Original subtitles

Well, this looks like a good spot, Mike.

Why don't you try your luck here? I'll go up a ways.

Can't I go see what those buzzards are after too?

You don't miss much, do you?

It won't likely be a pretty sight,

you better stay here and I'll take a look, huh?

Take it easy. Take it easy.

Is she any better?

I don't think so, Mike.

Looks like she suffered

from being out in that dust storm too long.

Could have a couple of broken ribs.

You figure she fell into the ravine where you found her?

Sure looked like it.

She could be bleeding inside.

If she did break a rib,

it could have punctured a lung or something.

Trying to move her by horseback

might be the worst thing we could do.

Sure you got everything straight?

Yes, sir.

I ride for the ranch, get Jess to bring a wagon,

some medicine, some blankets,

and a doctor if he can find one.

Sure you want to try it?

It's gonna be a rough ride.

I can do it.

I'll do everything just like you told me.

Good luck, tiger.

Same to you.

Well, we're lucky to get her back, I wonder who found her.

Well, whoever it was, he's in trouble.

We can use this horse to take her to the cave.

[ crackling ]

Hold on a second, I think I hear somebody coming.

Well, we've seen the last of that one.

He never knew what hit him.

You got any objection?

It's kind of late to be taking a vote, isn't it?

That's right, boy.

Come on, let's take a look at our prize package.

You shouldn't have treated her so rough, she's hurt bad.

What's the matter, are you going soft?

Thought you hated her guts.

Not to the point of killing her.

You want to get the same thing Connors got last night?

He didn't like the way I was treating her either.

You don't need much excuse to cut down

the shares of the ransom money, do you?

I like you, kid.

Now don't make me change my mind.

You think she's going anywhere after what she's been through?

We didn't think she'd get away

the night of the dust storm, but she did.

Even with her hands tied.

What good is she half dead?

Well, then she won't be half as hard to watch, will she?

Let's get some coffee.

Leave her be.

Ah, cheer up, kid.

You -- before you know it.

You seem real sure of that, don't you?

With Walker taking care at the other end,

we got nothing to worry about.

And all the comforts of home while we wait.

Yep, Walker planned this real good.

What if old man Richards trails us here?

I know that old wildcat.

He's not gonna stop until he has the hide of anyone

who even looks sideways at his daughter.

Well, you should know that.

He had you horsewhipped once for doing just that.

Besides, I thought you wanted to get back at him.

I did, but I didn't have any killing in mind.

First Connors, and that fella back there that found her,

and now you're letting her die.

Nothing comes easy that's worth anything, kid.

We're after big money.

We'll get it any way we can.

Now if you--

[ horses neighing ]

Something's spooking those horses.

You better check on 'em.

And...

Tad, boy, from now on, you stop thinking.

Once we start spending that ransom money,

you won't give any of this a second thought.

All right.

Call your partner out.

If you make one wrong move, I'll split you wide open.

Tell him you need help, the horses broke loose.

Go ahead, call him.

Genoway, the horses are loose!

Hold it.

You yellow two-bit punk,

you really set me up, didn't you?

He had a gun on my head.

How did he get your gun in the first place?

Button up, both of you.

You'll have enough time to argue in a cell.

Now on your feet!

Thought I had a clean shot at you.

You hit a log, mister.

Not me.

You got a long way to go before you get us in any cell.

I'll get you in a cell, if you have to crawl.

Is the girl in there?

There's one way to find out.

Inside.

I told you that first shot came from the canyons.

There's no telling with that echo.

From now on, you leave the telling to me.

Hurry it up.

You two ought to be horsewhipped

for treating her this way.

I'm afraid you're a little late, mister.

He's already had a taste of the whip.

Who is she?

Bringing her here on horseback could have killed her.

Get on this side of her.

Pick her up and put her on that canvas.

Take it easy.

Now get some water out of this canteen

and cool down her face.

You be nursemaid, Tad boy,

you've been wanting to do it all along--

And you put this blanket back on her.

Go on!

Back up.

There's four guns on you, mister.

Collect the hardware.

Mr. Richards, take a look.

Tad Henderson.

I might have known.

I didn't want things to work out this way, I'm sorry.

Shut up. If you've hurt Nina,

that little hiding I had the boys give you

will seem like a nice rubdown

compared to what you're gonna get.

Get him out of my sight.

How is she?

I don't know.

She's got a fever and her pulse is weak.

Breathing kind of funny, like maybe she's hurt inside.

They're gonna pay for this.

Do what you can for her.

There aren't any rifles here, Mr. Richards, that's all.

Could only find the two six-guns.

That's all right, we got three ropes.

One for each one of them.

Now wait a minute, I'm not part of this.

The way it looked when we came in,

you was kind of running the whole thing.

What was he doing?

Trying to take it all for himself?

Well, I wouldn't know about that.

Me and my friend just riding by,

when this big fella jumped us

to help take care of that poor little girl there.

- You're lying. - That's enough.

All of you'd lie to save your own skins

but you're not fooling me for a minute.

There's four horses out there in that corral,

one for Nina, and one for each one of you.

You're all a part of it.

You're making a big mistake.

I found her at the foot of a cliff in bad shape.

These two tried to dry-gulch me. I trailed them here.

I was getting set to help her when you--

Forget it!

All three of you, you're in this up to your necks.

And that's what you're gonna hang by,

the first tree we find that will do the job.

Tie up their hands.

Hold it, Richards.

There's a lot you don't know about this.

I know all I need to know right now.

A legal hanging's much too good for the three of you.

But a nice, long, slow one from a cottonwood,

that ought to come close to what you deserve.

You better think twice about hanging them, Mr. Richards.

If any one of them isn't in on it,

we'd be in real trouble with the law, even in Rawlins.

You can say that when you've seen what they've done to Nina?

We didn't do that,

she got away from us in the storm the other night

- and fell down a bluff. - There's your proof.

I found her after she fell.

More likely you pushed her.

The sooner we get Nina to a doctor, the better.

It won't take long to string these three up on the way.

- And if we're wrong? - We can only be part wrong.

Nina didn't get to this cave by herself. Somebody here is guilty.

You put her on a horse, you'll be just as guilty.

It'll probably kill her.

What are you driving at?

When I first found her, I sent a friend of mine to Laramie

for a wagon and a doctor.

You expect me to believe that?

Well, you stick around here and find out for yourself. My name's Sherman.

I own a ranch and a relay station outside of Laramie.

We're supposed to wait around while Nina is dying?

She'll die a lot sooner if you try to move her.

Looks like she's broken a couple of ribs,

that's why she's breathing so hard.

If it's a bad break, she could have punctured a lung.

You better listen to him, Mr. Richards.

You're a little late, aren't you, Tad?

Maybe he's right.

She is breathing funny, maybe she's bleeding inside.

You think he sent for a wagon?

I don't know if he did or not, but we can send Banks for one,

and he can bring Doc Martin back with him.

Yeah, he could that, be back here by tomorrow noon.

Probably shouldn't travel at night anyway.

You want me to tell the sheriff?

Don't waste time looking for the law.

If Nina dies, these three are hanging for sure.

If not, we can take 'em in as good as any law man.

Tell Banks to get going.

Then you better guard outside in case there are more of 'em.

That what you want, Mr. Richards?

You heard him.

Walker's still my foreman until you hear different from me.

I'm gonna see what I can do for Nina.

You and Park stick these three somewhere in the back

where they can't get out, I'm sick of looking at 'em.

Wait a minute, let's get this settled.

I'm a rancher like yourself, I--

Ah, it's about time you did something

without chewing on it half a day.

Get the lantern, you two, drag him in the back.

It's your pa, honey.

You're all right now, you're safe.

Those men, Pa...

You don't need to worry about them.

They're headed for the nearest hanging tree

for what they did to you.

No, no.

You can't.

You'd be as wrong as they are.

It's not for you to worry about, honey.

I'll handle everything.

You quiet down, you quiet down now.

Maybe I can get him to talk.

See if you can help Richards with the girl.

What are you trying to do?

You want to get our necks stretched?

Cool off, Genoway, I'll get you out of this.

You bet you will or I'll get you in it.

Look, I kept the old man from hanging you, didn't I?

He's still gonna take us in.

I thought you was gonna keep

the old man away from the canyon.

I couldn't, he heard the shots. That's not my fault.

It's your fault that we're in this in the first place.

Unless you want the old man to know

that you planned this whole thing,

you better see to it that we get out of here.

Now you let the girl escape, not me.

And you led Richard right to the cave.

Well, I should have figured.

If the old man's going to fire you

for being such a lousy foreman,

it stands to reason that you couldn't handle this.

All right, you shut up.

Before this is over, I'll show you and Richards, both,

who's calling the terms.

- Why you! - Simmer down.

I don't care whose fault it was,

this whole thing's gone sour anyway.

All right, now listen, I picked this cave with a reason.

I checked it out and there's a passageway

that comes out of the mountain above us.

- Where's it start? - There's a ledge up the top of this wall.

Now with these off we'll be long gone.

Not yet.

Mills is guarding out front.

He's liable to see or hear you.

It's gonna be tough climbing down that cliff.

- GENOWAY: When do we go? - It'll be dark soon.

I'll get Mills inside, then you can get a couple of horses.

But don't go until I tell you.

Well, can you slip us a gun?

No, they'd notice. Here, use that.

But don't cut 'em yet.

Richards or somebody else is liable to come back here.

- What about him? - I don't know, take him with you.

Once you're free and clear, there's nothing he can do.

Nah, he might spoil our getaway.

But with the old man thinking he was trying to take over,

he just might buy it

if something accidental-like should happen to him.

All right, I can't argue now, he's liable to hear me.

Don't move till I say.

How long have I been out?

Around four or five minutes, that's all.

They put us in the back of this cave.

And are those ranchers still planning on hanging us?

I don't know.

How'd you get mixed up in this anyway?

You're keeping pretty rough company for somebody your age.

It was pushed on me.

Come on, break it off.

Richards wants to see you, Nina's come to.

Well, she must be getting better then.

Don't sound too happy, Tad.

She already told us you were a part of it.

Richard wants her to take a look at these two.

Come on, let's get moving.

Thanks. Now maybe we can get things straightened out.

Take a good look at him, honey.

Is he one of 'em?

What kind of identification is this?

She's half out of her head with pain.

One more word out of him, Parks,

you can bend a gun barrel over his skull.

Be happy to. Him and the big one were at each other's throats

when we went back to get 'em.

That figures.

How about it, honey?

Pa, please.

Promise me you'll let the law take care of 'em.

Why, sure, but we need to know if these are the men.

He's one of them.

His name is Genoway.

I think he's the leader. I...

All right, honey, you just rest now.

You told us all we need.

Well, I guess that settles it for you.

Get him out of here.

Come on.

Well, now here's the one that only wanted to help.

Well, that's more than you're doing.

The moment she comes to,

you force her to go through this.

Can't you see you're sapping all the strength she has left?

You'd like to put this off, wouldn't you?

I'd like to keep her alive.

You just leave that to me, I--

Pa?

Don't worry, honey, now I'm right here.

Where's Tad?

I want to see Tad.

Why can't I see him?

Tad Henderson's no good for you,

I've told you that time and again.

I love him.

He loves me.

Oh, where's Tad?

He can't hurt you anymore.

Now don't you fret over him.

He's not worth the ground you walk on.

You shouldn't have had him whipped.

It wasn't his fault that I loved him.

Oh, you shouldn't have done it.

It was for your own good, now forget about him.

You wouldn't even let me see him.

Locked me in my room for a week.

Oh, why, Pa, why?

Oh, come on now, honey.

You've got to stop this wild talk.

You know it isn't true.

Nina, look at me.

Can you look at one more man for us?

I can try.

Good girl. There he is.

We found three of them here.

This one claims he had nothing to do with the kidnapping.

But he sure could be lying.

It was dark that night.

I got out of the room and took a horse from the barn.

I remember riding fast,

just to get away from you and from the ranch.

There's no need to go into that now, Nina.

Not now.

The important thing is to identify this man.

Now was he one of them?

There were three of them.

Tad, Genoway,

and a tall man they called Connors.

Come in closer.

Now have you ever seen him before?

I have seen him.

He-- He must be one of them.

Sure, you saw me, ma'am.

But that's when I found you.

Don't you remember?

You'd fallen.

Fallen?

I-- I don't remember that.

Well, I guess that settles it for you, Connors.

My name's Sherman. I got papers to prove it.

Well, let's see 'em.

In my right hip pocket.

A billfold with identification.

There's nothing there, mister.

Then it was stolen.

No. I don't think so.

You're just stalling.

You're in this just as deep as the others.

And you're gonna get the same as they get.

Now let's don't have any more trouble out of any of you.

Well, looks like you're one of us.

You're gonna get yours, Genoway.

Not before I take care of you--

Don't do it, Genoway.

Maybe Sherman can help us.

What are you talking about?

We got to get out of here and take some horses.

There's bound to be trouble.

He's fighting for his life now just as much as we are.

Don't be too sure about that.

When I get to Rawlins, I can wire the sheriff in Laramie.

Sure, if you get to Rawlins.

I wouldn't count on any help from that town.

Richards owns most of it and runs the rest.

We get a quick trial and a quicker rope.

Walker might not be able to hold Richards off much longer.

You're gonna have a lot better chance running

than being here under his guns.

Shut up, kid.

You talk too much.

If you go with us, Sherman, you'll go all the way.

If not, you'll stay behind with this in you.

I don't know, I still got a feeling there's more of them.

We'll send you out some chow, Park,

and relieve you in a couple of hours.

Is this what Mr. Richards wants?

It is.

He's worried about the horses.

So you keep a sharp eye out on anything that moves.

Shoot first and talk later.

Better watch out for that outcropping of rocks,

somebody could sneak up on you real easy from up there.

I think I can handle it.

Well, you just make sure you do.

Any change?

No difference.

Why did it have to happen to her, Walker?

Why couldn't it have been me?

Who's to say why about anything?

All my life I worked to get her anything she wanted.

The money I made, the cattle I got, the land.

It won't mean a thing if something happens to her.

I guess it sounds weak.

If you ever have a kid of your own,

you'll know what I mean.

What makes you think I didn't have?

You had a family?

Wife, daughter and a son.

They were drowned in a river crossing.

We were coming west.

All three of them.

You never told me.

You never bothered to ask.

How are you three getting along?

No problem.

Well, let's keep it that way.

Wouldn't take much to set Richards off about now.

He'd just as soon

kill the three of you as look at you.

We're all inside the cave having supper.

If you're good boys we might give you what's left.

Now ain't that nice.

Have you made up your mind, Sherman?

Sure doesn't look like the healthiest place to stay.

Now you're talking sense.

Now what about it?

All right, I'll go along.

You better mean that.

Get the lantern, kid.

Real easy, mister.

They'd never hear you.

The kid here might be right.

Maybe we can use you.

But you're gonna play it our way.

I want out of here as much as you do.

But when we're loose, I'm on my own.

That sounds reasonable.

Let's go.

I knew you'd come in handy for something.

We're on our way, Tad boy.

Oh.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Get out of my way, I've waited long enough.

Mr. Richards, I can't let you do it.

You'd regret it the rest of your life.

If Nina dies, I haven't got much left.

That's just it. She's gonna be all right.

Would she want you to do this?

Look out.

It's all right, Mr. Richards.

Just some loose rock and boulders.

Prisoners are all right.

Henderson?

It's all right, we're clear.

GENOWAY: Well, let's start digging.

I wonder if they heard us.

So Walker's the one, huh?

What do you mean?

Well, I figured you were getting help.

Genoway's knife, knowing a way out of this cave.

Then Walker coming back

to tell us all the men were inside.

That was a signal, wasn't it?

Hurry it up.

Thanks a lot for pulling me out.

I could have been stuck under all this.

All right, I owed you one.

Maybe I can pull you all the way out.

There's not much chance of that now.

How did all this get started?

Oh, about a year ago, I went to work for the double R.

That's Richards Ranch.

And I got to know Nina.

The old man was against it.

He really had you whipped.

He wanted me to stop seeing her.

I didn't.

I really believed Nina wanted to see me though.

That he claims not, and he must have been right

'cause after he kicked me off the ranch,

she never even tried to get in touch with me.

Next thing I knew, Walker came up with this plan

and it seemed like a way to get even.

What plan?

To hold her for ransom.

See, the old man was threatening to fire Walker,

so he saw a chance to pick up some quick money

and hit him where it hurt most.

That Walker.

Something's eating on him from the inside out.

And Genoway?

He's just a gun slick, looking for a quick roll.

Walker found him.

Have you been mixed up in this kind of doings before?

I was just so mad at the old man,

and Nina too, that I...

just wanted to hurt them any way I could.

I've been sick to death I did it ever since.

You know, we could go back

and lay the whole thing out in front of Richards.

If Walker saw us, he'd open up on us.

Richards would just as soon see us dead as not.

Yeah, you're right.

But you know, we don't know what's outside there either.

We don't, except that Walker's supposed to keep

everybody inside the cave

until we have a chance to get the horses and get out of here.

Well, he's sure making it easy for you.

Too easy.

Why not?

If he didn't, Genoway would spill the whole thing.

No, his best bet is to get both of you out of the way

before you can talk.

Now you might have it figured right.

Tad, I think there's something you ought to know about Nina.

Hurry it up.

Come on, keep working.

Just about make it.

It's about time for you to relieve Mills.

Get your rifle and come on.

Sherman, I said I might be able to use you.

Now is the time.

There just might be somebody waiting for us out there,

and I'd like it better if you found out instead of me.

What if I say no?

Pretty close quarters around here.

And I've still got the knife.

I've tangled with knives before.

And they're only as good as the man using them.

Now what do you say?

All right, I'll go.

Turn him loose.

Uh-uh.

You go, then, I'll turn him loose.

[ rock falling ]

I jammed my gun trying to load it.

Forget it, use your six-gun.

Hold it.

Mr. Walker really had things set up for us, didn't he?

Forget about him, we got our chance now let's ride out of here.

Now don't be in such a big hurry, boy.

I'd kind of like to settle off with Mr. Walker first.

And you two are gonna help me.

Now seal up that hole.

Mr. Walker's only gonna have one way out of here.

Now! Go on!

They got Mills' guns.

I thought you told me there was no back way out of this cave.

I'll take care of him.

You go stand guard.

Get over there, by the fire.

If Walker don't come out I might need you two.

You'll never get him to surrender.

They can hold you off easy from inside.

Well, then I'll burn them out.

Why, you'll kill everybody in there.

If I have to, yeah.

Take care of him.

That ought to keep you out of trouble for a while.

Go on, get over there.

Come on out, Walker!

I got the same thing waiting for you that you had for us.

Only I won't miss.

Ain't much chance for ransom money,

but I'm gonna make you pay up with your life.

Send him out, Richards!

He planned this whole thing!

What's he saying?

He's lying.

He is?

He'd be a long time gone

if he didn't have a score to settle.

It all begins to add up.

You tried to stop us from coming here.

And you're the only one

who could have let Nina out of her room.

All the time you were supposed to be helping me,

you've been laughing at me behind my back.

You can stop laughing now.

Don't do it.

You shoot me, I'll pull the trigger, I swear.

Kill me, you kill her.

You just drop it and step back.

I couldn't have shot her, Mr. Richards,

but it was the only way to stop you.

Well, why did you do it? Why?

Not me, you. You caused this whole thing.

You've got to run everything with an iron hand,

your men, your ranch, even your own daughter.

Nobody's got a chance.

You got any guts, you make your own chances.

What are you talking about?

I'm talking about a river-crossing accident

that killed my family.

It was your cattle that caused it.

The Powder River, the South Fork, remember?

Your cattle smelled the water and stampeded

and we got caught right in the middle.

I remember a stampede, cattle got away from us.

We got to the river, nobody was there.

We didn't see a thing.

There was nothing left to see.

I was knocked out and carried downstream.

When I finally found out whose cattle they were,

I swore to get you, Richards.

I was gonna make you suffer, the way you made me.

But why take it out on Nina?

Well, your cattle killed my wife and children, not me.

But knowing her has been the only reason

I didn't kill you a long time ago.

She's like the daughter I lost.

And then I found out something.

She hates you.

I don't believe it.

Well, it's true, ask her!

I didn't want her to get hurt,

I just wanted to make you eat dirt

the way you make other people do it.

Pa?

Want to know the truth?

Go ahead, ask her.

All right, hurry it up.

Go ahead and run, I'll do it alone.

And I'll drop the first one who tries to stop me.

Thanks.

We had to get out from under his gun

before we could do anything to stop him.

And maybe Nina does hate me

but I can't run out and leave her trapped in there.

I tried to tell you before,

when Richards had her identify me,

she said things about you before he could stop her.

And I got a feeling I don't want to hear 'em.

I can't say I blame her.

You're wrong, Tad.

She didn't have a chance to see you.

Richards had her locked up.

He what?

She hated him for what he did to you.

She was trying to run away.

He said she didn't want to see me anymore.

Yeah, that was his idea, not hers.

I got an idea.

Honey, believe me, I...

I didn't know.

You wouldn't listen.

To me or anybody.

Well, did you...

did you always...

hate me?

Oh, no, Pa.

When I was little,

having you do everything for me was wonderful.

But I've grown up now.

Only you don't seem to know it.

I guess I kind of got so used to taking care of you,

I couldn't stop.

Oh, Pa, I don't hate you.

Only what you've been doing to me...

I was wrong.

When we get out of this,

I will never try to run your life again.

We're gonna have to hurry.

When I give you the word, open those gates.

Walker!

This is your last chance.

Come out now or I'll burn you out.

Walker, I've made a lot of mistakes.

With my own daughter and with you.

Now just give me one of those irons

and we'll go out and face him together.

I thought I was gonna enjoy making you suffer.

But I guess the pudding never

is as good as thinking about it.

Get back to her.

Come on.

[ gunshots ]

All right, now.

Watch him.

We can get out the front. Can you make it?

You take her, I'll help Park.

I got a lot to make up for.

To you, and to them.

Where do I start?

The only place that really counts, I'd say.

From inside.

Let me help you, tiger.

Up you go.

Well, that wasn't a bad fishing trip, after all.

Yeah, we did pretty good.

Especially with Aunt Daisy along to cook for us.

When Jess couldn't find the doctor,

I thought I was coming out to take care of a sick girl,

not to be the camp cook.

Yeah, you did real good on both counts, Daisy.

In fact, Mr. Richards thinks you did more

for his daughter than the doc did.

Oh, I wouldn't say that.

But wasn't he nice to us while we stayed at his ranch?

You know, I never saw such a change in a man.

Why, with him sticking up for Tad,

he's got a good chance of getting a light sentence.

Why can't we stay out here another day?

And another, and another.

Pretty soon it'll be a whole week.

Sure, why not?

Well, I can think of several good reasons

why not, young man.

You can? Name one.

Well, Slim and Jess have to get back to the ranch,

catch up on all that work that's waiting.

They're due for a roundup.

There are fences to be mended,

and the stage line wants more horses.

Is that all?

Well, no, Mike. School starts again, day after tomorrow.