Dead Man's Burden Page #4

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(Music)

(Pouring of Drink)

(Music)

(Clinking)

(Music)

(Pause)

I was invited

here on business.

(Music)

You just hold

on a minute here.

I'm going to see you hung.

Innocent men have

nothing to fear from the law.

Where's the nearest judge?

No reason to fear,

little sunshine.

He ain't going to hurt you.

Judge Hawkins in Alameda,

a three-day ride from here.

Get up.

No boy.

(Footsteps)

Hold it.

(Music)

He ain't taking leave of you.

(Music)

I can get the drop on him.

No, no.

I will talk to him.

The only thing he's going

to listen to is a bullet.

And what has he done to

make you think a crazy notion

like that?

Goddamn it Martha!

He dug up your father.

(Music)

(Footsteps)

You stop right

there Wade McCurry.

How's that one?

The faster we get done with

this nonsense, the better.

You best not try anything.

(Noise)

I have been trying

to leave this place

for going on four years now.

First Ma got sick then Pa

needed me to stay and now you.

You're asking

that I let him go.

I'm asking you to let me

be rid of this place for good.

(Noise)

The world you

want to go out into,

it wouldn't be a

place fit living.

Not without the law.

It would be better than here.

(Noise)

Let's sell this farm, Wade.

You and me and Heck, we'll go

to San Francisco as a family.

(Noise)

Let's hope no one coming back

this way, if you'll have me.

You do this, you're betraying

the only kin you got left.

You sound like Pa.

I'm nothing like him.

Why'd he tell us you were dead?

Don't think about past.

No. No, it isn't.

(Noise)

He tried to stop

me from leaving just

like you're doing now.

The words he said to me

aren't words you forget.

If you ride out of

here, you ain't my son.

You're a goddamn traitor.

If our boys don't

kill you, I will.

Where were you going?

I reckon you know.

No. I need to hear

you say the word.

I was going to join the Union

Army to fight for my country.

Were you at [inaudible]?

No.

Chickamauga,

what about Chickamauga?

(Sobbing)

(Music)

Why?

(Music & Sobbing)

(Music & Noise)

Can't ride for three

days without any sleep.

I ain't telling you not to.

I'll fall off.

And you pick yourself

right back up again.

Oh. I didn't kill

your father.

That's for a judge to decide.

(Music)

(Noise)

(Silence)

(Gunshots)

(Noise)

(Gunshots)

(Noise)

Hey. Hey Wade.

Yeah?

You know you are on old

man Race's [phonetic] land.

Suppose he was the one

doing the shooting at me.

You're lucky, I

was coming after you.

Is that so?

Yeah?

Is that your blood?

Don't see no one else around.

We best get up on out of this

so we can see you bandaged up.

(Noise)

Sh*t. [gunshots]

Son of a b*tch.

(Silence)

(Bird Cawing)

(Silence)

(Bird Cawing)

(Silence)

(Noise)

(Gunshots)

That'd be

sixteen.

(Noise)

(Bird Cawing)

(Silence)

Didn't figure you

one for a coward.

(Silence)

Ain't got no water and you

are bleeding something fierce.

It's a mighty hard way to go.

I figure that's about

what's due a damn Yankee.

Thanks for this here repeater.

It's a mighty step

finer to that Enfield.

You must've had a hell

of a time bushwhacking

Joe with that old thing.

Can't say I'd rather know.

Martha is one hell

of a shot though.

(Noise)

(Gunshots)

(Noise)

(Music)

(Silence)

Had to be done.

Was it quick?

Ain't no such thing.

At least for a goddamn

Yankee traitor.

(Silence)

Nobody wants to die slow.

(Silence)

(Noise)

2 Mr. Lane, I do apologize

for what you've been through.

It's been hard for all of us.

[Door Shutting]

(Silence)

(Noise)

(Silence)

There a problem?

(Silence)

(Noise)

Nine hundred dollars there,

on account of your trouble.

(Silence)

You listen here.

We still want to sell this place

and you still want to buy it.

So, you best make up your mind

'cause we don't got all day.

(Noise)

There's barely a

hundred dollars in there.

It's 200 actually.

My husband saved your life.

From what?

A three-day ride?

A visit with Judge Hawkins.

(Silence)

Do we have an agreement?

(Silence)

Bullshit, we do.

Two hundred dollars

is more than enough

to get you to, where was it?

San Francisco I believe.

And do what once

we get there?

That, my dear, is up to you.

(Noise)

I'm a businessman, not a fool.

(Silence)

Now that ain't no way

to treat your host.

Isn't that right, Martha.

(Noise)

(Bird Cawing)

(Breathing)

(Noise)

(Noise)

Uh. Uh.

(Noise)

Time to break most men.

Well, what if you don't?

That man, he's stubborn.

Joe was stubborn too.

I told you no.

That's the thing

about killing.

You open that door, there

ain't no telling how many going

to go through.

We won't last the

winter here on what we got.

Without Lane, we got nothing.

(Noise)

Let's stay out here.

(Noise)

(Door Opens, Footsteps,

Door Shuts)

Heck?

(Noise)

He's uncivilized.

Martha keeps a clean house.

You're going to be keeping

a lot longer if you kill me.

Nah, what was it you said?

Two hundred dollars is more than

enough to get to San Francisco.

(Noise)

I could have gone to the law.

You're honestly

trying to threaten me?

Negotiate actually.

I think maybe you don't

know the difference.

Heck, we talked on this.

Yeah. You best stand clear.

He is a man of business.

He did not ride out all this

way to leave empty-handed.

(Noise)

And what do you know

about your husband here.

(Noise)

Did you know he rode with

William Quantrill [phonetic]

or Bloody Bill Anderson?

He burned Lawrence,

Kansas to the ground.

Killed the women and children

and we know there's no war

to satisfy his lust

for violence.

He took up with [inaudible].

He killed a Deputy of Missouri

before he escaped west.

(Silence)

I know who I do business

with Miss Kirkland.

(Silence)

And I know who I

married, Mr. Lane.

[Inaudible] no more.

Didn't he?

(Silence)

Nine hundred dollars then.

I think that'd

be acceptable to me.

All right then.

Let's go back to the

house, make it official.

(Silence)

(Noise)

[Gunshots]

[Background Music]

Will you take your

hands off of me?

Ain't no time to

get all worked up.

No time, he agreed

to the deal,

you have no call to shoot him.

If I hadn't had shot him,

he'd gone on straight

to the law.

We had our deal.

There's always a better deal.

Two hundred dollars

is no deal at all.

What about the law folks?

They're going to notice

Lane is gone missing.

They'll be too

busy hunting Apache.

(Music)

(Footsteps)

(Sobbing)

(Noise)

What in the world?

(Noise)

(Horse Neighing)

(Footsteps)

(Horse Neighing)

(Noise)

(Horse Neighing)

What's the matter boy?

They're heavy?

(Noise)

(Knocking on Door)

Martha.

[knocking] Martha.

Open up now, you hear?

(Silence)

(Footsteps)

(Music)

Give me [inaudible],

if that's all you got.

I'll lend you my best mare

once you're strong enough

to ride her.

Don't make me no horse thief.

You figure Heck killed Joe.

Sure as hell shot me.

I'll get my double barrel.

Dammit Hank.

I don't want you with me.

Joe was my friend.

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