"You want your woman back." "All right, there's only one way you can get her." "Fight for her." "Just the two of us." "I'll leave the choice of weapons to you." "Hey boy." "Why are you standing there?" "Don't tell me you haven't read the telegram." "I read." "I want to see your face." "Oh?" "Being married the 26th." "Please come to give away the bride, b.G. Ranch." "Ask anyone in texas." "Diana coulter." "Plenty big shock, I bet you." "Haven't you anything else to do?" "You know, you jealous like anything, huh?" "Such nice english lady." "Maybe she get tired of waiting around for you." "Sure enough." "You go texas?" "To give bride away?" "Well hey boy, isn't that what I usually do with brides?" "Give them away." "Now then..." "This the way to b.G.'s place?" "Never heard of him." "You better get yourself better oriented, mister." "You're on his land." "You asking directions, fella or giving 'em?" "That depends on which one of us is more lost." "You better head along with us." "We're sorta headed in that direction." "You uh..." "Wedding guests?" "You um..." "You might say that." "Who are you?" "I'm another guest." "You wouldn't by chance be the one that's come" "To give the blushing bride in holy matrimony?" "Well, well." "And who may I ask are you?" "I'm general grafton." "Most people call me b.G." "I'm the groom." "Mount up!" "You like it?" "Well, I suppose you have to live somewhere." "Finest building in all texas." "I'll accept nothing but the finest." "Oh, I'm sure your bride appreciates that." "Hmmm?" "The fact that you are willing to accept her." "San francisco's a long way to come just to..." "Stand up for the bride." "Now you seem to be remarkably well-acquainted" "With miss coulter's private correspondence." "You haven't answered the gentleman's remark." "Some remarks there's only one way to answer," "And it's a way I try to avoid." "You can't deny it's a long way to come" "For a little thing like that." "I doubt that the bride feels it's a little thing." "You don't mind my being personal," "Seeing as how you seem to know my betrothed" "Better than I do myself." "What do you want to know?" "Your business." "That is when you're not busy giving away brides." "This card mean what it implies?" "I think so." "You be on your Sunday behavior." "We want this gentleman to feel like he's on vacation." "Welcome to b.G.'s." "Thank you very much, I already feel welcome." "Maria, show the man his room." "He don't look much like the giving type to me." "Think my old bride's playing me for a fool?" "I always said so, didn't I?" "You being honest with me, boy?" "Or are you hankering to get her for yourself?" "Could be both." "Why don't you let me take her off your hands?" "I wonder if you could tell me where miss coulter is?" "She's the lady who's going to marry general grafton." "All right, come on out of there." "Come on!" "Well..." "Anna." "Congratulations." "You're angry with me, aren't you?" "Why should I be?" "You don't owe me anything." "Is that all I meant to you?" "Let's keep it in the present tense, shall we?" "The only reason I'm here is to give the bride away." "How cold and virtuous you make that sound." "How do you think I felt left alone in san francisco?" "While you were off slaying dragons," "And liberating enchanted castles." "Or saving new damsels in distress." "All for a suitable fee, of course!" "You are not telling me what happened." "No." "I'm not." "There was an advertisement in the san francisco paper." "For an english tutor." "It was a most generous salary," "But I didn't realize my pupil was b.G. Himself." "B.G.?" "What was he going to study?" "He wanted to learn to be a gentleman." "An aristocrat." "Now that's rather a large order, isn't it?" "And you, like pygmalion," "Fell in love with your subject." "Oh, don't be ridiculous!" "Why do you think I sent you that telegram?" "How else could I summon your help?" "Help?" "Yes, help." "B.G. Is a childlike, generous man." "But there's another side to him." "I have no intention of marrying him." "Diana..." "Are you being kept here against your will?" "It's 30 miles to the nearest town." "It's more than anyone's life's worth to lend me a horse." "Oh." "When's the wedding?" "Noon tomorrow at the church in town." "Paladin..." "If you turn your back on me now, I understand." "I have no right to ask you to risk your life." "Are you willing to risk yours?" "With you?" "Oh, yes." "Where can I meet you later?" "Wouldn't it be safer not to?" "Somewhere between here and the church tomorrow," "You and I have to get away." "I'll take a look at the road tonight," "Then I'll let you know what we have to do." "I'll meet you here at midnight." "Diana not feeling well?" "Diana?" "Miss coulter, the bride?" "No, she's not feeling well." "And we refer to her as lady coulter." "I beg your pardon, sir." "I didn't realize you were" "So title-conscious in this part of the world." "She's a lady." "A real one." "Not like the trash you pick up in these parts." "And you'll settle for nothing but the best." "Paladin, I'm a king in these parts." "Someday all of this country will belong to a son of mine." "Now I've seen the sons of other rich men." "Flabby, slack-jawed..." "Bloodless jellyfish." "Because their fathers used less sense in their own mating," "Than they would in breeding a herd of steer." "Well, the b.G. Brand" "Is gonna be the finest breed in this state." "Whether in my cattle," "Or my sons." "Uh..." "What does miss, uh..." "Lady coulter think about your flattering intentions?" "You show me the woman who turns down the chance" "To marry a real man." "To say nothing of all this." "Then she didn't say no?" "She did not." "Did she say yes?" "Mister, you ask a lot of personal questions." "For a man who's in this house," "Purely on my sufferance." "I beg your pardon again, sir." "I trust you'll have no objection" "To my having a few words with lady coulter?" "After supper this evening?" "If she wants to talk to you, she'll send for you." "I thought you wasn't feeling well." "Were not feeling well." "The verb always agrees with the subject." "Good evening, mr." "Paladin." "How very kind of you to come all this way." "I'm afraid you'll find our poor festivities" "Rather uninteresting." "Poor!" "Ain't nothing poor about the way b.G. Takes a wife." "I beg your pardon, dear." "How lovely to see you again." "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and rest." "A queen among women." "She just has to be taught her place." "Diana, you sure you understand what you have to do?" "Yes, I think so." "Now you make a mistake," "You move too soon or too late," "You and I will both end up with bullets in our backs." "Paladin..." "Go on." "that's twice tonight." "She was waiting for him in his room again." "They were together quite awhile." "I couldn't hear what they were saying." "I reckon they weren't saying much though." "I'm only telling you how it seemed to me." "I never should have let her send that telegram." "I thought he was some old friend of the family," "The way she described him." "I wouldn't say they behaved like..." "Enemies, exactly." "Sew it up good." "It's a long ways to church." "You mean..." "You still want to marry her?" "You see that?" "Honi-soit-qui-mal-y-pense." "My great granddaddy was given this sword" "By the duke of wellington." "The iron duke." "For bravery in the field." "You know what it means?" ""evil to him who evil thinks."" "And thems the words you live by." "I'm founding a dynasty here." "My great-great-grandchildren will know these words" "Before they're able to stand up." "That's why I have to marry a lady." "Now shine it up good." "I'm going to wear it to the ceremony." "And tomorrow morning," "I want those men in their Sunday best." "Because they're going to be escorting a lady." "A lady, do you hear!" "You all right?" "No last minute regrets?" "No, no you wouldn't have." "You're getting a good man." "Not many women can say as much." "You want to sit here, b.G.?" "No." "No, thank you." "Tell the men to mount up." "¶ oh mother, mother ¶" "¶ make my bed ¶" "¶ and make it long and narrow ¶" "¶ sweet william died ¶" "Hold your fire!" "You might hit the girl." "Well, it's a stalemate." "As long as I can keep them pinned down." "They can't get up here, we can't get down." "It'll be a long afternoon for b.G. And for us." "I could spin him around." "Have them rush him from all sides at once." "These boys are my wedding guests." "I invited them here to rejoice," "Not to get their fool heads shot off." "They're gonna start thinking she didn't want you." "They'll be saying b.G.'s getting old." "Can't make a woman happy anymore." "I feel rather sorry for b.G." "Oh?" "It's the first time anyone's made him look foolish." "Man who needs 20 guns to get his bride to the altar," "I'd call that a lot worse than foolish." "He's not a bad man, really." "If it weren't for that monstrous" "Vanity and ambition." ""pride goeth before destruction," ""and a haughty spirit before a fall."" "And those are the qualities I'm counting on" "To get us out of here." "Alive." "Tell the boys to keep them pinned down." "Don't let them get too cozy." "Well, we can only hope b.G. Lives up to our expectations." "Paladin, if we do get out of here," "What then?" "You asking for a prediction or a promise?" "You won't change your ways for anyone, will you?" "If I could..." "You'd be all the reason I'd ever need." "What now?" "Boys are getting a bit restless." "Are we staying here all day?" "All day tomorrow, all night?" "We'll stay here as long as it takes." "She must be suffering something terrible." "Don't he care?" "Why should he?" "If you don't." "Oh, I ain't blaming you." "I reckon you seen by now that woman ain't fittin'" "To be the wife of a..." "Man like you." "She's a lady!" "Oh, I admit she's..." "She's hurt me deeply." "But I forgive her." "If I can just make him pay for this." "Wonder what they're saying to each other right now." "You reckon she's kissing him?" "Shut your mouth!" "Here's b.G. Coming up the hill by himself." "You're not going to kill him?" "What if I have no other choice?" "What if I have to shoot him or let you marry him?" "Are you asking me to decide?" "No, if I'm forced to kill a man," "I make the decision myself." "B.G.!" "Yeah?" "Take another step and I'll stop missing." "You want your woman back?" "What do you think I came up here for?" "You willing to fight me for her?" "I wouldn't have it no other way." "All right." "What does she say about that?" "She'll go with the winner." "I've been waiting for this." "He's willing to fight for you alone." "Tell your men to hold their fire." "I'm coming down." "Men." "Put away your guns." "I'll handle this myself." "Name your weapons." "What about sabers?" "That be all right with you?" "That's fine with me." "Wait here 'til one of us comes back for you." "You think she'll keep her end of the bargain?" "Pete..." "Get me the saber off her horse." "Take her and get out of my sight." "Mount up." "Diana, will you do me one favor?" "Before you accept any more tutoring jobs," "No matter how generous the fee, consult me first." "That seems a fair request." "And I accept on one condition." "That you make yourself available," "For consultation." "¶ have gun, will travel reads the card of a man ¶" "¶ a knight without armor in a savage land ¶" "¶ his fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind ¶" "¶ a soldier of fortune is the man called ¶" "¶ paladin ¶" "¶ paladin, paladin where do you roam?" "¶"