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Posse from Hell (1961)
Wait a minute.
Whiskey. What is this? Oh! All right. Come on, Spot. It's all right, boy. Marshal. Come out of there. What's this town? What? Its name. Paradise. Well, there ain't no more law in Paradise. Get out of the light. It's Marshal Webb. - How bad is he? Oh, Lord. He's almost blown in half. Somebody get a blanket to wrap him in! It's Webb. Some filthy... Get over here. Hey, you. I want you to go to that door, and you tell them that he knows somethin'. Hey! Don't go out. Joe knows somethin'. Joe knows somethin'! You heard what he said. Joe knows something about it. Joe, did you... What's going on here? You saw what they did to Webb. There's only four of 'em. - Shut up! - We can take 'em! Will anybody back me up... You'll never get away with it! There are armed men outside! Mister, we own this town. Helen, stay here. Uncle Billy's in there! Well, look what we got here, Crip. What can we do for you, sweetie? My Uncle Billy. He can't do anybody any good. Tell me, honey, won't I do instead? Inside there. Helen? Olly, don't come any closer. Stay away! Just do what they want! Who owns the bank down the street? Well, he works in it. You got a key? In the Rosebud. There's 30 armed men out here. You got one minute to throw down your guns and come out. Married? No. - You? - Yes. - Family? - Yes, I have. You go on down there and stand in the door. I want you to tell 'em somethin'. Everybody listen! Please, listen. You tell 'em I got 10 of you in here, and if they start shootin', I'm gonna kill 'em right off. He's got 10 of us in here. If you start any shooting, he's gonna kill all of us! At once. And you tell them... that if they don't do what I say, I'm gonna kill one every five minutes. If you don't do as he says, he'll kill one of us every five minutes. Tell him he's crazy. I mean it! Do what he says! Please! Please, do what he says! Here now, let me help you down, Jackie. No, Ma, I'm too heavy. Just guide my foot. All right, but be careful. I can get down by myself, Ma. Oh! Boy. That was a close one. Be careful, Jackie. But Doc says my eyes will be okay. Well, they won't if you keep jumpin' around. Thank you, mister. Cole. Thanks for catchin' me, mister. Webb? - You Cole? - That's right. I'm Benson. Been waitin' for you. Four men broke out of the death cell over at Sedalia. They robbed the bank here. Took a girl with them when they rode off. They killed four men here last night. Where's Webb? They shot him too. Come with me. Mike. Take Mr. Cole's horse here over to the livery stable. Have Henry take care of it. What's he doin' in here? First they thought he was dead. He's too weak to be moved now. I don't know how he's held on this long. Can he talk? Afraid not. I can. You shouldn't. What do you think I've held off dying for? I really got you in a fix. Got yourself in a worse fix. I told these people... you were coming here to be my deputy. Well, you... you can't blame me for trying. Look, you're talking too much. You rest up a while. I'll see you later. Oh, Banner, don't go after them alone. This time do it my way. My breast pocket. For once, do something right. Not out of hatin', but out of likin'. Anything I do will be out of liking you. No. I mean this town. People. They're good people, Banner, and they've been hurt. Th-They've got a right to help you. Webb? I... I didn't mean to leave you... in such a fix. Mr. Hart, I just talked to Ma and Pa. Yeah? There's no point in getting any ice. We'll just bury Burl soon as you get the box made up. Being it's your brother, I guess you'll want it in oak. Birch or pine'll do. I'll even things for Burl without paying a lot for a coffin. I'm sorry. He thought a lot of you. Which way'd they head out of here? North. Wait. Aren't you gonna talk to the men? They've been waiting for you. What for? - To form a posse. You're in charge now. If you're figuring on carrying that badge he gave you, you oughta go with a posse. That's what Webb wanted. All right. If they want to ride along, I won't stop 'em. Look, we got plenty of men to go. Now, who can we get to head her up? How about Captain Brown? Well, naturally I'll put my military experience at the disposal of the posse. Captain Brown. Yes? Men, Webb just died. This is his deputy, Banner Cole. What experience has he had in this sort of thing? He's Webb's deputy. Give us five minutes to get our guns. Ain't a man in Paradise that won't ride with you. Then what're we waiting for? Yeah, come on. Let's mount up, men. Now, hold on. This won't be an easy job. Figure on maybe riding yourselves and your horses both to death. That all right with us, Cole. We're ready for anything. - You'd better be. - Why, there's only four of 'em. From the looks of this town, they hit more like 40. We might send for help from the Territory. That'd give 'em time to get all the way to China. Never mind about outside help. You can count on us. The only thing I'm counting on is that there'll be more dead men before this is finished. Any of you still want to come, get ready and meet me in the marshal's office. All right, men. Get your guns and get mounted if you're goin'. Cole. You were pretty rough on 'em. It was the truth. You'd have gotten a lot more help by encouraging those men to do the right thing... instead of scaring 'em off. A man's fighting spirit has to be helped, not stamped out. Any man afraid of words better not go. I'll be with you! Insolent young pup questioning my courage. He didn't actually. If he had any sense, he'd turn this command over to me. My military experience will be invaluable. Let the past rest, Jeremiah. The war's so far behind us, there's no need now for you to try to prove anything... to yourself or to anyone. Get my campaign boots and my hat. Clean 'em up, will you? Very well, Jeremiah. Ridiculous. I don't want anything to do with it. But it's your duty as a... Excuse me, Mr. Cole. I don't know if anyone has told you, but the men who robbed my bank... left Paradise with exactly $11,200. And one girl, I'm told. Now I'm even more convinced that the bank must be represented. I refuse to trust that posse with that amount of money. Seymour, you've got to go. Now, look, Mr. Larson, in New York we have a well-trained police force for this sort of thing. Well, don't you have any personal feelings about a thing like this? Yes, very strong ones. I want to finish my work here in your branch... and get back to the main office and civilization as quickly as possible... where this sort of thing doesn't happen. You mean where all you have to worry about is being at tea parties on time. And cocktail parties. Then you won't go? I see no reason to. You're trying to act as if joining a posse were beneath you. The truth is you're showing yourself up for a plain coward. I'm sure it'll be easier going with the posse... than having to listen to you complain all day. You'll find handcuffs in that other drawer. I won't need them. Webb said you went it alone. I didn't realize how much alone. Why? He didn't say why, he figured it was none of your business. He said you'd had more than your share of bad treatment, you'd lost faith in people. He knew if you didn't settle down soon, you'd run yourself to death. That happens when a man starts building a reputation as a gunfighter. You weren't Webb's only friend. He had a lot of them. He wanted to share some of them with you. I'll manage. Trouble is I have nothing to offer but advice. I'm too old to go with the posse. Thanks anyway. Tend to my horse. You know I'll take good care of him, Henry. But I just can't loan you a horse. - All right, I'll get one somewhere else. - No, wait a minute, Johnny. I can see why Captain Brown wanted to go and them others. But them what got killed never said one civil word to you. No. So it ain't your fight. Maybe. Do you suppose anybody will think better of you because you do it? Oh, all right. You can take my black horse out in front there. But don't you get him shot now. Give him all the grain he could eat? - Yes, sir. Gave him a good rubdown too. Fine. Saddle him up and bring him to the marshal's office right away. You bet I will. Say, Deputy, you got no problems. Jack Wiley here just rode in, and he's going with you. You oughta see him use his guns. He's gonna be the biggest name in the Territory. I hope I'll be some help to you. - Be of help? Why, Jack'll handle them all by himself! Now here's to old Jack. Come on now. Everybody drink. Now, men, here's the way we'll handle this. We'll surround 'em. We'll force 'em to surrender. We follow my tactics, and we'll prevent any loss of life. Sounds good. This your posse, Benson? - So far. You men all got rifles? Yes. Yes, they're hanging out on the saddles. But I expected a much bigger turnout. Posse usually outnumbers the outlaws at least 10-to-one. More's coming. There must be more. We sure don't have enough manpower here to go after such bad trouble. I think we oughta wait for a little help. It may take longer. If you're not going, get out. All right. I'll do just that. Comin', Jim? Anyone else? The rest of you sure you want to go? Wouldn't miss it for the world. He'll hold us up. Our prime factor is time. Captain Brown, they took my niece. I'm her only kin. I got to go along. I'm as much use as any Indian. Then you'd better keep up. So long, Benson. Well, looks like I'm the best dressed man you've got. Yeah. Something happened here. Looks like the girl tried to get away. Yeah, lit out for those trees. You want me to take a look? All right. Hold it, Caddo. That could be a natural trap, Cole. They might be hiding in the trees. I've trained troops to do that. You ever train a horse to climb a tree? Go ahead. Go on! That's off my niece's dress. They treated her bad back there. But as far I know, she's still alive. What do you mean, they treated her bad? That's something else we owe 'em now. Oh! Oh. Best not to fight the saddle, Mr. Kern. It'll help if you put more weight on the stirrups. Holy... Just keeping up my touch. Well, that's just fine. You've told anybody within 10 miles of here exactly where we are. I didn't think about that. It's too late now. It certainly is. If I were in command here, you'd be finished. Captain Brown, shootin' like that, Wiley'd be worth plenty in a scrap. And I'd send any insubordinate farmers back with him. You're the one who oughta go back. We'll leave it up to Cole. Why don't all of you go back? None of you are worth a damn. The gully over there. Caddo, you go ahead and scout the area. The rest of us will follow at a distance. Give me your coat. Slowly. Were you bitten? No. No. She's not bitten, just fainted. Did the diamondback get your hand? - No. Hogan, bring your canteen. Caddo, cut a couple of sticks. Build a travois and let her uncle take her back to town. The killers could be anywhere. It's a bad risk to hang around here for the sake of a half-dead girl. By rights, we should be up to those outlaws by now. You had charge, we'd be a hundred miles in the other direction. I'd expect that from a gunman who never shot anything but twigs. Wiley, ride up on the ridge and keep a lookout. I never cared much for snakes. If I had more time to think about it, I'd have probably run the other direction. You did all right. You ever been on a horse before? Once or twice. I've lived in New York all my life. Why'd you come along? I'm not quite sure. Keep an eye on the bank's money in case we get it back? Well, yes. Plus a small difference of opinion with Larson. Gonna stick it out? Yes, I think I will. All right. If you want to kill yourself, that's your business. But I don't want you slowing me down. Get over behind that rock and take your pants down. If you're gonna keep up, you'll need some medication. This suit will never be the same again. Never mind about that suit. Just get a good hold on that rock. Oh. Now rub that in. At least it'll disinfect you. One thing. Right now I won't particularly care if I get shot. - That medicine help? - Yes, I guess so. I, uh... I just feel numb now. - Bring anything to eat? - Oh, no, no. I'm not hungry. Here. Try some of this. Keep moving around. It'll help. Helen, honey. It's me, Uncle Billy. You're gonna be all right. What can you say to anybody after a thing like that back at the trees? Well, just forget it. Forget what happened to her? What I mean is, no matter how you feel you make it as easy on her as possible. Naturally you feel sorry for any ruined thing, but you just try to act natural and pretend she's the same as always. Hmm, she's awake. Well, so you're awake. We... We were just talking about you. Everything is going to be just fine and dandy for you now. And don't you fret about what people say... or think or... or anything. If you know what I mean. Ready to hook it up? Yup. Stop her! Would you please just go away and leave me here alone? No. I'll take a knife, cut the skin off where they touched me. Now stop it! Cry if you must, but don't be crazy. You don't know. You don't know. No, maybe I don't. But this gun wasn't the answer. You leave me alone. I don't want your pity. If you want to know something, I think you're lucky to be alive. Those men... The smell of them. Blood and sweat and whiskey. It was so ugly. Can you move? I can run a thousand miles. Never stop. We've got a rig for you. Your uncle can take you back to town. Now you hang onto this. Is there anything I can do? Get mounted. Let's move out. Mister, is this all of you? - That's right. - But you can't go after them with just these men. You'll all be killed. I'd think you'd want those four men stopped. What's done can't be changed. But you... you just now said I was lucky to be alive. You won't be if you go on. You'll be home in a little while. Uncle Bill? Yes, honey? I don't want to go back to Paradise. Not now. Maybe never. Get goin', Caldwell. Whoa. I saw 'em from the rise. They're coming back. Did you stay at your post long enough for a complete reconnaissance? I saw all four of 'em. They're headin' this way. They'll have to come through that canyon. Now, men, hide in the brush. Wait for 'em. When I give the signal, we'll charge! You stop yelling. All of you, get over behind those rocks. Don't anyone shoot until I do. Hold it right there. - Who's that? - It's not them, Cole! Shoot! Shoot! Stop him! Stop him! Who the devil are you? Posse out of Paradise. You? We're what's left of the Stendahl Ranch crew. You crazy old fool. We stood up to 'em. We won the battle, didn't we? You came closer to shooting me than you did them. The bullet went through clean right above the knee. But it's not too bad. Did we get them all? There wasn't any fight. Don't be stupid. I-I was wounded in the action. I shot you. Those are cowhands. You'll regret shooting me! If this were wartime, I'd have you hanged! What did you come sneakin' back up here for anyway? Well, it's... it's high ground. I... I could see. I could direct the engagement better from here. Seems to me you could have at least stayed where you knew who you were shooting at. I'm sorry about the shooting. - Oh, I understand. There were six of us. They killed Stendahl and the foreman. I don't think Shorty over here's gonna live. His leg's nearly blown off. Them four fellas is clear out of their heads. Are they still at Stendahl's place? Was when we got outta there. It's about 20 miles back. How about taking our wounded man into Paradise? Be glad to. You goin' after 'em with... five men? Uh-huh. Well, that's your business. Me, I wouldn't tangle with those fellas with a battalion. Why? The odds are just gettin' interestin'. Looks to me like some of you Stendahl men would want to come along with us, help to even things up. They ain't nothin' make me that mad. I'm a cowhand. I don't savvy this kind of fightin'. Neither does he. Anybody goes with that man will wind up dead. We started out with seven. We're down to five. We haven't even seen them yet. I got a hunch our luck is gonna change. You know the Stendahl place, Johnny? - Yep. Well, let's ride while they're still there. Looks like they're all inside. Guess it paid to ride these horses near to death after all. We'll go in on foot. When it starts, shoot to kill. Hogan, tie the horses back in those trees. Well, boys, we're about to make ourselves famous. They're gonna be readin' about us all over the Territory. Not in the obituaries, I hope. Caddo, you and Kern take the left side. Wiley, take the back. Take the right side. Douse the lights. He could've shot three or four times before he was hit. Then why didn't he? Was he afraid? There's a lot of difference between a target and a man. Guess he just plain couldn't kill a man. - What are you doing, Hogan? - He moved. He moved and I shot him. He was alive and I killed him. He was dead as a stone. He was not dead. It was me who killed him. - What are you trying to prove? - Nothin'. Go ahead. Shoot him some more. He won't mind. We done the best we could. I killed the one named Chunk. The others got away. There's not much more we can do. Get him inside. You were in the Rosebud last night. It was that one shot my brother Burl. Isn't that so? No. It was the one they... they call Hash. Wasn't it? That's right. How can you be so sure? - We saw it. Couple of fellas I talked to, most of 'em said it was Chunk killed him. Well, wasn't it? No. You dirty Indian liar. You got something more to say, Hogan? Yeah. I got the man who killed my brother. That's all I want. I quit. Good. You got no call to act high and mighty with me. Least I didn't shoot one of our own men. Get out of here. You bet I'm gettin'. You're just like them fellas we been chasing. You're crazy. We've been going a long time. Horses are dead tired. So are we. I'm going on alone. Why don't you two go on back with Hogan? All they left us were their worn-out horses. But we can get fresh ones over at the east pasture when it's light enough. What do you think, Kern? Let's take Wiley inside and... and I'll make some coffee. I make the best coffee in America. Coffee's ready. Wiley was telling me he liked the way you measured up. Miserable, but not backing down. I guess he'd like for you to have this. Take it. You'll need it when the sun comes up. All right. About the bank's money... and the things that Larson said to... to goad me. Those are the reasons that... that I came along in the first place. And... Well, now, it's not... it's not the same thing. Why did you come along, Johnny? It's what a man should do. I'm surprised they ran. Well, in the dark, they probably thought there was a big bunch of us. That's not surprising. Kern must have fired at least 50 bullets into that house. And I don't think I missed it once. Captain Brown would have said one member of the attacking force... laid down "a heavy barrage." As long as you two elected to come along, there's something I want to get straight. Back there a ways I said that... none of you were worth a damn. I guess you do make about the best cup of coffee in America, Kern. Like I was about to say, let's, uh... I'll get those fresh horses. This blasted saddle's out to kill me. After all the damage it's done down below, now it's taking the skin off my shoulder. When this is all over with, I hope never see another horse the rest of my life. They went in there. What's wrong with that? It's a box canyon. Comes to an end about a mile in. Good. Then the only way out is over us. They're sure not easy to outguess. What? What is it? They've already come out of there. Up to here, they were headed toward Pineville. But when they came out of the canyon, they went south. What lies south? - Nothing. There must be something. Nope. Down there is desert. Just plain desert. It is possible to angle back to Paradise that way, but it's the hottest and driest way. Maybe that's where they're going. Back to Paradise. - Is anything wrong? - I don't like the cut of that land up ahead. What do you think, Johnny? They could be anywhere out there. Only one way to find out. Keep goin'! Take cover! Stay here. Hyah! Hyah! Get his horse, Johnny. Where's the rest of you? This is all of us. You lie. There were at least a dozen of you last night. We'd better do something or he'll bleed to death. Seems to me that's the way it's got to be. You just can't stand there and watch me bleed till I die. I'm your prisoner! Can't stand to watch him bleed to death, fix him up. You know you got to. You gotta take me back for due legal action. You just can't stand there while I die. If you do, you're murderers. It's a terrible thing to do. Stop talkin' that way. You're Christians, ain't you? You want to go straight to hell? You want to have me on your conscience? If he lives, one of us has to stay here with him. If we try to take him with only three horses, it'll slow us down to a walk. He'll have to die. I don't want to die. Help me. Old Crip'll get ya. He'll get you all. Old Crip's getting more loco every minute. He said running into that box canyon was a sign. A sign to go back to Paradise. Back and kill every mother's son of 'em. Burn the whole town. Kill them all. Men. Women. Children. Marie, please help me. Marie. How much damage can two men do to a whole town? You heard what he said. It's the last thing the town will expect. They'll hit it without warning. You want me to go get your saddle and your other stuff for you? No, that'll do fine. We'd better make good time. I figure on ridin' these horses to death. How far to Paradise? Twenty more miles. We'll get there after dark. If the horses last. Whoa! What can you do with somebody who thinks like this? Like what? Well, they were headed straight as a bowstring toward Paradise through that valley. Now they've taken off at right angles, almost due south. No reason, no sense to it. It's as if a ghost popped out and scared 'em that way. There's nothing out there for a hundred miles. There's only one thing to do, the way I see it. Maybe you and I should keep after 'em, Banner. Kern can go on to Paradise and warn 'em what to expect. Me? I'm afraid it's you who'll have to go on to town, Johnny. I'd get lost within a mile by myself. He's right. I've got a better idea. You two have already done more than anybody could ask. Why don't both of you go on into town? All right. Then you're elected, Johnny. Anything I can do for you fellows when I get there? Yes. You might drink a couple of barrels of cold beer for us. And throw a rock through the front window of the bank. Whoa. They doubled back. Get out of there, Johnny! Hyah! Hah! Hah! Hah! Fool trick for a smart gunman. If they'd have waited, they could've shot you too. Didn't g... get to drink that beer for you. The ways things worked out, I... really didn't do anything. You did a lot, Johnny. A real man there, Kern. His getting killed, it... it was my fault. No, it wasn't. Is there anything... Is there anything else we can do for him? Yeah. Let's go get 'em. What happened? I'm all right. I just fell off my horse. Thought for a minute you got shot. Maybe I did. I wouldn't notice it. How'd you manage to fall off? Easy. It's the easiest thing in the world. I just leaned out a bit, and... and I fell off. Anybody can do it if they try hard enough. Get a little dizzy? Yeah. But I'll be all right. I... I've been going on... I don't know what. You been going on pure meanness and stubbornness, that's what. Yeah, maybe that's it. Well, you stay right here and rest. I'm going on alone. The devil you are. For a city fella, you've already done the impossible. Look at you. You can't hardly stand up. You're not a shiny as a new dime either. No, I'm not. But I'm not gonna let you kill yourself. Banner! I'm going with you. Yeah. Yeah, I guess you are. You're not as bad off as I figured. When I can't move, then I'll stop. I'm beginning to believe nothing's ever gonna stop you. You know, yesterday... Oh, it seems like a hundred years ago. I rode with Brown... because I thought he had more social stature, say, than somebody like... like Johnny Caddo. I guess I've been wrong most of my life, in my own particularly stupid way. I actually thought that the most important people in the world... were good tailors and... and beautiful women. But this miserable excursion, it's been like... like being born for the first time, getting a whole new set of values. Yeah, well, the more punishment you take, the tougher you get. I bet you've taken a lot of punishment in your time. I thought I had once. Yeah. Sometimes it takes a while for a man to realize he was wrong. I kinda wish I coulda... told Webb that before he died. From what I knew of him, you wouldn't have had to. I still think you ought to quit. Banner, I wouldn't tell this to anybody else, but this is the first time in my life... that I've felt like a man at a man's game. And I ain't gonna let myself down, or you. Try some of this. Build up your strength. I could use some. Me too. Have one on me. Say, that outlaw really... really knew how to travel. Yeah, that must be better than 100 proof. I feel like I've... I've burned some new life into myself. Let's go. We ought to be able to carry our horses for the next five miles. See them? How far to Paradise? Ten, twelve miles. Are we gaining? A little. But I think we can cut them off if we ride at an angle to them. Down there. Moving into those trees. Still headed toward Paradise? Not directly. Paradise is off across the flat. They'll angle along into those trees and try to keep under cover. It'll be dark before long. We'll be between them and town. Cabin over there. Looks like someone's home. It's liable to wind up right in the middle of our fight. Stands a good chance of it. There's no sign of 'em yet. You stay here and watch for them. I'll shoo whoever's in there back to town. Stand a short one? I could go for a long one. You go first. When the shooting starts try and keep a little clear. Shotgun'll level anything in a 10-foot square. You mean "10 square feet," not "10 foot square." I mean about the size of a washtub, whatever that is. Yeah, but what you said was more like the size of a wall. You bankers sure are sticklers for detail. Thought I told you to take her into town. This is as close to town as she'd go. I tried to talk sense to her. Wh-What happened with the killers? They're in the foothills south of here. You get out there and hook up that buckboard. And hurry up. They'll be coming down out of those hills. I'm so scared of them it makes me sick. But I'm not going back. Yes, you are. You think that I should go back there and let them pity me? Let the whole town talk about me? You're going back if I have to drag you. I'm gonna take a bath, Mr. Cole. You can stay around, you can watch the show if you like. Give me some suggestions. I have to live off men now. I may as well learn how to appeal to them. I may as well start with you. Well, what else is a girl to do when she's been... used and dirtied by four filthy beasts? I don't know. But do you think the whole world is gonna stop and stand still... because of what happened to you? You're gonna have to learn to live with it. You might as well start right now. Not everyone thinks the same way. Far as I'm concerned, you've... never even really been touched. Now hurry up. Take this, and don't you move. When the firing gets further away, take that buckboard and get into town. Where's the one you shot at? I think I hit him. He went down. Can you get your leg out of there? I'd yell if I had the strength. Put your foot on that saddle and push. I think I'll take a nap. I think you'd better keep your eyes open. - Why? There's a little less chance of you gettin' shot that way. - That sounds logical. Now can I take that nap? Yeah. Just as soon as we get you loaded. Come on. Give me that leg. Only another two, three miles. We'll make it. Doc'll fix you up tomorrow, and then we'll have a nice, long drink. Maybe several of them. One other thing I was gonna tell you. After you've ridden another 10, 15,000 miles, you might make a fair-to-middlin' horseman. Here, I-let me help you. Touch this man, I'll kill you. Banner. All right, Kern, we made it. Here. Let me take a look at that side. Not me. Him. Looks like his leg's badly broken. I'll patch him up the best I can. But you'd better get a couple of men to fix up a wagon... so we can take him to the hospital in Sedalia. Banner. Banner. Huh? I'll be back to... to have that special drink you promised. And then I'll ride a few more thousand miles with you. Yeah, sure. What are you doing here? Watching you. Huh? What time is it? 9:00 Sure thought I'd sleep longer than that. You slept nearly 28 hours. You started waking up about an hour ago. Oh. You do all this? Part. Dr. Wells, Mr. Benson, some others helped. Eat. Mmm. That doc go crazy? No! While you were sleeping he took eight pieces of buckshot out of your side. And your ankle was swollen about double. And your knees, both of them, all cut and bleeding. Do you think I'll live? If you eat. How is it with you? Town been as bad on you as you thought it would be? Worse. Even the women. But I'll live with it. You were right to come back here. There were some good men here. Besides, there's no place to hide. Morning, Miss Caldwell. Quite a mess you left around the countryside. Took a lot of cleaning up. I'm sorry. - Oh, I didn't mean it in a hard way, son. You did a good job. Webb would have been real proud of you. Town council wants to talk to you, if you've a mind to. Then you won't need me. Jim. Good morning. Mr. Cole, before anything else, speaking for the people of Paradise, this council wants to thank you, really thank you sincerely for what you've done. Uh, gentlemen, let's get to the point. The point is, we'd like to make you marshal in Webb's place. That is contingent, however, on a couple of questions, Mr. Cole. First of all, the question of the $11,000? Stolen money that as yet hasn't shown up? A lot of men were killed on that posse. Enough to make me think that maybe you're fairly hard on men. No reflections on your character exactly, but... well, we've heard rumors. What rumors? That Mr. Cole here is nothing but a gunfighter. I don't say he is, you understand, but if he is... I don't think we want him. Wait a minute, Banner. By going out and doing what he did, he made a coward out of every man who stayed behind. None of you can forgive him for that. Yes, and you scared ones who hate him the most right now... will be the ones who'll want him to stay on as a lawman the most. You'll want a man like him standing between you and the next bad man who comes along. I know how you feel, Banner, and I don't blame you, but if you've known one or two men in your life... who were willing to go out and chance dying with you, then you've known more than most. But there's some who don't reach that high point of being a man... who are still worthwhile. Think on it. Maybe you'll come up with some reasons of your own that'll make you choose to stay. For once do something right. Not out of hatin'- but out of likin'. I mean this town... and the people. They're good people, Banner, and they've been hurt. And they've got a right to help you. I-I didn't mean to leave you... in such a fix. How'd it go? No fudgin'. Jackie! You can see again! Yeah. Doc says I'll get the sight in the other one too. Aw, that's fine! Ain't you the fella that caught me falling out of the wagon? - Mm-hmm. - Boy! That makes you the new deputy. What you did was sure a wonder. I had a lot of help. I'm glad about your eyes. Say, can maybe me and my friends come over and see you sometime? Over at your office? We'll see. You're right. There were some good people in Paradise. There still are. Who? Kern. Benson. The doc. Those kids over there. And you. Maybe that's what Webb wanted me to find out... that there's always someone or something worthwhile... if we just look hard enough. Come on, boy. |
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