Original subtitles

[ horse neighing ]

You got permission to squat here?

No.

Look, you're on private property. You know that?

This here belongs to the Sherman ranch.

I work for them.

We won't stay long.

What's the matter with her? Is she sick?

It's her time.

Her what?

Her time to have the baby.

Well, now ain't that sweet.

I start my day looking for cow thieves,

and I wind up with a couple of happy Indians

all set to multiply.

Maybe I found them both, huh, Indians and cow thieves?

One and the same maybe.

We don't steal.

Oh, you steal, all Indians steal.

That's part of being one, ain't it?

All right, nothing in there.

But I'll still bet there's a stolen side of beef

hanging from one of them trees right now.

What are you doing?

Well, maybe it's hid under all those things in there.

Diamo, be careful.

We don't steal anything, mister.

Don't point a gun at my woman.

You tell your woman to scamper out of there

so as I can get a look-see.

I told you, we don't steal.

Get her out.

Or I'll start shooting.

[ gunshot ]

Take your woman.

Go fast.

He would have killed her.

I say go, quick.

We can't leave.

Is my son a woman now?

Are you so full of fear you can't think?

I say go.

Go.

I'll take care of him.

Look, if you just try to explain to us

how it happened.

How?

How did the man get killed?

No kill, find dead, no kill.

All right, all right.

You didn't kill him.

Why did you run away

when-- when he came over the hill?

Oh, fine.

Just fine.

Nearly an hour I've been talking to him,

and the way it looks like

I'd have gotten a lot more out of a clam.

Ask him about the gun again.

What about the gun?

The gun, the gun that killed the man.

Was there a gun when you found him?

No kill, find dead, no kill.

We're just not going to get anyplace

without an interpreter.

Well, I guess you'd have to expect him to play stupid.

Most likely he's scared he's gonna wind up

like all those kinfolk of his up at Sand Creek.

You are Arapaho, aren't you?

No kill, find dead, no kill.

You're Arapaho, aren't you?

Arapaho.

And you know a few more words of English

than the four or five you've been using here today.

What's your name?

What's your name?

Tah-Za.

Tah-Za...

who was out there with you today

when that man was killed?

Nobody with me, me alone.

There were tracks of two other ponies.

Where were they?

You weren't traveling alone.

Me alone.

And you didn't find Ben dead either, did you?

The people who were with you killed him,

then ran off,

while you stayed behind to hide the body.

Wrong! Wrong!

Tah-Za, Ben had marks on his face.

He'd been in a fight.

You don't have any marks on your face.

And Ben was a big man, strong.

It would take another big,

strong man to take his gun and kill him.

It was his gun he was killed with, wasn't it?

All right.

It was me, I killed him.

Well, hallelujah.

Well, you don't believe him, do you?

Well, why not?

Why would he say that if it wasn't so?

To protect somebody else.

Unless I missed my guess,

that's what he's been doing all along.

You're wrong, mister. It was me, I killed him.

There was nobody else.

You lock me up. Now I...

Now if you'd just tell us the truth

maybe we could straighten this thing out.

I guess you had him figured out.

There must be somebody else.

Yeah.

Somebody that thinks nothing of leaving an old man

to face more trouble

than he's likely seen in his whole life.

I'd like to know where they are.

Don't be afraid, chiquito.

She's-- She's having a baby.

I had to get her in out of the cold.

We won't hurt anything here.

We'll go as soon as she can travel again,

in the morning chiquito.

We'll leave first thing in the morning. Please!

Wait, please.

Daisy!

We can't stay here.

A boy found us.

His friends will come.

We've got to move.

I'll find you a place somewhere.

I promise.

He was coming right for me,

Aunt Daisy, you should've seen.

What are you doing here?

And this girl?

She's my wife.

We didn't mean any harm.

I just wanted to get her indoors until the baby comes.

The baby?

In a barn?

We're going, I'm sorry.

Uh, just a minute.

Where do you think you're going?

I said we'd get out.

You certainly will,

right out of here and into the house

where your wife can have some proper care.

Mike, go in, turn down my bed.

Go on, don't dawdle.

Yessum.

Come, come with me, please.

There you are.

Now you'd like to see your husband, wouldn't you?

How is she?

I think she's worn out.

How long have you been traveling?

Ten, eleven days.

There's a new reservation up on Powder River,

we're headed there.

And you didn't try to find shelter for her

before tonight?

Oh, yes, I tried.

A farmhouse south of here yesterday,

but the people there set their dogs on us.

They set their dogs--

Why?

Because our skin is not white like theirs.

Can I see her now?

Yes, but don't stay long.

I want you to ride into Laramie and get the doctor.

She needs a doctor?

Well, I think it's best to have the doctor,

in case she needs him.

I'm sorry, but we have no money to pay a doctor.

Oh, for heaven's sake don't worry about that now.

Go in and talk to your wife

before she decides you've forgotten all about her.

Diamo, what is this place?

It's a ranch house.

They're good people here.

They want us to stay till the baby comes.

They want us to stay?

Do they know what happened?

The man that came to our camp?

No, they don't know about that.

And your father, where is he?

I don't know.

Don't worry, he can watch out for himself.

I must go now.

Just for a little while.

Winema, you're all right here.

You're safe now.

Understand.

I would feel better if you didn't have to go.

I'll be back before the little one comes.

Where is the man who killed Ben?

They said he was an Indian.

Is that him?

Now wait a minute, you two.

Is that him?

I don't know yet.

Well, he's the one Sherman brought in, ain't he?

Ben was our older brother.

You step aside.

Don't be a fool, Rafe, put the gun away.

I can shoot around you or through you,

it makes no difference to me.

I'm telling you for the last time, sheriff.

Get out of the way.

SLIM: Drop the gun.

There's a shotgun aimed right at your head.

Now are you gonna drop it?

For a minute there

I thought you were gonna spoil our supper.

You ever point a gun at me again

you'd better be ready to use it.

That heathen red stick killed our brother,

and we want him dead.

We're still investigating.

If he did kill Ben, then he'll stand trial for it.

Trial?

An Indian stand trial?

It's been done before.

Why waste the time?

If you have to ask that,

I don't guess we could explain it to you.

Sherman, I don't want to hear

any more of your high and mighty ideas.

I've got a brother that's dead.

And the man that's done it is still living,

I got to fix that.

You stop pointing in on things

that don't concern you.

Ben was working for me when he was killed.

He was killed on my place.

The way I figure it, that makes it my concern.

If you want it official I'll deputize him.

Now you can pass out tin badges

to every man in this town for all I care.

I want that Indian dead!

If you don't do it, I'll do it for you!

Get out of here, both of you.

I said out!

Heading straight for the saloon.

Why didn't you lock them up?

It'd only make it worse for him if I did.

Well, they're gonna have some dandy stories to tell.

How we were sticking up for a murdering redskin.

Trouble is, it just might get somebody

in that whiskey mill to listen.

I think it's about time

we find out who that old war horse is covering up for,

before he winds up protecting them permanently.

How do you figure on finding that out?

He'll never tell.

I'm going out to the place where Ben was killed,

lookin' it over real good this time.

You want to go along?

I'd better stick around here.

Just in case that saloon runs dry.

The lady said to hurry.

Everybody tells me to hurry, friend.

You ever hear of anybody wanting a doctor next week?

All right.

Hey, I thought you were in such an all-fired hurry.

You go ahead, I'll come soon.

Tah-Za.

What's happened?

Why are you here?

Nothing.

Go away.

You were caught with the man I killed.

I'm all right.

Where is Winema?

A woman took us in.

She sent me to town for the doctor.

A white woman?

Yes.

Tah-Za, there is only one man here,

I can get you out.

No.

He has barred the door, you can't get in.

Go away, get back to your wife.

I can't leave you here.

One of us in trouble is enough.

Will you go?

I'll come back.

Stay away, you can't help me.

Stay away.

We've all seen things like this happen before.

Once it gets to this state

it ain't happen to get much better.

Who's gonna be next?

Now you think about that.

A man like my brother ain't safe in a ranch

few miles outside of town.

Before you know it, it ain't gonna be safe

for any of you to be walking these streets.

ALL: Yes.

And there's another thing.

There's been thieving going on.

Now you all have been missing stuff, ain't you?

ALL: Yeah.

Well, it's them that done it.

Those Arapahos moving north to their reservation,

they're stealing everything in sight

that ain't nailed down

and they're killing any white folks

that get in their way.

[ crowd murmuring ]

We showed them 6 years ago who owned this country.

You remember over at Sand Creek?

We're gonna stand by now

and let them come sneaking back in here

to kill us all off one by one?

Huh?

ALL: No.

It's my brother Ben right here in this coffin,

and a thieving Arapaho put him there.

Well, right now,

I'm gonna go to that jail, and I'm gonna drag

that red stick out on the end of this rope.

And I got one question.

Am I gonna go alone

or are some of you coming with me?

[ crowd murmuring ]

All right, let's do it.

[ indistinct chatter ]

I told you there'd be a trial for the man in there.

If you want to be around to see it,

you better clear out of here right now.

Like I said before, Corey...

around you or through you I don't care which.

You can't stop us all.

Boys, let's press him a bit.

SLIM: Now wait a minute.

Just been out to the place where Ben was killed.

And I found new evidence.

Evidence that proves the old man

in there didn't kill anyone.

Now do you still have it in your hearts

to hang an innocent man?

Now hold on.

Just what was it you found out there?

We got a right to know.

Rafe, you've just come within an eyelash

of losing your rights to anything

except 6 months room and board in jail.

Now if I catch either one of you anywheres near here

until this is finished,

so help me, you're gonna be looking out on this old world

through iron bars.

Come on, Rafe.

What's all this noise about avenging their brother?

That family has been about as close as three bull grizzlies

until this thing happened.

They're brothers, Mort.

They might fight amongst themselves,

but they're still brothers.

Say, did you really find anything out at your place?

The old man had a knife, too.

He took it off of him before we brought him in.

This belongs to somebody else.

Let's see if we can find out who.

Hold it.

Well?

Well, the undertaker says

the funeral's gonna be at 2 o'clock this afternoon.

After it's over I think that you and me

got to load up our stuff and get out of this town.

What for?

What for?

We can't keep operating the way

we were now that Ben's gone, you know that.

All right.

We can lay back for a while.

Ain't no reason to clear out.

Besides, we still got that Indian to take care of.

What do you care about him for?

Look, if he did kill Ben,

he most likely had a good reason.

You know the way Ben was.

Jack, can't you see beyond the Indian nose?

That Arapaho's trouble was just made-to-order for us.

What do you mean "just made-to-order for us?"

The one in jail.

We get him killed.

Then we keep things stirred up

until all the Arapahos are run out of the country.

After they're gone, the thieving stops,

everybody knows they've done it.

Well, don't you see, they done it.

No more questions, no more snooping around,

no more problems for us.

Now what's wrong with that?

I'll tell you what's wrong with that,

it's the first part of it about getting an Indian killed.

Now what do you think Sherman

and the sheriff are going to be doing?

I don't care what they do,

they ain't going to stop us.

Too many ways a man can die, Jack.

Especially when he's penned up in a cage.

Oh, Rafe.

That's my knife.

It belongs to me.

I lost it when I killed that man.

That isn't your knife.

It belongs to whoever was out there with you.

It's my knife.

Well, if that's your knife, what's this one?

The one he took away from you out there.

Come on, Tah-Za,

what do you need two knives for?

All right.

Come on.

Tah-Za, that crowd that was outside a little while ago

it's likely to happen again unless we find out the truth.

Don't you understand we're trying to help you?

Makes me wonder if he's worth helping.

Yeah.

There's nothing more I can do around here.

Think that mob might show up again?

You cooled them off for a while.

Listen, I'm heading home.

With Jess on that trip to Casper Daisy

will be needing me for some of the heavy chores.

I'll come back tonight to keep you company.

I can use it.

It's Slim.

Guess what?

We're going to have a baby.

A what?

A baby?

Yeah.

Diamo's going to have one.

I mean, Diamo's wife.

Well, I'm Slim Sherman.

Are you Diamo?

Daisy took him in last night

because she didn't want him spending the night in the barn.

My wife is having some trouble with the baby.

The doctor is with her now.

I am sorry you're having trouble.

Uh, who set you to work chopping wood?

It is hard just waiting.

Needed something to do.

DAISY: Diamo!

Diamo.

Oh, you're home, Slim.

Has something happened?

The doctor says it'll be any minute now,

and she's holding up just fine.

Well, if it's that close, let's go inside and wait.

Looks like you lost your knife.

Mike, go out and water my horse, will you?

Huh?

Go on, tiger.

You want me to unsaddle him, too?

Just water him.

Yes, Slim.

I found a knife this morning.

Looks like it might fit that sheath of yours.

Where did you find it?

Near a stream,

about a mile's ride west of here,

where a rider of mine was killed yesterday.

Your knuckles are skinned

and you got a bruise on your cheekbone.

You're gonna try to tell me you haven't been in a fight?

I... lost my footing and took a fall yesterday.

I've been carrying a heavy pack.

I must have lost my knife when I fell.

You're not a very good liar.

I have no reason to lie.

Well, good.

Then you won't mind riding into town

and talking this over with the sheriff.

Now.

No.

Look, mister, my woman is in there

and she's having more trouble than you or me ever heard of.

Talking to your sheriff can wait until--

No, it can't wait.

There's an old man in the Laramie jail

who's got trouble, a bunch of it.

And I'm thinking you gave it to him.

Now, just turn around and let's go.

[ grunts ]

Yee-haw!

Hand me the rein, Mike.

Come on. Come on.

You could have used that rock

and maybe put me out of the way for good.

Why didn't you when you had the chance?

I'm no murderer.

The sheriff's the man to tell that to.

Are you ready to go?

I know this isn't the time for it,

but I'd like to ask you a favor.

Well?

Before you take me in, let me stop and see my wife.

I only want to make sure she's all right.

Now what would you say if you were in my place?

I don't know.

How do you figure on helping your wife by running away?

I can't do her any good locked up in jail.

You have my word, I'll give you no more trouble.

[ baby crying ]

You better wait till you're called.

[ crying continues ]

That's a good sound.

Yeah.

Mister, you spoke of Tah-Za before,

that old man locked up in the Laramie jail.

I didn't know until just now

why he let that happen to him.

But hearing that sound, my baby crying,

knowing that I'm a father, now I know why he did that.

Tah-Za is my father.

Diamo, you have about the best looking son

I've ever seen.

Winema?

She came through beautifully.

The doctor says you can see both of them in a few minutes.

Slim, aren't you glad you

got home in time for the excitement?

Oh, I sure am.

[ baby crying ]

Don't you want to see your son?

So little.

He'll grow.

Someday he'll be as strong as his father.

This man-- This man, he did nothing.

He did nothing.

He tells it different.

I told you to stay away.

One in trouble is enough.

There is still only one in trouble.

But now it is the right one.

I'm the man you want, let Tah-Za go.

I can't do that, not till after the trial.

Look, mister, I killed that man,

I'm admitting it.

Why waste time with a trial?

Let him go.

Somebody has to take care of my woman.

She'll be taken care of.

What do you want from us? I said I killed him.

What more do you want?

A lot. How it happened? Why?

Was it an accident, self defense or what?

Who's to decide that?

The jury.

A white man's jury?

Diamo, all you have to do is tell them what happened and--

Who will believe me?

I don't know about the jury, but I believe you.

My son is good.

He never killed before.

He killed this time to protect his woman and baby.

I saw it, I was there.

Sure sounds like Ben,

pointing his gun at a woman in childbirth.

Why did you ever hire that sidewinder in the first place?

Uh, you know why, hoping him

or his brother would make a mistake.

I still say they're the ones that's been robbing everybody

blind around here for the last few months.

Fat chance we'll ever have of proving it now.

Come on, let's go to supper.

Man, I'm hungry.

Yeah, I could go for a big thick steak myself.

Rafe.

Eh, where you been?

Listen, I told you, we ought to get out of town.

I told you, we got no reason to run.

Listen, I've been over at the jail

listening to Sherman and the sheriff

and we got plenty of reason.

What are you talking about?

Sherman's on to us.

Yeah, that's right,

that's the reason he hired Ben to work out on his place

hoping we'd slip up somewhere.

Now, he's got another Arapaho over there.

This one's a young buck, and I heard him say that he killed Ben.

Oh?Yeah.

And I figure we can take care of him on the way out of town.

All we got to do is put a bullet through the window.

That sure will fix things for old Ben, wouldn't it?

That will fix things for old Ben all right. Don't you worry about that.

We might still fix things up for ourselves, too.

Now, Rafe, we got to get out of town!

Miss all the excitement?

No.

Oh, there's going to be a lot of excitement

in town tonight, Jack boy.

There's going to be a real shoot-em-up jailbreak.

And maybe if we're lucky,

maybe Sherman and that sheriff will get themselves killed.

Nobody out there.

Somebody's playing tricks maybe.

Good trick.

A chance to live.

No, a chance to die.

Stop.

Give it to me.

This can get us out of here, and you would throw it away.

You'll have to kill to get out.

All right, I'll kill.

I did it once to save Winema.

I can do it again for you and me.

Not for me, you'll never kill a white man for me.

Is my father a woman now, too full of fear to think?

I can still think, better than you maybe.

Who gives us this-- this gift of life?

What friends do we have in this place that want us free?

I don't know.

Another Arapaho maybe, there are others around.

The whole tribe is moving through this country now.

They stay away from places like this, you know that.

No, an enemy gives us this gift.

Then the enemy is a fool.

Diamo, you have one friend in this place,

the one who says he believes you.

Now you believe him.

That is the only way to go on living.

He can't help us, even if he means what he says.

He is but one man,

and there will be twelve to judge us,

if we live to be brought to trial.

Listen to me.

I took an oath to end the fighting

between our people and the whites.

I gave my word as a chief,

I will not break that word, Diamo.

Old man, you live in a dream.

What does an oath mean now?

Why should you keep an oath

when the white men's oaths are nothing but smoke on the wind?

Where were the white men's treaties at Sand Creek

when my mother was killed?

My mother, your woman.

How can you forget her?

I don't talk about forgetting,

I talk about peace,

to live in peace with the whites,

to abide by their laws.

Then you live with them, if they'll let you.

It's too late for me.

Mighty quiet tonight.

Yeah, kind of a relief.

Yeah, maybe.

Here.

Coming in?

I've been thinking,

Rafe and Jack are off holding a wake somewhere.

It'd be a good time to prowl around

that livery stable of theirs.

Oh, you can't do that without a search warrant.

You mean you can't.

Slim, if you go over there you're on your own.

Now I don't want to know anything about it.

Unless I find out something.

Unless you find out something.

Not yet.

He's going away.

Yeah, but not far, he left his horse.

He'll be back when the shooting starts.

[ rat squeaking ]

[ Slim whistling ]

Did he see us?

I don't think so.

I wonder what's going on inside there.

I wonder when that Indian's gonna use that gun.

Relax.

He'll use it.

He don't want to hang anymore than we do.

I don't want to hurt you,

I don't want to hurt anybody,

but I'm not going to stay here and let you hang me.

You have to stay here, you've got no choice.

Where did you get that gun?

He had it when we came back from supper,

I took the tray in to him and he stuck it in my chest.

Here we are.

How did you get the gun, Diamo?

It was thrown through the window by somebody.

Yeah, a present from Rafe and Jack.

Oh, they are the brothers of the man you killed.

Why would they--

To get you killed,

either by us or by them when you go through that door.

They're across the street, hiding in the dark,

just waiting to blast you.

Diamo, believe.

What for?

Even if it is true I cannot stay here.

I won't hang, not for protecting my woman.

No, you won't hang.

You'll go to trial, you'll be proven innocent.

I can guarantee that.

Don't lie to me.

I just came from the livery stable

owned by those two.

They've got enough loot stashed in there

to open their own general store.

I-- I just brought this back to show the sheriff

and there's more.

Everything under the sun.

And it's all stolen by them.

Diamo, don't you see, they were thieves,

the man you killed was a thief.

I can prove that now,

I can prove what kind of a man he was.

Now, they're not going to hang you

for killing someone like that.

I'm an Indian, I killed a white man.

You're a man, an honest man

who was defending his wife against a human coyote.

He's right, Diamo.

Even if some of the folks on that jury

should turn out to be Indian-haters,

they're going to hate thieves much worse.

Especially a man who's done the stealing

right here under their noses.

Diamo, they call us thieves.

They said we are the ones who stole.

You can change that now.

You can give the Arapaho back his honor.

The two outside.

Across the street, you said?

In front of the mercantile.

Well, they can aim dead center at that door.

What's that for?

There isn't any back way out of here.

There's what you might call a top way.

Now if Diamo wants to play decoy,

maybe we can flush those two out in the open, huh?

Now, get him.

Rafe!

Jack! Give it up!

Don't shoot!

Don't shoot, I give up!

You all right?

Daisy is going to miss that youngin' of yours.

It isn't often she gets a baby to fuss over.

You must bring her to the reservation

when you can.

A godmother should visit her godson often.

And you come back here.

You'll always be welcome.

I hope my son grows to be the kind of man you are.

Now you mean the kind of man his father is.

Don't ever underestimate yourself again.

People around here owe you and Tah-Za a lot.

You taught them that a man's a man.

Color of the skin doesn't put a label on him.

If they learned that, I am glad because I learned it, too.

ANNOUNCER: Produced in color

in association with the NBC Television Network.