Original subtitles

MAN: Hyah!

Hyah!

Tales of Wells Fargo.

MAN: Hyah! Hyah!

JIM: One of the strangest,

most mystifying stagecoach robberies

in the files of Wells Fargo

took place on top of a pass

near the New Mexico, Arizona desert.

JIM: The two bandits failed to stop the coach

in a trap they had set up,

so they race after it,

firing continuously.

JIM: When the shotgun messenger was winged,

the driver decided to stop

before anyone else was hurt.

Everybody out.

You, hand the dog down.

The dog?

You heard him.

You too,

give him a hand.

All right, now get back in there.

And hurry up, hurry up,

come on.

Hey, get goin'.

You Jim Hardie?

That's right. I heard about your holdup.

What happened?

Well, I'm a might puzzled, sir.

You mean 'cause they didn't rob the passengers?

Well, not only that

but...

we was carrying a strongbox,

nothing in it but some bonds,

but how'd they know?

And all they wanted was a little dog?

Yeah, that's all they wanted,

one mongrel dog.

Half dried up

by the sun.

I hope I can find the little fella.

I bet he's getting thirsty by this time.

You mean you're goin' out

in that blazin' hot desert,

just to look for a mongrel dog?

And the two men that did it.

They're guilty of wounding you,

robbing Wells Fargo Express,

and molesting one of our stages.

Why would they go to all that bother over a dog?

I'd sure like to know.

Well, that makes two of us.

Not only that, we've got to deliver that dog

as agreed.

That may turn out

to be quite a job.

You got the name of the man

it was to go to?

Got that...

bill of lading here somewhere.

I'll go by and have a talk with him

before I leave town.

Is your name Anderson?

That's right.

I spent the better part of an hour

trying to track you down.

Oh?

Well, what do you want?

My name is Hardie.

I'm an investigator

for Wells Fargo.

The crate contained a little dog

being shipped to you was taken off

of one of our stages.

A dog, you say? Yeah. I understand

it was a little yellow dog,

kind of a mixed breed.

Well, it must be Hank,

my brother's dog.

He got a gold mine a mile or two

outside of Santa Fe.

You say he had a gold mine?

Yes, he was killed

the day before yesterday.

Fell down a mine shaft.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I just heard about it this morning.

And somebody tried to send you his dog?

I guess so.

Ed and he were just about inseparable.

Hank's only a mutt, you know.

But you ought to see some of the tricks he knows,

he's as smart as they come.

Even so, why would anybody

wanna take him?

I don't know.

You can't think of any possible reason?

No.

Not a single one.

Neither can I.

Well, he isn't worth anything.

He is to Wells Fargo.

We've got a reputation for delivering freight

without losing it.

It's a reputation I wanna maintain.

Well, if anyone does find him,

I'll be in Santa Fe. I quit my job

as soon as I heard the news.

I'll be leaving tomorrow.

Hmm.

All right, Mr. Anderson,

then I'll see you there.

I hope when I do,

I've got Hank with me.

JIM: I retraced the trail

the stage had taken back

to the area of the holdup.

The crate was there.

They had broken it open

and taken the dog out.

But what had they done with him?

It wasn't likely they really wanted him,

it didn't make sense.

There had to be some other reason

for the robbery.

But I didn't know what it was.

I couldn't even guess.

Hank?

Yeah, that's as good an answer

as any, isn't it?

You're in kind of a bad way,

aren't you, old feller?

Why don't you get in out of the sun?

Didn't have the strength, eh?

Hmm, why don't we get you to a waterhole

I know about near here?

Think you want a little coffee, Hank?

Hmm?

What do you got here?

Huh?

It wasn't only the heat that got you,

was it?

Feels like somebody kicked a rib

out of you there.

Yes sir.

Yeah. It's all right

if you can't talk.

I understand it.

Too bad, though,

dogs can't talk.

Tell about certain things

folks do to 'em.

Then I guess it's a good thing you can't.

Probably be talking too much, wouldn't you?

I think we'll rest here

for the night.

And we'll go on in the morning.

You want some water?

JIM: We never caught up with the two bandits.

But the trail led straight

to Santa Fe and ended.

They were here in town all right,

but where?

I decided before I started looking for them,

I'd go out there to Ed Anderson's gold mine,

see what I could find.

Maybe some clue as to why Hank

had been taken off of the stagecoach

then abandoned in the desert.

There had to be some answer,

some explanation.

This your home, boy?

It's no use, boy.

He's not here.

Hank.

Who are you?

My name is Jim Hardie,

with Wells Fargo.

But I just sent him to Tucson

by Wells Fargo.

I know, but he didn't make it.

Why?

Two bandits held up our coach

and took him off.

Kicked him around a little bit,

left him in the desert to die.

Why in the world would anybody wanna hurt you?

JIM: I wish I knew.

SALLY: Where is his collar?

Did he have one?

SALLY: He had a beautiful one.

Ed made it himself,

carved leather.

Yeah.

I know. I just saw

some of his handiwork.

He could do almost anything with leather.

It was his hobby.

Sounds like you knew him pretty well.

We were going to be married.

Why were you sending him to Tucson?

Because I promised.

Ed said if anything ever happened to him,

he wanted Jeff,

his brother, to have the dog.

What do you think was gonna happen?

SALLY: He wouldn't talk about it.

Did he have any enemies that you knew about?

No.

Everybody liked Ed.

Oh, his death was an accident.

No doubt about that.

In case you're thinking it wasn't.

He must have had a premonition

for something.

Yes.

Yes, I guess he did.

I see you have some

of your personal belongings with you.

My father bought the mine from Ed

a week or two ago.

We're moving out here.

Who is your father?

Seth Hill.

He has an office in Santa Fe.

What about you?

Do you have a name?

Uh-hmm.

Sally.

You're a pretty girl, Sally.

Did you by any chance know the brother?

Oh, yes.

Jeff used to live out here with Ed.

They worked the mine together.

Then they had a fight

and Jeff moved away.

What'd they fight about?

Me.

Let me see if I've got this straight.

Ed sold the mine to your father.

SALLY: After Jeff pulled out.

Ed didn't want the place anymore.

We were going away.

What business is your father in?

He's a lawyer.

But he doesn't have many clients left.

You see, there's a new lawyer

in town.

Well,

anyway,

Ed let my father

have the mine cheap.

On my account, I guess.

Do you mind if I go in

and have a talk with him?

No.

No, of course not.

JIM: Will you keep an eye on that little feller

until I get back?

Gladly.

Practically raised both Ed and Jeff Anderson.

They were like sons to me.

How much did you pay for the mine, Mr. Hill?

Frankly, Mr. Hardie, I don't think

that's any of your concern.

Oh well,

in the first place,

it wasn't an outright sale.

He was gonna get a percentage

of everything I took out of it.

Hmm. Do you have any papers to that effect?

No.

There were no papers.

Ed trusted me.

Well, did he give you a deed to the mine?

Of course he did.

Good.

All right, Mr. Hill.

I'll be talking with you later on.

Anytime. Anytime at all.

Get freshened up a little,

run back out of the mine.

See if Sally needs any help

unloading the rig.

Good.

Good day, sir.

Good day.

Hello, Hank.

Is he...

He's dead.

It's Curly Nelson.

Did you know him?

Just a look at.

He's a...

He was a town tough,

never worked.

And he was working just a little while ago.

He hired his gun up to somebody

that wanted me killed.

Mr. Hardie,

I'm frightened.

Hank has been acting peculiar lately,

ever since you left.

Now this. JIM: How do you mean?

Running in and out of the mine, barking,

his hair bristling,

as if he's seen a ghost.

Do you suppose

it was Curly Nelson he saw?

I don't know.

If Hank's still in there, I'll have a look.

Dried blood.

Is that all?

Isn't that enough?

I don't understand.

Hank smelled this blood

and knew something was wrong.

Maybe he even knew whose blood it was.

Somebody sent Nelson out here to kill me.

That's proof there's a murderer around.

And I think you're wrong about Anderson's death.

I don't believe it was accidental.

It's my guess he was hit on the head with this rock

and killed, and his body thrown down the mine shaft.

Ed, murdered?

I'd bet my bottom dollar on it.

But who would want to...

Why would anybody...

That's what I intend to find out.

You want me to go with you?

No. If you'd testify at the inquest,

that'd be enough.

Curly tried to kill you.

I saw him.

That's what I'll say.

Do you think he's the one

who dumped Anderson's body

down the shaft?

He'd have no reason.

He had no reason to try to kill me either.

You mean, somebody might've

hired him to kill Ed?

But who?

Hello, Sally.

SALLY: Jeff. Mr. Hardie.

I didn't expect you until tomorrow,

Mr. Anderson.

There's no reason to hang around Tucson.

A long, hard trip, wasn't it?

Yeah. Desert all the way.

Nice clean shave you got.

Oh, I guess

I was in Santa Fe ahead of you.

I traded horses at Yellow Rock

and came straight on through.

Did you come back to run the mine?

No.

No, I walked out of here,

I told Ed

it was all his.

The day your brother was killed,

were you in Tucson?

JEFF: Well, not that particular day, I...

Where were you?

Out prospecting.

JIM: Were you alone?

Yeah, why?

You could've come back here.

You could've slipped in without anybody seeing you.

What are you trying to say?

I'm trying to say that I think

your brother was murdered.

Murdered?

Are you accusing me of maybe coming...

I was just thinking of the reasons you'd have,

the motive.

The gold, the girl,

revenge on a brother that you...

might've had a grudge against.

Why you...

I was just thinking.

Jeff wouldn't have hurt Ed.

Neither would anybody else,

but somebody did.

They hurt him pretty bad.

Well, if my brother was murdered, mister,

it's no business of Wells Fargo.

If it's tied in with two men

that took a dog off a Wells Fargo stagecoach,

it is.

Well now, wait a minute.

That's my dog.

I'm going after those two men.

I don't know what they look like,

but he does.

You mean, you want him

to help you find them?

JIM: Any objections?

But you don't even know where to look.

If they just got paid, they're going to be in town

somewhere spending the money.

I want to find out who sent them

after that dog and why.

Who paid them?

Or are you afraid of some of the answers

they might give?

Of course not.

If you do locate them,

please let us know what it was they were looking for

when they robbed the stage.

It wasn't Hank.

They let him go.

Yes, ma'am.

The two of you wait here until I get back.

JIM: What was it they were after?

I remembered seeing Ed Anderson's

fancy leather-work,

and Sally saying that Hank was wearing

a carved leather collar

when she had shipped him.

One that Anderson had made himself.

It couldn't be the collar alone that they wanted.

So it had to be something sewn up in the lining,

a piece of paper maybe,

like the deed to a gold mine.

Seth Hill had said he had that deed.

Maybe he had the collar too.

JIM: I decided to find out

before I went after the robbers

of the stagecoach

because if it was true,

I could tie everything up

in one neat package,

robbery of the stage and the murder

of Ed Anderson.

SETH: May I help you?

I was looking for the dog's collar.

You broke into my office, Mr. Hardie.

I've got every right to shoot

and kill you as a common prowler.

Why would you want to do that, Mr. Hill?

Unless you've got something to hide.

Maybe I do have.

But you're not gonna be alive

to talk about it.

It was you that hired Curly Nelson

to kill me.

Only, he missed. Now you're gonna have

to do it yourself, huh?

SETH: But I won't miss.

But first, turn around,

take out that third book

on the second shelf... Look behind it.

You murdered Ed Anderson

for the deed to his mine.

Uh-uh. Curly Nelson did that.

But you were paying him.

Anderson was going to take Sally

away with him.

He was going to give the mine to his brother.

They were going to leave me here with nothing.

JIM: Well maybe that's what he figured

you were worth, Mr. Hill,

exactly nothing.

After you had him killed,

you must've looked everywhere

for that deed.

But you knew Anderson well enough to know

that he tricked you even in death

through his leather-work.

Pretty smart, aren't you?

You remember how he always told Sally,

"If anything ever happens to me,

be sure to send the dog to my brother"?

That was when you realized

that he'd been afraid of you all along

and he planned on sending the deed

to his brother, and it wrapped around

the dog's neck.

Well, you're gonna have to keep looking Mr. Hill,

because it isn't here.

Where is it?

You want me to guess?

Where is it?

You hired two men to hold up a stage

and told them all you wanted

was a dog's collar.

I paid them. I paid them $600.

That's just it.

They must've got to wondering

why was a dog's collar worth $600.

They opened it up, took out the deed,

and sewed it back up.

Double-crossed me.

Yeah. But they don't look at it that way.

You paid him for a dog's collar

and that's what you got.

That and nothing more.

Those crooks.

You knew they were crooks

when you hired them.

Those filthy thieves.

JIM: I let him go,

because I knew he'd be looking

for the same two men I was.

My hope was to find them before he did.

Hank and I went from one end of Santa Fe

to the other.

And I would've sworn the little dog

knew exactly who we were looking for.

We'd already been to two saloons.

Now we headed for the third

and the last one.

Hold it.

Get their guns.

Did you leave that dog out there to die?

I asked you a question and I want an answer.

Yeah, we did it.

Where's the deed to the gold mine?

He doesn't know what you're talking about,

neither do I.

JIM: Then maybe he does.

The first man that moves a muscle...

You thieves, you filthy thieves!

Did you think you could double-cross me

and get away with it?

Better give him what he wants.

Go on, give it to him.

Now we'll all go for a walk.

Get up.

Come on, Hank.

Wells Fargo owes you a nice fresh bone.