Gun Fury

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People talk about Billy the Kid,

or Wes Hardin, or Sam Bass.

They're tough and they're bad,

but there aren't any as bad as Frank Slayton.

Sandwich, Miss Ballard?

No, thank you. I'll wait till Rodger's Station.

- Mr. Hampton?

- No, thanks.

Three weeks ago,

he and his gang rode into Taos.

Murdered four people. Burned and looted.

Carried off two Indian girls.

Is that why they sent these soldiers along?

You see the strongbox we're carrying? Gold.

- Frightened, Mr. Weatherby?

- Yes, sir. I admit it.

Why don't you stay out

of this part of the country?

I can't. I'm a bones buyer.

Buffalo bones, that is.

I sell them for fertilizer.

But, Mr. Hampton,

what are you doing out this way?

- You're a Southerner, aren't you?

- Yes. An unreconstructed Southerner.

I saw my home, Richmond,

after Grant and his men got through with it.

I know how you feel.

My home was in Atlanta.

My sympathies, Miss Ballard.

We have a great deal in common.

Intending to stay out here in the West?

Yes. The man I'm going to marry

is meeting me in Haynesville.

We'll go on to California from there.

- San Francisco?

- Oh, no. He has a ranch.

- Ever lived on a ranch?

- No, but I'm sure that I'll like it.

Better wake up, Mr. Burgess,

we're pulling into Rodger's Station.

Harris, take your men back to Fort Grant

for replacements.

Perhaps you'll join me for dinner,

Miss Ballard.

That's kind of you, but I'm afraid that I can't.

He's not meeting you here,

the man you're going to marry?

No. In Haynesville, tomorrow.

Then I can't permit you to refuse.

Why should you dine alone?

I'm quite flattered, Mr. Hampton.

But you'll have to permit me to refuse.

Don't worry about it, Mr. Hampton.

I'll eat with you.

If I'd known that, Mr. Burgess,

I wouldn't have asked the lady.

Hurry up with that strongbox.

We don't get many Southern ladies

coming through the station.

Say, that's beautiful.

It's a wedding present from my family.

There's a fine minister in Haynesville,

Mr. Midgely.

- Are you going to be married in the church?

- Yes, of course.

That's the only way to do it.

I'll go and fix you a cup of tea.

And I'll bring you some of my biscuits.

I baked them myself.

She's quite a woman, isn't she?

As far as I'm concerned, all women are alike.

They just got different faces

so you can tell them apart.

To a man without taste,

I suppose all things are alike.

She's as different from other women

as cognac is from corn liquor.

You get the same kind of headache

from either one.

She can smile without making it a simper.

That's a rare quality in a woman, Jess.

She's also getting married

at the next stop. Remember?

Yes, to a grubby dirt farmer.

What'll she look like a year from now?

What difference does it make to you?

It's hello and goodbye.

A sad thought. Don't you think so?

Stay away from her.

- What did you say?

- Stay away from her.

My private affairs are private.

Don't ever forget it again.

- Who is it?

- It's me, Mrs. Rodgers.

Ben!

Ben, I thought...

I rode all night and all day.

It was easier than waiting.

Mrs. Rodgers, you'd better find me a room...

if you're planning on running

a decent hotel.

- You know...

- I had...

Riding across the desert,

I kept thinking what I'd say to you.

Now I can't remember.

Have I changed?

Prettier than ever.

I tried so hard to remember

exactly what you looked like.

The smell of your hair, your pretty eyes.

Ben, I've never been so happy.

I just can't believe that we're really together.

I've waited so long, Ben.

When the war ended,

I thought the waiting was over.

And then when I had to wait again...

I guess I thought

it would never really happen.

It has, Jenny.

But I'll make it up to you

for every one of those years.

There'll be a lady sitting here.

Have you any white wine?

I almost got married once myself.

It was all set till her family came West

in a covered wagon.

If you could have seen her family,

you'd know why the wagon was covered.

Miss Ballard, you're just in time for supper.

Mr. Hampton, this is my fianc, Mr. Warren.

A surprise and a pleasure.

Mr. Hampton is one of the

coach passengers.

How do you do?

We've been looking forward to meeting you.

I hope you'll join us for supper.

- Thank you, but he's...

- Why not?

This may not be

the mansion house in Atlanta...

but you make three lonely bachelors

think it is.

Mr. Burgess, Mr. Warren.

- Mr. Weatherby, Mr. Warren.

- Glad to know you.

Be seated.

I tell you, the South had a better Army.

We rode better, we fought better,

we were led by better men.

And so we were defeated.

Defeat. Fellow once said, "What is defeat?"

You go home.

- War is terrible.

- Not always, Miss Ballard.

When a man's dead, he don't worry

about the colour of his uniform.

I still say

the war could have been prevented.

- How?

- By peaceful means.

Negotiation, compromise, reason.

If you stay out in the West, you're going to

find you can't negotiate with a bowie knife...

or reason with a six-shooter.

I seen Gettysburg.

Two years later,

you could still smell the blood.

And I saw Richmond

after they burned it to the ground.

I've seen enough

and I've had enough of killing.

I'm sick of violence and force.

I learned one thing:

bullets are very democratic.

They kill good men as well as bad.

I'd like to try the other way.

Try it. But I fought your war, too,

and I saw a world die: my world.

And what destroyed it? Force, Mr. Warren.

The war is over.

We can't go on thinking about it forever.

I've forgotten it.

I'm interested only in the future...

because that's where we're going to spend

the rest of our lives.

I spent five years

fighting somebody else's quarrel.

Now I don't quarrel with anyone.

By not carrying a gun?

Is that how you do it?

By staying in my own back yard...

which, in this case, happens to be

1,200 acres of good California land.

Twelve hundred acres.

You can stand on the front porch

and see straight ahead for three days.

The ocean's the west boundary

and the river's the east boundary.

For me, that's the whole world.

And what happens on the other side

of the river is no concern of yours?

That's right.

Mr. Warren, would you mind

if I danced with the bride-to-be?

Not at all.

Do you mind if I cut in, Mr. Hampton?

I'm not much of a dancer, Miss Ballard.

I guess I got two left feet.

- So you're gonna be married in Haynesville?

- Yes, tomorrow evening.

That's the worst town in Arizona.

Gamblers, cutthroats, loose women.

But I heard it was very...

Why don't you take the stage to Tucson

tomorrow? There's a nice mission there.

At night, the stars come right down

and kiss you.

It sounds very beautiful, Mr. Burgess...

but I think maybe

we'd better keep going on to California.

You wouldn't lose but a few days.

It's a real spot for a honeymoon, ma'am.

A place to remember the rest of your life.

Thank you, Mr. Burgess.

And for the thoughtful suggestion.

I'd do it if I were you, ma'am.

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