"~edited by sumnix~ sumnix@mail.ru" "Hilario." "Papa!" "Sotero!" "My good friend." "How are ya?" "You have a drink?" "I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to see a village like this." "Santos!" "So much restlessness and change in the outside world." "People no longer content with their station in life." "Women's fashions?" "Shameless." "Cigar." "Here!" "Religion!" "You'd weep if you saw how true religion is now a thing of the past." "Last month we were in San Juan - a rich town." "Sit down." "Rich town, much blessed by God." "Big church." "Not like here - little church, priest comes twice a year." "Big one!" "You think we find gold candlesticks, poor box filled to overflowing?" "You know what we found?" "Brass candlesticks, almost nothing in the poor box." "But we took it anyway." "I know we took it anyway." "I'm trying to show him how little religion some people now have." "That I could see for myself." "Don't see!" "What if you had to carry my load, huh?" "The need to provide food, like a good father, to fill the mouths of his hungry men." "Guns." "Ammunition." "You know how much money that costs?" "Huh?" "Huh?" "!" "No." "The days of good hunting are over." "Once there was horses, cattle, gold, fruit from the trees." "No more." "Now I must hunt with a price on my head, rurales at my heels." "I'll be back." "Enough!" "We'll get the rest when we come back." "I love this village." " I know you have your problems..." " Murderer!" "Thief!" "Rafael!" "Stupid!" "Stupid!" "We have to have another discussion very soon." "It's always a pleasure to hear the views of my good friend Sotero." "Maybe when I come back, hm?" "Adios!" "Let's go!" "Help me bring him in." "If he steals our harvest again, we might as well cut our throats and be done with it!" "Leave the valley." "That's what we must do." " Live somewhere else?" " Take our homes with us?" "Our farms?" "We could hide some food." "From Calvera?" "He never steals all our food." " He leaves us enough to go on with." " That's something." "We could beg him to leave us more." "No, no." "That would make him more angry." "I don't think we should do anything." "We must do something!" "Like Rafael?" "Talk sense." "We break our backs in the fields, and our bellies stay empty." " We must do something!" " We must do something..." "But what?" "I don't know." "We'll ask the old man." "He'll know." "Fight." "You must fight." "Fight!" "With machetes and bare hands against guns?" "!" " Buy guns." " Buy?" "Go to the border." "Guns are plentiful there." "But what are we going to use for money?" "Sell that." "And anything else you can collect." "Even if we had the guns, we know how to plant and grow - we don't know how to kill." "Then learn... or die." "Hey!" "I've been waitin' for you." "Oh, you did a wonderful job." " I'm sorry, friend, but there'll be no funeral." " What?" "!" "The grave's dug, and... the defunct is as ready as the embalmer can make him," " but there'll be no funeral." " What's matter." "Didn't I pay you enough?" "It's not a question of money." "For $20, I'd plant anybody with a whoop and a holler." "But the funeral's off." "Well, how d'ya like that?" "!" "I want him buried." "You want him buried." "If he could talk, he'd second the motion." " That's as unanimous as you can get." " You've behaved like a Christian, but..." "Now, look." "I'm not lookin' for any praise." "I'm a travelling salesman - ladies' corsets." "I'm walking down the street and a man drops dead right in front of me." "For two hours people kept stepped over around him, without lifting a finger." "I'm just doing what any decent man would." " Come on, Henry, let's get on..." " No!" "Wait a minute." "This man has to be buried." " And soon." "He's not turning into a nosegay." " I know." "I would if I could, but... there's an element in town that objects." " Objects?" "To what?" " They say he isn't fit to be buried there." " What?" "In Boot Hill?" "There's nothing up there but murderers, cutthroats and derelict old barflies." "And if they ever felt exclusive, brother, they're past it now." "They happen to be white, friend." "And old Sam..." "Well, old Sam was an Indian." "Well, I'll be damned!" "I never knew you had to be anything but a corpse to get into Boot Hill." " How long's this been going on?" " Since the town got civilised." "It's not my doin', boys." "I don't like it." "No, sir." "I've always treated every man as another future customer." " In that case, get that hearse rollin'." " My driver's quit." " He's prejudiced too, huh?" " If it comes to gettin' his head blown off." " Well, get somebody else." " Nobody else will drive it!" "So here." "Oh, hell!" "If that's all that's holding things up, I'll drive the rig." "Can I borrow that scatter-gun?" "You're more than welcome." "Hey!" "Wait a minute there." "This hearse cost me $840 in Denver." "It's the only one in the county." " I'll be darned if I let it be shot at." " I'll pay for the damages." " I wanna see this." " Me, too!" "Never rode shotgun on a hearse before." "Let her buck." " New in town?" " Yeah." " Where are you from?" " Dodge." "You?" "Tombstone." "See any action up there?" " Tombstone?" " Same." "People all settled down, like." " Same all over." " Injun lovers!" "Easy." "Just wind." " We'll get there." " It's not gettin' up there that bothers me." "It's stayin' up there that I mind." "Comin' up behind us on the left." "I don't think so." "Second-storey window." "Curtain moved." "I'm not in a good position." "Let him stick his neck out." " You elected?" " No." "I got nominated real good." "Boys, why don't you just turn around now - save yourselves a lot of trouble?" "Soon, huh?" "The reception committee is forming." "Hold it." "Hold it right there." "Anything wrong?" "Turn that rig around and get it down the hill." "I need six men up here." "Boys, the drinks are on me!" "I'd like to buy you a drink." "And your friend, too." "Thanks." "Where are you from?" "Oh, yeah." "Where are you goin'?" " Thanks for the free show." " You're more than welcome." "Boy, that was really something." "I won't forget that if I live to be a hundred." " Henry, the stage is leavin'!" " All right, all right!" "Wait till Flora hears about this." "You know, she won't believe one word of it." "Henry!" "The stage!" "Come on!" "You keep this." " Where are you headed?" " I'm drifting south, more or less." "You?" "Just drifting'." " Any action here?" " Yeah." "Grocery clerk and bouncer in one of those bars across the street, if that's your taste." "Yeah." "Well, see you." "Say, what's your name?" "Make it Vin." " What's yours?" " Chris." "Yes?" "We think you are a man we can trust." " Thank you very much." " We wish you to help us." " There's this man, Calvera." " A thief." "A murderer." "He and his men, they steal our food, and then they leave us to starve." " Not only that, but our women..." " Wait, wait." "Just a minute." " If you need protection, go to the rurales." " We did." "Twice." "But they can't station men in a small village for... who knows how long?" "So they left." "And when they left, he came again - Calvera - and every year since." "He will do so until he is stopped." "Sit down." " We need help." " We must buy guns." "We know nothing about them." "Will you buy guns for us?" "Guns are very expensive and hard to get." " Why don't you hire men?" " Men?" "Gunmen." "Nowadays men are cheaper than guns." " Will you go?" " It will be a blessing if you help us." " Sorry, I'm not in the blessing business." " No, no." "We offer more than that." " We could feed you every day." " And we have this." "What's that?" "We can sell this for gold." "Everything we own." "Everything of value in the village." "I've been offered a lot for my work, but never everything." "Will it be enough?" "You see, if we could drive the bandits away, life could be very good in our village." "But as it is, we ourselves could stand it a little longer, but the children, they cry because they're hungry." "Do you understand what it means when you start something like this?" "We will fight, too." "Every one of us." "When Calvera comes, the church bell will ring the alarm." "We'll fight with guns, if we have them." "If we don't, with machetes, axes, clubs, anything!" "Once you begin, you have to be prepared for killing and more killing." "And still more killing - until the reason for it has gone." " We understand." " We've considered that." "Does every man in the village feel the same?" "Every man." " I'll see what I can do for you." " Gracias." "You know..." "Now, wait." "I didn't say I'll go." "I'll pass the word around that you're looking for men." "It won't be hard to find men here." "Everyone wears a gun." "Sure - same as they wear pants." "That's expected." "But good men?" "That's something else again." "How can you tell they are good?" "There are ways." "Come in." "The word is out you're looking for men." "That's right." "Men who are good with that." " I'm good with it." " Fast?" " Try me." " I aim to." "Step in closer." "Now, hold your hands like that." "Now, clap." "Faster." "Now, as fast as you can." "Now you try it." "Very young and... and very proud." "The graveyards are full of boys who were very young and very proud." "Come in." " No tricks now, Chris." " Harry!" "It's good to see you again." " Chris." " What are you doing in this dump?" " I heard you've got a contract open." " Not for a high-stepper like you." "A dollar bill always looks as big to me as a bedspread." "It's just eating money." "A gold eagle, room and board." "Six weeks gunning for some farmers." "Hey, you old Cajun!" "You don't talk so good, but you always know what's goin' on." "Oh, Harry." "With your permission." "All right." "All that's on top." "What's underneath?" " Only what I told you." " Gold?" "Cattle?" "Payroll?" " Only what I told you." " Sure, never mind." "Tell me when you can." "Harry, please don't understand me so fast!" "I said never mind." "I'm in." "You dirty dog!" "Place your bets." "Five." "Five." "Eight." "Eights again." "Ten at the point." "The cowpoke that just walked in in the stovepipe chaps," " I'd like to buy him a drink." " Yes, sir!" "Valgame Dios." "There's one!" "Look at all the scars on his face." "The man for us is the one who gave him that face." "Hey, you learn fast." "Next bet comin' up." "Crap." "Next man." "Gent over there wants to buy you a drink." " Vin." " Howdy." " I'd like to buy you a drink." " Whisky." "Have you anything lined up?" "Yeah." "I'm gonna take a job in a grocery store." "Fella says I'm gonna make a crackerjack clerk." "Crackerjack." "If that's your taste..." "I did hear of a job below the border shooing flies away from a village, but I can't find out what it pays." "$20." " A week?" " Six weeks." "The whole job." "Well, that's ridiculous." " You heard of anything?" " Yeah." "Below the border shooing some flies away from a little village." "Their village." "It pays $20?" "I'm looking for men right now." " Nah, it wouldn't even pay for my bullets." " Ours is a poor village." "We understand." "You could get much more in a grocery store, and it's good, steady work." "Yep." "How many you got?" "Looking for a man named O'Reilly." "Don't know his name, but there's a fella in back chopping' wood for his breakfast." "Mornin'." "I'm a friend of Harry Luck's." "He tells me you're broke." "Nah, I'm doing this because I'm an eccentric millionaire!" "There's a job for six men, watching over a village, south of the border." "How big's the opposition?" "Thirty guns." "I admire your notion of fair odds, mister." "Harry tells me you faced bigger odds in the Travis County war." "Well, they paid me $600 for that one." "He said you got that Salinas thing cleared up in less than a month." "They paid me $800 for that one." " You cost a lot." " Yeah..." "That's right, I cost a lot." "The offer is $20." "$20?" "Right now, that's a lot." " Where can I reach you?" " Right here." " I still say he can't." " And I tell you he can." " If he claims that, he's a liar." " Not so loud." "He might hear you." "I don't give a damn if he hears me or not." "I got two months' salary comin'." "I'll bet it all it ain't so." " Well, you ain't betting' with me." " Me either." "I told you what he said, and I believe him." " Well, one of us is a fathead." " You can get good odds on which." "Britt." "Britt, wake up." "I'm talkin' to you!" "Look at me!" "Filene told me what you said." "I say you're wrong." "What d'you say?" "What's the matter?" "You afraid?" "Afraid to tell me I'm wrong?" "!" "Call it." "Well, you see, I won." "Well, how about it?" "Well?" " Filene, how about it?" " I don't know." "It was mighty close." "Close?" "What d'you mean, close?" "You all got eyes." "You saw what happened." "I won!" "You tell 'em." "I won, didn't I?" "You lost." "You're a liar." "I said you're a liar!" "I said you're a coward and a liar!" "Get up." "Let's do it for real." "Get up!" "Get up, I said!" "So help me, I'll let you have it right where you are." " Call it!" " I want nothin' to do with this." " Call it!" " Drop it, Wallace." "Forget it." "Get away from me." "Call it." " Britt." " Chris." "Can I have a word with you?" "Did you have any luck?" "Found a man who would have been perfect." "Gun or knife, you couldn't want any better." "Wasn't interested." "The money?" "It wasn't enough?" "He doesn't care a hoot about money." "A man in this line of work who doesn't care about money?" "!" "Men in this line of work are not all alike." "Some care about nothing but money." "Others, for reasons of their own, enjoy only the danger." "And the competition." "If he's the best with a knife and a gun, with whom does he compete?" "Himself." "You." " I've been looking for you!" " What have we got here?" "Never mind." "He knows." "Clap hands, he says." "Clap your hands, and let's see how fast you are." "Clap hands!" "A man comes to him..." "because he respects him... 'cause he'd be proud to work with him." "He makes me look like two cents with some damn kids' game!" " Hey, kid, that's enough of that!" " You stay away from me, will ya?" "Come on, now... and let's see how fast you are." "And no games, huh?" "No clapping hands - none of that stuff!" "Just draw." "Come on." "Come on, draw!" " Campesino." "Come on!" " You say campesino to me?" "!" "You get out of my way, you dirt farmer!" "You don't think I mean it, huh?" "You... think I'm just talking, huh?" "Hey, get up." "Do you hear me?" "Get up and face me!" "Do you hear?" "!" "Hey, you... give him my gun, huh?" "Sorry this happened, friend." "Let him sleep it off." "When he wakes up, let him have his gun back." "And give him a drink." "I changed my mind." "There's a man waiting in your room." "Said he was a friend of yours." "Remember me?" "Yep." "You need men to do a job in Mexico." " That's right." " How long?" "Four, six weeks." "That ought to do it." "How much does the job pay?" "I thought you were looking for the Johnson brothers." "I found them." " How much does the job pay?" " 20." "We leave tomorrow." "I'll have the money before I leave." "It'll just take care of my last two days' rent." "$20?" "You must be livin' in style." "Yes." "I have the most stylish corner of the filthy storeroom out back." "That, and one plate of beans:" "$10 a day." "Yeah, things do get high when they find out you're on the run." "There's a dry wash south of town." "Pick me up there." "He's a good gun." "And we aren't heading for a church social." "Chris." "Yeah." "He picked us up at dawn." " Any idea who it is?" " Yeah." "That kid from the saloon." " Won't take no for an answer." " Doesn't show much sense, does he?" "I'm getting a stiff neck keeping' track of him." "If you can't forget him, why don't you ride side-saddle?" "Ah, well... he won't last much longer." "That so?" "Ridin' out there in all that dust and heat - what a chucklehead!" "Yeah." "Not smart like us!" "Yep." "Suppose our friend over there has got anything to eat?" " How about I bring him some?" " It isn't food he's hungry for." "Then let me tie a can to his tail." "Right now, he's like an itch I can't scratch." "Leave him alone." "It's a free country." "And it's his." "You know, it's funny." "Now that he's gone, I kinda miss him." "Where is everybody?" " Where are they, Tomas?" " Luis!" "Asuncion!" "Demetrio!" "Emilio!" "Sotero!" "What kind of a reception is this?" "Come out!" "Come out and make them welcome, before we die of shame." "Hilario, stop your shouting." "Do they call this a welcome?" "What are they thinking of?" "!" "Come in." "You must be thirsty." "You must excuse them." "They are farmers here." "They are afraid of everyone and everything." "They are afraid of rain, and no rain..." "The summer may be too hot, the winter - too cold." "The sow has no pigs, the farmer is afraid he may starve." "She has too many pigs, he's afraid she may starve." "There's no need to apologise." "We didn't expect flowers and speeches." "Tomorrow is the anniversary of the founding of the village." "They will be celebrating - then, you will see them in a better light." "Who sounded the alarm?" "I did." "Thank you, amigos, for coming out to greet us." "Thank you for letting us see your beautiful faces!" "Thank you, thank you, you chickens!" "You come running out like chickens!" "We ride for days to get to this nothing in the middle of nowhere." "We're ready to risk our lives to help you." "And you?" "You hide from us!" "Hide." "From us!" "But it's a different story when you're in danger, huh?" "You might lose your precious crops." "Then you flock to us." "Huh?" "Well... we're here, my compadres and I." "And here we stay." "And you?" "You prove to us that you're worth fighting for." "Now get back to your houses, back to work." "Go on!" "Go back." "We'll let you know when to fight and how to fight." "Go back!" "All of you, go back!" "Go back!" "Now we're seven." "You know, I've been in some towns..." "where the girls aren't very pretty." "As a matter of fact, I've been in some towns where they were downright ugly." "But this is the first time I've been in a town where there's no girls at all." "Except little ones." "If we're not careful, we can have quite a social life here!" "It's not so bad." "I fell in with a fast crowd that hangs out near the fountain." "We got to predicting' the weather for today and didn't break up till twilight." "Stop the music!" "Bring out the other bull!" "Hilario!" "Britt." "The boy saw three of Calvera's men." "The horses are in the arroyo." "Lee." " Get one alive." " Yes." "I'll show you where." "Rico, he knows where the arroyo is." " I'm sorry, Britt." "I didn't mean to spoil it." " Shut up!" "That was the greatest shot I've ever seen." "The worst." "I was aiming at the horse." "Three men were sent by Calvera to spy." "It's almost certain they saw us." "Whatever they learned will be buried with them." "Valgame Dios!" "If he comes now..." "He'd never send men ahead if he was near enough to see for himself." "So we have time to get ready." "And we have something else - surprise." "If he rides in with no idea of the reception we can prepare for him," "I promise you, we'll all teach him something about the price of corn." "Aim, squeeze," "Cock." "Aim, squeeze, cock." "Settle down." "Now, you miss the first chance, you may not get a second." "Get that butt tight in your shoulder." "If you don't, two things will happen." "One:" "You'll waste a bullet." "Two:" "You'll break your arm." "Now, close your eye." "Aim from here, to here, to the target." "Fire." "That rock?" "No, that man you're gonna kill." "Good!" "If only we had more guns, think what we could do!" " You'll get more guns." " How?" "The same way you got these." "Calvera's men." "The ones who spied on us brought them." "Like three kings bearing gifts." "If Calvera does not come now, after all of this, what a waste!" "A pretty foxy fellow, this Calvera, eh?" "Senior, not a fox." "A coyote!" "How did he ever find out about the gold mine?" "Gold mine?" " What gold mine, senior?" " You know... the one in the mountains." " In our mountains?" " We never had a gold mine around here." "Say, come to think of it, it was a silver mine." " Whatever happened to it?" " We have no silver mine either." " I mean in the old days." " Not at any time." "Where did you hear of this gold and silver, hm?" "All right, come on, boys." "More work, less talk, huh?" "Toro." "Toro." "Toro." "Come on, little bull!" "Toro." "You do anything to me and I'll kill you while you are doing it." " You almost took my eye out!" " Let me go." "Let me go!" "You bite me and I'll bite you!" "I got a good mind to throw you in the water." "Smash you with a rock!" "Cut your head off!" "Shut up." "Shut up!" " Where are the others?" "Huh?" " I'll never tell you." "Look what I found." " Who is she?" " From our village." "So that's where they were." "You hid them." "Sure they hid them." "But she won't tell where." "They're afraid." "She's afraid of me, you, him - all of us." "Farmers!" "Their families told them we'd rape them." "Well, we might." "In my opinion, though, you might have given us the benefit of the doubt." "But... just as you please." "As long as you were out there, why didn't you bring 'em all in?" "What for?" "Leave them out there." "Let Calvera find them." "He'll take good care of them." "Bring them in." "Show him the way." "Ma'am." "Come on, little angel!" "Gently boy." "Gently." "I can't tell you how wonderful it was for you señoritas to fix dinner for us." " How's the food?" " Great." "Chicken enchiladas, carne asada and Spanish rice." "Looks pretty good." "These people really know how to cook." "Dig in, there's tons of it." "Do you know what the villagers have been eating since we got here?" "Tortillas and a few beans, that's all." " Thank you." " You're welcome." " Thank you." " You're welcome." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Do you have an older, grateful sister at home?" " No, senior." "Many thanks." " You're welcome." "Many thanks." "One, two, three, four." "One, two, three, four." "One, two, three, four." "One, two, three, four." "One, two, three, four." "One, two, three, four." "One, two, three, four." "Squeeze." "Miguel, didn't I tell you to squeeze?" "Hm?" "Just like when you're milking a goat, Miguel." " It's that I get excited." " Well, don't get excited!" "Now, this time, squeeze." "Slowly, but squeeze." "All right, squeeze." "Squeeze!" "I'll tell you what." "Don't shoot the gun." "You take the gun like this and you use it like a club." "All right?" "Right." "Flaco!" "Muchas gracias." "Good afternoon." "Howdy." "We've come to move you into the village." " Move into the village?" "!" "Me?" "!" " Everybody who lives outside." "Oh, no." "We can't protect you out here." "Rojas is makin' room for you in his home." "Rojas?" "!" "His conversation would bore me to death!" "Yeah, well... maybe somebody else, huh?" " They are all farmers." "Farmers talk of nothing but fertiliser and women." "I've never shared their enthusiasm for fertiliser." "As for women, I became indifferent when I was 83." "I am staying here." "Yeah, well... what are you gonna do when Calvera comes?" "At my age, a little excitement is welcome." "Don't worry." "Why would he kill me?" "Bullets cost money." "All right." "Have it your way." "You worry about yourself." "Are you ready for him?" "What if he comes now, eh?" "It's like that fella who fell off a ten-storey building." "What about him?" "As he was falling, people on each floor heard him say "So far, so good"." "So far, so good!" "First of all, they'll see that ditch." "More water for the corn." " Awful lot of new walls." " Civic improvements." "Hey, Chris... what about that net, eh?" "Well, if he's not looking for it... if he rides in unsuspecting." "If, brother." "If!" "Yeah." "Yeah!" "I should have guessed." "When my men didn't come back, I should have guessed." " How many of you did they hire?" " Enough." "New wall!" "There are lots of new walls." "All around." "They won't keep me out." "They were built to keep you in." "Did you hear that?" "We're trapped!" "All forty of us!" "By these three." "Or is it four?" "They couldn't afford to hire more than that." "We come cheaper by the bunch." "Five!" "Even five won't give us too much trouble." "There won't be any trouble - if you ride on." "Ride on?" "I'm going into the hills for the winter." "Where am I going to get food for my men?" "Buy it or grow it." "Or maybe even work for it!" "Seven!" "Somehow, I don't think you've solved my problem." "Solving your problems isn't our line." "We deal in lead, friend." "So do I. We're in the same business, huh?" " Only as competitors." " Why not as partners?" "Suppose I offer you equal shares?" " In what?" " Everything." "To the last grain." "And the people in the village?" "What about them?" "I leave it to you." "Can men of our profession worry about things like that?" "May even be sacrilegious." "If God didn't want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep." " What do you say?" " Ride on." "You hear that, Sotero?" "You hear what he said?" "Ride on." "To me!" "You tell him to ride on before I become angry." "Him, and the others!" "Because, if I leave with empty hands, everybody in this village will answer to me - when I come back!" " You won't come back." " Why not?" "You won't have any guns." "Take them off right now and drop them." "Generosity." "That was my first mistake!" "I leave these people a little bit extra and they hire these men to make trouble." "It shows you - sooner or later, you must answer for every good deed." "You were safe behind your rock by the net." "I was face to face with them as they rode toward me." "Ten of them, screaming like devil." " The last time you told it, it was five!" " They multiply like rabbits!" "Ten." "Ten!" " They got a good kick in the behind." " If they try it again, they'll get another!" " We'll tear them to pieces." " We'll bury them all." "Calvera too, huh?" "!" "Any sign of 'em?" " No." " That is bad luck." "Can you imagine?" "I knew him when he was a mouse!" "I was never so frightened in my life." "My knees were like jelly." " I would never have guessed it." " Well, he'll leave us alone from now on." " You think so?" " Of course." "He'll go away." "There are other villages... other villages that don't sting the way we do." "Senior!" "Neighbours..." "I drink to our friends." "They armed us, fought at our sides, and will forever live in our hearts." "They haven't gone, then." " See the gun flashing?" " No." " I make it two of them." " Three." "Fool kid's gonna get his head blown off." "Chico!" "Stay put." " Three?" " Three." "O'Reilly?" "Do you see them?" "Nah." "They're too far back in the trees." " Chris." " Yeah?" "Try and make it up to those rocks." "I'll cover you." "Chico, cover the back door." "Get back!" "Get back!" "Go on!" "What's the matter?" "Don't you hear so good?" "Get down." "Now stay down!" "Crazy kids!" "You might have been hurt." " So might you." " It's not the same thing." " This is my work." " It's our work, too." "Everyone tells us "Hide!" "Get back!" "Stay out of sight!"" " But we're not afraid." " He's very brave." "It's the truth." "So is he." "We all are - every boy in the village." "We had a meeting and we drew straws and we got you." "You got me?" "What d'you mean, you got me?" "If you get killed, we take your rifle and avenge you." "And we see to it that there's always fresh flowers on your grave." "That's a mighty big comfort." "I told you he would appreciate that." "Don't you kids be too disappointed if your plans don't work out." "We won't." "If you stay alive, we'll be just as happy." "Maybe even happier." "Maybe." "Can you see them?" "No." "Do your... hands sweat before a fight?" " Every time." " Mine are sweatin' now." "Funny..." "Hands sweat... mouth is dry." "You'd think it would be the other way around." "Does my... talking annoy you?" "It's because I'm..." "I'm frightened, you know?" "Yeah." "I guess right about now you kinda wish you'd given your crops to Calvera, huh?" "Yes... and no." "Both at the same time." "Yes, when I think of... of what he might do." "No, when I remember the feeling in my chest this morning... as I saw him run away - from us." "Man... that's a feeling worth dying for!" "Have you ever... felt something like that?" "Not for a long, long time." "I... envy you." " What are you doing here?" " You shouldn't do things like you did." " Go back." " You mustn't take foolish chances." "All right, I won't." "But go back." " Does it hurt?" " What?" "No." "I'm sorry I did it, but I thought..." " You know what I thought." " Yes, yes." "I know." "I wasn't afraid of you." "It's my father." "He says "Stay away from those men"." ""They are brutes." "They are cruel."" "He's right." "Do you know that?" "He's right." "Well, go back home now." "He is wrong." "Well... go home anyway... before he finds out you're here." "He already knows." "He said he'd punish me for being so shameless." "But I don't care." "They got them." "They got them all!" " Result." " Do you think they'll try that again?" "I doubt it." "For all they know, we're still out there ready to jump them." "He didn't go." "Calvera didn't go?" "Did you think it would be that easy?" " What do we do now?" " Well, what do you say?" " Me?" " We work for you, you know." "What else is there to do but... wait?" " It's Calvera's move." " Right." "Now you'd better replace the guards." "They must be tired." " If you were Calvera..." " Yes?" "You'd go away, wouldn't you?" "If you'd paid the price we make him pay." "You would go..." " Yes, I would, only..." " Only what?" "Only I'm not Calvera." "Take the rifles and the bandoleras and pass them out." "Now, let's get out there on duty." "Food, woman." "They'll be hungry." "That was... that was the greatest..." "New hat for you, sonny." " How do I look?" "Huh?" " Big improvement." "You know what?" "They'll make up a song about you and this hat." "Villages like this make up a song about every big thing that happened." "They sing them for years." " Do you think it's worth it?" " Don't you?" "It's only a matter of knowing how to shoot a gun." "Nothing big about that." "Hey, how can you talk like this?" "Your gun has got you everything you have." "Isn't that true?" " Well, isn't that true?" " Yeah, sure." "Everything." "After a while, you can call bartenders and Faro dealers by their first names." "Maybe 200 of them." "Rented rooms you live in: 500." "Meals you eat in hash houses: 1,000." "Home, none." "Wife, none." "Kids... none." "Prospects, zero." " Suppose I left anything out?" " Yeah." "Places you are tied down to, none." "People with a hold on you, none." "Men you step aside for, none." "Insults swallowed... none." "Enemies,.. none." "No enemies?" "Alive." "Well!" "This is the kind of arithmetic I like!" "Yeah, so did I at your age." "Give these to someone who knows how to use them." "Yeah." "Why don't you ask Calvera what he has in mind for tonight?" "Yes, do that." "And I'll write a song for you myself." "Andres, Lorenzo and Felipe never came back." "That's three." " Armando in the plaza." " That's four." "And Jorge and Memo in the pass, where they were caught by that cursed net." "Damn them!" "Five and six." "Emilio going over the wall." "Seven." "Jose near the fountain." "Eight." "Gregorio near the fountain." "That's nine." "Nine." "Fortuno by the water ditch." "Rico in the fields, where they slashed him to pieces!" "That's 10 and 11." "Go on." "Talk." "Talk!" "Talk!" "They're all dead anyway." "Forget about them." "There's still plenty of us here..." "to make them pay." "Our friends down below." "Please, no!" "It's all right." "You're all right." "You had a dream." "Just a bad dream." "Have no fear." "Have no fear?" "My very words." "10,000 times a day." "Senior, don't punish yourself." "A man who has fought so many times..." "You must have great courage." "Until the day you lose your nerve." "You feel it." "And then you wait... for the bullet in the gun that is faster than yours." " Senior, don't." " And the lies you tell to fool yourself." "No enemies... alive." "I have lost count of my enemies." " But you're with friends now." " Yes." "The final, supreme idiocy:" "Comin' here to hide." "The deserter, hiding' out in the middle of a battlefield." "One." "There was a time when I woulda caught all three." "We know what fear is." "We live with it all our lives." "Only the dead are without fear." "Rico!" "Rico!" "One minute, mother!" "Ten minutes to pretend we're asleep, and then we'll be back on duty." " All right, Bernardo?" " Yes, but not you, Juan." "You're too young." "Come on." "Bernardo O'Reilly!" "You've been adopted." "Yeah, it's my real name." "Mexican on one side, Irish on the other, and me in the middle." "Now, watch carefully." "Here we go." "See?" "All three, right side up." " Think you can do it?" " Of course." "That's very easy." "Would you care to make a friendly wager?" "A little bet?" " You know we have no money." " It doesn't have to be money." "Whatever you have hidden away..." "buried out where Calvera can't find it." " Like jewels." " Jewels?" "!" "Yeah." "They tell me a lotta precious stones have been dug out of the mountains." "Opals, emeralds, sapphires." " Oh, yes." "Yes, that's very true." " There's no denyin' it." "Well, then!" "No!" "When you're finished, they should all be right side up." "Let me try it again, eh?" "About those precious stones..." "Where are they found?" "As you say, senior, in the mountains." " Where in the mountains?" " That I couldn't tell you." "There!" "I got it!" "Never mind that." "Why can't you tell me?" "Because I never have found any precious stones." "Wait." "You mean Aztec treasure buried in the hills, from when the Spaniards came?" "That's exactly what I mean." "Aztec treasure." "Have you found some around here?" "Would to God we had!" "I would not be sitting here." "I'd be living in a big city, in a palace." "Then tell me this - how come Calvera keeps hangin' around here?" "Calvera..." "We've seen the end of him." "He'll be gone in the morning." "No, he will not." " He won't go anywhere." " Why do you say that?" "Calvera isn't worried about food for winter." "He's worried about the food his men haven't eaten for the last three days." "The price of corn is going up." " They're starving." " How do you know?" " Starving and broke." " How do you know?" "!" "I've been up there." "Well, we'd better be ready for them." " Because they gotta die or win." " Valgame Dios... if they do win." " They won't win." " Are you God, that you can say for sure?" "We're surrounded." "Outnumbered." "What are we to do?" "Keep on fighting." "Do you want to see us killed off one by one?" "That is not what you were hired for." " Once you start, there's no stopping." " You understood that, and I told him!" "I don't care." "Go away." "All of you." "Get on your horses and go." " Let Calvera have the food." " Give him what he wants." " At least we'll be alive." " Quiet!" "And listen to me!" "No!" "It is easy for them to say fight." "They have no sons, no daughters, no wives." "Go." "Now, before it's too late." "Is that what you want?" "Answer me!" "Who's for going on and who's for giving up?" "I want to know now." "Don't be fools!" "You'll turn our village into a graveyard." "Tell them to go." "It's the only thing for them to do." "I'll tell you what I can do." "I can kill the first man who so much as whispers a word about giving up." "The very first man, so help me, I'll blow his head off!" "We started this fight, and we're gonna finish it!" "With... or without you." "I'm not saying we bit off more than we can chew, but we ought to talk about what we're gonna do." "We start acting like we had some good sense." "We figured to raise the ante just enough to make Calvera play someplace else." "where we figured wrong." " We're the only game in town." " A man can't call 'em all." " I didn't say he could." "All I'm saying is that sometimes you bend with the breeze... or you break." "Do you wanna go?" "There comes a time to turn Mother's picture to the wall and get out!" "The village will be no worse off than before we came." "You forget one thing." "We took a contract." " It's not the kind courts enforce." " That's just the kind you've gotta keep." "A noble thought, but the way things are right now," " I don't know." " The odds are too high." " Much too high." " Then we go?" "No." "We lower the odds." "Right up into the hills, past the men on guard, right into their camp." "I sat there, I smoked a cigarette with them, we discussed a few things." "We, you know..." "All of a sudden, there was Calvera himself." "Right beside me." "When I brought back the news, you should have seen the look I got from Britt - and from Chris." "They have seen a thing or two in their time, and done them too." "They're not men you can impress easily." "Oh, no." "But when they looked at me, I knew I was one of them at last." "Well... you'd better take a look at me, too." "Am I the kind of man who'd live in... a place like this?" "Hm?" "Digging my life away out in the fields?" "Me, a farmer - a peasant?" "You know what I'm saying, huh?" "Wherever they go..." "Chris, Vin, Britt, the others..." "I go with them." "And if you think you, or anything you do, could make me change my mind, forget it." "I... want you to understand that." "I want you to understand that... this... will get you nothing but this." "We're going to hit Calvera, maybe drive off some of his horses." "Then if he attacks, he'll be on foot." "I'll go with you." "I know every rock." "No, you stay." "You're in charge here." "You can count on me." "I know I can." " They've left to hit the village." " No." "We'd have heard shots." "They've gone." "Good evening." "You'll be dead." "All of you!" "Like that!" "If that's what you want." "Do we have a choice?" "Of course." "Sit down." "Let's talk." "Things are turned around now, uh?" "You're wondering how." "Your friends, they don't like you very much any more." "You force them to make too many decisions." "With me, only one decision." "Do what I say." "You should not be surprised." "My good friend Sotero, he arranged to let me come in." "Understand?" "Well, anyway... to business!" "I could kill you all." "You agree?" "Well, you don't disagree." " Anyway, I don't want to kill you." " Why so generous?" "Practical." "They hear about it up north." "Maybe some friends of yours make more trouble for me." "A man who never wants no trouble." "We have a saying here." "A thief who steals from a thief is pardoned for 100 years." "All right, what does that leave?" "Only one thing." "I pardon you." " Ride on." " Just like that?" "Just like..." "I'll make it easy for you." "You want food?" "Give them food." "Water?" "All right." "Water." "Horses?" "Saddled and waiting." "Guns?" "The guns... the gun belts, you take off and put here now." "What about these people?" "What happens to these people will happen whether I kill you first or not." "Just a little gesture, huh?" "To show these people who the real boss is." "You go, then I give you the guns back." "I know you won't use those guns against me." "Only a crazy man makes the same mistake twice." "I don't understand why a man like you took the job in the first place." "Hm?" "Why?" " I wonder myself." " No, come on." "Come on, tell me why." "A fella I knew in El Paso, one day he took all his clothes off and jumped in a mess of cactus." "I asked him the same question "Why?"" "And?" "He said It seemed to be a good idea at the time." "Good!" "Right." "Go get your clothes, your saddlebags." "Anything you want, take it." "Your friends in there owe you at least that much." "Santos, pick up the carbines." "Cirillo, the guns." "You know, the first time I took a job as a hired gun, a fella told me Vin, you can't afford to care." "There's your problem." "One thing I don't need is somebody telling me my problem." "Like I said before, that's your problem." "You got involved in this village and the people in it." "Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?" "The reason I understand your problem so well... is that I walked into the same trap myself." "Yeah." "The first day we got here, I started thinking... maybe I could put my gun away and settle down and get a little land, raise some cattle." "The things that these people know about me... wouldn't work against me." "I... just didn't want you to think you were the only sucker in town." " Can we go with you, Bernardo?" " No." " You like us, don't you?" " I guess so." " You're one of us, aren't you?" " Yeah, I'm one of us all right." " Take us with you!" "Please?" "!" " No!" "We're ashamed to live here." "Our fathers are cowards." "Don't ever say that again about your fathers." "They are not cowards!" "You think I am brave because I carry a gun." "Your fathers are much braver because they carry responsibility." "For you, your brothers, your sisters and your mothers." "This responsibility is like a big rock that weighs a ton." "It bends and it twists them until finally it buries them under the ground." "Nobody says they have to do it." "They do it because they love you and they want to." "I have never had this kind of courage." "Running a farm, working like a mule, with no guarantee what will become of it - this is bravery." "That's why I never even started anything like that." "That's why I never will." "You'll do much better on the other side of the border." "There you can steal cattle, hold up trains." "All you have to face is a sheriff, a marshal." "Once I rob a bank in Texas." "Your government got after me with a whole army." "A whole army!" "One little bank." "It's clear, the meaning?" "In Texas, only Texans can rob banks!" "Adios!" "Adios!" "I could have told you they'd sell us out." "Farmers..." "Farmers!" "No honour, no loyalty - nothing." "All they care about is their..." "precious crops and the miserable... dirt they dig in." "I hate them." " I hate them all." " Sure you hate them." "Because you come from a village just like that one." "You yourself are a farmer." "Yes." "Yes, I'm one of them." "But who made us the way we are, hm?" "Men with guns." "Men like Calvera and... men like you." "And now me." "So what do you expect us to be?" "Nobody throws me my own guns and says run." "Nobody." "It took me a long, long time to learn my elbow from a hot rock." "Right now, I belong back in that border town, sleepin' on white sheets." "I think I'll ride back to that village." "You're crazy, all of you!" "They won't lift a finger to help." "Think of the odds." "Harry, nobody's asking you to go back." "Ride on, Harry." "It's all right." "Bet your sweet life, I will!" "Come on, Lee." "They wanna get killed?" "Let them." "Go ahead, Lee." "You don't owe anything to anybody." "Except to myself." "You're crazy!" "All of you!" "Come on." "Hold on, Chris, I'll get ya outta there!" " Chris..." " Yes, Harry?" "I'd hate to die a sucker." "We didn't come here just to keep an eye on a lotta corn and chilli peppers, did we?" "There was something else all the time, wasn't there?" "Yes, Harry." "You had it pegged right all along." "I knew it." "What was it?" "Gold." " Sacks of it." " Sounds beautiful!" " How much?" " At least a half a million." " My cut woulda been what?" " About 70,000." "I'll be damned!" "Maybe you won't be." "You came back." "For a place like this." "Why?" "A man like you?" "!" "Why?" " Bernardo!" "Bernardo!" " No." "No, get back." "Go on!" "Get back." "We didn't..." "We didn't mean to do it." "We didn't mean to do it." "You see?" "I told you." "You see your fathers?" "What's my name?" " Bernardo." " Bernardo!" "You're damn right." "You could stay, you know." "They wouldn't be sorry to have you stay." " They won't be sorry to see us go, either." " Yes." "The fighting is over." "Your work is done." "For them, each season has its tasks." "If there were a season for gratitude, they'd show it more." "We didn't get any more than we expected, old man." "Only the farmers have won." "They remain forever." "They are like the land itself." "You helped to rid them of Calvera, the way a strong wind helps rid them of locusts." "You are like the wind, blowing over the land and passing on." "God be with you." "Adios." "Adios." "Adios." "The old man was right." "Only the farmers won." "We lost." "We always lose."