"Johnny, you forgot to do that problem over the way I told you." "After you do it, leave it on Miss Keller's desk." " She'll correct it in the morning." " Yes, ma'am." "Don't yell, lady." "Won't do you any good." "Just get somebody killed." "I'll take the reins, teacher." "Ma'am." ""Be not afraid of sudden fear... neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. "" "Proverbs, uh, 3:25." "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Whoa." "That's as far as the buggy goes." "Get out." "After you, ma'am." "Okay, amigo." "Let's go." " Any more comin'?" " Fred's bringing up the rest." "They should be following us." "Near as I can figure from the boy's description... your mother was picked up by Will Hanley, Julio Gallego and Preacher Clegg." "Sam Beldon's boys." "Beldon?" " I told you to stay at home." " She's my mother too." "I'm going." "No, you're not." "Someone has to stay at home when the ransom note comes." " You know who took her?" " No." "No, we don't." "Jarrod, please." "I want to go with you." "I know how you feel." "But this is no place for a woman." "Kelly, take Miss Barkley back to the ranch and see that she stays there." "As soon as you get the ransom note, you get word to us." "Let's go." "We're gonna have to cover your eyes, teacher." "Easy does it now." "Come on, teacher lady." "We'll take this off now." "I'm asking you again- What do you men want with me?" "He'll tell you." "Afternoon, ma'am." "Where's Cleaver and Bates?" "Ain't back from Socorro yet." "Sure takin' 'em a long time just to get supplies." "You and Preacher watch the back trail." "Julio!" "Rustle up some grub." "I'm Sam Beldon." "I know who you are." "Care to go inside, ma'am?" "Ain't much, but there's some comfort." "I'm askin' you to go inside." "Hold up!" "It's ours, all right." "They ditched it." "Well, which way do we go?" "Up over the ridge, or down on the flats?" "We've known for more than a year that Beldon's hideout is up there somewhere." "But it's like looking for a needle in a haystack." "Not too much light to go by either." "Get over that next ridge, we oughta figure to make camp, huh?" "We get over that next ridge... we'll keep on moving just as long as we can see the trail." "Come on." "Giddap!" ""Then said he also..." ""when thou makest the feast..." ""call the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind... and thou shall be blessed. "" "Luke 15." "He should have mentioned a pretty girl gives a man an appetite." "The lady's my guest." "Make sure the others know it... including Cleaver and Bates, when they get back." "Amen." "Better eat a little, ma'am." "Why don't you do whatever it is you want to do?" "I don't exactly know what you mean." "He don't want what you think, senora." "You'd better eat." "Julio's not a bad cook." " How much are you asking?" " Ransom?" "If I wanted that, I wouldn't get it from some small-town schoolteacher, would I?" "No." "No money, Miss Keller." "I'm not" "You've gone to a lot of trouble." "Why?" "I'll come to that." "Maybe I oughta point out a few things... make your visit a little more comfortable." "You call this a visit?" " Well, you're gonna be with us a spell." " Until they come for me." "Let 'em." "Nobody's ever found Sam Beldon yet." "So I reckon they ain't gonna find you either." "Will they?" "Tell me" " How long you been a schoolteacher?" "How long have you been a kidnapper?" "You'll do." "You don't scare easy." "I like that." "Whoa." "Bates just got in from Socorro." "Cleaver got drunk and landed in jail." "Nobody knows him." "They'll let him out in the morning." "I don't think so." "He shot a deputy." "You judged bad on Cleaver, Sam... letting' a new man go in for supplies." "I say we leave him there." "No." "We got nobody to spare." "Our luck's been runnin' bad, Sam." "This ain't the time to push it." "Maybe." "But Cleaver's still one of my men, and that means we don't leave him." "That Socorrojail ain't no different than the bank we busted in Carson City." "We do it the same way." "We get some sleep tonight, and we start on it tomorrow." "We do it like Carson City, we got no problems." "How you gettin' along with the little lady?" "So you don't scare easy, Miss Keller." "You said it the first time." "Now I'll say it." "I don't scare easy." "You have one of two choices, lady." "Either you do as you're told and you don't make trouble... or you fight me and I'll make you do as you're told." "You're gonna stay in there tonight." "I'll have somebody make up your bed." "Do us both a favor." "Don't try to get away, because there's a guard outside." "They get trigger-happy at night." "Don't you think it's about time you told me why I'm here and when you'll let me go?" "I never said anything about letting you go." "I'll let you stay alive as long as you earn it." "How do I earn staying alive?" "You teach me to read and write." "You about ready?" "I got some steak and eggs left." "You wanna finish it?" "Save it for lunch." "If we don't have any luck today... we'll drop back to Socorro and pick up some more men." "You're pretty sour first thing in the morning, aren't you?" "Sorry, Nick." "I'm just looking at the chances as they are." "Mount up." "Mornin'." "You eat?" "Looks like a new world, don't it?" "Not for me." "Maybe not." "But if you're as smart as I figure, you'll make the best of it." "Let's get started." "What's the matter?" "That's really why you brought me here- to teach you to read and write?" "That's the reason, teacher." "All right." "Where are my books?" "This all right, Miss Keller?" "I'm not much for the indoors." "We're headin' for Socorro now, Sam." "When do you figure?" " How's Will doin'?" " He's comin' along pretty quick." "I'll be leavin' a little past noon." "I'll meet you in that alley at the end of town." "Hyah.!" "Hyah.!" "You got shot up in that Carson City bank holdup, didn't you?" "Things happen." "And, uh, there was a man killed." "Julio's brother." "That's a chance we all take." "Now, you gonna learn me to read, or ain't ya?" "Do you know your alphabet?" "I can make an "X."" "And that's it." "Learning to read and write takes a long time." "Mmm." "Well, however long it takes." "All right." "Now, this is an "A."" ""A" is for "apple," and that's a picture of an apple to remind you." "And it says here..." ""The lad ate the apple." "Apples are in apple pie. "" " Say it." " Say what?" ""A" is for apple." "The lad ate the apple." "Apples are in apple pie." ""A" is for apple." "The lad ate the apple." " Apples is" " Are." "Are." " Apples are..." " Apples are..." " in apple pie." " in apple pie." "Good." "Good." "Now pick out the A's." " Here's one." " Mm-hmm." " This one." " Mmm." "That's one." "And" " No." "Uh, this one." "Five." "I got 'em all, didn't I?" "There are three more." "Uh, how 'bout that book?" "That's for the second grade, Sam." "Oh." ""'A' is for 'apple. '" ""The lad ate the apple." "Apples are in apple pie. "" "Good!" "Now, uh, what's this letter?" "That's "B." "B" is for "boy. "" "And this is a "C." "C" is for "cat. "" " And it says, "The cat saw the boy-"" " The rat" " Boy." "Boy." " Oh." "The pictures will help you remember." "And this, uh- this is "D."" ""D"for "deer. "" "That ain't no deer." "That's what we call a pronghorn." "Little pronghorned calf." "Kinda like an antelope." "A deer fawn is prettier." "Prettiest thing in the world is a spotted fawn." "I bet the fella who wrote that book never got out of the classroom." "Why didn't you go to school, Sam?" "We'll talk about that some other time." "All right." "Now we'll start over." "Well, one guess is as good as another." "Up across there to the back country, down below to the flats." "Maybe we oughta split up." "What I'd like to know is why we haven't heard from Kelly." "He wouldn't have had any trouble finding us so far." "It don't make sense, Sam Beldon not asking for ransom." "I say we'd better split up." "Maybe you're right, Nick." "Hank, Pete, you go with the Barkleys." "The rest of you, come with me." "We'll meet in Socorro after sundown." "I wish Beldon had asked for a ransom." "Then at least we'd know she's safe." " Come on and help me." " No." "Figure this out for yourself." ""The cat..." ""saw" ""saw" ""saw" "The cat-"" "Now, that was childish and stupid!" "I don't see why you have to devil a man so." "The learning process is very painful." "Now, let's get started again." "You wanna check this?" "Double-check Bates on the hay wagon." "See he don't use too much kerosene." "All right, Sam." "I'm shortening the fuse." " It'll still give you enough time." " Whatever you think." "All right, get goin'." "I don't understand." "What?" "It says right here, ma'am." ""The cat... saw the rat. "" "I can't be sure, but those look like hoofprints that have been brushed out." "If you're right, that'd put 'em in the hills somewhere above Socorro." "That narrows it down to about a thousand square miles." "Let's go over this once more." "Not now." "I'm having my lunch." "We'll go over it when I'm finished." "Been a long time since I took orders from a lady." "She was as pretty as one of them fawns we talked about... my wife." "San Francisco." "That's where I met her." "It was about nine years ago." "She was younger than me." "She was soft and fresh... like a new sunrise." "But, uh, she's dead now." "Don't matter." "I'm sorry." "Don't be." "She was happy." "Times we had... why, she told me we" "She told me that anyhow." "Left me with something to remember." "Sam, why is it so important for you... to learn how to read and write now, in this way?" "Do you expect me to be sittin' in some classroom somewhere?" "That'd be the sight." "Sam Beldon learning' his letters... with a posse and six marshals waiting' outside the door with a rope." "Where's your home, Sam?" "Oh, I got a place in the high country." "It's a quiet place." "Is that really home for you?" "My wife's buried there." "That makes it home." "Last year, when I was about to leave... she got took with the fever and died." "I, uh... put some rocks over her place in the earth... and I left." "Haven't been back since." "I keep thinkin' about goin' back." "Warm days." "The air is so clear, you can see for a hundred miles." "There's a little spring that runs by the side of the hill behind the house." "Indians say if you drink the water... the time will come when you sing your death song... within the sound of that spring." "Sam, you still haven't told me... why you want to learn to read and write." "Hmm?" "Oh, yeah." "Well, uh, the signs." "That's why." "We do a lot of traveling in strange countries... and not knowin' what the signs say, sometimes we get into a lot of trouble." "That's why I gotta learn how to read." "I see." "Is there somethin' wrong with that?" "Every man's got a reason." "I told you mine." "Did you?" "What do you want?" "It's time, huh?" "Yeah." ""S" is for "school," right?" ""O" is for "out"?" "School's out, teacher." "Hey!" "Watch where you're goin'!" "How does it look?" "Are we all set?" " Yeah, we're all set." "Only" " Only what?" "I don't like it, Sam." "The way our luck's been runnin', I got a feelin'." "You always got a feelin'." "Now, get ready." "We'll wait for your signal behind the store." "You got five minutes." "Tether your horse behind the livery stable." "Let's get goin'." "The Beldon gang!" "I just saw 'em!" "It's a trick!" "Take cover!" "Some of you fight the fire!" "The rest of you, come with me!" "Let me see it." " Can you stay in the saddle?" " I think so." "No sign of anybody since we lost 'em back at that turnoff." "Let's go." "Help him inside." "Give me the coat." "Doc Briggs is just the other side of Green Meadows." "Now, go get him." "Green Meadows?" "It's kinda risky around here right now." "Get the doctor!" "How are you doing, compadre?" "It's just a bullet, Samuel." "You bury me by the spring?" "You do that for me?" "Ah, shut up, Julio." "We been together a long time." "A long time." "Get over there." "Yeah?" "What do you want?" "Sam, we wanna talk." " Well, we sent for the doc." "Julio's gonna be all right." " Yeah, well, that's fine." "Sam, I reckon we hope he'll be fine." " But" " But what?" " Well, the men figure I should do the talkin'." " About what?" "Spit it out." "Well, it's no good anymore." "Last time it was Carson City." "Today's no better." "So we figure there's no sense in hanging' around." "So you're all gonna run out... just 'cause our luck went a little bad... things ain't goin'just right." "Yeah, well, somethin' like that." "Things aren't gettin' any better, they're gettin' worse!" " You speaking' for all the other men?" " Yeah." "Get out." "Who needs ya?" "Get out!" "Who needs any of ya?" "The twilight of Sam Beldon." "What's that?" "Nothing." "I don't need their stripe." "They run scared when things go a little sour." "Better off without 'em." "Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" "The preacher's dead." "I was gettin' tired of his lectures." "So don't you start." "You're here for one thing, so don't you forget it." " I'm going to forget it, Sam." " You're what?" "I'm going out that door." "Now, you have a gun." "If you intend to use it, use it now." "Good-bye, Sam." "Now, get back here." "Now, until that doc comes we're gonna continue with the lessons." "Sit down." "For my wife." "Well, I-I made it to take the place of the rocks I put there." "The words that go on it, I wanna be able to put 'em on myself... and I wanna be able to read it when I'm through." ""The cat..." ""saw the rat." ""The dog... saw the cat. "" "I'll bet they sure had a fight." "We trailed 'em as far as the Green Meadow turnoff, and then lost 'em." "It was near dark, so we figured to try again at sunup." "Will you take us to the turnoff?" " Now?" " Yeah." "Now." "Sure." "All right." "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "All right, Sam, once again." ""The man-" Come on." ""The man..." ""saw the fox." ""The fox ran." "The man-"" "Why don't they shut up?" "Wolves, they gotta sound off all night long." "Foxes, now, like this one, they're quiet." ""The man... chased the fox. "" "Get over there under the window." "Sam?" " Yeah, Will?" " Brought the doctor." " You Sam Beldon?" " That's right." "I'm Miss Keller, the schoolteacher at the mission in Stockton." "I'm Dr. Briggs." " What's wrong with him?" " He's got a bullet in 'im." "Fix 'im up, Doc." "I'll need more light." " Hold the light right down over my bag, Miss B" " Keller." "Keller." "Over my bag, Miss Keller." "He's lost a lot of blood." "This man will need considerable care if you expect to keep him alive." "You fix him up for now, Doc." "We'll take care of the rest later." "Could I have that bottle, Miss Keller?" "Bandages." "Bullet's too deep." "I can't take it out here." "If you get him into town, he might live." "Well, thanks for everything, Doc." "Will, you walk the doc to his horse." "Let's go, Doc." "What are you waitin' for, Doc?" "I'll write you where to send the bill." "Go ahead and shoot." "If you don't let the doctor go, I will shoot." "Hold it, Will." "All right, I'll let him go." "You swear to it?" "I swear." "Now hand over the gun." "I give you my word." "Keep his horse here and take offhis shoes." "The walk'll do you a lot of good into town, Doc." "But it's 15 miles." "Then you oughta make it by noon tomorrow." "I told you I wouldn't kill him." "I didn't say I wasn't gonna slow him up." "What now, Sam?" "Tomorrow morning we're leaving, before the posse comes." "But we haven't finished our lessons yet, teacher." " It's Doc Briggs!" " Jarrod" " What are you doing up here?" " Sam Beldon's got your mother." "Is she all right?" "Have they hurt her?" " She's not hurt, I'm sure." " Where are they?" " Back there, high country" " Do you think you can lead us to 'em?" " Yeah, I think so." " Can you ride?" " Yeah." " Okay, let's go." "Gonna have to make a litter for him." "He ain't gonna make it, Sam, on a horse or a litter." " I don't think I'll make it this time." " What?" "What are you talkin' about?" "Sure you are." "You're gonna be all right." " You heard him." "Leave him here!" "He's only gonna hold us up!" " I don't leave him!" "Por favor, I" "Sam!" "Sam!" "Can't you see he's in pain?" "Sam, they come, find him like he is, they gotta take care of him." "They'll leave somebody behind to do that." "It'll help even up the odds for us." "He's bleeding badly again." " Get him inside." " You get him inside." "I'm leavin'." "Will!" "You heard me!" "I said inside!" "Patrón" "Julio.!" "Julio, hold on.!" "No" " No more" "Things work out for me, Julio... maybe someday I'll come back and get you." "Take you up to that place on the spring." "Maybe you and me, we'll be there together." "I'm leavin' now, Sam." "Don't try and stop me." "Give up, Sam." "Give up and ride out now." "Ever see a hangin', Miss Keller?" "That's what's waitin' for me if they ever get their hands on me." "Ain't no man alive that can do that to Sam Beldon." "No, we're going up to that place." "Just you and me." "Change your mind, Will?" "No." "They changed it." "Better check the other side." "Get over there, down on the floor." "There's 10 or 12 of them." "Beldon, you're surrounded!" "Send Mrs. Barkley out.!" " Mrs. Barkley?" " That's right." "You ain't the teacher?" "At times, when Miss Keller is ill, I fill in for her." "Beldon.!" "This is Nick Barkley.!" "Send my mother outta there.!" "Nick Barkley?" "Then you must be Victoria Barkley." "Queen bee of the whole valley!" "You been laughin' at me all the time." "Me, I thought I got me a schoolteacher." "Instead I got Victoria Barkley." "Oh, how you must've been laughin'!" "No, Sam, I wasn't laughing." "Then what?" "You figured I was stupid." "Can't read, can't write, can't do nothin'." "Is that what you thought?" ""He's stupid"?" "No, Sam, not stupid either." "I guess I just figured you were another pupil who- who wanted to learn." "Beldon.!" "You're completely surrounded.!" "You've got no chance.!" "Let her go." "I got no more use for her." "Are you out of your mind?" "We can't do that!" "They won't shoot while she's in here." "I said let her go!" "Come on, lady." "Bye, teacher." "It's too bad it couldn't have been another time in another place." "You go ahead and kill yourself if you want to, Sam." "Let her go, Will!" "Just take it nice and easy, lady, if you wanna stay alive." " Now, open the door." " Will!" "Take one more step, Sam, and I'll kill her!" "Open the door, lady." "Nice and easy now." "Come on." "Hold your fire!" "Don't anybody shoot!" "Anybody even moves, I'll kill her!" "All right, lady, now let's just get movin'." " Will, let her go and get back here!" " No, Sam!" "Keep away from your gun and crawl up here." "Stay down." "Hold your fire!" "The cat saw the rat." "The dog saw the cat." "I bet they sure did have a good fight."