Original subtitles

Hyah! Hyah!

HARDIE: This is John Leslie Nagel,

and I've heard him called the worst killer the West ever knew.

There were 34 notches on his gun,

one for every year of his life.

He'll be remembered in the history books for that, if for nothing else.

But Les Nagel left another kind of mark behind him too,

and I think it ought to be remembered to kind of balance the scales,

if anything can.

I won't pretend that I understood Les Nagel

any more than I could understand a lot of other men who lived and died with a gun.

But I know do know this,

he had a code of his own

and he remained true to it.

I'm Jim Hardie. I work for Wells Fargo.

The bigger trouble comes, the harder my job gets.

And the Manning brothers were big trouble.

They'd staged a series of robberies along the Wells Fargo lines,

striking here and then there.

The last time was three days ago in Cochise Flats.

They had it all figured out.

They'd pull so many raids, and then hightail it for Mexico.

That was where their luck ran out.

I happened to be a day's ride closer to the border than they were.

All I had to do was stop them.

Stand up. Slowly.

I stopped to help you.

You will.

Now, turn around slow.

I don't wanna kill you if I can help it.

Why don't you quit acting like a fool?

I told you, I stopped to help you.

Help me? With $25,000 on my head,

dead or alive, you're gonna help me?

Twenty-five thousand?

Forget it.

It's not for you or anybody else. Not yet.

Put the canteen on the ground and step back.

Come on.

Why didn't you try? You might have been lucky.

Against John Nagel? No, thank you.

You know me now?

There are only two men in the country worth that kind of money.

Jesse James and John Leslie Nagel.

I know Jesse.

So, you know me. Return the favor.

Should I know you?

I'm Jim Hardie. I work for Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo?

I never held up a stagecoach or robbed a bank in my life.

Or is bounty hunting a sideline with you?

I told you why I stopped. There's no other reason.

Well, it doesn't make any difference.

Sometimes a man does what he has to whether he likes it or not.

I'm taking your horse, Hardie.

If you live till sundown, you got a chance to make it

to Ghost Wells afoot by morning.

I'm sorry, Hardie. I got no other choice.

I got to make it to Ghost Wells today. It's my only chance.

I'm worth too much money dead.

They won't let me rest, so I gotta keep on going any way I can...

or I'm a dead man. You see how it is?

When the chips are down, you're no different from any killer I've ever known, Nagel.

Even a legend can't hide all the truth about a man, Hardie.

You're right, I am a killer.

I have to be.

Now, take it easy.

You came back.

Yeah, which proves I'm a fool.

That horse of yours will carry double.

We'll have a chance to settle this later.

What made you come back?

Who knows what makes a man a fool?

Can you get to your feet?

I can make it. You'd better.

HARDIE: How do you explain a man like Les Nagel?

He came back for me because he couldn't leave a man to die in the desert.

And yet I knew if it came to gun-play,

he'd put a bullet through my head without an instant's hesitation.

Ghost Wells.

Half day's ride puts a man in Mexico.

You'll have to come back sometime, Nagel.

Only when I'm ready to die.

Get off, Hardie.

How many people in this town, Dad?

Well, uh, counting the permanent residents,

them that's buried back of the trading post, there's fourteen.

Of course, if you're only interested in the live ones,

there's me and the schoolmarm,

and the dozen or so children of the reservation that she teaches.

And there's always two or three Indians around.

But they're having a big pow-wow up in the hills,

and I ain't seen them for two or three days.

What's the school teacher's name?

Miss Ellie. It's Ellen Painter. Why?

Been any strangers riding through here last day or so?

Nope. You two are the only ones in the last week or so.

You know, we used to get a lot of travelers through here.

They tell me they got good roads west of here now,

and most everybody goes that way.

This old town will dry up one of these days

and just blow away.

Nobody'd care much, I guess.

School teacher here now?

Hitched up early this morning. Left in her buggy.

Went out to the reservation to visit a sick young'un.

Should be back pretty soon now, though.

You know her, mister?

You got any guns around here?

You fellow looking for trouble?

Just keep right on riding.

I asked you a question, Dad.

You'd better answer him. He's John Leslie Nagel.

Les Nagel?

Well, I got an old buffalo gun behind the bar,

and an old six-shooter laying around here some place.

Get 'em. Yes, sir.

♪ My country, 'tis of thee ♪

♪ Sweet land of liberty ♪

♪ Of thee I sing ♪

♪ Land where my fathers died ♪

All right, Hardie.

Now where in tarnation did I put that six-shooter?

I remember using that last week to drive a nail.

Put it back on the shelf, Dad, and find that pistol.

In the meantime, rustle up some food for us and get us something to drink.

Yes, sir.

Hardie.

I told you I wasn't after you, Nagel.

Maybe so, maybe not, but I'm taking no chances.

You said you had Wells Fargo business,

you can take care of it after I'm gone from here.

I'll need a gun.

Oh, you'll have one.

I won't ride out without giving you your chance, Hardie.

Chance?

Chance for what?

I told you, as far as I'm concerned, we're quits, Nagel.

You can pick up a horse here in town,

you don't need mine. You got two guns of your own.

I don't understand you, Hardie.

You're a lawman of sorts, but...

I almost believe you.

No, I'm no lawman.

I've got a job to do and you're not a part of it.

What if I were?

Well, then I'd try to take you in.

I might get killed or I might kill you.

You might be the man that could do it.

That's why you'll get no gun till I ride out of here.

Anyway, you won't have long to wait, Hardie.

How long? Not long.

Why wait at all? Road's open south.

It'll stay that way,

at least long enough.

Long enough for what?

You expecting to meet somebody here?

Same as you, Hardie?

Wouldn't it be funny if we were waiting for the same man?

Would it? Oh, I think so.

One of us could get disappointed that way.

Well, it wouldn't be me, Hardie. You remember that.

How about that food, old man?

I'll fix it. Here's your beer.

One of you come and tote it over.

I think I'll let Wells Fargo deliver the beer.

Go ahead, Hardie. Pick it up.

That'd give you a perfect opportunity, wouldn't it?

Why didn't you reach for it?

It was a temptation, all right.

It's not the time though. Still got a job to do.

I could force you to it. But you won't,

as long as I don't have a gun.

Maybe you'd like your own better.

All right, Hardie. Stand up and take your choice.

I told you, Nagel, we were quits.

I didn't.

Now, I'll give you three.

One... Don't move!

I'm not afraid to shoot.

Jeanie, be careful!

Luck's with you, Hardie.

For your sake, I hope it holds.

All right, you win, Miss.

Who's she? Jeanie's Miss Ellie's helper.

Kinda takes over while she's away, like today.

DAD: Hardie!

You've got more nerve than good sense, old man.

I could have put that bullet right through your head.

Now you settle down and bring us some food.

Yes, sir.

HARDIE: From where I sat, it looked like all the odds were in Les Nagel's favor.

I had to beat those odds and I had to beat them before the Manning brothers showed up.

There wouldn't be any talk with them.

I had to have a gun in my hand when I faced them.

Doesn't matter how fast a man rides or how far,

he never leaves anything behind him.

I think that depends on the man.

Yeah, I thought so too once, a long time ago.

Not anymore.

Doesn't matter how much a man wants to change or how hard he tries.

Oh, I think it does.

You believe that, don't you?

Life's a crooked game, Hardie.

The cards are all stacked against us, nobody wins.

Maybe you expect to get too much out of life.

You think I expected too much?

I don't know.

You don't think there's any chance for a man like me, do you?

You think it's too late for me to call it quits and get a fresh start.

I know a lot of men that have tried.

You think there's a bounty hunter waiting for me to turn my back?

That depends on you.

All I know is that you can't get what you want out of life

at the point of a gun. Well, I can try.

The same way you've tried before? It won't work.

Well, it has to work, Hardie. That's the only chance I got.

You could start by putting your guns away.

Sure, with $25,000 on my head

for the first man with nerve enough to shoot me in the back.

That's a powerful lot of money.

Now, don't get ambitious, Dad.

Me? Now that's a good one.

I still don't understand you, Hardie. What are your stakes in this game?

HARDIE: I told you before you're not a part of it.

NAGEL: What are you doing here?

It's no secret. The Mannings are riding this way.

I guess it's their luck I met up with you first.

NAGEL: Looks like I'll have company on my ride south.

They're not your kind. Are you, Hardie?

I could be.

You want me to side with a lawman?

I've told you before I'm no lawman.

You can pick up a horse, leave me my gun, be on your way.

That would be all that there is to it.

I can't do that. Why not?

There's gonna be a posse following the Mannings.

It'll be too late then.

How long, Hardie? I don't know.

I figure somewhere near 3 o'clock.

Dad, how long is that school teacher been gone?

Oh, Miss Ellie, uh, she hitched up her buggy

about 9 o'clock this morning and drove out of here.

Should be back any time now.

Just so you know, Hardie,

with all the cards in the table.

That school teacher is my wife.

That's why I have to wait.

This might be my last chance to see her, to talk to her.

Look out!

Are you gonna leave another dead man behind, Nagel?

I told you before, we don't look at things the same way, Hardie.

I think we do.

You listen to me, old man.

You so much as look at me cross-eyed again, and I'll put a bullet through you.

That'd be Miss Ellie now.

Why did you warn me, Hardie?

Maybe it was a mistake.

I thought it might be.

I told you I'm no bounty hunter,

and I don't like anyone who is.

All right, you saved my life.

That buys you nothing from me.

I didn't expect it to.

Just so you know.

Come on with me.

Old man, you stay quiet.

Fix up that arm.

Yes, sir.

♪ My Bonnie lies over the ocean ♪

♪ My Bonnie lies over the sea ♪

All right, you first, Hardie.

♪ O, bring back my Bonnie to me ♪

♪ Bring back ♪

♪ Bring back ♪

♪ O, bring back my Bonnie to me ♪

♪ To me ♪

♪ Bring back ♪

♪ Bring back ♪

♪ O, bring back my Bonnie to me ♪

That's all for today, children.

She's blind.

Ellen.

Why did you come back here?

I tried to find you, you know that.

I never wanted to see you again.

I learned where you were almost too late.

It was always too late for you and me.

Oh, it's not true, Ellen.

Look I'm going away...

You mean running away?

Is it another man you've killed, Johnny?

Please, Ellen, all I ask is a chance to talk to you.

Haven't you done enough?

Our baby was killed in my arms from a bullet meant for you.

Have you forgotten, Johnny?

Everything ended for us then.

The past is dead, Ellen. It can't be forgotten,

but you can't let it destroy what we've got left.

You did that...

the day you strapped on a pair of guns.

Every time I've seen your name in the papers,

every time you've killed another man,

I've wished you were dead.

I've tried here in this school

to make up for what you're done,

by giving this children a chance

they would never otherwise have had.

I won't let you destroy

what little I have left to live for.

Ellen, please. I wanna help you.

Then go away!

I want to forget I ever knew you.

Let's go, Hardie.

Goodbye, Johnny.

It's 3 o'clock.

All right, Hardie. Your horse is outside.

There's still time for you to get away, so I'll give you a chance.

I'll wait here for the Mannings, ride south with them.

They'll never know you were here.

I can't do that.

What you gonna do, face the Mannings without a gun?

Looks like I've got no choice.

I just gave you one.

I don't understand you, Hardie.

Well, maybe I can help you.

A long time ago, I started out on a road that would have lead

right to where you're standing now with a bounty on my head.

I went from one gunfight and brawl to the other.

But along came Wells Fargo and changed all that.

They gave me a reason to work and to live for.

And if I had to fight, they gave me a reason to fight for.

Now, I've got a farm and...

and almost everything in life I ever wanted.

There's only one way I can hold that job,

that's by doing it.

I think you can understand that.

You mean, you still think we're alike?

Aren't we?

Well, some men have to fight back.

We're both like that.

Somebody's coming.

That's the Mannings, right on time.

Well, Hardie, I guess this is where we say goodbye.

There' still the job I came to do and I'll need my gun.

Oh, don't be a fool. You step out there, you're a dead man.

Don't try it, Hardie!

You're gonna have to shoot me in the back if you wanna try and stop me.

Hardie.

Thank you.

Tell me something, Hardie.

Would you really have gone out there?

I don't know.

I don't think so.

The odds are still two to one.

I can't help that.

Maybe I can.

It's Hardie! Throw down your guns.

Well,

this is the way it ends.

You're a stubborn man, Hardie, you're...

as stubborn as I am.

Don't try to talk now.

Hardie...

you've got to collect the bounty on me.

I can't do that.

No you... listen, you have... promise me...

HARDIE: I claimed the bounty, all right,

the largest ever paid for a wanted man in the West.

And it was spent the way Les Nagel made me promise it would be.

Maybe all bad, I don't know.

John Leslie Nagel was bad,

But I feel that a man isn't always properly judged by just the things he does...

You have to consider the things he left behind him too.