Appaloosa Page #6

HITCH:

Cole gets fractious when he’s

annoyed.

ALLISON:

They were just drinking beer and

having a good time. Why did he get

so mad at that big man?

HITCH:

He was mad at you.

A25 EXT. BACK SIDE OF TOWN - NIGHT A25

Katie and Hitch pass through the alley to the back stairs

leading to her room.

KATIE:

Tub wasn’t doin’ nothing. He was

just drinking beer with Bertie Fry.

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 35.

A25 CONTINUED:
A25

HITCH:

Virgil was annoyed... Mrs. French

was raggin’ him a little.

KATIE:

You think she’s such a sweet thing.

All you men. Girls know better.

She should move up to the north end

with the rest of us.

HITCH:

You think she’s a whore?

KATIE:

She’s sashayin’ her sweet ass to

get what she wants, what’s the

difference?

Beat.

HITCH:

Wish Virgil weren’t quite so taken

with her.

KATIE:

How about you, Everett? Are you

taken with her?

HITCH:

I don’t think that would be a very

good idea.

KATIE:

‘Cause of Marshal Cole?

HITCH:

No, I just don’t think it’d be a

very good idea.

KATIE:

(sly smile)

You like the way she plays the

piano?

HITCH:

No.

KATIE:

Me neither.

Beat. Katie thinks for a moment.

KATIE:

Mrs. French... She have a husband?

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 36.

A25 CONTINUED:
A25

HITCH:

Says he died.

KATIE:

Probably f***ed him to death, be my

guess.

She ushers Hitch into her room.

B25 OMIT (MOVED INTO SCENE A25) B25

25 EXT. BARBER SHOP - DAY 25

Olson paces outside. Through the window, a Barber finishes

giving Hitch a shave. Hitch steps out of the chair, pays the

barber and exits.

OLSON:

Mr. Hitch, may I have a word with

you?

Hitch stops, looks at Olson.

OLSON:

Mr. Hitch, it’s about the Teamster

Mr. Cole... well, the Teamster he

busted up was, is, a city employee.

HITCH:

You might want to take that up with

Virgil.

Hitch starts walking. Olson catches up.

OLSON:

Yes, well I just thought you might

be more approachable, more

understanding of, well. We can’t

have our law officers beating

people half to death for no good

reason...

HITCH:

I took a bottle of whiskey over to

Tub this morning, told him Virgil

was sorry.

OLSON:

Perhaps he should have taken it

himself.

HITCH:

Virgil doesn’t do things like that.

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 37.

25 CONTINUED:
25

OLSON:

What he did was crazy.

Hitch stops.

HITCH:

You callin’ Virgil crazy?

Well...

OLSON:

Hitch continues walking, again Olson catches up.

HITCH:

You think a man makes a living as agun hand ain’t crazy?

OLSON:

You’re not crazy.

HITCH:

Maybe, maybe not. But whatever I

am I ain’t Virgil Cole.

OLSON:

Don’t give him the right to gobusting up innocent people.

HITCH:

No, it don’t. And mostly innocentpeople don’t get busted up. And if

they do, it’s because of who VirgilCole is and what he is and youhired him to be Virgil Cole.

OLSON:

I’m not sure I understand.

No.

HITCH:

I’m not sure you do either.

26 EXT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS - DAY 26

Hitch heads for the Marshal’s Office.

in the same direction.

He sees Allie heading

Hitch watches as she enters the office.

THROUGH THE WINDOW: Cole rises on seeing Allie. She crosses

slowly to his desk. They stand silently looking at eachother.

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 38.

26 CONTINUED:
26

FADE TO BLACK.

CUT TO:

27 OMIT 27

A28 EXT. ESTABLISHING SHOT, MAIN STREET - MORNING A28

The town comes to life.

28 INT. PARLOR, BOSTON HOUSE HOTEL - MORNING 28

Cole comes down the stairs.

Hitch eats breakfast.

COLE:

Morning.

HITCH:

Good morning.

Tilda brings coffee.

They drink their coffee in silence.

HITCH:

Everything good with you and Allie?

COLE:

Lovely. She’s a lovely woman andeverything’s lovely between us.

Allie comes down the stairs, looking fresh and pretty.

She kisses Hitch on top of the head, sits next to Cole.

ALLISON:

Guess what Everett?

What?

HITCH:

ALLISON:

Me and Virgil are going to build ahouse together.

Hitch just looks at Cole. Cole avoids Hitch’s look.

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 39.

28 CONTINUED:
28

ALLISON:

Mr. Olson said he’d give Virgil a

good price on that lot at the east

end of South Street.

Hitch continues to look a Cole, who won’t meet his gaze.

ALLISON:

It’s going to be the most beautiful

house in town with a parlor and a

picket fence and a big porch so we

can see who’s coming to call.

HITCH:

Well, how about that.

The Young Man, (Bragg’s man who was on the ridge)

dishevelled, unshaven, enters the hotel...

Cole stands up so he’s in front of Allie.

The Young Man raises his hands in the air.

YOUNG MAN:

(unhinged)

I ain’t armed. My name’s,

Whitfield, Joe Whitfield. I’m a

hand at Bragg’s place. I was on

the rim when you and your Deputy

come up and you smacked Dean. I

need to talk with you.

Tilda brings more coffee.

COLE:

Allie, I need to talk to this fella

alone.

ALLISON:

Oh, well, certainly. I need to do

my piano exercises anyway.

Allie leaves for the piano, cracking her knuckles.

WHITFIELD:

I took on ‘cause Bragg was supposed

to be runnin’ cattle. That’s what

I know - cattle and horses.

COLE:

What you drivin’ at, son?

WHITFIELD:

What he done was wrong.

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 40.

28 CONTINUED:
28

Cole waits...

WHITFIELD:

I saw it... I was at Bragg’s place

when Marshal Bell and his deputies

was killed.

COLE:

Who done it?

Whitfield looks around the room... Allie begins to play.

WHITFIELD:

Bragg done it.

COLE:

You saw Randall Bragg shoot Jack

Bell?

WHITFIELD:

Yessir. And his two Deputies.

Shot ‘em all dead like they was

rattlesnakes or something.

Cole looks at him a long steady beat. Whitfield fidgets.

WHITFIELD:

I don’t want no part of killin’

people.

COLE:

Will you testify to what you saw?

Silence... then...

WHITFIELD:

Yes... yes, sir.

COLE:

With Bragg looking right at you?

WHITFIELD:

I will.

COLE:

I don’t want to go up there and

shoot up a lot of people, and get

Bragg into court and have you dry

up and blow away.

WHITFIELD:

I’ll say what I saw.

COLE:

I got your word on that?

(CONTINUED)

"APPALOOSA" GREEN REVISIONS 10/30/07 41.

28 CONTINUED:
28

WHITFIELD:

You do, but I... I need a place tostay, a place I’ll be safe...

Bragg’ll kill me.

29 EXT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - DARK 29

All is quiet. The office is lit by the soft glow of alantern. Cole’s horse waits.

Cole steps out.

Hitch rides up leading a saddled horse.

Cole steps off the porch, mounts up and they ride off intothe darkness.

30 EXT. RIVER - PRE-DAWN 30

Cole and Hitch ford a shallow river.

31 EXT. BRAGG’S RANCH - A SHORT TIME LATER - PRE-DAWN 31

Cole and Hitch, on foot now, quietly leading the horses, movethrough the trees.

They move silently along a row of trees stopping fifty feetfrom the Ranch House outhouse.

They tie their horses to one of the hedge apples.

Hitch pulls his eight-gauge from the scabbard.

They stand. Quietly.

32 EXT. BRAGG’S RANCH - 1/2 HOUR LATER - DAWN

The sky in the east begins to lighten.

In the distance a horse blows. Hitch and Cole turn and see:

32

A NIGHT RIDER in silhouette moving across the slope to their

right.

A rooster crows.

COLE:

(whispers)

Here he comes.

Bragg walks to his private privy.

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