Original subtitles

Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Here I come!

If that don't take the cake...

Chester, what's happened here?

Oh, everything, Mr. Dillon.

Are you hurt, Chester?

No, I ain't hurt, Doc.

The thing just happened so fast.

It just... whoosh!

Heavens, Chester, if you... if you'd wanted burnt eggs,

you can get 'em at Delmonico's.

I just had a couple.

Well, you had to pay for 'em, too, didn't you?

Oh, yes, I paid for 'em.

Then I could eat 'em.

Well, I don't think that you should make fun of somebody

just because they're trying to save a little money.

I ain't rich, you know, like a doctor.

You get burned, Chester?

Well, not so's that I have to go to a doctor for it.

Well, what happened to you? Where's all the coal oil?

Well, that... that was, uh...

For heaven's sake,

was you trying to fry eggs in coal oil?

I made a little bit of a mistake.

I-I admit that I made a little bit of a mistake.

Heavens, that-that seems like

it's kind of hard for some people to admit,

especially those that thinks that they know it all.

Well, maybe you better go and get some more coal oil, huh?

I ain't the first person

that put a wrong thing in a frying pan.

Well, probably the first person

that ever put coal oil in there and lived.

It could happen to anybody.

Maybe you better get a new frying pan

- while you're at it, too, huh? - Yeah.

They couldn't have set over their coffee

just a little bit longer this morning.

No, they had to come back and sniff at the smoke.

Just sniff at it like they never seen smoke before.

Course, they... they got to make all their mistakes

with their doors closed.

Just never make a mistake where nobody can see them at all.

Just makes me about half tired.

Well... looks like you didn't get

a very good start on the day yourself, does it, hmm?

Well, now, it ain't all that bad.

Maybe things are gonna pick up for both of us, huh?

- Hello. - Howdy.

What'd you say to Rainy?

I didn't say nothing to nobody.

I saw you.

You stopped and talked to Rainy.

Oh, you-you mean the horse.

Well, I just told him his day might pick up.

Rainy, is it?

That's how it was the day Daddy got him.

Oh.

I see.

It was rainy, huh?

Well, it's a good thing it wasn't hailing that day.

It's a nice-sized room.

Well, I know, Mrs. Damon, but it's a storeroom

and I need it for that... Every bit of it.

- Hello, Chester. - Uh, morning.

I was just helping myself here, Jonas.

Just mind a minute, now. Wait your turn.

Well, I thought, when you was busy with a customer there,

I could get it myself.

I can get the frying pan, too, for that matter.

Now, Mrs. Damon, I'd like to help you out,

but I just can't make room if there isn't any.

Well, I think I would be better off

with a place of my own, but...

Frying pan?

Yeah, a frying pan. And fill this.

Not now, Chester. I told you.

Mr. Jonas, I'm a very good dressmaker,

and I know that I... I could build up a good trade

if I could just get started here in Dodge City.

I suppose you thought about getting a house?

That way, you could work right at home and all.

Oh, now we're back to money again.

I... I just can't afford a house.

Here, put your hands in there.

Go on, put 'em in there.

Well, Chester, for heaven's sakes.

Oh, well, I was just passing the time of day here.

Just having a little fun.

Is that for whiskey?

Jessica.

No, that's for coal oil.

Daddy drank whiskey.

Jessica, we mustn't talk about that now, must we, hmm?

Daddy went away.

Jessica and I are alone now,

but we're going to make out fine, aren't we, honey?

Oh, Chester, this is Mrs. Lucy Damon.

This is Chester Goode, Mrs. Damon.

How do you do?

Mr. Goode. And this is my daughter Jessica.

We're already friends.

You bet we are.

Oh, Mrs. Damon wants to locate in Dodge, Chester.

- She wants to start a dressmaking trade. - Oh.

You wouldn't know of a vacant building, would you,

kind of a small-like, she could take over?

Small and cheap.

I've wracked my brain. I can't think of a thing.

Golly, everything I think of is already took.

Uh, course, a place for you and Jessica to stay

would be Ma Smalley's, don't you think, Jonas?

Oh, yes, yes, indeed.

It's neat, it's, uh, comfortable.

It's reasonable, too.

You wouldn't want to meet a nicer woman than Ma.

Well, it's very nice of you to think of that.

Well, it's right down the street.

Here, I'll... I'll, uh, show you.

Now, you just go to the end of Front Street here,

and it's right on your left.

There's a sign says "Ma Smalley's Boarding House"

just big as day.

I do thank you.

Mr. Jonas, if you do hear of anything, please let me know.

- Bye. - Bye.

- Good-bye. - Jessica.

I sure wouldn't want to be a widow woman with a little girl.

I'll tell you that, Chester.

Well, I don't think that that's likely, Jonas.

What I mean is I don't think

you should worry yourself about it at all.

It likely ain't gonna happen.

I was just sympathizing with them, Chester, that's all.

Well, I feel sorry for 'em, too.

You ought to see that horse.

Oh, you said a frying pan, didn't you?

Yeah. Yeah, I did.

I've said it now for a couple of times, Jonas.

What's the matter?

Oh, just seeing 'em set there that way,

make a body think you was gonna cook with coal oil.

Just put it on Mr. Dillon's bill.

If we don't get some rain pretty soon,

everything that can is just gonna dry up and blow away.

Hold it. Mr. Dillon, wait a minute.

What's the matter?

Well, come here. I never noticed this before.

Chester, I've got a telegram to send.

You know, this might do just fine.

Just fine for what?

I wonder if a body could get in here.

Now, wait a minute.

That's private property, Chester.

Well, it don't say so.

Boy, this place ain't been used in a while.

You sure enough can tell that.

Well, there's things that are gonna have to be done to it,

no question about that.

It's a good size, though.

Chester, you know this building belongs to the bank.

Well, if I decide on it,

well, I could straighten that out with Mr. Botkin.

There's a good light here. That's real important.

All right, you can poke around in here if you want to.

I'm going down to the telegraph office.

Hmm. Now, they could live

just right up here in this part real easy.

And then she could have

this whole part down here for her work.

I'd say that my sewing machine would go just about there.

After I fix that floor.

The important thing is it's empty.

Gives a fair amount of light there, don't it?

Well, yes.

Of course, if it rains...

Well, you'd want to get the roof patched, naturally.

You're funny.

Oh, I'm no such thing.

This must have been vacant for a long time.

Uh, Mr. Botkin said that a freighter was in here last.

Said it was mostly used for storage, you know, like that.

Oh, watch that hole there.

Could use that for our sleeping room.

Well, you know, that's just what I remarked when I seen it.

Can we move in here?

Well, that's your mama's say-so, Jessica.

Mr. Goode and I have some things to talk about, honey.

And you want me to go see how Rainy's doing.

It's a wonderful idea.

Sometimes I talk to Rainy more than anyone.

You certainly made a friend, Mr. Goode.

Oh, uh, listen, about that "Mr. Goode,"

I just hardly never answer to it.

If you can call me "Chester."

Oh. Well, I don't mind at all.

You know, there's a shed out back

that you could use for Rainy and your wagon.

You speak of Rainy like an old friend.

Well, Miss Jessica told me all about him.

Excuse me.

Jessica really doesn't take to strangers.

Can you believe that?

Well, maybe that's 'cause that I take to her so good.

You're being so very thoughtful, Chester,

I must be honest with you.

I'm a good seamstress.

I don't mean to sound prideful, but I sew very well.

That's very becoming to a lady.

I know I could make a good living for Jessica and me...

but I've not much money.

Well, none of us is... is rich, Mrs. Damon.

What I'm saying is I couldn't afford to hire this work done.

And I don't think I could manage it alone.

Oh, heavens, no. Mercy.

A man would be hard put to do it right.

Of course, now, Mr. Botkin did say

that if a body would make the improvements,

he'd count it against the rent.

Well, that's very generous, but...

Jessica and I were left with very little, Chester.

Jess... that was Mr. Damon...

I'm afraid he dreamed more than he worked,

and I'm afraid he drank more than he dreamed.

Oh. Well, that's a pity.

Oh, I shouldn't be saying all this.

Jess wouldn't set out to leave his family in want.

He was a delightful man, really. But not very practical.

Well, it's just that, you know,

places being hard to come by and all,

I... I know it ain't the best.

Oh, don't misunderstand.

I'm so grateful.

It's just that I don't see

how I could make this little bit of money do the job.

I can't thank you enough, though,

for your thought of us.

Mama, can I hear what you're saying now?

Yes, honey. I was just saying good-bye to Chester.

Well, you know, Mrs. Damon, it ain't all that much.

What I mean is, a person with a little time

could get this place fixed up right nice.

Aren't we going to move in?

No, honey, we're not.

No, now, now, just wait a minute.

There's no reason in the world

why I can't do it myself in my spare time.

Oh, no, no, I-I won't hear of that.

But that ain't that much, Mrs. Damon.

I'm telling you, all you need when you think about it

is just some lumber and a couple or three nails

and a few hunks of putty.

- Why... - It's just too much.

Let me tell you something.

Everybody needs a little help now and again.

Folks help me all the time.

I'm sure they do.

Well, I want to do it for you.

And if I want to, why, heavens, you ought not mind.

You shame me, Chester.

Well, now, I didn't mean to do that at all.

No, you're right.

If you're willing to, I surely ought to be.

Well, are we going to or not?

You bet your life we're going to.

Yay!

Hello, Chester.

Oh, Doc.

You looking for me, was you?

- No, no, I wasn't. - Well, you was up in my office.

Well, I was just up there to see if you was there.

I wasn't there, huh?

No. Say, you don't know where I could get some used lumber...?

- What do you got there? - Where?

- In your hand. - Oh, that's a hammer, Doc.

- That's a surgical hammer. - Surgical?

Did you take this out of my office?

Well, it was just laying up there in the chest.

I've never seen you use it before.

I think I'm gonna use it right now.

- Oh, Doc, don't get so excited. - Excited?

Well, yes, for heaven's sakes,

Jonas was good enough to give me some nails.

- Nails? - And with that hammer

and a little bit of lumb...

Hey, you don't have a level, do you?

No, and you haven't got a hammer, either.

Oh, well, if that's how you feel about it.

Do you know that a surgical hammer

is a delicate and expensive instrument?

And you don't pound nails with it!

Go take a pill.

Doc got purple just telling me about it.

Yeah, he told me he's gonna take Chester's advice

and prescribe his own pills.

I don't know, Matt.

I don't know whether I'm strong enough

to weather another one of Chester's romances.

Funny thing is, you know, he doesn't even mention it.

He just talks about hammers and nails

and putty and lumber, stuff like that.

He's just got a new approach, that's all.

Oh, well, a chance to ask him for ourselves here.

Hello, Chester.

Oh, Miss Kitty, Mr. Dillon.

Mighty professional- looking job there, Chester.

Well, thank you.

What's her name?

Who?

The lady you're working so hard for.

Oh, Mrs. Damon's her name.

Mrs. Damon?

Yeah, she's, uh... she's a widow lady.

Oh, a pretty widow lady.

That's something a little bit different for you, isn't it?

Well, I wouldn't say that she was pretty at all.

Well, for heaven's sakes, Miss Kitty,

Mrs.-Mrs. Damon is... is a growed woman.

She's got a nine-year-old daughter.

Wouldn't even cross my mind to...

Well, what did you say a thing like that for?

Well, because you're working so hard.

Well, she needs help is what she needs.

Her and that little girl, they just need all the help

that they can get.

Say, you know,

you-you... you could help yourself

if you had a mind to.

How's that?

Uh, have you got a minute?

Well, I guess so.

Would you come inside? I'd like for you to meet her.

You, too, Mr. Dillon, if you want to.

Oh, no, no, thanks, Chester.

I got to get back to the office.

See you later, Kitty.

You don't mind, do you, Miss Kitty?

No.

Uh, oh, Mrs. Damon?

I-I'd like for you to meet a friend of mine.

There you are.

I wasn't expecting company.

Mrs. Damon, this is Miss Kitty Russell.

She's a friend of mine.

- Hello, Miss Russell. - Hello, Mrs. Damon.

Miss Kitty, she's, uh, uh, in business, too, you know.

Oh, are you a seamstress?

Well, I've been known to take a tuck now and again.

I run a saloon.

Oh.

Well, Chester, it looks like, uh,

you've got a whole new career cut out for yourself.

Uh, what do you mean?

The building and all?

I mean the building and all.

Well, you ought to see what...

Can I show her what we did up there?

Oh, well, yes, of course.

We're just getting settled, uh,

but we think it'll be quite livable.

You ought to have seen it, Miss Kitty, before we started.

Oh, I'll tell you, it was just...

Well, it was just a mess, that's what it was.

It's really very nice, Mrs. Damon.

- Well, thanks to Chester. - Oh.

My little girl is staying with Ma Smalley

while I move us in.

Uh, now, here's a dress, you see...

Chester, this is just something I'm running up for myself.

Well, I know, but it gives you an idea

of how she can run things up.

Now, how's that, huh?

You do beautiful work.

Thank you.

Tell you the truth, Miss Kitty, I really think

that it's prettier than what you're wearing.

- Chester. - Well, I do.

Chester and I understand each other.

And I'm not so sure he isn't right.

Of course, I don't know whether it's gonna fit you or not.

I tell you, I got to get back out there and fix that roof.

Why don't you just try it on.

You'll do no such thing, Miss Russell.

Chester, you're the limit.

Well, you can work it out between you,

but it seems to me like

if a body was gonna order up something special,

made just for them,

well, they'd want to pay a little something in advance.

You mean, um, to show good faith.

Yeah.

You put it so nice.

Miss Russell, I really don't know what to say.

Why, he's...

He's Chester.

Oh, his friends learn to take him the way he is

and to love him,

because there is no way in the world to understand him.

I do have some material I'd like made up.

I'll bring it over to you.

Oh, I feel I've been forced on you.

You have, and he may be doing both of us a big favor.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

- Bye. - Bye.

Say, um,

Mrs. Damon used to working all night, Chester?

By golly, I don't know.

Wonder... wonder what she's doing

with her lights on so late.

By golly, she fell asleep.

She's gonna get an awful crick in her neck that way.

It's me, Chester.

Well, look, I'll, uh... I'll wander along.

Looks like you can handle this alone.

It's Chester.

Chester, Mrs. Damon.

Can't imagine what happened.

Well, you just went to sleep there is what happened.

Uh, Mr. Dillon seen that... He had to go on.

He seen that your head was on the machine there,

and you'd get a crick in your neck.

Oh. Well, come on in, Chester.

Well, no, no, I...

Oh, no, come in. I'm glad you troubled to come.

Well, I... I, uh...

I sure can't stay long.

Oh, oh, uh, you shouldn't see this.

What?

What is it?

Well, I...

I was going to surprise you, Chester,

but, well, there's no reason I shouldn't give it to you now.

Well, what-what is it?

Is it a shirt for me?

I, uh...

I hope it fits.

I just measured you with my eye.

Well, Mrs. Damon, I...

I... I've just...

never had anybody that-that made anything

that was just special for me before.

It's just a thank-you, Chester,

a very small thank-you.

Well, I...

Oh!

- Oh, I'm sorry. - I'll get it.

I'll... I'll get it.

I beg your pardon.

It's just the nicest thing

that anybody ever made for me.

I hope it fits.

Oh, it'll fit sure enough.

No question about that.

Well, I...

Well, I guess I better be going. I...

Well, it wouldn't do to wake Jessica.

No, no, it wouldn't, uh...

Uh, you better, uh... get some sleep proper this time.

I will.

Good night.

She ain't even what you'd call pretty.

Oh, Chester, I don't know when I've danced like that.

I don't, either. You sure do do it good, though.

Oh, no, I'm as rusty as can be.

Well, you don't show it.

Chester,

they're all looking at us.

Well, got to have something to look at, I guess.

Uh, excuse us.

Would you like a little bit of punch?

All right.

Um, that was the last dance, you know?

Oh.

You folks got anything you want to say to the people

before they leave?

Good night, everybody.

Now, Chester, you know good and well what I mean.

Oh, wet your whistle, Jonas.

Well, if you want to keep it

just between the three of us for a while, but, uh,

sure like to propose a toast.

What are you carrying on about?

You're not funning me?

We're just watching you stand there

with your arm in the air.

You two sure look engaged to me.

I mean, everybody's talking why you're always together,

and you sure don't seem to mind it none.

Why, Mr. Jonas, we're just enjoying ourselves.

Why, certainly.

That's all there is to it, every bit of it.

Well, I've been wrong before,

but, uh, don't think I am this time, though.

Mrs. Damon.

Well, I... swear to goodness, it...

Well, I...

sure would admire to see you home.

All right.

Well, I tell you, it... it was a nice dance anyway.

Oh, yes, I really enjoyed the dance, Chester.

Well, me, too, that part of it.

I tell you, that Jonas,

sometimes he talks when he ought to be dipping snuff.

Hope that you didn't mind him.

Oh, I didn't mind.

I just thought it might be embarrassing for you.

Oh, no, heavens, I know him.

I was thinking more about you.

Oh, Chester, I don't know when I've had so much fun.

Well, it was kind of wonderful

just all the way around, wasn't it?

Makes you stop and realize.

Well, how's that?

Well, a woman just can't fill a life by herself.

Well, it-it's awful good that you got Jessica to...

No.

A woman just isn't complete without a man.

By the way, uh, should we have picked

Jessica up from Ma Smalley's?

Oh, no, not at this hour.

I'll pick her up first thing in the morning.

You know, that is something to think on,

what, uh, Jonas said,

uh, tonight.

An engagement, Chester?

Well, no, no,

not necessarily an engagement.

Uh, it is just something to think on, I mean...

uh, well, for sometime

in the future, you know.

It's not an unpleasant thought.

What I mean is, if we had some kind of an understanding

if you wanted.

Well, that might be nice, Chester.

An understanding.

Yeah, that just might.

Well, uh, good night, Mrs. Damon.

Oh, about that, uh, "Mrs. Damon."

I hardly answer to that.

You can call me Lucy.

Good night, Lucy.

You, uh, want me to help you there,

- Mr. Dillon? - Oh, no, thanks, Chester.

Like for me to get you a cup of coffee

or something?

No, no, thanks.

I, uh, kind of get the feeling that you, uh,

got something on your mind this morning.

Could be.

Couldn't be, uh, Mrs. Damon, could it?

Whatever made you think of her?

Oh, just a wild guess.

Well, as a matter of fact, she...

she did cross my mind there a time or two.

Mm-hmm.

You remember that, uh,

I took her to the grange dance there last night.

Yeah, I remember you took my best string tie, too.

Oh, say, listen, I want to thank you for that.

Mm-hmm.

Well, uh, she said something last night when I took her home

that... well, it just sort of,

I don't know, it kind of got me

to puzzling about it.

She said that, uh...

a woman ain't complete without a man.

- She did, huh? - Yeah.

Now, it seems to me like that it would kind of work

the other way around, too, you know, that...

a man wouldn't really be complete

without a woman.

Well, it seems to me that would depend

on what man and what woman, wouldn't it?

I never gave much thought to how complete I was.

Of course, I never did have much family

except for my brother Magnus and my Uncle Sunday.

You know, Mr. Dillon, when I'm around Jessica and Lucy,

I just...

well, I just feel kind of warm inside

like I want to, uh,

take care of them and be with them and do for them.

Well, you sound pretty serious, Chester.

Well, they're so helpless and all,

and when I'm doing something for them, I just...

well, I just feel good about it and have a kind of

special kind of a feeling for it... you know what I mean?

Yeah.

Well, you didn't, by any chance, propose to her last night

or something, did you?

Well, no, uh... well, that is, I-I...

I don't... I ain't right sure.

Well, that's something you better think over, Chester.

Now, that's something you want to be awful sure of.

Yeah, well, I know one thing, Mr. Dillon.

What I... what I feel, uh, is...

Well, it's just different than anything

that I ever felt before.

It's... it's different.

♪ Run, rabbit, run ♪

♪ The dogs'll get you ♪

♪ Run, rabbit, run ♪

♪ You better get away ♪

♪ Run, rabbit, run ♪

♪ The dogs'll get you ♪

♪ Run, rabbit, run ♪

♪ You better get away ♪

♪ Oh, the rabbit run ♪

♪ And the rabbit flew ♪

♪ And the rabbit tore his tail in two ♪

♪ Run, rabbit, run ♪

♪ The dogs'll get you ♪

♪ Run, rabbit, run ♪

♪ You better get away. ♪

Is it time to taste it yet?

Well, it's time for me to stop grinding.

I can tell you that for sure.

Now, let's see if we can just get

a little bit of salt down in there.

That always makes it taste a little bit better.

Mmm, mmm.

Mmm.

Chester Goode, I'm surprised at you.

There are such things as spoons, you know.

Well, she just wanted

to taste it, Lucy.

I know there's spoons.

Here, quit that.

Daddy always let me.

Here, now. Uh, stop that.

Didn't you hear what your ma said?

Look at the mess you're making.

Well, it ain't quite froze yet.

Oh... I never saw a man

who didn't get rock salt right in the ice cream every time.

It doesn't have to be that way, you know.

Well, I know that.

No, put your hand firm on the top.

That's it, Chester.

Yes, and grind with the other.

Well, Lucy, you act like I never made

ice cream before in my life.

Well, I hope not this messy.

Well, I never had ice cream didn't have

a little bit of rock salt in it.

Well, it's much nicer without it, I'll tell you.

Well, you can just leave a little bit in for me.

For me, too, Mama.

Uh-uh. Easy, easy.

Easy, even motion, Chester.

- I like to give it a good... - It'll freeze uniformly.

Yeah, if you give it a good cranking,

it kind of makes it better, I always thought.

Oh, Chester.

Daddy did, too.

It was fun when Daddy made ice cream.

You thought so, didn't you, honey?

I knew so.

Daddy laughed, and he made me laugh.

And he got salt in it like Chester does.

And he let me lick the paddle.

And...

I miss Daddy!

Now, now, now, now, now, that's all right.

It's all right.

Come on, dear.

Come on.

I'll get you cleaned up.

I like you.

Well, maybe that's 'cause I like you so much.

♪♪

All right, Doc.

Just go ahead and have your little say and get it over with.

I'm kind of in a hurry.

Well, I'm in a hurry, too.

Yeah, well...

Well...

Will you excuse me, ma'am?

Chester, Chester, don't move so much.

- Well, it's... - Stop fidgeting!

I'll just get these few threads here, and it'll be finished.

I should've carried that dummy at night.

I wish you had sent me for it after dark.

Stand up straight, Chester.

There, those shoulders are good.

Not gonna be able to pitch horseshoes in this.

It's kind of skimpy back there.

Oh, this looks good.

Fine. There.

Well, you certainly wouldn't want

to pitch horseshoes in a suit like this, Chester.

No, it was just a matter of speakin'.

I didn't mean it as...

Speaking.

You drop the G's off all your words.

I don't have no trouble makin' myself understood...

at all... I...

Any trouble making.

It's close enough.

Oh, Chester, this looks good.

And it fits fine.

Well, yeah, much obliged

to you for making it for me.

Actually, Sunday best is kind of what it's for.

It's, uh, not a suit you'd wear every day, is it?

Not every day?

Well, that's why I made it for you.

Now you'll get a haircut and some new shoes

and you'll look just fine.

Well, these boots, they's just as comfortable as can be.

Oh, not with a suit, Chester.

Where's my other clothes?

Ain't seen them around.

Oh, I put them out back.

You won't be needing them now.

Well, I will so, Lucy.

I-I like them clothes.

I-I got my own ways. I know what I like, Lucy.

Oh, I want you to look well, Chester,

because I care about you.

Well, if you cared about me,

- you wouldn't be... - I'm going shopping now.

And if anyone comes by, tell them I won't be long.

Well, I-I won't be here.

Well, where are you going?

Well, I... I'll go down to Long Branch.

Well, I'd rather you wouldn't.

Well, I'd just rather that I would.

I ain't seen Miss Kitty in a while, and I...

Well, perhaps that's best.

What did you say?

I said, "Perhaps that's best."

Have you got something against Miss Kitty?

Well, I just think you could pick better friends

- than a saloon owner. - Well, I couldn't.

I sure couldn't pick a better friend than Miss Kitty is.

Well, I'm surprised at you, Lucy.

Miss Kitty practically started you out in business here.

She bought the first dress that you ever made.

I was just making a suggestion, Chester.

Well, it seems to me like you've made quite a few suggestions.

You just can't do that.

You just can't make a body over like that.

It just don't set good. It's...

There's things that I could change

about you, too, but I don't.

Well, heavens, I-I figure it's give and it's take.

Oh, Chester.

You're never serious a minute.

Well, I am, too.

I'm going to Long Branch.

They're in there.

Oh, what-what are?

Your old clothes... She put them there.

Well, what in the world would she want

to throw them away for?

She did things like that to Daddy all the time.

Well, even so...

She talks to you, tells you how to do

just like she did Daddy.

Made Daddy mad.

Well, it's kind of upsetting.

She doesn't mean it bad.

Well, even so, I...

- Know what he'd do? - No.

Go off fishing.

He would?

For days, off on the Snake River.

I play like that's where he is now.

Off on the Snake, fishing.

Well, that's... that's a good way to play like.

Doesn't make him so far away.

Well, the Snake's not far, that's for sure.

I reckon that's where he died.

Where, on the Snake?

Last time we saw him, he was heading for the river.

Well, was he, uh, sick or something?

Nope, just like always...

He and Mama had a fight.

And after that, he went away and never came back.

Mama says he never will.

So we reckon that's where he died.

You reckon?

You mean you don't know?

You like to fish?

Yeah.

Might make you feel better to give it a try.

By golly, it might.

It just might at that.

You take care of Rainy.

♪♪

I heard you calling.

You in trouble?

Not unless you're planning to stay, I ain't.

- This here is the Snake, ain't it? - Huh?

I say this is the Snake River, ain't it?

It coils all around through here.

Find your own place.

My name's Chester Goode.

I can't help that.

You wouldn't, uh... want to tell me yours, would you?

No.

But if you promise to go away...

I'll give you a fish.

A little girl said, uh, something about her daddy

being down here somewheres.

Oh, no. No, no, you don't.

No, no.

Your name Jess Damon?

What about my little girl?

Well, she needs your help is what about her.

Her and her mama are living in Dodge City now.

Oh.

Well, you tell Jessica hello.

You tell Lucy good-bye.

Well, you know where they're living.

You ought to take care of them yourself.

- They eating? - Yeah.

- Got a roof? - Well, yeah.

Good-bye.

Well, having a roof and eating

ain't the only thing that counts.

Mister, you're standing on my fish.

You ought to take care of that little girl.

You want to fight?

Well, if I thought it'd pound

any sense into you, I sure would.

You watch out for Lucy, now.

She'll eat you alive!

You just as same as told me that he was dead.

- He is. - Well, he ain't.

Oh, he is.

I put Jess Damon out of my mind, out of my life.

He's dead, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know, Lucy. Maybe you could do that.

Maybe you can do it. I don't know.

But how you can let little Jessica think he's dead

- is something I can't understand. - Chester, it's best.

Her father's a drunkard You saw him.

He doesn't care about her, and she adores him.

- It's kinder this way. - Well, what about me?

What about me? I believed you, too.

Well, it's just as true for you, Chester.

He's gone, entirely gone, and you're here.

Well, I know that. I know that I'm here.

And we both want you here, Jessica and I.

You lied to me. You just out-and-out lied to me.

Now, what's everybody gonna say?

I'm gonna just get laughed right out of town.

He deserted me, Chester!

Yeah, and I'll bet you he had good reason to, too.

You may say he's dead,

but somebody don't die just on somebody's saying so.

CHESTER and JESS: ♪ Walking down the road ♪

♪ Pack on my back ♪

♪ Pack on my back, pack on my back ♪

♪ A-walking down the road with a pack on my back ♪

♪ Getting along to Californ-i-a ♪

♪ I left that woman and I went away ♪

♪ Went away, went away ♪

♪ I left that woman and I went away ♪

♪ Getting along to Califor... ♪

Oh!

That is one mean woman.

She's an incomplete mean woman.

You know, Lucy just can't let a man be.

No.

You know...

once Lucy's landed you...

and you quit flopping around on the end of the line...

she takes that hook out real easy.

And then, you know what?

Have another drink.

The first thing you know,

she starts prodding you with her hook.

The rest of your life.

"Go here. Go there."

"Do this and do that."

"And clean up."

And, "Why'd you go there?"

And...

Oh.

We are definitely discussing the same woman.

Well...

Course, uh...

I do feel awful sorry for that little girl.

That poor little Jessica.

Oh, Lucy loves her.

Don't never worry about that.

Oh, well, I know that.

She loves her right enough.

It just worries me to see a little girl

growing up with a... a-a woman like Lucy.

Taking on her ways and...

You don't want to say that.

Well, I don't want to; no, I just have to.

Are you trying to tell me

that Jessica's getting like Lucy?

Oh, every day and every way.

It's just a-a fright.

Well, that-that ain't right.

It just ain't right.

Oh, no. The poor little thing.

The-the little girl is just running out of her.

She's just gonna be another Lucy, for sure.

I can't let that happen.

I'm gonna save that little girl,

no matter what you say.

Look at you. You haven't changed a bit.

- Daddy. Oh, Daddy. - Now, why did you come back?

Daddy.

I came back to save little Jessica, that's why.

The fact that I'm earning a good living didn't have

anything to do with it, I suppose.

Oh, Lucy, you wouldn't know a good living

if it come out and smacked you in the face.

I wish you'd stayed out there on the Snake

and fished for the rest of your life.

Well, maybe I'll do just that.

Are you gonna fight and leave again?

I'm gonna tell you something, Lucy.

Probably won't believe it.

If you say it, I won't believe it.

I got homesick.

Well, you can't fish all the time.

Can't drink all the time.

You know?

Luce?

Mommy?

Chester, this is all your fault.

Well, I just made a suggestion.

Jess, you know what Chester says?

Well, I know some of what he says.

He says, "You can't change a body.

It don't set good."

Well, it don't.

It sure don't.

It's most like it used to be, Chester.

Thank you.

You just don't let 'em fight.

♪♪