Original subtitles

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hey, Jim! Keep those cowpokes moving!

Get those cowboys goin'!

All right now, move 'em! Move along!

Ho!

Hyah!

Hyah! Hyah!

Move 'em out! Keep 'em goin'!

It's beginning to feel an awful lot like hard work, Pa.

Oh, Tommy, now the good Lord never give nothin' without takin' some sweat for it.

You know that.

Kabe, you know we're shorthanded.

You two keep your mind on the horses, save the conversation for later.

- We was just pausin' for breath. - Well, pause on your own time.

Hyah!

Ho!

How much longer are we gonna put up with him, Pa?

Not much longer. Not much longer.

Let's go! Let's move 'em on!

Ho!

Get it hot, Harper!

Whoa.

Harper, Joe D pulled up lame. You want to check him? Okay.

Choya, get me out that bay horse and saddle him up.

I'll ride him after I try to swallow this.

Coffee? There's some right here.

Here. Here, here, here.

A little more. A little more.

Yeah. Yeah. Here we go.

Oh. It's either one or the other.

One or the other what?

Either this bunch of horseflesh is meaner

than most or I'm aging faster than I figured.

You just got a bad case of anxious-to-get-home.

Yeah, well, I'm not the only one. Amen.

Well, now, don't that look good.

I'll have some of that right away. Kabe?

Yeah? I thought I told you to eat second shift.

Yes, I know you did. But I kind of favor family style. I'm gonna eat with my sons.

I knew you'd understand. I understand I gave you an order.

Well, I don't want to be contrary, but I'm gonna eat right now. Fill 'er up.

Harper, he eats second shift.

Oh, come on.

Why do you do things that way?

Kabe, I don't think I'm gettin' through to you.

I reckon maybe we both got the same problem.

All right, he's a family man. Let him eat now. What the difference?

The difference is we're a hand short out there, and an order is an order.

Now why don't you just ride on back out there?

Yeah. Yeah, I'll ride, but not out there. Away.

Get your gear, boys.

Kabe, I don't have time to play games with you.

This ain't no game. You pay us what you owe us, and we'll be on our way.

Now wait a minute. There's no reason to get all riled up over a little disagreement.

I've taken just about as much of the proddin'

and pushin' that I'm gonna take from this man.

You were told when you signed on that we were behind schedule and shorthanded.

- That's why the pay is higher. - Fine.

You just give us six days worth of that higher pay, and we'll be on our way.

You'll be on your way, all right, but you won't be taking any pay with you.

You tellin' me you're gonna cheat my boys and me out of what's rightfully ours?

I'm reminding you of a condition of the drive.

You stay with the herd all the way to Shiloh. Stay and get paid.

There's no reason for this. Uh, we're only a couple days out of Medicine Bow.

Stay out of this, Trampas.

You got five minutes to ride.

You owe us. We're gonna collect.

You're wasting time. My time and your time.

Look, mister, I ain't foolin' with you at all.

Tom, put that back on your hip and keep it there. This ain't worth dyin' for.

But, mister, these things have a way of balancing out. You remember that.

We're gonna need those three.

Well, they've been second-rate ever since they got here.

Maybe so. But second-rate is better than nothing now.

Finish your breakfast. We've got to go out and relieve the others.

Relieve 'em? Only thing that's gonna relieve them and us is a good week's sleep.

We can sleep when we get home. But without them, we may not get home.

Oh, we'll get there.

What a mess.

Well, did anybody tell you you were bullheaded?

No. But I got a feeling somebody's about to.

That's right. Consider it done. Uh, Trampas?

We'll head north to the Rock River, take it into Medicine Bow.

What's that gonna prove?

Run 'em along the riverbank, we can get by with less hands.

Uh, breakfast is over.

All right, all right, come on.

Well, you gotta hand it to him. He sure don't give up easy.

Neither did Custer.

Giddap there! Giddap there! Hyah!

Hyah!

Hey.

Hey, some... somebody.

Some... Somebody! So-Somebody out th-there?

Somebody... Somebody help me!

Hyah!

Get down here!

Trampas!

Trampas!

Trampas!

Trampas.

Trampas.

Harper, let me have one of those, will ya?

You see the ramrod? I haven't seen him yet.

He been in for chow, Harper? Not yet.

Must be ahead of the herd.

We're so shorthanded, there's not even time to eat.

Better save some for the foreman. He'll be in pretty soon.

Right.

He show up yet? Not yet.

Haven't you seen him? No.

He's out there somewhere. He's probably scouting up ahead of the herd.

We'll catch up with him. Harper, here. I guess we will.

Homer, what are you frettin' about?

Homer, you be quiet or I'll lay a switch to you.

Homer, I'm warning you.

That's close enough, mister!

Listen! Listen to me! Listen!

Next one goes through you, mister!

Wait a minute. Wait a minute! I'm blind! I can't see a thing!

I need help! Please listen...

Now you just stand still so's I can get a look at you.

You can't see, huh? No.

- How come? - My horse threw me. I hit my head.

When?

I don't know. Four or five hours back maybe.

- How'd you get here? - Where's here?

Where'd it happen?

South side of Rock River. I was ramrodding a herd of mustang, going west.

How'd you get this side of the river?

- This side? - The north fork.

I don't know. I tried to follow it west, got mixed up.

You really can't see.

No, I can't.

I'm sorry. It's just I don't get many visitors.

You got a pretty bad cut.

Come on.

I'll fix you up.

You don't know how good it is to hear a voice.

Maybe I do.

Something's wrong. He wouldn't leave the herd or his horse this long.

Maybe he went south trying to pick up some extra hands.

Or maybe he's lying hurt somewhere.

We're gonna hold up here till we find him or he shows. You come with me.

Harper, you keep the rest of the men here. We'll be here.

All right.

- Ooh! - I'm sorry.

That's all right. If you can stand to tend me, I can stand the pain. Go ahead.

I'm Ginny.

Well, I'm pleased to meet you. I mean that.

Y-You live here alone?

- My family will be back shortly. - Oh. Where'd they go?

They had to get some supplies.

- Oh. Left you here all alone, huh? - I'm a big girl.

- How big? - Seventeen.

Well, I'm no kid.

I can take care of myself.

I could've put a hole right through you out there.

Yeah, I guess you could have at that.

That'll do for now.

You hungry?

Yeah, now that you mention it.

You rest. I'll put something on.

All right. Uh, Ginny?

Yeah?

I-I was...

beginning to feel awful lonely out there.

I'm sure glad you didn't put a hole through me.

Oh, yeah. Me too.

Well, I still think he might have gone lookin' for some hands.

Might have isn't good enough anymore.

Um...

It's all right. You're all right.

It's all right. You're just having a dream.

Yeah. Just a dream.

Yeah. Listen, I want to tell you something.

A rattlesnake's just as ugly in a dream as he is in person.

Whew! Spooked myself. Oh, I understand.

- What is that? - What?

You're wearing something different. A dress.

I appreciate your prettyin' yourself up.

- Do you really? - Yes.

Is that so strange?

No. Of course not.

Actually, I like to look nice for my pa when he comes home.

There's some food for you. Oh, thanks.

Oh. Here, let me help you.

Open.

Been a long time since anybody's fed me.

I guess that's one advantage of being temporarily... helpless.

Open up.

You'll be turkey shooting before too long.

Cousin Jeb did the same thing falling off the barn.

Clouded his seeing for maybe a week or two.

He's seeing good enough now to shoot possum by moonlight.

Open up.

That's good. Here, have some more.

He get back? No.

What'd you find? Nothin' Not a trace.

It's a lot of wild country out there.

We'll start lookin' again at daybreak.

Trampas.

That's his bay, isn't it? Yeah.

Whoa. Whoa.

That's blood.

Do you think maybe somebody took a shot at him?

I don't know. Question is why did he leave his horse?

That's not like him. Unless... maybe he was hurt pretty bad.

Well, he was healthy enough to walk out of here.

The tracks head off up this way.

He sure wasn't walking too straight, was he? No, not hardly.

Well, then maybe he was shot. Yeah, or thrown from his horse.

Well, not the Virginian. He's too good a rider for that.

Like you? Well, yeah.

Seems to me, uh, last month...

you got thrown off your horse, ate about a pound of prairie dust.

I kind of forgot about that.

Sometimes, uh, it doesn't hurt to remember.

Hey.

That sounds like a real pretty dress.

Must be feeling better to start that kind of talk.

I do feel better, thanks to you.

It's my mother's dress, you know?

It's real silk, from China.

Oh. Where's your ma now?

Dead. Two years ago.

- I'm sorry to hear that. - Oh, that's all right.

When do you expect your pa to get back?

Oh, anytime now.

I'd try and get you to a doctor myself,

but, oh, if I wasn't here when he got back, he'd sure be disappointed.

I understand. Don't worry. The time will pass.

Sure it will.

Well, go on. Tell me.

What do you mean? Oh, all about it. You and the place and so on.

Well, there's not much to tell. It's just a small place.

We got a real nice ranch near Laramie.

Is that so? Yes.

You see,

this place is where my ma and pa first started out years ago.

It's real pretty.

And every once in a while, since Ma died, we come up here.

It makes Pa feel good.

You just sort of keep it for sentimental reasons. Is that it?

Well, yes. That's it exactly.

Of course, it's so pretty that someone's always trying to get Pa to sell it.

Of course, he don't need the money. We got a fine life in Laramie.

All my friends are there, and the good times, you know.

Yeah. Laramie's quite a place.

- Where are you from? - Oh, a couple days ride from here.

A ranch called Shiloh near Medicine Bow.

Oh, you must be rich.

No. No, I'm not rich. I'm the foreman, not the owner.

Oh, but that's a very important job, telling all those hands what to do,

giving orders and taking charge.

Do you like it there at Shiloh?

Yeah, I guess I do. It's a real pretty spread.

Green and fresh in the springtime,

and clean and crisp in the winter.

Yeah, I like it there fine.

I guess I won't be much help to 'em for a while.

Someone coming?

I'll look.

What the devil are you...

Pa, I gotta talk to you. What are you doin' with a dress on?

Something's happened, Pa. What?

Somethin' must have happened. You gone out of your head runnin' around like that?

What, what, what? We got a visitor, Pa.

- Visitor? - Where?

- In the cabin. - Are you daft, girl?

I told you to never let nobody see this place.

He didn't see it, Pa. He's blind.

Blind? What's a blind man doin' up here?

His horse threw him. He wandered in. He needs a doctor, Pa.

- I told him you'd get him to one. - You told him what?

He can't hurt us, Pa. He can't see.

Oh, he doesn't know where he is or who we are.

Tell me somethin', little sister.

If this fella's so blind, what you wearin' Ma's dress for?

I just wanted to look... I mean, feel pretty.

Pretty?

Shut up, both of ya! Now shut up!

I ain't seen you in a dress in a long time, darling. It does look pretty.

It looks real pretty.

It fits you just like it used to fit your ma.

Will you get him to a doctor, Pa? We'll see. We'll see.

Settle them horses!

They're here. I, uh, heard the horses.

- Oh, well, we run a few here sometimes. - Oh?

This is my pa.

Oh. Pleased to meet you, Mr... I didn't get the last name, Ginny.

- Danvers. Danvers. - Mr. Danvers.

Voice sounds familiar.

Oh.

Does it?

Hey, Pa, it looks like we got some fine stock...

Uh, this is my boy.

Ginny, uh, get us some food.

- But, Pa... - Now! We're hungry.

All right, Pa.

Sit down. Sit down.

I didn't catch your boy's name, Mr. Danvers.

- Uh... - Tom... Danvers.

Tom Danvers.

Yeah.

Here, Pa.

Tom.

- Where's George? - George?

- Kabe. - Yeah.

Yeah, looks kind of like we got a sticky situation here, don't it?

Seems like it.

Your ears is too good for your own health, mister.

Do you know him, Pa?

- Yeah, I reckon I do. - He's your blind man?

- How do you know him, Pa? - This is the trail boss...

that tried to cheat us out of our wages.

Well, let me tell you about it, Ginny.

Last week your pa and your brothers joined my drive.

Flat broke and hungry, they said.

And yesterday they quit for no reason.

No reason at all.

Those horses milling around outside clears it all up.

They're wearing the Shiloh brand.

Listen, you're pretending to be blind...

George, you get away from him! Can't you see he's hurt?

- He needs a doctor, Pa. - Yeah, I see that.

Forget about the doctor, Ginny. Right, Kabe?

Yeah, right. Right. Right.

What do you mean, Pa?

Oh, come on, Ginny. You know what he means.

Listen to me, Pa. He wouldn't hurt us.

Don't talk foolish, girl.

Ask him. Ask him. He'll give you his word.

- Is that right? - Sure, Kabe.

Good. Good.

Pa, we could take him to that doctor in Spanish Wells.

Then we could all leave here.

Even if he could find this place, we'd be gone.

This place has been mighty good for us, Ginny.

So what do you want to do? Just kill him?

Kill a blind man who can't even find his way back?

We ain't got no choice. I just gave you a choice!

Pa, you can't do this thing. Well, you can't do this.

I'll see you hang, all of you. Now you stop that kind of talk right now.

I mean it, Pa.

Ginny, I don't want to hurt him.

That makes two of us.

Now, look, uh, you listen to me.

If...

If I was able to get you to a doctor somewheres,

would you forget all this?

- Would you really expect me to? - I'm askin'.

Well, I guess I don't have any choice, do I?

- Are you crazy, Pa? - Shut up, Tom.

That's right. You got no choice at all, mister.

But I'm askin' could you forgot all this... Ginny and this place and them horses...

And not come back trying to find us? Give him your word.

All right, you got it.

Oh, for the love of... Shut up, Tom. Shut up.

Oh, thank you, Pa. Oh, that's all right, darlin'. That's all right.

That's all right.

George,

I want you to take him to Spanish Wells.

- Ginny, get him ready. - All right, Pa.

You don't really want me to take him to Spanish Wells, do you, Pa?

Oh, yeah, I want it. No. No, Pa. You can't.

I know, I know, I know, I know.

Just don't seem right for a man to die for a few head of horses.

He could send us to prison for a long... I know.

We sure come a long way down, ain't we?

A long way down.

Ginny won't have to know, Pa.

Well, I'll be thankful for that anyway.

I'll get my horse. Yeah.

You got an opinion?

I take it you have.

Well, let's try this.

The Virginian comes through here now, and he steps on the rattler and he gets bit.

He backs off, he pumps a few shells into it, then he goes on somewhere...

But he didn't pump a few shells into it. The rattler took one in the head.

So he missed a few times. He was bit and scared.

I don't think so. You got a reason?

Yeah. The snake's in the open. He'd see it or he'd hear it.

And if he decided to shoot it, it'd just take him one shot.

Then you sayin' these ain't his tracks?

I don't know. I... I just keep wonderin' why he's walkin' in the river.

Why plow through all these rocks and gravel when he could be walking along the bank?

It just don't make sense.

- Well, it's beginning to. - Yeah? How?

Well, let's say he's shot or fell off his horse or probably thrown...

Well, he's hurt. Uh, he's not seeing well.

How'd he shoot the rattler?

By the sound. It took him more than one shot.

The snake was following the motion of his pistol.

Half the time a snake will tear his own head off.

By the sound.

Well, you... Are you trying to tell me he-he's blind?

The tracks go off this way. Come on.

Right over here.

There you go.

There you go. Um, give me your foot.

There you go... Oh, hold it. Hold it. There you go. Up!

I'm sorry.

I wish it could all have been different.

Well, you run a real fine hospital here, ma'am.

I'll remember you next time I need tender loving care.

There really isn't any place in Laramie. I lied.

No. No, you didn't. You were just dreaming. Just dreaming.

- You ready? - I'm ready.

Good luck. Get going.

First time I wanted to look pretty in a long time.

He never got to see.

Hey, how far is George takin' him, Pa?

Oh, not far.

Not far.

Ginny, you ought to wear that more often.

It really livens things up around here.

Darlin', you know things are gonna get better...

for you and all of us, yes, sir.

Some day, darlin'. Some day.

Sure, Pa.

No, no. No, no. I mean it. I mean it.

Sure you mean it, Pa. You always do.

Trouble is, things get worse day by day.

When Ma was alive, we didn't have much.

But we weren't common horse thieves. We had our respect.

I don't think we're ever gonna get that back.

Oh, Ginny.

Yeah.

You know, there are some things that are hard for a man to say,

but I want to say 'em to you now.

Ginny, when your ma died,

I thought I could handle it.

But I can't.

No. Some men I reckon can, but I can't.

She brought out the best in me. And when she died, things just seemed to come apart.

I don't know why.

I really loved her.

Seems to me if you love someone, Pa, makes you want to do right.

You're too young to understand about things like that, ain't ya?

Maybe I'm not.

Seems to me if you care about someone,

you'd want 'em to be proud of you.

Your ma can't be proud of nobody where she is.

Then you gotta do it for yourself, Pa.

And for me and the boys, even though she ain't here.

Those boys can fend for themselves. I ain't worried about myself.

I'm worried about you being mixed up in all this. What do you mean, Pa?

Is there more than just the horse thieving? No.

I'd sure hate to find out otherwise.

I don't think I could forgive you any more wrongdoing.

What are you talkin' about? You never talked to me this way before.

Maybe it's time I started thinkin' for myself.

You and my sister, Ginny, got mighty friendly while we were gone.

She's easy to be friendly with. Yeah? Maybe that's her trouble.

Time goes by, she'll toughen up.

- Thinking more like you, is that it? - Yeah, that's it.

I'll say a small prayer that never happens.

You know what your trouble is, ramrod? No. Why don't you tell me.

You don't know when to be humble.

Come stumblin' into our cabin like a helpless kid...

and my sister, Ginny, she takes care of you.

And then you get her all fired up trying to turn her against us,

givin' her ideas about how maybe she's better than us.

Maybe she is.

For a blind man, you sure do push your luck.

Seems to me you're more blind than I am, at least where she's concerned.

Seems to you? One day and you know her better than me?

I know her well enough to know she deserves a better break...

than she'll ever get from three horse thieves.

Maybe you better go back to keepin' your mouth shut.

You'll drag her down, George.

You, your brother and your father, you'll all be guilty.

You're forgettin' one thing, ramrod.

My sister, Ginny, is family and you're an outsider.

And me and my pa and my brother, Tom,

we're gonna take care of her the best way we can. You listen to me for a minute.

Sooner or later, you three are gonna dangle at the end of a rope,

and she's gonna have to watch it.

I only hope she's so sick of you by then,

it won't tear her up too much to see it.

We'll stop here.

Should I ask why, or have I had the answer all along?

You're a bright man, ramrod. You didn't think you'd make it to Spanish Wells.

- No, I guess I didn't. - Climb down.

Wake up. Wake up! Now don't move.

Not yet. You feel that, George? That's your gun. You understand that?

You understand that? Yes!

All right. Now here's the way it is.

You're gonna get up and you're gonna head south towards the river.

You feel this belt? Feel it?

You're gonna keep that belt taut in my hand.

You let it go slack, I'm gonna shoot you.

You understand that? Yeah.

You understand that? Yes!

All right.

Now one more thing.

The wind has been blowing steady from the northwest.

So I ought to feel that wind...

on my right shoulder all the time.

All right, get up.

Get up. Get up!

Get out to the end of that line! Go on.

Now start walking slow and steady.

And remember one thing. You head straight south.

'Cause if you don't, I'll kill ya.

I mean that. I don't have a thing to lose.

Let's go. Ah, just a minute.

I can feel that wind on my face.

You just turn left and start walking. Go on!

Go on!

The tracks pick up over there. Come on.

Here. What's wrong?

You're going uphill. There are lots of hills in canyons.

Not by the river. Yes, sir, by the river.

Couple miles before we hit the north side.

All right, keep movin'. Go on. Go on!

Over here. Come on.

Hold it.

Keep movin'.

Homer. Homer.

What are you yelping at? Huh?

What do you think's bothering him? I don't know.

That dog. That's your dog.

No, no. We're by the river. It's-It's a... It's a farm.

No, that's your dog. I remember.

Hey, Pa...

- Did you hear a shout? - What?

A shout. Shut up.

- A shout. - No, I didn't hear nothin'.

Funny. I could have sworn I heard a shout.

- Pa, maybe it's George. - Yeah, maybe.

How could it be George?

It's three hours to Spanish Wells and three hours back.

How could you expect it to be George?

I didn't say I expect it to be George. I said maybe it was George.

But you're right. It couldn't be.

We better go take a look.

This hound will be yelping all day if we don't.

Pa.

He's all right.

- Want me to get him back to the cabin? - No.

No. He's got his gun. No, he'll be all right here.

Now careful.

Ginny!

You drop your gun, Tom!

- Whoa, boys. - Tell him, Pa!

Ginny, what do you think you're doing?

- You lied to me, Pa. - I had to, Ginny. He knew.

Don't you see? You lied!

- I ain't goin' to jail. - You hurt him and I'll turn you in myself.

Now stop it, both of ya! Tom! Ginny!

- You're brother and sister. - Now stop it!

Is this what we come to, raising guns to one another?

Yeah, Pa. You let it happen.

You'd kill me to save him?

I would, Pa. I would.

All right, Tom, put up your gun.

I told you I ain't goin' to jail! Put up...

- Pa! - Put it up!

Pa, help him!

Help him! Pa!

- Let the horses finish him! - Ginny! Ginny!

Hold it!

Here you are. Here you are.

You all right?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm... I'm all right, Trampas.

Ginny.

Sure, you are.

Ginny!

Ginny, you was right.

I let it happen. I let you down.

I let all of you down when you needed me most.

I just didn't know how to help you.

Kabe!

Ah, good morning. Hello.

Something I can do for you, miss? I'm looking for the Virginian.

Oh, well, he's down at the bunkhouse. I'll take you down.

Thank you.

You'd be Ginny Kabe. Right.

Well, I'm Clay Grainger, Ginny.

Sure glad to meet you. I know what you did for him.

How's he feeling? How's his eyes?

Well, the doctor says he'll be good as new in a few more days.

All he needs is rest and quiet.

The big problem now is keeping him in bed.

Company, boys!

Oops! You might have told us you had a lady with ya.

Isn't... Isn't that Ginny?

- Look at her. - Come in.

Someone to see ya.

- Hello. - Who's that?

Your room's a lot nicer than that old cabin.

Ginny?

I'm leaving Medicine Bow tomorrow.

I wanted to say good-bye.

Oh.

- Where you going? - Well, for the next couple of years...

Pa and the boys will be in Laramie prison.

So I got to make a new start for myself.

Well, have you got a job or something?

There's a boarding school in Laramie.

I can work there for my keep and even get some schooling thrown in.

Well, that sounds fine.

Real fine. Then when Pa and the boys are free...

Oh, well, we'll talk about that when the time comes.

That's a pretty dress you're wearing.

Oh, thank you.

Well, you can see.

Well, not well enough to shave.

I sort of thought you'd look like that.

Gosh, you're a pretty girl, Ginny.

Oh, I'm so pleased.

And grateful. You got that backwards.

I'm the one who's grateful.

No, I got it right.

Good-bye.

Good-bye, Ginny. Good luck.

Ah, that's good.

Good-bye, Mr. Grainger. Bye.

Good-bye. Good luck.

Well, I tell you I just don't understand women.

I mean, she saves your skin, and she's grateful to you.

You eavesdrop pretty good, don't you?

What's she got to thank you about?

Ah, I guess she had her reasons.

- It just don't make sense. - Women rarely do.