"You've had your big moment." "You've been judge, jury and executioner." "Now it's time for you to take a look at the truth." "¶ ¶" "Yah!" "Yah!" "You hurt my horse, and I'll kill you!" "Hey, Judd, know what's good for a tired horse?" "Put a burr under its saddle." "Nothing like a burr for spooking up a half-dead horse." "Here, Mickey, show it to him." "Now, wait a minute, Ed, you know how he gets." "Oh, let's have some fun with him." "Come on, show him the burr." "Come here, Judd" " Mickey's got something for you." "Thank you." "Welcome home, honey!" "Yeah!" "Oh, well, I guess I should visit my mother more often." "Don't you try it." "How is she?" "Oh, she's tedious." "She still can't understand how her Eastern daughter can stay married to a Western rancher." "She'll never be able to figure that one out, will she?" "Hey." "What do you think you're doing, mister?" "Well, I was just trying to organize this, uh, personal..." "Yeah, well, this is my wife's petticoat." "I recognized it." "It's Belgian lace and very pretty." "I don't like your sense of humor, mister." "Oh, Bill, please don't lose your temper." "Judd, I was only fooling, honest!" "Judd, put me down!" "Put him down!" "Put him down!" "I'm sorry, Mr. Borden, but they was making fun of Jenny." "It was Ed's idea, not mine." "You never know when to quit, do you, Ed?" "Someday, you're going to start more trouble than you can handle." "Judd, go on back to the ranch." "These saddle bums aren't worth your time." "Well, your husband handled that very well." "He's the only one around here who can control Judd." "I'm sorry, Ed, I-I guess I just got scared." "Go on, beat it." "But..." "Go on!" "Hey, Judd!" "Come here." "I want to talk to you." "Thank you." "Welcome." "What the devil are you laughing at?" "Well, it is sort of ridiculous, isn't it?" "Did you hear 'em, Judd, laughing at you?" "Me?" "Who's laughing at me?" "Gil Borden's laughing at you." "Look at them." "Him and his wife and that other man." "They're laughing at you." "I'll be glad to help." "We'll manage without your help." "Don't take him so seriously, honey." "You know, my husband isn't always as hot- headed as this- just during his waking hours." "Come on, Nora, help me pick this stuff up." "Bye." "Bye." "Thanks." "Mr. Borden's my boss." "Now, don't you say nothing against him." "He was once my boss, too." "Well, he fired you, 'cause you're always starting trouble." "He fired me 'cause I wouldn't let him push me around, wouldn't let him laugh at me and make me look bad in front of the whole world." "You like being laughed at?" "Well, I don't want to get fired." "Don't it get you sore, being laughed at all the time?" "Gil Borden, his wife, that fancy-looking stranger- everybody makes fun of Big Judd." "Mr. Borden wouldn't make fun of me." "Now, you stop that." "Even Mickey makes fun of you, and you let him." "Not when he's going to hurt my horse, I don't." "Look, why not give Mickey a little of his own medicine?" "What?" "A burr." "Here." "Slip it under Mickey's saddle." "Let him get laughed at for a change." "That ain't Mickey's horse, is it?" "Sure it is." "Take a look." "What's wrong, you scared of Mickey, too?" "Big Judd Calhoun scared of a little tiny fellow like Mickey?" "I ain't scared of nobody, I told you." "Except little Mickey." "No, I ain't." "I ain't scared of nobody, you hear?" "Show me." "Come on." "You know, Gil, that-that stranger was just trying to help us." "You know, I thought he was rather charming." "Maybe that's why I didn't like him." "Is this a new horse?" "Yup." "Let me ride him back." "I just got him from Lou Spence." "You wait for Hank." "He's bringing the surrey from the livery stable." "The surrey?" "Look, I have my new riding skirt to break in, and besides, I've been acting like a lady at my mother's for two weeks." "Are you going to make me act like a lady, too?" "Oh, all right, I'll ride the surrey." "Oh..." "I'll meet you at the livery stable and follow you home." "Can I help?" "Oh, thank you." "Aren't you going to miss the stage?" "No, it's an hour layover." "That's Mr. Borden's horse, Ed." "Why'd you want to tell me it was Mickey's horse?" "Do you want him to know that you put that burr under the saddle?" "No... but Mrs. Borden's going to get hurt." "You'll get all the blame if you don't shut up." "Now, there, all set." "Thank you, and please forgive my husband's temper." "Sometimes I think he'd rather fight than eat." "Well, it's, uh, good for the waistline and hard on the knuckles." "I hope we'll meet again sometime." "Good-bye." "All right!" "Halt!" "Ho!" "All right, whoa!" "Ed, what'll we do?" "Don't say nothing, understand?" "Nothing!" "Well, what should I do, Ed?" "T-Tell me what to do." "Sh-Should I run away?" "I told you stay here." "The minute you run, they'll know you did it." "Well, you told me to do it, Ed." "You think they'll believe that?" "Look at 'em." "They'll track you down, have you swinging on the end of a rope." "Ed, the stranger- he knows something." "I-I seen him lookin' at the horse, and then he looked at us." "You stay here." "I'll handle it." "That horse is dangerous, mister." "He's all right now." "You saw what he did to Mrs. Borden." "Yes, I did." "Now, what causes a gentle horse to turn wild all of a sudden?" "Do you have any ideas?" "Well, both her legs are broken badly." "I don't understand it." "That horse is no killer." "I rode him around all week before I bought him." "I wouldn't put Nora on a horse she couldn't handle." "How did it happen?" "Did anyone see?" "Wasn't anyone there?" "Perhaps this'll explain it." "I found it under the saddle." "A burr." "You mean someone played a joke?" "A lousy, stinking joke?" "All right, now, I know someone here knows who did it." "Now, who was it?" "!" "Now, tell me, who was it?" "Just give me five minutes with him." "I'll stake every cent I got as a reward." "Now, who was it?" "!" "Perhaps I can be some help." "Do you know who crippled my wife?" "I'll find out." "All right, you find out." "You're hired." "Wait a minute, Mr. Borden." "Judd and me were right here." "We saw the whole thing." "What are you talking about?" "We know who put that burr under the saddle." "All right, who was it?" "Him." "Borden, use your head." "What reason would I have to hurt your wife?" "Look at him." "He's a fast gun." "He likes hurting people." "You don't believe that, do you?" "I don't disbelieve it." "He was right there at the horse, fussing with the saddle, fixing the cinch." "Ask anybody." "That's right." "I saw him from inside the saloon." "He was fooling around with that cinch." "Better be the truth, Ed." "Think anybody's crazy enough to lie to you?" "Ask Judd." "He was there." "Hey, Judd." "He-he did it." "I-I seen him, Mr. Borden, honest." "Yeah, he even went to the trouble of dusting off the saddle." "How many times have you seen anybody do that?" "Yeah." "How come he was the only one who knew about that burr?" "He was covering himself, that's all." "I don't like to do this to you people, but I don't have any choice." "Now, go on home." "All of you, go on." "You know what Nora means to me, Paladin?" "I think so." "No, you don't." "Nora doesn't even know, but you're going to find out, 'cause I'm going to hunt you down." "I'm going to get you, and I'm going to return every bit of pain you've given her." "Looks like I'll have to find that man who hurt your wife for your sake as well as for my own." "Now, you two, toss those guns." "Throw 'em out there!" "Now, you four, get down, get down on you faces." "Get down!" "Mister," "I'll blow you down." "Put your face down." "Stay down there." "Get your horses!" "I'll see you later, honey." "Gil?" "It's been a week." "Well, you've been riding with the posse every day." "Well, Paladin is still running loose." "Well, finding him's not going to help me walk again." "Honey, there's a..." "There's a marshal in the territory." "Now, why don't you let him do it?" "Grab a horse." "We just picked up Paladin's trail." "Where is he?" "Look here." "Nobody else in town smokes fancy cigars like this." "Found it by the riverbed." "All right." "Gil, please stay." "Honey, suppose I was in the wheelchair instead of you." "And you knew the man who put me there." "What would you do to him?" "Tell me." "Oh." "Well, I'd make sure he was the right man." "Who says he ain't the right man?" "Well, I don't know." "It's just that I don't think he's capable." "Why not?" "'Cause he played up to you a little?" "'Cause he made jokes about your petticoats?" "Always doing exactly the right thing, ain't you, Borden?" "You ought to quit the posse, Ed." "Let him find Paladin himself." "No." "I want to be there when Borden finds him." "I want to see him do something all wrong." "Kind of mistake even he can't fix." "Come on." "Can I come in?" "The horse I borrowed- I've just returned it." "It's tied in the corral." "The cook is here, and... and Judd, and all I have to do is scream." "Do you know the whole town's after you?" "They want to kill you on sight." "Oh, they're a mob." "They're a terrible mob." "A mob's incapable of reason or trust." "I'd like to believe you're not part of it." "Tell me the truth, Mr. Paladin." "I have to know." "I had nothing to do with your accident." "Nothing." "I have to believe you." "Your eyes give you away." "Why do you stay around here?" "You could be miles away." "It's..." "It's so dangerous." "Your husband hired me to find the person who did this, and if he hadn't hired me, I suspect" "I'd be doing the same thing anyway." "Well, that's ridiculous." "He's-He's out to kill you." "I-I'd like to do anything I could to stop it, but..." "You can." "If I could just talk to the big man, the one with the ancient horse." "Judd, Judd Calhoun." "If I could just talk to Judd for about five minutes." "I think he knows who did it." "Well, he's down at the bunkhouse right now." "But Mr. Paladin, he's a monster." "I mean, he can cripple a man with a handshake." "Or a burr under the saddle." "Mrs. Borden?" "Well, that's the cook." "Go out through the back room, through Gil's room and out." "Keep him here for about five minutes." "I'll be down at the bunkhouse, talking to Judd." "Well, but they'll come right back and find you." "I want them to find me." "Mrs. Borden?" "Come in, Hank." "Can't figure it out, Mrs. Borden." "That horse is back." "The one that threw you." "Oh?" "It's in the corral." "And, are-are you sure?" "Yes, ma'am, I'm positive." "That Paladin fellow took the horse with him, and now that horse is in the corral." "I better let Mr. Borden know." "Oh, no, Hank, please." "Ma'am, he'll want to know." "That fellow must be close by if that horse is here." "Um..." "Hank, please stay with me." "I've..." "I've been so lonely." "Won't take me long to find Mr. Gil, ma'am." "Reckon he'd be mighty sore to know Paladin slipped by him again." "Hank, uh..." "W-Would you get me a pillow over there, please?" "You know how that horse got here, Mrs. Borden?" "No, of-of course not, Hank." "Well..." "I'll send Judd back to keep you company." "Ma'am." "It's a good thing we work here, Jenny." "Where we can sit and rest a spell, and nobody cares too much." "Mr. Borden treats you well, doesn't he, Judd?" "Want you to step inside the barn with me for a moment." "What for?" "Well, the daylight has become rather bad for my health." "Come on." "I know you." "Your the fellow they're looking for." "After you." "You're-You're that gunslinger." "They're looking for you." "Why?" "Huh?" "Why are they looking for me, Judd?" "'C-Cause you hurt Mrs. Borden." "You put that burr under the saddle." "Did I?" "Yeah, you did." "I put it there to hurt Mrs. Borden?" "No." "All it was supposed..." "Keep talking, Judd." "No." "Mrs. Borden wasn't supposed to ride that horse, was she?" "That burr was meant for somebody else, wasn't it, Judd?" "Now you were there, you saw it." "Tell the truth!" "I don't know." "I think you do!" "I-I don't know what you're saying." "I want you to tell me the truth, Judd." "You're getting me all mixed up." "I..." "Was it you, Judd?" "Was it you?" "Did you put that burr under that saddle?" "No, I would never hurt Mrs. Borden, never." "It wasn't meant for Mrs. Borden, was it?" "Meant to hurt somebody else, wasn't it?" "Answer me!" "It was meant for Gil Borden, wasn't it?" "No." "It-It was for M-Mickey." "Ed said the horse belonged to Mickey, and I..." "What else did Ed say, Judd?" "You hear that posse?" "You're afraid of them, aren't you Judd?" "You afraid of that posse?" "No." "Afraid to go out there and tell those people exactly what you know?" "I ain't scared of nobody." "No?" "Well, then, come on, Judd, come on." "Come on." "Hats off, Paladin." "Now, hold it." "Judd got something to tell you people." "Tell 'em, Judd." "Tell 'em who put the burr under the saddle." "You heard him, Judd, go ahead." "It was him." "My party now, bud." "Isn't your wife invited to this party?" "She won't enjoy it as much as I will." "Well, I think she'd like to see you as a hero- judge, jury, and executioner, all wrapped up in one." "Tie him up, Ed." "She'll be real pleased with you." "Shooting an innocent man, unarmed man with his hands carefully tied." "She'd really be impressed with you." "One more word out of you, and I'll..." "He's trying to rile you up, Borden." "Go on, put him away." "Oh, let Mr. Borden have his big moment." "He's trying to talk you into a fight." "Yeah, and he ain't worth it." "You guys, shut up." "I was told you'd rather fight than eat." "You looking for a change of diet?" "You talking awful big, Paladin." "I tell you, quit wasting time." "Put a hole through him, and be done with it." "Maybe you better do that." "Here, you want to tie my hands?" "Make it easier for you." "You might get hurt." "Judd might not like that." "You're making a mistake, Borden." "We'll see whose mistake it is." "Your own?" "Take care of him, Judd." "Please, Mr. Borden." "He's hurting you." "You leave me alone, Judd." "Please, please, Mr. Borden." "There he is." "You hurt him again, I'm gonna kill you." "I'm gonna tear you to pieces." "Let me alone, Judd, let me alone." "What about it, Judd?" "You gonna say who put that burr under the saddle?" "No." "Come on, who is it?" "Do you want me to hurt him again?" "No, no, no." "Ah, Judd, watch that stupid mouth of yours." "I did it, Mr. Borden." "I put that burr under the saddle." "And I..." "Ed told me to." "I didn't mean to hurt Mrs. Borden, but Ed told me to." "All right." "Next one to try anything gets the same thing." "I mean it." "Don't nobody even move." "What can I do, Paladin?" "What can I do to make up for all this?" "You want an easy answer, don't you?" "Come on." "Gil!" "Gil, what happened?" "I got exactly what was coming to me, that's what happened." "Paladin's got $2,000 coming to him." "Oh." "Well, I..." "I-I don't under..." "I don't understand anything." "Your husband will explain." "I've got just time to catch the next stage." "I want you to listen to me." "I have a friend in San Francisco." "He's a surgeon." "One of the finest in the country, and I think he can help you." "Oh." "Here you are, Paladin." "And that's not enough for the all the misery I've caused you." "Well, here's the one that suffered the misery." "I want you to take this." "Mrs. Borden?" "For your medical expenses." "I-I... really..." "Don't worry about it." "I'll get it back." "How will you get it back?" "That doctor I told you about in San Francisco- he's a first-rate doctor, but he's a second-rate poker player."