"Well, it's about time!" "The train stalled right outside of Sacramento." " I was ready to walk." " Welcome home, Gene." " Oh!" " Oh, Ma!" " Audra." " How's the scholar?" "If I get any smarter, they're gonna be unveiling a statue of me..." " right in the center of campus." " Oh, ho!" "When you wrote and told me what they were doing to honor Father, I was so proud I could bust." "We didn't know about it ourselves till just a couple days ago." "Dave Wallace rode over and calmly said, if we didn't mind... the townspeople would like to do something to honor Father." "If we didn't mind?" " Welcome home, Mr. Eugene." " Silas." " My, my." "You've grown a whole foot." " I hope not, Silas." " Wait in there." "I'll be right with you." " Come in here, Gene." " Get in there." " Ouch." " Right over there." "That's it." "Now turn around." "Let's see what's been happening to you." " I think he's grown a little bit." " Just in the head." "He always did have a bit of a fat head." " Is that so?" "Where's Heath?" " He's around somewhere." " I'll go outside and look." " Uh-uh." "Sit down right over here." "Mother said you were to wait." " Wait for what?" " Just wait." "Ah." "Here we are." " Father's?" " Mm-hmm." "He wore them on special occasions." "I know you think I'm being sentimental... but it would make me very happy if you would wear them this evening at the commemoration." "I'll have you know I offered to cut off my big toe, but, uh" "And I'm a size larger than Jarrod, so it's up to you, little brother." " Sit down there and slip 'em on." " Well, I'll try." "They look a little small." " Come on." "Let's see what happens." " Come on, Eugene." "I'm trying it." " They're a little too tight." " Pull 'em on." "Pull.!" " A little harder." " I'm sorry, Mother." "It was a silly, sentimental idea to begin with." " Oh, no, no, no." " What about Heath?" "He's a Barkley son too." "He'd wear 'em." "I know he would." "He'd be proud to wear 'em." " Silas, did Eugene get in?" " In there." "Ah!" "Gene, you old son of a gun." "How are ya?" "Boy, you have grown a foot!" "It seems all that knowledge went to my feet." "They were Father's, Heath." "Mother'd like one of us to wear them at the commemoration this evening." "Well, go ahead." "Try 'em on." "Well, what do you know?" "Looks like the best foot wins, huh?" "Congratulations, Heath." "Heath, it seems to me we have forgotten one small detail- whether or not you'd like to wear them." "Well, uh, sure I would." "Of course I would." "Why wouldn't I?" "It's, uh, just that" "Well, I'd... kinda like to have a chance to think it through." "I don't much go for fancy boots." "Maybe some other time." " Get up off that bed." " Gene, I don't owe you any explanations." " Get up off that bed!" " Now, if you'll just simmer down" "Gene, I don't wanna fight you." "All right now." "Take it easy." "If I were in his shoes, I might feel the same way." "So might you." "Now git." "Come on." " Thanks, Nick." " I said I might feel the same way." "If you're goin' with us, you'd better get dressed." "Come on." "Hurry up." "We got a lot to do before the ceremony." " I can't breathe." "Can you?" " No, I can't." "Heath, if you'd rather not go, we'll all understand." "Maybe it's hard for me to forgive Tom Barkley for what he did." "But whatever he was to me and to my mother..." "I know he was a great man to the people in this valley." "So, as, uh, part of this family now..." "I'd kinda like to..." "go along and honor him for that." "If it's all right with you." "Giddap." "I'm sure it's the most beautiful statue in the world." "Wait till it's unveiled." "I know it's a little early in the mornin' to start celebrating'." "I'm sorry." "The last thing in the world I wanna do is hurt you." "Maybe I shouldn't have come." "But I thought if I could just sit on what I feel... at least for one day, this day" "But" "I brought 'em with me- the boots." " You'd wear them?" " Say the word." "I told you I understood how you feel." "Maybe I more than understand." "Maybe I'm afraid you have a right to feel the way you do." "Thank you for offering." "I'd do anything for you." "Anything." "You know that, don't you?" "And I meant what I said." "Whatever he was to me, to my mother..." "I know he was a great man to others... to his children, to you." "He was a great man, a wonderful father." "A wonderful father..." "and husband." "I never meant for you to question that." "Tell me about your mother." "She was beautiful." "Warm and soft." "And in a way, very strong..." "like you." "And your father." "Of course, you never knew who he was until the end, but" "Did she ever talk about him, the man who was your father?" " I don't remember." " But you must have asked." "When you were a little boy growing up, you must have wondered." "It's over!" "History- ancient history!" " Don't dig it up." " And if I have to?" "We'd only been married a few years when Tom went to Strawberry." "He'd invested in some mines." "We weren't rich then, but" "Strawberry was the beginning." "He sold his interest, made a good profit and went on from there." "Yes." "Strawberry was the beginning." "Did your mother love him?" "Oh, please, Heath." "I've got to know." "When I was a boy, Strawberry was a boomtown, busting with life." "Then the mine slowly gave out." "Now it's all but a ghost town living with memories." "When I was a boy... it seemed my mother laughed a lot... talked a lot about him... talked in a way that made me think... my father was the greatest man who ever lived." "If he did love her... then I've been lying to myself, haven't I?" "You can't say that." "Whatever he was to my mother... you know what he was to you." "Do I?" "Can I ever be sure?" "Do any of your people still live in Strawberry?" "Just Aunt Rachel." "Rachel Caulfield." "She's not my real aunt, but she's all the family we ever had... or needed." "She was my mother's best friend..." "and mine." "Aunt Rachel and Hannah, they, uh" "They helped raise me." "There was no one else?" "Not that I can remember." "If there was, they, uh-They left long ago." " There is somebody else, but" " Tell me." "My Uncle Matt and his wife." "We weren't close." "I hardly ever saw them, and that was too often." "Please." "Let it die." "Well, sometimes" "Sometimes a thing just won't die." "Your father I were married so happily for over 25 years." "And if, most of those years, I was lying to myself" "Oh, Heath, I've just got to know... for both of us." "Whoa." "Eh, luck's really run out." "I can't even beat myself at solitaire." "I'm gonna pay ya." "You think I'm gonna run outta town, stick you with a couple of beers?" "Three today." "Two from yesterday... when you was, uh, a little short." " I ain't never tried to beat you out of" " Don't tell me your troubles." "I ain't gettin' rich around here neither." "I'd like to get paid- tomorrow." "Not day after tomorrow." "Tomorrow, or no more beer." " Oh, you lose your way, ma'am?" " No, not if this is Strawberry." "Well, it was Strawberry, but now- Well, you name it." "I'm looking for a woman named Rachel Caulfield." " Rachel Caulfield." " Do you happen to know her?" " I knew her real well." "Yep." " Knew?" "Well, she's dead." "Oh." "Well, uh, when did it happen?" " Oh, about a month and a half ago." " How?" "Oh, she's dead, ma'am." "That's all I know for sure." "Oh." "It's mighty hot out there." "Could I sell you something cool to drink maybe?" "No." "Uh, do you know a woman named Hannah?" "Oh, yes, yes." "A little, uh, green cabin, picket fence in front." " Right out the edge of town." "Can't hardly miss it." " Thank you." "Uh, could I sell you something cool to drink maybe?" " No, thank you." " You look like you" "You're a mighty handsome woman, Martha." "Too much woman for him." "Uh, can I, uh" " Can I give you a hand?" " You'd like to, wouldn't you?" "Well, that's no secret." "Hey." "Why don't we, uh- Why don't we go away together?" "Find ourselves a new life." "Good life." "Like I said... a lot of woman." "You know, uh, you're the only thing that keeps me tied to this town." "Oh?" "All the time I thought you were counting' on findin' a good vein of ore." "Yeah, and I'll bet, if I did hit pay dirt..." " you'd come runnin' to me, wouldn't ya?" " Maybe." "But you're not gonna find it sittin' there polishing' that rifle... and shootin' the sign across the street." "I thought I told you not to fire that thing in here." "Is that right, Matt?" "You ought to know better than to let him do that." "Sure. 'Cause one day he's gonna kill somebody... and they're gonna march in here and sue us for every cent we haven't got." "We got somethin' to talk about." "Get him outta here." "Uh, Mr. Phelps, I think the man would like you to leave." "Hmm." "Is that right?" "Ain't you got nothin' better to do than hang around here wasting' our time?" "What's the matter, Matt?" "You expecting' a big rush of business?" "Like maybe one check-in?" "Like I said, Mr. Phelps, if it's gold you're looking for... you're not gonna find it in here." "Well, maybe not gold." "But there are other things." "If you're lookin' at me, I'm not about to exchange one failure for another." "Now clear out." "My husband wants to talk to me alone." "You shouldn't be leadin' him on like that." "Who said I was leading him on?" "What did you want to talk to me about?" "She's here in Strawberry." " Victoria Barkley." " You sure?" "She asked Walter where Rachel was." "Walter should've sold her a shovel and told her to start digging." "Don't laugh about that, Martha." " Don't you ever laugh about that." " All right!" "All right, Matt!" "I won't laugh!" "But I'm not gonna cry over spilt milk either." "She went over to see Hannah." "She'll ask questions, sniff around." "Oh, what does Hannah know?" "And whatever she suspects- A half-mad old woman like that?" "Hey, Matt." "Maybe" " Maybe it was providence that brought Victoria Barkley here." "No, Martha." "No." "After what happened, I thought we decided we weren't" "You decided." "You." "You." "You decided." "Because you're a man with the spine of a worm, I let you make that decision." "But now that she's here, no matter what her reason, she's come to us." "I'm not about to let her slip through my fingers." "Pardon me." "Whoa." "Miss Leah." "Lord in heaven." "Miss Leah." "Oh." "For a minute..." "I thought you was Heath's mother" " Miss Leah." "She dead." "And Rachel, she dead too." "Both my good friends is dead." "Maybe they kill me too." "Who you be?" "I'm Victoria Barkley." "And you're Hannah." "Heath told me about you and Rachel." "Heath?" "You know about Heath?" "He lives with me now- with me and my family." " He all right?" " Oh, he's fine." "Then that's all that matters." "Heath's fine." "That's all that matters." "Heath's fine." "Heath's fine." "That's all that matters." "Heath's fine." "Heath's fine." "Heath tells me you and Rachel helped raise him." "Leah" " Miss Leah, she work hard." "But a boy growing' up without a father?" " Do you remember his father?" " It was different then." "Everything different." "Miss Leah, she was young..." "and so pretty." "Could had most any man." "She picked that one." " Then you knew him." " He give her a child-his child- then he go away and leave her, never come back." "He was married." "Did you know that?" "People say... she bad." "A woman have a baby but no father to claim him." "People say she bad." "Did he know about the baby?" "She was a good woman." "She loved that man." "It can't be bad when a woman love a man like she did." "Can it?" "No." "No." "If she loved him the way you say she did, she couldn't have been bad." "And he, if" "If he loved her the same way" "Did he love her?" "He was my husband." "She love him." "She love him very much." "Hannah?" "Did he love her?" "She was a good woman, Miss Leah." "You believes that, don't ya?" "Yes." "Yes, I believe that." "Heath tells me his Uncle Matt still lives here." "Could you tell me where I might find him?" "Tell me where I can find Heath's uncle and aunt." " What you want with" " Things-Things you can't tell me." " Leave 'em be." " If they're here, I'll find them." " They at the hotel." " Thank you." "Stay away from them." "Hear?" "Hannah, what are you afraid of?" "Leave me be!" "Leave this place!" "Let the dead rest in peace and the living to the time they got." "Leave me be." "Leave this place." "Leave 'em be, miss." "Leave 'em be." "Oh." "Come in." "What do you think?" " Fine, fine." "Uh, where's Mother?" " Out." " I brought this one along too." " Out where, Audra?" " It's cut kind of low in front." " Audra, we're having dinner with the mayor." "I don't suppose a low-cut dress would be quite the thing." "Did she happen to say when she'd be back?" "She probably went shopping or visiting or something." "She'll be back." "When she gets here, let us know." "We'll be downstairs in the bar." "Get rid of the dress." " You, uh, bought and paid for that, huh?" " Yes." " Barkley?" " Yes." " I'm Matt Simmons." "This is my wife, Martha." " How do you do?" "I saw your carriage there." "I was hopin' that you'd come by." "I wanted to see where Heath grew up... and talk to people who knew him." "It's our pleasure, Mrs. Barkley." " I have a pot of coffee perking." " Coffee would be very nice." " It may not be as good" " It will be fine." "Thank you." "Uh, will you have a seat?" "Take that chair there." "I think you'll find that more comfortable." " Is that all right?" " Thank you." "We, uh, heard that you'd taken Heath in." "It was right kind of you." "Yes, uh, Heath's a very lucky boy, but" "But then you're a fine woman, Mrs. Barkley, taking an orphan in like that." "Not very many people are that high-minded enough... to accept that kind of moral obligation, but" "I" " I can understand it." " Uh, I've got some biscuits." " No, thank you." "Yes, we, uh, Matt and I" "We can understand how it is." "We never thought to press you about this, Mrs. Barkley, but" "If you felt you owed Heath something... you owe us something too..." "for keeping him alive." "Oh?" "You helped Heath and his mother financially?" "Yes." "We kept both her and the boy you've taken into your home... after your husband ran out on them." "And now you'd like to be repaid for your sacrifice." "We leave that to you, ma'am." "Don't you think we deserve that?" "How much?" "Well, you seem to be more than a fair-minded woman, Mrs. Barkley." "Why don't we just leave that up to you?" "Because it's very difficult to put a value on what we did for them." "Would $5,000 be enough?" "Well, I'm sure $5,000 would be more than enough." "All right." "But first, there are some questions I would like you to answer." " That is, if you don't mind." " No." "No, of course we don't mind." "Did you know Tom Barkley?" " We knew him very well." " He come courting' my sister." "We seen him often." "Yes." " Where did they meet?" " In a bar." " Uh" " My sister, Leah, worked in a bar." "She was a waitress in this bar." "Don't take that as anything else." "I didn't even want her to work in that place." "So, they met in a bar." " I suppose my husband dropped in for a drink." " Maybe so." "Yes." "And one thing led to another." "Just what are you driving at, Mrs. Barkley?" "I would hope the truth, Mrs. Simmons." "Oh, I- I see what you're getting at." "You'd like to believe that Leah was... cheap." " Right?" " I didn't even suggest" "You'd like to make it out that she went with all sorts of men... that Leah was nothing more than a little entertainment." "Martha, I don't see any reason for" "No, that- that" "That was the reason that you came here for." "Isn't it?" "Was the loving husband in love with another woman all the time he was with you?" "Well." "If you want the truth..." "I'll tell it, Mrs. Barkley." "I'm sure you will, Mrs. Simmons." "You bet he loved her." "And any fool who cared to look could see it." "Loved her the way all of us would love to be loved and never are." "And when she was carrying Heath- carrying his child- it became a special kind of love." "If he loved her- if he knew about the child- why did he desert her?" "Your husband was a shrewd man, Mrs. Barkley." "He wanted to become rich and powerful." "And a man like that, no matter how much he loves, has to be ruthless." " My husband never hurt her." " Ruthless." "Ruthless and clever... the way all rich and powerful men must be." "No." "He had a wife and family... and he was on his way to making that fortune when he left Strawberry." "He wasn't about to take a millstone around his neck- a woman carrying his illegitimate child." "Now, you, uh-You were about to write that check, Mrs. Barkley." "My son Jarrod is a lawyer, and, for years, he's been lecturing me... to think before I scrawled my name on the bottom of a check." "And I, well- I think it's finally sunk in." "So, uh, you won't mind if I... think about this a bit, will you?" "You just had to cut her down, didn't you?" "She was all ready to write that check... but you had to twist the knife in her gut and bleed her." " She hasn't left yet." " She will, and she'll take the money with her." "All right!" "All right!" "Maybe she thinks I lied about Leah." "Maybe she thinks she does, but she doesn't know." "She doesn't know, and, if I know her, she's got to know." "And we're gonna have another chance with Victoria Barkley next time." "No, Martha." "No." "We can't." "You let her go." "Rachel's dead, and nobody suspects a thing." "And we're gonna leave it that way." "You can leave it that way, but I can't!" "No matter what the risk is, I've got to have my chance to escape from this cemetery." "Matt, I'm- I'm still an attractive woman." "There are men who could love me, but- but not this way." "Not with- not with the dust eating away at my clothes and" "Matt, I- I had soft skin once." "My hair" "I've got to be a woman again!" "Now, if it's with you, I've got to have enough money to make a fresh start." "And as long as Victoria Barkley is in town..." "I've still got a chance, Matt." "Miss Barkley." "Walk on over to the house." "I'll meet you there." "Matt." "Matt!" "I was right." "She is staying." "Put her carriage in the stable." "In the name of heaven, Martha." "What good is that" " We can't keep her here." " We can try, Matt." "I told you I was getting out of here, with or without you." "I'm sick and tired of being tied to a failure, stuck to a man who's too scared to even try." "Now do as I say!" "Do as I say, or I'll find a man who will." "It's here." "It's here somewhere, your husband's letter." "It's just got to be." "Hannah, Mr. and Mrs. Simmons told me... that my husband met Heath's mother in a bar." "Your husband" "He never come lookin' for Miss Leah." "She found him in an alley back of one of the saloons." "He was beaten near half to death and robbed." "Lucky he wasn't killed." "There was lots of killin's those days." "She took him home, made him well." "They also told me they took care of Leah and the baby." "That woman never cared for nobody but herself." "And from the looks of it, she ain't doin' too good a job of that." "They've asked me for some money." "You don't think they deserve it?" "I'll tell you what them two deserves." "No." "It don't make no difference now." "Rachel dead now." "Ain't nothin' ever gonna bring her back." "Hannah?" "Did my husband love Leah?" "Everybody love her, Miss Barkley." "She was small..." "and so pretty." "And when she laugh" "She had the nicest laugh." "But most of all, ma'am... she was a good woman." "She was a good woman." "I'm sure of that." "I'm sorry, Miss Barkley." "But I can't tell you what you ask." "I don't know did he love her or not." "Maybe only the two of them know that." "And Rachel, she know." "But Rachel dead now." "Maybe it's best you go, miss." "Not until you find that letter." "It's gone now!" "It's gone, you hear?" " You go, too, before" " Before what?" "You stubborn, all right." "Ain't nothin' gonna turn you back, is there?" "When I first spoke to you, you said you were afraid they might kill you too." "Why would Mr. and Mrs. Simmons want to kill you?" " I didn't say they wanted" " You didn't say they killed Rachel, but you think they did." "What happened to her?" "It's no use." "It's gone." "I'm not leaving here until you tell me what happened to Rachel." "I guess I knows that." "When we hear Heath was livin' with you... them two- they want to ask you for money." "They want to bother you." "Rachel, she stop 'em." "She say Miss Leah woulda want it that way." "A little while later... they find Rachel dead." "She went and fell into a mine shaft." "Law shoulda been called, but nobody cared enough." "And me, I was" "I was too scared lest they throws me in the bottom of a mine shaft too." "I can't read, so's I don't know what's in here." "But maybe this'll answer some of your questions... about your husband and Miss Leah." "Thank you." "Miss Barkley, you wanna thank me good and proper?" "You read what's in here, and you get yourself outta this place." "If the answer to your question ain't in this letter... then they ain't no answer for you." "Not in this world anyway." "Thank you." "It's not like Mother tojust leave without saying a word... and not tell us where she's going." "It's all my fault." "I was so busy admiring myself and trying on my new wardrobe" "Don't be silly." "Did she say anything to you before she left?" "She said she might visit a few ofher friends and not to worry." "But I was so busy looking at myself..." "I didn't think to ask her what friends." "I don't think she wanted us to know where she was going." "Mr. Simmons." "Mr. Simmons." "Mr. Simmons." "Yes?" "My, uh, carriage, Mr. Simmons." "Now, Mr. Simmons." "Right now." "Stable." "I'll take you there." "Well, Mrs. Barkley." "I trust Hannah told you everything you wanted to know." "Yes, everything." "Then if you'll write that check, you can be on your way." "I'm afraid you'll have to be a little patient." "There are several details that must be ironed out." "What did that half-mad old woman tell you?" "Oh, she's not quite sure you helped out as much as you claim." "Oh?" "All right." "You offered us $5,000, Mrs. Barkley." "We'll settle for half." "That's a very fair offer." "I'd accept it if I were you." "I'm sorry, but I'll have to think it over." "What did she tell you?" " Some crazy story about how Rachel got herself shoved down" " Shut up, Matt." "Shut up." "It was an accident." " Rachel died in an accident." " I'm sure it was." "Mrs. Barkley." "You must understand." "We were just taking her for an outing." "She wandered away from us, fell through some rotted boards into an abandoned mine shaft." "That's the way it happened." "Well." "We'll just have to take you to where it happened... and we'll just have to show you how it happened." "It's bad enough leaving here without repaying us for what we did for Heath and his mother... but leaving here thinking we're murderers" "Why, Mrs. Barkley, we can't have that." "I don't know what you have in mind, but I have four sons." " They'll come looking for me, and they'll find me." " I'm sure they will." " Matt, help the lady out" " No!" "Oh, Heath!" "Heath." " What's wrong?" " Nothing." "Nothing." "Nice seeing you again, Uncle Matt, Aunt Martha." " Where's the carriage?" " In the stable." "Let's go." "Matt, they've got to be stopped." "You always said..." "nobody could prove anything." "So I guess there's nothing to worry about, is there, Martha?" "They'll be headin' through Shadow Mountain." "Good place to arrange another accident?" " Well, I'm not gonna stay here and wait." " Then you'd better get out." "I've had my fill of killing." "I'll tell you something else, Martha." "Whatever you had in mind for Mrs. Barkley..." "I think I would've stopped you." "Why, you poor, miserable soul." "You nothing!" "You're not a man!" "You're not even half a man!" "You're nothing!" "You're a weak, groveling nothing!" "Half a man!" "Half a man!" "When you were born, you were nothing." "And when you die, you're nothing!" "Nothing!" "Phelps." "Phelps." "Phelps." "Phelps!" " Phelps." " What is it?" "I knew it could be like this for us from the beginning." "Just like this." " What is it you want me to do, Martha?" " Kill them." "I knew there was a catch." " They can hurt me." " You think that's reason enough for me to" "Us." "Us." "They can hurt us." "Well, that's a little better." "You see?" "All my practicing with the rifle's gonna come in handy." " You should've told me." " I couldn't take that chance." "You might have killed them." "No." "No, we'll tellJarrod, and, if there's a way, the law will be back for them." "There was something else, Heath- a letter." "It told me everything." "I want you to know too." "May I read part of it to you?" ""You're a wonderful woman, Leah, perhaps the only woman in the world..." ""I could have loved as much as I love my wife." ""And, someday very soon, I hope you'll meet someone." ""You'll fall in love as you deserve..." ""and he will love you as you deserve to be loved." ""And you'll be as happy as I am..." ""as proud as I am of my family." ""You must marry, Leah." "You must have children." "You were meant for that. "" " Then he didn't know." " No." "No, he didn't know about you." "Ha." "Sorry we couldn't get back in time for the ceremony." "It doesn't matter." "It's a fine-lookin' statue." "Yes." "Ma!" " Mother, we've been lookin' all over for you." " Where have you been?" "Hey." "You're wearin' them- Father's boots." "Come on." "We'll get some of that champagne."