Original subtitles

You're out!

John!

Here, I'm going to take this thing off. Leave it on. Why?

I've had it on most of the day ever since we left Natchez.

I don't know where I am or how I got here, so what's the difference now?

The difference, Mr. Oliver, is that you might see my face.

And that privilege is reserved for only a few

of my most trusted friends, like Darius here.

You have a report to make, Mr. Oliver.

I'll make my report when I'm allowed to see the man I'm working for.

Either I'm trusted or I'm not. It's time I found out. Mr. Oliver is right.

Darius, remove the blindfold.

Now your report, please.

There's a fella in Natchez shopping for a boat to carry a valuable cargo to St.

Louis. What kind of freight?

Everything.

All kinds of merchandise. Enough to completely stock a general store,

including the lumber to build it with. Sounds familiar, huh, John?

Mr. Oliver, would this man be a carpenter?

Yeah, I think he is. Dan Sampson?

How did you know that?

When you've realized over $20,000 from the sale of one man's cargo,

you're not likely to forget his name, even though it's been three years.

You mean you've robbed this same man once before?

Same man, same cargo.

I guess he's determined to be in the general store business. I'm glad he is.

It helps keep us in business.

Well, I'll get on down the river to Natchez and set

up the plan for you, John. Darius will handle it.

Oh, why not me?

Because you'll be dead.

Just get us plenty of business here in St. Louis, Gray,

and don't worry about the enterprise. I can

take care of her. Well, I don't know, Ben.

I don't know.

You know, you haven't had much of a chance to deal with people

stuck up there in the pilot's cabin like you have.

You know, judgment of human nature is one of the most

important attributes that a river captain can have.

Pretty good judge of people, Gray. Maybe, Ben, maybe.

You see those two gentlemen standing down there? Now,

which one would you suspect to be in a river pirate?

One carrying a gun, I guess.

No? No, no, Ben, no, no. You see,

he's honest enough to wear his gun out in the open.

It's the other fella you gotta watch out for.

He may have his hidden.

That makes sense. Not necessarily. No? No,

a real professional river pirate would throw you off by appearing to

be honest by wearing his gun outside as if you had nothing to hide.

All right, I'm no judge of people, and you tell

me, which one's a river pirate? Neither one.

Neither one? Of course not. They're both personal friends of mine,

both as honest as the day is long.

Have a nice trip, boy. Don't forget to meet Dan Sampson and Natchez.

Mr. Carney! Boiler deck! Reverse your engines!

Reverse the engines! Aye, aye!

Stand by to reverse engines!

All right, Mr. Travis, he's all yours.

Now, watch those big city folks. Don't let them get the best of you.

Oh, how nice of you to come to see me.

I didn't exactly come to see you.

You're getting more handsome every day, you know that.

Thank you, ma'am, but I'm in kind of a hurry.

Why is it that you're always in such a hurry every time you see me?

Well, I'm looking for Dan Sampson. Maybe you could point him out.

All right.

He's over at that corner table. He hasn't got any time for fun either.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mr. Sampson?

Yes.

I'm the pilot of the Enterprise, Captain Holden's partner. My name's Ben Frazier.

Oh?

Oh, are you?

Captain Holden's still on St. Louis on some business,

so I'm keeping his appointment for him.

You got any papers?

What?

I'd like to make sure.

Miss, another coffee for me, please.

What's your pleasure, Mr. Frazer?

Something a little stronger maybe for you?

Mr. Frazer doesn't have time for a drink. He's in a hurry.

Hello, Mr. Frazer.

Come right to the point.

Good. What kind of cargo do you have?

Mostly cotton.

A small amount of new lumber, but the bulk of the cargo is in cotton. 300 bales.

We can handle that with room to spare.

Well, there's another thing here.

What kind of protection can you give me against river pirates?

Pirates?

They won't bother carrying cotton.

It's too bulky to handle and sell under cover for the price they get.

I gotta be sure. I gotta be sure this cargo gets to St.

Louis. I can't take a chance.

Why don't you take out marine insurance then? They won't sell me any.

I'm sure they will. They insure cotton cargos every day.

I guess I'll have to be honest with you.

You're going to find out anyway as soon as you start loading my freight.

Look, if you're selling contraband... No, no, no.

No, nothing like that.

This is general store merchandise.

Cutlery.

Dress goods, tools, blouse, things like that, complete stock of it.

The packing cases are disguised as bales of cotton.

You see, Mr. Fraser, I got a dream.

I want to push out west past St. Louis to the frontier, have my own store.

Watch this country build up.

Might even help it a little.

And I've worked too hard on that dream to let anything happen to it again.

Again? Yeah, same thing happened three years ago.

Same kind of cargo. The accumulation of years.

River pirates got every bit of it.

Your cotton bill disguise is a good idea.

It took me four years to put that stock together.

After it was stolen, I went on back to Natchez. I started all over again.

That was three years ago.

I'm a carpenter.

If you got any idea, How many nails a carpenter's got to drive,

how much lumber he can saw working day and night for seven years.

Nothing's gonna happen to it this time.

Nobody's gonna take seven years out of my life and get away with it.

I guarantee you this much, Mr. Sampson.

If pirates do get to your cargo, they're gonna have to fight their way to it.

What do you mean, no?

Nobody says no to John Murrell, not even Lela Russell.

It would be too dangerous a second time.

Nonsense.

Samson never suspected you the first time.

You said so yourself.

You don't understand. He fell in love with me on the boat. He wanted to marry me.

If he sees me again, he'll want to know why I

just disappeared when he landed in St. Louis.

Well, you'll think of something to tell him.

I want you on the boat with Samson, Leela, to set up the timetable.

Can't you get somebody else to do it?

I picked you.

I can't do it. Please don't ask me.

And just why, Leela?

I told you, he thinks he's in love with me.

I couldn't stand to go through it again, to be near it.

A small price, considering the returns.

You'll be well paid for it.

I don't want your money.

I think you better tell me your real reason.

I told you.

Of the few people who know what I look like, there are only two kinds.

Those that are trustworthy and do what I want them

to, and those that are dead. There's no third kind.

¶¶

Well, I guess I forgot myself for a minute, sir. I guess everybody else did, too.

Have a good look at the reason. Haven't you ever seen a pretty girl before?

It's the first one like that.

Come on, we got a shipping schedule to make. Let's get this cargo on board.

I was only dancing until I attracted your attention anyway.

Oh, why?

Oh, I wanted you to see how good I was and how much people liked to watch me dance.

Oh, they liked it, all right. There's no doubt about that.

Captain, I gotta be honest with you.

I need help.

If I don't get out of town today, I'll go to jail or worse.

There's a man that wants to marry me.

I borrowed some money from him, I can't pay him back.

He's gonna force me to marry him or go to jail.

There she is!

They found me.

Please help me.

All right, get on board quick.

Sorry, boys, no visitors allowed.

We're not visitors. We just want that girl.

Oh, are you the police, maybe?

Makes no difference what we are. Just get out of the way. All right.

You can help your friend out a lot easier if you're

on the dock than if you're in the water with him.

I'm very grateful, Captain.

And you won't be sorry.

I'll entertain your guests all the way to St. Louis if you want me to.

Yeah, that'd be nice.

Long hours on a boat can get kind of dull sometimes.

Well, I fear that doesn't happen this time.

Yeah, that'll be a deal. You got a name?

Leela, Russell, what's your name, Captain?

Ben Fraser, and I'm the pilot.

Oh, then you've still got to get the captain's

permission to let me stay aboard, don't you?

Yep.

What if he says no?

Be too late. He's in St. Louis.

Come on, I'll show you where you're going to live for the next three weeks.

He went for it now, Toby.

Yeah, but it seems like there could have been an easier way.

Ready to put out, Mr. Travis.

Come in.

You're missing a beautiful day, Dan, staying cooped up in here. Yeah?

It's beginning to feel like a mall.

You think we put it over?

I think so. If you weren't seen sneaking aboard last night,

they won't know whose cargo we're carrying.

Anyway, we're far enough from Natchez for you to safely come out of hiding.

Yeah, I don't know. We'll look at the hat.

Another cup of coffee. No thanks, Dan. It's still business hours.

I have to check the menu for lunch. I got a new chef.

Oh, Mr. Fraser. I was looking for you.

I wanted to make arrangements for the show tonight.

Fine.

I posted an announcement on the bulletin board.

What time did you want to start?

About 8.30 after supper.

You want to make that the regular time every night?

Fine.

I'm glad it's going to be late.

It's easier for me to dance when the boat isn't moving.

We won't be stopping until Marsha's landing tomorrow night.

Well, I thought the boat always stopped at night.

We like to keep underway when the river's safe to navigate.

I wouldn't be stopping tomorrow night except I

want to take on a little extra wood this trip.

Oh, do you think you could make arrangements

to have those same four men play for me?

Dan, this is Lela Russell, Dan Sampson.

There's so much I have to say to you.

Not here.

Let's go where we can talk privately.

Wait a minute.

It's all right, Mr. Fraser.

We're old friends.

We haven't seen each other for a long time.

If you'll excuse us, we'll go find out why. Can we talk in your cabin?

That'll be all right.

When I first saw you a minute ago, I couldn't believe it was you.

So good to see you again, Dad.

Now I don't know what to say, where to begin.

Well, you might start by explaining why you left me waiting in St. Louis.

You asked me to marry you.

I thought you meant it.

I did mean it.

You know I meant it.

Then why didn't you meet me?

I was there.

I went to the hotel, I waited, and I waited.

And you never came.

Dad, don't make it worse.

I went from the dock directly to the police to report the stolen cargo,

and from there to the Mission Hotel, as we agreed.

The Mission Hotel?

You weren't there.

Yes, the Mission Hotel. I told the carriage driver

to take you there when I left you at the dock.

Dan, he took me to the Palace Hotel.

You remember?

The Palace?

Yes, I waited. I waited all afternoon.

I thought you'd changed your mind or he didn't love me after all.

Leela.

I thought you ran away from me.

I thought that as long as I had my cargo, you loved me.

And when it was stolen, you didn't. It was as simple as that.

No, Dan.

I must have been out of my mind.

You were out of your mind, Dan, to ever doubt that I loved you.

Leela, do you still love me?

But there are three years between us then.

There are three years behind us.

Things have happened, things you wouldn't like.

You want to tell me and see?

No.

I don't even want to think about them.

Don't.

Don't ever think about them again. I'll never ask you.

No, because you'd wonder.

Sooner or later, you'd wonder about those years.

It wouldn't make any difference.

It might even help to know that you weren't perfect,

that I think I had more of a right to you.

And you don't know what you're saying.

I know only this, that I'm never happy when I'm without you.

I know that I've never looked at another woman since I first saw you.

I know I never will.

What else is there that a man has to know?

Please.

I've been without you for three years. Now that I've found you,

you've got to give me a chance.

Dan, I'm no good for you. I don't want to destroy you.

You love me.

You can't destroy me.

Leila, I've got another cargo, larger than last time,

and enough money to buy wagons to take us further west.

It'll be a hard life, but a good one, I promise you that.

And whatever it is that troubles you, we'll leave it behind us.

We'll start all over again, beginning now.

Dan, how far west can we go? How far away from this river?

As far as you like. Clear to the west coast.

West coast? No one would ever have to know where we went, would they?

No. Just you and me.

Oh, Dan. You're the most honest, most gentle man I ever knew.

That's why I love you.

That's why I'm going to marry you. Live in the back of your store.

And never let you out of my sight again.

Time for lunch, Mr. Travis. Oh, good.

Something about this River Arrow always gives me a big appetite.

You don't look to me like you ever had a big appetite.

That looks like some travelers stranded on the bank over there.

Hello!

Can you take us aboard? Our boat is leaking!

They want us to take them aboard. Looks like you'll have to eat lunch later.

What if they're just decoys for pirates?

The brush over there could be full of them just waiting to come aboard us.

We're not going that near the bank.

If your boat can get you to us, we'll take your board.

We'll try it!

I don't like to leave anybody standing in the middle of nowhere.

Leave her.

Something's troubling you.

I can tell.

No, it's nothing, Dan, really.

There's trouble in your eyes, and there's worry.

I'm not going to ask you what it is. I promised I wouldn't. But please,

if there's anything I can do to take that look away, let me do it.

There isn't anything you can do, Dan. I was...

Only thinking about what I can do.

Dan, someday when we're living in the back of our store, I don't know,

maybe it won't be until we have grandchildren.

But someday, I'll tell you a story.

Right now, you wouldn't understand it or believe it.

All you can do is trust me.

I have to do something now. Please don't ask any questions.

And if you can trust me that much, then we have a chance, you and I, and that store.

Don't ever ask me if I trust you.

I'll be right back.

Hold it steady, Mr. Travis, or come alongside.

Mr. Fraser, I gotta see you privately as soon as possible. It's urgent.

I got my hands full right now, Miss Russell.

Hold it steady. Travis is current strong.

As soon as we get these passengers on board, we're underway again.

All right, keep your eyes open, boys.

Where are you people bound?

California in time. We're trying to connect with a wagon train in St. Louis.

St. Louis is where we're headed.

I guess we got room for four more passengers

if you don't mind bedding down on the deck.

After the miles we've come in this leaky boat,

any kind of a ride will be pure luxury.

Now we'll just turn it loose. It won't take it long to sink.

I'm sorry, folks, but my boys are going to have to search you for weapons.

Just a little precaution against river pirates.

Go ahead, Fred.

We heard teller river pirates. Didn't know whether it was true or not. It's true,

all right. We've just been lucky so far.

Come on.

All right, Mr. Travis, set her ahead. Mr. Carney!

No guts, Mr. Fraser.

Fine.

All right, make yourself comfortable, folks.

There we are, Miss Russell. That didn't take long. Now,

what was you wanting to see me about?

Nothing. It wasn't important.

You said it was urgent.

Was it about you and Dan?

Are you worried I might tell him how you came aboard?

I guess I was too ashamed to put it into words.

I'm very fond of Dan.

I'd like to be the one to tell him.

I'm glad you said that.

Dan's a fine fellow. I'd hate to see him get hurt.

Oh, all the passengers are...

Mighty excited about tonight.

Maybe we can work into a regular thing if Captain Holden likes the idea.

That is, if you don't have any other plans.

What are you doing here, Darius?

Muriel thought you might need some help.

I didn't need any before. Why should I now?

He was a little concerned about your attitude.

In other words, he sent you to keep an eye on me.

Well, he got to thinking that maybe you weren't telling him

the whole truth about your feelings for the carpenter.

Said to tell you that if anything went wrong, for any reason,

Samson would be the first one to die.

He didn't leave me much choice, did he?

Of course he did. In Samson's cargo, or his life.

That's a choice.

March is landing tomorrow night.

A little after 8.30.

Where's this car going to hold?

I don't know yet.

I want everything written down on a piece of

paper in my hands before midnight tonight.

Hey, Leela.

Guess what I've got here.

Dresses for you.

And the cargo, it's part of my merchandise.

Where is your cargo, Dad?

I don't see anything that looks like General Storm's merchandise.

You're looking at it.

Well, all I see are cotton bales.

Honey, I'll let you in on a little secret.

Just about every bit of freight on this whole boat's mine.

I wrapped cotton around the packing cases so there

wouldn't be so much temptation to steal it.

You mean all those bales of cotton aren't really cotton?

There's a lot more down in the hold.

This time we're going to fool those river pirates.

All the cotton bales on the decks and in cargo

hold are disguises for Samson's merchandise.

Marches landing tomorrow night, Tuesday, about 8.45. Let's have the weapons.

Maybe Muriel misjudged her.

Keep an eye out for that raft. Should be coming downstream within a half hour.

Tomorrow night.

You act like you've got something on your mind, Mr. Frazier.

Huh?

I say you act like you've got something on your mind. She sure is beautiful.

Was that Lela Russell? No, no, the river.

Well, we'd be in March's Landing at 8.15 or so tonight.

I can hardly wait to see that little old gal dance again.

I don't suppose you'll be there. Where do you expect me to be?

Watching the river.

I believe that's correct, Mr. March.

Six quarts of wood and mooring privileges. We'll be staying over for the night.

Thank you, Mr. Fraser. You sure you won't come aboard for a while?

We got a pretty young dancer that's going to entertain the passengers.

Be glad to have you.

No, thanks. I'm an early riser. Want to be up to see you off at daybreak.

All right, sir.

Good night. Good night.

Pull this freighter.

Some of the passengers were a little unhappy because

I wouldn't let them go ashore tonight.

That's all right, Fred. The order still stands.

Nobody goes ashore and no strangers on board.

Right, sir.

Everything seems to be in order, Opie.

Then good. We'll round up some extra men with wagons. We'll be here on schedule.

Dan, I love you.

Always remember that.

I'm planning on making you remind me of it.

Every day for the next hundred years. You're troubling me.

I always get nervous before I dance.

What? Why don't you go up and watch the dancing with everybody else?

Don't like dancing.

Rather sleep.

Then sleep.

About two minutes.

Sorry, ma'am. No one allowed to go ashore.

Why not?

Captain's orders.

Oh.

All right, then. Nice evening, ain't it?

What's going on down there?

You like my dance?

Dance?

Sure, I'll dance with you.

You were right, Mr. Fraser. There are pirates on the river.

Before you try something you'll regret, let me explain something to you.

If you offer no resistance,

we'll let you keep your boat and we won't rob your passengers.

You see, Mr. Murrell doesn't want the word to spread that the Enterprise is unsafe.

How did they know? How did they find out? They only took my cargo, nothing else.

It doesn't matter how, Dan. It's too late for that.

We'll never be bothered by river pirates again,

but we'll go where they can't reach us.

They found out from somebody.

They knew everything.

What are you doing?

I think I know who told him.

Who is it?

Ben.

Come on in.

Wasn't as clever as I thought I was, was I, Ben?

Dan, what are you doing? Right from the beginning,

I was confiding in one of Morrell's own men on Morrell's own boat.

Now, wait a minute, Dan.

They had to know which cargo was mine,

when and where we were going to tie up for the night.

This was well planned. Of course it was.

And they had an accomplice, too.

Yeah.

And besides the three of us in this room, who else knew these things?

Nobody.

Then who are you accusing? Me?

No, her.

She set the time of the robbery and provided the diversion that made it possible.

I ought to kill you for that.

Use your head, Dan. Ask her how she got on board.

Ask her how she picked this particular trip. She didn't do it.

I know you don't want to believe it, but everything fits. Ask her! Shut up!

I wasn't on the boat three years ago when you were robbed, but she was.

She wouldn't do this to me.

But you would.

You pull that trigger, Dan, you'll be sorry.

No, Dan, don't! He told you the truth!

Everything he said was true, Dan.

Dan, do you remember the story I was going to tell you?

The story that I didn't think you'd believe or understand.

Well, you have to believe it now.

I can only hope and pray that you'll understand it.

Understand how John Morrell can own your life.

Once he lets you see his face, You either work for him or you die.

But you love me.

Oh, yes, Dan, I do love you.

I was going to back out.

I was going to tell Ben everything and take my chances of escaping with you.

Darius was sent to kill you if anything went wrong.

I couldn't let him kill you, Dad.

I had to help him, don't you see?

The other time in St. Louis when...

When you couldn't find me, I couldn't see you after what I'd done.

I'd only have hurt you more. But now I don't want to live without you.

Please understand, please understand.

The only thing that stands between us now is your forgiveness.

I had a dream. It wasn't much of a dream, but it was mine.

I didn't even give it up when I lost you.

Then when I found you again, you became part of it.

Now I've lost it all.

No, no, Dan, you can't just stop loving someone like that because you're hurt.

Love means more than that.

Love means trust.

How can I love you if I don't trust you?

Do you still feel something for me?

Yeah.

I feel a sickness in my stomach.

I feel like... like I'd like to hurt you.

I've never hurt anybody in my whole life.

But I think I'd feel a whole lot better if I could hurt you just once.

I cry hard.

I cry a lot of tears for what you've done.

Cry for yourself.

I love you, Dad.

Then cry for me.

Come on.

It's pretty hard story to believe, isn't it?

I believe this.

You can't judge a dancer by the price of admission.

No, but you've judged me, haven't you?

There was a robbery and you admitted being involved. What do you expect me to do?

I expect you to listen to me for one minute.

I don't believe there's anything that hasn't been said already.

I can tell you where to find the stolen cargo and how to get it back.

Go ahead, tell me.

I can even help you. I'll take you there.

I'll identify John Morrell if he's there.

Or vice versa, maybe.

Ben, you've got to believe me if you want to get that cargo back.

That's what got it stolen in the first place.

Believe in you.

All right. I lied to you to get passage. I admit that.

But that's the only time I lied to you.

I love Dan Samson.

Didn't lie about that.

I think he'd do it that.

Then you've got to believe me now.

Oh, please, Ben, give me a chance to undo what I've done.

There isn't anything we can do now anyway.

Darius has got too many men with him.

He won't have them, not after they unload the wagons.

He pays most of them off when they leave.

There'll be maybe a handful by the time we get there at the mine.

What mine?

About five miles back down the river.

Please, please help me, Ben. Help me give Dan back at least part of his dream.

Get your steam up as quick as you can, Mr. Carney. Let's get a move on, Mr. Travis.

You know, it's probably none of my business,

but you're taking an awful chance believing that girl again. Just like Gray said,

sometimes you're calling to be a real judge of character. Yeah, well,

I say you're wrong about Lela Russell.

Well, I don't remember asking you, Mr. Travis.

As soon as you get up enough head of steam,

we're going back downriver to get Dan's cargo back. Yes, sir.

I'm sorry, Joe.

I wish I could be as sure as I sound.

Well, I just hope Muriel has enough men on hand to make an even fight of it.

We haven't had a good Donnybrook for a long time.

The water's going to be cold.

Not me, remember? I just helped them execute a successful operation.

Give her a few seconds, head start.

What's going on here anyway? What do we stop here for? Mr.

Frazier took that little dancing girl and some

of the crew after the pirates had robbed us.

Leela.

Leela!

What happened?

They turned the boat around, came back downstream.

They saw your wagons heading this direction.

The captain got suspicious of me and...

I had to jump overboard.

They shot at me, but I swam ashore.

Well, why did you come here?

I was frightened. I didn't know what else to do.

Well, you might have been followed.

No, I don't think so.

You don't think so.

When I take you to Muriel, he'll order you a shot for your stupidity.

Worry about what happens to her later, Darius. If

they trap us in here, we won't have a chance.

All right, we'll go outside.

If they have followed her, we'll let them come in the mine. We'll have them trapped.

Put that lantern out.

Drop your guns, Darius. You're surrounded.

Run for it.

Leela.

Leela!

Must have been a stray shot.

Don't try to move. Just lie still.

Sorry.

I disappointed you, Ben.

You were wonderful. You delivered them right in our hands.

Not John Morrell.

His time will come.

Ben.

Don't try to talk.

Tell Dan I love him. I really love him.

I think he already knows.

Ask him to forgive me.

Lila, I'm the one that needs to be forgiven.

Oh, Dad.

Here he comes. The other plane's all gone.

Hello, Gray!

Oh, Ben, it's good to see you.

Yeah, I was getting worried about you. Why,

did you think I'd make the Natchez and back without you? Well,

you are a little late, she-ho. Well, that's because I had to reload the cargo.

When you reload the cargo? Yeah, and haul it back to the boat from the mine.

Mine? What mine? Well, we killed the pirates. Pirates?

Yeah, but that didn't take long. Pirates? That part of John Morrell's game. Morrell?

We didn't get Morrell. We got all of Dan Sampson's cargo back.

A lot of other cargo that was lying around. Only thing

that's missing, Gray, is one of the lifeboats.

And I gave that away. What do you mean you gave a lifeboat away?

So Dan and Leela could get away from Morrell.

Leela? That's the girl who danced on the Enterprise.

What do you mean, dance? Well, she recovered from her bullet wound,

and her and Dan are going to get married just

as soon as they find a town. Ben, Ben, Ben.

You know, I got the feeling that you're trying to tell me something. Now,

why don't you go right back from the beginning

and tell me the whole thing all over again, slowly.

I can't right now, Greg. Why not?

I got to go to town and get some wagons and drivers

and send them west so Dan and Lela can open a store.

You can't have a store without merchandise.