Original subtitles

Four. Pair of jacks.

Two sevens.

Nothin'.

Jacks bet.

Call.

Play for 15.

I'm out.

Call.

I'm out.

Out.

Toss 'em.

Three.

Five.

Hold.

You win.

Deal me out. I'll be back.

Same game-- five card stud.

But when I deal...

I like to start with all 52 cards!

There's only one thing worse than a crook.

That's a clumsy crook.

Keep the money!Just gimme my horse, and I'm on my way.

You'll get your horse, and a smell of a rope!

- What happened? Who shot? - It turned into a hangin' party.

- Who's hangin' who? - They caught the new man cheatin'.

You kick a tinhorn outta town. You don't lynch him.

What the hell do you think you're doin'?

Hey, George! Wake up and get out here.

Lay still, boy. Come on!

Get him to his room. Let me know if he needs anything besides brains.

How come you didn't hear 'em when they dumped me out there?

I sleep pretty good sometimes.

You got no questions about last night?

I knew what was gonna happen. And it did.

Look.

They weren't just five men anymore, they were a mob.

I couldn't stop 'em. I tried.

I believe you.

When a gambler lets his game wind up in a killin'...

pretty soon he don't have a game.

You know anything about this?

How 'bout you?

Was there a game downstairs after I closed up last night?

Well, maybe you're right at that.

What I don't know I can't swear to.

You know I--

I always wanted to bust into that glass to find out...

what your hole card was.

What'd you think it was?

Ace of diamond.

I think you had your royal flush.

So'd the other man, but he folded.

So he never found out.

Where you headin'?

Anywhere.Just so I can get this place in back of me.

But first, I gotta deliver a message.

- You finish packin' for me? - All right.

- Good morning, Mr. Evers. - Good to see you, Van.

Stony, Mace.

How you feelin'?

- Never better. - The same. How're you?

I'd ask did you come to visit me, exceptin' I know better.

My daughter's at the house. Go on up.

Thank ya.

What are you doin' in the sun? You're a man that sleeps all day.

- I had to get up early to pack. - Pack?

You're always leavin' or comin' back.

When will you make up your mind to stay put?

People that stay put have no place to go. Where is your brother?

If you're gonna say good-bye again, say it.

- Good-bye. - Say it the way it should be said.

All right. There.

That was one wore-out, no-account kiss.

- How was that? - Fine, but you wasted it.

'Cause I don't figure on comin' back this time.

It wasn't wasted. You enjoyed it. And you'll be back.

Nora, you are the most foolish thing in the world-- a good woman.

What's foolish about it?

A good woman has a way of pushin' herself up against a man...

till he forgets she's a good woman.

-Then she expects to end up married. -How else would she end up?

With me, she could end up pickin' hay from the back of her dress.

Wanna bet?

Now you're gamblin' on my better instincts.

And I don't have any. I just have instincts.

Nick!

Nick, Van wants to see you.

Here I am.

How do I look?

From up here, just about right.

Now, you two have been fightin' each other for years!

What's your reason this time?

We don't need a reason.

I got one. I don't like him.

You think about that card player much?

Just all the time.

Big mistake, your gettin' wound up with a gambler.

- You gamble right along with him. - But not for a living!

What do you do-- sit around and wait until you own the ranch?

Only half of it. The other half'll go to you.

I was just trying to give you a little brotherly advice.

You're not worried about me! You're worried about yourself!

If Van was my husband, you couldn't run him. He'd run you.

Nobody is gonna run me. I've had a gutful of that from the old man.

You could get along better with Dad, Van and everybody if you tried.

Why don't they try to get along with me?

- Hello, Van. - Marshal.

Anything new on the hangin'?

Oh, nothin' to hang anybody else with.

Fella was new in town. Haven't even turned up his name.

What do you do in a case like that?

You bury the man, but keep him in mind.

- You're pulling out for Denver. - Yeah.

- Be there long? - It depends on Denver.

- Folks, everybody in for Denver. - Why are you goin'?

In my business, you gotta follow the play.

So long.

All right, Charley.

Gertrude!

Pair of fives.

Nine. Ten.

Fives bet.

You bet ten?

From what I read in the papers, it looks like you left Rincon too soon.

I don't know. That gold strike they got...

it improves nothin' into damn little.

You'll miss out on those easy pickings.

There's no easy pickings till they get it out of the ground.

There's no easy pickings in Denver either.

Ma'am.

- Ma. - Fred.

There's only one kind of people I don't like-- strangers.

That's not a stranger. That's progress.

Sure. They tell me he's bringin' in a long mahogany bar.

Real long!

When the front end gets here the rear end'll still be in St. Louis.

You stand to lose some of your customers.

The ones I've been gettin' I'd just as soon lose.

No matter what happens over there, my place stays the same--

good liquor, a few card games and no girls.

- You might lose all your customers. - Then to hell with the customers!

My name is Jonathan Rudd.

I come from God's House a little way up the street.

The House is open and ready for use. There you will hear God's Word.

If he's only got one, then I'll be there.

First services will begin on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m.

You're all invited to attend: the drunk, the sober...

the big sinners, the little sinners...

the clean and unwashed...

the many of you who come to scoff, and the few who come to pray.

You can count on me, Parsons.

I'm the dirtiest, drunkest, most sinful fella the Lord ever saw!

There'll be a place for you.

There was a seat for Judas.

Ma'am.

- Deal. - Who's Judas?

Let's get the game goin'.

Oh come, sinner, come

There's room for thee

Hark 'Tis God's home

Oh come we seek salvation free

Hark 'Tis God's home

Oh come and rest Come and rest

Heavy ladened guilt oppressed

Oh come and rest Come and rest

Hark 'Tis God's home

Amen

Well...

I see God's House is full today.

But I don't pride myself on starting any religious revival.

You came here out of curiosity, most of you.

And your curiosity was mainly brought on by Mr. Colt.

If I hadn't shot that gun, there'd be nobody here but me and the dog.

Before I came to this town, there was nobody but the dog.

You people didn't seem to think you needed a church, just a doghouse.

But I'm here to tell you, you need a praying place something fearful.

And you want to know why? I'll tell you why.

Because you're hell-bent for hell!

The Lord saw fit to sprinkle gold on this land...

and man, in his greed, is turning paradise into a pigsty.

By day, he sweats for a pinch of yellow dust...

and at night he squanders it on lust.

But let's not escape by blaming our sins on the gold.

There was sin here long before the gold was found.

Just a while ago, a man was hanged...

for no reason that ever came to light.

Nor were his murderers ever found and brought to book.

They walk the streets just as free as you and I.

But their Maker knows who they are. He knows who they are!

They can't escape from their Maker, and he will punish them!

So I say to you, mend your ways.

Your feet are already on the downward path.

Stop!

Before the fires below devour you.

- Amen. - Amen.

May God bless you all.

You figure to be the conscience of this town, Mr. Rudd?

It could use one.

- Somebody elected you? - God...

and Mr. Colt, first name Samuel.

Sort of biblical, isn't it?

Mr. Colt votes a lot of people in. He also votes a lot of'em out.

You're forgetting about God.

Why don't you let God do his own work?

I'm just filling in for him until he gets around to Rincon.

Well...

if either of you needs any help, call on me.

Nick Evers.

Meet me here in an hour, Stony, and space out those drinks.

Yes, ma'am.

- Nora. - Morning, Mr. Hurley.

The bridle strap broke goin' home from church yesterday.

Dad patched it, but I think you better put on a new one.

- I'll fix it for ya in a jiffy. - I'll be back after my trading.

Mr. Hurley, what did you think of the new preacher yesterday?

More than he does of this town. Maybe the man's right.

Fred Carson must be keepin' bankin' hours.

Bankers don't leave the front doors open.

He must be in the storeroom. I'll go see.

Stay out! I'm gettin' help!

George, come on! Fred has been hurt!

- Now what the hell is that? - Stony.

Looks like he had an accident.

That ain't no accident. He's been strangled.

Sit down.

That's right out of Rincon Creek.

Funny thing about gold.

It don't look like gold until it gets to be money.

You been reading about Rincon?

Paper's full of it. If it ain't the strike...

it's Fred Carson being drowned in a flour barrel.

Tomorrow you can read about Stony Burl.

What about Stony Burl?

Somebody gave ol' Stony a new string tie...

only it was made out of barbed wire and tied a little tight.

That was some unhealthy card party I had goin'.

Three men dead.

- Up to now. - Up to now?

It looks like to me somebody's out to kill every man at that party.

Which is a real good reason for you to steer clear of Rincon...

if you're figurin' on coming back.

That's what you come 1 00 miles to tell me?

- I'd have come further. - Thanks.

But the night that I was thrown out in the street, you never woke up.

I'm woke up now.

You stay awake. All right, when do we start back?

Back? It seems to me you're the one that oughta wake up.

If somebody's out to kill you, you don't let him pick the time.

You go to Rincon, he'll even pick the place.

Anyplace else, I won't know who he is till he looks for me.

You won't know him in Rincon either. He's not gonna wear a sign.

No, but I will. And then he might just make one bad move.

Well...

I guess a man's gotta be a damn fool once in a while.

It proves he's still alive, huh?

I've seen strikes before, and they're all the same.

They eat a town alive, just like a snake.

But before I go to Mama's, I'm gonna clean up.

From what I hear, up the street, that's the place for it.

Smash your baggage, mister?

You think you can find me a room?

Mama figured you'd be back. You still got your old room.

Take the bag up to the room, will ya, George?

I heard about Fred Carson.

It wasn't easy, you walking into that storeroom.

Walkin' out was the hard part. And now Stony Burl.

Everybody's edgy, even my father.

He's in there now putting up a reward for Stony's murderer...

like he did for Fred Carson.

He won't let me go anywhere by myself.

Look what he makes me carry.

It's a sure thing you won't kill anybody--

not unless you're that close.

I'm glad you're back, Van, only you didn't learn much in Denver.

In fact, you forgot some.

- You need a shave. - I was headin' that way.

Not in her place! I'd sooner shave you myself.

It happens I also need a bath.

I can't help you there.

- I'll post the notices. - Thanks, Al.

- Hello, Van. - Mr. Evers.

What do you think about what they're doin' to us around here?

What who's doin'?

I just put up another $ 1 ,000 to find out. I don't know.

When you see Nick, would you tell him I'll be at Mama Malone's?

If he wants to come, bring a couple good card players. He'll know who.

I'll do that.

I thought this was a barbershop.

What changed your mind?

You did.

Change it back.

It is a barbershop, and I own it.

I could use a shave.

If I got you for one bell, what am I gonna get for two?

A barber. Hazel?

- This gentleman wants a shave. - Yes, Miss Langford.

You ever give any shaves yourself?

About once every thousand faces.

I guess my face is the wrong number.

- Good afternoon, Miss Langford. - Afternoon, girls.

''Miscellaneous, $20.'' What's miscellaneous?

Something you didn't ask for.

Many people ask for it?

It sells well.

Thank you, sir.

We had a seven-man poker game here one night.

It turned into a lynchin' party. Now three of us are dead.

That's what we're here to talk about-- those three and us four.

I care only about one of the four live ones, and that's me.

I care about the dead ones. There never should've been a hanging.

Fred Carson was my friend, and I could even stand Stony Burl.

It's hard to stand you, though.

You bleed too easy,Joe.

The man that got hung was a card cheat. Stony Burl was a mean drunk.

Fred Carson-- he got paid for his hand any time he weighed anything.

First thing, anybody at this table could be doin' these killings.

You're not drunk so you must be crazy.

Shut up! How did you get to where you got?

About that lynching--

you could call it a partnership in a killing.

They all sit around, start itching, these partners.

They look at each other wonderin' who'll be the first to crack.

What would anyone crack for? It'd be his hide too.

He'd swap. He'd swap his life for all the others.

If I thought anybody'd do that, I'd get rid of him myself.

Sure you would.

So would you. Even you. That's what I've been talkin' about.

Van here-- he doesn't believe any of that.

He's just stirring things up, see what floats to the top.

I'd say that Fred and Stony got killed by an outsider...

some guy who set himself up to get even for this hanging.

- You got any proof of that, Nick? - Yeah, a little.

I happened by the cemetery, and know what I saw in Stranger's Corner?

Fresh flowers on that card cheat's grave.

- Who would do a thing like that? - Sure not me.

Nobody would do it but an outsider.

Well, take it that way then.

But this outsider, this flower-picker--

how'd he find out that Fred and Stony were in the lynchin' party?

Well, there's only one way he could find out.

From someone who knew.

This someone-- how'd he guess what outsider to go to?

Maybe he did a little figuring and tracking...

like I did with the flowers.

Yeah, only better.

Maybe he even saw the man when he put the flowers on the grave.

We're out to save our necks.

And right now I wouldn't give two bits for the four of them.

All I know is, I know less than when I come here.

Come on, Mace!

I don't know why, but I'm sorry you came back.

- I thought we were friends. - That's why I'm sorry.

Where you goin'?

When I was younger, a shave lasted a lot longer.

Evening, ma'am.

This place is closed.

Was closed.

You just opened it.

It's 2:00 in the morning, and the girls have gone.

Not all of'em. You answer to one bell?

I'm not one of the girls, Mr. Morgan.

You know my name. We meet someplace before?

No chance. I'd have remembered.

You're very gallant for 2:00 a.m., but I'm not one of the girls...

and I don't give shaves, especially at this hour.

How about that one face in a thousand?

The last man I liked is three years gone.

That's a long time.

Want to tell me about him?

What's there to say?

He was a man.

Go on.

That covered it, Mr. Morgan. He was a man.

How did you find out who I was?

- I inquired. - Why?

I wanted to know who you were.

Same question. Why?

- You're asking a lot of questions. - I don't often hear the truth.

I'm still waitin' for an answer.

Why did you find out who I was?

You're a man, which is no recommendation.

And you're a gambler, which is less.

You also think you're about the best gambling man in the world...

and that's no recommendation at all.

But like you said...

three years is a long time, a very long time.

That's not good enough.

All right. I like you.

That's better.

Sometimes the truth is actions, not words.

Act.

- That could've led to trouble here. - Prevented it.

If I were the man you seem worried about, you'd have been too late.

My name's Jonathan Rudd. That's my church down the street.

Van Morgan. Pretty late for a preacher to be out, isn't it?

We don't keep hours. Neither does Mr. Poe. That's where I came from.

The liquor's better at Mama Malone's.

I've tried it at both places, and I believe you're right.

But I don't go for the liquor. I try to get people away from it...

on Sunday mornings at least.

Wind must've blown the door open.

Hey, you! Come here! Give me a hand, quick!

Come on!

Cut him down.

It's Mace.

- What do you want, Dad? - I'll just have some coffee.

Thank you.

I think that's all I'll have too.

I hate funerals!

Who would want to kill Mace Jones?

Just about anybody who ever knew him.

Nick, what would it take to make you lose your appetite?

A bellyful.

Sometimes it seems like you're not quite human.

More like you were made in a factory or somethin'.

If I was made by a machine, then you made it and you ran it!

Stop it! Both of you. Just once!

Now to the sin of murder, we must add the sin of sacrilege.

Since coming to this town, I have had the sad lot of performing...

the burial of three men who died violently.

For the hand that slew Fred Carson and Stony Burl...

I sought the Lord's mercy and forgiveness.

But for the limitless evil of him who slew Mace Jones...

I ask for limitless punishment.

For he took a man's life in God's House.

Let us pray, therefore...

that heaven receive the soul of Mace Jones...

and that the soul of his killer wander the darkness forever.

All men being sinful, O Lord, and Thou being just...

I pray you regard any score against the departed Mace Jones as even.

Strike it from Thy books and let him sleep. Amen.

I didn't hear you prayin', Little George.

You never will either. I don't believe in it.

Now, Van called the last meeting.

I am calling this one while there are still some of us left to meet.

We've paid for that hangin' three times. How many time's enough?

Yeah, we paid for it three times, but anybody notice how?

Three times by some kind of strangling.

Stony got it with a twist of wire. Fred got smothered.

Mace got the rope. All three of'em strangled!

Which brings to mind what?

The way the card cheat died. I say what I said before.

It's the work of some outsider...

getting even for that cheat and an insider telling him who did it.

I don't know why it didn't hit me before...

but it sure as hell hits me now.

We've been looking for that man who talked.

The only trouble is, we have never looked up from the card table.

Well, I am lookin' up now.

And right at me, huh?

If George was gonna talk, he'd have talked before this to the marshal.

He did his talking where it'd do the most good--

where he didn't think we'd catch him at it.

Why? What good would it do George?

You think George likes you,Joe?

He don't like nobody.

I say you are the one who found that man...

and told him about the card game.

Now you just tell us who he is.

I got no use for lynchers.

They oughta get the same thing they give out.

And if I needed any killing done, I'd do it myself.

But you're right about one thing.

I don't cotton to most people...

least of all to you.

Why, you!

Here's the right place to stop.

I don't know if Nick has got the straight of you or not...

but you better sit with your back to a wall from now on.

And Van better sit right alongside him...

'cause if I'm wrong about George...

I just might be right about him.

Everybody ought to have somebody to say good-bye...

even you, Mace.

That sermon this morning over Mace Jones--

you take it hard that a man was killed in your church.

My church? I don't own it. I just look after the place.

The night Mace was found, how long after you left did the bell ring?

I told all that to Marshal Dana. Why don't you ask him?

I'd like to hear it from you.

Well, I went up to Poe's, which I said.

I saw you on the way back. I was gone, maybe an hour.

Even if you talked, it take an hour from Poe's? It's only 1 00 yards.

Suppose I told you that I like to walk at night.

Suppose I told you that's what I was doing. Would you believe me?

No reason not to.

I'm glad you take my word for it, because that's what I was doing.

What kind of a man would do his murderin' in a church?

The kind that doesn't believe in God, that God doesn't scare.

Well, no killer's scared of God, Mr. Rudd...

in a church, in an alley, or behind a rock.

Watch this, sweetheart.

Left hand.

Guns! Men talk about 'em as if they're women.

''She's a beauty,'' they say.

What's beautiful about a gun?

If you were gonna do a man in, what kind of weapon would you use?

It wouldn't be a gun.

I'll bet it wouldn't.

If he was after us, we'd be dead.

''The wicked flee where no man pursueth.''

But the righteous don't flee, they stand like a lion.

Yes, ma'am, that's just about the right quote.

Where'd you learn so much about the Bible?

Where'd a preacher learn how to shoot like that?

Every preacher used to be somethin' else before he became a preacher.

You know, I'm kinda tired of shootin' at tin cans and bottles.

We still have some cartridges left.

And we're certainly not gonna shoot at each other, are we?

How 'bout--

Well, six outta six. Can't do better than that.

You can only do worse.

My shooting was way off.

Way off? Six outta six?

I was aiming at the spaces in between.

See ya in church.

If every preacher was somethin' else first, I wonder what he was.

Everybody was something else first, even me.

I don't even know what you are now.

You don't need that gun to find out.

But maybe I need one.

Sam? I'll bank the fire. Go on home.

Only one rig left out. I'll take care of it.

Okay,Joe.

Are you still stewin' about Mace Jones?

I'm stewin' about how I sit down to a drink and play some cards...

and how I get up and hang a man.

Bein' drunk is a poor excuse.

You weren't drinkin' very much. What's your excuse?

I don't lean on excuses.

Whiskey or no whiskey, you went along.

With you leadin'.

That makes you a sheep.

A drunk sheep, maybe, but all the same...

you were with us on that rope.

Three men on that rope are dead.

I got a feeling you don't give a damn about anybody except yourself.

When I was ten-- eleven-- my mother died.

They laid her out in the parlor. My old man took me in to see her.

She wasn't my mother anymore.

She was somethin' busted.

She was somethin' that wouldn't run anymore.

My old man was crying...

but not me.

He looked up and said, ''Where's your heart, boy?''

I didn't say anything.

So he slapped me right across the mouth.

I still didn't say anything.

So...

he took me out back of the barn...

and he beat the hell out of me.

Yeah!

But he never drew a tear.

I don't think your mother was as dead as you.

If I am dead...

the same man killed me...

name of Sig Evers.

Joe!

Bring a glass for your friend. I think he'll need it.

He won't drink with you.

Bring the glass.

Now it's reserved for just you and me.

That's right.

These are unlucky chairs.

You afraid to sit down?

You sure know where to find 'em.

Mace Jones in the church. Joe Hurley in the stable.

Meaning that I could've killed both of'em.

So could you. Trouble is, so could any other man in town.

Any one of those four guys could've been the one to blab to the killer.

My guess is, though, it's the first-- Fred Carson.

Why Carson?

Figure like the killer.

First, you want the names of everybody. You get 'em.

Now, the first guy you gotta kill is the guy who gave 'em to you.

I mean, you sure want him out of the way.

You're pretty good at that-- figurin' like the killer.

Finish your drink.

You have to start it to finish it.

Look, Rowan, that's what this meeting is all about!

That's fine, Bates.

But you're head of the Miners Association, so act like it!

Now tell that marshal to stop these killings, or we will!

No miner has been hurt so far.

That's so far. But it takes two hands to pan for gold, mister.

You can't fire this with your teeth. We gotta have protection!

All right, all right. I'll go in there and see what I can do.

- All right. - That's better.

- I'm doin' what I can. - We've had killings before, sure.

But out in the open, man-to-man. We could deal with them.

What's happenin' don't make sense, and any one of us could be next.

When we had two dead, I put up $2,000.

Now that we got four dead, I'll put up $4,000.

1 ,000 a head-- 4,000.

That's more than anyone can make diggin' gold.

I ain't seen anybody come to claim it.

We're here to ask you. What're you doin' about it?

I'm just a plain town marshal.

I'm not a Pinkerton detective.

I've got one deputy to help me out...

and Otis and me-- we can't cover the ground.

You can put up $ 1 ,000 an hour, Sig.

It's still not gonna give us more eyes and ears than we got.

It ain't rewards we need. It's more tin stars.

Any one of you can consider yourself sworn.

You find anybody feels the same way, send him in.

You make everybody a deputy, you'll be swearing in the killer.

Me-- I don't want any star, but I am serving notice.

From here on, I wear my gun tied down, and if I have to...

or even if I think I have to, I am going to use it.

A man would be a fool not to wear a gun.

He'd be a bigger fool if he used it too fast.

And somebody didn't mean no harm at all could die...

just because he was reachin' for a chew of tobacco.

But you go ahead. You listen to Nick Evers...

and Rincon will have more dead piled up than at Gettysburg.

I'll tell you this. I can't control the miners much longer.

They're rounding up a bunch of hotheads.

Now, either you do something about it, or they will.

And I can't say I blame them.

Nick Evers says wear your gun and use it fast.

Mr. Morgan says wear the gun and use it slow.

I say don't wear it, and you won't use it at all.

You wear a gun?

Yes, I do. But I'm willing to leave mine at home.

I just ask everyone else to do the same thing.

And end up in your church hangin' by a bell rope?

Well, I guess I could tell you all to pray...

but I don't believe this killer we're after answers to prayer.

I'd like to remind you of another thing.

All four of the dead men were wearing guns.

The guns didn't save them.

Can I ask you a question?

Why does a preacher put on a gun?

Well, you know, people get funny ideas about a preacher.

They think when he starts pounding a Bible, he stops being a man.

That's not so.

But there's nothing in the Book or anywhere else...

that says a man can't make himself better.

So I say, leave the guns at home.

Whoa.

I hate to go in there.

Just stay away from the flour barrels.

You still mad at me?

Not you. The world.

The world?

It's flat.

Be with you quick as I can, Miss Evers.

Take your time, Mrs. Wells.

This lawn will make beautiful underwear.

The Chicago people say it come from Switzerland.

Seems a shame to cover it up.

It won't be covered up all the time, will it?

I mean, you gotta hang it on a line sometime.

Mrs. Wells, you're making this young lady blush.

Did the ribbons come, and the elastic?

I'll look in the storeroom. I ain't unpacked everything yet.

What made you think I was blushing?

Well, at your age, I did.

Well, someone like you, I always thought--

Oh, you belong in the storeroom with Mrs. Wells.

Why?

You were about to say you always thought...

women like me wore black lace and pink rosettes.

Yes.

How else can men tell who they're with?

Oh, they can tell long before they get to the underwear.

The last thing I expected was that I'd like you.

Thank you. Women usually don't like women who like men.

Here it is.

I'll wrap it all up for you in a jiffy, Miss Langford.

I hope I'm not keepin' you too long.

No hurry. I'm getting an education.

Hey, mister!

Say, aren't you Nick Evers?

Yeah.

I hear you said every man should keep his gun handy.

That's right.

I agree with that, and handy means handy.

Yeah.

Come on.

What has been done, huh? Nothin'! Not a damn thing!

I say let's leave that marshal setting on his backside.

- We'll put in a new one! - That's right.

If we don't do something, nobody goin' to.

You lookin' for somebody, Mr. Gold Miner?

I'm just making sure nobody's looking for me.

You better stop wavin' that around. Now, put it away.

You make this town safe first, then you can have the gun.

You're helping make it unsafe. I'll take that gun now.

Oh no, you don't.

What would you do if I gave this back to you?

I'd load it right back up and do just what I was doin' before.

- Try it with that. - That ain't gonna stop me.

- I'll get another one. - You got another!

If you don't give me that gun, I'm gonna throw you in jail.

- No jail! - You heard me.

Hand it over. Now!

Stop it, you crazy fools!

Get down!

I don't care what side you're on, but don't take it here!

All you can shoot off is your mouth!

I can't cover this side of the street from here!

Don't!

- They're gonna kill him! - Don't watch if you can't stand it.

I'm glad you didn't listen to yourself and leave that home.

Well, it sounds like the war is over.

And without me too.

Every player has his way of goin'--

some raise, some call, some just pass.

I owe you something, Mr. Rudd.

- You say it, and you got it. - I'll say it.

You come to God's House every Sunday for a month.

That's a steep price for just my life.

- Miss Langford, meet-- - We've met.

At the window. We were looking at the same piece of goods.

She means you. We were afraid you'd get shot.

Well, looks like I could still get shot.

Not by me.

I've been put out enough to do it.

Well, you're both lying.

You could. But you couldn't.

He thinks he knows about women.

You don't, do you?

Oh, about one little thing, maybe.

How's Al, Doc?

Well, he isn't cold, but he won't be warm for a long while.

I'll have to move him over to my place, keep him bedded down.

So what we got here in Rincon is a dead deputy and a shot-up marshal.

That ain't much law with everybody still on the prod.

Al knows it all right.

He said to get help from Denver, Sig, till he's back on his feet.

All right. I'll take the next stage for Denver.

In the meantime, we need some tin showin' around here.

Is Al up to swearin' in some deputies?

He could do that, I guess. Not much more.

Anybody wanna volunteer?

Of course we can't ask you, Mr. Rudd, but...

Van, we could sure use your help.

I don't think so. A gambler with a star?

Some folks think no gambler is honest.

So you give me a star, and they'll just be callin' it a stealin' badge.

You know why they might say that about a gambler?

Because men once gambled for the clothes of Christ.

Putting flowers on your brother's grave.

That's what finally gave you away to me.

Lucky the right man happened to see me.

Didn't just happen.

I made it happen.

We both did.

The man I was looking for was the man who was looking for me.

You. Somebody who'd talk. You saved me a long hunt.

Just what were you doing in that street this afternoon?

You're not here to stop killing. You're here to do some.

Let's say I'm particular about who gets killed.

It would've been odd-- you getting yours out there today.

All right, who's next?

Name's George. Bartender at Mama Malone's.

The bartender was in the card game?

- It was after hours, why not? - And he was in the hanging party?

Right up front.

Bartender George. That makes five.

You make six. My brother makes seven.

How many more were in that game?

Just one.

And when do I get that name?

- After settling Bartender George. - I see.

Just one at a time all the way. That's it.

That's it.

This name that you're holding out on me, why do you save him for last?

He led the hanging.

And when I tried to stop him, he used a gun butt on me.

He's last because I want him to die once for every man in that game...

and once for himself.

Besides...

he'll be the toughest to take out.

Wouldn't like you hurt before your job is finished.

I killed those men because they killed my brother.

What about you? Why did you want them dead?

Because they were alive...

and I didn't want to be dead.

Any one of them could've gotten onto you the same way I did.

Any one of them could be doing to me what I am doing to them!

I see. ''Do unto others.''

I've got just one rule:

Me first, nobody second.

Name me somebody who don't feel that way.

Nothin' else you could do-- not if you wanted to keep up with Poe.

Competition is the life of trade. It'll be the death of me!

You can't complain too much. It's closing time, and we're still full.

You better turn in if you're gonna clean up this mess in the morning.

That is if you can sleep in all this racket.

I was born in a bass drum and brought up in a brass horn.

Get up! Get out here and clean up this sinkhole!

Oh, my God!

Get somebody from the marshal's office quick!

- What for? - Never mind what. Get him!

George's room, inside.

Stand you for a cup of coffee.

What's the matter?

It's George. I found him dead when I opened up this morning.

- Pete, will you get Dr. Cooper? - Yes, sir.

Somebody shot a hole right through George's gut.

Must've been from real close up. There's powder burns on his vest.

What bastard'd do a thing like that?

I don't know. But he was a mean one.

Who'd shoot a man that was beggin' for his life?

George was no beggar.

He wouldn't have said ''please'' to live 1 ,000 years.

It sure looks as if he's beggin' with his hands like that.

Or maybe prayin', which comes to the same.

Prayin'?

Not George.

The man they dug that one for...

ought to be buried over there, in Stranger's Corner.

I'm sure George was no stranger to you.

He sure was a strange color.

We all look alike to the worms.

I took you for a fool. I guess I made a mistake.

Big mistake-- .45 caliber.

I should've known there'd be trouble before I got that last name.

Sure!

Once you got it, you'd kill me before you killed him.

So instead, you're going to kill me.

Well, it's bite or get bit, Reverend...

and I'm biting!

There's just one thing you forgot to figure.

Who's going to take care of that last man for you?

Van Morgan'll be my pleasure.

I've had to believe most of what you've told me...

because you had too many facts not to.

But I don't believe you ever tried to stop that hanging.

Stop it?

Hell, I led it, just like I've been leading you.

Any last wish?

Would you like a smoke?

Would you like to say a prayer for yourself?

I would like to say a prayer. Not for myself, for my brother.

Oh, go ahead!

If you can find one to fit that card cheat.

First get rid of the gun.

''Unknown. Found hanged March 1 , 1 880.''

That's what it said in the ''San Antone'' papers too.

I bet you didn't know he was in the papers.

Get to praying.

''This man was lynched in Rincon, Colorado.'' That's what it said.

Then it went on to tell what he looked like.

He looked like every second man.

Height, weight, color of eyes, hair.

That's not what brought me to Rincon though.

Marshal Dana put something else in that notice.

''Old knife scar, right shoulder.''

That made it Frankie Rudd.

Well, Frankie, I guess they didn't bury you with any gospel.

I'll try to make it up to you now.

This just might be good for you too.

Ah, come on! Frankie's waiting for you in hell.

I just had a thought.

When they find you, my old man will offer another 1 ,000.

Only this time, it'll be for me.

- Here it is. - Come on.

Something for you...

from the Book.

''Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.''

But this day, I am the lord, and I repay.

I sure wouldn't want your job.

I heard about George, Van. I'm sorry.

But we got us two U.S. Marshals comin' from Denver in about a week.

Anything else happen?

I got some real bad news for you, Mr. Evers.

It's the worst.

But I sure don't like to tell you right here on the street corner.

I think you just told me.

It's Nick, isn't it?

He was shot.

- Nick's dead? - Yes, honey.

Where is he?

Over at Doc's house.

Come on, honey.

I talked to Mr. Evers before he went home.

He'd like you to be at his son's funeral.

I'll see him at the graveyard.

Burial's gonna be at the ranch.

I'm taking the casket out there right now. The family asked me to.

If you'd like to ride along with me, why, you're welcome.

No, I'll go out there by myself later on.

Catch up with you maybe.

All right.

One for you, Nick. Stony.

Tinhorn.

Carson. Mace. Hurley.

Me.

I hope you win.

Can't miss. Playin' with six dead men.

Where you goin'?

For a horseback ride. Wanna do me a favor, Mama?

Depends.

If I'm not back by dark, will you flip that last chair up?

What if you do get back?

Then I'll just sit down, play me some cards for money.

About time! A man don't work, he ain't respectable.

You know...

the last time I came to the Evers' ranch...

I thought Nick was a lucky man.

''For every beast of the forest is mine...

and the cattle upon a thousand hills.''

You've preached at a lot of funerals around here lately.

You got something new for this one?

A funeral's for the living, Mr. Morgan.

I'll say what his folks wanna hear-- that Nick Evers was a good son...

good brother, a loyal friend and a respected citizen.

You think you won't gag on all that?

Why should I?

I'm a gambler, Mr. Rudd, and I don't always bank on my cards.

- If I did, I'd wind up broke. - Like the people you play with.

It don't happen often...

but every once in a while something comes out of the air...

lands on your shoulder and says somethin' in your ear.

An hour ago it landed.

And what did it say to you, Mr. Morgan?

It said, ''This is it. Play it.''

Well then, play it.

You're the killer, Mr. Rudd, of Nick Evers and all the rest.

Make that executioner of the criminals who killed my brother.

They hanged him for no more than some fast work with a playing card.

That's all my brother was worth: six of diamonds, four of spades.

What was George worth? He wasn't even in the game.

Nick Evers swore that George and you were on the end of that rope.

George wasn't there, and neither was I.

So Nick was the one who talked?

Well, lookin' back, he was due to go bad all the way.

I thought he was too smart to get himself killed.

Nobody's too smart for that, Mr. Morgan-- not even you.

And not even you, Mr. Rudd. You left George for dead...

but he lived long enough to say something with his hands.

It didn't come to me until you turned that last chair over.

Then it all jumped together.

George wasn't prayin'. He wasn't beggin'.

He was just showing who killed him-- a man that prayed, a preaching man.

Now, we'll take Nick over to his people...

but you won't be readin' over him 'cause I'm takin' you in.

There'll be no trouble.

But if you don't mind...

first I'd like to read the rest of that psalm...

about the thousand hills.

Well, read. Or can't you read upside down?

If that's a Bible, you read it.

If it's not, drop it.

Mr. Rudd is the man we've been lookin' for, Mr. Evers--

the killer.

Of Nick too?

But why?

I don't know about the others...

but I think Nick got onto him like I did.

I won't be seeing your father again, so would you say ''so long'' for me?

I will, Van.

But I don't think he'll ever get over Nick.

You'd better though.

I'll try.

But it's not like a bullet.

A bullet kills you, or you heal up.

It's the first time you didn't say it.

- Say what? - That I'd be back.

That's right. Do you know why?

I know why. 'Cause you don't give a damn anymore.

I give a damn.

But this is the first time I haven't been sure you'll be back.

Well, cards, dice and anything else, honey-- you're never sure of'em.

One thing is:

I give a damn about you.

A big damn.

Strange about Rudd.

He could've kept this place goin'.

We never did find out what he was before he was a preacher.

Maybe he always was a preacher.

And Lily, I'll see you in Denver in about a week.

And you know where.

If I'm not coming, I'll send you a four flush.

Why does it mean so much to you to be the first to say good-bye?

I don't know if this is good-bye. Maybe it isn't.

I'm used to the truth from you, Lily. Ayes or a no.

This time the truth is maybe.

Give me a kiss that'll last me a week.

What if you don't show up?

That'll mean the kiss wore off.

If you're not made of iron, I'll see you in Denver.

But you sure didn't feel like iron.