"Officer?" "Can you tell me the way to Three Rivers?" "About two miles to the first main intersection." "Then turn left." "It's about 60 miles." "Thanks." "What town is this?" "Suddenly." " Suddenly what?" " No, no." "That's the name." "That's a funny name for a town." "Uh-huh." "Hang over from the old days." "That's the way things used to happen here, suddenly." "I see." "Road agents, gamblers, gunfighters." "Well, I take it things have changed." "Uh-huh." "Things happen so slow now the town council is figuring to change the name to Gradually." "Ha ha." "Thanks, Officer." "Pleasure." "Come back." "Hello there, Pidge." "Hi, Tod." "Where's your mother?" "We've been shopping." "I got to put this up in the car." "Want to come?" "Yeah, sure." "Todd?" "Uh-huh." "Well, no." "I guess not." "She wouldn't let me." " Who's she?" " Mom, of course." "Well, then you better say "mom," Pidge." "It's kinda not polite to say "she" like that, especially about your mother." "Well, anyway she wouldn't." "You know, I bet I can guess what's on your mind." "Bet you can't." "Well, now let's see." "You want an ice cream soda?" "Mmm." "Not a bad idea." "But that's not it." "You want to go to the movies?" "Nah, that's a war picture." "Mom won't let me see war pictures." "Boy, oh, boy." "This is tougher than I thought." "I got it!" "You want that baseball bat." "No, but you're awful warm." "Is that it?" "Sure!" "That's it." "Ain't it a beauty?" "But, shucks, it's no use." "Mom wouldn't let me have it." "She doesn't like guns." "I know." "It's because of my father being killed in the war." "Look, Pidge, if you had the gun, what would you do with it?" "Stick up a filling station?" "Stick up a filling station?" "Heck no!" "I'd be sheriff." "And I'd catch all those road agents and cattle rustlers just like you." "But what about Mom?" "Well, I think we can talk her into it, what with you wanting to be a peace officer and all." "We got lots of time." "Mom's still in the market getting groceries." "Let's go." "Oh, hey!" "I've got it." "Oh, thanks, Tod." "Hello." "Hi." "Can I give you a lift up to the house?" "Thanks anyway." "But I have the car with me." " Going to church tomorrow?" " Yes." "I'll pick you up about a quarter to 11:00, huh?" "You never give up, do you?" "Ellen, I know how you feel." "Believe me, I do." "And I've tried to understand." "But..." "I haven't asked you to understand." "That's because I'm in love with you." "Tod, you... you shouldn't say that to me." "Why not?" "It's true." "Don't, Tod." "Ellen, you can't go on being a widow forever." "It's been over three years since Pete died." "Don't you understand?" "No one can take Pete's place." "I'm not trying to take Pete's place." "I'm trying to make a place of my own." "You've been wonderful, Todd." "And I'm grateful." "Really, I am." "But I can't help how I feel." "Ellen, you've got to stop doing this to yourself." "Because you're doing it to Pidge, too, as well as to me." "You're digging a big, black pit and shoving us all down into it." "Leave me alone, Tod." "Please." "Pidge, where did you get that gun?" "I bought it for him, Ellen." "Tod, how could you?" "We thought you wouldn't mind, Mom." "'Cause I'm going to be a sheriff just like Tod." " Take it off, Pidge." " Ellen..." "I can't help it, Tod." "You know I can't stand seeing him play with a gun." "But the boy's got to learn sometime that gun's aren't necessarily bad." "Depends on who uses them." "Tod carries one, doesn't he?" " Yes..." " Well, then?" "Just take it off, Pidge." "Ah, gee..." "That's $3.00, please." "Thank you." "Ellen..." "I know you don't want the boy to see war pictures." "But it seems..." "Teaching children the art of death and destruction, the cruelties, the tortures?" "He's got to know that these things exist." "Then he can fight against them when it's his turn." "You can't wrap the boy in cellophane." "I can try as long as possible." "Look, when a house is on fire, everybody has to help put it out." "Because the next time it might be your house." "Tod, don't." "Church tomorrow, Ellen?" "No, Tod." "I can't go with you." "Well, I can't go on asking you and being turned down." "I mean that." "Bebop, going over to Tilly's for a cup of java." "You can handle things." "It's a quiet day." "It's been a quiet day in this burgh for the last 50 years." "You?" "Goodnight shirt!" "What's the word?" "Get out of here." "Get the sheriff." "Tell him to get over here fast." "It's an emergency." "Hey, take it easy, Pappy." "25 mile speed limit." " Where's the sheriff?" " Try the office." "Hey, what's the..." " Where's Tod?" " Catch your breath, he's..." "It's an emergency." "Ed Hawkins has got to see him right away." " Well, what happened?" " I don't know." "Something came over the wire." "Ed wouldn't even show me." "Hey, that's funny." "Well, there's Tod now." "It's an emergency." "Ed Hawkins has got to see you right away." "Hello, Ed." "Thanks." "Get out of here." "Wait a second." "I want to know what it's about." "Top secret." "Get out of here." "For Pete's sake, I ran my pants off..." "Whoa..." "Aw, shucks..." " What's the word?" " Listen to this." "I haven't finished typing it yet." ""Sheriff Tod Shaw, Suddenly, California," ""Confidential code:" "Hangover." ""Special train 1019" ""carrying the president of the United States" ""will arrive Suddenly 5:00 pm today." ""President will detrain" ""and drive to White Springs ranch." ""Will require adequate transportation." ""Appreciate cooperation, your staff" ""with Secret Service operatives arriving 1:15." "Carney, acting chief, U.S. Secret Service."" "No mistakes, huh?" "Only in typing." "5:00 pm." "Yeah..." " Can I use your phone?" " Help yourself." "Get me State Police headquarters in Weatherby." "What's that codeword again?" " Hangover." " Hangover." "Hello?" "This is Tod Shaw down in Suddenly." "I want to speak to Capt. Aaron." "There's number 20." "The 66 crossing." "Hello, Capt. Aaron?" "This is Tod Shaw." "Say, look, I've got a message here." "The codeword is hangover." "Now, I'm going to need five of your cars, two men to a car, and one Thompson gun to each car, and..." "Oh, you did, huh?" "Swell." "Right." "Thanks." "They got the same message." "Aaron set the show on the road already." "Gee, those state cops don't fool around, do they?" "No, they don't." "Say, uh, you didn't spill this, did you?" "It says confidential." "Let's just keep it that way." "I'll run over to Kaplan's garage." " I'll be back in a minute." " OK." "Hello, Sheriff, I'll be right with you." "That's not soon enough, Iz." "So?" "I want the big, black Cadillac at 4:30." "The limousine?" "Yeah." "Park it at the station." "Backed in." "Somebody getting married?" "Like the sheriff?" "Don't be funny." "This is police business." "Don't tell anyone." " I don't get it." " You're not suppose to." "4:30, hmm?" "No slip-ups." " Mr. Carney?" " That's right." "My name's Shaw." "Get my message?" "What message?" "Hangover." "May I see your credentials?" " This is Wilson." " Hi." "Haggerty, Choates, and Kelly." "Glad to make your acquaintance." "Yeah, I got your message." "You're a careful man, Sheriff." "Not always." "This seemed like a good time to be though." "We always have to be." "May I see your credentials?" "I, uh..." "I've got a limousine ordered for 4:30." " It'll be parked right here." " Good." "State police have five cars on the road from Weatherby." " Excellent." " I guess that's about it." "Not quite." "You can still be of help to us." "We'll have to check all of those stores facing the station." "Shaw:" "Mr. Carney, I know every proprietor in this town." "You can take my word for it..." "I can't take your word for anything." "I'm sure they're OK." "It's just routine." "All right, boys." "We'll park the limousine between the tracks when the special arrives." " Pretty rough in there." " Maybe." "Easier to cover." "All state police cars can go in there, too." " All right..." " Oh, uh..." "Who lives up there on the hill?" "Pop Benson, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law." "We'll check it." "Heh." "Mr. Carney, if there's one place in this town that doesn't need checking, it's that one." "Pop Benson used to be in the Secret Service himself before a bad ticker retired him." "Pop Benson?" "You don't mean Peter Benson." " That's right." " Well..." "I'll be a monkey's uncle." "What do you mean?" "Well, Pete Benson used to be my old boss." "No!" "How do you like that?" "Therefore, Mr. Shaw, he'll be the last one in the world to object." "Heh." "Pete Benson." "For heaven's sake." "Heh." "Probably a rectifier, probably a tube." "Would you please call Judd and have him come up and fix that thing" " before you wreck it?" " Wreck it?" "Wreck it?" "Look, I'll have you understand" "I'd built a television transmitter in '38 before you even knew what television was." "Yes, but did it work?" "I don't know." "I never did get to finish the receiver." "Well, this is a receiver, and I do wish you'd call Judd." "I don't want to bother Judd." "Besides, it's time and a half on Saturday." "Well, that'll be cheaper than what it'll cost when you get through diddling with it." "Ah now, Ellen, stop taking it out on me just 'cause you and Tod had a fight." "You haven't touched your cake." "Don't want it." "Pidge, darling, I made it especially for you." "You made it 'cause you wouldn't let me wear my gun." "Drink your milk, darling." "Sissy." "What?" "That's what the guys call me." "Well, I don't care what they call you." "I'm your mother." "And I think I know what's best for you." "Pidge..." "Pidge, you shouldn't walk out when I'm talking to you." "I thought you were finished." "The boy's just disappointed." "That's all, Ellen." "Dad, please stop interfering." "First, you cancel him out on a hike with Cub Scouts and the next thing..." "Pidge, go to your room." "I'll have this old set perking in a minute, son." "You can me can watch the ballgame." "Dad, I've had this for the last time." "Ellen, you're a grown-up girl." "You got a problem you haven't worked out." "That's no reason why Pidge should have your problem." "I've only done what I thought was right, Dad." "I read about an experiment once." "Kept germs away from a kid." "Raised him pure and scientifically." "First time he got out and around, he caught cold and died of pneumonia." "What does that have to do with Pidge?" "The kid hadn't been exposed." "He had no immunity." "There's cruelty and hatred and tyranny in the world." "You can't make believe they aren't there." "And Pidge has got to learn what is the law and what isn't the law so he can defend it." "Defend it?" "So he can become a soldier and go out and be murdered like his father was?" "My son was killed in the performance of his duty, Ellen." "Duty..." "Being blown to bits on some Godforsaken battlefield thousands of miles from where he was born." " You call that duty?" " Yes, Ellen." "Well, is that what you would like for Pidge?" "Would that make you happy?" "If Pete could hear you now," "I think he would be ashamed of you." "How can you say a terrible thing like that?" "When the old boys wrote those words," ""life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"" "they sounded mighty nice." "But they wouldn't have been worth a plug nickel if somebody hadn't made 'em stick." "Grandpa!" "Grandpa!" "Grandpa!" "The window!" "Look out the window!" " Golly!" " What is it?" "Coming down the mountain from Weatherby." "A whole bunch of state troopers." "See 'em?" "We sure cut it fine." "You couldn't possibly be surprised with all those sirens blasting." "I try to beat 'em." "State troopers." "Right on time." " They're good." " The best." "All right, Bart, follow 'em in." "OK." "Well, there are two routes to the White Springs ranch." "You can go over the mountains here." "Or you can drop down to the main highway, go on into Three Rivers." "And the ranch is about 20 miles further on." "We'll stick to the main highway." "Too much chance of an ambush in those mountains." "Yes, Haggerty?" "We could use a roof watch on those stores, Chief, beside a street check." "Look, Mr. Carney, every proprietor in this town has been here at least five years." "I know them." "I know their kids." "No, it isn't that, Sheriff." "It's the stranger that might use one of those stores for cover." "I'd like them to lock up at 10 minutes to 5:00." "Stay locked up until 10 minutes after 5:00." "Oh, and put a man on the roof, too." "All right, Burt, give 'em the word." "No one, including the proprietors, are to remain in those stores at locking time." "Anyone seen inside after 10 minutes to 5:00 might be shot on sight." "Like the man says." "It's important." "Yes, sir." "Tell Wilson to keep the station clear." "Choates will take over troopers and block all traffic approaches from 4:30 on." "Right." "And there's another hazard, sir." "A house up on the hill." "Yeah, I know." "I'll check that one myself." "Yes, sir." "Tod, what the Hades is going on in this burgh?" "Did some galoot make a uranium strike?" "Nah." "Not exactly." "Now look, Slim, you take over here." "And I'll catch up with you later." "From 4:30 on I want all pedestrian traffic kept off Main Street between Oak and Alder." "The state boys will help you if anybody in town squawks while you smooth things over." "They know you and this is all going to seem a little strange to them." "I'm confused myself." "Never have seen so many cops." "What goes on?" "This is Mr. Carney, special agent from the Treasury Department." "Secret Service." "Mr. Carney, Slim Adams, one of my deputies." "How do you do?" "Secret Service?" "I get it." "They're shipping national debt through here in gold bars." "Just don't worry about it." "You'll find out later." "All right, come on." "Let's go and check that car you hired." "Bang!" "Got 'em all!" "Now, you better put that gun away before your mom sees it." "She'll tan your hide." "Dad, I do wish you'd call Judd and let him come up and fix that." "Shucks, Ellen." "I knew Ohm's Law before they even passed it." "Well, I don't want Pidge to miss the ballgame after missing the movie and everything." "All right, boy, come on and get ready to plug this in while I hold this screw down." " We'll see what happens." " OK." "Dad, are you sure you know what you're doing?" "Ellen, please." "I know." "But it says on the back of there that there are 5,000 volts." "And that's dangerous." "Ellen, will you please stop being a woman." "Ready, boy?" "Plug me in." "Dad!" "Dad, are you all right?" "Well, I guess I'm all right." "It scared the pants off me, that's all." "Golly!" "Look at this!" "I guess maybe you'd better call Judd, huh?" "Oh, honestly..." "That was a close call, boy." "How much is 5,000 volts?" " Enough." " To kill you?" "Well, it'd probably pick you up and toss you across the room." "That is, unless you were standing in a puddle of water." "And then you'd be grounded." "And if you were grounded it'd kill you deader than a door nail." "Would it hurt?" "Like blazes." "You stay away from that set now." "And stay away from those wall plugs." "Don't monkey with electricity unless you know what you're doing." "Why did you, Grandpa?" "You got me there, boy." "I'll get it." "Judd says he'll be up in a little while." "I'm sorry." "Honestly..." "Yes?" "Mrs. Benson?" " That's right." " Is your husband at home?" "My husband..." "No, I'm a widow." "What I should've asked was, are you the owner of this house?" "No, I'm not." "It belongs to my father-in-law." "What is it you want?" "I'm John Baron, special agent," "Federal Bureau of Investigation." "These are my men." "Do you suppose I could have a few words with Mr. Benson?" "Well, just a moment." "Won't you come in?" "Dad?" "Oh, how are you gents?" "John Baron, special agent." "For heaven sake." "FBI." "May we come in?" "Why sure, sure!" "Come right in." "Come right in." "Make yourself at home." " Thanks." " Not at all." "I get quite a kick out of this." "Used to be with the Treasury Department myself." " Really?" " Back in the old days." "Collected internal revenue, heh?" "Tax collector?" "Not on your life." "Secret Service." "You don't say." "Grandpa was Pres." "Coolidge's bodyguard." " You don't say." " Yep." "Back in 1928." "Youngest retirement in the service." "Account of my heart, not heart trouble, you understand." "An accident on one of Cal's fishing trips." "A hunter." "Got the slug right here." "Say, that's a nasty one." "How come you're still alive?" "I don't know." "Lodged in my heart." "They took it out." "Had to take it easy." " So they retired me." " You're lucky." "Luckier still if it hadn't hit me." "I'm going to be in the Secret Service someday." "Thought you was going to be a sheriff like Tod?" "Squirts like you are supposed to grow up and be president." " Name is Pidge, Mr. Baron." " Glad to meet you, Pidge." "I ain't a squirt." "Mr. Baron, what did you want to see us about?" " Is something wrong?" " Nothing wrong yet, Mrs. Benson." "But there might be." "We're just checking." " On us?" " On the house." "Do you mind if we have a look around?" "Help yourself." "But what I want to know..." "We're going to have a look around with or without your permission, Mr. Benson." "It's an emergency." "Check." "There must be something the matter." "Anyone else live here beside you three?" "Ellen:" "No." " Anyone been by here today?" " No." "Just the usual routine." "Willy Harris left the milk." "What's this all about, Mr. Baron?" "Just being careful." "I'll explain later." "Two bedrooms." "One bathroom." "All clear." "One here." "Just like they said." "Kitchen, back pantry, backdoor, stairs go down the hill, the garage under the kitchen." "Cellar door in hall." "Clear." "Car in the garage." "Look at this for a set up." "I'm sorry, folks." "But I'm afraid we're going to have to hang around for a while." " Why?" " What's the matter?" "Don't be alarmed." "There's nothing wrong." "Of course there's something wrong." "The FBI doesn't pay us a visit for the heck of it." "Well, I won't stay." "I'll take Pidge..." "No, ma'am." "Nobody leaves the house until we do." "Why not?" "What's happened?" "Look, just go about your business like it was any other Saturday afternoon." "Read your papers." "Look at your TV." "Anything you want." "But nobody leaves the house." "Something fishy about all this." "It's official business." "What sort of official business?" "Mr. Benson, as a former agent of the Secret Service, you should understand." "Either I'm getting old and stupid or else I'm..." "At 5:00 pm this afternoon, the president of the United States arrives in town on a special." " What?" " Golly!" "The president?" "Well, that's different." "You mean to say the president is going to get off the train here?" "That's right." "Golly, Gramps, we gotta go down and see it." "We just gotta." "The president!" "Why, that's the biggest thing that ever happened to this town." "Can we go down and see it, Gramps?" "Can we?" "Sorry, kid." "No." "Benny, bring in the gear." "Pull the car around back." "Bart, you see the backdoor is locked tight." "And check the cellar to be sure." "I still don't understand..." "Mr. Benson, it should be obvious to you that if anybody wanted to kill the president, he could do a beautiful job of it right from this window of yours." "For the love of Mike, that may be true." "But you don't think that Ellie and me..." "Of course not." "But we have to remain here to protect you and the president from somebody else who might." "Oh." " Carney?" " Yeah." "Is this all routine?" "Seems to me to be kind of overboard." "I mean, all this checking and everything." "As though you expected this town to..." "Sheriff, have you noticed any strangers in town during the past week?" " No." " Are you sure?" "Sure I'm sure." "I know everybody in this burgh." "The only strangers we get are tourists." "You know, we get 'em all the time, stopping for gas, a bite to eat." "That's all." "We want to know from either you or your deputies the minute any stranger doesn't keep going through." "Then this isn't routine." "No, it isn't." "Can you tell me?" "The Los Angeles police picked up a smalltime stoolpigeon the night before last." "Shot through the lungs and left for dead." "Smiley Bitters." "Before he died, he told them something was up." "What do you mean something was up?" "An assassination attempt." "Well, can you believe that?" "In our business, we can't afford not to." "I mean, the tip of a dying stoolpigeon." "The stoolie seemed very proud of being an American before he kicked off." "Meaning, crime is crime." "But this is something else again." "Right." "So we can't take any chances." "Let's go." "Could we see the president, Grandpa?" "Can we, Mom?" "Now, Pidge, we have to stay here." "You can watch him from here." "But I want to get up close." "Well, use your telescope, boy." "Bring him right up to your eye." "Ah..." "Sorry, Pidge." "No dice." "Backdoor locked." "How about the phone in the kitchen?" "Want me to yank it?" "No." "We don't change the pattern at all." "Give Benny a hand." "Mr. Baron, something I don't understand." " I was in the service myself..." " So you told me." "And though we made every precautionary check, we never went to extremes like this unless..." "Unless you were tipped that there was to be an attempted assassination." " You don't mean it." " I mean it." "But you're FBI." "Secret Service is responsible for the safety of the president." "We're using everybody this trip, Mr. Benson." "Have a look down there." "State troopers, your local law enforcement agencies and us." "You don't know if old Dan Carney is down there, do you?" "He and I worked together in the old days." "He's chief of the presidential staff now." "That's confidential information." "This is a terrible thing." "Not your worry, Mr. Benson." "Of course it's my worry." "I'm an American, ain't I?" "It's everybody's worry." "A car." "Somebody's driving up to the house." "Who is it?" "Pidge:" "It's Tod." "Ellen:" "He's the sheriff, Mr. Baron." " There's someone with him." " Who's with him?" "Ellen:" "I don't know." "I've never seen him before." "Grandpa:" "Well, for the love of Mike!" "What?" "Well, if it isn't old Dan Carney." "Grey as an old shirt and red in the face as ever." "Hi, Pop, got an old friend of yours here." "Dan, you dirty old Irishman." "Dan Carney!" "Oh, Pop, as always it's great to see you." "Hey, why aren't you dead?" "Oh, old bosses like me live forever." "Hey, you old Hawkeye, you're getting bald." "Now just what do you expect after 25 years?" "Come on in." "Make yourself at home." "This is my daughter-in-law." " How do you do?" " That's my grandson Pidge." "Hi, Pidge." "Pidge, this is Mr. Carney." "Secret Service." "He guards the president." " Like Mr. Baron?" " Who?" "Baron." "Oh, you didn't know." "Your boys got here ahead of you." "Sheriff!" "One sound from the kid, Pop, and he's dead." "The train muffled it." "Get rid of him." "Put him in the cellar." "Take the rug with you." "It's a giveaway." "You get the message, brave boy?" "Mom!" "Mom!" "Pidge, you got to be still." "No noise." "You stink!" "Pidge, shut up!" "Guts." "He's only eight." "Lots of guts." "Mom..." "No trouble with you." "You're all busted up." "All right." "Take care of her." "You got it now." "Let's be practical." "I don't want anymore shooting around here." "I want it nice and quiet and cozy." "Now get her up and bring her around." "And explain to her that one phony and she's got a kid with his throat cut." "Doesn't make much noise that way." "The same goes for you, too." "Anybody steps out of line, the boy..." "That's simple enough." "Ellen." "Ellen, listen to me." "Ellen, pay attention." "Now listen to me and don't look like that." "Everybody is all right." "You've got to get a hold of yourself" "No matter what happens you've got to hang on." "If you scream or make one false move, he'll murder the boy." "You understand?" "He'll murder Pidge." "Did you hear him, lady?" "Yes." "Yes." "Good." "Then we're all in accord." "All right, all right." "Inside." "We got a long time to wait." "Relax." "Pull the kitchen table up under the window." "All right." "Sit down, sit down." "Look at your TV." "It ain't working." "Well, work him over then." "Fix him up." "Don't sit there waiting to blow your cork." "Keep yourselves occupied." "I got to think." "Tod." "Tod, you're badly hurt." "Bullet hit the bone." "Broke it, I guess." "He's bled a lot." "We need a doctor." "Look at his face." "Tell her, Pop." "You're the doctor, Ellen." "We can't have no doctor." "We can't set a broken arm." "Tough." " Can you?" " Me?" "Straighten this fracture." "You couldn't take it." "You straighten it." "Hold on, brave boy." "Tie it up." "Should we take him into the bedroom?" "Sure." "But the boy stays here." "Baron:" "And leave the door open." "All right, let's go to work." "Pop, we've got to do something." "I know." "I know." "But what?" "What?" "They've got Pidge." "None of us count." "Not even Pidge." "We haven't got a chance." "As long as we're alive we've got a chance." "We've got to find a flaw in his plan." "We'll think of something." "Pop, haven't you got a gun?" "A gun?" "Yeah." "Right in the drawer." "My gun." " Is it loaded?" " No." "I hid the cartridges on account of Pidge." "You're a dirty, lousy gangster!" "Why, you..." "Leave him alone, Benny." " Did you hear what he said?" " Yeah, I heard what he said." "He's been looking at too much television." " He ain't a bad squirt." " Just tell him to shut up!" "Sure, sure." "This thing's metal." "Steel top." "Chrome legs." "I figured wood." "No difference." "Use the brackets." "Screw 'em to the leg and then to the floor." "That way the table won't dance." "You're a coward!" "You're a bunch of cowards!" "And you're getting too fresh." "So button it." "Johnny, why all the trouble?" "Big deal?" "This is a lot of work." " Do it, Benny." " But, Johnny..." "I said just do it, Benny!" "Once you get the gun anchored, you got a solid base." "You'll see when we get to it." "This gun's got a heavy recoil." "It won't stand still." "And we got just three seconds to nail the president." "And I don't want the table to shimmy when we get to it." "A Tommy gun would do just as good." "Tommy gun stinks." "No accuracy." "No punch." "Might as well use a revolver." "This is the gun." "When I was in the Army..." "So I wasn't in the Army." "Tighter." "Tighter." "Pop, you find those cartridges yet?" "Not yet." "This is quite a gun, Benny." "Quite a gun." "I did a lot of chopping in the war with a baby like this." "A lot of chopping." "You're wrong about me, Pidge, being a coward." "Last war I got a Silver Star." "North of Casino, pocket of resistance." "I killed 27 men all by myself." "I won a Silver Star, medal." "Ah, you stole it." "They're hurting Pidge." "All right, take it easy." "Take it easy." "Johnny, take it easy." "Stay there!" "Johnny, relax." "For the love of Mike, what's a Silver Star?" "I won it." "OK, Johnny." "OK." "You won it." "I got 'em." "They been in there a long time." "Yeah, get 'em back in here." "What are you all trying to pull?" "All of you, inside." "Come on, come on." "Feeling better?" " Yeah." " You're lucky." "He didn't mean to wing you." "He meant to blow your brains out." "He's a bad shot." "Yeah, but I'm not." "So maybe you'd better sit down and stay there." "That way it'll be safer for everybody." "You've got that duty look in your eye." "I've seen it up on the line." "The line?" "You up on the line?" "Some other time." "Down." "Bart, you fool!" "His car's out front!" "Put it in the garage quick." "I have to think of everything." "Oh, great." "Just great." "Might as well advertize." "That was a close one." "Hot in here." "See what time it is?" "All right, suppose you tell me what happens in this house on a Saturday afternoon between 4:00 and 5:00." "Pattern." "Smart guy." "Sure." "And we don't break that pattern." "We're here for a reason." "And if we break it, we might blow the deal you know." "Mario slings the paper over the fence around 4:30 or so." "Delivery boy." "Does he come in?" "Anyone else?" "Sal Hannow went up the mountain hunting jack rabbits." "He'll be by on his way back." "Will he stop?" "Not unless he's got something to brag about." " Anybody else?" " Nobody." "Anybody know that you and the other guy were coming up here?" "That's an interesting question." "What's the interesting answer?" "You guess." "Tell him, Tod." "Sheriff, if you think I have an qualms about killing this kid, you couldn't be more wrong." "The thing about killing him or you or her or him is that I wouldn't be getting paid for it." "And I don't like giving anything away for free." "Neither do I." "Including information." "Your guts are showing all over the place, brave boy." "Now, now." "Not me." "I'm scared." "You see, the way I figure it, Baron," "I'm a dead man anyway." "So's the boy." "So's Ellen." "So's Pop." "Just a question of now or later." "And if it gives the president a bit of an edge, why then we get it now." "They won't hurt us." "They won't hurt Pidge." " He said so." " Because it's convenient, Ellen." "You think these crumbs would kill the president and then take off, leaving us behind to identify them?" "You said you wouldn't hurt Pidge." "Sure, sure." "And I meant it." "Don't listen to this guy." "He's just being brave with your kid's life." "I knew guys like that in the Army." "We're just doing a job, that's all." "Identifying us is not involved." "By 7:00 tonight, we'll be out of the country." "And you'll never see us again." "Tell him, Tod." "Tell him." "Never mind, lady." "We'll just assume that they knew he was coming up here." "So that if somebody else comes up to check on him, you can tell him the sheriff and his friend were here." "But they had to go some place else." "That's all." "I have to go to the bathroom." "Go with him, Bart." "I don't need any help." "Come on, come on." "OK." "Table's screwed down." "All right." "Get the tripod up." "And then drill a hole each in leg." "Bolt the tripod to the table." "Put it center in front of the window." "I thought I told you to sit down." "Just stretching my legs." "You're a very careful man." "That's right." "Plan on everything, huh?" "Sheriff, the first man they shoot to the moon in a rocket will take pains, too." "Of course, that's never been done before." "Neither has this." "Doesn't that worry you?" "Haven't got time to worry." "I just make my plans and carry them out." "That's what John Wilkes Booth thought, too." "Booth?" "Ha!" "I'm no actor busting my leg on a stage so I can yell "Down with the tyrants!"" "If Booth wasn't such a ham he might've made it." "He got pretty far at that, though." "The guy who killed Garfield didn't make it either." "Him?" "Eh, he didn't plan anything." "Just took a lucky shot, strictly left hand." "Just like McKinley." "And Zangara got the chair for his try at Roosevelt." "He had to try it in a crowd." "I hate crowds." "So nobody ever made it." "Up 'til here." "I'm just a guy making a living." "And I think you've stretched long enough." "As you were." "Bart, take over Benny's work." "OK." " Benny?" " Yeah, Johnny." "Go downtown and see what's going on down there, especially the station plan." "Leave the car here." "Why me?" "Because Wheeler can fly a plane and you can't." "Oh, but me, I'm expendable, huh?" "No." "I just don't want anything to happen to Wheeler." "Well, why can't I take the car?" "Because if they nail you, Benny, we need the car to get to the plane." "Johnny..." "You're getting paid, ain't ya?" "Yeah." "You can't say you ain't getting enough." "I'll be back." "Bart:" "Johnny?" "Look, nice and steady just like you wanted it." "Open the curtain." "A trap." "Big, beautiful booby-trap." "You can't do this." "You can't do it." "You're wrong, lady." "Take a look." "Go on." "Take a look." "I can do it." "And I'm going to do it." "But you're an American citizen." "Sure." "And one minute after 5:00," "I'm going to be a very rich American citizen." "You'll never get away with it." "Shut up." "I got stomachache." "Take a pill." "Maybe the old man's right, Johnny." "It's a terrible thing, a terrible thing." "Turn it off, will ya?" "Just another man, a man!" "But the president..." "Yeah... yeah..." "I never killed a president before." "Who's that?" "Tod:" "That's Jud Kelly." "Pop:" "Television set went on the blink." "Ellen sent for him to come and fix it so the boy could watch the ballgame." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Well, we simply forgot it." "He's a harmless boy, Baron." "Don't hurt him." "OK." "But if you cross me..." "He won't." "He won't." "All right, Pop." "You got the ball." "Let him in." "But watch it." "Ellen, we got to keep this man talking." "Why?" "Why?" "Because that's his weakness." "Sooner or later, he'll drop his guard we got to find a way to get Pop's gun." " Hi, Pop, what's new?" " Hello, Jud." "I think I better come fix your rig before you electrocuted yourself." "Come on in." "Tod, what happened to you?" "Ask him." "Same thing that'll happen to you unless you do exactly as you're told." "You're kidding!" "Is that real?" "It's real, all right." "What's your name?" " Jud Kelly." " What are you doing here?" "I came to fix the television set." "Drop it." "All right, Bart, case him." "I don't have any dough if that's what you want." "What is this, a stick up?" "Yeah, that's right." "It's a stick up." "You'll never get away with it." "Go over and sit down, buster." "Take your luggage with you." "You, too." "Now." "I don't take it." "Did they rob the bank?" "What's the gun for?" "What's going on?" " Where's your store?" " Main Street." " Who runs it?" " Just me." "All alone?" "Do you have to point that gun at me?" " Alone?" " Answer him." "Yeah." "You locked up when you left?" "Nobody knows you were coming here?" "That's right." "Just a service call." "That gun makes me nervous, mister." "I'm not going to be a hero." "You can put the gun away." "Sure." "But I'm telling you, buster, like the others." "One pass and the kid gets it." "That's right." "He gets it." "So you see, his life depends on you." "Got it?" "Yeah." "Wilson, Carney back yet?" "No." "He's certainly been gone a long time." "Maybe we ought to load the gun now to be sure, huh?" "No." "That's just what the sheriff would like." "Forget about me." "I've had it." "Don't con me, sheriff." "The minute this gun is loaded, one of you brave boys might decide to go for the rye just to fire it." "And if you fired it, that might alert a few state cops down there, and the game would be over, wouldn't it?" " You have any food in the house?" " Of course, I have." "I'm going to grab a bite, Bart. Watch 'em." "Bring me a little glass of milk, would you, Johnny?" "My ulcer's murdering me." "Just watch 'em, Bart. Watch 'em." "I don't get it." "Would somebody tell me..." "Sit down!" "Be quiet." "Haven't you any feelings at all?" "No, I haven't, lady." "They were taken out of me by experts." "Feelings are chop." "Show me a guy with feelings and I'll show you a sucker." "It's a weakness." "Makes you think of something besides yourself." "If I had any feelings left in me at all, it'd be for me." "Just me." "Don't you ever think of your mother, your father?" "Think of them?" "Hmm." "I used to think of them a great deal." "My mother wasn't married." "My old man was a dip sum." "They left me in a home." "A home." "When I was a kid I swore that one day I'd kill them both." "But I didn't have to." "They drank themselves to death." "Feelings?" "Hmm." "The experts took care of that." "It's no use." "No use." "You stink!" " Johnny!" " Pidge, come back here!" " The kid!" " Hold it!" " Pidge!" " Get him." "Stick 'em up or I'll blast you." "Nice going, Bart." "It's only a cap pistol." "I gave it to him myself." "Darn you, Tod Shaw, darn you!" "I ought to beat his brains out, the little..." "What's so funny?" "You should've seen your face." "A cap pistol." "Go ahead." "Laugh yourself sick." "That's a pretty good model though, isn't it?" "They make 'em real today, don't they?" "Here you are, Pidge." "Blow his brains out." "A couple of big bow bad men getting scared to death by a six bit cap pistol." "I ought to beat that kid." "I'm not sure that he couldn't take you." "Go put some milk on your ulcer." "Bring me a piece of the cake." "I need some milk." "Pain's pretty bad." "Where's Benny?" "Why didn't we hear from Benny?" "Sit." "If this isn't a stick up, what is it?" "Did you come up here to fix a television set, junior?" "Yeah." "Well then fix the television set." "Tod, what's going on?" "They're planning to assassinate the president, Judd." "Which president?" "The president of the United States." "He arrives here this afternoon." "You're kidding." "No." "No." "You're not kidding." "The president?" "Kill the president?" "They can't." "They couldn't do a thing like that." "They're stinking traitors." "They're Benedict Arnolds." "Are you guys crazy?" "You can't do a thing like that." "Sit down, Rickmas." "Don't you realize what that means?" "That's assassination." "He's your president, too." "I'll make a deal with you, boy." "We kill you instead of the president." "That's even Steven." "OK with you?" "Thought not." "Anybody else want to take the heat off the president?" "How about you, Sheriff?" "It's a bad joke, Baron." "Anybody else want to volunteer?" "They're commies." "They're enemy agents." "Ha." "All right, who is behind it, Baron?" "I haven't the slightest idea." "Well, what's in it for you?" "You're curious, aren't you, Shaw?" "Why not ask?" "I like you, Sheriff." "You got guts." "You must've been a good soldier." "I got by." " I won a Silver Star." " That's pretty good." "Killed 27 Jerries all by myself." "You're a born killer." "That's all." "Yeah." "Some guys liked it." "I know a couple." "Funny thing." "In the war you do a lot of chopping and you get a medal for it." "You come back and do the same thing, and they'd fry you for it." "Hard to match up, isn't it, Baron?" "Just when you get real good at something, you're a murderer." "Yeah." "Over there you can knock over a whole platoon." "Or a guy invents a bomb and kills 100,000 people just like that." "And maybe he gets more medals." "Here, you put a slug in a double-crossing squirt that isn't even worth burying and you have to take the gas." " Smiley Bitters?" " That's right." "You mean, they got to him before he died?" "Yes, Baron, they got to him." "And he talked." "What do you think those troopers are doing down there?" "Why do you think Carney..." "Who's Carney?" "The man you murdered." "Oh, him." "Murdered?" "Where?" " Right out in the hall." " Knock it off, Sheriff." "So they know about me." "Sure." "If Smiley talked they know about me." "This isn't good, Johnny." "Of course, it's good." "We not only get the loot, we get the glory, too." "Baron, why do you hate the president so?" "I got no feeling against the president." "I'm just earning a living." "By treason!" "He threw craps." "Don't give me that politics jazz." "It's not my racket." "I don't even know who's paying me." "And I don't want to know." "What's the difference?" "Didn't it occur to you why they want you to do it?" "Certainly it did." "But that makes them suckers, not me." "I'm the guy who's getting it made." "Listen, Sheriff, a man can stand for so much and no more." "Before the war, I drifted and drifted and ran." "Always lost in the great, big crowd." "I hated that crowd." "I used to dream about the crowd once in a while." "I used to see all those faces scratching and shoving and biting." "And then the mist would clear and somehow all those faces would be me." "All me." "And all nothing." "But the war changed everything, hey, Baron?" "I'm no traitor, Sheriff." "I won a Silver Star." "And learned how to kill." "Yeah." "Maybe I did." "Maybe that changed everything." "Maybe people began to know who I was." "After the show," "I hooked up with an outfit for good dough." "The finger said where and how much." "And Johnny Baron did the job." "You think anybody else could handle this job?" "You think Benny or Wheeler could do it..." "Talking too much, Johnny!" "Nobody else can do this job, because they got too much feeling." "And feeling's no good." "I got nothing against the president, Sheriff." "He's just worth a half a million bucks to me." "Tax free." "Make my own laws about the taxes, too, Pop." "The guy is goofy." "Shut up, Jud." "Listen to him, buster." "And don't ever say that again." "Ever!" "You heard him, Jud." "A half a million dollars, huh?" "Yeah." "That's a lot of scratch, Sheriff." "A man could retire on that amount of scratch." "How do you know it'll ever be paid?" "Half of it has been paid." "And the rest?" "I'll get it." "I wouldn't be sure." "It's not just a man." "It's the president." "That's what's so funny." "The laugh is on the guys who are paying the freight." "All this loot and they don't even know what they're doing." "A half a million clams for absolutely nothing." "Because tonight at 5:00 I kill the president." "And one second after 5:00, there's a new president." "What changes?" "Nothing." "What are they paying for?" "Nothing." "Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken the job, Sheriff." "You'd have taken it." " You think so?" " Yeah." "Why?" "All right, take it easy." "Come on, lady." "Do as you're told and everything will be fine." "Answer straight, clean, and plain." "Answer it." "Hello?" "Ms. Benson, let me speak to the chief." "Benny?" "Yeah." "Train's on time." "The car will be waiting in front of the station like you figured, facing you." "Fine." "Get back as soon as you can." "And don't be followed." "OK." "Here's the big boy's car now." "Lovely target." "Hey." "Hold it, mister." "Yes, Officer." "What is it?" "What's your name?" "Fred." "Fred Whittaker." "What are you doing in town?" "Just passing through." "Where's your car?" "I don't have one." "I hitchhiked in from Three Rivers, waiting for the train." "I figured I'd take the train onto L.A." "What train?" "The 5:00." "The 5:00?" "Now, that's right strange." "Why, Officer?" "Because we don't have any 5:00 train that stops here, mister." "Except today." "And that happens to be a special that you don't know about, except that you do." "Must be some mistake." "You made it." "Oh, now look, Officer." "I..." "I got identification." "I can prove who I am." "I've got my driver's license right here." "Come on!" "Gunfire." "Hold it!" "Don't shoot him!" "Aah!" "I told you not to kill him." "Not to kill him?" "After he..." "He was our only link." "Come on." "So long, Benny." "You think they got him?" "I only hope he's dead." " Haggerty." " Yes, sir." "We got him." "Dead unfortunately." "Wasn't Carney's last checkpoint the house on the hill?" "That's right." "But he and the sheriff were going to check the White Springs ranch around 2:00." "We haven't been able to reach them." "Well, take two troopers and backtrack 'em." "Start with the house on the hill." "We've got to find Carney." "Right." "Now we got trouble." "Everybody except Mrs. Benson down in the cellar." "What are you going to do?" "Nothing, I hope." "Move." "Anybody gets brave, kill 'em all." "You can only hang once." "Pidge, stay up there." "Now look, get a grip on yourself." "I want you to look relaxed." "If you don't pull this off, everybody is dead." "Do you understand?" "All of us." "Dead." "So be yourself." " I don't know what you mean." " They'll come up here to check whether Carney and the sheriff were here." "And I want you to go out front." "I don't want them in the house." "I can't." "I don't know how." "I don't know what to say." "Just go out and water the flowers." "Do anything you'd like but keep busy." "Lipstick and rouge, quick." "Now listen to me carefully." "They'll come up to check whether Carney and the sheriff were here." "Certainly they were here." "They came up to check the house." "But at 3:00 they left here." "They went out on the White Springs ranch road." "They took Pop and the kid with them." "And that's the last you saw of them, you got it?" "You got it?" "!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "You look like a ghost." "Step on it." "Pull it off, lady, or everybody is dead." "Everybody." "He's getting rattled, Pop." "How do you mean?" "He didn't expect Benny to get shot." "Got anything in mind?" "Maybe." "Now listen..." "Bart:" "Shut up you guys." " Mrs. Benson?" " Yes." "My name's Haggerty." "Then you must be one of Mr. Carney's men." "That's right." "Has he been here?" "I haven't seen him since they left." "They came up here about 3:00 to check the house, they said." " I don't know why." " Who is they?" "Why, Mr. Carney and Sheriff Shaw." "Then they said they had to check the White Springs ranch road." "Is your father-in-law Mr. Benson here?" "Well, no." "No, he isn't." "You see, he used to be Mr. Carney's chief." "Yes, I know." "So Mr. Carney took him along, my little boy, too." "Then you're alone?" "Yes." "And you haven't heard from them since they left?" "No." "No, I haven't." "Something's wrong." "I know something's wrong." "No, no, Mrs. Benson." "Nothing's wrong." "We're... we're just checking, that's all." "But if you see or hear from them before I do, please have them check the detail down at the railroad station." "It's very important." "Thanks." "All right, lady, inside." "Come on, come on." "Very nice." "Very nice job." "Congratulations." "You don't like me, do you?" "You're an animal." "I don't like you either." "Animals kill each other to live." "That's what you're doing." "How do you like your roast beef?" "Medium, rare, or well done?" "All right, Bart. Run 'em in." "It's clear." "I wish you were dead." "You haven't got the guts." "Just give me a chance." "Here's your chance." "Go ahead." "Take it." "But remember the squirt in the cellar." "That's right." "Think of the president first." "Let's not think of ourselves." "I didn't give you a whole chance." "But you didn't even take a half a chance." "Everything OK, Johnny?" "Sure." "Everything's fine." "She played her part real good." "Should be on television." "You, didn't I tell you to fix the television set?" "You told me to sit." "Get your stuff and fix it." "It'll keep you from getting patriotic." "If I don't do something," "I'll blow my top just sitting here." "Fix the set and shut your mouth." "I don't like what you say anyway." "Now fix it." "We still got time." "All yours." "Open 'em." "About 200 yards." "Tod:" "Baron, isn't that a German rifle?" "Yeah." "You know it?" "I know it." "Where were you during the war?" "All the way from the Caserene Pass." "I won a Silver Star." "Where were you?" "Normandy to the Alps by way of The Bulge." "You get into Germany?" "No." "Bet you were one of those big shot guys, with the gold bar on the shoulder." "No." "No, I was a corporal." "How about you?" "Corporal?" "I made sergeant." "You didn't like officers." "Officers, big shots." "Yes, sir." "No, sir." "Salute, sir." "Big shots." "You don't like big shots." "Not when you're bigger, Sheriff." "I've killed more Jerries than any five officers put together." "I did some pretty good chopping in the war." "Pretty good." "Like I said before, you're a born killer." " That's all." " Yeah." "They taught me how, and I liked it." "Heh, my C.O. used to stand there and shake like a leaf while I chopped." "If more guys like me..." "Tell me one thing, Baron." "How come you missed Germany?" "They sent me home." "My tour was finished." "Your tour?" "In the infantry?" "Are you kidding?" "Why, you finish your tour in the infantry when they plant you in a box." "Tour... that was for the Air Corps." "Turn it off." "Yeah." "You probably went over the hill." "I said turn it off." "You know, Baron, you got the yard look." "You look yard bird to me." "I'm telling you, Sheriff, turn it off." "Big shot with the yard birds, eh?" "Come on now, tell me." "Where were you court-martialed?" "What was it for?" "Rape?" "Nah, nah, nah." "Not rape." "Killing." "That's what you like." "Killing." "Maybe shooting down unarmed P.W.s, eh?" "Sit down and shut up." "Ah, but by golly, you got away with it." "So..." "I got it." "Section eight." "You went out on a section eight." "Section eight." "Psycho in charge of killing, huh?" "You know, I knew guys like you." "Killing was sweet." "Rather kill a man than love a girl." "A real kick." "The thrill of the guts." "Stop it, Tod." "Stop it!" "Or maybe you didn't like your C.O." "Maybe you shot him in the back, that it?" "Maybe you... aah!" "Like I said, shut up!" "Tod..." "Tod, darling, it's hopeless." "No." "It's not 5:00 yet." "Gonna keep your trap shut?" "Yeah." "Hurts, huh?" "It hurts." "Well, I can keep kicking it as long as you keep shooting your face off." "I know." "Pop, you were right." "You blew the power tube." "I have one here." "I'll have it perking in a second." "You know, I was thinking, Jud, if you were to clamp the main plate lead to a good ground like to that table there, you'd get a better picture." "A lot of line in them." "Clamp the main plate lead to the table." "Cut the static lines." "Expert." "First he wrecks the set then he tell the kid how to fix it." "Main plate lead?" "Yeah." "That's right, Jud." "All it needs is a high potential ground." "We're a long way from the broadcasting station." "What are you guys yapping about?" "Pop:" "Technical talk, mister." "I'm an old radio man." "Battleship New York." "World War I." "Gramps beat the Germans singlehanded." "Not exactly, son." "But I was there at Scapa following the German fleet's surrender." "All right, all right." "Stop the fooling." "And fix that set, will ya?" "Yes, sir." "Oh!" "Dad!" "Dad, what is it?" "Pain, bad." "It's his heart." "He has a bad heart." "Pidge, my pills." "Top drawer of the bureau." "I'll get 'em." "You stay put." "The kid'll get 'em." "Pidge, put down that gun and get some water for your grandfather." "But, Mom, listen!" "You heard me, Pidge." "Oh, gee..." "You know what I think, Pop?" "I got a feeling your heart attacks are phony." "Pain's bad." "I'm warning you." "If you're trying to pull something, you'd better watch it." "Baron, I've been thinking." "You've been thinking you'd like to take a crack at this rifle." "You think I want to get myself killed?" "Yes." "Frankly, Sheriff, I don't think you'd mind getting yourself killed." "Nobody wants to die." "Do we have to talk about it." "Why don't you shut up?" "No guts." "Nerves." "It all gets on my nerves." "Now, why would I want to get myself killed?" "Because it's five minutes to five." "And a shot might bring those state troopers storming all over the joint before the president arrives." "But, Sheriff, I can put you away in two seconds by twisting your arm again." "That way there's no noise." "So don't go winning any post-mortem medals." "I wouldn't enjoy winning a post-mortem medal any more than you're going to enjoy that post-mortem money." "What'd you say?" "What's he say?" "I said nobody ever made it." "You won't either." "You don't think so?" "So you got a plane." "You'll never reach it ahead of the police." "And if you do, you'll never make it to the border." "You ever hear of a jet fighter?" "You know how many air strips there are between here and the border?" "You know, a fellow could get an education" " just listening to this guy?" " Look, maybe he's right..." "Look, you said half the money had already been paid." "A smart guy would hit the road right now." "Fly out of here." "Skip the president." "Spend the money in South America." "Alive." "He's right, Johnny." "Why take the risk?" "We can lam now." "We can make it." "We don't have to fool with this thing." "It's too big, Johnny." "There's something wrong with it." " Chicken." " Chicken?" "All right, so call me chicken." "Who wants to be rich and dead?" "They'll get us." "They haven't missed yet, Johnny." "The guy's right." "You've got the loot." "Let's take off and get out of here for good." " What's the..." " He threw craps." "So, Benny wasn't chicken." "They didn't waste any time on him." "I tell you, we haven't got a chance." "Turn it off, Bart." "You're embarrassing me in front of the sheriff." "But, Johnny, even if we swing it, he's the president." "They'll never give up." "Hey, you don't figure that the guys that are paying off are just going to let you fly away, do you?" "They'll be after you just like the Secret Service." "I thought of that, too, Sheriff." "It might be an internationally embarrassing situation if the Feds happen to catch up with us first." "So, Bart, you've just got to realize that everybody's going to be on your tail from 5:00 until the day you die." "There's a hole in your argument, Sheriff." "What is it?" "We're already wanted for murder, so you can only take the gas once." "They'll get us, Johnny!" "They won't get us, Bart." "Not us." "You sure, Johnny?" "You leave it to me." "You're sick, man." "You're sick." "I don't like that." "Don't play God just because you've got a gun." "But you see, Sheriff, that's the way it is." "When you've got a gun, you are a sort of god." "If you had the gun, I'd be the chump and you'd be the god." "The gun gives you the power of life and death." "It's a funny sort of feeling to have control of life and death." "You must've had it during the war." "You could miss a man if you had a mind to." "Or you could kill him dead in his tracks." "And that made you a kind of god." "And I liked it." "Without the gun, I'm nothing." "And I never had anything before I got one." "First time I got one in my hands and killed a man," "I got some self-respect." "I was somebody." "Like this kid over here." "If that cap pistol was a real gun and I didn't have a gun, he'd be a kind of a god, too." "And if I wanted my life," "I'd worship the ground he walks on." "And I'd pay him the half million dollars for my life." "Because life is all I have." "But the squirt doesn't have the gun." "I have." "And I can loose the lightning." "Announcer: ...the score's all tied up five to five." "No noise, just pictures." "Announcer:" "The first time this season." "Butterfingers." "Announcer:" "They're going to have that pennant two years in a row." "Now we pause briefly for our station identification." "You're wrong about God and the gun, Sheriff." "Without the gun, you would never have spit at me." "You would never have even noticed me." "But because of the gun, you'll remember me as long as you live." "What is it now?" "Blowing for the 66 crossing, outside town." "All right." "Nobody moves." "This is it." "You, over there." "Hey, Johnny, let me see once." "We're going to do it, Bart. This is my meat." " We're going to do it." " Just let me see." "Aah!" "Return fire!" "Hold your fire!" "Tod:" "Pidge!" "It didn't stop..." "It didn't stop." "It didn't stop!" "No." "Don't." "No." "Please, don't." "No." "Are you sure you're going to be all right, Mr. Benson?" "Oh, don't worry about me, Mr. Wilson." "I'll be all right." "I don't need any nursing." "We're certainly grateful to you." "How come the train went right through the station?" "We simply cancelled the stopover." "We couldn't take a chance on the president's safety once it was proven the assassins were in town." "The president went on to Los Angeles." " Missed his fishing." " I'm afraid so." "Someday those guys are going to stop taking you for amateurs, huh, Mr. Wilson?" "I hope not." " Well, thanks again, Mr. Benson." " Oh, no." "You, too, young man." "Well, that's all right." "Someday I'm going to be a bodyguard just like you." "Nonsense, boy." "You're going to grow up to be president." "And presidents have bodyguards." "And grandpops?" "And grandpops, especially grandpops." "Ellen." "How's Jud?" "He didn't make it." "And Slim?" "Critical." "But they think he'll be all right." "I guess somebody had to make the mistake." "What?" "Something Dad said this morning about principles." "Get in, Tod, I'll drive you home." "No, thanks." "I've got to go over to the office." "Can I pick you up for church tomorrow?" "Yeah." "That'd be swell." "Say, Officer?" "Yeah?" "Could you tell me the way to Three Rivers?" "Ah, you go down to the first intersection." "You turn left." "It's about 60 miles." "Thanks." "What's this town?" "Suddenly." "Suddenly what?" "No, that's the name." "That's a funny name for a town." "Oh, I don't know." "I don't know about that."