Original subtitles

Prisoner will stand.

Benjamin Justin,

you have been found guilty by a jury of your peers.

Thank you, gentlemen, for doing your civic duty.

I can't say that I agree with your decision.

But I suppose after listening

to the testimony of two eyewitnesses,

Mr. Brantley and his son Kyle,

you couldn't very well have come in

with any other verdict.

Unfortunately, the fact that the prisoner has always worked hard,

lived by the Good Book,

has a wife who happens to be in the family way,

doesn't mean a thing according to the laws of the state of Kansas.

Does the prisoner have anything to say in his own behalf

before I pass sentence?

Your Honor,

there's been a lot of talk about the trouble

between me and Mr. Brantley.

He wants my land for the water, and I won't sell it.

But I didn't steal those horses.

God knows it.

And so does Mr. Brantley.

Benjamin Justin,

the statute on horse stealing leaves me no other choice

than to order you taken to the state penitentiary at Rock Haven.

There to be imprisoned for the rest of your natural life.

Prisoner is remanded to the custody of the marshal

for transfer to the state penitentiary.

I bet my badge he's innocent, Kitty.

But I just can't prove it.

This court is adjourned.

Benjamin...

Ah, good morning, Marshal.

Sam. Looks like quite a night you had here.

We had a good one.

Well, Kitty,

is that a joke, or are you planning to run this place without customers?

First that Kyle Brantley last weekend,

and then those crazy bronc-busters last night.

Oh, I don't know, Matt.

I think I'm just gonna sell out and take up full-time nursing.

- How about some coffee? - Sounds good.

Uh, pretty good job you did on that little

Texas fellow there last night.

- He needed it. - Yeah.

I collected this for the breakage.

Marshal?

I understand you were out at my place again yesterday.

That's right.

I've told you before, I don't want you talking to my men

when they're working the stock.

Now, if there's anything you wanna know, you come to me, hear?

Took a little ride to Salina on the weekend, Garth.

Salina?

Yeah, that horse buyer that identified Justin?

He just sold out and moved to Colorado.

Well, those things do happen.

When I rode out to see Kyle yesterday, I got another little surprise.

My son told everything he knew in court.

There's nothing more to say.

Yeah, it's a good thing. It'd be a little hard to say

from that far away, wouldn't it?

What do you mean by that?

You put him on a stage two days ago

and got him out of town to keep his mouth shut.

I sent him east to study law.

- Where, in a saloon? - All right!

I admit he's had a few little scrapes in the past, but,

well, that's all behind him now.

About 2,000 miles behind.

Look Marshal, I don't know what you're thinking.

I'll tell you what I'm thinking.

Your boy sold your string of Thoroughbreds to pay off his gambling debts.

And you're trying to hang it on Ben Justin.

Why would I do a thing like that?

Because you hate Ben. You've wanted his land for ten years.

With him in prison, his wife will have to sell it.

Mm, not necessarily to me.

It'll be interesting to see who makes the highest bid.

Unless you have hard proof of all this, Marshal,

I suggest you hold your tongue.

There's a man sitting in the governor's chair in Topeka

that I count as a very good friend.

And I don't think he'd take very kindly to you slandering my son.

Brantley.

You know, there's a man sitting in a prison cell in Rock Haven.

He doesn't belong there.

Now, what's your friend gonna do about that?

Excuse me.

I wish I could.

- Where's Doc? - He's in the Long Branch.

Doc! Doc!

Doc, you've got to get out to the Justin farm quick.

- Why? - It's Mrs. Justin,

- she's about to have her kid. - What?

She's not even due yet, is she, Doc?

No, she isn't. I better get out there.

I'll get your buggy.

I'll meet you out there, Doc.

I can't, Doc.

I just can't.

Well, Elizabeth, you...

You just don't have much choice, do ya?

It'll be a lot easier if, uh,

if you can just kind of relax.

I want Ben here.

I want him here.

I know you do.

You just relax.

You've got a lot more important things to think about right now, for a while.

You've got a baby that's trying to get into the world.

What kind of a world is it?

Well... I wonder myself, sometimes.

But it's the best one we got right now.

I'm sorry to go on like this, Doc.

- Well... - I'm scared.

I understand.

But let me tell you something.

In a little while, you are going to be so busy

changing diapers and taking care of a squalling young one,

that you just won't have time for anything else.

And you're not gonna be alone anymore, either.

I think that's Kitty. I'll be right back.

- Miss Kitty. - Hello, Doc.

- Here, let me have these. - Oh, thank you.

- Did you bring a valise? - Yeah, it's out in the buggy.

- I'll get it. - Thank you.

How you feeling, Elizabeth?

Terrible.

- Oh. - Thank you for coming, Kitty.

Oh, I'm gonna stay here as long as you need me.

Oh, I hope it's a boy.

Ben sure wanted a boy.

Ben's gonna be happy whether it's a boy or a girl.

Ah!

Doc?

Doc.

Well... Ah!

I don't think the little dickens is gonna wait any longer.

Kitty, put some water on the stove and make sure it's boiling, will ya?

- Please. - All right.

Next time you won't give me any lip

when I tell you to shine my boots, boy.

There he is! Ha ha!

Lord Satan himself.

Strike him dead!

I'll take care of you later, you old coot.

Well, now that you've learned your lesson, boy,

I might just show you how Sunday-go-to-meeting nice I can be

when I want to.

The warden asked me to give you it this afternoon.

Plumb forgot. It's about your wife.

It's gonna cost you. The ring will do.

It just says your little woman had herself a youngin'.

Named for his daddy.

Jailbird Justin.

You seem to forget, boy:

you're gonna spend the rest of your natural life in here.

You'll never see your kid. Never.

Five years ago, he was all set to go free.

Got himself riled up.

Took a lick at me with a cell stool.

Parole board fixed him good.

Now the old coot's gonna die in here.

Same as you will, boy.

Rot away and die.

As sure as I'm your lord and master.

I'll get it.

- Well! - Kitty.

How's the new arrival?

Well, it's about time you got out here with the new baby.

The mother's been doing so well, she doesn't even need me anymore.

I was just heading on back to Dodge.

Ah.

That's a fine-looking boy.

Thank you, Marshal.

Marshal, I want to thank you for sending that telegram to Ben at the prison.

I just wrote him a long letter all about his son.

Elizabeth, I, uh,

well, I didn't come out just to see the baby, I...

I have some news.

Ben escaped from prison yesterday.

Escaped?

He attacked a guard.

The man is seriously hurt.

Why, he couldn't have.

I'm sorry, Elizabeth.

I don't believe it. Ben just couldn't do that.

Elizabeth, if a man gets desperate enough, he'll try anything.

You know, Elizabeth, I...

I never believed that he stole those horses.

But if he shows up around here, I'll have to arrest him,

bring him in to face the new charges.

But, Marshal, you said yourself

Ben never should have been put in prison in the first place.

I know.

But he was legally convicted. There was nothing I could do.

Kind of makes you wonder what's fair, doesn't it?

Marshal: Kitty, I'll see you as far as the crossing.

Ben!

Ben!

Oh...

Here, Ben.

You take him.

Go ahead, hold him. You won't hurt him.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

Oh, Ben.

Elizabeth.

Ben!

Ben...

Ben, Marshal Dillon was here.

I saw him leave.

- Elizabeth, I'm... - Shh.

You're gonna... You're here with me now.

That's all that matters.

But I can't stay long.

Maybe a day or two.

Oh, let's not talk about that now.

Right now,

all that matters is that you're home.

My man is home.

Now, you're supposed to be resting, not squeezing a man half to death.

You're a new mother.

Oh, and you're a new father.

And that calls for a celebration.

I'm gonna fix you a dinner fit for a king.

You're gonna rest.

I'll rest when I'm dead.

Oh!

Right now... I'm just so alive I could...

bust!

Man: That should interest you, Marshal.

Wanted for murder?

The guard died early yesterday morning.

Are you sure Ben Justin is the one who stabbed him?

Of course I'm sure.

The guard's body was found in Justin's cell.

The door was open, the prisoner had escaped.

Are there any witnesses?

No.

Marshal, I could convict even you on circumstantial evidence

as solid as that.

One other matter before I leave, Marshal.

What's that?

We understand

that your doubts about Justin stealing those horses

has caused... well, it's been a source of some embarrassment

to Garth Brantley.

Is that so?

In view of what Justin's got himself into now,

I think you'll agree your sympathies were misplaced.

You know as well as anyone else in this town that Ben is innocent.

There are at least twelve good people in this town who think he's guilty.

Oh, by the way, Marshal,

the attorney general would appreciate it if you did nothing further

to disturb Mr. Brantley.

I'm sure you understand.

And now if there are no further questions...

You said that there, uh, weren't any witnesses.

How can you be so sure that Ben killed that guard?

Who else?

No other prisoner so much as poked a toe outside his cell and...

I'm afraid no matter how hard you try to explain it away,

the man whose good character you and Marshal Dillon swear to

has turned out to be a cold-blooded killer.

And the attorney general wants him...

dead or alive.

Well, if you hadn't of made that last move,

I wouldn't have cleaned the whole board.

Ain't no such thing. It's just 'cause you're like old Doc.

You cheat all the time. It's a... Glory be.

Well, I wonder what Mrs. Justin is doing up and around so soon.

Whoa.

Miss Elizabeth.

Oh, hello, Festus. I think my horse went lame.

Oh?

Maybe he just got a rock in his foot.

Here, hold it up here, boy.

No, but his tendon's all swollt up.

I'll tell you something, these here old wheels

look mighty wobblty on here.

Of course they are.

Them old wheel boxes is wore plumb out.

Yeah, this thing's pulling just like an old sled.

It's a wonder you even got into town.

Oh, no. I... I need this wagon to get my supplies home.

Oh, what am I gonna do?

It's gonna take a while to get it fixed.

I'll tell you what I can do,

I can take you back out to the house in that old livery buckboard.

Oh, I surely would appreciate that.

Festus, I'll meet you at the livery. Here.

Yes'm.

Elizabeth.

What are you doing out so soon? Where's the baby?

Uh... Oh, he's with Mrs. Johnson.

Um, Kitty,

didn't I just see Mr. Cragin with the marshal?

Yeah.

Has it anything to do with Ben?

Kitty, if there's something wrong, please... please tell me.

Well, you're gonna find out sooner or later.

The guard died.

Ben's been charged with murder.

Oh... Oh, no!

Oh, Kitty!

I don't believe it.

Elizabeth.

I don't want you to tell me anything,

but if there's some way you can get a message to Ben,

he'd better get out of the state of Kansas as soon as he can.

Whoa!

Here, Miss Elizabeth, I'll help you in...

Oh, no! It's all right. I'll manage.

But I'd sure be glad to.

Oh, no. I can handle it.

I surely do appreciate you bringing me home.

Yes, ma'am.

All right, giddup.

- Thank you. - Yes, ma'am.

Ben... that guard died.

You got to get out of Kansas now.

What do you mean, he died? He couldn't have.

He did, Ben.

Now, they're looking for you hard. You've got to go.

And the baby and I are going with you.

Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, I got to go alone.

You're not strong enough yet.

If I make it, I'll send for you.

Ben!

How did all this happen?

And why to us?

We never did anything bad to anybody.

It's all gonna work out somehow.

Oh, how?

I don't know.

But it will.

I best be going now.

No.

Elizabeth, you got friends here.

You got to stay. They'll help you all they can.

Friends are friends.

You're my husband.

Maybe if it was just you and me.

But there's the baby now.

Now, he's more important than the both of us.

The most important thing is that we're all together.

I got a feeling that if we don't go with you now

I'm never gonna see you again.

Whoa!

It's some kind of peddler.

J. Luther Gross at your service, ma'am.

- Please, mister... - Pins, needles, nails,

- buttons, bows and bustians. - Mister, I said...

You name it, J. Luther has it. Including that magic miracle elixir,

Oil of South American Anaconda.

- Well, I just don't need any. - Cures not only aches and pains

of the bones and muscles,

but also gout, gallstones,

rheumatism, dyspepsia, women's humors,

and hundreds of other miseries.

- Please, mister... - Or simply steam it over boiling water

and you've got yourself the most powerful vapor

since the breath of the Almighty blew out of Jordan.

Please...

Cures croup, hack, twitch, wheeze, whistling snores, and...

Please, I've got to go now.

Oh, forgive my enthusiasm, ma'am.

Never let it be said J. Luther was pushy.

The customer's always right in my book.

- I just can't afford any of that... - No matter, ma'am, no matter.

J. Luther never leaves the hospitality of a lovely lady

without a small token of appreciation

for a gracious welcome.

Now, this is just a sample, only a few drops.

But there are folks, once they try it, call it the milk of human kindness.

I am on my merry way.

And may the good Lord bless and keep you, kind lady,

till we meet again.

All right, Louie,

if you got it into your head that I was a-sleeping on the job...

I didn't say anything, Festus.

But I know what you're thinking.

You know,

the onliest thing I was doing was resting my eyeballs.

I always do that when I get to thinking hard on something.

Don't you see?

Mmm.

That there's a...

Have a sit, Louie.

Take yourself a wing there.

Obliged.

Mmm!

Coffee, please.

Oh. Of course.

Well, that there's that blamed patent medicine drummer again.

Be right back, Louie.

He's back!

That Justin, that killer, is back.

Right smack dab up in that cabin

with that woman.

And I seen him, I seen them both!

And he don't even know I've seen him.

- Ha! - Oh, I don't think...

Marshal, he's back. He's back. He's back.

Why don't you just simmer down before you fall over now?

- What's going on? - Oh, this here blabberty mouth idjit

claims he seen Ben Justin out at his own place.

I get the money, don't I?

Are you sure it was Justin?

Spittin' image!

And I'm the first, ain't I? You can't deny that.

I'm the very first to put in an up-and-up, honest-to-God

legal claim to those 500 beautiful dollars.

That's right, you're the first. I'm going out there.

You want me to go with you, Matthew?

No, stay here and take care of him.

Ha ha ha!

I'm gonna have it framed.

Five hundred...

Why don't you just go call up some place with that snake of yours?

Barely started to fix it yet, it looks like.

He won't do us any good.

What will we do?

We're just gonna have to take another horse and wagon.

Oh!

We'll leave ours for trade.

I don't like to do it, but we got no choice.

Well, I just hope that... You hope what?

Oh, nothing.

I'm just thinking about Ben and Elizabeth.

It's your move, Burke. Go on, get to moving.

Well, what about them?

Nothing.

It's your move.

Look, Festus, I know what you're thinking.

But Ben Justin escaped from prison,

he killed a guard,

and now he's got to stand trial for it.

Burke, I just wish that you'd quit your blabbering

and start to thinking about the game.

That's what I wish.

The law's the law, Festus.

But he wasn't guilty of stealing them horses,

don't you see?

Well, he... wasn't proven innocent, either.

Well, I might have expected something

from a numb-noggin like you, Burke.

You ain't got to get proved innocent,

you got to get proved guilty.

Don't you know that?

Marshal?

Marshal not here yet?

Come slipping up on a body like that,

and you're just liable to get yourself a face full of coffee grounds.

Hey!

What you doing there?

Hyah! Hyah!

Well, I just hope he didn't run into no trouble.

That's got to be a desperate man, that Justin.

Why don't you just get on out of here and hush up?

I got work to do, and a-plenty of it.

He... He stole... He stole one of my buggies.

He let out of town heading south.

Who are you talking about, Eli?

This here's my job, Burke.

Now, what in the tarnation are you blabbering about?

You know, that fellow.

The one on the poster... Justin!

- Justin? But I thought he... - Burke, hush.

You got to get him, Deputy.

And you shut your tater trap, too.

Now... Here, Eli, you just sit down now,

and sit there because you're just about to have yourself a fit.

I am losing my $500.

What about the horse and buggy?

My boss will skin me alive when he finds out.

All right, wait a minute!

Wait a minute, now, all of you.

Just let me cull all these here things out my own self.

I can't just haul off and go a-doing something with...

Without thinking about it for a little while,

don't you see?

Festus, you've got to go after him.

Well, golly-bill, Burke,

you can't go out a-tracking somebody when it's dark.

They went straight south out of town.

There ain't no other way they could go.

All right, all right.

I'll start to tracking them, but I'm gonna tell you this,

it's gonna be mighty slow tracking until it gets to be sunup.

- It's your duty. - I said all right, didn't I?

Now...

Burke, I'll tell you what I want you to do.

When Matthew gets back,

I want you to tell him that I've went out after them.

You hear me?

All right, Festus.

You remember... I'm the one give you the information.

And this fellow has got no claim!

Got no claim whatsoever. You remember that now.

I'm the one brought you the information!

Don't you forget!

What is it, Corbin?

Corbin, you sent for me?

I... I got him.

I got him!

"Got him"? What are you talking about?

Finally, I paid him back.

Jabbed that knife clean to the bone.

Corbin... Are you talking about Hargis?

Festus?

Marshal?

This just came in on the telegraph.

Can you imagine that old man in his cell

confessing on his deathbed?

Ben Justin didn't kill that guard after all.

- Where's Festus? - Well, he went after Ben Justin.

While you were out at their place,

they came into town and stole a horse and buggy from the stable.

How long ago?

A few hours. They were headed south.

And they don't know about this.

He won't nurse, Ben.

Probably off his feed from all that bouncing around.

I guess you're right.

We don't want to hold you up now.

You take as long as you need.

Oh... if only he'd nurse.

Ben, he's gonna be okay.

Yeah, of course he is.

We can make it, Elizabeth.

I'm glad you came with me.

When I was in prison, I faced what it would be like

to spend the rest of my life without you.

It's a feeling I never want to have again.

I wasn't there long.

But that was for certain long enough to learn some things.

Amazing, the things we take for granted.

Plain, ordinary things we never even see half the time.

Wood walls instead of stone.

Glass instead of bars.

Trees.

You know there wasn't even one tree in that place?

Before I went to prison, I think maybe I even took you for granted.

Oh... You never looked past me, Ben.

Never.

I'm never gonna leave you.

And I'm never going back to that prison.

We're gonna have a new life.

It's Festus.

No!

Ben, he's our friend!

You stay here.

No matter what happens, I'll be back for you.

Ben!

Throw your gun down, Ben.

Go on, drop your rifle, Ben.

Now.

I'm gonna have to take you back, Ben.

You're gonna have to kill me to do it, Festus.

And nobody is putting me behind bars again, you hear?

You killed a guard, Ben.

A fellow name of Hargis.

I never killed nobody.

They're saying that you stuck a knife in him when you escaped.

Stabbed him? I knocked him cold and ran, that's all.

They found him with a knife stuck in his back.

Died the next day.

I didn't do it, Festus, I swear.

Well, you're just gonna have to go back and face it, Ben.

Of course, you know Matthew and me,

we'll do all we can to clear you,

if what you're saying's true.

It's a true as I never stole those horses.

I'll shoot!

I mean it, Festus.

I mean it.

Now, you drop your gun.

This here ain't the way, Elizabeth.

It's the only way I know.

If he goes back there,

there's nobody gonna be able to help him,

not you, and not even the marshal.

We're sure gonna try to help him.

You tried before, and all he got is life in prison.

Now this time they're gonna hang him.

You been good to us.

I'd sure hate to do it.

But he's not gonna go back there, not even if I have to shoot you.

Elizabeth!

I mean it, Ben!

Now, I want you to ride out of here alone.

No.

Not without you and the baby.

Without us you might stand a chance.

I said, no.

Ben, I want you to be free.

Elizabeth, go to him.

Give me the gun.

This is probably the first time she ever broke the law in her life.

I can't say I blame her for trying to help you.

No, you can't and I can't.

But that prosecutor sure will be able to.

I'm sure giving up a lot to give you this.

But I don't want it at the cost of my wife.

Ben, no!

Now you don't even stand a chance.

Elizabeth.

It wouldn't be any kind of life without you.

So it don't really matter.

Oh...

We're ready to go back with you now, Festus.

Well, they'll...

have them posters of you...

pasted all over Kansas by the time a week's out.

I sure don't think you got much of a chance, uh,

traveling with Elizabeth there, and the...

baby and all.

I'll tell you...

I'm fixing to go up to that there prison my own self

and talk to all them fellows I can

about that there guard.

One of these days, whenever...

Matthew will give me a day or two off.

So's that I can...

Oh!

Whoa.

Howdy, Matthew.

What happened, Festus?

Well, funny thing, Matthew,

I never could find that fellow that stole all them horses.

I kind of figured with the head-start they had, maybe you wouldn't.

Oh, yeah, they did have a whopping big head-start, all right.

I just don't believe we could ever catch up with them, Matthew.

Festus, I think you're right.

Let's head for town.

I found this slipped under the back door, Miss Kitty,

addressed to you.

Hmm.

Well.

Looks like Dodge City's got a new school house.

- What? - What is it?

It's a letter from Ben and Elizabeth,

signing over all the property rights to the people of Dodge City.

Well!

I'd sure like to see Garth Brantley's face when he hears about this.

I think I'll go over yonder and tell him my own self.

Well, I think this calls for a toast.

Yeah!

To the one that got away.

I sure wish I could drink to that.

Heh.

Sam.

Oh. Well, thanks, Miss Kitty.