Maverick (1957–1962): Season 1, Episode 21 - Trail West to Fury - full transcript

I don't wanna lose
this race to Fort Adobe.

- Sounds like you are losing it.
- Because of you.

And because of you, I can
be out in front tomorrow night.

A bribe?

Call it what you will.

A bribe.

How much?

The highest price
I can offer you.

Your life.

Remember, there's a
warrant out for your arrest.

Your brother too, for murder.



In August, when the
scorching Colorado sun...

has baked the land bone-dry...

the Ute Indians resort to a
snake dance as a plea for rain.

To the white man, this is
merely a superstitious ceremony...

colorful but useless.

A fat lot he knows.

All right, same bet.

Same bet.

Fifty dollars,
please, Brother Bret.

- Again?
- Uh, No, thanks.

Go ahead, what good's money?
We're all going to drown anyway.

He's mad because he
got his fancy boots all wet.

I am mad because I didn't want
to come here in the first place.

Texas was my choice, remember?



I'll bet it's as dry
as fluffy cotton.

Why is it that every time the name
Texas is mentioned, you two both clam up?

Clam up?

Yes, clam up.

- I've asked you three times already.
- Twice.

You're hiding something
about Texas. What is it?

You both come from Texas.

Look, we're stuck in a flood,
we're out of conversation. Tell me.

Why not?

We might be here for days.

No, I don't know.

Oh, Bret, if you can't trust
Dandy Jim, who can you trust?

Oh, look, fellas, have a
heart. It's a very big flood.

We can't ever go back to Texas.

Why not?

We're wanted there.

- What for?
- Murdering two men.

What?

Tell him about it.

- You tell him.
- Well, somebody tell me.

Well...

just before the war ended, Bart
and I, like a lot of Johnny Rebs...

joined the Union army as Indian fighters
to keep from rotting in a Yankee prison.

Two years of that was plenty
and when our hitch was over...

well, Little Bend,
Texas, our hometown...

suddenly seemed like the
best place on earth to head for.

We hadn't been back in over
five years and things had changed.

The Union army was
running the place now...

instead of the men
who should have been.

The Johnny Rebs had
come home to nothing...

but we were home
and we had plans.

You know what his mistake was?
- No.

Well, he was in the right
saloon but the wrong town.

Howdy, you missed the
beginning of my story.

That's all right, we heard
it in '61 before we left.

- Ha, ha.
- Maverick.

- Bart?
- Right.

Well, ha, ha. Boys, you
remember the Mavericks?

Yeah.

Well. You're back to stay
or just passing through?

That depends on how we make
out. Thought we'd try raising a herd.

Well, fine. Come
in for supplies?

No, to see your pa.

We left some money
on deposit with him.

- Well, uh, Pa's dead, boys.
- Oh.

I'm sorry to hear that, Jess.

Uh, you say you left
some money on deposit?

That's right.

The receipt's five years old, but it's
just as clear as the day it was written.

There you are.

Sixteen hundred
and fifty dollars.

Hmm.

Sixteen hundred
fifty dollars, Jessie.

Well, come on over
to the counter, boys.

- Oh, help yourself, Bart.
- Oh, thanks, Jess.

There you are, $1650.

That's Confederate money.

Well, Confederate money
is what you deposited, boys.

No, Jess, we deposited gold.

Oh. You did? That's funny.

It makes no
mention of gold here.

Yeah, but it does
in your pa's ledger.

- He wrote it down in front of us.
- Ledger?

Oh, one of those great books
back there unless I'm mistaken.

Those are my land
record books, boys.

I use them every day. I'm in
the land-buying business now.

Your receipt would have said
"payable in gold" if you deposited gold.

Do you mind if we just
take a look at those books?

I'm sure you're mistaken, boys.

I guess we better
just take this.

Go.

Bart!

You're in good
shape, Brother Bart.

Yeah. Ah.

Well, Jessie, you
missed all the fun.

I was busy. I just sent for
the Union army lieutenant.

You know, Bret, fun is
for kids. We're men now.

We're the ones who are gonna
run things one way or another.

Texas belongs to us now,
all we're man enough to take.

Yeah, well, uh,
I'll settle for $1650.

- You got a receipt?
- We had one.

Well, you should
have held on to it.

It's your word against mine
now, and everybody else's.

Except me.

I saw and heard
everything, Jessie.

I was in the back looking over some bolts
of material when you gentlemen came in.

I'll be most happy to bear out your
account of exactly what happened here.

- Your servant, ma'am.
- My lady.

Gentlemen.

Here you are, boys, $1650.

Well, you sure don't hold
a grudge for long, Jessie.

We had a
misunderstanding, it's over.

Say, how would you boys like
to sell that little spread of yours?

Uh-uh.

- For twice this amount?
- No, thanks.

- Well, see you around, boys.
- Thanks for your help, lieutenant.

Don't thank me, Mr. Maverick.
The young lady is...

She's gone.

Maybe she's outside.

- Who is she, lieutenant?
- Her name's Laura Miller.

- Miss Laura Miller?
- Yeah.

Came here about four
years ago with her father.

- Oh...
- That's all I know.

Nope, not outside.

Well, that's too bad. I
wanted to thank her personally.

That's funny, so did I.

"Eight o'clock tonight."

At "my place."

I need a shave.

High card keeps the date.

Draw.

Queen for a queen.

A king for a queen.

- Good evening, Mr. Maverick.
- Miss Miller.

- Won't you come in?
- Thank you.

I'm sorry, there's not too much
to choose from in Little Bend.

- Thank you, Mr. Maverick.
- Bret.

Laura.

Bart.

Heh. Excuse me,
I'll put these in water.

What are you doing
here? My king was high.

But it was also crimped,
Brother Bret. Tsk.

Crimped? I looked
at it after you left.

Yes, well, as they say,
Brother Bart, all's fair in...

Well, gentlemen...

what can I get for you?

- Another girl.
- Uh, for him.

I don't think that's
really necessary.

After all, the business proposition I
have in mind concerns both of you.

- Business proposition?
- I want to hire both of you.

I want you to work for me, as
trail bosses on a cattle drive.

- Good night.
- Uh, goodbye.

If you walk out that
door, Jessie Hayden wins.

Wins what?

He's out to grab
all of west Texas.

Your land is included on
his map as well as mine.

- His map?
- The map I saw at his house.

- The night I went to kill him.
- The night you what?

Jessie Hayden
murdered my father.

Oh. Nobody actually
saw it happen.

He was just found
dead out in the range.

Thrown from his
horse, people said.

My father could have stopped
Jessie so Jessie murdered him.

One night...

about a week after
my father died...

I took a gun and I
went to Jessie's place...

around back.

The patio doors were
open, the light was on.

Jessie wasn't in the room...

but I could hear his voice
from somewhere in the house.

I went in to wait for him...

but something on his
desk stopped me, the map.

It covered three counties,
5000 square miles.

Your spread was there...

but not with your name on it.

Mine was there too.

But there was only one name...

on the whole map
carefully lettered across it:

The Jessie Hayden ranch.

- Did Jessie come back in the room?
- Yes.

I was hiding at the patio door
when he sat down at his desk.

He had his back to me.

All I had to do
was pull the trigger.

I couldn't.

I didn't have the courage.

To shoot a man in the back?

He deserved a bullet
no matter how he got it.

You've got to help me on this
cattle drive to help yourselves.

What's one got to
do with the other?

Money. Money is
what I need to stop him.

Money to buy a
plan before he can.

Keep him from
squeezing all of us out.

I know where I can
sell 2000 of my cattle...

for $40 a head, $80,000.

Where can you get 40 a head?

Fort Adobe in the
Arizona Territory.

The army is starved for beef.

They've posted the price
and the money is there waiting.

And so is the land in between.

That's 500 miles of too many
Comanches and not enough water.

That's why I want you two.

When I heard you were coming, I
knew you could make the drive...

that you knew the country inside
out, that you fought in it for two years.

That's true, isn't it?

I'll give you 10 percent
to act as my trail bosses.

Eight thousand dollars.

Just because we
know the country?

I haven't found
anyone else who does.

In fact, everyone
says it can't be done.

I need you and you need me...

or Jessie Hayden beats us both.

Look, we've been
away for five years.

We've been working for somebody
else and fighting for somebody else.

We'd like to work for ourselves
now and fight for ourselves.

That's what you'll be doing.

Those people who said you
can't make this drive could be right.

Anyhow, we haven't even
set foot on our ranch yet.

I'm sorry, Miss Miller,
but, uh, I guess we'll

have to find these
things out for ourselves.

Maybe we'll come around
to your way of thinking.

There isn't any time.

The army posted that
price for exactly 2000 head.

They won't pay a dime
for any more than that.

- We've got to get there first.
- We still have to think about it.

- Good night, Miss Miller.
- Good night, gentlemen.

There it is.

Oh, good night, Miguel.

Good night, Miguel.

Now you can get
yourself a new foreman.

I'm not gonna keep the money.

Does that make any difference?
I just bushwhacked two men.

- I don't like the way it made me feel.
- Who cares how you feel?

I'm trying to make
them fight their own fight.

You got an answer for everything as long as
it'll help you get back at Jessie Hayden.

Yes.

You're not even a woman anymore.

There's nothing left
in you except revenge.

Why not?

Jessie Hayden killed my
father, want me to forget that?

Well, I won't. I'll remember it
until Hayden's been stopped.

I'll be remembering things too.

- I want my woman back.
- I guess you'll have to wait.

Jim.

You're not walking
out on me, are you?

I wish I had the guts to.

My head still hurts just talking
about the walloping we got.

Wait a minute. How did you know it
was the girl? You were unconscious.

Well, we didn't at the
time. We went after Jessie.

All we got from Hayden
was complete innocence.

Ha, ha. And all we got from the Union
army lieutenant was complete sympathy.

So being flat broke, we
went to work for Laura.

Yeah, and our first job was to recruit
hands from among the Johnny Rebs.

So that's it, boys.

Wont' be easy, but we've been
through that part of the country...

and we think we can make it.

Besides three squares a day,
you'll get $60 for the drive...

whether it lasts
a month or a year.

And a horse and saddle, a
blanket, gun, a new pair of boots.

Now, we get to Fort Adobe...

you get to keep the
horse, the saddle...

and the blanket and
the gun and the boots...

plus any Comanche scalps
you pick up along the way.

What if the Comanches
pick up the scalps?

Well, then, uh, we
keep the caboodle.

I got a speech I wanna make too.

You know who you're gonna work for?
Galvanized Yankees, the both of them.

They fought for the Union army.

Easy, Brother Bart,
you're too quick to temper.

Now, no good Johnny
Reb is gonna sign up...

with Galvanized Yankees,
is he? With turncoats?

"Good Johnny Reb"?
Is that what you are?

We're talking
about you, Maverick.

No, we're talking about Johnny
Rebs. What was your outfit, mister?

A man ain't likely to
forget his own outfit, mister.

You can't remember it
either if you didn't have one.

Touch that gun, I'll blow
you out of the saddle.

- Do watch him, boys.
- We'll watch him, Jett.

What's the answer? You
Galvanized Yankees or not?

You mean did we join the Union army
to get out of a stinking Yankee prison?

- The answer's yes.
- But we fought Indians, not Rebs.

Well, that's it, boys.

All dressed up in pretty
alibis but the answer's still yes.

I ain't so sure I wanna
go to work for turncoats.

That's more like it.
How about you, Reb?

I was a Galvanized
Yankee myself, mister.

It sure beats sitting
and rotting in prison.

I was one too. Signed to fight
the Indians, just like the Mavericks.

The Mavericks are Texans
from way back, mister. I stay.

I say they're Galvanized Yankees
and we run them out of town.

Now, who's with me?

Some of us have
got guns too, friend.

You'd get off about
one shot, mister.

Ain't no need for gunplay.

You got one of three choices,
sonny. Guns, fists or turn tail.

You talk big with a
crowd on your side.

Brother Bart.

You just shoot the first man who
makes a move to help me, or him.

You'll hear from me
again, the both of you.

Can a man change
his mind, Mr. Maverick?

It looks like he just did.

Well, boys, till Larry
Meadow, sunup tomorrow...

be ready to move out the herd.

Watch out!

To your left, a rifle.

It looks like you got him.

He's dead.

The other one's dead too.

We're much obliged
for the warning.

What happened here?

What's going on?

- A couple of killers got unlucky.
- Yeah? Who are they?

Hired guns, but I think they
pulled this one on their own.

They were waiting for
us when we came out.

Grudge fight, huh?

We mixed with
them this afternoon.

We'd be obliged if
somebody'd tell the army boys.

We're on our way
to the Miller ranch.

This man saw the whole thing.

What happened to him?

Morning, boys. I
see everybody's here.

Brother Bart will
give you instructions.

All right, everything's
set to move the herd out.

Hank, you ride point.

Rush, you take charge of the right
flank. Stu, uh, you take over the left.

And Mike, you ride drag.

Bret. Bart.

The Yank lieutenant,
he's coming after you.

- What for?
- The shooting last night.

- But that was self-defense.
- They shot first.

Not the way Jessie Hayden's
telling it. He's sworn you two shot first.

Lieutenant's on his way out now.

You two better get.

You can join the drive at
the New Mexico border.

- Any luck?
- No, he went on his way last night.

Yeah, I got the same.

Tall man, late 20s, slim, 6-foot-6,
joined a small wagon train.

- Heading north-east.
- North-east?

I didn't hear that. Maybe one
of us could pick up his trail.

What do you want, a
cattle drive or the tall man?

Oh, it doesn't matter.

- I'd just assume stick with the c...
- Laura.

- Is she going along?
- Uh-huh.

- Okay, we'll cut the cards and...
- Uh-uh. Toss a coin.

Suit yourself.

Heads, I go with the
cattle drive, tails, you do.

Oh, yes, my lucky piece.
I thought I'd lost that.

Toss. Heads, you
stay, tails, I stay.

Hmm.

You win.

What about the
lieutenant and his boys?

Chance they stay with the
cattle drive looking for us?

- A good chance.
- What are you gonna do?

I'll tag along at a distance
and wait for him to pull out.

What if they don't?

With Laura around, that lieutenant
might take his duty very seriously.

Mm-hm.

Sorehead. Ha, ha.

Yee-haw!

I couldn't tell if it
was love or duty...

but the lieutenant
and his platoon...

stayed on for five days...

tagging along about
a mile behind the herd.

And I tagged along right
behind the lieutenant.

Come on. Come on.

By the sixth day,
I was wondering...

if the lieutenant was going to
stay on all the way to Fort Adobe.

Then I stopped worrying.
He finally turned around...

and he and the platoon
headed back for home.

Well... Howdy, Bret,
real good to see you.

We thought we was gonna
have to turn them back.

Bret, we've been waiting
and waiting for you.

Where's Bart?

He'll be a while, he's
got some looking to do.

I'll tell you about it later.

Well, now we can really
get the cattle drive started.

Yes, ma'am.

Anybody know which way west is?

Hey!

- Morning, ma'am.
- Good morning, Bret.

Hyah!

Hey!

The trail I was following had
taken me almost 5 0 miles north.

It was eight days...

before I came across any
sign at all of the wagon train.

That was a wagon train,
all right, no doubt about it.

But if the tall man was with it,
this looked like the end of the hunt.

The tall man wasn't here.

Three or four wagons
had gotten away.

It looked like he might
have been with them.

Unusual boots, Miguel.

Just like the pair I saw once
when I was being bushwhacked.

Where's the money, Miguel?

Gold, Miguel. The two pouches
you and that other clown took.

Leave him alone, Bret.

- He only did what I told him to do.
- They what?

I wanted you with us.

I knew you'd only come
along if you needed money.

Bret.

Get your hands off of her.

Oh, you'd be the other one.

- The money.
- I wasn't gonna keep it.

I was only trying to...

Here.

- That's quite an apology.
- Who said I was sorry?

It almost worked, didn't it?

It did work.

You mean you're
gonna stay anyhow?

For 25 percent of the take.

You made a deal for 10 percent.

- It's 25 now. Yes or no?
- No.

Yes.

You really go after what
you want, don't you?

Look who's talking.

Maverick, we're
not finished yet.

- Step around back.
- No, Jim.

He had a right
to do what he did.

Please, we've got work to do.

He's got it bad, hasn't he?

Rider coming. It's
your brother, Maverick.

Just about given you up, Bart.

Yeah. Pull him out
for me, will you, Rush?

You bet.

Don't tell me. No tall man?

It worse, it's the cattle drive.

Well, the army
still wants cattle.

Yes, but, uh, we're not the only
Texans trying to sell it to them.

Somebody else is driving
2000 head to Fort Adobe.

- Who?
- Our old pal. Jessie Hayden.

Capital fellow,
that Jessie Hayden.

No grass growing under his feet.

Now, the tall man. Scalped?

No. Three or four
wagons got away.

I found one of them and he told
me the tall man was another...

and he was headed for Fort
Adobe, so I went after him.

- It's rising again.
- Well, of course it is, there's a flood.

Come on, hey.

I'd like to hear more
about that splendid fellow.

Um, Bart left us that night.

Sunup the next morning, we
were underway and moving fast.

Ordinarily, we would have given ourselves
another week to get to Fort Adobe.

But now, we were
counting time by the hour.

The cattle were trail-broken
and we pushed them hard.

From what Bart had told us, we
were a cinch to beat Jessie Hayden...

if our luck held out.

- Hyah!
- Go ahead and take a breather.

Hyah!

We were only two
days from Fort Adobe...

when we took
our first real break.

Burn yourself, Maverick?

Hello, Laura.

What are you doing here?

I've come a long way. Can't
you even offer me a cup of coffee?

Her coffee's not that good.

I asked you what
you're doing here.

I wanna talk to Bret, privately.

About what?

About two men who were
murdered back in Little Bend...

by two other men.

Don't let the coffee get cold.

No, I'm not alone.

It's been a long,
hard drive for me too.

Comanches, no water,
hardly ideal conditions.

Cattle drives are
hard on all of us.

I don't wanna lose
this race to Fort Adobe.

It sounds like
you are losing it.

Because of you.

And because of you, I can
be out in front tomorrow night.

A bribe?

- Call it what you will.
- A bribe.

How much?

The highest price I
can offer you, your life.

Remember, there's a
warrant out for your arrest.

Your brother too, for murder.

A murder you said
you saw us commit.

A murder I swore
I saw you commit.

I filled out a
deposition before I left.

It's all signed and sealed and
in the county attorney's hands.

So you see, even dead,
I'm a witness against you.

But you could change your
mind and decide you'd acted hasty.

Well, we all make mistakes.

- Is it a deal?
- No.

You're taking sides without even
knowing what the fight's about.

These carpetbaggers
are stealing Texas...

from under your noses
and you can't even see it.

Did you ever see a carpetbag
in Laura's hand or in mine?

You and Laura can't
beat them, I can.

I'm not afraid to fight
dirty in a dirty fight.

I'm gonna build a Texas-size ranch
because that's the way it's gonna be.

If I don't, some
carpetbagger will.

You're fighting
on the wrong side.

I'm fighting on my side.

My brother Bart and I own
25 percent of this cattle drive.

That's $20,000.

Delay the drive and I can
afford to pay you twice that.

In Confederate money, Jessie?

You're hanging yourself, Bret.

Beats letting strangers do it.

- I've been here a while.
- You could have coughed or something.

I'm afraid we haven't
heard the last of Mr. Hayden.

What do you think he'll try?

Who knows?

He was desperate to make the
offer. He's twice as desperate now.

What would you do if
you were in Jessie's place?

You can't beat us and you
can't buy us out. What's left?

How can you stop us?

Stampede the herd.

Twenty minutes later...

I had a few volunteers and
we were ready to ride out...

to find out if our guess
about Hayden had been right.

The guess had been right.

Hayden and a dozen of his
men were headed our way.

We made sure they
saw us first and rode off.

The problem now was
to get Jessie to follow us...

away from the herd.

And Jessie was a
very obliging fellow...

because that was
exactly what he did.

When we had let Hayden
far enough for safety...

we left our horses
and took to the rocks.

Jim, I'm gonna try to get
them from above. Cover me.

Watch yourself.

Bret, I got Jessie.

Stop shooting,
men. Hold your fire.

Hold your fire, boys.

Jessie's dead.

What are you fighting
for? What can you win now?

You couldn't sell his cattle
even if you could beat us.

You're fighting for nothing.

Better get out while
the getting's good.

If you don't, we
start shooting again.

Well, do you go or do we shoot?

Go.

Faster!

Hey, Bret, Jessie's still alive.

Is he bad?

Pretty bad.

Get me to a doctor, quick.

- Help me, Maverick.
- Why?

I promise to tell the
truth about the killing.

You got yourself a deal,
Jessie. Get a stretcher made.

Two days later...

the cattle were being herded
into the army pins at Fort Adobe.

And Hayden, still holding
on, was in the post infirmary.

Well, doctor?

He's dying and we
can't get the bullet out.

- Is he still conscious?
- Yes.

- I've gotta talk to him now.
- It might be better if you didn't.

He's dying, but there's
no reason to speed it up.

There's a reason, doctor.

You see, he put a noose around my neck
and he's the only man who can take it off.

He signed a deposition
accusing me of murder.

He's ready to tell the truth about it
now and you've got to be there to hear it.

Jessie. Jessie.

There's a doctor here, a
witness. Tell him the truth.

Do you understand
what I'm saying, Jessie?

You made a deal,
Jessie. Tell him.

Tell him.

Is there something
you should say to me?

Hang, Maverick.

He's dead.

So long, boys. Thanks a lot.

You did a good job.

Well, that's it.

You know, Bret, there's no reason
why you can't go back to Texas.

With Jessie dead and everybody
knowing how I felt about you and Bart...

I don't believe they'd
press any murder charge.

You may be right, but I
don't feel like taking a chance.

Not with that deposition
on file back there.

Maybe when I catch
up with Brother Bart...

he'll have the tall man in tow.

Last time I heard, the
trail led to Colorado.

Awful lot of country up
there. Need any help?

No thanks, Jim.

You'll have your hands full
keeping her out of trouble.

No telling what her next
get-rich-quick scheme will be.

I hear they need
cattle up in Kansas.

Where in Kans...?

Oh, you're impossible.

- Well, goodbye, Bret.
- Goodbye, Jim. Good luck.

Your servant, ma'am.

What, um...?

What happens if you find this tall man,
you go back to Texas and settle down?

Well, that worries
us quite a bit too.

Of course, it would be nice
if we were able to go home...

so we do look for him.

Well, if I happen to run into
him, I'll, um... I'll try not to notice.