"A man ride like that'll kill himself." "Save us the trouble." "Hey, stranger." "Give a man a hand?" "Sure thing, old-timer." "Ah." "I'll heave, you guide it." "Okay." "That's a nice piece of stone." "Who's the lucky customer?" "Don't rightly know." "Mean not dead yet?" "Dead two years." "If he is dead." "Say, this is a rather interesting line of work you're in." "Can't complain." "Buried the barber yesterday." "Well, that's it." "Thank you." "Oh, hey." "How would you like to ride over to Wagon Mound with me and make two dollars?" "I already got two dollars." "Thanks just the same." "Well, I'll reckon the women will meet me at the bridge." "You know, the first stone I took over to Wagon Mound," "I started across that bridge like an idiot." "Darn near had my head blowed off." "You don't say." "Must be mighty touchy folks live out that way." "Son, if you had a hundred thousand dollars stashed away, you'd be a mite touchy yourself." "Well, howdy do?" "Morning." "Whiskey, please." "Hey, you, uh..." "Would you mind if I borrowed your fixings there?" "Help yourself, friend." "Thanks." "Riding through?" "Hmm." "Bound where, friend?" "Wagon Mound, friend." "Wagon..." "You hear that, Claude?" "The traveler's going to Wagon Mound." "You know Ma McDade?" "No." "Can't say I do." "You'll meet her." "She'll be that nice old lady that'll put a bullet in your head." "What's your line, friend?" "I sell." "Sell what?" "Notions." "You take my advice, you hear?" "Stay out of Wagon Mound." "Ain't nothing there but a burned out town and five widows." "Oh, maybe I could do a job of selling, if they've got some money to spend." "Only a hundred-thousand dollars in gold dust buried somewhere." "That's all." "Buried gold doesn't draw much interest." "Drawed an awful lot of interest around here." "Them McDade girls cools them off pretty fast." "Did you ever hear of the McDade boys?" "Oh, those McDades, huh?" "They pulled their last job about two years ago." "The Red Drop mine shipment." "They stuck it up and beat it back to Wagon Mound." "It was a nice little town then." "Hmm." "Take the gold with them?" "Mmm-hmm." "A lot of good it did them." "Posse right on their heels." "They holed up in a barn to make a stand." "You know what?" "Somebody threw a lighted lamp in the window." "They were gonna smoke 'em out." "But that lamp landed smack dab on the top of a keg of powder." "You know, that's a mighty interesting' story." "There's only one thing wrong." "What's that?" "I hear one of those McDades has been operating up in Dakota country." "Sure." "The one that got away." "Which one?" "You name him, friend." "Boone, Prince, Matt, Roy." "Take your pick." "We found three bodies in them ashes." "One of 'em ducked out of the barn before it went blooey." "Well, I wouldn't count on him to leave that gold lying' around." "Oh, it's there all right." "He wasn't carting' no baggage when he left." "I was in that posse, friend." "I helped turn that town upside down lookin' for that loot." "Never found a smell of it." "You just say as what them widows is hangin' around for." "Just go ahead, ask." "Yeah, I was wondering about those widows." "They'll be there." "Waitin'." "Ma and those four wives taken over that hotel." "They're waitin' for that livin' McDade to come back so they can split that gold dust." "And they don't want no nosey strangers prying' around." "Yeah." "Well, thanks for the entertainment." "You don't believe us, do you?" "See that?" "A luck piece." "A McDade luck piece." "All four of 'em had 'em." "Used to wear 'em around their neck." "Did you ever try to shoot a 20 dollar gold piece on the fly?" "Them McDades can do it." "Their ma can do it." "And I hear tell them girls can do it, too." "So, where'd you get this?" "Found it layin' alongside the barn after we put that fire out." "Well, that's a nice little souvenir." "Well, as long as you plan on goin' to Wagon Mound," "I'll buy you your last drink." "Thanks, but that one hasn't been put in a bottle yet." "Too bad, Claude, I would have liked to knowed him better." "What are you lookin' at?" "He seen the sign." "My name's McDade." "What's yours?" "Kehoe." "Dan Kehoe." "You know where you're at?" "I saw your sign." "Says "Keep out," don't it?" "Why didn't you?" "A fellow told me about this place." "Said if I was ever in trouble, to head for here and ask the lady of the house to put me up." "What fella?" "We didn't change cards." "What'd he look like?" "I never saw him clear." "It was dark in that cell." "Cell?" "We spent the night together in jail, up in Dakota Territory." "I told him I had a job of work to do in these parts and expected to do some hard running afterwards." "That's when he mentioned Wagon Mound." "What was he in for?" "I never heard." "Come morning, he was gone." "Did he leave no word for me?" "Think back, mister." "Didn't he tell you nothin' to tell me?" "Would you mind getting me my waistcoat, please?" "Thank you." "You lose somethin', mister?" "You, uh, wouldn't have the makings on you, would you?" "Answer what I asked you." "No, ma'am." "Don't lie to me, mister." "What would I want to lie for?" "My trail's hotter than the Fourth of July." "You probably heard some of the fireworks." "I heard 'em." "I'm played out." "I couldn't beat my own mother from a standing start." "You're all the luck I got left, good or bad." "Oh, I know what you're thinking, ma'am." "If the law should track me here, you're in for trouble." "The law don't come to Wagon Mound." "I see you got yourselves all fixed up, huh?" "Well, it won't do you no good." "He's just stayin' the night." "Who is he?" "Says his name is Kehoe." "Dan Kehoe." "You want someone should sit up with him?" "I..." "No, I don't!" "I don't want any of you goin' near him." "Is he handsome?" "I don't know." "I'm too old to tell." "A man on the dodge, in strange country, and he just happens to stumble into Wagon Mound." "That was a piece of luck, wasn't it?" "It weren't all luck." "Reckon you got a right to know." "Somebody steered him here." "What do you mean?" "Somebody passed the word that he'd find a welcome in Wagon Mound." "That ain't so strange." "It could have been just about anybody." "No." "Why not?" "Why not my man?" "Or hers?" "Or hers?" "Because, if it were my boy, he'd have sent word to his Ma." "Or to us." "One of us." "Well, how do we know he'd send word?" "We've sat in this hole for two years, waitin' for him to come back." "How do we know he's comin' back at all?" "Oh, he'll be back, Ruby." "He's a married man." "Also a very rich one, now the gold doesn't have to be divided four ways." "How do we know there's any gold?" "How do we know it ain't just a trick to keep us here till we're as old as she is?" "You know because I say so!" "Stay away from that Kehoe man, you hear?" "I got a boy out there, someplace." "I can't rightly put a face nor a name to him, but I know he's there, and I know he's depending' on his ma to ride his fences for him." "Now, one of you belongs to him, by the laws of God and this Territory." "And when he comes back to claim his property, well, he's goin' to find everything just like he left it." "I mean everything." "Now, go on, get up to bed!" "Ruby?" "Do you think I ought to set an extra place for Mr. Kehoe?" "How would I know?" "You been thinkin' about him all night, huh?" "I haven't even seen him, except to help carry him up to bed." "Well, save your dreams." "He'll not have eyes for you, not in that black sack." "¶ When I was a little girl." "¶ I used to play with toys." "¶ Now that I'm a bigger girl." "¶ I'd rather play with... ¶" "Where is he?" "Under the table." "He's still here, ain't he?" "Oh, he's here all right." "My, don't we all look lovely this morning?" "Well, it's just common decency to look after our appearance." "Common it is." "I'd argue about the decency." "I don't see no bird nests in your hair." "Oh, what a stink!" "That's French perfume!" "Prince bought it for me when he got out of jail in Chicago." "You all kill me." "A man sleeps under our roof for the first time in two years, and you all remember you're women." "Runnin' around like a bunch of scared chickens." "That's what you sound like this mornin', too." "A bunch of cackling' hens." "Lord, thanks for the vittles." "Amen." "What about Mr. Kehoe?" "Won't he be wantin' some breakfast?" "He had his." "Is he feelin' any better, Ma?" "I expect so." "He's a big man, that one." "Strong." "Well, eat your breakfast." "What's wrong with you?" "You all got the pip?" "My sisters-in-law are upset today." "A man's come into their lives to remind them of their widowhood." "We don't need no reminders." "We got Ma." "You watch your tongue." "And as soon as you've ate, you get upstairs and get into some decent clothes." "And wash that rouge off your face." "You look like a dancehall girl." "You take that thing out of your hair." "What's the matter?" "You all forgot you're married women?" "On the contrary, Ma." "Mr. Kehoe's sudden arrival has freshened the memory of their loss." "In a pig's eye, it has." "I ain't nobody's fool." "I aim to see he leaves here today." "It don't seem right, puttin' a bullet in a man and throwin' him out like that." "Well, I'll decide what's right." "Sabina, as soon as you've had breakfast, you get up there and fix his bandages, and tell him to get his day's rest, 'cause he'll get nothin' else here." "Go on, now, eat your breakfast." "Come in." "According to Ma, we're about to lose you, Mr. Kehoe." "I don't believe I've had the pleasure." "I'm Sabina McDade." "I dressed you last night." "Don't you remember?" "I wish I did." "I was referring to your wound." "Sit down." "Much obliged for the patchwork." "Oh, we doctor all our sick animals, Mr. Kehoe." "Where will you go from here?" "Back to Dakota?" "Why Dakota?" "I thought you had a friend there." "Not in Dakota or any place else." "Judging from the scars I counted on you, you have plenty of enemies." "You must have at least one friend." "Well, I thought the old lady might be a friend, but you tell me she's turning me out tail over tea kettle." "What about the man who sent you here?" "What about him?" "Was he any of these?" "The boys?" "They look like they knew what was coming." "Do you see your friend, Mr. Kehoe?" "No." "Well, that's disappointing." "I was hoping you'd say yes." "Then, instead of merely suspecting it, I'd know you were a faker." "How so?" "If you'd pointed out one of those men as your friend..." "You see, Mr. Kehoe, that's not a photograph of the McDade boys." "They never had one taken." "I figured that." "Since we're identifying McDades, which one were you paired off with?" "Boone was my husband." "Still is, for all you know." "Yes." "You don't sound overjoyed." "I'm not sentimental, Mr. Kehoe." "Least of all about Boone." "We'd been married exactly two hours when he walked out of our hotel room." ""To get some whiskey," he said." "A week later, I picked up the paper and read where he and the others had robbed a Touchstone bank." "So, you high-tailed it for Wagon Mound to get your cut?" "I can't deceive you, can I, Mr. Kehoe?" "You wouldn't wait two years for any man." "Money, a pile of it, that would be worth waiting for." "I never pretended otherwise, not even to Ma." "It wasn't necessary." "She knew what was due Boone's wife." "She even gave me the wedding ring off her own finger to make up for the one he promised me." "Beside Ma, every man I ever met looked like a weakling and a fool." "And if I were you, Mr. Kehoe, I wouldn't lie to her." "Or try to play any games with me, either." "There's a few I'd like to try, miss." "Sabina!" "Comin', Ma!" "¶ Wished I was in Tennessee." "¶ Sittin' in a big armchair." "¶ One arm 'round the whiskey jug." "¶ The other around my... ¶" "Good morning, miss." "It's a beautiful morning." "Eyes like yours, miss, must see beauty wherever they look." "Have a hot biscuit, mister?" "Well, thank you kindly." "My name's Dan." "My name's Birdie, mister..." "You just let me call you mister." "You don't know how good that sounds to me." "For a man who doesn't have a woman of his own, this is a real treat." "Oh, cookin' biscuits is nothin'." "I used to be on the stage in Chicago." "I was a dance..." "I mean, I was a actress." "Now, you didn't have to tell me that, Miss Birdie." "You've got a real flavor in your voice." "Have I really?" "You weren't in the theater?" "I've been privileged, ma'am." "All the world is a stage." "Pardon me." "Forgive me for staring, miss, but, for a second there," "I thought that bullet had sent me to an angel." "No angel, Mr. Kehoe." "I'm afraid here we're all cursed for the sin of violence." "All my life, I've fought violence." "Fought it with fist and gun." "Whom do I have the honor of addressing?" "I'm Oralie, widow to Roy McDade." "Oh, perhaps not, Miss Oralie." "Maybe Roy is the one who was spared." "Unless the good Lord has other plans for you." "Pardon me." "Ruby McDade." "From El Paso." "Ah, the city of sin." "I loved it." "You know, the old woman, she don't miss so many times." "You're a lucky man." "Yes, I've had many complaints to that effect." "I don't complain." "I'd like some of your luck." "I'd be delighted to share it with you, Miss Ruby." "¶ Wished I was in Tennessee." "¶ Sittin' in a big armchair." "¶ One arm 'round the whiskey... ¶" "Hello!" "You look kind of cold in there." "Come on out, and I'll show you how Prince used to warm up after taking a bath." "Thanks." "But I don't think..." "You know, first time I saw you, I said," ""He makes me feel like I used to with my husband, Prince."" "It must be the mustache." "Prince have a mustache?" "No, that's what I mean." "I always wondered what it would be like to get kissed by a man that did have." "Uh, Miss Birdie, you got me all wrong." "I'm not the kind of man to take liberties with a married woman." "Didn't I mention I'm a widow?" "How do you know?" "I just know." "Prince wouldn't have run off like that." "He always did just what the others was doing." "If they wanted to stay and get blown up, he'd stay and get blown up, too." "Well, looking at you, I would say that was mighty short-sighted of him." "Yeah, I was awful sad about Prince." "I miss him something terrible." "A woman doesn't hold a candle to a man for company, do you think?" "That depends on your point of view." "You must be freezin' in there." "Come on out, I won't look." "Well, if you're not comin' out, I'm a comin' in." "¶ Wished I was in Tennessee ¶" "Come up, Mr. Kehoe." "Expecting company?" "We don't encourage callers, Mr. Kehoe." "Well, maybe you ought to change your ways." "A batch of beautiful widow ladies and all." "The callers we do get don't come courting." "They come hunting something." "Maybe the same thing you're hunting." "I'm not hunting anything, Miss Sabina, except a little peace and quiet." "Don't touch that bell rope if you want to stay in one piece." "What is it?" "A dynamite fuse?" "A relic of the old days, Mr. Kehoe." "When the boys used to come back from their business trips, they flashed a signal from up there on the rim-rock." "And when it was safe for them to come on in," "Ma used to signal them back by ringing the bell." "Oh!" "You figure there's a McDade up there now, waiting to hear it ring?" "I don't, Mr. Kehoe." "But Ma still thinks there'll be a signal flashed any day." "That's why she wants one of us to be on the watch." "Well, that's kind of a thankless job if you don't believe he's coming back, isn't it?" "We take turns." "Besides, it's a quiet place to do my accounts." "Accounts?" "Oh, yes." "We're in trade, Mr. Kehoe." "We raise chickens." "Ma trades the eggs in Touchstone for supplies." "Did you think we had some invisible means of support?" "Well, I can't say I've given the subject much study, Miss Sabina." "How is the egg business these days?" "Oh, at the moment there isn't any." "The hens aren't laying." "Maybe you need a new rooster." "A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Kehoe." "Oh, I wouldn't rob you." "Wouldn't you?" "I got one thought you can have." "How much will it cost me?" "A 20 dollar gold piece." "Well?" "What's your thought, Mr. Kehoe?" "That you're a worse liar than I am." "Sabina!" "Sabina!" "Yes, Ma?" "You seen anything of that Kehoe man?" "Have you lost him?" "That don't signify." "Just wanna make sure I ain't lost nothin' else." "You want me, ma'am?" "Well, I do and I don't." "What's that?" "You come into money?" "Yeah, in a way." "You trust me with my gun?" "Thank you." "How come you done that?" "¶ Wished I was in Tennessee." "¶ Sittin' in a big... ¶" "Listen!" "The lot of you." "I know what you're all day-dreamin' about." "You can forget it right now, 'cause it ain't gonna happen." "I don't know which of my boys is alive, and you don't know which." "But one of you belongs to him, and don't you forget that." "Myself, I wouldn't give a plug-nickel for the lot of you." "But I didn't do the pickin', they done it for themselves, and a fine lot they picked, too." "A fussin' and a figetin' ever since that blame Kehoe man come here." "Were you callin' me, ma'am?" "If I was to call you what I'm thinkin', this here air would be blue, mister." "I got just two words for you." "Pack." "Go." "I been packed, ever since last night." "The way things stand." "Well, I figure that, that fellow in Dakota must've given me the wrong address." "But, Ma, he's hurt." "His horse ain't." "Ma." "Ma, look." "Mr. Kehoe may be leaving sooner than he expected." "Go on." "Get in the house." "Go on." "Get a move on, all of you." "Go on!" "Get!" "Stay out of sight, mister." "Get off my land, Tom Larrabee." "Now, Ma, we know he's there!" "So send him out now, so there won't be no trouble!" "Send who on out?" "Are you sure, son?" "Sure, I'm sure." "You know who, Ma!" "That boy of yours!" "Ain't no boy of mine here." "Next time it won't be your hat." "Where you goin', mister?" "Out there." "You give up easy?" "It's a McDade they're after." "You can't stop us this time, Ma." "So why don't you call it quits before somebody gets hurt." "Don't be a fool, mister." "You're courting' a rope's end, and you know it." "I got a chance." "You ladies haven't." "Hold your fire!" "That's him." "That ain't no McDade." "Something I can do for you boys?" "What's your name?" "What's yours?" "What're you doin' in Wagon Mound?" "Resting." "Anybody here besides you?" "Five lovely ladies." "Well, you just saddle up." "You're goin' back into town with us." "What for?" "Because I say so." "I don't know what business you got in Wagon Mound, but I ain't taking' no chances on it interfering' with mine." "You want McDade, don't you?" "I want him." "For how much?" "The reward's five thousand dollars." "Five thousand more if we get back the loot." "You keep a lookout posted hereabouts?" "I ain't got enough men." "Willie here was chasin' a stray horse when he spotted you." "Then what's to prevent McDade from checking in anytime, collecting his loot, and hightailin' it out of here?" "Nothin'." "Yes, there is." "Me." "I'm a parlor border in Wagon Mound." "When McDade shows, I'll pass you the word." "You can pick him up and the loot in the same package." "How are you gonna pass me the word?" "You live close enough to hear that church bell, youngster?" "We used to hear them." "All right." "The next time you hear it, ride for the Sheriff here." "And ride along back with him if you want to see a dead McDade." "We'd sooner have him alive." "But we'll take him any way we can get him." "It's a deal." "We're obliged to you, mister." "Or the other way, ma'am." "You walked out that door, I figured we'd seen the last of you." "Your Sheriff can't handle more than one idea at a time." "When he goes hunting a McDade, he wouldn't have a Kehoe at any price." "So I noticed." "Tom Larrabee ain't no fool, mister." "Why didn't he take you in?" "Because I promised him bigger game." "What game?" "The loot." "And the man he really came for." "My boy?" "By grab, I wouldn't put it past you." "He believe you?" "Why shouldn't he believe me?" "There's a reward of ten thousand dollars." "I've known men who'd sell their mothers for less." "So have I." "Well, I reckon we're quits, mister." "If you say so." "Better not ring that church bell of yours." "That's the signal I fixed up with the Sheriff." "He'll come running if he hears it." "You catch up your horse, and get some supper inside you." "You'll want to make tracks tonight." "You think I'm playing the Sheriff's game?" "No, I don't think that." "Then why not let me hole up here for a while, till certain people forget what I look like." "I'm a light eater, and I'll lend a hand with the chores." "We've done without you for two years, mister." "I reckon we can go on the same way." "Well, I guess you got your reasons." "I got 'em." "Four of 'em." "One other thing." "When I go, my property goes with me." "How much property you claim to be missin'?" "Not much, ma'am." "Not above 20 dollars worth." "Ma." "You say the Sheriff's no fool." "Don't you think it might occur to him to post a lookout somewhere to see that Mr. Kehoe stays put?" "Might." "Mr. Kehoe didn't have to go out there this afternoon." "They might have shot him, Ma." "Do you think it's right to make him run that risk twice in the same day?" "The rains are due any day now." "Let him stay till then." "He can get away under cover of the first big storm." "The rain will wash out his tracks." "That suit you, mister?" "Suits me." "All right." "But I still got four reasons for wanting you off the place." "So, just you don't give me another one." "Going to the spring?" "I am." "Now, I always try to recognize the courtesies, Miss Sabina." "Like paying a debt of gratitude." "You spoke up for me today." "Thank you." "Better not let Ma catch you around me." "If the old lady had her way, you'd have seen the last of me." "I thought that's what you wanted." "When you went out to the bridge today, you were playing for a reprieve, and I like to see a man get his winnings." "Even when you're the loser?" "I'm not aware I've lost anything, Mr. Kehoe." "You might, if I stay here long enough." "In other words, I spoke up for you because I find you interesting." "Is that the case you're trying to make?" "It's a possibility." "Well, you're quite right." "When you walked up to that Sheriff, I was impressed." "So I decided to help you stay around a few more days, just to see what'll happen next." "You'd better go now." "Ah, incidentally, you do know where it's hidden, don't you?" "Even if I did, a hundred thousand in gold weighs a great deal, Mr. Kehoe." "Now, I wouldn't be able to do very much about it, would I?" "Oh, you could always melt it down and use it for brass knuckles." "We missed you at dinner, Mr. Kehoe." "Still taking in the sights?" "That's right." "I'm a very curious fellow, Miss Sabina." "Maybe you'll show me around sometime." "Oh, I hardly think so." "¶ Oh, the Father waits over the way." "¶ To prepare us a dwelling place there." "¶ In the sweet." "¶ By and by ¶ By and by." "¶ We shall meet on that beautiful shore." "¶ By and by." "¶ In the sweet ¶ In the sweet." "¶ By and by ¶ By and by." "¶ We shall meet on that beautiful shore." "¶ In the sweet ¶ In the sweet." "¶ By and by ¶ By and by." "¶ We shall meet on that beautiful shore." "¶ In the sweet ¶ In the sweet." "¶ By and by ¶ By and by." "¶ We shall meet... ¶" "He's a mighty fine melodeon player." "Hmm." "I wished I'd knowed what else he was, besides sure trouble in a house with four women." "You know a lot of tricks, don't you, mister?" "That's right." "Where'd you learn how to play like that?" "My pa was a preacher." "Had a tent show." "I used to travel around with him." "Played the organ, sang in the choir, passed the collection box." "Hmm." "Your pa's preaching don't seem to have took." "Nope." "Well, my boys was the same." "I raised 'em best as I was able." "They knowed their Bible as well as they knowed their own names." "If they didn't, they got the tar licked out of them." "It didn't do no good." "They was bad." "Bad clear through." "I had to take their part though, even when they was busting God's law and everybody else's." "But I knowed what they was." "Like I reckon your pa knowed what you was." "That's right." "There ain't much I can do for them now." "What there is, I'm doing." "Them that's gone will have a decent grave and a decent stone to mark it." "The one that's left, well, he'll have his rights." "After that, I wash my hands." "It was the gold." "The gold was the ruination of them all." "Myself, I wouldn't want no part of it." "Look what it did to my boys." "Look what it's doing to them girls, turning them against one another, filling their heads full of greed and evil notions." "Every one of them lusting after that gold." "Oh, mister, if it were mine," "I'd sink that gold in the river and tell Tom Larrabee to swim for it." "But you won't." "No, I won't." "Because I want to see my boy again." "And I know if he won't come back for nothing or nobody, he'll come back for that gold." "Mr. Kehoe." "Here I am." "I was looking for you." "Just wanted to assure myself you were still out hunting." "Any luck?" "Sure." "I found all that gold you were so worried about, sold it in Touchstone and came back here rich to take the woman of my choice." "Hmm." "Very fanciful, Mr. Kehoe." "And how does your taste run?" "Oh, to just about your shade of hair." "About so high, waist about like this." "Then, I've got a chance." "Supposing your taste runs to the right kind of man." "Well, I've had ample time to think about men." "I'd say one about so high, shoulders about like this." "But you didn't let me finish, Mr. Kehoe." "I'd also like a man I could trust." "You see, I expect to be a rich woman very soon now." "Well, maybe we could hasten that day, Miss Sabina." "Maybe we could." "Except..." "Except?" "Except, I wouldn't trust you with a snowball in a blizzard." "And I'm afraid the only gold you're going to leave here with is what you brought in your pockets." "Good night, Mr. Kehoe." "Don't you never sleep, hombre?" "Don't you?" "Not when I got things on my mind." "What kind of things?" "Or maybe I shouldn't have asked." "That's my husband's shirt you're wearing." "I washed it for you." "Oh, thanks." "It's a nice shirt." "Yeah." "Matt liked things soft and nice." "I figured you might, too." "Did you come here to talk about your husband?" "No." "I was a good wife to him." "That's all I got to say." "Except that two years is a long time." "I agree with you." "So will the other girls, from what I hear." "All three of them put together wouldn't make as much woman as me." "Oh, I've had a bellyful of this life." "Them others can roost here till they rot." "Me, I got other plans." "You want to talk about 'em?" "Yeah." "When you leave, I'm leaving with you." "Hmm." "And what will your husband say to that?" "I've got no husband." "You sure?" "Sure." "He'd have come back." "He couldn't stay away from me for two years." "Besides, he never ran from a fight in his life, and this was a dandy fight while it lasted." "No, don't worry about Matt." "He's out there in the burying ground, and we ain't." "Well, not yet, anyway." "You're pretty clever, hombre." "I saw how you handled the old woman." "If you're smart enough, we'll be leaving here in style." "Work on her." "She knows where the loot is." "What about working on one of the girls?" "That Birdie?" "Oh, them crows don't know no more than I do." "They're still here, ain't they?" "Like me, waiting for the dead to come alive." "No, hombre." "It's the old woman got the answers." "She's a hard case." "Pretty near bulletproof, if you ask me." "She ain't man-proof." "No woman is." "A hundred thousand, hombre." "We'll be sitting in a tub of butter." "We?" "What's mine is yours." "Yeah." "But right now we're discussing money." "If Matt's dead, you're out of the running." "Well, I'm Matt's widow." "I got a right to his share, and anything else I can get." "And the old woman owes me for every time I've felt the flat of her hand." "I ain't waiting much longer to collect." "But you're asking me to do the collecting." "Yeah." "That's right." "But I'm awful willing to pay you wages for it." "Strike it rich, yet?" "On a day like this, who'd be thinking of riches?" "Oh, you've a beautiful soul, Mr. Kehoe." "I can see you're a nature lover." "Anybody's nature." "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were acting like a jealous woman, Miss Sabina." "But you do know better." "I sure do, and admire you for it." "You're the superior type." "No nonsense about your sort of woman." "As long as you're worried about that gold, you're all business." "Yes, Miss Sabina, you won't be much use in any man's arms until that loot shows up." "After that, we might get to know each other better." ""Never the less, they did flatter him with their mouth,"" ""and they lied unto him with their tongues."" "¶ From this valley they say you are going." "¶ We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile." "¶ For you're taking the sunshine with you." "¶ That brightened our hearts for a while ¶" "My, that takes me back." "Prince and I used to dance to that." "Where they off to?" "To the spring." "We need water?" "No." "That's what I figured." "Go on, Ruby, catch up with them." "Go on, get!" "Well, we're all set." "I remember my mother doing that." "But her hair was gray, and she only had enough to make a braid so long." "I wonder where I'll be when my hair is gray." "I know where I'd like to be." "Where?" "A million miles from Wagon Mound." "It's none of my business, Miss Oralie, but how did a girl like you wind up with a McDade?" "Roy was the first person who ever made a fuss over me." "I was just 16, and I didn't believe that he was as bad as everybody said." "I thought he wanted me." "From what I hear, he wanted everything in sight." "Yes." "Till he had it." "Well, you made a bad draw, Miss Oralie, but that's no reason for quitting the game." "I don't know what you mean." "You act like your life is over." "You get yourself up like an old lady." "Widow's weaves for a man who wasn't worth the powder to blow him up." "You know Wagon Mound isn't the only town on the map." "Why don't you give some other fellow a chance?" "Who'd want Roy McDade's leavings?" "What kept you so long?" "Busted a trace." "Show me." "You sure ain't much of a hand at mending a harness." "Never said I was." "Looks like rain." "You figuring to be cooking for him?" "There's no sin in it." "There is if you got a husband of your own." "My husband is dead." "You wished he was." "There ain't a one of you ain't buried her husband 10 times over since that Dan Kehoe set foot here." "The rotten lot of you, burning for the touch of him." "I'm sorry, Ma." "But everything's got the look of evil to you." "There's no talking to you." "I want to know." "What happened out there?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "He asked you about the gold, too, didn't he?" "Well, what if he did?" "He'll try his luck with every one of you, one way or another." "But there ain't a one of you can tell him where it's hid." "All right, I'll tell you what happened." "He was kind to me, and he kissed me." "I'm not ashamed." "He's leaving here this night, and you should pray to God to forgive the wickedness in your heart." "Now, go on." "Get out of my sight." "Pretty late getting back, hombre." "You were a long time at the spring." "Yeah." "I was thirsty." "You find out anything you didn't know?" "I found out the McDade boys had real different tastes when it comes to women." "It wasn't that good with Oralie, was it, Dan?" "I'd tell you, Ruby, only we didn't talk your language." "Well, then I'll tell you." "She was all sad and innocent." "Only she'll rip your heart out for a pair of pearl earrings, and then cry 'cause they ain't diamonds." "She don't know where the money is." "Do you?" "I told you I don't." "Then that starts you and Oralie off kind of even." "You already made your deal, hombre." "I tell you this, you're my man, and I don't share you with nobody." "You're a charming girl, Ruby." "Only you wouldn't fight for a man any more than you'd fight for that gold." "You think I'm afraid?" "I think you want that money so bad you can taste it." "For two years you've been sitting around here, waiting for someone to waltz in who'd do what you haven't the guts to do, face up to a tough old lady." "Now, she's in there, and she knows where it is." "Go hunt it up." "Dan, you're not going?" "The old lady says I am." "Oh, take me with you, please, Dan." "Oh, take me away from here." "You giving up your share of the gold?" "Ma'll never let it go." "She's driving herself crazy in there, hoarding it for a dead man." "He'd come back if he wasn't dead." "It's all she's got to bet on, Oralie." "There's a real glory in the old lady." "She staked her whole roll on those sons and lost three times." "This is her last bet, that her boy will come home." "But what about us, Dan?" "Am I worth a bet?" "I never put a dime on anybody but myself, and I haven't lost yet." "You ain't gonna use that, are you?" "He's getting out of here." "I'll drive him out." "I'm a fool to let him stay here this long." "Kehoe!" "Kehoe!" "Kehoe!" "If she shoots him, I hope she misses." "Hope she kills him." "Kehoe!" "Kehoe!" "He's gone." "Lit out on his own." "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" "You shut your mouth." "Didn't he take anything?" "Yes." "Your good sense, that's what he took." "What'd you have to hate him for?" "He never did nothing to you." "What about you, Sabina?" "You don't hold no grief for him, huh?" "No, Ma." "Just disappointment." "I guess I never would've gotten him, anyway." "But it sure was fun thinking about it." "You're harlots." "The lot of you." "Good evening, ladies." "We were afraid you'd run off, Mr. Kehoe." "Without our farewells and best wishes." "What'd you come back here for?" "I never left." "Well, then you tell me where you was." "You've got a right to ask, so I'll tell you." "I was taking a last look for the gold." "Judas." "After the way we hid you here." "Nobody chased me here, Ma." "I came here to rob you." "All of you." "You got a lot of nerve, mister, telling me a thing like that." "I got to hand it to you, ma'am." "Wherever you hid that gold, you sure did a good job." "I guess I could've spent a whole year and never found it, unless I suddenly got a lot smarter, so I'll be riding out the way I came in." "Maybe a little ahead of the game, for having known all you lovely ladies." "Miss Birdie, don't you ever stop dreaming about the stage." "And keep those pretty eyes bright, so they'll always see everything beautiful." "And maybe the meek will inherit the earth, Miss Oralie, and a pretty girl always has a good chance." "So, you should be first in line with a golden bucket." "Ruby, you're a danger to the whole race of men, but danger's always a fair price to pay for excitement." "It's been a pleasure, ma'am." "And if your husband happens to come back, I'll envy him." "Ma, I'll always count myself a winner for having known a tough, old cougar who knew how to love her sons better than they earned and how to give a stranger more than he deserved." "You're a rough, old buzzard." "But you'll let me ride out of here, because you'll be thinking of your son, and I'm not much better." "I hope he comes back to you, Ma." "And I hope that each of you get the man you're praying for." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go pack my things." "One day maybe a smarter man than me will ride by this way, and relieve you of that gold." "If that should happen, don't feel too bad about it." "It didn't belong to you anyway." "I've been expecting you." "You're leaving without the gold?" "What do you think?" "Cards on the table, Mr. Kehoe." "What are you holding?" "Aces back to back." "I know who you are and why you're here." "Who told you?" "This told me." "Care to say where you got it?" "If I did, you wouldn't believe me." "Cards on the table." "I got it from a barkeep in Touchstone." "I think not, Mr. Kehoe." "I think this gold piece was given to you by its original owner." "I think he sent you here to collect the hundred thousand for him, only you decided to deal him out." "I see." "You got it all figured out." "I'm willing to split the gold with you, half and half." "Fine." "It's a deal?" "It's a deal." "There's only one hitch." "I don't know where the gold is." "I do." "How?" "I've been here two years, Mr. Kehoe." "What kept you from cashing in?" "I needed a man with a strong arm to help me." "Half and half?" "Half and half." "Miss Sabina, you're a woman after my own heart." "Tougher than whang leather, smarter than spit, and colder than January." "You've described me correctly, Mr. Kehoe." "Tough enough to make my own way in a man's world, smart enough to scheme my way into the affections of a lonesome old woman, and cold enough to sell her out and sleep sound on it." "We're two of a kind, Mr. Kehoe." "Thank you." "I'm in." "Where to?" "Ride out of here now." "When everything's dark, come back, hitch up the buckboard, take it across the bridge and hide it there." "When it's safe, I'll meet you." "Whoa, son." "Whoa." "Whoa, boy." "Ma, he's on his way." "Anybody see you?" "No." "Nobody." "When it comes to thieving, there's nothing like experienced help." "Come on." "I'll show you where it is." "You sure you can?" "Quite sure." "I wouldn't bet any money on it." "You know, that gold just walked right up and whispered into my ear." "Why, you knew!" "All the time you were telling us your fine speech." "Well, I always believe in giving value received." "Well, you got what you came for." "You didn't have to share it with anybody." "Why are you waiting here for me?" "Ah, there's no point in winning just for the game." "Not when you're alone." "It could have been one of the others." "Not for fifty thousand dollars worth." "So, you paid your money and took your choice." "Why not?" "You offered me half, didn't you?" "Now you're talking like an honest man." "They say that's the kind you can't cheat." "Ma!" "Hey, Ma!" "Sabina ain't in her room." "She's gone, I tell you." "Dirty, thieving rat!" "It's been there all the time." "And they won't keep it, I promise them that." "That blame Kehoe has laid his own trap." "How does it feel to be rich?" "You ought to know." "Yeah." "I got it all." "The pick of the litter and all the gold in the world." "What's so funny?" "If that last McDade turns out to be your husband, he'll be after me like a storm of wildcats." "Boone was the one who escaped, but he won't be coming after you." "He's dead." "And he wasn't my husband." "The closest I ever came to marrying Boone was watching him get drunk once in Denver, the night before he was killed." "He told me about the gold, so I went after it." "Passed myself off as married to him." "The truth?" "The truth." "We're a pair of beauties, aren't we, Dan?" "How'd you find out where the gold was?" "I watched Ma when she went out to check it." "You?" "The same." "Except I had to wait for the right man, and in walked Dan Kehoe." "The old fox." "She's still trying to win." "Whoa!" "What are you doing?" "Another few minutes, and they'll be sitting in our laps." "A reasonable man always settles for a half, a quarter, or whatever he can get." "Have you gone crazy?" "Here, this one is ours." "You know where the mission is outside Las Piedras?" "I'll find it." "Take that to the priest, tell him to put it with the rest of my money." "I'll meet you there later." "All right." "Morning." "Sure glad to see you gentlemen." "You just keep your hand clear of that gun belt." "There's the loot, Sheriff." "All accounted for." "We'll see about that." "I figured we had a McDade." "Who rang that bell?" "I did." "You did?" "Yeah." "I found the gold and set out to return the same to the rightful owner." "People being what they are these days," "I figured it wasn't safe carrying all that loot without a proper escort." "So, I rang the bell for help, and you gentlemen did your duty." "I thank you." "Well, if you wanted us so bad, why did you run so fast?" "Yeah, well now, Sheriff, you might have noticed that I was traveling with a lady." "It turned out she was more interested in the gold than she was in me, so she pulled a gun and tried to make me run for it." "It took a lot of fast talking to make her see the right way of things." "One of them McDade widows." "Which one was it?" "Now, Sheriff, you know a man of honor can't answer a question like that." "Sheriff, five thousand is missing." "Yeah." "My property, sir." "Legal reward for returning the gold." "Oh, I reckon he's right." "Hey, Sheriff, you know, about those McDade women..." "You know, it takes a man like you and me to understand them." "Driven half wild with greed and loneliness, the poor souls, they need all the charity we can give them." "Well, it's been a pleasure to do business with an honest man." "Well, thank you." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Well, now there's a real fine gentleman." "You don't meet them like that no more." "All right, let's load up the gold." "Come on." "All the saints in heaven!" "Can this be a miracle, my son?" "She came to tell me you'd been hanged." "Who told you?" "Your lovely wife." "Her, with the flaming red hair." "My wife?" "She claimed to be." "She showed me the wedding ring when she came for your possessions." "You didn't give her my money?" "Yes." "Every cent of it." "Oh, me poor frazzled brain." "Where did she go?" "What a bundle of tricks she was, now that I think of it." "She said she was going to Albuquerque, but she tore off like a wild hare to the border." "Hey, Kehoe!" "Here's your cash, partner." "That's right generous of you." "You know, for a while there, Miss Sabina, I almost took you for a crook." "You've got a suspicious mind." "Well, you had the money, what did you wait for?" "Like a fella said once, "There's no fun just winning the game when you're alone."" "Oh, I see." "You figure we'd be fit company for each other?" "Haven't I proved that, Mr. Kehoe?" "Get in?" "This will be a rare education."