Original subtitles

Where'd it happen?

Down by Big Springs.

I just came from Dubois' place.

He's bringing his dogs.

Probably need them.

Where is he?

Over here.

What do you make of it?

Well...

must have come down here chasing a stray, I guess.

Whatever it was must have jumped him from that rock.

Cougar!

Big one.

Biggest I ever saw.

He's a limper. You can tell by the tracks he's favoring one foot.

That'd make a man-killer out of him, all right.

If he's hungry and crippled,

a man would be as easy to kill as anything he'd find.

Cougar knows it. He'll try it again.

You talk like you know these cats.

I've hunted 'em. I know something about 'em.

Something scared that cat off his regular hunting ground.

He's looking for new range.

We'd better go get him.

[ barking dogs approaching ]

[ dogs barking ]

[ French accent ] Ah! Monsieur le Judge!

[ speaking French ] So you're in trouble, huh?

Big cat, yes?

Louis, I'm glad you're here.

Oh, come on, Monsieur le Judge, not me.

You're glad my dogs. That's why you're glad Louis is here, huh?

I want to show you something.

Huh?

Tracks are over there.

Huh.

He has gone to the mountains.

Perhaps he will stay there,

perhaps he will come down when he's hungry.

It's a big cat,

but we will hunt him and kill him,

and then he won't eat men no more.

[ dogs barking ]

He doubled back!

Oh, that devil, he's one smart cat!

Aah!

It's gonna be dark soon, so we will make camp

and hunt again when the day breaks.

I will try to gather in the dogs.

You know, I hunt cat for long time.

I spent half my life hunting cat.

Cat, he live and kill by instinct,

and most of the time, the cat is afraid of man.

But I think this one someday get hurt.

Then he gets hungry.

So, he hunts for food.

Then he sees man.

But he's too hungry to be afraid, so he kills man.

Then he sees how easy it is,

and then he's afraid no more.

From then on, he hunts...

with intelligence.

And what he likes to hunt most is man,

because he knows that man is easy to kill.

Now, Louis, you don't think that this beast is too smart for us, do you?

Monsieur le Judge, I think only one thing.

This will be a long hunt.

Steve, you've hunted these animals before. What do you think?

He's right. It's gonna be a long hunt.

[ distant feline screeching ]

[ dogs barking ]

[ low growl ]

[ low growl ]

[ dogs barking ]

[ Dubois shouting in French ]

DUBOIS: Shut up!

He's close.

He's close! You feel him?

I feel him.

[ low growl ]

Oh, he's thinking now.

How many of us? Can he leave quickly enough?

Can he strike and get away?

Hey! Hey!

[ shouting in French ] Come back!

They are gone.

I think the cat will kill them both.

Monsieur le Judge, I don't think I like this hunt no more.

This sacrecat, I think he's tired of being hunted.

Now he hunts.

[ dogs barking ]

[ dogs barking ]

The dogs.

It's the dogs!

My good dogs!

Do we rest here,

or do we push on, Louis?

I mean, you think the cat might still be close enough

for us to catch up with him today?

Ah, who knows, monsieur?

I thought you did, Louis. You're the expert.

I only know that my dogs are dead.

That we have accomplished what we have set out to do.

Take 30 minutes.

Coffee and beans.

I don't see that we've accomplished anything. The cat is still alive.

Ouais.

It is alive, but here in the mountains,

far from Medicine Bow, and that is good enough.

You mean you're quitting?

I mean for me the hunt is over.

For me and my dogs.

But the cat is still alive.

I hunt no more!

I get my dogs killed no more!

Wish you'd think it over.

Well, we'll have to go on alone.

North.

The cat will continue to go north.

Why north?

Easy to travel.

Plenty of water, plenty of game all the way.

Monsieur le Judge,

when you hunt a cat, you think like a cat.

That's where I would go if I am a cat.

Judge, without the dogs, we don't have much of a chance of catching him.

Bunch of men crashing through the underbrush,

cat would know where we were before we did.

Stay way out in front of us.

I suppose you're right,

but I keep thinking about some child

walking to school

or exploring a river bed or a berry patch.

We give up now...

VIRGINIAN: Yeah.

I'll go after him.

Alone, I stand a better chance of catching up with him.

All right.

Just take your time. Don't-- don't take any chances.

Don't worry about Steve, Judge. He'll be all right.

He knows as much or more about cougars

than any man here... except Dubois.

And he's running scared.

You'll go after him?

Yeah.

The cat, he will follow the ridges,

the high ground, during the day.

Then, when he gets to where he wants to be,

he will find a den and stay there.

He will come down at night to hunt,

and this is when you must hunt him.

Thanks.

Uh...

I hope you, uh...

do not think me too much of a coward because I do not go with you.

Every man inside has his, uh...

his own devil.

Understand?

Sure.

[ dogs barking ]

[ squawking ]

[ chirping ]

[ cub yelping ]

[ chittering ]

[ rustling sound ]

[ squirrel chittering ]

I lost my grub,

my packhorse,

three...

...four days ago.

And I've been too much in a hurry to hunt for food.

Come on in the house.

You can put your horse in the corral.

[ door closes ]

Sit down.

How far have you traveled?

Medicine Bow.

Why, that's almost 200 miles from here.

Uh-huh.

I'm Nancy Mayhew.

I'm Steve Hill.

How'd you lose your packhorse?

The cougar got him.

You said thecougar?

The one I've been hunting.

Maybe he's been hunting me.

I track him days.

He stalks me nights.

Big devil.

Big, clever...

man-killing devil.

I haven't had much sleep since I lost the horse.

Mr. Hill?

Mr. Hill?

Did you have a good sleep?

How'd I get over here?

I helped you.

Thank you.

Better get away from that door.

Close it.

The cat?

Mm-hmm.

But my husband's out there.

Where?

He drives once a month to the settlement to get supplies.

He should have been back by now.

He'll be all right.

What do you look like under that beard?

I don't know.

Been a long time since I've seen me.

Well, there's some hot water on the stove.

You could use Charles' razor.

I'll get it for you.

I don't know how sharp it is.

Oh, it's fine.

Charles your husband?

That's right.

I'm surprised he'd leave you out here all alone.

I don't mind.

Charles is a naturalist.

We've been out here for two years.

Right after we were married, we came out.

Since then, I've--

I've discovered that you can become quite accustomed to loneliness.

In fact, live with it quite contently.

Tell me about the cat you're hunting.

It's a big one.

Mean as the devil.

Twice as smart.

Killed a man near Medicine Bow.

I've been tracking him ever since.

And you trailed him to this valley?

Uh-huh.

Found his pugmarks just before I rode in here.

Weren't more than two hours old.

How do you know that it's the same cat?

Because he's a limper.

Got a bad forefoot.

What's the matter?

Oh, it's nothing.

You look much better without your beard, Mr. Hill.

In fact, you almost look handsome.

Oh, I'll get you a clean shirt.

I'll lend you one of Charles'.

I'll wash that one for you in the morning.

In the morning?

Oh, you'll spend the night here, of course.

I assure you, it'll be quite proper.

I wasn't worried about that.

I don't want to be alone.

I guess all that talk about a man-eating cougar frightened me.

I'll get you a clean shirt.

Charles' son. He was married before.

Fine-looking boy.

He was a very sweet child.

I'll get some supper.

CHARLES: Whoa.

Whoa!

That must be Charles.

Hello, Charles.

I'm sorry I was so late.

You must have been worried.

I broke a coupling pole in town.

It took a while to get it fixed.

[ footsteps approach ]

Oh, Charles, this is Steve Hill.

Mr. Hill.

Howdy.

We don't get many visitors here.

I was passing through. Your wife was kind enough to feed me.

Mr. Hill is a hunter.

Oh?

No, not really.

He's hunting a cougar, a man-killer.

Imagine, Charles.

He tracked him all the way from Medicine Bow.

I see.

One of the big cats, huh?

Big enough.

Well, what makes you think he's in the valley here?

Found fresh tracks this afternoon.

These animals really move, Mr. Hill.

By morning, he might be over the range.

[ distant feline screeching ]

[ horses whinny ]

[ low growl ]

[ feline howl ]

[ low growl ]

[ low growl ]

[ low growl ]

The boy in the photograph?

What happened to him?

He was a very sweet child.

I said that before, didn't I?

But that was what you felt about Robert, his sweetness.

He was the kind of child that

every woman dreams of having.

A good child.

A strong child.

A child that would have grown into a strong man,

and would have made some woman happy in his strength.

You talk like he was your own.

I made him my own.

You asked me what happened to him.

The cat killed him.

Your cat.

The one you're hunting.

The one with the crippled forepaw. Charles did that.

The cat was here when we first came here,

and Charles hunted him and...

shot him and crippled him and...

then one day he came back and took Robert for his revenge.

[ distant twig snaps ]

[ cocks rifle slowly ]

What's the matter?

He's here.

The cat? The cat.

How do you know?

I've hunted him long enough to know when he's around.

Stay ahead of me.

Stay out of the shadows.

Stay away from the trees.

Move!

[ low growl ]

I heard you go out.

I was worried about you.

Then why didn't you come after me?

Was she down by the grave?

Yeah.

She thought a lot of Robbie.

She tell you what happened?

She said the cat got him.

Yes, the cat.

I was out clearing brush,

and Robbie was playing very close.

I heard him scream. I turned around, and I...

I saw the cat dragging him off.

I ran for my gun. When I got back, it was too late.

Robbie was...

Robbie was dead.

Nancy blames me.

Why?

She's got a good enough reason.

While I was running for my gun, she was running out to face the cougar.

While I was fumbling with cartridges,

she was holding him off with a brush hook I dropped in panic.

When I got there, the cougar was gone.

She was holding Robbie to her, close.

I'll never forget the way she looked at me.

How long are you going to remain in this vicinity?

Till I get the cat.

Oh, he's out there someplace.

And he isn't very far.

He hasn't been far since I started hunting him.

[ growling ]

NANCY: Good morning, Mr. Hill!

I wish you'd stop calling me Mr. Hill.

It makes me old and dignified.

Well, "Mrs. Mayhew" makes me feel very matronly.

It's your imagination... Nancy.

[ chuckles ] Now you make me feel young again.

Did you find anything?Tracks.

How long have you been on this hunt?

I'm not sure.

Time has a way of running together.

You lose track. Maybe three weeks. A month. I'm not sure.

Why-- why do you keep on? Why haven't you given up?

I'm not sure of that either.

Funny, I'm not sure of anything.

Just that I know that he's out there in front of me someplace,

and I've got this feeling that I've got to catch up.

'Least once I gotta see him.

You haven't even seen him?

No, he's...

pugmarks in the loose dirt, he's...

a rustle in the bushes.

He's the dead silence that passes over the forest

whenever he passes through.

The roar from the mountain.

He's...

I don't know what he is.

Sometimes I think he's not even an animal.

He's the Devil.

Sometimes I think he's something inside of me.

He's something...

not real.

He's real.

Good morning.Good morning.

Did you see your cat?

I run his tracks down by the grove.

If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay here for a couple of days.

I think that's a splendid idea, don't you, Charles?

Oh, yes. Anything to get rid of the beast.

I'll go finish breakfast.

Darling.

You got any objections?

No, of course not. I'm glad to have you.

I think it'd do my wife good to have another young person on the place.

Your wife tells me you hunted the cat out of this territory.

If this was his range, you must have learned some of his habits.

I employed professional hunters and dogs.

They drove him out, not me.

When are you going after him?

He's laying up there in the rocks.

Won't be able to track him.

'Bout all I can do by day is learn his habits.

Where he eats and drinks.

Then what?

Then some night I'll trap him.

I'd like to go with you.

Why not.

Fresh kill?

Last night.

Will he come back to it?

Maybe.

Maybe we should wait for him here.

Build a platform in one of the trees, wait for him.

Won't work. Tried that.

Too smart for that. He's an educated cat.

What are you doing?

Gonna trip the kill, build a deadfall.

You look lovely tonight.

Thank you, Charles.

When I met my wife, she was the prettiest girl in New York.

She hasn't lost anything since.

Thank you very much, Steve.

I'm a very fortunate man, aren't I, darling?

If you say so, Charles.

You forgot to serve me, dear.

I'm sorry.

Extremely fortunate man.

Steve, tell my wife what we accomplished today.

It was quite a lot, darling.

Haven't worked as hard in ages.

My bones ache, but Steve had no pity for me.

He worked me like a Mississippi River roustabout.

We set traps around all the water holes.

Do you really expect to trap that beast?

No. He's trap-wise.

His instincts will tell him it's dangerous around here,

so he'll stay away from all the water holes we've trapped.

When he gets to the one we haven't trapped,

he'll be too hungry to be cautious.

That's where I'll be waiting.

We'llbe waiting.

Don't count me out, Steve.

I want to be with you.

Oh, it's perfectly safe, isn't it, Steve?

Nothing's safe when you're dealing with a cat like that.

I'm going.

[ low growl ]

STEVE: He'll come up through that draw to the water.

No cover. No concealment.

We'll get one clean shot at him.

How are you going to get him there?

Bait.

We'll need a calf. Weanling.

There's a ranch about eight or nine miles from here.

I'll get the wagon and go down and buy a calf.

All right. When can you be back?

Before nightfall.

We'll try our luck tonight.

You keep working over that gun. Is that necessary?

I may get only one crack at that cat.

I'd hate to lose him because of a misfire.

What are you going to do when it's over?

Go back to Medicine Bow.

And a girl?

None in particular.

Must be nice to be a man

and go when and where you please.

Where would you go?

Anywhere but this.

With or without Charles.

I suppose that sounds horrible, but...

a woman follows her husband.

A woman submits whether she loves a man or not,

whether she respects him or not.

You must have loved Charles.

Why do you say that?

Because you're not the kind of a woman

who'd marry a man without loving him.

Perhaps I did.

Or...

perhaps...

I-I thought that I loved him.

You mustn't misunderstand me.

Charles is a brilliant man.

And a wife has to make allowances for her...

husband's occasional weaknesses.

I am so tired of making allowances.

I thought that Charles was a strong man,

and I needed a man's strength.

I still do.

[ wagon approaches ]

CHARLES: Whoa.

Something wrong?

Nothing.

Maybe I should have let you go in town for the calf.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

[ nearby water flowing ]

I'll get up on this ledge.

You find a spot behind those rocks.

We'll be downwind from the way the cat comes.

If he's smart, he'll probably circle us.

You watch that ledge.

I'll watch the draw.

Don't shoot till you get a good bead on him.

If we're lucky, we may get one shot. Make it count.

Now we wait.

CHARLES: Steve.

What?

Think he'll come?

I don't know. Will you be quiet?

Steve.

Now what?

What happened between you and Nancy this afternoon?

Nothing happened.

I'd like to believe that.

Will you shut up?

Either shut up or get out of here.

Just the same, when this thing's over,

I think you'd better leave here as quickly as possible.

Steve!

[ growls ]

[ gunshots ]

Steve!

Steve!

[ sharply ] Don't!

What happened?

The cat.

Where were you, Charles?

Where were you?

Again?

The way it was with Robbie?

Is that how it happened?

You coward.

You cringing coward!

[ growling ]

Steve!

[ roars ]

Aaaahhhh!

Steve! Steve!

Steve, you're all right! Steve!

The cat.

He's gone. You're safe.

Charles?

He-- he's all right too.

You're safe here in my room.

Go to sleep.

Good morning, Dr. Saddler.

Good morning, Mrs. Mayhew.

How's that patient now?

Much better, thank you.

Oh, I saw Mr. Mayhew in town yesterday.

How is Charles?Oh, he looks fit.

He's organizing another hunt to go after that cougar.

It killed a man near Tobyville.

Well, please don't say anything to him about it.

Of course not.

[ door closes ]

How are we this morning?

Why don't we leave you out of it?

Happens to be myleg.

Well, we are better, aren't we?

Ohh.

That'll teach you to be pert with the medicine man.

Start using that leg now. It'll be a bit stiff for a while.

It was a pretty bad infection.

At least I got a leg.

You're lucky. I was ready to take it off.

I would have, too.

Only she wouldn't let me.

She's a fine woman.

Yes, she is.

Will you take a bit of advice

from a man old enough to be your father?

It all depends on the advice.

Soon as you're able to move around,

ride out of here and don't even look back.

Why?

She's in love with you.

And don't tell me I'm crazy. I know better.

I deal in people the same way you deal in cows.

It was a woman's love that nursed you through this and left you a whole man.

Now do her a favor. Get out.

I've seen these things before. They never work out.

She has a husband, a living husband.

You keep that in mind.

Son, don't shame her.

She doesn't deserve that.

[ door opens, closes ]

You've had enough for today.

Just a little while longer, is all.

You can't rush this sort of thing. You'll hurt yourself.

I can't go on letting you nurse me for the rest of my life.

I don't mind. Why should you?

Because I have to be moving on.

It's better that way. You know that.

I suppose so.

Steve...

[ rifle cocks ]

I could kill you.

Don't blame him. It's not his fault.

It wasn't anybody's fault. It just happened.

You're not important enough to kill, either of you.

Getting that cat's all that matters.

He's not in the valley.

Dr. Saddler said that you chased him out.

He's back.

[ low growl ]

He's coming out right now.

Down through the rocks.

Down through the timberline.

Prowling the undergrowth, hunting the kill.

What makes you so sure he's back?

I followed him.

We hunted him with an army of men and a pack of dogs,

but nobody's gonna get the cat that way.

You were right. You had the right idea.

One man alone, stalking him, pushing him,

making him angry enough to forget all the tricks he's learned.

When I saw which way he was headed, I left the men and the dogs.

Now we're both on our home grounds.

It's between us.

You had your chance at him.

You blaming me for that?

Well, I wouldn't want to hunt with you again.

I wouldn't blame you.

Tell Nancy goodbye for me, will you?

You're a fool to go out there alone.

Where's he going?[ departing hoofbeats ]

After the cat. Alone.

He'll be killed.That's what he wants.

[ low growl ]

Worried about him?

No.

No, not now. He'll never find that cougar.

There's no danger.

He wouldn't let himself do anything that foolish.

He's out there right now, hunting for him.

He's just putting a show on for us.

He's pretending to be something that he isn't.

It's something he's done for years.

I know him.

I'm going to leave Charles.

I can't stay here.

I don't love him, and I just can't stand to be around him.

Has my being here made--?Oh, no!

You have nothing to do with my feelings about Charles.

I don't know what it is I feel about you exactly,

except that I think a great deal of you.

Perhaps it's only because you're--

you're so much that Charles isn't.

If you loved Charles once,

it must be like tearing out a part of yourself.

It is.

A part that's dead,

It died when I knew that Charles was a man that couldn't love.

He has no love to give.

He proved that to me when he let his own child be killed

and did nothing to save him!

It's Robbie I see when I look at Charles.

I'd like you to take me with you when you leave,

as far as Harpersville.

Don't misunderstand. I don't mean to impose on you,

and I certainly don't mean to be any responsibility of yours,

but I will need help.

If you're sure you want to leave...

I'll take you with me.

[ low growl ]

You're up early.

I couldn't sleep.

Does your leg trouble you?

No. No, it's, uh...

just habit, like a memory of pain.

[ approaching horse whinnies ]

I came in for supplies.

I think I've located his den area. I'm going to stay up there.

I'm going to work every inch of those rocks until I find him.

You'll get yourself killed, poking around a lion's den.

He comes out in the evening and goes in at daybreak.

There's two times there's enough light to get a clear shot at him.

He'll know you're waiting. He won't come out.

You go in after him, you won't stand a chance.

He'll claw you to ribbons.

What would you suggest?

Give up.

Are you giving up?

I put in enough time on this hunt.

Is that your only reason?

What if I gave you another reason?

Nancy?

Nancy.

You're a very fortunate young man.

Believe me, I know.

My wife used to love me very much.

It's a wonderful thing, that kind of love.

It's hard to believe anything could kill it so quickly.

That's all you've got to say about it?

What else can I say? Can I stop you?

No, you couldn't stop me.

Unless I killed you.

Oh, I've thought about that many times during the night.

Coming back here, giving up the hunt, killing you.

Why didn't you?

Did you lose your nerve?

Was it easier to let the cat do your killing for you?

You think I held my fire on purpose? You tell me.

I missed my shot at him because I was afraid,

like I was afraid the first time I saw him.

He wasn't a man-killer then. He was after the horses.

I took a shot at him. I bloodied him.

You didn't go after him.

I knew what a wounded animal could do.

I was hoping he would go up there in the mountains and die.

But he didn't. He came back. Took my son.

Even then I was afraid, even then.

That could happen to any man.

No, only to a coward.

What makes you think you won't be scared now, going after him alone?

Do you think I'm not afraid?

Hey, listen, every man has a tiger in him,

a shameful truth about himself

that he can't face or he can't admit,

even to his most secret self!

But when that truth comes out,

when that tiger comes out of its den and you must face it,

you find the courage to live with it.

I've got to find that cougar! I need that chance!

I needit!

[ low growl ]

I'll be glad to get rid of this thing.

Burns wood like paper.

[ low growl ]

Aaahhh!

Aaahhh!

[ cougar growling ]

[ indistinct ]

Get!

Get!

What are you doing?

Going after the cat.

But you can't! Your leg!

My leg's all right.

You understand that?

There's nothing wrong with my leg.

It isn't my leg that's been holding me back.

It's what's in here.

I'm afraid of the cat.

But you were very brave just now.

I started to do the same thing your husband did.

I went straight for the gun.

But there wouldn't have been enough time!

The cat was all ready to spring.

That's right. There wouldn't have been any time.

But... you...

I think as much of you as any man could.

As any man could.

But I panicked, just like Charles did when the cat got Robbie.

I panicked.

But that doesn't mean he didn't love his son,

of that he's some kind of a monster.

I can't forget!

Well, then, you'd better tryto forget!

What happened to Robbie was...

was a tragedy.

But you can't go the rest of your life blaming Charles

for something that he couldn't help.

Everybody faces tragedy.

They pick right up. They go right on living.

I don't think you've done that.

Maybe I'd like to think you'd ride out of here with me.

Yeah, I'd like to think that.

Wouldn't be fair.

Wouldn't be fair to you.

Wouldn't be fair to Charles.

Sure wouldn't be fair to me.

Unless there's some other reason...

...other than what happened to Robbie for your decision.

Steve.

When...

When you see Charles...

...would you tell him that I want to talk to him?

Tell him to come home.

I'll tell him.

Hello!

Hello! Down here! Quick, Steve!

I found his den. I found it.

Where?Follow me.

We can't expect him to be obliging and just fall into this.

We'll cover it up.

He's too smart for a pitfall.

He's got to come out.

Must be a dozen different ways he can get out of there.

If we stake some bait here,

that'd make him come out this way.

Might.

But we don't have any bait.

How do you feel, Steve?

Cut me out of this!

It's getting dark. He'll be coming out soon.

You can't use a man for bait!

He'll come out, all right.

He'll smell the bait, and when he's hungry enough...

Are you crazy?!

I'm not certain.

I know that cat has the smell of you,

and the taste of your blood.

It'll bring him out.

I gotta do it, Steve. I gotta.

I'll kill him before he gets to you.

Charles?

Charles?

It's all right, Steve.

I'm here.

He can come out another way.

I don't think he will.

This is crazy.

I'm sorry, Steve. I really am.

But I have to kill him.

He's taken so much from me.

My child. My self-respect. My wife.

You haven't lost your wife.

She's waiting for you.

You hear me?

She's waiting for you. She still loves you.

Are you pleading with me, Steve?

Are you so frightened, you'd lie about the woman you love?

It's true.

She's waiting for you.

She wants to see you.

She wants to talk to you.

I'm disappointed in you, Steve.

I thought you were brave.

[ whispering ] Charles!

[ normal tone ] What is it now?

Listen.

I don't hear anything.

He's out!

He found another way out!

Stop playing games with me, Steve!

Steve?

Shut up. He'll hear you.

Steve, I think you're right.

I think he's out.

[ roars ]

[ Charles screaming ]

Back!

[ silence ]

Steve?

I'm sorry, Steve.

Forgive me?

Come on.

Your wife's waiting.