Original subtitles

♪ Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam ♪

♪ And the deer and the antelope play ♪♪

Ooh. Trampas wouldn't be going someplace, would he?

No, he's just taking his laundry into town.

Now that I think about it, I do believe he

does have a couple of days off coming to him.

Is that two or three days, Trampas? It's worse than that.

It's more like a couple of weeks.

I'm sure gonna envy you fellas here at Shiloh,

eating Harper's vittles and sleeping on these fine feather beds.

Yeah, you got it soft.

And all those cows to keep you company.

Me, I'm gonna be out there all alone, all by myself thinkin' about you.

That's sad.

Oh, that just about breaks my heart.

I'll tell you what I'll do, though. I'll do

you a big favor. I'll trade places with you.

Oh. Oh, I wish I could, Jim,

but, uh, no, I don't want to take advantage of our friendship.

I'll just have to face things out there alone in the wilderness.

I probably won't get to eat anything except fish, antelope steak, pheasant, venison.

Why, I may have to fish all day for my supper.

It's enough to wear a man out just thinking about it. Excuse me.

What's that? What?

Let me see that. No. It's just a little ol' shirt.

- Old shirt? - That looks more like a railroad flag.

Fish see this, they won't even come out of the water.

I think he's goin' huntin'.

I don't have to hunt. I know where to find her.

Find who?

The little gal who's gonna see me in this red shirt.

Prettiest saloon gal in Big Moose Creek. Boy, is she pretty.

So that's where you're goin'!

Well, that's one of the places. Then, uh...

Mmm. I'm in no hurry to get back here.

After eatin' dust and brandin' calves and breakin' my horses and ropin' steers...

and stringin' fence wire long enough to make

a banjo out of the territory of Wyoming...

No, sir. I'm in no hurry to get back here.

Hey, you be careful now. Don't let Mary Lou Watkins talk you into anything permanent.

That's what I like about Mary Lou. She don't talk much.

I'll keep a plate of beans on for you.

- Your beans? - Yeah.

Remember, now. You only got two weeks.

Well, a man can do a lot in two weeks. Don't get lost.

Yep. And I'm gonna do it all. So long, Harp, Jim.

Take care. ♪ Where the buffalo roam ♪

Don't he like my beans? Uh...

Howdy. Howdy. What'll it be?

Uh, beers. Beer?

Uh, no. Beers. You can line 'em up all the way to here.

Well, place hasn't changed much.

Oh, I see you fixed the bar. Yup.

Yeah. Got some new pictures up too, haven't you?

Well, that was quite a night.

I still haven't found what I'm lookin' for. What are you lookin' for?

Oh...

Never mind. I found it.

- Hello, Mary Lou. - Trampas!

I told you I'd be back. Come here. Let me take a look at you.

Nope. You haven't changed any.

Maybe filled out a little more here and there. But, the same.

What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me?

Oh, sure. But, um...

You know, there hasn't been a night gone by that I haven't been thinkin' about you.

Really! And all the good times we had together.

Yes, sir. Oh! You still got that room upstairs...

where a man can have a shave and a bath for two bits?

Um, yes. Good. 'Cause that's the first thing I want.

Then I'm gonna put on a new shirt, the same

color as the one that got tore off that night.

That was some night, wasn't it? Your beer's ready.

Oh, a man can have a beer any time.

You're sure a sight for weary eyes.

Hey. Wh...

Where's that dress you used to wear with the

sparklets and the feathers? Your working clothes?

I've been trying to tell you. I don't work here no more.

You don't work in the saloon? Well, since when?

Since I married the boss. Oh, since you...

The boss.

Well, uh... I, uh...

Well, uh, I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be able to stay around much longer.

Um, I got a sudden urge to move on.

Congratulations.

Sure a fine lady you got here. Been like a sister to me.

- So long, sis. - What about these beers?

Oh, yeah.

Uh, they're on me.

Wedding present.

So long.

Luke, honey, he don't mean nothing to me.

Why, I ain't even seen him since last spring.

Oh? We got engaged last winter.

Oh, I hardly even remembered him. Don't, Luke.

I got eyes. He'll be back. Them saddle tramps are all alike.

Think they can drift from town to town, pick up with any woman that suits 'em.

I'll show him different. Luke!

Well, Buck, you win a few, and you lose a few.

Now that is one drifter that won't be coming back here.

Oh, Luke, what did you do? Never mind what I done.

Get upstairs and stay there.

Hey, what's goin' on?

Untie me. Where are you takin' me?

You just take it real easy, cowboy. You'll know soon enough.

Here he is, Deputy. You mind tellin' me what this is all about?

Look, you're making a mistake!

The only mistake I think I'm making, cowboy, is not shooting you dead right now.

Sheriff, I don't know what this is all about, but you got the wrong man.

My name is Trampas. I work at Shiloh Ranch in Medicine Bow.

Take him inside. Now, Sher...

Go get the Clayton girl.

Are you gonna tell me why I'm here?

Where'd you find him? Over at Big Moose Creek.

He was actin' kinda smart with the saloon owner's wife.

The saloon owner taught him a lesson.

How'd you know he was the one you were looking for?

Sheriff, when you've been a bounty hunter for 20 years, you can almost smell 'em out.

Like one of them bloodhound dogs.

Besides, I, uh, found this on him.

This ought to be enough proof to get me that reward from Ezra Gates, huh?

You never found that watch on me! I never saw it before!

She's comin', Sheriff.

Abby, I want you to take a look at that man

over there, and tell me if he's the one you saw.

Just be sure and don't make a mistake.

Ma'am.

Uh, sheriff here wants to know the truth, so why don't you tell him?

Well, we don't know each other.

I've never been near here. Well, go on. Tell him.

He's the one, Sheriff.

I'm sure of it.

What's he like?

A drifter.

Won't nobody miss him if he don't show up for supper.

You're sure about that?

He's a loner if I ever seen one.

Mr. Gates, it was a bit more work than I figured it'd be.

Had to ride clear over to Big Moose Creek.

How much more work?

Well, $50 more than the reward.

Worth every penny of it.

The sheriff didn't believe at first.

But that gold watch and that Clayton girl sure convinced him I had the right man.

Well, it better be the right man.

Oh, he is. I knowed it as soon as I laid eyes on him.

And he had Doc's watch, didn't he?

All right.

Now I want you to forget that there's such a place as Calumet.

Just a divide in the road.

You can go your whole life without ever stopping here again.

I don't see anything here worth coming back for anyway.

Good doin' business with you.

Using a bounty hunter to find him... That was a real good notion, Pa.

Just about takes care of everything, doesn't it?

Nothing's gonna be taken care of till that drifter's convicted in court.

The town won't settle down till this is all over. I'll be glad when it is.

You? Why? So you can start in again?

Wasting your time and my money on that

saloon girl? You can just forget about that.

Sure, Pa. Sure. Whatever you say.

I-I reckon I have been too free of my time.

If you've got some to spare, the ranch can use it. I see you're gettin' soft-bellied.

A little hard work will fix that up.

Pa, whatever you want me to do, you just tell me, and I'll do it. I swear.

You know what I want from you.

This is gonna be your ranch some day.

Start shouldering the responsibility. You're no boy anymore.

Stop all this playing around and start givin' some thought to running this place.

Settle down, Josh. Here, right here.

And give up all thought of ever leaving my side.

Oh, I will, Pa. I will for sure.

You'd better be telling the truth, boy,

'cause I'm gonna hold you to it.

Sheriff, that girl's lying.

She never saw me before in her life.

Hey. Would you tell me what this is all about?

I think you know. I don't know anything!

I don't even know why I'm here.

And I don't know how that watch got on me, if it did.

All I do know is that girl is lyin'.

- They're all lying, huh, cowboy? - Yes!

All except you.

Look, uh...

I'll tell you what. You send a wire to Clay Grainger, Shiloh Ranch, Medicine Bow.

Now he'll tell you that I work for him.

Calumet's a long ways from Medicine Bow.

I had a couple weeks coming, so I decided to drift.

I suppose you just drifted through Calumet one night last week.

I've never been anywhere near here before!

Just like that girl never laid eyes on you before.

Just like you never laid eyes on this watch before.

That's right. And I suppose you never saw what was written inside of it.

How could I? By reading it.

"To Doc Evans, from the people of Calumet."

Let me tell you something, cowboy.

When poor folks pitch in with what little they have...

Women, their table money... Kids, their pennies...

Cowhands, the nickels they buy beer with...

When they put that all together and buy someone a solid gold watch,

and have it inscribed,

you better believe that someone holds a real good place in their hearts.

What's that got to do with me?

Doc could've practiced medicine anywhere in this country.

Cities like Laramie, Cheyenne,

where they'd pay him real money for his work,

instead of chickens and vegetables, if he got paid at all.

But he chose to settle here.

And he stuck it out. And the people loved him for that.

That's the kind of man Doc was.

Was?

Before you killed him, cowboy.

And that's why you're gonna hang.

Get yourself a glass, Gus. Buy you a drink.

Thank you. What are we celebrating?

They caught Doc's killer, didn't they?

That's something to drink to.

Yes, sir. He was the salt of the earth, Gus. Doc was.

Time that bronc throwed me, busted my leg, I didn't have nickel one.

Didn't he fix my leg for nothing? Didn't he do that for me, Gus?

He sure did. Now every time I see some poor cowpoke that don't track right,

with a leg that didn't set straight,

I know how lucky I was that Doc was around.

Yes, sir. He was the salt of the earth, Doc was. Here's to him.

Rest his soul.

Hi, Josh. Buy you a drink.

No. No, thanks, Jake. Good news about catching Doc's killer.

Yeah. Sure is.

Bless Doc.

I haven't seen you for a couple of days.

You haven't been around.

Well, I've been kind of busy out at the ranch.

That never stopped you before.

Guess I forgot how pretty you looked in the daylight.

Oh, Josh.

I promise I'll come around to see you more often.

When?

Soon as things. Are settled.

I hear you identified Doc's killer.

Yes. That must've been hard for you, Abby,

having to look that killer in the face again.

I'm proud of you.

Folks in town are glad to see Doc's killer behind bars.

Some of them hang around the jailhouse, hoping to get a look at him.

I had a real good look.

I'll tell you what. I'll fix it up with Gus tonight.

We'll take a ride over to King City, to that new hotel.

They say the dining room does itself proud.

Well, you always liked the food here.

I thought maybe you'd like to get out of town for a while.

You're afraid your pa will see you with a saloon girl.

You think I care what he sees?

I got my own life to live, and I mean to live it my way.

Soon as I can, I'm gonna take you out of this town for good.

You mean that, Josh. You're not just saying it now?

I swear it. My pa won't stop me this time.

He won't stop me ever again. We'll be together, Josh? You and me?

You and me.

That's what the sheriff told me.

He said, "Lucius, I don't care what you

think about the prisoner, he's gotta be fed."

"Now that's the law." So he sent you over here?

You been feeding our prisoners long as I can remember. I know.

Well, then, fetch him a plate of something he can eat with a spoon.

No knives or forks allowed in the jail. I know that too.

Gus! You're not really fixin' to feed that killer, are you?

Well, the sheriff... I don't care what the sheriff said!

Doc's in his grave. The man who killed him is working up an appetite.

I say let him starve.

You go back and tell the sheriff that I'm not sending out any meals for that killer.

He's gonna be awful mad. I can't help that.

You go tell him, Lucius. If he don't like it, you tell him to come see me.

Well, I'll tell him. See what he says.

That sheriff... He's a hard man for me to take to.

Can't figure him out. Oh, he's all right.

Better than some. Maybe.

Come on. Let's go.

- Where? - Sheriff, you sure this is a good idea?

Prisoner's got to be fed. Out.

Where are you taking me? On a picnic?

I'm taking you is right, but it won't be any picnic. Hands on your head.

You as much as take 'em down to scratch your nose,

Lucius will put a hole right through you.

On your head!

Now what? Now we go out.

Me in front, you in the middle.

Straight across the street to the saloon. There's people in the street.

Friends of Doc's. We won't stop to talk.

I'm not so sure I'm all that hungry.

I'm not doing it for you, cowboy. This is for the town.

Once folks start telling the law what's to be and what's not,

that's the end of the law and the beginning of trouble.

Law says prisoners gotta be fed. Come on.

- Hello, Sheriff. - Josh, Abby.

That table here... That should be out of everybody's way.

Sit down. Move.

You... You bringin' him in here?

That's right, Gus. Bring him a plate of whatever's on the stove.

- Stew. - Stew'll be fine.

What kind of a man are you, Sheriff?

- Lawman, Jake. - For how long?

For as long as I can do what I think is

right, and outdraw the man who says I'm wrong.

Sheriff's right, Jake.

No call to deprive this man of his food, no matter what he's done.

I'll tell you what. I'll buy you a drink.

No, thanks. Doc Evans was a friend of mine.

I won't drink in the same room with his killer.

You shouldn't have done this, Sheriff. It was a mistake.

People won't forget.

I'll see they don't.

Hey, Jake. You're drivin' my customers away!

Looks to me like I brought a few in.

I might turn out to be quite an attraction, almost as good as a two-headed calf.

All right, you folks. Nothing to see here but a man eating his supper.

Likely you've got your own suppers to go home to.

What about that order, Gus?

Bring him a plate of stew.

And a piece of bread, Abby, to sop it up with.

Well, I'm gonna have a drink. How about you, Sheriff?

I'll have a beer for the prisoner. Gus?

A beer and a whiskey.

Gonna be pretty hard to eat this way, unless you're plannin' on spoon-feedin' me.

Take your hands down now. Put them flat on the table.

Thanks.

I've seen Doc sittin' right here at this table.

What's your point, Gus?

Why can't you look at me, Abby?

Who said I can't? I just don't want to.

Because you lied.

You know I was nowhere near here when Doc Evans was killed. You were. And I saw you!

You might have seen somebody looked like me. That's possible.

No. How are you so sure? It was night.

Because I remember!

What is it you remember? Tell me what you saw.

Might as well tell him, Abby.

Keep it fresh in your mind for when the judge gets here.

Well, I-I just got home from work and was getting ready for bed,

when I... when I heard this noise coming from the street below my window.

Like someone trying to break into something.

When I went to look, I-I saw this man at the side of the bank.

He was tryin' to pry the bars off the windows.

I-I couldn't see what he looked like then, because most of him was in the shadows.

But Doc Evans must've heard him too. His room's right next to mine.

And the next thing I know, he was... he was crossing the street to investigate.

Doc never had a gun. He wouldn't have had a chance to use it if he did.

Because the man fired right out of the shadows and-and killed him.

You were that man.

How could you be sure? You said he fired out of the shadows.

Because after you killed him, you came out and went through his pockets.

I could see you almost as good as I can see you now.

You took his gold watch and ran for your horse. That's a lie!

All right, Abby. You just remember that for the judge.

She's lyin', Sheriff. She's lyin'.

I don't know why, but she's lyin'!

I was just thinking about Abby, what she said.

It was dark. The man fired from the shadows.

She was a good floor above the street.

Scared.

You say she's lying.

Still, there's Doc's watch.

Now suppose...

Just suppose you were riding along, going nowhere in particular.

You met a man the opposite direction.

He had a watch he wanted to sell real cheap, considering.

Maybe with a made-up story about how he got it.

You gave him a few dollars.

Then you found out the truth, you got scared, and you lied about it.

Could've been that way, couldn't it, cowboy?

No.

- You sure? - I hate to disappoint you, Sheriff.

- Well, all right. - If I said yes and grabbed at that straw,

you'd know I was lying about what I said before.

Could be.

Trouble is, you don't know what to think, do you?

Well, I never saw that watch before, and that's the truth.

What was that man's name at Shiloh?

Grainger, Clay Grainger.

Lucius,

want you to send a telegram to Clay Grainger,

care of Shiloh Ranch, Medicine Bow.

Tell him we're holding his top hand for murder.

He says he didn't do it, I think he did.

Still, I'm willing to be proven wrong, up till the time of the hanging.

You remember something like that? Near enough.

Go on, send it.

Sheriff, I thank you.

You might not, cowboy, after the answer comes.

Quarter. Call.

Sure is quiet around here tonight.

Think folks feel kinda funny, having Doc's killer right here in town.

You know, like you feel jumpy when a storm's blowin' up.

You just... don't want to make any noise.

Maybe you're right, Gus.

What the devil's taking Abby so long?

I'm starving to death. You're taking her to a new place tonight, Josh.

May she wants to look especially pretty.

Come on, Lucius. I'll buy you a drink.

Wouldn't mind that at all. Gus.

We were just talkin' about how quiet it is in town.

You noticed it too? Mm-hmm.

I guess it'll liven up after the trial.

There might not be one. Thanks, Josh.

What do you mean? The prisoner says he didn't do it.

What do you expect him to say?

He claims he's the top hand at Shiloh Ranch,

and that he was workin' when Doc was killed.

Course I don't believe him.

What about the sheriff?

He wants me to send a telegram to Shiloh, check it out.

Figured I'd stop here for a drink first.

Way this town's actin' makes me kind of nervy.

We both know we got the right man in there. The whole town knows it.

What we don't know is what that man's got up his sleeve.

He might have a friend at Shiloh who's willing to lie for him, a brother, or...

Maybe he's even related to the owner of the ranch.

Don't you think my pa would lie for me, if it meant my life?

Sure, he would, Josh.

Don't send that telegram, Lucius.

I'll find out who's top hand at Shiloh.

What about the sheriff?

When he doesn't get any reply, he'll know that cowboy's lying.

Oh, he made a mistake to ask you to send that telegram, Lucius.

Now, you know that.

Sheriff's been making a lot of mistakes lately.

I'm takin' a big chance, Josh. I could lose my job.

You could be in line for a better one.

My pa built this town, Lucius. And he's proud of it.

He wouldn't want to see it get a reputation for being easy on murderers.

A reputation like that is hard to lose. It brings a lot of bad people into town.

Don't send that telegram, Lucius. You won't be sorry.

I'll see to it.

I don't know nothing about no telegram, Josh.

Wh... What telegram?

Hey, Gus, two more!

Morning, Gus. How are you fixed for bacon and eggs, Gus?

Sheriff, you have to bring him in here for every meal?

I'd just as leave take his grub over to the jail.

Should've thought of that before, Gus. Too late now.

- What do you mean it's too late? - He means he can't back down.

It'd look like he'd given in.

If it's all the same to you, I'll do my own explaining.

You have to bring him in here? You heard what he said.

Tell Abby I'd like some coffee with his bacon and eggs.

Our usual table? Mmm.

What makes you think I won't try to make a run for the door?

What makes you think I wouldn't be glad if you did try?

You wouldn't get as far as the door.

You look tired this morning, Abby.

Josh... Josh took me to that new hotel in King City.

I guess we danced too much.

I hear that's a pretty fancy place. I guess Josh can afford it.

This Josh... Is, uh, he her fella?

I wouldn't know about that.

You said he's got a lot of money. What's he do to earn it?

Oh, he's got just about the hardest job in town. He's Ezra Gates's boy.

That's full-time, no days off.

Ezra Gates? Is he mean?

He's hard and tough.

Got plenty of money. Made it all himself in cattle.

Ezra Gates. I've heard that name before.

Sure! That bounty hunter. He said he was getting his reward from Ezra Gates.

That's right. Ezra put up the money.

He and Doc were old friends.

Nobody wanted to find Doc's killer more than Ezra Gates.

Are you tellin' me he's not a drifter?

All I know is what he says.

And he says he's the top hand at Shiloh Ranch outside Medicine Bow.

Sheriff sent Lucius to telegraph Medicine Bow to confirm it.

Don't worry. I told Lucius not to bother.

What if he's telling the truth?

Pa, it's too late. He had Doc's watch on him. Abby identified him.

He's got to be the one.

As long as the sheriff doesn't get any answer, it doesn't change anything.

Doesn't change anything?

I told that bounty hunter to bring me a saddle tramp with no roots!

I had it all planned out.

Judge Castle owes me a favor. I'd talk to him.

He'd find some legal technicality to save the drifter's neck.

A year or two in prison, maybe.

But what's that to a drifter compared to the life of my one and only son?

Now, look, Pa. Don't you... Shut up!

I'm not asking your advice.

I done everything I could for you.

And this is what it's come to.

The Gates name in the mud.

Everything that I've tried to build up is bein' destroyed by you,

by your lust for this saloon girl.

Pa, it hasn't come to that. Lucius will keep still about it.

No, what's he gonna think about it?

Lucius doesn't think. He just takes orders.

Maybe I'd be better off with Lucius for a son instead of what I got.

How much did you tell him? Nothing.

I just made him see that we had the right man in that jail,

and to look anywhere else would be a waste of time.

The sheriff's sure to think that cowboy's guilty as sin.

The judge! What if he sends a wire to Medicine Bow?

You can handle Judge Castle.

He still owes you that favor.

Just how do I put that to him?

"Close your eyes to this man's innocence. It suits me to have him guilty."

What if he can prove he was nowhere near Calumet the night Doc Evans was killed?

What about the watch?

Whose last hours will that measure, tick for tick?

Well, there's Abby.

Yes, there's Abby.

Now, is that enough?

What have you brought me to, Josh? What have I got facing me here?

It's him or me, Pa.

- It's always been. - Yes.

Well? Judge Castle's arriving tomorrow.

He sent word.

What about the telegram from Clay Grainger? Any reply?

No, sir. Not a thing.

That telegram could've come clear across country by now...

if you were telling the truth.

Maybe the real top hand picked it up and thought someone was playing a joke.

I'm the top hand at that ranch.

Could be they didn't like your work.

We might be doing them a favor, Sheriff.

Are you sure you sent it to the right place?

Clay Grainger, Shiloh Ranch, Medicine Bow.

Why don't you tell us the truth, cowboy?

I am telling the truth! Then why is it you're the only one who believes it?

Look, Sheriff, let me talk to Abby. Let me find out what she's hiding.

What makes you think she's hiding something?

The way she told us about the killing...

It was more like something she memorized instead of saw.

Like someone told her what to say. Didn't you see that?

No, I didn't!

Sheriff, doesn't it seem strange that Josh's father hired the bounty hunter?

No! Ezra Gates and Doc Evans were real good friends. I told you that.

- And Josh takes out Abby? - She's a pretty girl!

And the only witness to the murder. Look, it's like a circle!

Or a noose, cowboy!

Judge Castle's a fair man. He'll have a fair trial.

I didn't say nothing to him, Josh. I just served him his breakfast.

- You sure? - Not a word.

What about the sheriff? Did you talk to him? Well, did you?

- I told him we went out last night. - Why'd you do that?

Well, he could've found out anyway.

A lot of people saw us. What difference does it make?

Maybe none.

Maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore until this is over.

Why?

Sheriff Stoddard's not a stupid man. He might start putting things together.

We went out before. You were even telling people we were gonna be married, Josh!

And I meant it. I still do.

It's just no use taking chances,

not unless you want to visit your husband-to-be on Boot Hill.

Oh, don't ever say that, Josh.

Well, then, let's be smart.

It'll only be for a little while.

It's just I... I get scared sometimes,

and you're all I have to make me feel better.

I won't be very far away.

Oh, I can't... I can't sleep nights,

thinking about having to tell the judge in court what I saw.

Just keep telling yourself it's true, Abby.

Unless you want to tell the real truth.

No. You got me into this.

I wouldn't have killed him if it wasn't for you...

and all the bad things he was saying about you.

It wasn't like the doc.

Well, you being so close, living next door at the boardinghouse,

bringing him meals sometimes late at night.

He was an old man. He was a man, Abby.

Didn't you say yourself he slipped his arm around your waist one night?

It was a joke! I told you it was a joke, and you laughed about it.

Then. But not when he told me.

And the rest... how he spied on you sometimes,

how you didn't always dress proper when you came into his room,

and the thoughts that went through his mind.

No wonder I saw red.

I-I couldn't let him go on saying things like that about you, could I, Abby?

No.

Well, that's why, Abby.

That's why you have to swear in court what happened,

just like you saw it with your own eyes.

Yeah. Yeah.

Oh.

Go bring him his food, Abby. You got nothing to be afraid of.

Afternoon, Sheriff.

Josh.

Thank you, Abby.

You know I didn't kill Doc Evans. Who did?

- Let her go. - Who killed him, Abby?

Please.

You must be out of your mind, cowboy.

I could have killed you then. Why didn't you?

Judge'll be here tomorrow. Be a shame for him to come all this way for nothing.

How was the dinner, Sheriff? Did he eat all his potatoes?

You're in the way, folks.

What kind of pie did we have today? Apple? Cherry?

Did the sheriff wipe off your chin when you got through?

You're gonna lose your job, Jake, hanging around town.

Then I'll lose it.

Don't you have anything better to do with your time?

Not till I see you hang high, cowboy.

That's what we're all waiting for.

Tomorrow. That's what the sheriff said.

The judge is coming tomorrow.

Way the town's worked up, I don't know if they can wait for a trial.

Folks are getting ugly and mean.

Just be glad it's not me in that jail, Pa... Ezra Gates's boy.

You're a power in this town, Pa. Lots of folks are afraid of you.

They hate you for that.

They'd like nothing better than to get back at you through me.

I wouldn't have a chance of telling my story in court.

Ezra Gates's boy killed Doc Evans over a woman? Who'd listen?

They'd drag me out of my cell and put a rope around my neck so fast,

and it would be all over.

It'd be all over, Pa, before the judge even got here.

If it was me, I mean.

But like I say, Pa, you're a power in this town.

If you want to make sure that Jake and the others wait for that judge to get here,

all you have to do is, uh, tell them to wait.

They'll listen to you. Whatever you say, Pa, they'll listen to you.

Haven't they been listening to you all these years?

Thing about that trial tomorrow, Pa... Abby's awful nervous.

And there's that business about that telegram that never got sent to Shiloh.

Maybe he is the top hand.

Judge might even hold up the trial...

until somebody from Shiloh gets here to identify him,

maybe even swear that he couldn't have killed Doc Evans.

It's hard to say what's gonna happen tomorrow, Pa.

I guess it depends a whole lot on what happens today.

Saddle up my horse, Josh.

I'm goin' into town.

Josh, you ever see a man hang?

No, Pa.

I'm telling the truth, Sheriff, and you know it.

All I know is we never got an answer from Medicine Bow.

- Maybe that telegram wasn't sent. - For what reason?

Because maybe this town needs somebody to hang,

a substitute, and I'm it.

Now you listen here. I've been a sheriff for 20 years!

I've killed more men than this cell has bars,

but I've never taken a single life that didn't need taking.

I've never shot anybody in the back, and I've never hung an innocent man!

Yeah? Well, you're gonna start with me!

Sheriff, where was Josh that night?

Out at his pa's place.

Are you sure? Or did you even bother to find out?

I didn't have to! I had a description of the killer.

From who? Abby? Josh's girlfriend?

What did she say? That he didn't look like Josh?

She said he needed a shave.

His clothes were dirty. He looked like a drifter.

That could fit anybody from here to the border...

Anyone the bounty hunter decided to bring in.

Sheriff, did Josh have any reason to kill Doc?

Like what? He wanted his gold watch?

Well, he wanted somethin'!

Somethin' bad enough to kill for.

I just... I just wonder what.

Gus thought it would be better if he didn't come to the saloon anymore.

I told Gus... Well, never mind. Just leave it.

Abby, where was Josh when Doc was killed?

Well, Josh? Why, I guess at home. Why?

He didn't come into town at all that night?

Oh, I... I think he told me he had dinner earlier at the hotel.

But you didn't see him? No.

Thank you, Abby. Thanks for bringing the food.

Abby, did you see Doc Evans that night?

No harm in answering.

Only when he left the boardinghouse to see what that noise was, and you killed him.

- Didn't he have dinner at the saloon? - He ate at the hotel that night.

Who told you that, Abby?

Well, I-I don't remember. Somebody at the saloon, I guess.

Doc was called out about 5:00 to deliver the Melhorn baby.

It was a hard birth.

Bill Melhorn said Doc didn't leave their ranch until after midnight.

That means he must've got back to town a short time before he was killed.

Whoever told you Doc had dinner at the hotel was lying.

Now, who lied, Abby?

I guess I heard wrong. No, you were told wrong.

You were told to believe a lie so you could use one against me.

It didn't happen that way, Abby. It couldn't have happened that way.

Make him stop! Then how did it happen?

Tell us the truth, Abby. Or don't you know anymore? Or did you ever know?

Don't you see? He's using me to die in his place!

But he's using you, too, with his lies.

He's using you to help hang me!

No! You did it! You killed Doc! I saw you!

Soon as Lucius comes back, I'll check that telegram myself.

What's wrong, Abby? Oh!

Is something bothering you?

Why did you lie to me, Josh?

Lie? Well, what are you talking about?

You told me that you saw Doc Evans at the hotel that night,

that he said terrible things about him and me,

and that that's why you killed him.

That's what happened. I ran into him later that night in front of the boardinghouse.

I told him to shut his mouth about you.

He just laughed, and said a whole lot more.

This town thinking he was a saint, and all the time...

Oh, no, I'm not sorry he's dead, Abby.

Doc Evans never went to the hotel that night.

Course he did. Where'd you hear that?

From the sheriff.

Mrs. Melhorn had her baby that night.

Doc couldn't have got back to town until after midnight.

M-Maybe the sheriff was testing you.

Maybe you were lying to me. Why would I do that?

I don't know why!

Oh, now, come on, Abby. That's your answer for everything, isn't it?

Be sweet to Abby, and she'll do whatever you want.

Why did you lie to me, Josh?

Because it didn't happen the way you said?

Because you didn't kill Doc over me?

Now don't go getting any ideas.

Oh, not me! Not a dumb little saloon girl like me!

What kind of ideas could I have?

Except that you... you killed Doc when he caught you at something. I...

The bank.

That story you made me tell about the cowboy...

It was you trying to break into the bank.

Doc came along and saw you.

If he hadn't, we'd have been out of this town by now.

We'd have been far away, Abby... you and me.

You didn't have to kill him.

He saw me! What else could I do?

It was the only way out. He'd have told the sheriff and Pa.

I would have gone to jail. That's why I had to kill him, Abby.

Abby, I was only thinkin' about you. No.

Yes. Yes! Oh, no.

That night, Pa was tellin' me to keep away from you.

Tellin' me to knuckle down to ranchin' till I couldn't stand it anymore.

All these years, Abby, he's kept me on a short string.

Given me pocket money to spend around town.

Always promisin' me I'd have more money than

I'd know what to do with when he was dead...

if I took over the ranch.

But I hate that ranch, Abby.

I hate the sight of it.

And I hate the sight of him... that tight-fisted...

I was meant for a big city. You know that, Abby.

Didn't we talk about it all the time, you and me?

About goin' away and havin' a time for ourselves?

Not by robbing a bank.

There was nobody around.

All my pa's money sitting in there.

After a couple of drinks I started to think about that money.

And then Doc came along. He was on his way home.

He saw what I was up to.

I looked at him, and he was Pa.

Same age, same size.

And he was callin' my name and... shaming me.

Afterwards, you took his watch.

Sure, to make it look like a robbery. You knew that.

You were already planning what to do with that watch.

And you-you lied to your pa to get him to help you, because he loves you.

And you lied to me! And you helped me because you love me, Abby.

And that's why you're going to keep on helpin' me, Abby.

They'll hang the cowboy. Yeah.

Yeah. Or they'll hang me. No.

How much do you love me, Abby? How much?

There's not a man here that didn't owe Doc somethin'.

Me, I owed him my leg... Some of us owed him our lives.

He pulled my oldest son through a bad fever.

I never paid him a blessed penny.

No, and now you can't. It's too late. He's dead. Shot down like a... like a dog.

We got his killer. That's something. He'll hang for what he did.

That's for sure. You bet he'll hang.

He'll hang real high where everybody can see him.

Aren't you rushin' things, Jake? Man hasn't been tried yet.

Tried? What kind of a trial did he give Doc Evans?

None. But, then, he's a murderer, Jake, and we're not.

The judge will be here tomorrow. He'll have his trial. He'll have his say in court,

his word against the saloon girl.

I, uh, have heard talk that he's got a rich friend... a rancher over in Medicine Bow.

That could hold things up a little...

They get a lawyer here to defend him.

Defend him? How do you defend an old killer?

Man has a right to a fair trial.

No tellin' how this'll turn out. The judge might rule out the evidence.

Why? I'm not saying that he will, Gus.

I'm just saying what might happen.

This trial might not end in a hangin'.

He killed Doc, didn't he? And I'm sayin' he's gotta hang!

Whoa! Whoa! Now wait.

Wait just a minute, please.

Now, I have no way of knowin' how this trial is gonna come out.

But what I say is, whatever the verdict, we've gotta be ready to live with it.

I knew Doc better than any man here.

And I know that he believed in justice. Justice!

You call letting his killer go justice?

You're puttin' words in my mouth.

I don't know that his killer's gonna go free.

But let's face the possibility that he's not

gonna hang. Just for the sake of argument.

Doc used to say that. Said it all the time.

- Just for the sake of argument. - Yeah.

Doc was a good man, a gentle man.

Just the kind of man that this thing always happens to.

Evil men can take care of themselves. They can always get other people to help 'em.

Yes, like that sheriff bringing that mangy cur in here for his meals.

No! Now that sheriff is doin' his job.

Just like Doc always did his.

Comin' into town today, lookin' up at Doc's window,

I half expected to see him there wavin', smilin' as he always did.

No matter how dog-tired he was from tendin' to his patients.

He's a good man. Hard to believe that he's gone.

Hangin' his killer isn't gonna bring him back.

Letting his murderer go free ain't either.

You know somethin'? Every minute that that killer sits in that jail cell,

breathing air and tasting life... I say that's an insult to Doc's memory!

Now hold your horses! Hold your horses!

Now Doc wouldn't like that kind of talk, and you know it.

Why, I recall the time that the town bought him that gold watch.

Tears came to his eyes, and he didn't want us to know how he was feelin'.

That's the kind of man that he was.

And he gave us the very dickens for wastin' money on that timepiece.

But all the same, you could see how proud he was of that watch.

The same watch that that killer stole off of him after he murdered him.

Well, now, he claims that he never saw that gold watch.

And the bounty hunter that took it off him, long since gone.

Judge'll have to take that into account.

Yeah, well, I say we don't wait for the judge.

I say we take care of him ourselves.

- Hang the dirty killer! - Hang him!

What we need is a rope! Gus, you oughta have a rope.

Let's get this thing over with!

Gus, there ought to be a rope around here someplace.

We're gonna have a hangin'.

What's all this talk about lynching my prisoner?

Prisoner? I thought he was your guest.

If the law can't help us, we'll do without.

Doc's murder's got to be paid for.

- Who said it wouldn't be? - He's got to hang, Sheriff.

That's the law.

The law's full of tricks. We're gonna do this our way.

We owe it to Doc.

We owe Doc exactly what he gave us. Trust.

An open mind. What's more, respect for life.

Or have you all forgotten that already?

He was a doctor! He brought life into the world.

Put a high value on it.

You think Doc would give his blessing to a lynch mob?

Why, he'd sooner turn his back on a case of smallpox.

You know that's true.

Gus, you oughta know it. He stood right there one night...

and said he was against hanging... even legal hanging...

Against all capital punishment... You heard him!

Ah, maybe so. Reckon I did.

But he didn't know he was gonna get murdered at the time.

You know, Sheriff, every time I see you,

you're doin' somethin' else for that killer.

- Now you're tryin' to save his neck. - Why, Sheriff?

Why is that?

I was just asking myself why some folks are so anxious to see him quietly dead...

before the trial?

I don't know, Josh. You think he'll fall for it?

You just tell him that if he wants to live, this is his only chance.

And then when he takes it...

You can't let a killer escape, Lucius.

You'll just have to stop him.

All right. But I want to get somethin' out of this.

This town's ready for a new sheriff.

I'll see to it that my pa backs you all the way.

The sheriff told you to turn me loose?

I'm not sayin' I like it. I'm against it, but he's the sheriff.

There's a horse waitin' out there. You better get on it and ride.

Why is he doin' this?

Because he doesn't want a lynchin' in his town.

And that's just what they're gettin' ready to do.

Come on out.

I'd just as soon let 'em hang you.

Wait.

You better go out that door.

Go on. What are you waitin' for? Make a run for it.

Where's my horse? It's tied up around the corner.

Where? Up the hill in back of that house.

He's got a gun!

Next time you want to shoot me in the back, think of a better story!

Sheriff! Your prisoner's tryin' to escape!

He... He grabbed the deputy's gun and tried to kill him.

Where is he now? Holed up in the jailhouse.

That's what comes from listening to you, Sheriff.

We should've strung him up when we had the chance.

Let me handle this. You've handled it long enough!

- Now the killer's got a gun. - Then stay out of his way!

All of you get back inside. Let me do my job! Go on!

Things haven't been going very well for you today, have they, Lucius?

He tricked me, grabbed my gun.

Uh-huh. I stopped by the telegraph office.

You never sent that message to Medicine Bow.

I was going to. I swear it.

What else were you gonna do, Lucius? Why did you take him out of his cell?

Sheriff, listen now.

Go away, Lucius. Keep going.

And don't ever come back.

Cowboy, this is the sheriff!

That gun won't do you any good. Might as well hand it out.

Your deputy was gonna shoot me in the back. Make it look like I was tryin' to escape.

I know.

- And I didn't kill Doc Evans. - I know that too.

- What did you say? - I know you didn't kill Doc Evans.

We both know who did.

Well, that sure took you long enough. Not as fast as I used to be.

Got a real problem on our hands.

I take it you don't wanna hang.

Well, that's never been one of my lifelong ambitions.

He's still inside. Maybe the killer's got his gun by now.

It's awfully quiet in there. Quiet as a graveyard at night.

I was just thinkin'. This might be a good time to rush the jail.

Josh! You wait for the judge.

No, Pa! We've waited long enough.

He almost got away. Let's not give him another chance! He's right!

That's far enough.

We want the prisoner, Sheriff.

You had your chance, Josh. Send him out, Sheriff.

No, Jake. You'll have to come and get him.

I'll get him outside!

Get him up on the buckboard!

Hold his hands.

Get the other one. Abby!

- Abby! - Get the seat, Matt.

Get this over with!

Look. Don't. You'll be sorry.

- You've got the wrong man. - Stop!

I made a mistake. He's not the one I saw!

She's just afraid. Go on back inside, Abby. You don't have to watch.

Don't go. I want you to see how easy it is

for him to kill me like he killed Doc Evans.

- Tell 'em, Abby. - We're just wasting time! Lower that rope!

Don't let him do it! Stop him, please.

The whole story was a lie... Everything I said.

I was nowhere near when Doc was killed. I didn't see a thing!

What's she saying, Josh?

Don't you see?

The sheriff put her up to this. It's a trick!

She's lying now! She's lying her fool head off to save this killer!

Tell 'em, Abby! Tell 'em who he picked to hang instead of him.

Tell them who lied, even to you! Tell 'em!

Come on, Matt! Whip those horses!

Hold it, Matt.

You promised to go away with me, Josh.

How do I know you weren't lying about that too?

You lied to your pa. You lied to everybody.

Say it, Abby.

Say who killed Doc Evans.

Josh did it.

Doc caught him trying to break into the bank.

Josh killed him. Josh did it.

You gonna listen to her?

Who'd believe an alley cat of a saloon girl?

Oh, no.

I would, Josh.

I believe her.

I'm sorry, Son.

I share the blame.

Pray God that I can share the punishment.

Well, I don't suppose you'll be coming up this way again.

Not unless somebody ties me or drags me back.

Don't keep my room ready, 'cause that's not about to happen.

Town won't forget this. They'll try.

I won't let 'em forget.

Every chance I get, I'll rub their noses in it.

Sheriff, you're not gonna be too popular.

I'm not worried.

Then I'm not gonna worry about it either.

Abby.

Well, I got my rounds to make.

Uh, Sheriff? So long.

So long, cowboy.

It's, uh... It's not enough to say I'm sorry.

Could've been worse. You could've waited a few minutes longer.

That doesn't make it right.

No, but I'm much obliged to you just the same.

There's nothing I hate worse than a tight collar.

Going someplace? On the stage.

Far? As far as I can.

They say Colorado's nice. Denver, maybe.

Nice town.

I'd take Medicine Bow.

Uh, Trampas... I know.

I've been in love myself.

It makes you do funny things sometimes, doesn't it?

Thank you.