"I read your name on a wall somewhere... along with a lot of other names of dirty little men." "And wherever you are, I'll dig you out." "You all right, ma'am?" "Oh." "Yes, I'm quite all right, thank you." "It's hot, isn't it?" "I don't think" "I've ever been so uncomfortable in my life." "It must be nearly 100 degrees of heat." "Oh, it's at least 120 out there." "Oh, my." "Oh, my." "I can see it just shimmering off the ground." "Well, I guess we've got the weather all talked about." "Just about there, Miss." "Just about where?" "Three Rock." "Three...?" "Rock." "I'm getting off there." "Whoa." "This is it" " Three Rocks." "I wonder if there's anyplace where I could wash my face and tidy up." "I probably don't look very neat." "Wait a minute." "Oh, you're not really getting out here?" "Well, why not?" "Well, ma'am, there's nothing out there but sand, cactus, lizards, snakes and three very hot rocks." "You better take another look." "It looks fine to me." "Oh?" "Well, I'll help you down." "Oh." "Oh." "You thought there was a depot of some kind, didn't you?" "A shelter?" "And some one person here to meet you?" "And you're obviously trying to conceal the fact that you're shortsighted." "I'm not shortsighted." "No?" "The person who was to meet me will be here directly." "Everything is perfectly as it should be." "Thank you for your kindness." "Good-bye." "Well, what if he doesn't come?" "My brother?" "Mm." "He will." "I know he will." "Now, wait a minute." "You just can't leave her here." "The ticket said Three Rocks." "Oh, there are ranches nearby." "Not too nearby, Miss." "The closest one is about 15 to 20 miles." "Well, now, how long do you think she'd last out here in this sun?" "About an hour, maybe." "If she's lucky." "He's right, Miss." "If your party is slow in getting here, or..." "That's my concern, if you please." "Now, you'd better get back to the stagecoach." "Your brother can meet you in the next town." "I'm staying here." "One way or the other, we got to get rolling." "Throw my saddle down." "No!" "No, I won't permit it." "If you're here when he comes for me, it will embarrass me." "How will I explain you?" "I'll explain me." "You sure you want to do this?" "No, I don't want to do this, friend." "I've got business in Dallas that has to be settled by tomorrow night, and I'd hoped" "I wouldn't have to bed down on the trail." "Why bother?" "Somebody has to take care of small children and stubborn women." "Please don't bother." "I don't want you to stay here." "You better go ahead." "You'll get behind schedule." "Good luck." "Thanks." "Thirsty?" "I'm sorry, I don't have a cup." "Oh." "I hate you for doing this." "Well, you won't in about an hour, Miss..." "Smith." "Well, that's not very imaginative." "My name's Paladin." "Here." "Here, take the horse." "I wasn't being imaginative." "That's my name." "What are you doing?" "Making us some shade, 'cause we're going to need it." "Come on!" "Once on an island in the South Pacific, where the natives bury their pig and poured hot coals on it." "Four days later, they dug it up and had a feast." "And that's a delicacy" "I'll never enjoy completely again." "Well, I think you exaggerate a little." "But it certainly is hot." "But I think I would have survived without you." "We've been here almost an hour and a half." "Have you seen one single lizard anywhere out there?" "No." "Not one single lizard." "Well, they stay under the rocks when it's this hot." "They won't come out till evening." "They'd die if they did." "You're saying that I don't have the sense of a lizard." "Nor the skin of one." "They can stand the heat better than you can." "All right." "I would have been dead by now." "How do I look?" "You're the most beautiful woman within 100 miles." "And also probably the only one." "I want to look nice when he sees me." "Well, he isn't here." "He's not about to see you." "How far is your brother's place?" "It's 17 miles." "Let's go." "But he said to wait right here." "I'm going after your brother." "I can't afford to wait any longer." "With this delay and detour," "I've already got to ride all through the night and the day." "Well, I'll go with you." "If I may?" "Please do." "Oh." "My first name is Christie." "Well, that's the first sensible thing you've said today." "Come on." "Well, I gather you haven't seen your brother in some time?" "Oh, no, not in many years." "Well, I hope you won't be disappointed." "Men change in this country." "Not Louis." "He wrote me regularly." "He tells me everything." "Oh, everything?" "Yes, I believe so." "He tells me that he likes to take a drink occasionally, and he doesn't smoke or swear, or know many women." "Ooh." "Oh." "What is it?" "It sounds like a man with a gun." "Well, why?" "We haven't done anything." "No, but we will now." "Stay behind those rocks." "These are shells from a.45." "If he had a rifle, he couldn't have missed us." "Christie, what's the matter?" "Can I help you?" "I'm not strong enough for this country." "Now, don't spoil that pretty face with tears." "Come on." "I'm not pretty." "I'm plain." "Come on, Christie." "Well, you'll feel better after you've had a rest and some food." "Hope you like beans and jerky." "Might take this down to the stream and fill it." "It's empty." "Christie?" "Christie?" "Did one of those bullets hit you?" "No, of course not." "Well, if you're still alive, will you take this down to the stream and fill it, please?" "Yes, I will." "Forgive me." "I forgive you." "Oh!" "Mr. Paladin!" "Christie!" "Christie, you are shortsighted." "Shortsighted?" "These fell out of your pocket, or maybe they belong to some passing Indian." "Now if you'd had them on, you wouldn't have missed your footing, and you'd be dry." "All right, I am shortsighted." "I'm a lot of things I said I wasn't." "I wish you'd gone on in that stagecoach and left me in the sun to die like a... like a lizard." "Look at my dress." "Better change into something else." "Come on." "And my hair is a mess." "Well, it's nothing a brother wouldn't understand." "I don't have a brother." "I'm a mail-order bride." "There." "I've said it." "And that's the second sensible thing you've said today, Christie." "And there's no shame connected with it." "What kind of a woman does that make me?" "Marrying some man I've never even met." "One with trust." "Unquestionably a brave woman." "Well, I'm braver than he is anyway." "He won't even come and meet me, and I know why." "Oh?" "Why?" "I sent him my picture just before I left." "He probably hated the picture so much that he tried to shoot me." "Well, I wish I knew who did that shooting." "And I have an idea we're going to find out." "You know something, Christie?" "You looked beautiful when you were all wet." "Like a water nymph." "Now when did you start corresponding with Mr... uh..." "Drydan." "Louis Drydan." "About two years ago, and then when my mother died, he sent me all the money to pay the debts." "Then he wrote and asked me to come out and marry him." "Now that's better." "Your hair is, too." "Mr. Drydan will like that." "I just finished telling you that I was sure he didn't want me." "Christie, you owe him a chance to decide for himself." "A man can't tell anything about a woman from a photograph." "He has to see her the way she is." "Warm, alive, vibrant, full of hope." "His letter said we just follow the creek from here." "Let's get something to eat." "We'll go on to the ranch." "I guess there isn't any other place I can go." "Well, there it is." "Just like he said." "There's the corral between the unpainted barn and the painted one." "Well, where's the house?" "Well, it must be through those trees." "I'm very grateful to you." "I know you're in a hurry to go." "It doesn't look like anybody's home." "Maybe he's in bed, asleep." "I smell fresh paint." "I guess he's been polishing up the place for you." "You think so?" "There's a broom and a mop." "He's probably been tidying up the inside, too." "I would've done that." "He didn't have to." "He wrote such beautiful letters." "Beautiful letters." "Come on." "Now I'm scared." "Christie, don't be scared." "He'll be very pleased with you." "Come on." "Anybody home?" "Mr. Drydan?" "Anybody home?" "Well, look at this." "It's a bridal bed." "Drydan was readying this place for a bride." "Well, then where is he?" "That was awful." "Well..." "I guess I shouldn't keep you any longer." "Christie, you sleep in that bridal bed- it's yours." "I'll find someplace outside." "What about your appointment?" "I don't think it would've worked out very well anyway." "I'm sorry." "I'm glad." "I'm afraid here." "There's something here to be afraid of." "And that's the third sensible thing you've said today." "Well, good night." "Good night, Christie." "He said in one of his letters that to make coffee just right is almost an art." "This is perfect." "And you didn't sleep last night, did you?" "How could I?" "Well, now, look who's here." "Louis?" "For sure." "Don't I look the way you thought I would?" "You look fine." "I..." "I thought you would be older." "That makes one pleasant surprise for you." "But what are you doing here so soon?" "I thought you were arriving on today's stage." "Well, it was your error, Mr. Drydan." "I'm sorry not to find you here last night." "I was in town." "Mister...?" "Paladin." "When you weren't there to meet the stage," "Mr. Paladin was nice enough to go greatly out of his way and bring me here." "That's very kind of you, sir." "I deeply appreciate it." "I don't know how I got mixed up on what day she was arriving." "By the way, we were shot at riding here." "Shot at?" "By who?" "Don't you have an idea?" "No, of course not." "You are all right?" "Mr. Paladin drove them off." "Louis, who would want to do something like that?" "Well, it's pretty wild country." "It attracts some wild people." "But you're here, and you're all right, and that's all that counts." "Mr. Paladin stayed with me until you came." "And you are here now, so I'll be on my way." "Oh, well, uh... couldn't you stay with us for just a day or two?" "Oh, now, dear." "Don't you think we've taken up enough of Mr. Paladin's time?" "Besides we'll be pretty busy ourselves." "The man will be here today to buy the cattle." "Are you selling your herd?" "No, not all of it." "About 400 head." "I wrote to her about it." "It's a little nest egg to start the marriage off." "How many people in this country know about your impending marriage?" "Well, to tell you the truth, there aren't too many people in this part of the country." "But those who are here knew." "Saloon talk in the nearest two or three towns, I suppose?" "What are you getting at?" "Oh, nothing, I was just wondering about the shooting." "Who might have done it." "You are in a remote place here." "It'd be difficult to defend yourself in case of trouble." "Well, there won't be any trouble." "Louis, Mr. Paladin was so good to me." "Paladin." "I keep thinking I've seen that name somewhere." "That's it." "I saw a card once." "Like this one?" "Yeah, like this." "Maybe you didn't know, but he's a professional gunfighter." "I don't believe it." "It's close enough." "But you're so gentle." "A gunfighter?" "Good-bye, Christie." "Bye." "He didn't swear, nor smoke." "What happened out here?" "Dry-gulched us." "Who?" "Name is John Dart." "Killed my hand, left me to die." "What's your name?" "Louis Drydan." "Well, Mr. Drydan, you talk too much." "I think everybody in that town knew you were selling your herd for cash." "They also knew the buyer didn't know me by sight." "I better dig this lead out of you before it does any more damage." "Get Johnny Dart first." "This comes first." "You could die from this poisoning." "Close your eyes and hold on." "It's going to be nice having a woman around the house." "You will give me time to get used to you, won't you, Louis?" "Why not start right now?" "When will the wedding be?" "Oh, the preacher drops by here every other month or so." "Every other month?" "You're a real scaredy-cat, ain't you?" "Well, you said that we'd be married in town." "You're not a bit like your letters." "You believe all you read?" "Big girl like you?" "I'll get some more water." "Wait a minute." "Didn't you just get some water?" "We need some more." "Don't stray too far from the house, woman." "It can be death out there alone." "Oh, you're here." "You're here." "You're still here." "Listen to me." "That man in the house is not Louis." "Louis is gentle, like you." "He can't be..." "You want to meet him?" "Louis?" "Louis?" "Oh, you're beautiful, Christie." "Put them on, Christie." "You want to see him, don't you?" "And there's something you ought to see." "You're hurt." "We've got to get Louis into the house." "That man..." "Mr. Paladin." "Is that you, Paladin?" "That's right, Mr. Dart." "How'd you know my name?" "I read it on a wall someplace." "What did you come back for, your fee?" "Along with a lot of other dirty names of dirty little men." "Eh, you're lucky I didn't have a rifle yesterday, Paladin." "Come on, Johnny Dart!" "Crawl to me on your belly like a lizard!" "Are you finished, Mr. Dart?" "Don't shoot, Paladin." "Don't shoot." "I know Louis insists he doesn't need a doctor, but if you could just..." "Your Louis is a very hardy breed of man." "He'll be fine with just your care." "Oh, all right." "But you will send the preacher out?" "Just as soon as I deliver him." "Louis prodded me about the preacher, too." "He won't let you go." "And will you come back and visit us whenever you can?" "I will indeed." "I'm awfully sorry you missed your appointment." "Christie, I believe in fate." "I think you must have been put in my way in order to keep me from tripping when I got off the stage in Dallas and breaking my neck." "Oh, I don't know how I can ever repay you." "Don't we owe you something?" "Nothing." "Well, what about your fee?" "I'd only have to spend it on a wedding present." "Good-bye, Christie." "Thank you, Mr. Paladin." "Let's go, Dart."