"The greatest calamities in history were made by words said in anger." "If you can't back it up, don't speak in anger." "Your gunmen are here." "Good, bring 'em in." "You still have a minute to change all this." "One minute." "My mind's made up." "What right do you have to make up your mind about life and death?" "The years I've spent in this town, and the sweat." "So you hire a filthy gunman to save the fruits of your life." "I don't care what he is, so long as he does the job." "If this gunman won't help, there are others on the way." "They're not hard to find." "I never thought I'd say I'm ashamed of my own father." "Well, hello." "Nicest scenery since I got here." "I want to talk to ritchie." "He's in there." "Thank you." "Oh, thank you." "It's entirely my pleasure." "A pretty girl completes a beautiful morning." "You sound as though you've said that before." "I have, and I'm just as sure you've heard it before." "May I help you?" "I believe mr." "Ritchie's expecting me." "My name's paladin." "Oh." "Same breed, different feathers." "There's another man with a gun to see you." "Oh?" "It wouldn't be fair if I didn't talk to him, marsh." "He's come a long way." "That's alright, mr." "Ritchie, I understand." "Me and my boys would like to do the job." "The man needs calming down, we'll calm him." "That's exactly the situation I don't want." "You'll step outside a minute, I'll get rid of him." "See you later." "That's enough of that, marsh." "What's a'matter?" "Your turn, mr." "Paladin." "Thank you." "Mr. Ritchie." "Yup." "My name's paladin." "Sit down." "Was that joe marsh who just left here?" "That's who it was, you know him?" "Not very well, but as well as I'd care to." "Is your town doing business with him?" "We'll do business with the devil if we need him." "You were just interviewing one of his assistants." "Maybe I should be pleased about that." "You read what's been going on here?" "A fight over the water in this area." "Central city wants the water for themselves." "They don't care what happens to our town." "Hear that?" "Dynamiting to build a dam." "And look there." "Every spring, the snows melt in those mountains," "Fill the lake, run over into the streams," "And irrigate our lands." "We live by that water." "Without it, we're done." "The newspaper interview quoted you quite fully." "Building a dam across our lake, aqueducts to their cities," "Stealing our water." "Let's say with their political power and influence they're usurping your water," "Sounds like you have reason to be angry." "You know about the situation?" "It's an unfortunately common condition in the west." "Tell the truth, I'd just about decided on joe marsh." "Oh, you want some killing done?" "No, no, absolutely not." "All I want is to stop the construction of that dam." "I want to make it so hot for mike o'hare," "He'll take his men back to central city." "Who?" "An engineer, very tough man." "If so, you won't beat him by scaring off some construction hands." "Maybe not." "But we'll make the cost of the project so high, the city'll give it up." "If you hire joe marsh, it'll be by the gun." "He doesn't think another way." "Do you?" "Mr. Ritchie, I never use this gun unless I have to." "That's why you'll find my fee somewhat high." "How would you do it?" "Shall we say $1,000?" "How would you do it?" "Well, I haven't the faintest idea Yet." "You understand, if it doesn't work out the way you say," "I'll expect you to use your gun." "In two weeks, central city should be looking for a new source of water." "I don't know." "Worried about joe marsh?" "Suppose you let me do the explaining?" "Yeah." "Yeah, why don't you settle it between you?" "Mm-hmm." "Mr. Ritchie, uh..." "When are me and my boys gonna work for you, huh?" "Marsh, you're gonna be terribly angry with me." "Really?" "Yes, really." "It seems I convinced mr." "Ritchie that I'm the man for the job." "You?" "That's right." "You better change your mind, mister, and fast." "Think you can make us ride out here and say, "nothin' doin'," like that?" "He's right, mr." "Ritchie." "You should pay these men for their trouble. $50 is fair." "$50?" "!" "For the lot." "There you are." "You don't mind if we hang around awhile," "Just in case the job turns up again?" "Boys, let's get a drink." "O'hare." "Well, he's not afraid to ride alone." "He's carrying a gun, though." "I told him if he or his men set foot in this town, there could be some shooting." "What a bloodthirsty idea." "Here, hold this." "Never make a threat you don't mean to carry out, ritchie." "Embarrassment could be the least result." "It was just said in anger." "The greatest calamities in history" "Were the result of words just said in anger." "I'm here for the mail, miss mae ritchie." "I'll get it for you." "Ritchie, my men want to come to town." "They want to buy things." "I'll sell 'em nothing." "If it wasn't for the post office, I wouldn't let you in the store." "Our needs are stronger than yours." "If you weren't such a stubborn fool, you'd know it." "From now on, things are gonna be different." "Reason won't make a dent on you," "Maybe something else will." "Oh, I see." "I warned you." "A gunfighter?" "I don't care for that term." "Well, what do you know?" "A sensitive gunfighter." "Well, take advice, if you will." "If you want your thin skin unbroken," "Keep away from my construction areas." "Now, you wouldn't shoot a man without due cause, would you?" "Don't give me cause, that's all." "Thank you, miss." "You're welcome." "Ritchie, if just one of my men get hurt," "You better run for the hills." "Well, don't look at me, miss ritchie, I just arrived." "It was a beautiful morning, mr." "Paladin," "Until you put clouds in it." "I'm not asking for your approval, gentlemen." "I wanted you to meet paladin and know what he's doing here." "You pull this off without killing," "The rest of us will double what ritchie's paying you." "Now, don't cinch him in too tight, ed." "He's a gunfighter." "What's he gonna use in case of trouble?" "Brains, mr." "Gardner." "That can have kind of temporary effects." "But it does leave people alive and that's an advantage when the dust settles." "Pass the word to keep cattle and sheep out of the south wash." "Paladin's gonna blow one of the dams and flood o'hare out." "Just a minute, ritchie, I said I'd look into it." "How do you expect to get direct results without direct action?" "You hired me to do a job, now leave me alone to do it." "When you gonna start?" "When I'm ready." "Gentlemen." "Anything?" "Nothing but rain." "Let's hold it down tight." "Any water touches that cement and o'hare'll go up like a rocket." "Ritchie, you're gonna pay for the destruction of my supplies." "Supplies?" "Destruction?" "Complaint department's over there." "You're my kind of fella, no question." "Maybe I'll hire some gunslingers" "To put you against your own kind." "That ought to be interesting." "Oh?" "Do you have to hire from the outside?" "I was told you and your construction gangs were very tough men." "I'm an engineer." "I spent most of my life building," "Not destroying." "The likes of you have been around since the beginning of time." "You haven't changed the world any." "And in regards to being tough," "Let me try and see if that's true." "I'd rather not." "There are a number of years between us." "What's a'matter?" "Can't you fight without a gun?" "I don't understand." "Don't you, pop?" "It's simple." "There's a man in town." "I don't understand it." "He had o'hare cold, right in front of him." "He could've settled the whole mess right there, without gunplay." "Why didn't he?" "Did you expect him to beat up an old man?" "What's happening to you?" "o'hare!" "Paladin." "I want to talk to you." "All right, come on in." "That coffee smelled so good last night" "I thought it might be worth a taste." "Give him a cup of coffee." "If you come here to start a ruckus, mister," "I just want to say that handling these things is not my business." "But at this distance," "I couldn't miss." "This distance, you're too close." "Come over to my tent." "What do you want?" "A little civility might be a good start." "I'm your guest." "Why didn't you take a slug at me this morning?" "I was outclassed." "Oh, that's a lot of hogwash." "You could've mopped the streets with me." "Why didn't you?" "I've always liked men who build." "One of my great idols was the emperor hadrian." "Hadrian?" "What do you know about hadrian?" "Well, he was an emperor, great builder." "Is that what you think you are, mr." "O'hare?" "You seem to be making the demands of an emperor." "What else could I do for those stiff-necked jug heads of ashley?" "I offered them twice the value for their soil." "I even convinced legislation to set aside fertile lands upstate," "To be given to them as extra compensation." "He said, "unfair."" "Do the people of ashley know this?" "Of course they do." "They were notified for two months." "Notified how?" "By letter from the state capital." "Mr. Ritchie has one himself." "Do you have a copy?" "No, I haven't, but I can get one from central city." "How long will that take?" "Oh, about two days." "Maybe sooner." "I'll get one and I'll bring it to you." "I'm a builder." "I want to make this beautiful place, well, a new athens." "A rome." "But the first necessity is water." "You're back early tonight." "I thought we might have a little chat, mr." "Ritchie." "What's on your mind?" "A letter, the contents of which you seem to have kept to yourself." "Letter?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "How many other people in ashley know the terms" "For surrender of the town's water rights?" "That's no concern of yours." "You're hired to do a job, do it." "O'hare's given me his version of what goes on, now I'd like yours." "You're being paid for only one version." "Mine." "I built this town." "I watched it grow for twenty-five years," "And it's gonna grow even more." "Every year, more farmers and ranchers come out here to settle." "Why wouldn't they be willing to settle on the new town site?" "The new town site?" "No, sir." "Not after the years of sweat and labor that went into making this valley." "Nobody's gonna take it away from me." "Nobody's gonna push me out and tell me where to go." "What I did when I was young, I can't do again." "I won't even try." "I've got a plot of ground next to my wife's grave" "And I aim to be here in this town when my time comes." "That's a highly personal outlook." "What about the other people in this town?" "People here have always done what I asked them." "What did you do with the letter?" "I tore it up." "Ritchie, this is an old fight." "The rights of the many against the rights of the few." "And I don't agree you have the right, moral or legal," "To decide for your neighbors." "I'll see that you're paid for your expenses, paladin." "You're no longer needed here." "That's your privilege." "Goodnight, sir." "I wish you hadn't." "He'll turn to joe marsh now." "I'm afraid so." "Why don't you talk to joe marsh first?" "Get him to move on, leave town?" "Then you really don't mind a little shooting?" "That would have to follow." "Goodnight." "I've got ten square miles to cover." "I can't do it with my men." "You said so yourself." "I took you by surprise." "We know joe marsh is coming, it won't be that easy for him." "We practically have no ammunition." "That's telling you no secret." "How many rounds?" "Two or three to the rifle." "Unless you'd like to pick some out of that cement." "I'm afraid we haven't time." "Hey, what made you change sides?" "Education." "Didn't that same education warn you to get out" "When you know marsh and his gang will arrive?" "You know, I must've skipped that class." "Blast powder." "That's north, number three dam." "Get mounted, men!" "Cover me." "Every time a head shows, try and hit it." "Let's get him." "Alright, hold it." "Thought you'd left town?" "I did." "I helped mr." "O'hare." "He gave me a copy of a very interesting letter." "I'm just debating whether to post it on the town bulletin board" "Or let the people hear it from their leading citizen," "Who always has their best interest at heart." "I do." "I don't doubt it." "But I don't like to see one man control the lives of an entire community." "Well, mr." "Ritchie?" "You've run out of gunfighters, pop." "Oh, smile, mr." "Ritchie." "You and your town can have a prosperous year before we leave." "Me and my men need an abundance of supplies." "Also friends." "Mr. Paladin explained how you feel." "Be hard starting again." "New place at my age." "No, thanks." "Goodbye, marsh." "Ride far."