Come on!
Don't forget to get
that haircut.
Yes, ma'am.
Oh, Ben, what do you want
for dinner tonight?
I don't know. Anything.
Anything but liver.
The girls are coming over
this afternoon.
I'll see you tonight.
Morning, Ben.
Oh, hi, Herb.
Hot one, huh?
Yeah, looks like it.
All set for Saturday?
Yeah. Are they bitin'?
Mort Williams got
a four-pounder yesterday.
Count me in.
Fine.
Morning, Ben.
Morning, Ab.
Another hot one, huh?
Yeah, looks like it.
Radio says
it's gonna be 110.
I wouldn't be surprised
if it goes higher.
You let Hank out yet?
No, not yet.
Thought you might want
to read 'em off.
Wanna post that for me
when you get a minute?
Who's it for?
What difference
does it make?
He wouldn't
come here anyhow.
You want Hank now?
Yeah,
might as well.
Anything else?
No.
Could sure use a new fan.
Yeah.
All right, Hank, my boy,
you're being evicted.
Already? What's the idea
comin' around so early?
Come on, you old bum.
Go on, go on.
We haven't got all day.
Good mornin', Sheriff.
Well, Hank,
what's the excuse
this time?
It ain't the season
for catching cold.
Oh, no, no, no. No cold.
It's only my leg. Shrapnel.
I got it in France.
Hurts something terrible
this time of year.
Mm-hmm.
Hank, what are you
gonna do when we start
charging you rent?
Well, I don't reckon
I'll be able to pay, Sheriff.
Sure, you could.
We got a stretch of ditch
out along the Empire Road
needs a lot of diggin'.
Now, maybe I could persuade
Judge McCullough to let you
have 10 days on it.
Oh, no. You wouldn't do
a thing like that.
Y-You know I can't take
that hot sun.
Well, next time
we pick you up drunk,
I'm gonna have to see to it.
Doggone it, Hank,
you're gonna get yourself
killed one of these days...
if you keep gettin'
boozed up.
Now I mean what I say.
Next time we bring you in,
you're gonna take the
sweat treatment out along
the road, you understand?
All right, Sheriff.
Not even a little teeny one
to kill the pain?
Sufferin' will be
good for you.
Now get out.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Sheriff.
Oh, and thanks
for the use of the bed.
I don't know, Ben.
You're too easy on him.
Nah.
Nah. Hank hits
the jug too much,
but he don't hurt
anybody but himself.
Seor Sheriff?
Doggone.
Forgot all about
this fellow.
He was here
when I opened up.
What can I do
for you?
You are the sheriff?
That's right.
Who are you?
My name is
Jesus Cisneros, seor.
I have my friend,
seor, who is gone.
My friend Juan Martin.
You-- You wanna report
a missin' man?
S, seor.
But I do not think he is
justperdido-- lost.
I think
maybe he's dead.
Come in and sit down.
Bring me that chair,
will ya?
Let's, uh, start
all over again.
Cisneros, you say.
You live in town?
No, seor.
On the rancho.
- Golden Empire?
- S, seor.
All right, Cisneros.
Now, what's this
about your friend?
He is Juan Martin, seor.
We work on the rancho
together for many months,
and we are friends,
even though Juan is to me
more like a son,
so young and strong.
I know him well.
All right. Just-- Just
tell me what happened, huh?
SeorSheriff,
I tell you these things
so you will know that Juanito...
is not a man
to run away one night
without a word.
You know how many braceros
work at the ranch?
I-I never gave it
any thought.
Maybe 400. Perhaps 500.
A great many.
And it is not
a good place to work.
Why do you work there?
A man must work.
Sometimes it is that a man
must work in the sun
for another
and be paid a little.
Sometimes a man
must live like a dog...
and not complain
like a dog.
But, seores,
a man is not a dog.
Even if the patron thinks
a man is a dog,
this does not make him one,
not even on the Golden Empire.
Look, Cisneros.
I ain't the state
employment service,
and I don't like speeches.
If you got something
to tell me,
get on with it, huh?
The Seor Yates--
Comprende?
The foreman?
Yeah?
He does not like Juan.
I do not know why.
Last night
he and the Seor Huneker...
came to the bunkhouse
as Juan washed himself...
and took him outside.
I am an old man,seor,
and I have seen many things,
and I know a bad thing
when I see it.
Last night,
when they took Juanito...
from the bunkhouse,
it was a bad thing.
They took him
to the toolroom of the barn.
I am a man of peace, seor.
I cause no trouble.
But I followed them
and waited outside.
Seor, they beat him.
With their fists they beat him
until he bled. I watched.
Maybe they had good reason.
Maybe this Martin kid
stepped out of line.
It's not my business
how they run their ranch.
But Juan hit theSeor Yates
to defend himself,
and theSeor Yates
went loco-- wild, seor.
And he picked up
the handle of a pick.
Oh, I have seen many things,
and I have seen death,
and Juan Martin
died last night.
Ben, you're not gonna
take that seriously.
Well, now wait a minute.
They pay me
to take people seriously.
People, sure.
But you know how that story
will go over at the ranch.
You can't go around accusing
Virg Renchler's boys of murder.
Not even a bracero's murder.
You're makin' a pretty
important charge...
against some
pretty important people.
- You know that?
- S, seor.
I know that a bracero does not
expect much from the law.
You listen to him, Ben,
and you're sure not gonna make
a friend out of Virg Renchler.
I'll tell you
what probably happened.
Some of those dirt-diggers
down there got into a fight,
and this old coot
came up here trying to get
out from under it.
All right, Cisneros.
I'll-- I'll try
to find your friend.
You're making
a mistake, Ben.
Look, in this office,
I'm the judge of that.
Let's not forget it.
You will find
what they did
to Juan Martin?
Now, I doubt if anything
happened to him.
Yates probably had this
Martin beat up
and thrown off the ranch.
I can't be expected
to track down every
bracero in the county.
S, seor.
I'll get in touch with you.
Gracias, seor.
Oh, you probably ain't
goin' back to the ranch.
Where will you be staying?
With my friend
Aiken Clay.
Aiken Clay.
Seor,to be honest,
I did not think
you would help me.
For that, I am sorry
and ashamed.
Eh, if it turns out
to be a false alarm,
you won't feel so grateful.
Wait a minute, Ben.
Come here.
You say
they killed this Martin.
How do you know he's dead?
Did you feel his pulse?
Did you hold a mirror
up to his mouth?
Did you go near him?
No.
I am not a brave man.
I ran, seor.
I ran from the ranch.
I was afraid.
All right. There you are.
Seor Sheriff,
have you ever killed
a steer for a barbecue?
No, but I've seen it done.
When they kill the steer,
you recall that...
they hit it on the head
with a sledgehammer?
Yeah.
You have heard the sound
like a melon splitting?
Yeah.
It was this sound
I heard, seor,
when the Seor Yates
hit Juanito.
It was a pick handle
he hit him with.
If a man is given
a pick handle,
he can kill a bull.
Ben--
- Yeah?
- Open up. I want to see
Mr. Renchler.
Is that a fact?
He want to see you?
He might.
I don't know
nothin' about it.
Well, you might learn
something about it.
Why don't you go to the phone
and tell Mr. Renchler...
Ben Sadler's
got business with him.
Oh. You're the sheriff.
We don't get many sheriffs
out this way.
Well, you got one now.
You wait a minute,
and I'll call.
- He ain't expecting ya,
is he?
- Not that I know of.
Okay. I'll let him know.
Okay.
You must be
a mighty important man,
Sheriff.
You're the first lawman
gone through these gates
since I've been here.
Yeah?
It's about four miles
right on up the road.
I've been there before.
Mr. Renchler said
to remind you to stick
on the road.
This here's
a mighty big spread.
He don't like for people
to go wandering
all over the place.
It makes the stock
nervous, he says.
Makes the stock
nervous?
That's what he says.
Shouldn't take you
more than five
or six minutes.
They'll be looking
for you.
Yeah.
Down, Rocco.
Down, boy.
Down, Rocco.
Attaboy.
We weren't expecting
visitors today, Sheriff.
I wasn't expecting
to come out.
Mr. Renchler's
waiting for you
in his office.
Stay, Rocco. Stay.
Stay, boy.
Sheriff?
I didn't know we were
having visitors today.
Morning, Miss Renchler.
He ain't no visitor, Skippy.
It's business.
What kind of business
brings Sheriff Sadler
all the way out here?
Well,
nothing important.
It's so dull out here
that anybody at all
is exciting.
Oh, I didn't mean it
the way it sounds.
That's all right.
The boss is waiting.
Yeah.
It's been real nice
seeing you,
Miss Renchler.
Come in.
Uh, yours sincerely,
et cetera.
And take a letter to
the Reverend Dr. Hill.
Dear Reverend,
I don't presume to advise
a minister of the Lord--
Hi, Sheriff.
I'll be with you
in just a minute.
But regarding that matter
we were discussing, uh,
if you can see your way clear,
I think your orphanage
can count on an additional
donation of, uh,
$25,000 by Christmas,
payable of course...
through the Angus Renchler
Memorial Foundation.
Yours very sincerely,
et cetera.
Sheriff.
Haven't seen you since
you got yourself elected.
Have a cigar?
No. No, thank you.
- Well, sit down. Sit down.
- Thank you.
I'd, uh, hate
to come out here...
when that dog of yours
is loose in the yard.
Rocco? He's--
He's pretty mean,
but he keeps visitors away.
Unwelcome ones,
of course.
Not all of them.
You'll have
to excuse Ed, Sheriff.
He's a little edgy.
He's been waiting for me
to clear up that payroll
since early morning.
Uh, I'll only be
a few minutes, Mr. Renchler.
I, uh-- I wonder if I could
speak to you alone.
Sure. Will you excuse us
a minute, Ed?
Don't go too far away.
Mr. Renchler, do you have
a young fellow named Martin
working for you?
Sheriff, I got 400 or 500
braceros working for me,
besides my hands.
He's supposed to be
about 18 to 19 years old.
A stoop laborer.
I don't keep track
of the stoop laborers.
There are too many of 'em.
I wonder if you would
check up on it
and see if he's here.
Eh, Martin, you say?
That's right.
What's he wanted for?
Well, he's not
wanted for anything.
You see, I got a report
that he was beaten up here
on the ranch last night.
Well, that's--
That's ridiculous, Sheriff.
You know we don't allow
any fightin' on this ranch.
Besides, a thing like that,
I would have heard about it.
Understand, I--
I don't say there's anything
to this story, but--
Well, it's my job.
I've gotta check up on it.
Hmm. Well, sure, you do.
Sure, you do.
Tell you what. I'll--
I'll get Ed Yates
to check into it.
That way you won't be
wasting your time.
Drink?
No. No, thank you.
Well, that'd cause
kind of a problem,
Mr. Renchler.
You see--
Oh?
Fact of the matter is
the story has it that
Yates killed this boy.
- You trying to be funny,
Sheriff?
- No, sir.
Who could've
told you that kind
of cock-and-bull story?
The old man
who has the bunk
next to--
Uh, let me put it
to you straight,
Mr. Renchler.
The man who told me this story
says he saw your man Yates...
and another one
of your hands...
take this boy Martin
into your toolroom
and beat him,
maybe kill him.
Now, I'm not saying
there's any truth
to the story.
Maybe Martin isn't dead.
The way all you folks
are acting, maybe he is.
Somebody's lyin'.
I gotta find out who.
Hmm. You go ahead
and find out anything
you want, Sheriff.
Just don't come botherin' me.
I got no time to worry
about some drunken bracero.
I'm not
investigatin' a drunk.
I'm investigatin' a murder.
No, you're not.
You're lookin'
for a missin' wetback.
Sheriff, even if
he should turn up dead,
you could hardly
call that murder.
I reckon I can't expect
much help here, can I?
Sheriff, you're wearin'
a nice, shiny new badge.
Maybe you ought to read
what it says on the badge.
It says you got yourself
elected sheriff
of Bingham County,
not boss of
the Golden Empire Ranch.
Ben, I-I don't want to
have to go tough on you, but--
but I wonder
if you've got any idea
the size of this operation.
Why, over in Europe,
there's five or six countries
aren't as big as this ranch.
That means that I'm the one
that's got to enforce
the law around here.
A place as big as this,
you got to do things
a special way.
A special way?
Hmm.
Your way, you mean?
It was
my father's way, Sadler.
And his father's.
It's a pretty good way.
It works.
We never had
any trouble with the law
on the Golden Empire,
and we're never gonna--
as long as I do the enforcing.
You remember that,
and you can wear
that new star of yours
for a long time.
Mr. Renchler, I know
what a big man you are,
how big
the Golden Empire is.
Right now
that doesn't mean
a thing to me.
I'm investigating a charge of
murder, and I don't like anyone,
not even you, trying to stop me.
Try? I'm not trying anything,
Sadler. I'm telling you.
Now, I don't like to have
to put it to you this way,
but you've asked for it.
You give me any more trouble,
and Bingham County's gonna have
a new sheriff.
Got it?
You can push your wetbacks
and your white trash
around all you want to,
but don't
try it on me.
I missed.
We sure got ourselves
a bigmouth for sheriff
this time, didn't we?
Mmm. Ed.
Did you kill that boy?
Answer me!
It was an accident.
These things happen.
I asked you to teach
that boy a lesson.
I didn't tell you
to kill him.
I told you
it was an accident.
Too late to do
anything about it.
Hmm.
Skippy still around
the house?
Yeah.
We're gonna have to keep Skippy
out of sight for a while.
What for?
What for? Use your head.
Didn't you tell me Martin
was hanging around her?
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
I guess I'm gonna have
to get you off the hook.
Don't bother.
Chet's taking care
of it right now.
Oh, great.
If he takes care of it the way
you took care of Martin,
we're all in trouble.
And just when
I got my hands full
with the cotton crop.
Uh, get me
Commissioner Parker.
Where? At the courthouse,
you idiot.
Herb? This is Virg here.
How are you, boy?
Uh, listen, Herb.
There's a little something
I'd like you to do for me.
Well, there's no place like it
on the border.
Give me Jurez anytime.
No place like it for women.
That's a fact.
I'm goin' down again
next month if I can recover.
You're back
already, huh?
Yep.
You know Chet Huneker
from the Empire?
Hi, Sheriff.
Hello, Chet.
Go ahead, Chet.
You better tell him.
Well, there wasn't nothin'
I could've done, Sheriff.
What are you talkin' about?
I was drivin' this load of salt
in from Sonora this morning
about 8:00 or 9:00.
Out of town here
about 11, 12 miles--
you know, out by the dunes?
This here boy comes
weavin' out across the road,
drunker than a skunk.
And you hit him?
I swear I couldn't help it,
Sheriff. The boy was drunk.
I hit him.
Drug him about 15 feet
before I could stop.
It looks like
the Martin boy,
all right, Ben.
We just brought him
into Jake Kelley's back room,
deader than a coot.
I told you you couldn't
believe that old guy.
He lied in his teeth.
Come on, Chet.
I'll take your statement.
Chet said
it was an accident.
He works for
the Golden Empire.
Who's gonna contradict him?
He gave the sheriff
a statement.
That's all there is to it.
There's nothing--
Oh!
I wish you'd knock
before you come in, honey.
Can I see you a minute,
Dad? Alone.
We're kinda busy.
It's important.
Ed.
I'll be
right outside.
I just don't like that man.
Ah, he's all right.
Ed's a pretty good foreman.
Sometimes the way
he looks at me.
Ah.
That's just
your imagination, honey.
Dad, I just phoned
the stable,
but old Pablo wouldn't
let me have a horse.
He said you left orders
not to let me have one.
Well--
Why?
Honey, he's just doing
what I told him.
I always ride
in the morning.
I know, Skippy, but--
Just for a while,
I wish you'd stick
pretty close to the house.
What is it, Dad?
What's going on around here?
Nothing's going on.
Just do what I tell you.
Now look here,
little rancher.
You're not fooling anyone.
You're worried.
I can see right through you.
What's wrong?
Well, nothing for you
to bother your pretty
little head about.
Just do what I tell you
and stay close to the house.
Now, I've got work to do.
Tell Ed to come back here.
The sheriff was
out here earlier.
Yeah.
Does he have anything to do
with whatever's wrong?
Skippy!
What did he want?
Who?
The sheriff.
Oh, it's no concern
of yours, honey.
Dad, last night--
Last night after I was in bed,
I heard something.
At least I think I did.
What did you hear?
Then I didn't
just imagine it.
I did hear it.
I'm asking you what
you think you heard.
I heard a scream.
You must have been dreamin'.
I heard it.
You were dreamin',
Skippy. Ed!
I did hear it!
Now don't ask me
to say it again. I don't
like repeatin' myself.
It was all a dream.
Hmm?
Now you get on
to your room.
I'm sorry, Miss Skippy.
But I got strict orders.
Oh!
Thought your old man told you
to stay in your room.
Yates, let me go!
You oughta call me Ed,
seein' we're so close.
Let me go! I've got
to get into town.
Your dad's the boss.
I only carry out orders,
honey.
Ed, let me--
I've got to get into town
for personal reasons.
Some things a girl
just has to do.
I don't know.
You haven't been
very friendly with me.
Sometimes I don't mind
doing favors for a friend.
I-- I need a friend
right now.
Look, honey.
I'm goin' down the gate,
relieve Bill Edmunds for chow.
You come on down
in about five minutes, hear?
You be a good girl,
I'll let you through.
We're gonna get along
just fine.
Now, I want you to tell me
if this is Juan Martin.
You understand?
Just tell me
if this is the boy.
S,I will tell.
Is that Martin?
Pobrecito.
S.
That is Juan Martin.
My friend.
Seor,what did they
do to him?
Why? Why did they
do this to him, Sheriff?
What's he mean
by that, Ben?
So far I can't prove
they did anything.
But I was there, seor.
I saw it happen
with these eyes.
We-- We might as well
face facts, Cisneros.
Right now it'd be your word
against Renchler and his people.
You know what your chances
of being believed would be?
And that ain't all.
A man came into my office
a little while ago.
He says he ran Martin down
on the highway this morning.
What man?
Who could lie so?
Chet Huneker.
But, seor,
he was the man!
He was with the Seor Yates
when it happened.
I saw him as I see you.
Is he trying to say that
Ed Yates killed this boy?
That's what he says.
Why, that's crazy!
No,seor,
it is the truth.
What's wrong with you?
Even listening
to that kind of talk!
Now, Chet Huneker says
he hit him on the road.
A man don't admit
to a thing like that
unless he did it.
I-- I got to admit
it looks like that.
Ben, come here.
I don't know what this is about,
but if it's what I think it is,
you better put a stop to it.
What do you mean?
This means trouble,
and you know what I mean.
Murder always means trouble.
Ben, I am coroner
of this county.
Martin was killed
in a highway accident.
Maybe, but I'm--
I'm not sure.
Ben, I'm sure.
You're sure?
If I say it's an accident,
then an accident
it's gonna be.
Now, don't look for trouble,
Ben. It's not just
Huneker's word.
It's the Golden Empire's
word against his.
I-I gotta find out
for myself.
You don't have
my okay for it.
All right, coroner.
Seor,can they kill
and not pay for it?
No, that's one thing
they can't do, not while
I'm sheriff of the county.
There's no proof
other than your word.
Now, this is important.
You're in danger.
How so, seor?
If there was a murder,
you're the witness--
the only witness.
They'll try to find you.
Seor,you mean they will--
They got nothin'
to lose.
Edna?
This is Jake Kelley.
Get me the Golden Empire.
Miss Renchler.
I-I didn't expect
to find you here.
I must talk to you.
Well, come inside.
Why were you out at
the ranch this morning?
Uh, just--
It was just business.
I must know.
I-I'm not so sure
that you--
It's something that
happened last night,
isn't it?
What do you know
about last night?
Well, nothing, really.
It's just that--
Well, something's wrong
at the ranch, isn't there?
Yeah.
Yeah, it looks like it.
I'm afraid somebody was
killed out there last night.
Who?
One of your field workers.
Kid named Juan Martin.
No. No, not Juan!
Miss Renchler--
Well, just yesterday--
How did it happen?
Well, that's what
I'm tryin' to find out.
Are you sure--
Are you sure he's dead?
I'm sorry.
Skippy, you--
You want to tell me
about it?
You don't know
how it is--
to be the daughter
of a man like Dad.
Nobody's good enough for you--
none of the boys in town.
And there wasn't anybody else.
Except there was Juan.
Well, were you and he--
I mean--
It wasn't anything
important.
It's lonely out there.
Juan was my age.
But Dad didn't want me to have
anything to do with anybody
at the ranch either, except--
oh, except to take that
Yates along when I went riding.
Juan was fun.
We didn't do anything.
We just had fun together.
Did your father know
about you and Juan?
But Yates must have.
Sheriff, if anything happens--
something terrible--
it wasn't Dad,
it was Yates.
He's a horrible man.
The way he looks at me.
The things he thinks about me.
I can tell.
Well, do you think maybe
he knew about Juan and--
and was jealous?
Well, he's so close to Dad.
Too close for Dad to see.
Last night I was in bed.
At first I thought
I was dreaming,
but I don't think so now.
I heard a man screaming--
Sorry, Ben.
Didn't know you were busy.
Afternoon, Miss Renchler.
I-I'll be with you
in a moment.
I better be going.
Ma'am.
Hold it, Ben.
We want to talk to you.
It's important.
Yeah, sure. Come on in
and pull up some chairs.
I didn't expect
to see her here.
Well, neither did I.
Well, who's
running the county
with you boys gone?
Must be better
than a hundred.
Yeah, it's--
it's at least
a hundred, Harry. Whew!
Boy!
All right.
What can I do for you?
Go ahead, Herb.
Let's get on with it.
Well, frankly, Ben,
it's about this Martin thing--
this bracero
Chet Huneker hit
this morning.
Jake Kelley told us
about it, Ben.
I, uh-- We can't
quite understand it.
Why you're making
such a big fuss
about it, that is.
After all, these things happen.
People are always
getting hit by cars.
Chet admitted
he ran over the boy.
I'm afraid it's not gonna be
quite as simple as all that.
Ben, you know,
we wouldn't be buttin'
into this thing for nothing.
Well, why are
you here, then?
Frankly,
I got a phone call.
Oh. Well, let me guess.
Renchler.
There's nothing wrong in that.
No, I guess not.
He said you went out
to the Golden Empire...
and practically accused
some of his people
of killing Martin.
I went out to see him.
But, Ben, you can't go out
to the Empire and say things
like that to him.
You know how Virg feels about
people nosing around the ranch.
Anyhow, Ben, most of us--
the association and everybody--
we feel that what happens among
the drifters out at the Empire
isn't any of our business.
You're not responsible
for keeping the law
in Bingham County.
We're paying
your salary.
I went out to investigate
a reported murder.
And who reported it?
Another drifter?
What difference
does that make?
Ben, for heaven's sakes,
be reasonable.
This is Virg Renchler
we're talking about,
not just an ordinary person.
We got to keep us
our perspective.
Now, look, I got a witness
who says he saw Ed Yates
and Chet Huneker...
beat this kid Juan Martin
to death last night
with a pick handle.
He swears it.
Now, I don't see any purpose
in him lyin'.
Do I have to tell you
what Renchler means
to this town?
Do you know what would happen if
the Empire bought its supplies
at Sonora or Cherokee?
What would happen if he
suddenly decided to run his
stock to the spur in Sonora?
If he told his hands
not to shop here anymore?
Do I have to
draw you a picture?
You know. We all do.
The town will be finished.
He didn't say he'd do it
in so many words,
but he meant it.
Ben, you've got
to stop it.
If Renchler's got nothing
to hide, then he's got
nothing to worry about.
What's he so afraid of?
We'll have a little
investigation.
If my witness is lyin',
then Renchler's in the clear.
The truth never hurt
an innocent man.
That won't do, Ben.
Renchler said stop it, and
that's what we've got to do.
There's your jail.
This is
the criminal code.
The voters of this county
elected me sheriff 'cause I
told 'em I'd go by this book.
That's exactly what
I intend to do, especially
when I got a murder on my hands.
You haven't got
a murder on your hands.
I think maybe I have!
If you go ahead with this,
you'll be taking the bread
out of every mouth in town.
You'll padlock
every door in Spurline.
Did it ever occur to you
maybe I'm not the one
who's doing it?
Ben, this country
is crawling
with drifters like Martin.
Nobody knows
how many of 'em are here,
and nobody cares.
Why, a lot of 'em are
in this country illegally.
The decent people
have enough to do
to take care of themselves.
Except, all of a sudden, you--
you--have to take out after
the biggest man in the county,
maybe the biggest man
in the state,
and all because
some drunken bracero
gets himself killed.
We're not gonna stand by
and let you ruin our town.
I'm gonna do my job!
Now, you look here.
Calm down, Herb.
Gettin' mad
isn't gonna help.
It's all over town already.
You go ahead with this,
and you'll have everybody
hating your guts.
Let's get
out of here.
This is Ben Sadler.
Get me Judge McCullough.
Jack? Ben.
How soon can you get me
a search warrant?
Half hour. Fine.
I'll be by to pick it up.
The Golden Empire.
No, I'm not kidding.
I know what I'm doing.
All right. Thanks.
Hiya, Ben.
Afternoon, Tony.
Can you take me soon?
In a minute.
Next you'll be invitin'
wetbacks in here.
Might just do that,
Mr. Jenkins.
Ohh!
That will be 50 cents,
Mr. Jenkins.
Lose more customers
that way.
That's not funny,
Tony.
I'm not scared much.
No place else in town
he can get his hair cut.
You're not even smart
in talking to me today.
Well, climb in.
You gonna talk all day?
I mean it.
News gets around
fast in this town.
A lot of people
are gonna be sore at you.
Well, I'll tell you.
My old man died last year.
Almost 93 years old.
He was in this country
better than 30 years,
but he still
couldn't speak English.
So maybe I feel different
about people like
Juan Martin.
Anyway, I don't know where
Renchler gets his hair cut,
but it's not here.
They got
a good point though.
All Renchler has to do
is move his loading point
to Sonora,
and we haven't even
got a railroad.
Tell you, Ben.
I figure I can cut hair
almost anywhere.
Come right down to it,
this isn't much
of a town anyway.
Gets too hot.
Tell you
something else, Ben.
I still got folks
over in Italy,
and back in the '20s, they had
a lot of trouble with a guy
who operated like Renchler.
And you know
what happened then.
I don't want that
to happen here.
"I can't have
any more of this."
He said,
"Well, that's what
the Chinaman told me."
Yeah?
Sheriff just left
the courthouse.
I think he's headed out
toward the ranch.
Ed, come on. Sit down.
You get on to the ranch.
I'll have this information
in just a minute.
All right. He won't
get past the gate.
Have a drink, Ed.
He doesn't have
your head for liquor.
Hey!
You sure make
a lot of noise.
Open up.
I can't do that.
Ain't nobody home.
Anyways, I got
special orders about you.
I don't care if there's
anybody home or not.
Open the gate.
My orders
are to keep you out.
I got a search warrant.
So open up.
Mr. Renchler ain't
gonna like this none.
I ain't doin' it
for his approval.
Down, Rocco.
Down.
Down. Down, Rocco.
Looks like the dog follows
orders better than Edmunds
down at the gate, Sheriff.
Don't want the sheriff
messin' around here anymore,
the boss says.
Looks like you're
not gonna get out.
Looks like you're gonna have
a dead dog on your hands,
don't it?
The boss wouldn't
like that very much.
Anyhow, he's
a pretty good mutt, once you
get acquainted with him.
You better hold him tight.
I'll kill him sure
if you let him at me.
I'm not gonna
let him loose, Sheriff.
I'm not mad at anybody.
Just doin' what the boss says.
Come on, Rocco.
Come on.
Sheriff?
You won't find
anything.
What do you mean?
You came to look
in the toolroom,
didn't you?
Yeah, I thought
I'd have a look at it.
Yates had it
cleaned out
this morning.
Where's your father?
Gone.
In town, I guess.
Yates?
With him.
You better
get back inside.
He in there?
Yeah. The boss's kid
came out and talked to him.
Watch out
for the sheriff.
Here he comes.
For a smart man,
you sure got
a hard head, Sheriff.
Mr. Renchler said
he didn't want you
messing around here.
So I understand.
If I was you,
I'd take his word for it.
He don't like people
going against him.
But you ain't me, Ed.
That's right.
Sure happy I ain't.
'Cause I wouldn't wanna be
standin' where you are.
Hey, Rocco.
You hot, boy?
You hot, boy? Hmm?
Skippy.
You went into town.
After I told you
to stay in the house.
He's dead.
Who? Who's dead?
Who you talking about?
Juan. Juan Martin.
Somebody here
on the ranch killed him.
Why did you do it?
He wasn't hurting anyone.
Now, honey, you don't
actually imagine
that I'd kill somebody?
It's your ranch.
Skippy, believe me--
You always talk about running
things. Maybe you had him
killed because he was my friend.
Don't do this to me.
I can whip the whole
county if I have to--
That's right.
But I can't fight you.
You can whip the county,
or a poor kid who never
had a chance--
the way you did my mother
when she didn't like
the way you ran things.
Like you were God.
You don't understand,
honey.
You don't know
what's happened.
Juan is dead, I know that.
And you're to blame for it.
I hate you!
I hope they catch up to you.
If I can help them punish you,
I'm going to do it!
How'd it go?
Oh, Cisneros is staying
with that cropper, Clay.
Oh, that figures.
Yeah.
Well, don't worry
about the sheriff anymore.
I fixed it so he'd lose a wheel
on the way into town.
What?
I loosened some lugs
on his wheel while he was
snooping around in the barn.
You infernal idiot!
What's the matter
with you?
You trying to kill
the sheriff? You want to
get the state down on us?
You want him stopped,
don't you?
You're going too far.
I'm not getting any deeper.
You dug this hole.
As far as I'm concerned,
you can crawl out of it
yourself.
Now, wait a minute,
Mr. Renchler.
You can't get out
of it like that. Wasn't
my idea to work the kid over.
You gave the order
after you found out
he came inside the fence...
and was making passes
at your daughter.
I didn't ask you
to kill him.
You think anybody
will believe that?
It's the truth.
Prove it.
Why don't you just
try and prove it?
Oh, no, Mr. Renchler.
It isn't as simple as that.
Mud don't care
who it splashes on.
You may not like it,
but you're in this thing
just as deep as I am.
Pretty nasty cut.
Yeah.
But you were lucky.
It sure could have
been worse.
You better get home
and get to bed.
I can't, Doc.
Too much to do.
Maybe tomorrow.
It's against my advice,
but take two of these pills
if the pain becomes severe.
Okay, Doc. Thanks.
Ab!
Howdy, Sheriff.
Hey, what happened to you?
You know my orders
about drinking on duty.
Let me tell you something.
I figure your orders
aren't going to mean anything
very much longer.
I've had just about enough!
Now, wait a minute,
big shot.
I had lot bigger man than you
tell me to drink, so I drink.
What do you care, Sheriff?
What are you talking about?
Who told you to drink?
A friend of mine, that's who.
Good old Virg Renchler.
What did he want?
What did you tell him?
Stop shakin' me!
What did you tell him?
He said he owed him
some back wages.
He wanted to pay him off.
Cisneros?
Yeah.
Give me your keys.
Huh?
Your car keys!
We was out in the fields
when we heard him.
They were shootin'.
I seen 'em
when they runned away.
It was two of 'em.
Had masks on.
I seen 'em.
They didn't see me.
Come out here with guns,
and they just shot him.
Hello?
Listen, blondie. Tell that
husband of yours to lay off.
Who is this? What do you want?
He lays off,
or you'll be a young widow.
Who is--
Hello?
Oh!
Helen?
In here.
Ben!
You didn't tell me
it was that bad.
Let me see.
It's all right.
Look, I--
I want you to stay
at your sister's tonight.
What for?
I just want you to,
that's all.
I may have to work
all night, and I don't
want you here alone.
I'll get it.
Hello.
Listen, hero. Get out of town
while you're still in one piece.
Who are you?
Who is this?
If you don't lay off,
you'll find out.
Now, listen here--
Edna? Edna,
this is Ben Sadler.
Can you tell me who just put
a call through to my home?
Pay booth, huh?
All right. Thanks.
Has this happened before?
Ever since
early afternoon.
Every half hour or so.
Same person?
Different people.
Gonna take it out
on you too.
Ben.
Be sure you're right
before you go any further.
We've lived here a long time.
These people are our friends.
Be sure I'm right?
Two men have been killed!
I know I'm goin' against
the whole town, but I--
Darling, they're afraid.
Afraid they'll lose their homes
and everything they own.
Starts out with a kid
nobody ever heard of.
He gets killed out at the ranch.
At least they beat him up
until they kill him.
Maybe it looks like
a truck hit him,
but I know better now.
This wasn't an accident.
It was murder.
You'll kill our town
if you go ahead.
This Martin,
he didn't even live here.
Cisneros didn't live here
either, but he died here.
All I'm saying
is what everybody's saying.
What will happen to Spurline and
all of us without the business
from the ranch?
W-W-What'll happen to it
without the law?
Unless we go back
to bein' beasts,
there's gotta be law
for everybody--
for a wetback like Martin,
or a drifter like Cisneros,
or a cropper like Clay,
even a big man like Renchler
and his punk foreman.
You stay here.
I can talk to Judge McCullough
and start proceedings,
but it'll take time
to get him out of office.
And what will we use
for a charge?
I don't know. Something.
Oh, you guys can talk
like that. It's easy.
But I told Renchler.
I called him up and told him
in so many words.
This man Cisneros
was a witness.
Now he's dead.
You just-- You just don't
forget a thing like that.
Jake, you can't
blame yourself
for Cisneros's death.
I killed that old man
just as sure as if I'd have
pulled the trigger myself.
No matter
who's responsible,
just about takes
away all doubt
as far as I'm concerned.
Herb, do you still
honestly believe...
that this was an accident,
this Martin boy's death?
Jim, wake up, will you?
That's not the point.
Forget about whether or not
it was an accident.
All that counts now
is survival.
You're not doing
yourself any good
by staying here tonight.
There is nothing else
you can do.
I'm waiting to hear
from the state crime lab.
Tonight?
Look, Ben,
I'm your friend.
Get home
and get some sleep.
- Sadler.
- Sheriff?
You want the truth
about the Cisneros killing?
Who is this?
Never mind.
You want the information?
Well, certainly, I want it.
You know
the old Blakesly place
outside of town?
Yeah, I know it.
You be there
in 15 minutes, alone.
- All right, I'll be there.
- But who is this?
Hello? Hello!
Ben, who was it?
I don't know.
Somebody who said he could
give me some information
about Cisneros.
You said you'd
meet him somewhere.
But you're not going,
of course.
Yeah, I'm going.
But you can't.
It's a trap. You can see that.
Sure.
I figure maybe it is.
Then why are you going?
Well, just look
at this stuff on the desk.
I haven't got
enough facts here
to arrest anybody.
Sure it's a trap, but maybe,
just maybe, it isn't.
Maybe there's one chance
in a thousand it's not a trap.
I got to take that chance.
Then I'm going with you.
No. No, this is my doing.
I got to work it out myself.
Besides, the man said
I had to come alone.
Where, Ben?
The old Blakesly place.
I'll give you an hour.
If you're not back,
I'm calling
the state police.
Okay.
Hold it!
Turn around
and get your hands up.
Huneker.
So you're the pigeon.
All right, start talking.
You got something
to say, say it.
Sheriff, um, leastways about
that Cisneros thing...
I wanted to talk
to you about--
Give me that.
Hold it, Chet.
The boss didn't
say kill him.
Just said
work him over good.
It ain't enough.
No man does that to me
and gets away with it.
I got an idea.
Give me a hand with him.
I'll get to Ben tomorrow.
I don't like it.
None of us like it,
but we're stuck
with it.
Take off!
Take off.
Hey! Stop it!
Take off!
How is he?
You about finished?
Yeah, just about.
There.
You take it easy, Ben.
I'll drive you home.
Better stop by the office,
and I'll give you some medicine
to take along.
All right, Doctor.
Now, look, Ben,
they're gonna take you home.
Now this time,
you've got to stay in bed.
Ben, I just want you
to know that I didn't--
Why don't you just shut up.
What are you
trying to do?
You're not going anywhere.
You can't.
Don't try to stop me, Doc.
If you disregard
what I told you,
I'm not going
to be responsible.
Now, wait a minute.
Ben, you can't
do anything now.
You've got to listen
to the doc.
Ben, it was the most
shocking thing
I've ever seen.
Shocking?
You were shocked.
All you decent people
were shocked.
Well, for God's sake, why?
'Cause my name's Ben Sadler
instead of Juan Martin?
'Cause I'm a taxpayer
instead of a drifter?
Ben--
You finally got shocked.
Well, what in God's
green Earth does it take
to shock you people?
Murder doesn't do it.
Were you finally shocked
'cause they started
shootin' up the town...
and breaking
expensive windows?
I've had just about enough.
I've lived here all my life,
but it took today to teach me...
that there isn't a yard of guts
in this whole town.
This isn't a town.
It's a-- a trained dog act.
Well, I'm through
being pushed around.
One way or another,
I'm gonna get myself
a couple of murderers tonight.
And if any of you decent people
wanna try to stop me,
there's room for you
in Jake Kelley's back room too.
Get out of my way.
Ben, you can't
do it this way.
You're the sheriff.
Now I can do it my way.
Sheriff. Sheriff!
What do you want?
I'm going with you.
Ain't none
of your business.
Ain't gonna argue with you.
But Cisneros was my friend,
so I'm going.
Besides,
you ain't got no car.
It's over here, Sheriff.
So we drag him
around the square,
cut him loose and dump him
right in front
of his own office.
He won't give us
any more trouble.
He won't be able.
Renchler here.
All these small-town John Laws
got hot heads.
His head ain't hard no more.
Hey. Something
went wrong.
There's a car broke
through the gate.
I thought I told you
to take care
of everything.
Listen--
From now on,
I'll handle this myself.
Now get on out there.
Be ready if I need you.
Keep out of sight.
Stay in here.
Renchler!
Come out here!
Renchler!
Down, boy. What are
you doing here? Down.
You're coming in with me.
Now, don't you think
this has gone far enough?
Let's you and me
talk this over.
It's too late for talkin'.
Well, now, Ben,
there's no reason...
why two rational grown men--
Don't give me
any more of that.
If you wanna get
to town alive, get movin'.
If you wanna get there dead,
just keep talkin'.
Now, Sheriff,
there's ways--
Shut up and come on
with me. Now!
Get him!
Idiot.
That's enough.
Get that dog in the house.
Now what?
Get him
in that car of his.
Drive it off the bridge
into the gulch.
Make it look like an accident.
And take care
of Clay.
What are you doing here?
You got no business here.
Now, go on.
Get back into town
where you belong.
Parker.
Who do you
think you are?
You know better than this. I'll
have you out of office so fast,
you won't know what hit you.
Youngquist, you won't sell
another pound of feed
in this county.
Shaney, Begley,
you'll pay for this.
Santoro, you crummy
little barber.
I'll send you back
where you belong.
Now, I'm warning you!
Who do you think
keeps this town
of yours alive?
Now, get on back
to town!
What's the matter with you?
I'm telling you,
I'll break every one of you.
Now, for the last time,
get off my ranch!
I give up.
Don't shoot. Don't shoot.
All right,
get him in the car.
Give me a hand,
will you?
Here. You do it.
Thanks, Ben.
You'll be needin' this.