"If I left you here, you'd be dead in four days." "I don't have a choice, and neither do you, preston." "Get started." "Now!" "And now we are ready for the party." "Are you enjoying yourself, sir bedley?" "Excellent." "Excellent." "Oh, I beg your pardon, lady whatever your name is." "Hey!" "You, what..." "So, you finally decided to come back?" "I'm going to teach you a lesson." "What is it?" "Coffee." "You aren't walters." "No, my name is paladin." "Mr. Paladin," "I'm harleigh k." "Preston." "At your service, sir." "Well, that's better." "To your health, mr." "Paladin." "And to my rescue from the merciless breast of mother nature." "You mentioned someone named walters." "Walters?" "My guide." "My erstwhile guide." "This was a hunting trip, you know." "Big horn sheep, trophies, everything." "Seemed like a very good idea at the time." "But, like everything else I've tried, a complete failure." "What happened?" "He brought me out in this wilderness," "Got me roaring drunk, took my money, and vanished." "He left my liquor cabinet and a horse without a saddle." "That doesn't make any difference, he knew I couldn't find my way out of here." "If you don't mind..." "I do mind." "What..." "See here, paladin." "You have no right- I have the right." "You're 500 miles from a city without food or the ability to provide for yourself." "What concern of that is yours?" "If I left you here, you'd be dead in four days." "I don't have a choice whether or not you or I like it," "You're riding with me." "Sober." "You're wrong, paladin." "I am not riding with you." "All right, we make camp here." "Here you go." "Looking for anything in particular?" "My liquor." "I had three bottles in here." "I took them out." "Out?" "I left 'em under a bush at the other camp." "But, I need a drink." "You can have all you want to drink." "As long as it's coffee or water." "That's all we have." "It takes awhile to condition to this kind of living." "I've never been in condition for anything in my whole life." "Mr. Paladin, you don't know it, but you're traveling with a man" "Who's been a successful failure at everything he ever tried." "That's right." "Money, I never had to work for it." "Inherited it." "And liquor, I inherited my appetite for that, too." "I've been a candidate for reform" "By friends, relatives," "And sanctimonious crackpots of both sexes." "Well, they all gave up after awhile." "And I gave up before they got started." "You're going to have to delay giving up for a little while." "If you don't mind, we need some firewood." "It's a big country." "Better have something to eat." "We've got a long way to go tomorrow." "Eat?" "I can't eat." "I need a drink." "You know, it's funny." "I never asked you before but" "Just where are we going?" "A place called the evans ranch." "I have a job to do there." "Job?" "What kind of a job?" "This is the forest primeval." "Very impressive." "However, I'm not impressed." "I doubt these trees were put here for that purpose." "However, this does happen to be the trail to the evans ranch." "Looks like we have company." "Heading anywhere in particular?" "I have a destination, if that's what you mean." "My name's wheeler." "Martin wheeler." "Most of the land from here on belongs to me." "Soon will." "It's a good country to keep moving in." "Especially for strangers." "Thank you very much for the advice." "And now, if you'll excuse us..." "You're covered." "Don't move." "Evans?" "Who are you?" "Paladin." "All right, stand up." "Was hoping' it was you." "All right, elaine." "Here's mr." "Paladin from san francisco." "My daughter elaine." "And this is?" "Mr. Preston." "Harleigh preston, my traveling companion." "Sir." "How do you do, miss evans?" "How do you do?" "You're well-prepared for trouble." "We've had to be." "We camp by the spring." "Won't take long to get some grub cooking' if you ain't choosy." "Deer meat." "Deer meat, and cool mountain water." "Now who could ask for more?" "So, when wheeler and his bunch burned me out" "Of house, barn and hills" "I figured I was licked." "That's when I got your card." "Thank you, elaine." "What about the law?" "The law?" "Like I wrote you," "My deed's been filed at the courthouse at eagle's bend for over a year." "Now, it seems like there ain't no record of it." "But there is a deed in wheeler's name." "He's a high bindin' land grabber," "With enough crooked know-how to figure things out" "All nice and legal for him." "He brought in two gunslingers:" "Pelley and wichita, he calls them." "Killers, I call them." "You say you bumped into them on the trail, you know what I mean." "Your fee will depend on how successful you are." "I've informed the government land office about your disappearing deed." "Wheeler may be in a more compromising mood" "When he finds that out." "How do we find him?" "At eagle bend." "The three of us can ride in in the morning." "Well, perhaps it would be better" "If we left mr." "Preston here, so elaine wouldn't be alone." "Might not be a bad idea." "Anyways, makes me feel better just having somebody around here on my side." "How 'bout a drink to things changing around here pronto?" "Mr. Preston and I don't want to be rude, but it so happens" "That neither of us is imbibing right at the moment." "Well, I hope you don't mind if I drink to it myself then." "Want to start notching some logs, while I clean up this breakfast mess?" "You been working for paladin long?" "Work?" "No, I don't exactly work for mr." "Paladin." "Just looking the country over?" "Yes, you might say that." "It's none of my business, but..." "You on the run?" "On the run?" "Well, you know, the law." "I mean, you seem so..." "Well, you know..." "You think maybe I've been in prison?" "What's so funny about that?" "Well, now that you ask, nothing." "I guess maybe you're right." "Maybe I have sort of been in jail." "Let me try it again." "You're strong enough, just a little out of condition." "Yes, a lot out of condition." "I'll get us some water." "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "Take your hands off her." "Now, why should I do a thing like that?" "Miss evans is quite a gal." "I'm kinda sorry she isn't on our side." "Why..." "Now, you just relax, hero." "I got a job for you." "Get that brush and pile it against the logs." "Hurry it up!" "All right, we haven't got all day." "Light it." "Now!" "No." "I won't do it." "You light it and I'll get the horses." "Goodbye, wildcat." "That's from your place, and it's too much smoke for a campfire." "Help me." "Too late." "For the first time in your life, you may be right." "It may be too late for you." "Well, our little chore for the day is already done." "What brings you out?" "Plans have changed." "Got no more time for smokin' them out slow like." "What's the matter?" "A land agent was nosing' around the courthouse this morning." "What are you going to do?" "I want this land." "And I'm going to get it." "Evans ain't around," "There's no witness there ever was another deed." "Nobody'll miss him." "Just look like they moved on to someplace else." "You all right?" "I mean..." "I'm all right." "We got to get those rifles." "Miss evans." "I'm sorry about what happened." "I've already forgotten." "I didn't put up much of a fight, did I?" "How could you?" "All you really need is to toughen up." "Some good, healthy food and hard work." "A reason for living, that's the important thing." "Something to live for." "What are they doing down there?" "They're moving a log, but don't ask me what it means." "Can't you get a shot at him?" "I can't really see him, just some movement now and then." "Pelley, keep firing." "Wichita and I'll go up higher for a better look." "Can elaine use a rifle?" "Good as me." "I'm going to go first." "I'll toss a rifle back to you, and drop the other one with her." "I'll go out the other side." "Drop it!" "Harleigh!" "You're coming back with me right now." "It's going to take a lot of good food and hard work to get me into condition." "That accounts for all of them." "He had it pointed right at me." "Now I know why he didn't shoot." "You didn't know why when you jumped him?" "No." "Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace." "The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things." "We better get moving." "We have a prisoner to deliver," "A deed to reestablish, and you've got a fee to pay." "¶ have gun will travel reads the card of a man ¶" "¶ a knight without armor in a savage land ¶" "¶ his fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind ¶" "¶ a soldier of fortune is the man called... ¶" "¶ paladin ¶" "¶ paladin, paladin where do you roam?" "¶"