Original subtitles

[Gunshot fires]

♪ [trumpet]

They say gold is where you find it.

When it's high-grade ore as rich as this,

it was often found in a miner's hidden pocket or a well-heeled boot.

High grading reached its peak around the turn of the century,

when more than four million dollars was stolen

from the mines of Cripple Creek, Colorado.

The mine owners meant business,

but they had met their match in Kate Hanson, the...

Got bad eyesight, mister?

"Keep out" means just what it says.

Salesman'd starve to death if he believed in "keep out" signs.

Believe in that one, drummer, or you won't live to starve.

Caught him trying to sneak in.

If he'd been out in the open, i'd've asked him to let me in.

I got business inside. You have, huh?

With who?

Mr. Barker.

Just show him this.

Hm. Shake hands with Walt Krug, super of my crew.

The only man around here I can still trust.

Never figured you for a mine detective. You sure don't look it.

Good. Here's what they're stealing.

Jewelry rock. Yeah. That run assays $50 a pound.

A hundred thousand a ton. It must be pure gold.

Well, almost. That's Telluride.

The purest gold found in nature.

I hit a pocket of that stuff as big as a two-story house.

I guess that makes you the luckiest man I've met.

No, not quite, it don't.

You think it's an outside gang?

They even organized a high graders association.

Do you have any idea who runs it?

Sure. I guess it ain't no secret.

Kate Hanson.

"Lunch pail" Hanson's widow.

He invented the lunch pail with the false bottom, you know.

Well, look, if you already know who--

How. How? That's what's driving me crazy.

How is she getting away with so much of this ore?

You find that out and pin it on her.

A mine detective.

You just say the word, Miss Kate,

and I'll give him this.

And we'll drop him down a mine shaft.

No killing, Gus.

I mean it.

Why not?

Walt, if we high graded all the gold in the rockies,

we'd only go to jail.

But you kill the most worthless bum in Cripple Creek,

and we'll hang. If they catch us.

That kind of thinking makes gallows bait.

Kate.

Since when are we running scared?

We know this detective. We watch him.

He can't hurt us.

Just leave him alone.

♪ With a delicate air

♪ men call her the lass

♪ with the

♪ delicate air

Hmm. Oh, Sarah, Sarah.

Well now, sir, what do you think of that?

It was all right.

Just all right? [Chuckles]

You are Jenny Lind and Lillian Russell

all rolled into one.

Satisfied? How about Nellie Melba?

Yeah, her too.

Sarah, get me a glass of water.

Sarah, you're being gotten rid of.

Don't talk about me while I'm gone.

Oh? Then why are you going?

Well, um, water for me too?

Oh. [Door closes]

So, you want to know how good she really is, hm?

I don't know, Kate.

Singers are like gold ore. It's mostly two dollar stuff

but worth working. Some of it runs at $20 a ton. well

well that's worth mining, but...

you don't get rich on it.

I was $20 stuff. Uh, 15 maybe. that's why I finished up in a tank town.

You know, Kate, I used to think that it was

Booze that killed my voice. I plead guilty.

I used liquor to murder it

Because it was not good enough.

Sarah might be Jewel rock,

but it would take a lot of money

to prove it.

Italy, the best voice coaches.

and years of hard work.

And suppose she had them.

Well, sometimes, the vein leads to the mother lode. But usually, it just

peters out.

[chuckles] Well, what does it matter anyway.

you will leave her well fixed.

Well, there's one thing

I can't give her.

It's what a woman needs most.

Respectability.

I never had it myself.

Jack Hanson was a mining engineer when I married him.

Oh, he had big tastes, and he wanted to fly high.

I''m gonna get Sarah out of it.

Well with a talent, she might make it.

assuming that people will forgive and forget.

Forget what?

That she is Kate Hanson's daughter.

Morning.

Could I see the proprietor?

She's in back.

Perhaps you could help me.

If I can. What did you want?

I'm romer Maxwell. Hardware.

I'd like to show you my line.

Mama does all the buying.

I'll call her.

Don't go away. Oh, no. No.

Get that look out of your eye, dude.

Sorry, no offense.

It ain't that easy.

Well, look, i--

[grunting]

Gus!

Gus, stop it. Stop it, Gus.

Gus, stop it! What's the matter with you?

Get out of here. I'm sorry, Miss Kate.

I said get out.

He'll live.

Thank you.

She'd've done as much for anybody.

What do you want?

He's a drummer, mama. Handles hardware.

Yes, ma'am. We got all we need.

Aren't we even gonna look?

Go on, Mr. Maxwell.

♪[piano]

♪ Oh kiss me quick and go my honey kiss me quick and go ♪

♪ to cheat surprise and prying eyes ♪

♪ oh kiss me quick and go

I know what they call you.

The Cripple Creek canary.

[Laughs]

Pride of the high mining camps.

Actually, you're good.

Denver, New York good.

Not yet, but I could be.

Mama says we might go to Europe next year.

And I could study with the best.

That'll cost a lot of money.

She says she'll get it.

From the store? That's right.

From the store.

What are you doing here?

Mama, he came to see me.

Walked me home. Why?

She's a pretty girl and I--

Maxwell, she helps me in the store.

But she doesn't know anything about my business.

Do you understand me? I don't.

He's just being nice.

See that you stay that way.

Goodnight.

Goodnight, Sarah.

Ma'am.

[Door closes] I don't want you to see him again.

But why?

Because I said so.

[Bell clanging]

It's quitting time. You'll see how we check them out.

What'd you think of Kate?

She's quite a woman, all right.

Got quite a daughter, too.

Yeah, I'll give them that.

They're something. [Men chatter]

Maxwell, don't forget why you're being paid.

All right, men, hurry it up.

Line up right here.

You've been drinking on the job again, huh?

No, sir, Mr. Krug.

I'm gonna teach you never to try that on me again.

That's enough, Krug.

Get out and don't come back.

[Knocking]

What do you want?

You mind if I come in?

What for?

Let's have a talk. We got nothing to talk about.

Well now, dude, come on in.

I'll have a drink with any man.

But we still ain't got nothing to talk about.

Come on, sit down.

You're all right, dude, all right.

You know how to treat a man.

The high grading. You still haven't told me how it works.

That's right, and I ain't gonna.

I like you, but I like living, too.

That's 500 there.

You can be out of camp by morning. Nobody could touch you.

It's yours for the taking.

Like I said,

you know how to treat a man.

[Gunshot fires]

[Gunshot]

Even when I knew Kate was robbing me blind,

I still had respect for her.

I never figured her for murder.

The tracks beside this belong to a man.

Well, I don't mean that she pulled the trigger.

But in a way she did.

She set up the high grading.

Sooner or later, they'd have to kill to protect it.

Get her, Maxwell.

I intend to.

What's that?

This is the room I want you to build for me,

at the mouth of the main tunnel.

What for?

This mine's been leaking gold like a sieve.

This is the first plug.

Hello.

Is your mother here?

I'm sorry for the way she acted.

I mean, if you want to see me--

I do.

I want you to believe that, no matter what anybody says.

Why doesn't she like you?

I can't tell you. Where is she?

I don't know. She heard some miner had been shot, and

storming out of here.

You're saying that's the first she's heard of it?

Sure, why?

Sarah, no matter what you hear about me, remember...

I like you, very much.

I know. Romer, what's going on?

I don, I don't want to talk about it here.

Can I see you tonight?

[men chatter] They're comin', Boss.

You staying out of sight?

Whoever shot iron pants knows who I am.

Come on in, boys, and line up. [Muttering]

Men, the Boss has been real generous

Bought you a new set of duds, boots and all.

They're in the next room.

We're starting a new system.

From now on, when you come to work, you'll strip in there

on your work clothes.

No insult intended, but you know the Boss's problem.

How about helping out?

Come on. New duds in the next room.

Nothing.

And I had them figured for a bunch of walking ore carts.

This was a waste of time.

No it wasn't.

It shows us they're not carrying it out.

What else leaves the mine?

How do you get your ore to the assayer?

I go with every load myself

All the way from the tunnel to the assayer's office.

We'll double-check it.

I'll ride the next load myself.

Maxwell gets it, whether you like it or not.

Kill him, and you can count me out.

If that's the way you want it.

Well, boys, what have you got to say?

You get out of here.

Mrs. Hanson-- you heard me. Get out.

Mother. Mrs. Hanson, I j--

[knocking]

Mr. Krug wants you at the mine right away.

He found how they're getting the ore out.

How?

We'll talk about Sarah when I get back.

Sure.

Get your things packed.

We're leaving town.

You mean now?

I've got enough banked in Denver to get us to Europe.

Mother.

Mother, please understand.

I can't go.

I don't want to.

It's him.

I think he wants to marry me.

No, he doesn't.

But he loves me. I know. I can tell.

He couldn't care less about you.

Haven't you seen the way he acts?

Sarah, that's exactly what it is.

Acting.

He's a mine detective.

And it's not you he wants. It's me.

He's using you to get at me.

Now he's going to get something.

Maybe he's got it coming.

Mother, I've always known something was going on.

I was afraid it was something bad about you,

so-- so I didn't want to find out.

Now, you'd better tell me.

Let's get packed.

Well, Sarah, you never knew

what-what your daddy did to make a living.

Oh, mama, I haven't lived in a vacuum.

He was a high grader.

"Lunch pail" Hanson's kid.

That's what they called me in school.

Well, I--

I picked up where he left off.

But on a scale he never dreamed of.

That's why Maxwell's here.

He's using you to spy on me.

Oh, I see.

Oh, Sarah, baby, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

That doesn't change much, does it, mother?

At least he didn't make a fool of me.

I made one of myself.

Why should he want to marry me?

Considering where I come from.

I'll tell him so when he gets back.

He's not coming back.

They're going to kill him.

Oh, no!

Baby, listen to me. He isn't worth it.

But we can't let him die.

You know what they'll do to me if I try to stop them.

You're just like I was.

Always loving the wrong man.

How much further? Just a little ways.

Look, how come he sent you?

I don't know.

Come on.

Gus says you know how the--

hold it.

Just pick him up. But he ain't dead yet.

We'll fix that.

All right, bring him along.

All right, dump him down the shaft.

Gus.

No, Miss Kate.

[Groans]

Oh, Miss Kate, why did you do that?

[Crying]

Krug! Krug, stop it. Listen to me, Krug.

Stop it, Krug. Stop it!

Krug, stop it.

Stop!

That's how we got it out.

Krug hid the ore in the tools, then he sent them out for sharpening.

He carried them out by the wagonload.

I guess you did your job.

I'm not going to testify against her.

Well, this will be enough for the court.

I don't figure they'll be too hard on her.

Mrs. Hanson, I'd like to marry your daughter, if she'll have me.

If you don't, I'll come back and throw you down that pit myself.

I guess I--

I got you what you wanted.

That was the end of organized high grading.

Of course, some of the miners carried out a few souvenirs now and then

in false heels like this,

which was used in the Johnnie mine at Death Valley.

But the mine owners did all right.

The Cripple Creek mines produced more than $100 million worth of gold.

I'll be with you again one week from now,

with another exciting Death Valley Days story.

And until then, I'll say so long.