Original subtitles

[ theme music playing ]

♪♪

It's hot.

Nothing yet, Mr. Standish

It's been over an hour already.

Think it'll take much longer?

I can only hope so.

And what does that mean?

Take it easy, Stacey.

It means that my learned colleague

has a nice, clear,

cut-and-dried case.

The kind of case where

the jury just pops out,

takes a vote, comes back in half an hour

and says, "Guilty as charged."

But, when they stay out longer

in a case of this kind,

it could mean that they're getting to the stage where

where they think it's not so cut and dried after all.

♪♪

The defendant will rise and face the bench.

The jury has found you guilty

of the willful and malicious murder of Frederick Standish.

I therefore remand you into the custody

of the United States Marshall,

to be taken by him to the territorial penitentiary,

where you will be held for one week,

pending the arrival

of the public executioner on the morning of August 3,

at which time you will be hung by the neck until dead.

And may God have mercy on your soul.

♪♪

If an appeal can be gotten, Trampas, we'll get it.

Yeah. Mr. Grainger.

It was a fair trial.

Yes, it was.

I don't understand why I wasn't told before.

You could have sent a rider out to me.

All we knew was that Trampas had been arrested.

It didn't seem that urgent then, and the roundup did seem urgent.

Besides, Uncle Clay left in such a hurry.

You're going, aren't you?Yes, of course.

I want to go with you.

We still have to get that herd ready for the drive.

Somebody's got to run the ranch.

Now, either you and Belden can do it or I can do it.

How can I sit here and think about the ranch while Trampas...

No, you go.

He's your best friend.

And don't worry. Belden and I will manage just fine.

♪♪

One week.

What can we do in one week?

I never felt so...

Helpless.

The word is "helpless."

I'm not used to it either,

but we can't take time to get used to it.

Whatever it takes, we can't let them hang Trampas

for somebody else's murder.

Well, I have to meet Magill.

We've got telegrams to send, people to meet.

What do you want me to do?

This appeal business could be expensive.

The herd has to get through to Fort Darby on time.

It means ready cash.

So we need that right of way,

Standish or no Standish.

Look up his neighbors. See if they'll cooperate.

The roundup was almost finished when I left.

Elizabeth and Belden can handle the rest easily.

Belden will start the drive just as soon as he gets word

the right of way is clear.

I had to come.

Of course you did. I understand. But I don't see what you can do.

Everything that can be done has been done.

All due respect, but...

are you sure?

There's established procedure when requesting an appeal.

You follow it, then wait. We're waiting.

Even if an appeal is granted, you'll need new evidence.

Maybe if I could talk to the witnesses.CLAY: About what?

Mr. Magill cross-examined them for two solid days.

They said they saw Trampas that night, and they stuck to it.

And he was there. He admitted that.

But no one actually saw the murder.

Maybe outside the courtroom, just talking,

one of them might make a slip and say something--

some little thing.

I don't think it'd do much good.

After all, the key witnesses were Standish men--

John Kiley, his foreman; a couple of the hands.

Why should they talk with a close friend

of the man who killed the boss's son?

What have you got on your mind?

I don't know. I'm not sure yet.

MAGILL: Well, whatever it is,

while this appeal's pending, you'd better keep out of trouble.

"Trouble," Mr. Magill?

Did you ever sit around and wait for your best friend to hang?

So this here hangman, he...

he puts a noose around this fellow's neck.

Luke, you listen to me. This'll kill you.

And the padre says to this fellow, he says, "Son.

Son," he says, "You got anything to say for yourself?"

And the boy says, "Padre, I surely do, and it's this--

This here hangman--"Shut up, Potts.

"This here hangman--"I said shut up!

Are you trying to rile me, Luke?

[ chuckles ] Don't you pay no mind

to Potts, boy.

He's just restless.

All day long,

pacing up and down, up and down,

telling bum jokes,

cracking his knuckles, talking in his sleep.

Anything to pass the time.

Uh, Finney there,

now, he's one of them sleepy types.

He don't much care where he is,

so long as he gets his beans and biscuit and salt beef once a week.

Now, any man who can put that--

Do you talk all the time, or do you take ten minutes off now and then?

You're a bit mad, are you?

[ chuckles ] That's good.

You get good and mad--

Oh, not mad enough

to hit me, of course.

It riles the guards, and besides,

you might knock this here thing over,

which would truly displeasure me.

I'm not mad.

I just want to do some thinking.

You got nothing to think about, boy.

You got nothing to do but to feel.

First minute a man walks into this place,

don't matter how tough he is,

he looks at the wall,

looks at them bars and that ceiling,

and he's scared.

Oh.

Here.

It's a might dusty, but it's fresh from supper.

No.

Well, I'm just trying to pass the time of day.

Well, you got nothing to be ashamed for, boy.

I've been here 18 years and I've seen all kinds,

and every one of them gets the same feeling,

like you've been stomped in the gut.

Especially the ones that are gonna...

Well...

You ought to try this biscuit. It ain't all that bad.

Especially the ones that are gonna hang.

How long you got, boy?

Six...

Six days.

Six days, huh?

A lot can happen in six days.

You got friends outside? I mean real friends,

not just poker-playing and howdy-do friends.

No, they're real friends.Uh-huh. Then you still got something left.

You know, a man comes in here, they take his pride

and his pocketbook and they put 'em

in a box in the warden's office.

But if you've got friends outside,

you've still got something left.

Maybe the most important thing, boy.

♪♪

♪♪

I'm looking for the foreman.

You've found him.

Heard you needed some hands.

Where'd you hear that?Oh, Rock Falls. Around.

Well, maybe some barn work.

I rate better than that.

Well, you say so, mister, but I don't know you.

Sorry.

You could try me.

What's your name?

Morgan. Ed Morgan.

All right, partner. I'll try you.

Twenty dollars a month and found, to start.Thirty.

Well, 25.

That's tops here.

All right.

John Kiley. The boss is Walt Standish.

What kind of a man is he?

Well, you give him a day's work for a day's pay, he'll treat you fair.

For openers, you can give the boys a hand with that horse.

Look, Standish isn't my friend. I hardly know the man.

He only bought that ranch about six months ago.

But he is my neighbor, and I figure if he wants to

fence himself in or other folks out, I got no call to interfere.

I'm not asking you to interfere.

I'm asking you to let us trail through your land.

Take us a little out of our way, but at least

we'll get our stock delivered on time.

There's always been a right-of-way through here,

and we were counting on it when we set that delivery date.

Well, you've got a problem, all right,

and I sure would like to help.

But it's like I said-- Standish is my neighbor,

and I've got to live with him.

Neighbors can give a man a lot of trouble

if they've a mind to.

You're afraid of him.No, I'm not afraid of him.

Got no call to be.

But I can't see any point in getting his back up.

After all, he's got his reasons-- especially now.

I mean, it was one of you Shiloh people

that killed his son, now, wasn't it?

♪♪

I never said I...

didn't believe you.

All I know is what everybody's saying in here--

[ chuckles ] They didn't do it.

Everybody except you, huh?

There wouldn't be much point.

There was about 18 men standing around

when I grabbed that pick and sunk it into that

rotten no-account...

called hisself a mine boss.

You know, a few of the men even cheered.

You sound as if you're proud of it.

You ever been in a hard-rock mine, boy?

Nope.

Well, it sure ain't much of a life.

It's what you know. It's what you do.

'Course, the boss,

that's the man that sent you down in that hole in the ground,

He's got your whole life...

right here.

And even if he knows

the shaft's going,

he still sends you down without telling you anything,

just to get out

one more day's load.

Well,

I figure a man like that deserves killing.

He's a worse murderer than you or me,

and...

I'd do it again.

Even if you knew you were gonna spend the rest of your life right here?

[ chuckles ]

Sounds ridiculous. I know that.

But...

you, uh, you got to get

the whole picture, boy.

There was 42 men in that shift,

and 12 of 'em got

mashed to death.

Including my kid brother.

He'd made some complaints about that shaft.

He'd taken quite a beating for it.

Nice kid, my brother.

He hated that mine something fierce.

We'd, uh,

we'd bought ourselves a little piece of land

together, partners.

We was saving for some cattle.

Just another two months, and...

he'd made it out of that mine.

[ sniffles ]

Well, I still got that little piece of land, though,

up in Canada, all free and clear.

Anybody working it for you?

Just me.

Up here.

And down there.

I, uh,

I picked up the little stones

wherever I could.

If you find any out in the yard-- you know,

good, flat ones like these,

I'd be much obliged if you'd stick 'em in your pocket.

Yes, sir,

I'm gonna build myself a little cabin,

something like that, up in Canada someday.

Figure I'd rather die there than in here.

Do you still think there's a chance?

Don't look too good, does it,

after 18 years?

There's always a chance, boy.

For you and for me,

there's always a chance.

Depends on what you've got working for you.

Or who.

♪♪

Coffee?

Oh, thank you, ma'am.

You're new here, aren't you?

Yes, ma'am.

That's nice. I wouldn't mind being new.

You don't look very old.

I am, though.

Like last year's grass.

Any minute now, I'm gonna dry up and blow away.

Be careful.

They might just save you for winter feed.

KILEY: The men don't much care for cold coffee.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Standish.

Well, I hope you like it here.

Thank you, ma'am.

She's pretty and she's friendly,

but she doesn't mean what she looks like she means.

That's just the way she looks.

No offense, but forget it.

She's yours?

She was married to Standish's son.

Got killed a couple of weeks ago.

That's too bad. How'd it happen?

It was all on account of this fence, as a matter of fact.

We used to-- Uh, that is,

the folks that owned this place before Standish

used to let anybody going north trail their herds through here.

It's been going on for a long time.

You been here long?Oh, foreman for about ten years.

Anyhow, Standish

buys this place, puts up this fence,

won't let anybody's herd through.

This fellow from Shiloh comes along,

gets in a fight about it with Fred-- that's Standish's son--

and kills him.

Were you there when it happened?

Well, I didn't see it right then and there,

but pretty close to it.

We, uh, saw him standing over Fred's body,

me and some of the others.

Everybody saw him

beefing with Fred about the fence

at least a couple of times before.

Sounds like a pretty stupid reason to kill a man.

Well, I guess this fellow from Shiloh was a little bit touchy.

What about Fred?

Oh, he was just doing his job,

like his pa wanted him to.

♪♪

The judge feels there are no grounds

for a stay or an appeal.

You pointed out the witnesses were Standish men?

The witnesses on the ranch.

He pointed out that half the town

saw Fred Standish and Trampas arguing earlier.

Oh, he was polite, attentive,

and firm.

What's the next step?

The governor.

And then?

♪♪

I tell you, he's all right.

You took to him awful fast.

Look.

Who decides?

You or me?

Yeah.

It's your plan. You've been working on it for years.

You said that already a hundred times.

But I say...[ door unlocking ]

MAN: Now, you take Corey there.

Hey, Corey!

Yeah?

We was just talking about you.

Oh?

I wondered what you was talking about.

Probably wishing me long life,

happiness and prosperity, no doubt.

Yeah, as a matter of fact, it was something like that.

Luke here, he was, uh... he was just saying,

you take old Corey-- he is the best,

most efficient guard in the place.

Ain't that right, Luke?

Yeah,

that's right.

You bet. You always have a little book

and pencil and all,

putting down everything that goes on.

MAN: Yeah, but we was worrying about you all the same, Corey.

You want to get ahead around here, you got to be mean.

You're gonna get passed up for promotion again

unless you start watching your attitude.

And you start watching yours.

You got any gripes around here, you bring 'em to me, understand?

Gripes?

Corey, you know us better than that.

Now, I was saying it's your plan,

but we all take the same chances,

and I say, who needs him?

We want

and need him.

I've been in here 18 years.

You've been here 12.

And Finney there,

he hardly knows his right name unless you remind him.

Hey.All right, Finney. You're...

big and you're fast,

but you ain't exactly a professor of geography.

So who needs a professor of geography?

We need somebody

who knows.

Somebody who knows

what's out there.

Now.

This Trampas is young and he's smart, and he's been traveling a lot.

He knows.

Luke, are you getting scared?

You bet your life.

You got the brains God gave a flea,

you're scared of what you don't know.

Well, I...

I ain't saying I want him,

but what makes you think he wants us?

You told him about it already.

We ask him, he'll jump.

You remember, this boy's just got

three more days

before he hangs.

Boy.

Boy, come on down here and socialize, huh?

Justice! The law!

How can you keep wearing that badge on your chest when something like this can happen?

The law!

Well, sometimes it goes all cockeyed, Elizabeth. Sometimes.

But for most people most of the time, it works.

You think we'd be better off without it?

I don't know what I think.

Well, I think I know how you feel.

Trampas is a...

You need anything? Can I help you...

No, we're all right.

It's just...

Just what?

The men.

They're so quiet all the time.

Just waiting--

you know, waiting to hear something.

A dozen times a day,

one of them will come up to me and just look,

and I'll shake my head and he'll go away.

Belden tries to keep them busy, but the roundup's over.

There isn't much to do.

When does the drive begin?

As soon as we get word from Stacey that the route's clear.

I hope he's not having any trouble.

They're gonna have to rush as it is to meet the Fort Darby contract date.

I don't think any of us can stand much more of this...

this pressure.

After all, a lot can happen in three days.

So they tell me. But what?

The appeal was turned down.

I was sort of counting on that appeal.

I'm sorry, Trampas. I tried.

I know. You've done more

than I have the right to ask you to.

Well, I guess that's it, isn't it?

No! It's not it! There's still the governor.

Magill's trying to arrange a meeting.

Magill, he's as smart as they come.

I trust him.

But even Magill, he...

he can't win 'em all, now can he?

[ door unlocking ]

Time's up.

[ door shuts, locks ]

You had something you said

you might want to talk over.

Let's stop working around the edges and nail it down.

Come here.

Sit down, boy.

♪♪

♪♪

MRS. STANDISH: Kiley?

Kiley?

You want something?

I'm sorry if I embarrassed you.

You didn't.

Yes, I see them looking and smirking.

They don't mean anything.You know what I'd like?

I'd like to go riding,

bareback and fast,

my hair loose and wind burning.

You shouldn't talk that way to me.Why not?

What's wrong with it?

Can't I say anything? Can't I do anything?

I'm alive, Kiley,

and I'm lonesome, and I need somebody to talk to.

Something on your mind, Kiley?

I, uh...I was just inviting Kiley

to have supper with us, Mr. Standish.

Wouldn't hurt you to have a little man talk at the table tonight.

Suit yourself, Kiley.

Half an hour, then.

Look, I have--You have to have supper, don't you?

All right.

Half an hour, then.

Not interested in your supper, Morgan?

Horse needs a rubdown.

♪♪

You, boy-- you quit that.

Quit what?

Thinkin' that's one of the last looks you'll take at the sun.

It don't have to be.Can I be sure of that?

Your plan may not work, Luke.

LUKE: It will work.

Now, you want to make up your mind.

POTTS: If he ain't real strong for this, who needs him?

Who needs him anyway?

TRAMPAS: You're beginning to get under my skin, Potts.

You sure you want to do that?

Oh, it ain't me gettin' under your skin, boy.

It's what's hangin' over you.

I'll admit you had some good notions about which way to go and such,

but if you ain't with us all the way,

you can get us all shot.

Now,

You figure you're real sure

and steady in your mind?

[ chuckles ]

You just love

to hear the sound of your own voice, don't you?

I reckon Trampas is as steady in his mind

as your friend Finney.

You might even have an edge on him, boy.

[ chuckling ]Luke,

you got anything to laugh about, I surely don't know what it is.

Finney may not be too bright,

but that's good.

He does what he's told, and there ain't nothin' else going on in his head.

[ chuckles ]

Like a first-class horse, he means, huh? Hmm?

POTTS: You want to put it that way, go ahead.

Ain't no horse gonna stand around worryin' over the fine points.

You had your say, Potts?

I had my say.

Then you listen to this.

This boy goes.

And that's the last word.

I ain't heard him say that.

[ gate opens ]

Luke.Huh?

What is it? What are they looking at?

[ hoof beats ]

Fella just rode into the yard,

and I've seen him before.Who's that?

[ door rattles ]

Who is it, Luke?

It's, uh...

the hangman.

♪♪

Well, boy?

Are you in?

I'm in.

What do you mean, "Not now"?

Are we supposed to wait until after Trampas is hanged?

I asked you a question!

You want me to say it again?Yes, I want you to say it again!

I can't believe we came all the way into this city to hear that!

The governor is busy.

An innocent man is about to be hanged, and the governor's busy!

With what? Laying a cornerstone? Balancing the budget

What in the name of all that's holy is more important than this?

Two days ago, a range war broke out

in the northeast part of the territory.

You know about range wars, Mr. Granger.

There's a cholera epidemic in the south.

Oh, nothing big yet. Just a little something

the governor is wasting your time and my time

trying to keep under control.

I'm sorry, Magill. I seem to have lost my perspective.

Which I'd have done about three days ago in your position.

What took you so long?

Hope.

It can be very distracting.

I've just about lost it.

Is there any chance still that we might see the governor?

"Check again about 5:00," the secretary said.

And then what?

Well, sir, a dam may bust,

the Indians could break out of the reservation,

or the entire territory will be visited by locusts.

On the other hand,

maybe we'll see the governor.

Listen, I didn't say I was turning you down. I just said I wanted to think about it.

What do you got to think about?

I'm offering to pay twice what your land and right-of-way is worth.

Mm.

You know what I think?

I think everybody around here is afraid of Walt Standish.

What do you think?

Listen, I do have to use his water.

The truth is, I can't afford any trouble with Standish.

I'm sorry.

No hard feelings.

Yeah. You know, the funny thing is

is that, uh, I can almost see it your way,

only...

Only, you're thinking about your friend, aren't you?

Yeah.

Yeah I'm thinking about my friend.

Yeah, well, it's rough, I guess.

Only, he did.

How do you know?

What did you hear in the courtroom that made you think it was Trampas?

Listen, I wasn't on the jury.

And what if you were?

How do you figure they must've looked at him?

Your friend probably didn't start it.

I mean, you really have to know how Fred Standish was

to get the whole picture.

All right. How was he?

STACEY: Nope. Not a word about Kiley.

That's while I was told

to take my herd by way of the moon.

Standish's neighbor gave me a pretty clear picture of his happy family.

Like what?

Well, old man Standish didn't much like the idea

of Fred marrying Lila, and it seems that Fred

didn't have the guts to stand up to his father about anything.

That's all?

And just that, uh,

Lila was a lot of woman for Fred.

I guess you can take that any way you want to.

Hmm.What are you thinking about?

Well,

just suppose for a minute that you're Kiley.

You're a good ranch foreman.

You put about ten years of your life into a ranch

that doesn't belong to you.

Along comes a new owner

with a son nobody likes

that has a beautiful wife he can't stand up to.

And they're the heirs to the place you think of

as being partly yours.

So?

So the wife starts making eyes at you,

and the new owner finds out

his son can't run the ranch and you can...

what do you do?

I don't know. What can you do?

Well, suppose a scapegoat comes along

like... Trampas?

Maybe I think about killing Fred.

It'd be pretty simple, wouldn't it?

Maybe.

You think you can prove it?

No.

But somehow, some way,

we're gonna have to prove it, and fast.

You still think those friends are gonna get you off?

No, no. Not anymore.Then what? You want to die?

No, I don't want to die.

It's just that I've been thinking.

Maybe there are worse things.

Such as?

Being hunted the rest of your life. Always looking over your shoulder.

For years I've dreamed about it.

Waked up with a sweat and the shakes.

Could be there's another way.

No, no. I don't see how, no.

You come with me to Canada. Help me work the place.

No more running or hiding.

If they come, they come.

Will you do it?I don't know.

I wasn't thinking of running to anything.

I was just thinking of running away.

Well, think on it now!

It could be a pretty good thing, you and me.

Yeah.

Well, leastwise,

there'd be two of us.

Nothing eats on a man worse than being...

lonesome.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Kitty, kitty, kitty.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Thought your wood box might be low.

Thank you.

It'll be dark soon.

The nights are getting cold.

Long and cold.

Ma'am, I don't want to be out of line,

but do you mind if I ask you something?

Ask.

Why do you stay here?

It's... I almost said "It's a job."

Why?

Would you like my life story?If you want to tell it.

I'm really the queen of China.

That's a pretty good disguise you've got going for yourself.

Yes. Isn't it, though?

They never suspected a thing on the dirt farm I was raised on.

Quite a come-down-- the queen of China on a dirt farm.

I thought so too. That's why I left.

A job here, a job there.

Long and cold and hot and dusty.

And men.

A lot of men.

Looking and not seeing anything. Just looking.

It couldn't have been that way with your husband.

I thought Fred was different... for a week or a month.

I don't remember how long.

That's why I married him.

But he wasn't. He was like all of the others.

Oh, I'm sorry. I was out of line.

No, no. It's all right.

You can talk about Fred. For the first time,

he doesn't care who says what about him-- or me.

Poor Fred. Sometimes I feel sorry for him.

Sometimes I even feel sorry for the man who killed him.

Why?

He just came along.

From the first, he wanted to do business with Mr. Standish.

Only, he'd insisted that Fred handle it.

So anyway, that night I told this Trampas

where to find Mr. Standish.

"Out by the south fence," I told him.

He'd been counting on bringing his herd through,

so I figured he could talk my father-in-law into it.

He must've found Fred out there instead.

Next thing, they...

found him standing over Fred's body with a bloody shovel in his hand.

Was anyone else around?

Yeah. Hands, Kiley.

Trampas said he found Fred that way, and nobody believed him.

How do you suppose it happened?

You know how little kids do sometimes--

they push and push till you get mad?

Like they want you to get mad, but they don't really. Do you understand?

Fred pushed the man, and he just got mad.[ door opens ]

What are you doing here, Morgan?

Just brought in some wood.

Hey!

What are you up to? Why are you always nosing around?

Who are you, really?Ed Morgan.

Come on. You're no ordinary hand.

Now, who are you?

All right. I'm the foreman of the Shiloh Ranch.

I figured there was something.

But what for?

You got it all sewed up nice and tight, don't you?

What are you talking about?

All right, I signed on here to find out

who killed Fred Standish, and I found out.

It was you, Kiley, wasn't it?

All right.

Get out.

And if I see you again, I'll--

What? Kill me?

Who are you gonna pin it on this time?

What is this? What are you talking about?

This man's from the Shiloh Ranch, Mr. Standish.

He thinks I killed Fred.

Kiley? Are you crazy, man?

No, and neither is Trampas.

Would you kill a man over a right-of-way,

even if that man was rubbing you the wrong way?

No, you wouldn't. There's only one man

who had a stake in killing your son, Mr. Standish.

He wanted this ranch and that woman,

and it looks like he's gonna get 'em both.

And in the morning, another man is gonna hang

because I can't prove a thing.

You said a lot of words, mister.

Now you're gonna listen to some.

You're right. I do have a stake in this ranch

because I helped build it.

As for Lila,

well, after a decent time had passed, maybe I was gonna say something.

I figured that Lila and this ranch, well, they both could do worse

because I know how they work.

But I wouldn't kill for them.

And I didn't.

You believe that, Mr. Standish,

or do you want me to leave.

I believe you.

KILEY: How about you?

It wasn't Trampas.

You're a good man, Morgan-- or whatever your name is.

If it were my friend

gonna hang in the morning,

I'd try too-- anything I could.

But I asked you a question.

You still believe I killed Fred?

[ hoof beats retreating ]

He's gonna see us. He'll give us ten minutes.

Good work, Magill!

You didn't hear anything more from that foreman, did you?

No. Why?

Well, we'd be in a lot better shape if we had some new evidence.

There's still a chance, then?There's still a chance.

Messages?

You can send one. It's allowed.

[ man snoring ]

Wait. Uh...

Get this to the Grainger family.

Medicine Bow, Shiloh Ranch.

Say, uh...

Say, "I want you to know even after tomorrow,

I'm very grateful to you all."

Sign my name.

Is that all?That's all.

LUKE: Where's that can of grease? There it is!

Push, boy!

Here.

Here.

Got it!

Here comes the thickest smoke

you ever saw.

Get that, boy! Get out! Get out!

Here.

All right!

Get us to Canada, you smoke! [ laughs ]

Hey! Hey, what's going on!

Fire! Fire![ all shouting ]

Get us out of here!

Fire! Fire!

Hey, get them out of here!

Go on, get 'em out!

No! He goes with us.

What for?Come on! Corey's got to get us through the south gate.

I don't care how tired he is. This is an emergency!

I'm sorry, Warden, but this is a stay of execution

signed by the governor.

Well, it's too late.

"Too late"?

But it's barely sunup. He wasn't supposed to hang until--

He didn't hang. He escaped last night.

He and three other men started a fire.

They got away in the confusion.

They took a guard with them.

Well, they won't get very far.

There's a posse leaving in half an hour.

You're welcome to join them.

What are the posse's instructions?

Dead or alive.

But--

Not much use in that now, is there?

This way.

A fool!

Crazy, stupid...

Maybe he was smart.

"Smart"? With a posse after him,

he'll be caught and killed.

He'd have been hanged anyway.

Three-day stay of execution, and if Kiley didn't do it,

we've got no new evidence.

Maybe Trampas will make it.Make what?

Every bounty hunter's list between Denver and San Francisco?

I'm gonna try to catch up with him before that posse does.

You keep talking to people-- anybody.

Find out whatever you can.

Hey, wait a minute.

Standish's neighbor was telling me about all the different people

that could've gone out to the ranch that day.

I talked to all of them, except there was one that I couldn't find.

A blacksmith. Aw, forget it.

See, the blacksmith was at Standish's two days before the murder.

A blacksmith, huh? How come you couldn't find him?

He's an itinerant.

Travels from ranch to ranch in a wagon.

Maybe he saw something

or heard something while he was at the ranch.

Try and find him, all right?

Nothing to lose.

POTTS: There's food and horses down there.

There's men down there... with guns.

Well, we need guns, don't we?

Just how do you plan to get 'em?

We just wait till dark.

Then we'll zip down there

and take a look, huh?

Whew!

Oh, man!

They'll kill me, you know.

Soon as they get close enough to Canada and they don't need me.

Why don't you let me go.

Then turn yourself in. I'll testify for you.

You mean they might not hang me so high?

[ chuckles ] No, thanks.

Oh! Heh-heh.

Didn't wake a soul.

Let's go. You and Corey will have to ride double, huh?

Go on. [ chuckling ]

[ shouts ] Ha! Ha!

No! That's enough!

Finney.

Hey, hey.

Do you think you can ride, Corey?

Not hardly.

Why don't you just leave me here?

We can't do that. I figure there's a posse

a couple hours behind us.

We leave you here, they'd know which way we was headed.

Well,

we can't take him with us, we sure can't leave him.

No.

I suppose you want to take him to some nice little town

where there's a doctor, huh, and a sheriff?

You go on, Luke. I'll stay here with Corey.And wait, you mean?

I got a good reason to keep moving, remember?

You go on with Finney, Potts.

We'll do better split up.

Go on.

All right, Luke.

I'll be riding with you.

We've got plans together.

[ chuckles ] Right?

No, Luke. No, you go on alone.

You have a better chance of getting there on your own.

You've been counting on this for a long time. You don't want to lose it now, do you?

I've been counting on you too, boy.

All right. I'll meet you there.

I'll take Corey up in the mountains, slow and easy,

and as soon as he gets well, I'll find a place for him

and I'll meet you there,

just like you said.

Here's a map to the place, boy.

Don't lose it, now.No.

Anything you need before I go?

No. I can manage.

Yeah? Oh.

Might need this.

You watch out for yourself, now, boy.

You know, somebody might take you for a dangerous escaped convict,

nice fellow like you. [ chuckles ]

All right. We'll camp here tonight.

Come on down easy. I got you.

[ chuckles ] You're not gonna be any good at this kind of life.

Potts might last for a while.

Maybe even old Luke.

But not you. You're too soft.

You're welcome.

You think I'm not grateful?

That's what I'm talking about.

You've saved my life twice. That might just save your life.

Clemency.

They won't let you go, but they maybe won't hang you either.

I've seen it happen a couple of times before.

And a couple of times not, right?

Look, you take me on back, and I'll tell 'em what you did.

You'll have a fair chance.

It's better than running.

It's pretty bad, ain't it?

No. No, you'll make it. You'll make it.

Yeah.

Well, you think it over.

Maybe in the morning, you'll feel like going back,

Try to get some rest.

Any word?

We caught up with Potts and Finney.

They put up a fight.

And the posse killed them.

And your friend?

He and the other fellow Luke got away with Corey.

He was wounded.How?

Potts shot him. He admitted it before he died.

Posse coming in?

Yeah.

We lost Trampas's trail.

I hope he makes it.

I'm sorry I don't share that sentiment.

As far as I'm concerned, he's a killer and a fugitive.

Corey?

Come on, Corey. I'm going back with you.

C--

Hold it right there.

Oh, am I glad to see you.

I thought you were part of the posse.

What are you doing here?

Trampas, come back with me.

No.You have to.

No, there's a man waiting for me in Canada. I'm going to Canada.

There's a lot of men waiting for you.

Posses, bounty hunters...And a hangman. Don't forget that.

Mr. Grainger got you a stay of execution.

How long?Three days.

Three days?

Well, that's tomorrow. What then?

Well, Stacey's trying to find a fellow

who may have seen something.

It's nothing definite, but it's a chance.

It's a lousy chance. No.

At least when I get it, I don't want to get it with my hands behind my back

and a black bag over my face.

I've got a better place to die.

The way you are,

any place is a bad place to die.

There won't be anywhere on the face of this earth

that's far enough away or safe enough

for you to get rid of that fear.[ gun cocks ]

Oh, it'll come to that too.

There won't be no such thing left as a friend.

[ gun un-cocks ]I'll get my horse.

Mr. Grainger.Hmm?

Why, you flea-brained, no-good runaway!

Thank heaven you came back!

But I didn't want to.

My friend here, he wasn't about to take "no" for an answer.

Have you heard anything from Stacey about the blacksmith?

What blacksmith?He worked for Standish for a while.

We thought maybe he might know something.There's been no word.

No word, huh?

Well, it, uh, looks like

I'm back where I started, huh?

Howdy.

I think my horse has thrown a shoe.

Take a look?

Haven't I seen you around Rock Falls?

Maybe.

Yeah, I heard you worked for a friend of mine.

Works over at the Standish ranch.

That's too bad about Fred Standish, huh?

Your horse is all right, mister. Maybe you'd better move on.

No, not yet.

Don't.

I just want to talk to you, that's all.

[ door opens ][ footsteps ]

Well, time, huh?

There isn't gonna be any hanging.

Stacey found the blacksmith.

He worked for Standish for about a week. Lila was nice to him,

and the blacksmith got the wrong idea.

CLAY: The night you tried to see Standish, the blacksmith came back

to try to see Lila.

Fred saw him sneaking up,

figured what was on his mind, pulled his gun.

The blacksmith grabbed a shovel...

Nobody saw him?THE VIRGINIAN: Apparently not.

He took off, and a couple minutes later,

they found you with Fred's body.

Is there proof?

CLAY: He confessed.He confessed?

Took a little doin', but he confessed.

I'm free.

Well, there may be a technicality or two

concerning the fire and the break-out, but you will be soon.

Oh, what about Luke Nichols?

CLAY: We haven't heard.

Maybe he made it.

[ all laughing ]

TRAMPAS: Mr. Standish, I want you to know

I'm sorry about your son.

It's all right.

Mr. Grainger still has a herd to move. If you can see your way clear to--

Don't bother, Trampas. We'll work something out.

There's no use trying to use Mr. Standish's conscience to--

My conscience? None of this was my fault.

Maybe it was, Mr. Standish.

You're hard, stubborn, and you don't bend.

Maybe it was your fault.

And Fred's too.

I guess most of all it was mine.

Trouble's my style.

I want you to know one thing--

I never meant to give that blacksmith any notions.

None at all.

Anyway, Mr. Grainger, I'd appreciate a ride into town.

Wait.

I've got my ways,

my rules.

I don't say they're right,

but I live with them.

My son, his wife,

weren't what I'd hope for.

I'm sorry I never took to you, Lila.

I'm sorry for that.

But does a man need an iron rule

about a fence?

You can move your cattle, Grainger.

I won't stop you.

You tell me when you're coming through.

Thanks.No hard feelings?

No hard feelings.

[ whistles ] Giddap!

Glad it wasn't you, Kiley.

Sorry I thought it was.If you ever need a job...

Same to you. Twenty a month and found.

Thirty.

Make it 25.

It's a deal.

♪♪

[ theme music playing ]