"Randall, I'm afraid I gotta take two of your boys back into town with me." "You're outside your jurisdiction, marshal." "And you're trespassing on my land." "They murdered that fellow from Chicago, and then they raped and killed his wife." "I'm taking them in." "No." "I can't spare them." "Them two on the end." "Cut them out." "Do like I tell you." "Like my father, I'd been West Point and I was good at soldiering." "But soldiering didn't allow for much expansión of the soul" "So after the War Between the States and a year of fighting Indians I turned in my commissión and rode away to see how much I could expand it." "First time I met Virgil Cole was when I and my eight-gauge backed him up in a showdown he was having with some drunken mountain men" "Virgil asked me on the spot if I'd care to partner up with him and his peacekeeping business" "Which is why I was with him now, and why I still carry the eight-gauge" "We'd been keeping the peace together for the last dozen years or so." "And as we looked down on a town called Appaloosa I had no reason to doubt that we'd be doing just that for the foreseeable future" "But life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes" "The black hat." "Must be Cole." "They're here." "Howdy." "Jack Bell and his deputies went up to Bragg's place to arrest the men that murdered Clayton Poston and raped and killed his wife." "And Jack Bell and his deputies were never seen again." "I knew Jack Bell." "He was a good man." "This fella, Bragg what's his story?" "He says he's from New York City." "Claims that he worked with Chester Arthur in the customs office up there." "Chester Arthur, President of the United States?" "That's what Bragg claims." "What the hell's he doing out here?" " He's after the copper fields." " Earl." " What?" " Let Abner speak, please." "He is speaking." "The mines shut down back in '75 because of the Apache problem." "We finally made a deal with a company out of Chicago to get the operation going again." "A fair deal, mind you." "Then this murdering scoundrel turns up and..." " Phil." " What?" "Our investors pulled out right after the killings." "Bragg and his men have got us all running scared." "They buy supplies in my store and they don't pay for them." "They harass our women." "They use horses from the livery and don't bring them back." "They eat and drink whatever they like and never pay." "They've been living off of us like coyotes live off a buffalo carcass." "Everything that eats meat likes a dead buffalo." "Mr. Cole, Mr. Hitch we want our town back, and we are ready to pay your price." "What do you allow, Everett?" " What we do." " It is, ain't it?" "Then you'll do it?" " Sure." " Oh, thank God." "Mr. Cole and I will do the gun work but we're gonna button the town up tighter than a nun's corset." "We need you to make laws we can enforce." "We got laws." "You're gonna have more." "We need a lot of laws to make it all legal." "Well, sure." "I mean, if it seems reasonable, we'll just put them right into the bylaws." " No." " No what?" "It basically states that whatever Mr. Cole says is law." " This means you'd be running the town." " It does." "We can't have that." "I mean, you're asking us, so to speak, to turn the town over to you." "Far as I can see, you're gonna turn it over anyway." " Us or Bragg." " Mr. Raines." "Not now, Tilda." " Trouble in the bar, Mr. Raines." " Tilda." " It's Mr. Bragg's men." "Oh, Jesus, God." "There's four of them." "They have guns." "Space for your signature down at the bottom, gentlemen." "Oh, for God's sake, give me that." "So..." "Sign the damn thing, Abner so these men can do what they came here to do." "You piss like a mare, Chalk." "Fat, give me another one." "Button them up." " Who the fuck are you?" " Virgil Cole." "Virgil Cole?" "No shit." "Hey, Chalk, Virgil Cole wants us to button up." "Step a little closer, Virgil Cole, and I'll piss in your pocket." "Fellas, I'm the new city marshal." "Put it away or lose it." " Hey, Bronc, they got a new city marshal." " Put your little contraptions away." "I'm gonna walk you down to the jailhouse." "I don't wanna spook the horses." "You ain't walking us nowhere, Virgil Cole." "You pull on me, either one of you I'll kill you both." "Bullshit." "I ain't shooting, mister." "I ain't shooting." "Give me your gun." "I warned them." " Marshal." " Morning, Mr. Olson." "Bragg and his men, some of them were at the jail looking for you, sir." "Well, I ain't at the jail." "Yes, I can see that." "Get a better view of what's going on sitting right here, don't we, Everett?" "Mm-hm." "What should we do?" " About what?" " Well, about Bragg and his men." "Don't do nothing, Phil." "Oh, my God." "My name's Randall Bragg." "Virgil Cole." "I know who you are." "We need to talk." "The only thing I need from you is what happened to Jack Bell." "Can't help you there, marshal." "I see the fellow with the shotgun there." "Eight-gauge." "Good idea, spreading out like that." "It is." " You a drinking man, marshal?" " Not so much." "And, uh, Mr. Eight-Gauge over there?" "Mr. Everett Hitch." "You a drinking man, Everett?" "Not so much." "Hard to like a man who doesn't drink a little." "But not impossible." "Well, we'll see." " You shot three of my men." " Matter of fact, I only shot two." "Mr. Hitch shot the other one." "Point is, I can't have my hands coming in here and you boys shooting them." "I can see how you'd feel that way." "So we need to make an arrangement." "There's a set of bylaws posted right outside the door here of this very saloon." "Your boys do like the bylaws say, everything will be muy bueno." " And if they don't?" "I arrest them." " And if they don't go along?" " I shoot them, or Mr. Hitch does." " That's the law." " Your law." "The same thing." "Hm." "Maybe you aren't good enough." "Don't be so sure you're quicker than me." "So far I've been quick enough." "Well perhaps now is not the time." "Don't mean there won't be a time." "See you and your boys there are heeled." "I know you haven't had a chance to read the bylaws yet but the bylaws say it's illegal to carry guns inside town limits." "So next time I'm gonna have to disarm you, lock you up for a bit." "You are an interesting man, Mr. Cole." "Come on." "Mr. Cole's been doing this a long time, Mr. Olson." "Oh, yeah, ahem." "Thank you." " Good day to you." " Good day, Mr. Olson." " Thank you, that'll be fine." "I'll be back." " Yes, ma'am." "Coffee and a biscuit, please." "No sell." " But it's on the menu." " With breakfast." "Chin." " Sell the lady a biscuit." " Menu say..." "Sell her a biscuit." "One time." "Thank you." " My pleasure." "Are you the sheriff around here?" "City marshal." "Virgil Cole." "Now, this fella here's my deputy, Everett Hitch." " Ma'am." " How do you do?" "Thank you." "Thanks, Chin." "You're welcome." "Excuse me." "Could either of you gentlemen direct me to a clean, inexpensive hotel?" " We only have one." " Is it expensive?" "Probably more than it should be, there being no other choice." "I only have a dollar." "Do you have a name?" "Mrs. French." "Allison French." "Thank you." "Uh, you have a husband, Mrs. French?" "He died." "I'm sorry to hear that." "You do any kind of work?" "I play the organ and the piano." "You're not a whore?" " What?" " Don't be crude." "Well, no sense fluffing your feathers about it." "We don't see a lot of single women here that ain't whores." "Well, I'm one." "Sprightly thing." "Do you think the hotel will let me stay for a dollar?" "You can stay as long as you like, Mrs. French." " Now, how can that be?" " Might even hire you to play the piano." " Think so, Everett?" " I do." "Well..." "When you finish your breakfast Everett will escort you down to the hotel and help you get settled." "It'll be my pleasure." "Thank you very much, Mr. Cole." " For your kindness." " No trouble at all." " Hope to see you again, Mrs. French." " Yes, Mr. Cole." "That would be nice." "You been gone a while." "She was asking a lot about you, Virgil." "Well, was she asking in a liking way?" " Wanted to know if you were married." " Well, what'd you tell her?" "Said I didn't know." "Well, hell, Everett, you see a wife around here?" "I do not." "Then why the hell did you tell her you didn't know?" "You might have a wife in Silver City." "Or in Nogales." "Or Bisbee." "Bisbee?" "Everett, if I had a wife in Bisbee, don't you think you'd know about her?" "Allie says she's gonna ask you about it, so you might wanna have an answer ready." "I had an Apache woman come live with me once but there were never any words spoke over us or anything." "I think she wants to know..." "She's more interested in if you're presently married." "Well, hell no, I'm not presently married." "She's gonna be pleased." "Allie?" "Yes, Allie." "She likes to be called Allie." "So, what do you think?" "I think Mrs. French..." "Allie." "Might become exclusively interesting." "I mean, what do you think about the men on the ridge?" "I think you and me might wanna ride up there, see what they're doing." "Can I finish my coffee first?" "You surely may." "Howdy, boys." "Town don't come out this far, marshal." "By God, I believe you're right." "I believe it ends at the bottom of that hill where that wash runs." "Up here, you're just another cowboy with a gun." "You think that's right, Everett?" "I think no matter where you are, you're not just another cowboy with a gun." "That'd be my thought." "Well, we ain't doing nothing wrong, and you ain't got no "jurdiction" up here." ""Jurdiction"?" "I believe he means jurisdiction." "I believe he does, and he's by God right about it." "What are you doing riding round and round up here?" "We're just keeping an eye on things." "For who?" "Ow!" "You knocked my teeth out." "Well, Colt makes a heavy firearm." "That's a fact." "Who are you riding for?" "Bragg." " Think Bragg's attempting to frighten us?" " Be my guess." "What's your name?" " Dean." " Well, Dean go back to Mr. Bragg and report that we ain't too frightened." "Mr. Bragg ain't gonna like that you hit me." "I don't guess you liked it all that much yourself, Dean." " You're damn right." " So you and Mr. Bragg can commi..." " What word am I trying for?" " Commiserate?" "You and Mr. Bragg can commiserate each other." "You son of a bitch." "Hard to believe Jack Bell got himself killed." "Well, what do you think happened between him and Bragg?" " Overconfident?" " Be my surmise." "Mm-hm." "Probably thought Bragg had some respect for the law." "Mm-hm." "Ain't just gunplay." "You know that, Everett." "You gotta think about men too." "Guess that'd be one reason you're here and Jack Bell isn't." "Well, that'd be one reason." "You'd be another." "Mighty fine piano playing." "Mighty fine." "Why, thank you." " Thank you." "Oh, that's plenty." " Little bit more?" "It's plenty, it's plenty." "Thank you." " To music." " To music." "So tell me, Mr. Cole..." " Call me Virgil." " Of course, Virgil." "How long have you been killing people for a living?" "Well, Allie, I don't kill people for a living." "I enforce the law." "Killing's sometimes a sort of side thing of that." "That's not what I wanted to say." "What am I aiming at here, Everett?" " Byproduct." " Killing's sometimes a byproduct." "And you've never killed anyone except as a lawman?" "Never." "Is he telling me the truth, Everett?" "Virgil always tells the truth." "Oh, nobody always tells the truth." " Why not?" " Well, they..." "For heaven's sake, Virgil, they just don't." "Always thought the truth was simpler." "Tell a man what you mean." "And a woman?" " A woman?" " That's what I said." "Well, Allie, I don't really remember ever telling a woman anything." "Virgil Cole." "What?" "Are you telling me that you've never had a woman?" "Well, hell, Allie, I don't think that's something I should be discussing with you." " But have you?" " Well, of course I have." "And did you never tell them anything?" "Mostly, we just did what we were there to do." "Which was what?" "We won't talk about this anymore." "Oh, Virgil." " I was just funning you." " I didn't enjoy it." "Shit." "Damn you." "Two more, Wallis." "You scrawny little bastard, where are you putting it all?" "Hell, you ain't even pissed." "I can outdrink you any day of the week." "Say when, Wallis." "When." "Shit." "Shit." " Shut up." "What's that, marshal?" " Get out of here." " We ain't doing anything." "No, Virgil." "Virgil!" "Virgil!" "Quit it!" "Virgil." "You can let go." "Mr. Hitch, may I have a word with you, please, sir?" "Certainly." "Mr. Hitch, it's about the teamster that Mr. Cole, uh..." "Well, the teamster he busted up was..." "Well, no, is a city employee, sir." " You might wanna take that up with Virgil." " Uh, yeah." "Well, I thought you might be more approachable." "You know, more amenable." "We can't have law officers beating people half to death for no good reason." "I took a bottle of whiskey to Tub this morning, told him Virgil was sorry." "Well, perhaps he should have taken it there himself." "Virgil doesn't do things like that." "Well, what he did, sir, was crazy." " You calling Virgil crazy?" " Yes." "No." "Uh..." "Well, if..." "You think a man makes a living as a gun hand isn't crazy?" " You're not crazy." " Maybe." "Maybe not." "Whatever I am, I'm not Virgil Cole." "It doesn't give him the right to bust up innocent people." "No, it doesn't." "Mostly, innocent people don't get busted up." "If they do, it's because of who and what Virgil is." "And you hired him to be Virgil Cole." "I'm not sure I understand." "No." "I'm not sure you do either." " Good day." " Yes." "Abner." " Morning, Abner." " Morning." " Morning, Everett." " Well, good morning, Virgil." " Morning, Tilda." " Morning, Mr. Cole." "Thank you." " Everything good with you and Allie?" " Lovely." "She is a lovely woman, and everything's lovely between us." "Well, I'm glad to hear it." " Good morning, Everett." " Morning." "Thank you." "There you are." "Thank you." "Guess what, Everett?" "What?" "You know that house that's being built on the east end of South Street?" "Uh-huh." "Well, Mr. Olson was having it built for his daughter and her husband." " Right." " But they're moving to Virginia." " So he's gonna sell it." " Well..." "To Virgil and me." "It's gonna be the most beautiful house in town with a parlor and a white picket fence." "And a big porch so we can see who's coming to call." "Well..." "How about that?" "I ain't..." "I ain't armed." "My name is Whitfield." "I'm Joe Whitfield and I'm a hand over at Bragg's place." "Allie, I'm gonna need to talk to this fella alone for a minute." "Oh." "Well, certainly." "Have to do my piano exercises anyway." "I was up on the rim when you and your deputy..." "You came up and smacked Dean." "I took on because..." "I took on because Bragg was supposed to be running cattle." " And that's what I know." " What are you driving at, son?" "I was at Bragg's place when Marshal Bell and his deputies was killed." "Who done it?" "Bragg done it." "You saw Randall Bragg shoot Jack Bell?" "Yes, sir." "And his two deputies." "He shot them all dead like they was rattlesnakes." "Sit down there." "Sit down." "I don't want no part in killing people." "You testify to what you saw?" "Yes." "Yes, sir." " With Bragg looking right at you?" " I will." "Because we don't wanna go up there, shoot up a bunch of people and get Bragg into court to have you dry up and blow away." "I'll say what I saw." "Give me your word on that?" "I do." "You're under arrest for the murder of Jack Bell." "Don't make a sound." " You can't do this, Cole." " Yeah, well, I'm doing it." "Let's go." "Get on your horses." "They've got Bragg." "Keep that gun on him, Everett." "Come on over there." "You try anything, you're a dead man." "What you like us to do, Mr. Bragg?" "Tell them to lower their guns." "Hold off, Vince." "Lower your guns." "Tell them not to follow or I'll blow your jaw off." " Vince." " Yes, sir, Mr. Bragg?" "Don't let them follow, you understand?" "Stay put." "If you say so, Mr. Bragg." " Out of the way." " Stop it." " It's Mr. Bragg." " Yes, it is." "They have him well in hand." "Circuit judge don't come through for two and a half weeks." "You're wasting your time, Cole." "You've got no proof." "You're a dead man." "That's not very neighborly." "You're dead." "You'll never hang me, Cole." "Never's a long time, Mr. Bragg." "I'm gonna go check on Allie." "First sign of any trouble, fire off a couple rounds, I'll be here." "Unless you're riding at a hard gallop." "Everett, we've known each other a long time." "I don't care for that kind of dis..." "Dis..." " Disparaging?" " Disparaging remarks." "Especially about Allie." "No, and you shouldn't." "I apologize." "You meant no harm." "Apology accepted." "I know you're scared, son." "You keep your word and testify, I promise we'll get you out of here safely." "Thank you, sir." "You're welcome." "Allie's chewing on me like a young dog." "Says all I do is be a marshal, sit around minding our prisoner." "That I care more about marshaling than her." "That I ain't even brung you down to see the house yet." "I was figuring to see it when it's all finished." "Well, go on down there, will you?" "Calm her down a little." "You know, tell her you like it." "What do you got there?" "She asked me which one I liked for the curtain." "Mm-hm." "Everett, I ain't..." "I never owned a house." "I didn't know what to say to her." "If the wind picks up, house'll blow down and you won't have to worry about it." "That house ain't going nowhere." "I got a carpenter that used to build boats." "Will you go on down there, please?" "Go on." "Just..." "You know, she's planning the furniture." "All right." "Here, take these with you." "Tell her she can pick whichever one she likes." "You know, I'm kind of partial to this one here, but look." "Look at that." "You can see right through it." "Kind of small for curtains, aren't they?" "Get on down there." "Everett." "Afternoon, Allie." "I must look awful." " You look lovely." "Always do." " You're too kind, Everett." "Virgil said you should pick out the curtains." "Couldn't make up his mind." "House is hurrying right along." "Virgil ever decides to come and live in it." "Pretty sure he will." "Doesn't pay any attention to the house." "Hell, Everett, he doesn't pay any attention to me." "Just sits up in his jail with his gun being the marshal." "Well, has been somewhat expectant of late." "Yeah, but it's his job." "It's not his life." " Yeah." " It'll be so elegant." "Come see." "This is the parlor so we can look out and see everybody who's coming to call." "Come and see this." "Come and see." "That will be the bedroom, and this will be the kitchen." "And you'll come often to visit us?" "Every time I'm invited." "I can cook, you know." "I never imagined you couldn't." "Do you think I'm pretty?" "Well, yes." "Allie, you're with Virgil." "So am I." "Virgil's not here." "We're not with each other." "We're both with him." "Let go of me." " Do you understand what I'm saying?" " Let go." " Allie." " Let go." "Just leave." " We come for Mr. Bragg." "You can't have him." "Everett, step on in the office with that eight-gauge." "First anything happens, you blow Mr. Bragg's head off." " Yes, sir." " We'll take him if we have to." "If you do, he'll be dead." "We know you're good, Cole, but you're not as good as 20 of us." "You know the arrangement, boy." "First one of you does an ineluctable thing..." "You shoot him, you think we're gonna ride away?" "Nope." " We'll kill you and Hitch." " You'll try." "You're willing to die to keep us from taking him?" "Sure." "Hitch." "You willing to die too?" "Of course he's willing to die." "You think we do this because we're scared to die?" "You got them turned." "They're arguing with him." "You?" "Me?" "You afraid to die?" " I ain't afraid." " Good, because you go first." "And that boy with the red scarf goes next." "You go on home, Vince." "You go on home." "Go on." "Too many people die if you don't." "Go on." "Get on." "Go." "Get." "All of you, get out of here." " There'll be another time, Cole." "Get out of here, get." "Hyah!" "Hyah!" "Virgil?" " Are you all right?" " Yeah, I'm all right, Allie." "Let's get you inside." "What did you do?" " What do you care?" " What did you do?" "I ran off." " You say anything to Mr. Cole?" " No." " You gonna say anything?" " No." "Virgil couldn't hear a thing like that." "I don't want him hearing about it from you either." "He finds out, I'll know who couldn't keep her mouth closed." "There have been a few times when you didn't want my mouth closed." "What if she tells him and says it was your doing?" "Why would she do that?" "Sooner or later she's gonna tell him." "Good morning, Tilda." " Morning, Mr. Hitch." "Couldn't help but notice your books, marshal." "What's the fascination with Emerson?" "Not the most elegant writer, but he gets his point across." "Though I'm sure the layman is sometimes a little befuddled by his obfuscating vocabulary, wouldn't you say?" "We've been treating you kindly, Bragg." "In return, we expect you to speak when spoken to and otherwise keep your mouth shut." "I can speak if I want to." "Virgil and I can beat the sweet Jesus hell out of you every morning for breakfast if we want to." "Clyde Stringer, county sheriff." "My undersheriff, Charlie Tewksbury." " Virgil Cole?" " Right there." "Been expecting you, sheriff." "Clyde." " Charlie." " Morning." "This fella's my deputy, Everett Hitch." "We just came in on a train from Yaqui with Judge Elias Callison." "This fella here's our witness." "Former hand of Bragg, Joe Whitfield." " You're gonna testify?" " Yes, sir." " If he doesn't die of fright first." " We been keeping him seque..." "Seq..." "S..." "Seq..." "What's the word I'm looking for?" " Sequestered." "Sequestered here for safety." "Charlie and I'd be happy to help till the trial's over if you need it." "Might just take you boys up on that." " Good morning." " Good morning, gentlemen." "Going for a little buggy ride?" "Yeah, me and Mrs. French are gonna do a little perambulating." "Mr. Raines, Mr. May." "Morning, Everett." "Got your goodies." " Sure you can handle this rig?" " Well..." "You know them?" "The Shelton brothers." "They do law work?" "They do gun work." " They good?" " They're excellent." "Good as you and me?" "Don't know that they ain't." "Don't appear to be heeled." "Well..." "It's been a long time, Virgil." " Ring." " You remember my brother?" "Mackie." " Virgil." "Can I buy you a drink?" "Are you still doing that?" "Well, we ain't." "This is my deputy, Everett Hitch." "You as good as Virgil with a gun?" "I never seen anybody as good as Virgil." " But you ain't saying you ain't as good." " Not discussing it, truth be told." "What are you and Mackie doing in town?" "Everybody's gotta be somewhere, don't they, Mackie?" "You got a trial coming up, a big one." "Might wanna take that in." "I like a good trial." "Good morning." "This is Mrs. French." "Ma'am." "Gentlemen." "Thank you." "Well, you boys been in my towns before." "You know the rules." "Come on." "Haven't done this for a while." "I always figured Virgil for whores and squaws." "She's neither." "I'll be damned." "We can try if you wanna." "What happened next?" "Mr. Bragg shot the deputy dead with his Winchester." "You're a goddamn liar!" "One more outburst such as that, Mr. Bragg and I will give Sheriff Stringer the authority to shut you up in any manner he sees fit." "With all due respect, Your Honor, my client's life is on the line." "His life is not on the line yet, counselor." "He'll have his chance to speak." "Sit down." "Go ahead, son." "Then Mr. Bragg shot Marshal Bell and his other deputy." "You saw this happen with your own eyes, son?" "Yes, sir." "Thank you, Mr. Whitfield." "Mr. Mueller, you may cross-examine the witness." "You swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" "I do." "Well, Mr. Sullivan, what have you got to say for yourself?" "Jack Bell and his deputies never came up to Mr. Bragg's ranch." "I don't know what Whitfield's talking about." "That's the same thing all of you have said." "Does anybody have anything different to say other than:" ""Jack Bell and his deputies never came up to Mr. Bragg's ranch and I don't know what Whitfield's talking about"?" "You may step down." "Well, no reason to waste time saying the same thing over and over again." "My client has a right to testify in his own defense." "Of course he does." "One moment." "Mr. Whitfield do you own a horse?" "Yes." "Yes, sir." "Well, son, I suggest while the bees are in the butter you get on your horse and ride." "Ride and don't look back." " Now." "Ride hard, boy." "Ride hard." "Swear him in, Mr. Wallis." "Put your hand on the Bible." " Do you swear to tell the whole truth..." " I swear." "So help you God?" "Your Honor, I sense a certain antipathy toward..." "Sit down, Mr. Bragg." "I sense a certain antipathy toward me here today because I'm a relative newcomer." "Now, I didn't kill Jack Bell or his deputies." "Jack was a friend of mine." "I had no reason to kill him." "Mr. Whitfield is nothing more than a fearful boy easily persuaded to say anything." "Easily persuaded by Marshal Cole." "Now, the citizens of Appaloosa have allowed Mr. Cole to take over their town." "But it is not justice in this new nation of ours to allow him to deprive me of my liberty let alone my life." "Eloquent, Mr. Bragg." "But unconvincing." "I find you guilty of these charges and sentence you to hang at Yaqui Prison." "Court's adjourned." "Everett?" ""What I must do is all that concerns me not what the people think." "This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life..."" "Arduous." "We'll bring out sourdough and ham when we get to Chester." "How long till Chester?" "Three quarters of an hour." "When we reach the upgrade, you'll feel the train slow down." "Ain't a hell of a grade, but it's a long one." " We're just gonna take a look outside." " I got him." "So you see how this is gonna go." "Any sign of trouble from anyone and Mackie gives her both barrels." "Or she breaks her neck and is dragged through the mesquite." "So you folks are gonna have to unshackle Bragg and parade him on out here or she gets killed." "I got you in my sights." "Whatever happens to her, you're dead." "What do you think, Virgil?" "You think I'm gonna get scared and change my mind?" "Put your rifle down." "Sorry, Cole, this ain't your jurisdiction." "Put it down!" "You too, Everett." "Charlie." "We give you Bragg, you give us the woman." "Virgil, you know I ain't that dumb." "You give us Bragg, we keep the woman." "You ride off on that train and when you're out of sight, we'll cut her loose." "Give them Bragg." "Charlie, go get him." " Give me a gun!" "No." " I'm gonna shoot that son of a bitch." "That ain't part of the deal." "Damn it, Ring, I hired you." "Give me a gun." "You owe me money." "Until you pay me, you ain't getting no gun." "Move on up the track." "I told you you'd never hang me, Cole." "Never ain't here yet." "Leave him be, sheriff." "But we got no horses." "We can't chase him on foot." "We'll go on back to Appaloosa and get some." "The quicker Cole gets back here, the quicker we can get out of here." "He won't come back." "Won't come back?" "Nope." "He won't come back." "We've got no horses, Virgil." "I'll ride the train back to town and fetch them." "You stray off the wash, leave me a sign." "Well, by God." " Virgil." " Everett." "You bring any coffee?" "Done so." "You all right?" "All right?" "Well, how do you feel?" "About Allie and all." "Everett we've been together now a while." "Can't exactly say how long, but long." "Ain't anybody I'd rather do this work with." "You're as good as anybody I've seen, except maybe the Shelton boys and me." "The reason you ain't as good as the Sheltons or me ain't got nothing to do with steady or fast or fortuitous." "The reason the above-named folks are better than you is because you got feelings." "Well, hell, Virgil, everybody's got feelings." "Feelings get you killed." "You got feelings about Allie, don't you?" "I cared about Allie in town, and I'll care about her when I get her back." "But right now there's something running, and we're trying to catch it." "There they are." "Yeah, I see them." "Yup, that's Allie." "Hey, Virg, look north." "Up on the flats." "Chiricahua, I reckon." "Probably broke out of San Carlos, headed down to Mexico." "Looks like they stole horses." "A lot of them ain't Indians' ponies." "Pretty raggedy-looking bunch." "They will be a problem." "I speculate they will." "You see Allie anywhere?" "Yes, I do." "Whoo!" "What is it?" "Give me that thing." "There's Bragg." "Are you sure about that?" "I think about 10 of them." "We start shooting, they'll scatter." "Won't know how many we are." "Won't go far." "A lot of stuff they want down there." "No." "Oh, no, no." "No, stop!" "Hey." "No!" "No!" "Ring!" " No!" "Shoot the packhorse." "Hey, whoa." " Get away from there." " Get out of there." "Where do you think you're going?" " Back behind the tree." " Virgil." "You too, Allie." "Everett, get the bags off that packhorse." "I knew you'd be coming after us." "Oh, you did, huh?" "Where you headed?" "Little town, Rio Seco, two days' ride." "While we got these hostiles to deal with ain't a good idea us shooting each other." "I say we put our troubles aside till we get there." "Your word?" "My word." "Mackie?" "My word, Cole." "Give them their guns, Everett." "Mackie, you got some clothes in there, cover Allie up?" "Thank you." "They've seen pretty much everything you got, Allie." "No sense hiding it now." "We'll dig in here." "Keep watch." "Mackie, get up on that hillside there somewhere." "Everett, soon as Ring gets his boots on, have a look either end of this canyon." "Good to see you again, Mr. Bragg." "Virgil, how do we know they're still there?" "Oh, they're still there, Allie." "What the hell these son of bitches doing?" "What the hell do you think they're gonna do?" "I'll tell you what they're gonna do." " They're gonna wait until our food's gone." " Shut up." "They're gonna wait until we're beat down with the heat." "About the time they smell the blood of stock that you've killed because you're starving to death..." " I said shut up." "I'm gonna ride up and see." "Hey." "Where the hell do you think you're going with my horse?" " Bragg owes me money." " He's my prisoner." "He stays my prisoner." "You're taking this personal, Virgil." "When we get to Rio Seco, we'll take care of the business between us." "Everett, let's go spell Mackie." "Come on." "Virgil?" "Yes, Allie?" "Can I come up and sit with you and Everett?" "Come on." "I'm sorry, Virgil." "Stay here, Everett." "I'm sorry." "I was so alone, and Bragg..." "Well, Ring protected me and so did his brother." " You fuck Mackie too?" " No." "It was Ring." "He was in charge." "I just did what I had to do." "Everett Ring kills me, do you think she'll go off with him?" "I think Allie needs to be with a man." "You're a bastard." "Don't listen to him." "He tried to put his hands on me when I showed him our house." "No, Virgil." "I did not." "No, Allie." "Everett didn't do that." " You believe him over me?" " That's correct." "Yeah." "I'm Virgil Cole, marshal of Appaloosa." "This is my deputy, Everett Hitch." "These are the Shelton boys." "This man here is my prisoner." "He's been sentenced to hang in Yaqui for the murder of a city marshal." "I need him, uh, sequestered for a spell while I get a few things in order." "By all means, marshal." "Appreciate it." "How do I know you ain't gonna try to collect Bragg and skedaddle?" "You've known me a long time, Ring." "Long as I've known you." "Two hours." "Stockyards." "I'll be there." "Come on, Allie." "Kind of hard not to kiss her back a little seeing's her lips were on mine." "But I held her off." "Told her we weren't with each other." "We were both with you." "She didn't care for it." "Got kind of fitful." "I never met a woman like her." "Mostly I've been with whores and that squaw lady I told you about." "She speaks well and dresses fine and she's good-looking she can play the piano, and she cooks good and she's very clean." "Chews her food nice." "But it appears she'll fuck anything ain't gelded." "I'm not certain that's quite right." "What do you think's right?" "I think she wants to be with the boss stallion." "There's only one stallion in a herd." "At a time." "So when I'm around, she loves me." "I think so." "When I'm not around, she loves you." "Well, it's probably not love." "When neither one of us is around, she loves Ring." "Again, not so sure I'd say love." "She love me?" "What do you think?" "I think she does." "You're the one should know." "You know she takes a bath every evening before she goes to bed?" "I like being with her." "Nothing against it." "Just gotta get past this Ring business." " Might not be the last time for that." " It'll be the last time with Ring." "It's me." "Come in, Allie." "Well, it's all the hotel keeper could find." "You look lovely, Allie." "Truly." "Aren't either of you afraid?" "Afraid?" "That you might get killed?" "Oh, I don't know, Allie." "Guess I don't think about it so much." "Well, I'm afraid." "But I'm afraid all the time." "Of what?" "Everything." "Like what?" "Hm?" "Like being alone." "Like being with the wrong man." "Not having any money a place to live." "I'll look out for you." "For how long?" "For as long as you need." "We've done pretty well over time, Virgil." "It's always been just a job." "Never been personal." "We are going up against Ring because of Bragg, right?" "You can't be a lawman and let somebody take your prisoner." "Cole!" "Like you said, you've known me a long time, long as I've known you." "Guess you made your first mistake, Virgil locking your prisoner in my cousin Russell's jail." "I'll take Ring, you take Mackie, then we'll deal upstairs." "Yes, sir." "Virgil." "Left knee's busted." "That happened quick." " Everybody could shoot." "Virgil." "Virgil." "Allie." "And I want you to know how embarrassed I am that you saw me..." " You know." " What?" "I am mortified that you saw me with no clothes on." "Oh, Allie, it was an incomparable pleasure." "Oh, Everett." "Well, you're the one that started talking about it." "Well, I'm just grateful to you and Everett that you didn't abandon me." "Well, that is what we were hired to do." "You know, find escaped prisoners and rescue damsels in distress." "Oh, go on, the both of you." "Pretend like you were just doing what any lawman would do." "I know it in my heart and I treasure it that you did what you did for me." "That's what I was trying to say." "Allie has you in reserve." " In reserve for what?" " Everett, you ain't stupid." "Virgil dies, you replace him." " No." " That's why she's so nice to you." "You don't think she loves Virgil?" "Out here, love's pretty hard for a woman." "Mostly it's the men worry about love." "I don't know what she feels." "She probably don't know how she feels either." "She just knows he's the top hand, and she'll stay with him till he ain't." "Hello, Everett." "Hello, Virgil." "What can we do for you boys?" "Well, there's a been a strange, somewhat of an odd occurrence." "Occurrence?" "Just came in from the telegraph office minutes ago." "It's from Judge Callison." ""Have received notice from U.S. Department of Justice." "Randall R. Bragg granted full pardon for murder conviction in Yaqui County by President Chester A. Arthur."" "Evidently, Bragg's claim of association with our president wasn't just thrasonical." "Boastful." "Thank you, gentlemen." "Why did you just thrust that in his face like that?" " I didn't." " You thrusted it in his face." "Thanks, Tilda." " Mr. Cole." " I'll trade you..." " I know what you're gonna ask." " Here." " Do you want my drumstick too?" "No." "One's plenty." "I knew it." "Well, by God." "Mrs. French." "Marshal." "Deputy." " Bygones be bygones." " Bragg I don't know what kind of deal you worked but as far as I'm concerned, you murdered Jack Bell." "Now you're standing here while I'm trying to have dinner acting like you didn't." "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way." "Mrs. French." "Everett." "Gentlemen." "Mr. Bragg." "It's very nice to see you." "Why do you think he came back here?" "Pride." "It's a funny thing, Allie." "Everett." "Good trip?" "Well, Judge Callison says there ain't nothing can be done." "Bragg's attorney appealed the conviction, said the trial was unfair no bodies were found, evidence was hearsay." "President granted a pardon before the appeal was even ruled on." "He's got authority over the territories." "The pardon is real." "It's the law." "How's Allie?" "She's fine." "Virgil, I've always thought that men like us do gun work because we can." "Because we're better at it than most." "Well, it beats punching cows or digging copper." " Yeah." " Or soldiering." "You can do it as a peace officer, get paid regularly and you sort of know when to do it and how." "Sounds right." "Never taken the legal side of it too seriously." "I mean, figure it's just a way to feel easier about being a gunman." "I take it serious." "What the hell am I if I don't?" "I tell you, this town is changing fast." "That's a fine-looking sign." "Yup." "Just send me the bill." "I will." "Okay." "Here's to you, Dixie." "Buy you a drink, Everett?" "Got one." "I'll have the same, Fat." "And a pretty little glass of sherry." "So where's your partner?" "He refuses to come in here." "That's fine, perfectly fine." "Cigar?" "Don't smoke." "Listen, I understand why you boys hold it hard against me." "But I want you to know I'm not the man I was." "I was hoping we could work together once you came to see the truth of my statement." "That statement being that you're a reformed man?" "I am." "The city aldermen like what's happening to the town." "You boys don't get on the right side of things, well you might find yourselves without a job." "How are we doing here?" "Losing money, are you?" "Don't lose the hotel in one night." "Here we are, Allie." "Something to warm you up a little bit." " Well, thank you, Randall." " Sitting lonely in the corner..." "Aw ...poured into that dress." " Oh, ha-ha-ha." "Ever seen one like that?" "Olson says Bragg bought it in England." "A Herefordshire, they call it." "That is a fine beast." "Those steers make real good eating." "One fella told me the other day Bragg had a big silver strike up in Nevada." "Another swears Bragg and some boys robbed a train down in Mexico carrying gold." "I don't suppose it matters one way or the other where he got all that money." "Must be something can be done." "They ain't gonna run me off." "And Bragg's got Olson and his bunch right in his pocket." "We got hired." "We can get fired." "Me and Allie got a house here." "I'm not leaving." "What are you gonna stay as?" "We ain't come to that yet." "Might just make some sense to move on." "Talked this over with Allie?" "She don't wanna leave either?" "I got some things to say, Virgil." "I stay here, I won't be able to make a living." "I know." " I got something else to say." " She might leave me." "Yeah." " You saw how it was with Ring Shelton." " I ain't leaving her." "All right." "I shot a man in Tres Piedras years ago." "Only time I killed it wasn't legal." "I'm gonna be leaving." "More coffee, Mr. Raines?" " Will there be anything else for you?" " No, thank you." "Give this to Bragg when he asks for it." " Everett." " Just do it." "Long notes." " Yes." " Yeah?" "Everett." "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "You're a lying, back-shooting, cowardly son of a bitch." "What is this?" "What is this?" "I'll be out in the street." "But you're a deputy marshal." "You can't call me out." "Wallis has a gun for you." "I'm going outside." "You don't come out, I'll come back in and kill you." "You think you can pull on me without your friend Cole to back you up?" "Everett." "Just leave it, Virgil." "Just hold on." "What's this about?" "I ever ask you for anything?" "Well, I'm asking you now." "Just leave it alone." "Just once, Virgil." "One favor." "I figured I'd saved Virgil's career as a lawman and given him another chance with Allie." "At least for the foreseeable future" "As for the unforeseeable well, it was out there waiting for me" "I headed straight into the setting sun and rode west at an easy pace." "It was gonna be a long ride and there was no reason to hurry"