"God almighty." "That man's shot to death." "I wonder what he done." "Well, whatever it was, somebody didn't like it." "That's for sure." "Help me, boys." "Save me." "Hide me." "Don't take too damn long about it, 'cause I'm going fast." "We can get in terrible trouble." "He's right, you know." "It ain't none of our business." "But if we don't do something, he's bound to die." "That's right, sonny." "I'm on my way to meet my maker." "And I ain't ready for him." "I don't want to touch him." "Is this your farm?" "Yes, I own it." "Did you see anybody unfamiliar pass this way yesterday or today?" "No, I've seen nobody." "You, boy?" "No, sir." "We got a mean one loose." "Watch out for him." "Kindly ride clear of my flower bed." "Watch the geraniums, boys." "One, two, three." "All here and accounted for." "Good evening, boys." "Good evening." "Thank you." "It's nice to see you." "I've been sitting up here all day staring down that cow's behind till I'm sick." "What's in the pail tonight?" "Rabbit." "Hey, that'll slip right down." "Your ma sure knows what to do with a rabbit." "My ma's dead." "I cooked it." "I got something for you, too." "Why, there must be a couple of dollars in here." "Did you save it, or did you lift it?" "I saved it." "You're gonna need it, mister." "We went through your pockets, and you ain't got nothing in them." "I got a money belt, boys, underneath my pants." "With over a $1,000 of gold in them." "You better save this for a rainy day." "I noticed some lace on this bandage." "Who's petticoat did it come off of, and was the lady still in it when you took it?" "No, them's just curtains from my attic." "Well, what do I owe you boys?" "How do you mean?" "Food, keep, patchwork, how much?" "We didn't figure to charge you, mister." "Well, you could get plenty." "There's a price on my head, boys." "$500 in Texas, $600 in Oklahoma, and $1,000 in Arkansas." "Who are you, mister?" "The name's Spikes, Harry Spikes." "I'm a bank robber, boys." "Bank robber?" "That's right, sonny." "That's how I got my ass shot up this time and 20 times before." "If they caught you, would they hang you?" "No." "They'd cut off my head and stick it on a telegraph pole as a warning." "Like they done to a couple friends of mine." "Well, then, how come you stick with it?" "Well, I got five Mexican ladies waiting for me in five different towns." "And I got a dozen shirts all handmade out of pure silk." "Every color of the rainbow." "And the leather in my boots is as soft as butter." "That's 'cause Indian ladies chew them before they sew them." "And I got bonded bourbon whiskey and a box of Havana cigars by my bed every time I lay my head down." "And that's only when things are slack." "But you're sleeping on a hay bale now." "Nothing's perfect." "Well, boys, come tomorrow, I'll be gone." "So it's time I made my manners." "You got my eternal and ever-lasting gratitude." "I know that ain't much in the light of what you done for me, but you remember this." "Harry Spike's your man." "I owe you." "Anytime." "Any place." "In any way." "I didn't see your horse stabled." "I didn't put him in tonight." "No, why is that?" "I forgot." "Your mind was on other things?" "I guess." "That's your responsibility." "If you've finished your supper, we'll go look for him." "No, I can do it." "We'll go together." "It would seem he's wandered off." " Did you tether him?" " Yes." "Well, maybe he's slipped loose." "Call to him." "Why don't you call?" "There's no sign of him." "Is it possible he was stolen?" " I don't know." " I think you do know." "I'll ask you for a second time." "Where is your horse?" "He's mine." "I worked for him." "I earned him." "I'm not questioning that." "You work to the limit of your strength, and you don't complain." "But there are other things in your character that grieve me." "You disobey." "You resist me." "You're not open with me." "Now where's your horse?" "I gave him to somebody." "Was it that fugitive, that thief and murderer?" "Yes." "Yes, I did." "So you lied." "To the posse and to me." "And you stole clothing and food." "Do you understand what you've done?" "Do you see yourself as I see you?" "Revealed in every sin of which you're capable." "You've tried my sufferance and God's." "Who comes first, Father?" "You just up and left?" "That's right." "I took the last licking I can take without killing him." "You got any back left?" "No, he didn't leave much." "What'll you do?" "I don't know." "I'll turn up something or other." "You ain't never been any further than the next town." "The world don't end there." "I suppose it don't." "You know," "I wouldn't mind going with ya." "My daddy's mistook me for a mule for some time now." "Well, I'll write ya as soon as I light someplace." "It's gonna be kind of lonesome around here." "Don't back into any pitchforks." "Don't roll out of bed." "Goodbye." "You mean you're really going for good?" "I won't be back this way again." "I wish I was coming." "No, you better not get mixed up in it." "You were gonna teach me to swim this summer." "Just hold your nose and jump off the bank." "We've always been together." "It's us." "Well, I can see it's you." "What are you up to?" "Why should you have all the fun?" "I'd just as soon be where both of you are at." "Did you bring clean underwear?" "No, gonna let this one set ripen." "Okay, we'll do it." "We'll throw in together." "And by God, the one thing we won't ever do is kiss no man's boot!" "You bet!" "Let's go get lucky!" "Wait a minute." "Where are we going?" "Hell, I don't know!" "Anywhere!" "What do you want?" "We was wondering if we could do you some chores in exchange for a dollar?" "Swill your pigs, clean out your barn, whatever." "You say." "You can scat." "I don't hire saddle tramps." "Ain't you heard, lady?" "Money's like manure." "It's only good when you spread it around." "There's lunch." "No, I ain't come to that just yet." "You always was a finicky eater, Will." "What you're doing is a terrible sin." "You're eating the body and the blood of Christ." "Tod, tonight this ain't nothing but crackers and elderberry wine." "Is that gonna be breakfast?" "It's breakfast, lunch and supper." "I sure am hungry." "Well, drink some more." "It'll fill you up." "Haven't we got a dime between us?" " No, not a one." " Money don't even know we're alive." "You could sell your watch." "His daddy give him that watch." "Yeah, but it's solid gold." "It'd bring a fistful of money." "Come on, don't you ever want to sit down in front of a plate again?" "Don't you understand nothing?" "He don't want to let that go." "Hey, you." "Get up." "You ain't from around here." "I know you ain't, 'cause I know every man, dog and mule for 50 miles." "That's a wide acquaintance." "You're a pretty funny boy." "Where you from?" "Down the road a piece." ""Down the road a piece," huh?" "Boys, if there's one thing that riles my ass, it's the sight of three high-smelling, down at the heels egg-suckers on these quiet streets." "Now what's your business here?" "Don't get fresh answering." "We're just passing through." "You sure are." "I reckon five minutes would be about right." "Five minutes from when?" "Five minutes from the time you got into town." "Well, we might need 10." "My friend here has to use a public convenience." "Don't sass me, you little bastards." "You ain't calling me that, mister, are you?" "You get going." "Friendly folks around here." "We better move on like he said." "Move where?" "On what?" "We're broke." "Mr. Spikes is never broke." "He's never hungry either." "What made you think of him all of a sudden?" "Looking at that bank." "You know what he'd do if he was in our shoes?" "He'd walk in that bank, pull out his gun, and say," ""It's all baloney, so slice me some."" "That's stealing!" "It's better than starving." "I'm not going to shoot you, mister." "I just want all the money you got in here." "I want it all, and I want it quick." "Everything's in the safe." "Works on a time clock." " Well, how long before it goes off?" " 9:00." "I'll wait for it." "What's the matter with you?" "Have you gone crazy?" " Maybe." " Come on." "Let's get out of here." "That sheriff's two steps away." "You two go if you want to, but I'm staying put." "Let go of it, Will." "This here is deep water." "I'm going whole hog!" "All right, if you're gonna be in trouble, I guess I'm gonna be in trouble." "It's 9:00, mister." "That clock could be a might fast." "And you could be lying." "It's gonna go off any second." "Don't get excited, son." "Any second now." "It better, mister." "There's still time, son." " For what?" " To think what you're doing." "To think where it will get you." "I've set the house on fire." "Let it smoke." "Tod, get behind the door in case somebody comes in." "Les!" "I don't even believe it." "Wait." "Just take the small ones." "They're safer." "You must be getting tired, mister." "You can put your hands down." "Hey, Bobby Ray, you seen anything of three young desert rats?" "Yeah, I've seen them." "Damnation." "Boy, you gonna have men hunting you down for this till the day you die." "Stuff you cap in his mouth, Tod." "Shut him up." "Okay, open up." "Open wide." "Now get back." "Get Back." "Don't hurry on for us." "We'd like a little jump." "What are you up to?" "What are you doing here?" "Hey!" "They're gonna be on us." "Hurry up." "Stop them!" "Stop them!" "Les, Will, I'm down!" " The money!" " Don't stop!" "We're all right now." "I think we just crossed the Rio Grande." "I think we're in Mexico." "Look here." "A bullet took a lock of hair off me right behind my ear." "I've got blood on my shirt." "That man fell against you." "Got hold of me around my neck." "I never killed nothing in my whole life." "I never even killed a rabbit." "Tod, it was an accident." "That doesn't matter." "He's dead!" "To God and all of God's world forever." "I ought to go back and give myself up." "I'm the one that did it." "Well, if we gotta answer, we'll all answer together." "Maybe we ought to go join up with the army." "The law wouldn't look the other way just 'cause we come in to join up." "At least they'd feed you three times a day." "I heard the railroad pays good wages if you're laying line." "They won't take you if you ain't Chinese." "Anyway, it's back on the other side." "What are we gonna do then, Will, besides run?" "I don't know." "We'll light on something." "Well, one thing for sure," "I can't die any poorer than I started." "Guess he's living over yesterday." "I wish we had it back again." "Lady, our pockets is just as empty as our bellies." "No." "Tod." "Tod." "Get back." "Give him some air." "It ain't nothing serious." "He's just hollow." "Mister, that was my grandfather's timepiece." "He gave it to me on his death bed." "It's 18 karat gold, and it ain't lost a minute in 30 years." "How much can you give me for it?" "A hundred." "Dollars or pesos?" "Pesos, señor." "That ain't but $10." "Mister, I robbed a bank." "I'm still not as big a bandit as you." "I don't know why he's so friendly when I'm probably eating his brother." "Better stoke up while it lasts for a while." "It isn't so bad really if you don't get your nose too close." "You have come to the proper place." "Will, I don't know what it is, but we must be doing something wrong." "Is he asleep again?" "Yeah, he is." "He slept all day yesterday." "I know he did." "He don't do nothing but sleep anymore." "Tod." "Tod, wake up." "Tod, you gotta eat something." "I don't want anything." "You're gonna lose your strength for when we get out of here." "Come on and eat." "We're never gonna get out of here." "I'm beginning to wonder about that myself, Will." "It's been eight weeks." "Ain't we're ever gonna get up in front of a judge?" "Could be he doesn't come by but once a year." "Like back home." "Maybe we could say we was Catholics and ask to see a priest." "Maybe he'd help us out." "No, Catholics can smell out a Baptist right off." "Then they won't have nothing to do with 'em." "Yeah, they got a big church, all right." "Did you ever notice that when they open that big door, the altar piece they got over there is made of gold?" "Mr. Spikes!" "Mr. Spikes!" "Mr. Spikes!" " Mr. Spikes!" "Hey!" " Mr. Spikes!" "Mr. Spikes!" " Mr. Spikes!" " Mr. Spikes!" "Mr. Spikes!" "Over here!" "Mr. Spikes!" "Mr. Spikes!" "Well, well, well, three birds in a cage." "You sure come along in the nick of time, Mr. Spikes." "We was just about cooked." "Me with running sores, and him with dysentery, and him with ticks eating him alive." "How'd you ever get us loose, Mr. Spikes?" "Why, I rolled a $100 bill around a good cigar and put another one in my handshake." "I don't know how we'll ever repay you." "I'll get you in a poker game some day, but meanwhile, boys, you'll better coming after a bath." "So you went and robbed yourself a bank, did you?" "Killed a man and lost the money." "Don't look like you boys got the gift for it." "Well, I guess it's done, and it can't be undone." "No way I know of." "Hell, two days after they buried the man," "The Louisville Courier-Gazette wrote a poem about you boys." "Had 15 verses." "Read like this." ""Three country boys, each one a knave" ""slew a state senator and sent him to his grave."" "Sold a lot of papers." "That man we killed was a state senator?" "That's right, son." "Friend to widows and orphans." "You brought down a big one, boys." "There's a bounty on you." "They don't care whether you're cold or warm." "They'll pay $1,500 for each one of you." "That makes us sitting ducks, don't it?" "Not knowing which way we're gonna get flushed." "That's the game." "Sure didn't mean nothing like this to come of it." "We didn't desire to commit murder." "It just kind of ran away from us." "Well, we all started out something else way back." "What would you do if you was us, Mr. Spikes?" "Lie close." "Keep your boots by your bed." "Sit up quick when a dog barks." "Go out but little, make no acquaintances." "Have nothing peculiar about your manner or dress." "And above all, never talk." "It's the talking man gets caught." "Don't look so scared, boys." "Hell, look at me." "Madelia, Northfield," "Jonesboro, Elysian Township," "Marysville, Gallatin." "I ducked late a few times, but I'm still standing." "The thing to do, my friends, is submit to your fate with Christian resignation and live bravely till your appointed time." "Bring the boys whatever you got left that's fat and juicy." "And if you don't have anything cooked, bring them a hind quarter raw." "I'd like you to keep track of what your spending, Mr. Spikes." "We'll make good on it as soon as we can." "Don't worry about it." "I'll carry you for a while." "Well, you boys left the farm, and you had some trouble." "You seen some of the world." "How do you find it?" "We ain't really seen that much of it." "Just been chased through it." "Well, you're still better off than most people." "Most people are tied to one thing and one place." "They eat, work, and die doing it." "Don't seem to bother them." "But I say, "Break off a bigger hunk." "Come what may."" "You, Jackson." "You damn fool!" "I don't even know you!" "Jesus, God!" "I thought you were someone else." "He's been looking for somebody all night." "Well, he's found him." "No, sir!" "It's just a mistake." "Let him off." "He's dead drunk." "Hell, we just come down from Eagle Pass to have us a good time." "I'm middle-aged, and I'm tired of fools." "Make sure the next time." "Let's go." "Don't you think we ought to find you a doctor?" "I doctor myself." "This will scab up by morning." "Feels like I walked through barbed wire." "That whiskey-soaked son of a bitch." "I thought you were going to kill him." "Did you, son?" "Well, I'm more careful than you think." "Why the hell should I pay good money for it?" "I'll get it free one of these days." "I'm going to a whorehouse now, boys, to take my mind off my aches and pains, so I'm sending you to bed." "Now here's a dollar apiece." "Get yourself a room up at the Grand National Hotel on the second floor." "The cockroaches don't crawl that high." "Them cowboys are still in town." "Maybe we should stick with him for a while." "I don't think he'd like that." "Well, he doesn't have to see us." "Good morning, boys." "Morning, Mr. Spikes." " Morning." " You're up pretty early." "Yes, sir." "Just get here?" "No, we've been sleeping here most of the night." "Well, we was a little worried about those cowboys from Eagle Pass." "Is that right?" "Well, there was 10 of them." "Well, I thank you for keeping an eye on me." "Come on." "I'll buy you breakfast." "You can go down anytime in this business." "Could be a man in a nice broadcloth coat just stepping of a train, picking cherries off a tree, tipping his hat and bidding good morning to you." "Any one of them can have your ticket." "This is the mayor and his wife." "He don't talk to me, but I nod to him." "Well, young gentlemen, it's time for me to say adiós." "You're out of jail, and your bellies are full." "You did me a good turn once, and I'm not ungrateful." "I've enjoyed your company." "I hope you can say the same for me." "Won't we be seeing you again, Mr. Spikes?" "Not likely." "I have business to attend to." "This is goodbye." "We sure do appreciate everything you've done for us." "Take care of yourself, Mr. Spikes." "Don't roll out of bed." "He sure was friendly." "Yeah, he sure was." "Hard at it, boys." "Why, hello there, Mr. Spikes." "Smells of garbage in there." "Yes, sir, it does." "You've settled on dish washing for your life's work?" "No, this is our last day here." "The lady told us not to come back." "Yeah, we've busted a few too many of her plates." "What you got lined up next?" "Well, we figured to hire on to dig holes." "That's what prairie dogs do." "Well, it's that or go without supper." "Take off those damned aprons and come along." "Boys, I'm going to be your deliverance and salvation." "Now don't ask me why I'm doing it." "It don't make no sense." "God knows I could get a dozen better on any saloon down the street." "But you got some spirit, and you got some craw." "Where I come from, you harness a mule, but you give a horse a chance to run." "How would you boys like to throw in with me?" "It means goodbye to our folks, and our home and all that." "Yeah, but it's that way now, Tod." "Well, one thing's for sure, we'd get noticed." "We'll come in with you, Mr. Spikes." " Thanks very much." " Good." "Now, let's see if you can shoot." "This ain't too bad." "Okay, here's some shirts." "Hey." "Look out." "Here's some shirts." "Well, boys, how you feeling?" "This tug is just so new and stiff" "I don't think I van do anything except sit bolt upright in a chair." "The ladies in this town are going to whinny, prance and kick just at the sight of you three." "Hold it." "Hold it a minute." "Go ahead." "Pull her out." "He's right." "Rotten to the core." "I'd never let him do that to me without laughing gas." "Why, he's the same doctor that took out my appendix with only a quart and a half of tequila." "What do you think, boys?" "Solid gold." "Now, the side door is about 35 feet from the front door." "Les, you'll come in this way." "Me and Will will go in through the front." "Now, once inside, the teller stands here, and generally, the guard over here." "They've got gold brick, but it's too heavy for the horses, so we'll leave it." "They keep the money in the vault back here." "But they've got some cash in the drawer up front." "So while it ain't generally much, we'll take it." "'Cause it'll aid the cause." "What if they just don't wanna give it to us?" "Then they're dead men for sure." "Remember, boys, there's no arrest or trial for this crime." "Only convictions." "Now, Tod, we can't have you standing around outside, looking generally unemployed, holding a bunch of horses." "So, four minutes after we leave, you take off with the horses, and you'll meet us just as we're coming out." " You got the watch?" " Yes, sir." "Good." "I know you boys will be plucky and do your job." "Okay, I'll be on time." "Let's give it a try." "There's one other thing we ain't discussed about bank-robbing, boys." "This is a good time as any." "If one of us should get caught in a trap, he's got to hang rather than talk." "Remember that." "All right, you boys'll do for this job." "Mr. Spikes?" "Ain't we gonna take that bank?" "Why, no, boys." "I keep my own money in that bank." "This ain't a bit bad, Mr. Spikes." "I'm a good cook." "I learned from my wife." "You was married?" "Oh, yes." "To a wonderful lady." "A school teacher." "She could talk in French." "She played the piano." "She sang in a fine and sweet voice." "You don't say?" "That lady made a man out of me." "She taught me everything." "How to read and write." "How to pull up to a table." "How to use a spoon and a fork." "I loved that woman." "What become of her, Mr. Spikes?" "I killed her." "In another man's bed." "Wilson." "Sit here before me." " Wilson." " Yes, Pa." "You ran off from home." "Yes, sir." "Why did you go away?" "One thing leads to another, Father." "You've broken the law." "You've corrupted and tainted our blood." "I'm doing the best I can with what I've got." "How will it end?" "I don't know." "Something's bound to happen." "Something's bound to." "How can I call you my son any longer?" "How can I acknowledge you?" "Wait." "You'll be cold." "You're cold now." "Wait!" "Wait!" "We'll cross back into the US about two miles down." "Now, Uvalde's a dandy little town." "The bank there's got lots of money in it." "It's an easy place to get away from, too." "Don't it have a sheriff?" "Why, sure, an old one." "He's got a deputy that's even older." "Two old men just gumming their food." "Why, we'll open up that bank like a can of peaches." "Hot dog!" "Hey!" "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" "Hey!" "You know, when I first met you boys, you were a sober bunch." "There was no mischief in you, no day-dreaming." "Nothing but old before your time." "Well, you make the music, Mr. Spikes, and we'll dance to it." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Well, there she is, boys." "Just down the street from the bridge, the Cattlemen's Bank of Uvalde." "How much money do you think they got in there, Mr. Spikes?" "Well, I was there myself when Mr. J. P. Calhoun deposited $20,000 in species." "That'll buy you a haircut and a shave, son." "Why don't we just go on in and clean it out right now, Mr. Spikes?" "No, we'll wait till Saturday." "They'll have more money then." "That's when they open the vault for payday." "Show a little patience, boys." "We'll make camp." "Then I'll go in tonight and scout around a little." "See how it all lays out." "You think that bank's gonna be hard work?" "I guess we're putting our heads in the lion's mouth all right." "I just hope we can take it out again." "You got any kind of religion, Les?" "I sort of always thought of old Johnny God as being a big, bald-headed man with whiskers and a temper." "How about you?" "Well, if there's a hell, I'd like to keep out of it." "What you got there?" "It's a letter." "If anything happens," "I want one of you two to see that my mom gets it." "What'd you say in it?" ""Dear Ma," ""I'm getting along fine." ""Eating good and sleeping good." ""I've took up with good company, and every day has something new in it." ""I'm leading a different kind of life than I led at home," ""with plenty of excitement and adventure, which appeals to me." ""Every nickel I make is clear gain." ""The reason I'm writing this letter is" ""I'm going into a desperate enterprise in a day or two." ""If you don't think I've been a good son, I'm sorry for it." ""Tell that to Pa, too." ""I hope Cissie is growing up and all right." ""Goodbye, Momma, if I never see you again."" "How come you boys ain't looking lively?" "How come you don't post a guard?" "While you're sitting here by the fire toasting your toes, anybody could have walked right in and plant a big juicy kiss on your cheek or send you off to a long sleep." "Guess it was kind of dumb." "Live and learn." "Things is quiet in town." "They ain't expecting a wild bunch like us." "Now you boys don't drink, and you don't smoke." "So I brought you a bag of cinnamon buns." "Pretty widow makes them." "Now I'm gonna get myself drunk." "If I can just get my head empty, then the true answers come to me." "I'd appreciate it if you'd compose me for sleep." "Take off my boots when you think I'm ready." "I'll say good night, boys." "We're being watched." "What?" "Somebody's up there looking down." "Stay with your coffee." " Well, who do you think it is?" " No idea." "Hello, down there!" "Well, come on down." "We got coffee." "Don't do nothing rash." "Take a cup." "I hope it's fresh cooked." "Ain't you got a cinnamon bun to go with this?" "This ain't no restaurant, old fella." "Where you from?" "Just from town." " And what town would that be?" " Why, Uvalde." "Didn't know there was any others around." "We wouldn't know." "We're just riding through." "It's a pretty big slug of ashes just for one campfire." "What's your name?" "Got a lot of names." "Billy Blanco, Kid White." "Take your pick." "Why, I've heard of you." "You put a few in Boot Hill, haven't you?" "Two or three rows." "Yeah." "Took some from behind, I heard." "That's right, brother, if that's the way they was facing." "What do you want of us?" "I want in." "We ain't got nothing working." "Shit, Harry." "I spotted you in town." "Then I come out here, and I see these three pups." "And damned if they ain't wanted for killin' a senator in Carrizo Springs." "So?" "So I figure that you're after that bank in Uvalde." "I'm inviting myself in." "I'm pulling that job with you." "You smell of liniment and old pee, Billy." "Why don't you drag your ass upon a porch somewhere, and eat your mush, and let your grandchildren take care of ya?" "What we got is beyond you." "You'll come to it." "There's grizzle in your beard, too." "Finish your coffee and ride on out." "I ain't asking for a regular share." "I'll take a half a share." "I'll take less than that." "There ain't no job." "There ain't no bank, and I ain't gonna tell you again." "I need a break." "I've been down on my luck lately." "Why, I even had to take a job to keep me eating." "Pounding posts, and stringing wire, and shit like that." "Why can't we let him go with us, Mr. Spikes?" "Because I say." "I still don't see why not." "Because he's old, damn it." "He's used up all his chances to be lucky." "I'm still a damn good gunfighter." "I'll show you." "Let me fight this feller." "I'll prove it to you." "You just watch." "Wait a minute." "I don't want to fight." "You'll be dead in a blink." "Come on, boy, draw!" "Mister, I'm not gonna shoot with you." "You all think I'm an old rooster, but I can still go." "And I'll show you." "I can still go." "Well, you killed him." "He was going after Tod." "Yes, he was." "Well, that ought to do it." "He should have known when to quit." "An old man on this dodge ought to get out while he can." "'Cause it don't hold up over a long stretch." "He was nearly as old as my grandfather." "He had a safety pin holding up his pants." "Son, what ain't foolishness in this life is misery." "But we gotta hold ourselves together somehow, or we'd always be crying." "You better get some sleep." "We gotta hit that bank in the morning." " I'd like to make a withdrawal." " Your name, sir?" "A fine, old, American name." "Colonel Samuel Colt, and I'll take it all." "We'll sign the papers in the morning, boys." "It's a hold-up!" "Get out, Tod!" "Get out!" "Go!" "Tod!" "I got him." "Get away." "Come on!" "Let's get out of here!" "Head for those rocks!" "Get behind those rocks!" "Run, Mr. Spikes!" "Run!" " How is he?" " Damn bad." "I think it nicked his lung." "Hey, you're shot up yourself." "Put some of this on." "It'll keep from getting gangrene." "Well, it ain't nothing." "I don't know when I've liked a boy so much." "He was never noisy, never rude." "A born gentleman by nature." "Well, let's hope the ground that covers his grave will always be green." "He's not dead yet." "He's a goner." "Say goodbye, and let's go." "He's still alive." "Put a hat over his face." "He ain't gonna make it." "He's still breathing!" "Now, we're gonna take him to a doctor!" "Just loading him on the horse will be his end." "We ain't leaving Tod behind!" "That posse'll be back." "We're already short a horse." "We won't make it unless we leave him." "Then we won't make it." "I'd stay by his side if I thought it'd do him any good and me no harm." "But that ain't the way it lies." "Don't you care nothing about him?" "You just said you did." "I've left men dead behind me." "I've left men dying behind me." "And I've left them calling my name." "What you do is shut your ears, and close your eyes, and run like hell." "If you boys were older, had been at it longer, you'd know that's the only way to stay alive." "I sure got a taste of you now, Mr. Spikes." "I am not a follower of the meek and lowly Jesus." "I never said I was." "I hope to God you boys make it." "You mean to shoot me?" "Is that why you have your gun out?" "My back is wide." "You can't miss." "Easy." "I'm gonna get a blanket to cover him up." " It's awful hot." " Yeah, I know." "But I think that's what you're supposed to do." "Why don't he open his eyes?" "He's been bleeding a lot." "Tod?" "Tod?" "I'm gonna go get a doctor." "We better switch pants 'cause mine's got blood on 'em." "Why don't you let me go?" "No, with this neck, it'll be natural for me to ask." "I'll just say I did it on a hay fork." "I hate seeing you take the risk." "Well, it'll be just fine." "I'd like to ask you a question, mister." "First, what are you drinking?" "Well, what do you have?" "Whiskey or beer." "Beer's warm." "I'll have it anyhow." "That'll be two bits." "Is there a doctor around here?" "What do you need a doctor for?" "Well, I've got this cut here, and I wanted to get it patched up." "That little thing?" "That ain't nothing." "Put some whiskey on it." "No, I'd rather have a doctor." "There's a doctor in Uvalde." "Why don't you go there?" "Well, I'm heading the other way." "Well, there's two brothers on a ranch, what, 10 miles east of here." "One of 'em studied to be a dentist." "He fixes up cuts and what not." "Well, thank you, mister." "How'd you say you got that little scratch?" "I did it on a hay fork." "Well, don't be in such a rush." "Stay and have another drink." "No, I gotta get kicking." "Hell, I'm buying." "Now, belly up." "I'd rather not." "Man can't stay for a free drink must be in a hell of a hurry." "You must be in a powerful hurry." "No hurry, mister." "I've just had enough." "That ain't friendly." "Is it, Charlie?" "Suppose we sat on you and poured it down?" "Mister, I treat people good if they treat me good." "If they don't, I give 'em back what they send." "Les, there ain't a doctor." "They said there's some kind of dentist about 10 miles east of here." "Maybe he can help us." "He's gone." "He just stopped breathing." "It's funny, isn't it?" "What?" "How you and me and Tod all growed up together." "And now, one of us has finally gotten himself killed." "We're gonna have to tell his people." "What do we say to 'em?" "That it is our fault." "That we're the ones that led him to it." "I told him it was gonna be fun." "We're gonna have to bury him." "Are you afraid of ghosts?" "Ain't no ghost of his is gonna bother me." "I loved him." "Come on." "Let's get back to Mexico." "Will." "Don't scare him off." "Nice morning, ain't it?" "Have you got anything to eat?" "He didn't think we'd pay." "We must really look like bandits." "These folks around here are real nice and gentle, you know that?" "Yeah, they are." "I could live around them and do just fine." "We wouldn't need much." "He don't look like he's got much." "He's smiling." "Well, after I get back from seeing Tod's folks, we'll see about it." "After you get back?" "We're both gonna go deliver that letter." "I had a dream about us last night." "We was both up on these great big, fine-looking horses." "We was barefoot." "And we was riding through these blue mountains." "Everything around us looked like it was just made that minute." "You know, all the grass, and the trees, and the ferns, and the woods and everything." "I looked over to you, and I said," ""Will," ""ain't it a grand life?"" " Hot day." " Ain't they all?" "Give me a shot of the best you got." "Hello, Harry." "Well, hello, Billy." "I hear you been on the run, Harry." "Well, what else did you hear?" "Well, I've been serving time down in Prairie City at George Fredrick's." "Remember George?" "Well, he's the Marshal down there now." "He told me if I ran into you, to ask you to go down and see him." "He's got a proposition for you." "Proposition?" "Yeah, I think it's a good one." "He said if you don't like it, you could ride out just like you rode in." "Nothing to lose." "You can trust George." "Why don't you give it a try?" "I don't know, Billy." "Thanks, Harry." "Les, I've gone to deliver the letter to Tod's folks." "I've got a long start on you, so don't try to follow me." "Meet me in Piedras Negras two weeks from today in that big Catholic church with the gold altar." "Don't forget there's a price on our heads, so don't get careless." "Hello, Cissie." "Hello, Wilson." "Is your ma and dad home?" "Gone into town." "For how long?" "Till dark." "You back from running away?" "For a while." "Where you been to?" "All around." "My daddy says you're trash." "That's up to him." "Didn't you bring Tod back?" "No." "Why not?" "You wouldn't recognize Tod, Cissie." "He's doing so well." "He's got all new clothes, and he's grown a head taller than me." "He's as happy as can be." "His dog belongs to me now, and I ain't giving' him back." "He wouldn't ask you to." "He sent this letter." "You see your ma and daddy get it." "I will." "You want some lemon cake, Wilson?" "We got some." "I can't stay, Cissie." "You don't need that gun." "You Wilson Young?" "I want to know who you are first, mister." "I'm Jack Basset." "Les sent me." "Why didn't he come himself?" "That's what I'm going to tell you." "You see, him and me, we got acquainted over to the hotel, and we've been kickin' around together all week." "He told me you'd be here tonight." "What's wrong with him?" "I hate to be the one to tell ya." "Just say if he's alive or not!" "He was this morning." "They got him over to the infirmary." "No." "He's shot up awful bad." "They got him while he was in his bed in the hotel." "They hit him four times." "I don't see how he's hung on this long." "Who did it?" "There was two of 'em." "They ain't even law." "They're damn bounty hunters." "One's named Morton, and one's Spikes." " Who'd you say?" " Morton." "No, the other one." "Spikes." "What you figuring on doing, son?" "I'm gonna get Les out of there." "But Morton and Spikes is taking turns watching him." "They got a chair parked right in front of the door to his room." "Do they ever come out?" "Once in a while for a breath of air." "That'll be enough." "Which one's on now?" "Morton." "Spikes is sleepin' over to the hotel." "Mister, could I ask you for a favor?" "Well, you've done me one already, but could I ask you for another?" "Sure, son." "Could you go over to the hotel and keep an eye on Spikes for me?" "I will." "Don't you fight him fair." "You." "Step out where I can get a look at you." "Who are you?" "Don't I know you?" "No." "No, sir, you don't." "What do you want around here?" "Well, I don't want nothing." "Then move on." "My sheep dog's run off from me." "He's got a brown muzzle." "You ain't seen him, have you?" "I told you to move on." "Well, then maybe you seen my friend." "He lives in Llano County." "I've known him all my life." "And he's well-liked by everybody." "You're Wilson Young." "Les." "Les, listen." "That northbound train pulls out of here in half an hour." "We're gonna be on it." "Maybe we'll go to Montana." "To them blue mountains you was talking about." "We'll find a place of our own to live." "Maybe we can run some cattle and a few good horses." "I can build a cabin and just sit up there on our own front porch." "Hello, boy." "I just killed Mr. Morton down the street." "No loss." "You're next." "Well, that ain't decided yet." "I didn't come here to talk." "Funny how things work out." "The governor of the state of Texas gave me a chance to come in, full amnesty, for all my acts and crimes." "As long as I delivered you two." "I handed him my pistol, butt-first, and I said," ""I am giving you that which I have never allowed" ""another living man to touch, except myself."" "And he pumped my hand." "And they took my picture." "And two ladies present wept." "Your gun's in the holster." "You'd better sit up, or you can't reach it." "I wanted to bring Les in alive." "I would have liked it better that way." "But he pulled on me." "Is that the last thing you want to say to me?" "'Cause it ain't much." "Anything I ever got in this life was by felony." "I've been a hungry dog, snapping at meat." "And then you boys came along." "You looked up to me." "What did you want from me, anyhow?" "I don't know anymore." "It was a foolish hope." "Better luck next time." "Sit up, Mr. Spikes." "You're a fine boy." "If we'd met in a different life, we might've took a walk down a shady street and looked at the ladies through the window panes." "Or I might've carved a Sunday roast and given you the biggest portion." "But don't let me mix you up." "Sit up!" "Right there." "Is this all?" "It ain't really fair, but it's all I'm givin' you." "And by God, the one thing we won't ever do is kiss no man's boot!" "You bet!" "Let's go get lucky!"