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Oro, oro! Gold, gold! Gold!

Blas, gold!

How are my fine south-of-the-border friends this fine morning?

Found plenty of gold, I hope, take back to your señoritas?

Thank you most kindly for your charity.

Don't pay it no mind. Anything for my Mexican friends.

Thank you. Muchas gracias.

You're most kindly welcome.

Sit down, amigos.

I have been thinking.

We have traveled a long way from our country to this El Dorado

in search of riches.

Be patient, Blas. It will come, you will see.

No. No, it will not.

It should be apparent to you,

in this country of equal opportunity,

some are more equal than others.

Streams which the gringos have worked over a thousand times

to know that there is no gold, this we can work, but nothing else.

But every day one hears of rich strikes where others have searched before.

That's right, Blas. You've heard of it. We all have.

Perhaps we may be that lucky, if the Holy Mother wills it so.

Sí, sí, sí, sí.

But it would make no difference.

The gringos would come with their angry faces and their guns and their papers,

which they would shove under our noses

to prove that we had no right to our claims.

You know this, amigos.

What do you propose, that we return home?

Not immediately.

Soon, but not immediately.

We will search for gold in the stream a little longer?

No, this stream has nothing more for us.

But there are many rich men in Virginia City.

This is where we should search for gold.

Perhaps we can persuade one of these

to share his wealth with four sad mejicanos.

Are you all right, amigo?

I'm not sure yet.

Look, all I've got's 20 dollars and a gun.

Well, we noticed your fine horse and saddle.

Compadres, have you noticed how wealthy the wealthy look even in work clothes?

How nice it must be to work in such clothes.

Fine jackets, soft shirts, and the saddle, look.

It would feed a village in Sonora for a week.

How wonderful to be successful in this land of equal opportunity.

Can I reach in... in my pocket and get the 20 dollars?

First unbuckle your fine gun belt.

And since we have noticed you are left-handed,

use your right hand and stay alive, please.

Reckon where little Joe is.

He ought to have been back from Carson City a couple of hours ago.

Well, you know Little Joe.

He can always find something or someone attractive in Carson City.

- Get out to the corral, help Buford. - On my way, Pa.

Pa?

Mr. Cartwright?

Yes. What can I do for you?

Forgive me if I do not identify myself, señor.

Be it sufficient I am a Mexican, disillusioned and far from home.

- Well, come on inside. - No, no, no, gracias.

I do not wish to soil your floors with my filthy Mexican boots.

Señor, a direct answer to a direct question.

Whom do you love most in the whole world?

What kind of a question is that? Who do I love most? What's this about?

Please, to answer my question.

I love my sons most in this world. Why?

What do you want?

- 100,000 in gold, señor. - What?

As you now suspect, I hold your son for ransom.

- My son's in Carson City with friends. - You know better.

However, to save time,

your son has a... a tiny white scar on his left thumb.

- Has he not, señor? - What about it?

Here... is your son's left thumb, señor.

A rabbit's foot.

Did your stomachs turn to fists, or sick with warm water?

Did they, señores?

All right, you scared us.

I believe you now accept the fact that I have your son.

What are your terms?

100,000 in gold for your son, all in one piece,

two thumbs, two ears, and so on and so on.

That'd be about... close to 400 pounds of metal.

Take a good couple of days to round up that much gold.

400 pounds?

That's a great deal of weight. And we have far to go.

I am not an unreasonable man.

Let's make it 25,000 by tomorrow.

That'll be easier for you and easier for me.

It'll be easy for me to kill you.

And you would exchange the corpse of your brother for mine.

What a poor business judgment. You do not wish that. Nor does your father.

I will come for the gold tomorrow.

If you attempt to follow me or in any way try to rescue the young man,

he will be killed.

I am serious, señor.

Hasta la vista.

What do we do?

We get the gold.

I imagine you know why I've sent for you, Perkins.

- I haven't the foggiest idea, sir. - I think you do.

I've never seen such a mess,

work that'll have to be done over again.

- I'll get right on it, Mr. Aldrich. - Don't bother.

Your account was 80 dollars short.

Replace that 80 dollars this afternoon or get out.

Yes, sir.

I was going to replace it, sir, and this afternoon too.

I had some expenses, medical expenses, big ones.

In Anderson's saloon?

That's all, Perkins.

Yes, sir.

Oh, by the way, sir, old man Cartwright and his son are out here to see you,

and stalwart Sheriff Coffee.

What? Well, send them in.

Mr. Cartwright. Messrs. Cartwright, Cartwright and Coffee.

- Thank you. - Ben, I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

- I didn't know you were there. - Fred, this is an emergency.

I need 25,000 dollars in gold,

not paper, not silver, gold, and I need it right now.

Gold. Well, Ben...

All right, Perkins, that's all.

Look, Fred, don't hang us up. This is a matter of life and death.

Are you ready to eat now, amigo?

Like I told you before, if you untie my hands so I can feed myself.

You are too valuable a prize.

Emiliano will spoon-feed you.

Emiliano.

Se escapó!

Blas, he escaped.

Chuy.

Here is his gun. Outflank him to the left.

Miguel.

You go to the right.

I will keep talking.

You watch the horses.

Can you hear me, amigo?

Must blood flow for a few pounds of bright metal

which means so little to you, so much to us?

I am not an uneducated man.

I am the schoolmaster in our village in Sonora,

and Chuy, my fat friend,

who is now armed with your weapon and is outflanking you to your left,

he has the village general store,

which he calls Saturno Cruzando el Disco del Sol,

which means Saturn Crossing the Disk of the Sun.

Imagine a general store with a name like that.

Is that not lovely? Let me tell you something.

In our village, which surely must be...

the poorest in all of Sonora,

men try to make a living from the lime,

which is what our soil consists of and in which nothing grows.

Putting the lime in sacks

and carrying them on their shoulders for 20 kilómetros.

Lime burns the skin

and sears the eyes and the lungs.

- Is he yours now, Chuy? - Sí, we have him.

Bring him back.

To shoot you would be an enormous waste.

Do not make us do this.

We will watch him better this time.

As I was saying...

about our village which has nothing.

Somehow they found a few centavos here, a few pesos there,

to send us four to the mountains of gold.

Perhaps we will find nothing.

But the chance was there, the hope.

And what is life without hope...

the only true ecstasy?

There has never been hope in my village, not in my lifetime.

Do you see, amigo?

When we set out to come north, with all their hopes on our shoulders,

they called us the conquistadores.

The conquistadores.

If you think I am going to take disappointment back to that village...

Mr. Cartwright, you are wrong.

You be sure to tell the people of your village where you got that gold.

You let me worry about that.

Oh, by the way, did you wish to eat now?

The true pride of a rich man's son.

You not starve if you do not eat for a week.

It could even be good for your soul.

You better worry about your own soul.

All right, you got something you wanna talk about private,

you go ahead, talk.

Well, I thought I had. I thought it was obvious.

Well, it ain't obvious. You spell it out.

Cartwright draws out 25,000 in gold.

In gold, mind you, in a hurry.

Sheriff Coffee's alarmed.

Hoss Cartwright says it's a matter of life and death.

Just 'cause Little Joe's out of sight, you... you think he's been kidnapped.

Could be in Denver or Salt Lake.

OK.

Even if I'm wrong, the point is there's 25,000 in gold

at the Ponderosa right now

and not sitting in some steel vault.

Once they're in vice, seems something's goin' on.

Perkins... come first light...

let's you and me investigate this situation.

All right, this is as far as we'll go.

You have been cooperative and courteous, señor.

Muchas gracias.

When you reach the border, you release my son.

Correct, with a horse and supplies.

If you keep your end of the bargain, we'll forget about all of this.

But if you hurt Joseph, I'll follow you into Mexico,

and I don't care how hard you try to hide,

I'll find you and I'll kill you with my bare hands.

Have I made myself clear?

Vividly, señor.

Scruffy Mexican heading south with something that's plenty heavy.

Well, shall we follow our Latin gentleman?

No rush.

It's a far piece to the border with one sorry mule carrying a two-mule load.

We got plenty of time to get back to Virginia City

and line up some of my friends.

We gotta see that no harm comes to old Ben Cartwright's boy.

And that sheriff ain't doing nothing. Don't ask me why.

If it wasn't for some sharp eyes and ears, none of us'd even know about it.

What do you reckon we ought to do about it, Bill?

The only thing good citizens can do when the law don't act.

We gotta find them kidnappers and rescue Little Joe.

Right, right. He's right.

But Ben Cartwright ain't the sort of man to sit around and twiddle his thumbs.

Little Joe is being dragged to the border by a bunch of murdering foreigners.

He's the one we gotta think about.

Ben'll be so glad to get him back safe, he'll probably pay us for our trouble.

If them Mexicans have got that gold... maybe we ought to just pay ourselves.

Let's go get 'em.

Whoa.

We have a drink of water.

Perhaps we should wait here for Blas to catch up.

No, no, no, we go on.

What's the chances of getting this jacket off?

You ask the impossible, amigo.

You have once before tried to escape with your hands tied.

What would happen if I would release them?

I gotta get this jacket off or I'll be dead of heat stroke by noon.

Permit me to doubt that.

If you don't deliver me alive and well to my father,

I guarantee you, there's gonna be a posse as big as an army on your trail.

Besides, you got my gun.

Sí, I have your gun. Bueno.

Amigo, please, there is nowhere to go out here, amigo. Please.

It is too hot for a stupid fight, compadre.

I can't. I can't move. There's a snake down here.

Well, what can I do? I cannot see it from here.

- Hand me your gun. - The gun?

No, I cannot give you the gun.

Either give me that gun or shoot me.

I don't wanna die out here swelling with that poison.

- Gracias, amigo. - Sí.

- When do we take him? - Not sure.

We gotta pick our spot.

We don't wanna split the gold with all the others, do we?

They have enough of a start so we won't overtake 'em and maybe start something.

We'll be right at the border when they release Little Joe

and be close enough if they don't.

Yeah.

Howdy, Ben, Hoss. Glad you're both here.

- What's up, Roy? - Well, it's that Anderson.

Him and that bunch of hardheads that hang around his place

rode out of town about dawn this morning.

What's that got to do with us?

Well, you remember that bank clerk, Perkins, that helped you load the gold?

He was with 'em.

Now, I just got a sneaking hunch that that whole gang

is gonna try to cut in on your ransom money.

I sent a deputy out to pick up the trail,

told him that we'd meet him at High Meadow if that was all right with you.

Let's ride.

Hold it.

There's mule tracks, Pa,

and right here is where Anderson's bunch got on their trail.

Looks like it was two or three hours ago,

maybe six or seven of 'em.

It'll get dark before soon. We'd better ride.

Blas should be here.

I hope nothing has gone wrong.

Nothing has gone wrong. Blas will be here.

- With the gold? - With the gold.

And then, my friend, I am sure Blas will release you here

instead of at the border.

If you swear there will be no pursuit.

Whatever my pa says, he's a man of his word.

It's still a risk.

He returned me the weapon after killing the snake.

That is good enough for me.

I hope one day you will come to our village,

after your gold has made it prosperous and beautiful.

How clear your consciences must be...

that you post no watch.

Coffee, Emiliano.

How are you, my friend?

- You're not bound? - I can explain.

I'd be interested.

Blas, the gold. Have you the gold?

Dónde está?

- Yes, I have the gold. - Where is it, Blas?

Can we see it? Is it with the horses, Blas?

- I have hidden it. - Hidden it?

Why so?

Because I was followed all day.

Let's mount and ride now, even in darkness.

Blas, did you see who they were?

Perhaps it was an anxious father and his other son

staying a few miles behind us all the way to the border.

And if they are not, why not ride and get away?

Because we are in the middle of the desert

and the animals would need more rest before they could cross it...

and so would I.

Tomorrow morning we will unearth the gold before we ride out.

You can see it then.

Tonight we post a watch.

Nobody move!

You're surrounded.

We can see you, but you can't see nothing.

Well, now.

Cartwright.

Put your guns away. There's not gonna be any shooting.

- They don't wanna hurt anybody. - That so? Wonder why.

Don't seem likely dirty greasers being polite.

You. You gonna tell us where's the gold's at?

Gonna make us go to a lot of trouble.

Afraid of that.

Yes, sirree, I was afraid of that.

One of your tricks, señor. Best thing that ever came out of Mexico.

When it gets dry, the rawhide shrinks, the neck stretches.

Just enough to take the weight off your feet, just an inch or two.

You won't get dizzy from the height or nothing.

Anderson, you're not gonna torture anybody.

Cartwright, you're sure acting unfriendly

considering all us risked our lives coming out here to rescue you.

All right, so I'm rescued.

Now, let's take these men back to Virginia City to stand trial.

We're gonna get the gold back first.

The way you act,

I got the funny feeling you're in with these criminals to rob your pa.

Oh, you want that gold all right.

But not for my father.

Now, like I said, these men are going in for trial.

Bone dry and burning up.

You could probably use a drink, huh?

This water'd keep that rawhide from shrinking.

It's too bad I can't spare you some more,

but there ain't enough water out here for an honest man to keep alive,

let alone criminals.

Now, are you gonna tell us where you hid that gold?

Tell 'em where it is. It's not worth it.

To my village... it is.

Look, your village isn't gonna see that gold anyway if you die out here.

That's the idea, Mr. Cartwright.

You help this little old señor here to see the... see the light.

They don't wanna kill us. They just want the gold.

That's right, nobody's gonna get killed.

Not if you tell us where you hid the gold.

I will... show you.

Cut him down, Perkins. He's ready at last.

I almost wish he'd decided to hold out. It'd have been something to see.

You, you watch the others.

Boke, you keep an eye on Cartwright.

Come on, señor. Show us where the gold's at.

You hid it. You fetch it out.

Look at that, will you?

We're rich.

Watch him.

- Go get him. - We got the gold. We don't need him.

You're exactly right.

When it comes to that, I don't need you.

Hold it.

Three shots.

- That kidnapper don't have a gun. - Maybe he tried to run.

Yeah, maybe somebody tried to run.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were running with all that gold right now.

- No, they'd never do that. - Yes, they would.

Charlie...

Now, stop your firing.

Drop your gun.

Now, stand out in the open.

Keep your hands straight up and I won't blow your head off.

All right, you men, this is the sheriff talking to you.

Now, drop your guns and come out on here in the open

if you know what's good for you.

Now, you're all lawbreakers and you're under arrest,

so don't none of you try nothing...

- How are you, son? - Yeah, I'm fine.

Anderson and Perkins took the other Mexican off somewhere

and we heard some shots.

Roy, let's have a look.

- Keep an eye on 'em, Bob. - Right.

All right, don't move.

I was trying to help.

I am afraid there is nothing anyone can do.

It's not... not this... man.

Anderson. Anderson shot me.

I should have known he'd want all the...

all the gold for himself.

Señor, you'd better come with me.

Pa, did the... did the Mexican tell you why he wanted that gold?

Does it matter?

Yeah, I think it does.

Let me have it.

There's no call to take us in like common thieves, Sheriff.

We was just trying to keep them kidnappers from getting away.

Oh, sure, that's why you were shooting at Little Joe.

Now, look, you men,

we know that you was after that gold and we got proof of that,

and you're all going back to town

to stand trial for attempted robbery and attempted murder.

This won't take a minute, Ben. Then we'll go after Anderson.

In this heat, packing all that weight, he's not gonna get very far.

Tuckered, ain't you, horse?

He's only about an hour ahead of us now.

So, we're gaining.

This desert is not a merciful place.

It does not forgive a man his mistakes.

In some ways it is like your courts.

You heard, señor, that yesterday one of my men saved your son's life?

Yes, I heard.

Did you consider that if you hadn't kidnapped him in the first place,

it wouldn't have been a necessity to save him?

Yes, señor.

He's gonna be all right. We'll... pick him up on the way back.

His water's gone.

Now his horse is carrying the whole weight.

It's twice as much as any of our horses are carrying.

Let's ride.

If there's any water in there, it's 50 feet down.

Well, this is his last chance at water for at least 20 miles.

Well, he lost a stirrup.

Maybe he lost a horse.

Reckon he must be trying to lighten his load, huh?

Yeah. Open up the saddlebag.

And every pound he's still carrying

must be doubling in weight with every step he takes.

Rich man.

I... I could even buy that sun up there.

Ain't nothing money can't buy.

Women...

Wine...

Wine... and pretty women.

Lovely.

Time... It's time...

Time to move on, Billy boy.

Time to move on.

Dying... I'm dying... I'm dying of thirst.

I'll have anything.

Champagne.

Champagne's what we drink,

bu... buckets of it...

in ice.

I'm a... I'm a man of means.

Wine...

Wine...

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Your very good health, Billy boy.

Billy boy.

You... You got gold.

You'll get anything... anything.

Wine...

Wine...

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

If you... If you please.

Filth, like cattle.

Fetch... Fetch me...

another bottle, boy.

Ben, he's... he's in pretty bad shape,

but I reckon we can get him back to town to stand trial.

There's only one of those gold bars in here. Still one missing.

We spread out, we might have a chance to find it.

It might be around here somewhere.

I don't know, Joe. This desert's a big place.

Probably couldn't find it even if we had an army.

- What do you think, Blas? - As you say, it's a very big place.

It is permitted to ask, what happens to us now, señor,

myself and my friends?

Sheriff?

What's the law's attitude gonna be towards these men?

Well, Ben, kidnapping is a pretty serious offense.

They could be sent to prison for quite a stretch, depending on the judge.

Joe?

What do you think?

What's all this talk about kidnapping? Who got kidnapped?

What do you mean, who got kidnapped? You were kidnapped.

That's why we're here...

I get it.

You were just showing your friends from Sonora, Mexico,

some of this beautiful countryside, is that it?

And as long as there's no law against sightseeing, I can't put 'em in jail.

I guess you can go back to your village in Sonora.

Muchas gracias, señor.

Many thanks. Adios.

Adios, amigo.

Adios.

He can't walk, but I think he can set a saddle now anyhow.

Well, we'll manage.

Here, señor. This belongs to you.

I thought you might bring it back.

You knew I had it?

Saw you pick it up.

Señor, you make me feel one inch tall.

I want you to keep that.

There's some chemicals you can buy that neutralize the lime in farm soil.

And a deep well, it's good for irrigation.

You are offering charity.

Accepting charity is a whole lot less criminal than kidnapping.

There are a couple of values that you still have to learn about, schoolmaster.

Anyway, I don't consider this charity. I consider it an investment.

One of these days I'm gonna ride down to your town.

I'm gonna look for some fields of good corn.

And if they're the property of the town at large,

then I'll know that my money's been well invested.

If not, I'll take it out of your hide.

- Clear? - Vividly, señor.

Hasta la vista.

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