Original subtitles

[ theme music playing ]

[ weakly ] Go.

Come on.

Keep going.

[ groaning ]

[ horse whinnies ]

Well, hello there. Who are you?

Lie still.

I'm going for help.

Stay still.

Don't move.

I'll be right back.

There's no telling how much blood he's lost.

Well, let's get him into town.

All the way in the wagon? He'll die before we get there.

Let's take him back to the ranch.

This is not some bird with a broken wing you're taking home, you know.

There are all kinds of reasons why one man shoots another,

and none of them are any good.

All right, giddyup.

[ wind blowing ]

There.

Do you think he'll be warm enough?

With all these covers, I should hope so.

Tuck it in around his shoulders.

I wonder what happened to him.

Well, I expect he'll tell us when he's able.

He's lost a lot of blood.

Well, he looks strong enough to be up and around in no time.

Ooh. These will have to get washed and mended

before he's ever able to wear them again.

Someone should be here when he wakes up.

He's not gonna know where he is.

Well, your Uncle Clay will be back to talk to him when he's awake.

All right.

Well, this horse has been run hard.

From what, I'd like to know.

Well, whatever it was, it almost killed that boy.

That and the ride in the wagon.

It was the only way to get him here.

Well, I think it started his bleeding again, all that jouncing around.

Another few miles and he'd have been dead.

You think he'll pull through?

Well, I think he will in time.

[ wind blowing outside ]

I wonder who he is.

Clay, have you got any idea?

He'll probably tell us when he wakes up.

Well, I'll get back in.

Oh, that wind is sharp.

Could bring snow.

Well, I'd better bring some of those heavy blankets

from the bunkhouse first chance I get.

I just hope The Virginian gets the herd through

before the worst of it hits.

Welcome back.

Back?

To the living.

This is Shiloh Ranch, and you're in my room.

I'm Elizabeth.

Elizabeth.

I found you at the brook.

Where is he?

Who?

Where is he? What happened to him?

Who?

My horse.

I don't want anything to happen to him.

He's all right.

You lie still and don't try to move.

We brought him back with us and Uncle Clay is looking after him.

Clay?

Grainger. You're not from around here, are you?

No.

Well, you have nothing to worry about.

Uncle Clay knows all there is to know about horses.

It wasn't as bad as it looked once we got it cleaned up.

But I know it can't feel too good.

Did you do all this?My Aunt Holly.

She does all the doctoring. There's only one doctor for miles

and he's always somewhere else when you need him.

Did she take out the bullet?

It was a rifle bullet.

Felt more like a cannonball.

All you need now is time to heal, plenty of rest.

How'd you happen to run across me?

I stopped to water my horse.

It's lucky I did.

I guess you just about saved my life.

All I did was go for help.

Help is what I needed.

I thank you for it.

You're welcome.

Want some water?

Mmm. Ah.

Thank you.

[ sighs ]

Elizabeth.

You still haven't told me your name.

Haven't I?

Thomas.

Tom, Tom, the piper's son.

Uncle Clay wants to talk to you.

I'll tell him you're awake.

How come they put me in your room?

My brother Stacey's on a cattle drive with the men.

I'm in his room.

Why didn't they put me in there?

Because it's the coldest room in the house

and you have to keep warm.

Don't you like this room?

Oh, sure.

Pretty as a woman.

You know how long it's been since I slept in a real bed?

If you want to go back to sleep.

No.

This way I know I'm alive.

I can see you.

Then you don't mind talking.

One of the things I do best.

Elizabeth?

You'll come back, huh?

Yes.

How do you feel?

[ chuckles ] I've felt better.

But I've felt worse, too.

I'm Clay Grainger.

Tom Baker.

What happened out there, Tom?

I was ambushed.

See who did it?

Oh, yeah. I was turning around

just as he was getting ready to pull the trigger to shoot me in the back.

Did you know him?

No. Never saw him before in my life.

Is there any reason why this stranger

would wanna kill you?Can't think of any.

After he saw that he hit you the first time, why didn't he shoot again?

Well, he was up on a ridge and I dropped out of sight.

I was able to get to my horse.

I rode off before he could get to me.

Well, probably some outlaw thinking to shoot you first,

rob you later.

That could be.

I hear tell the Jim Dewey gang is in these parts.

Jim Dewey?

I never heard of his bunch this far west.

No, if it was an outlaw, it was probably some loner.

We get a lot of saddle tramps, drifters through here this time of year.

Is that so?

Yes, they flock into Medicine Bow

first sign of the cold weather,

warm their feet in some saloon.

Which way were you heading, Tom?

Well, I have some friends up this way

and thought I might look them up.Oh?

Well, what were their names?

I know practically everybody around here. Maybe I know 'em.

Melhorn. Bill Melhorn?

No, doesn't ring a bell.

Maybe they're new.

Lots of new folks moving in around here.

TOM: Well, that's right, they're newcomers.

Old Bill, he stays pretty much to himself.

It's likely you wouldn't have made his acquaintance yet.

Well, what is he-- rancher, farmer, sheepherder?

He's a farmer.

Old Farmer Bill.

What were you going to do, work on the farm?

Well, actually...

[ groans ]

Ooh-hoo-hoo-ee.

Boy, you sure are making yourself known.

It's hard to fasten my mind on anything else right now.

That hurts like blue Hades.

Uh, these friends of yours--Uncle Clay.

Let him rest now. You can talk to him later.

I'd make more sense later on.

TOM: Uh, Mr. Grainger?

I was wondering about my horse.

Oh, I fed him and put him in the barn.

Seems a might tired.

Yeah.

I'm beholden to you and Mrs. Grainger for all that you've done.

Well, you get some sleep.

Elizabeth.

Elizabeth.

Don't go.

She dwelled among the untrodden ways

beside the springs of Dove.

A maid whom there were none to praise

and very few to love.

CLAY: You there! What do you want?

A man rides onto a place, it's customary for him

to come to the door of the house.

I've been on the trail so long, I forgot my manners.

Hicks is the name. Ben Hicks. Howdy.

Clay Grainger.

I don't see any hands working today.No, you don't.

Now maybe you'll explain why you're nosing around these stables.

Just looking, friend. No harm meant.

Just looking to see.

See what?A horse.

Oh, well, then you've come to the wrong place, Mr. Hicks.

We don't sell horses.I'm not looking to buy.

A particular horse, belongs to a friend of mine.

We got separated on the trail.

What would your friend's horse be doing in my stable?

You might have seen him.

Young buck, tall and dark.

If he's your friend, he'll try to get word to you,

let you know where he is.

If he is a friend of yours.

I'd better just look in the stables.

Hold it!

I'll ask again. Now what do you want?

I want Jim Dewey.

Jim Dewey? Here?

His name isn't new to you.

No, but the Dewey gang rides in Nebraska.

They were chased out by vigilantes

after a bank was robbed and a sheriff was killed.

The gang split up this side of the border.

The vigilantes turned back.

But not Ben Hicks.

Are you one of the vigilantes?

I caught up with Jim Dewey the day before yesterday.

I had him in my sights and was squeezing off the shot when he turned.

Took it in the shoulder.

Why didn't you try to take him alive?

Dead or alive, he'll fetch the same price.

And Jim Dewey dead's a whole lot less trouble.

Oh, so that's it.

You're a bounty hunter, huh?

You got something against bounty hunters?

We do a job.

Yes, I suppose you do-- where there's no law.

Now Jim Dewey's here. I know it and I want him.Nebraska wants him.

I'll let the sheriff arrange for the extradition according to law.

Law? Now what does Jim Dewey care about the law?

I care.

I won't stand by and see any man shot down for gain.

I'm asking you to leave this ranch.

I come for Jim Dewey and I'm taking him.

You pull that trigger and there'll be a price on yourhead.

For murder.

Where you got him? In the house?

You hear what I said, Hicks?

There'll be a price on yourhead.

Let's bring him out.

Some scavenger of a bounty hunter will get your scent

and wait for you to turn your back.

Now if I have to go in there alone, I will.

HOLLY: Clay!

Somebody out there with a rifle.

Don't get up.I gotta go.

Aunt Holly!

No, please, lie down.

Lie down, please.

[ panting ]

You're lucky. After you killed me,

you'd have had to kill my wife and niece.

Your head would have fetched a real high bounty.

I only want what's mine.

Get out, and don't come back.

What's mine is mine.

Nobody's gonna cheat me out of it.

He tried to get up.

Let him be.

That shooting-- what was it?

You had a visitor.

And he was carrying this.

He left it as a kind of get well present.

[ sighs ]

Who?

He said his name was Ben Hicks.

But he may have been lying.

Some people have a way of not wanting to give their right names,

Mr. Baker.

What did he want?

The man was a bounty hunter.

He was looking for the outlaw he tried to shoot in the back.

And he called him by name. His name was Jim Dewey.

You're holding the gun.

And you're wanted-- dead or alive.

What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna see that you're taken back to Nebraska

to stand trial.Ha!

They won't waste time on a trial. They'll hang me.

Probably hang me to the same tree they hung my pa.

I've heard of your pa.

He rode like Quantrill's Raiders--

they killed anybody who stood in their way.

And yet he was a good man. Can you believe that?

He robbed and looted half of Nebraska.

He was an honest farmer until the bank grabbed his land

while he was off fighting Mr. Lincoln's war.

[ sighs ] Mama and I had to beg for table scraps,

pig food.

Any war is mean.

Aw, people are mean.

Pa came home and he nearly lost is mind when he saw how it was.

He fought for what was his the only way he knew how.

All right, maybe he was wrong.

But they were wrong, too.

The folks who got hold of him put him to death in front of his son.

[ sighs ]

Putting the rope around his neck, he cried out to me.

"Run, Jimmy.

Don't you look back now."

I couldn't move.

You think you righted that wrong by becoming what he was?

They tell a story.

They say I stood underneath the hanging tree

looking up at Pa's boots and swore to revenge him.

It wasn't that way.

All I wanted was to be back on the farm,

my pa still alive, working his land.

I never wanted to pay them back.

Why aren't you working the land somewhere, then?

They wouldn't let me forget who I was. I never had a choice.

But I never killed.

And when I could, I shared with those who had less than me.

I've heard Robin Hood tales about every outlaw who ever wore a gun.

So you robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, huh?

Who else would I rob from? Who else would I give to?

Maybe I just wanted to take away some of the hate from my pa's name, huh?

He's bleeding again.

I'd better change that dressing

while you go for the sheriff.

What if that bounty hunter comes back while I'm gone?

I can still shoot.

[ laughs ]

I never heard of a bounty hunter

that'd be stopped by two women, Grainger.

A man who goes around killing for money,

he doesn't have much feeling for life.

Oh, uh... he's out there waiting.

And you ride off alone, he'll move in fast.

I wouldn't wanna be the cause for any harm to come to them.

[ wind blowing ]

Ooh, listen to that wind.

I hope the boys haven't lost too much time

getting the herd through to the railhead.

What is it, Holly?

It's Elizabeth.

Elizabeth?

She's so young and full of trust.

This Jim Dewey makes a very good case for himself.

Yeah, there's no excuse for a man becoming an outlaw.

Lying there wounded, it's so easy to feel sympathy for him.

He's a very attractive young man.

Well, come on to bed. I've heard enough for today.

Elizabeth has read all of those magazine stories about Jim Dewey,

and they all make him out to be some kind of a hero.

A lot of hogwash.

Just the same, a young girl gets romantic notions,

even an intelligent girl like Elizabeth.

He's not exactly Prince Charming.

Well, he is the nearest thing to it in this part of the world.

What's put all this into your head?

Elizabeth has more sense

than to go mooning over some gun-crazy outlaw.

He is not any outlaw.

Jim Dewey is a legend.

He's like-- He's like Ivanhoe.

Or Robin Hood.

How long is he gonna be here?

I don't know.

I can't put him in a wagon and I can't leave him here.

Chances are that bounty hunter's out there like a hungry wolf.

Just have to wait for him to get strong enough

to make the ride into Medicine Bow.

Evening.

More of the same?

You wouldn't know the folks who run the Shiloh Ranch?

The Graingers? Why, sure.

Everybody in Medicine Bow knows the Graingers.

There's no finer folks on the face of the earth.That's what I hear.

Fine bunch of hands, too.Yeah, that's for certain.

Although it sure is quiet around here

with all the hands out on a cattle drive.

Shiloh boys?Yeah, all of 'em.

All the hands from all the ranches hereabouts.

It's a big drive.

Must be.

Who are all those fellas?

Well, the fellas at the card table there

are mostly storekeepers, men from town.

Now you wanna know about Clay Grainger, you ask them.

There ain't one of them wouldn't give the shirt off his back to Clay.

And who are they?

Drifters, saddle tramps. Cold weather brings 'em in.

Slow nights like this, I don't even bother with 'em.

They're not from these parts?No, they're all rootless.

Always on the move, always looking for trouble.

That ain't no way to live.

Is there a hotel in town?Yeah, there sure is.

Catty-corner to the left as you go out the door.

Fixing on staying a while?Just for the night.

Tomorrow night I'll be going back to Nebraska with a friend.

Say, I'm in need of a good rifle.

Lost mine crossing the river a ways back.

Don't feel right without it.

Well, sir, you're in luck. Now there's a real fine gunsmith

right down the street from the hotel.

Yes, sir, right here in Medicine Bow

we got just about anything a man could want.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

DEWEY: No, don't.

Please don't.

[ groans ]

[ knock on door ]

Are you all right?

You were calling out.

Come in. I guess I was dreaming, huh?

No more bleeding?

No. No, but it hurts like fury.

Maybe the bandage is too tight.

No, it seems all right.

There's only one problem.

How do I get back to sleep?

You might try counting sheep.

On a cattle ranch?

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Oh, nurse, my pillow's bunched up.

Is there something you can do about that?

Now try it.

Oh.

Oh, yeah, that's perfect. That's just...

[ makes snoring sounds ]

[ laughs ]

Did I hear somebody laughing at a poor wounded outlaw?

One thing good about a sick bed--

can't sleep at night, you can always doze off during the day.

Hmm.

What do you do during the day, Elizabeth,

besides saving lives?

I work. I help Aunt Holly with the chores.

I read.

Hey, what's it like being a girl living on a ranch

with nothing but men around all the time?

They couldn't be nicer to me.

Sometimes they let me ride with them, help with the calves.

I'm a pretty good roper for a girl.

I bet you are.

It sounds like good times,

something I'd like to have.

You know what I wish?

I wish I'd had more schooling.

Ma taught me numbers and spelling.

Pa taught me a couple of things.

That was it.

Where'd you learn Wordsworth?

Who?

That poem you recited.Oh.

Lucy: She dwelt among the untrodden ways.

"A violet by a mossy stone,

"half hidden from the eye.

"Fair as a star,

when only one is shining in the sky."

Where'd you learn that?

A woman.

Oh.

Oh, what?

Just "oh." Of course.

Who'd you say wrote that poem?

Wordsworth.See?

That's something I didn't know.

There's a lot I don't know--too much.

I don't reckon I'll ever get the chance to learn it, either.

Don't, please.

Elizabeth, you know what's gonna happen to me.

They're sending me back there to be hanged.

Maybe not.

You'll have a trial.

[ scoffs ] Those folks have that hanging rope all ready for my neck.

They'll be fighting to see who's gonna shoot the horse away from me.

Is that why you saved me? So I could die at the end of a rope?

No.

Then help me.

I can't.Elizabeth, my boys will be looking for me.

Now there's a signal we use.

It's an Indian sign. It's a teepee.

You scratch that in one of those gateposts,

one of them will see it and come and help me.

Please don't ask me to do that. I can't.

Elizabeth, I swear to you, no harm will come to your aunt or uncle.

I promise you that. I just wanna get out of here.

I don't wanna die!

About time you got here. I'm freezing to the saddle.

Where is it?

Right here.

That's his sign.Let's have a look.

[ nervous laugh ] Turned cold, ain't it?

I should've-- I should've done that firewood last month.

Where is he?

I'm--I'm all alone here.

It's two winters since my wife turned sick and died.

He was here.

He's gone.

He was here yesterday.

He's hurt.

Bad?

It--It was high up and bleeding some.

He wouldn't let me near it.

I gave him some food.You gave him some?

Well, he paid for it. He could see I was dirt poor.

It wasn't but a few dollars.

Why didn't he stay?

I ain't got but one bed.

He was hurt and you turned him out?

No.Well, why'd he leave?

Why'd he go off in the cold?

Well, he--he had to go.

He was afraid that Hicks would catch up.

Hicks?

Well, the man that shot him.

Look, he trusted me. I can prove it.

He said you was coming. He left a message for you.

Would he leave a message if he--if he didn't trust me?

What was it?

He was headed for Medicine Bow.

That's what he said-- Medicine Bow.

I wasn't to tell nobody but you.

And you didn't?

No, sir, I ain't told nobody else.

Cold day for sweat.

Well, chopping the wood.

It's hot work.It is.

You sure you're not sweating 'cause you told somebody about Medicine Bow?

I swear I ain't told nobody. I swear it.

You sure you didn't tell Hicks?

You sure he didn't give you a few dollars, too?

I never talked to Hicks.

Then how do you know his name?

Mmm. Now that's what I call a breakfast.

I haven't had anything like that since I don't know when.

Well, there's not much you can do to bacon and eggs.

Oh, you've never tasted my cooking, have you?

I get the eggshells all busted in with the eggs.

Mmm, all sopped up with bacon grease.

Yech.[ laughs ]

Dinner's worse, too.

Morning.

Well, good morning, Elizabeth.

I found these in Stacey's room.

I thought he might like something to read.

Thank you. What are they?

Ah.

Oh.

Medicine Bow Banner.

National Police Digest.

Oh, yeah.

The Story of Billy the Kid, five cents, thank you kindly.

[ laughs ]

Thank you, Elizabeth.

What's that there? Is that for me, too?

I'm sure you've already seen this.

Jim Dewey, the Goodhearted Badman.

The drawing on the cover doesn't favor you too much.

No.

No, but I might look like that if I had a big black mustache.

Matter of fact, I'm moving in that direction right now.

Feel a might scratchy.

Do you good ladies think I might take me a shave?

Well, I-I don't see why not.

I'll get my husband's shaving things.

Excuse me.

Did you think about what I said about the Indian sign?

I can't.

It wouldn't be right.

Elizabeth, they'll kill me.

Look, these people right here in this book,

the same ones that cheated and killed my pa, just like it says.

Look, an Indian sign on a gatepost.

One of my friends will see it. They're out beating the bushes for me now.

Nobody will get hurt.

These things will make you a little more presentable.

Can you manage?

Well, we'll see.

This has just been stropped, so be careful.

Well, can't use that hand.

That's very sharp.

Yeah, it is.

Uh, I've never shaved with my right hand. I just might cut my throat.

I need help, Elizabeth.

I'lltake care of it.

Elizabeth has her chores to do.

But, Aunt Holly.Elizabeth, you'd better do your work.

And take that tray out, child.

Yes, ma'am.

Mrs. Grainger, you don't have to worry about me.

I wouldn't do anything to harm that girl.

It's easy for a young woman to get all mixed up,

especially where a young man is concerned.

Look, just 'cause I enjoy talking

to a pretty girl doesn't mean I'm gonna take her---

You see, I remember when I was Elizabeth's age.

That's when Clay Grainger came south,

just in time.

And I hope and pray that she's going to have

the same kind of luck that I had.

We make our own luck.

We do and we don't.

Sometimes things can get out of control.

That's why we have to be very, very careful.

[ wind blowing ]

How long are we going to keep looking for him?

Till we find him.

Well, if we don't join up with the others at the cabin,

they're gonna think something's gone wrong.

Search till noon, then go on back.

What about you?I'll be along.

Jim was hurt. That's what the farmer said.

Why, he could be laying dead in some ravine

and we'd pass him by without even knowing it.

We'd know it.

[ chickens clucking ]

What are you doing with that chicken feed?What?

You waste most of it throwing it up in the air

against the wind like that.

Let the chickens have a little while you're at it.

When are you taking him in to the sheriff?

Tomorrow?

If he can sit a horse, most likely tomorrow.

When will he be taken to Nebraska?

As soon as it can be arranged.

That's up to the sheriff.

When will they hang him?

Well, they have courts in Nebraska

with honest judges and juries.

The case will be decided according to law.

But when will they hang him?

Elizabeth.

I know.

I know.

He's good.

There's so much goodness in him.

It's a terrible waste to kill the good along with the other.

It is a waste, always,

no matter who does the killing and why.

But if he had so much good in him,

why didn't he follow his better instincts?

He had no choice-- his father.

I knew an outlaw's son who turned out to be a first-rate doctor.

There's always a choice if you care enough to make it.

They wouldn't let him make it.

I don't believe that.

Maybe you don't want to believe it,

but it is true.

They wouldn't leave him alone because of his father.

When he was growing up, every bully boy for miles

had to see if he could lick Jim Dewey.

You don't know the beating he took.

Did he tell you that, or did you read it in a magazine?

He's just about Stacey's age.

Do you think it would have been any different for Stacey

if he'd grown up that way?

I think your brother has strength enough

to have made a difference, yes.

Wouldn't he have used that strength

to fight back the way Jim Dewey does?

Stacey, an outlaw?

Living outside the law if that's the only way he could live decently,

doing for people the way Jim Dewey does.

Feeding the poor and helping them through bad times.

Can't you see Stacey doing that?

Can't you see the goodness in it?

Well, I'm not looking at it

through your eyes, Elizabeth.

I'm sorry.

Let him go.

Please.

Just let him take his horse and ride out.

With a bounty hunter after him?

At least that way he'd have a chance.

Please, Uncle Clay!

You know better than that.

No, I don't know.

Not anymore.

All I know is I don't want him to die!

It's going to be a long cold winter.

This is your last chance to make some grub money,

whisky money.

All we gotta do is kill Jim Dewey, huh?

All you gotta do is go with me.

I'll pay every man who does $100 in gold.

Well, that's mighty generous of you, Mr. Hicks,

considering you're going to collect that whole $5,000 bounty

on Jim Dewey's head.

That's right, Bogen, that's how it is.

Take it or leave it.

What's to stop one of us from going alone, collecting that whole 5,000?

Try it. You'll see what'll stop you.

[ chuckles ]

I know how to do it. I've done it before.

Now you go with me, you'll get $100 apiece in gold.

You go alone, and you won't come back at all.

You said Dewey's laid up with a bullet in his shoulder.

My bullet.

Then why do you need us?

There's somebody standing in my way.

Does the name Grainger mean anything to any of you?

Who's he, one of Dewey's gun hands?

No, he's only a rancher.

Except for Dewey, there's nobody in the house with him but his wife and niece.

Dewey's gang is scattered in the hills.

He came this way alone.

Well, what do you say?

Who wants $100

and the satisfaction of seeing Jim Dewey dead?

Sure, why not?

What are we waiting for?Wait.

We can't all ride out together.

Folks will start wondering what was up.

The sheriff might even tag along to find out.

I suppose you got some kind of plan?

We wait till dark.

Then we leave a few at a time an hour apart.

I'll tell you where to meet.

And the money?When it's done.

That's it.

Just like the army, ain't it?

Somebody always giving orders.

I never cared much for winter.

Short days and long nights-- I don't like that.

Oh, one thing I know for sure--you don't want me snowed in with you.

You can ride all right?

Yeah, maybe tomorrow.

Well, then, we'll get an early start.

It's too bad about your herd being out.

Your missus told me about it.

Kinda late for a cattle drive, huh?

Not too late if the weather hadn't changed.

What do you know about it?

Oh, I had my share of punching cows when I was a kid.

I know what a blizzard can do to a herd.

It's the men I was thinking about.

Elizabeth's brother is one of 'em.

Oh, that's too bad.

It's hard work even in good weather.

Why, I used to break my back.

Was that before or after your father was lynched?

That was after.

Well, shouldn't have been too hard on you, then.

You were able to make a living in spite of the fact

that you were an outlaw's son.

Well, yeah, I went different places

and I had to use different names.

I used Will Davis, Jed Harper.

Tom Baker.

Yeah, that, too. [ laughs ]

Mr. Grainger, you know, I was a good worker.

Can you believe that?

Yeah, old Jim Dewey was a hard-working cow puncher.

Boy.

You know, sometimes I wish I was back,

rounding up strays, cussing out heifers.

That was a good life.

Hey, how do you think that big old pinto of mine

would do as a cow pony?

I don't know about that, but he's a fine animal.

Oh, that he is for sure.

I broke him myself, you know.

Yeah. Like to have killed me

before I got him so as I could ride him.

He's been a good horse ever since, though.

Mr. Grainger, would you do me a favor?

That sheriff at Medicine Bow, he'll most likely

send me back to Nebraska by stage.

That's the way it's usually done-- with an armed escort.

Yeah.

Well, uh,

when I'm gone, would you look after my horse?

All right. Unless you want to sell him now.

Oh, no, I couldn't do that.

That'd be like selling my legs.

No, I just want him taken care of.

You know, let him run.

He's used to running.

Just give him plenty of room to pasture.

All right.

Thank you.

We'll leave at sunup.

Whatever you say.

If there is a sunup.

[ playing piano ]

Aunt Holly, do you ever cry?

What a question.

Of course I do.

Do you ever feel a great crushing sort of sadness?

We all do sometimes.

When I was young, I cried myself to sleep

night after night with no reason.

Are you ever ashamed?

Well, let's see.

I've regretted.

I've regretted that I spoke out in anger

and lost my temper

and regretted being jealous and envious and smug.

But it was regret, mostly, I think,

from making someone feel unhappy.

What if someone trusted you

and you did something you knew was wrong?

But you were being pulled in two directions

and the other way was wrong, too?

Elizabeth, honey.

What are you trying to tell me?

I'm sorry, I guess I'm not making too much sense.

Well, maybe you are

but I haven't the sense to see it.

Well, it's wrong to take a life.

That's the greatest wrong of all.

It's wrong to let it happen and not do anything about it.

Oh, dear child.

If I hadn't found Jim Dewey,

Uncle Clay wouldn't have to be the one to take him in.

Don't you see? I'm responsible.

No.

No, I don't see.

I just couldn't bear it.

I couldn't, and that's why...

[ footsteps ]

I'm gonna turn in now.

I'm taking him in in the morning, early.

Night, Elizabeth.

Good night.

Good night, honey.

Good night.

[ imitates an owl ]

[ imitates an owl ]

[ laughs ]

[ groans ]

Good evening, Jim.

Good evening, Jake.

Would you mind closing the window?

Of course.

We'd just about gave up on--!

We'd just about gave up on you.

What happened?

Bounty hunter.

How'd you find me?

I looked for the sign. Went by yesterday, didn't see it.

Today it was on the gatepost.

Oh, Elizabeth put it there.

Who?

That's a girl who lives here.

What happened to the boys after we split up?

No trouble. We circled around like you said,

headed for that cavern.

We're holed up there, most of us.

The rest are still straggling in.

That's good, that's good.

Yeah, my pa holed up there the better part of a summer once.

Jim.

This ain't summer.

[ laughs ] It sure ain't.

How bad is that?

I'm alive.

Can you ride?

Yeah, well, I've been thinking about that.

Now this here's a nice, warm bed.

I ain't about to give it up to go freeze in no cave.

Does that mean you're not coming with me?

Give me your gun, Jake.What for?

I want it.

We're all here. Let's go.Hold it up.

What's the matter, Hicks? It's dark enough, ain't it?

Let's do this right.

Grainger's got guns in the house.

We don't all want to rush in from the same direction.

MAN: Somebody coming! One rider!

Anybody see you leave town?

How would I know?

Clay, what time is it?

It's not morning yet.

Go back to sleep.

Well, why are you up and dressed?

I decided not to wait.

But--but the sheriff will be in bed.

Well, then, I'll get him up.

You're doing this so Elizabeth won't have to see him go.

Take care.

Don't you worry about that.

HICKS: Hold it up.

What's going on?

All right, pull him off.

Light a torch.

What's your name?

You got a name?

Sure, have you?

You one of Dewey's gang?What?

Sure he is. Kill him and be done with it.

Hey, maybe there's a price on his head, too.

You wouldn't get a dollar on any of 'em except Dewey himself.

I'll take my dollar. Finish him off.

Search him. We'll see who he is.

Grainger. You live at Shiloh Ranch?

That's right.

Well, the Shiloh men are away on a cattle drive.

What are you doing here?

Trail boss sent me back with a message.

For your pa?

So you rode all the way back.

Why didn't you use a telegraph?

There's an office in town.

Wires are down 'cause of the storm.What storm?

Up north.

All right, now you know my name. What's yours?

You ever heard of Jim Dewey?

You're not Dewey.

Guess he ain't. Jim Dewey's at Shiloh Ranch right now.

Shut up.What's happened?

I got a sister, aunt, and uncle there. Now what's happened?

All right, we'll all be leaving in a little while.

Might be a right smart idea for you to come with us.

Dewey?

Come in, Mr. Grainger.

All right.

You put the lantern on the table

and the rifle over here on the bed, very gently.

That's right.

Okay.

Your gun's locked up. That's not one of mine.

No.

Mr. Grainger, meet Mr. Powell.

He works for me.

Mr. Grainger.

That's the rifle that put a hole in my shoulder, Jake.

Mr. Grainger took it away from a bounty hunter.

What's more, the bounty hunter

had the drop on him at the time.

Wouldn't wanna mess with him. He might take you down a peg or two.

If you're going back to your gang, why don't you go now?

No, no, Mr. Grainger.

He's not going to them, they're coming here.

What, here, to Shiloh?

That's right. Sure beats sleeping in a cave.

Who is it?

Shh.

CLAY: How long do you plan on staying?

DEWEY: Oh, I haven't made up my mind.

My men will be back in a week.

POWELL: Get rid of 'em. You hired 'em, pay 'em off.

Tell 'em you hired new hands.While they're away on a cattle drive?

Now wait a minute. We've got a week to think about it.

Just have to put our heads together.

You're not as smart as I thought you were, Dewey, not by half.

Leastwise I'm not taking that ride in to see the sheriff.

[ knock on door ]HOLLY: Clay?

It's all right, Holly. You can go back to bed.Let 'em in, Powell.

Jim?

Elizabeth will be glad I'm not gonna hang.

What's happened?

One of his friends showed up.

Elizabeth, this is Jake Powell. He come to help me.

My pleasure, ladies. Very nice, Jim.

I'm glad you've had someone to keep you company these cold winter nights.

Powell, get 'em out. I wanna get dressed.

Ladies.

No, no, not you, Grainger.

Get me my clothes.

Get 'em yourself.

[ cocks gun ]

Come back here, old man.

All the way.

Now get me my clothes.

All right, hold it, hold it.

All right, spread out.

Cover the doors and don't shoot.

Dewey's mine.

Get these horses over there.

He said his friends would come and take him away.

He said nobody would get hurt.

They were gonna hang him.

Honey, it wasn't your fault.

I guess all of us wanted to help him at one time or another.

The Goodhearted Bad Man.

[ throws logs ]

Madam, where'd you learn to build a fire?

Oh, sorry.

Howdy.

Well, look who's here!

Oh, yeah. Be dancing by dawn.

Why not now?

Elizabeth, won't you dance with him?

Well, come on. Don't you like to dance?

Powell!Oh, Clay!

Come tie my tie.

Here's your Robin Hood for you,

just filled with the milk of human kindness.

[ groans ]

[ growls ]

Your aunt's right, Elizabeth.

A little girl in a fine house

on a big ranch--

everything you want.

All the men you ever seen never had a mean thought about you.

Just one big happy family.

Well, look at him.

That's my family. That's mylife.

Do you use everyone who trusts you?

Those poor people in Nebraska?

And your pa-- did you use him, too?

Why?

Why?

Because I wanted to.

All that talk of yours about what I could have been

and what I could have done with my life--

that was a big joke to me, Elizabeth.

That was funny.

You talk about life.

You don't know anything about it.

Don't you have any feeling for anyone?

I stopped feeling the day my pa hanged himself.

Yeah, I lied about that, too.

You see, he got crazy drunk one night

and said his prayers and sent himself straight to hell.

That good little book from the east,

Jim Dewey for a nickel-- what'd that say about pa?

A heroic martyr, they branded him an outlaw.

He was nothing but a wild-eyed, phony, prayer-screaming drunk!

Now, how come all those poor people back in Nebraska--

how come they all say different?

Well, I'll tell you how come.

'Cause there ain't nothing like spreading a few dollars around

to get people to singing your praise.

Mnh-mnh.

Boy, and when the going gets rough,

they sure provide a safe place to hide, huh, Jake?

Yeah, it doesn't always take money, either.

Some soft words.

A few verses of poetry.

Stop it.It's true!

Now that's the way it reallyis.No.

I know more than you think, Jim Dewey.

I know that there's more pleasure in giving than in taking.

And I know that lying and cheating never pleased a person

as much as loving and trusting.

You asked me if I saved your life so you could die at the end of a rope.

I said no.

I was wrong.

Because I'm afraid for you.

I'm afraid that that's all that's in store

for a man who stopped feeling so long ago.

Grainger! This is Hicks!

I wanna make a trade!

Do you hear me, Grainger?

I wanna make a trade!

What's he talking about, a trade?

I don't know.

We'd better find out.

Keep out of the way.

HICKS: Hey, Grainger!

I wanna make a deal!

All right, talk to him.

Hicks, this is Grainger. What do you want?

He says he's related to you.

I could pick him off from here.

Go on, tell him.

Clay? Stacey.

Oh, dear lord.

HICKS: The boy for Jim Dewey!

What if I refuse?

The boy dies.

Stacey!

Get her out of here.

CLAY: The boy dies, it's murder.

There are witnesses.

I have my own witnesses.

I don't know this boy.

He might be a member of Jim Dewey's gang.

If he dies, blame yourself!

He's got a rifle in my back.

Some of his men are near the house.That's enough.

Tell him you won't trade.I'll tell him I can't.

You tell him you won't. Let him make the first move.

But he'll kill Stacey!

Don't you understand? He'll kill my brother!

What do you want me to do, throw down my gun and walk out?

If he gets a chance, he'll kill us all.

I don't think he will.

He backed down once.Then test him.

Tell him you won't trade.

Hicks! It's no good!

He thinks you're bluffing. Grainger!

The first shot in the leg, then the right hand.

Third shot between the eyes.

Maybe he can't trade.

Maybe Dewey's holding a gun.Dewey?

That's why he's standing in the door.

That's why he can't come outside.

First shot, Grainger.

No, wait, there's something to it.

Why would Grainger stand at a door and make a target of himself?

'Cause Dewey has a gun in his back.

What now, General?

Gonna give up on that $5,000 bounty?

I've been after him too long. I can't give up.

It's not gonna end this way.

I'll get Jim Dewey if I have to burn him out.

That's as good a way as any.

What are you gonna do?

Watch me.

All right, listen, Hicks.

If Dewey burns in that house, you're not gonna be able to collect that bounty.

Not gonna be able to prove it was him. Did you ever think of that?

The stables. Burn the stables.

BOGEN: What good's that gonna do?

Ain't you heard how Jim Dewey's crazy about horses?

His horse is in there. Burn it.

What about the other horses?

I'm not to blame for that.

I gave him every chance to come out.

I'm not to blame.

[ horse panicking ]

[ horses panicking ]

The stables!Hold it!

Nobody leaves.

We've got to get the horses out!

Your horse is in there!

Shut the door.Listen to those animals!

[ horses panicking ]

You asked me to take care of your horse. You couldn't sell him--

it'd be like selling your legs. Was that part of the legend, too?

I'll get another horse!Well, you'll have to!

That one's burning up! Let me go out there!No!

Those horses will die.

Stay away from the door. I'll shoot anyone who touches it.

[ horses panicking ]

But I've got to let those horses out!

[ horses panicking ]

Elizabeth! Come back!

Elizabeth!

No, Grainger.

Jake, cover me.

Watch him.

[ horses panicking ]

Elizabeth, get out of here!

[ gunfire ]

We've gotta help him!

I'll help him. You wait over at the bunkhouse. Go on!

[ horses panicking ]

[ horse panicking ]

[ horse panicking ]

Uncle Clay.

[ structure collapsing ]

Stacey!

It was my bullet killed Jim Dewey, not the fire.

You saw it. You could swear to it-- I killed Jim Dewey.

You must be mistaken, Hicks.

I don't know Jim Dewey. I never met him.

He died in your stable!

That was somebody else, some stranger.

That's right, sure wasn't Jim Dewey.

I've seen his picture before. This fella didn't even have a mustache.

We didn't know him at all.

What are you trying to pull here?

It was Jim Dewey and I killed him.

Prove it.

It'll be a lot easier for me to prove

you set fire to my barn. I have witnesses.

I killed him, I tell you! I killed Jim Dewey!

He wasworth saving.

He was good.

He was, Elizabeth.

But he never really believed that until he met you.

Hey, I just remembered what I'm doing here.

The herd reached the railhead.

As soon as the details of the sale are worked out,

The Virginian and the men will be home--end of message.

Look.

It's snowing.

[ theme music playing ]