Original subtitles

Well, there's one thing about the long gun,

Tears up what it hits.

Kinda discourages the other fella's trigger finger

When he's dyin'.

Holliver! Holliver, we got something workin' for us.

North fork's deserted, the marshal an' most o' the town

People are over in twin creek at some kind o' centennial.

Well, I don't know as I like that, playin' to empty seats,

As the sayin' goes.

Look, never mind about the empty seat.

With most of the townfolk over a day's ride away from us,

The timing's perfect for us!

Well, I kinda dispute that any time is perfect

For killin' a man, deecie.

We'll ride in like always, take it slow an' easy.

Pick our man, watch 'im do a bit o' sweatin' tonight.

Could you forget about the sweatin' for once, huh?

An' let's just play it safe!

Look, you want your kicks,

Get it in the saloon when this thing's over.

Well, you might call it a vice, deecie,

Watchin' a man sweat,

But then again you might say I'm doin' a good turn,

Lettin' a man live the night out after seein' john holliver,

After knowin' the time has come for him to meet his creator.

So let's go kill us a man, do it real nice,

So the folks of north fork will remember us.

Well, got it done already?

Well, I've been gettin' a lot o' help from jeffrey these days.

Before breakfast he had it broken down,

Barrel reamed an' a new spring cut.

That's fine, henry, you're teachin' your boy a good trade.

Well, you know, lucas, a man likes to try

An' pass things on to his son.

What's wrong?

Holliver.

Holliver? John holliver?

That's him, with one of his men.

Town kind o' grew a mite.

Seems more like a graveyard than a town.

Oh, now, that's just a state of mind, deecie.

To a man who's conscience lets him sleep on an easy pillow,

It's a nice, quiet, peaceful town.

I've never seen 'im before,

Heard about 'im though, havin' his share of gunfights.

You can't call 'em gunfights, lucas, they're executions.

Holliver is an executioner, so many dollars a head.

He made us wait, five years...

But he meant it when he said he'd be back.

Made you wait for what?

That must be the rest of his men.

Somebody in north fork is sure gonna die, lucas.

Henry, what happened five years ago?

Hey-

What's the matter, eddie?

Nothin', lucas, nothing.

Nothin'? You look like you got trouble.

Yeah, well...Holliver comin' back here means only one thing.

He'll be leavin' us with somebody to bury.

What happened five years ago, eddie?

Henry waller was too upset to go into it.

Well, holliver came to town alone,

Killed a 19-year-old boy.

Picked a fight with 'im an' then made it seem

Like the boy had pulled his gun on 'im.

No, it was murder, lucas, pure murder.

What happened then?

Well, we...Couldn't officially charge holliver with anythin',

So we ran 'im out of town on a rail.

I don't know how we ever got up the nerve,

Unless it was because there were so many of us,

An'...Holliver was alone,

But we must've been loco that night.

Knowin' holliver to be a professional killer an'-

Why did he wait five years if he'd been wantin' to get even?

That's what I don't understand.

I don't know, lucas, I just don't know.

Well, eddie, you know, until he proves himself more than

Just a peaceful traveler, there's nothin' much I can do.

I just can't sit waitin', not when the time's so right.

Deecie, I'm thinkin' you're livin' only 50 percent

Of your life.

That hurry up way o' yours

Takin' half the spice out o' your wakin' moments.

We're takin' too many chances lately,

It's getting' to be like a game with you.

If you take life serious, deecie,

You're sure to come out losin', be unhappy at the best.

Lucas, who's holliver really after?

He doesn't have to be after anybody, nils.

Those two just aren't standin' out there.

We're havin' a meetin' in my livery stable in 20 minutes.

Everybody's stickin' together on this.

No harm in that, good idea, in fact.

That is if holliver is really here with his eye on someone.

Lucas, will you back us?

That's my job, until micah gets back.

Thanks.

Don't sand too hard, mark.

You know, you can always take the wood down more,

But you can't put on what you take off by accident.

I am being careful, jeffrey.

Henry, I-

Uh, maybe you better run along now, jeffrey,

An' get supper for you an' mark.

All right, pa.

Your mother left everythin' fixed,

Just cut up the meat an' heat the gravy.

I know what to do.

See you in the mornin', pa.

Get a good night's sleep, son.

Eddie told me what happened five years ago.

Now, maybe holliver is just passin' through

Town an'...Isn't lookin' for anymore trouble than you are.

No, no. No, holliver would never come back to north fork

Unless he intended to get even.

What got into me that night?

I knew he was an evil man, a killer.

Why didn't I mind my own business?

Henry, you can't blame-

Nils talked me into joinin' that night,

He had no right to take advantage of me.

I'm a sick man, I was sick then, it wasn't fair!

Holliver was lookin' right at me that night,

When they were tyin' 'im to the rail.

He'd remember me.

Might even think I was the ringleader.

But they knew I wasn't well, they knew it!

If they wanted to be so brave an' ride a killer out of town

On the rail, why didn't they go ahead an' do it?

Instead of involvin' a sick man.

Henry, pull yourself together.

Henry: What makes a man a coward, lucas?

Oh, nobody can call you a coward for being afraid

Of a man like holliver.

It isn't only holliver, I've always been afraid...

From the time that I remember considering myself a man.

a man...

I make a mockery of the word.

There isn't a person in north fork

Who hasn't the greatest respect for their gunsmith, that's you!

I said I was a coward, lucas, I am.

Nobody can blame a sick man for-

A sick man!

You know these pills that I'm always taking,

That doctor burrage gives me?

Sugar pills.

Well, I don't understand.

Well, doctor burrage understands.

Henry, I'll have a talk with holliver,

Maybe find out what's on his mind, all right?

yes, yes, you do that. He's over in the saloon.

An' if he came here for me,

You tell him that there are others

In town who had more to do with what happened that night

Than I did!

You tell him that eddie and nils and tom barrett

Were more to blame!

Oh, I'm so sorry, lucas.

Meet me over at the livery stable with the other men.

I'll...Be there when I'm finished talking with holliver.

And, henry... Calm yourself down, huh?

Mr. Holliver, my name is mccain, lucas mccain.

Deecie. Sit.

Thank you.

Deputy marshal of this peaceful hamlet, I hear.

Until our regular marshal gets back, yes.

Some folks are wondering about your business in town.

I'm back to collect something, mr. Mccain.

Town owes me, come back to collect.

Exactly what do you intend to collect?

Well, you might call it self-respect.

As marshal here, I don't figure you'd have any objections

To a man standing up for his self-respect.

Depends on your meaning.

An affair of honor, sir.

I'm here to ask satisfaction from the town of north fork.

A town is made up of people, mr. Holliver.

True. So is an old man who wants his name

To go on solid to the grave.

I'm asking that a representative of this town

Meet me in the street at sun up.

You know very well none of the men who chased you

From this town is capable of facing a gunfighter.

Rode me from town, mr. Mccain. Rode, not chased.

Kinda like that record straight.

I'm curious, holliver,

Why did you wait five years to come back here?

I knew some of the folks would be worried

I'd be coming back, mr. Mccain.

Didn't see no point of having them stop worrying.

Holliver, you're a man with a twisted way of thinking,

So I'm not mincing any words. My advice to you is to forget this,

Because if you don't,

I'll be on that street when you walk out at sun up.

Well, now, I wasn't figurin' on facing no marshal, mr. Mccain.

But if you see it fitting for you to take the town's part,

I guess I'll just have to go along.

My boys will be there to see I get a fair shake.

There'll be other men behind me on the street, too.

Better think twice before carrying this

Any further, holliver.

mr. Mccain, sun up.

Well, it's all set, lucas.

We've agreed we'll stand behind the one holliver goes for.

Well, holliver and I just had a few hot words.

He's expecting me to meet him in the street tomorrow,

To represent the town to...Recoup his so called honor.

You, lucas?

Um-huh.

But you were never involved!

Luke, you mean holliver didn't remember any one of us?

There's no one man he had his mind set on?

If he had, I imagine he would have said so.

It was...Dark, that night.

I'll bet holliver never had a good look at any one of us.

Yeah, we've sure been doing a lot of worryin' for nothing.

There's still worryin' to do, eddie,

Just how we're gonna handle holliver and his men tomorrow.

But we've got...Four guns against his four,

I don't think holliver figured on a group of folks

Standing up against him.

Is something wrong?

You said you had words with him, lucas,

Well, I kinda see it like a personal thing between holliver

And the marshal now, not against town folks.

I thought you told me you were gonna stick together

No matter who holliver came here for?

If he came after one of us, lucas, yes, but...

You an' holliver having words!

Well, uh, maybe you should have honeytalked him and avoided

We ain't gunhands, lucas.

We were just sticking together for our...Own protection.

Yeah, eddie's right, luke.

Fighting ain't our job.

Are you trying to tell me you are leaving me to face holliver

And his men alone tomorrow morning?

They can't be blamed, lucas, fighting isn't their business.

Neither is it mine, henry.

But you are the marshal while micah's gone.

It isn't that I wouldn't help you if I could, lucas,

But, well, I'm a sick man, I-

I often wonder what's in a man's mind his last night.

Holliver, I couldn't care less.

But this business of warning a man,

And then watching him sweat,

It's really gonna cost you some day.

That's done for a purpose, deecie.

When a man sweats the night through,

He just isn't the same laddie in the morning.

I'd say by morning mr. Mccain's gonna be mighty fidgety.

Yes, sir, mighty fidgety.

I thought you an' jeffrey were getting ready for bed about now?

Pa, jeffrey an' me heard about what happened and I-

You must despise me, lucas.

Lucas, if I could help, if I really could help, I would help.

I want you to believe that.

Don't you think it would be better

If you stop talking about it?

It's a pretty difficult thing to...Justify cowardice.

You were right, lucas, absolutely right.

Pa, what I wanted to say before is that, I mean...

I know I'm still a boy,

But maybe I'm old enough to use a gun now.

You're not old enough, mark.

But, pa-

I said you're not old enough to handle a gun!

Now get jeffrey an' go on out to the waller house.

And don't come back to town till I send for you, you understand?

Yes, sir.

Mark!

Come here, son. Come here.

Some day you'll be standing alongside me,

The two of us together, both of us men.

But right now you've got something coming first,

A growing up time.

Growing up time?

Hmm.

You see, son, a man either has a time to look back on,

Or he doesn't have it.

It's a, well, it's an awfully nice time.

When you see an old man dozing in the sun, and he looks

Like he's smiling, well, he's...

Thinking back on his growing up time.

Thinking back and living it all over again.

Mark, I want you to have that time.

I want you to be a boy while you are a boy,

I don't want you doing man things.

It's really very important.

And then when you are a lot older,

An' you begin thinking back instead of ahead,

Well, you'll know what I mean.

Goodnight, son.

Goodnight, pa.

Jeffrey: Can you sleep, mark?

No.

I can't either.

I guess we'll have to stay here till it's over.

Well, my pa wouldn't like it if...

If I were if I were to show up in town.

Well, you know, we can... Hear the gunshots from here, though.

I guess so.

Mark, it ain't like my pa's afraid,

Well, he handles a gun real good.

So it ain't like he's afraid. He's-

I didn't say anything like that.

I didn't say nothing like that, jeffrey.

It's just, well, he's so sick.

I mean if my pa was better, he would help your pa tomorrow,

An' not leave him out there alone!

Well, I'm- I'm sorry, mark, I'm real sorry.

It does me good, mccain, to see north fork boasting

A one soul with a little bit of backbone.

Kinda strengthens my faith in my fellow man.

You may be calling this turn, holliver, but make no mistake,

You're calling whether you live or die.

Well, I guess either way, the town will be rememberin' me.

That's kinda important to me, mr. Mccain.

Looks like the sheep have grown horns.

Well, I expect we might as well call the whole thing off.

Nice sound, "waller and son".

It makes me feel kinda proud, pa.

No more proud than me, son.

"waller and son". Gee, pa, that makes them partners.

That's right.

and that gives me an idea!

Well, why don't we put a sign like that on our barn?

You think we need a sign, partner?