Joe Dakota Page #4

but I think you and I had

better have a little talk.

What for?

Nothing to talk about

unless you found the Indian.

You know, when you first came into town,

I had a feeling that I've

seen you someplace before?

I don't think so.

Oh, I spent a good many

years around the oil fields.

Maybe it was Pico Canyon I saw you.

Is that where you're from?

Nope.

Well, sooner or later,

every wildcatter winds up at Newhall.

[Joe] Is that so?

Well, it's the only oil

refinery in the state, isn't it?

Newhall you say?

[Cal] Yeah.

Never heard of it.

Well, you are an oilman, aren't you?

You know what I think?

I think you ask an awful lot of questions

for a man who says that I am bluffing.

Hold it.

Well, now just a minute, friend.

I was trying to be nice to you.

I know we were a little rough on you,

and I'm sorry for that.

I'm even willing to overlook the fact

that you're trespassing until

we get this thing settled.

Well, as I understand it,

possession is nine points of the law.

And as you can see, I'm in

possession of this place.

So until somebody changes

that, one way or another,

it looks to me like you're trespassing.

Let me give you a friendly tip.

People in a small town

don't like strangers

prowling around their places at night.

So why don't you just climb on your horse

and ride away from this place?

(dramatic orchestral music)

Are you listening, Jody?

Sure.

This is important, I don't

want you to talk to him again.

I think he's nice.

Well he's not nice.

If he's that Indian's son

or any relation at all,

it's not safe for you to get

near him, and you know why.

I wish you'd stop talking about it.

Well, I'm only doing

it for your own good.

Cal says he's dangerous.

Cal's afraid of him.

Cal's not afraid of anybody.

He's not?

No, he's not.

Neither am I.

(somber orchestral music)

(tapping)

All right, keep your shirt on.

(tapping)

All right.

Come in.

Ask for a shave, I guess.

[Jim] Must be 1 o'clock in the morning.

Yep, a shave.

You said, shave?

Yeah, cash customer.

That'll be something different, too.

Time I get a sack of potatoes.

Maybe a chicken.

I'll have to use cold water.

That's fine.

What's your name?

[Jim] Jim.

What's your last name?

Jim Baldwin.

[Joe] Good to know you, Jim.

I guess you know my name.

Yes, yes I do.

(blade scratching)

Jim.

Huh?

This fella Cal, lived

around here for a long time?

Oh, Cal Moore?

No, not as long as the rest of us have.

He seems kind of like

one of us, now, I guess.

You people are pretty lucky

to have an oil expert here,

just when you found out

that there was oil here, weren't you?

[Jim] Yeah, I guess we were.

Only he said he wasn't

looking for oil, when he came.

I thought wildcatters

were always looking for oil.

That's what I figured, too.

Only according to him,

he's just looking for a

nice piece of farming land.

Said he was through with

oil, wanted to settle down.

That's why he wanted to buy

the Indian's place, farming?

Yeah, that's what I figure, I guess.

Jim, let's talk about the Indian.

He didn't really wanna sell his farm.

Isn't that right, Jim?

And when he couldn't persuade

him to sell his place,

he tried to force him into

it, even threaten him.

[Jim] He ain't gonna get me

talking about that, no sirree.

Jim?

Jim?

(crickets chirping)

(footsteps crunching)

Well, hello.

I thought I might be having

all kinds of visitors out here.

I sure didn't expect you.

Not this time of night.

It's almost morning.

I had to come out, while

everybody was asleep,

or I wouldn't get a chance

to talk to you at all.

Come in.

Well, what'll we talk about?

I wanna know who you are.

Thought you weren't

interested in the oil.

I'm not, but there can be other reasons.

Well, as I said, my name is Joe Dakota.

[Jody] That's not true.

Isn't it?

And you're not his son,

like they say in town.

Joe Dakota didn't have a son.

How do you know that?

He told me.

I used to come out here

to see him, lots of times.

He'd talk, he'd show me how to make things

or would tell me stories

about when he was a scout

for the cavalry.

Sounds like you knew him pretty well.

I did, he was my friend.

If you came here just to steal his land,

why did you have to steal his name?

I didn't steal his name.

As a matter of fact, he borrowed mine.

You're making that up.

You didn't even know his name

until I told you what it was.

I just didn't know he was using it.

I came up here because the

old man sent me a telegram

asking me for help.

He sent for you?

He was my friend,

too, that's why I came.

You came too late, he's dead.

I was afraid that might be it.

Do you know who killed him?

Everyone.

They hanged him.

Hanged him.

Why?

Because he wouldn't sell his farm?

What kind of a town is this?

They hanged him for what he did to me.

For what he did to you?

I came out here one

night, and Joe was drunk.

He grabbed me, tore my

clothes, and hit me,

and I got away from him and ran off.

When they heard what he tried to do,

they came out here and

got him, and hanged him.

Who sent you out here

to tell me this fantastic story?

It's not a fantastic story.

It's the truth.

I don't believe you.

He couldn't have done a thing

like that, drunk or sober.

That's what makes it

so hard to understand.

Maybe it was my fault.

I don't believe that, either.

Your story just doesn't make sense.

It didn't take an expert to figure out

there was oil on this land.

Almost anyone who saw that

surface pool out there

could make a pretty good guess.

Well, somebody made that guess.

Now there's an oil well here.

And the Indian is dead and the whole town

is trying to hide behind

a phony piece of paper.

But Cal put that paper

in my father's safe

two weeks before the hanging.

Then why was the old man still here?

Cal said he could stay

until he was ready to take possession.

They gave you all the

answers, didn't they.

Nobody told me what to say.

I'm telling you the truth.

Well, go back, and

tell them it didn't work.

I'm sorry that's the

reason you came out here.

I'll tell you the real reason.

I came out here because

I thought you were nice.

And because I hoped what

they were saying about you

wasn't the truth.

That won't work either, Jody.

You're a lovely-looking girl.

I'm sorry you're not

as honest as you look.

I hate you.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(western ballad harmonica music)

(sad violin music)

What are you doing?

Getting dressed.

Jody, you've been crying again.

Wait for me, honey, let's

have breakfast together,

and we can talk.

[Jody] I don't want any breakfast.

Dad, I think you'd better

have a talk with Jody.

She was crying this morning,

and it looks like it's

starting all over again.

Myrna, I don't know what to say to her.

Well, you'll have to say something.

She won't even talk to me.

Where is she?

Out front.

Hello, Frank, kind of

nice to have a day off

from the oil well at that, isn't it?

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