"I promised you'd be a rich man, webster." "You're standing ankle-deep in your treasure." "Or would you rather be dead?" "There's a very interesting article in the arizona press." ""ancient ruins uncovered in yavapai valley." ""discovery increases likelihood" "That legendary indian treasure might be..."" "I should have listened to the warnings about you." "Just when things are..." "Well, most pleasant," "You up and take some ridiculous trip." "Apparently the discovery was made by a homesteader." "There's been some trouble about it already." "Legend has it that tribe- which is no longer there" "Was enormously wealthy." "And you call yourself a gentlemen." "Leaving me now is scarcely a compliment to me." "Well, in a way," "Perhaps it's the greatest compliment I could pay you." "As cicero said, "omnibus in rebus voluptatibus maximis" "Fastidium finitimum est."" "Excuse me." "Good morning, mr." "Paladin." "Good morning, hey boy." "Oh." "Hey boy, I want this letter" "To go on the stage through tucson." "I think we can just make it." "Well, that's fine," "And have my usual gear waiting for me" "In front of the public library." "I have some things to look up." "Pa?" "I told you them chickens and ducks eat better than I do." "They're faster." "There's a man coming, papa." "Maybe another newspaper man." "Willodean, caroline, there's a man coming." "You keep your jaws lax this time, hear?" "My name's paladin." "If you're bud webster, you probably got a card of mine." "You took a long trip for nothing." "You know how these writer fellas get things all mixed up." "They all chew loco weed." "Well, this one came up with" "Some remarkably accurate hallucinations." "They all sort of fitted" "The yavapai legend." "Four-stitch boots," "Fancy clothes..." "Your business must pay pretty well." "Hmm?" "Married?" "On the contrary." "Guess I forgot my manners." "I'd like you to meet my girls." "Jacqueline." "This one can make chow bean soup" "Taste like it came off a hog." "Cooks just like her mama, god rest her soul." "Jacqueline." "Willodean..." "She can read, tell jokes, sing." "Keep a man laughing day and night." "Willodean." "And caroline." "Rides like a man," "Shoot the eye out of a jack rabbit at 50 paces." "Caroline." "How do?" "Why don't you go get everett, papa?" "Lunch is about ready." "We'll entertain mr." "Paladin for ya." "Care to come in and set a spell?" "Good idea." "Take me about an hour to walk up and fetch my boy." "Well, as a matter of fact," "There's probably no reason for me to stay" "Since everything that was in the newspaper wasn't true." "Well, the fact is," "We get downright lonely, mr." "Paladin." "Especially the girls." "Man rides past here once in a blue moon." "I understood there was a cattle town" "Only five miles from here." "Nothing but cheats in that town." "They charged me every cent I had" "For this no-good, dried-out land." "Now they expect me to share my..." "My daughters." "You think I'd let my girls mix with that sort?" "They ain't all cheats, papa." "Take that young herbert fella." "I ever catch you talking to him again" "I'll strap you good, hear?" "That goes for simms and waters, too." "Their cattle looks like they were bags on bones." "It serves them right, too." "Well, this country is known for drought conditions." "Well, why didn't they tell me so when they sold me this land?" "Raining like cats and dogs the day I bought it." "Not a drop since." "I should have stuck to shoemaking." "Looks like I won't have to fetch everett." "More trouble?" "No." "Meet mr." "Paladin." "You saw his card." "Pa, I got to have more..." "I got to have a better plow." "I told you to go easy on it." "Well, you know how hard the sun bakes those fields." "It's like rock." "Understand?" "Like rock." "Now maybe you can get some credit at the store" "On your next crop." "We can't take a chance." "I can't work those fields with my bare hands." "All right." "Hitch the wagon." "Ladies, as cicero once remarked, and I translate very freely," ""there can be too much even of a good thing."" "I think I'd better accompany your father into town." "Excuse me." "We heard bud webster was thinking of hiring a gun." "Take a seat, huh?" "Serve us a drink, gene." "No hard feelings." "No, no hard feelings." "Whatever gave you that idea?" "I ordered drinks, gene!" "And don't tell me how much I already owe." "Perhaps I could..." "Keep your hands above the table, mister." "My name's doris." "Doris golomon." "My family owned this valley since '32." "I branded the first steer that walked this range," "Built the first line of barbed wire." "I buried two husbands." "What do you think of that?" "You got a name?" "Paladin." "That's herb." "That's bob." "Herb." "Bob." "And I just sent bill simms on an errand." "You'll like him, too." "Well, I'm sure I will." "May I give you a piece of advice?" "Here's some advice for you, mister..." ""don't mix in."" "This time we've had enough." "Our cattle are so dry" "Their bones rattle when they walk." "Just like this town, hear?" "Most folks long since run." "Now we got two choices:" "Deep wells, as far down as we got to go," "Or we run, too." "Start all over again." "Either way, it takes money." "You get the idea?" "I think so." "But bud webster told me he hasn't found a thing." "And even if he had," "That's his property, isn't it?" "I kept the mineral rights to this property" "When I sold him that land!" "I ain't that crazy." "We wouldn't sell a dirt clod from around here" "Without keeping the rights." "There's a whole storehouse" "Of yavapai gold somewhere around here." "Fabulous yavapai valley." "Even the aztecs heard of it." "Sent a great expedition north." "Then there was a tremendous earthquake." "I want to know what you learned." "What did bud tell ya?" "Bud told me the names of his three daughters." "Don't you say nothing about those webster girls, mister." "Now he don't mean anything." "They're the only three marrying gals" "Left around here now." "Get your grubby hands off me, bill!" "He was trying to get credit for a load of blasting powder." "Every place I go they follow me." "I'm hiring you as of now." "You don't need a gunman, you stupid old clod buster." "I offered to split it with ya." "What right you got to make offers?" "This is my valley." "If it wasn't for me none of you'd be here." "Just a minute now, doris." "We've got a share coming, too." "You see, everybody'd end up with some but me." "I kept the mineral rights, blast ya!" "You can keep the mineral rights." "This comes under treasure." "Treasure's right." "Have a look at what he was showing trying to get credit." "Gold toad." "Solid gold." "Where'd you find it?" "The story was true, huh?" "He really did find an indian ruin." "Show us the way in and we'll give you a hand." "Put them away." "Put them away!" "I'll have the law on you for this, woman." "I'm complaining to the sheriff of tucson." "No, you're not." "Not unless you want half this state" "Digging with you." "See?" "!" "As stupid as you are ugly." "Listen to who's talking." "I've seen prettier features on a cobbler's" "Bench." "All you know about is shoes." "At least they keep their tongues laced in place," "Which is more than I can say about some other..." "All right." "Pack your blasting powder." "I'll catch up with you later." "What's he paying you?" "I'll pay you double." "Cut you in for one-fifth." "You people are going to end up killing each other" "Over a treasure that may not even exist." "Better chance that it does." "All right." "But why argue about dividing something" "That may be nonexistent." "Let him dig." "Hey, whose side you on, paladin?" "My own." "At least ya ain't a liar." "I'll take a chance on you." "Why thank you, ma'am." "But just in case I'm wrong," "You follow bud webster to his diggins," "And don't let him shake you this time." "Lots of them rocks around." "They don't mean nothing." "You sure got a funny way of helping us:" "Snooping around the valley," "Digging holes while we work." "Where'd you disappear to yesterday?" "Land office in tucson." "How's the blasting coming along?" "Well, pa thinks" "It's time you come over there," "Give us some protection." "Oh?" "We broke through to something." "An altar of some sort;" "a place of worship." "Was buried almost out of sight." "Stumbled onto it while I was out rabbit hunting." "Dug down, found this here stone path" "At the base of it." "Kept digging," "Found that path led right into the mountain there." "Right into the mountain." "That's when we decided to dig that shaft there," "Follow that stone path right in." "We hadn't dug down ten feet," "We found the gold toad." "Indians must have had an opening there once." "Yeah, until a mountain caved in on it." "So the gold mine is still in there." "Or maybe a treasure store, or maybe both." "Mr. Paladin." "Uh, you know how the rest of that story goes?" "They used to worship a dragon or something." "An animal of some sort," "Probably a gold image as a replica" "Or possibly a giant toad." "Their grandchildren would remember that as a dragon." "Heard about a toad" "That was accidentally walled up for years." "It was still alive when they tore down the building." "How long you figure a big one might live?" "Guarding the treasure?" "Well, you won't think it's so funny" "When you go in there." "You see, we ain't cut through that last few feet of stone slab" "Because everett once thought he heard something" "Through that slab." "Follow me, mr." "Paladin." "Stay here, boy." "Our last blast broke through to this." "Must be part of the original indian tunnel." "Look how smooth those rocks are." "It's something, huh?" "Yeah." "Come on." "This is as far as we got." "Oh, I can see" "Where that block of sandstone slipped down years ago" "And blocked the passageway." "Notice how it's all cracked up there?" "We go through this careful, by hand." "In about three feet, I'll be a rich man." "That's very likely." "If it's the devil hisself you hear in there..." "Earthquake?" "Gunshots." "Come on!" "Doris, you gone crazy?" "!" "Your boy shot at us first!" "You was comin' in on me, guns drawn!" "All we want is our share!" "You fight us and we'll take it all!" "That gold belongs to me, woman!" "Another step, sims, you too, herb," "I'll shoot to kill." "Now hold it, all of ya!" "You stay out of this, paladin." "There's no gold in that tunnel!" "You're going to kill each other" "Over something that doesn't even exist!" "I wouldn't trust any gunman of yours, bud webster." "You give me three minutes" "And I'll show you what's inside that tunnel." "24 sticks of blasting powder." "Put a bullet in this," "I'd say it'd close that shaft permanently." "Don't shoot!" "Stop him!" "Don't let him go in there with that powder, pa." "Don't shoot, bob!" "Put your guns away, boys." "We could work this out." "All right." "I'd rather have half a share than none." "You got nerve, woman." "I like that." "Paladin!" "I cut that fuse in half." "You've got 30 seconds to get out of here." "I promised you you'd be a rich man," "Or would you rather be a dead one?" "25 seconds!" "Come on." "When we get out of here I'm gonna kill you!" "Go on!" "Get out of the way!" "Get down!" "It's gonna cave in." "I said I wanted to be rich." "I was wrong." "All we wanted was a decent chance out of life, just once." "You took that from us." "Let's have a look at that gold image." "If you lived in a green valley," "Your whole life depended on water" "Which flowed to you through stone aqueducts." "If you were an indian" "And wanted to pick one animal to worship," "Which one would you choose?" "It's the webbed feet and long swimming muscles." "A frog;" "a water frog." "I thought I recognized these stone patterns." "At one time, this aqueduct system probably crisscrossed" "That entire valley down there." "I guess after the tunnel was closed up by the earthquakes," "The yavapai tribe just disappeared," "Almost as if they dried up," "And I guess that's just about what happened." "Well, this is the yavapai wealth." "It's the kind that brings you crops and cattle." "You're standing ankle-deep in gold, mr." "Webster." "It's flowing down clear through the valley." "Nobody owns that land in between." "I'm gonna file on it." "Nobody diverts my water." "The new owner filed on it two days ago in tucson." "Be a slight charge for water shares," "I'll think we'll all find it a very profitable arrangement." "All that fancy talk..." "He's a crook!" "A fancy-talking crook!" "He's taking our water" "And I'll bet you're in with him!" "Me?" "Boy..." "The yavapai water company" "Has a further announcement." "In order to promote peace" "And increase the population in the valley," "Which, of course, will serve my interests also," "Additional water shares will be given" "Each married family" "At no charge." "I've got over 700 head to water." "Your daughters home, old man?" "I saw them earlier." "Let's go!" "I think I'll, uh, go pay a call on wanda." "That ain't fair!" "We got the largest holdings of all." "Nobody our age left in the valley." "We need water, lots of it!" "Funny, I don't see any problem at all." "Thought you'd come this way." "Look, my wife and I," "We figured up that water will bring you only about" "A thousand a year." "That's pretty reasonable for a double-crossing crook." "Well, a thousand here and a thousand there." "We figured you might, uh..." "Kinda like sort of a" "Souvenir." "Thank you." "I'm going to have real frogs, shade trees, corn." "With this old woman," "I might even have some more kids." "Oh!" "Mr. Webster, in this country," "Fresh water works miracles." "¶ "have gun will travel" reads the card of a man ¶" "¶ a knight without armor in a savage land ¶" "¶ his fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind ¶" "¶ a soldier of fortune is the man called paladin ¶" "¶ paladin, paladin, where do you roam?" "¶"