Pale Rider (1985) - full transcript
A gold mining camp in the California foothills is besieged by a neighboring landowner intent on stealing their claims. A preacher rides into camp and uses all of his powers of persuasion to convince the landowner to give up his attacks on the miners.
Well, lookie here.
Lindsey?
Lindsey.
Megan.
Lindsey?
Lindsey?
Megan.
Help me put up the tent.
It's unfair.
Those sow-wallowing
monkeys' asses.
Oh...
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
But I do want.
He leadeth me beside still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
But they killed my dog.
Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death...
I shall fear no evil.
But I am afraid.
For thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
But we need a miracle.
Thy loving kindness and mercy...
shall follow me all
the days of my life.
If you exist.
And I shall dwell in the
house of the Lord forever.
But I'd like to get more
out of this life first.
If you don't help us...
we're all gonna die.
Please?
Just one miracle?
Amen.
Quitting, Mr Barret?
I'm not quitting, Eddie,
just going into town.
Well, ain't that kind
of dumb, Mr Barret?
You remember what happened
to you last time.
- Are you quitting, Mr Barret?
- Just going to town, Teddy.
Ain't that kind of dumb after
what happened last time?
It's Barret.
Good afternoon, Mrs B.
- Well, Hull.
- Mr B.
Damn fool.
Couldn't you wait till
the smoke cleared away?
We seem to need a few supplies.
All new camp, the way I hear it.
You got sand, boy,
but you ain't got
the sense God gave
a sack of beans.
Yeah, well, we don't
have much choice.
They ruined the McPherson shack.
Bust up a couple
others. If it's gonna
snow, the children'll
catch their deaths.
Clarence. Go on.
I expect you're gonna pay for
all this in gold, right?
Yep. Soon as I put together a
couple ounces, I'll bring them in.
It'll take a damn sight
more than a couple
ounces. Mother, throw
me that ledger.
The last payment you folks made...
was eight months ago, when old
Lindquist brought his dust in.
There ain't no colour
left in Carbon Creek.
If there wasn't, why is
LaHood set on driving us out?
Maybe he ain't used
to being said no to.
Oh, there's colour.
There's nuggets too.
Spider panned one out this
morning big as your thumbnail.
Spider Conway? Tell
that son of a bitch...
I got him down here for $85.33.
Forty-three cents. He wants some
cyanide to bleach his dust.
Oh, that tears it.
You tell Spider and
the rest of them
that this is the end of the line.
The tit's gone dry. No
more credit, you hear?
You're a decent man
and, you know, I...
Well, we're all grateful
for what you've done.
Don't coddle me, son. I
ain't doing this for you.
Hell, I'm the only merchant
in town LaHood doesn't own.
It does my soul good to see a
few extra thorns in his side.
One day we'll strike it big. And
when we do, I'll pay
you off myself.
With interest, Mrs B.
Barret...
you just get your goods in
that waggon and skedaddle.
Just keep moving no matter
what they say, all right?
- So long.
- You take care, Hull.
We got a beef with you, Barret.
When we rode through the canyon,
you plumb forgot to say hello.
Told you to stay out of
town a while back too.
When he kicked your head, it
must've jarred your memory.
Kick him again, and
maybe it'll come back.
Tell us about your
Wheeler women, Barret.
Now, are you humping just
the grown one or both?
Probably both at the same time.
I mean, that little one, she's
just out of knickers, ain't she?
Yeah. I'll bet you she's about
as juicy as a freshwater clam.
What does it take to get you
to fight like a man anyway?
I didn't come here to fight.
Then you shouldn't
have come here at all.
You made a big mistake,
tin pan. You know that?
Mind if I take a
look at your goods?
You leave them be.
Come on down off there.
How you like that, panner?
God.
Get out of there.
Get out of there.
Canvas, burlap and wood.
Looks like the makings
for a good fire, right?
Yeah.
You shouldn't play with matches.
Goddamn.
There's nothing like a
nice piece of hickory.
Much obliged.
Damn.
Go on.
Hey... Hey there.
Hey there, Hull Barret's my name.
- You from hereabouts?
- Nope.
Are you just passing through?
I hadn't really thought about it.
After what you did back there, I
wouldn't stay in
town if I were you.
My cabin has two rooms. You're
welcome to one of
them, if you like.
I wouldn't wanna be a burden
on you or your family.
Well, all I got is a
kind of fiancée, is all.
But it'd be a pleasure,
not a burden.
Three hots and a cot,
it's the least I owe you.
- So long, Hull.
- Where you going, Ulrik?
Going. Getting out.
Where the hell to?
Away. Can't fight no more.
I'm not the only one either.
Good luck, Hull Barret. You'll
quit too, if you're smart.
Come on, Wilson. Come on.
"And power was given
to him that sat
thereon to take peace
from the earth...
and that they should
kill one another.
There was given unto
him a great sword.
And when he had opened
the third seal, I
heard the third beast
say, 'Come and see."'
Very good. Fetch me some
butter and some syrup.
"And I beheld, and
lo, a black horse...
and he that sat on
him had a pair of
balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice...
in the midst of the
four beasts say,
'A measure of wheat for a penny...
and three measures of
barley for a penny...
and see thou hurt not
the oil and the wine.'
And when he had opened
the fourth seal, I
heard the voice of the
fourth beast say:
'Come and see.' And I looked...
and behold a pale horse, and
his name that sat on him...
was Death...
and hell followed with him."
Here's a towel for you.
Dinner will be ready pretty soon.
The way he waded into McGill and
his men, you should have seen him.
Well, he sounds no
different than McGill
or Tyson or any of
LaHood's rough men.
At least he wasn't afraid of them.
That's what we need here,
someone they can't scare.
You scared of them, Hull?
Well, he should be. But he's
too all-fired stubborn.
But I was scared and
that's the point,
they knew it. LaHood's
got us all scared.
Lindquist left and he didn't
even know where he was going.
"I'm just going," he said.
The colony is beaten,
Hull. The only
one who doesn't know it is you.
And me. I'm not leaving
until LaHood's
men are whipped. Every last one.
Hush, Megan. Now, see what
you're doing, Hull Barret?
You got her talking more like
your daughter than mine.
Tell her this is nonsense,
this business about fighting.
Who said anything about fighting?
You did, talking
about this stranger.
What is he, a gunman?
I half hope he is.
I'd sure chip in an
ounce of dust for a
little protection.
- From a hired killer?
- Who said he was a hired killer?
Megan, we're going home.
- Sarah, please.
- Then get rid of him.
- I will. I promise I'll...
- Today.
- No, right after supper.
- No, not after supper.
- Now.
- Sarah, he saved my life.
Good evening.
Hope I'm not the cause
of all this excitement.
Do you mind?
Oh, go right ahead.
There's nothing like
a shot of whiskey...
to whet a man's appetite.
Fine looking fricassee
there, ma'am.
Don't want it to get cold.
I apologise. I mean...
I didn't realise...
I'll be damned.
Here, come right down here.
And I'll get you
some biscuits here.
There's your stew,
some butter and syrup.
Is there anything else you want?
Just some company. Aren't
you gonna join me?
- Ma? Hull?
- Well, of course.
Well, how do you do?
And thank you for helping on
Hull's behalf this morning.
I'm Sarah Wheeler.
- This is my daughter, Megan.
- Megan.
I guess we kind of got
carried away there...
but from the way you handled those
men, I never would have thought...
Will you say grace?
Certainly.
For what we are about to receive,
may we be truly thankful.
Amen.
- Amen.
- Amen.
You should've started
over an hour ago.
I apologise, Josh.
We'd have been here, but we
got tied up at the sawbones'.
What the hell happened?
Well, we had a little
set-in with Barret, boss.
We was in town and...
And you got whipped? In LaHood,
California, by a tin pan?
Well, there was a stranger
who kind of give him a hand.
- A stranger?
- A big guy.
Who you talking about?
He left with Barret. He
didn't stick around to chat.
McGill, take the sluice.
Jagou, Tyson, Elam,
take over the monitor.
Yes, sir.
Club?
This man, LaHood, I take it he's
the one you all are feuding with.
Yeah, well, him and his son. Old
Coy LaHood, he's a powerful man.
He come up here... I guess in
'54 or '55, I think it was.
And he was the first
man to strike it rich.
He saved himself a
poke, then he'd stake
new claims and he'd
mine them out...
and then buy some more.
Last couple years...
he's been using big
hydraulic monitors.
Oh, yeah.
They blast a place to
hell. Excuse my French.
- Morning, Meg.
- Hello.
Good morning.
LaHood's more powerful
now than ever.
But Carbon Canyon's the only place
his crew hasn't ruined yet.
He's greedy for it too.
Does he have any lawful
rights to your canyon here?
Oh, no. My claim is filed in
Sacramento. Same as
everybody else's.
The only way LaHood can take this
land legally is if we leave it.
I take it he's been
kind of persuasive.
I don't care if they all
leave, I'm staying here.
He killed my dog and my Grandpa.
Isn't there any law
around, someone
you can take your case to?
Even if there was,
LaHood would own
them like he owns everything else.
And there's not much a lawman
could do even if we had one.
Because LaHood, he ain't
killed anyone yet.
Meg's grandpa's heart gave out.
I've been sort of taking care
of Sarah and Megan ever since.
You know, it ain't that
we're living in sin...
and it ain't that I
don't wanna marry her.
It's just that, one day a few
years back, her husband...
Megan's father, he
lit out on her...
and left her with a
half-grown child.
Since then, getting her
trustful of a man has been...
Well, you know, it
ain't been easy.
But when we get hitched, how
about you doing the hitching?
If you're waiting
for a woman to make
up her mind, you may
have a long wait.
Yeah, I guess so.
Meantime, why don't
you put me to work?
Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to...
Well, I mean, maybe if there
was something spiritual.
Well, spirit ain't
worth spit without a
little exercise. Now,
you tell me where.
Yeah? Well, okay.
You know, I always thought that if
I could split that rock there...
and get to the
gravel underneath...
there's gold been waiting
since the beginning of time.
Now, every morning
for two years, I've
been coming out here,
and you see...
it's like this rock and me,
we have a kind of agreement.
I'm gonna do it in or
it's gonna do me in.
Well, I'd hate to lay
odds on who's gonna win.
Yeah? Well...
You know, I thought
of drilling it and
blasting the son of a
gun, but that would...
That would wreck the stream?
Yeah. Dam it up, be the
end of everything.
Well, there's plain
few problems can't be
solved with a little
sweat and hard work.
Hull? Mr Preacher?
Somebody's coming.
You recognise them?
The one on the left is
LaHood's boy, Josh.
The other one...
I ain't never seen him before.
Barret. Megan.
A friend of yours, Barret?
Yep. He's our new preacher.
Preacher, huh?
I hear you messed up
some of my boys, preach.
Nothing personal.
I hope you won't
take it personal...
when we tell you to get the
hell out of Carbon Canyon.
Well, there's a lot of
sinners hereabouts.
You wouldn't want me to leave
before I finish my
work, would you?
Club.
- Jesus.
- Your work done now, preacher?
Part of it, leastways.
All right. All right.
Get up.
Take it easy.
Put it in a little ice, and
that'll take care of it.
Thanks for stopping by, son.
You think you can make it?
Ice. Ice.
Boy.
Well, now...
the Lord certainly does
work in mysterious ways.
Preacher, my ass.
- Hey, come on.
- Split it to hell.
- Good day, Mr LaHood.
- Whitey.
- Watch that step, Mr LaHood.
- Why?
Damn thing move since
we left Sacramento?
- Thank you, Mr LaHood.
- Welcome home, Pop.
- Morning, son. McGill.
- Boss.
- How was Sacramento?
- Paradise.
Two politicians for every
Chinese laundry...
and two whores for
every politician.
If there was gold in the delta,
I'd go there. How's business?
We're still pulling low-grade
ore out of number five shaft...
but that vein's about
played out. Huh.
We went another 20
foot down 12 shaft,
pulled nothing but
manganite, shut it down.
And that plaster vein in Cobalt
Canyon is wearing
kind of thin too.
What about Carbon?
Well, we ran another raid
through there a few days back.
Put a damn good scare
into them, didn't we?
Yeah. We damn near run them out
this time, lock, stock and barrel.
Huh.
Huh.
Seems a stranger sort of came
through and pulled them together.
Ain't that the way
you see it, McGill?
Yeah, he kind of
pulled them together.
This one stranger did that?
Hell, I expect you boys didn't
explain to him just who we are.
I expect that once
you explain things
to him, he'll decide to move on.
Yeah, there ain't much for a
preacher to do around here.
A preacher? You let a
preacher into Carbon Canyon?
We didn't invite him.
He took up with Hull.
What the hell's wrong
with a preacher anyway?
When I left for Sacramento, those
tin pans had all but given up.
Their spirit was nearly broken.
And a man without
spirit is whipped.
But a preacher, he
could give them faith.
Shit. One ounce of
faith, they'll be
dug in deeper than
ticks on a hound.
You boys, you go
throw a rope around
that man. You bring him to me.
No, don't.
If we get too rough, we'll
make a martyr out of him.
Don't wanna give them a martyr.
That's true.
You didn't get no
help from Sacramento?
Sacramento ain't worth moose piss.
They didn't sign the
writ, I take it.
Not only that, some of them
bastard... Hold there.
Some of them bastard
politicians wanna do
away with hydraulic
mining altogether.
"Raping the land," they call it.
We gotta move on Carbon, and
move fast and dig deep.
The way the wind's
blowing, in another
couple years, we may
be out of business.
And those tin pans have gotta go.
And that preacher.
We'll have to find a
way to deal with him.
Were Grandma and Grandpa happy
when you got married, Ma?
I'm afraid they didn't have a
thimbleful of choice
in the matter.
Were they surprised?
Your grandpa took the measles,
and your grandma got drunk.
I suppose you could say
it surprised them some.
Because they thought you
weren't old enough?
Your grandma was 15
when she got married.
No, I think what riled
them was who I married.
Think you'll be happy
married to Hull?
Who says I'm marrying Hull?
Hull's nice enough, isn't he?
Yes.
He's nice.
Do preachers get married?
I don't see why not.
How do I look?
You look lovely.
You are the prettiest daughter...
I could ever have.
Whoo.
- Break your hand there, Hull?
- It's a nugget.
It's the biggest damn
nugget I ever seen.
Look here. Look at that. Whoo.
Isn't that beautiful? That's
almost as beautiful as Sarah, huh?
Sarah. Megan. Look.
- Yeah, it figures.
- Sarah. Megan.
Look.
Hull's hit pay dirt.
It come from underneath
that boulder.
He found it under the boulder.
Hull.
I was right. You
know, I was right.
It must weigh all
of 4 ounces. That's
a quarter pound of gold. See that?
- Look at that.
- Is that real?
Real? Just look at it.
Come here.
- So how about we celebrate?
- Can we go into town?
I don't think that's
a very good idea.
That would go a long way
to clearing your credit.
It would, at that. It would
clear it and then some.
Can we, please?
- Well, what do you think?
- Why not?
We've got as much right in
town as the next person.
Come on.
You going to town
again, Mr Barret?
That's right. You
wanna come along?
No, our daddy wouldn't
let us go to town.
Sure is a nice day
for it, though, huh?
Have a good time.
I'll be right back. I'll go and
square things with Mr Blankenship.
- Take care of the ladies.
- That won't be hard.
We'll get a soda after I'm done.
Look.
- I'll go get Hull.
- That's all right.
He'll be fine.
Mrs Wheeler, Megan.
My papa wants to
see you, preacher.
- He does, does he?
- Huh.
All right.
- Don't go. I know it's a trick.
- I'll be all right.
Good day.
- What if they hurt him?
- Shut up, Megan.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
It's all right.
Preacher, my name is Coy LaHood.
I know.
Do you imbibe, Reverend?
Only after 9 in the morning.
When I heard a parson
had come to town...
I had an image of a pale, scrawny,
Bible-thumping Easterner...
with a linen handkerchief
and bad lungs.
That's me.
Hardly.
Your health, sir.
You know, it occurred
to me it must
be difficult for a man of faith...
to carry the message on an
empty stomach, so to speak.
So I thought, why not
invite this devout
and humble man to preach in town?
Why not let the town be
his parish? In fact...
why not build him a
brand-new church?
I can see where a preacher'd be
mighty tempted by
an offer like that.
Oh, indeed.
First thing you know,
he'd be thinking about
getting himself a
batch of new clothes.
Why, we'd have them tailor-made.
Then he'd start thinking about
those Sunday collections.
Well, hell, in a town
as rich as LaHood,
that preacher, he'd
be a wealthy man.
That's why it wouldn't work.
Can't serve God and Mammon
both. Mammon being money.
I opened this country.
I made this town what it is.
I brought jobs and industry.
I built an empire with
my own two hands.
And I've never asked
help of anyone.
Those squatters, Reverend, are
standing in the way of progress.
Theirs or yours?
Here, look, look.
Just look at that
writ. Comes hot from Sacramento...
and it tells me I've got mineral
rights to that whole damn canyon.
Well, that hardly seems
likely. If you had
those rights, you'd
have exercised them.
No, I think those people
have legal claims.
You can't mine that
canyon until they leave.
Damn it. Come on, read that writ.
If it was worth the
paper it was printed
on, you wouldn't be
trying to bribe me.
What's your business with
those tin pans, Reverend?
Nothing. They're just friends.
Well, you and your friends got
24 hours to pack up and leave...
or my men will ride through
that canyon and run you out.
I've been a law-abiding man,
but now I'm out of patience.
And any blood gets spilt
will be on your hands.
You're a troublemaker, stranger.
You spell "bad cess" in letters
that stretch from here to Seattle.
Thanks for the drink.
Preacher...
I mean, I've reasoned with you
and bargained with you...
and I've come up short.
What's mine is mine, and if you
make me fight for it, I will.
There's a man, a marshal.
He keeps the peace, if
you take my meaning.
His name is Stockburn...
and he won't be as patient as me.
These people in Carbon Canyon...
would you be willing to pay
cash for their claims?
Buy them out?
Well, hell, I'd do
anything to prevent
bloodshed. How about $100 a head?
How about 1000?
I'll tell you what.
I'll come up to 125.
Stockburn and his deputies will
cost you a lot more than that.
How would you know?
How much is it worth to
have a clear conscience?
A thousand dollars
per claim, then.
But I want them out
of here in 24 hours.
I paid off all accounts
in full, Sarah.
I even had enough to
pay off Spider's.
Where is he?
In there.
Well, do something, Hull.
What were you doing in there?
LaHood was buying me a drink.
Thanks for the thought.
So we all vote in favour?
- Yeah.
- Say "aye."
- Speak up. All those in favour?
- Aye.
Are any opposed?
Me, dang it.
Me and Coy LaHood
seen a lot of ground
together, starting back in '55.
He may be greedy, but
he ain't no fool.
If he's willing to cough
up $1000 a claim,
it's because it's worth
five times that.
The way LaHood works, maybe
it is. The way we work...
we're lucky to see $1000 a year.
- I say we take his offer.
- Yeah.
Suppose you struck
1000 bucks in nuggets.
Would you quit and blow
town? Or keep digging?
What do you say, preacher?
What I say doesn't matter.
It's your sweat he's buying.
Why don't you sleep on it, make
the decision in the morning?
What if we don't
decide in the morning?
What happens if we can't decide?
Well, then I suppose
LaHood'll take that as no.
And then what?
He said he'd call in a marshal.
What kind of threat is that?
We have nothing to
fear from the law.
Law abiding.
This is no ordinary
kind of marshal.
His name is Stockburn. He
travels with six deputies.
And they uphold whatever
law pays them the most.
Killing is a way of life with
them. I'm telling you this...
because in case you decide against
LaHood's offer, you're
gonna meet him.
You know this Stockburn?
I've heard of him.
I don't know.
Well, we all know what
we're up against.
LaHood ain't just saying,
"Take my offer."
He's saying, "Take
my offer or else."
We're family men, Hull. We're
no match for seven guns.
Yeah, but how many of
us are there? Twenty?
I heard the preacher. I know
these men are professionals.
But it's still 20 against
seven, ain't it?
And we know how to pull a
damn trigger, don't we?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, we do.
Look, if it comes down
to it, I'm willing
to fight before I'll
quit my claim...
but, damn it, LaHood's
offer's fair.
I still vote that
we take his money
and we start afresh
somewhere else.
Oh, starting fresh always sounds
good when you're in trouble...
but before we vote to
pack up and leave...
I think we ought to ask
ourselves why we're here.
Because if it's no
more than money, then
we're no better than
LaHood himself.
Spider here asked a question.
If any one of us
turned up $1000 worth
of nuggets, would
he quit? Hell, no.
He'd build his family
a better house...
and buy his kids better clothes...
maybe build a school...
or a church.
I mean, if we were farmers,
we'd be planting crops.
If we raised cattle, we'd be
tending them. But we're miners...
so we dig and pan...
and break our backs for gold.
But gold ain't what we're
about. It ain't what I'm about.
I came out here to raise a
family. This is my home.
This is my dream.
I've sunk roots here.
Now, we all have buried members
of our families in this ground.
And this is their dream
too, and they died for it.
Now we're gonna take $1000 and
leave their graves untended?
We owe them more
than that, don't we?
We owe ourselves more.
Because if we sell out now...
what price do we put on
our dignity next time?
Two thousand dollars?
Less?
Or just the best offer?
I say to hell with LaHood.
- Yeah.
- I'm with you.
- We stay.
- I...
I ain't a brave man, but I
ain't no coward neither.
We took our chances this
far. I vote we keep it up.
Yeah. Yeah.
To hell with LaHood.
Let them come.
We're ready.
- To hell with him.
- Yeah.
We'll stand together.
See you in the morning.
I'm gonna turn in now.
That's it for me.
- Hello.
- Hello.
I buried my dog over here.
Well, that's hallowed
ground, then.
I said a prayer for her.
It was after the raid.
I prayed for a miracle.
Well, maybe someday
you'll get that miracle.
It was the day you arrived.
I think I love you.
There's nothing wrong with that.
If there was more
love in the world...
there'd probably be
a lot less dying.
Then there can't be anything
wrong with making love either.
I think it's best just to...
practise loving for a while
before you think about the other.
If I practise just loving for a
while, will you
teach me the other?
Megan, most folks around...
kind of associate
that with marriage.
I'll be 15 next month.
Mama was married when she was 15.
Will you teach me then?
Ninety-nine out of
100 men would be
proud to say yes to that, Megan.
But a young girl, a
young woman like you...
you wouldn't wanna spend your
future on a man like me.
Why not?
That's just the way it is.
I don't understand.
I don't believe you.
I don't wanna believe you.
Whatever you're saying,
it isn't true.
It isn't fair.
Come on, now.
That's no way to pass a test.
Test?
Trust.
If you love someone...
you gotta try to...
trust what they tell you is true.
Even if it means they
can't be together?
Someday a young man's gonna
come along, the right man.
Then none of this'll
matter any more.
Now, if I was your mama, I'd be
worried about where you are.
It's my mama you love, isn't it?
Your mama's a fine
woman, and so are you.
The way you look at her and
the way she looks at you...
It's true. I don't care.
You can have her.
- I never wanna see you again.
- Megan.
I hope you die and I
hope you go to hell.
Tell your father they
turned him down.
McGill. You're just
in time for the mail.
Hell with the mail.
The boss wants this
telegram sent right now.
All right.
Preacher?
He's gone.
What? Who?
The preacher. Packed up and left.
But why?
Where to?
I don't know. He must
have left before sunup.
Well...
He must have gone to tell LaHood
about the vote last night.
With his bedroll and coat?
Well, I can't believe
that he's gone.
I mean, it's not like him. He
would have said something to us.
Well, I reckon we'll survive.
All this talk about fighting,
no wonder he's gone.
What's that supposed to mean?
LaHood and Marshal
Stockburn be damned.
Isn't that what you
decided last night?
I spoke my mind, if
that's what you mean.
You got the rest of them to
vote your way, didn't you?
They voted their conscience.
They voted to fight.
Damn right. If that's
what it comes to.
You think they'd have voted that
way before the preacher came?
Or if they knew he
wouldn't be here?
They voted to stick together.
The preacher was
holding them together.
They knew he helped you in town.
They watched him stand up to that
animal LaHood sent out here.
They were counting on him
to beat LaHood himself.
I reckon I did all right by
you before he came. Didn't I?
Damned if that don't cut it.
LaHood dammed up the creek.
If you'd accepted LaHood's offer,
this never would have happened.
Ten, 20...
and 30.
Thank you, Miss Halper.
Come back and see us.
Reverend. What can I do for you?
There you are.
Well, I reckon it's
time to pack up
the missis and light out of here.
Sure don't seem like
we got much choice.
How about you, Barret? Any ideas?
Where's the preacher?
He'll know what to do.
He ain't here.
- You mean he's gone?
- He...
He went to tell LaHood
that we turned him down.
But before he left...
he said that if anything happened,
that he hoped we'd
do like he'd do...
if he was here.
Shit.
I don't know.
I suppose we could dry-pan for a
couple days, come to think of it.
I know he'd hate to see us quit,
without we gave it our best.
Let's play it out a couple
days. What can we lose?
One nugget. I'd like to
find me one big nugget.
I'd shove it so far
up LaHood's ass, it'd
wink at him when he
washes his teeth.
You got sand, Barret...
but you can't lie worth a damn.
With the preacher gone
and LaHood on the
warpath, your life
won't be worth spit.
If I was you, I'd pack
them two ladies and git.
Hull?
What?
You angry at me?
No. Whatever gave you that notion?
You angry at Mama, then?
Well, I wouldn't say
that. Not angry.
She hurt your feelings, didn't
she? I know how that feels.
Yeah, well...
let's talk about it later, huh?
Hull, can I borrow the mare?
Can you saddle her?
I already did.
Sure, take her out for a stretch.
Rich, by Christ.
Sweet Holy Ghost,
I've struck it rich.
Gossage, look at this.
Henderson.
Rich.
Look at this.
Eddie. Teddy.
You pair of clodpolls.
Come see what your daddy
pulled out of the stream.
LaHood.
You sugar-legged toad, I beat you.
Look at this. Old
Spider's struck it rich.
- What you got there, Daddy?
- What's it look like...
you brainless barn owl? It's gold.
Ooh-wee.
Go get the mules.
We're going to town.
- Us? We're going to town.
- We're going to town.
Sarah, I wanna apologise if
anything I've said or done...
is gonna stand between us.
Can't think of any such.
Sure looks like
Spider's payday come.
Yeah.
Maybe it's just his turn, like it
was your turn a couple days ago.
Well, at least someone will leave
Carbon Canyon a few
dollars richer.
Looks like.
When we all pack up...
there's room in my
waggon for anything
you're wanting to take with you.
Are you asking us to
leave here with you?
Well, I reckon we're
all going, aren't we?
Damn it, Sarah, ever
since your daddy died...
I've done the best I could
to help you and Megan...
without putting any
conditions on it. I'm
putting one on. You
owe me the truth.
Now, what do you have against me?
Nothing.
Is there a chance for
us being together?
You are the decentest man
I ever met, Hull Barret.
The answer is yes.
- Sarah.
- Hull...
I apologise...
for being so high-strung lately.
It's just that I...
I've been so confused.
With everything
that's been going on,
it's a wonder we all ain't crazy.
But we've got nothing
more to worry about.
We'll start all over
again some place new.
The three of us.
And the first town
we get to, we'll
find ourselves another preacher.
Yes.
Another preacher.
Come to see how the
rich folks do it?
Maybe.
Your mama know where you are?
I don't tell her everything.
She wouldn't like it much
if she knew you were here.
I'm 15, same age as
her when she got
married. I can do whatever I want.
You want me to show
you around? That
is why you came here, isn't it?
Three-quarters of a
mile up the stream,
we diverted half of Cobalt Creek.
It flows through a ditch along
the contours of the slope.
It ends up about 100
yards up yonder.
- It can't just end.
- Well, it doesn't really.
It flows into a length
of 3-foot pipe...
and then that flows
downslope real steep...
and then that narrows
to a 2-foot pipe...
and then a 1-foot
pipe. All that time,
that water's going down slow...
but picks up speed...
and it picks up force by
going into a thinner pipe.
It hurts my ears.
By the time the water
reaches the monitor...
I got about 200 pounds of
pressure per square inch.
I could blast that gravel
out of that cliff...
then it washes down
into the bed and
then it travels
through the sluice.
It looks like hell.
You know, I can get 20 tons
of gravel a day on this rig.
So, tell me, what did you
really come up here for?
I was just riding. Figured
I'd take a look around.
Yeah?
I'm wanting to take
a look too. At you.
Real close.
Look what I got me, boys.
A tin pan's daughter.
No, please, stop. No.
Get up on her, Josh.
Come on, Josh.
You got her, you got her. Come on.
- No. No.
- Get up on her, Josh.
- Come on.
- Stop. Stop, please.
Stop. Stop.
LaHood.
It's old Spider.
Come on out and have a drink...
with an honest man,
you skunk's butt.
Is he one of them?
A piece of trash.
Named Conway. Used to work for me.
Ah, it's too bad.
For a while there, I
had them buffaloed.
Then this preacher come along
and shot them full of sass.
Preacher?
You take care of him...
along with the rest.
Made me look bad in
front of my men.
He whipped four of them.
- A preacher did that?
- You're damn right he did.
What did this preacher look like?
- Well, he was tall and lean.
- You're gonna pay for it.
His eyes...
Yeah, his eyes, something
strange about them.
That mean something to you?
You're gonna lose it all, Coy.
Sounds like a man I once knew.
Might be. He recognised your name.
It couldn't be.
The man I'm thinking
about is dead.
I got you, Coy.
I know you're in there, Coy.
I got something to show you.
Come on out and have a drink...
you old sow belly in bloat.
Sounds like your
daddy's running out of
steam. You better
take him home now.
No. Hell, Mr Blankenship, we only
get to town here once a year.
Ha-ha.
- Where's LaHood?
- Inside.
What is it you want?
You're Stockburn.
Yes.
These are my deputies.
Gentlemen, say hello to Mr Conway.
I have no grief with you.
It's Coy I wanna talk to.
He's listening.
LaHood.
You creepy-legged lizard.
I don't think Mr LaHood
wants to talk to you...
tin pan.
Maybe he'd like to
watch you dance?
I don't know how to dance.
It's easy.
You just move your feet...
to the rhythm.
Daddy.
Stay where you are, boys.
Some music, gentlemen.
No.
Pop?
Take him back to Carbon Canyon.
You tell that preacher
to meet me here...
tomorrow morning.
Stop. Who are you?
You know which end of that
thing the bullet comes out of?
Preacher. You won't
believe what's happened.
LaHood dammed up the stream.
Spider found a lump
chock full of nuggets.
The Wheeler girl's horse come back
without her. Everybody's
out looking.
I'll be damned.
She got caught up at
LaHood's, but she's fine.
You're home now, Megan.
Your mama's here.
Preacher?
You better come outside.
Then him and his men...
they shot him.
Forever.
The bullets kept
hitting him forever.
It was him, wasn't it?
It was that marshal
you warned us about.
Stockburn.
Stockburn and his deputies.
He said, "Tell the preacher
to come in the morning."
Why you?
The night you warned us about this
Stockburn, it sounded
like you knew him.
Spider asked you that himself.
Is it true?
The vote you took the other
night showed courage.
You voted to stick together.
That's just what you should do.
Spider made a mistake.
He went into town alone.
A man alone is easy prey.
Only by standing together
are you going to
be able to beat the
LaHoods of the world.
No matter what happens tomorrow,
don't you forget that.
You got a brave man there.
Give him a decent burial.
Preacher?
You are going into town
tomorrow, ain't you?
How can you say that?
Megan feeling any better?
She's sleeping.
Thank you for what you did.
Well, there's no need. I'm
just glad I happened by.
That first day, when
Hull told me...
what happened in town...
I knew you were a gunfighter.
Lots of people carry guns.
Megan told me what you
did with Josh LaHood.
Who but a gunfighter could
have done such a thing?
Would you care for some coffee?
The folk here tell me...
that you're planning
to go to town and
face that marshal
and his deputies.
- That's right.
- Don't.
Please.
It's an old score and
it's time to settle it.
I wish there was something I could
do or say to change your mind.
When you left the other day...
it reminded me of a time
when someone left me.
After that, I swore I would
never be hurt again.
Or love again.
Then you rode into our lives.
I couldn't help what I felt.
Oh, God, I wish I could
control my feelings.
After you left, I thought
you'd gone for good.
It forced me to grow up...
see things differently.
Appreciate what I have.
I need a man who would
never leave me.
Can you understand that?
Mm.
And you would leave again
one day, wouldn't you?
Yes.
Then it's best this way.
I'm gonna marry Hull.
- Hull is a good man.
- Yes, he is.
This is just so I won't
wake up at night...
for the rest of my life...
wondering.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, Sarah.
Preacher.
Who was that?
A voice from the past.
Preacher.
Sarah.
Close the door.
Who are you?
Who are you...
really?
Well, it really doesn't
matter, does it?
No.
Preacher.
Good morning, Barret.
- Little early, isn't it?
- A little.
Good gun for buffalo. The problem
is, there aren't any hereabouts.
I'm going with you.
There's no buffalo where
I'm going either.
I know.
Even with that rifle, you
wouldn't stand much of a chance.
That's for me to decide, isn't it?
Suit yourself.
Oh, Jesus.
Run, damn it. Run.
Yeah.
Get out.
Move it. Move it.
Out of my way. Let
me out. Get out.
Get out of the way.
- Run for it.
- Move it, move it, move it.
Oh.
Hyah.
What the hell are you doing?
You're a good man, Barret. You
take care of Sarah and the girl.
So long, preacher.
I thought you were still
sleeping, and you're dressed.
The preacher's gone, isn't he?
Yes.
Did you tell him you loved him?
He knows we both love him.
Did you say goodbye to him?
Yes.
I didn't.
Megan.
Yeah, that's him.
That's the preacher, all right.
Mm.
You ever seen him before?
Can't see his face from here.
I'll be damned.
What's he up to?
Well, son, coffee?
- Ma'am.
- There we are. Piping hot.
I think you and Mr Blankenship
ought to take a stroll.
Come on, Ma.
The son of a bitch is sitting
there drinking coffee.
He's even got his
back to the door.
Well...
I reckon all of us don't
need that marshal, do we?
It appears you won't have to
bother with the preacher.
Are you through?
Jesus.
What the hell is he up to now?
He's inviting us to join him.
Fan out.
Find him.
You.
You.
Ah.
Long walk.
Yep.
- Where is he?
- He's gone, Megan.
Child, he's gone.
Megan, you can't drive these
horses any more. You'll kill them.
Preacher.
We all love you, preacher.
I love you.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Come on. Come on.
Lindsey?
Lindsey.
Megan.
Lindsey?
Lindsey?
Megan.
Help me put up the tent.
It's unfair.
Those sow-wallowing
monkeys' asses.
Oh...
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
But I do want.
He leadeth me beside still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
But they killed my dog.
Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death...
I shall fear no evil.
But I am afraid.
For thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
But we need a miracle.
Thy loving kindness and mercy...
shall follow me all
the days of my life.
If you exist.
And I shall dwell in the
house of the Lord forever.
But I'd like to get more
out of this life first.
If you don't help us...
we're all gonna die.
Please?
Just one miracle?
Amen.
Quitting, Mr Barret?
I'm not quitting, Eddie,
just going into town.
Well, ain't that kind
of dumb, Mr Barret?
You remember what happened
to you last time.
- Are you quitting, Mr Barret?
- Just going to town, Teddy.
Ain't that kind of dumb after
what happened last time?
It's Barret.
Good afternoon, Mrs B.
- Well, Hull.
- Mr B.
Damn fool.
Couldn't you wait till
the smoke cleared away?
We seem to need a few supplies.
All new camp, the way I hear it.
You got sand, boy,
but you ain't got
the sense God gave
a sack of beans.
Yeah, well, we don't
have much choice.
They ruined the McPherson shack.
Bust up a couple
others. If it's gonna
snow, the children'll
catch their deaths.
Clarence. Go on.
I expect you're gonna pay for
all this in gold, right?
Yep. Soon as I put together a
couple ounces, I'll bring them in.
It'll take a damn sight
more than a couple
ounces. Mother, throw
me that ledger.
The last payment you folks made...
was eight months ago, when old
Lindquist brought his dust in.
There ain't no colour
left in Carbon Creek.
If there wasn't, why is
LaHood set on driving us out?
Maybe he ain't used
to being said no to.
Oh, there's colour.
There's nuggets too.
Spider panned one out this
morning big as your thumbnail.
Spider Conway? Tell
that son of a bitch...
I got him down here for $85.33.
Forty-three cents. He wants some
cyanide to bleach his dust.
Oh, that tears it.
You tell Spider and
the rest of them
that this is the end of the line.
The tit's gone dry. No
more credit, you hear?
You're a decent man
and, you know, I...
Well, we're all grateful
for what you've done.
Don't coddle me, son. I
ain't doing this for you.
Hell, I'm the only merchant
in town LaHood doesn't own.
It does my soul good to see a
few extra thorns in his side.
One day we'll strike it big. And
when we do, I'll pay
you off myself.
With interest, Mrs B.
Barret...
you just get your goods in
that waggon and skedaddle.
Just keep moving no matter
what they say, all right?
- So long.
- You take care, Hull.
We got a beef with you, Barret.
When we rode through the canyon,
you plumb forgot to say hello.
Told you to stay out of
town a while back too.
When he kicked your head, it
must've jarred your memory.
Kick him again, and
maybe it'll come back.
Tell us about your
Wheeler women, Barret.
Now, are you humping just
the grown one or both?
Probably both at the same time.
I mean, that little one, she's
just out of knickers, ain't she?
Yeah. I'll bet you she's about
as juicy as a freshwater clam.
What does it take to get you
to fight like a man anyway?
I didn't come here to fight.
Then you shouldn't
have come here at all.
You made a big mistake,
tin pan. You know that?
Mind if I take a
look at your goods?
You leave them be.
Come on down off there.
How you like that, panner?
God.
Get out of there.
Get out of there.
Canvas, burlap and wood.
Looks like the makings
for a good fire, right?
Yeah.
You shouldn't play with matches.
Goddamn.
There's nothing like a
nice piece of hickory.
Much obliged.
Damn.
Go on.
Hey... Hey there.
Hey there, Hull Barret's my name.
- You from hereabouts?
- Nope.
Are you just passing through?
I hadn't really thought about it.
After what you did back there, I
wouldn't stay in
town if I were you.
My cabin has two rooms. You're
welcome to one of
them, if you like.
I wouldn't wanna be a burden
on you or your family.
Well, all I got is a
kind of fiancée, is all.
But it'd be a pleasure,
not a burden.
Three hots and a cot,
it's the least I owe you.
- So long, Hull.
- Where you going, Ulrik?
Going. Getting out.
Where the hell to?
Away. Can't fight no more.
I'm not the only one either.
Good luck, Hull Barret. You'll
quit too, if you're smart.
Come on, Wilson. Come on.
"And power was given
to him that sat
thereon to take peace
from the earth...
and that they should
kill one another.
There was given unto
him a great sword.
And when he had opened
the third seal, I
heard the third beast
say, 'Come and see."'
Very good. Fetch me some
butter and some syrup.
"And I beheld, and
lo, a black horse...
and he that sat on
him had a pair of
balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice...
in the midst of the
four beasts say,
'A measure of wheat for a penny...
and three measures of
barley for a penny...
and see thou hurt not
the oil and the wine.'
And when he had opened
the fourth seal, I
heard the voice of the
fourth beast say:
'Come and see.' And I looked...
and behold a pale horse, and
his name that sat on him...
was Death...
and hell followed with him."
Here's a towel for you.
Dinner will be ready pretty soon.
The way he waded into McGill and
his men, you should have seen him.
Well, he sounds no
different than McGill
or Tyson or any of
LaHood's rough men.
At least he wasn't afraid of them.
That's what we need here,
someone they can't scare.
You scared of them, Hull?
Well, he should be. But he's
too all-fired stubborn.
But I was scared and
that's the point,
they knew it. LaHood's
got us all scared.
Lindquist left and he didn't
even know where he was going.
"I'm just going," he said.
The colony is beaten,
Hull. The only
one who doesn't know it is you.
And me. I'm not leaving
until LaHood's
men are whipped. Every last one.
Hush, Megan. Now, see what
you're doing, Hull Barret?
You got her talking more like
your daughter than mine.
Tell her this is nonsense,
this business about fighting.
Who said anything about fighting?
You did, talking
about this stranger.
What is he, a gunman?
I half hope he is.
I'd sure chip in an
ounce of dust for a
little protection.
- From a hired killer?
- Who said he was a hired killer?
Megan, we're going home.
- Sarah, please.
- Then get rid of him.
- I will. I promise I'll...
- Today.
- No, right after supper.
- No, not after supper.
- Now.
- Sarah, he saved my life.
Good evening.
Hope I'm not the cause
of all this excitement.
Do you mind?
Oh, go right ahead.
There's nothing like
a shot of whiskey...
to whet a man's appetite.
Fine looking fricassee
there, ma'am.
Don't want it to get cold.
I apologise. I mean...
I didn't realise...
I'll be damned.
Here, come right down here.
And I'll get you
some biscuits here.
There's your stew,
some butter and syrup.
Is there anything else you want?
Just some company. Aren't
you gonna join me?
- Ma? Hull?
- Well, of course.
Well, how do you do?
And thank you for helping on
Hull's behalf this morning.
I'm Sarah Wheeler.
- This is my daughter, Megan.
- Megan.
I guess we kind of got
carried away there...
but from the way you handled those
men, I never would have thought...
Will you say grace?
Certainly.
For what we are about to receive,
may we be truly thankful.
Amen.
- Amen.
- Amen.
You should've started
over an hour ago.
I apologise, Josh.
We'd have been here, but we
got tied up at the sawbones'.
What the hell happened?
Well, we had a little
set-in with Barret, boss.
We was in town and...
And you got whipped? In LaHood,
California, by a tin pan?
Well, there was a stranger
who kind of give him a hand.
- A stranger?
- A big guy.
Who you talking about?
He left with Barret. He
didn't stick around to chat.
McGill, take the sluice.
Jagou, Tyson, Elam,
take over the monitor.
Yes, sir.
Club?
This man, LaHood, I take it he's
the one you all are feuding with.
Yeah, well, him and his son. Old
Coy LaHood, he's a powerful man.
He come up here... I guess in
'54 or '55, I think it was.
And he was the first
man to strike it rich.
He saved himself a
poke, then he'd stake
new claims and he'd
mine them out...
and then buy some more.
Last couple years...
he's been using big
hydraulic monitors.
Oh, yeah.
They blast a place to
hell. Excuse my French.
- Morning, Meg.
- Hello.
Good morning.
LaHood's more powerful
now than ever.
But Carbon Canyon's the only place
his crew hasn't ruined yet.
He's greedy for it too.
Does he have any lawful
rights to your canyon here?
Oh, no. My claim is filed in
Sacramento. Same as
everybody else's.
The only way LaHood can take this
land legally is if we leave it.
I take it he's been
kind of persuasive.
I don't care if they all
leave, I'm staying here.
He killed my dog and my Grandpa.
Isn't there any law
around, someone
you can take your case to?
Even if there was,
LaHood would own
them like he owns everything else.
And there's not much a lawman
could do even if we had one.
Because LaHood, he ain't
killed anyone yet.
Meg's grandpa's heart gave out.
I've been sort of taking care
of Sarah and Megan ever since.
You know, it ain't that
we're living in sin...
and it ain't that I
don't wanna marry her.
It's just that, one day a few
years back, her husband...
Megan's father, he
lit out on her...
and left her with a
half-grown child.
Since then, getting her
trustful of a man has been...
Well, you know, it
ain't been easy.
But when we get hitched, how
about you doing the hitching?
If you're waiting
for a woman to make
up her mind, you may
have a long wait.
Yeah, I guess so.
Meantime, why don't
you put me to work?
Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to...
Well, I mean, maybe if there
was something spiritual.
Well, spirit ain't
worth spit without a
little exercise. Now,
you tell me where.
Yeah? Well, okay.
You know, I always thought that if
I could split that rock there...
and get to the
gravel underneath...
there's gold been waiting
since the beginning of time.
Now, every morning
for two years, I've
been coming out here,
and you see...
it's like this rock and me,
we have a kind of agreement.
I'm gonna do it in or
it's gonna do me in.
Well, I'd hate to lay
odds on who's gonna win.
Yeah? Well...
You know, I thought
of drilling it and
blasting the son of a
gun, but that would...
That would wreck the stream?
Yeah. Dam it up, be the
end of everything.
Well, there's plain
few problems can't be
solved with a little
sweat and hard work.
Hull? Mr Preacher?
Somebody's coming.
You recognise them?
The one on the left is
LaHood's boy, Josh.
The other one...
I ain't never seen him before.
Barret. Megan.
A friend of yours, Barret?
Yep. He's our new preacher.
Preacher, huh?
I hear you messed up
some of my boys, preach.
Nothing personal.
I hope you won't
take it personal...
when we tell you to get the
hell out of Carbon Canyon.
Well, there's a lot of
sinners hereabouts.
You wouldn't want me to leave
before I finish my
work, would you?
Club.
- Jesus.
- Your work done now, preacher?
Part of it, leastways.
All right. All right.
Get up.
Take it easy.
Put it in a little ice, and
that'll take care of it.
Thanks for stopping by, son.
You think you can make it?
Ice. Ice.
Boy.
Well, now...
the Lord certainly does
work in mysterious ways.
Preacher, my ass.
- Hey, come on.
- Split it to hell.
- Good day, Mr LaHood.
- Whitey.
- Watch that step, Mr LaHood.
- Why?
Damn thing move since
we left Sacramento?
- Thank you, Mr LaHood.
- Welcome home, Pop.
- Morning, son. McGill.
- Boss.
- How was Sacramento?
- Paradise.
Two politicians for every
Chinese laundry...
and two whores for
every politician.
If there was gold in the delta,
I'd go there. How's business?
We're still pulling low-grade
ore out of number five shaft...
but that vein's about
played out. Huh.
We went another 20
foot down 12 shaft,
pulled nothing but
manganite, shut it down.
And that plaster vein in Cobalt
Canyon is wearing
kind of thin too.
What about Carbon?
Well, we ran another raid
through there a few days back.
Put a damn good scare
into them, didn't we?
Yeah. We damn near run them out
this time, lock, stock and barrel.
Huh.
Huh.
Seems a stranger sort of came
through and pulled them together.
Ain't that the way
you see it, McGill?
Yeah, he kind of
pulled them together.
This one stranger did that?
Hell, I expect you boys didn't
explain to him just who we are.
I expect that once
you explain things
to him, he'll decide to move on.
Yeah, there ain't much for a
preacher to do around here.
A preacher? You let a
preacher into Carbon Canyon?
We didn't invite him.
He took up with Hull.
What the hell's wrong
with a preacher anyway?
When I left for Sacramento, those
tin pans had all but given up.
Their spirit was nearly broken.
And a man without
spirit is whipped.
But a preacher, he
could give them faith.
Shit. One ounce of
faith, they'll be
dug in deeper than
ticks on a hound.
You boys, you go
throw a rope around
that man. You bring him to me.
No, don't.
If we get too rough, we'll
make a martyr out of him.
Don't wanna give them a martyr.
That's true.
You didn't get no
help from Sacramento?
Sacramento ain't worth moose piss.
They didn't sign the
writ, I take it.
Not only that, some of them
bastard... Hold there.
Some of them bastard
politicians wanna do
away with hydraulic
mining altogether.
"Raping the land," they call it.
We gotta move on Carbon, and
move fast and dig deep.
The way the wind's
blowing, in another
couple years, we may
be out of business.
And those tin pans have gotta go.
And that preacher.
We'll have to find a
way to deal with him.
Were Grandma and Grandpa happy
when you got married, Ma?
I'm afraid they didn't have a
thimbleful of choice
in the matter.
Were they surprised?
Your grandpa took the measles,
and your grandma got drunk.
I suppose you could say
it surprised them some.
Because they thought you
weren't old enough?
Your grandma was 15
when she got married.
No, I think what riled
them was who I married.
Think you'll be happy
married to Hull?
Who says I'm marrying Hull?
Hull's nice enough, isn't he?
Yes.
He's nice.
Do preachers get married?
I don't see why not.
How do I look?
You look lovely.
You are the prettiest daughter...
I could ever have.
Whoo.
- Break your hand there, Hull?
- It's a nugget.
It's the biggest damn
nugget I ever seen.
Look here. Look at that. Whoo.
Isn't that beautiful? That's
almost as beautiful as Sarah, huh?
Sarah. Megan. Look.
- Yeah, it figures.
- Sarah. Megan.
Look.
Hull's hit pay dirt.
It come from underneath
that boulder.
He found it under the boulder.
Hull.
I was right. You
know, I was right.
It must weigh all
of 4 ounces. That's
a quarter pound of gold. See that?
- Look at that.
- Is that real?
Real? Just look at it.
Come here.
- So how about we celebrate?
- Can we go into town?
I don't think that's
a very good idea.
That would go a long way
to clearing your credit.
It would, at that. It would
clear it and then some.
Can we, please?
- Well, what do you think?
- Why not?
We've got as much right in
town as the next person.
Come on.
You going to town
again, Mr Barret?
That's right. You
wanna come along?
No, our daddy wouldn't
let us go to town.
Sure is a nice day
for it, though, huh?
Have a good time.
I'll be right back. I'll go and
square things with Mr Blankenship.
- Take care of the ladies.
- That won't be hard.
We'll get a soda after I'm done.
Look.
- I'll go get Hull.
- That's all right.
He'll be fine.
Mrs Wheeler, Megan.
My papa wants to
see you, preacher.
- He does, does he?
- Huh.
All right.
- Don't go. I know it's a trick.
- I'll be all right.
Good day.
- What if they hurt him?
- Shut up, Megan.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
It's all right.
Preacher, my name is Coy LaHood.
I know.
Do you imbibe, Reverend?
Only after 9 in the morning.
When I heard a parson
had come to town...
I had an image of a pale, scrawny,
Bible-thumping Easterner...
with a linen handkerchief
and bad lungs.
That's me.
Hardly.
Your health, sir.
You know, it occurred
to me it must
be difficult for a man of faith...
to carry the message on an
empty stomach, so to speak.
So I thought, why not
invite this devout
and humble man to preach in town?
Why not let the town be
his parish? In fact...
why not build him a
brand-new church?
I can see where a preacher'd be
mighty tempted by
an offer like that.
Oh, indeed.
First thing you know,
he'd be thinking about
getting himself a
batch of new clothes.
Why, we'd have them tailor-made.
Then he'd start thinking about
those Sunday collections.
Well, hell, in a town
as rich as LaHood,
that preacher, he'd
be a wealthy man.
That's why it wouldn't work.
Can't serve God and Mammon
both. Mammon being money.
I opened this country.
I made this town what it is.
I brought jobs and industry.
I built an empire with
my own two hands.
And I've never asked
help of anyone.
Those squatters, Reverend, are
standing in the way of progress.
Theirs or yours?
Here, look, look.
Just look at that
writ. Comes hot from Sacramento...
and it tells me I've got mineral
rights to that whole damn canyon.
Well, that hardly seems
likely. If you had
those rights, you'd
have exercised them.
No, I think those people
have legal claims.
You can't mine that
canyon until they leave.
Damn it. Come on, read that writ.
If it was worth the
paper it was printed
on, you wouldn't be
trying to bribe me.
What's your business with
those tin pans, Reverend?
Nothing. They're just friends.
Well, you and your friends got
24 hours to pack up and leave...
or my men will ride through
that canyon and run you out.
I've been a law-abiding man,
but now I'm out of patience.
And any blood gets spilt
will be on your hands.
You're a troublemaker, stranger.
You spell "bad cess" in letters
that stretch from here to Seattle.
Thanks for the drink.
Preacher...
I mean, I've reasoned with you
and bargained with you...
and I've come up short.
What's mine is mine, and if you
make me fight for it, I will.
There's a man, a marshal.
He keeps the peace, if
you take my meaning.
His name is Stockburn...
and he won't be as patient as me.
These people in Carbon Canyon...
would you be willing to pay
cash for their claims?
Buy them out?
Well, hell, I'd do
anything to prevent
bloodshed. How about $100 a head?
How about 1000?
I'll tell you what.
I'll come up to 125.
Stockburn and his deputies will
cost you a lot more than that.
How would you know?
How much is it worth to
have a clear conscience?
A thousand dollars
per claim, then.
But I want them out
of here in 24 hours.
I paid off all accounts
in full, Sarah.
I even had enough to
pay off Spider's.
Where is he?
In there.
Well, do something, Hull.
What were you doing in there?
LaHood was buying me a drink.
Thanks for the thought.
So we all vote in favour?
- Yeah.
- Say "aye."
- Speak up. All those in favour?
- Aye.
Are any opposed?
Me, dang it.
Me and Coy LaHood
seen a lot of ground
together, starting back in '55.
He may be greedy, but
he ain't no fool.
If he's willing to cough
up $1000 a claim,
it's because it's worth
five times that.
The way LaHood works, maybe
it is. The way we work...
we're lucky to see $1000 a year.
- I say we take his offer.
- Yeah.
Suppose you struck
1000 bucks in nuggets.
Would you quit and blow
town? Or keep digging?
What do you say, preacher?
What I say doesn't matter.
It's your sweat he's buying.
Why don't you sleep on it, make
the decision in the morning?
What if we don't
decide in the morning?
What happens if we can't decide?
Well, then I suppose
LaHood'll take that as no.
And then what?
He said he'd call in a marshal.
What kind of threat is that?
We have nothing to
fear from the law.
Law abiding.
This is no ordinary
kind of marshal.
His name is Stockburn. He
travels with six deputies.
And they uphold whatever
law pays them the most.
Killing is a way of life with
them. I'm telling you this...
because in case you decide against
LaHood's offer, you're
gonna meet him.
You know this Stockburn?
I've heard of him.
I don't know.
Well, we all know what
we're up against.
LaHood ain't just saying,
"Take my offer."
He's saying, "Take
my offer or else."
We're family men, Hull. We're
no match for seven guns.
Yeah, but how many of
us are there? Twenty?
I heard the preacher. I know
these men are professionals.
But it's still 20 against
seven, ain't it?
And we know how to pull a
damn trigger, don't we?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, we do.
Look, if it comes down
to it, I'm willing
to fight before I'll
quit my claim...
but, damn it, LaHood's
offer's fair.
I still vote that
we take his money
and we start afresh
somewhere else.
Oh, starting fresh always sounds
good when you're in trouble...
but before we vote to
pack up and leave...
I think we ought to ask
ourselves why we're here.
Because if it's no
more than money, then
we're no better than
LaHood himself.
Spider here asked a question.
If any one of us
turned up $1000 worth
of nuggets, would
he quit? Hell, no.
He'd build his family
a better house...
and buy his kids better clothes...
maybe build a school...
or a church.
I mean, if we were farmers,
we'd be planting crops.
If we raised cattle, we'd be
tending them. But we're miners...
so we dig and pan...
and break our backs for gold.
But gold ain't what we're
about. It ain't what I'm about.
I came out here to raise a
family. This is my home.
This is my dream.
I've sunk roots here.
Now, we all have buried members
of our families in this ground.
And this is their dream
too, and they died for it.
Now we're gonna take $1000 and
leave their graves untended?
We owe them more
than that, don't we?
We owe ourselves more.
Because if we sell out now...
what price do we put on
our dignity next time?
Two thousand dollars?
Less?
Or just the best offer?
I say to hell with LaHood.
- Yeah.
- I'm with you.
- We stay.
- I...
I ain't a brave man, but I
ain't no coward neither.
We took our chances this
far. I vote we keep it up.
Yeah. Yeah.
To hell with LaHood.
Let them come.
We're ready.
- To hell with him.
- Yeah.
We'll stand together.
See you in the morning.
I'm gonna turn in now.
That's it for me.
- Hello.
- Hello.
I buried my dog over here.
Well, that's hallowed
ground, then.
I said a prayer for her.
It was after the raid.
I prayed for a miracle.
Well, maybe someday
you'll get that miracle.
It was the day you arrived.
I think I love you.
There's nothing wrong with that.
If there was more
love in the world...
there'd probably be
a lot less dying.
Then there can't be anything
wrong with making love either.
I think it's best just to...
practise loving for a while
before you think about the other.
If I practise just loving for a
while, will you
teach me the other?
Megan, most folks around...
kind of associate
that with marriage.
I'll be 15 next month.
Mama was married when she was 15.
Will you teach me then?
Ninety-nine out of
100 men would be
proud to say yes to that, Megan.
But a young girl, a
young woman like you...
you wouldn't wanna spend your
future on a man like me.
Why not?
That's just the way it is.
I don't understand.
I don't believe you.
I don't wanna believe you.
Whatever you're saying,
it isn't true.
It isn't fair.
Come on, now.
That's no way to pass a test.
Test?
Trust.
If you love someone...
you gotta try to...
trust what they tell you is true.
Even if it means they
can't be together?
Someday a young man's gonna
come along, the right man.
Then none of this'll
matter any more.
Now, if I was your mama, I'd be
worried about where you are.
It's my mama you love, isn't it?
Your mama's a fine
woman, and so are you.
The way you look at her and
the way she looks at you...
It's true. I don't care.
You can have her.
- I never wanna see you again.
- Megan.
I hope you die and I
hope you go to hell.
Tell your father they
turned him down.
McGill. You're just
in time for the mail.
Hell with the mail.
The boss wants this
telegram sent right now.
All right.
Preacher?
He's gone.
What? Who?
The preacher. Packed up and left.
But why?
Where to?
I don't know. He must
have left before sunup.
Well...
He must have gone to tell LaHood
about the vote last night.
With his bedroll and coat?
Well, I can't believe
that he's gone.
I mean, it's not like him. He
would have said something to us.
Well, I reckon we'll survive.
All this talk about fighting,
no wonder he's gone.
What's that supposed to mean?
LaHood and Marshal
Stockburn be damned.
Isn't that what you
decided last night?
I spoke my mind, if
that's what you mean.
You got the rest of them to
vote your way, didn't you?
They voted their conscience.
They voted to fight.
Damn right. If that's
what it comes to.
You think they'd have voted that
way before the preacher came?
Or if they knew he
wouldn't be here?
They voted to stick together.
The preacher was
holding them together.
They knew he helped you in town.
They watched him stand up to that
animal LaHood sent out here.
They were counting on him
to beat LaHood himself.
I reckon I did all right by
you before he came. Didn't I?
Damned if that don't cut it.
LaHood dammed up the creek.
If you'd accepted LaHood's offer,
this never would have happened.
Ten, 20...
and 30.
Thank you, Miss Halper.
Come back and see us.
Reverend. What can I do for you?
There you are.
Well, I reckon it's
time to pack up
the missis and light out of here.
Sure don't seem like
we got much choice.
How about you, Barret? Any ideas?
Where's the preacher?
He'll know what to do.
He ain't here.
- You mean he's gone?
- He...
He went to tell LaHood
that we turned him down.
But before he left...
he said that if anything happened,
that he hoped we'd
do like he'd do...
if he was here.
Shit.
I don't know.
I suppose we could dry-pan for a
couple days, come to think of it.
I know he'd hate to see us quit,
without we gave it our best.
Let's play it out a couple
days. What can we lose?
One nugget. I'd like to
find me one big nugget.
I'd shove it so far
up LaHood's ass, it'd
wink at him when he
washes his teeth.
You got sand, Barret...
but you can't lie worth a damn.
With the preacher gone
and LaHood on the
warpath, your life
won't be worth spit.
If I was you, I'd pack
them two ladies and git.
Hull?
What?
You angry at me?
No. Whatever gave you that notion?
You angry at Mama, then?
Well, I wouldn't say
that. Not angry.
She hurt your feelings, didn't
she? I know how that feels.
Yeah, well...
let's talk about it later, huh?
Hull, can I borrow the mare?
Can you saddle her?
I already did.
Sure, take her out for a stretch.
Rich, by Christ.
Sweet Holy Ghost,
I've struck it rich.
Gossage, look at this.
Henderson.
Rich.
Look at this.
Eddie. Teddy.
You pair of clodpolls.
Come see what your daddy
pulled out of the stream.
LaHood.
You sugar-legged toad, I beat you.
Look at this. Old
Spider's struck it rich.
- What you got there, Daddy?
- What's it look like...
you brainless barn owl? It's gold.
Ooh-wee.
Go get the mules.
We're going to town.
- Us? We're going to town.
- We're going to town.
Sarah, I wanna apologise if
anything I've said or done...
is gonna stand between us.
Can't think of any such.
Sure looks like
Spider's payday come.
Yeah.
Maybe it's just his turn, like it
was your turn a couple days ago.
Well, at least someone will leave
Carbon Canyon a few
dollars richer.
Looks like.
When we all pack up...
there's room in my
waggon for anything
you're wanting to take with you.
Are you asking us to
leave here with you?
Well, I reckon we're
all going, aren't we?
Damn it, Sarah, ever
since your daddy died...
I've done the best I could
to help you and Megan...
without putting any
conditions on it. I'm
putting one on. You
owe me the truth.
Now, what do you have against me?
Nothing.
Is there a chance for
us being together?
You are the decentest man
I ever met, Hull Barret.
The answer is yes.
- Sarah.
- Hull...
I apologise...
for being so high-strung lately.
It's just that I...
I've been so confused.
With everything
that's been going on,
it's a wonder we all ain't crazy.
But we've got nothing
more to worry about.
We'll start all over
again some place new.
The three of us.
And the first town
we get to, we'll
find ourselves another preacher.
Yes.
Another preacher.
Come to see how the
rich folks do it?
Maybe.
Your mama know where you are?
I don't tell her everything.
She wouldn't like it much
if she knew you were here.
I'm 15, same age as
her when she got
married. I can do whatever I want.
You want me to show
you around? That
is why you came here, isn't it?
Three-quarters of a
mile up the stream,
we diverted half of Cobalt Creek.
It flows through a ditch along
the contours of the slope.
It ends up about 100
yards up yonder.
- It can't just end.
- Well, it doesn't really.
It flows into a length
of 3-foot pipe...
and then that flows
downslope real steep...
and then that narrows
to a 2-foot pipe...
and then a 1-foot
pipe. All that time,
that water's going down slow...
but picks up speed...
and it picks up force by
going into a thinner pipe.
It hurts my ears.
By the time the water
reaches the monitor...
I got about 200 pounds of
pressure per square inch.
I could blast that gravel
out of that cliff...
then it washes down
into the bed and
then it travels
through the sluice.
It looks like hell.
You know, I can get 20 tons
of gravel a day on this rig.
So, tell me, what did you
really come up here for?
I was just riding. Figured
I'd take a look around.
Yeah?
I'm wanting to take
a look too. At you.
Real close.
Look what I got me, boys.
A tin pan's daughter.
No, please, stop. No.
Get up on her, Josh.
Come on, Josh.
You got her, you got her. Come on.
- No. No.
- Get up on her, Josh.
- Come on.
- Stop. Stop, please.
Stop. Stop.
LaHood.
It's old Spider.
Come on out and have a drink...
with an honest man,
you skunk's butt.
Is he one of them?
A piece of trash.
Named Conway. Used to work for me.
Ah, it's too bad.
For a while there, I
had them buffaloed.
Then this preacher come along
and shot them full of sass.
Preacher?
You take care of him...
along with the rest.
Made me look bad in
front of my men.
He whipped four of them.
- A preacher did that?
- You're damn right he did.
What did this preacher look like?
- Well, he was tall and lean.
- You're gonna pay for it.
His eyes...
Yeah, his eyes, something
strange about them.
That mean something to you?
You're gonna lose it all, Coy.
Sounds like a man I once knew.
Might be. He recognised your name.
It couldn't be.
The man I'm thinking
about is dead.
I got you, Coy.
I know you're in there, Coy.
I got something to show you.
Come on out and have a drink...
you old sow belly in bloat.
Sounds like your
daddy's running out of
steam. You better
take him home now.
No. Hell, Mr Blankenship, we only
get to town here once a year.
Ha-ha.
- Where's LaHood?
- Inside.
What is it you want?
You're Stockburn.
Yes.
These are my deputies.
Gentlemen, say hello to Mr Conway.
I have no grief with you.
It's Coy I wanna talk to.
He's listening.
LaHood.
You creepy-legged lizard.
I don't think Mr LaHood
wants to talk to you...
tin pan.
Maybe he'd like to
watch you dance?
I don't know how to dance.
It's easy.
You just move your feet...
to the rhythm.
Daddy.
Stay where you are, boys.
Some music, gentlemen.
No.
Pop?
Take him back to Carbon Canyon.
You tell that preacher
to meet me here...
tomorrow morning.
Stop. Who are you?
You know which end of that
thing the bullet comes out of?
Preacher. You won't
believe what's happened.
LaHood dammed up the stream.
Spider found a lump
chock full of nuggets.
The Wheeler girl's horse come back
without her. Everybody's
out looking.
I'll be damned.
She got caught up at
LaHood's, but she's fine.
You're home now, Megan.
Your mama's here.
Preacher?
You better come outside.
Then him and his men...
they shot him.
Forever.
The bullets kept
hitting him forever.
It was him, wasn't it?
It was that marshal
you warned us about.
Stockburn.
Stockburn and his deputies.
He said, "Tell the preacher
to come in the morning."
Why you?
The night you warned us about this
Stockburn, it sounded
like you knew him.
Spider asked you that himself.
Is it true?
The vote you took the other
night showed courage.
You voted to stick together.
That's just what you should do.
Spider made a mistake.
He went into town alone.
A man alone is easy prey.
Only by standing together
are you going to
be able to beat the
LaHoods of the world.
No matter what happens tomorrow,
don't you forget that.
You got a brave man there.
Give him a decent burial.
Preacher?
You are going into town
tomorrow, ain't you?
How can you say that?
Megan feeling any better?
She's sleeping.
Thank you for what you did.
Well, there's no need. I'm
just glad I happened by.
That first day, when
Hull told me...
what happened in town...
I knew you were a gunfighter.
Lots of people carry guns.
Megan told me what you
did with Josh LaHood.
Who but a gunfighter could
have done such a thing?
Would you care for some coffee?
The folk here tell me...
that you're planning
to go to town and
face that marshal
and his deputies.
- That's right.
- Don't.
Please.
It's an old score and
it's time to settle it.
I wish there was something I could
do or say to change your mind.
When you left the other day...
it reminded me of a time
when someone left me.
After that, I swore I would
never be hurt again.
Or love again.
Then you rode into our lives.
I couldn't help what I felt.
Oh, God, I wish I could
control my feelings.
After you left, I thought
you'd gone for good.
It forced me to grow up...
see things differently.
Appreciate what I have.
I need a man who would
never leave me.
Can you understand that?
Mm.
And you would leave again
one day, wouldn't you?
Yes.
Then it's best this way.
I'm gonna marry Hull.
- Hull is a good man.
- Yes, he is.
This is just so I won't
wake up at night...
for the rest of my life...
wondering.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, Sarah.
Preacher.
Who was that?
A voice from the past.
Preacher.
Sarah.
Close the door.
Who are you?
Who are you...
really?
Well, it really doesn't
matter, does it?
No.
Preacher.
Good morning, Barret.
- Little early, isn't it?
- A little.
Good gun for buffalo. The problem
is, there aren't any hereabouts.
I'm going with you.
There's no buffalo where
I'm going either.
I know.
Even with that rifle, you
wouldn't stand much of a chance.
That's for me to decide, isn't it?
Suit yourself.
Oh, Jesus.
Run, damn it. Run.
Yeah.
Get out.
Move it. Move it.
Out of my way. Let
me out. Get out.
Get out of the way.
- Run for it.
- Move it, move it, move it.
Oh.
Hyah.
What the hell are you doing?
You're a good man, Barret. You
take care of Sarah and the girl.
So long, preacher.
I thought you were still
sleeping, and you're dressed.
The preacher's gone, isn't he?
Yes.
Did you tell him you loved him?
He knows we both love him.
Did you say goodbye to him?
Yes.
I didn't.
Megan.
Yeah, that's him.
That's the preacher, all right.
Mm.
You ever seen him before?
Can't see his face from here.
I'll be damned.
What's he up to?
Well, son, coffee?
- Ma'am.
- There we are. Piping hot.
I think you and Mr Blankenship
ought to take a stroll.
Come on, Ma.
The son of a bitch is sitting
there drinking coffee.
He's even got his
back to the door.
Well...
I reckon all of us don't
need that marshal, do we?
It appears you won't have to
bother with the preacher.
Are you through?
Jesus.
What the hell is he up to now?
He's inviting us to join him.
Fan out.
Find him.
You.
You.
Ah.
Long walk.
Yep.
- Where is he?
- He's gone, Megan.
Child, he's gone.
Megan, you can't drive these
horses any more. You'll kill them.
Preacher.
We all love you, preacher.
I love you.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Come on. Come on.