1
[]
[]
Get dirt in that new press,
and I'll whale the black
juice out of you.
I'll put the cover
right back on it, Mr. Garvin.
Just as soon as I finish
this special edition.
Well, see that you do.
Better proofread his copy.
We got lady readers.
[LAUGHS]
Looks like we got company.
Whoever would that be?
Somebody with
a taste for solitude.
Texas Trail makes lonely riding
for a man alone.
[]
Great godfrey, a woman.
You never see one before?
Sure, but not out here
in the middle of nowhere.
What can I do for you, ma'am?
I heard there were
wagons southbound.
Been ridin' to catch up.
Any objections
if I join your train?
No, help yourself.
Afternoon.
Where are you headin'?
Texas.
It's a big state.
San Antonio.
Where are you going?
I'm for Fort Worth.
We can travel together
for a piece.
Good idea.
Pretty dangerous
for a woman alone.
My idea exactly.
A woman needs a man
to look after her.
Don't you worry, lady.
You'll be safe
with me and Mr. Britt.
Britt?
Hey, Mr. Britt!
Let's go!
All right, Toby,
alley-oop.
Aah.
Attaboy.
Toby's ma died in Dakota.
His pa was killed by Injuns
before Toby was born.
It won't do him no harm
knowing a man like Ned Britt.
No harm at all, ma'am.
They have a good deal in common.
You know Mr. Britt?
He rode into Texas
20 years ago, alone.
His only friend was a gun.
But it fed him and kept him
alive in many other ways.
Ned Britt?
Why, he claims firearms
is just for heathens
that can't read.
He's joshing you, ma'am.
I saw him when
he rode out of Texas...
a one-man arsenal,
off to join
the Southern cavalry.
[]
TOBY:
Yippee!
Lookie,
Mr. Britt.
[MEN
YELLING]
And what's that?
Cattle on the drive
for Dodge City.
[CATTLE LOWING]
You'll wanna remember
your first cattle drive, son.
Be something for you
to tell your children.
Bellies full of
good Texas grass,
they're heading north
to the railroads.
By the time you're grown,
iron rails will be
crisscrossing these prairies,
and the cattle
will be riding to market
instead of having all
the good meat run off of 'em.
Be more efficient, but
nowhere near as pretty.
[]
[CATTLE LOWING]
We're gettin' close
to Buffalo Wells.
The cattle smell it.
Well, let 'em drink.
We'll bed down here.
Hey, Gabe.
Yeah?
Trouble's brewin'.
Know who's on his way to Texas?
I don't know and I don't care.
You will.
He's camped yonder.
Ned Britt.
Ned Britt?
Ain't he satisfied he made
Abilene and Dodge City
unfit for human habitation?
What's he goin' to Texas for?
I'm just
a north-riding stranger.
Who is this Britt?
He sets up a newspaper in Texas.
You'll read about all
the brand blocki" you've pulled.
[LAUGHS]
Just a type slinger.
Him and Ben Garvin own
a couple of papers in Kansas.
I hear they figure to get
a whole string of 'em
clean across the Southwest.
They make too free namin' names.
Names like...
Gabe Clevenger?
I won't have him in Texas.
Now, who's gonna stop him?
[LAUGHS]
Don't tell me
you jaspers are scared
of some quill pusher.
No, not scared.
Just gettin' along
kind of comfortable.
Why, you big brave bunnies.
I'll show you how to han...
Shut up, you big wind,
and put that gun away.
Now don't tell me
that you're scared
of your own shadow.
Afeard to throw lead
at some ink dauber.
He throws lead, jughead, type.
And it's got
aplenty scatter to it.
You drill one of them
newspaper fellows,
and what have you got?
A dozen more ready to step in
and blast the print at you.
Ha, ha.
That don't scare me.
[]
GABE:
You and that hot trigger of yours.
We got a jumpy herd
on our hands here,
and I ain't a-payin' you
to stampede 'em with gunfire.
Did I hear you send
for me, Gabe?
I didn't send for...
Yeah.
[CHILDREN SHOUTING]
[]
Whoa.
There you are, boy.
Stay and eat,
Mr. Britt.
Thank you, ma'am, but, uh...
I'd be pleased to.
TOBY: Lady,
I want you to meet my friend, Mr. Britt.
Howdy, ma'am.
Hiya, High Pockets.
Stop skittering.
I've called you that
often enough,
though I had more
freckles when you...
Flora?
Flora Talbot.
About time you came home, Ned.
Were you the one riding south?
Heading back from Dodge City.
Alone?
Have you forgotten when you
used to ride herd for Dad?
Cowhands still like
to go on a weeks' toot
when they hit Abilene or Dodge.
[LAUGHS] I left 'em there.
Must be some pretty strong
attraction back in Fort Worth.
There is.
He's a lucky man.
You be sure to tell him so.
He'll be awful glad
to see you, Ned.
Blair.
Of course.
Might have known.
I hear he pretty near
is Fort Worth now.
I've been hearing some
pretty bad stories about you.
It figures.
Ned Britt,
a respectable newspaperman.
Blair will die laughing.
Your father wouldn't.
No, he'd have been
proud of you, Ned.
Just as I am.
He did better raising you
than he did me.
He'd have been
pretty proud of you too,
if he could see you.
[PLAYING FOLK MUSIC]
It's a still
night. Hot.
Cattle will get restless.
Don't you worry.
That Caster will
get the job done
quiet as a breeze.
Quiet, everybody.
Quiet.
Special edition.
"On Monday, April the 1st,
"the wagon train was attacked
by hordes of Indians.
"Only the trusty gun of
Toby Nickerson
"saved the immigrants
from destruction.
"Scores of redskins
bit the dust.
"And when the smoke cleared,
"young Nickerson was seen
to be in complete command
of the situation."
Bang. Bang.
[GROUP LAUGHS]
You wrote that.
A boy ought to have something
to show his grandchildren.
"Miss Flora Talbot,
"now returning home
after driving her own herd
"to market in Dodge City,
"joined the wagon train today.
"To all our young buckoes,
let it be known
"she will shortly wed
"Mr. Blair Lunsford
of Fort Worth.
He is the crack shot
of Tarrant County."
[GROUP LAUGHS]
Blair would be
dancing in the streets
if he knew he was gonna see you.
Hm. It's been
a lot of years.
Be worth turning off the trail
for a sight of him.
Why don't you?
Why don't you start
your paper in Fort Worth?
It's your home.
So was Abilene and Dodge City.
So will San Antonio be.
Newspaper's gotta start
where there's readers.
You know what I mean.
Why haven't you ever come home?
I...kind of forgot that.
Was it because of Amy Brooks?
Maybe in the beginning.
Whatever happened to her?
MAN:
Where are you, Britt?!
That's that rider's guide.
How'd he get in there?
That you?
I don't wanna make
any mistake about it.
I heard Clevenger's
camped next door.
I suppose you're
one of his hands.
My name's Jack Harvey.
Happy Jack Harvey.
Now put that name
in your public prints.
Happy Jack don't do
no pot shootin'.
I'm giving you notice
to get yourself a gun.
Boy, you're right
out of a dime novel.
So go back and tell Clevenger
you scared me.
Go join a Wild West show,
anything.
But stop bothering
these people here.
You don't care they see you
afraid to fight?
Not a whoop.
Let it go at that.
Yellow-belly!
[LAUGHS]
But that won't save your hide.
[COCKS GUN]
[LAUGHS]
Don't fire that gun!
Don't, you fool!
It'll stampede the cattle!
[FIRES]
[CATTLE LOWING]
[]
Ride for the herd!
Hyah!
Clevenger.
One of his killers.
[CATTLE GROANING]
BRITT:
Stampede.
Stay off the prairie.
Your wagons are your only cover.
Get to them, under or in them.
Luther, guard that press
with your mortal body!
WOMAN:
Let's get out of here!
[CROWD SHOUTING]
[]
[SCREAMS]
Mr. Britt, Mr. Britt!
Toby, come here!
Here!
Get back, Toby.
Toby, get under.
Get under!
[WOMAN SCREAMS]
[WOMAN SCREAMS]
Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
[]
Toby.
Mrs. Nickerson...
you'll have to go on alone.
They killed Toby.
What are you gonna do about it?
Destroy them.
With words?
If you wanna call it that.
I'm glad my father
can't hear you now.
He shot men just for
topping his herds.
And so did you, Ned Britt.
I've learned better.
You. The man
I used to worship.
You and Blair, because together
you could whip
all Tarrant County.
Sure, I could step out there
and kill Clevenger men,
and get killed doing it.
You afraid of getting killed?
What have they done to you, Ned?
Why don't you grow up?
I've seen killings,
death by wholesale,
but I found something
in the blood and dirt of it.
A little Southern newspaper
that kept pounding away
at the truth,
about the lost cause and
the lives we're paying for it.
That's sane truth.
It took courage
in those crazy days.
It was a hated truth.
But it shaped opinion
that taught me.
That the presses are
a thousand times more potent
than gunpowder.
I doubt if Blair will...
quite know you.
[]
[]
Well, I'll be danged.
People coming in
instead of moving out.
Fort Worth.
Ha!
Cough real hard, and you'd
blow the place down.
We had big dreams here,
till the panic hit us.
Somebody ought to welcome 'em.
That's you, sheriff.
They look old enough to vote.
Hi, there.
It's Flora Talbot.
You bring settlers
with you, Florie?
They swung off the trail
to bring me.
[SALOON PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
IN BACKGROUND]
Blair...
You loon.
Getting loonier every day.
Figured maybe you jumped
the fence with some jayhawk.
No, but I brought one with me.
It can't be!
But it is!
Ned Britt,
that prodigal son of mine.
Fourteen years ain't done you
a bit of good, boy.
Hey, Flora, you told me
he was good-looking.
Well, this boy is
an awful sight.
Oh, I'm prettier than you.
I guess they don't carry 'em
up around Kansas.
Oh, I was spruce enough
till Clevenger's
bunch mussed me.
One of them tried some shooting.
They were after Ned.
Stampeded the herd, and...
And a boy was killed.
Something, at last,
to hang Clevenger.
Yes, sir,
Mr. Lunsford, but...
You arrest him when
he returns, hear me?
Ned will bear witness.
There were others there too.
This is Mr. Garvin,
Ned's partner.
Glad to know you.
And Luther Wickes.
I'll make a deposition.
There you go.
Everything's gonna be
all right with Ned here.
We're not staying in
Fort Worth, Blair.
What tune are you singing?
Ben and I need a town
with enough subscribers
to support a paper.
But this is your town, Ned.
Flora, bring his partner along.
We'll show 'em.
Come along,
Mr. Garvin.
Luther, you stay here
and guard that press.
You ought to let us know
you were coming.
We'd have had brass bands
and parties galore.
I have no ties here.
Old man Brooks
went into bankruptcy
like most of the people
in the town.
Only he didn't live
to suffer from it.
And his daughter, Amy?
She moved to greener pastures.
You never heard from her, Ned?
Once.
She returned
our engagement ring.
I got it at
the Battle of Five Forks
just before Richmond fell.
Forget her, Ned.
I have.
Here you are, gents.
Drink up.
Ned...
there's the world:
Texas.
You own Texas,
and you can buy the rest.
And here...
right here,
is where all its treasures
are gonna crisscross,
going east and west,
and north and south: Fort Worth.
Gents, you are standing on
the hub of the nation right now.
Uh... Your axle's
busted.
Well, you're dead right.
Mice are starving in this town.
My creditors look like
an army roll call.
But I'm giving it
to you dark, boys.
You see, Mr. Garvin,
I don't want anybody
who's looking for
a ready-made paradise.
I know Ned's courage.
I envied him out there,
fighting the battles.
You did your part.
We'd have starved
without you and your kind.
Let's be level, Ned.
They paid for my beef.
Oh, I put my head
on a block right enough...
running the gulf
and through the lines.
But when the war ended,
I had a small fortune.
That came without asking.
Well, I didn't think much
about it until it was all over.
And then I saw what I could do.
Bring the railroad in
and make this the richest
county in the state.
Unfortunately, the railway
company wasn't impressed.
"What have you got to
freight?" they said.
And Blair said, "Cattle.
We'll build a packing plant
and ship it all the way
from Fort Worth."
That's a great idea.
Is it, Ned?
Every cent I own is sunk in it.
An empty packing plant
big enough for Kansas City
right out there
on the outskirts of town.
Panic stopped
the railroad from coming in.
Why not haul to Dallas,
ship from there?
That's the remark
of a foreigner, Mr. Garvin.
Even if Dallas
wasn't cotton and industry,
we still wouldn't make 'em
a gift of our cattle business.
Oh, we'll do all right,
once we break
Clevenger's terrorizing.
He knows he'll have
no trail-driving contracts
once we get rails.
He keeps the panic going,
but we'll beat him.
Ned pulling double with me...
we can beat a dozen Clevengers.
And with your paper,
put some fat on the bones
of this town.
Enough to guarantee the freight
to bring the railroad to us.
[]
We'll make our noise
heard across the state.
We'll get us
our own governor in Austin.
You, Mr. Lunsford?
[CHUCKLES]
BLAIR:
Why not?
But I'll need your paper.
And I'll need your guns, Ned.
The whole suffering
county needs 'em.
Don't look, Blair.
He never wears them.
What?
What have they done to you, Ned?
Flora will tell you.
Come on, Ben.
Yes, go on.
Go as far south and west
as you like, Ned.
And I hope you hear the beating
of the hoofs of cattle
in your sleep.
I'd just as leave
set up shop here
if I didn't have a partner.
GARVIN:
Me.
And a penny newspaper.
Sounds cheap, don't it?
But a penny newspaper
can make or break
the millionaire's
dollar power on Earth,
turn the beam
on them that shine,
drive the vermin to their holes.
Why, I can bring
good people to this town
like moths drawn to the light.
That's kind of
high-flown, Ben.
Mind if I put it simpler?
No. Go ahead.
We're going to
delouse this burg.
Oh, Ned.
BLAIR: You can pour me a drink on that,
Mr. Garvin.
[]
And you wasn't gonna let Britt
set up shop in Texas.
Their office is up the street.
We'll clean it out.
And have the papers
in Dodge City and Abilene
a-screamin' their lungs out
about it?
Man, you'd have the federal
agents a-sniffin' at us.
I tell ya, boys, just keep
a-workin' on this town,
it won't support no newspaper.
Them that's smart enough to read
will get wise enough to move.
Come on.
Fingers getting itchy?
No, but I bet Blair's are.
Ha. I doubt it.
He ain't ready
to tangle with Clevenger.
Just a reporter's tip.
Sheriff's got his chance now.
I got to go post them
sheriff's sales notice.
I better help you.
Come back here,
you no-good...
I said, come back here!
CLEVENGER:
Sheriff!
You allow filthy trash
like that to be circulated?
W... W... The license
for printing
ain't my orbit, Gabe.
Well, maybe you're right.
And maybe it's
a civil court affair,
suing them scoundrels for libel.
But I don't like to go to court.
Well, I don't reckon
you do, Gabe.
I don't reckon anybody does.
B-but this here warrant says
you're sure going to court.
What warrant?
Mr. Britt signed
murder charges against you.
Well, now, don't
get mad at me, Gabe.
I ain't sitting in judgment.
[LAUGHING]
You just arrestin' me, huh?
That's all.
You'll excuse me, sheriff,
for talking so harsh
to you, won't you?
No hard feelings.
Shake.
[LAUGHING]
Hey.
ALL:
Hyah!
[MEN YELLING]
MAN:
Oh, look at him!
[LAUGHING]
A town that can't
support its law
don't deserve a paper.
What did you mean about Blair
not being ready?
Nothing, Ned.
Nothing yet, leastways.
News comes in pieces, boys,
like a suit of clothes.
Don't ever sport the jacket
unless you're sure you got the britches on.
Ah.
But did you know he's buying up
Tarrant County property?
Well, what's wrong with that?
Shows good civic faith.
He couldn't.
He's broke.
[SCOFFS] So am I.
But I can always snag two bits
for coffee and beans.
Just like Blair can borrow
the big stuff to buy up options.
Uh, by the way...
you accidentally have two bits?
You'll give away the whole
newspaper sometime
to a bunch of birds
with hard-luck stories.
You coming to supper?
Eat later.
Got some work to do.
[]
Here's your editorial.
Read it.
"Aside from Gabe Clevenger's
lawless activities,
"the civic corpse of Fort Worth
"shows no sign of life
whatsoever.
"We can personally vouch
for the fact that yesterday,
"a panther was seen
sleeping at midday
"in the center
of Belknap Street,
unmolested by any of
our brave citizens."
Pretty good.
Mr. Garvin would want
to know the age and sex
of the panther.
No interest, except
to another panther.
Come on.
Let's go to press.
Now, you only have to gun Britt,
and the old one will dry up
and blow away by hisself.
Well, Britt's
in there. I seen him.
Good. Now, Mort will
plug him from the alley.
But take no chance
on him gettin' out.
When you hear Mort shoot,
you move in the front.
Where are you going?
To church, if I can find one.
'Cause I want to be someplace
where I don't know
a thing about this.
Outside papers
will start digging.
And them newsies
stick together like sorghum.
Fix yourself a libation,
Mr. Garvin.
That's real Kentucky.
Uh, it's still
working hours for me.
An interview?
Sort of.
Why do you want this town
on the rocks, Mr. Lunsford?
Me?
You've been puffing locoweed.
The Lewis ranch,
this section here,
6,000 acres over there,
and right here in town...
this and this and this
and this whole block here...
all under option
to Blair Lunsford.
I don't suppose
you have any idea
where I could raise the money
to pick up those options.
Not yet.
No, I didn't think so.
But only a fool would buy 'em
unless'n he thought
Fort Worth had a future.
You're no fool.
Thanks.
Other hand...
anyone owned as much
of the county as you do
wouldn't let Gabe
Clevenger terrorize it
unless'n it suited his purposes.
What do you want me to do?
Take the law in my own hands?
We've got a sheriff...
[SCOFFS]
Scared of his own shadow.
Now you've said something.
You know what they
call you, Mr. Lunsford?
"Mr. Fort Worth."
Seems to me
Mr. Fort Worth
could get himself
a good law enforcement officer.
If he wanted one.
All right, mister.
You asked for information.
I'll give it to you.
Sure, I bought up
all the property I could.
I love this town,
Mr. Garvin.
I've got faith in it.
But there are others
who live here besides me.
I've got one vote,
and that's all I want.
I'm one citizen.
Just because I own more
property than the next fellow,
I don't ask for any more rights
or any more privileges.
What are you doing here?!
Well, ain't you gonna ask me in?
I wouldn't ask you
into a hog wallow.
You'd dirty it up.
Uh, you've got no call to take
that attitude toward me.
You neither,
Mr. Garvin.
And don't let him fill
your paper with his spleen.
I appeal to you,
Mr. Lunsford,
to stop pounding me
out of my rightful living.
To stop your unholy persecutin'.
Heh. Never saw
so many martyrs.
[LAUGHS] Persecute you?
Mr. Garvin here thinks
I'm in cahoots with you.
Cahoots?
And you're in cahoots
with the devil
to rub salt in my sores.
Why, I count it lucky anymore
to get a herd to drive.
Wicked unfair,
Mr. Lunsford,
to have the bread
taken out of my mouth
before that railroad
even gets here.
I'm not raising cattle.
No, but Miss Talbot is.
And if I could get the contract
to take her herds north,
then the rest of them ranchers
might open up their hearts so...
[GUNSHOTS]
[]
Where'd I put that shotgun?
Crawl for the front door.
I've got to find that shotgun.
[GUNSHOT]
Mr. Britt!
Where are you, Clevenger?!
You said you wanted
some gravy, didn't you?
Well, come a-runnin'
and bring the rest
of your scurvies with you!
Why, you rampaging old longhorn.
Biggest thing out
since Sam Houston.
You print that, son.
I like the sound of it.
[LAUGHS]
[MEN CHATTERING]
[]
[WATER SPLASHING]
Wait a minute.
Flora invited you to dinner too.
Tell her
Mr. Garvin regrets.
On account of Blair?
You never liked him
from the first, did you?
Not even after he saved my life.
He couldn't afford
to let you get killed.
Those pieces you've
been writing on him...
It'd have to be
by George Washington
out of Queen Bess.
The paper's half mine.
That half says what I think.
[CHUCKLES]
Stop fitting the truth
to the shape of your heart.
You'll be a better newspaperman.
Oh.
I know it isn't easy.
What with friends around
who say you're just hard mean.
You ever wonder why
I never got married?
Boy...
I was foolish human once.
She was pretty.
Just as pretty as Flora.
But I printed her old man
right into the pen...
where he belonged.
[]
Ben's a great man, Luther.
Right.
[CHUCKLES] Going to make
him real mad someday
by telling him so.
[KNOCK
ON DOOR]
Uh, Mr. Britt.
The roomer in 201
wants to subscribe to
the Fort Worth Star.
Thanks, Bob.
Every new one counts.
Amy.
Hello, Ned.
So good to see you.
The years fall away,
and you haven't changed at all.
I've changed right enough,
but you haven't.
You're even prettier,
if anything.
I wish I could believe you, Ned.
It's been a long time
since anyone has said...
I've been living in New Orleans,
and I just got back.
I wanted to see you
first of anyone.
How'd you know I was here?
I read about you
in the Picayune.
You're big pumpkins now, Ned.
Your articles get quoted
way over in Louisiana.
Makes me mighty proud
to know you.
Fort Worth will seem
pretty dull to you
after New Orleans.
Not to me.
Most I've seen of it was through
a millinery shop window.
I bet you hold with the idea
a girl shouldn't work.
Mm-mm.
Even knew a woman who
worked on a newspaper once.
She wrote a column on cooking.
Oh.
I... I was wondering
how to ask you...
About a job?
No, Ned, I...
I was just hinting
a-about supper.
Walking into a hotel
dining room all by yourself...
I just wouldn't know how.
Suffering catfish,
I forgot all about it.
I'm sorry, Amy, but I'm booked
for supper. Late too.
Here's proof that I'm
not even making excuses.
"Miss Flora Talbot
will entertain
the staff of the Star at dinner
with Mr. Blair Lunsford."
I'm sorry, Ned.
If I'd known, I wouldn't
have suggested it.
Wait a minute.
There'll be an extra place
at Flora's table.
This will give us a real chance
to talk about old times.
Blair and Flora and...
You're sure they'll want me?
They'll be delighted. Come on.
Get ready. All right.
[]
Give him a drink of water
and tie him up, Lu.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Brought you a little
surprise, Flora.
Amy's sitting in for Ben.
Why, Amy, I'm delighted.
Same here.
Thanks for smuggling me in, Ned.
This is all I wanted you for.
Just a chance
to throw a dead cat
in Blair Lunsford's lap.
Get her out of here.
Ned wouldn't do that.
Not my old flame...
your friend.
More likely he'd shoot
your head off, Blair,
for cutting his fences
the minute his back
was turned on us.
Flora...
Don't believe her.
She was heading
the wrong direction
long before she left Fort Worth.
If I was,
it was in your direction.
Tell her, Blair.
Tell Flora how it was me
you were going to marry.
Tell her how Hardy Talbot died,
and you saw all those
dollar marks in her eyes.
Tell her how you put me
out to pasture in New Orleans.
Goodbye, Flora.
And thanks again, Ned.
And so long, Fort Worth.
Thanks for all the hayrides.
Why did you bring her here?
Not that it matters,
but I didn't
know this about Amy.
You're in love with Flora.
I never said so.
That's why you dug up
that woman.
Believe what you want.
Let it go at that.
You've got a paper
to use against me.
To take Flora, you will use
every dirty card in the deck.
I won't use the newspaper
for a personal fight.
Then you'd better
get yourself some guns.
[]
Thanks for the ride.
Okay.
Giddyap.
He's fallen asleep.
No.
Someone ran out the alley door
just as I came in.
Send out the word.
[RUSHING
FOOTSTEPS]
[DOOR OPENS]
There's the knife killed Ben.
There's the one aimed at me.
Two peas out of the same pod.
Both from Clevenger's killers.
But Gabe ain't been
in town for over a week.
Heh. It don't seem fair
to blame...
Sheriff. Some of
his boys are.
Joe Castro's with 'em
over by the Chuckaway
Saloon right now.
They done it,
they'll answer for it.
I'll bring 'em in.
I got me a real deputy now.
Come on, Walter.
You didn't know Ben.
He meant nothing to you.
You want a deputy, you got one.
Any objection?
Glad to have you, Mr. Britt.
Right glad to have you.
I can handle it.
I've heard that song before.
[CHAMBER CLACKS]
[CHAMBER CLACKS]
Who is it?
The sheriff, maybe.
Funnier than that.
Inkpot Britt,
bowleggin' a pair of guns.
No. Don't
scare him away.
Let him walk into it.
Castro's right.
Nobody can
target a pistol at that dist...
Did he say nobody?
That bird's a ringer.
[GUNSHOT]
Here's your gun, sheriff.
I've done your job for you.
You keep the guns, Ned.
And you keep the badge too.
You done good,
Mr. Britt.
But you didn't need to.
Suppose I should have let 'em
ride out of town again?
Didn't say that.
Didn't mean it, either.
I said I could handle it.
And I aim to.
You remember that libel
you printed
about the panther
asleep in the street?
Well, you made us
all-fired mad.
It's no libel. And
my partner's dead.
But not mad at you, Britt.
Mad at ourselves...
shameful mad
for letting Clevenger
and his gang
run the monkey show around here.
We're calling in our bunch
the Panther Club,
Mr. Britt.
And it ain't gonna be
no joke to Clevenger.
I didn't know different,
I'd swear I was back
in Fort Worth.
I mean the town I used to know.
[ALL MURMURING
INDISTINCTLY]
[]
LUTHER: "Our most eminent
citizen stands in the rays
"of the Star today.
"Is he a man worthy
of the governorship...
"or another hero in muddy boots?
"Here are facts for
the people of Fort Worth.
"The terrorism of
Gabe Clevenger's drovers,
"added to the financial panic,
"has decreased
our population from 5000
"to less than 1000
discouraged souls.
"Blair Lunsford has capitalized
"on this discouragement
"by buying property options
"from sellers reduced
to utter poverty.
"Though he has shown his faith
"in the future of Fort Worth,
"he has failed to take any steps
to ensure that future.
"Never, that is,
until April 18th, when,
"having acquired
the last available
"piece of city property,
"he made
his now-famous stand
"against Clevenger's assassins,
"when they attempted
the life of Ned Britt
at the offices
of the Daily Star."
M-Mis... Mr. Garvin never
even got to proof it.
Railroad comes in, and...
Lunsford will own everything.
Well, he won't strut so big
when he reads this
in tomorrow's issue.
He won't read it.
We won't print it.
But we got to print it,
Mr. Britt.
Mr. Garvin wrote it.
He's dead.
I'm running the paper.
Lu...
Yes, sir?
Listen. I'll tell you
what I'm up against.
Why?
Like you say...
Mr. Garvin's dead.
It's your paper.
I have a personal fight
with Lunsford.
I can't use the paper
against him.
It'd be hitting foul.
Lunsford ever makes governor...
it'll foul the state.
[DOOR OPENS]
What do you want?
Not a thing...
Except to say I'm sorry
about Garvin.
He wouldn't want your sympathy.
Read it. Your hands
won't make it any dirtier.
[CHUCKLES]
Print it.
What?
You've got no obligations to me.
Print anything you like.
You hog-tied me when you figured
I'd use the press to take Flora.
I wasn't thinking
about her, Ned, or me.
I was thinking
about you and Ben.
About how you'll sleep better
if you think you've done
what he wanted.
But he was wrong, Ned.
Wrong about me.
This is my town.
And I'm building it.
It'll take more than words.
Who do you think
organized the Panthers?
Who do you think
they'll benefit?
Fort Worth.
I'm burying this...
for now.
So far your sins
against this town
have been sins of omission.
But I find you've
committed just one,
I'll lay it above you or Flora.
I'll break you in this state.
[SLAMS DRAWER]
So be careful
where your scent leads.
Ben made me enough
of a newspaperman to follow it.
But you don't
have to follow, Ned.
You can ride right alongside.
This town's going places,
and we're going with it.
We can pull double...
That's out for me!
Not in your dirty harness.
All right then.
That's the way
you feel about it.
But we're not the worst team
in the world.
[]
Where are you going?
Clevenger's got
a droving contract.
He's down at the stockyards now.
Panthers are gonna arrest him,
and I've got to cover the story.
Stay where you are.
You don't cover that story
with a pencil.
[]
GABE:
We get these few head
over the mountains there,
we'll be on our way.
SHERIFF:
Gabe!
Climb down off of
that horse real easy.
[LAUGHS]
You ain't gonna tell me
I'm under arrest again,
are you, sheriff?
And this time it sticks.
[LAUGHS]
That's why I voted
for you, sheriff.
So as you'd be a big help
to these here ferocious...
What is it they started
calling theirselves?
The Panther Club.
[LAUGHS]
The "Panthiers."
Well, uh, healthy-looking
cat's all right.
Their noses is cold,
and so's their feet.
You think I won't
blow your head off,
try finding it in the morning.
Haul him out of that saddle.
Mort Springer too.
The rest of you
we're giving time
to get across the county line.
I'll shoot the first man
who tries to come back.
Don't move, gents.
Stand where you are.
Drop that rifle, Walter.
I've got a bead on your back.
And you, Lunsford,
got a lead pill
all labeled for you.
Not yet, Shorty.
Ned Britt.
Yeah. Looks like
this is our lucky day.
Now, keep your sights cool
till he's ripe.
GABE:
Pick it up, sheriff,
and make out like
you got us covered.
And the rest of you
keep your mouths shut
and your hands still,
unless'n you want Shorty
to plug you in the back.
Now, let's us get our hands up.
[CHUCKLES]
GABE:
I only asked the chance
to raise my bail, sheriff.
And I'm partial
to a quick hearing.
A word from you with the judge
will help matters a lot.
Sheriff, I owe you an apology.
Who's got the drop?
I have.
It ain't my fault, Britt.
Gabe made me hold
this empty gun.
[ALL LAUGH]
Two in the bag, Gabe.
And I hear you ain't
particular anymore
about offending the press.
All right. Why don't you
reach for your gun.
That what he's trying to do:
Make you use 'em.
He'll claim it was fair draw.
Guess we couldn't be that lucky.
Cock-a-doodles like you
hang on to your lives
till the last breath
is squeezed out.
Get your rope, Mort.
All right.
Toss your guns in.
Reminds me of that day
at Saw Hill.
Same bad fix.
[GUN DROPS]
[GUNS DROP]
Couldn't do anything
about it then.
Can't now.
GABE:
Get rid of them guns.
[GUNSHOTS]
[GUNSHOTS]
Don't hurry!
You might catch 'em!
MAN: Come on,
after 'em!
[]
Hah. Hyah!
You double-crossed
yourself that time
for fair, didn't you?
Riding double-harness
whether you like it or not.
Don't count on that.
I said I'd delouse this burg,
and I haven't changed my mind.
Ain't nobody yet proved
Ben was wrong about you.
Well, you prove it.
I'm going to Dallas tomorrow.
You come with me.
Watch me sell
those railroad moguls
on drivin' the line through.
Learn how a man can play
his honest opportunities...
without a cent in his kit.
The way you played Amy?
[]
[WHISTLE BLOWS]
I've got buckboards
waiting to take us
from the end of the line
into Fort Worth.
Show you how easy it'd be
to grade that right away,
Mr. Engineer.
Our agreement was
that you'd lay track
from there on at your expense.
We're to pay you back
out of earnings from Fort Worth.
If any.
Well, times have changed.
You'll have to put up the money.
[CHUCKLES] What I thought.
You've learned your cash,
banked over in Dallas,
is better than a lot
of rusted rail.
Or was that money a dream,
like your talk about Fort Worth
bein' the great cow town
of the future?
It was no dream, Sam.
I've got the cash,
but I can't use it right now.
That was our agreement.
And I aim to keep it.
As soon as I get
all the options I wanted.
But a friend of mine has got
a padlock on my cash.
I open it up,
he blows me right out of Texas.
Besides, you don't
need the cash.
Not when I'm offering you
the best potential
market town in the state.
Lunsford's ridin' in style.
Yeah. He aims to get
that general manager
to put up the money
to extend the line
to Fort Worth.
Now, wasn't that obligin'
of that Dallas paper
to keep me informed?
Well, what are you birds
a-waitin' for?
Go on.
And the products
of my packing plant
are no more than half
of what you'll freight.
Goods of all kinds.
People.
Read our newspaper.
See how we could
benefit the country
from the gulf
to the Kansas prairie.
Frankly, it was the Star
boosted us
into taking another look
at the prospects.
Yeah, I give Britt full credit.
He brought back old citizens
and new ones too.
Fought by my side
for law and decency.
We wiped out such problems
as Gabe Clevenger...
[GUNSHOT]
[GUNSHOTS]
[]
Friends of yours, Lunsford?
Clevenger's men.
Any rails are laid
beyond Eagle Ford,
you'll lay 'em.
I'll risk neither
workmen's lives
nor company money on them.
Looks like luck has been running
a streak against me, gentlemen.
[]
You boys know
what supplies to order.
I'll meet you back here.
Put this in caps.
New paragraph here.
Now get to work.
Flora.
Come in.
Howdy, Miss Talbot.
I, um, brought you
some news for the Star.
Good.
The youngest Henby boy
came down with the measles.
And there's a harvest social
at the Dills' ranch
next Thursday.
You're both invited.
That's pretty hot news, Luther.
Better get it set up right away.
We're sure gettin'
a better-lookin' class
of reporter these days.
Be just as good
if I go to lunch?
Uh, just as good.
So long, Miss Talbot.
You've made
Luther's day for him.
Sit down, Flora.
The items were only an excuse.
I wanted to see you.
You don't need
any excuse for that.
You haven't been
out to the ranch.
I've been busy.
Ben's funeral and...
Not wanting to cut
Blair's fences.
I heard the words between you
the night you brought Amy.
Time you learn
no shock will kill
a woman's curiosity, Ned.
Fella says a lot
of things when he's mad.
I hope you know
how sorry I was about Ben.
That I took for granted.
And welcome back into the fold.
Dad would've kicked the bung
out of a barrel of mash
celebratin' the gunnin'
you gave Clevenger's men
at the stockyard.
I wonder if Ben would.
I still believe the printed word
is stronger than guns.
Only seeing him dead...
Makes a difference
when it's a friend.
Been you instead of Ben...
I'd be on Clevenger's
trail myself.
If it'd been Blair?
Yes, I'd fight for Blair.
I'm not a schoolgirl
that never heard of
all the Amy Brookses
in the world.
Blair's walkin'
in four-leaf clover,
having a woman
so broad in the mind.
Hm.
You ought to thank me
for bringin' Amy out.
Tell the truth,
I felt sorry for her.
Her kind have their day,
but it sure ends fast.
She's got claws, though.
She got to me
when she talked about
the dollar marks in my eyes.
Oh, don't you believe it.
I took a quick look
at my bankbook.
That was reassuring enough.
Any dollar marks
I've got are red ink.
That'll change.
The railroad comes through,
Blair's packing plant
starts humming,
and you'll be fat as a goose.
If that's meant
for a compliment,
you've got a lot to learn.
Don't keep yourself
such a stranger, Ned.
It gets lonesome out there.
Blair will keep you company.
Blair's not on my visiting list.
But you just said...
I said that to you.
You don't think for one minute
I'm not gonna make him squirm.
Maybe his clover crop
ain't as thick as I figured.
By the way, where is he?
Far as I know, still in Dallas.
Dallas?
What for?
Ah, don't worry.
It's not another Amy.
He's arguing
the railroad through.
If he does that, I'll
forgive him awful fast.
Come out any time, Ned.
Don't wait for the invitation.
I won't.
I can't pass up the kind
of local news you handle.
Good morning, Flora.
How are you, Blair?
You're beginning to look
more like a lovesick
bull every day.
What's the matter?
Won't Flora moo when you bellow?
Don't swing on the gate, sonny.
You might get
a bellyful of horns.
You may as well
get yourself reconciled.
I'm the one she's gonna marry.
Why? Because
she spoke to you?
I heard her say hello
to a yapping dog
out on the trail.
Oh, I guess I can savvy
an insult when I hear one.
I don't have to have
a barn fall on me.
But that's no way
to treat a fellow
that's bringing you
some bang-up news.
You won your argument
with the railroad.
No. I lost it
hands down.
Clevenger's men
shot up the train.
There ain't nobody
can take a hint
faster than railroaders.
That's hard news, Blair.
Fort Worth will die without...
[DOOR OPENS]
LUTHER:
Mr. Lunsford?
Yeah, son?
I owe you an apology,
Mr. Lunsford.
Well, that's
a manly thing to say.
What for?
Well, I've been
distrustful of you.
But that meeting over at
the hotel proved me wrong.
I told you I had
some real hot news.
What meeting?
The Panthers Club.
We're going to get the railroad.
They're gonna get their own
free labor to lay track.
And Mr. Walter and the other
deputies will protect 'em
against Clevenger...
o-or anybody else.
But it was Mr. Lunsford here
who got 'em up to it.
I'm proud of 'em.
You should be too, Ned.
You created them, kind of.
They're big now.
Better than 200
good grizzly boys.
I gotta set type.
They got the muscles maybe,
but it takes cash to pay
for feed and materials.
Here's another item
for Luther to set.
"Mr. Blair Lunsford
has announced
"that on Tuesday next,
"he will ship $50,000
in gold by train to Eagle Ford
"to defray all cost
of construction
of the railroad."
Gold sounds better.
So Ben was right.
You've been crying poor
and buying up options
for 10 cents on the dollar.
And all the time
you had a big kitty
buried in Dallas.
By japes, boy, you've got it.
That fine old Southern honor,
that good old integrity.
I told you I pin
one skunk act on you,
I'd print you out of the state.
This is the hole in the fence
I've been waiting for.
Well, don't jump through
that hole too soon, son.
You might tear your britches.
There won't be a nickel
on that train.
What you holding
in that head of yours?
We've got to get rid of
the threat of Clevenger,
haven't we?
Well, he and his boys
oughta be pretty hungry by now.
That item in your paper
ought to make
sure-fire bait.
You've set yourself
a pretty good rattrap.
And we'll load the train
with Panther cats
just to make sure.
No.
We don't want
any noise around here.
Gabe's got big ears.
You and me...
we'll be the express guides.
I'll make the arrangements
in Dallas.
The railroad company,
they won't be so tough to handle
once we bury Clevenger.
And he'll strike a blow any time
to keep work from starting.
And the money.
Talk about incentive.
Then you're with me.
You'll print it.
I'm already writing
his obituary.
[]
[WHISTLE BLOWING]
Figured Clevenger's
gang would show
when we hit open country.
Yeah, after all the trouble
I went through at the railroad
to promote this trap.
It cost a king's ransom
to hire a short-handed
train crew.
Thought you were broke.
Since Clevenger
stayed out of this,
I'm worse off than that.
What if he hadn't?
You were supposed to line up
some good gun hands in Dallas.
I'll look for a full load
instead of those empty coaches.
Why?
We got nothing to protect
but some mail-order goods
for the farmers.
Two bits will get you four
if we don't pass that coach.
[WHISTLE BLOWING]
Still looking for a soft touch?
I only hope Clevenger ain't.
That's why we're here.
Be a horse on me
if he passed up the train
and held up that stagecoach.
I wouldn't give him
pocket money.
You call $100,000 pocket money?
[GUN COCKS] What the...?
What tune you singing now?
Little by little,
I'm movin' all my cash
to the bank at Fort Worth.
I can't put it off
any longer, son.
Not even on your threat
to print me out of
the governorship.
Serves me right.
I should've known Ben
was the only man to trust.
You had fair warning.
Money sure polluted you.
You used to believe
in a fair draw.
Made kind of a nice
setup for me, didn't it?
You were number one,
and Gabe was second.
And I figured he'd plug you
if I gotta fire the shot myself.
Seems like my luck
is running out.
The higher I stack the chips,
the worse it goes.
Even staked your life on it.
If a man wants to hit
the jackpot, Ned,
he's gotta take chances.
Oh, if I get killed,
of course, I'd regret it.
But Fort Worth would build
a whopping-big pigeon roost
of a monument to old Blair.
You'll get buzzards.
Not from you.
Move back.
Keep your hands
away from those guns.
I'm givin' you
one straight choice.
And I'm offerin' to
make you rich too.
You ride with me,
and I'll take care of you.
Big.
Well, what's your answer?
Insane.
You're stark-crazy
insane.
They said that
about a lot of men.
Columbus, Washington...
old Sam Houston.
He was insane too,
with his dream of Texas...
till he made it come true.
Now me.
Suit yourself.
I'm insane too...
till I'm sittin' in the saddle,
and Fort Worth
is queen of the prairie.
And no two-for-a-penny
newspaper
is gonna stop me...
[DOOR OPENS]
It's Britt and Lunsford.
[GUNSHOT]
Let 'em burn. They're
better than the money.
[]
We've gotta stop
the train now...
Don't slow down till
we get to the water tower.
Express car's afire.
Gabe said not to move in
with the horses
till they pass the water tower.
What he said ain't
what he'll be sayin' now.
We gotta get him
and the boys off of there.
Let's go.
Hyah!
[]
[GUNSHOTS]
[COUGHS]
Come on.
Let's get out of here.
[GUNSHOTS]
[CLICKS]
[GUNS CLATTERS
ON FLOOR]
[GUNSHOT]
[GUNS CLICKING]
[LOCK CLICKS]
[]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Ned.
Oh, Ned, I've been
so worried about you.
Worried?
Well, how'd you know that...?
Blair, it's Ned.
Isn't that wonderful?
Wonderful ain't good enough.
Come on in, boy, and sit down.
You must be tuckered.
Fix yourself a drink.
I was just telling Flora
how I got fouled up...
Played it smart, didn't you?
You knew I couldn't
work on you here.
Work on me?
You loco, boy?
Ned, what's the matter?
Let him tell you.
He'll make it a good story
with that rattlesnake
charm of his.
What happened, Ned?
Did you land on your head
when Gabe kicked you
off the train?
This kind of a thing
can be serious.
Take care of him, honey.
I'll send Doc Wilson out.
Get yourself fresh guns, Blair.
I'm giving you a better choice
than you gave me.
You've got till tomorrow morning
to make sure that paper
don't come out.
You wait longer,
I'll print you out of Texas.
Ned, Blair...
you have no cause to quarrel.
This is the way we should be:
Together.
This way too.
Look after yourself, boy.
[DOOR
CLOSES]
What are you doing?
Pointing a gun.
I aim to use it on Blair.
He's right.
You are insane.
Not me. Blair.
His crooked dream got too big
for one man's head to hold.
Only a crazy man would rig it
to swindle every friend he had
and still want Texas
to lift him up in glory.
He couldn't have done that.
I'm going to set print
on him tonight.
And if he's to stop me,
he'll have to kill me.
He's your friend.
He wouldn't shoot to stop you
even if you printed
a pack of lies.
Then you'd better stop me.
You seem to have picked
your man to fight for.
I haven't picked anybody.
Keep your gun.
I could use it too.
Anybody who'd try to
destroy somebody I loved.
Then why don't you...
while you've still got a chance
to sit in the throne
room at Austin?
[]
[BAND PLAYING "I'VE BEEN
WORKING ON THE RAILROAD"]
[CROWD CHEERING]
[GROWLS]
[BAND PLAYING "OH, SUSANNAH"
IN DISTANCE]
All ready to pull a proof,
as soon as you give me copy
to fill that space
you wanted saved.
I told you to clear out.
Uh... Soon as I set
the type for your story.
Must be a humdinger, the way
you've been sweatin' on it.
Clear out now.
I don't want you around here.
Somebody's got to
cover the Panthers
starting to lay track.
I can still set type.
Well, if you're sure
you can get on without me.
I won't let you down, Luther.
Paper will come out on schedule.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[BAND PLAYING,
CROWD CHEERING IN DISTANCE]
You ought to keep
that door locked.
Don't want it locked.
The way you messed up
Clevenger's bunch on that train,
he'll be feelin' peevish.
Fort Worth's the last place
he'd show himself.
Well, it'll be a lonely place,
what with every man,
woman and mule
off to work the railroad.
Includin' me.
Everybody from
the fire department
to the Ladies' Cooking Society.
Oh. You printin' up how
Lunsford saved the day
with the cash he brought in?
Well, something like that.
Hear he hocked his warts
to buy the rails.
Ah, you know,
Mr. Britt,
public spirit like that's
just mighty scarce.
We ought to build
a monument to him
while he's livin'.
The way he's livin',
there mightn't be much time.
Pride of the old Lone Star.
[CROWD CHEERING]
[BAND PLAYING "I'VE BEEN WORKING
ON THE RAILROAD"]
You ought to keep
that door locked.
You're the second one said that.
I expected you
by the front door.
What were you after, a potshot?
Didn't want anybody
to see me come in.
I aim to go out the same way.
The undertaker's
right across the alley.
It won't be too far to tote you.
Setting up your little story?
That's it.
Just in case
somebody does pass by,
you're here alone,
as you should be.
[]
Don't go getting buck ague.
I'll give you a fair draw.
Just keep your hands
away from those guns.
You talk to Flora about this?
It's any comfort,
she'll believe no bad of you.
I knew she wouldn't.
[SHUFFLING,
FOOTSTEPS]
I've been thinkin' a lot
about her this evening.
About you and me.
Women. Half the time
they don't understand
what a fella's talkin' about.
You can't make conversation
with a pile of greenbacks.
Then give it up.
Let those options lapse,
and the property will go back
to the people you bilked.
They will lapse if you are dead.
I'm talkin' about life,
Ned, not death.
Big, juicy wonderful life.
It's like I was tryin' to tell
you when you first came home.
You grab the crossroads.
If it's a treasure-trove,
then the world's
your watermelon.
My offer's still good.
We can slice it
fifty-fifty, you and me.
Neither of us.
Then it's spin the wheel, and...
see what comes up.
It's your decision.
Always figured
I was faster than you.
But I figured wrong.
Go on, shoot, boy.
Shut up. Listen to me.
Shoot, you fool,
or you'll be losin'.
[]
[TWO GUNSHOTS]
Ned? Are you
all right, Ned?
I had to see the truth
to believe it.
I picked my side,
but I didn't mean to kill him.
I only fired once, and he fell.
Say that again.
What?
You only fired once.
What difference does
it make? I killed him.
Who knows?
There were two shots.
Somebody else
was in there with us.
[COCKS GUN]
Ned!
[]
[]
Better get on down there.
Well, just as soon as I get
some of this ink washed off.
It's mighty fancy.
Look at page three.
Thank you, Ned.
Thank old Ben Garvin.
He made the rules for the paper.
One was never to
pitchfork the dead.
You all comin' along?
We can see fine
from here, Luther.
Well, then, see you at supper.
So long, Mrs. Britt.
Mrs. Britt.
And you were ready to
plug me once, almost.
Almosts don't count.
[]
[CROWD CHEERING]
It's a different town
than you rode into
the first time, Ned.
Different than the one
I came back to.
It's a good town.
Good town for little Toby
to grow up in.
Toby? Why,
he got killed by...
Why, High Pocket,
I clear forgot to tell you,
didn't I?
Why did you think I didn't want
to go down there?
Want to stay out of the crowds?
You'll have to take better care
of your boy's mother, boy.
[]
[]