"Hey, Jed, take a look at his left hind shoe, will you?" " Morning, Sheriff." " Good morning." " Mr. Parrish." " Yeah?" "I'd get off the street if I were you." "And I'd stay off while that Anchor outfit's in town." " How goes it, Elena?" " Is Cole coming to town?" "I don't think so." "But I'm in town." " When he come?" " Who knows?" "Mañana, maybe." "What are you doing today?" "When you see Cole, tell him..." "No, you no tell him anything." "I wait till he come." "So, you're itching to get married and start on your honeymoon." "I've always considered honeymoons barbaric." "Throwing two people together on a trip before they've become properly acquainted." "You're lucky that Confederate bullet went clean through you." "There's nothing so deadly as a Yankee surgeon probing around." " The war's over, Doc." " You can put your shirt on." "Men always find reasons to avoid living in peace." "Take this valley." "You wouldn't think there'd be any cause to put blood on the landscape, would you?" "It's not my war." "It's been my observation that a man's appetite grows by what it feeds on." "And there's no hunger like the hunger for land." "It swallows everything and everybody." "Men like Wilkison:" "land-eaters." "Understand you're losing another neighbour." "Your friend Mahoney, forced to sell, like all the rest." "I suppose it's your turn next." "You'll either have to run like they did, or stand and fight." "That's not what I came here to find out, Doc." "If it's your health you're concerned about, don't be." "With reasonable care, you'll outlive most of us." "Then it's safe for me to go back East?" "You can tell Caroline Vail there's nothing to stop you from marrying her now." "She's asked me often enough how you were getting along." "I never saw a girl more concerned." " So, you're going east?" " Yeah, I'm going for good." "What are you going to do about your ranch?" "Well, Lew Wilkison wants to talk to me about it." "So he's forcing you out, too." "Now, nobody's forcing me out, Doc." "I'm going because I want to go." "I can't spend my life raising cattle." "It's not my business." "Besides, I'm a stranger around here, Doc." "Always have been and always will be." "All that grass and sand ever meant to me the past three years... was a place to regain my health." "Now I've got it, there's nothing to hold me here any longer." "Except what you owe the land and your neighbours." "I don't owe anybody anything." "You came out here to die, Mr. Parrish." "This country gave you back your life." "And you still owe it nothing?" "What happens in this valley is no concern of mine." " Thanks, Doc." " Goodbye, Mr. Parrish." "No, I was only joking." "I didn't really mean that Mr. Wilkison stole my land." "We don't like them kind of jokes, Mahoney." "But honest, I didn't mean it that way." "Honest." "I ain't complaining." "Mr. Wilkison gave me a good price." " I ain't complaining." " Not much." "Don't." "Mr. Parrish, better keep out of this." "You can't do anything without a gun." "Matlock, that's enough." "You keep out of this." "This is Anchor business." "What happens in this town is my business." "You boys get back to your cards and liquor, or get out of town." "One or the other." "For a man old enough to know better, you pick the dangdest places to get drunk." "Get out of here." " Stay put." " You're all primed for trouble, aren't you?" "Go ahead, pull that gun or hand it here." "Well, I'm a patient man, but don't keep me waiting too long." "Pay my respects to Mr. Wilkison." "Tell him I recommend he sends you packing." "Because if he don't, I will." "Mahoney, get out of here." "Stay where you are." "Stay where you are until these witnesses get done talking." "I intend to get justice done fast." "Now, who's seen what happened?" "They weren't after Mahoney." "They used him as a decoy to murder the Sheriff." "You mustn't go around saying things like that about Mr. Wilkison's men." " Caroline's right." " Why look for trouble?" "That Deputy Magruder, he let the killer go because he works for Wilkison." "Maybe the Sheriff forced his hand, like they said." "That's the first time I've ever seen one man shoot another man in the back... just to protect himself." "And I just stood there." "John, you're just upset from seeing a man killed." "Mr. Vail, I saw too many men killed in the war for just one more to upset me." "There's something big building up in this valley." "In the Army, we used to call it enemy pressure." "First, Wilkison's brother Cole comes back from Texas to help him run Anchor." "Then a tough kid with a fancy gun shows up on the Wilkison payroll." "Then all the small ranchers are forced out, one by one." "Anchor riders tearing up the fences, stampeding, shooting." "Well, you got to expect that in cattle country." "The farmers to the south of me are getting the same kind of pressure." "The same kind of offers, practically nothing for their land." "Now Mahoney's out, the Sheriff's dead... and I'm invited to Anchor to talk business." "You mean Mr. Wilkison wants to buy your place?" "That's wonderful, honey." "We can get married and go east right away." "You can't deal with a man who sends six killers to shoot an old man in the back." " But that has nothing to do with us." " Of course not." "You can't let that stand in the way of Caroline's happiness and yours." "Wilkison's the only one here who can afford to pay you a decent price." "Doesn't give him the right to push people around." "You can't argue with a man who started with a few acres of land... and now owns practically the whole valley." "You must go see him." "Please, John, for us." "I'm sorry, Caroline." "I just can't." " I'd better be getting back to my place." " Aren't you staying overnight?" "No, I want to make sure my men don't get into any trouble." "I've got a couple of hotheads who'd like to take a shot at a Wilkison rider." "Good night." " Good night." " Good night." "You'd better think it over." "I'd sooner sell now, than to be forced later." "I've thought it over, Mr. Vail." "John." "I'm sorry, not even saying goodbye." "Honey, you hurt Mother's feelings, leaving like that." "But then, they are kind of silly, aren't they?" "The way they keep at us." "I guess I'm out of the habit of taking advice." "I've been running my own affairs since I joined the Army." "The Army." "The way you talk, anyone would think it was the one big thing in your life." "Well, perhaps it was, until I met you." "I like you to say things like that, even if you don't mean them." "I do mean it." "Honey, talk to Mr. Wilkison." "Please." "I know how you feel about it, but try to understand." "Don't you think that I want to sell out, marry you, and take you East with me?" "You don't understand." "I'm afraid of what will happen to you if you stay here." "You once told me you were tired of fighting." "I just won't deal with Wilkison." "Honey, please, for my sake." "I don't want to lose you." "I love you." "What do I have to do?" "Promise me you'll go to Anchor." "Promise me." "Good evening, Miss Vail." "Or should I say good morning?" "You're drunk again, George." "A man has to console himself when his girl strolls off with somebody else... into a stable." "I'm not your girl, and leave me alone." "Go back to the saloon, where you belong." " Decent people don't want you around." " Decent?" "Caroline?" "I don't have to account to you." "You had your chance, and you gambled it away." "I'll get more money." "You'd be surprised how many rich relatives I have in Boston." "They don't want you around, and I don't, either." " Don't you?" " You'll never take me out of this town." "What do you want?" "A man or a railroad ticket?" "I want to get out of here." "And nothing's going to stop me." "Martin, Davis, and Tony are riding herd, Captain." "I had McCloud get you together because I want you to know in advance... that I'm selling the ranch and going east just as soon as I can." " The doctor say you could?" " That's right, Jim." "Anybody that wants to can start packing for another job... with an extra month's pay just as soon as roundup is over." "There's no need for you to wait around for the new owner." "Why not?" "Don't you think he'll want us?" "Well, you may not want him." "I'm selling out to Wilkison." "You're going to hand over your place to Lew Wilkison?" "I'm not handing it over." "He wants to buy, and I want to sell." " I guess that's all Mr. Parrish has to say." " No, it isn't." "It may take a little while to get the deal worked out." "In the meantime, I don't want anybody running any risks." "I don't want any heroes on my payroll." "I may not be much of a cattleman, but so far nobody's been hurt working for me." "I want it kept that way." "Is that understood?" "None of us wants to get hurt, Mr. Parrish." "But I ain't hightailing it from any Anchor riders who come picking a fight." "I know what you mean, Bud." "I ain't forgot how they smashed my pa's fences, and tried to ride him down." "My pa says never go looking for trouble." "Try to talk your way out of it." "But it didn't work with Wilkison's bunch." "I know, Bud, but I must do it my way." "Sure, Mr. Parrish." " Saddle my horse." "I'm going to Anchor now." " I sure hope you have some luck." "Thank you, Bud." "Mr. Purdue." "I came to learn if it's true you're selling to that bunch of vultures over at Anchor." " Do you know a better buyer?" " Only Wilkison's got that kind of money." "Mr. Parrish, for what it's worth to remind you... my dad and mother helped you that first winter you came out here." "When you were near to dying." "I haven't forgotten." "Then don't sell to Anchor." "We are the last of the small ranchers." "We can't count on those farmers to fight back." "I'm sorry, but you can't count on me." "Has nothing to do with my being ungrateful." " I'll never forget your help." " Then show it." "I had nothing to do with starting your feuds, and I'm not going to become involved." "Twelve years ago, Anchor riders killed my oldest boy." "They beat him up so bad, he died in his mother's arms." "It was their way of trying to drive me out of this valley." "I have fought Wilkison ever since, and I'll keep on fighting him until one of us is dead." "And I regard no man worth that much who will have dealings with him." "Capt. Parrish, they tell me you served with Gen. Kirkpatrick in Georgia." "That's right." "From over on our side, we got the idea he led a mighty tough bunch of boys." "But I guess they always look tougher coming at you than running away." "I'm not going to Anchor for trouble." "Do you always provide an armed escort?" "If you have any trouble with our men, why don't you complain to them?" "Or take it up with my father?" "Perhaps I will, Miss Wilkison." "I must say, you got here faster... than any of the others who came to sell their land at my father's invitation." "I can't quite make you out." "Not wearing a gun, for instance." "I'm sure you know one end from the other, being in the Army." "But just why do you set yourself apart from everyone else here?" "And you're so modest about your military record... when other men would brag about it." "And your illness, how brave you were about that." "Are you just trying to be different, Mr. Parrish, or is it something else?" " Well, since you know so much about me..." " But I don't." "I doubt if anyone here really knows you." "Either you're just too good to be true, or you're clever and careful." "And I don't like clever and careful people." "You're trying to pick a fight with me." "Why?" "Go inside, Mr. Parrish." "My father and uncle are waiting for you." "You might get half of what you want if you don't show them you're frightened." "That's strange advice, coming from a Wilkison." "I was hoping that at least you would..." "I really have no right to be disappointed in you." "After all, it isn't your concern to stay here and fight, or is it?" "Mr. Parrish, please come in." "We've been expecting you." "How do you do, Mrs. Wilkison?" "Please forgive Judith for keeping you waiting outside." " I hope she wasn't rude." " Not at all." " She merely expressed her opinion of me." " She can be trying at times." "But then you're not interested in the problem of raising a daughter." "My husband will be down shortly." "You must be awfully thirsty after riding in this heat all day." "What a pity, Mr. Parrish." "We've been neighbours for three years... and now our first meeting must be our last." "I understand you're leaving the valley, going East." "Let me have my crutches." "I don't need any help." "I may be only half a man, but I can still..." "Lew dear, I asked Cole to help you down the stairs." "You've been fussing over me for 12 years." " Lew, please." " All right, Martha, all right." "Come and meet Mr. Parrish." "You're younger than I thought." "What were you captain of?" "A nursery?" "Lew dear, Mr. Parrish is our guest." "You know my brother, Cole." "Come and sit down." " Cole, pour the Captain a drink." " No, thanks." "In this country, it's good manners to accept a man's liquor." " I don't drink." " You're a liar." "Now what's really bothering you?" "Maybe seeing Sheriff Kenner shot in the back spoiled my taste for your liquor." "Will you believe me when I tell you that I'm sorry about Kenner?" "He was a friend of mine." "We came to this country together." "We had our squabbles, sure." "Especially after he started standing up for every shirttail farmer that came here." "Why, he wouldn't give us extra protection from the law... that a big outfit like Anchor was entitled to." "But I never figured he needed killing." "Needed or not, he's dead." "Wade Matlock, one of your men, shot him." "Not on my orders." "If I wanted him killed..." "I'd have dragged myself into town and done the job myself." "When I heard what that gun-happy pipsqueak did..." "I ran him out of here so fast his tail is still burning." "Cole, pour the Captain a drink now." "Sit down." "I hear you want to sell out and go back East." "The climate here fixed that bullet hole in your lungs?" "Wish it could do the same for my legs." "Yes, I'm willing to sell if I get a fair price." " How much do you want?" " How much will you pay?" "Place of yours ain't worth much." "All I want is my money out of it." "You paid too much." "They took you." "I have no intention of selling my ranch for one penny less than I put into it." "I don't have to sell, whether I decide to stay here or go on back East." "I've got a good foreman and a good crew who can run my ranch without me." "Or until I find a buyer who will pay my price." "They'll run it for you." "Will they fight for you?" "Now that's no way to trade, Cole." "No need to get rough." "Here in Anchor, we don't pay much attention... to this hogwash about the meek inheriting the earth." "I'll level with you." "Anchor needs grass." "All it can get." "To feed the biggest herd of cattle bearing one man's mark in this or any territory." "I built this ranch up from nothing." "I started with a scrawny herd, drove in from Missouri... with not enough ground to feed them." "Froze here in the winter, when the ground was so hard I couldn't break it with an axe." "Summers were worse." "I fought tornadoes, Indians, snakes, and squatters." "Squatters who wouldn't let me spread out." "They held a line across the valley, kept me hemmed in." "And before they died or sold out or moved away... they made sure I couldn't break through." "They'd sell to each other or to outsiders like you." "They even let farmers squat on it." "Nesters who gut the range with their ploughs so no cattle can graze on it." "Well, we ended shooting each other up, 12 years ago." "I still didn't get the land." "All I got were these." "I can't walk on them, Mr. Parrish." "Lew dear, stop reliving the past." "You mustn't upset yourself." "They stopped me, but not for long." "I've got all the small ranchers out, except you and Purdue." "So don't let's hear any foolishness about your keeping that ranch." "You're selling out, Captain." "One way or another, you're selling out." "To us." "How high are you willing to go?" " Cole, what was that figure we settled on?" " $15,000." "That wouldn't even be a down payment." "My stock alone is worth more." "We don't figure that way." "We figure what it's worth to us to get you off the land without fighting." "Not that you could ever hold out for any length of time against Anchor." "But why spill any more blood in this valley?" "We'll give you 24 hours." "Think about it." " Goodbye, Mrs. Wilkison." " I'll see you to the door." "Why provoke him deliberately, offering so little?" "For a few thousand dollars more you could have his place without any trouble." "Parrish is too sure of himself." "Had to knock him down a few pegs." "He'll be back." "And we'll get it at our price, Martha." "I don't know how you could be married to me this long... and not learn my way of doing business." " Maybe that's what I like about you." " Is that all?" "Cole." " Had the Mahoney fences torn down yet?" " I'm sending the men out in the morning." "I'd have done it the minute he was off the place." "Send them out now." "I can't spare anybody now." "What's your hurry?" "If you'd waited for the land as long as I have..." "But then you wouldn't know what it is to be corralled." "To have fences all around you." "No, I guess I wouldn't." "Come here, Martha." "Look at it." "The valley's almost yours, Martha." "I'm going to run the Anchor wall clear around the whole valley." "I promised that when I brought you here and I'm going to make that promise good." "I never doubted you would." "Come, Lew dear." "There." "Now, I'll go see about dinner." " Oh, Martha." " Yes." "We'll have dinner early." " Martha." " There." "Martha, it's about Judith." "I'm worried about her." "She's been keeping to herself, won't eat with us." "I heard her crying in her room." "What's wrong with her?" "I didn't want to mention it." "I've been worried about her, too." " She doesn't like living here." " What, at Anchor?" "Why should she..." "It's hardly the place for a young girl." "No friends her own age, no chance to meet eligible young men." "We should send her East." "I've been in touch with a finishing school in Baltimore." "It's just the place for Judith." " What did she say to that?" " Well, she won't listen." "Stubborn like her father?" "Tell her to have dinner with us." " You weren't here last night." " That's right." "Where were you?" " Mahoney's, looking the place over." " And you stayed there all night?" "Look at me when I talk to you." "All right, I'm looking." "You were with that Mexican girl again last night." " I told you where I was." " Don't lie to me." "I know all about her." "I know what she looks like, and the cheap perfume she uses." "I've smelled it on you often, after you've come home." "I know where you keep her in town." "I've heard talk." "I know she followed you here from Texas." "What, do you believe everything you hear?" "Cole, don't cheapen yourself." "Send that Mexican girl away." "One of these days you'll be running Anchor." "You'll have position, respect." " Is that all you think of, the ranch?" " I'm thinking of you, of both of us, together." "Didn't I talk Lew into bringing you back here?" "Sure, because you needed me here to run Anchor for you." "Yes, I needed you, but not for the reason you think." "I've never stopped loving you, all the years we were apart." "I wanted you back here a long time ago." "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, if you didn't go with it." "But I know my brother." "When I get the valley clear for him, he's going to kick me out, like he did before." "No." "Not this time." "I've lived with half a man for 12 years." "I hate myself and him." "I've played the part of a loving wife, when I can't bear the touch of his hands." "Cole, you're the only happiness I have here." "Don't do anything to destroy it, please don't." "Send the Mexican girl away." "No one will ever love you as I have." "You know that." " You want to know where I'm going?" " No." "I'm going to make sure Parrish sells." " Be careful of him." " He doesn't even wear a gun." "They didn't make him Captain in the cavalry for nothing." "I'll keep that in mind." "Judith, I've been looking for you." " I thought you were in your room." " Did you, Mother?" "There's no excuse for rudeness." "We've both been concerned about your strange behaviour." " My behaviour, Mother?" " Yes." "You've been sullen, you've ignored me, you've shown me no respect." "Do you deserve respect, Mother?" "I don't know what on earth you're talking about." "I wish you'd tell me, dear." "Very well, I'll tell you." "Your father would like you to have dinner with us this evening." "Then he can hear what you have to say." "Wilkison offered me $15,000, and 24 hours to think it over." "He's certainly not going to bankrupt himself for this spread." "You think that's a fair offer?" "What do you want me to say?" "I want you to tell me the truth." "I want you to tell me he's trying to steal it." "The question is, am I going to stand for it?" "Do you know the answer to that?" " Captain..." " The answer is yes." "I'll make it look real good." "I'll wait a few days, and then I'll go back." "Then I'll act real hard to sell, but I'll settle for $15,000." "Yeah, I promised Caroline I'd take any offer." "For a moment there I thought you were going to turn out to be a real human... with a temper and pride, everything." "I saw a lot of proud men get killed during the war, proving absolutely nothing." "And temper is something only the very strong or the very rich can afford." " My father taught me that very early." " He did a real good job of teaching." "We just seen a bunch of Anchor riders heading to the hills." "Looks like they're on their way to Purdue's place." " Anchor riders?" " I thought you might want to know." "Some of the boys are riding out there to take a look." "I said I didn't want any heroes on my payroll, didn't I?" "Where are you going?" "To stop any of the men from getting into trouble." "There's no harm in taking a look at Purdue's." "You're bound to get me into this fight one way or another, aren't you?" "You're on Anchor land." "I said you're on Anchor land." " Not on this side of the hill." " On any side." "If I were you, I'd start moving." "I wouldn't stop till I was out of the valley." "Matlock, I work for Parrish." "I take my orders from him." "No sense of asking for trouble." "We don't want you to get hurt, do we?" "Now get going." "This will help Parrish make up his mind." "It wasn't Purdue they were after." "Mr. Parrish, he said it's to help you make up your mind." "Who said that?" "Who?" "Matlock." " You fellows wanted to see me?" " That's right." "I guess you know this was one of my men, Bud Hinkleman." "Hinkleman." "It seems I recollect a nester family that lives south of here named Hinkleman." "Since when do cattlemen hire nester brats to do their riding for them?" "Bud Hinkleman worked for me." "He worked hard." "And now he's dead." "I expect the law to take care of his murderer." "Now, Mr. Parrish... we've got here what you might call a peculiar situation." "You see, after listening to this fella you sent to fetch me..." "I stopped in at Morgan's on my way over here." "It happens I had seen Wade Matlock in there a while before." "I sort of put the question right up to him." "I'll tell you now, I just rightly don't know what to do." "It seems clear enough to me." "Well, that's because you don't know the other half of it." "Here's you and all your men ready to tell me that Wade Matlock shot this young boy... early this morning out in the hills." "The trouble is, there's twice as many Anchor riders ready to swear... that Wade didn't take one step out of that saloon." "Not since last night." "So it looks to me like this dead boy must have made a mistake as to who shot him." "Or you and your men misheard what he was trying to tell you." "Meaning you don't feel justified in making an arrest." "Now, Mr. Parrish, you're a reasonable fella." "You know I can't arrest nobody on what a dying man was supposed to have said." "It ain't like I had a regular witness, now, is it?" " We could swear out a warrant." " Say, that you could." "Judge Benson will fix one up for you, and I'd serve it all right." "Being an officer of the law, I'd be bound to." "I'd put Wade Matlock in jail and see that he got a trial." "But just between you and me, I've got a hunch he'd be acquitted." "Nothing personal intended, Mr. Parrish... but out here we just don't take kindly to strangers who come among us... and try to use our law to settle their private grudges." "If I was you, I'd think it over real careful before I started making out warrants." "I see what you mean, Sheriff." "One more thing." "There'll be no lynching, not where I hold the law." "Understand?" "So get your men out of town and see that they behave peaceful." "Or I'll throw the lot of them in jail." " Where do you think you're going?" " Get out of the way." "You heard what the Sheriff said." " We're through listening to you and him." " Please step aside." "Coming from the East, you don't understand how we look at this." " The law's the law." " The law is working for Anchor." "You know it." "Go ahead, walk into a trap." "Get yourself killed." "That's just what they want." "They're waiting for you now over at Morgan's." "But if you go over there, better look behind you." "That's where Magruder will be, with a whole force of deputies." "Don't you see?" "That's what he's trying to do." "Draw you into action, then Anchor can kill you legally." "What would you do?" " You mean if I were handling it?" " Yes." "Well, seeing as I was outnumbered, I'd probably let them think I was retreating." "I'd pick my own battleground." "In that way, I wouldn't be taking on the law, too." "I'd have the element of surprise on my side." "That is, if I wanted any part of it, which I don't." "What's more, any of you that goes over to Morgan's, no longer works for me." "I'm spending the night at Vail's." "I'll see you at the ranch in the morning if you change your mind." "If not..." "I'll have the pay ready for any of you that survive." "No, I think I'll give that to Bud's father." " You lost your way, mister?" " No." "I'm looking for Wade Matlock." "The Sheriff mentioned he was in here." "You're looking at him." "What's on your mind?" "I own the ranch next to Anchor." "My name's Parrish." "Is it all right if I move?" "This gentleman has a gun pressed against my back." "Yeah, thanks." "I'd like a drink." "I mean, if you don't mind." " Have another." " No, thanks." " One's my limit." "Doctor's orders." " Have another." "My orders." "Well, if you insist." "One of my men was killed this morning." "And I thought..." "You wouldn't be hinting I did it, would you?" "Bud said you did." " You shouldn't believe everything you hear." " Oh, I don't." "That's why I came here, to talk to you." "Since the Sheriff wouldn't take any action... my men thought they'd take the law into their own hands." "They seemed quite determined." "I'm afraid they might cause a lot of trouble." "So I thought if I could persuade you to give yourself up and stand trial..." "What's going on here?" "Stay right where you are." "Yeah, but he's getting away." "Well, Mr. Parrish, this is a strange place for you to come today." "I'm sure my father will be interested in what you have to say." "I suppose I owe you an apology." "I once accused you of being a clever and careful man." "After what you did last night, you're anything but that." "Matlock was too confident." "You make it sound as if you shot him down in cold blood." "Maybe I did." "And you're coming here?" "Matlock wasn't the kind to have any friends after he was dead." "This belonged to your hired killer." "The one you said you booted out of here." "If I said so, I did." "You made me an offer for my ranch, and you gave me 24 hours to think it over." "Then you tried to help me make up my mind by killing Bud Hinkleman." "That was none of my doing." "Now, what else have you got to say?" "My ranch isn't for sale." "You don't have enough money to buy me out." "Or enough men to drive me out." "I've got a big stake in this valley." "I've got certain rights." "Bud Hinkleman had certain rights, too." "The right of any human being to live his own life for as long as God intended." "You know, Mr. Wilkison, we're going to be neighbours for a long time." "It's up to you whether or not we live in peace." "I came here to stop this killing before it went any further." "But I warn you, I'll fight for the privilege of being let alone." "And I can take care of anything you or your hired gunmen can throw against me." "Now you listen to me." "There's nothing you can do on my range that I can't do on yours." "And you've got a lot more to lose than I have." "Now, don't force me to fight... because you won't like my way of fighting." "When I said to kick Wade Matlock off the ranch, I meant it." "You wanted me to clear out the valley." "My orders were to do it without spilling blood." "Since when are your hands so clean?" "When I had fighting to do, I did it myself." "I didn't hire killers to shoot a man in the back, or to ambush one rider." "You promised not to upset yourself." "Don't tell me how you did your fighting." "They stopped you cold." "You sat behind the same fences for 12 years... till I blasted the range open for you." " lf you think I can't do without you..." " Just say the word." "Will both of you stop?" "How can you carry on like this with no concern of what it means to me?" "After all, I talked you into bringing Cole back." "If I thought you still couldn't get along, after so many years..." "I'm sorry, Martha." "I thought Cole would make things easier for you." "And he has." "He's done a good job since he's come back." "If Mr. Parrish weren't so stubborn, the valley would be yours." "I'm not saying Cole is right in whatever he's done." "My only concern is for you." "I want you to have peace." "I've almost forgotten what the word means." "Well, what do you want me to do?" "Go over and shake his hand?" "Get him out of the valley." "I'd almost given up hope of seeing you alive after what happened last night." "Everyone thinks it's quite funny, your killing a gunfighter." "The Sheriff isn't even going to arrest you." "The jokes on Anchor, and arresting you would only make it worse." "Only I don't find it funny." "I think the jokes on me." "You promised me you'd stay out of trouble." "I think I'm entitled to an explanation." " I had to do it." " I'm glad to hear that." "I'm glad you don't feel obliged to keep your promise to me." "The one you made that night, that you'd take anything Mr. Wilkison offered." "No, I don't want to fight." "But I will if it's forced on me." "What about me?" "Don't I count?" "We can still get married, we..." "Either you sell this place and we go East, or..." "I want to know where I stand right now." "Mr. Parrish." "Excuse me, Mr. Parrish." "This is Bud Hinkleman's dad." "Excuse me." "He came to get Bud's gear." " Pleased to meet you." " Mr. Hinkleman." "This is Miss Vail." " I'm sorry about Bud." " No call to blame yourself." "We know who's back of all the trouble in the valley." "Bud always spoke well of you, Mr. Parrish." "Bud was a good, hardworking boy." "It's a funny thing, he never could see working the land like his brothers." "Guess a farmer's life looked kind of dull to him." "I reckon herding cattle is as honest a way of making a living as any other." "But some farmers I know wouldn't agree... having had their share of troubles with cattlemen." "I won't keep you any longer, Mr. Parrish." "Mr. Hinkleman... this belonged to Bud." "I took the liberty of borrowing it." "I remember he saved up to buy it." "He was bound to have one of them new Colt guns." "You keep it, Mr. Parrish." "I know Bud would want you to." "Well, thank you." "You see, Mr. Parrish, we're farmers." "We're not used to violence." "I'm hardly a professional gunman myself." "I'm not even much of a cattleman." "I can't talk for the rest of the farmers." "I want you to know, if the time comes when you need a few extra men with guns..." "I got two sons left." "I hope that won't be necessary." "But I'll remember." "Goodbye, Miss Vail." "You've lied to me for three years." "You led me to believe that I was all that mattered to you." "I'm sorry." "But it's not as simple as all that." "I believed what you told me, that's how simple I was." "Get all the men together." "We're moving out." "All right, let's move out." "Take your positions." "What makes you so sure they're going to hit us tonight?" "They will." "I still think it's a mistake... leaving the ranch, which is as good as a fort, and fighting in the open." "And splitting up the men, we're bound to be outnumbered." " Never meet the enemy on his terms." " I sure hope you know what you're doing." "There they are." "They're riding in on the ranch like you said they would." "What are they up to?" "You want to go down and ask them?" "They're burning the ranch." "What did you expect them to do?" "Give it a fresh coat of paint?" "You knew they'd burn the ranch, and yet you had us pull out?" "That's right." "Wilkison controls the law here." "You give him any excuse, he'll have us declared outlaws." "Nobody can blame us for what we do to nightriders burning our ranch." "How do you know they'll come this way?" "They'll think we abandoned it." "They'll be off guard." "They're bound to take the shortest way home." "It's a funny thing, when you work a place, you sort of become part of it." "You feel for the land, everything that happens to it." "When it rains, or when it dries up... when things get to die on it or grow on it, you feel like it's happening to you." "Dryer, tell the men to follow my instructions and be sure to wait for my signal." "Right." "The Anchormen are on their way." "Wait for Mr. Parrish's signal." " How many men did you lose?" " Eight." "You were going to get him out of the valley." "Lew, why do you always quarrel with Cole?" "Your real concern should be Parrish." "I'm beginning to think I was all wrong about Parrish." "I don't like to make that bad a mistake about a man." "He let his ranch go up in smoke just to set up an ambush." "There's a fine cold-blooded devil." "I didn't know he had that much iron in him." "How can you talk so tolerantly about Parrish?" "I don't see how we can criticise a man's way of fighting... after the company we've been keeping." "Meaning me." "Cole was following out your orders of driving Parrish out of the valley." "I didn't tell him to start another range war." "He's put every nester on the side of Parrish." "They'll all stand together now." "You did exactly the same thing 12 years ago when you tried to force Purdue out." "You didn't accomplish any more than Cole." "At least he..." "At least he's got the use of his legs?" "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean..." "Only, that's true." "You ran that war." "Look at your souvenirs." "Get out of here." "I said, get out!" "I believe I have something to say about all this." "We started something that we have to finish." "There's no turning back." "We need Cole more than ever." "You don't need him here, Father." "You never did." "Judith." "You can run Anchor yourself." "Please send him away." "Don't listen to her." "Judith, dear, you don't understand." " I want your Uncle Cole here because..." " I know why you want him here." "Do you, Judith?" " Do you really know?" " Yes, Mother, I know." "Well, then you should understand what I'm trying to do." "You know how much I love your father and how much I want his happiness." "I wouldn't do anything to hurt him." "Father..." "After the way you've kept to yourself, you have no right to tell us anything." "If it's so hard to make you understand..." "I don't wonder Judith behaves the way she does." "I've tried to make a home for you and Judith." "The kind of home people of our standing should have." "I've tried to do what is best for Anchor and the family." "Didn't matter what happened to me." "All I wanted was your happiness, and Judith's." "But I've reached the end of my endurance." "You do whatever you think is best from now on." "I want to know how Cole is going to get Parrish." "Parrish is cavalry-trained." "He's got a couple of old hands with him who'll fight us to the end." "Nobody's catching him and his men in the mess of canyons... unless they want to get caught." "Another ambush would just about finish us." "The men here ride for money." "They're not used to taking punishment." "Any one of them gets shot up... the whole lot will saddle up and light out of here in a hurry." "Well, let them." "We'll hire others." "It won't stop us." "It didn't stop you when you fought your way into a valley crawling with Indians." "You didn't let anything stand in your way then." "You didn't build Anchor by depending on others." "You fought and struggled." "It's weight, strength, and endurance that count." "And purpose." "To know what you want, and never to allow anyone or anything to stop you." "I didn't think you'd allow Parrish to stop you." "Nobody's stopping me." "I promised you the valley." "Anybody following her?" "I came here alone, Mr. Parrish." "You don't have to fight Anchor, there's no reason to." "My father made a mistake offering you so little." "I know he'll give you what you want." "What about Bud Hinkleman?" "Can he give him back his life?" "My father had nothing to do with that." "He had my ranch burned to the ground." "What happened to your ranch wasn't my father's idea." "It was Cole's." "My father is a crippled old man." "He's had a long time to brood over what's happened to him in this valley." "Most of the people he hated are gone now." "There's no reason for him to fight." "I don't understand what you're trying to do, Miss Wilkison." "All I'm trying to do is to stop this useless killing." "I saw what it did to my father and the others the last time they fought." "I saw it as a child, when they brought in the men, bleeding and dying." "And my father, he kept screaming he'd sooner die than be a cripple all his life... while they kept digging the bullets out of his legs." "I don't believe it has to be that way, to kill and be killed." "We're losing time, Captain." "Keep Miss Wilkison here until morning." "I'm sorry." "I didn't come here for your sympathy." "Don't waste it on me." "You don't owe me a thing." " Where are you going?" " I'm going back to Dallas." "But why?" "How long do you think we can keep this up?" " Your daughter." " She doesn't know anything." "If she did, she'd never tell Lew." "That's not the reason you're leaving." "All right, you want the truth?" "I'll tell you." "I'm leaving because there's nothing in this for me." "I'm no hired gun hand." "You brought me here to run Anchor, only Lew's still running it." "He just thinks he is." "You know you can do whatever you want to here." "Sure, until I get rid of Parrish and the rest of them." "Then Lew's going to kick me out of here, the way he did before." " Not this time." "I won't let him." " Sure you will." "Once you get what you want, the valley." "That's the only reason you want me here." " lf Lew could hold it for you..." " How can you say such a thing?" "You know how much I need you." "You don't need anybody." "You never have, you never will." " But I do need you." "I love you." " You said that 20 years ago." "Only you took Lew instead because he had a ranch." "I loved you, but you let him take what he wanted." "You went easy." "I made a mistake, but I've paid for it." "But the past is past." "We have to think of our future together." "Cole, I love you." " Prove it." " How?" "Tell me how." "All right, I'll forget about Elena." "You come to Dallas with me." " I can't." " What's stopping you?" "Well, I'm not free." "I have to think of Judith." "You mean, you won't give up what you really want, the rest of the valley?" " That's not true." "I want you." " You can't have both." "What'll it be?" " Cole, be sensible." " I am." "I'm leaving with Elena." "All she wants is me." "De Rosa is waiting for us to pull the Anchor men away from the ranch." "We'll stampede the horses." "McCloud, you start the cattle going." "Martha, where were you?" "I couldn't sleep." "Neither could I." " What's troubling you?" " Nothing." "Why do you ask?" "Mr. Wilkison." "Stampede!" " Yes?" " Stampede." "Parrish set them off." "Stop them before they run themselves into the canyon." " Get all the men." " Yes, sir." "You in the bunk house, get up out of there!" "Stampede." "Get up out of there!" " Get Cole." " He isn't here." "He left." "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" " I said he could stay." " He didn't want to." " Where did he go?" " What's the difference?" "He's gone." "Now you'll have to fight Parrish all alone." "Remember Mr. Parrish's orders." "Burn them out." "Get downstairs." " Wake Judith." " She's not in her room." " Where is she?" " I don't know." "She's been gone all day." "Martha." "The crutches." "Come here." " Cole, my new dress." " I'll get you another one in Dallas." " Get her out of here." " Don't start that again." "Cole, tell her please to go." "I said get her out of here." " Sorry, she belongs here." " Lew is dead." "Leave us alone awhile." "I'll see you later." " How did it happen?" " Parrish set fire to Anchor." "We'll have to rebuild everything." "Together." " How did Lew get killed?" " What does it matter how?" "He's dead." "There's no need to be jealous anymore." "Father." "Where's Mother?" " Is she..." " She's all right." "How do you know?" " She managed to get out of the house." " Without you?" "I was in my room asleep." "By the time I got to the stairs..." "Where was she that she couldn't reach you in time?" " I don't know." " I believe you do, Father." " I'll take you into Logasa." " No." "Your mother will be there with Cole." "But Mrs. Wilkison..." "I can't swear in no gun hands to help you clear out the valley... unless I got legal cause to deputise them." " Being sheriff, I'm supposed to keep the law." " For Anchor." "It ain't that I don't want to do like you say." "But no judge or jury would sit still for it." "I'll hang Parrish and his bunch all right... but as long as Purdue and the nesters had no part in..." "But they did." "All the hands said it was only Parrish and his outfit that did it." "Course, if I had a witness." "I saw them." "It's difficult for me to talk about it." "I'm sorry, ma'am." "We'll get them, Mrs. Wilkison." "We'll string them up so high..." "The terrible part is these people were my neighbours." "Now they have no part here with the rest of us." "None of them do." "Any judge or jury will go along on that." "I dread to think what may have happened to Judith." "I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon." " lf they've harmed her..." " I'll find out soon enough." "Sheriff... my husband was a man of great vision." "He knew someday this territory would be a state." "And its affairs would be run by men with ambition." "Lew is gone, but I know he wouldn't want me to stop." "He said it's people like us who would make this country what it should be." "People who don't give in." "People who keep on fighting no matter what they feel or suffer." "Cole and I are going to rebuild Anchor bigger than ever." "I'll be greatly indebted to anyone... who helps me make it a fitting memorial to my husband." "I understand, Mrs. Wilkison." "You men have been deputised to help me keep law and order." "That means getting rid of Parrish and every one of them murdering outlaws." "I want this valley to be a decent, respectable place to live in." "Cole Wilkison, my Chief Deputy, has got something to say to you." "Parrish murdered my brother." "Burned him alive." "Purdue and the nesters helped him." "They got no protection coming from the law." "There's $100 for each of you men to help us clear the valley of the nesters and farmers." "Burn them out, string them up, smash them, shoot them." "Do what you want, only get rid of them." "Mrs. Wilkison is offering a $1,000 reward... to whoever brings Parrish in dead or alive." "Cole, wait." "Cole, will you listen to me?" "Don't go, please." "What do you want?" "Señora, I have come to beg you." "If it's about Cole, there's nothing to discuss." "Leave us alone, please." "You have a family, much land, everything." "I have nothing but Cole." "I love him." "He is all I want." "Do not take him away from me when you do not love him." "Please, señora, let him go back with me to Dallas." "You can bring him no happiness." "How much?" "I did not come here for..." "How much to get you on that stagecoach to Dallas?" "You think everyone is like you, loves only money." "I know your kind." "So does Cole." "Get out." "I hope I did right, sending for you." "Mr. Wilkison was near dead when the girl brought him." "I couldn't turn him out." "Come, Bill." "You must have enjoyed watching Anchor burn." "It was my home." "I was born, I grew up there." "And there's nothing left of it now." "I hear the sheriff at Logasa has sworn a small army of deputies." "Put them under Cole's command." "Deputies?" "They're nothing but a bunch of hired killers, murdering for money." "I'm holding you and your daughter as hostages to prevent more bloodshed." "Go ahead, take me into the hills." "Saddle yourself with a crippled old man." "What you don't know is that my wife and brother want me dead." "A man makes many mistakes in his life... but most as he grows old and sees time running short." "Gets in too big a hurry to get things done, loses sight of what's going on around him." "I was always on the lookout for somebody outside Anchor to break down its walls." "I didn't know when it happened, it would be from the inside." "Cole and his men just smashed up the Purdue place." "They killed another of his boys and are after the hands and nesters." "They aim to destroy the whole valley." "You'll have to get out of here." "They're not chasing me off my land." " Don't argue." " I'm not arguing." "I've lost one son..." "You'll lose the rest of them if you make a stand here." "You said once that if ever I needed any extra guns, I could count on you." "I need them now." " What do you want me to do?" " Get on over to my camp." "We must get the farmers to fight with us." "What will happen to my father if they come here?" "Take them with you." "Cole Wilkison is burning out the valley." "Get out while you can." "Evening, Mrs. Wilkison." "Welcome back to Anchor, what's left of it." " Have you seen anything of my daughter?" " Not yet." " Where's Cole?" " Up at the bunkhouse." "Giddap." " I've been waiting for you." " I got here as soon as I could." " What about Parrish?" " Forget him for tonight." "I can't." "We'll never have any peace as long as he's alive." " He won't be after tomorrow." " Then there'll be nothing to stop me." "What about me?" "Where do I fit in?" "If I have Anchor, so will you." "Magruder and Cole are up at the ranch with their men getting ready to hit us at sunrise." " We'll hit them before they hit us." " No." " Let Cole have the valley." " We're not handing it over to him." " You know it's hopeless." "He has many men." " That doesn't make any difference." "No difference?" "Why not?" "It doesn't make any difference when a fight's forced on you." "But why die for a piece of land when there's so much of it?" "We're not running." "That's right." "Find an excuse to stay here and fight." "Men can always find a reason to murder each other." "I know you think you're doing right." "But there's no right to killing." "I'd like to know what good it's ever done." "It's only brought on more killing." "It made a cripple out of my father." "It took your son, and yours." "Must you lose the others, too?" "Must every one of you die before the slaughter stops?" "You men who are always ready with a knife or a gun or your fists... what are you trying to prove?" "That you're as brave as the next man?" "That you can die as well as he can?" "Why don't you try to live for a change?" "Judith." "Don't you tell me anything." "You're no better." "When I think of the men you've killed, and for what?" "To make Anchor the biggest cemetery in the country!" "I'm going to get Cole." "Without him, those hired gun-hands won't fight." "I'm going with you, Captain." "I'm going, too." "I'm not leaving him." "What about the rest of us?" "I said I'd stand with any man who didn't run from Anchor." "You may still have to fight if I don't come back." "Magruder." "She told me that he was dead." "Magruder." " Who hired these men?" " Your brother." "Who's going to pay them?" "Mr. Wilkison, I thought I was doing what was right." "They told me that Parrish had killed you." "Get them off my place." "Cole hired you to do his killing, to clean out the valley." "What about our money?" "You'll get your money." "But there will be no more killing." "Now get off my property, all of you." "You're trespassing." "Go on, get off!" "Mr. Parrish." " My father would like to speak with you." " What for?" "He'd like you to come to Anchor and run it for him." "I have my own place to rebuild." "Thanks a lot for the offer, anyway." "You know, your father once told me he'd get my ranch, one way or another."