"I'm gonna have to carry ya, huh?" "Oh, boy..." "All right." "Drop your gun belt, mister." "What's this all about?" "The captain said to drop the gun belt." "Now!" "They're wearing the Johanson brand all right." "Whose else would they be?" "Where'd you get them?" " Just where that brand says." " Got 'em from Johanson, eh?" "With a bill of sale to prove it." "Hold it!" "That's right." "I thought maybe you'd like to look at the bill of sale." "We'll look at it." " You say you got this from Johanson?" " Yeah." "Mr. Maddow." "Mr. Maddow, is that Johanson's mark?" "Johanson didn't have to make his mark." "He could write as good as you can." "Hang him." "Goddammit!" "I'm an ex-lawman." "You can check with the sheriff - Dave Ramsay of St Louis." "Get Johanson!" "Let him tell me face to face." "For God's sake, check it out!" "Are we gonna hang him or beat him to death?" "Enough!" " Put him on his horse." " Wait a minute!" "The saddle." " You've no claim to that, Reno." " We got back Johanson's cattle, Cap'n." "I like to see justice done, but..." "I'm takin' the saddle." " Anybody want to argue?" " A rustler'd have nothin' I'd want." "Well, he's got somethin' I want." "I want his wallet." "I want it and I'm gonna take it!" "Exceptin' if he's a rustler, how come he didn't make a run for it when he had a chance?" "Wait a minute, Loomis." "Now tell me." "You bought some cattle from Johanson." "You saw the bill of... sale." "With the mark where Johanson was supposed to write his name!" "Yeah." "What did Johanson look like?" "He's about 30." "Dark hair, dark eyes, heavy-set." "Pockmarked face, regular features..." "You have an eye for detail, haven't you?" "I told you, I was a lawman." "That was my job." "Heavy-set, pockmarked, about 30." "Liar!" "Johanson was 60." "Well, maybe it was his foreman or something." "I don't know." "We can go back and find out." "It's only a day's ride." " We could check it out." " Mr. Maddow..." "Tell him." "I just came from the Johanson place." "His herd was gone." "I found Johanson and his wife on the kitchen floor, gunned down." "Dead." "No." " Hang him." " You're making a mistake!" "No..." "No!" "Some people calls this hell, but you're still in Oklahoma Territory." "Save your breath." "I don't know who hung you or why, but if you're innocent the judge'll set you free." "And if you ain't, they'll have to take the trouble of hanging you again." "So come on, get on your feet." "Water your mules and fill up a bucket of water for the men." "Marshal Dave Bliss." "I hear you got a prisoner for me." "That's right, Marshal." "Feed and grain store across the street." "Here's the key." "You'll be needin' it." "Marshal..." "Watch out for him." "He's plumb loco." "Oh, God!" "You've come to kill the prophet." "Take it easy, will ya?" "Oh, God!" "God!" "You've come to kill the prophet!" " Can you walk?" " Oh!" "They're against me!" "They spy on me." "Oh, God..." " They're scared of the wrath of God!" " Get on your feet." "No!" "Even the prison wagon's better than this." "You've come to kill the prophet!" " Hold it!" " Oh, no!" "Oh, God!" "You've come to kill the prophet!" " Stop or I'll kill ya!" " Oh, God!" "What are you waitin' for, Marshal?" "Kill him!" "What's wrong, Marshal?" "Scared of cheating' the hanging' judge?" "Kill him!" "Kill him!" "Kill him!" "We'll look out for ya!" "We'll say you done your best to bring him in alive!" "Kill him, Marshal!" "Go on!" "Go on!" "Kill him, go on!" "Hold it!" "Kill him, Marshal!" "It's too damn crowded in here anyway!" "You chained him." "Now you bury him." " That ain't gonna make the judge happy." " Was I supposed to just let him escape?" "I ain't saying you was wrong." "I'm just saying it won't make the judge happy." "Now that you've said it, Williams, move 'em out." "Girls!" "The tumbleweed wagon's here!" "Save us the live ones, Marshal, huh?" "Marshal, you're not gonna hang them all!" "Here she is!" "Here comes that tumbleweed wagon!" " You'll send the drapery material over?" " As soon as it comes in." " And I'll need more perfume." " A dozen bottles?" "The cheapest." "As long as it smells good." "It's not for my girls, it's for the cowhands." " They come in smelling like..." " Here comes the wagon!" "Hey, isn't that Billy the Kid?" "Take a closer look." "Maybe you'll find your old man!" "Hold it!" "Let's do target practice on 'em!" "All right, move 'em out." "Come on." "You eats twice a day, eight in the morning and four in the afternoon." "Unless you makes trouble, you get an hour a day recreation in the prison yard." "Better find yourself a spot." "Expectin' another wagon in this afternoon." " You'll get used to the smell." " If you don't, they got a cure for it." "They hang ya!" "Sounds like Schmidt's fixin' to have a little party this mornin'." "A party?" "A hangin' party." "Them's 200-pound sacks he's droppin'." "He's gotta make sure them ropes hold up." "Always uses top-grade hemp, Schmidt does." "Oils it so it slides real good, snaps your neck like a dried-out twig." "Fine artist at his trade, our Mr. Schmidt!" "That bastard!" "No!" "What kind of justice hangs a man before he's heard about his appeal?" "!" "Come in." "Leave him." "Without shackles." "Yes, sir." "All right, guard." "Your story checks out, Cooper." "You're free to go." "Eleven dollars?" "And forty cents." "That's all McCleod had on him when we picked him up." "McCleod?" "McCleod was runnin' from the law." "Holed up at Johanson's place." "Killed that old man and his wife." "And then you blundered in, a stranger looking to buy some cattle, so McCleod sold you a few head." "He must've got a laugh outta that!" "You wanna see what he looks like?" "Come on!" "Come on!" "McCleod took your money and came into town, lookin' for a good time." "The row - that's where we found him." "May God have mercy on his soul!" "You're free to go, Cooper." "With my eleven dollars and forty cents?" "And the satisfaction of seeing that man hung." "What about the nine just men who hung me?" "Just give their description to one of the deputies." "They'll try to pick 'em up." "Well, that's not good enough!" "Cooper, you take the law into your own hands, and I promise you you'll swing from one of those ropes out there." "I know a little bit about the law, Your Honour!" "That's right." "You do." "Siddown, Cooper." "Please." "You were a lawman in St Louis." "A damn good one." "I can use a good man, Cooper." "Pay, 250 a month." "That's 230 more than you'd make as a cowhand, 232 more than as an army sergeant." "Here." "That hangin' rope didn't kill ya." "Maybe my coffee will!" "How much did you make in St Louis?" "It's... 200 more than I made in St Louis." "250, plus expenses." "I warn you, the pay is a little slow in coming'..." "There." "$200." "Plus 50 President Harrison owes you." "You'll get it when I get it." "Seems like you're a man tryin' to give away money and not too many takers." "You sound like a man protesting' the pay is too high." "Don't." "You sign on, you'll earn every cent of it." "There you are." "The Oklahoma and Indian Territory, year of our Lord 1889." "19 marshals." "I was authorised 60 when I came here." "Told the president even that was not half enough." "19 marshals and one court to cover near 70,000 square miles!" "A happy hunting ground filled with bushwhackers, horse thieves, whisky pedlars, hide peelers, marauders that'll kill you for a hatband!" "Now that's why there's a badge in my desk, Cooper, itching' to sit on somebody's chest - and no takers!" "Your marshals do cover a lot of territory." "You'll ride circuit over an area half again the size of Rhode Island, if and when it's Marshall Cooper." "Pick up the badge, Mr. Cooper." "Pick up the badge, or leave justice to me and my men." "Those nine men." "If you find 'em, they're to be brought before me." "Alive." "That ol' horse should hold you for a spell." "All right." "Good luck, Marshal." "Thank you." "You're Cooper?" "Judge sent a wire you was comin'." "Wasn't there nobody outside?" "There's two men with shotguns." "I haven't had me a night's sleep since we picked up the Swede." "How many men did you bring with you?" "Can you have 'em ready to go in a half hour?" "Just... the two of you?" "Yeah." "Oh, the hotel here." "Does it serve a good steak?" "I better eat before we leave." "If you're crazy enough to try to take the Swede in alone, you got a right to try it on a full stomach!" "You're under arrest, Reno." "You talkin' to me, Marshal?" "Your name's Reno, isn't it?" "Marshal, I don't know what kind of town you're runnin' here..." " This isn't my town." " I wouldn't know." "See, I just rode in." "Now I'm gonna wash down some trail dust and..." "All right, Marshal, what do you say I done?" " You don't remember me, do ya?" " No." "When you hang a man, you better look at him." "Don't go for that gun." "I need you alive." " Do you know him?" " No." "Anybody here know him?" "Goes by the name of Reno." "Come up here and take a look at him." " He must've just rode in." " So he said." "How much to bury him?" " Elwood?" " Well, I... $15 ought to do a fair job, Marshal." "All right." "There's $7 there and I'll give you eight more." "And mark it down there." "Don't anybody leave!" "I want everybody to write down exactly what they saw." " I didn't see nothin', Marshal." " Then say that in writin'." "Nobody's gonna fault ya." "You give him every chance." "Then say it in writin'." "Marshal, I can't write." "The sheriff'll write it down, then you can put your mark on it." "Sheriff, there's a saddle out there belongs to me." "I'll be takin' that." "If any of his friends or relatives show up and want his belongings, let me know." "You can wire me in Fort Grant." "You gonna pick up the Swede now?" "No, no." "I'm gonna have that steak now." "Marshal." "Oh, the Swede!" "That's the one the Marshal just brought in." "Swede!" " What was that all about?" " That's Judge Fenton's orders." "Nobody comes in or out that lady don't look at." "Marshal!" "Judge wants to see you right away." "Thank you." "Good work, Cooper." "See?" "The good Lord takes care of those that do his work." "He just waltzed in here and gave himself up." "I never wanted to hang you, mister." "I asked them to give you a chance." "Maybe you remember that." "I remember that." "I was here in Fort Grant lookin' to pick up a grubstake when I heard a marshal with a hangin' scar had killed Reno." "I knew then we..." "we'd hung an innocent man." "So I turned myself in." "The others?" "I've made out warrants for their arrest." " Where?" " Red Creek." "Good enough." "I'll be on my way." "All right, Cooper, do it your way." "You round 'em up and bring 'em back." "I don't know why you had to kill Reno." "It's in my report." " I wanted him alive." "I needed the names!" " You got your names." "Mister, you make sure the rest of those men get back here alive!" "Jenkins?" "Siddown, please." "You're under arrest." "Move!" "I have seven warrants here." "Matt Stone, Loomis," "Maddow, Charlie Blackfoot, Captain Wi..." "Captain Wilson?" "What the hell is this about?" "The lynching." "I understand four of these men I'm after are out at the Big W." "Maddow and Miller I'm not sure about." "Maddow, he owns a spread around here." "Miller, he..." "Miller's a drifter." "Marshal, these men you're lookin' for - they're all leading' citizens." "They're friends of mine." "They're wanted for conspiracy to commit murder." "Now if you'll put this man in jail, Sheriff, you and I can ride out to the Big W." "Sheriff!" "Sheriff Calhoun!" "Sheriff!" "Rustlers!" "They took our herd!" "They killed my pa and Danny." "Killed both of 'em." "I rode in and found 'em there." "Pa and Danny, bushwhacked!" "And the herd gone." "I won't be much good to you from here on out." "My back is givin' me trouble." "You're in good hands, however." "This man here is a federal marshal." "Don't give me that bad-back stuff." "You got your job." "I've got mine out at the Big W." "His father and brother's been murdered." "You a lawman or ain't ya?" "No more than... five, six hours ahead now." "Now they must slow down." "Yeah, well, we won't." " On your feet!" "Get up!" " Get up!" "Get up!" "Cattle won't live another day without water." "Mick!" "Willie!" "Get 'em home!" "Rafe, go with 'em!" " You've got one minute to pray." " There'll be no hanging' here." "They killed my father and brother." "They'll get what's comin' to 'em." "They'll get what the law says." "If you can't stomach hangin', ride out." "We'll do what needs doin' here." "I'll say it one more time!" "There's gonna be no hanging'." "We're not turnin' three murderers loose." "Right." "You're turning 'em over to me, the law." " I'll make sure they get to Fort Grant." " That's three days' ride from here." " You'll never make it alone, Marshal." " I didn't plan on makin' it alone." "Now you men got a $10 posse fee comin'." "I can't guarantee the government'll pay any more, but every man who sticks with me'll get an extra ten... if I have to pay for it myself." "Uh-uh." "I'll take my ten now." "I've got your name." "They'll send it." " We'll put in for the money ourselves." " Yeah." "The men these rustlers killed, they were my friends." "These three, they are for hanging!" "Leave us, Marshal." "For just ten minutes." "Five minutes!" "On your feet." "Thank you, Marshal." "I want you to know we had nothin' to do with the killin'." " Shut up." " We rustled the herd all right, but..." "Didn't I tell you to shut your mouth, boy!" "My brother's telling the truth." "He done it." "All right, Marshal, all right." "All right, saddle up those horses, and nothin' foolish." "You're very kind, Marshal." "Would you be my friend, too?" "Forget about it." "Say, I, uh..." "I seen you when you drug that old Stone into jail." "I thought that was really somethin'." "I just about died right then and there." "I picked up my two amigos here and rustled this fat herd and we headed lickety-split for south of the border." "You know somethin'?" "Mr. uh..." "Deputy Marshal?" "You know, when I woked up and seen that gun pointing' right at my mouth and you standin' at the other end of it," "I said to myself, "Miller, you move one inch and you're a dead man."" ""This man's about to blow your head off!"" "I mean, what them boys said was right." "We're guilty as hell." "You know, when we get to Fort Grant, all they're gonna do is hang us." "I tell you what." "Why don't you be real smart and use your head, you know?" "And let us go." "Huh?" "Just let us go." "We outnumber you three to one." "You can tell 'em that we jumped ya." "And the boys and I ain't gonna be around to call you a liar." "Get aboard, Miller." "I can't get aboard." "Cos my hands are tied." "You're gonna have to help me." "I said, get aboard." "You ain't never gonna get me alive to Fort Grant, boy." "Then I'll get you there dead, boy." "Get down." "The horses need rest." "Start walkin'." "Get aboard, Miller." "Kill me." "Kill me!" "Kill me." "Please, I didn't set out to touch her." "I was drunk!" "Full of rotgut whisky." "I didn't know what I was doing." " Please, my family!" " Take him away." "Look..." "No!" "Please!" "My family!" "I didn't know what I was doing!" "Please!" "Samuel Dodd." "Charge, whisky peddling." "Here, Your Honour." "Marshal Cooper's comin' down the street with three prisoners." "Court's adjourned." "8 o'clock tomorrow morning." "All rise until His Honour has left the courtroom." "Sheriff in Red Creek wired you were bringin' three killers in alone." "That was over two days ago." "I nearly gave you up for dead." "You're a damn fool, Cooper." "A bloody damn fool, and the best there is!" "You hear that?" "Wake up, you godforsaken people, you!" "The best there is, this man here that works for ya!" " What's goin' on?" " Our country, the best there is because of men like Marshal Jed Cooper!" "I'm proud of you, boy." "They're gonna hear about this, even in Washington!" "The length and breadth of this nation, they're gonna know the name Jed Cooper!" "What you got to say about that, boy?" "Yahoo!" "Anything else I could do for you, Marshal?" "Good Lord!" "You bring back half of these, you'll have a wagonload!" "Well, you know me, Judge." "I like a lot of company." "How long you figure it'll take?" "Six, seven weeks." "Give or take a month!" "Come in!" "Well, well, well!" " Mornin'." " Mornin'." "The prodigal returneth, from a fate worse than death!" " Was that your idea?" " You fell into my arms, and the row was the closest haven." "Since you didn't appear to need a doctor..." "Well, I'll... be on my way." " See ya, Jed." " All right, Hayes." "Aside from the girl who served me breakfast," "I didn't see anybody else I remembered." "Do I owe 'em a bill, or?" "Of course!" "Just put it on your expenses." "Uh..." "Under what?" "You're gonna make me one helluva lawman, Jed, one helluva lawman!" "Judge, uh..." "about those three that I brought in..." "All taken care of." "I don't think they spent as pleasant an evenin' as you did!" "No, but..." "I wanted to talk to you about the two boys, Ben and Billy-Joe." "Oh, later!" "Write it down when you got time." "I just want to say, as long as I'm here..." "Only Miller is to be charged with murder." "See, if it wasn't for those two boys, I might not have made it." "Miller tried to kill me." "If one or both had given him a hand..." "They help you subdue Miller?" "Well, no, but..." " All right." "Write it in your report." " Hey, Marshal!" "If you catch a whisky pedlar, let him go and bring the whisky back this time!" "Mind if I call on that señorita of yours?" "I hear they got some wicked women in Los Gatos!" "Catch us a few!" "So long, Ace!" "Good hunting'!" "Bliss is dead." "Bliss?" "What happened?" "He went to pick up one of the Walker boys out of the Elmwood jail." "The Walker clan, all seven of 'em, were waitin'." "They shot him down in the middle of the main street." "Not a soul in Elmwood lifted a hand to help him." "I owe my life to Bliss." "He was a man with a backbone." "A lawman." "It won't be easy to fill his shoes." "No, it won't." "Well, I'd better get on back to Red Creek." "Red Creek?" "When the local sheriff wired you, I don't suppose he told you that I arrested one of the men who tried to lynch me." "I was going after the rest when this business came up." " The man you arrested?" " Stone." "He's in Red Creek jail." "That ought to hold him till you're finished here." "Finished here?" " Testifying." " Testifying?" "When?" "Boy, I got a backlog of cases built up from here to Sunday!" "Well, I have a prisoner in that cardboard jail." "The sheriff there's got a bad back," " and if I don't get over there..." " You'll get back, Cooper!" "You'll get back when I tell you you're free to go." "Cooper..." "You can be the best I've ever had, the best there is, if you remember this." "You work for the government!" "You work for justice!" "Come in." " Rachel?" " I heard there were three new prisoners." "Yes." "Marshal, why don't you take Miss Warren down to the cell block?" "Two of them are just boys." "Old enough to rustle cattle." "You want them to hang?" "I just want 'em to get a fair trial." "Who do you want to hang?" "We all have our ghosts, Marshal." "You hunt your way," "I hunt mine." "You claim you didn't pull the trigger." "Let's forget about the killings." "Rustling is a hanging offence, and they are all guilty, all three of 'em!" "No matter whose idea it was, they're all guilty." " That's the law." " Object!" "Sustained." "You, sir." "You will elicit facts from the witness." " I will tell the jury what's the law." " Yes, sir." "No further questions, Your Honour." "The jury will disregard all of the prosecution's remarks regarding the law." "All right, son." "You may step down now." "Call your next witness." "Marshal Jedediah Cooper!" "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" " I do." " At the time of their apprehension, did any of these three deny their guilt?" "Well, no, but on the trail back here..." "We're not interested in the trip back." "It was a heroic journey." "The whole court, the whole territory, is grateful." "Your Honour, something that happened on the trail has a bearing on the case." "Something that leads you to believe that one or all three defendants are innocent?" "Well, of murder, yes." "You see, both Ben and Billy-Joe told me..." "Marshal, this court is not concerned with hearsay evidence." "This court requires facts." "The defendants, all three, are charged with murder and rustling." "Facts." "The only matter that concerns this court." "I thought it was concerned with justice." "Justice is my province, Marshal!" "Mine, and mine alone!" "You'll confine yourself to direct answers or find yourself in contempt of court!" "One boy is 18, the other's only 16." " That'll cost you $10." " Neither's been in trouble..." " $20." " If it wasn't for them... $30!" "One more word, you'll spend 30 days in the hole." "Do you have any further questions for this witness?" "No more questions, Your Honour." "Then you may step down, Marshal." "Yeah?" "Sheriff Ray Calhoun." "Red Creek." "I recognise you." "I wanna congratulate you on the job you did bringing' in those rustlers." "You rode all the way over from Red Creek, bad back an' all, just to tell me that?" "No." "Stone's dead." "What happened, Calhoun?" "It didn't make no sense, him sittin' in that cell goin' crazy in a town without no blacksmith." "He promised if I'd free him every day for a couple of hours to work at his trade that he'd come back to his cell each night." "And he did." "Came back every night but one." "I rode out to his home, a home where I had many a dinner, the home of a friend..." "I had to bring him back and put him in his cell at gunpoint." "He made a break for it." "I tried to shoot low, but I'm not very good at that." "I heard you paid 800 to the skunk who murdered the Johansons and sold you their herd." "That's right." "How much did you get back when they were caught?" "Eleven dollars and forty cents." "There's 800 in this envelope." "It's yours." "Or you can keep the 100 head." " Prime, every one of 'em." " Uh-uh." "I don't have much use for cattle these days." "Here's ten." " Keep it." " Hold it!" "Here's eleven dollars and... forty cents." "For the aggravation they caused me." "You take that bad back of yours right over to Red Creek and tell your friends we're even." "Money-wise." "So." "It's no deal." "He figures you still owe him for a lynching'." "And I told you." "You never should've offered him the money." "All right." "Now that makes three mistakes we made." "The money." "We hung an innocent man." "And we didn't finish the job." "We can't undo the first two, but we can still finish the job." "I didn't hear that, Cap'n Wilson." "I didn't hear none of it." "I'm ridin' back to Red Creek." "Are you comin' with me?" "Charlie!" "You've been with me better than five years." "Good years, Cap'n." "Maybe if it was my land I was fightin' to hold..." "No, Cap'n." "If that marshal wants Charlie Blackfoot, he's gonna have to find him." " Sorry, Cap'n Wilson." " Maddow, you're damn near my age." "You wouldn't last six months in that jail!" "I don't intend to try." " I can still ride pretty good." " You can shoot even better!" "I'm sorry, Cap'n." "He'll come after you." "He'll keep comin'." "You'll be nothin' but an animal." "An animal running' scared!" "Sorry, Cap'n." "How about you two?" "You sure?" "Tommy?" "It was wrong to hang that man." "We all know it now." "I was hopin' we could square it with him." "My wife, she was kinda hopin' it too." "Loomis?" "I'm 37, 38." "I... don't rightly know for sure." "I started drifting' when I was just a kid." "These last few years workin' for you..." "It's the first home I ever knew." "I've saved a few dollars, thinkin' of finding' myself a woman, staking' out a few acres of my own," " when this come up." " You mean, when I brought it up." "You didn't force me to ride with you, Cap'n." "I thought we was doin' the right thing." "We was." "Hangin' the wrong man don't change that." "Five years, even ten." "You two can survive it and still have some kind of life." "What kind, Cap'n?" "I been a free man." "It's the only kind of life I know." "My wife Thelma, she's a young woman." "She wants kids and a family." "Even if I asked her to wait for me, even if she said she would," "I couldn't be sure." "Let's ride, gentlemen." "Hey, mister, where's the hotel?" "Down the street." "But it's full up." "The whole town's full up with this hanging'." "I hear they got tents set up out in the boondocks." "Thank you kindly." " Who is it?" " Open up." "I came to tell you about the biggest thing that happened in this territory." "Bigger than statehood!" "People showing' up by the wagonful, all just to see your lousy hangin'." " That's enough, Cooper." " To see your circus, a six-man hangin'." "That's enough!" "You stink of whisky, son." "Just go back to your room." "Sleep it off." "They're lynching' those boys." "Why?" " Why?" " Yeah." "Because of you, Cooper." "Because of that beautiful, that magnificent journey you took to bring three killers to justice." "Because if the law didn't hang 'em, the next posse would say..." ""Hang 'em, and hang 'em high!" "There's no justice in Fort Grant."" "And with no justice in Fort Grant there'll be no statehood for this territory." "I don't care how you slice it." "Whether it's nine men out on a plain with a dirty rope or a judge in his robes in front of the American flag, those boys are gonna be just as dead as if they'd been lynched." "That's right, Cooper, just as dead." "But they won't have been lynched, but judged." "If you can't see the difference, take off that star right now!" "Not just yet, Your Honour." "Yes, we'll gather at the river" "The beautiful, the beautiful river" "Gather with the saints at the river" "That flows by the throne of God" "Shall we gather at the river" "Where bright..." "Get your cold beer here!" "Sarsaparilla for all the kiddies!" "Pretzels!" "Liquorice sticks!" "Rachel, drapes can wait." "Sure you won't change your mind?" "Sophie, I told you before." "There's only one hanging I'm interested in." "Soon our pilgrimage will cease" "Soon our happy hearts will quiver" "With the melody of peace" " Dad, please!" " No!" "I said no!" "...at the river" "The beautiful, the beautiful river" "Gather with the saints at the river" "That flows by the throne of God" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Get your cold beer!" "Get your cold beer!" "Sarsaparilla for all the kiddies!" "Pretzels, liquorice sticks." "Get your cold beer!" "Cold beer!" "Here's your change." "Sarsaparilla for all the kiddies." "There you are, young thing." "Hey, what are you doin'?" "Can't you see me tomorrow?" "I don't want to miss the hanging'!" "And the Lord said, acknowledge thy sins unto me, confess thy iniquities and transgressions unto the Lord, and he will forgive thee thy sins." " Now, preacher?" " Patience... patience." "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." "But his delight is in the law of the Lord;" "and in his law doth he meditate day and night." "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season." "His leaf shall not wither;" "and whatever he doeth shall prosper." "Amen." "We will now sing "Rock of Ages"." "Get your cold beer and your sarsaparilla here!" "Rock of ages" "Cleft for me" "Let me hide myself in thee" "Let the water and the blood" "From thy wounded side which flowed" "Rock of ages" "Cleft for me" "Let me hide myself in thee" "Do you have last requests?" " Do you have last requests?" " I'd sure like me a chaw of tobacco." "What's the matter, hangman?" "You afraid I'll choke and cheat you out of your fee?" "Put it in my pocket." " Now, preacher?" " You may say your piece now, Duffy." "You are now looking for the last time at the mortal body of Francis Elroy Duffy, born to John and Edna Duffy." " Do you have last requests?" " Good, God-fearing folk" " who raised me up to be a good man." " Ben?" "Bye, Ben." "Bye." "A good husband to my beloved wife, a good father to my children... whom I leave behind, hoping that they and all you will learn..." "Do you have last requests?" "This here lesson which I leave you with." "When you take the devil into your mouths, you are doomed!" "For he is lying there in wait for you inside that bottle of whisky, waitin' for you to take him into your mouth." " Do you have last requests?" " Waitin' to get down into your guts," "Tell him to shut up and let's get it over with." "Where he can do his devil's work." "Liquor is the most foul, evil thing in this here world!" "It destroyed good men like myself." "It'll destroy you too." " Do you have last requests?" " And beer is not much better." " It's slower and cheaper." " No!" "So take these words of advice." "And remember, you heard them from a poor sinner got no more cause to lie." "Cos he's going to meet his Maker." "And now he's ready." "That's all I've got to say." "Will you all bow your heads in one final prayer?" "May God have mercy on their poor souls, as he has upon all the faithful departed." "Amen." "Amen." "Dear God!" "All right, all right, I'm coming!" "Judge Fenton." "I come to praise Sophie, not to close her down." " I thought maybe you came to..." " Now, Sophie!" "Now at least I know what it takes to get you in here!" "How is he this morning?" "I've never seen a man who has more right to be dead." "I gotta see him." "Can't wait any longer." "Check with Rachel." "She's still in charge." "She stayed all night?" "You heard Doc." "If Rachel hadn't stopped the bleeding..." "Somebody had to stay with him." "A couple of my girls volunteered." "Rachel wouldn't have it." "Same room." "Honeymoon suite, at the head of the stairs." "Good morning, Judge." "Anything I can do for you?" "No, no." "Thank you, dear." "It's all right, Judge." "I'm just about finishing up." "I heard about what you did, Rachel." "I'm grateful." "Why don't you sit down?" "Can I get you something?" "No, no, thank you." "I shouldn't have done this." "I may never get up again!" "Who did it, Jed?" "Much as you want 'em, Jed, I want 'em more." "I need 'em!" "It's bad enough when a deputy gets bushwhacked on some lonely trail, but here... in Fort Grant, broad daylight?" "We can't let 'em get away with that!" "Now, who did it?" "I'll go... after 'em myself." "For the love of God, son!" "God's got nothin' to do with it." "I'll take care of 'em." "Want me to take over?" "No." " Thank you." " You could use a good night's sleep." "All right, honey." "But one of these days he's gonna get better." "And you're gonna have a man on your hands." "You're perspiring." "Don't drink your milk so fast." "You look tired." "Are you all right?" "You know you're a nag?" "A very pretty one, but a nag." " What was that for?" " Just thanks." "You're welcome." " Oh, I'll get some salt for the eggs." " Forget the salt." "Please..." "Please don't." "Yeah, well, I guess..." "I guess my life isn't worth two kisses, huh?" "Please..." "I'm sorry." "What's the matter?" "I was married." "Back in Denver." "His name was Paul." "He was a doctor." "And a very fine man." "He used to say this was his place." "This was where doctors were needed." "One night, after we'd camped, we... sat around the fire, talking." "Husband and wife talk." "About... how many children we were going to have, and... what a wonderful life we were going to have together." "And then they came." "Two men on horseback." "Just some food." "Just... to share our food, that's all they wanted." "And one of them... put his hand on me." "And there was a shot." "And Paul was dead." "And they just left him there lying beside me on the ground, dead." "And they... took me." "And took me." "And took me!" "The tumbleweed wagon..." "The jail..." "You're looking for those men?" "And what happens when you find 'em?" "Or if you don't find 'em?" "Ever?" "We'd better hurry!" "It's gonna storm!" "Miss Rachel, where do you want to put these blankets?" " What is it, Marvin?" " Where do you want these blankets?" " Oh." "Just put 'em in the back someplace." " Yes, ma'am." "Hi, Marshal!" "You asked me once whether I could ever stop looking." "I think now I can." "Can you?" "Well, Rachel, there's a difference." "You see, I'm not..." "I'm not lookin' for ghosts." "The end of my trail's in Red Creek." "Maybe not." "What then?" "I don't know." "Think we got him?" "I don't know." "The dog or the shot - either one." "Why ain't that dog yapping'?" "If that marshal was alive that dog'd be yappin', wouldn't he?" "I told you, I didn't know!" "But I aim to find out." "No!" "Let him come to us." "No, Cap'n." "I've waited on him long enough." "Why don't he move?" "Tommy!" "Drop it." "Dead." "Cap'n Wilson," "Tommy," "Loomis." "All of 'em." "Dead." "All except Maddow, Blackfoot, and you, Jenkins." "Count me dead too." "I just want to say that..." "I don't hold you to blame." "For what that's worth." "It's worth somethin'." "So that's how it is?" "That Rachel lit a fire in you with that rich body of hers." "You lit a fire in each other." "Now you're going to get married and raise cattle and kids." " Devil take the rest of the world." " Maybe." "You used the law and a badge to heal that scar on your neck." "Well, how many men are you going to have to hang to heal your scar?" " Go to hell, Cooper." " I've already been there, Judge." "In your wagon and in that hole you call a jail." "And old man Jenkins is gonna die there." " Is he sick?" " He's dyin'." " I'll get a doctor for him." " Let him go!" "So he can look for another innocent man to lynch?" "He's an old man." "Well!" "And that was an old rope he helped put around your neck, but it damn near killed you, didn't it?" "What's the matter with you, Cooper?" "You got Jenkins on your conscience?" "Think I judged him too harshly, used him like a piece of kindling for my fire of justice?" "Well, maybe that's inevitable when there's only one man, one court with the power of justice over a territory five times the size of most states!" "Mistakes?" "Oh, I've made 'em, Cooper, don't you doubt it." "Don't you doubt there are times sittin' up there in that judgement seat" "I've wished, I have prayed that there was someone standin' between me and God Almighty!" "Someone with the power to say," ""You're wrong." "You made a mistake in law."" ""This man deserves another trial, this man a reprieve, and this man is innocent!"" "But until this territory becomes a state, with a governor and a state court of appeals," "I'm the law here." "All the law." "And if you don't like that, you can cuss me till hell freezes over." "Or you can join me, Cooper." "Even fight me!" "Help me turn this godforsaken territory into a state where no one man calls himself the law." "I want that old man pardoned." "You pick up your badge." "Tonight." "Right now." "Take this down." "Give it to one of the guards down there." "If there are any questions, tell 'em to see me." "There'll be no questions." "Cooper?" "Charlie Blackfoot was seen in the town of Ridgeway." "I got two unfilled warrants here." "Blackfoot and Maddow." "The law still wants 'em."