"As quickly as you can, snatch the pebble from my hand." "When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave." "Time for you to leave." "Hello." "Hello." "What you doing up here?" "Listening." "l was just practicing." "Waiting for the stage to come." "ls what you play a lute?" "No, it's a mandolin." "This is called a plectrum." "lt makes a sound like running water." "Try it." "Oh, no, thank you." "It would disturb my memory of what you just played." "I'm going into Cardiff. I'll be taking lessons from Reverend Williams." "I'll be living with my Uncle Flan and going to school too." "Play some more." "Just a driver and shotgun rider, that's all." "Unless they's some more inside." "Some more what?" "More guards." "They hardly never do." "They hardly never carry no $21 ,000 in cash neither." "Let's get this thing staked out." "What's your name?" "I am called Caine." "They call me Lethe, but my real name is Miss Alethea Patricia Ingram." "My real name is Kwai Chang Caine." "Your eyes look funny." "My eyes look far and near but I did not know they looked funny." "My mother says if I keep squinting when I read that I'll have lots of wrinkles around my eyes, like you." "What is "squinting"?" "Well, it's like this." "Yeah." "I, too, read many things." "But I have no mother to warn me." "l'm sorry. I have a nice one." "Yes?" "Yeah." "Howdy, Alethea." "Howdy, Mr. Tutt." "What you doing out here all by yourself?" "Well, I'm going into Cardiff." "Mr. Jezdale, he's the one that owns the ranch." "He's coming in, and I'm going out." "Mr." "Tutt, this is Mr. Caine." "Mr." "Caine." "You got sort of an Injun look about you." "It is a Chinese look, Mr. Tutt." "Well, I wouldn't be boasting about that if I were you." "About being a Chinaman." "Folks around these parts ain't got much use for that sort." "I got use for them." "Well, here she comes!" "You ain't gonna drink out of that." "The water is not pure?" "Tamper down." "Man's got a right to water." "We was wondering, there gonna be a big turnout of Jezdale hands..." "...to greet the old man coming in?" "l do not know." "Alethea!" "Not the same dipper." "l will get you another." "No, it's all right." "You know, I never rode on a stagecoach before." "You know how old I am?" "How old are you?" "I am twelve." "It is time you went forth into the world beyond these walls by yourself." "You will reach Mai-chi-San Temple noon of the second day." "You will deliver what I entrust to you to Master Wan Ti." "On your journey, you will say nothing to anyone of what you carry." "I will speak only when spoken to, master, and then briefly." "Can you read the scroll of Chuang Chou?" "l do not know, venerable sir." "Begin." ""Long ago, Chuang Chou dreamed that he was a...."" "Chuang Chou dreamed that he was a butterfly." "Go on." ""He was very joyful as a butterfly, well pleased with his lot, his aims fulfilled." "He knew nothing of Chou the man." "But shortly, he awoke and found himself again to be Chuang Chou." "And he could not tell whether as Chou he had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether as a butterfly he had dreamed he was Chou."" "This scroll is 400 years old." "A copy taken from the seventh original." "It is priceless." "You are not afraid to travel alone?" "I am afraid only of failure, venerable sir." "Then take pains that you do not fail." "Master, we are taught that the most important gift of our natures..." "...is the reaching out to one another." "To say and to listen." "To teach what we know truly to those who do not know." "To send peaceful thoughts over the bridge of words." "Yet I am to speak only when spoken to." "Reach out, yet be wary of what you allow yourself to grasp." "Go now, grasshopper." "Guard above all things the purity of your vision." "Chuang Chou dreamed he was a butterfly." "Mr." "Caine, it's here!" "Whoa." "Hold up." "One move and you're dead men, both of you." "Here, take this." "You in there!" "Jezdale, anybody else!" "Hand your gun out butt first." "Hands in the air, you!" "I'm gonna shoot Tutt here right twixt the eyeballs if you don't get in motion." "Get out." "Come on, come on." "Give me your wallet." "Come on!" "Why did you do it?" "Why did you shoot that poor man?" "I see the cowhands coming from the ranch." "They were supposed to meet Mr. Jezdale." "Don't give me an excuse to cut you down, Chinaman." "Because I would be more than happy to do so." "I'm sorry, Mr. Caine." "I, too, am sorry, Alethea that you have seen what happened here." "Wish I hadn't." "So do I." "The two of you are losing all control!" "We ought to stretch his yellow neck." "Rafe Crowder and me" "That little girl said he done it." "She seen him with her own eyes." "Hold it, boys." "Hold it!" "Now, Sheriff Ingram is not gonna stand still for any lynching." "Well, you correct me if you want to, Mr. Jezdale but that little girl out there says this Chinese is the one that did it." "Am I right?" "Come on, let's get him!" "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "We won't hurt you." "Wait!" "Do not kill him with a knife." "You will ruin his clothing, for which I am prepared to pay you handsomely." "I, Shang Tzu the magician, have the ability to shrink myself to the size of this boy, yet lacking the clothing to" "He's a monk!" "You would kill a boy monk, would you?" "He attacked you, no doubt, with his teeth." "Hold it!" "Come on!" "Clancy, them two road agents lose you, did they?" "No, sir, Mr. Jezdale." "They almost left us kicking." "They've got a Sharp's .50 caliber, by the sound of her." "And one of them bad-bellies was born with a pure shooting eye." "Well, I figure them road agents will hole up soon." "One of them's shot." "That's the sheriff's problem." "Wittner, you take the Chinaman into Cardiff by the north route." "That'll be faster than the coach road." "Let's get one thing straight!" "No lynching!" "You get him into town alive." "Sir." "All right, Bill, Charlie, go get the horses." "I'll take care of him." "Pick up the knife, my child." "And cut their throats." "l thank you for rescuing me, sir..." "...but I cannot kill them." "As you like." "But remember, child, you owe me your life." "What's that you have there?" "I am not learned in these matters but I know a thing of great value when I see it. ls it not so?" "Of course it is. lt's priceless." "They send a mere child out alone with such a treasure?" "I, Shang Tzu, prestidigitator" " Magician, shall accompany you to your destination protect you from highway bandits and teach you the wondrous ways I know of clothing the naked eye with error." "And you, in turn, shall teach me such things as you have learned at your temple." "You're a seeker of the holy way?" "Why, of course, my child." "Which is the reason I take so deep an interest in this scroll that you carry." "All right, Bill, Charlie, take the horses on down." "We'll take him across." "Ain't no use in taking you to Cardiff." "They're just gonna hang you anyway." "No, no, no!" "Not half long enough!" "You must control your breath so that the people watching will believe that you can never surface alive." "l will try again." "You must call me by name." "Shang Tzu." "It is conducive to good fortune and trust among friends!" "is the scroll where l put it, Shang Tzu?" "It must not get wet." "Never fear, Kwai Chang." "The scroll, like your trust, is as safe as where you put it." "Now, under you go again." "And Shang Tzu will teach you that the Shaolin Temple is not the only school a young man must attend." "Right there." "Right there!" "Get him!" "Did you get him?" "l don't see nothing." "Sir?" "Shang Tzu?" "Are you hiding?" "You see him?" "Where is he?" "I'm Sheriff Ingram." "If you're done with your swimming, I'd like to talk to you about the murder of Rafe Crowder." "I am innocent." "I'd like to take your word on that, pilgrim, but my little niece tells me otherwise." "Uncle Flan." "Lethea." "Got your beautiful mandolin all smashed?" "Yeah, but Mr. Caine's gonna fix it for me." "l can't give him no tools." "But all he needs is these." "Well, maybe we can get him some glue." "Lethea now you listen to your Uncle Flan." "That man in there, you saw him do what he did." "I can't let you get close enough to where he might hurt you." "But Mr. Caine wouldn't hurt me." "Hope nobody ever does, child but I can't let you back there." "Caine!" "Mr. Caine!" "Mr. Caine!" "Hello, Alethea." "Did I disturb you?" "No. I heard you in the office." "But I didn't make any noise." "To a flea, even the sound of a grasshopper is like thunder." "I'm sorry." "My Uncle Flan won't let me bring you the tools." "It does not matter, grasshopper." "I will use my hands." "Mr." "Caine, are you my friend?" "Yes." "Even after what I did?" "You told the truth?" "Yes, just what I saw." "Then I'm proud to have you for a friend because of what you did." "Good night, Mr. Caine." "Good night." "She's an innocent little girl." "She don't lie." "I know." "You really think you can fix this mandolin?" "It will never be the same." "But I will do what I can." "Thank you." "You know, if I was you, I'd get me a lawyer." "If the jury cannot see innocence in my eyes will they find it in a lawyer's mouth?" "and then did shoot Raphael Sam Crowder with a Colt's pistol belonging to Sampler Harte." "Said murderous act, being witnessed by Miss Alethea Ingram, a minor." "Mr." "Prosecutor." "Yes, Your Honor?" "This court has been temporarily reconvened in this office and it excludes the presence of everyone except you gentlemen due to the tender years and delicate nature of the witness Mr. Crowder has just referred to." "Now this may seem somewhat unconventional but I appreciate you gentlemen of the jury suffering the discomfort of cramped quarters in the interest of conducting this trial with due respect for the rights of the defendant and of the sensibilities of the witness." "May I call the witness, Your Honor?" "Whenever you're ready, Mr. Stoddard." "Let's get started." "Now, I will ask you members of the jury...." "Come on ahead, honey." "Oh, now, there's nothing to be ascared of." "He will ask you to consider his words as innocent." "I will ask you to note the innocence of this child and consider whether you will believe his words or hers." "You take that chair, please." "You are Miss Alethea Ingram, huh?" "Alethea Patricia Ingram." "Yes, sir." "Now, Alethea, will you tell us, in your own way, exactly what you saw the accused Mr. Caine, do when Rafe Crowder was shot dead." "Mr. Caine was right next to me, and he pushed me behind the wheel so the bullets wouldn't hit me." "Yes, Alethea, and what did he do during the shooting?" "Well Mr. Caine, when the man threw him his gun Mr. Caine caught it and it was pointing right at Rafe Crowder." "He aimed the gun at Rafe Crowder." "Then what happened?" "Well Mr. Crowder stood up just about then, and he got hit right in the chest and fell backwards onto the ground." "I'm sorry, Mr. Caine, I don't wanna be the one" "All right, quiet." "Quiet!" "Gentlemen, please, may we have quiet?" "Thank you." "That's all right, Alethea." "You're just telling the truth." "Now, what did Mr. Caine do next?" "He...." "He threw the gun away." "Kwai Chang Caine, you have been found guilty of murder." "It is the judgment of this court that you be taken to a place of execution and hanged by the neck until dead." "And may God have mercy on your soul." "Sounds like he's got it fixed." "Would you like to go back there?" "Yeah!" "I didn't come yesterday because I thought that maybe" "Do not condemn yourself for telling the truth." "I didn't think you could do it." "Will you play a song for me?" "Sure." "What's all that noise?" "Carpenters, honey." "What are they building out there?" "A gallows." "For the morning." "No!" "Lethea!" "That's a hard thing to say to a child." "It was the truth." "To say less would dishonor the respect for truth which she has won at such great cost." "And when I came from the water to breathe the last time..." "..." "Shang Tzu the magician was not there." "And the scroll of Chuang Chou?" "lt, too, was not there." "You were deceived?" "I confess my unworthiness." "I have failed in my mission, disgraced your trust in me." "Of shame there is a great variety." "But the butterfly scroll of Chuang Chou, only one." "I am told, sir, that this scroll belongs to you." "We are in your debt, always." "Now, wretched thief, to the block!" "Kwai Chang, my friend, my companion!" "My joy is great to see you!" "This is the magician?" "Yes." "l did not do so wrong a thing!" "The scroll is returned." "And I think you certainly remember that I asked if I might borrow it for a few hours." "Yes!" "To show to my aged and dying uncle Li Lo, the scholar." "You recall how I asked to borrow it?" "Imagine my dismay when I returned to the lake and found that you were gone." "I searched and searched!" ""Kwai Chang!" "Kwai Chang!"" "Then I looked at the lake and mourned." "He lies." "He was found attempting to sell the scroll to a dealer in stolen goods!" "What will be done at the block, master?" "Will he be whipped?" "Perhaps." "And then beheaded." "Beheaded?" "Shang Tzu the magician, for borrowing that foolish scroll?" "Oh, please." "Dear friend of my happier days, young Kwai Chang, save me." "Tell them I only borrowed." "You must!" "You owe me a life." "I saved yours and that foolish scroll." "Tell them that." "is this so?" "lt is so." "You see, you see?" "l risked my life to save his." "lt is of no importance what else he did." "Did he or did he not ask to borrow the scroll?" "Simply speak the truth." "Did he, or did he not steal it outright as had been claimed?" "I await your answer." "There is nothing I wish." "Then it's time." "Stop it!" "l lied!" "Hold it." "He didn't do anything." "I lied." "Uncle Flan, I lied. I didn't see him shoot. I didn't see anything." "I lied because he's a Chinaman." "Please, Uncle Flan, let him go." "He didn't do anything." "Please." "I'm the one who lied." "Not him." "Remove the noose." "The posse followed them up past the north loop into the hills and lost them about here, beyond Big Mesa." "I think you can pick up the trail at the station." "Abner Tutt will give you any particulars you need." "Well, you can get started, and I'll catch up with you later." "I couldn't let them hang you." "I'm glad to be alive." "The judge said I was the only witness against you, so if I lied on my oath in the trial, they'd have to let you free." "And did you lie on your oath?" "You're the only one who knows." "There is one other." "l don't care. lt saved your life." "l care." "But I know you didn't do it!" "Your eyes saw a gun in my hand and a man shot." "For all you truly know, your lie has freed a murderer." "But you said you were innocent." "Must I always tell the truth?" "But you couldn't lie!" "You hate lying as much as I do!" "If I never lie again, can't I be the same me as I was before?" "Each waking moment is as a rung on an endless ladder." "Each step we take is built on what has gone before." "Then I'll always be a liar." "Yes." "But I can take your lie from you." "How?" "l will show you that your lie was indeed the truth." "Trust me." "What'd you find?" "Hold the horse." "You came after me?" "The Piutes loaned me two of their trackers." "They found them road agents in a barn down the ravine." "Down the ravine?" "You didn't know?" "The trail stops." "l noticed." "Half a mile down." "How would I know?" "I'm not sure what you know." "l did not know where they are." "Well, you'll find out pretty quick." "We're going in shooting." "If you kill them, Alethea's lie will not be taken from her." "She'll get over it." "l will bring them alive..." "...if you will give me time." "Time?" "To warn them?" "lf you distrust me, why let me go?" "To see which way you run." "Hope it's not against me, Caine, because then I'd have to kill you." "And that would sorrow me some." "What do you think about this?" "For breakfast?" "Take a dirt-mean man to shut a book and kill a pretty thing like this." "There's somebody out there." "I'm gonna go get him." "Gonna go harder if you keep me waiting!" "You!" "Drop your gun, put your hands up!" "Who's there?" "Sheriff of Cardiff County." "You're un" "All right, let's go." "Watch out for the Chinaman, could be a trap." "Get the Sharp's and bullets up to the roof!" "Larrabee!" "Do you hear me, Larrabee?" "Caine if you ain't a road agent and you ain't a itinerant musician, just what are you?" "I am a priest." "Will the master intercede and spare this wretched thief's life?" "How shall I answer, grasshopper?" "Spare his life." "Because you owe him yours?" "Spare his life and take mine." "I beg you, spare his life." "Master?" "Yes?" "When shall they come for me?" "Nothing more will be taken from you." "But, venerable sir, I have lost nothing." "You did not notice then?" "The scroll has been returned." "But your innocence, grasshopper how shall that be returned?" "Afraid it isn't straight yet in my head, Mr. Caine." "About the truth." "is it not better to have it straight in your heart?" "But I was wrong when I wasn't lying, and I was right when I was." "And neither of the two road agents has admitted to killing Mr. Crowder." "And yet, everybody says the truth has finally been brought out." "I don't see how." "The truth is that you are not a liar, and I am not a murderer." "Still, wouldn't you like to know just which one did it?" "Both of them did it, Alethea." "But that's not the whole truth." "The people of the country of Greece have a name for truth." "What?" "Alethea." "Alethea is a girl who loves the truth." "I love you, Mr. Caine." "And I have not loved anyone more." "Goodbye."