Silver River Page #5

president was over at McComb's place.

Oh, that's perfect.

Just perfect.

He'll no doubt fleece him

in a card game.

Darling, darling,

don't get so upset.

Oh, I'm so mad

i could spit.

Now, Georgia.

Men will be men.

Mccomb is not a man.

He's a-

mr. President,

mr. Chevigee, our host

and the owner of the biggest

mine in silver city.

That interests me

greatly.

Mr. President.

Uh, mrs. Austin,

mrs. Howbote,

mrs., um...

Moore.

Ah, yes, of course, the head

of our entertainment committee.

And mr. Moore.

A pleasure,

mr. President.

Mr. Moore.

Three cheers for the

president of the united states!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

I appreciate the ovation.

Thank you, thank you,

thank you.

Now, mr. President, let me

introduce you to the punch bowl.

Cigar, general?

Thank you.

How about some punch?

No, no, no, no, no.

Mccomb is an amazing man.

Pardon me, mrs. Moore.

I wonder if you could spare

your husband for a moment?

The boys would like to have you

join us for a little talk, Moore.

Georgia?

Of course.

There's one or two

other matters,

but you already know

most of the story.

I think you can tell

the other gentlemen.

Do you have everything

you want, general?

Everything but a dance

with you, mrs...

Moore.

I wish all men were

so easily pleased.

While we're in here talking,

McComb is out there

making policy

with the president.

I hardly think the president

came all the way out here

just to patronize

the punch bowl.

You're entirely right,

gentlemen.

Shut that door.

I can tell you

it's no accident that

the president of the united

states came to silver city.

Although his visit's

unofficial,

what he told me is

of vital importance.

Well, if it was so important,

why didn't he talk to all of us?

I imagine the president

has a pretty fair idea

who he wants to talk to.

Besides, aren't we all in

the mining business together?

Mccomb's right, gentlemen.

Aside from personal feelings,

we can't operate

the mines without him.

Let's hear what

he has to say.

Very smart. Plato,

you were there this afternoon.

Give them the picture.

Well, as you all know,

a first great nation

is a nation with surplus

international credits.

Britain has her empire.

Kimberly diamond mines,

the silver of india,

the gold of iran

and the tin of malaya.

Russia has

the steppes of siberia,

rich in a hundred resources.

What about the gold of

california, oregon, colorado?

True. The 49ers gave us

the gold exchange,

but, gentlemen,

that's not enough.

The big strikes

in gold are over.

Do you know what we need now

to make this country the

great creditor of nations?

Silver.

In simple language,

gentlemen,

here's the word

from the president.

You've got to produce

more silver,

even if it means working

the mines 24 hours a day.

Digging faster,

shipping faster,

you've got to produce

more silver.

Up until now, of course,

everybody's been digging silver

to see how much of it they could

stick away in their own pockets. Fine.

But the picture's changed.

Silver city has become more

important than all of us.

On what we do right here depends

the very future of america.

I visualize this

territory around us here

as the foundation

of a vast empire.

And if you're smart, it'll begin

right here with the men in this room.

If we try, we'll

double the silver output.

Depend on me.

I thought you'd see

it my way, gentlemen.

Uh, pardon me. Mine

and the president's.

Well, drop around

to the bank tomorrow

and we'll go into detail.

So what else could we do?

We burnt the million dollars.

What a fire. I had $35,000

worth of ashes on my hat.

And for that, they threw him

out of the army.

That's gratitude.

They threw you out

once, didn't they?

No... twice.

You've got a pretty

good job now, though.

Our dance, I believe,

mrs. Moore.

Yes, it has been nice.

Oh, you'd better.

People might think

you don't like me.

I don't want to dance with you.

Take me back, please.

Why, mrs. Moore, I think you

wanted me to ask you to dance.

You're aggressive,

aren't you?

Mm-hmm.

But like a child.

First you want a circus

all done up in gold braid

and then you want-

you.

I'm not interested.

May I offer you

a toast, mrs. Moore?

To what we both

really want.

You seem to have

spilled your drink.

Lovely party, isn't it?

What will

i own, Plato?

How about

a million acres, Mac?

All the country you can

see to that far ridge.

Clear across the valley

to those peaks.

And as far north

as you can see

across that

snow-capped ridge.

I tell you,

it's a big undertaking,

and it'll cost you

a pretty penny.

Plato...

you're looking at a man

who once burnt $1 million.

Out there... I see

100 million.

Buy it tomorrow.

Sam slade. Sam,

who'd you tangle with?

Ran into a pack

of indians.

Black rock range.

Black rock?

Yeah.

I was freightin' in

a camping outfit

for eastern fellas,

prospectors.

Shoshonees killed

all of them.

We'd better keep this

quiet or we'll liable

to throw the whole town

into a panic.

Gun and a little bit of silver.

All that's left of sam slade.

Little enough for a man

to leave, isn't it?

Come in.

Hello, Moore.

Hello, Beck.

I know it's late,

but I've been to town

several times today

looking for you.

Oh? What's on

your mind?

You know, we've been getting

out a lot of ore, all of us.

Mines are working

at full capacity.

Still, it's not enough.

I know it.

Got any suggestions?

That night at chevigee's

i told you

i thought there was still

untouched, undeveloped fields.

Sure, I remember.

We need new fields.

Well, we're not the only ones

who think so.

I heard a prospecting party

went out just the other day.

That means other companies

have the same idea.

We can't let them

get away from us.

Where is this country?

Black rock range,

about a day's ride away.

That's the shoshonee

indian country, boy.

I know.

And, uh, you think there

might be silver there?

I'm sure of it.

Of course, that's

pretty rugged country.

After all,

you're a married man.

You're wife,

she might not like it.

I'm a mining engineer, McComb.

Here, let me

show you on the map.

The range of mountains

runs right along here.

They have the same type of

outcroppings on that range

as we have here where we're

getting silver right now,

and I believe that if we

go right in this area,

we have an excellent chance

of making a big strike.

I want to go out there and

take a few samples of the ore.

If they prove to be as rich as I have

every reason to believe they will,

we can double our output.

Good night, Beck.

'Night.

Good night, sweet prince.

Lights of angels,

sing thee to thy rest.

Looks like a long drink.

It's gonna be a long night.

You silly old...

Plato, you still need that

stuff to see you through a night?

I will for what

i want to say.

Oh, a speech, huh?

It's a good speech.

A speech about

the truth.

I used to like

the truth, Mike.

Well, we all do, don't we?

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