Original subtitles

Bayo?

Yeah.

I have a nice supper waiting for you.

Hey.

You know what I've been thinkin' about, Claire?

Come here.

I've been thinkin' about them mountains.

See, about this time of day, sun hits 'em,

and they look like they're made out of gold.

Hey, maybe they are, huh? Just a couple of miles away,

waitin' for somebody to come along and dig it all up.

Huh?

I heard talk today that there's some ranchers looking for experienced help.

Oh, Claire. Now, I told you, you know. I quit with ranchin'.

Ten hard years.

All I got was enough ground to bury my wife in.

Besides, I got me a job.

You can do a whole lot better than cleaning up a saloon, Bayo.

Yeah, well,

it'll do till somethin' else comes along.

If you got some decent work, you could send for that boy of yours...

like you've always been talking about.

Well, I'm goin' to, Claire.

Just takes time. You know, I got plans.

I'm gonna learn me a trade, or maybe I'll get a business.

Then I could take care of Hoot the way I want to.

Bayo, a boy needs to be with his father.

And he's goin' to be, Claire.

It just takes time.

You know, till I get on my feet again.

Until then, well...

Look, I left him with a very good family.

They've always treated him like he's one of their own.

Hey, I'll bet you he's havin' the time of his life right now.

And I wouldn't wanna spoil that for anything.

I'll bet you...

he's as happy...

as a bear cub in a pot of honey.

Who is it? Who's there?

Boy, come back! Do you hear me?

Won't do you no good to run, boy!

I'll catch ya! I'll drag ya back!

Do ya hear me? Come back!

Won't do you no good to run, boy!

Hello. Liz. What are you doing here?

I came to see how you were doing with that mountain lion.

Well, there's no sign of him yet, but we're ready for him.

What makes you think he's gonna come back here?

This is where he made his last kill.

He's probably sittin' up there right now eyein' that calf.

We'll wait here till he comes down to get it.

Yeah, which I hope is before breakfast,

seein' as how I missed... dinner and supper already.

Well, you must be pretty hungry.

You could say that.

You could say "starved" and be closer to it.

In that case, follow me.

Oh.

Behold!

That wouldn't be a food basket now, would it?

Real honest-to-goodness food? It's only leftovers.

Leftovers?

Leftover ham, leftover baked beans, leftover fried chicken.

Leftover sweet potato pie.

Here. Why don't you let me give you a hand? I'll tell you one thing.

There won't be any leftover leftovers when we get through with it.

I'm hungry enough to eat a horse, saddle and all.

What's the matter? Something seems to be missin'.

- What? - The food.

Surely you're joking.

What happened to the chicken?

You sure it was cooked? Maybe it just flew away.

Hold it.

Hey! Hey!

Well, what kind of critter is that?

- He's coming your way, Jim! - Where?

Hey, kid! Hold on. Hold on, son.

Hold it. What the... Ow!

Hey, will you just... Ow!

Ow! Hey... All right. If that's the way you want it.

Wait here for that lion while I take care of

this bobcat. Kid, what's the matter with you?

Can't you just tell us your name, son,

or where you came from?

Wait until after he's eaten. Then he'll tell us.

Seems to me he could do both.

I bet you haven't had a hot meal inside of you for days.

Why don't you try it?

That milk is just as sweet as honey. Nice and cool too.

I have a nice surprise for you after you eat.

Come on.

You'll see it's mighty good.

Ho! No, you don't. Now, come on.

Sit down.

Hey!

There he is! Oh!

Whoa!

What this young fella needs is a good spankin'.

Not while I'm around here, Clay Grainger.

Now, you all get out of here! No wonder the poor boy wants to run away...

With two grown men standing over him, asking him questions.

I thought you had a mountain lion to catch.

For a while there, I thought I already caught him.

And I'm sure that you have work to do around here on the ranch.

Yes. I have something to do.

But I'm not gonna be very far away.

Thank you, honey. I'll get him some more milk.

Yes.

Oh.

Guess you've been through a lot in your short life.

I can see that.

But nobody's gonna hurt you here.

Nobody.

Now, try this.

Put this in your hand.

Well? As near as I can find out,

nobody's heard anything in town about a missing boy.

From the looks of his clothes, he came from a lot farther than Medicine Bow...

or anywhere else near here. He still hasn't said anything, huh?

Not even his name.

He looks at ya as if he's listening, but he won't answer.

He must have his reasons. Well, I wish I knew what they were.

Maybe we could find out who he belongs to.

Did you talk to the sheriff? Yes.

He's gonna look into it and let us know if he finds out anything.

Then I guess that's the best we can do.

Hmm. I'd better get back to work.

- What are you so pleased about? - I'm thinking about the boy.

Clay, I wanna buy him some new clothes.

The ones he's wearing now look like they're about ready to fall off.

He'll have to have shoes.

Now... Now, wait a minute. Some good ones.

It's only a matter of time before his folks come lookin' for him.

Only a day or two at the most.

Probably just wandered off and got lost and is afraid to admit it.

His people must be out looking for him right now.

Well, I hope they are.

But he still needs new clothes.

And the way it looks, his people can't have much money.

Oh, let me buy them for him, Clay.

All right. Get him whatever you want.

Only just be careful.

Be careful of what?

Getting too attached.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that, uh...

Yeah, that's, uh... That's the one, all right.

Yeah. He had, uh, red hair, and about so tall.

When did ya see him? Well, it was the day before yesterday.

I had just come out of the back room, and there he was lookin' at them sandwiches...

down at the end of the bar.

Before I could stop him, he grabbed one and run out.

I know. I should've figured he was from your place.

Did you see where he went? The way he was runnin',

he might be clean into Wyoming by now.

I guess this is, uh, one boy you lost.

I'll get him back.

You're right, Henry. That boy's a troublemaker.

Run off on me twice before. But I'm willin' to bet he never runs off again.

Uh, I hear they, uh... They don't allow...

a place like yours in Wyoming.

Could be you'll have some trouble bringing him back.

I've got papers from this state sayin' the boy belongs to me.

One way or another, I'll bring him back.

Do you always sleep with your shoes on?

Still, they're your feet.

I suppose you can do what you want.

Tomorrow,

we're gonna take you into town and buy you some new clothes.

Would you like that?

And then after that,

Trampas is gonna show you all around the ranch.

Did you ever see them break a wild horse?

Or lead a thousand cattle out to pasture?

There are so many that you can't possibly see the ground.

And down in the barn,

we have a mare that's ready to foal.

At any time now,

there'll be a brand-new animal on this earth.

You can watch that little colt stand for the first time...

and see how funny it looks when it's taking its first steps.

You'll think it's going to fall down.

But pretty soon, it'll start sniffing the wind.

And then, it'll be running beside its mother.

You could even give it its name.

Would you like that?

Would you like to do these things?

Then you will.

I have to have something to call you.

What do your folks call you?

Are they dead? Is that it?

My ma.

I'm sorry. And your pa?

Where's he?

Well, what does he call you?

Hoot.

Hoot. Hoot?

You mean like the owl?

It's nice meeting you, Hoot.

We're going to be good friends.

Don't you worry, son. It's not gonna hurt a bit.

You have my personal word for it.

Oh. Don't make it too hot, Clay.

I don't know how to heat up a tub of bathwater.

I've been doing it for you for so long, I thought you might have forgot.

Ah! Just right.

Well, have at her.

Well, aren't you going to get undressed?

Can't take a bath with your clothes on, you know.

Although, maybe those clothes you've got on there could stand a scrubbin'.

Oh. Well, I can't say as I blame him.

Truth is, when I was your age, I wouldn't take a bath either.

You know,

my folks had to chase me all over the ranch.

Sometimes, my dad had to rope me,

and he wouldn't take the rope off until I was in the tub.

There's just something about bathwater and boys that don't mix.

Anyway, I couldn't see what good it did me when it wrinkled me all up like that.

But maybe they were right.

Anyway, after the first plunge, it wasn't so bad.

What is it?

What is it you're afraid of?

Is it because we're here?

Would you take a bath if we left you alone?

All right.

And here's a nice warm towel, and there's the soap.

And you just take your own time.

Oh, no. That boy's afraid of a lot more than a little water.

You can see it in his eyes.

And you haven't been able to find out anything more about him, huh?

Only that his mother's dead and that his father calls him Hoot. Hoot what?

He won't say. Hmm. You want me to have a talk with him?

Well, it can't hurt.

I've tried everything I can think of.

I've talked to him like a son, man-to-man, like a friend.

Tried making deals. Even resorted to trickery.

He just... seems to sense that I'm gonna ask him...

about his father or where he came from,

and... he shuts up tight.

Maybe you will have better luck.

Well, it's worth a try.

Hmm. Funny thing.

He kind of grows on ya.

Those eyes...

They look like they've seen all of the unhappiness in the world.

Maybe they have.

I just wish I knew what he was afraid of.

Hmm.

Oh, my heavens.

Clay?

Clay?

- What is it? - Come up here.

His back.

Oh, no.

Who would do a thing like that?

Up kind of late, aren't ya?

I couldn't sleep either. Stopped by to see if that, uh, mare had had her foal yet.

Guess it won't be long now.

Wanna come inside with me for a while?

Kind of cold this time of night. Come on.

Sorry I don't have any milk to offer you.

Plenty of this stuff, though, if you don't mind drinkin' mud.

Want some?

Nothin' better than a good cup of coffee on a cold night.

Go ahead and drink up. Be careful now. It's hot.

That's a boy.

I guess you're tougher than I thought.

Suppose you'd have to be, though, runnin' away from home like you did.

Not that I blame you, seein' as how you were beaten and whipped.

Uh, Mrs. Grainger saw the scars on your back when she went to cover you up.

Guess I'd run away from home, too, if my pa beat me like that.

My pa never beat me!

He was the best pa in the whole world. You better take that back!

All right, Hoot. I'm sorry. Come on. Sit down.

He used to take me fishin',

and he taught me how to ride a horse and to do lots of things.

- Where is he now? - He had to go away.

Hmm. Where to?

I don't know. But he'll be back, and we'll be together always.

Who's been taking care of you, Hoot?

Are they the folks who beat you?

If you tell me, maybe I can do something about it.

And if I can't, maybe the sheriff can. He knows we found you.

Once he hears you've been beaten, he'll wanna know who did it.

Who was it, Hoot? Come on. Tell me.

The Sillses. They beat me.

And I ain't never goin' back. I won't.

It's gonna be all right, Hoot.

You just tell me about these Sillses.

Everything's gonna be all right.

He said his pa left him with some neighbors of theirs named the Sillses.

They live up near Greely, Colorado.

His pa promised to send for the boy later, but he never did.

How could he leave his son with people like that?

Well, maybe he didn't know what they were like.

All the more reason not to leave him.

Well, I'm gonna ride on out there and find out what they have to say about this.

And you can tell 'em for me, if they want that boy back,

they'd better start treating him like a human being.

I don't care if his father left him there or not.

They so much as threaten to beat him again, and they're going to have to answer to me.

We have laws against that kind of thing. And you tell 'em...

that we intend to keep an eye on Hoot.

- You tell them that. - I'll make it clear.

How could anyone beat a helpless child like that?

I'm sorry now that we found out where he came from.

Well, we did.

Clay?

What if we didn't give him back?

A father has a right to leave his boy with whoever he wants.

But what if he didn't know that his son was gonna be beaten?

That doesn't make any difference. He left him with the Sillses.

Maybe we can get 'em to change their way towards

Hoot, but we can't refuse to give him back.

But what will I tell him? It doesn't seem right.

Well, it's the law.

And I warned you about getting too attached.

"Too attached"?

What do you know about it?

What do you know about what a woman feels toward a child?

I started getting attached the minute I saw him.

I was already too attached when I held him in my arms and saw that he needed my love.

Men! You think you know everything!

And maybe you do... about steers!

Get up there!

No. We never did get that old mountain lion.

He just stopped comin' around.

Good. Well, what's good about that?

I like mountain lions.

Well, I wasn't thinkin' of it just like that,

but I guess I kind of like 'em too.

Can I ask you somethin' straight-out personal?

- Sure. - Where'd you get a name like Hoot?

My pa gave it to me. He said that I asked so many questions...

that someday I'll be smarter than a hoot owl.

Well, I guess he knew what he was talkin' about.

My pa knew just about everything in the whole world.

He even knew stories about a giant.

Only, he wasn't a bad giant. He was a good giant...

who used to keep kids from bein' scared of the dark.

He sure helped me. I'm hardly scared of anything.

Boy, I sure wish I'd had a giant like that when I was little.

What was this good giant's name? Pa called him Bayo.

"Bayo"? Oh, that's a funny name for a giant. But I like that.

Wanna hear a story?

I sure would.

Well, one day...

long, long, long ago, when I was just a kid,

- there was this giant. - Hoot?

Come see what we've got.

There he is.

What do you think of him? Is he sick?

No. He's just a baby. What are you going to name him?

Hmm? Hoot?

What'll you call him?

Bayo?

Bayo.

Bayo.

What?

Well, I was just telling my friend here that there's lots better ways...

- to makin' money than workin' a ranch. - Whoo! That's the truth.

Can you name one?

Well, there's, uh, finding gold.

Yeah! Yeah, yeah, that's the thing.

I bet you Bayo and me could go up there in them Medicine Bow mountains...

right now and find all the gold we wanted.

- Now, what do you say, Bayo? - Maybe we could.

Well, I know we could! Sure we could, Bayo. Come here.

Look. Where do you think would be the best place to look?

You given it any thought, Bayo? Well...

Stony Ridge. That'd be the best.

Oh, you really think so?

- Stony Ridge, huh? - Yeah, yeah.

You know, I was just thinkin' the other day.

When the sun gets on those mountains,

they look like they're made out of gold.

Why don't we just get ourselves a stake and go get us some?

Aw! Oh, now, come on. Let's have a drink to our new partnership.

Come on, Bayo. Sit down there, Bayo.

Oh, you earned your drink, Bayo. You really earned your drink.

Who's there? Mrs. Sills?

Who is it? I want to talk to you.

Go away! There's nothin' to steal here. Just go away and leave us alone!

I'm sorry, ma'am.

I've come a long way. All I want is some answers.

- About what? - A boy named Hoot.

Just stand still, mister. Don't you move.

Jonah Sills? Maybe.

Who are you? What do you want?

He says he wants to know about Hoot.

Hoot? Well... Well, what about him?

I'd like to see who I'm talking to.

You run outside and play, Sarah Lee.

Would you like some coffee? No, thanks.

From the looks of your horse out there, you rode a ways.

Wyoming. Medicine Bow.

Medicine Bow? That's... Katie.

You saying you rode all that way just to ask about the boy?

Why? I think you know why.

You say it.

By the looks of his back after he ran away.

Hoot run away?

Reckon you got the wrong place, mister.

Hoot ain't lived with us for almost two years.

- That's not his story. - Well, then I guess he was lyin'.

T'ain't like Hoot to lie. He was a good boy.

He spoke of his pa.

The Callahans were neighbors of ours.

Luke Callahan just fell apart when Hoot's ma died.

Couldn't work his spread anymore, hardly wanted to live.

Only the one boy... Hoot.

Asked Katie and me to look after him.

Said he was goin' off to find a job someplace...

and he'd send for the boy as soon as he could.

He never did. Nearly a year went by.

We got some letters from different places...

Not saying much,

asking after the boy but not for him.

And then the letters stopped comin'.

See, Hoot used to run away, looking for his pa.

And then Jonah'd have to go fetch him back again.

I didn't have the time for it. Took me from my work.

Katie had a baby on the way, and...

Well, you see how it was. I got a family to look after.

Hardly enough for the table as it is.

It didn't look like Hoot's pa was gonna send for him, so I...

Well, I just had to give him away.

- Where? Where did you give him? - The orphanage over at Clearwater.

It's a real nice place.

Some woman come to pick him up.

She seemed nice enough. Said they'd take good care of him.

Did you ever hear any more from Luke Callahan?

Well, we got this letter a few months ago.

Guess he figured the boy was still with us.

Full of the same old promises.

- Did he say where he was? - No.

But the letter was postmarked Medicine Bow.

Can you point me to the sheriff's office? Point you...

You're almost looking at it, mister. It's right up there. Thank you.

You're welcome.

♪♪

Trampas? Huh?

Which shirt do you think I should I buy?

Mmm, whichever one you want.

Well, that's not much of an answer.

Well, you're the one who's supposed to buy his clothes, remember?

Well, it wouldn't hurt to offer an opinion.

All right. Uh, let's see.

Mmm! If I were just gonna work around the ranch, uh... this one.

But on the other hand, if I was goin' to a Sunday dance...

or courtin' that little girl down the street, here's the one I...

Well, you wanted my opinion.

Don't you want to help Hoot?

Well, sure. It's just that...

Well, I don't think he's telling us the truth. That's all.

About what?

The Sillses. Why didn't he tell us about them to begin with?

Because he was afraid we'd send him back.

Where was he heading when we found him?

Just as far away from the Sillses as he could get. And I don't blame him.

Maybe. I just...

Well, I think he's hiding something, and he's afraid to tell us.

All right, Trampas. Maybe he's an outlaw on the run.

Maybe you should check with the sheriff and

see if he's wanted for holding up a stagecoach.

And don't laugh at me!

If you would just take some time getting to know him instead of being so suspicious.

All right. If it'll make you any happier,

buy him both shirts. I'll buy the pretty one.

But buying him a shirt is not getting to know him.

All right. I'll take him fishing.

When?

Well, the first chance I get.

- Do you promise? - I promise.

Here. These should fit him.

Oh, uh, I gotta go to the bank. I'll see you in a little bit.

Seems like everyone in town's away... the sheriff, the clerk.

Well, he's in back.

That's a fine pair of shoes.

Must be for a little brother, eh?

You're a bit young to have a boy that size.

Well, whatever his reason, the boy still lied to us.

Well, his scars weren't lies. He probably got them at the orphanage.

They don't usually beat their children, at least not with whips.

Maybe in this one they did. Well, then why bring the Sillses into it?

Maybe he was hoping they'd come and take him back.

They seemed like good people.

This Luke Callahan... you ever hear of him in Medicine Bow?

No. He might've just been passing through though.

I thought I'd go in later and ask around.

And I'll have a talk with Hoot when he gets back, try to get to the bottom of this.

Where is he? Holly took him into town.

She wanted Doc to have a look at his back.

Isn't that pretty well healed up by now? Well, you know how Holly is.

Now that I think of it, somebody was asking about a lost boy.

Only it seems to me like they found one.

Did you see who? Well, let's see.

That's right. It was the foreman out at Shiloh.

Said this small boy come wanderin' onto their land.

Is he still there?

Far as I know, 'less they found who he belonged to.

This Shiloh now... How far away is it?

- It's a couple hours' ride south of here. - Ahh.

Thank you. Uh, you headin' out there now?

As soon as the blacksmith has my horse ready.

Well, just stay on the main road. You can't miss it.

Hey, Bayo, you ever gonna get this place swamped?

Well, I'm workin' on it right now, Bart.

Well, don't forget the boardwalk, will ya?

I won't.

Is that the kind you want?

Might as well take a handful then.

Don't go far. We'll be leaving soon. All right.

You oughta be a little more careful, son.

- Sorry, mister. - Hoot! Come along, Hoot!

Can't you talk to him later, Clay?

Well, the sooner we all learn the truth, the better.

If that boy ran away from an orphanage, we've gotta make plans to send him back.

But will a few hours make that much difference?

If you had seen how excited he was about going fishing with Trampas...

If you'd seen his face... Well, you can't take that away from him.

He's had too many disappointments already. Well, all right, Holly.

But just as soon as he gets back, we're gonna talk... just the two of us.

You got him!

Oop! Yep, yeah, yeah!

Uh! Yep, yep! Here we go! Oh!

Aw, I sure thought I had him that time.

He wouldn't have got away from my pa.

Huh, I don't know about that.

The way that fish has been stealing my bait,

I wouldn't be surprised if he's got hands.

- How do you know it's the same one? - Recognize his laugh.

My pa could've caught him.

Guess he could've at that. Hmm.

I'll put another worm on here.

How do you like Shiloh so far, Hoot?

It must be the biggest ranch in the whole world.

Well, it's big, but I don't know about the whole world.

When I grow up, I'm gonna have a ranch just like it...

with a million head of cattle, and mustangs and everything.

Well, I sure hope so.

- Trampas? - Yeah?

If I had a ranch, would you be my foreman?

Oh, I... I don't know, Hoot. I got a pretty good job right here.

I'm gonna need someone who knows as much about ranchin' as my pa.

Only he'll be too old by then, so he'll have

to take care of the books like Mr. Grainger.

Well, I'd... I'd like to be your foreman, Hoot.

I'd like that very much.

You know, Hoot, I'm gonna try my luck around the bend here.

Oops.

Dad gum, these trees get in your way, don't they?

Trampas! Trampas, my line's caught!

You gave me a good chase this time, boy.

I'm gonna see to it you don't run off again.

It'll do you no good to fight.

- Let go of him. - This is none of your business.

I think it is.

I've got legal papers on that boy!

You'll get yourself in trouble protecting him.

You're on Shiloh land. You got something to say, you say it to Mr. Grainger.

All right.

But when I leave Shiloh land, that boy'll be going with me.

And you'll not be able to do a thing about it.

We were told Hoot was placed in an orphanage.

He was, but they couldn't handle him.

He kept running off, getting into trouble.

What kind of trouble?

- Ooh, stealin' food. - He had to eat.

A child steals food. A grown man... money to buy food.

It's all stealing.

The court found Hoot incorrigible, placed him under my custody.

This, uh, "home" of yours... what kind of place is it?

Oh, like it says there.

I take boys a bit too wild for their own good and make men out of them.

You mean you teach 'em to behave?

Ah, that's part of it.

Even if you have to use a whip.

We saw Hoot's back.

My boys... are like wild animals.

Some of them take to kindness, others you have to beat.

Now, Hoot is a real troublemaker.

Tell me, does the court know about these training methods of yours?

The court knows it has no more trouble with my boys, and that's good enough for them.

- Well, it's not good enough for me. - What do you mean?

I'm not turning Hoot over to you.

That is a court order! From another state.

It's legal anyplace I hunt him down!

Maybe so, but you're not taking that boy out of this house.

Is that clear, Mr. McPherson?

The sheriff might say different.

You're not the first ones tried to help that boy, but I always get him back.

I will this time too.

Hoot isn't an orphan, Clay.

He doesn't belong in a home. He has a father.

Not if we can't find him, Holly. He doesn't have anyone.

But maybe it wasn't him, Bayo. Three years is a long time.

She called him Hoot.

'Sides, I oughta know my own son.

Then go to him.

Look at me, Claire!

That boy used to look up to me.

He thought his papa knew everything,

could do everything better than anybody else.

Now look what I've become. Hmm!

Someone the whole town laughs at, makes a fool of.

Aw, I can't let him see me like this!

You can change, Bayo.

Yeah, and I'm going to.

Only it just takes time!

I got plans.

Soon as I get on my feet, I'm gonna send for him.

What are you gonna do until then, Bayo?

You gonna stay drunk so that you can forget he's around?

You gonna lock yourself into this room so you don't run into him again?

Is that how you're gonna get back on your feet?

It just takes time, Claire.

Oh, I've got these plans, but...

It takes time.

Well, it looks legal enough. It's legal.

Now I want you to ride out there and pick up that boy for me.

I've wasted enough time here. Yeah, I guess you have.

Hey, what are you doing? Just what it looks like.

I am going to wash up.

Well, when are you going out there? Just as soon as I'm ready.

That can wait!

Now you listen to me, McPherson!

I've been riding all night looking for an outlaw I never did find.

I've missed three meals, and I've been caught in a windstorm.

And right now I am going to shave. I'm going to get me something hot to eat,

something cold to drink, and I may even take a nap!

- This is signed by a district judge! - Then have him go get the boy!

When will you be ready?

About an hour. I'll be back.

Don't bother. I'm going out there alone.

Sheriff, if you let that boy get away, I'll...

You'll what, McPherson?

I'm sure you won't.

Hello. Good morning, Claire. Maybe you can help me.

- You're not looking for a room, are you? - No, no.

I'm looking for a man named Callahan... Luke Callahan.

I think he was in Medicine Bow about three months ago.

He must have stayed somewhere. I've tried the hotel and the other boardinghouses.

- No, he didn't stay here. - Are you sure? His boy's out at Shiloh.

I said he didn't stay here.

I don't know any Luke Callahan. I've never heard of him.

Thanks, Claire. Sorry I bothered you.

It's all right.

Claire?

Thanks.

And if I refuse to give him to you?

Oh, you know better than that, Clay. It's the law.

Well, I don't believe in a law that allows a grown man to beat a defenseless child!

I know how you feel, but McPherson's got a court order.

There's nothing I can do about it.

You can give us a little more time to try and find the boy's father.

My foreman's out looking for him right now. What good will that do?

Hoot was sent to an orphanage, and he wasn't

an orphan. To a home for wayward boys.

Well, if that boy's wayward, I'm a Missouri mule!

There must be some law that says a father has a right to his own son!

If he wants him, which does not seem to be the case.

Well, he will when he sees him.

Besides, I've never heard of a Luke Callahan around Medicine Bow.

You've got to give us a little more time, Mark.

This boy's whole life may depend on it.

What do I tell McPherson?

Well, tell him the boy's too sick to travel.

Tell him he ran away. Tell him anything, but don't let him take him back.

He may never come out the same.

It is getting kind of late in the day.

They couldn't go very far at night.

I'll be back in the morning, Clay.

If you haven't found Callahan by then,

the boy goes back with McPherson.

I've got no choice.

Is this how you're going to pull yourself together, Bayo?

Is this all you're gonna do for the rest of your life?

I'm all right. I'll be fine by tomorrow.

This is tomorrow.

Look at yourself, Bayo.

Just look at yourself!

It's such a waste of a man.

I wanted to help, Bayo.

It seems I can't.

Wait!

I know where you can find Luke Callahan.

- Where? - At my place, upstairs.

Nobody in town knows him.

Not as Luke Callahan, but they know him.

All the ladies turn the other way at the sight of him.

The boys laugh at him, and men poke fun at him.

He's the town drunk. Goes by the name of Bayo.

Bayo. If you still want to talk to him,

you're going to have to shake him up a little bit to make him understand you.

Get him on his feet, please.

Get him to stand up and walk.

Dear God, make him walk like a man.

Bayo! Callahan!

Luke Callahan! Yeah? Mm-hmm.

Now can you hear me?

Sit up and listen to me. I'm all right.

Now, look. I don't want you to pass out again while I'm talking to you.

I'm not that drunk. I wish I was.

There's a bottle around here somewhere.

Never mind about the bottle. Just listen to me.

Your boy Hoot's out at Shiloh Ranch.

He's out there,

and there's nothing he wants more in this world than to see his father.

Not like this.

I'll give you time to shave and clean up. Then I'm taking you to the boy.

Now you wait a minute, mister. You're not gonna take me anywhere.

Why don't you just leave me alone, huh? Go on about your business and let me be.

What's the matter, Luke? You afraid of the boy?

Afraid of my own son?

That's 'bout the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

I always loved my boy, and he always loved me.

The only thing is,

I just need a li-little time to straighten up a bit...

before I go to see him, you know?

You know, the truth is,

I didn't want him to know I was working in a saloon.

So, I'll go see him... tomorrow or the next day.

I fell on hard times, mister.

That's why I had to leave Hoot in the first place,

'cause I couldn't take care of him the way I wanted to.

He seemed real fine when I saw him with that Grainger woman.

Hmm! He got so big.

You know what he said to me?

"I'm sorry, mister." Yeah.

I don't know how he got to the Shiloh,

but he sure seemed happy enough.

That's all I want... For him to be happy.

Bayo! Boy ran away from a place little better than a jail.

He was beaten. Came to Shiloh by accident.

If you don't come and get him,

he's gonna have to go back to the same place and more beatings.

That's just not so! I left him with the Sillses, a fine family.

He kept on running away from 'em, trying to find you.

I would've sent for him.

But, well,

you see the way things are with me now.

Well, what am I gonna do with him?

How am I gonna take care of him, give him all the things that he needs...

Schoolin' and... the right bringin' up?

No.

When I get on my feet again, though, things are gonna be different.

You tell him that, huh?

As soon as I get on my feet.

Yeah, I'm gonna send for him.

And that is a promise.

Bayo?

Bayo! Bayo!

Oh!

Oh, Bayo.

You just couldn't be helped...

no way.

No way.

There's not much I can add to what you've already said, Reverend.

There was one part that struck me as particularly appropriate.

You said Luke Callahan was one of God's children.

He returned to his father.

Not many of us here knew the real Luke Callahan.

We only knew him through his son.

To that boy, Luke was a giant named Bayo.

A good giant... the best ever.

Let's all try to share that memory of Luke Callahan.

It's probably a lot closer to the truth than we'll ever know.

Hoot. Hoot?

We'll wait for you down by the buggy.

Why'd you have to die, Pa?

You said you'd send for me.

You promised.

Hoot?

My name is Claire... Claire Martin.

I was a friend of your father's.

- He told me all about you. - Why didn't he send for me?

We were gonna be together always.

Yes.

Yes, that's... That's all he talked about.

Why, he could hardly wait till you were together again.

He was going to send for you.

Then why didn't he?

Well, because...

Because he was waiting for the right time when

he could take care of you the way he wanted.

Your father was a fine man.

He loved you very much.

Don't you ever forget that.

The trouble with him was he...

He lost track of time.

You think I like turning the boy over to McPherson?

There must be something we can do.

We... We can't just let that man take him back to that awful place.

If his father was still alive, it'd be different.

I'd tell him to take the boy and tell McPherson to go to court if he wanted to.

- But now... - But now he's an orphan, plain and simple.

When he needs help the most, McPherson has a legal right to him.

I'd just like to know how the law got all turned around in this case...

to protect the guilty and condemn the innocent.

Well, honey, it's not Mark's fault. Oh, I know, I know.

The thing about the law is, it was written by men.

Some men know how to use it to take advantage of others.

Well, this man has to be stopped.

Uncle Clay? Hoot took old Charlie out for a ride.

I guess he just wanted to be alone.

What about it?

Well, I don't know. It's just that he's been gone so long.

I told him to meet me at the corral, but he hasn't come back yet.

If something's happened, I'll never forgive myself.

Well, maybe he just rode out too far.

- Where's McPherson? - I left him back in town.

But he could've followed me out here. He doesn't trust me any more than I like him.

Oh, Clay.

Your runnin' days are over, boy.

You're coming back to stay for a long time.

And I'll be watchin' ya every minute of every day.

Sometimes my dad had to rope me.

He wouldn't take the rope off till I was in the tub.

There's just something about...

boys and bathwater that don't mix.

Anyway, I couldn't see what good it did me when it left me all wrinkled.

And you will be able to watch that little colt stand for the first time...

and see how funny it looks taking its first steps.

You'll think it's going to fall.

But the first thing you know, it'll sniff the wind,

and then it'll be running alongside of its mother.

You could even give it its name.

What are you going to name it?

What'll you call him?

Bayo?

Bayo.

Gettin' close to the border now, boy. You'll be home soon.

I'm hardly scared of anything.

Well, I wish I'd had a giant like that around when I was little.

What was this good giant's name? Pa called him Bayo.

"Bayo"? Oh, that's a funny name for a giant. But I like that.

How do you like Shiloh so far, Hoot?

It must be the biggest ranch in the whole world.

Well, it's big, but I don't know about the whole world.

When I grow up, I'm gonna have a ranch just like it...

with a million head of cattle, and mustangs and everything.

Well, I sure hope so.

Trampas? Yeah?

If I had a ranch, would you be my foreman?

Likely miss your supper.

It won't be the first time, eh?

Or the last.

- What is this? What do you want? - We can start with the boy.

Tell him, Sheriff! That boy's been placed in my custody!

You take him, and I'll take you into court!

Well, that's another thing we want.

That way, the judge can see how you treat those boys of yours.

Maybe you can explain what you do with the money you get from the state,

instead of buying food and decent clothes.

Yes, I think the judge could take a good, hard look at that place of yours.

N-Now wait! I-If the boy means so much to you, Mr. Grainger,

there's no use causin' ourselves a lot of trouble, now, is there?

- I... You see what I mean? - No, you don't see what he means.

If you don't take Mr. Grainger to court, he'll take you.

And I'm taking you with me now, McPherson. You

can wait for your court appearance in my jail.

Jail? What for? You can't arrest me!

- You've got no charge! - That horse Hoot's ridin'...

Sure looks like a Shiloh brand to me. What do

you say, Jim? Well, yeah, it sure enough does.

Yeah, that's a Shiloh horse. McPherson here was

just about to take it right across the border.

Oh! That's bad. That's real bad.

What about horse stealing, McPherson? That charge suit you?

I only took the boy! He was on the horse!

You got to listen to me, Sheriff! Listen to me!

Aw, come on, McPherson. Let's go.

Come on, Hoot.

Claire! Come on in. Thank you, Elizabeth.

Are your aunt and uncle at home? Yes, they're in the study.

And McPherson?

They're gonna close up that home of his and place the boys with good families.

Huh. What about Hoot? What good family is he going to be placed with?

The Sillses were good enough, but they couldn't help him in the least.

Miss Martin. Come in.

I couldn't help overhearing. I can help him.

Well, won't you sit down?

Please... Please give me that chance. I know how much he means to you.

But he means even more to me.

I tried to help his father, and I failed.

I'm not blaming myself, and I'm not here out of self-pity or guilt.

I loved Luke Callahan.

He made a promise to the boy.

I'd like to keep it for him.

But Hoot needs so much care.

I can give him that.

He'd have a room of his own. I'd make a home for him.

Mmm, the boy needs a man...

I-I've talked to the sheriff about that,

and he said he'd help in that direction.

So Hoot would always have someone to talk over special problems with.

Well, it'll be up to the court to make the final decision.

And if they do turn him over to you, they'll

be watching to see you do a good job.

Anyway, there'll be some of us pretty happy he's not too far away.

He could come out here whenever he wants.

But, you see, in town with me,

he-he'd go to school the way Bayo wanted.

And he can grow up to be the man that his father wanted him to be.

Well, I guess it's up to Hoot.

How about it, young fella?

Do you want to make your home in town with your father's friend?

Hoot?