Once Upon a Time in the West Page #3

We're only losing time.

Alright. This time,

I'll take care of her personally.

Yeah, it ought to be easy for you.

Keep him warm for me.

If he gives you any trouble, hit him.

Not in the mouth.

He's got to talk. And plenty.

Meet me at the Navajo cliff.

Keep an eye

on that cripple all the time.

Sure, Frank.

- See anyone?

- No.

There he is.

You only know how to shoot?

Or do you know how to cut, too?

Hey, you.

Wait a minute.

Let's have a good look at you.

Hey. Mr Choo-Choo.

Hmm.

It's easy to find you. Bastard.

I don't have to kill you now.

You leave a slime behind you

like a snail.

Two beautiful shiny rails.

There's another bastard.

And he's getting further away

every minute.

There it is.

What your husband ordered from me.

And seeing as how he paid cash,

it all belongs to you.

Oak planks, beech, pine.

All first-grade lumber.

And there's beams

and foundation pylons.

Ten kegs of nails, 20 barrels of tar,

and all these tools.

Maybe he wanted

to enlarge the farmhouse.

Enlarge the farmhouse?

He could have built

at least eight of them.

By the way, ma'am,

McBain also ordered this.

Said it was important.

Only it seems he forgot to tell

me what he wanted printed on it.

Station.

How's that again?

I said print ''station''.

Looking for this?

I've had enough

of your butcher tactics.

I know that woman is here.

I don't want

any more useless killing.

I'm ready to make a deal

for that land.

To pay what's necessary.

I don't want to waste any more time.

You've made a big mistake, Morton.

When you're not on that train, you

look like a turtle out of its shell.

Just funny.

Poor cripple talking big

so nobody'll know how scared you are.

I'm here to make a deal, Frank.

I don't have time

to compete with you.

Compete?

Why, you... You can't even

stand on your own feet by yourself.

Is that sufficient

to make you feel stronger?

I could squash you

like a wormy apple.

Sure, but you won't do it.

Because it's not to your advantage.

Hmm.

Who knows how far you'd have gone

with two good legs.

Help him back to the train.

Keep your eye on him.

Oh, Morton.

Don't worry about the land.

If you feel like paying for it,

you can pay.

It won't make any difference to you,

dealing with the new owner.

Cheyenne! Hey, Cheyenne!

There's a square staked out here.

It says ''water tank''.

Over here, too.

Only, it says ''post office''.

And this one says ''corral''.

And this here ''church''.

What the hell is this?

Can't you see?

It's a station.

And all around it, a town.

Brett McBain's town.

Was he crazy!

Yeah, in a very special way.

An Irishman.

He knew that railroad coming through

Flagstone would continue on west.

So he looked over

all this country out here

until he found this hunk of desert.

Nobody wanted it.

But he bought it.

Then he tightened his belt,

and for years, he waited.

Waited for what?

For the railroad to reach this point.

But how could he be sure the railroad

would pass through his property?

Them steam engines

can't roll without water.

And the only water for 50 miles

west of Flagstone is right here.

Under this land.

A-ha! He was no fool,

our dead friend, huh?

He was going to sell this piece

of desert for its weight in gold.

You don't sell

the dream of a lifetime.

Brett McBain wanted his station.

He got the rights to build it.

- How do you know all this?

- I saw a document.

It was all in order.

Seals, signatures, everything.

One thing, though.

In very small print,

there is a short clause,

which says that McBain or his heirs

lose all rights

if, by the time

the railroad reaches this point...

...the station ain't built yet.

A-ha.

Speaking of railroads,

I noticed the rail gang's already...

Hey.

I noticed the rail gang's

already behind those hills.

And before you know it,

they're gonna be here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Listen.

Harmonica.

A town built around the railroad.

Hm-hm-hm!

You could make a fortune, huh?

Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Hey, more than that.

Thousands of thousands.

They call them millions.

Millions? Hmm.

- Yeah, millions.

- Yeah.

I always thought it'd be easier

to make a deal with a smart lady.

All you gotta do is...

Hey, what in the hell

are you standing around for?

Chief, what are we supposed to do?

What are you supposed to do?

Build a station, idiots!

I figure

it ain't gonna look like much.

But it'll be the first thing she sees

when she gets back.

If she gets back.

I think...

Yeah.

I'm beginning to think I might be

a little sorry killing you.

You like being alive.

Hmm?

You also like

to feel a man's hands all over you.

You like it.

Even if they're the hands of the man

who killed your husband.

What a...

What a little tramp.

Is there anything in the world

you wouldn't do to save your skin?

Nothing, Frank.

Hmm.

Now I understand

why they miss you so much...

...down there in New Orleans.

Great invention, the telegraph.

''Jill? The brunette? ''

''The customers of the most elegant

whorehouse on Bourbon Street

have been weeping

ever since she left.''

Say, tell me.

Did old McBain know?

Yeah.

Yeah, I bet he did.

He was just the type

to marry a whore.

Hey.

It's an idea.

I could marry you.

And the land would become mine.

And maybe...

...you'd make a perfect wife.

It would be me who wouldn't be

any good as a husband.

Too bad.

We'll have to think

of another solution.

Simpler.

Quicker.

As sheriff of this county,

I've been asked to preside

over the sale by auction

of all property belonging to

Mrs Jill McBain, here present.

This parcel of land

measures 320 acres.

It's free of all encumbrances,

liens and mortgages.

This property and all it contains,

lock, stock and barrel,

will be turned over to the lucky

purchaser at the time of sale.

All the contents therein

are listed by number

on the inventory sheet

distributed among you.

The entire property will be sold

in block to the highest bidder.

Alright. That's clear to everybody.

I declare the auction open.

Now, who's going to make

the first bid?

A list of all the items.

Some of them are worth money.

Alright. Now,

who's going to make the first bid?

$200.

Well, I have an opening bid of $200.

$200. Do I hear more?

That stinking piece

of land ain't worth it.

Come on, my friends, $200.

The livestock alone

is worth twice that much.

Well...

Who's going to bid $300?

Now, look, friends, I realise

we're not offering California here,

but 200 is damn little

for all that property.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wouldn't

even take 200 as a deposit.

Well, nobody's going to bid it up.

You're sure you wouldn't want

to set a minimum price?

I wish I were wrong, Mrs McBain,

but you're liable to end up selling

the place for a plate of beans.

All I want is to sell.

- You look fat, huh?

- If you say so.

- How many?

- One card.

One for me.

Dealer takes three.

Can I... Can I take a hand?

Yeah, sit down.

I'll deal.

Hmm?

How do you...

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