No Name on the Bullet Page #3

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- But I hate it in bed!

- Oh?

You wait till you grow up.

You'll change your tune.

Just keep forcing these down his throat.

He's about back to normal.

I know by tomorrow

I'll have to strap him in bed.

- All right, young man.

- Ma, I hate those awful big pills.

No need my coming here again. Bring him

in the office next time you're in town.

Thank you, Doctor.

Come on, honey. Sit up.

We can't stand still for it.

If they get me out of the way,

you don't think you'll be safe!

There's one thing to do:

Beat Gant to the punch.

- Looks that way.

- Hiya, Doc.

- Hello, Hugo. Charley.

- How's the boy?

He's gonna be fine.

Doc, when you were talkin'

with Gant yesterday...

did he tell you anything?

Buck Hastings asked me the same thing.

Gant isn't very talkative.

Earl Stricker and Thad Pierce

hired Gant... to kill me.

I doubt that, Ben.

Yeah? Then how come they were

meetin' with him this morning?

Hugo saw them.

I was talking with Gant yesterday,

and I certainly didn't bring him here.

That's different. Stricker and Pierce

have every reason for wantin' me dead.

Everybody knows it.

Now, I ain't a troublemaker...

but I'm not standin' by and do nothin'

with Gant fixin' to kill me.

Ben, I wouldn't do anything rash.

Why don't you leave it up to

Buck Hastings? He's a good man.

Sure, he is. But I don't

think he can handle Gant.

I don't think anybody can.

There isn't much sense in trying

anything on your own, is there?

Well, maybe I can't handle Gant, but Stricker

and Pierce are somethin' else again.

What do you mean?

We're not lettin' those

crooks take over the mine.

And you can tell Stricker I said so!

That ain't just talk, Luke.

Come on.

You're lyin'. You're a-lyin'

just as sure as you're sittin' there.

- You're lyin' in your teeth.

- What teeth?

Well, you're lyin', anyhow.

Why, I see'd it myself,

right outside of Veracruz.

Just one teeny little shot,

and the Eighth Illinois "et" dirt.

There you go, lyin' again.

Ed, you're just a natural born liar.

It's a habit with you.

Oh, I got you now. You

can't prove a thing!

Why, you simple-minded,

flea-bitten old coot!

If you weren't so old, I'd-I'd-

Hey, sonny. Would you mind

movin' aside a little bit?

You're cuttin' out the sun.

Now, let's see.

What was we talkin' about?

Well, by George, I forget.

So do I, but whatever it was,

you was lyin' about it.

Come on. Let's go

pitch some horseshoes.

Dad, what do you do when you run up against

a disease that you're not equipped to cure?

What are you gettin' at?

I went out to

Chaffee's mine today.

I think Ben is gonna try and kill

Earl Stricker and Thad Pierce.

He thinks they hired Gant

to kill him.

Buck Hastings is scared.

I know he is.

I hear that Thad Pierce

has locked himself in his office.

And Henry Reeger is wearin' a gun. It's

the first time I ever saw him with one.

Everybody you talk to is jumpy.

What causes a thing like that?

The whole town is comin' apart.

I shouldn't have to tell you

what fear does to people.

Fear, that's one thing.

A man's a fool not to be careful

around a rabid dog or a wolf...

but he's more foolish

if he panics.

Well, it's gotta stop.

Only I don't know exactly

what it is that has to stop.

Let it develop. Wait and see.

I wouldn't let a cold develop

into pneumonia if I could help it.

Why not? You can't cure a cold,

but sometimes you can cure pneumonia.

You'd make a fine doctor.

Where you goin'?

Gonna play a game of chess.

Look at him.

The way he just sits there.

- Who does he think he is?

- Shut up, Lou.

I'll shut up when I'm ready.

I've about had it.

I'm tired of running!

I told you Sam would catch up

with us someday.

Then why didn't he come himself?

I'll tell you why.

Because I'd kill him, and he knew it!

Sure, you would.

He was just scared to death of you!

He was a hundred times

the man you are.

Yeah? If you think so much of him,

Why'd you leave him?

I wish I knew.

I-I keep wondering.

You keep wondering!

That stupid sawbones!

What's the matter with him?

I'm not gonna just sit back

and wait. That's for sure.

Lou Fraden don't eat crow.

No, Lou Fraden just runs

and runs and runs-

You think I'm afraid to go out there

and call him down, don't you?

Just because I've been

clerkin' for Stricker,

you think I forgot

how to be a man?

You never knew how

to begin with.

Anyway, Gant doesn't want you.

Yeah? I know better.

No. Sam wouldn't dirty his hands

with you or me, either one.

Lou, you're not

even worth killing.

Go ahead, Lou. Be brave.

Go on.

Hmm.

Mr. Gant, why have you

come to Lordsburg?

Physician, I didn't ask you how

many tonsils you removed today.

Well, you're welcome to.

It doesn't interest me.

You've been here

less than 24 hours.

Do you realize what your coming

here has done to this town?

I've done nothing.

But you've got to admit

that as the only doctor in town...

I have a certain interest in what we

might call the municipal state of health."

Did it ever occur to you that

you might be wasting your life?

I'm not wasting my life.

They're gonna die anyway. Best you can

do is drag out their miserable lives.

Why bother?

Death is inevitable

for all of us, Gant.

But we all try to put it off

for as long as possible.

It's occurred to me that the real

sicknesses, the most important ones...

are seldom physical.

I think I've had more experience

with those than you have.

Well, you sound more

like a preacher than-

Than a killer, Physician?

I don't know.

You think you've got a mission?

Yes. I try to keep people alive.

I've got a mission too.

I don't suppose you know why

he's locked himself in his office all day.

He's afraid of me.

Should he be?

I know nothing about the man,

except that he's a coward and a thief.

That's ridiculous.

Thad Pierce has done

a lot for this town.

Who'd he steal from?

I don't know...

but he is a thief.

Hmm. You play

a very interesting game.

I think you'd better get over

to the bank, Physician.

It's Mr. Pierce. He shot himself.

Wilson, what's goin' on in there?

It's awful, Mr. Stricker. The doc's

tryin' to keep him alive, but... his head.

It was because of Gant, wasn't it?

- What makes you think that?

- Couldn't be anything else.

He thought Gant was after him.

Poor Thad.

Doesn't make any difference.

No matter who Gant came after,

we gotta do something about it.

I can't feel his pulse any more.

He's dead. I couldn't stop it.

It's a miracle you kept him alive

as long as you did, Doc.

How can they do it?

How can they throw

this thing away?

The whole world struggles to live,

and some men kill themselves.

Or did he?

You were expecting it

to happen, weren't you?

- I wasn't surprised.

- You killed him.

You're wrong, Physician.

He started killing himself

long before I ever got here.

You've got it all figured out,

haven't ya?

You look at Gant,

and you say he's a murderer.

- Well?

- I've killed.

But the important point is,

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