In Dubious Battle Page #5

- I know who you are.

I was hoping we could talk.

All right.

Okay?

Sure.

Why don't you skedaddle

for a bit. Go ahead.

Come on, let's go, let's go.

Mr. Bolton, why don't you

just sit right in my office?

Right here.

I'm the only one sitting, huh?

Yeah.

The old man.

You really think you need

that for a friendly talk?

It's all right, Vera.

Let the man have his gun.

Now, this is my daughter, Alice.

As the heir to my business,

I think it is important

that she sees firsthand

the men and the women

who will be working for her.

They don't belong here.

Get rid of them.

We don't need them.

Uh, your men stay, my men stay.

Okay.

You know what

you're getting into?

I know about these

rabble-rousers.

They don't

give a damn about you.

Look, just say

your piece, boss man.

Okay, so be it.

So be it.

We're both busy men,

I'll get right to the point.

You bring these

men back to work,

I'll make you assistant

superintendent.

Steady job.

Five dollars a day.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

You're gonna buy me off?

No, no, no.

A chance to lick your boots?

Please.

You're lucky I don't cold-cock

your ass right here.

Just easy.

Take it easy.

Okay. Now, I find

in any dispute,

if the two parties

sit down at the table

they can work things out.

Well, we ain't got no table.

Well, this mess isn't good

business for anyone, all right?

Now, come back to work.

You'll get your wages,

we'll get our apples picked.

All right? Everybody will be

happy, happy, happy.

No repercussions, no grudges.

What's the offer?

Well, that is the offer.

Come back to work.

Yeah, but at what rate?

The rate we discussed.

A dollar a day.

Jesus, are you dense?

I mean, what do you...

What the do you think

we're striking about here?

A dollar twenty.

No questions no grudges.

That's as high as I can go.

$1.20.

Bob, put your damn hand down.

That's less than half

of what you promised.

Think of the womenfolk.

Think of them, all right?

These fine ladies here

need to be taken care of

like the queens they are.

Mr. Bolton,

the way I see it

is I think it's pretty clear

without us,

your apples don't get picked.

And we're not picking any apples

until we get the wages

that we were promised.

Turn your cards over, Bolton.

We see you already hired

one of these Pinkerton bastards.

So, what's the "or else"?

We come back to work for you

or else you're gonna

let out the vigilantes?

Vigilantes?

I can assure you I have no idea

what you're talking about.

But if outraged citizens

band together

to keep the peace,

that's their

god-given right.

And if you keep on

with the strike,

we'll be forced to petition

the governor for troops.

We're on private land here.

You got no right to push us off.

Oh, yeah?

Well, we'll see about that.

I had hoped you would

listen to reason. I really did.

But you're forcing my hand.

And if you continue

with this foolishness,

know that I will

crush this strike

and bury

each and every one of you.

That's a promise.

Bolton, you rough up Anderson,

you touch his property,

you touch one goddamn

apple tree,

we will burn down

every house and barn

on every ranch in this valley.

Make way, people.

Make way. Make way.

Lisa.

Bolton will start

cracking down now.

It'll get ugly.

Oh, come on, doc.

The men will be able

to handle it.

They know how important this is.

They'll fight, they won't break.

I wish I could see it

with your clarity, Jim.

Hmm.

Man, he's met and he's defeated

every obstacle,

every enemy but one.

He just can't win

against himself.

Mankind hates itself.

We don't hate mankind.

We hate the system

that oppresses working people.

The system that stacks the deck

so a few people have everything

and the rest of us have to

fight over the scraps.

That's what we hate.

The other side is

made up of men too, Jim,

men like you.

What do you think

about all this?

What's your assessment

of this situation?

All I want is just

a simple, clean life.

A farm and a house, a family.

Somebody to help

raise Josiah with.

All the rest just feels like

needless complication.

Lisa, don't you see?

That's why I'm doing this.

I'm doing this for you

and for people like you,

so they have a shot

at that life.

But that Mac, telling everyone

what to do,

he just seems so cold.

No, Mac isn't cold.

All those smiles, it's like

we're pieces on a puzzle board.

That place in him

that's supposed to be warm

is just gone.

If that's the cost of all this

it ain't right, is it?

Hey, doc?

Hmm?

You think I'd be a good father?

Yeah, I think you'd

be a good father.

Hey.

Jesus Christ, where you been?

The supplies are so dry,

I'm spitting cotton.

Look at this.

Jesus Christ.

What is it?

"County votes to feed strikers.

"At a public meeting last night,

the board of supervisors

"unanimously voted

to feed the men

now striking

against the apple growers."

Well, if they want

to give us food...

No, dummy.

It's an old trick.

I have sympathizers lined up,

ready to give us

food and blankets and money,

then this comes out

and they say, "why am I

feeding you anything?

County's been feeding you.

I saw it in the paper."

But you be ready.

Things are gonna get bad.

Bolton's gonna

start cracking down

and the men's resolve

will start to weaken.

You losing faith, Edie?

I'm a realist, always have been,

always will be.

She's right.

It's gonna get ugly.

But that's good for us.

The worse it gets,

the bigger the story,

the more sympathy for the cause.

Just have to make sure

the strike keeps going.

The guys'll stay strong.

You just watch.

I promise.

Come on.

Huh? Where are we going?

Gotta get into town.

Right now?

Yeah.

Oh, sh*t.

That's it?

Just send some letters?

That's right.

Now we gotta wait.

Hopefully my guys'll

have some ideas

on how to push back

against Bolton.

Evening, fellas.

Evening. Just out for

a little stroll.

It's a public road, all right?

We're allowed to walk on it.

Then walk.

Walk.

You got no cause.

You want us to go with you,

you gotta arrest us.

And then you're gonna

have to talk to our lawyers.

Who said anything about police?

I said walk.

All right.

Move.

Call you frank, right?

Yeah, you got

something to say, buddy?

Say it.

Open your mouth.

Yeah.

Guys like you are the dirtiest

bastards in any town.

You're the ones who like to beat

on hobos and lynch negroes.

You can dress it up,

call it keeping the peace,

but you just like to be cruel.

Like to beat on a guy

if he's tied up

or if he's

outnumbered 10 to one,

but you'd never

face him man to man.

Oh, yeah?

You mean like this?

Yeah.

Run!

Run! Run!

Shoot him!

Shoot him! Shoot him,

shoot him, shoot him!

Goddamn it, shoot him!

Goddamn it!

Let them go.

We got nothing but time.

Oh, you're gonna be

seeing us again!

And we know your dirty friends,

and we're gonna

pay each of them a visit!

What the hell was that?

That was a taste

of who we're dealing with.

Can they do that?

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