All language subtitles for The Virginian S08E03 - Halfway Back From Hell

Now where'd you
get that gun, huh?

You know you ain't
supposed to have firearms!

Easy, friend!

Hold it!

Uh, just passing through,
heading for Wyoming.

Sorry. We just beat off an Indian
raid. I guess we're a little bit jumpy.

Indian raid?

Mescaleros?

They come across the Mexican
border to hunt sometimes,

but I... I haven't heard of any...

He's not wearing war paint.

If you were raided, mister, it's
by a hunting party, not a war party.

- Now, who started it?
- He did.

- This ain't the end of it, Cardine.
- You bet it ain't, Dalton.

We're gonna find out how you got that
gun and what you's fixin' to do with it...

before you started taking potshots
at stray redskins and starting a battle.

I'll be glad to tell you,
Cardine.

I was gonna wait till
it looked like a good time.

Then I was gonna take care
of you and head for the border.

Well,

I sure like to see a bunch of good
friends riding cross-country together.

Dalton,
you take Will Steinbach...

and you go out there and dig
a couple of graves, you hear?

Rest of you men, fan out!

See if you can find some wood
in this godforsaken piece of desert.

At least we can mark 'em.

Mister?

I'm not one to give
unwanted advice.

But Mescaleros'
middle name is "revenge."

Well, I'm much obliged
to you, friend. I don't

mean to stay here any
longer than I have to.

Cardine's the name.

Trampas.

Wyoming's kind of a far piece
from the Arizona territory, ain't it?

Well, I wouldn't say it wasn't.

If these Mescaleros come back lookin'
for that revenge you's talkin' about,

how much good is this Winchester
and a couple of six-guns gonna do us?

Don't they carry guns?

Ain't but two of us in this party
allowed to carry weapons, mister.

Me and Connors here.

And Connors is dead.

We sure could use
what you're packin' there,

if you'd care to ride
along a ways with us.

- You staying in Perido?
- No. A couple of miles the other side.

Place called El Rancho
a la Encrucijada.

Ranch at the Crossroads.

- You ranchers?
- No, we ain't ranchers.

What we are is six days out of
Dyersville Territorial Prison in Tucson.

You're out legal?

It's what it says here.
Something called "probation."

Probation?

I reckon that word hasn't
gotten out this far yet.

I expect they've heard
of it in Perido by now.

Reckon that's them, Garth?

I don't know. But we'll find
out in a couple of minutes.

You figure that
for Perido? Yeah.

You figure that to be
a welcoming committee?

Well, they're sporting an awful lot of
hardware for a welcoming committee.

Yeah, that's
what I was thinkin'.

Now, listen,
I'll do the talking.

You do the listenin' and
the shuttin' up. You got it?

- Is the name of this town Perido?
- Depends on who's askin'.

- No, it don't, mister.
- Are you the men from Dyersville?

That depends on who's asking.

We don't want any thieves,
any swindlers,

any murderers
coming through this town.

Mister, I've got papers
in my pocket, and they say...

I don't care what
you got in your pocket!

We got guns in our hands! You
want to know what they say? They...

You want to know what
I say, Garth Meadows?

I say clear this street
and put up them guns...

and get on back to whatever
it was you was doin'...

before you forgot who's United
States marshal in this town,

and it's him who's sayin' who's
comin' through here and who ain't.

Cardine, is it? Jus Cardine.

That's right.
You must be Eleazar Teague.

That is them, ain't it, Marshal?

And just what are you aimin' to
do on account of that, Meadows?

I'm aimin' to make sure that none of
'em set foot or horse's hoof in this town.

You're aimin' to do that,
are you, Meadows?

We're all aimin'
to do that, Teague.

You said "all"?

That's right.

All?

Then you're all goin' to jail on the charge
of interferin' with the laws of this land.

These men are comin' through this town on
direct orders of the territorial governor,

and nobody's gonna stop them or
hinder them or stand in their way.

Now clear this street and
get on back to your homes.

Now you just wait a minute,
Marshal... You hear me, Meadows?

Now move!

Much obliged to you, Marshal.

You figurin' I done
something for you?

I'm supposed to see that
this packet gets to your hands.

I know what
you're supposed to do.

It's got in it the names of
these men, their parole records...

and some other papers having
to do... I know what it's got in it.

I was also told that
if I needed assistance,

I could turn to the United States
marshal. I know what you've been told.

And I know about you, Cardine.

And about Jared Blaize.

Now they give you guns to carry.

And they tell me
it's some new kind of justice.

Well, let me tell you.

To me, there's only
one kind of justice,

and I'm saying to you, Cardine,
I ain't forgettin' Jared Blaize.

And don't you ever forget
Eleazar Teague.

Now get riding, all of you,
straight through town.

Your papers say you ain't to
be on the streets after nightfall.

Who's Jared Blaize?

He was a United States marshal.

Was?

I killed him.

That's why I'm serving
a life sentence.

Let's go. Giddap! Hyah!

Who were they, Father?

They are the beginning
of trouble, girl.

Big trouble.

Bad trouble.

Ranch at the Crossroads.

- Where are the crossroads?
- Where's the ranch?

It's a lot better than where
you come from. Giddap.

Whoa!

I'll kill you if you
come one step closer!

You are on private property.

You're wrong, ma'am. This property
belongs to the United States government.

This is the land belonging to
the family of Jesus Alfredo Ortiz.

Is that your name? Ortiz?

I am his daughter... Maria
Isabella. I know what I say.

You received documents from
the Department of the Interior...

We reject the documents!

Well, you received a
fair payment that you...

We reject the payment!

Señorita, you may
reject the payment,

but you cannot reject the
annexation of this property.

Now, you got a fair price,

and you were expected to be
out of here by the first of the month.

But we did not leave, as you
can see. We are both still here!

Perhaps I'd better speak
with your father. He may have...

You wish to speak
to my father, señor?

Very well. He's there!

Speak to him if you can!

And with him
are your documents...

and your money!

How did that happen, señorita?

How do broken hearts
happen, señor?

A man that has lived all his life
on the land that was his father's...

and his father's before him...

and is informed
that it is no longer his.

Get out! Clear out in
30 days for a little gold!

That is how broken hearts
happen, señor.

That is what drives a man
to hang himself.

- I warned you, señor.
- Por favor, señorita.

Now, uh, what you're doing won't
help your father. It won't help you.

Now, it won't help anybody.

All it'll do is maybe make some
more burying for somebody to do.

Now, you can't kill us all,
and even if you could,

you can't kill the whole
United States government.

Now, I-I think
you got a good cause.

But... but dead, you got
no cause at all, ma'am.

All right, men, tie up over
on that side of the house.

What about her?

Well, she can't stay here with
five men just out of Dyersville.

Some of them been there
almost 10 years.

Señor,

when I discovered my father
hanging from that tree,

I wept a long time.

I cut him down with these hands.

I buried him myself
with these hands.

I put a cross together
and set it at the grave...

with these hands!

Do you think that I would
let any of you touch me?

Do you think me incapable
of protecting myself?

Señorita, I'd say you were capable
of doing anything you set your mind to,

but this ranch belongs
to the Bureau of Prisons.

It is government property. Now you're gonna
have to go, and that's all there is to it.

Cardine, two things.
First of all, the Mescaleros.

What are you gonna
do... send this lady off

all by herself with them
maybe on the warpath?

You said two things.

Well, yeah, uh...
Who's gonna do the cooking?

Well, if you want a day's
work out of your hands,

you gotta give them three
decent meals to make that day.

You think I will do the cooking?

Only if you think
it's a better idea than

riding into Perido, uh,
this time of the day...

and maybe run into
a Meskie war party.

Look, now, come here. Now, I know,
uh, this probably means a lot to you,

so I want to give
you something else to

think about... just
something to think about.

Now, if you want the United States
government to do something for you,

you can't hold a gun to 'em
or turn your back on 'em.

And if this property means anything,
you'll keep a foot on it. Both feet.

Because the minute you turn your back
and say adios, you got no claim whatsoever.

- Is this true?
- Just as true as I'm standing here.

Now, uh, this fella back here,
Cardine, he, uh...

He sort of represents
the United States government.

He's gonna be here
for a while, and, uh, he'll

be making out reports
and passing them along.

Now, if you want to write some real
strong letters to Tucson or Washington,

uh, which they call a, uh,
petition for a redress of grievances,

he's the man to see, 'cause
he'll pass 'em right along to 'em.

Of course, you're gonna have
to swallow a little pride, and, uh...

But if you do, I think you got a good
chance of getting your property back.

You are very persuasive.

Well, uh, the señor
is also a mite hungry.

You want me
to talk to Cardine now?

Very well. Talk to him.

But I will accept no wages.

These men will remain in the
quarters in the back as my guests...

until I have made
my petitions...

and my grievances
have been redressed.

Señorita, so long as
you deal five cards around

the table, you can
call the game poker...

or, uh, horseshoes
or hog rassling.

Cardine?

Anything? Nothing.

Not even a campfire.

If they're gonna attack at all,
it won't be until dawn.

I'll take over then. Why
don't you get some sleep?

I'm sure not gonna complain.

But I think I'll have
a cup of that coffee first.

Somethin' on your mind?

No.

Oh, yeah. Uh...

How come you are walkin'
around packin' a gun?

I mean, killing
a U.S. marshal and all...

How come they just didn't
hang you to begin with?

I was up for hangin'.

But Judge Quincy
Partridge had my sentence

commuted to life
imprisonment at Dyersville.

That's like tellin' a man
that instead of hangin' him,

which would be over
in couple of minutes,

you're gonna kill him
real slow... slow and hard.

You're gonna whip him
and starve him.

You're gonna make him stand naked
for two hours without moving a muscle...

when it wasn't but a couple
of degrees above freezing.

Hmm.

But then, uh,

Ben Schofield came in from the East
to be the new warden at Dyersville.

"Trouble with prisons," he said,

is they don't do nothin' to get a
man ready to come out of there."

That's why so many of us
end up back in prison.

It took him over two years,

but he finally got
the Bureau of Prisons...

talked into persuadin' the Department
of the Interior to ask Congress...

to put up the money
to buy this place.

Then he looked us all over,
checked the records,

and then he picked me.

To do what?

To take charge of this place
and get it workin',

earning its own way...

so that... so that prisoners
could be sent here...

where they could learn something
besides cattle rustling or bank robbing.

Where they could
earn a little money...

so that, when their sentence
is over, they can go on out...

where the good folks are and
not back to a place like Dyersville.

Hmm. And you reckon
you can make that work?

My probation hangs
on that one, mister.

Schofield has promised me
a pardon if I can make it work.

If I can't, I go back
to Dyersville for good.

You know I'm gonna make it work.

Well, best of luck to you.

What was the name of that, uh...
that ranch you were talkin' about?

Shiloh? Pretty big spread, huh?

Well, you take it away,
and Wyoming would

be the size of, uh,
Rhode Island nearabouts.

You been ranching a long time?

Ever since I first got kicked
by a horse. I was about, uh, 15.

Maybe that's why.
Kicked right in the head.

You must know all about it then.

Oh, I picked up a few things
here and there. Why?

You ever think of ranching
anyplace else?

- Besides Shiloh?
- No.

You getting at something,
Cardine?

All they know about ranching
is stealing sheep.

Now if this place is
gonna work, I've got to

have somebody to
teach them how to work it.

Well, you're in charge.

I have never been on a ranch
before in my life.

You mean, this Warden Schofield put
a man in charge of a ranch that's never...

I was put in charge of the men. Connors
was to have been in charge of the ranchin'.

He's a foreman for some big
spread east end of the territory.

Got himself in some kind of
trouble. Gamblin'... I don't know.

Broke into the owner's safe
to pay it off.

Anyway, he was to be the
foreman and teach us all the ropes.

Hmm.

But now Connors is six feet
underground, and here we are.

Yeah. I don't know what
they're paying you at Shiloh, but...

I'm authorized to hire hands
if I need 'em.

Now, suppose I was
to hire you as foreman?

Oh, no.

Oh, I'm much obliged to you,
but, no. No thanks.

I'll, uh... I'll do
my ranching at Shiloh.

I got to get back there
for the fall roundup.

Why, it ain't even
midsummer yet.

Yeah, but it's 700 miles from
here to Medicine Bow, so... No.

Well, uh, no harm in, uh...
In asking, huh?

No. No, there wasn't.
Or in answering, but...

Well, if you don't mind, I
think I'll stretch out for a while.

I'll go on guard then.

- Good night.
- Night.

So long, Cardine. Bye.

♪♪

Just don't move.

Stand up, Connors.
Stand up. Connors?

Oh, yeah. Uh, my name's not
Connors. It's Trampas. Shut up.

Wait a minute. Here, I got...
I got a pay book from Shiloh.

It says "Thomas Connors,

Dyersville Territorial Prison,
Tucson."

Got my prisoner, Marshal?

Anybody in my jail's
my prisoner.

Telegraph from Tucson.

Says Connors is released
in my custody...

pending trial
for jumping parole.

You don't waste time, do you?

Great invention, the telegraph.

You got the bail money?
It says here $300.

Would you like to count it?

All right, Cardine,
but you just remember this.

Next time it happens, I'm bringing
back whoever tries it dead over his saddle,

and then I'm sending all of you
back to Dyersville where you belong.

You're out on bail, Connors.

Only you take one step, one step
off that ranch or out of this town,

and I'm shooting you
on sight, you understand?

Yeah, I understand.

How did you get Connors's
prison paper in my pocket?

You sleep hard, mister.

Where's my pay book from
Shiloh? Someplace safe.

You'll get it later. When?

When we don't need you anymore.

Cardine, you don't expect
to get away with this, do you?

You ever been in Dyersville?
You ever been in any prison?

Yeah, I expect
to get away with it.

Then you better be good
at staying awake.

'Cause the first time I catch you
sleeping... I don't have to stay awake.

I got something that'll let me sleep
better than half a barrel of beer.

What's that? Marshal Teague.

Remember what he said, don't ya?

He'll shoot you on sight if he
catches you out-of-bounds once more.

Now, you want to live the rest
of your life, don't ya?

Do what I ask,
and you'll be back in Shiloh...

with your pay book
in time for fall roundup.

You want to die and be buried
before you need another shave,

go ahead, ride on off.

Choice is up to you, Connors.

Cardine. What?

Get off your horse.
Come on. What for?

Just get off.

Now come on.

- All right, get up!
- Proving what?

Proving you're not gonna get what you
want without a busted nose. Now get up.

And after you bust my nose,
then do I get what I want, huh?

Go ahead. Start swingin'.
I ain't gonna stop ya.

I'm picking between a full pardon
and the rest of a life sentence.

What's a busted nose to a man
with a choice like that?

Go ahead.

Get on your horse.

All right, Mr. Foreman, let's
get to ranching, huh? Giddap!

Uh, Will Steinbach said
you wanted to see us.

Him. It is from
the telegraph office.

I had hoped it was in reply
to my letters,

but, unfortunately, it seems
to concern something else.

Well, I'm much obliged
to you, señorita.

"Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D.C.

"Thirty-five head of beef
arriving at Wilcox railhead...

on or about
the 22nd of this month."

Wilcox railhead?

Well, that's... that's
50 or 60 miles from here.

That means we gotta drive those
cattle halfway across the country.

Do you know what that
means with them? I know.

Oh.

Well, if the wind's right
and our luck holds...

and God is on our side...

and they remember half of what I've been
trying to teach 'em for the last six weeks,

maybe, just maybe we might
get back here with half of 'em!

One of you get in front of 'em!
Turn 'em over here!

Hah! Come on! Hah!

Come on, little doggies. Hyah!

Hyah!

Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!

Turn it over there!

Hey, I said move! Hah! Come
on! Keep those critters moving!

Come on! Hah! Hah!

Ride drag! Ho! Dust-eaters!

Come on! Keep it in there!

Yo, cattle! Hyah! Get up there!

Go, cattle! One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,

10, 11, 12, 13, 14,

15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21...

Come on, cattle... 21, 22...

Come on! Get in there!
Twenty-two, twenty...

Close it? Twenty-two
out of 35? Is that all?

Yeah, close it.

Twenty-two out of 35.

Cardine, explain it to me again.

If this ranch don't work, you go
back to Dyersville for life. Is that right?

You got it.

Well, I'm not, uh... I'm just asking.
I'm not suggesting. Just asking.

The Mexican border is one
canteen's ride from here.

This ranch is not gonna work.
It's just not gonna work.

I tried the Mexican border
right after I killed Jared Blaize.

Then I come back
and turned myself in.

Living the rest of your life
as a fugitive...

is just as bad as rotting
in a hellhole like Dyersville.

I want that pardon, you hear?
That pardon. Nothin' else!

Well, you shanghaied the wrong
man to get it for you.

The drive was a disaster.

That's the mildest thing you
could say about today, señorita.

But with men not trained
in this work...

I had over six weeks
to train 'em!

You ought to be able to train
your grandmother in six weeks,

let alone a bunch of
birdbrained, pigeon-toed,

12-fingered greenhorns.

I have watched you, señor,
and I believe you will succeed.

I also believe that my father would not
have disapproved of what is going on here.

Señor. Señorita Ortiz.

You and your men
have worked very hard,

and you have been
very disappointed.

You must wash and eat and sleep.

You will feel much better.

I am going to cook dinner.

Now, what's come over her?

Well, even the señorita
has her soft spot.

She can't stand to see
grown men cry.

Washing, eating,
sleeping is fine.

But when can a man get drunk
in this dumb place?

Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow?

Six weeks will be up tomorrow.
We can all go into Perido,

just so long as we get back
on the ranch by sundown.

Is that what it said... That's
what it says in the pouch.

Well, hallelujah for that pouch.

Yes, sir. Gives a man a
good reason to take a bath.

They're coming, Farnum.
Let's get this door closed.

They're coming.

Lock up that door,
Lester. Right.

Get those doors closed
over there.

Well, same old Perido,
huh, Cardine?

Well, startin' now, it's gonna
be different. Get over there.

Bill, get that door closed.

This place a saloon
or the waxworks?

We're closed, mister.

You don't look closed to me.

Well, this here's
a private party.

That a fact?
What's the occasion?

By the looks of 'em,
I'd say some kind of funeral.

Well, it's, uh...
It's his birthday.

Many happy returns of the day.

Yeah. Happy birthday.
I'm buyin' the drinks.

Now, just a minute,
gentlemen... What's this?

- Mister...
- Mister!

Answer up. What are these?

They, uh... They money?

Are they U.S. currency?

They specie, legal tender?

They dollars, huh?

Well, I'm waitin'.

Mister, they're just whatever
you want to say they are.

Right.

Now, you scare up a bottle
and some glasses,

and you pour out...

Three simoleons' worth of that
rotten, red-eyed rot-gut of yours,

and you pour it out
real careful.

'Cause if you spill any of it
on this dirty old bar,

I'm gonna make you lick it up
with that dirty old tongue of yours.

Well, I'm waitin'.

Cardine.

- What are you doin' in town?
- Best check your calendar, Marshal.

We got privileges
on Saturday now.

Is that a fact?

All right. Just see you behave
yourselves while you're here.

Not so fast, Marshal.

How come this town is closed up tighter
than a drum on a Saturday afternoon?

What is this... a national
holiday or something? Is that it?

No, only a free country.

A man has a place of business,

he has every right to open it or
close it whenever he feels like it.

Perido is the only place
of entertainment...

these men can go to
during their probation.

- You know that, Teague.
- I know that, Cardine.

Like I say, as long as you don't
make no trouble, entertain yourselves.

- How?
- I ain't got the slightest idea, Cardine.

I just ain't got
the slightest idea.

What are you doin' here, girl?

Well, I was just introducing
myself to these gentlemen.

You know who these men are?

I do indeed, and I also know
what's being done to them.

Well, now, Becky,
that's none of your affair.

Well, of course it's my affair.

I happen to want
to do some shopping,

and Mr. Farnum's store is
locked up tight as a drum.

You done your shopping
yesterday.

I wanted to bake a cake for
supper tonight. I need a sack of flour.

I don't want no cake tonight,
Becky.

Then you needn't eat any.

Would you kindly ask Mr. Farnum
to open up his shop?

I will do no such
of a thing, girl.

In that case, I'll just
have to do it myself.

- Becky.
- Young man?

Becky, no, you...
You just wait a minute.

You keep out of this.
Becky, do you hear me?

I hear you, Father,

but I've made up my mind
to bake that cake.

Seems there's more than
one Teague in this town.

Yeah.

Only one's a whole lot
prettier than the other.

Mr. Farnum?

Mr. Farnum?

Miss Teague? Mr. Farnum,
are you doing business today?

Yes, Miss Teague.

Thank you.

Mr. Farnum's store
is open now, gentlemen.

I recommend his goods
very highly.

Besides, it's
the only store in town.

Maybe this is the beginning.

Maybe. Hmm.

Too bad Miss Teague doesn't have
some business back here in the saloon.

I still feel like
having a drink.

Thank you. Has that bolt
of red plaid come in yet?

Yes, it's outside, Miss
Teague. Thank you.

You'd never make it.

Make it where, mister?

To the Mexican border.

Teague would be
letting wind through your

shoulder blades before
you got halfway there.

Well, there ain't
a full moon every night.

No, but there's me watching you.

For what? My business
ain't any of your business.

- No, it's Cardine's business.
- Then let him worry about it.

He is. I'm just helping him
worry about it.

Besides, you only
got a year left...

and then you're out
free and clear.

Then back in Dyersville
a year later.

What do I know
besides holding up banks?

I've been watching you
on the drive.

I think you savvy more about
ranching than you're letting on.

- Ranching?
- Mm-hmm.

Cowboying?

That's the way to spend
the rest of your life...

Bindle-stiffing
across the country,

picking up odd jobs
at round-up time,

sleeping in a rat-ridden
bunkhouse...

with 20 other sweating,
snoring mutton heads.

Standing in line an hour
with your tin plate held out...

so someone can slap a piece
of burned beef on it...

and a ladle
of six-day-old beans.

Mm-hmm, you see? You do
know more than you're lettin' on.

How come you're keeping it
such a secret?

How come you're getting so nosy?

Mr. Cardine?

Miss Teague.

Mr. Cardine, I want
to apologize to you.

I don't know no harm you've
done me, Miss Teague.

I'm apologizing for
Perido and for my father.

I read Warden Schofield's
book in college back East.

I've known
what's been going on...

between the town and all of
you, and I haven't done anything...

until now.

I don't see there's much
you can do, Miss Teague,

seein' as how dead set
the town is against us.

There's quite a lot I can do,
and that's why I'm here.

I'd like you and all of
the others at the ranch...

to come into town tomorrow night
to have supper with us.

A-At your home, Miss Teague?

At my father's home,
Marshal Teague's home.

Well, uh, I'm most obliged
to you, Miss Teague...

You're not declining
my invitation?

Ma'am, we ain't allowed
off ranch property...

between sundown and sunup.

You are when you're in the
company of a United States marshal.

My father will be there, too,

so you see it's perfectly
legal for you to come.

Does your father
know about this?

He will as soon as you tell me
if you're coming or not.

Well, then? 6:00 tomorrow.

We'll be there.

Good. I'm looking forward to it.

You'll find that
I'm a very good cook.

Mr. Cardine. Ma'am.

Would you carry this out
to my carriage, please?

Could you help me, please?

Well,

what do you know?

All I know is, uh...

I'd give six months' pay to see
the look on Teague's face...

when she tells him
we're all invited for dinner.

Hmm.

Marshal Teague. Well, Judge Pitt.
Pleasure to have you back in Perido, sir.

I'm honored to be here, as
always, Eleazar. Honored to be here.

How's your own health holding up, and
how's that beautiful daughter of yours?

Oh, she's fine, I guess. Nobody's
getting any younger, I know that.

I see no evidence to prove that
contention, Eleazar, none whatsoever.

Wha... Your cupboard is bare.

Have I ridden these
many leagues in vain?

No, I've got a trying
matter for you, Jeremiah.

There's a parole violator from that
rehabilitation camp just outside of town.

$300 bail,

remanded in the custody
of the ranch superintendent.

Oh, yes,
that rehabilitation ranch.

How's it affecting you, Eleazar?
How's the town taking to it?

Like a cat takes to
bathing. That's how.

I been 30 years getting Perido first
to unload, then to hang up its guns.

And then inside of six weeks,
we're like a frontier town again...

Everybody running around armed
to the teeth, ready to shoot on sight...

just because some crackpot
from the East decides to unload...

a whole bunch of murderers
and thieves in the middle of us.

I see.

Then the adjustment
has not been made...

without a certain agony,
I take it, huh?

They ain't wanted around here,
never will be.

Not by me. Not by anyone else.

Well, now, Eleazar,
the theory of

rehabilitation of
prisoners before release...

has met with a good deal
of approbation...

among jurists and penologists throughout
the eastern part of this country.

Jeremiah, if they think they can
turn a killer into an honest man...

by teaching him
how to punch cattle,

they can have my badge and my
guns and I'm gonna go off someplace,

I don't know where, and hunt
jackrabbit until my time has come.

Time and tide, my friend.
Time and tide.

They move on,
and we move with them,

or else we find ourselves alone,

defending
solitary battlements...

that have been deserted not only by
our enemies, but by our friends as well.

I'd like to meet
some of those men...

Those parolees...

If it can be arranged without
undue unease on your part.

Jeremiah, how many years you
been riding into Perido on your circuit?

Well, ever since there's been
a circuit court in this territory.

I'd put it at 10 years, give or
take a quarter. Why do you ask?

And you've always accepted my
invitation for a drink and a good meal...

and a bed at night whenever
you've come to town, haven't you?

Yes, it's become a precedent...

As unshakable as the mountains
that rim this valley.

Well, the invitation
stands, as usual.

If you accept it this time,

you'll be gettin' all
you ask for and more.

Because my girl has invited the whole
kit and caboodle of them parolees...

to come into my home to eat
their meal in my dining room tonight.

- Has she indeed?
- She has.

I don't know when it was the
last time you sat down to supper...

with a cattle thief on one side of
you and a murderer on the other...

and a couple of bank bandits
and stage robbers across from you.

But if you've never done it
before, you'll be doin' it now.

Eleazar,

only when I have taken my supper with
no one across me or beside me but you,

could I, without risking perjury,
swear that I was breaking bread...

with a completely honest man.

And I include all those times
that I have dined absolutely alone.

Judge Pitt, would you
say the blessing, please?

Why, yes, I'd be delighted.

May the good Lord bless
the food upon this table...

and those who are about to eat.

May he make honest men of all
of those who might be rogues...

and may he keep from roguery all of those
who might just possibly be free of it.

And above all else,
may he cause us to remember...

that when he is reputed to
have said, "Go and sin no more,"

he left it up
to us lowly mortals...

to make it possible for those
instructions to be carried out.

Amen.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Father, would you start
the potatoes around, please?

Mr. Cardine.

After you, ma'am. Thank you.

Oh, Rebecca,

if I may interrupt once more
for just a moment, please?

Yes, Judge.

Tonight I am dining
with someone...

whom I must judge tomorrow...

on a charge of parole violation.

Therefore, in order that it
will not be necessary for me...

to disqualify myself
on this case,

I must elicit a solemn promise
from all of you...

that there will be no discussion
at this table this evening...

whatsoever of this matter.

Miss Teague and gentlemen,
can we all agree upon that?

Yes. Well, thank you.

Mr. Connors, help yourself
to the chops.

- Smells good.
- Oh, thank you.

Will, those beets
in front of you.

Do you like beets?

- Yes, ma'am, very much.
- Have some and pass them along.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Here you go, Will. Thank you.

Are you getting
everything you need?

Potatoes. I haven't had
potatoes in a long time.

I only got one question then.

When you're sittin' down at
table with a pack of criminals...

who in all their lives haven't
been anything but criminals,

what do you talk about
besides their crimes?

Well, Eleazar,
if we must discuss crime,

then let it be
the ramifications thereof.

You know, for many years
before I was elevated to the bench,

and to the saddle as well,
so to speak,

I was Professor of Law at Colonel Rutger's
College in the state of New Jersey.

One of my students was young
Ben Schofield. Warden Schofield?

The same.

Ah, he was a firebrand, my
friends, a veritable firebrand.

Had he not become
enamored and immersed in the

then almost unheard
of science of penology,

he would have become one of
the most tenacious prosecutors...

in these United States
and territories.

So now, instead of prosecuting
'em, he's protecting 'em.

Letting 'em ride around the
country with guns on their hips,

settin' up camps
and ranches for them,

paying them money and makin'
the people of a town...

scared to leave their
doors unlocked at night.

Father, there's no one in Perido
who has any cause...

to be afraid of going to bed
with an unlocked door.

That's right. Me and my men are on
that ranch at sundown every night, Marshal.

And you know it. I
know you're supposed...

Eleazar, forbidden ground,
forbidden ground.

Well, I see
that we don't agree...

on the merits of Ben Schofield's
experiment in rehabilitation.

Eleazar, it's strange to me...

that peace officers are always
the first to protest any move...

to bring offenders back
into the peaceful community.

When the citizens
of that community...

are afraid of being murdered
by those offenders? Not at all.

- Father.
- Murdered by whom, may I ask?

By the one
who done the murders...

and who should have been
hanged for it...

and who's now walkin' practically free to
do it again if ever the mood strikes him.

That's who I'm talkin' about.

The United States marshal
that I killed...

was with my wife
when I killed him,

And the court knew that.
The court...

I ain't talking about you,
Cardine.

What's your name, boy?

- Father.
- You be still, girl.

Well, boy. What's your name?

Answer up. You're being
questioned by a U.S. marshal.

Eleazar, in your own home.

He ain't in my own
home of my own askin'.

- Well, boy?
- Steinbach, sir. Will Steinbach.

Now, tell us where you
lived a couple years back.

Red Rock Junction. It's
just the other side of Tucson.

Along with who? Father...

You just be quiet, girl.
You've got guests at table.

See if they be wanting
anything to eat.

Along with who, I'm askin' you.

With the man I worked
for... Mr. Samsoe.

- Anyone else?
- His wife.

- Who else?
- A little girl.

They still livin' there,
are they?

- No, sir.
- On account of why?

- On account of, uh...
- Father, this is terrible.

I'm afraid that I must side
with Rebecca, Eleazar.

If this were in my court, I
would have no alternative...

but to reprimand you for
browbeating and intimidating a witness.

This ain't no courtroom.

This is my own dining room.

I can say what I want in it,

ask what I want in it.

Anybody doesn't like it
can get up and leave.

On account of why?

On account of I killed 'em.

You killed 'em.

- How did you do it, boy?
- It was an accident.

An accident?
That's what you told the jury.

But now you tell us what really
happened to those good people...

who took you in out of charity and
treated you as a member of the family.

They treated me
like dirt underfoot!

And fed you and put clothes on your
back and gave you a bed to sleep in.

- I slept in the woodshed!
- They gave you a home.

With them sharing whatever
they had in return for chores.

Now, how did you
repay that kindness, hmm?

With fire maybe?

He beat me! Mr. Samsoe.

He beat me in front of his wife
and his little girl.

And he was callin' me
stupid and clumsy.

Sayin' I was no good for nothin'
and not right in the head.

And the little girl was
lookin' on and laughin'...

and sayin' them same words
right after her pa said 'em...

"stupid" and "clumsy"
and "crazy."

So I grabbed up a chair and I
hit Mr. Samsoe with the chair.

And I ran!
I ran, and I didn't look back!

Your story. You didn't know about
that lantern being knocked over?

You didn't know
the house was afire?

You didn't look back
and see the flames lickin'

the sky or try to save
them in the house?

I hit him, and I ran!

You hit him and burned the
house to the ground to kill 'em all...

The whole family. No!

The truth, boy. You killed
with fire and flame.

I wished 'em dead! That's all!
I wished it on 'em!

I'm cursin' you, Marshal.

Cursin' you for goadin' me
into sayin' what I done.

Sayin' it...
Sayin' it in... in front of her.

Makin' her hate me now...

and not wantin' to have
nothin' more to do with me.

You're evil, Marshal.
You're evil.

You're evil as them I killed,
and I hate you!

I'm cursin' you, Marshal!
Curse you!

Curse you! Curse you!

Will, wait.

Will, wait, please.

No, not after...
After you knowin'.

I can't, Miss Teague. Will!

Father,

are you ashamed of yourself?

Are you as ashamed
as you ought to be?

I ain't ashamed of nothin'.

Then you're a hateful man.

Old and hateful and vindictive,

and you have no more right
upholding the law in this territory...

than some crazed animal
up in the hills.

You hear that, Jeremiah? Do you
hear the daughter of my poor dead wife...

talkin' to her pa that way just
because I was tryin' to show you...

why the good folks of Perido are scared
to go to bed with their doors unlocked?

It's on account of him, a
murderer, loose among 'em,

free to come and go
as he pleases.

That's what comes
of this new kinda justice.

Maybe now you all
see. Yeah, we see.

Come on, men. Let's
go. Dinner's over.

Mr. Cardine. Ma'am.

Well, what can I say?

Well, it weren't your fault.

But we'd better get
on back to the ranch,

pick up Will on the way 'fore
he does himself some harm.

Let's go. Mr. Cardine.
The ranch?

Uh, he wasn't riding that way.

Wait a minute. What was that?

He was heading the other way.

Away from the ranch. Was he?

Where you going, Marshal?

That man is headed out
for open country after sundown,

and that's in violation of his
probation. That is your doing, Marshal.

That makes no difference.
It surely does, Marshal.

That boy is scared and half
out of his mind and unarmed.

I ain't askin' for your
assistance this time.

I'm going after him myself.

Unarmed, is he?

So where's your gun?
You came here with it.

You ain't goin' nowhere,
you hear? Nowhere.

I'm bringin' him in...
Dead or alive.

Judge? Judge, can't you
do nothing?

No more, sir, than King
Canute could control the tides.

I can convene a court
and try a man,

but the man has to be
in that court to be tried.

Well, if the man's already dead,
can you try him then, Your Honor?

No, sir, you cannot.

Then you must try his killer.

He'll kill him.

I know.

Bring it up there, boy.

I said bring it up there,

or I'll start shootin'
before I say it again.

Come on!

Ain't no rock
gonna save you, boy.

Just throw out your weapon
and come out yourself.

Hold your hands
where I can see them.

You better not come at me,
Marshal. I'll have to shoot you.

I'm givin' you the count, boy.
Startin' now.

You get up to three. One...

Marshal, hold it.

Connors, what are you doin'
here? That doesn't matter now.

A parole violator, and now you're
runnin' out on your bail money?

What do you mean
it doesn't matter?

Marshal, listen to me.

Will, don't!

Marshall, now listen. Will
you just hold on a second?

Will? Will, don't shoot.

You shoot at a
United States marshal,

doesn't matter if you
miss him by six miles.

You'll go to jail for it, unless the
marshal here shoots you dead for tryin'.

You don't want to go back
to Dyersville, do you, Will?

Well, that ranch is better
than Dyersville any day.

What do you know about
Dyersville? You ain't never been there.

Will. Will, listen to me.
Think about that ranch.

You got a lot
of freedom out there.

The air is fresh and
clean, and you're doin'

good things, Will.
You're being useful.

Well, you can say that.

There ain't no one
keeping you there.

Anytime you feel like it, you can
ride on out. And who's gonna stop you?

What's that boy
talkin' about, mister?

Never been to Dyersville?

Ride on out
anytime it suits you?

Is he loco?

That's something we can
talk about later, Marshal.

Right now, I'd like to stick to gettin'
that boy out from behind those rocks...

without somebody shootin'
or getting killed for it.

You think you can do it?

If you put down that gun,
I'd sure like to try.

I told you, George,
he wouldn't show up.

Yeah, you been right
all along, Garth.

No, no, he'll never make it.

This court is now in session.
Will you all please come to order?

Your Honor. Mr. Cardine.

Your particular position is
a difficult one to determine.

One of your men, to wit,
Thomas Connors,

is charged
with violation of parole.

He is free under bail of $300
and remanded into your custody...

as superintendent
of the rehabilitation ranch,

Yet he is the precise one
you permit to ride off,

which is in direct opposition
to the terms...

under which this bail
was granted him.

Now, that not only constitutes
forfeiture of this bail,

but that could also constitute
derogation of your duties...

as superintendent of that ranch,

a situation which could legally
require revocation of your own parole.

- Your Honor...
- Mr. Cardine.

What's happened to Will? It's all
right. Nobody's hurt. Everything's fine.

This court is in session,
gentlemen. This court is in session.

Eleazar, the young fellow?
He's in jail. He's all in one piece.

Well, then oughtn't he
to be here in court?

No, I ain't charging him
with nothing.

I guess I just... pushed
him too far last night.

Every man
has his breaking point,

and you can't hold a man responsible
when someone else drives him to it.

So, when court's adjourned,
Mr. Cardine can take him back to the ranch,

keep him where he won't
be doin' himself no harm.

Very well, Marshal.

Which brings us
to the case in hand,

the charges against Thomas Connors for
violation of... Yeah, now, about that...

Your Honor, with regard to Tom
Connors... Guilty, Your Honor.

Guilty. Your Honor...

Now wait a minute. Jeremiah,
this man ain't Tom Connors.

How do you know that?

This morning, this young
Will Steinbach said...

Will Steinbach said?

Oh, Your Honor, that kid doesn't
know what he's saying half the time.

I'm Tom Connors. Would you
like to see my identification?

Now, see here.

Why would a man claim
an identity that, if verifiable,

could result in his being returned
to Dyersville for... Your Honor.

Um, I'm asking...

I'm asking now that I be put back
in the custody of Mr. Cardine...

for the rest of my time.

Marshal, you're the only one
who can make a judgment...

based upon his actions during
the space of the last few hours.

In view of them,
do you recommend...

You better deal me
out of this hand, Jeremiah.

It's like they say,
I'm behind them rocks shootin',

and there ain't anyone
beside me and there

ain't anyone out there
gettin' shot at neither.

So... no.

I see.

Then am I to understand,
Marshal,

that the charges against the
defendant are being withdrawn?

- That's right.
- Very well.

So ordered.

The defendant is returned
to the custody of Mr. Cardine.

Thank you, Your Honor.

There being no other cases
on the docket,

this court now stands adjourned.

Well, Eleazar,
I guess the jackrabbits...

won't have to worry
for a while at least, huh?

Marshal?

Telegraph arrived for you. Ah.

Marshal, look, I, uh...
Meadows, I am reading.

Cardine,
a telegraph from Tucson.

They're sending you
25 new parolees.

They'll be arriving at Wilcox
railhead the seventh of the month.

The town won't put up with that.

The town won't stand for 25 more of those
killers and thieves out at that ranch.

Meadows, how many people
we got in Perido now?

How many? Well, I don't know.

Maybe 200. Why?

That's exactly how many more of
you are gonna be out at that ranch...

if there's a finger... one
finger... lifted against them...

which ain't in strict
accordance with the law.

And you're gonna
take their part, huh?

You're gonna take their part
against us, your own people.

I'm taking the part of the law...

Against anyone
who's fixin' to break it.

I been takin' the part
of the law for 30 years...

and when you been
doing it that long,

you don't have no people.

You keep 'em in line, Cardine.

Oh, I'll keep 'em
in line, Teague.

You better.

Now. Hmm?

How come?

Well, like I said to señorita,

you got a long ways
to go, Cardine.

And I never quit a job
that I hadn't finished.

Connors still has
eight months to go.

Hmm, yeah.

Well, you see him over there?

Dalton?

Mm-hmm. First-rate rancher.

Got the makings
of a real fine foreman.

Trouble is, he, uh,
just won't admit it to himself.

You give me a couple weeks with
him, he'll be ready to take over the job.

Then I can just sort of
ease my way out of here.

With 25 more hands
coming in, uh,

who's gonna know that Tom
Connors ain't around, right?

Right. Let's go home.
You've got work to do. Yo.