"You can't duck behind that girl, poke." "She's too small to hide all of you." "Step out in the open before I start carving pieces off you." "Where were you last night?" "Uncle ned arrived yesterday." "Uncle ned?" "I thought he wasn't due 'til next week." "The rumors about us reached him." "Since he's my guardian, he felt it was important" "To get here and have a talk with you." "Are the rumors exaggerated?" "He insists upon killing you." "I really can't allow that." "I should be devastated if he did." "Even in self-defense I wouldn't like to kill uncle ned." "Uncle ned's business won't allow him to stay long." "If you give him a few days, I'm sure I can convince him" "That ours is the most platonic of friendships," "But it would be best if he couldn't find you 'til then." "Are you suggesting I leave the city?" "For your health." "Oh!" "Hope there's nothing breakable in there." "Sorry." "Just got word there's a big storm ahead." "We're gonna lay over here 24 hours." "Mennonites." "I've never seen them as far west." "Mennonites?" "Is that what you call them?" "They've been here about a year." "Don't seem to make many friends." "You know how some people are about foreigners." "They are originally from the crimea." "Crimea?" "Oh, yeah..." "Yeah." "I'll put your bags in the hotel there." "In case you want to eat, the saloon ain't too bad." "Thanks." "Crimea..." "Hmm." "ain't worth any more... ] you're gonna buy this wheat even if it has got blight." "You'll sell it as mash for stock." "Quit playing games, culligan, and give us a price." "Ten cents a bushel." "We want to sell it!" "We didn't come here to have our crops stolen." "If you want to eat blighted wheat, go to it." "Welcome to north fork, mister!" "Why don't you sit down?" "The waitress will be here in a minute." "Thank you." "We'll take it." "Bruckner!" "So long as I own this store, we won't sell you a thing." "We work hard." "We mind our own business." "What do you want, mr." "Culligan?" "I want you to get out." "You don't care anything about this town or the people in it." "When the indians rode through last week," "Where were the mennonites?" "Our religion forbids us to raise our hand against any man." "You can take your religion somewhere else." "I've offered you a fair price for your farm" "But you insist on staying where you're not wanted." "Cause trouble everywhere you go." "Mennonites." "That, sir, is either an error or a lie." "What's that, mister?" "In pennsylvania the mennonites are model citizens" "And exemplary neighbors." "They've been there since before the revolution." "This ain't pennsylvania." "You get your people out of here." "I won't do business with you." "Am I wrong?" "Tell me if I'm wrong." "You're wrong, culligan." "They ain't bothering' nobody as far as I can see." "You can't see nothin'" "Beyond your ten-cents-a-bushel wheat crop." "And you won't even see that if you keep on talking." "And don't you try buying supplies for them" "Or you'll find yourself walking 85 miles to the next store" "Whenever you need anything." "Now you trail your herd out of this store." "You're too easy on 'em." "If it was up to me," "I'd ride them out of the territory." "Why, they're some kind of animals." "Look at the way they stole that old man's daughter." "I chose to live with them." "They're decent people." "My father's a weak-spined, liquor..." "How dare you backturn your own father that way?" "Let me show you how to teach her manners." "Don't tell me you're gonna fight." "I don't fight." "What about it, you hymn-singin' rabbit?" "Are you gonna fight or hide being your religion?" "Are you gonna turn the other cheek?" "Stop it!" "I'd expect anything from you, jud." "You beast!" "But the rest of you, you're just standing there" "While he beats a man who's pledged not to fight back." "Well..." "When did you get to be the self-righteous little thing?" "It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago" "Everyone thought of you as the town "bad girl"." "leave her alone." "What did you say, mister?" "I said to leave the girl alone." "] there'll be no shooting in here." "You know my rules." "We could step outside." "No?" "] well..." "Some other time, maybe." "I'll be in the hotel." "They won't have a room for you." "I own the hotel, too." "I see." "The good book says that he who is not with me is against me." "We would be honored if you'd stay with us." "The storm up ahead could last for days." "I'm very grateful for your kind offer." "Tildy, it's been a long time since I dined that well." "Baba baked this especially for you." "She's 87 years old and she still does all the work around here." "She's remarkable." "Mr. Paladin..." "What's gonna come of these people?" "That's hard to say." "They're not easy to defeat." "They have courage." "I feel awful guilty." "A lot of this is my fault." "Jud..." "He..." "Likes me." "He wants me." "He hates these people for taking me in." "My father, he hasn't drawn a sober breath since my mother died." "I didn't want to leave him." "Two weeks ago he sold me to jud polk for $50." "Tildy, he sold you?" "That's right." "He was drunk, but he sold me." "That night jud came around to collect his property..." "And you know what?" "Everybody in this town was so scared of him" "That nobody would take me in except these people." "Mr. Paladin!" "Tildy, take care of baba." "Fire!" "Jar inspector!" "Fire!" "I'll get the horses." "Move, ronny!" "Gotta treat this fire!" "Hiya!" "It's too bad we lost the barn," "But it's a good thing we saved the house." "I'm afraid your night with us was not very comfortable, mr." "Paladin." "Mr. Bruckner, I never remember a warmer reception." ""and the angel of the lord appeared to them in a flame of fire."" "This was a sign, mr." "Paladin." "We have decided to sell the farm," "I think we must move to canada." "Mr. Bruckner, is this your coal oil can?" "No." "It's not ours." "It was lying beside the fence." "I don't believe your fire was started by any messenger of the lord." "Rather one from an opposite direction." "Whoever it was, the lord guided their actions" "As he does those of all men." "How bad is the damage?" "All the corn in the hay fields." "Only baba's garden still stands." "Baba's garden?" "Five acres of wheat." "She planted it herself" "With seed from the old country." "She uses the wheat for baking bread." "Blight infested like the rest of the wheat around here." "No." "No blight." "That's baba's wheat in that barrel." "No blight at all." "None at all?" "No." "Have you ever been bothered by blight?" "What about iowa?" "We planted a full crop there." "All healthy?" "Now we'll have to go in and see mr." "Culligan." "He's wanted to buy our land for a long time." "He's going to pay us five dollars an acre." "tildy!" "Baba!" "Mr. Bruckner..." "Will you do me a great favor, sir?" "Of course." "Anything." "Will you permit me to do your dealing with culligan?" "There's going to be trouble." "You've had enough already" "Trouble is my profession." "You're on." "Get mr." "Paladin a horse." "You must promise there will be no violence." "That might be hard to keep." "Follow in the buckboard and bring some of baba's wheat." "You must promise." "Or else the sin will be on our heads." "You might be hurt." "I can only promise you this, mr." "Bruckner:" "If there is any violence, it will not be of my making." "Hey, mister." "I want to talk to you." "You remember me," "I'm marty buchanan, tildy's father." "I want to talk to you about my daughter." "You sold your right to call her your daughter." "I love her." "Psst." "What may I do for you, sir?" "Culligan, where is he?" "He's in his office, sir." "Uh-uh..." "He's not in a very good mood." "I don't intend to improve it any." "People usually knock when they come calling." "Somebody called on bruckner last night." "They didn't bother to knock." "I heard about that." "Stupid, senseless waste of property." "Certainly you don't think that I..." "We could talk a lot better if you take that hand out of the drawer." "You'd never live to draw the gun, believe me." "That's better." "The mennonites have decided to sell." "Bruckner tells me you offered him five dollars an acre." "Five dollars an acre for top improved land." "Farms are going begging here." "Hardly one of them hasn't been destroyed by wheat blight." "Mennonites didn't raise wheat." "Corn was their money crop." "Yes, but the corn's been destroyed by the fire." "I'm in no hurry to make this deal." "If it were my farm, you couldn't live long enough to buy it at any price." "But it isn't." "I recommend that they take the five dollars." "They'll be in town to sign the papers later." "Just a moment..." "When I offered five dollars," "That included all the standing crops." "With the corn gone, I'll pay $3." "Not a cent more." "You're a disgrace to the human soul." "You stir up prejudice and make a mockery" "Of everything a decent man holds valuable." "You're a vulture that can't wait to prey on the dead" "You prey on the living!" "I'll tell you something, culligan." "There are a lot of people here ripe to tear you down." "All they need is a good excuse" "And I'm gonna give them that excuse." "You can talk all you want." "People here will stick with me." "I happened to build this town right from the start." "Do you think they're gonna listen to a stranger?" "An itinerant gunslinger?" "I promised a man that I would not commit violence." "I've never found it harder to keep my word." "get it!" "Yes, mr." "Culligan?" "Find jud polk." "I want him." "Yes, sir." "You caused me a lot of needless trouble, jud." "If you'd kept your hands off johann," "Paladin would be leaving on the afternoon stage." "And last night you burned 200 acres of corn." "Paladin thinks you did it and so do I." "The crop was practically mine." "I thought that you would..." "You thought, you thought." "Your thinking has destroyed a good money crop." "You burned something valuable and that is sinful." "Culligan, in the past you had me shot a couple people." "And that ain't sinful?" "You've caused me the kind of trouble I don't like." "The kind that's measured in dollars and cents." "I want you to get out of north fork." "Get out?" "Where would I go?" "What would I do?" "That's no affair of mine." "You make it your affair." "I'm not going anyplace alone." "And with empty pockets!" "I'll give you a few dollars." "You'll give me $500 or..." "I stay." "And I want the buchanan girl, too." "I'm not going anyplace without her." "The money we can talk about," "But I can't give you the girl." "Paladin won't let you take her away..." "Away from the mennonites." "That's the way it's gonna have to be." "All right, that's the way it'll be." "Paladin's the only thing that stands in our way." "Why don't you do something about him?" "$500 and the girl." "Paladin's the only thing in our way." "I'll take him." "You get that money ready." "I'll be back for it." "Jud..." "I'll throw another $100 into the deal." "Buy yourself another man with a gun." "See if gus is hanging around the bar out there." "Don't try to do it by yourself." "Jud polk just left culligan's bar." "He's hired another gunfighter." "He says you'll never leave town alive." "How does that concern you?" "Because you're tildy's last hope." "The mennonites won't fight for her." "And I can't." "Please believe me." "You wanna help?" "Tell me what I can do." "Any farmers in town?" "A few." "I saw ferris and billy down at the stables." "There are a few more around." "Find them." "Ask them to come here." "All right." "You look out." "Jud and gus are in town." "I'll look out." "Haa." "I talked to culligan." "I told the farmers." "They'll be here." "Good." "Culligan's trying to steal your place for $3 an acre." "Don't worry, he won't get it for that price," "And he may not get it at all." "May not get it at all?" "I don't understand." "You will." "Later." "Right now I've got some other business." "Buchanan here tells me I may get a bullet in the back." "Our friend polk." "I wouldn't believe anything he said on a stack of bibles." "] tildy, honey." "I know I never did anything to show it," "But I do love you." "You're all that's left." "I wouldn't do you no harm." "After what you did to me?" "I was out of my head." "I wanted to kill myself for what I did." "When you ran away and these good people took you in," "I was glad." "Is that why you tried to drive these good people out of town?" "Of course it was!" "Tildy's only chance was to get away." "Away from north fork and me." "And I hoped that when the mennonites left," "That she'd go with them." "I don't care whether you believe me or not," "Just help her get away!" "We'll have to take cover behind the wagon." "Jud!" "Don't shoot at mr." "Paladin!" "Don't shoot!" "Turn her loose, polk." "Now, you back off!" "Freeze, tildy." "Freeze!" "She's too small to hide all of you." "Now turn her loose before I start carving pieces off you!" "No!" "No more." "Don't kill me." "She ain't worth the killin'." "johann!" "This one's mine." "And if this is a sin," "I'm going to enjoy it more than any other I ever committed." "Culligan." "Ferris." "Mr. Bruckner." "All the rest of you!" "I never saw a sorrier collection of people" "Trying to call themselves a town." "You're not a town, you're a mob." "You always will be a mob until you start thinking for yourselves." "'til you stop being ashamed of trying to act decently." "Tom ferris, I understand you're the biggest wheat farmer around here." "I..." "Suppose you might say that." "How'd you make out with the blight this year?" "Lost most of my crop." "Had to sell it for fodder." "And the rest of these people, how did they make out?" "Most of them lost everything." "So I've heard." "Now these mennonites that you're so anxious" "To drive out of your community..." "They are using a wheat seed that resists blight." "I've never heard of blight-resistant wheat." "There's almost five acres of it on mr." "Bruckner's land." "It is practically ready for harvest." "I believe in iowa you raised considerably more" "And it too resisted the blight." "Our labors were blessed by god." "I'm sure they were." "In addition, you used a seed from the crimea" "Where the blight is unknown." "Never heard the like of it." "All the way from the crimea!" "What good does that do us, mister?" "How are we gonna get any of it?" "Ask culligan." "He's planning to own the mennonite farm." "Culligan, how much are you gonna charge?" "You'll have almost five acres of this wheat." "I'd give it to them for a fair price." "You'll be sure of that, mister." "Yeah!" "Mr. Bruckner..." "How much would you charge your neighbors for the wheat?" "Mr. Paladin, we came here to north fork hoping to make it our new home." "We want to be good neighbors..." "And good neighbors never try to make money from a misfortune like this." "We have plenty of seed." "Enough to give some to everybody" "So they can develop seed of their own." "Anybody who takes that offer better find a new place to buy his supplies." "Remember, I'm the only one who'll give you your stuff on credit." "We'll take our chances, culligan." "We'll travel the 85 miles to get our supplies." "And we'll get credit there, too." "But you're through in this town!" "Here, culligan." "You might need this where you're going." "If you feel any gratitude, how about showing it?" "There was a fire at bruckner's last night." "Who's for a barn-raising?" "Thank you." "Mr. Bruckner." "Johann, you nearly committed a sin this morning," "I think I ought to be allowed one little one." "Since I'll soon be a mennonite woman," "I shouldn't kiss anybody," "But I have fianceed for my husband." "Thank you, mr.Paladin." "Thank you, tildy." "Baba, thank you very much."