(dramatic orchestral music)
(brooding acoustic music)
(hooves clop)
(tense orchestral music)
(lively acoustic music)
(officer speaks Spanish)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(squirrel chatters)
(Lin speaks Spanish)
(man speaks Spanish)
Please come in, senor.
Gracias.
(woman speaks Spanish)
(squirrel chatters)
(suspenseful music)
(hooves clop)
Your husband isn't going to eat?
He already eaten, senor. He must go to town.
Somehow he looked like a man who would have to go to town.
Aren't you staying?
No, I've had a change of plans.
When your husband comes back with the police,
tell him I'm sorry I couldn't wait.
(coin clinks) (speaks Spanish)
(peaceful orchestral music)
(chickens cluck)
(priest speaks Spanish)
Yes, Father.
What are you doing here with the chickens?
I was just resting against your shelter.
- This is for animals. - The house is for men.
Come.
Oh?
It's nothing.
We will have a look at it. Come.
(tense orchestral music) (Lin mumbles)
Phone Tampico, get the money.
Stop it!
Stop it, you fools, he's got his hands up! Got his hands!
What is it?
- You were dreaming, my son. - You shouted in your sleep.
Sorry I disturbed you.
Sleeping men shout in this fashion in prison,
in the battle lines of armies, and when we are being hunted.
What do you want me to do, confess my sins?
I want you to have peace.
Then leave me alone.
As you wish.
Father.
I will dress your arm again.
No doubt the pain was what disturbed you.
No, no, no. It's not much.
It hardly hurts any.
Well, you saw it yourself. It's only a little wound.
And yet, Father, here's the whole trouble.
Because of this wound or something, I can't move my arm.
I can't lift it.
You mean lift it,
as a man would who was ordered to surrender?
The police.
Yeah.
They've tracked me for two days and nights.
They'll be here in the morning.
This is it, the end of the line.
Even the police are not always so merciless.
You understand, I saw it happen to another man.
He couldn't lift his arm either.
He stood up in a lonely place at daybreak.
Somebody shot him.
Somebody who shot- Come and lie down, my son.
You don't have to talk about this.
But I do.
I mean, I have to know the answer, Father,
and there isn't much time.
Began about a year ago.
You might not believe it to look at me now,
but in those days, I was running an oil field.
- Hey, Lin! Lin Vanner! - (horn honks)
I got a flash for you, Lin.
Drive me down to south field, would you, Herb?
Got a broken bit down there.
Better 90 to the office first.
Know what day this is?
Wednesday.
And the ghost is supposed to walk this afternoon.
We got payroll trouble?
Not another stick-up?
I thought they were gonna fly it in like last time.
They couldn't get a plane! Earl Mahoney.
You know, the guy from Petroleum Finance Corporation?
He was bringing it up himself by rail car.
One of those putt putt jobs.
A bank vice prezzie on a rail car?
He must've been out of his mind.
He had guts, Lin.
He knew how vital it was after all the trouble we had.
He wanted to be personally responsible.
Don't take it so hard, Lin. We've got insurance, you know.
Great but meanwhile what am I supposed to pay my men with?
Lop washes and seashells? They like money, moolah.
- You know what I mean. - Money, let me see.
12 paydays a year, we get three stick-ups.
- Where's Mahoney now? - He's in the office.
We'd better step on it, huh?
- Who's this guy? - Corporal Valdez.
He was in charge of the guard.
- Only guard left? - That's what they say.
You'd better get Doc Fellows to take care of him.
He's on his way over.
All I want is a pair big enough to ride,
and they don't have to fit.
- Hello, Vanner. - Hi, Mr. Mahoney.
Looks like we're in a little trouble.
Ah, we'll get that money back. Every last cent of it.
We'll get this fellow before dark.
- You're not taking off again? - (chuckles) You bet I am.
The police coming down has assigned a mounted squad
to do the tracking, and I guess they're going to need me.
Anything you want before, before I take off?
Well, yes.
Frankly, could you give me some idea of just what happened?
I only got a sketch. I'd like to make out a report.
Lin, Tampico's calling.
I'll call back in five minutes.
It was a rough deal.
We were right on that hairpin turn back at the gorge.
- You know the one? - Yeah.
Oh, thanks.
This fellow was track walking there.
Never would've slowed down for him,
but he had a company badge on and looked like an American.
About your height, stocky build.
Thought maybe he'd been sent out to meet us.
Then all of a sudden, the sky busted open
and the shooting started.
He got three of the guards with the first burst,
but I fell off the car.
It's probably what saved your life.
(chuckles) Yeah, I guess so.
Well, I'll put it all in writing when I get back.
- Good luck. - So long.
Get Tampico back.
Miss Ware's waiting in there.
Got a cigarette, Herb?
Hi, baby. What are you doing here?
- I couldn't stay at the ranch. - This is much too exciting.
Hm. So is having your pocket picked.
(phone rings)
Sometimes I'd settle for that.
Hello? Yes, Mr. Hubble.
Yes, that's it. The entire payroll.
Yes, I imagine they'll cancel the insurance
but it can't be helped.
Okay.
Thank you.
The doctor finished with that corporal?
He's working on him now.
Get a report from him and ask him to see me
when he gets through, will you?
- Sure. - Thanks.
(door closes)
Would you like a drink?
Not now. I don't want to keep you.
Was I going somewhere?
I thought you'd be going on the posse.
(Lin laughs)
Not me.
- Lin, you don't mean that! - Sure I mean it.
Well, they'll think you're chicken.
So I'm chicken.
That stuffed shirt Earl Mahoney will get all the credit
for catching the thief.
He won't catch him.
- But the posse. - It's not a posse.
It's an armed police squad and some gringo (mumbles).
Besides, posses don't catch anything but colds in the head.
And this one won't, either,
if they think that guy's headed for the coast.
Why wouldn't he?
'Cause he's an American.
And what's that got to do with it?
An American will stay right on the railroad
where you don't leave a trail.
He can keep on all night that way, and along toward morning,
he'd cross over to the high road through some pass.
El Tejon Pass, maybe.
Let's see.
Yeah, that'd be his best out.
It's rough, but once he got across, he could hit the road.
That's what he'd do, Lin.
If he knows the country well, and he did know it well.
Oh, he must have planned this carefully.
(chuckles) You bet he did.
But if you actually caught this stick-up guy,
you doped it out so brilliantly,
if you brought him in all by yourself...
I'll admit I'm crazy enough to wonder
if I've doped it right.
- That's all I wanted to hear. - Hm?
Bree, would you call my dad's foreman Pedro at the ranch?
Oh, hold your horses.
- Just one horse, darling. - The one you're going to ride.
Tell him to catch the quarter horse, the one dad uses.
- Have you got a gun? - What would I want a gun for?
Never mind. We'll get one at the ranch.
Come on, Sheriff. We don't want to keep that bandit waitin'.
- Here we go. - (ominous music)
(brooding orchestral music)
That horse must've been used to rocky country.
He followed the trail up the pass all night,
as if he'd had eyes in his feet.
For some reason, I was asking myself what I was doing there.
I wondered if I hadn't been out of my mind
to start on this chase in the first place
just to show off like a kid turning handsprings
on his girl's front lawn or something.
This wasn't a game of cops and robbers.
We were playing for keeps.
It boiled down to a duel between me and the unknown fellow
waiting up in the rocks or struggling on ahead of me.
Never had the slightest doubt that he was there
and that I'd find him, but I didn't like it.
It was all wrong, somehow.
Maybe I was afraid,
but I don't think I was afraid for myself.
It was more like being scared of what was going happen.
The moment which had to come soon now and would come,
as if it had been determined long ago
and couldn't be stopped by any act of mine.
Oh, you see, Father, I'm trying to justify myself,
explain what happened, though I never can explain it.
Not in any way that'd make the answer come out right.
Then, suddenly, I saw the man.
- Get your hands up! - I got a-
- Both of 'em, over your head!
- I can only get one- - Get 'em up!
I can't, you...
(gun fires)
Some posse man. Shooting a guy with his hands up.
Told you to put 'em both up.
I couldn't. My arm's busted.
That's what I was trying to tell you.
I didn't hear you.
Where'd I hit you?
Ah, it's nothin'.
Maybe I'm lucky at that.
Pick that coffee pot up, will you?
Hey, didn't you used to work for Bolsa Grande?
- Sure, I was a rigger. - Sam Tevlin's my name.
I thought so.
- And I know you, Mr. - Vanner, and you don't act
no different now than when you were down at the plant.
All right. Pull yourself together.
I'm gonna stash your stuff and take you back.
- What for? - You know what for!
[Sam] I never took that payroll, if that's what you mean.
- How'd you know about it? - Well, I-
- [Lin] All right, we'll talk about that later.
Well, if I took it, where is it?
Did I hide it out somewhere? Have I got it on?
Hey, why don't you search me?
If you've got it on you, we'll find it.
If you've hidden it out, we'll find that, too.
All in due time. Come on.
Come on.
As we started down, I think I felt weaker than he did.
I was shaky and sick because
I knew in my heart I'd shot too soon.
I hadn't given him a chance to explain about his arm.
I felt pity for him.
Oh, easy. That's it.
(grunting)
You've been sitting at a desk too much, Mr. Posse Man.
You're kinda soft in the belly.
I didn't figure I'd have to pack you onto my back.
Oh, we're buddies, aren't we?
One pal don't mind helping another.
Especially when he shot him with his hands up.
That's a lie and you know it.
Do I?
Come on.
Maybe I oughtta pack you on my back.
(brooding orchestral music)
(horn honks)
Car waiting for you, huh?
[Lin] Yeah, could be.
I don't suppose there's any use telling you again,
I didn't take that payroll.
[Lin] You'll have to tell that to the proper authorities.
That's about what I figured you'd say.
(melancholy orchestral music)
Look, Mr. Vanner.
If those company guards get a hold of me now,
I haven't got a chance.
Give me a break, will you? Turn me loose right here.
I'm not so beat up that I won't make out,
if you let me take the horse.
Can't do it, Tevlin.
I was half tempted to give him the chance,
but it was too late.
I had to see this through the way I'd started.
(brooding orchestral music)
Boss, you sure did a great job!
You certainly did, and say, did you hear about the reward?
Reward?
Yeah, the head office put it up last night,
right after you left, 2,000 bucks!
- Congratulations, boss. - Nice going, Lin.
Boy, oh boy, that helps.
Hey, 2,000 bucks!
Never ride in a pal's boots unless he wears 12D.
Well, my boy, I understand you're to be congratulated.
You've done a fine job.
Well, I'm not even sure he's the right man,
but at least he's suspect number one.
Lieutenant, my company has a vital interest
in this matter.
Would you object if I asked the prisoner a few questions?
No, go ahead, senor, but don't take too long.
- (chuckles) Oh, no. - Where is he, Clark?
In the back office, boss.
Well, let's go and see if we can find something out.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
(muffled chatter)
Hey, what's going in there?
I suppose you'd call it a cross examination.
That's your man, all right, Lieutenant.
He doesn't feel like talking, but,
I can positively identify him.
My department will check it out, Mr. Mahoney.
Good.
How is he?
In bad shape.
I'm gonna give him a hypo. Will you stay with him a minute?
Don't suppose
there's use
telling you again.
I...
I didn't take that payroll.
(dark orchestral music)
It's cold.
Cold in here.
[Lin] Better?
Mother. Mother.
Your mother will be here. She's on her way.
Thank you.
That cross examination must've been
a form of torture in his condition.
That wasn't what killed him.
What, then?
A bullet, right there.
Why, I thought that only nicked him.
No, no. It punctured the pulmonary artery.
He bled internally.
(ominous orchestral music)
Well, I'm sorry, baby, but I hadn't heard of any reward
when I went after this guy and I don't have to be paid
for bringing him in.
Why you keep saying "paid"? It's not paid.
It's just a sort of prize, an honor you're entitled to.
Oh, Lin.
Think what $2,000 can mean to us.
Well, I'm not going to take it.
Call it sentiment or superstition or anything you like.
I'd call it insanity.
You wouldn't borrow money from the company,
and I could understand that,
but now that they want to give you some, you refuse.
Can't you see it from my angle?
How do you expect me to feel?
I don't mean to be rude,
but I don't think this is your affair.
I thought it was.
Seems to me I remember starting you on this, right?
Yes, you started me, but...
Well, now it's something else. Something between me and-
- Your precious conscience?
If you hadn't been cleared at the inquest,
it might be different.
I won't take it, Lin.
I've taken a lot and tried to understand,
but this is just a little bit too much.
You mean you're breaking our engagement?
No, you are, with this crazy attitude.
I've waited and hoped and tried to see your point of view.
I didn't know I was being taken
and you never meant to marry me.
All this talk about money was just an excuse.
What you wanted was an alibi.
Any reason was all right, as long as you could put me off!
Well, you've got your way and now I'm not changing my mind!
This time it's finished! We're through!
- You're yelling. - I will yell!
Oh, Lin, what's happened to us?
I don't...
I don't know, baby.
I guess we both found out at the same time, didn't we?
We'd never get along.
I just love you to pieces, Lin,
but I know I'll never understand you as long as I live.
Remember, it's right here on this table.
[Lin] I wish you'd keep it.
(chuckles) That's very gallant of you,
just the right thing to say, but I'm leaving it.
You might need the money to put in
a blind man's cup or something.
(door slams)
Tampico 324.
It's Mr. Vanner calling Mr. Hubble.
If he's not there, please try him at home.
Thanks.
(phone clacks)
(phone rings)
Hello?
Oh, Mr. Hubble. This is Lin Vanner.
I'm very sorry to disturb you at this time of night, but...
Yes, I believe it is urgent.
Well, sir, I hate to put you in a spot,
but I'm resigning my position with the company.
That's right.
I know it is sudden, but...
No, sir.
(train clacks) (bell dings)
Where to, senor?
Just give me about 100 pesos worth of ticket.
In what direction, senor?
You name it and I'll go there, on the first train out.
Do I understand you wish a change of scenery?
Any place will do?
That's right.
- How would you like Los Santos? - It's a nice little place.
- Los Santos? - Yes.
Today, we ship a coffin there.
For such shipments, a ticket must be bought,
and this one has been paid for, too, according to the rules.
But today, no one is using it.
All right, I'll take it. Thanks.
- You're welcome, senor. - You've saved me trouble, too.
Would you be kind and give these to the baggage agent
at Los Santos?
- I'll do that. - Good luck, senor.
[Lin] I knew there was only one dead man
who could be going from La Mancha that day,
but I didn't care.
I'd accept that much from Sam Tevlin.
My transportation to a new life.
After all, we'd been traveling companions before.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(train whistles and chugs)
A new life.
I figured that was ahead of me.
Nothing behind.
I was a lucky guy, I told myself.
Why not?
I was still young enough, reasonably strong,
and this new life could be a lot of fun.
All I had to do was hand some papers to a baggage agent,
and then the last thread that held me to the past
would be gone.
I could go anywhere I felt like, do anything I wanted.
[Conductor] Los Santos!
Los Santos!
(bell dings)
But then I had another thought.
Someone had paid to have Sam's body sent home,
and the person who had paid would meet the train.
Well, whoever it was, I didn't want to see them.
I was finished with the whole business.
I'd just had enough of it.
I made up my mind to made tracks
getting away from that station.
Senor?
(speaks Spanish)
(stationmaster speaks Spanish)
(train chugs)
(peaceful acoustic music) (singing in Spanish)
(coin clacks)
Tequila.
Si, senor.
- As I live and breathe! - Put it there, Lin!
Carlos, you old son of a gun! (Speaks Spanish)
(Carlos speaks Spanish)
Oh, you're getting a little fat.
Oh, what is a few pounds between friends?
And you know something?
I will always buy a drink for a doggone hero.
(speaks Spanish)
Let's go sit at the table, eh?
You know, I was just reading about you.
A guy on the crew sent me this.
It was in the Veracruz paper.
Oh?
[Carlos] Keep it for your scrapbook.
Didn't know you had it in you.
- (speaks Spanish) - And here's luck.
Luck? Oh, that is what we have.
Plenty of it, Lin.
Biggest blinking oil strike in years, right here,
only 50 miles from Los Santos.
Maybe I ought to cut myself a slice of it.
Oh, there'll be enough for everybody.
Man, you should have seen that first gosher.
Gosher? What is a gosher?
With or without the accent, it's 50,000 barrels a day.
All high-gravity stuff.
Hey, Lin, why don't you come
and have a look at it with me tomorrow, huh?
Oh, compadre, you got yourself a date.
[Carlos] Bueno.
So I took a job in a few field.
After a couple of months, I quit.
I kept thinking I had to get back to that town
and find somebody.
Crazy enough, I couldn't seem to think
of anyone but this person.
As you've guessed it, Father, it was the woman I'd seen
for a few seconds on a railway station platform.
Tevlin's widow.
I'd found out that much about her.
But then I found out where she lived.
And finally, I hitched a ride out of town.
That was the first time I saw the ranch.
Neat and comfortable enough,
and yet it had that sorry kind of a look a place gets
when there's no man to take care of it.
You know, that it looked different once when there was hope
when people started out to build something, and then, we",
they let go or were defeated in their purpose.
This was where a woman lived her life,
and I wondered what the power was that had drawn me there.
My share in her secret, or was it just herself,
her beauty or her personality?
Which was really unknown to me and only half guessed at.
I hadn't thought of any special way to explain my visit.
Figured I'd just knock on the door and see what happened.
(knocks) (rooster crows)
(lock clacks)
[Ellen] Who is it?
Are you Mrs. Tevlin?
That's right.
Won't you come in?
Sit down.
Oh, thanks.
Your name, please?
Brown.
Lindley Brown.
We've see each other before, haven't we, Mr. Brown?
No, I don't think so.
Oh.
I hadn't expected anyone so soon.
- In answer to the ad. - Oh?
[Ellen] You understood the terms?
I can't pay wages, but I'll share the profits
after the stock is rounded up and sold.
Oh, I see. I wasn't quite sure about the wages.
Oh, I thought that was clear.
It's right here.
"Foreman for ranch co-op."
You must have understood it.
Oh, that'll be all right, I think.
We run between 300 and 400 head.
The range is good and we have a nice calf crop.
I have one Indian vaquero helping me,
but I've no way to round up, brand, and sell.
[Lin] I should imagine it'd be a little hard to keep house
and ride a herd, too.
Yes, even for a person capable of handling livestock,
which I'm not.
I've often thought of giving up, going back to the States.
When I had to decide, I always try once more.
Hang on a little longer.
My husband and I bought this place with savings
and he used to work in his spare time.
Now my husband is dead.
Well, I think you're quite right to keep it.
Place of your own can mean a great deal.
My husband used to work for the oil companies.
Have you ever worked in the oil fields, Mr. Brown?
Oh, yes, I have.
But where I grew up, oil and cattle were a team,
nudging each other for the same hunk of ground.
I can pass myself off for a cowboy when I have to.
(Mike scoffs)
Get a load of those boots. He's no cowboy.
- Mike, this is Mr. Brown. - This is my son, Michael.
- Hi, Michael. - Hello.
Mike, you're right about these boots, they're no good,
but I've had the other kind, no kidding.
And I can roll my own cigarettes when I have to.
I'd want to be quite sure that you understood the work
and that you were confident to do it.
Things have run down here. It won't be easy.
I'd like to try.
Is he gonna stay, Ma?
We haven't decided yet.
Well, if he is, I'm moving out.
I'll tell you, Michael, I'm looking for a place to work
and your mother wants someone to help her the way you do.
Now, wouldn't it be all right with you
if I just sort of hung around and helped your mom?
It's okay with me, if that's what you want, Mom.
All right. We'll try it and see how it goes.
I suppose you have to get your things from town.
[Lin] I can do that this evening.
I'll show you the room you can use.
[Lin] So, now I understood.
She was stuck for somebody to work the ranch.
She naturally would be, with Sam gone.
That ad in the local paper must've been a last resort
for her, but for me, it was a chance sent from heaven.
(guitar plucks)
I was only sure of one thing.
My being here had nothing to do with the late Mr. Tevlin.
Only with Mrs. Tevlin.
I'd come because I'd seen a woman on a station platform.
And now that I'd talked to her,
I'd made up my mind I was going to be near her,
even if Sam Tevlin came back from the dead
to try and stop me.
(chickens cluck)
Why, hi, pal. How you feeling this morning?
Okay. I always feel okay.
Swell. That little paint your horse?
Yep, what'd you catch him for? He likes to be let loose.
Maybe you'd want to slap a saddle on him
and ride out with me.
- I'll tell you why I can't 90. - There's Indians around here.
No kidding. Sometimes, they attack.
Then I have to take care of Ma, you see?
Sure. Well, you do that.
So long, Mike. See you tonight.
[Mike] So long.
Did Mr. Brown ask you to go with him?
- I couldn't 90! - There's an attack!
(mimics gunfire)
(tense orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral music)
So we found some tracks and we followed 'em, and,
pretty soon Mike here heard this little bull calf bellowing.
Just moaning, like he said, and gosh awful.
He was dragged off with his mammy
in a little canyon where the spring had dried up.
We got him out of there, though, didn't we?
Next week, I'm gonna dam that creek so there'll be
some water up that way when the bad months come.
Lin says when enough water gets in it, I can swim there.
That's fine, but right now,
it's getting pretty near somebody's bedtime.
Aw gee, Ma.
If you want to be a vaquero,
you've got to take time out to go to sleep.
[Mike] Can't I fool around with Lin a little while?
Not tonight, honey.
Mr. Brown has some work to do.
You go along now.
I'll be in later to read you that story.
[Lin] I was going to help him with that bridle he's making
but I guess it'll keep.
It will have to keep.
I've something else I want you to do.
Will you come with me, please?
Sure.
[Ellen] I had the colt in here today
and he broke through the fence.
I'd like you to fix it.
Okay, I'll start first thing in the morning.
I want it done now.
Well, isn't it a little late to begin wrangling fences?
When there's work to be done, you'll just have to do it,
if you expect to stay here.
(ominous orchestral music)
She had a real genius
for concocting that kind of assignment.
Every night after work, and day times, too,
if I had 10 minutes to spare,
she'd come up with something new, and generally,
she'd find some excuse to be around and watch me.
If she could've stood over me with a whip,
that would've pleased her better still.
I almost quit 100 times, but always managed to hold out,
because I knew something was boiling inside her,
eating her up, and I wanted to find out what it was.
So I took everything she handed out
and waited for the next move.
(crickets chirp) (acoustic guitar music)
Hi, pal.
Wanna try?
Sure, come on.
How do you put your fingers?
Well, let's see. First one would be about like that.
That's pretty good. A little farther back.
Press harder.
You do it.
Tired already?
All right. What'll it be?
The one you were playing.
Oh, one about the doggies. You like that?
♪ As I was walking one morning for pleasure ♪
♪ I spied a cowpuncher a-riding along ♪
♪ How his hat was throwed back and his spurs was a-jingling ♪
♪ As he approached me, a-singing this song ♪
♪ Whoopee ti yi yo ♪
♪ Get along little dogies ♪
♪ It's your misfortune but none of my own ♪
♪ Whoopie ti yi yo ♪
♪ Get along little dogies ♪
♪ For you know that Wyoming will be your new home ♪
Did you ever go to Wyoming?
No, but I always had a hankering to.
If you went, would you come back?
Sure, you bet I would.
Chances are I'm not going anyway.
What's "dead"?
I mean, what does it mean, dead?
Dead?
Well, that's when you're not here anymore.
When you stop being what you are.
When you start to be something else?
I guess so, Mike. I don't know much about those things.
Most people don't.
- My mom does. - Does she?
Yeah. She told me about it.
My dad's not coming back anymore.
I'm sorry.
- Oh, that's okay. - He's in heaven.
Heaven. What a place.
I bet you nothing happens up there much.
Supposed to be all right.
Those angels, they look like ladies.
Are there men angels, too?
There are both kinds, I guess.
They have spears.
Sure they do.
I saw it in a picture.
I had a spear once but I lost it.
[Ellen] Michael.
I'm out here with Lin, Mom.
Come in, dear. It's bedtime.
I'm coming.
Doggone, I wish I hadn't lost that spear.
I lost my bow and arrow, too.
It was a swell one.
My dad made it for me.
When he comes back, he'll...
Well, he's not coming back. I told you that.
Can you make a bow and arrow?
Well, I guess I could. I could sure try.
[Mike] Will you tomorrow?
Well, yeah.
Yeah, I will.
[Mike] Gee, thanks, Lin.
(chuckles) Okay.
You'd better go on in now.
Okay. You won't forget the bow and arrow, will you?
No, I won't forget.
You're a pal. Well, goodnight.
Goodnight, son.
Son.
(acoustic guitar music)
There I was, moving into something I'd never bargained for.
I was picking up a ready-made family for myself
and loving it.
All except one thing.
Ellen wouldn't change her manner to me,
at least when we were alone.
In front of Mike, she was nice as pie.
Can I go out and shoot now, Mom?
Sure.
- You coming, Lin? - In a minute.
I'm fixing to help your mother with these dishes.
[Mike] Dishes. Holy smoke.
(door slams)
[Ellen] I can make out without help, thank you.
How long do we have to keep on this way?
I don't know what you mean.
The way we are now, like strangers mashed together
against their will, not knowing what to do about it.
What would you suggest we do about it?
Well, we could act like a human once in a while.
Like at the table, you never say a word to me,
except " pass this, pass that".
When the meal's through, no time for anything.
I go to work, Mike goes to play, and you...
Could sit around and talk a little bit. Now, people do that.
Just pour an extra cup of coffee.
Or if you don't like that, we could go uptown.
Sure, in the evenings.
We could walk around the plaza and listen to the band,
look in the shop windows.
Maybe even take you into one of those old time movies.
Now, Mike would like that.
We have no money to waste on shows.
But we have to do something, don't you see?
Even if we fight and yell and throw things.
What should we fight about?
About anything!
(chuckles) At least we'd prove that we're alive.
This way, it's nothing. The days go by.
I don't know where they go or what's wrong.
It's like a sickness or like being goofy or something.
We just stand still.
You feel it, too. You know what I mean.
Why, even have would be- Hate?
- What do you know about hate? - Well, not much, thank god.
Hate can be sweeter than anything.
(clattering)
(brooding orchestral music)
You've hurt yourself.
It's just a scratch.
(water splashes)
(door closes)
(bright orchestral music) (water splashes)
Can we go swimming, Ma?
I thought you were having a big Indian war today.
It's Sunday. You said we could swim at the dam Sundays.
Oh, you can't go alone, dear, and I can't go with you.
- Aw gee, but Rico can swim. - He's going to teach me.
Lin has the irrigation ditch all made and it's real deep.
- [Ellen] (chuckles) - All right, 90 on.
[Mike] Gee, thanks!
I don't blame 'em.
Oh, this air, wow!
It's always that way this season.
Short of going swimming with the kids,
I don't know what to do about it myself,
unless I use the family swimming pool here,
like Mike did yesterday.
You're most welcome to it, I'm sure.
You mean I have your gracious permission to dunk myself?
You know I don't care what you do.
Oh, you're too kind. You can't miss a chance like this.
(door closes)
(whistles jauntily)
(water splashes)
(playful orchestral music)
(water splashes)
Ah-hah!
(water splashes)
(sighs)
(water splashes)
Yoo-hoo!
Ah-hah!
(laughs)
(water splashes)
(laughs and grunts)
(coughs)
(peaceful orchestral music)
(whistles jauntily)
(ominous orchestral music)
You know, I was working one time on a tramp steamer
down on the Caribbean and we were quarantined
for a couple of weeks in the company port.
It was a case of typhus on board.
Well, maybe we were lucky or it wasn't typhus or something.
Anyway, when we put out to sea again, the captain
stopped the ship and let us all go over side for a swim,
and it was a great feeling.
And you know something?
Today was just as good.
Yes, sir, that little old barrel
is all right for a Sunday dip.
Imagine you had more room in the Caribbean.
Mm.
Are you, uh, you through with this?
You can take it to your room and read it.
[Lin] Oh, no. It's fine right here, thanks.
(paper rustles)
(door slams)
Ellen?
Ellen, will you listen to me for a minute?
Listening to you is just a waste of time.
You weren't wasting your time when you went to my room
and looked through my things.
My wallet, for instance.
You'd seen me at the station.
You wanted to know if my real name was Brown.
You found out it wasn't.
[Ellen] I found out you were the man
who murdered my husband.
Murdered?
That's a pretty big word.
Generally, before you hang that on a man,
you investigate what he's done.
Most times, a lawyer presents the evidence,
a jury considers it, and a judge passes sentence.
What are you, judge, jury,
and prosecuting attorney, all rolled into one?
[Ellen] Did Sam Tevlin have a judge, jury,
and prosecuting attorney?
I was working for a company
and he'd stolen money from that company.
At least, that's what everyone believed, and I did, too.
Did you believe it?
What made you so sure?
Did Sam tell you he was a thief,
or did you forget to give him time to tell you?
Well, there wasn't time for...
[Ellen] Go on.
Well, what do you know about it?
You speak as if you'd been there.
You were the one who started asking questions.
Well, let me ask you something.
Why did you shoot Sam when he had his hands up?
He only had one up. I yelled at him.
But nobody knew that. Nobody except-
- No one except you, Mr. Vanner.
You and Sam.
But Sam's dead, so that leaves you all by yourself.
And you're quite right.
There was no word about it in the clipping I read.
Would you like to know how I found that out?
I found out from Sam.
They sent him home to me.
You should remember that. You got a free ride with him.
Well, I looked at Sam's body.
A wife is apt to do that if her husband is sent home dead
and she doesn't know what killed him.
I saw where the bullet went in,
just below the muscle of the chest.
His arm was raised when it hit,
because the muscle dropped over the hole and sealed it up.
That's why he bled internally.
Oh yes, Mr. Vanner.
I know how my husband died.
You were a great hero.
You were very brave that morning at daybreak.
Ellen.
Won't you please go now?
Ellen, everything you've said is true.
I think I shot too soon.
Oh, he yelled something at me,
but I couldn't make out what it was and...
Well, I thought he was playing a trick on me and so I-
- You got the shakes.
You were a coward and you killed because you were a coward.
Believe me, it wasn't that.
Men who get the shakes shouldn't go on posse rides.
They should clean pigsties.
They should crawl in the dirt.
I've been doing those things. I thought you knew.
I'll send you your share of the money
when the stock is sold.
I can get somebody else to round up for me.
We were talking about Sam.
I was with him when he died and he didn't ask for you.
He asked for his mother.
What's the point of telling me that?
I'm telling you because this wifely loyalty
doesn't fool me a bit!
Sam didn't think of you when he was dying alone,
groping for one thought or feeling
that would help or comfort him.
Don't you think most men would turn to their wives,
under such circumstances?
I don't know. It'd depend on the man.
And the woman, and the way they'd lived together.
Oh, it's a small thing, might not mean anything at all,
but it's part of the feeling I've had about you and Sam.
It's hard to put into words,
but it seems to me you two were strangers.
Is that wrong?
Oh, people can be married and even have a child
and buy a ranch, the way you did,
and never like each other much, or even know each other.
From the looks of this place, I don't believe he spent
a year all told here as your husband.
It was more fun to buck the oilfields for a bankroll
and make love to Tampico dance hall girls.
Isn't that about the way it was between you two?
Yes, that's just the way it was,
but some women would kill you for saying so.
But not you, people get punished for killing,
and you don't figure to get punished.
You operate from your brains, not your feelings.
You've let me work here, knowing who I was,
because you needed me.
Besides, what fun it was to ride me,
when I had no comeback, wasn't it?
- It was sweet. - It was wonderful.
Yes and the best of it was I couldn't hit you in the face
and walk out on you for six months, the way Sam used to.
You didn't learn to hate men from me,
or from anything you found out about me.
You learned from Sam.
You've been saving something up against all men
and you've enjoyed letting it out on me.
Well, you've won, Mrs. Tevlin.
Our partnership is washed up and you may keep my share
of the profits, if any, with my compliments.
(melancholy orchestral music)
Is that the way you say goodbye?
[Lin] Unless I'm saying hello.
Hello, then.
I don't know what love is, Father,
unless it's one person's recognition of another,
or one great experience that breaks down the walls of self.
Well, we had it, Ellen and I.
We'd begun at the place where most people never get.
The final explanations.
People pay for such explanations,
but there are also rewards.
Yes, Father.
Well, we found the greatest reward of all.
Our marriage.
(priest speaks Latin)
Amen.
(speaks Latin)
Amen.
[Lin] I could hardly follow the priest's words
because I kept thinking, "She's mine now.
She's mine."
That day, I was sure the devils that had haunted me
since I shot Sam Tevlin were gone for good,
but they weren't through with me yet, Father,
as I found out.
(bright bell music)
- Give me some rice. - Not now.
[Mike] I want a big handful.
Oh! (Laughs)
Oh, Michael. You were a wonderful best man.
Yeah, thanks for standing up with me, chum.
Oh, that's okay. I got something for you.
- Yeah? - Good luck, compadre.
[Lin] oh, thanks.
- Here. - What's that?
Ellen, look at the wedding present Mike got us!
[Ellen] oh, they're beautiful.
- Can I try 'em on now? - Oh, they'll fit.
I copped one of your old boots for size.
Oh, let me try 'em on anyway. Let's see.
Here. Over here.
Well, Ellen, good luck.
Thank you, Carlos.
I'm so happy.
You'll get something out of that.
Just perfect.
I guess I'll see you later.
Oh, we'll see you tonight at the party.
I'm a real cowboy now.
Absolutely perfect.
- You like the butterflies? - They've got real ones.
Yeah. They're the best looking pair of boots I ever saw.
- How about that? - They're beautiful.
Come here.
What's that I hear about a party?
It's a surprise.
Every wedding has to have a party afterwards.
Have to have a procession.
Procession? But who's coming?
I don't know. Juan invited most of them.
Oh-ho! That's the country club set.
(engine roars)
(upbeat music in Spanish) (lively chatter)
Think they're having a good time?
- Wonderful. - Oh, I'm glad.
Well, Juan's a little careless
with that Milwaukee champagne.
(upbeat music in Spanish) (lively chatter)
(applause and cheering)
Gracias.
(gentle acoustic guitar music)
(sings in Spanish)
All right, compadre, you are through. Carlos takes over.
Oh, take it easy, bridesmaid. This is our job.
(Carlos speaks Spanish)
Go, little one. Go hold hands with your husband.
You're an angel, Carlos.
I could use a little hand holding.
(Juan sings in Spanish)
[Boy] Shh!
[Ellen] I hid out two plates of food for us in the house.
- You're a smart woman. - Hm, and a good cook.
Oh, well, wait a minute. I did the cooking.
You did the carving.
- Oh. Oh, yeah. - (Ellen chuckles)
Our first party.
We're livin'.
People say that for a joke, and yet it can mean so much.
You were the one who made me realize
I'd been alive without living.
Even the hate I thought I had for you was a lie.
I couldn't let myself admit I loved you.
Do you?
I feel as if tonight, all the nights and days ahead of us
were a wedding present from you.
You've helped me, too. You know that.
How?
You made me quit running away.
Were you running when you first came here?
Why?
You know why.
But not now. You're not running now.
You don't blame yourself for anything.
No, I don't think so.
Yet here's the funny twist. I only thought of it tonight.
I'm in Sam's shoes, don't you see?
It's as if a wheel were turning in a circle or something.
Sam's wife, Sam's kid.
But...
Then you haven't stopped running, darling.
Not until you know Sam's shoes are on Sam's feet.
You're wearing boots from a little boy that loves you,
and you're married to a girl who never really was Sam's wife
just as you told me.
She's really yours.
There is no past.
Nothing's going to happen.
Just the two of us together now.
(distant children yell)
What's with those children?
Doesn't sound like playing.
You're right. That's a scrap.
(children yell over each other)
Hey!
Hey! Hey, Mike!
Mike, Mike!
Hey, take it easy, will ya?
Well, well, what's it all about?
Honey, maybe you'd better take him back with the others.
Go on.
Go on, Pablito.
Come here. Tell me about it.
What happened?
Oh, this is just between us chums.
Nothin'.
Well, something must have happened.
They said somethin'.
Uh-huh. About you?
About your mom or me?
About my dad.
[Lin] While he was playing the moccasins game
with those kids, he heard one of them say he was the son
of that bandito Tevlin.
Oh, how terrible.
I was hoping he wouldn't have to hear about it like that.
How would we put it to sound any better?
I don't know. I suppose he'll have to be told someday.
What shall we tell him?
The truth.
That his father was a stick-up man?
I didn't think we knew the truth about that.
Oh, Lin, you can't turn back now. You can't undo the past.
No, but you can find out facts.
If there's blame, you can put it where it belongs.
Oh, I've had this on my back for a year now.
The way I had Sam when I took him down the pass.
Why should he have stolen money? He wasn't a criminal.
He could always get a job in the oil fields.
In fact, I'll bet he was rail hitching back to Bolsa Grande
looking for a job when the payroll car caught up with him,
if it did.
And another thing, why was the posse and the police
dragged through every cut and cane break between here
and the coast instead of the mountains, where I went?
At the time, I thought it was just stupid and yet it seemed
wrong to me somehow, even while I was riding after him.
I'm sure someone in that posse
never meant for him to be caught.
There's a man alive somewhere who took that payroll
and caused Sam's death, and I want him to pay.
(melancholy orchestral music)
You can't forget, can you?
All right.
I don't want this hanging over our heads.
Go and do it, and then come back to me.
(train chugs)
So I traveled back the way I'd come,
only this time, I paid for my ticket.
I went to the company files and looked up everything
they had about the holdup.
Oh, by the way, do you happen to remember the name of
that guard, you know, the one that was wounded?
Well, there ought to be a medical report
on him there, hadn't there?
Mm. Oughta be in here some place.
Valdez.
That's it. That's it.
Here we are.
Corporal Valdez.
(Lin speaks Spanish)
(Juan speaks Spanish)
[Lin] You don't remember me, do you?
You're not a stranger, senor.
But I, since my wound, my memory's not so good.
[Lin] I know about that wound.
I was an official at the Bolsa Grande company
when you were brought in.
I was the one who sent for the doctor to take care you.
You stayed?
Ah, Si.
Si!
Mr. Vanner.
Senor Valdez, I'd like to have a little talk with you.
Couldn't we sit down and rest awhile?
Si, senor.
Would you like a cigarette?
Muchas gracias.
I'm glad you've made such a recovery,
but I have serious news for you.
My pension. Has it stopped?
[Lin] Oh, I don't know anything about that,
but the case concerning the hold-up has been reopened.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
- It's a long time ago. Mr. - Vanner, my memory is bad.
Well, I'll try to refresh it. Now, come on, sit down.
Let's see, you were assigned with three men as an escort
for Earl Mahoney, who was bringing the money.
Yes, but that-
- In the mountains, the car came up with an American
who was walking the tracks.
The reports say he had a Tommy gun. Now try to remember.
Did the gringo have the gun,
or did he take it from one of the guards?
He had it with him, senor. (Speaks Spanish)
Track walking with a machine gun.
Strange nobody noticed that when you slowed down.
A Tommy gun doesn't fit in a man's pocket.
He was hiding it maybe underneath his clothes.
Oh, I tell you wrong. He grab it from one of the guards.
Yes, I think he did that!
You're lying, Valdez.
Not this American, but somebody else had that gun,
and that person used it on you.
You weren't meant to be found alive, and when you were,
somebody warned you to keep your mouth.
Warned you and paid you,
which is how you got that pension you spoke of a minute ago.
Senor Vanner-
- And since then, you've been afraid of every shadow,
haven't you?
Even had bad dreams about it.
Dreams where you can see the man with the gun
firing on the guard, your companeros, and on you.
Who are you protecting, Valdez? Who is the man with the gun?
Who took the Bolsa Grande payroll?
I must...
I must ring the bell at the mission.
[Lin] All right. I'll wait.
(solemn organ music)
(church bell tolls)
(church bell clangs) (rope creaks)
(bright orchestral music)
I pitied Valdez for his insane act, but he'd left
my plan of operations hanging as high as he was.
He'd been my last, and in fact, my only witness,
and he was dead.
All I could do now was figure out another angle,
even though I knew it was a crazy gamble.
Strictly a shot in the dark.
[Man] Nobody's allowed to drink in here.
(bottle scrapes)
What do you wish, senor?
10 minutes in your files.
[Man] I regret exceedingly, that will be impossible.
Perhaps you need an opener.
[Man] I'm sorry. There are positively no exceptions.
That's disappointing.
This beer is warm. I will get some ice, for 10 minutes.
This is the file index. It is lock.
The keys, you understand, are in the desk drawer.
I forbid you to use them.
(knocks)
I'd like to see Mr. Mahoney.
Step inside, sir.
Mr. Mahoney in?
He's busy.
All right. I'll wait.
You state your business, Mister?
(lock clacks)
Okay, have a talk with him and get back to me.
I want a yes or no by 12 o'clock.
[Man] You'll have it.
You wish to see me?
Aye, Mr. Mahoney.
Lin Vanner! Long time no see.
- How've you been? - Doing fair.
Maybe a little better. No complaints at all.
So I noticed. "Earl C. Mahoney Enterprises".
(Earl chuckles)
What's on your mind?
I...
Come on inside.
I don't want to be disturbed.
Quite a little place you've got here.
Not bad, is it?
I picked it up awhile back from the estate of General Ibera.
Sit down.
You know, it was kind of you to drop in.
Won't you have a spot of cognac?
No, thanks. I'll come right to the point.
Got a little statement here I'd like you to glance over.
(chuckles) Not trying to raise a little dough, are you?
No, just straightening out some facts.
Facts concerning the payroll hold-up
at the Bolsa Grande company about a year ago.
(paper flicks)
(match strikes)
Tell me something.
[Lin] Yeah.
Have you lost your mind?
Why? Is there some inaccuracy?
Inaccuracy?
You state here that I, Earl C. Mahoney,
planned and executed the Bolsa Grande payroll robbery.
That's right.
That I myself machine gunned six men
and wounded Corporal Valdez.
That I then hid out the money,
and put the blame on an American oil worker
whom we'd met track walking in the mountains.
Sam Tevlin.
You haven't figured on him, I'll admit, but finding him,
the way you did, worked like a charm for your plan.
(Earl chuckles)
You know, I get a kick out of this.
What did you do, dream it up all by yourself?
Not quite. I did some studying.
As an oil operator, you were running into tough luck.
Your finance company was almost broke.
You had an option on a new field
that you thought would save you,
but you didn't have the money to take it up.
Two days after the robbery, you took it up,
and that was the deal that made you rich.
Here's a photostat in the memorandum from your own files.
So, one day I had no money, the next I had some.
What's so unusual about that?
You think for evidence like this,
I'm going sign your confession,
or whatever you call it?
Yes, I think you will.
You've got guts. I like that.
What's the deal, Vanner?
I want to clear a dead man's name.
For clearing dead men's names, I pay 5,000 pesos.
That's tops.
Not enough.
[Earl] 10.
This deal won't cost you a cent, Mahoney,
except the price of a trip out of the country,
after you've signed that paper.
I suggest you move fast, and once you're out of Mexico,
you stay out.
This country doesn't like Americans who ignore her laws.
And if I don't sign?
Think I'll change my mind about that brandy.
Help yourself.
You know, Vanner, you're a tough man,
But you don't leave me much choice.
I guess I'll have to play along with you.
(glass shatters) (gun clunks)
(thud)
(body clunks)
Get up.
Come on, get up!
(ominous orchestral music)
Sure, I'd killed him in self defense,
and I should've called the cops and given myself up,
tried to make the story stick.
It would've been a simple thing to do.
I even thought of it, I guess, and yet I couldn't do it.
I couldn't think straight anymore, except to make sure
that I had something to fight with, if I got caught,
and I didn't intend getting caught.
Hey, he doesn't want to be disturbed.
- He told me to come back. - Oh, you know best?
Yes.
(lock clacks)
[Servant] Your hat, sir.
(tense orchestral music)
Mr. Mahoney, I...
(dramatic orchestral music)
(typewriter clacks)
(siren wails)
(brakes squeal)
(chatter in Spanish)
(officer speaks Spanish)
(brakes squeal)
(officers speak Spanish)
(officer speaks Spanish)
(driver speaks Spanish)
(officer speaks Spanish)
(driver speaks Spanish)
(officer speaks Spanish)
(driver speaks Spanish)
(truck door slams)
(engine starts)
(ominous orchestral music)
(chatter in Spanish)
(train whistles)
(chatter in Spanish)
(Lin speaks Spanish)
(boy speaks Spanish)
(train roars)
(stationmaster yells in Spanish)
(chatter in Spanish)
(stationmaster yells in Spanish)
Senora. (Speaks Spanish)
(woman speaks Spanish)
(stationmaster yells in Spanish)
(chatter in Spanish)
(ominous orchestral music)
(train whistles)
(tense orchestral music)
I figured I could work up to the mountain trails
and find my way home across country.
I wanted to see Ellen and Mike again.
Maybe we could work something out.
Some way to salvage our lives.
But the next day,
the police picked up my trail and cut me off.
I was sure by this time they must have the ranch staked out.
(officers speaks Spanish)
- Senora, you understand. - Now we must search the house.
Very well.
(officer speaks Spanish)
(brooding orchestral music)
They've been watching us for a week.
Why did they choose tonight to search for him?
Because they think they know something,
but they don't know enough.
Where is he?
When they leave, go to the priest hut
at the foot of the mountains.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(speaks Spanish)
(officer speaks Spanish)
(thud) (dramatic orchestral music)
(gun cocks)
(gun fires)
(officer yells in Spanish)
(brooding orchestral music)
(Lin sighs)
Oh, Father, can't you do something for my arm?
[Priest] My son, if I could help you, I would be glad to.
(sighs) I know.
We talked all night.
It was coming daybreak then, too.
The day when I...
When you?
When I made my mistake.
[Priest] Look.
They are here.
(tense orchestral music)
Senor Vanner!
(glass shatters)
For a man of your intelligence, that is a poor decision.
I want to live, Father,
whether it's for 30 years or 30 seconds.
If I go out there, I'll die.
[Officer] Come out, Vanner!
(guns fire) (tense orchestral music)
(shouts in Spanish)
(gun fires) (bullets ricochet)
(guns fire) (bullets ricochet)
(soldier speaks Spanish)
(chatter in Spanish)
(guns fire)
(water splashes)
Vanner!
Do not shoot!
That's someone with him.
It's a woman.
So that is where you want to be,
but take this message to him.
He must give himself up in two minutes
or we will shoot again, whether you are there or not.
(tense orchestral music)
It's Ellen!
(lock clacks)
[Ellen] oh, Lin.
Oh, Ellen, you shouldn't have come here.
You've done just what they wanted, given them a hostage.
It doesn't matter. You've got to give yourself up.
That's something I can't do.
But it's the only way. Please listen.
- Oh, you're hurt. - It's nothing.
He cannot raise his arm to surrender.
Oh, Lin.
Well, then you've got to tell them what's happened.
Make them understand that you're wounded.
It's no use, Ellen.
Darling, you've got to listen.
I know you killed Mahoney in self defense.
I'm sure of it.
You can make them believe it, too. You can get justice.
No! Don't you understand what's happened?
It's the full circle. This was in the cards.
It had to come out this way, right from the very first.
It's just a scratch, and even if I take my arm this way now,
I can't lift it, I can't move it.
I can't!
- [Officer] Vanner! - Your time is up!
(tense orchestral music)
(gun fires)
Get over there.
Get over there!
- Oh, Father, what can we do? - He wants to destroy himself.
Yes, and it's not his wound.
He feels he must destroy himself
because of something he has done.
It has happened to many men. I have seen it.
This is in his mind.
(gun fires) (bullets ricochet)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(gun fires)
[Ellen] I'm going out!
(gun fires)
Ellen!
(gun fires)
Are you hurt? Are you all right?
I wasn't hit. I fell.
(ominous orchestral music)
Your arm.
You used your arm.
This is the answer. We haven't lost, we've won.
We can live.
We can be together again.
But have we won?
If I...
If I go outside...
If you want to be with your wife and son again,
you must try.
[Lin] I'm coming out!
(officer speaks Spanish)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(officer speaks Spanish)
[Officer] Put up your hand!
(speaks Spanish)
(peaceful orchestral music)
(speaks Spanish)
(priest speaks Spanish)
- Come with us. - Have faith, my son.
Come.
(speaks Spanish)
(bright orchestral music)
(acoustic guitar music in Spanish)