"Go." "All right, take this around the tree." "All the way around." "Quick!" "All right, get ready." "Catch his horse!" "Right, boss." "I thought folks learned they weren't supposed to cross over in here." "Open range or not, maybe this one will believe the next sign he reads." "Hey, nice trail clothes." "Clean, too." "You can have the outfit." "I'll take his gun for my collection." "Are you hands gonna split wood and fetch water or not?" "We take orders from cyrus, cookie." "I don't remember him mentioning chores when he left this morning." "'morning." "Well, I declare." "Look what the wind blew in, pete." "You better move along, fella." "Next ranch is 20 miles." "I'd like to see the owner of this place." "You heard what the man just said." "No hand-outs here at o'bannion's ranch." "I believe I asked to see the owner." "Maybe we ought to let him see the owner, jake." "If he takes a bath first." "The owners here is kind of persnickety." "Just can't stand dirt." "Now, even sheep put up a fight when you're gonna dip 'em." "This ain't no fun, pete." "Grab his feet." "Wait a minute, my watch!" "My watch!" "Your watch?" "Hey, you can't go in there." "I'd like to see the o'bannion that runs this outfit." "I'm the o'bannion." "I told him not to come in, miss margaret." "Is he one of our men, cookie?" "No, ma'am, just drifted in." "I see." "Well, if he can chop wood, feed him when he's finished." "That's a very interesting collection." "It happens to be my foreman's hobby." "Any other comments?" "Does the rest of the room meet with you approval?" "Do you want that hand-out or not, drifter?" "I'd like to meet your foreman." "Then you'd better come back in a week." "Cyrus left this morning on a cattle drive." "I could use some kitchen help, miss margaret." "With cyrus gone, I can't get any help out of the hands." "We're surrounded by quite enough barbarianism without bringing it in here." "I'm sorry, miss o'bannion." "I have known better days." "And I guess I just didn't realize I was speaking to a lady." "All right." "Against my better judgment, I'll put you on trial." "You'll find me to be quite fair." "No matter what your past," "I'll only appraise you by what I see from this moment." "Thank you." "You're as generous as you are beautiful." "Cookie, see that he gets a bath." "And put him into some clean clothing." "Ah-ha!" "Beef tenderloin sautéed in sherry." "Voila!" "Chuck mulligan into ambrosia." "Cookie, the french have a saying." ""civilization begins with good food," ""and good food begins with an artful wine sauce."" "You taste that, it's good." "You ain't no wandering tramp, mister." "Alas, cookie, would you believe me if I told you" "I was the eldest son of an english nobleman?" "I would not." "That I gave up my fortune and my title for the love of the upstairs maiden?" "Mm-hmm." "And I'm a gypsy fortune teller." "It's a funny little callus you got on your thumb there." "Wouldn't be from a gun hammer, would it?" "I figure you're here after something." "Or someone." "Cookie, tell me about cyrus." "Tell me about the foreman." "Well, he runs the o'bannion ranch for miss margaret." "He has ever since her folks died." "Something else that puzzles me." "A spread like this ought to run about, oh, 4,000 head of cattle?" "And on my way here, I don't think I saw 20 steers." "Maybe you didn't look good." "Cyrus does a good job." "Miss margaret don't have to lift a finger." "She doesn't have to lift a finger except to sip tea and read sermons." "Her folks wanted her to have advantages." "They made her into a lady." "A perfect lady." "Only child on a 20,000 acre ranch." "Water holes to swim in," "Horses to ride, hey lofts to play in." "That must've taken some doing." "Would you want your daughter to be mixing with ranch hands?" "The kind that are sitting out there now" "Waiting to pay you back for that dip in the trough yesterday?" "Pounding saddle and raising sweat and blisters?" "Something wrong with a little civilization out here?" "Saddle busters and sweat are the civilization out here." "Oh, I don't have any objection to tea and sonnets." "They've led me to some of the most interesting afternoons of my life." "But this is the first time I've seen them used as a substitute for life." "Thank you." "Tea, madame?" "Thank you." "Set it on the desk right here, please." "The letter opener, madame." "Thank you." "Shall I pour, madame?" "I, uh, probably should tell you" "That you've done a very good job so far." "Breakfast was served quite expertly." "And cookie tells me that new table arrangement was your idea." "You show considerable household ability." "Would you please stop staring at me that way?" "Ma'am?" "I merely meant to give you some friendly advice." "You have, unfortunately, a very forceful expression." "Good help should be as inconspicuous as possible at all times." "There's books on the mantle." "Would you please hand me one?" "Tennyson or shelley, ma'am?" "It doesn't matter." "Well, then I suggest shakespeare." "I think he's terribly common." "Well, he deals with common ideas," "But in language of most uncommon beauty." "For example, his 18th sonnet." "One of the finest passages in the english language." "Course it was meant to be read aloud." "Are you also an elocutionist?" ""shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" ""thou art more lovely and more temperate." ""rough winds do shake the darling buds of may," ""and summer's lease hath all too..."" "That's quite enough." "Don't you have chores to do?" "Wood to be chopped, water to be pumped?" "I didn't hire you as a literary companion, mr." "Paladin." ""should I compare thee to a summer's day?"" "Where is he now?" "Paladin?" "He was here just a minute ago." "Oh, then he must've taken out the wash." "I want him discharged immediately." "I warned him the hands was laying for him!" "We're gonna even it up now." "You think you can take all of us?" "Still smells." "Now, then." "I heard cookie say she needs some water." "I know you'll be glad to get that for her." "We need some fire wood chopped." "'bout half a cord before sundown, hm?" "There's plenty of work for all hands." "If there isn't, you let me know." "And I'll find some water." "Hold that for me, will you?" "With madame's permission," "I have found some odd jobs for the hands." "Hard work improves ranch discipline." "I think you're right, mr." "Paladin." "Feel free to oversee my ranch in the foreman's absence." "Thank you." "Then, with your permission," "I'll ride out and check the feed and water situation." "I've noticed some things that puzzle me." "Excuse me." "I wish they'd killed him." "Has the new man returned yet?" "No, ma'am." "Dinner was very good tonight, cookie." "Was that beef a new recipe?" "It's something he showed me, ma'am." "Must you talk about paladin all evening?" "You're the one who..." "He's just hired help." "I won't be upset by him." "I know all about his type." "Well, that's more than half a cord." "Well, I couldn't whip you," "So I figured I'd take it out on a wood pile." "I had another reason for sticking around, too." "I was curious to hear what you'd have to say after looking over the range." "Looks to me like there's plenty of grass out there." "Plenty of water." "Plenty of everything, except cattle." "Does miss o'bannion know there's not even breeding stock left out there?" "She knows what cyrus tells her." "No more." "He makes sure we don't get no visitors around here," "Snooping around, asking questions." "Cyrus keep any records?" "Just feed bills." "There's a ledger over there in the barn." "If you're figuring on tangling with cyrus and his boys," "Don't count on much help." "That you, paladin?" "Where you been?" "Miss margaret's been asking about you." "Cookie, you tell our employer that I'm very flattered," "And very busy." "Breakfast, miss o'bannion." "Good morning, paladin, I'd like to..." "Paladin!" "Paladin!" "I've had an accident, come and clean it up!" "He just stepped outside, miss margaret." "I'll get you a fresh tray." "You ready for your lunch, miss margaret?" "Where is he now?" "Who, miss?" "You know perfectly well who I mean." "I'm paying him a fore wage, I'm entitled to better service." "He's been awful busy." "He spent the whole morning" "Comparing the feed bills against the ranch ledger, or something." "And he just now said something about riding into town." "I" " I think I'll take some air before lunch, cookie." "Shall I lay out your riding things?" "I think I can find 'em." "I haven't been riding in a long while." "Oh, I'm glad you happened along." "My saddle seems..." "I didn't just happen along." "You saw me two miles back." "You circled around and nothing happened to your saddle..." "I'll be a good deal more honest than you." "I'm delighted you came out here," "I never saw you looking lovelier." "Even the riding habit's becoming of you." "A gentleman..." "A gentleman does many things mr." "Tennyson didn't write about," "And mr." "Shelley didn't even dream of." "You should have read more of the very common mr." "Shakespeare." "You know, you ride expertly." "I'll bet that as a child," "When your parents' backs were turned," "You sneaked out, climbed on a horse, and rode bareback." "How'd you know about that?" "I'd also bet that between elocution lessons and embroidery lessons," "You dreamed about running your own ranch someday." "I could have, too." "Kids learn fast." "Why don't you?" "Haven't you noticed?" "I'm a lady." "Anyway, I wouldn't know how to start now." "I've been living in a make-believe world so long," "I wouldn't know how to be real." "Well, the way to start is by being honest with yourself." "Now, you tell me." "Why did you come out here?" "What did you want?" "Oh, I wanted to rush right up to you and say, "stop calling me ma'am."" "I know you're not just hired help." "You gave me goose-pimples every time you came into the room." "And I wanted to say," ""finish the poem."" "I was trembling by the second line," "And there were 12 more to go." "That might be dangerous for a lady." "I'm a woman!" "Anyway, I want to be." "Next week, I intend to be 1,000 miles away from here." "Say it for me." ""shall I compare thee..."" "No, there's something else we should talk about first." "Later." "I've just come from the bank." "You've given your foreman cyrus permission to draw loans against this ranch" "And in the meantime, he's cleaned out your range." "Please, have pity." "Please." ""shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" ""thou art more lovely..." that's enough." "Keep cookie and the other hands in the barn." "I'll have your hide if they get out, you hear?" "Lucky thing we got back early." "Let me have that card you found in his clothes." "Here they come." "Cyrus." "I hear you've been going to a lot of trouble." "Adding up feed bills, checking old stock counts." "It's just a matter of fundamental arithmetic." "I know that you've been obligating this ranch for loans." "That you've been selling off the stock," "Pocketing the money in order to buy up the loan paper like this one." "And now all you have to do is make demand on miss o'bannion for payment" "And she has no way to pay you." "Never saw you before in that outfit, miss o'bannion." "We might be able to work out some little arrangement, hm?" "Speaking of deals, don't you owe me something?" "Oh, I just collect guns, I don't use 'em." "It's your move." "Fine." "That's just what I had in mind." "Now it isn't murder, is it?" "Just self-defense." "I got him." "It's only a letter opener." "Hold it." "I've had enough." "I'm hanging on to what's mine." "The next shot won't be aimed at the floor." "Gentlemen, I believe maggie o'bannion means what she says." "Unless any of you has any objection?" "No?" "Well, then you two better get your friend out of here." "Ah, leave the trail clothes on the hitch rack." "Take him to the barn." "Jake!" "Looks like he'll make good breeding stock." "You, pete, take him down and douse him for ticks." "And plaster that spot on his flank." "I ain't playing nursemaid to no dang bull." "Would you rather draw a week's pay?" "Don't you forget that $12 you owe him, ma'am." "No, I didn't put in a full week." "There are a lot of little odd jobs left around here." "And you're gonna have a lot of applicants from now on." "Goodbye, maggie." "Goodbye." "Clean, cook, fight." "Run things." "You'll never get help like that again." "You're right, cookie." "I'll never get help like that again." "¶ "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?" "¶"