Tales of Wells Fargo (1957–1962): Season 4, Episode 1 - Young Jim Hardie - full transcript

Hyah! Hyah!

Mr. Clark? That's right.

I'm Mallory Butler, from
the New York Herald.

How do you do, Mr. Butler?

Come in and make
yourself comfortable.

Thank you.

You came a long way to
sell your papers, didn't you?

I'm a featured correspondent,

not a salesman, Mr. Clark.

I know. Actually,
I've been assigned

to do a series of articles
on the American frontier.



As well as some of its
more colorful personalities.

Among them, your Jim Hardie.

I see.

I was hoping that he'd be here.

Well, he's working on a
case down at the docks,

but you will see him.

Possibly, you could fill
me in, while we are waiting.

Yeah, I guess, I could.

I like to think that maybe I
helped raise Jim Hardie in a job

that he's managed
to make famous.

And I don't mind pointing
out, even to a stranger,

what a difference there
is in the man he is now,

and the boy he was
when I first met him.

Where did he come from?



Louisiana,

little town outside New
Orleans, good family.

Father was famous for
the fine horses he raised.

He died when Jim
was 19 years old.

Then an incident occurred,

well, I'm not too
sure about it, but,

anyway, Jim sold the farm, his
younger brother and sister got married,

Jim moved his mother
on into New Orleans.

After that, just
became a drifter.

Well, it was at this point in
his life when I ran across him

in a lawless little
town in Texas.

And I'll never
forget the name of it.

"Sweet Slumber."

TOM: I guess, he got that name

because it was considered
bad manners to disturb the dead.

Well, at least until the town
mortician got around to it.

And he was a very busy man.

I'd opened the first Well Fargo
office in this part of the country

about a week before.

Our first stage was scheduled

to roll into town,
the following day.

That late afternoon, was the
first time I ever saw Jim Hardie.

He looked like what he
might well have become.

A drifter, tough and cynical,

with a gun to do the bidding

of his lightning-fast left hand.

That day was also the first
time I saw High Willy Crane,

or any of his
delightful little group.

Hey,

Get up.

Move.

That's funny.

I don't seem to hear anybody
say, "Welcome home."

Good Afternoon.

Like to pawn this.

How much could you let me have?

Well, I couldn't say offhand.

It's nice and clean.

Nice action too.

If I loaned you, say, $10, son,

would that be about right?

I paid $30 for it in Louisiana.

But, this ain't Louisiana son.

Out here we got
these things stacked up

like they was hatched
by mother hens.

Son...

tired ain't you?

Hungry too.

I didn't say that.

Let's see the gun again.

Let's say $20 then.

Hope you get a
good night's rest.

You might as
well keep that, son.

Herman...

that'd a real tired
boy, if I'm any judge.

Tired as a hunted bobcat.

And he could be
as hard to handle.

I bet he could.

That big man standing there,

did you see him,
riding into town?

Sure, you could hardly miss him

Must have been about
six and seven, with him.

One there was a big
tall fellow leading 'em.

Sounds kind of crazy,
but he had the look of, uh...

an emperor in his eyes.

Thank you. It's what
I wanted to know.

What's the matter with you?

There's nothing
the matter with me.

I just happen to
know when it's time

to clean the stock
off my shelves.

But, why? Why?

'Cause High Willy Crane's
come home, that's why?

And just between us,

if I was a Wells
Fargo agent, Tom,

I'd go look for a place to hide.

Yes, sure nice to be back

among old friends and neighbors.

You know that, Otto?

Nice to have...

have everybody talkin'

and all at once, it's, uh...

it's, so friendly.

Give me a bowl
of that lentil soup.

Well, I'm glad somebody
found his voice.

You can be the first to
have a drink with me, friend.

No, thank you.

Think I'll just have
a bowl of soup.

Where's your gun, boy?

Some sheriff take
it away from you?

Or did your mom?

Well, how about it, Freight Car?

Willy: You still think his
ma took it away from him?

Give him a gun
and let's find out.

Somebody...

Anybody, give him a gun!

Pick it up, boy.

Pluck it, just like a daisy.

Freight Car will
be ready anytime.

Pick it up!

I like that boy.

You just go chew another bone.

I like him well enough to
buy him a bowl of lentil soup.

Hey, Otto.

Bring this boy a bowl of soup,

and one of them dollar steaks.

Well, what do you think
Willy Crane's up to?

I don't know.

Willy and his four brothers,

along with Freight Car

and a little man
called Joe Caboose

used to live around here.

Willy was always the brains,

and they say that

his brothers wouldn't
have hung by their necks,

if they'd listened to him.

All four of them are hung?

Like holiday
turkeys all in a row.

They robbed a bank
and killed two deputies

at Harper's Flats
three years ago.

Willy wasn't with
them at the time.

When Judge Hackett
sentenced them,

he said that his only regret was
that they all couldn't hang together.

Judge Willard T. Hackett?

Yeah, why?

Judge Hackett, is
due in here tomorrow

on the first run of
the stage at 2:00.

Hey, Otto. Better
take it out of way.

I don't think the
boy wants it now.

Hey, Freight Car!

Imagine what that boy
might have done to you

if you had a good night's sleep.

Oh, you feel any better?

Yes, I do.

Night's sleep, some food,
they affect me that way.

Now...

what makes you such
a good Samaritan?

Maybe because I liked the way

you handled yourself last night.

You think I had a choice?

Another thing,

I thought you might
be looking for work.

Can you handle dynamite?

I've handled my share.

What do you want blown up?

Small bridge, 10-12
miles, south of here.

Who does it belong to?

Well, we'll just say it's
mine, we'll say that I'm

in the cattle business, sort of.

My cows get lost, when
they wander across the bridge

to the other side of the gorge.

I want it blown up.

And you can't
blow it yourselves?

We are not very
smart with dynamite.

Are we, Harry?

Harry, hold up your hand.

Any more questions?

Just one.

How much?

$100,

in advance.

For $100, I'd blow my
grandmother out of her corset.

HARDIE: Hang on to this.

Hey, shouldn't that
fuse be a little longer?

They don't burn as fast
as most people think.

Wouldn't want to
frighten you, Freight Car.

Or Willy's cows.

Curious as to what
happened to those cows.

They went to pick apples.

And you didn't get paid a $100

to come up here and get curious.

If you're gonna blow
that bridge blow it now,

got somebody coming.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Hey! Hey!

Bueno! Bueno, hombre!

It's a great place for
an accident, ain't it?

No, Freight Car.

The boss will know
he is no accident.

He likes this boy.

Yeah, he likes him.

He likes him too much.

We were dirt under
his feet when his

brothers were alive,
we're gonna be dirt again.

He'll have us fixing
this tramp's breakfast,

cleaning his shoes.

I know what you mean.

Just the same, you
cannot drop him down

into the gorge with
$100 in his pocket.

Yeah. Can you?

All right. Get the money.
You keep your hands up.

Put the dynamite in 'em?

Drop the dynamite.

The way it is now,
it's as worthless as

two pounds of potatoes.

Well, ain't it?

Drop it!

You're gonna have to
answer to the boss for this.

Move!

Would you recognize him?

No, sir.

Well, I just figured they
were the High Willy boys.

I thought the best thing for me
to do to keep from having trouble

was to get outta
there in a hurry.

Well, you're right about that.

What do you think,
they are up to, Mr. Clark?

Well, the whole town knows what
they are up to, why shouldn't you?

They haven't been
keeping it a secret.

When this stage
gets in at 2:00 today,

Willy figures to
hang Judge Hackett,

just like the judge
hung his four brothers.

Got just about an hour.

I don't think I would
be on the street

too long, if I were you.

Giddy-up.

I wanna get my own gun back.

Well, didn't take
you long, did it, son?

I got a job.

Taking care of Freight Car?

Joe Caboose?

Blowing up a bridge?

Who are you?

Name's Tom Clark, Wells Fargo.

I'm responsible for the stage

that gets in here at 2:00,

as well as the people on it.

You don't seem
very happy about it.

Give him back his
bloody money, Herman.

I'll see you get paid,

but not like that.

I don't know who you are

to start preaching, mister.

But if you're worried
about the big Ox,

who tried to dump me
into the gorge, don't.

Freight Car?

From what I know
about him, I don't care

whether you shot
him, scalped him,

or blew him up with the bridge.

I'm talking about the federal
judge that Willy Crane's

planning on hanging
at 2:00 today.

Hanging? Yes.

You didn't know that, son?

How would I know it?

You mean you didn't ask him

why the bridge was to be blown?

I'll tell you why.

That bridge was blown

so that Willy Crane could get
control of this town completely.

How?

The stage comes
in from the north.

I sent the Harper's
Flats for help.

That's south of here,
and so is the bridge.

That help's never
gonna get here,

you took care of that,

when you dynamited the bridge.

Hey, boss. Over there,

the horses-
Freight Car's, Joe's.

If you're so worried about
that judge getting hung,

why don't you send
somebody out to stop the stage?

I sent a volunteer
rider out this morning.

His horse was
shot out under him.

They got a man, north of town.

There haven't been
any more volunteers

Look, Hardie, you were willing

to do Willy Crane's
dirty work for money.

Wells Fargo will hire you,

pay you the same
price to help me.

What are you gonna do?

I'm seeing it out with Tom.

I suppose you're wondering
what an old coot like me

can do against
a bunch like that?

Well, at my age,

with the judgment day
crowding a little close,

don't matter so much
how long you live.

The big thing is the
manner in which you go out.

Sooner or later, a man has

to stand with the
sheep or the jackals.

I suppose somebody like
you that's been kicking around

could go either way.

It's a thing to
decide for yourself.

Better get up there.

Haw! Haw!

Well, those are
their guns, all right.

How do I know
you didn't kill them?

You don't.

You have to take
my word for that.

I fired a couple of
shots over their heads.

They almost fell in the gorge.

Almost,

but, not quite.

It'll take them a while to
walk back, but they'll be here.

This was after you
blew the bridge, huh?

Unfortunately.

Unfortunately?

Not every judge I've met

in the past two years,
been specially kind to me.

But the thought never occurred
to me to hang one of them.

Did one of those judges
ever hang your brothers,

four in a row?

But my brother never help up
a bank and killed two deputies.

Now, what's that
supposed to prove?

Something that this
town doesn't already feel?

They laid down and
quit, when you walked in.

They act like a dog that's
been kicked in the belly.

All they do is sit and whine.

You wanna make
it any different, boy?

I could try.

But I think I could
find a better place.

There's an old man sitting
over there in that gun store.

He and the fellow
from Wells Fargo,

they don't want to
see the judge get hung.

And you?

Me?

I keep thinking
about that old man.

He's got more guts than
me and you combined.

That's why, I took that slap.

I was gambling.

Gamble? On what?

That when I walk
outta here to join them,

that you're not going
to shoot me in the back.

Keep going, boy.

And when you get to that
gun shop, just remember

the party is no longer on me.

You two, upstairs.

The boy's coming now.

I don't know
whether he's with us,

but they're watching
him through the saloon.

Now.

Hardie?

I'm coming out, Hardie.

Willy: It's just
the two of us now.

Whenever you ready, boy.

It's like I said,

just you and me.

Stay out of it.

I owe him this much.

Too bad in a way.

Is it?

Herman Jackson's dead too.

Like the old man said, Jim,

you can run with the jackals,

or stay with the sheep.

Choice is still up to you.

And, since then,

he's been everything
you've heard about.

Everything Wells
Fargo could want.

Oh, Mr. Butler,

mind stepping over here, please?

There's your Jim
Hardie, right there.

And,

there but for the grace of God

could be another
High Willy Crane.

Well, you've been
very helpful, Mr. Clark.

You've certainly given me

enough information for an
open article on Jim Hardie.

Thank you, very much, sir.

Not at all.

Feel free to call on me
anytime I can help you.

Good day, sir.
Good day, Mr. Butler.

Oh, one more thing.

You mentioned that
after Hardie's father died

something happened
that caused him

to sell the farm and
become a drifter.

You wouldn't know
what that something was?

Well, it's only a
rumor, I'm afraid, but

I hear that it all
started over a girl.

A girl named, Annabelle Sutton.

It usually does, doesn't it?

Thank you, sir.