"Gentlemen, in the last few hours," "I've been abused, shot at, beaten, and had my horse stolen." "Now, I'd like a few answers," "If you don't mind." "hold it!" "Let's start with your name." "What you doing?" "My name is paladin." "I'm from san francisco and I'm just passing through." "Or maybe you're just calling on the girl?" "Juliet?" "Or you know where she is?" "We just finished burying her aunt and uncle." "Now we want her." "You two did that?" "Why sure." "They're harpers and we're pikes." "The colonel's coming back." "Maybe he found out something." "Who is he?" "A stranger." "Kinda ornery." "Well, just leave him be." "I found out where the gal went." "Nelson, you go get the man's horse." "On foot and without a gun," "He ain't gonna be no trouble to us." "Hyah!" "Pull 'em up!" "Now!" "Now, gentlemen, I usually begin more politely." "But in the last few hours, I've been beaten, abused," "Shot at, I've lost my horse and my gun," "And now I want some answers!" "Since when do butterfield stages run down fares?" "You saw my money." "We thought maybe you was one of jeremiah pike's kin." "Colonel pike?" "Confederate irregulars?" "The same." "Worse than quantrill." "Did you ever hear what he did to those maryland farm people?" "I heard." "Both sides, the north and the south, had a price on his head." "We're carrying something he wants, bad." "We figured you was one of his tricks." "I'll get a horse and a gun in the next town." "Settle my fare there." "Hyah." "I'm juliet harper." "Miss harper, I have no intention of harming you." "Why don't you put the knife away?" "I have some water and some linen here." "You look like you need it." "Ah, thank you." "Miss harper, there's an old rule and a very good one." "Young ladies should not stare at strangers." "Particularly very young ladies." "It causes misunderstandings." "I'm old enough to take care of myself, thank you." "I'm eighteen." "That means you're actually 17." "At your age, the female of the species adds one year." "I've heard your name, miss harper." "You were living with an aunt and an uncle." "And you're trying to find some way to tell me they're dead." "Well, you guessed right." "They're dead." "Oh, I'm an expert on that subject." "17." "I've seen more death than most women at 70." "You want to hear how my folks died?" "Just trying to get enough money to get us out of this place." "To let me and my brother see how decent people lived." "And have a decent education." "And a decent place to live." "Decent." "They don't even know what that word means at tonapaw county." "And they won't until every last pike and harper is dead and buried." "Now, does that sound like I'm 17?" "Do you have someplace to go?" "My brother got away first." "He's got some kind of ranch on sandwich islands." "Hawaii, I think they call it now." "And he sent for me." "I spent a year in hawaii once." "I think you'll like it there." "You mean if I get there." "Those are beautiful islands." "You know how they round up cattle there?" "They drive them into the surf." "They're sea-going cowboys." "Afterwards, there's music and dancing... get down." "Can't reach 'em." "They're staying out of shotgun range." "We'll still try to outrun 'em." "Listen, we're gonna have to jump," "Around the next turn." "I don't want you to break your ankles." "Let's take these shoes off." "Come on!" "You all right?" "Yes." "When they stop that stage, they'll know we jumped." "They won't kill the shotgun and the driver," "But they'll certainly come back for us." "Gotta move." "Now, we take a chance on the smoke." "And I'd better block the light out of these windows." "Let's see, we're about 14 miles north of the stage line now." "You have any idea whose place this might be?" "Good morning." "'morning." "There's some food on the table." "It's cold." "I couldn't risk a fire." "Oh, that looks good." "Aren't you hungry?" "I've already eaten." "How long are we gonna stay here?" "We can't risk traveling during the day." "We'll stay here today at least." "Oh, you sound cross." "Didn't you sleep well?" "No!" "The fact that there are men out there hunting us" "May have had something to do with that." "You wanna clean up, there's a bucket and water outside." "I'm pleased you've noticed I'm old enough to carry a bucket." "Miss harper." "Let's try and agree on one thing." "The fact that you and I are here alone together" "Does not make this a romantic interlude." "My primary interest is in staying alive." "You think you are so smart." "Just a minute." "What do you know about this place?" "Maybe if you'd start treating me like a woman..." "I have tried to make that point with you." "You aren't a woman." "Now, about this place." "It's the johnson ranch." "My aunt knew her and she used to bring me up here." "Was mr." "Johnson in the cavalry?" "I think my uncle said he was with cannon or something." "Confederate artillery?" "No, union." "How long has it been since anyone saw the johnsons?" "I guess at least a month." "Somebody in town the other day was just..." "Now, miss harper," "We've got to put this room back exactly the way we found it." "Now!" "Come on!" "What's happened to the johnsons?" "If they're lucky they were pushed over the county line at gunpoint." "Those sabers up on the fireplace are confederate cavalry pieces." "Jeremiah pike!" "That's right, jeremiah pike." "We picked the tiger's den to hide in." "The jacket!" "I forgot the jacket." "Ah, nelson, you get the bacon out of the saddle bag?" "You got two hands, ain't ya?" "Why I always...?" "Go on, now, I'll fetch some water." "Don't the colonel ever get tired of sniffing for trail?" "Acts like a blamed hunting' dog." "Better get some food on." "He'll be mighty mean if you don't find their prints." "Look." "The johnson kid must've played up here." "I used to make straw-filled dolls, too." "That was years ago, of course." "Of course." "Has jeremiah shown up yet?" "Nn-nn." "The other two are still in the house." "They got a fire going." "I hope he doesn't." "I'm more afraid of him than anything." "There's one thing about being in the tiger's den." "It's the last place he'd expect to find his prey." "Why don't we talk about something else?" "I don't even know your name." "It's paladin." "Paladin?" "Mm-hmm." "Shall I tell you something?" "I'm not afraid." "Not with you here." "Does that sound real dumb?" "Yes." "You always have to make good sense, don't you?" "As ben johnson said, "good judgment is forced upon us" ""by age and experience."" "You keep trying to sound so blamed old." "Are you trying to impress me or to convince yourself?" "What do you do for a living?" "Are you trying to think up some lie, mr." "Paladin?" "Something to scare me with?" "Well, let's see." "You're used to running people." "If I'm such a child, like you say," "How come you can't run me?" "You make a lot of money." "And you've lived with danger." "And you're very experienced in a lot of things, I guess." "And you're a gentleman." "And you travel a lot." "I travel, yes." "Yes." "I do travel." "Just say I hire out my gun." "I think you're lying." "But even if you aren't," "Maybe I don't care what you are." "Miss harper," "Let me try and make a point" "That you should consider in your future dealings" "With people." "Now, the gun I ordinarily carry in this holster" "Has a two ounce trigger pull." "Do you know what that means?" "Touch it, breathe on it, and it fires." "There are certain things in life" "That are just as dangerous and just as easily triggered" "By careless, thoughtless people." "You mean emotions?" "Are they something I'm supposed to be afraid of?" "At 17, yes." "You said you left tonapaw to find decency." "Juliet, that's what decency is." "It's holding on to the beliefs that keep us in check." "But sometimes those beliefs can be stretched terribly thin." "So that a careless act," "Or even a careless word can break through them." "The two loveliest things I know..." "A lovely girl," "And a lovely woman." "One has a fresh innocence," "And the other a kind of ripened perfection." "And there's a time in every woman's life," "When she's both." "Changing back and forth like quicksilver." "The rarest and loveliest thing" "In all creation." "If what you say is true," "Then the time comes in her life when she changes," "And she becomes all woman," "And then our rules change, don't they?" "The rules change..." "Considerably." "And now that, uh..." "We've gotten your mind off those men down there," "You feel better?" "If we're gonna travel tonight, maybe we better get some rest." "Yeah, that's a good idea." "Thank you." "Hey, hey!" "Johnson!" "Come on out here." "Well, I don't make no mistakes about tracking." "Stranger, he covered his tracks pretty good." "But the girl, she left enough to make it easy." "Well, they sure ain't in the house." "Well, I wonder where they could be." "They found us." "Now, just don't move and don't make a sound." "Hey, stranger!" "We know you're in there!" "We know that you ain't got a gun!" "You'd have shot back when my nephews chased that stage" "If you'd had another gun!" "Now, if you come out now," "I promise that no harm will come to you." "You don't want to get killed just because of that gal!" "Nelson, you take the front." "Tad, the back." "I'll stay here in case they make a rush for it." "When you find 'em, kill 'em." "Colonel!" "Go in the house and get some kerosene." "All you can find." "We'll burn 'em out!" "Drop it!" "Come on, now." "It's all right." "Well, aren't you lovely?" "Now, here is your ticket." "I have sent your luggage to the ship," "And arranged with the captain for you to take your meals at his table." "I think you'll find it a very pleasant trip." "I saw the way those ladies looked at you this afternoon." "You knew them, didn't you?" "That one with the red hair," "She couldn't be more than a year older than I am." "And you're treating me like a daughter or something." "I know they were laughing at me." "The one with the red hair, that is eileen roth," "And she's practically ancient." "She's 24." "Well, I'll be 18 in July." "Well..." "Juliet." "Happy birthday." "Would you come to hawaii?" "Someday, please." "As a matter of fact, I promised myself that trip." "I won't look at another man." "Not even speak to him." "No?" "Miss harper?" "I'm 3rd officer jenkins." "Since you'll be the only woman on board," "The purser's asked me to escort you to the ship." "Ah, mr." "Jenkins, I trust you'll see that miss harper has a pleasant voyage." "Ah, what..." "Oh, yes, sir." "I'll see to that, sir." "I mean, yes, sir." "Oh, goodbye, paladin." "Goodbye." "The lady with red hair, she waiting in dining room." "Oh, yes, the lady with red hair." "Well, hey boy, supper for two." "Champagne and napoleon brandy." "You all right, mr." "Paladin?" "Well, mr." "Paladin will be better before this evening is over." "He'll feel less noble," "But..." "Much better." "¶ "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?" "¶"