.

Like today, the fence.

It was Alonzo Worth who cut that fence.

Jimmy, be still.

Like it was Alonzo Worth that killed my pa.

Jimmy, I don't want to hear that again from you.

It was.

But you never listen to me.

That's enough!

Now leave the table.

And take Reedy his supper. It's on the back of the stove.

I'm sorry.

He's still a boy.

And lately, a right surly boy.

His own father wouldn't know him.

How did your husband die, Mrs. Duff?

He was... He was trampled to death

trying to get a steer out of a bog.

It was about 10 months ago.

Was he alone?

Yes, and... and now we're alone, Jimmy and I,

but not for long.

What are you going to do?

Go back to Ohio to the cup and saucer country,

to the gentle cattle who are only good

for the milk they give,

let somebody else raise this blessed beef Angus.

I've had enough of this country.

It takes young girls,

and it makes old women out of them.

It takes strong men, and it breaks their backs

or their spirits, and I've had enough of it.

I hate the West. It's got no mercy.

Because it killed your husband?

Can't blame the West for that.

It was a man cut your fence wire

and a man who tried to kill your cattle.

Question is, which man?

♪ Old Tim Barker had two daughters and a song ♪

♪ One went to Cheyenne ♪

♪ And the other, she went wrong, wrong, wrong ♪

How's the bull, Reedy?

Hmm?

I asked you, how's the bull?

Bull's dead.

So welcome to the wake.

It was pa's bull.

Mm-hmm.

It was and it wasn't.

It was your ma's.

You gotta face it, boy, your papa's dead,

and everything on this ranch belongs to your mama,

every bit of it, all of it.

So why don't you get out of yourself

and see what she's gotta contend with?

Give her a helping hand.

Don't make her worry about all your petty things.

So why don't you help your ma?

Help her, boy.

Your papa'd love you for that.

I'll help her.

By paying back the man that killed my pa, Lon Worth.

So you think you know, huh?

But are you sure, Jimmy boy? Hmm?

Sure enough.

Thinking about taking that rifle

your pa left you and... oh, no.

You wouldn't do that.

Your pa was a fair man, and you are his son.

'Sides, you know that wouldn't be right.

And you might just be wrong.

Yeah, you might just be wrong.

♪ So Tim Barker had two daughters and a song ♪

♪ One went to Cheyenne ♪

♪ And the other, she went wrong, wrong, wrong ♪

♪ But don't we all? ♪

Yeah.

Don't we all?

I think we got it licked, ma.

Just make sure you got it all.

What does Muller want?

We'll let him tell us.

What you think you're doing setting this range on fire?

Trying to burn me out?

If you'd take the trouble to look, Mr. Mueller,

you'd discover that it's loco weed we're burning.

Loco?

Where did that come from?

That news to you, Muller?

I didn't know there was any loco around here.

The way it spreads, it could've got over to my place.

Then Mrs. Duff is doing you a favor by getting rid of it.

You might thank her.

It's her cattle she's thinking of, not mine.

My cattle already been in it

thanks to somebody cutting my fence wire last night.

Somebody set on a horse right here smug as anything.

You naming me, old man?

If the boot fits, put a spur on it.

It don't.

And I don't like being called out for killing stock, you hear?

You let go of him!

The lady said let go of him, Mr. Muller.

Maybe you didn't hear her.

Look, we ain't friends.

But it don't sit on me when I hear there's stock been killed,

not even the widow Duff's.

I know nothing about the loco in this open range land.

I haven't been around these parts in months.

Then what brings you here now, Mr. Muller?

Smoke.

And just make sure you get it all.

And keep an eye on that fire.

Come on.

Thank you, fella.

Jimmy, get them two... of yours.

We gonna back-burn this whole hill.

Mr. Muller reminds me of the cowboy

who jumped on his horse

and charged off in all directions.

He tried to charge my husband once.

They were quarreling over some water rights,

and he took Adam to court.

The judge listened for a while, and he said,

"Mr. Duff, the water rights are yours."

He hadn't spoken to us since.

The wind's getting stronger.

You go on in, Laura, I'll be right there.

Whoa.

Well, what a pleasant surprise.

Hello, Marjorie. My, you look well.

This is the foreman of the Shiloh Ranch.

He's come to look at my cattle.

- How do you do, ma'am? - Ah, Shiloh Ranch.

Now is that mountain country or flatland?

Well, a little bit of both. It's in Medicine Bow, Wyoming.

Ah, well, come sit down.

You know, I just got a letter from my sister Elvira.

She's moved to San Francisco, and she tells me

that place has more hills than Sitting Bull has feathers.

Or is it "had"?

Is that scoundrel still alive?

No, he's not. He died recently.

Oh, George Armstrong Custer

must have smiled from heaven that day.

Well, I'd be there smiling with him

if my buggy'd been going faster when I turned over.

As it is, I'm as helpless as a babe.

Or would be without Lon.

Oh, well, I've done enough walking in my time.

Sitting ain't so bad.

Gives you plenty of time for sewing.

Your quilt's coming along beautifully, Marjorie.

Would you ladies excuse us?

You know, these patches are particularly pretty, I think.

They came off a dress I made...

I thought you could use a little beverage.

Thanks, I could.

I thank you for coming.

- It cheers Marjorie. - It's my pleasure.

I'm glad she's not letting on about last night.

- I wouldn't want Laura upset. - Last night?

About her boy, Jimmy.

Riding over here, prowling around

carrying his pa's rifle.

Marjorie saw him. She was sitting by the window.

What did he want?

I asked him, and he wouldn't answer.

I said, "Now look, Jimmy, you're upsetting my wife."

I mean, Marjorie's had enough trouble these past few years,

the accident, her spine twisted.

Anyway, when the boy finally got around to telling me

what was on his mind, I couldn't believe it.

Crazy talk about his father.

From what I hear, he's taking his father's death pretty hard.

Even so, what he said to me raised the hair on my neck.

He said I killed his pa, that I did it.

He said if the law didn't make me pay,

he'd see to it himself.

I tell you, that boy means to kill me.

Whoa.

Well, it's about time.

You know how long I've been a-sitting on that porch?

I know how long I've been waiting for you, Sheriff.

Well, I got out here as soon as I could, Mrs. Duff.

You know I've been operating kind of shorthanded lately.

Had me a bank robbery over yonder in Wardlowville,

couple of young fellers, hardly more than boys they was.

Had to chase them for three days

'fore I finally got 'em cornered,

and then they wanted to shoot it out with the posse.

I sure do hate them sort of things,

just hate 'em all to pieces.

But like they say, it all goes with the badge.

They tell me that you had some cows die from loco weed.

That's right, Sheriff.

Well, what'd you call me out here for?

Well, their fence wire was cut. It was no accident.

Who are you, young feller? A new hand?

He's a guest here.

Well, I knew I hadn't seen him round here before.

I'm from Medicine Bow, if it matters.

Well, no, it don't matter to me

except I would kind of like to know what you're doing

so far away from your home range.

He came to buy my stock.

But by the time he got here, half of it was dead.

Is that right, Mrs. Duff?

You fixing to sell out?

I know running a cow outfit like this

is pretty rough for a widow lady.

Sheriff, what are you gonna do about the murder of my cattle?

Well, now, I don't believe I ever heard

killing a cow called murder before.

But her fence wire was cut. The cattle are dead.

It comes to the same thing.

Well, I'll look into it,

but I sure can't promise you nothing.

You know whoever cut that wire ain't gonna be

standing around waiting with the wire cutters in his hand.

Now if it was a bank robbery, like they had

over yonder in Wardlowville, why...

Jimmy, what on Earth are you doing with that?

Practicing.

Hello, Sheriff. Hope I didn't scare you.

You scared me half to death. Now give it to me.

- Ain't yours. - It was your pa's.

And it's mine now. Right, Sheriff?

The law that says a father wills his rifle to his son

to protect himself and his ma against evildoers.

Blame kids, robbing banks and no tellin'.

Now lookee here, boy, I've got more to do

than stand around here jawing at you.

Why don't you try to behave yourself

and be a credit to your ma?

You sure scared your mom, Jimmy.

It's Alonzo Worth she should be frightened of.

He killed her husband,

and even thinking about it's made her blind.

Her eyes are wide open.

Then why can't she see?

The way he looks at her

when he thinks no one else is looking.

Like a cat near a milk shed

waiting for everyone to scat so he can have her alone.

That's why my pa's dead...

because he wants her alone.

She's not alone. She has you.

He'll find some way of getting rid of me.

He thinks.

Not as long as I got this.

If I were you, I'd stay away from the Worth place

and quit sneaking around with that rifle.

I wouldn't set foot on his place.

That's not what he said.

Then he's a liar as well as a killer.

I guess your ma is right.

Oughta get you away from here. I guess you'll be glad to go.

Guess again, mister.

My pa never ran from anything.

If my ma don't understand that, I can't help it.

I have done everything I can to make her stay here,

everything.

You're not the only one.

Whoever cut that fence wire did a pretty good job

of keeping her here.

Dead Angus bull meant a lot of going-away money to her.

On the other hand, it made her more determined to go.

Maybe whoever cut that fence outsmarted himself.

It wasn't me.

I didn't say it was.

I've got to get Jimmy out of here.

Too many unhappy memories. Too many ghosts.

There's nothing here anymore but pain and sorrow.

Worrying yourself to pieces about it won't help.

You know, I can't even talk to him anymore.

He needs his father. A man.

No, I'm not gonna put my troubles on your shoulders.

That wouldn't be fair.

You wanted to sell your herd to Shiloh and start a new life.

Let me help you if I can and help the boy, too.

I was hoping that... That Reedy could help him,

but he must have his own troubles lately.

He's been drinking more and more.

Not much call for an old ranch foreman who drinks.

Have any idea what Reedy would do if you left here?

I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it.

I hardly pay him anything as it is.

Enough to keep him in whiskey.

Some men'd do almost anything for that much.

You're not suggesting that Reedy...

No, I don't believe that.

Has that fence been repaired yet?

I don't know. I asked him to do it.

- But I don't know if he has. - I'd like to take a look.

See how it was cut and from which side.

At night? Couldn't it wait till the morning?

I'll sleep better knowing. I won't be long.

What if the wire was cut from our side?

Then I'll know that someone on this side of the fence

wanted to keep you here.

♪

How is he, doctor?

Alive.

He'll be feverish,

might try to kick his covers off.

You see that he don't.

Keep him warm.

Send for me if he takes a turn for the worse.

That's about all I can tell you.

You're not leaving.

Have to. A baby's waiting to be born.

I gotta be there to bid him welcome.

When are you coming back?

When I can, Mrs. Duff.

He's got you to look after him.

No medicine I know of can touch a woman's tender care.

I'll let myself out.

- Reedy. - Jimmy boy.

Hey, where'd you find him out there in that dark

- with that bullet hole in him? - Where the fence was cut.

Did you see anybody?

I heard the shots.

Look, you was near enough. You might've seen somebody.

Are you sure? You're dead sure?

Must've heard me coming and rode off.

It don't matter.

I know who it was.

How's that?

Same way I know he killed my pa.

Ma... ggie.

Maggie!

I'm Laura.

How did I get here?

Jimmy. He found you and brought in.

Jimmy...

Jimmy...

It's so dark.

It's night.

What did the doctor say, Laura?

Another couple of inches, he would've been dead.

It was only that he dropped to his knees that saved him.

Well, I sure hope he pulls through.

You know, there's been enough burying

going on around this valley as it is.

And I'm just as much in the dark right now

as he was last night when he got hisself shot.

Did the doctor say anything that could help?

Only that the bullet came from a rifle.

That's a big help.

Every man and boy in this whole valley owns a rifle.

Mrs. Duff, this boy of yours, how'd he happen

to run across the stranger out there last night?

Hmm?

Jimmy, your boy, what was he doing out there

riding all alone last night?

I don't know.

I don't know what you're driving at, Sheriff,

but you can forget it.

The boy hasn't been sleeping well since his pa died.

I've seen him out at night myself a couple of times.

You've seen Jimmy?

Probably after you'd gone to bed, Laura.

Well, why didn't you mention something, Lon?

I... I had no idea.

When you saw him out there riding late at night,

what was he doing?

Nothing.

He just seems to go riding.

Finding the stranger was a coincidence, I guess.

Maybe.

You don't suspect the boy.

You're talking about attempted murder, Sheriff.

That's right, that's exactly what it was.

On these occasions that you saw the boy

out there late at night riding around,

did he have his pa's rifle with him?

You can't be serious.

This is a boy!

Yes, ma'am, that's right, but so was Billy the Kid,

and look what all he got hisself into before he growed up.

But this is my son you're talking about,

not some... some outlaw.

You got to be careful, Sheriff,

speculating about an innocent boy.

You know, you still haven't answered my question.

Was the boy carrying his pa's a rifle

when he was out there all alone?

Of course he had a rifle.

Everybody around here carries a rifle in his saddle.

I ain't asking about everybody! I'm asking about the boy!

Seems to me that he's acting awful doggone suspicious

a-sneaking around there late at night that way.

Excuse me, I'm not going to listen to another word of this.

It is utter nonsense.

Well, I was just trying to do my duty.

Doggone it, I don't know what everybody's

so dad-blamed thin-skinned about.

Hello.

How long have you been awake?

How long was I asleep?

This is the second night.

You...

You've been here all the time?

Part of it.

I would have slept better

if I had known you were watching over me.

I've been... dreaming of faces with wings.

You were dreaming about Maggie.

Maggie?

It's a girl I used to know about 100 years ago.

That long?

Yeah.

Oh...

- I'll get the doctor. - Don't go.

All I need is rest.

Just rest.

Not the first bullet I ever got over.

Well, you're up with the sun.

Or haven't you been to bed?

I wasn't sleepy.

Growing boy.

You can't keep going on like that

or you're gonna drop in your tracks.

Jimmy.

I'll fix your breakfast for you

after I've tended to him.

You certainly saved his life.

He would have bled to death out there.

At least some good's come of your riding around

in the dark like that, even though I don't hold to it.

Your pa wouldn't like it either.

It was him I went to see.

I went to see pa.

Or his grave anyhow.

You rode all the way out there to the cemetery,

all that way in the dark?

Ma, I'm not scared of the cemetery at night.

Pa always told me don't be afraid of dead people.

It's the living that do us harm.

Well, what do you do out there in the cemetery at night?

I talk to him.

And he talks to me. And I don't mean with words.

I mean inside and in my head.

Just remembering how he was.

I-I know what he'd say.

He'd say he was murdered, and he'd name his killer.

Oh, Jimmy, stop that.

I don't want to hear any more talk like that.

That doesn't make any sense to me.

If you want to talk to your pa,

why don't you talk about the happy times that we had?

Like... like... Like last Christmas,

the two of you rolling around in the snow together

like a couple of kids

and firing snowballs at each other?

I don't know why that picture sticks in my mind so.

You were laughing so hard.

And all covered with snow like that

and just laughing your heads off.

Ma?

I don't want us to leave this place.

Let's stay. I'll work hard to make it run.

We wouldn't have to sell the cattle or anything, we...

Jimmy...

it's not going to work.

Not for us.

We couldn't manage.

I couldn't manage, that's what you mean.

You never even let me try!

Look...

the man from Shiloh is here to buy the cattle.

Now I've made up my mind.

And I don't want to talk about it anymore.

At least when I talk to Pa, he listens.

Jimmy, that horse gonna need some rest,

even if you don't.

Good morning, Reedy.

He still with us?

- The stranger? - Mm-hmm.

He's still with us.

Your ma has been setting up with him.

That don't sit so well.

My pa died in a mud hole,

a steer crushing the life out of him,

the mud choking him,

Not in a bed with ma's good white sheets around him.

Jimmy, you'd better start chilling that horse down,

do you hear me?

Jimmy: Yah!

Ain't nothing you can run away from anyway.

What are you doing out of bed?

Now isn't that just like a woman?

I got my strength back, my wound is healing,

I dressed myself, and all you can say is,

"What are you doing out of bed?"

- The doctor said it was... - I know what the doctor said.

But I'm up, and I'm gonna stay up.

The only thing I can't manage is this sleeve.

You still look pretty pale to me.

I'm gonna do something about that right now.

- I'm gonna get out in the sun. - You're not.

Yep, I'm gonna take a ride on my horse.

What do you think of that?

I think you're probably gonna break your neck.

Go right ahead.

I'll have the milquetoast waiting for you

when they bring you in.

Yep, you're a woman, all right.

Was there ever any doubt?

Please don't go out there.

The man who shot you is just waiting for you to come out.

Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint him.

And don't tell me to be careful, because I won't be.

Please...

be careful.

♪

Jimmy.

As I remember it, there were two shots.

The first one went right through the top of the fence post.

Must have come from this direction

because the little hole's on this side,

and the big hole's around here.

That's good to know.

Climb down. Come and take a look at this.

Now, the question is, which side of the fence

was the man standing on who cut the wire?

Get that under other end of the wire for me,

will you, Jimmy?

Huh.

Either he stood on his head and cut the wire behind his back

or the fella was standing on this side of the fence.

What's your closest neighbor in that direction?

Gus Muller.

Well, let's go see him.

He didn't do it.

Let's go see him anyway.

Hey, wait.

Adam Duff, sir.

Your ma send you over to cry about another ailing bull?

Other bulls all right.

That's funny.

I could have sworn with that drunken foreman of yours

breathing his juniper gin into their faces,

they'd all be dead by now.

What brings you around here?

I was bushwhacked, shot in the back.

Couple inches higher, it would've killed me.

Is that a fact?

Bushwhacked, huh?

Now I wonder who'd want to do a thing like that.

Did you ever find out who cut that fence?

I thought maybe you could tell me.

I see you're wearing a gun.

- Know how to use it? - Yeah.

You'd better, talking like that.

Let me tell you something.

I've shot a man or three in my life.

But never from the back.

And I never cut any Duff fence.

If I had, it would've been right out the open.

Do you understand?

If I'd wanted to poison their mangy cattle,

it have been done long ago when Duff was alive.

Did you ever hear of forgive and forget?

How long you gonna hold this grudge?

When I see that widow and her brat

clearing out of here.

I got them mountains at my back.

I want to buy her land. It's the only way I can expand.

He offered her practically nothing for it.

That's more than anybody else around here's offered.

She can't run that ranch no more than her husband could.

All that land's just going to waste.

Folks like that got no business coming out here

in the first place.

They don't have the guts or the know-how for it.

You watch your mouth, mister.

Hold it, Jimmy.

Get him out of here.

We better be heading home. Your mom will be worried.

We wouldn't want mama to be worried.

Now you just run along home.

Hey, mister, you forgot to say goodbye.

Hey.

How long did it take you to learn to shoot like that?

Too long.

Listen, I want you to know something.

Muller has always hated us, but he didn't cut that fence,

and he didn't shoot you neither.

You sound pretty sure about that.

I am.

This is the bog were my pa was killed.

Your ma told me about that, said it was an accident.

He was trying to pull a steer out of here,

and the steer reared back and trampled him to death.

Nearly happened to me once.

Were you alone?

Yes, I was.

My pa couldn't have been alone.

Look, he was raised in Scotland.

More than once he told me how they had to pull

stray cattle out of those moors they got.

Yeah?

Even showed me how it was done once.

Either by one man on a horse roping the steer

and then backing the horse to pull the steer's forelegs

on solid ground, or by two men,

one on the horse

and the other in the bog working in close to the animal.

Your pa was found in the bog.

Right.

So there must have been someone else on a horse

pulling the rope.

He let go.

And the steer fell back on my pa and killed him.

Well, it could've happened like that.

What makes you so sure it did?

'Cause Alonzo Worth wants my ma.

I saw my pa the night he got killed

riding off due east toward the Worth place.

And I saw him, Worth, the night you got shot.

Saw him where?

Off in the distance riding.

Just before I found you.

He'll tell you he was coming back from Casper Ridge.

He's always on his way back from Casper Ridge.

But I don't believe him.

And you don't believe me.

I'm willing to be convinced.

For heavy charges like that, a man needs proof.

And if he did it and there's no proof?

Does he get away with it?

No.

Not as long as I'm around.

He doesn't know what he's saying, he can't.

Why, Lon Worth is one of the finest men I know.

Well, Jimmy has got a point about there being

two men in the bog that night.

Well, it could have been anybody, Gus Muller.

No, not Muller, your husband wouldn't have asked

for his help, and Muller wouldn't have volunteered.

Think a minute, Laura.

Who else could have gone out to the bog with him?

One of the hands?

It's possible.

But suppose the rope slipped

and Worth couldn't help your husband.

Suppose he was afraid of being blamed for his death,

maybe with good reason.

Now look here, I'm not gonna listen

to one more word about that.

Lon and Marjorie are my very best friends.

As a matter fact, I told her I'd stop by

this afternoon and see her.

She looks forward to the company.

Maybe the ride'll clear my head.

You're welcome to come with me.

No, thanks, I think I'll stick around here.

Get up.

Reedy?

- Wait just a minute, Reedy. - Hmm?

You don't look like you're any too steady on your feet.

Oh, it's that old rheum, it's going down into my legs.

You think you could do some talking?

What about?

About the way Adam Duff died in that bog.

Yeah-huh.

I saw you snooping around.

I figured that you know.

Sir, I'm gonna tell you.

Mm-hmm.

I'm gonna get it all off my chest

'cause Lord knows it's been there long enough.

It was my doing that Duff died, my fault.

But how did you know?

I don't know anything yet. I want you to tell me.

Well, it was getting pretty near dark.

We was out on the east range.

It was Duff and me and a couple of cowboys,

and them cowboys were kind of getting twitchy

to get back to town.

It was Saturday.

Well, I never go into town.

This here...

this is my part of the town.

Yes, sir, whenever I get twitchy,

I come right back to here.

Well, Duff, you know what a hard worker he was,

I reckon he found out.

He... he let us go

and said he'd finish the job up himself.

And you came back here?

Mm-hmm, boys went their way, and I went mine.

Then I started imbibing old John Barleycorn.

I always get a snoot full of this before the Sabbath.

Then Duff come back.

Must've been three or four hours.

And he got excited about a steer being stuck in a bog,

and he come at me, and he said, "Reedy!"

That's what he used to say.

Said, "Reedy, I'm gonna need your help!"

Well, I said to him, well... And the words,

they weren't pure polite.

I said to him, "Why don't you go help yourself?"

Because I was getting real drunk about that time.

I figured he realized it

'cause he just up and walked off.

And a few hours after that, I saw him,

I mean, his corpse, crippled in pain,

and even in death, I figured

that he was trying to tell me something.

Yeah, I'd have swore that he's trying to tell me,

like his soul was crying out and saying,

"Reedy, Reedy...

why didn't you come?"

When he rode out of here, could you see

if anybody else rode out in the same direction?

No, he was all by himself when he died.

That was the crime of it. I wasn't there to help him.

"Reedy, why didn't you come, you drunken bum?!"

You wouldn't help him,

and he needed help with a steer.

So he must've gone straight there.

Which way did he go when he rode out of here?

He went straight to that bog and his death.

And me not there to give him

a helping hand when he needed it.

Reedy, which way is the bog from here?

It's...

Out that way, out east.

Out east of here.

That's right. But that's west.

Hey, young fella, what are you saying?

The bog is east. That's east.

But you said he rode out of here that way, west.

Then he went to the Worth place.

Yeah.

He went to fetch Lonzo Worth.

Than that boy was right, Jimmy.

Yeah. He was right all the time!

Now, Laura, I need your advice in a very crucial matter.

- Crucial? - Mm-hmm.

Before I snip again,

I need your advice to tell me which to use,

this flowered-print dress,

or this old smock with the Chinese doodads?

Duff: It's hard to say which one would work best.

What do you think, Lon?

Oh, no, you're not dragging me into this.

If you ladies will excuse me, I'll go heat up the coffee.

- Coward. - That's right.

When it comes to picking out scraps for a quilt,

that's when I run fast in the other direction.

- Care to come with me? - No.

I-I need Laura here.

But I would like a little more cream from the spring house,

though, while you're at it.

Then cream you shall have.

Shall I fill the sugar bowl, too?

Go away with you, Lon, for heaven's sake.

Now don't you two talk about me.

We've got better things to talk about.

The way you two carry on.

Open your mouth, and I'll pull this trigger.

I swear.

- Your mother's... - I mean it.

Start walking.

I had to be sure about you.

Now I am.

You killed my pa.

You're out of your mind, boy.

That's what you'd like folks to think, isn't it?

So they wouldn't believe me.

Put down that gun, Jimmy.

I'll put it down when I don't need it anymore.

- They'll hang you for this. - But they won't hang you,

will they, because there's no proof.

It was an accident.

The night you shot the man from Shiloh,

was that an accident, too?

Just keep walking.

I can smell the coffee. It's going to boil away.

Lon?

Where is that man?

I'll go see what's happening.

Don't you be too long

or I'll think you two are up to something.

Where is he?

I don't know. It's the strangest thing.

Well, that can't be Lon.

Unless he's pulling some kind of a joke.

It's the Virginian.

Laura...

What, Marjorie?

N-nothing.

Hello, Laura, Mrs. Worth.

I'd like to talk to your husband.

He's not here. Is there something wrong?

Well, I declare, you look as good as new.

Sit down.

I need to talk to your husband, Mrs. Worth.

Well, he'll... He'll be back in a minute,

soon as he remembers he left the coffee on the stove.

He's outside.

Mind if I take a look?

Well, go ahead.

And tell him for me he'll never hear the end of this.

What does he want with Lon?

Are you in pain, Marjorie?

Just a twinge.

Wh... where'd that man get to?

Do you suppose something's wrong?

He wouldn't just go off without saying something.

I didn't find him, but I found something else.

- Jimmy's horse. - Jimmy? It can't be.

- He's not here. - Well, he was.

And the rifle boot is empty.

What are you saying?

That the chances are good Jimmy's with your husband

right now, Mrs. Worth,

and maybe holding a rifle on him.

You gotta stop them.

Before I do that, I've got to know the truth.

Don't you understand? He may kill my husband.

Look, two people saw Adam Duff ride in this direction

the night he died.

You were here in that chair. You must've seen him, too.

No, no.

He would have come in to say hello

and pay his respects, and then he asked your husband

to go help him pull a steer out of a bog.

Lon. It was Lon!

Maybe your husband told you it was an accident,

and maybe you kept quiet to protect him.

You gotta make him stop, Laura, please make him stop.

He's in real danger now.

Holding back the truth has made that boy desperate.

Hearing it may be the only thing that'll stop him.

Tell him, Marjorie! For heaven sakes, tell him!

We're running out of time.

Adam Duff was here in this house, wasn't he?

Yes.

And you saw him and spoke to him.

Yes. Yes.

And your husband went to the bog with him

and came back here later alone after Adam Duff was dead.

Yes, you've gotta stop him.

He may kill Lon. Stop him, please. Stop him.

Why, Marjorie? Why?

Why?

Look at me, Laura.

And walk over to that mirror and look at yourself.

I was a pretty young thing once.

That's kind of hard to believe, isn't it?

A twisted old thing like me.

I'm not that old.

Not near as old as I look.

It's the pain, it's the...

It's the sitting in one place,

not being able to tend to my garden or feed the chickens.

Or be a wife to my husband.

You see, when you and Adam and Jimmy moved out here,

I-I saw a change come over Lon,

and then I saw you for the first time.

And I knew why.

You were so pretty.

Lon tried to hide it from me.

But I knew he was in love with you right off,

and loving you, he... He came to like Adam less.

Love on one side, hate on the other.

Because he wanted you for himself.

And you let him live with you in this house knowing that?

Let him?

I kept it from him that I knew

so he'd go right on living here.

'Cause I love him.

And I need him. I need him, Laura.

What in the world would I do without him?

What would I do?

Shrivel up in this old chair and just die.

Even knowing he killed Adam?

Even knowing he'd have to kill me

so he could have you.

I'd rather die than be left alone.

I'd rather die than be left alone.

Do you see, Laura? Do you see?

Do you see why I kept still for so long?

Why did you bring me here?

It's where you killed my pa.

Jimmy, listen to reason!

Keep walking.

But that's quicksand.

I saw my pa when they pulled him out.

I know what it is.

It's murder. Cold-blooded murder.

Then it's fitting, ain't it?

Same bog.

Only it's me standing on safe ground

and you that's gonna be begging for help.

Jimmy, listen, what happened to your pa was an accident.

The rope slipped! I didn't know what else to do!

So you rode off and left him.

I was scared. I didn't know what to do.

So you left him to die in the mud under that steer.

And went home to your supper.

I'd give anything if it hadn't happened.

But it did happen. And now it's gonna happen again.

Walk. And keep walking.

Listen to me.

I said walk!

Straight out to the center.

Move.

Keep moving. Don't stop.

Help!

Help!

Help!

Help me!

Help!

Don't lift a finger to help him.

He'll die in there.

Let him.

Help me! Help! Help!

Help me!

Throw that rope, and I'll blow your head off.

Jimmy, I've got the proof we need.

His wife saw him leave his house

with your pa the night he died.

It's too late for proof.

Please help me!

I'm doing what has to be done.

Help me! I did it!

I killed Adam Duff! I wanted him dead!

I let him die!

Is this the way your pa would have wanted it?

Think about it.

Help me! Please help me!

Get me out of here! Help me!

Leave him alone!

Put it under your arms.

It's what he done to my pa!

Jimmy, you get on that horse and pull!

I can't!

Then you'll kill us both!

That's it.

Pull, Jimmy!

Pull!

Pull, Jimmy! Pull!

Back, that's it.

Hold it a minute.

Thanks.

Sure you won't change your mind about selling the herd?

Nope, I guess I know it by now that rifle's

not the only thing that Adam Duff left his son.

He left him this ranch, too.

It's just a bunch of mean land,

but we'll tame it in time, Jimmy and I.

You can always come around

and lend a hand at branding time.

Ought to be quite a few calves by then.

Now how did you know I was thinking just that?

I'll get your horse.

Branding time. That'll be next spring.

I might just drop by before then.

I'll practice up my hominy grits and spoon bread.

If it's all the same to you, I'd just as soon have beef.

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