Original subtitles

"It was the afternoon of September 8th."

"The News Intelligencer, one of St. Howard's three newspapers .."

"Was cranking up as usual for tomorrow morning's edition."

"As usual it would print whatever its editor Haven Allridge had decided."

"Within the limits of truth and decency."

"Without fear, favor or permission of anybody."

"A good old American custom called Freedom of the Press."

"This day being Wednesday .."

"Allridge was planning to spend the evening with Peggy and Randy Stauton."

"His daughter and son-in-law."

"The Stautons lived in the county about 30 miles from the heart of St. Howard."

"The Factory Creek bridge was the boundary between the city .."

"And the sprawling sparsely settled county of Bridgewood."

"It was a nice drive on county Route 54."

"The permanent campaign signs of Bridgewood Sheriff Burke .."

"Reminded voters who they could thank for the newly paved highway."

"The county seat was the town of Bridgewood."

"On the surface, like any other small American community .."

"It had its shops, its square, its courthouse."

"Randy, who was county prosecutor."

"Had his office here and his car was usually parked near the court."

"He had probably gone home already."

"The Stauton's house was in the residential section on Saxbury Road."

"A few blocks from the courthouse."

"Yes. Randy was home."

"And so was Haven Allridge."

"This was their story. The story of a family."

"And it could have happened to you."

"An hour or so after dinner .."

"Allridge left the Stautons to drive to the office and put the paper to bed."

"This was to be the beginning of an experience."

"A month in his life which Allridge would never forget."

No damage, mister.

Mr Allridge, Willy. May I give you a lift to the city?

Good evening, Mr Allridge.

It will be a real favor, I am sure.

County buses never come along when you want one.

I don't guess you're going to the building at this time of night?

No. Just drop me off anywhere after the bridge, Mr Allridge.

Alright.

I wonder who they are chasing.

What's the trouble, officer? - Let me see your driver's license.

Sorry. I'm afraid I have left my wallet in my office jacket.

Yeah?

How about you?

He is not driving. - Give me your papers.

Trouble, Grayton?

No driver's license, Sheriff.

Get out, you.

Look at old Cliff go.

Boy, he must be loaded tonight.

Sheriff, I can have my license out here within an hour.

Just about the time you get old Cliff.

What's this all about?

You're a city man, ain't you mister?

Out here we don't hold court on the highway.

Take him in.

I want to use the phone.

Anything you want to say you can tell us.

Tank keys. Number 11.

Sixty-eight bucks.

Two dead moths. They starved to death.

Okay, get going.

Forgetting your license isn't a jail offence.

You know all about the law, don't you.

An important man.

A very important man.

Okay, very important man. Who are you?

A citizen.

Who isn't?

Take him, Cannell.

The first two. Ain't nobody driving cars tonight?

How do I know.

Come on.

You get used to the smell.

Keep moving. You are going to court first.

Well that's good news. - The prisoners' court.

A kangaroo court?

In this state? - In this county.

Let's go.

A couple of new fish for you, Little Jake.

The big one.

You. Wait over by the bunks.

You. Stand against the wall.

Take your coat off.

Take off your coat.

Put your hands in them rings.

You swear to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth so help you, Burke?

Court is now in session.

The charge is breaking and entering this jail without the consent of Little Jake.

What is the evidence?

What's the evidence? He's here, ain't he?

Guilty.

That's a fairer trial than you will get tomorrow morning.

See if he's got any dough.

A buck and a half.

I fine him a buck and a half buck costs.

Next prisoner.

Hey. This guy ain't got nothing but a bus token.

Hold it.

He was hiding a quarter in his vest pocket.

Well.

A smart man, huh?

What do you say Cannell?

You know the rules.

Okay, boys.

Send out for sandwiches will you, Cannell.

Yep.

According to evidence presented you are charged with obstructing a highway.

You plead guilty?

I hauled my rig over to the shoulder. - Changing a tyre, wasn't you?

You saw it yourself. My rig over on the shoulder.

Don't argue with the Sheriff.

Guilty or not-guilty?

Guilty.

You should have thought of that in the first place. Saved us all a lot of time.

The fine will be ..

Fourteen dollars.

I'll take a receipt for this. My boss ..

You're walking out of here in one piece. That's enough of a receipt for you.

Who is next?

Hey, you. You're up.

What's the charge?

County Ordinance 72. Soliciting rides on highway.

Guilty or not-guilty?

I didn't ask for a ride. I was waiting at a bus-stop.

Here is his wallet. Not money.

I had a bus token.

I was waiting for the bus when Mr Allridge ..

Answer the question. Guilty or not-guilty?

Not-guilty, sir.

If you plead not guilty you will have to stand trial.

Thirty days from this date.

I remand you to the custody of the Sheriff.

Who is next?

Call that man back. I will go his bail.

He's got thirty days on the labor gang. You want to do that?

But he had no idea he was breaking your ordinance.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

You're doing alright.

One more funny crack, mister.

And you'll be back in the crib on contempt charges.

What's the charge on this fellow, K.C.?

No license. Damaging county property. Running from the scene of an accident.

What accident?

You backed your car into the marker at Saxbury bus stop.

What kind of a home-made law is that? - Quiet, you.

Remember the dignity of the court.

I find you guilty.

The fine will be 50 dollars.

And 18 dollars costs. That will 68 dollars total.

There is a lawyer of you want him.

A little late to get legal, isn't it?

Why didn't you tell us who you was?

We never would have hauled you in if I'd known you was kin to Randy Stauton.

I didn't know. Until now ..

That there was a special kind of law for fathers-in-law of county prosecutors.

I thought the same law covered truck drivers, salesmen and ..

Candy peddlers.

Last night the kangaroo court in your jail fined me a dollar and a half.

The only difference I see between that court and this is 66 dollars, 50 cents.

Burke.

I'm going to skin this tin badge off that floppy shirt of yours ..

If it's the last thing I do.

It's been tried before.

It will be tried again.

Goodnight, son. Sleep tight. - Sweet dreams.

Randy.

I've got to ask you to do something. - Anything you need, dad. You know that.

No. This isn't personal. It's official.

Shoot.

This rough-riding Sheriff of yours has got to be blasted out of office.

And it is on your doorstep. - What can I do?

You're the county prosecutor.

Go to the Grand Jury for an indictment against Burke.

No. It wouldn't work. - Why not?

Because there is an election coming up.

They'd stall hearings until after their boys chewed my ears off at the polls.

And then their new boy would quash the charge.

Why were you elected?

To hold a job, or do one?

Dad, these things take time. - Time for what?

For another hundred Willy Jacksons to be beaten up like animals?

Time for Burke and his gang to spread out of their county ..

And move on to the city and the state?

No. Time to ..

Marcia.

Marcia, you little monkey. Climb right back in that bed.

Dad, I wish you'd listen to Randy.

Do you remember all that fuss about that Tom Kenny?

Randy was right then.

Tom Kenny was a dead man who looked murdered. My information was that.

But Willy Jackson is alive and I saw what happened to him with my own eyes.

I still say he knows these men better than you do.

You both have to do what you think right.

Randy is not a newspaper man. He's a public official.

She's right, dad. These men are dangerous. We're thinking of you.

Look, youngsters.

When I cashed my first 12 dollar check as a kid reporter ..

I took on the newspaperman's job chore of playing watchdog to a free society.

And it is my job to bark my lungs out when I see a burglar prowling around.

And believe you and me, I'm just getting tuned up.

Well, as an editor you are a hundred percent right.

But my job is staying in office.

Your job is to carry on your obligations to the public.

I'll show you and bite off that pretty pink nose of yours.

Sorry I blew off, kids.

That's enough Marcia. It's bedtime for the dolls.

Give grandpa his bunny hug.

Goodnight, sweetheart.

Off you go.

Goodnight, Marcia.

Dad, we all have to blow off sometime.

Don't worry. Someday we'll get Burke and Tarsson.

It won't be easy but we'll get them.

Right now I think you are being sensible to let it drop.

Let it drop?

Not on your life.

These hoods think they are nice and safe.

But there is one court that can burn even Burke's tail feathers.

Public opinion.

And Grandpa has got just the blowtorch to heat it up.

Put your gloves on before you pick up tomorrow's paper.

"So Haven Allridge went back to the paper .."

"And threw the libel laws out of the window and started to blast."

"The case of Sam Slaper was a tip-off that .."

"The cash-and-carry court had a lot of dissatisfied customers."

"The speed trap was only a beginning."

"Gambling had long been illegal in our state .."

"But according to Slaper, a service station attendant by day."

"Amboy's was more than a dine and dance roadhouse."

Those guys are loaded. I knew it. I've been trying all night.

"Slaper stated a pair of house dice were heavier on one side than the other."

"He was shown his error by a conviction for disturbing the peace."

"A disgruntled horse player supplied to Allridge .."

"The details of how the bookies serviced the city of St. Howard .."

"From behind the safe refuge of the county line."

"The parents of 12 high school boys blew the whistle .."

"On the dime-bet bookie joint behind Bridgewood high school."

"Where the kids had been losing their lunch money."

"Several men who were unfortunate enough to go to county court without money."

"Reported their experiences with the Burke/Tarsson version of public works."

"Day by day the blowtorch burned brighter and was getting hotter."

"The court of public opinion was beginning to flame."

"And Burke had to put out the fire."

Okay, folks. Kindly step back please.

Step back. That's the way. Now hold your places there please.

Keep back please. That's the way.

You know who did it? - Who do you think?

Burke's stooge wanted a description.

Mr Allridge, you know Captain Maxwell, river precinct?

Since he walked the beat. How are you, Buck?

Fine thanks.

You getting along with your model cop? - What do you mean "cop"?

He's just a cheap election fixer with a star on his shirt ..

And a gang of war heroes for deputies.

Please don't call him a cop. - I was only kidding.

Chief.

Mr Mayor, this is no longer a private fight between Burke and The News.

First, an ordinance forbidding delivery of newspapers outside daylight hours.

Yesterday, they stopped us bringing our newsprint in over the county highway.

This wreck is just their topper for today.

Now, what next?

Well, it's no field day for us either.

Ask Buck. It's his precinct that's taken the beating.

You tell us something we can do and we'll give you a monument.

Haven, you know the city hasn't an ounce of authority ..

When it gets two inches beyond that county sign.

But the state has.

Andy. Walt.

I want you fellows to appeal to the capital.

Try to get the state's attorney general send down a special prosecutor.

Bridgewood county delivers 18,000 votes on the barrel head every election.

And who do you think delivers Bridgewood county?

Burke.

"You couldn't blame Maxwell for feeling a little cynical."

"But counties don't deliver the conscience of a state."

"The conscience of my state had already been aroused."

"When clippings from Allridge's articles came to the capital in every mail."

"A file was laid on the desk of my boss."

"The attorney general's assistant in charge of the trial section."

"And that is where I came in."

How is his mood?

Don't be silly, Chick. Only people have moods.

Mr Johnson is coming in now. Goodbye, sir.

That was the attorney general. - Uhuh.

Mr Morrison.

I want to tell you how much I've enjoyed working with you over the last 4 years.

He wants us to take action on a civil rights case.

And how deeply I regret having to submit my resignation from the department.

Up in Bridgewood County.

I saw you lunching with Dan Bayliss last week. You going to work for him?

That's what I've been shooting for ever since I came here.

You will go up to St. Howard tonight on the flyer. Contact Captain Maxwell.

The St. Howard Police Department is loaning him to us as an investigator.

He knows all the local people there.

Hold on a minute, Mr Morrison. I don't work here anymore, remember?

You will work here until I accept your resignation.

I have a lot of things to clean up. I must get my cases ready for turnover.

The editor .. whatsisname?

They have accumulated enough evidence to build up a section 21 indictment ..

On a dozen counts.

You can put in the wheres and wherefores in two weeks.

What happens if the case stretches out?

Bayliss talked to Stan Walters too you know.

What you are being hired for is what you are taking away from this department.

You owe the department a duty and you'll pay it in St. Howard.

Your job finishes when the Grand Jury returns an indictment.

Or a No Bill.

Okay. Okay.

Can I stay in a decent hotel this time?

Three weeks from now Bayliss can buy you a suite in the Ritz.

But until that time you are on the regular state per diem.

Mr Morrison.

I didn't mean to get personal but you must know how I feel.

You've been knocking yourself out here for the last 31 years.

And what have you got to show for it?

That is something you will have to find out for yourself, Charles.

When you do, maybe you will make a good lawyer.

Well, don't just stand there. You've got a train to catch.

Mr Johnson? - I'm Johnson.

Are you Captain Maxwell? - Yeah.

Glad to meet you. You're certainly an early bird.

Burke is an early worm. - The earlier the better.

I'd like to set up this hearing and be out of here by the first of the month.

It may not be such a pushover.

You haven't seen this morning's paper.

Dropped out kind of sudden, didn't they?

The man who was riding them dropped out even suddener.

Was he bought off or scared off?

That's a fool thing to say about Haven Allridge.

A lot of chips on the table.

Any report why he dropped out?

Yep.

At 2 o'clock this morning he phoned the city editor ..

That he had to take a vacation because of his health.

Which his doctor doesn't know about.

Then he woke up his daughter to say he had to leave town on urgent business.

Which is news to his publisher and lawyer.

Well, we won't need him.

All we really need is that mess of leads and evidence he filed.

I can still be out of here by the first.

Whether or not your nail Burke?

Don't worry. I'll nail him.

Now where do you suppose Allridge kept his evidence? That is if he had any.

You might be interested in this. It was here in his typewriter when he left.

55. Wilfred Jackson. 55.

Affidavits from 55 cash and carry victims.

It looks like he planned to stop these articles when he left here last night.

He made a string of appointments for today too.

Is it alright if we borrow these for a few days?

Sure.

What I'm really interested in are those 55 affidavits 55.

That's no problem.

Tell me, was Allridge a heavy drinker?

You picture he's one of those dreamboy reporters racing round stealing photos.

With his coat collar turned up and his hat brim down.

And a pint in every pocket.

Always wanted to meet one of those but I never got far enough from the paper.

So he isn't out of town losing a ten-day weekend?

Not Mr Allridge. Here we are.

That's funny.

I saw him put that folder back in the drawer and lock it before he went out.

Does your night elevator man sign people in and out?

Just a minute.

Sandy?

Did Mr Allridge come back into the building after I left last night?

Take a look will you.

Thanks.

He came back in about 2:40 am and left ten minutes later.

What do you suppose he did with those affidavits?

He's probably holed up somewhere putting together a mop-up story ..

That'll blow Burke and company right out their shoes.

I hope he is a speed typist.

Nellie. Nellie.

What are you doing out of the courthouse at this time of day?

We've got to do something or I'm going to break it my way.

Got to?

About what?

This smart kid from the attorney general's office.

He arrives this morning on the flier and right away he starts smelling around.

Well?

Well, we got to do something.

You're worried, aren't you, Burke.

Why not?

With State house guys crawling all over us.

And the only rebuttal you can think of is a gun or a blackjack.

These State Capital guys. They ain't got any handles on them.

Perhaps we can put a handle on this one.

You ain't even seen the guy.

He's human, isn't he?

Pass the word to be careful for a few days.

Put the covers on the tables, lay off the highways.

Take the re-men off the labor gang.

Keep your blackjack in your pocket.

Play it my way.

What do you have that's good for sore feet?

More bourbon, less walking.

With plain water.

Say.

What does a guy do with an evening in St. Howard?

That is without walking.

Well.

You saving this for somebody?

Yes. You.

Light?

Now you're going to say a little more than that, aren't you?

All day long I've walked around the city talking to people who won't talk to me.

It's getting me down. - Really?

Did anybody ever tell your fortune with ice-cubes?

Like tea leaves.

These ice-cubes tell me we've been wasting a lot of valuable time.

Cute little ice-cubes.

They are working themselves around to a great big idea.

They suggest you waste a little more time and have dinner with me.

The cubes aren't very clear on that.

Come now. Let's approach this sanely.

Here I am, a lonely guy in a strange city.

Here are you.

The most beautiful, most glamorous, most exciting woman in the whole wide bar.

Why Mr Johnson, how you do rattle on.

You know.

These ice-cubes reveal more than I knew. They've even got my name on them.

Maybe you are not wasting your time after all.

I really blew that one wide open.

Well, as I always say. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Ill-gotten gains are the devil's form of waste.

Waste not, want not.

I'll think of one.

Don't. I ran out too.

What did Burke want you to get out of me?

Get friendly. Have you come to Amboy's.

Is that all? There must be more.

You are to make a date with me.

Or to meet at Amboy's.

Burke is there, Tarsson is there.

We all play drop the handkerchief.

Could you think of something else?

Well, yeah.

Okay.

Well maybe we'd better play it their way. Dinner at Amboy's.

No. - Why not?

Very smoky. Bad air. You wouldn't like it.

I don't breathe much.

I'll try it another way.

I wouldn't want to pick up your pieces.

Are you being nice to me by some strange reason?

It's part of our service.

I'll say this, you are a new type.

It's confusing isn't it. - Yeah.

I know this won't make much sense to you but ..

Don't come out there.

Look. We've all got an angle. You, Burke and I.

What are you smiling about?

I was just thinking.

It would have been kind of nice if I'd have really come in here by accident.

But then you would have lit your own cigarette.

Would I?

And would you have let that stop you?

I don't think so.

I don't see Amboy's.

It's another ten miles out on Route 54.

This is where you switch cabs.

What do you mean, switch cabs? What's wrong with this one?

Look mister, I'm a city hack.

If I try busting over onto Burke's territory ..

I end up in the clink with a busted noggin and no dough.

So, you switch cabs.

This is a new twist. He hasn't missed a bet.

Let's chance it. Keep driving.

You sound like you never had your dome creased with the deputy's blackjack.

Be a nice fellow, mister.

Take one of them county cabs and save everybody a lot of trouble.

Alright.

"Them that's good, them that's mean."

"Them that's somewhere in between."

"But it looks to me from what I've seen."

"That if you can't do wrong, do right."

"Look at that gal, Delilah."

"She had them all in a spin."

"Then the mighty Samson."

A guy could get himself fired doing that.

A beautiful thought, Jack. Only she is my wife.

Let it be a warning to you.

"Just one road for you and me."

"He said no, he's lost the fight because you can't do wrong .."

"When you're doing right."

Hello there.

Is there something you'd like me to play for you?

I thought I told you not to come here. - Do you know ..

"You are all I need"?

I told you I have my angle.

Maybe these characters have theirs.

That's just what I want to find out.

Whatever it is you lose, why don't you go.

Darling, not while you're playing our song.

Good evening, Miss Bethel.

You are playing beautifully tonight.

Any friend of mine should be a friend of yours.

Alright.

Mr Tarsson, meet Mr Johnson.

Johnson?

Mr Charles Johnson from the capital? What a pleasant coincidence.

You mean it's a small world? - Exactly.

Some people were asking about you only today.

Funny. I've been asking some people about you too.

If you gentlemen would like to dance I'll excuse you.

Would you spare it my dear?

We could have a little private talk.

Get lost, greasy.

Sit down, Mr Johnson.

Make yourself comfortable.

Cigar?

No thanks. What's on your mind?

Suppose we consider this a pre-trial conference between opposing counsel.

In an attempt to find areas of agreement ..

May I ask.

May I ask Mr Johnson what charges you intend to lay against my client?

According to the writings of one Haven Allridge in Bridgewood County ..

It is not etiquette to tell a defendant what he's charged with.

The same? - Yep.

My usual, Ben.

Mr Allridge was guilty of using his paper to air purely personal grievances.

You say he was.

He seems to have discontinued his foul attacks, but ..

We are getting off the subject.

Well.

I am asking an indictment of Burke and his deputies ..

On the basis of Section 21 of the revised penal code.

If any officer .. - Of the law ..

Wilfully deprives any citizen of any rights or privileges or guarantees etc.

That's out of the old territorial statutes.

It's still in the books isn't it.

But any such charges of course be baseless.

There are none of those restraints in Bridgewood County.

Why did I have to switch cabs at the county line?

A highway safety ordinance.

Mr Johnson.

Under our unfortunate judicial system.

Accusations of crimes can be as damaging to my client's name as convictions.

Funny. That was one of the things Haven Allridge was beefing about.

And the way you keep talking about clients.

You are going to be a client too, you know.

Mr Johnson, my clients and I are sensitive men.

We have ..

Have reputations in the community.

Although we are innocent of your charges we wish to avoid the ..

Difficulties of a trial.

Mr Johnson.

You have impressed me as an alert young man.

With an eye for the main chance.

Pick a card.

Any card.

As long as it is the Jack of Diamonds.

Ah, the young eye is quicker than the old hand.

As a lawyer myself ..

I know drawing valid indictments under section 21 will be a tricky business.

If a key clause or two were, let us say to be ..

Inexpertly phrased.

Mr Johnson.

Would you care to make a small wager on your skill?

Say ..

One dollar of yours against five thousand of mine ..

That you can pick the Jack again.

Quite a team.

Burke swings the blackjack and you toss the bankroll.

Is the attorney general making any better offers?

The Jack of Diamonds?

You win.

Enjoy the dance?

Divine if you can stand the partner.

You should try the fat one.

Oh, you mean the one with the badge?

Yes. They'd make a lovely couple.

Were you just browsing or do you have something in mind?

You. - Well.

What are you doing next month?

You impetuous impulsive boy. - No. What I meant ..

You walked out up there without getting your drink. And Nelly was buying.

Thanks.

Anything for you, Cleo? - No thanks, Ben.

You were about to say something.

I'll try it another way. What's your angle?

Try it another way.

Well. This place.

These people.

You.

Thanks.

That's the nicest thing anybody didn't say to me.

No. What I mean is, isn't there a thing you'd like to do next week, next month?

Next year? Haven't you any plans?

Who makes plans?

You do the best you can.

Sometimes you wish it had turned out differently.

Thanks for the song, honey.

Bless you, sir. - Not if you're smart.

Part of our service. Bye-bye, baby.

Look, I ain't going to talk. I ain't going to put my mark on nothing.

Because I am afraid of K.C. Burke.

Burke says he'll get a lot of us after he runs you out of town.

I can make you talk, my friend. Ever hear of a subpoena?

Did you ever hear of a lousy memory? Let me tell you, mister state capital.

If you subpoena me up on a witness stand I won't be able to remember my own name.

Buck, is everybody around here chicken?

You ever been scared of losing our job?

Having your little store burned out or your truck wrecked?

Getting beat up, maybe crippled or lying around on a phony rap?

Maybe having your wife bothered. Even your kids.

Yes. For what?

Court guys talk slick.

These guys talk sore. Here. You notice this thing?

These guys were all called in for the treatment.

To Amboy's? - It's likely.

Allridge too?

He wouldn't know how to find the place.

Look, Buck.

I know I said we wouldn't need Allridge, but I was wrong.

We've had forty-three complainants fizzle out like wet firecrackers.

Some of them pretty strong characters.

Now, if Burke put the heat on Allridge we've got to know.

Ever since I was a rookie he's been the big man in town.

Why? Because no-one else ever came up to his shoulders.

No, you're banging on the wrong door.

Alright, so it's slim. But it's the only lead we've got.

I'm a cop, Johnson. I know a man like him doesn't just change overnight.

Then you ought to enjoy running me out to Amboy's and showing me up for a dope.

What about it, Buck? Right now.

Just walk in and ask the man, huh? - Yep.

First, you got something to learn. - What?

Why policemen have flat feet.

"But we didn't have to go to Amboy's."

"Because Maxwell's flat feet led to some information that brought Amboy to us."

You were right. Dig long enough and there is always a soft spot.

Or maybe it just looks soft.

Come in.

I am Bennie Amboy.

One of you guys phoned me to come in.

On the evening of the 21st ..

You made a phone call to Haven Allridge editor of The News Intelligencer.

Why? - So what?

Then you did phone him? - Who told you to phone?

Is that why Tarsson paid you the $100? - Huh? For crying out loud.

You ordered room service to room 14 when Allridge arrived. What happened there?

Now wait a minute you guys. - What about this $100 from Tarsson?

What hundred dollars from who?

On the 21st, Tarsson drew a counter check for $100 on Bridgewood National.

On the 22nd you deposited the same check ..

In your single name account in the Sennheier trust.

Now, ain't that a coincidence. - Bennie.

Don't you realise we can knock your place over any time we like.

A gambling rap, liquor violations.

A sanitation charge. Anything else in the state statutes.

First you got to knock over Burke and Tarsson.

Would you testify to that in court?

What a comic. You kill me.

About this hundred-dollar check.

Why didn't you put it in the Bridgewood Bank in a joint account with Mrs Amboy?

Does Mrs Amboy know that you keep a single name account in another bank?

You're not knocking down on your own wife, are you Bennie?

Holding out dough on a hot-tempered woman like Mrs Amboy.

We've been selling you short, Bennie. You're a very brave fellow.

You boys are out of your league.

You picked the wrong guy to bluff.

Don't think you can threaten to tell Jenny about my St. Howard bank account.

She knows all about it.

If you crack one word to her I'll the both of you in the clink.

It's blackmail. That's what it is.

A dirty blackmailing trick to make me sing.

Why you so worried about this punk of a newspaper editor anyway?

He comes out to the joint wanting to sell us an Ad.

Just a shakedown to pay us to quit printing them fancy newspaper stories.

He's alright, ain't he?

For crying out loud say something, can't you?

You were doing fine all by yourself.

Bennie, you're in deeper water than you know.

You'd better start swimming for dry land.

What happened up in that room that night?

What's in it for me if I talk?

We don't make deals.

How about you don't .. - I told you.

You don't make deals.

Plus, for what it's worth Bennie, Captain Maxwell here is a married man.

You ain't planted a squeal box on my have you?

Not that I don't trust you, you understand.

Okay.

Call your shots.

That night at a quarter to ten, someone called Allridge on your payphone.

Was it you?

Yep. - What did you say to him?

Well, I says to him like Nelly Tarsson tells me.

That's right, Mr Allridge. This will be strictly the low-down.

Amboy's, room 14.

No there is nobody. Nothing. Just go right upstairs into the room.

Yeah.

But allow me to say this.

Although I disagree with what you print.

I admit your sacred right to print it.

And I envy your consummate skill with the pen.

Let's skip the small talk and get down to cases.

Your man on the telephone promised me the low-down.

I presume he referred to information and not the company.

Nelly, I ain't going to let him pop off like that.

Mr Allridge, you've collected a number of letters and statements ..

From certain disgruntled individuals ..

Who claim to have been wronged in Bridgewood County.

You should see them. Some of them are Lulus.

As the High Sheriff of Bridgewood County ..

Mr Burke is the lawfully constituted guardian of the public welfare.

He demands that turn this so-called evidence over to him forthwith.

Just like that, eh?

Well, naturally of course we are prepared to compensate you.

This compensation.

I suppose you would expect me to discontinue my articles?

Of course.

Name the sum.

Well, every man has his price.

Mine is the satisfaction of seeing you hoodlums behind bars.

Goodnight, gents. Don't miss tomorrow's paper. You make the front page as usual.

Allridge, you're making grave mistake.

You've made yours.

Get out of my way.

Tarsson, call off your dogs.

Mr Allridge, we've tried every means of peaceful persuasion.

For the last time I appeal to you.

Now.

Maybe you'll talk a deal.

This is a waste of time. Take him inside.

Get him a double brandy and leave it outside the door.

Then I go downstairs and after that I know from nothing.

When you went back with the brandy what did you see or hear?

Nothing. They was in the back room.

How much longer was Allridge up there? - I never seen him again.

They probably let him out the back stairs.

You sure you don't want to see none of the junk I lugged all the way down here?

What is in it?

You just said come in. You didn't say what for.

So I brought my income tax returns and my liquor tax papers.

My social security records and my wage and hour schedules.

My unemployment insurance carbon ..

My vittler's inspection cards, my gas tank slips, my draft registration.

And a last year's Christmas card from my aunt Effie in Peoria.

We'll put you up for a pension, Bennie. Thanks.

Remember. I never said a word.

Buck, what happened in that back room?

Well all the lines are out. City police.

Your department. Everybody is checking.

We'll have Allridge for you. - In time for the hearing?

Who was the speedboy that set up the date?

I'm not exactly a favored character am I. Look, I want to win this case.

Yeah. You want to win a case. - What's wrong with that?

I want to pull the pin on a bunch of leaches ..

That have been sucking the blood from a lot of decent people.

Okay. Not mad are you?

I don't get mad. Goodbye.

"Maxwell was right. Allridge came back."

"But it wasn't the city police or my department that got him home. It was .."

"Well, something that meant more to him."

Daddy.

Darling.

Daddy. - How are you?

You are alright? - Of course I'm alright.

You'd think I'd never been off on a trip before.

This one worried me.

Grandpa! - Hello, sweetheart.

How are you?

Give me a big kiss.

Did you get me something? - I brought you something from Detroit.

For Marcia? - Look right in there and see.

Is there something there, huh?

Blow it.

There you are. There you are.

You were sweet to remember.

I'm even sweeter than you think.

No. In Peggy's pockets? - Where else?

You had the other one since graduation.

Well, sounds like that man is here again.

Welcome home. - Hello, Randy.

I'll set another place for dinner.

Do you like you hash medium or well done?

Darling, I can't stay for dinner. I've got to get back.

You win. I'll give you lamb chops.

No, I'm not joking. I've really got to go back to the club.

I've a lot of things to do. I've got to pack.

I am .. going back to Detroit.

Detroit? For how long?

Well, for quite a while I think. There is a job.

Well, doing what for heaven's sake?

The same old routine. Working on a paper.

Well, what do you know.

I suppose they made you an offer you couldn't turn down?

Something like that. Yeah.

What offer could possibly be good enough to take you away from here?

Why, your whole life is in St. Howard. With us.

It just doesn't make sense.

Peggy, darling. Don't get upset. Detroit is only hours away by plane.

We'll still see a lot of ..

[ Banging noises ]

Uhoh.

I wonder what that monkey is up to now.

Excuse me.

Why are you going to Detroit?

Darling, you heard what Randy said.

An offer I just couldn't turn down.

Dad, I'm not a child.

I'm entitled to a better answer than that and you know it.

Darling, I can't give you any other answer.

I've another job on a paper in Detroit.

I could think of pretty terrible things.

You could think what?

Dad, why did you drop the articles about Burke?

You could think what?

I could think your offer was from the Sheriff.

Oh dad, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry.

[ Door knocks ]

Bring it in, Marty and set it there by the desk.

I'll bring it in but I'm not Marty.

I'm Johnson from the State Attorney General's office.

Glad to meet you, sir.

To say that I'm glad to meet you is the prize understatement of modern times.

I ..

I suppose you know why I'm in town. - Yes. I just heard.

Sorry I can't be at your hearing tomorrow.

Don't even joke about things like that. You are my star witness.

In fact you almost my whole case.

Anything I could say has already appeared in the paper.

You don't mind if I go on packing?

But newspaper articles aren't admissible as court evidence. You know that.

And I'm counting on those 55 affidavits that you got from Burke's victims.

Did the paper mention things like that? - You did.

On that sheet you left in the typewriter the night you left town.

Mr Allridge, I don't have to tell you about the rights of citizens.

No, that's right. You don't. - Then why ..

One of them is a man's right to keep his mouth shut.

Not if he can help other people when they yell for help.

Look.

A supposedly courageous newspaperman ..

Uncovers something in his community which is rotten and corrupt.

This newspaperman says to his fellow citizens and public officials.

Let's get these so-and-sos. Let's have some action.

Well, I come down here to give you the action you've been yelling for ..

And you scuttle back into your hole like a scared rabbit.

Maybe I am scared.

Now if you will excuse me.

Get a judge to excuse you. Here.

I was hoping you'd be a friendly witness.

You wanted to get tough so there is your subpoena.

Mr Johnson.

In all goodwill.

I warn you most seriously against putting me on that stand.

Don't think I'm going to let you run for cover under the 1st or 5th amendments.

You will talk alright.

I'll cross-examine you until you bleed.

Mr Allridge, it is your duty as a citizen and as a newspaperman.

To help us rid the state of these vicious men.

You will win your case without me.

You're going to make a good lawyer, Mr Johnson.

And you're going to make a good witness, Mr Allridge.

Goodnight.

I tell you I tried everything on the guy.

Flattery, insults, tears, civic duty, the flag and American fatherhood.

I'll say this much for him, he's an honest man.

When he sells out he stays sold.

Haven Allridge wouldn't sell out any more than me or you.

Look, are you ..

Skip it. It doesn't matter. I'm lucky I found out in time.

If I'd gone through with the hearing I'd look like the prize sap of the state.

What do you mean, "if"?

I'm a smart fellow, Buck.

When I'm dead, I fall over as un-publicly as I can arrange it.

And let Burke walk away from here without even a scratch?

:Listen.

Even if you get beat you can maul him on your way down.

Keep your shirt on. It looks big tonight but it's just another case.

Can't you ever get it through your smart legal head ..

That a crime ain't just a case it's a club.

It's hurts people.

And there are 150 million people in this country.

Nobody can worry about all of them.

4,651 live in my precinct.

They're not animals. They're not robots.

People like your mother and father and your sister and brother if you got any.

They all want to make something of themselves and they've all got feelings.

As long as Burke stays on top they'll keep taking it in the head.

I'm wasting my breath.

You won't know what I'm talking about until a club hits near you. Never mind.

Don't disappoint me, Buck.

We'll cancel our subpoenas and take our complainant up to Canada in the morning.

I'll drop in on you before I leave town.

331 please.

Thanks.

By the way I'll check out tomorrow. You can have the room about noon.

Cone on out, Bennie.

Why are you tagging me?

Because you know something I don't now and that always makes be nervous.

Come on out.

I want to bail out a prisoner. - A hundred bucks.

What kind of a car was he driving? - It's a woman. Cleo Bethel.

Oh, the woman. Let me see.

We ain't got no woman.

Goodnight.

Hey, you can't go down there.

Operator.

What?

Johnson, special prosecutor. I want to see the woman.

She is staying in twelve.

Hey, Cannell.

Twelve.

Cleo.

Cleo, you in there?

Cleo.

Chick.

You alright?

No.

Open this door.

You got something to show from Burke?

Yeah.

Come on, let's get out of here.

Easy, mister.

What are you doing here?

Shut up!

Do you hear me? Shut up!

Why, it's Mr Johnson from the capital.

You got a nerve busting here like this.

You have a nerve holding this woman on a phony vagrancy charge and without bail.

Let her loose, Burke.

She's been shooting off her face too much. She stays in.

I warned you weeks ago Nellie that you'd square this beef or I'd break it my way.

I regret this scene, Mr Johnson. We'll set bail as soon as court convenes.

Wait a minute. I've finally got my bellyful.

This capital snoop comes down here to poke his nose into everybody's business.

Getting my wife so upset that I hate to go home.

Even digging into my bank records to find out how much money I spend.

And now he comes snooping into my court. Busting into my jail.

Your court? Your jail?

Shut your fat mouth.

I'll shut my mouth when I give this snoop one more hunk of advice.

Go back to your 2-bit hotel, pack your shiny suit and trot back to the capital.

Sheriff Burke might waive bail and release Miss Bethel ..

If she agrees to leave this part of the country before morning.

I ain't finished yet.

You tell the attorney general or whoever you work for ..

That 12,000 people elected me Sheriff of this county three times.

Because they like the way I take care of them.

And when K.C. Burke wants help to run his county he'll ask for it himself.

Shut up!

Now you get.

I'm taking the girl with me, Burke.

I warn you.

You're aiding a prisoner to escape.

You bet I am.

Don't do it, K.C.

What do you think you're doing here?

I'm throwing a gun on you K.C. as a deputy to the attorney general's office.

I can show you the card.

It gives me the right to shoot you dead if you don't drop your gun right now.

You too.

Let's go.

I'll see you in court. - We'll beat you, Johnson.

I'll maul you as I go down.

I guess Burke uses the back door.

"Train 209 arriving on time. Track 4."

"Train 117 westbound on Track 3."

Maybe we should have bought a copy of that book:

"What to say before the train pulls out".

Or, how to say goodbye for twenty minutes.

No laughs, huh?

You ought to be laughing at me.

They're driving you out and I can't stop it.

I'd have moved on anyway.

I suppose my car is at the very end, a mile away.

The cattle car.

B71. Here you are.

You're not in a cattle car after all.

Excuse me.

Will you give me a penny for my thoughts?

I'm silly for fortunes.

I didn't think you were the kind of girl that cared about the future.

Lower sixth. Here.

I just found out when to duck.

All aboard.

Cleo.

Don't make pretty noises just because you're saying goodbye.

We're like those ships you're always hearing about that pass in the night.

We ruffle the water up a bit but pretty soon it's as if no-one had been there.

I still don't know what to talk about before the train pulls out.

Just say goodbye.

Goodbye, chick.

Good luck tomorrow.

Goodbye, Cleo.

Good luck from here on out.

Window dressing.

I could write out my case on the inside of a match cover.

That depends on Allridge.

I'm gambling that he is decent. If he is I think I can show him he's got to talk.

Anyway, you will be in on something new to the annals of jurisprudence.

A prosecutor presenting his whole case to one witness instead of a judge.

You can still move for a dismissal, Johnson.

I never will learn to pick the Jack of Diamonds.

Court rise.

Superior Court of Bridgewood County now in session.

Judge Neeler presiding.

The people versus Burke et all.

I've been sent to this district to find from evidence presented at this hearing.

Whether there is probable cause to hold the defendants for subsequent trial.

I will hear the prosecution.

Your Honor, as prosecuting attorney for the county of Bridgewood.

I ask permission of the court to hear councillor Charles Johnson.

Appointed as special prosecutor in this case by the state Attorney General.

Is this all you will have to do with the case, Mr Stauton?

The primary witness for the prosecution, Mr Allridge.

Is my father-in-law.

Proceed.

Your honor, the state asks the court to find cause to indict Kellwin C. Burke ..

Elk M. Ludens and Edward Grayton under section 21 of the revised penal code.

Covering the invasion of constitutional ..

I've read your specifications.

Yes, Your Honor.

I now wish to add a further count under section 46.

To wit, that said defendants, and in addition Nelson S. Tarsson.

Did conspire to intimidate and did intimidate and restrain ..

Haven D. Allridge, editor of a daily newspaper ..

From the exercise of his constitutional right to freedom of the press.

The amended charges are also detailed in the brief. The state is ready.

Does the defence wish additional time to study the amended charges?

The defence waives its rights.

Proceed.

With Your Honor's permission I call the first state witness. Haven D. Allridge.

Haven D. Allridge.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

I do.

State your name. - Haven D. Allridge.

Mr Allridge. You are a newspaper man by profession?

I am. - Thank you.

Witness dismissed, subject to recall.

Oh.

Please stay in the courtroom, Mr Allridge.

The defence objects.

Your Honor, this is merely a device to compel the witness to sit in court ..

Where he must hear and be influenced by the testimony of others.

The prosecutor's tactics are unorthodox but within his technical rights.

Overruled.

Call Walter O. Hickby.

Walter O. Hickby.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

I do. - State your name. - Walter O. Hickby.

Mr Hickby.

This article signed by Haven Allridge ..

Reports certain facts concerning your detention by the defendants.

Was your treatment as Mr Allridge describes?

Like I told you, I refuse to answer.

On what grounds?

On advice of counsel.

Did Sheriff Burke or his agents pay you for refusing to testify?

Did they threaten you with bodily harm?

I refuse to answer on the advice of counsel.

My friend, you can't refuse to testify ..

Without courting a citation for contempt.

Did anyone tell you not to talk to the newspapers?

I refuse ..

I don't remember.

On what grounds? - On advice of counsel.

I'm not sure I got that last.

He doesn't remember on advice of counsel.

He's telling the truth anyway.

Who is your counsel, Mr Hickby?

Well, that is one question you answered.

Your witness.

No questions.

Call Samuel Slaper.

He won't talk either. - That's right.

Samuel Slaper.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Mr Vetzer.

Earlier this month you spoke freely to Mr Allridge ..

About the wrongs done to you by the defendants. Now you can't remember?

I'll give you one last chance to gain your self-respect, Mr Vetzer.

Your witness.

No questions.

Dismissed.

Mr Johnson.

The court has been very patient with this long procession of witnesses ..

Who disclaim knowledge of the situation under examination.

I remind you that we're taking a great deal of time to apparently get nowhere.

The contrary, Your Honor.

We're building a picture of a sinister pattern of threats, pressure ..

And intimidation of witnesses.

I'm now ready to back up these indications with direct testimony.

Call Wilfred Jackson.

Somehow Mr Jackson's writ didn't get served on your jail ..

Until after you gentlemen had come upstairs.

Wilfred Jackson.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Yes, sir. I do. - State your name.

Wilfred Jackson.

Mr Jackson.

How long have you been acquainted with Mr Allridge?

About eight years.

Do you work for Mr Allridge? - No, sir. I'm in business for myself.

I sell ..

That is, I sold.

Candy and sandwiches and stuff like that.

In Mr Allridge's newspaper plant.

You say "sold". What is your present occupation?

I'm in the prison labor gang working at Mr Tarsson's home.

Were you convicted of an offence and sentenced?

No, sir. I haven't had my trial yet.

Object, Your Honor. Object.

The questioning is irrelevant and immaterial.

It's material, pertinent and relevant. - Overruled.

The witness's experience was quoted in one of the articles you didn't suppress.

Did any of the defendants tell you not to talk to the newspapers?

Yes, sir.

Will you point them out to the court please.

I'm afraid you will have to speak the names into the record.

Mr Burke.

Mr Tarsson.

And that man they call "Ned".

Did they threaten you with any punishment if you talked?

They said that they would throw me to the kangaroos.

Like Tom Kenny.

But Tom Kenny's body was found alongside the highway.

Are you implying that these men killed Tom Kenny?

Object, Your Honor. Object!

This is hearsay. No connection with the charges.

Sustained.

This.

Is a newspaper article in which Mr Allridge reported ..

What Sheriff Burke and others did to you the night you were arrested.

Have you seen the article? - Yes, sir.

My wife says she has a copy in our scrapbook.

Are the facts in the article correct as stated?

Oh yes, sir.

It was just the way Mr Allridge wrote it.

Thank you, Mr Jackson.

May I say that I feel rather humble.

In the face of your courage.

Your witness.

No questions at this time.

Witness dismissed.

Recall Haven Allridge.

Your Honor, is it necessary to hear this witness?

No evidence has yet been offered to show that Mr Allridge ..

At any time had any contact with any one of the defendants.

Without contact, obviously there could have been no intimidation.

I will prove contact.

By a man who was there in the outer room at Amboy's when your mugs beat Allridge.

Haven Allridge.

I'm calling Bennie Amboy.

He accepted the subpoena.

Your Honor.

At a late hour last night Mr Amboy agreed to testify to what he had seen.

At an early hour this afternoon his body was found at Factory Creek.

A few yards from the spot ..

Where unknown assailants wrecked a News Intelligencer delivery truck.

The pattern I mentioned is now complete.

Do you wish to recess the case, Mr Johnson?

No, sir. I'll present my final witness.

The courageous editor of the St. Howard News Intelligencer.

Whose fearless investigative reporting brought this issue to the light of day.

I call Haven Allridge. - Haven Allridge.

Here we go off the high-board. I hope there is water in the pool.

He'll talk.

Mr Allridge, you've been a member of this community for your entire life.

I have.

Do you feel that each member of a community ..

Owes a duty to his fellow members keep it clean and safe?

I do.

Do you feel the editor of a newspaper with his influence on public opinion ..

Holds a position of public trust?

Your Honor, the defence objects to this line of questioning. It is immaterial.

Sustained.

Mr Allridge had been known favorably throughout the state for many years.

Mr Allridge, you heard the testimony of Wilfred Jackson a few minutes ago.

Yes, I did. - Did he speak the truth?

Shall I repeat the question?

I heard the question.

Then did Wilfred Jackson speak the truth?

I refuse to answer.

Quiet, please.

In your years in this community, have its people been good to you?

Yes.

Do you feel you owe them anything in the way of loyalty and devotion?

Do you?

Yes, I do.

Then you will answer this final question.

On the night of September 21st you came to the establishment of Bennie Amboy.

You proceeded to an upstairs room where you rejected contemptuously ..

Various offers by defendants Burke and Tarsson to discontinue your articles.

Then and there you were beaten by defendants Burke and Grayton.

At the conclusion of this beating you were led to an inner room.

Mr Allridge, what happened in that inner room?

I refuse to answer.

On the advice of counsel?

On the grounds that it would incriminate and degrade me.

Answering the question won't incriminate or degrade you.

Your witness.

No questions.

Witness dismissed.

Why?

Is the defence ready, Mr Tarsson?

Listen, I ain't going to sit still on this.

So we pick up a guy on the highway now and then.

They are all outsiders and the fines keep the taxes down.

12,000 people voted and elected me three times running.

And when they want K.C. Burke out they can quit voting for me.

Your Honor, the .. prosecution having offered no evidence ..

For us to argue, we waive our rights.

Do you wish to summarise Mr Johnson or rest on the evidence as submitted?

You have only the direct testimony of the witness Jackson.

Uncorroborated.

So, unless you gave a new view to add. - Your Honor, I have.

In the mute parade of these frightened citizens.

Weak men and strong men who have become weak.

Little men. Big men who have become little. All frightened.

Their very silence testifies to that. More strongly than shouted words.

Their first protection was the law.

Under the domination of brutal, ruthless men the law was turned against them.

There is another protection. Public opinion.

Public opinion finds its voice in the press.

In a free press.

Here, a courageous editor brought his newspaper to the battle.

He fought.

His blows began to hurt.

And little men who had been fooled or frightened began to stir.

To fall in behind his waving banner.

Then something happened.

Exactly what happened we don't know. We may never know.

But we do know that the voice of the public was stilled.

The press had been enslaved.

When the press lost its freedom these people lost their freedom.

And freedom is no idle phrase.

It's close and personal.

It's the right of Wilfred Jackson, Walter Hickby, Bennie Amboy.

These people. Of you and me, weak and strong, big and little.

To follow our normal pursuits in peace and without fear.

Your Honor.

The situation uncovered here today is a symptom of civic cancer.

We smell its malignancy not only in the terror-stricken avoidance ..

Of civic duty by this parade of bribed and intimidated witnesses.

Not only in the treasonable misconduct of these of these public officials.

Not only in the violence, abuse and even death which we've observed.

But in the growing helplessness of all decent people and their apparent apathy.

To the tightening grip of these ruthless men.

This cancer must be traced down to its roots.

It must be cut out or it will spread.

When it spreads far enough the community will die.

I therefore plea that this court free the people of Bridgewood County ..

From this dictatorship of fear by binding these defendants over for trial.

The state rests.

You mauled them, boy.

Are counsel ready to hear the judgement of the court?

Despite the eloquent and sincere plea of counsel for the state.

He well knows that my decision must be rendered solely on the law.

And on the evidence lawfully presented here.

No matter how strongly the court may feel as a private individual.

The law is a stern master.

The law must govern.

I therefore find that .. - Your Honor ..

Mr Stauton.

If the court permits.

On the grounds that evidence vital to a proper decision in this case ..

Has not yet been disclosed.

May I recall a witness to the stand?

I object, Your Honor.

This is a hearing, not a trial.

Go ahead, Mr Stauton.

I call Haven Allridge.

Haven D. Allridge.

Mr Allridge, would you please tell the court what happened ..

In the inner room at Amboy's on the night of September 21st.

Were you or were you not present?

In the inside room on that night?

Mr Allridge, answer that question. - It's not only you involved in this.

Were you in that room? - Randy.

Peggy Stauton. - Do you know what you're doing?

Object, object, object!

Would you please tell the court where I was on the night of September 21st.

You were in room 14 at Bennie Amboy's.

Object, Your Honor. Object!

This is beyond all bounds.

Objection sustained.

Alright.

On the night you met with the defendants in the upstairs room at Amboy's.

Did you accept money from them?

I did not.

Did you accept some other form of consideration?

I did.

Would you please tell the court what happened in that room.

In full and true detail.

Mr Johnson's intimation of the bribe offer and the beating.

Was true.

I was in a daze for a little while.

When I came out of it I was ..

"Being led into another room which I .."

"Took to be Tarsson's office."

Come here please, Mr Allridge.

What are you doing here?

I'm going to explain that now.

Remember, we've tried every other means ..

Of persuading you to stop printing your abusive articles.

This, as you can see is an indictment concerning the death of Tom Kenny.

You may recall that at the time shortly after Randy became prosecutor.

Some question was raised about the coroner's finding ..

That Kenny's injuries were inflicted by a hit-and-run driver.

This indictment alleges that he died in the Bridgewood county jail ..

As the result of questioning by the by the so-called kangaroo court.

And that his body was later dumped beside the highway.

Why wasn't this indictment returned by the grand jury?

Insufficient proof as I recall.

Although you may find it hard to believe after reading these sworn statements ..

Of eyewitnesses who were present in the jail that night.

The originals are safe in the courthouse vault.

Not so fast, Mr Allridge. You're missing the most interesting aspect.

These marginal notes.

Are in Randolph's handwriting.

It's a frame-up. - Ask him.

Randy.

You didn't know about these when you quashed that indictment, did you?

And why did he endorse this cashier's check for $7,500?

The date coincides with the withdrawal of the indictment.

Why, Randy? Why, why?

It wasn't the money, dad.

I was ambitious.

It was.

You know.

You make deals.

They promised me if I'd string along they'd send me to the state capital.

Send you to the state capital?

They'll send you to the state penitentiary.

For ten to twenty years.

A long, lonely time for your daughter and the little one.

A child needs her father in the springtime of her life.

As I said once before to Tarsson.

Every man has his price.

Mine was my daughter and my granddaughter.

So I paid it.

Then I went back to the office and turned over my evidence.

And sneaked out of the city like a thief.

Your Honor has of course perceived this obvious ..

Cloak and blackjack story as a pure fabrication.

Mr Stauton has his eager young eye on the coming election.

Partly.

Mr Stauton has just deliberately and courageously ..

Nominated himself for a term in the state penitentiary.

Does defence wish to cross-examine?

Your Honor.

I ask for an emergency search warrant on the documents for the Tom Kenny case.

Now Your Honor, obviously ..

The gravity of the situation demands a thorough and painstaking investigation.

I would like to read certain relevant matter from the statutes.

Your Honor. The emergency demands an immediate ruling.

You missed the best part, K.C. Where the good guys chew the ears off bad guys.

Buck, let go of my arm. You want to break it off?

Yeah.

And I would further like to read from the state reports.

In the case of the people versus Addison.

Your Honor.

Your Honor, physical duress right before your eyes.

I offer this in evidence.

It certainly seems to have been executed with admirable despatch.

Has Mr Stauton identified the documents?

Your Honor, the prosecution rests.

Prosecution will rest more comfortably after dismissing its witness.

Witness dismissed.

Forgive me.

I thank you.

Counsel and defendants will rise to hear judgement.

The court finds in favor of the prosecution.

And orders the defendants bound over for trial.

And in view of possible physical danger to witnesses ..

While these defendants are at large.

I order that they be held without bail in the Bridgewood County Jail.

Mister, you are in my county.

Who is going to put us in there?

The law, Mr Burke.

It is bigger than men. Stronger than force.

You can't shoot it, you can't bribe it, you can't threaten it.

Nobody.

No person, no group, no gang.

Nobody in this country has ever been big enough to defy it for long.

Because the law is the united will of all people acting in concert.

Are you that big?

Come on. Let's go.

Session adjourned.

Jackson. Judge says come on out.

It's going to be pretty rough on Stauton.

That was no joyride he just finished. - I guess not.

No. Not for any of them.

Can you delay your leave a few weeks and help me get this case ready for trial?

What became of your big outside job?

l want to nail these characters down so they don't come loose.

You'll spend the rest of your life in the attorney general's office.

And what will you have to show for it? - Satisfaction, Buck.

Satisfaction of pulling your own share of the wagon.

With all its creaks and squeaks it's a pretty good wagon to be hitched to.

(t-g)