"Wow." " This way, my lovely." " Oh, Nick, I think your mother's spoiled me for life." "Mrs. Barkley, it was a feast, especially the egg surprise." "Oh, if you think my mother's egg surprise was wonderful... wait till you see the surprise I have for you." "That's the one I wanna see- the surprise you have for her." "Let me" " Let me guess." "I know." "You're going to let me smoke an after-dinner cigar with the menfolk." "Stand back, my lovely." "Voila!" "Ah!" "Oh, it's beautiful." "What is it?" "What is it?" "It's a pool table." "Believe me, the current rage in San Francisco." "Sweepin' the West Coast like prairie fire." "Introduced by the farsighted and progressive Barkleys into the Big Valley." "Well, I'm impressed." "Impressed?" "I'm overwhelmed." "But... what do you do with it?" "BrotherJarrod, show the lady." "You just wait here." "You can't go barging'in here like that." "Mr. Nick" " Master Nick!" "Ha-ha!" " Jock!" "Ha-ha!" "Nick, me boy!" " Jock McLean!" "What are you doing here?" " Hello, boy!" " Oh, look at you!" " Oh, look at you!" " Oh, Mother, you remember me talking aboutJock McLean?" " Of course." "ColonelJock McLean." "How nice to meet Nick's old commanding officer." "Oh, how nice to meet the mother of such a broth of a boy." "Thank you, ma'am." "Let me introduce the rest of my family." "My sister, Audra." " How do you do?" " My brotherJarrod." " Jarrod." " How do you do?" " Brother Heath." " Heath." " Colonel." "And over here, Melanie DeLand." "Charming." "Oh, Nick, what a palace you've got here." "I'm sorry to come barging' in like this, ma'am... but I wanted to see the boy, and..." "what with this business and all at hand." " Is this a business trip, Jack?" " Haven't ye heard?" "Oh, yes." "They finally located the Barkley riverboat, the River Monarch." " The River Monarch?" " Aye." "A wee boy fished up a bit of the wreckage." "That's what put us on the track." "It was miles away from where they'd been searchin'." "After all these years." "Well, excuse me, Jock, but, uh, just what is your stake in this?" "Ho-ho, laddie, don't I wish I did have a stake in it." "When she went down, she was carrying a million dollar's worth of government gold." "I've been sent down here in charge of the salvaging." "Lassie." "Lassie, is there something wrong?" "Melanie." "Melanie!" "There you go." "You all right now?" " I'm fine, really." " I'll see you in, huh?" "No." "I'm all right, Nick." "Uh" "It was just too much of a good meal." "Well, now, you better be fully recovered by Sunday." "I don't think I could make it through that picnic all by myself." "Good night, Nick." "Thank you for a lovely evening." "No." "Please." "Please, please." "I didn't" "Oh, no." "No, no, no!" "I can't!" "No!" "No!" " I didn't do it!" "No!" " Shh." "Father." "Oh, baby." "Baby." " I had one of those dreams again." " Shh." "It's all right." "It's all right, Father." "Is something wrong, baby?" "Father- they found the River Monarch." "Are you sure, Melanie?" "An army officer came to the Barkleys' tonight." "He's in charge of salvaging" "The gold." "The gold." "We've got" "Get hold of Peter Doolin at once." "Yes, Father." "Tell him to call a meeting of the Circle." "I know." "I know, baby." "I thought it was over too." "I prayed to God it was over." "Oh, the drums will roll, and bless my soul" "This is the way we go Look, am I the only one with a voice around here?" "Forty miles a day on beans and hay in the regular army, oh" "In the regular army, oh" "We sang that song all the way through the Wilderness campaign." "Aye, the Wilderness campaign." "Wasn't that when you first joined the 48?" "It was." "And the first time I saw you, you were sitting on a tree stump." "Behind a tree stump, hiding' from the enemy." "Ah, you were sitting on that tree stump nursing a minié ball you just got in your leg... and the same time, you were threatening the regimental surgeon... with slaughter if he didn't fix it in time for the advance." "Days of glory, eh, boy?" "Now will you all be joinin' old Jock in a wee toast." " To the days of glory." " Days of glory." "So you remembered, lad." "In the mess, we drank all our toasts in broken glass." "Your regiment must have run up a considerable bill in glassware." "Ah, 'tis what extended the war a full year." "And with that, I think I will say good night." "Aye, it's about that time." "I better be movin' along too." "Oh, nonsense." "You and Nick must have a thousand things to talk about." " You're staying with us, of course." " Oh, no, ma'am." "I couldn't." " Nick, you take care of it." " I will." "Well, gentlemen, I have to be in court early in the morning, so... table's all yours." "And I have a thousand miles of range to fence." "Have a good game." "Jock." " Good night, lads." " Good night." "Ah, it's good to see you, lad." "Good to see you." "the fightin'-est" "Jock's no more a colonel, lad." "Oh, I'm sorry, Jock." "It's just hard for me to realize you being anything else but a colonel." "Ah, well, ye have me permission." "But it didn't take 'em long- after the fightin' was done- to pull me back to me regular rank." "LieutenantJock McLean." "Huh." "They should've promoted you to a general." "Ah, they don't want fighting' men in the army today, lad." "Pink tea sippers, handy with the ladies, good at small talk in large drawing' rooms" "That's what rates for promotion today." "Ah, well." "Old Jock'll be retirin' in six months anyway." "Ah, to hang with all that." "Nick, lad, tell me about that lovely lassie." "Is it serious with you two?" "Might be, if I don't watch myself." "I wish I was a lad again." "Melanie DeLand." "Now why would that name be so familiar to me?" "Her father." "Her father's Cyrus DeLand." "He used to head up the Barkley shipping line." "Aye." "The army report on the ship sinking" "That's where I must've run across the name." "Ah, think of it, laddie." "A million in gold sitting' on the bottom of a river... and old Jock in charge ofhaulin'it up and gettin'it back to the government." "And when it's all done, Nick, outta sheer gratitude- if not merit- now wouldn't ye think that they'd be retiring' me, well, at least a captain... on a $60-a-month pension instead of 40?" "Twenty dollars extra." "It gives a man incentive." "What about another whiskey, lad?" "I have a bitter taste in me mouth." "Well, there's the first of it, Nick." "Break it open." "Oh, Nick, lad... has there ever been a man alive who hasn't wanted to see what a ton of gold looks like?" " It's lead- plain, pig lead." " Lead." " Good evening, Miss Melanie." " Hello." "Gentlemen, it's been a long time." "Would you excuse us, please, Melanie?" "Sit down." "Sit down." "Our last little gathering was the night before... the River Monarch started her ill-fated journey downstream." "Now it seems the antic anglings of some misbegotten boy have brought her ruin to life." " Isn't there anything to drink?" " Help yourself." "You seem to be takin' it cool enough, Mr. Doolin." "Do you expect me to become hysterical over something that happened eight years ago?" "This is a hanging proposition, Mr. Doolin." "Aside from the gold, 23 men went down with that ship." " We knew from the beginning there would be risk." " Hmm, that was war." "But I'm not sticking my neck in a rope for a cause that died long ago." "Then I suggest we find a scapegoat." "Somebody has to hang." "Who shall it be?" "Cyrus?" "Anson?" " Anyone care to volunteer?" " Oh, you're outta your mind." "Who's gonna put a noose around his own neck?" "Be serious, Peter." " Our lives and reputations are at stake." " Of course they are." "Therefore it behooves us to find us, as a scapegoat, one man who can't possibly betray us." "Any ideas?" " Tom Barkley." " I think not." "Tom Barkley was my employer, but he was also my friend-my very good friend." "What are friends for, Cyrus- particularly dead friends- unless to make some small sacrifice for the living?" "This is no small sacrifice, and you know it." "Afraid of smearing his good name?" "It would be bad enough ifTom Barkley's family wasn't here to bear the shame and the loss." "If we put this on Barkley, chances are his estate will have to pay back every penny of it... and they'll lose every asset that Tom left behind." "You're talking about the Barkley fortune, the Barkley good name." "Well, I say, hang the Barkleys." "I say, better them than us." "Gentlemen?" "Mr. Doolin, how do we go about it?" "That's the beauty and the simplicity of it." "Gentlemen, you have a distinguished journalist in your midst... one..." "Peter Doolin." "A few discreet items in the paper should help us all rest easier." "Jarrod!" "Jock!" " What is it?" " Read this." "Where'd he get this?" "He stops just about six inches short of the biggest libel suit" "Short?" "Read on." "He practically accuses father of sinking' the River Monarch himself." "You were supposed to keep this quiet pending investigation." "There were workmen on the salvage crew that day... and heaven knows how many others who knew what we were lookin' for." "It was bound to come out, lads." "There's nothin' you can do about it." "It was not bound to come out, and there's plenty I can do about it." "Like horsewhipping the blackguard who wrote that?" "Or shooting him maybe?" "Now that'd truly prove your father's innocence, wouldn't it?" "Look at it this way, lads, nobody who knows your family or knew your father... is gonna believe this slander, if slander it is." "If?" "I can't allow myself the pleasure of an opinion, lad... not if Washington asks me to investigate this case." "Nick, he's right." "Jock said it all." "Anyone who really knows us would never believe this, and the others don't matter." "And I smell bacon frying." "Look." "Maybe it'll all seem different on a full stomach." "What about it?" "Minnie, how are y" "Good afternoon, Mrs. Barkley." "Sit down, please." "No, thank you." "It won't take long to say what I've come to say." "You can say it just as easily from that chair." "Believe me, Mrs. Barkley, I can well understand..." " how much my article has upset you." " Can you, Mr. Doolin?" "And don't think for a minute that it was an easy story to write." "But news is news for all that, hmm?" "I couldn't have phrased it any better." "Just as you couldn't have phrased those lies you wrote any better." "Mrs. Barkley, believe me, it was certainly not my intention... to accuse your husband of stealing that gold." "A good friend of mine, a woman I've known many years- a woman who came to my wedding-just passed me by on the street without saying hello." "Now, I'm sure that was not your intention, Mr. Doolin... but that is what happened." "You're being melodramatic, Mrs. Barkley." "I wager that, secretly, half the people in town envy a man... with the initiative to steal a million dollars from the government." " Not that I'm suggesting your husband did such a thing." " Aren't you?" "Mrs. Barkley, if you've ever read the masthead of my paper, you might recall these words:" ""The truth, no matter where it leads, no matter who it hurts."" "That's all I want, Mr. Doolin- the truth!" "All right, Mrs. Barkley." "That's well taken." "I can't promise you a retraction... because I've printed nothing that's demonstratively a lie." "But I can promise you this." "From here on in, in my paper you'll read only the truth- the provable truth." "Sam, I'm not here." "Leave it to me, Miss Melanie." "I'll wait for ya." "Hello, Sam?" "This, uh, some of that new manila rope I've heard about?" " That's right." " Might be able to use some of it at the ranch." "If you've come for Miss Melanie, she's gone." " Oh?" "Where?" " Didn't say." "Ah, she told me to drop in if I was in town." "Guess you're in hard luck." " All right." "What's botherin' you, Sam?" " Nothin'... if nothings bothering' you." " Now what do you mean by that?" " Now, you can read... the paper, same as all of us." "You mean that story that was in the other day?" "Not the other day." "That one set us all to wondering'." "But the one today- We don't have to wonder anymore." " All right, now what are you talkin' about?" " You haven't seen it?" "Well, it's all there:" "how your mother tried to bribe Mr. Doolin from telling'the truth." "Come on." " Thanks, Sam." " No trouble." "Wanted to let him know how we feel in this town about thieves... even if they are Barkleys." ""Be fair," the lady pleadeth, "for the honor of my dead husband is at stake."" "Just between ourselves, Doolin, did she really try to bribe you?" "Dear friends, would I malign that lovely lady..." ""clothe my naked villainy with odd old ends stol'n forth of holy writ... and seem a saint when most I play the devil"?" "Richard III, act one, scene three." "Well, Doolin, you are very versed in the classics." "I find a reference handy when referring to rascals, Mr. Barkley." "All right, Doolin." "Spell it out." "You're not so shy in print." "Name your rascals." "If the sins of the fathers are truly borne by their sons" " Come on, Doolin." " Don't be so touchy, dear boy." "It isn't every man who can boast of a parent who got away with a cool million in government gold." "Thanks, Jarrod." "You may have bailed us out, but better not start preaching' to me." "The next time you start a public brawl because you don't like... what someone says about your family, I wish you'd let me know about it." "I'd like to get in on it." "Hey, what's this?" "Jock, what's all this about?" "Corporal Drum has just brought me some fresh orders." " I'm moving into the hotel." " Oh, there's plenty of room at the ranch." "Nick, I've been assigned as the investigator..." "on the River Monarch affair... and that being the case, I don't think it fittin' that I should remain under your roof." " Oh, now wait a minute." " Nick, I think he's right." "He is, if he figures to dig up something that involves Father." "What I think doesn't count, lad." "I've got to make a very thorough investigation... starting with the possibility that your father might be involved." "Jarrod, I'll want to see all of your father's records." " They'll be at your disposal." " Thank you." "Corporal, let's get this stuff inside." "What about this?" "All right, Jock." "I can't account for this $70,000 deposit." "But 70,000 isn't a million." "I know." "It's far from a million." "But there are others." "What about this and this and this?" "There's absolutely nothing" "You can indict our father for being a bad bookkeeper, Jock..." " but that has nothing whatever" " Look." "I'm just an old soldier tryin' to do a job." " You quite certain there are no other records?" " None that I know of." "I know what this must look like to you, Jock." "You see, my husband, when he died, had business interests in five different states:" "factories, lands, mines, gold, silver, copper." "You see, business in those days was done during dinner... or out riding or hunting or at the club." "A contract was drawn up on a paper bag, and between men of honor, no contract at all." "A man's word was his bond." "I'll accept that." "But if it's possible that your husband... might have earned that million dollars and not account for it in his books... it's also possible he could have stolen it and not account for it in his books." " Oh, now just a minute, Jock." " Now, look." "There's another thing too." "The ship never sunk because of an explosion in her boiler room." " There was a blasting device planted in her cargo hold." " You're talking about murder... because 23 men went down with that ship, and that, Jock- that my husband could have been no part of- not for one million or 10 million or 20 million!" " Well, I didn't know the man." " I did." "There was a young boy in my regiment, Corporal Phillip Talbot." "Ah, a broth of a boy- fearless." "Went down fighting." "Half a dozen bullets he took." "His beautiful young wife- ah, she mourned him something fierce... as did the two other women he married." "I'm sure that all three ofTalbot's wives... thought they knew their husband too." "I'm dreadfully sorry, Mrs. Barkley." "I haven't completed my investigations yet... but it's my duty to inform you- if my findings go against ye- that the government has decided to commence legal proceedings against your husband's estate... for one million dollars." "Good night." "Nick!" "Come on down here." " Did you find somethin'?" " Now nothing conclusive, but according to this... there were others right here in Stockton who had access to that gold and a motive to steal it." ""The Knights of the Golden Circle." They're Confederate sympathizers." "Now, in the 18 months prior to the end of the war... there were about a half dozen small shipments of gold that were ambushed." "Yeah, but, Jarrod- doesn't prove that they're responsible." "No." "No, Nick, it doesn't prove they were responsible for stealing those shipments... or the one on the River Monarch, but... take a look at this:" "a list of names of their active members right here in Stockton." ""Anson Gregory, Peter Doolin, Cyrus De"" ""DeLand." Cyrus DeLand." "That's right, Nick." "Nick, it's late." "Ah, Melanie, you got better manners than to talk through a door." "Thank you." "Thought for a while there you were trying to avoid me." " What do you want?" " I want to talk to your father." " He's asleep." " I think it's important enough to wake him up." "I'll decide that after you tell me what you want with him." " What I have to say to your father has to be in private." " I am not waking him, Nick." "All right, Melanie." "Your father was in charge of the Barkley shipping line... and Anson Gregory was the purser of the River Monarch." "That's a matter of record." "Now either of them had as much access, if not more, to the gold than my father- as much access, and more motive." "Motive?" "You mean for the money?" "Oh, look around, Nick." "Does this look as though my father stole a million dollars?" "Do we live like millionaires?" "If he had stolen the gold, where could it be?" "How could he have gotten rid of it?" "Could have sent it to Richmond, to the Confederacy." "You'll stoop to any vile slander to exonerate your own father, won't you?" "Not only is my father a thief, but a traitor to the Union." "I think you better leave, Nick, now." "Before you faint, like you fainted at my house... when Jock McLean mentioned they had found the River Monarch?" " Get out of here, Nick." " Not until I talk to your father." "Not now." "H-He's asleep." "He- He's been ill." "You know that, Nick." "Now, Melanie, I'm gonna talk to him, if not tonight" " I don't know anything that could help you, and neither does he." " You're lyin'." "Will you please leave my father alone?" "Melanie- I'm gonna find out the truth, Melanie... if not from your father, then from Anson Gregory, and if not from Anson" "You won't find out anything from Anson Gregory, Peter Doolin or anybody" " Now I didn't even mention Peter Doolin." " Get out of here." "Get out!" "Get out, Nick!" "Get out!" "Get out!" "We-We couldn't help overhearing, Melanie." "Well, I think we've accomplished all we can for one evening, Anson." " Good night, Cyrus." " Good night." " Good night." " That gold, Cyrus- you've had it hidden since the end of the war." "Yes." "And it will remain hidden." "Cyrus, I think the time has come for all of us to share your burden." "I think not, Peter." "I've borne up under it this many years." "I think I can continue to do so." "The pressure's greater than ever." "There are many interested parties now- searching parties." "I think we'd all feel more secure if we knew where you've hidden that gold." "No, Peter." "Just to be sure it was in a safe place." "It is in a safe place." "You'll just have to take my word for that." "I made a mess of everything, haven't I, Mellie?" "Oh, baby, baby." "Baby." "We're at a crossroads, Anson." "We can sit tight and live in the hope that Melanie's love for her father... is greater than her love for Barkley... or we can remove temptation from her path." "Remove Nick Barkley?" "There'd be no chance of her saying anything to a dead man." " Is the lieutenant here?" " He's not in." "Uh-huh." "Jock, I wanna talk to you." "Ah- me young friend Nick..." " come to share a glass with his old colonel." " Will you excuse us for a minute?" " I can't leave you alone with him in this condition." " Corporal, it's all right." "Just give us a little privacy." "Jock, I've gotta talk to you about somethin' now." " It's very important." " Nick, just give me a moment." "Give me a moment." "Corporal." "Corporal Drum!" "Cold, wet towel." "Jock, this is very important." "It's important." "I presume it's about the gold." " The gold." " The gold." "Aye." "That's so important, all right." "Bless you, Corporal." "Bless you." "Jock, I think I know who stole the gold and why." " The Knights of the Golden Circle." " Confederate sympathizers." "They were not only Confederate sympathizers, Jock." "They took an active part in their cause." "Did you know that Anson Gregory, Peter Doolin and Cyrus DeLand were members of the Knights?" "I've been through their histories with a fine-tooth comb... and I can't even begin to place them anywhere near the robbery." "Don't you think it's just a little bit strange that the purser, Anson Gregory... was the only man to survive when the ship went down?" " He survived with injuries." " Injuries-Jock, minor injuries." "Injuries that could've been faked." "The point is, he escaped..." "while 23 men lost their lives." "I found out something else, Nick." "Your father was aboard the Monarch." " When it exploded?" " He got off at the last fueling stop before the boat went down." "Oh, now wait a minute, Jock." "That's no proof that he set that bomb." "But it's an indication that he had an opportunity to set it." "Well, there you are, Nick- your father against the three of them." "And not any one of the three a penny richer than before the boat went down." "But your father- the only man in the state who could steal a million dollars in gold... and conceal it amongst his tremendous assets" "All right, Jock." "Now, if the gold was pirated to the Confederacy... there would be no reason for Gregory, Doolin or DeLand... or any of the others in the Circle to be any richer." "Nick, there are papers in Washington to prove that that gold... never got anywhere near the Confederacy." "Oh, I'm sorry, Nick." "I'm sorry, Nick, lad- truly sorry." "There's no need for me to tell ye how much your friendship means to me, but... what about a drink for old time's sake?" "Just one more drink with the old colonel." "Take his money." "Make it look like a robbery." "Nick." " Wait for me, Melanie." " Oh, Father" "It's gone far enough- too far." "Come in." "It's open." "Lieutenant McLean, I'm Cyrus DeLand." " I have a story to tell you." " Well, come in." "Oh, Nick, you know what the doctor said." "Doctor be hanged." "If I stay in that bed one more day, I'm gonna really be sick." "I'm all right." "I'd like to see Mr. Nick, Silas." "Miss Melanie, Nick." "May I come in?" "Mrs. Barkley." " Nick" " Hello." "I-I would like to speak to you, Nick." "I'll get some coffee." "Thank you, Mrs. Barkley." "If you've come to see about the state of my health" " Nick- - and if your friends are interested" "Nick, I'm here because you mean very much to me." "I've hated doing what I've had to do- avoiding you, lying" "but there seemed to be no other way." "Nick, you were right." "My father was involved." "Your father will be cleared." " You sure?" " I'm sure." "I wanted you to hear this from me." "Does Jock know?" "Father offered Lieutenant McLean a trade- the return of the gold in exchange for amnesty for his friends." "My father's... meeting with Mr. - with McLean now to..." "take him to the gold." "That's-That's all I came to say." "Good-bye, Nick." "Melanie..." "I would have acted the same way if my father's life was at stake." "I even risked losing someone I cared very much about just for his reputation." "It's all right." "It's all right." "I'm here." "Sorry for the delay, but I'm ready to leave now, Mr. DeLand." "Nick, I just came from the telegraph office." "They said thatJock sent a telegram to Washington... saying that father was guilty of sinking the River Monarch." " Are you quite sure nobody else knows the gold's here?" " No one." " Not even your daughter?" " Especially not my daughter." "She had enough of a burden without knowing where the gold was hidden." "Ah, I don't know how you managed it- one man and a million dollars worth of gold." "I substituted the chests one by one in the warehouse and brought them here." "Tom Barkley was my friend." "He took my word that the chests loaded on the River Monarch were filled with gold." "We had to blow up the ship to prevent discovery." "But we never meant to kill anyone." "There were lifeboats and life preservers." "We never knew she'd sink so fast." "Keep at it, Mr. DeLand." "Keep at it." "Tell me." "Did you really intend to send that gold to Richmond?" "We never intended anything else." "But before we were ready, the war was over." "And all these years, a million in gold- yours for the taking- and you never thought to take it." "I was tempted..." "on many occasion- tempted and urged by the others." "You've got quite a sense of honor, Mr. DeLand." "Here" "Let me get at that." "Yes, Mr. DeLand." "You do have quite a sense of honor." "Jock!" "Jock." "Nick." "Nick, lad." "Over here." " What happened here?" " He's dead." "No, he's dead all right." "A trick." "That old man- who would've thought it?" "He tried to do me in, he did." "Luckily, Jock was quicker on the trigger." " He's not even wearing' a gun, Jock." " The shovel." " He planned to bash out the few brains that old Jock" " What about the" " What about the gold?" " Just a trick." "There's no gold here, lad." "Cold stone walls and a few rats." "How did ye find us, lad?" "The old man said" "The old man had nightmares, Jock- nightmares about- about gold and... mines." "So Melanie thought it would be a good idea if I... checked out the mine." " So did I." " Well, it turned into a dead end." "Let's get out of here, lad." "I'll send my men down to look after the body." "You oughta be more careful where you drop your cigars, Jock." "I'm sorry you had to see that, lad." "Well, Jock, I- I didn't have to see that." "When I heard about the telegram, I" "I tried to figure, oh, a dozen reasons why you'd say a thing like that about my father..." "You wanted the gold for yourself." "You're making it easy for me to what I've got to do, Nick." "Well, I'm only sorry that I won't be here to watch you try to talk your way out of this." "Stay where you are, Nick." "Now don't move." "I swear to you, Nick, I'll shoot." "I wouldn't do it if I were you, Jock." "Melanie knows where I am and why." "Now if you kill me, you won't dig yourself out of this one inch." "Nick" " Nick, for the sake of everything we've been through, stop!" "Nick!" "Nick!" "Days of glory." "Bless my soul, this is the way we go" "This is the way we go" "Beans and hay" "Regular army, oh" "How's the arm, Nick?" "A little stiff." "Well, here." "Maybe this'll help loosen it up a little bit." "Jock told me once the army was his whole life." "He joined when he was 16, gave it 30 years of service- 30 years of honorable service." "I wonder if that'll count for anything at a court martial?" "I don't know, Nick." "Days of glory."