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♪♪

Indians!

♪♪

Something wrong.

Those horses should have been ready.

Tom?!

Jack!

Jack?

Tom Delaney.

Station agent.

My brother's got to be around here somewhere.

All right, look around, help me find him.

In here!

Jack.

Jack.

Jack.

Brother Will.

Where'd you come from?

Who did it?

Who shot you?

Two... drifters.

Uh... Asked for a meal.

What they...

what they wanted was what was in the safe.

I'll find them.

And when I do, they won't live long enough...

I'll find them.

That's about all I can do for him, Mr. Rimbau.

You've already done enough and done it very well.

Jack.

Those two drifters?

What did they look like?

Just ordinary.

Twenty-twenty-three or twenty-f-four.

One... one abou... One-one dark, one light.

Did you hear any names?

No.

No names.

They just rode in, asked for a hand-out.

Tom fed them.

N-No warning, nothing.

They... they just started shooting.

Did you get a look at their horses?

I-I'm cold, Will.

Ow.

I-I hurt.

Look, I-I think you ought to let him rest.

He-he needs all the rest he can get.

Don't you think I know that?

You think I like asking him questions when he's hurt so bad?

Maybe we should have sent him in with the stage.

No, he'd have never made it over those roads anyhow.

How long would it take?

Well, 60 miles to Virginia City and a doctor

and 60 miles back.

Three days at least.

What do you think, Hoss?

Will he last that long?

Well, I ain't no doctor, Mr. Rimbau.

I know that.

I'm just asking what you think.

Well, he's...

he's got a bullet lodged in his lung,

and it's right close to his heart.

There ain't no way I can get it.

I found this gold receipt for $15,000.

They keep that kind of money around here?

That's the weekly shipment from the Horn of Plenty mine.

I guess the killers got it all.

That's a lot of money.

And a good reason for them to ride hard

to new country where they can spend it.

Ain't been no change as far as I can tell.

Come and get it, boys.

It ain't much, but it's the best I can do.

I'll be riding out at first light.

Hoss, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay with Jack.

There's no doubt in my mind

you can do more for him than any of the rest of us.

Look, I can start tracking them.

Why don't you stay here with your brother?

No, I'm the lawman here, it's my job.

Overland Stage men were shot,

and an Overland safe was robbed.

Okay, if that's the way you want it, I'll go along with you.

Me, too.

You can count me in.

Thanks, but riding with a posse is

a little out of your line, isn't it, Mr. Willow?

Liable to be a lot of bullets flying around

before this is finished.

I may look like a dude, Mr. Rimbau,

but I've done my share of hunting.

I can hold up my end.

Well, we'll find out, that's for sure.

There are rifles and shells in the storeroom.

Plenty of food and camp gear.

Well, there's still a couple hours before sunup.

Why don't you try to get a little rest?

All right, let's go.

Joe, you be careful, you hear?

I got a hunch you're gonna have more trouble than you think.

I'll watch it.

They stopped here to water their horses.

Yeah.

They're swinging north again.

That's the second time they've changed direction.

These tracks are fresher, too.

They're not pushing too hard.

We're picking up two or three hours on them.

Probably don't know we're following them.

Come on.

♪♪

Here, try some hot coffee.

Thanks.

You know,

it took me three years to talk my brother into taking

that job with the stage line.

He was on the payroll only two weeks.

Told me I threw too big a shadow,

he didn't want to get lost in it.

So he kept moving, looking for a job he'd like.

Tried ranching, bronc busting,

faro dealing.

Wasn't till Tom Delaney came out of retirement

and took over the Red Creek Station

that Jack changed his mind.

Yeah, I met Delaney in Virginia City.

He seemed like a fine man.

The best.

Made a driver out of me, then a guard.

When he quit, he put me up for his job.

He did more for me than...

than any man I ever met.

First time I ever got mixed up in anything like this.

You ever ride with a posse before?

None that ever caught anybody.

Murder, robbery.

That old man shot in the back.

It's just about the worst thing I ever saw.

Yeah.

Hanging is too good for whoever did it.

You think they'll put up a fight?

I don't know, but Rimbau's hoping they will.

Yeah, that's what he told me.

Saving the bother of a trial.

Might not be such a bad idea.

You ever kill anybody?

Nope, never even came close.

But I never had a good reason before.

Me neither.

Want some more?

No.

That's got to be the worst excuse for coffee I ever tasted.

Shouldn't be; I only used the grounds five or six times.

Yeah, that just might have something to do with it.

All right, hold it!

You've got four guns covering you.

If this is a holdup, you sure picked the wrong men.

We ain't got a dollar between us.

You're under arrest for murder and robbery.

Murder and robbery?

We didn't kill anybody.

We-we never stole a penny.

You were at the Red Creek Station,

we tracked you from there.

Sure, th-they gave us a meal.

Hot cakes and bacon.

That ain't all you got.

You killed Tom Delaney and left my brother for dead.

Then you cleaned out the safe.

There's a rope waiting for you two in Virginia City.

N-No, wait a minute.

Uh, I don't even know what you're talking about.

You've got the wrong men.

You keep talking, you won't get to Virginia City.

All right, get over there.

Go on, move.

We'll be riding pretty soon; let's get our horses.

Good idea.

Right there.

I got some questions for you.

Anything you want to know, mister, you just ask.

All right, let's start with names.

I'm Stubb Morgan, this is Johnny Hill.

You were at Red Creek Station, right?

But we didn't kill anybody.

You, your gun was fired.

Sure, one shot.

We had fried rabbit for supper last night.

One shot or six doesn't make any difference.

The barrel looks and smells the same.

Mister, how come you so sure we did it?

There were other men riding by that station.

You're the only one that left fresh tracks.

Besides, we got an eyewitness

that gave a pretty good identification of you.

There's got to be some mistake.

If there is, we'll find out when we get back to Red Creek.

That fella tearing up our gear.

If he thinks we put a bullet in his brother,

we won't live to get to Red Creek.

- You'll get there. - Don't make any guarantees

you can't keep, Cartwright.

All right, you two.

Where'd you hide the gold?

We don't know about any gold.

We'll see.

You both fit the descriptions,

and you had a gun that was fired.

That's good enough for me.

Come on, on your feet.

Get your horses saddled up.

Come on, hurry up.

Look, mister, this doesn't make any sense.

If we were running away, would we camp out right in the open?

Shut up!

Rimbau, that's enough!

How would you feel

if it was your brother and best friend they shot?

Same way you feel, probably.

I might even make the same mistake

I don't want you to make.

What mistake?

If anything happens to them,

if they don't get back to Virginia City alive,

you're gonna be held responsible.

That's something you're gonna have to live with

the rest of your life.

All right, you made your point.

Get those saddles up on the horses.

♪♪

Hold it.

This looks like as good a spot as any.

We'll camp here for the night.

I can use some of that.

Could you?

Get off those horses.

Here you go.

Have some of mine.

Thanks.

What do you think would have happened

if my brother had asked them for water?

What's that got to do with this?

I'll tell you what would have happened: they would have

put another bullet in him. That's what would have happened.

It's men like you who make killers like them.

We don't even know they're guilty yet.

They've been in trouble before.

They've been caught before.

How do you know that?

I know. All I have to do is look at them.

Well, you got better eyes than I have.

All I see are two men who are getting a little nervous

looking down the barrel of your shotgun.

If you were sitting where they were, you'd be nervous, too.

Bites a little, huh?

Well, you'd better get used to it.

Because it's gonna bite a lot more before morning.

Getting them ready for the night.

Any objections?

Just figured we'd feed 'em first, that's all.

You think I care anything about that?

I know you don't care, but I do.

They're our prisoners, but they're human beings

and we're gonna feed 'em.

I said we're gonna feed 'em.

All right, feed 'em.

But if they make a break, you'd better not get in the way.

Or I might have to take three of you instead of two.

Take it easy. I may want some more.

There's plenty more in the saddlebag.

Don't worry, we ain't gonna try anything.

With that shotgun looking at us, I ain't even sure I want to eat.

You'd better eat. It's a long way to Red Creek.

And a slim chance of getting there.

He's a friendly cuss, isn't he?

He's acting like you're the killer instead of them two.

Yeah, that's what keeps going through my mind.

Well, he's young.

I used to be the same as Cartwright.

But when you've seen as much as I have...

well, you change.

I don't quite follow you.

There hasn't been a killer born that doesn't start yelling

he's innocent once he's caught,

just like those two are doing.

All they're waiting for is a chance

to kill again and get away.

I believe it.

Yeah, but what keeps itching at me is...

we didn't find the gold.

That's an old trick.

They hide what they steal.

And when they get to court, a smart lawyer

uses their empty pockets as proof of innocence.

I never thought of that.

Then the jury turns 'em loose.

They pick up the loot they hid and ride out of the country,

free and rich.

You know what those two have done.

You're gonna take them all the way to Virginia City

and see them go free?

No, I sure don't want to.

Well, me neither,

but I don't hold to no lynching.

Nobody said anything about lynching,

but I can't help wishing they'd sure try to get away.

Yeah, that would make a difference.

It sure would. Self-defense.

Just protecting our own lives.

That's the way I see it... self-defense.

All right, give me the plates.

All right, you've had your meal.

They can't sleep that way.

You don't like the way I'm treating the prisoners,

you put 'em to bed.

Now lie back.

I'll wrap you around the tree.

Well, aren't we cozy?

I'll take over watch.

♪♪

♪♪

Cartwright said he'd see that we stand trial.

Do you think he can do it?

I keep hoping.

But then I see that Rimbau looking at us and I don't know.

A man never knows what he's gonna wake up to.

Last evening all I was worried about

was where my next meal was coming from.

Yeah, now I'm just wondering if I'm gonna

live long enough to have another meal.

Feeling sorry for yourselves, huh?

It never fails.

Soon as one of your kind gets caught,

they start feeling real sorry for themselves.

Mr. Rimbau, we didn't shoot your brother.

We didn't shoot anybody.

I know better.

I swear, I'm telling you the truth.

He ain't interested in the truth.

All he wants to do is see us dead.

Mister, I never wanted anything more in my whole life.

And don't you forget it.

♪♪

Now's the time. He's sound asleep.

No.

He dropped that key on purpose.

He wanted you to see it.

Don't do it. Don't do it.

He'll shoot us both.

Maybe, but if we don't try,

he'll kill us tomorrow for sure.

At least we can try.

♪♪

You want to run, killers, go ahead and run.

Go on, run.

- Hold it. - Don't move.

Hold it.

All right, take the gun out nice and slow.

Easy.

Toss it over here.

As of now I run this posse.

Sit over there.

Go on, sit down.

Siding with murderers. Taking my posse.

You're only giving them room for more killing.

Really had you going his way, didn't he?

You were just gonna stand by and watch him commit murder.

They tried to escape.

How'd you get the cuffs off?

Rimbau dropped the keys.

What difference does it make?

They were still trying to escape.

It makes a big difference if you dropped those keys on purpose.

Now, we came out here to find and bring in two men.

Two men who may or may not be guilty.

May or may not be guilty.

The description fits 'em to a T.

We tracked 'em all the way from Red Creek.

Right on both counts, but there's still

a lot of things that don't add up.

First of all, they were in no hurry, no hurry at all.

Didn't bother to hide their tracks.

They camped right out in the open.

Now, if I'd just left a robbery and murder behind me,

I'd ride hard and fast.

And I'd make sure I hid my tracks and my camp.

I told you they didn't know they were being followed.

If they didn't think they were being followed,

why'd they bother hiding the gold?

What about when we found 'em in their camp?

They were all but out of food and shells.

Now, there was plenty of both back in Red Creek Station.

If they robbed it, why didn't they take it with them?

Somebody probably spooked them and they ran.

We don't know that.

And that's not for us to decide.

That's for a court of law.

See, Mr. Rimbau here, he doesn't want 'em to get there.

He doesn't want 'em to have that trial.

Because he's only had one idea

from the moment we started this posse.

And that's to see them dead.

Yes, he said he hoped they'd try to get away

so he could use that shotgun.

Well, I guess you're right.

He almost had us talked into seeing it his way.

And how do you see it now?

I see it like you do.

Our job is to take 'em in and hand 'em over to the law.

That's all I wanted to hear.

All right, take the prisoners in.

But before you do, there's something I want to say to them.

I want you to hear it, too.

Because you're right.

I did want them dead. I still do.

So you're gonna get that trial.

And when it's over, you're gonna look out of your cell window

and watch the gallows being built.

You're gonna watch them test the trap

and stretch the rope.

You're gonna count the days, the hours and the minutes

until that rope is around your necks.

And you're gonna wish a thousand times that Cartwright

had let me do it my way.

♪♪

By the time the doctor got here, there...

there wasn't much he could do.

There was no pain. He just drifted off into a

deeper and deeper sleep.

Did he... Did he say anything about what happened?

Anything at all?

Never opened his eyes after you left.

I know it don't do much good

to say things at a time like this, but

I'm terribly sorry.

We did everything we could.

I... guess I knew there wasn't any hope.

Thanks.

Sit down over there.

Sorry about your brother.

Yeah.

Here.

You know, all the time I've been a law officer, that was

the first time that anyone ever took my guns away from me.

Cartwright,

when we get back to Virginia City,

I'm gonna have you arrested

for interfering with a lawman in the performance of his duty.

And you, too, Mr. Willow.

And you, Mr. Mapes. You're gonna be arrested, too.

I'm just trying to stop you from killing two men, that's all.

Trying to stop me from killing them.

I say I was just trying to prevent

two prisoners from escaping.

An escape that you arranged.

You put a knife to my throat to convince us we had to run

or die. Then you dropped those handcuff keys on purpose.

Well, now, just a minute.

Did you see me do anything like that, Mr. Mapes?

Can't say that I did.

And you, Mr. Willow?

Well, I was asleep most of the time, but...

Mr. Willow, you'll be testifying under oath.

Now, did you see me threaten the prisoners with a knife?

Yes or no.

No, I didn't.

I dropped those handcuff keys by accident,

and you can't prove otherwise.

Your brother's been siding with two cold-blooded murderers.

I don't know what happened out there on the trail,

but I know if Little Joe went against a lawman,

that was only because he thought he had to.

Well, it isn't what he thought, but what he did that counts.

You all heard my brother's statement

describing the murderers.

You heard it and you heard it and you.

And you.

And you'll all have to testify to that in court.

Well, I'll testify to that, Mr. Rimbau,

but I'm also going to testify to the other evidence.

They weren't trying to cover up their tracks,

and they were camping out in the open.

And they didn't have the gold.

Look, we all understand how you feel about your brother.

Nobody's trying to protect the prisoners.

We just want to see 'em come to trial, that's all.

We want to make sure these are the men that are guilty.

Oh, you want proof

beyond a reasonable doubt, as they call it.

Right.

Well, with your permission,

I'll get you that proof.

All right, you two, over by the door.

You're gonna tell us and show us exactly what happened

when you were here before, step by step.

We came in this door.

All right, you came in the door. Then what?

There was a man over there by the counter.

Show me.

Over here, back of the counter.

Well, which man? What did he look like?

He look...

He was, uh... had gray hair, lean,

kind of old.

Tom Delaney, the station master.

Well, then what?

We passed the time of day.

We told him, uh, we were looking for work, we were hungry.

We could use a meal, but we didn't have any money to pay.

He said he never turned a hungry man

away from his door in his life.

He said, "Sit down."

You sat over there?

Yeah.

Well, show me.

Right here.

Then what?

He give us a meal... Hotcakes, bacon, coffee.

That's when the other man came in, while we were eating.

Younger fella.

The old man called him Jack.

That's right. They both went over to the ticket counter.

Then what did you do?

Nothing.

We could have used some more hotcakes,

but they were busy, so we just said thanks and we rode out.

Just where did you say "Thanks"?

Don't point. Show me.

About over here, I guess.

The old man was sitting at the desk.

The other one was by the ticket counter.

You saw the safe and decided to rob it.

My brother was at the ticket counter.

You shot him first.

Tom was sitting at the desk.

He was getting up when your bullet hit him in the back.

You're a liar.

Wait a minute.

How'd they get the safe open?

With $15,000 in gold in here,

they're sure not gonna leave it open.

Somebody knew the combination.

That's right. Tom did.

They forced him to open it and then shot him.

That's not what your brother said.

He said they walked in here,

asked for some food and started shooting.

Maybe my brother made a mistake.

In his condition maybe he was wrong.

In his condition he could have been wrong

about identifying those two men.

Like you say, we'll let the court decide.

We've got the gun that killed him.

That's good enough for me.

Maybe that's where I ought to get into this conversation.

What caliber was that gun?

.44.

Well, sir, here's the slug that...

the doctor got out of that brother of yours.

Somewhat smaller than a.44.

Looks more like a.25, maybe out of a Derringer.

Which one of you two had a Derringer?

Mister, I've seen a Derringer in my life,

but I sure never owned one.

Well, one of you did. You shot him and then threw it away.

We never did! Neither one of us!

- That's a dirty lie. - Leave him alone!

- What did you do with it? - Hey, hey, hey. Rimbau.

Rimbau. Oh, Rimbau. Leave him alone.

I'm sick of their lying, sick of listening to them!

So, you never had a Derringer, huh?

It's Tom Delaney's gun.

It's got his initials on it.

Well, they killed Tom,

then took his gun and shot my brother.

Then he hid it under the counter?

That doesn't make much sense.

Well, hid it or kicked it under. What difference does it make?

They were through with it.

I think we ought to take a look in the barn.

In the barn? For what?

Looks like we found the gun that we didn't know was here.

Can't hurt nothing to look around.

Your brother was shot in the lung right here in the office.

Yet he crawled out to the barn. Why?

Maybe he was afraid these two killers would come back.

All we're looking for is the truth.

That's what you want, isn't it?

Whatever we find will only help prove it,

so what are your objections?

All right, I have no objections.

Let's look in the barn.

But somebody better stay with these two.

We'll watch 'em.

Well, this is where we found him.

You want to look around, go ahead.

What do you expect to find?

I think you know.

You trying to pull my brother into this?

We know your brother was shot with Delaney's Derringer.

We don't know who pulled the trigger or when it was pulled.

One of those killers pulled it.

Why?

They had their own guns.

Those drifters could be telling the truth.

Delaney and your brother could have been alive

when they left here.

You're saying my brother killed Tom

and then robbed the safe, is that it?

I'm saying it could have happened that way.

We do know he came over here.

Now, if he robbed the safe,

maybe he came here to hide the gold.

Well, he didn't kill Tom, and he didn't rob the safe.

Well, then, you shouldn't mind us looking around.

All it'll do is prove your brother's innocence.

Go ahead, look around.

Tear the place apart.

Why don't you look in the loft?

Maybe he hid it up there.

You know your brother was in no shape to get in the loft.

Think he hid it in here?

Go ahead, look.

Don't move.

There's blood on the sack.

And Mr. Rimbau knew where to find it.

You said Tom Delaney was your best friend, didn't you?

So you let your brother shoot him in the back.

Shut up and get over there.

Go on. Move!

Now, turn around and face the wall.

Drop it, Rimbau.

Willow!

We owe you two an apology.

Thanks for believing us.

No need for thanks.

Get your guns. You can leave any time you want.

There's one thing... I want to know.

Why?

A respected lawman.

Why did you suddenly turn thief and killer?

You wouldn't understand.

Nobody would.

Always riding shotgun, protecting other people's money.

Never having any of my own.

The way we planned this,

nobody was supposed to get killed. Nobody.

Just before we were to arrive on the stage,

my brother was gonna knock Tom out,

take the gold out of the safe and hide it.

And then he was gonna cut his head

and say he'd been knocked out, too.

And then you were supposed to track the would-be thief, huh?

Yeah.

I was supposed to go out and come back

and say I'd lost the tracks.

But everything went wrong.

Yeah, it all went wrong,

including you and your brother.

There's one thing I can guarantee you, Rimbau.

You're gonna get a trial.

Stage is coming in.

Giddap. Giddap!

Giddap.

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