"I knew that tire had to go." "You talk too much." " Please, mister, please." " Uh-uh." "Yeah." " Now what?" " Now to get to that brother of yours." " Get that dough you got stashed away." " Let's go, let's go." "Come on." " Let's go, let's go, let's go." " It's his foot." " How far we gotta go?" " Ten, 15 miles." " You two go on." " Hole up here, back of the sign." "One of us will come back tonight, blink the headlights." " At least you got company." " Take it easy, son." "I'll take it easy." "I got a lawyer in Tulsa to see." " You having trouble?" " Could be." "Who are you?" "You live around here?" "Could be." "Haven't had a couple of visitors lately, have you?" "That wouldn't be sore foot making you limp, would it?" "Could be." "I got some other stuff to pick up." "Get in or we'll both get pneumonia." "They took their own sweet time sending for me." "Who are you?" "They sent this for you." "Get in." "I'll take that stuff." "You go around the shed through the trees, a cabin back there." "Look who's here." " Hello, son." " You took your time getting here." "What you and that gal been doing, swimming?" "Say hello to Mobley, Chickamaw's brother." "I told you she'd find them." " She's a weasel, that daughter of mine." " Tired?" "Sorry we had to keep you waiting." "It had to be that way." "Here, kid." "This will fit better over that bandage." "You're welcome." "A thousand dollars." "That enough for a used car?" "Could be." "You can't tell, though." "The way things are, you could" "Well, that'd be my daughter." "Hello, Miss Keechie." "Here's 500 more." "That's 1500 for the car." "Can't have you coming back in no rattletrap, not for this trick." "Fifteen hundred bucks for a second-hand car?" "That's right." "Whoever sells them for that?" " That's worse than robbing a bank." " They're thieves, just like us." "Now, don't forget the clothes." "Tell Mattie the first big dough goes to get her man out of jail." " Tell here that or she won't come." " Oh, I'll tell her for sure." "Well, so long, fellows." "I'll try to get back here with Mattie before tomorrow night." "Hey, big brother, stay sober." " Me?" " Yeah, you." "Oh, I won't touch a drop." "Not a drop." "Of course, he won't." "We take care of our friends, Mobley." "I know." "I know that, T-Dub." "Keechie, you'll take care of the station, won't you?" "So long." ""You'll take care of the station."" "He never did a lick of work in his life, that brother of mine." "Did you catch the look on his face?" "He's still trying to figure out where I had that dough hid." "Can't you make that stove work?" "He'd have grabbed it, too, wouldn't he, Keechie?" "You show him how, Miss Keechie." "That's one machine he don't know nothing about." "Here." "Thanks." "That boy's some gallant, ain't he?" "And he got a soft heart and a head to match." "His head looks all right to me." "That little girl don't think any too much of us." "Her ma was just the same way, always acting like she was the queen of Romania." "Keechie's mom?" "Know what she did?" "Ran off with a fella and now they're running a medicine show." "No matter how I turn it, we're short." "We need another thousand dollars." "Hey, we're in it." ""Prison farm break." "The escape of three lifers was announced today by Warden E. Gaylord of the state prison farm." "The fugitives, who kidnapped a farmer on their flight, are El--"" ""Elmo 'One-Eye' Mobley."" "Always "One-Eye." They always mention that." ""R.T. Waters, farmer of Akota, gave a description of the three men who commandeered his car at the point of a gun."" "I should have blasted his head off with that shotgun." " Chickamaw, come here." " Still, it's all they can talk about." "This dance hall, The Meadowbrook, you know it?" "Sure, I know it." "Used to be my old stomping ground." "They're having themselves a little dance tomorrow night." "Enough we could take there for a small cushion for the Zelton job?" "Sunday night?" "Yeah, that could..." "That One-Eye." "They didn't print a very big piece about us either." "Wish it was only two lines." "Newspapers raise more heat than anything." "In a few days, they'll really have something to print." " Yeah." " Three boys like us?" "We can charge any bank in the country, any bank." " How many have you knocked over?" " Enough." "I've done a few myself." "You're in luck, kid, you're traveling with real people." "Takes three to charge a bank, and we're the Three Mosquitoes." "We move fast." "Can you take it?" " Me?" " You." "Sure, I can rib myself up to anything." "Maybe." "You ribbed yourself up once to killing a man, didn't you?" "Didn't you?" "Yeah." "I sure did." "Get in there." "Close the door." "Get down." "Highway patrol, this time every night." "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10." "Okay." "Thanks." "I don't guess I know much about talking to women, or how to talk, I" " How old are you?" " 23." " How long were you in that prison?" " Seven years." "What did that Chickamaw tell you about me?" "Patrol back?" "Well, you ought to be happy now." "You finally hit something." "Shut up." "I thought I told you to stay sober." "Yeah, I had a tough time." "He had a tough time." "The way he was driving." "Oh, shut up." " Hello, Mattie." " That the best you could send?" "Shut up." "I had a tough time." "I got everything done though, just like you told me." "Hey, it's good to see you, Mattie." "We got planning and thinking to do." "Lucky he didn't bust up something before we got here." "Way that guy was driving, I was ready to jump." "Shut up." "Bowie, you better fix this tire and check the car." "How's my brother?" " He's still in there." " I know." " Did you see him?" " Yup." "Chickamaw." "Had a tough time." "Come on." "Slippery." "I can handle him." "She's my daughter." "Keechie." "Keechie?" "Oh, where's my daughter?" "Keechie?" "You like your old man?" "Do you like yours?" "Not much." " Is it true your ma ran off with a guy?" " Yes." "My ma took up with a guy who ran a pool hall." "Pa used to take me there." "One night, he and this guy were having an argument." "I thought it was part of the game." "Never did see a pool game that didn't have an argument." "Pa raised his cue and..." "Other guy had a gun." "Pa turned to me like he was trying to say something." "I saw his face." "White." "Like he was gonna cry." "And the blood running into his eyes." "My ma went to live with the guy that killed him." "Got a cigarette?" "You smoke a lot." "I don't want one." "Haven't got one." "How's it coming?" "All right." "I just wanna make sure you were okay." "The two of you." "Nothing for you to worry about." "Chickamaw." "Better get a move on." "We got some traveling to do." "Fine company you're running with." "I suppose you thought you had to get out of that prison." "Didn't see any use doing any more time." "Wasn't getting me nowhere." " Out here, even the air smells different." " Where do you think you'll get with them?" "That Chickamaw, he lives for trouble, even if he is my uncle." "Oh, he's wild all right, but T-Dub's steady." "Maybe." " If I wasn't so hot, you know what I'd like?" " What?" "Like to have me a filling station." "A garage along with it, maybe." "It'd be too slow for you." "You wanna live your life fast." "You don't know what you want." "You got me down wrong, Miss Keechie." "T-Dub saw it in the paper back there in the prison, see?" "It's what the Supreme Court of the United States itself said." "This fellow it writes about, he was tried, convicted of murder, sentenced, all the same day." "The same as me." "Then the Supreme Court itself said, "Let that man out."" "No due process or law." "That fellow was 16 too when he done his murder, same as me." "How come you killed a man?" "Some of the fellows in the carnival I was traveling with said they knew how to make some money." "They had a safe all picked out." "Just sort of went along to see how it was done." "You were in a carnival?" "Just roustabouting." "I should have been smart and run like the other kids." "You know, lawyers cost money." "Soon as I get enough, I got a lawyer in Tulsa to see." "I'm gonna get myself squared around." "I hope you're right." "Yeah, you bet I'm right." "You know what I'm gonna do?" "I'd like to go to New Orleans." "Mexico, maybe." "The way Chickamaw talks about that Mexico, that must be some country." "Before I'm through, I'm gonna do a lot of looking around." "You think you're quite a man, don't you?" "Uh-huh." "Fine way to get squared around, teaming with them." "Stealing money and robbing banks." "You'll get in so deep trying to get squared they'll have enough for two lifetimes." "Call my sister." "I'll leave the address with her." "If what that newspaper clipping says is true, you can go back and tell them about it." "They don't keep people who don't belong there." "They'd never believe me." "Who said that?" "T-Dub?" "Chickamaw?" "They know." " All set, Bowie?" " Yeah." "Keechie, you'll drive Mattie down at the bus for us." "I suppose so." "It's a cash-on-the-barrelhead proposition for me, remember." "I told the boys that." "After all, it's my own brother that's in the pen." "He's my husband and we ain't getting any younger." "And I want him out now." "And that's gonna take money." "You do your part, Mattie." " We'll get you the money." " I'll do my part." "So long, Keechie." "So long, Bowie." "Come on, let's go, let's go, let's go." " Are you interested in that?" " What's it to you?" " He's jailbait." " He's just a kid." "Yeah, that's what I said once." "Maybe you'll be lucky." "Maybe they won't send him back to prison." "Maybe he'll get himself killed first." "I'll take you to the bus." " Now where do we go?" " Zelton." "I'll let you off outside of town." "Some guys are dingbats." "They'll charge a place with a filling station, a telephone and hardware store next door." "I've seen more guys killed that way." "Short match waits outside in the car." "That's the tough job." "Some dingbats think the guy in the car has got a snap." "He's the man that gets to rumble first, believe me." "I'll go inside anytime." "Draw." "I'll stay in the car." "Any job we do." "Okay?" "Okay." "Come on, son, let's change." " Want me to gift-wrap it?" " No." "Ouch." " Have you anything smaller?" " No." "Well, that's all right." "I have to go over to the bank anyhow." "I'm dickering with them for a new lease on this place." " Mind stepping over to the bank with me?" " Sure." "Change, please." "Here you are, young man, with thanks." " I have a wedding ring or two if you ever" " Thanks." "On the nose." " You all right, son?" " Sure." "Did you look around inside?" " I can draw you a picture." " Save it for Chickamaw." "Mattie got us a house in Gusherton all right." "Had to take it for six months." " Gonna leave the car here?" " Sure, it's okay." "Some shack, eh?" "Well, how do you like it?" "Hi, Chickamaw." "So you got back, huh?" " T-Dub?" " Yeah?" "Mattie?" "She got a real house." "Why not?" "We're real people." "Hello, Mattie." "What's the matter?" "What's been going on here?" "I was just trying to get her to take a drink." "She's so dried up." "Maybe you're not the right man for her, Chickamaw." "How long does one woman wait for one man?" "Listen, you crummy one-eyed lush" "Mattie!" "Hey, that's seven years." "It's gonna take the three of us." "I want my brother out too." "I got the cars for you." "One here, one in Cedars." "Thanks, Mattie." "The first money's mine, remember." "And I want it on the line." "You're still a one-eyed lush and you always will be." "Jailbait." "I don't know what she's got against me." "I don't either." "The Zelton trick, it's gonna be tough, huh?" "Tough enough." "Yeah?" "That's for me." "I want some action." "I'll take steps a block long." "Anyone gets in my way, I'll stomp them." "Lay it out for us." "Everything." "I still don't know what she got against me." "This is" "This is the street." "The bank." "At 7:28, a freight train pulls in." "Here's where we are." "Don't forget to keep the car running." "The night watchman." "Get ready." "There's the porter." "Over the fence, Chickamaw." "Morning, Mr. Hagenheimer." "Good morning." "One, two, three, four, five, six." " Well, hello." " Good morning." "How the little lady like the watch?" "You don't have to tell me." "My cold's all better today." "Coming in early." "Inventory." " And I got a" " Get away." " Did I say something--?" " Get away!" "Hold on, T-Dub." " So long, T-Dub." " See you." "Take it easy, but take it." " What's next?" " Now we can start strutting." "One thing you gotta learn, kid." "You gotta look and act like other people." "You go ahead, kid, I'll follow you." "And you better stomp it, or I'll run you down." "Let's go, let's go, let's go." "Come on." "Come on, Bowie, get a move on." "Get in my car, kid, quickly." " My money." " I've got it here." "Come on, you can't lay down here." "Everybody and his dog is coming." " My gun." " Oh, come on, come on, I got plenty." "What's your hurry?" "I'm taking him to a hospital." "He's banged up bad." "Yeah, bad." " Where are you from?" " Denver." "Come to the hospital, you wanna ask questions." "You were traveling too fast." "Both of you." "You come with me." "And you too." "Not this time, friend." "Listen, buddy, you'll get in trouble before you know it." "Now, friend." "Oh, Lord!" "Oh, my goodness." "What happened?" "That old one-light jalopy come right out." "There ought to be a law." "I better dump you at my brother's." "How bad hurt are you?" "I'm all right." "Just so sick to my stomach, that's all." "That's nothing, I" "I used to get sick just from standing up when Ma was cutting my hair." "Cut it out, huh?" "Her name was Peabody then." "No." "No, that was the first guy." "Then it was Vines." "Cut it out, will you?" "The guy with red hair." "I told you to cut it out." "What's the matter?" "Vines." "Vines was his name." " Getting dark enough so I can be moving on." " Is the boy still out?" "Yeah, pretty much." "It's his back." "When he comes to, tell him this:" "Tell him when the heat cools to get to the Gusherton house." "He can hole up there." " T-Dub and me will meet him there." " Well, I'll tell him, Chickamaw." "And keep an eye on him and take care of him." "Well, if it wasn't that I was losing money," "I'd just soon close the place up and really take care of him." " Don't you worry about the money." " I've got to worry about it." "You, Keechie." "Girl... that's more money than I seen since I collected on the fire we had." "Bowie." "Here." "Use this on your face." "What's that?" "It's just a truck pulling away." "Where's Chickamaw?" "He left." "I've been in a little trouble." "You look it." "What happened to you?" "Sprung my back a little." "Chickamaw told me that." "Were you shot too?" "No." "Pull your shirt up." "Who's your fella, Keechie?" "Why do you ask that?" "None of my business." "Other girls have fellas." "I was just asking." "I don't know what other girls have." "Is that the patrol?" "It's the wind and the telephone wires over in the highway." "I believe you like the menfolk." "Do you, Keechie?" "They're as good as the women I've seen." "Did you ever wanna leave this town, Keechie?" "I've got a lot of money now." "Most girls like to go places." "I don't know what most girls like." "I didn't mean anything by that, Keechie." "I'd do this for a dog." "Keechie." "My coat." "Side pocket." "This?" "I bought something for you there in Zelton." "It's a little old watch." "Do you want it?" "Do you wanna give it to me?" "Yes." "Then yes, I want it." "Is it true you never had a fella?" "Even just to go to church with or something?" "Do you think I should have?" "I was just asking." "That's your own business." "I never saw any use of it." "You trying to say I should have a fella and that fella ought to be you?" " Is that it?" " I guess maybe it is." "I though maybe that's what you were trying to say." "Chickamaw left this for you." "Keechie, I've got a lot of money in this." "I don't know why I said that." "Well, I'm glad you got it..." "if that's what you want." "That wasn't what I wanted to say." "What I wanted to say was now I can get that Tulsa lawyer." "He can square me away like I told you." "Then nobody in this whole world can touch me." "Nobody." "What's the matter?" "They found your gun in your smashed-up car." "And your fingerprints on the gun." "Policeman was shot up bad." "I can skip that trip to the lawyer now." "You can't stay here." "Papa's gone up to town." "He'll get himself sauced and shoot his mouth off." "Yeah, I'll get you both in a mess." "You'll be all right for tonight." "You can go tomorrow." "You sure it's okay for me to stay?" "You stay till tomorrow, then you go." "I'll go with you, if you want." "Why?" "What do you wanna do that for?" "Keechie, what--?" "What time is it?" "I don't know." "There's no clock here to set it by." "It's a nice watch." "Well, what time do the hands say?" "Five minutes to 2." "That's close enough." "Ma'am, your baby's crying." "Well, I've been on this bus three days." "When we get to the next stop, I'll fix her bottle." "Till then, I just don't care." "Hey, come on." "Shh." "This is Fairfield, folks, you'll have a 10-minute rest stop." "You'll find the restrooms inside and to the rear." "You also change cars here for Zelton, Cedars and points west." " Sandwiches, ham salad, egg salad." " Coffee, please." " I'll have a ham sandwich." " Coffee?" "Ham salad, eggs, that's all we have." "Express just come through cleaned us out." "Sandwiches." "Ham salad, egg salad, all we got." " Just some coffee, please." " Two." "Ham salad, egg salad, that's all we have." " Express just come through cleaned us out." " Do you serve beer?" "That's the only picture of me anybody took." " Yeah?" " I was 14." "Chickamaw took it." "Nobody will know me, not from that picture." "Yeah, well, you filled out some since." "Two coffees." "There's Hawkins' Class B wedding." "Organ music and everything." "Twenty bucks." "Twenty bucks." "There ought to be a law." "The way people pop in and out, one, two, three, quick." "You'd think they were getting dog licenses." "I don't wanna get you in trouble, Keechie." "I tell you, I'm just a black sheep." "There's no getting away from it." "The only thing black about you is your eyelashes." "Coffee was awful." "When a man has them laws after him, they shoot first and ask questions later." "They're just as likely to shoot a woman down with him as not." "Don't you see what you got yourself mixed up?" "All aboard." "Southbound bus." " Didn't that woman with the baby get off?" " Yeah." "We can sit together." "Let's go." "You wanna sit by the window?" "I don't care." "All right." "Here." " Bowie." " Yeah?" "Don't shut yourself up cold like this." "I don't know what to do." "No?" "No, I don't." "You do just what you're doing now." "Just tell me when I'm doing the wrong thing." "I'll snap out of it." "All right, Bowie." "Look." "Twenty-dollar weddings." "What a way to get married." "Yeah." "Keechie." "Would you marry me?" "If you want me to." "I want you to." " Then, yes, I would." " Hey, driver hold it." " What's the matter?" " We're getting off." "Come on, come on." " Wait a minute." " Come on, pal, I got a schedule." "Keechie." "What time is it?" "Ten minutes to 12." "Hello, hello." " Do you do the marrying?" " That's my business." "I have a 30-dollar wedding which gives a recording of the ceremony on records." " I have a 20-dollar" " Will you just marry us?" "That'll be 20 dollars." " Tillie, Herman." " Who are they?" "My sister and her husband." "Witnesses." "Do we have to have them?" "Oh, yeah." "First, you gotta sign your names over here." "If you'll, uh, just sign the register." "There." "I'll rent you a ring for a dollar, or sell you one for 5." "I'll buy one." "Um... this one will do it." "By virtue of the power vested in me, I hereby perform this wedding ceremony." "Do you, Catherine, take Arthur as your lawful wedded husband" " to love, honor, and cherish henceforth?" " I do." "Do you, Arthur, take Catherine as your lawful wedded wife" " to love, honor, and cherish henceforth?" " I do." "Put the ring on her finger." "Now, by virtue of the power vested in me," "I now pronounce you husband and wife." "Tip them each a dollar." "Wish you all the health, happiness and wealth in the world." "Herman, you got a cold." "I'm sorry." "I have." "That'll be $20, plus 5 for the ring." "You don't think much of my way of marrying people, do you?" "I sure don't." "Well, me neither, but I'm giving folks what they want." "My way of thinking, folks ought to have what they want, long as they can pay for it." " You folks driving?" " No." " Come in on the bus?" " No." "You ain't aiming to get a hitch?" "That's no way to start a honeymoon." "You got any ideas?" "Well, thought maybe I could fix you up with a car." "Maybe." "Party I know took in a new convertible today." "How long will it take?" "If it means money, this party will be over in his nightshirt." "Shall I?" "All right." "7047." "Forty-five miles and no messing with a speedometer." "Hello, James?" "That new convertible." "Yeah, yeah." "Couple of eager honeymooners." "How much?" "Uh..." "Twenty-seven hundred, cash." " All right." " Plus 500, cash." " For you?" " For me." "All right." "Bring it over, pronto, Jamesy." "Uh, you folks have any idea where you're going?" " On your honeymoon, I mean?" " Why?" "Well, I've some mighty attractive folders there." "Ever think about Mexico?" "I could fix it so you'd have a real nice time." "We know where we're going." "That's fine." "Of course, I'm partial to Mexico myself." "I spent a good many years there once." "I made a lot of good friends." "She said we know where we're going." "Uh..." "Yeah." "Oh, them old jalopies, they make the accidents." "Ought to be a law." " What's so funny?" " Oh, Bowie." "What did I say funny?" "I like you so much." "I don't know much about kissing." "You're gonna have to show me." " I don't know too much about it myself." " We'll learn together." " Yeah?" " You got a place for us?" "Alvin!" "Well, that depends." "How long do you aim to stay?" "A month or two." "Maybe more." "You didn't have to do that." "Yeah, I got a couple of places." "Not fancy, but comfortable." "I just aim to keep out the fly-by-nights." "My name's Lambert." "This is my boy, Alvin." "I'm learning him the business." " What'd you say your name was?" " Vines." "Well, let's see what you and Mrs. Vines like now." "Right up this way." " What's your business, son?" " Ballplayer." "Well, now, that's an honorable enough calling." "We got a schoolteacher, two salesmen and now we got a ballplayer." "Here we are." "Here we are." "This Bella Vista cabin's one of our nicest." "Well, what is it, folks?" "Well, don't you have a place a little away from the others?" " Ah-ha." "Just married, ain't you?" " Yeah." "Learn that, Alvin." "Just married people like to be alone." "I should think so." "Well, follow me." "This place I'm going to show you is clean away from everything but the sky and the trees." " Did you travel far?" " Pretty far." " How'd you happen to come here?" " Friends told us about it." "You see, Alvin, a satisfied customer is your best advertisement." "This is it." "Turn right in here." "Well, here we are." "Uh, mind the second step." "Not fancy, but it's comfortable." "We got a lot of blankets." "It gets kind of chilly up here." "It freezes, but it never snows." " How much is it?" " Thirty-five a week, in advance." "The light and water's included." "Think that'll bust us?" "Thanks." "Hope you folks enjoy yourselves." "If there's anything I can do for you, just give me a holler." "Come on, Alvin." "You see, everybody has their own ideas." "I remembered everything all different." "It seemed like such a nice place." "We'll manage, honey." "Bowie." "Keechie, this is our honeymoon." "It don't make any difference where we are." "We'll get some paint." "Keechie, what kind of paint do people use in homes?" "I'll get some things in town tomorrow." "Soon as the heat cools, I'll take you to all the fine places." "We'll have a real honeymoon." "I'll buy you everything you want." "What do you want?" "What can I buy you?" "It's all for you." "Just tell me what you want." "If there's anything I can do for you, just give me a holler." "Let's get the things from the car." " Is anything wrong?" " No." " What, are you mad?" " No." "Bowie, hold me." "Hold me tight." "After it was in every paper in the state, then you remembered." "Well, try remembering a little more." " I tell you, I just saw the boy once." " You're sure of that?" "I saw him the first time." "I didn't see him the second time, but I knew that he was there." "Can the girl handle a gun?" "Now, look, mister, this man of yours don't understand me." "I wouldn't try to cover up for that boy." "Not after what he did to me, taking my daughter." "That boy belongs in the electric chair." "That's where I'd like to see him." "Yes, and I'd like to be the one to pull the switch." "I tell you, if I could get my hands on that boy" " That's all." " I'd wring his neck like a chicken." " Goodbye, Mobley." " Yes, sir, I'd wring his neck" " Like a chicken, we know." " Yes." "Just wanna say I'm proud to help you any way I can." "Just call me anytime and I'll" " I'll" "Between him and a chicken, I'd bet on the chicken." "Yes, sir." "Wanna put somebody else on the case, sir?" "Relax." "Remember what Bowers and the girl are going through." "A hundred and forty million people around them." "Any one of them might trip them up." "Money to spend and no chance to spend it." "All the time knowing one thing, sooner or later they'll be caught." "Every time they hear on a door, their hearts jump a foot." "A heart can take just so much." "What would you do if something came up and I had to leave you, and maybe we wouldn't be able to see each other again?" "Didn't you hear me?" "There wouldn't be anything for me if you were gone." "No use thinking about it." "What about those other women I was talking about?" "Pop got back, and there's some packages." "Packages?" " I'll be right down." " I'll go." "Nuh-uh." "What about those women who don't wait for their men?" "Those women don't love." "A woman only loves once." "I guess a woman is sort of like a dog." "A bad dog will take things from anybody." "But you just take a good dog." "His master dies, he won't take food from anybody." "He'll bite anybody that tries to pet him." "There was a man back up home, and after he died, his dog wouldn't eat or drink." "Then he just died too." " Just goes to show you, don't it?" " I guess it does." "You better start finishing the tree." "I wish we could go in town and take a chance on seeing a movie together." "I've always wanted to hold hands with a girl in a movie." "We will someday." "Keechie?" "How's the headline, kid?" "Chickamaw." " Are you alone?" " I'm alone, aren't I?" "Well, ain't you shacked up nice and cozy, huh?" " Got a drink, kid?" " No, I'm sorry." " Got some candy?" " Sure." "Here." "Man, you're doing all right for yourself." "You can't pick up a paper without seeing you plastered all over it." "Every time some dingbat robs a filling station, they say it's Bowie the Kid, the Zelton Bandit." "You'd have to have wings to be everyplace they say you been." " Where's the girl?" " Keechie?" "How many of them you got?" "Just one." "Yeah, kind of figured she'd head back for these old hills." "We're married." "Hey." "Hey, we should have learned you the facts of life." ""We're married," he says." "How do you like that?" "Hey, ready to get back to work?" "No time like the present." "Between them aces and kings I didn't draw and the Denver queens I did draw," "I got no money left." " No drink, huh?" " What about T-Dub?" "What happened to his?" "He didn't get Mattie's man out of jail." "The parole board said no." "That T-Dub, he's crazy." "You know what he did?" "No." "He bought both of them a tourist camp in McMasters for when his brother gets out of jail." "He's in Gusherton now." "He's waiting for us." " Sure there's nothing to drink here, huh?" " Mm-mmm." "Kid, we got us a little bank in Cedar that's just itching to be charged." "It's all cased proper." "It's just itching, I tell you." "Count me out, Chickamaw." "I still got most of my Zelton money." "You and T-Dub can have half of that." "You know, that's real friendly." "Real friendly." "Yeah, I'll split with you and old T-Dub." "You ain't gonna be handling me out two bits at a time for ice-cream cones." "That dough you got, where'd you get it, working in a shoe store?" "It takes three to pull a trick, and you're number three." "Even if the papers do say you're number one." "T-Dub said you'd come." "When I read about you and the girl, I figured maybe yes, maybe no." " That bank's got real dough." " I said count me out." " That's a bad curve that girl's making you" " Cut it out, Chickamaw." "You better get rid of her." "When's she coming back?" "Right away, and I don't want her to see you." "Okay, I'll wait outside." "I'll wait out in the car for you, half hour." "Then I'm coming back." "Hey, come help me." "Bring some wrapping paper." "I got a sweater for Alvin, and I've got a" "Chickamaw's been here." " What'd he want?" " He and T-Dub are broke." "They ain't got two quarters to clink together." "They want me in Gusherton." " I'm going with you." " No, you're not." "You don't belong with that kind of people." " I said you weren't going." " I heard you." "Then quit running around when I'm talking to you." "All right." "I thought maybe we'd be lucky, they wouldn't find us." "After a while, we'd go and live like other people." " We will, you'll see." " Live that way maybe nine or 10 years." "It's happened to other men who escaped." "After a while, they tell the police." "They let them go." "They proved they can live like people." "Oh, it could be." "It sure could be." " You're my little old girl." " Not if you go back." "Look, I'll tell Chickamaw and old T-Dub:" ""Boys, I'll do this because you're broke." "But after that, mark me absent."" " I'll tell them." " They'll say, "Sure, Bowie."" "Then one day I'll come home, find out Chickamaw's been here." "Me and those two, we spent years together." "Mostly we made signs at each other." "We couldn't even talk." "They helped me get free." "Now they need me." "Banks aren't fools." "They'll be ready and waiting." "I don't wanna pick up a newspaper and read the Zelton Bandit's killed." "You're so smart." "That little package on the mantel, that's your Christmas present." " You saved for it out of the house money?" " Yes." "No point talking to Chickamaw." "He's a stomping fool." "But maybe when I see T-Dub, if I tell him what you told me" "Just promise me one thing, Bowie." "No matter what he says, you won't rob that bank." "Just tell me that, and you can go see them and I'll wait for you." "What time does your watch say?" "I wanna set this one of mine." "What difference does it make?" "I'll be back." "Bowie." "It's 10 minutes to 12." " Keechie's a level-headed girl, ain't she?" " I knew you'd say that, T-Dub." "And don't think I wouldn't like to pull out." "If I could find the right woman, I'd rear back in them Missouri hills" "I know, T-Dub." "You told me that." " But this is business, son." " You said yourself I had the right idea." "Way things are, we gotta keep right on going." "Not me." "You can just mark me absent." "We took you out of that prison when there was plenty of others we could've took." " Right, Chickamaw?" " Right." "So to speak, you're an investment, and you're gonna pay off." " You hear me?" " Don't do that, T-Dub." "You hear me?" "Did you hear me?" "Yeah, I hear you." "Back to the news." "The luck of the Zelton Bandits began running out today when they attempted one of the most daring robberies in the Southwest." "But this time, it did not come off." "Local police closed in on them" "current wave of robberies." "In a desperate attempt to reach the getaway car," "Henry " T-Dub" Mansfield was shot and killed." "It is believed at least one other was wounded." "The leader, Bowie " The Kid" Bowers, fast trigger-killer has so far" " Get in the back." " Bowie the Kid." "Stay down." "They're looking for two together, not one." "Don't you tell me what to do." "You ask me if I wanna do it." "The leader." " That rips my guts out." " What are you talking about?" "Bowie the Kid." "You." "All the newspapers print about is you." "You and that two-bit girl of yours." "Ha." "Makes me look like a penny in a slot machine." " Where's that bottle, huh?" " You finished it." "Stay down." "Bowie, don't keep telling me what to do." "Just because you covered for me in Cedars, you think I owe you." "Think you can shove me around." "I want that drink." "I want that drink, and I'm gonna get it." " Do we stop?" " Keep your head down." "Do we stop?" "Get out." "Get out, I tell you." "I can't miss this close." "Sure, I'll get out." "I don't need you." "I can crack any bank in this country alone." "I'm better off alone." "And I always was." "That is the only available identification of the youthful Zelton Bandit." "We continue with our Christmas program of music to sing with." "What's happened here?" "The pipes bust." "Lambert's getting a plumber." "Well, how did you let it get so flooded?" "I was away when it happened." "So were you." "Well, it doesn't matter." "We'll buy some new things." "Doesn't make any difference." " I guess you heard over the radio." " I heard." " About T-Dub?" " And Chickamaw." "What happened to him?" "He was killed last night breaking into a liquor store." "They say it runs in threes." "Oh, honey, I didn't mean to get you mixed up in this." "I can take care of myself." "Anyway, they can't pin nothing on you." "When did you start thinking about me?" "You sure didn't think about me when you were gone." "Don't you touch me." "It was me or them and you took them, didn't you?" "I don't like to talk about them boys." " Well, where you going?" " What's it to you?" "I told you not to touch me." "Don't leave this way, sore like this." "Look, if anybody leaves, it's me." "I'm not staying." "I'll go outside for a while." "If nothing will do you but going, you take the car." "You know where the money is." "Hi, Mr. Vines." "Sorry we had a little trouble here while you were gone." "Have a good trip?" "I got you Rudy here." "He'll fix you up in no time." " In there, Rudy." " Busted pipes, eh?" "First it freezes, then it thaws." "I should be used to it by this time." " The best plumber around." " The only plumber around." "Yeah, that's right." "You don't happen to have a cigarette?" "Somebody cleaned out the office machine with slugs." "Oh, thanks." "You know what we always say?" "When pigs go around with sticks in their mouths, there'll be a blue norther in Texas." "I heard a peafowl howling." "That means rain." "Yeah." "Well, sure busted a lot of pipes." "Well, merry Christmas." "Come on, Alvin." "I gotta change my shoes." " Me too?" " Yeah, come on." "Merry Christmas." "You said you weren't here when the pipes bust." "Where were you?" " I asked you where you were." " Seeing a doctor." " About what?" " The baby we're gonna have." "Well, that's just fine." "That's all I need." "You don't see me knitting anything, do you?" "I" " I need my other tools." "Get your coat quick." "And leave everything else." " Bowie?" " Yeah?" "You wouldn't have let me go, would you?" "You'd have made me stay, wouldn't you?" "I'm good for you." "I do help you a whole lot, don't I?" "Bowie, no matter what, do you want me with you?" "If you want to." "I want to." "I'd like to get in the big city." "Chickamaw was always talking about them cities." "He said people don't big-eye you so much." "I guess Alvin won't get his sweater for Christmas." "I left it on the radio." "He'll find it." "Bowie..." "I'm gonna have our baby." "No matter what, I'm gonna have it." "That's right." "He'll just have to take his chances, same as us:" "Bowie." " What, honey?" " Try and sleep." "Sure." "Sure." " Honey." " What's happening?" " What's wrong?" " Look." " What is it?" " It's the Mississippi." "We're almost there." "It's a big river, isn't it?" "It's the biggest." "Someday, I'd like to see some of this country we've been traveling through." "By daylight, you mean?" "That'd be nice." "Won't be long now." "You want me to drive?" "No, you go back to sleep." "It's good to wake up and see the sun for a change." "Good morning, darling." "Mm." "I like opening my eyes and seeing you." "How do you feel?" "Every time I wake up, I feel just like a cat." "You're like a little kitten." "Soft and warm." " And you purr too." " Do I?" "You don't mean snore, do you?" "Yes?" "It's me, Mrs. Havilland." "Just a second." "I thought you might like some breakfast." "I made some sweet potato pie." "I know you'd mostly rather sleep than breakfast." " I'm glad you thought of us." " Then I'm glad too." "Thank you." "Say, honey, you're sure getting chubby." "Don't you like it?" "You could get as big as the side of a barn, and I'd like it." " Sweet potato pie." " Yeah." "Mm." "How'd you like to really make a day of it, eat someplace fine?" "With music and all that, just like other people?" "Oh, Bowie, that's just what I would like." "I'll wear my gray flannel suit." "I'll strut out my double-breasted." "Well, start strutting." "Ain't that some way to ride?" "Bobbing your bottom up and down like that?" "Uh-huh." "Why do they do it?" "They're not going anyplace." " I guess they got nothing else to do." " Far as I'm concerned, it's a waste of time." "Trees are so old, they're growing whiskers." "That's something else I never could figure." "How anybody could get interested in patting a little ball around." "If they stood on their heads, it wouldn't bother me if they were having a good time." "People sure do act funny, though." " You having a good time?" " Such a good time, Bowie." "I don't see anything to that dancing out there, do you?" "I never did care much for dancing." "Look at them." "I think it's silly switching around like that, getting all het up." "You didn't think it so silly when that Mexican girl was." "Me?" "What did I do?" "You didn't even find time to light my cigarette." "Ohhh." "I don't remember that." " Want to try something a little stronger?" " No." " Are you having a good time?" " Wonderful." "You?" " The more I think of that Mexico" " And those Mexican girls?" "The more I think of Mexico, the more I like it." " Remember the gent who married us?" " I remember." "It wasn't that long ago." "They was another one who was that way about Mexico." "You and me, honey, with what we got salted away, we could live down there like real people." "Maybe in a little while," "I could get lined up with one of them big mining companies, and maybe we" "No trouble, Bowie, come on." "Come on." "Are you all right?" "Are you hurt?" " Oh, we shouldn't have come out." " I'm all right." "Cigarette?" " I'll get some." " I'll be in the car, out in the air." " Any cigarettes?" " You get them from the porter in there, sir." " Just cigarettes." " Yes, sir." "Bowie the Kid?" "Don't be corny, Bowers." "Papers say you carry a .45." " They say a lot of things." " Yeah, I know." "Using this would be a bad idea." "These things make a lot of noise." "What are your plans, Bowers?" "I'll tell you what your plans are." "You're leaving town tonight." "Nothing against you, you understand?" "We don't want a lot of trigger-happy hillbillies around here." "This is a nice cool town." "Business is good." "We don't want it heated up." "You're hot." "I'd say you got about an hour, maybe less, to get out of town." "Here." " Keechie." " What is it?" "A detour." "I don't know." "Might be a road block." " Better not take a chance." " All right." " You all right?" " I'll be all right in a minute." "Hello, Mattie." "How'd you get here?" "T-Dub told me about you having this place." "Keechie's sick." "I'm sorry about your man not getting out." "If you're looking to stay here, I got no room." "Your sign says vacancy." "We gotta stay." "I got no room." " She's sick bad." "If it's money you want" " I don't want your money." "I want you to get off this place and leave me alone." "I don't like you, I don't like her, and I don't like the both of you together." "You listen to me." "You're a thief just like me." "And you ain't gonna go yellow on us." "Keechie's gonna stay here." "And if you or anybody else don't like it, it's just too bad." "All right." "The one at the end on the left." " Is it open?" " Yeah." "Honey." " Where's there a doctor?" " Back down the road, about half a mile." " Will you get him for us?" " Go get him yourself." "In the best interests of the people of this state, it is hereby agreed that Robert Mansfield, husband of the informant, shall be released at the earliest possible opportunity." " It is further" " Wait a minute." "That could mean next to never." "I wrote it just how we said it." ""The order for Robert Mansfield parole will be given as soon as information required for the apprehension of Bowie Bowers is proven true and results in his capture or death."" " You've got that, Floyd?" " Yes, sir." "They're in Cabin 8." " I'll show you when you get there." " Warden." " Yes, sir?" " You'll release Mansfield" " upon receipt of word from me." " Yes, sir." "Let's go." "Other people have done what you're doing, and then they're sorry afterwards." "You needn't be." "Sooner or later, Bowers'll be committing other robberies, killing maybe." "He'd have to." "It's the only way he can live." "Perhaps that's our fault." "Probably is." "But it's too late." "He hasn't got a chance." "You've saved a lot of people a lot of grief." "I don't think that's gonna help me sleep nights." "Here, wet your lips with this." "I want you to remember one thing." "Don't talk like that, honey." "Doctor said you'd be okay." "Doctor's afraid for me, I can tell." "Let that medicine put you to sleep and ride with it, don't fight it." "Do you know some people don't have anybody... of their own?" "We're lucky." "Honey, try and get some sleep." "And I'll always be around, no matter what happens." "I'll always be your little old girl." "Bowie, what would you like our baby to be when he grows up?" "Just your son, that's all." "Just want him to be your son." "Don't go." "What made you think I was going?" "I like us together." "I like us so much." "I'm gonna get us out of here, honey." "It's gotta be Mexico." "There ain't but one person in this world that can get us down there, just one." "Fellow who married us." "He can fix anything if there's money in it for him." "Oh, but say it worked, honey." "Say I went over there to that man now." "I'd be back before you woke up." "And then I'd like to see anybody try and stop us." "Two days from now, we'd be down there in Mexico." "For good." "And nobody can touch us." "Being a father makes a man responsible." "You know that, Keechie?" "Say it didn't work... say something happened to me... they can't pin a thing in this world on you." "The only wrong you ever did was to marry me." "Say it didn't work, the only one to get rolled over is me." "That's all right now." "You got somebody else to think about now." "Everybody's got to make a living." "Vultures... that's all we are, son." "I can't do it." "You said you had a lot of friends down in Mexico." " Many good friends." " You said you could help us get across." "Did I?" "Son, I'd sure like that money." "I'm old and money's a real comfort to an old man." "And maybe I did help you before." "But not now." "I believe in helping people get what they want as long as they can pay." "I marry people because there's a little hope that they'll be happy." "But I can't take this money of yours." "No, sir." "In a way, I'm a thief just the same as you are." "But I won't sell you hope when there ain't any." " No chance?" " None at all." "No place for her and me?" "I don't know of any, son." "Hello." "Hello." " We wanna marry." " We'd like to marry." "Well, sir, you've come to the right place." "I have a $30 wedding which gives a complete recording of the ceremony on record." " Then I have a $20 wedding" " We'll take that." "First, sign the register." "Tillie, Herman." "How's Keechie?" "She's still asleep." "That's good." "I'm sorry I got a little rough before, Mattie." "Yeah." "I just figured people like us ought to help each other." "I want you to do one more thing." "I'm not gonna see her again." "Got no chance together, not a single one." "I'm just a black sheep, and there's no getting around it." "Without me, she'll make out fine." "She's got money in the cabin, and here's some more." "You take it, Mattie." "You make sure the doctor keeps coming to see her." "I'll write to you." "I'll let you know when and where she can come to me." "Ain't you gonna see her just once more?" "No, I'd have to tell her." "It's safer this way." "She's asleep." "You ought to see her again." "You won't wake her." "She'll be glad to know you came back and saw her just one last time." " I don't know, I" " It's only a thing women would know about." "Maybe if I don't wake her." "Maybe you're right." "Of course I'm right." "You got a piece of paper, Mattie?" "There's something I never told her." "That's fine." "She'll like that." "Thanks, Mattie." "Freeze, Bowers!" ""Little old girl..." "I'm gonna miss you... but I gotta do it this way." "I'll send for both of you when I can." "No matter how long it takes." "I've gotta see that kid." "He's lucky." "He'll have you to keep him... squared around." "I love you." "Bowie."" "Bowie."