Man with the Gun Page #3

Nelly? Oh, no.

No, not that one.

Nelly come on her own steam,

stays on her own terms.

Course, her girls work over at the Palace,

but nobody owns Nelly.

Now,

don't you tell them church biddies

I said so,

but Nelly is quite a female.

Ain't no lady of course,

but if some of the men in this town

stood up to Dade's boys

the way Nelly does, and got away with it...

Town never stood up before, huh?

No. No.

And believe you me, mister, it...

It ain't no

one-man job, neither.

And

it's too late now.

Well, they got to start sometime.

How?

You can't get at Dade.

He sits out there in that ranch

of his like a big, fat spider, I tell you.

He ain't been to town

in the last four or five years.

It would take an army to get through them

gun hands of his.

Well, we'll have to get him to town.

Get him how?

I'll work on that.

I'll take that oath now.

Okay.

- Mr. Tollinger.

- Miss Atkins.

I just stopped by to ask how's the patient?

Much better, thank you.

Doc Hughes says he can't be moved.

That suits me just fine.

Mother's with him while he's taking a nap,

while I try to figure out

Father's bookkeeping.

I don't know what the council's gonna do

for its book work

when Stella and Jeff get married.

When?

It seemed so soon, but now...

Maybe you can tell me something,

Mr. Tollinger.

After all, it's what you call your

business.

Would they have tried to kill Jeff,

if he hadn't shot at them yesterday?

I knew a man once, didn't own a gun.

Wouldn't have one in the house.

One day, those land grabbers

back in Lotawana County

came to pay him a call.

He sent his kid out to hide in the brush

before he'd open the door.

They shot him where he stood,

then they burned the house down

around him.

Jeff Castle just made one mistake.

What?

He didn't shoot to kill.

Oh, it is getting late,

and I want to be home

when Jeff wakes up.

First one's on the house, Mr. Tollinger.

My first drink on a working day

is my last one.

Can't afford to drink on the house.

Any of Dade Holman's boys in town?

We work for Dade Holman.

Who's askin'?

Well, look what we got here,

a new deputy.

With a long memory.

Fred and Sy Harkness.

You ran with Big Bill Thompson

down south,

wiped out the Circle B Ranch to a man.

Last year, you killed a bank teller

down in Texas.

I hear there's a price

on your head in Texas.

That's in Texas.

Well, this is Sheridan,

where I'm giving you exactly 10 minutes

to get out of town and don't come back.

Don't ever come back.

- Why, you tinhorn...

Move.

Nelly!

Look, just in from St. Louis.

Every day's a shopping day for you, Annie,

you'll never save a cent.

How will they see the forest for the trees?

Huh?

You're going to do Mable's song tonight.

She's nursing a sore throat.

But I haven't got any voice,

and that's the worst kind!

They're not paying for your pear-shaped

tones at the Palace, dear.

Nelly means, "Who listens?"

Well, honestly, Nelly, half the time,

I don't know what you're talking about.

Well, try a little harder

'cause I have something to say

to all of you.

I'm warning you again

not to let your escorts

any further than the verandah steps

when they walk you home.

The ladies in this town

are just waiting for a reason

to force us to leave.

I'm going to keep them waiting

as long as the Palace

pays as well as it does.

Oh, honestly, Nelly,

the way you talk, sometimes

you'd think we'd never left home.

You notice I don't say anything

about your manners.

Appearances are all I care about.

You're pretty girls,

and the Palace is not a pretty business.

Ann,

whose husband were you flirting

with today?

Why, nobody's.

I mean, well, that is, at least he's new,

and not one of the old, tired ones.

New and attractive, obviously.

Oh, yes!

But, you know,

I think he's some kind of a law man

because he had a big star right here,

and he was all dressed in gray.

What did I do now?

Ann, you should realize by now

that you should never flirt with a man

wearing a badge.

Especially that man.

And from now on,

any rule I give you has nothing to do

with manners or appearances.

It's to keep you

out of the way of stray bullets.

Ain't open till 6:00.

So if you want a drink,

The Red Dog next door will oblige.

Tell Lescaux I'd like to talk to him.

A beauty, eh?

I brought her all the way

from New Orleans with me.

Won her with a stack of poker chips.

$2,000 worth.

Fancy.

What can I do for you, Mr. Tollinger?

Word gets around.

Then you may have heard that I told

the Harkness Brothers to get out of town.

You may even have heard

that I never warn a man twice.

The Harkness Brothers?

Oh, they're at The Red Dog

because you've got things all figured out.

I'm here with a warning for you, Lescaux.

Starting now,

there will be no wearing of weapons

within town limits.

I'm prepared to shoot

any man who violates that rule.

Do you think you can make a crazy rule

like that stick in my place?

Your place?

I thought this was Holman's place.

Except maybe for this.

Your bowie knife is a weapon.

I'll take that.

You tell Holman

he can pick up the Harknesses

any time he wants to ride in town

after them.

The Harkness Brothers in jail, eh?

That ought to get action

out of Dade Holman in a hurry.

- Where you going?

- Be right back.

Stella!

Where do I put 'em?

Get off the street!

What are you doing out here?

I had to see for myself.

Go on home, Miss Atkins.

Got four going out,

- one coming in.

Oh.

Whiskey's my line, sir, whiskey.

All the best brands.

- Never touch it myself.

- Are you staying at the hotel?

Oh, to be sure, to be sure.

I expect to be spending quite some time

in your delightful little town.

- Good.

- Quite some time.

I wonder just what all

he considers a weapon.

Good morning, Mr. Tollinger.

Good morning, Mr. Atkins.

Quiet today.

Looks like some places

ain't going to open up at all.

I guess Virg thinks

the town's in for trouble.

Might get worse

before it gets better.

Might get worse fast.

Say,

church festival coming up a week

from Saturday.

Mary says to get you there,

and no excuses.

Ain't that right?

We hope you'll be there.

A week from Saturday?

That's kind of far off to be making plans

in my business.

But I'll be there.

Hey, Tollinger!

We've come to pay you a little visit!

Tollinger!

Where's your new peacemaker?

He don't keep me posted, Reedy.

Tollinger!

Tollinger!

Come out

from where you're hiding, Tollinger.

You looking for me?

You, and you, and you,

drop those gun belts.

You drop your gun.

Take him, Slim.

Well, now,

I reckon it was downright foolish of Slim

to try to draw against you, Tollinger.

We maybe got a little off

on the wrong foot.

We're going back home now,

and we won't come to town

no more, carrying our guns.

Reckon that's what you want, ain't it?

Yeah, that's what I want.

Now, you can take Slim

and bury him out on the prairie.

Doesn't look nice for a town as small

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