The Ballad of Lefty Brown Page #2

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I ain't got time to baby-sit

some boy, thinks he's wild bill.

I can shoot.

Well, ain't that something?

I can.

There's a difference between

shooting and drawing.

All right?

Yeah.

Just walk that way.

If you ain't dragging

all that gear,

you ought to reach

bannack in a day.

Maybe two.

Hell.

What do you call

yourself, wild bill?

Jeremiah, Jeremiah Perkins.

Jeremiah Perkins.

Well, most folks

call me lefty brown.

Mr. Johnson went without a will.

The law says that this ranch

will be entailed to his

closest male heir.

Unfortunately...

This is correct.

This is my ranch,

my sweat and my blood

as much as his.

The law is what it is.

The law is wrong.

Be that as it may, there's

nothing I can do.

You could write a will.

All you'd have to do is... is

date it a few months back.

Nobody's gonna question the... the

integrity... Laura. Laura.

Of a will that's been

witnessed by the governor.

The people elected me as their

champion of law and order.

Well, if you believe that,

then you're a bigger

fool than Eddie thought.

18 years ago,

Alameda, i was there.

Remember?

Cyrus applegate was an

outlaw and a murderer,

but I did not want to kill him.

I wanted to put him in jail.

You did what was right.

I'd wager that depends

on who you'd ask.

This is my ranch.

Eddie wanted me to

have this ranch,

not some cousin he

hasn't seen in 30 years!

I'm gonna fight who I have to!

Still acting the

damn fool, i see.

Tom!

It's like Christmas!

Get over here.

Christmas in July, seeing you!

Good to see you, lefty.

Who's the kid?

Just some tenderfoot that

needed looking after.

But now that you're here,

we've got ourselves a

real goddamn posse.

I'll get my gear here.

Army's gonna take care

of Eddie's killers.

I'm just here to bring you home.

Well, i ain't exactly got

a home for you to bring me to.

Lefty, Laura can't run

that ranch without you.

Well, seeing as you ain't

exactly been around...

and I think you

understand my meaning...

I don't figure how

you would know that.

I know one thing.

You ain't changed a damn bit.

Well, listen here.

I'm gonna bring back

Edward's killer,

and there ain't nothing

that you can do about it.

I can knock you cold, old man.

How's that for a draw, Mr.

Brown?

Is that child

pointing a gun at me?

Sh*t.

You really are a damn

fool, lefty brown.

Why are you tying him up?

Well, you don't think i

ought to shoot him, do you?

But he's a lawman.

Yeah, he buried his badge

in the bottle years ago.

Then, what's that?

Well, I'll be.

Last time, i seen this fella,

the folks was calling him

whiskey tom harrah,

the spittoon diver.

Sheriff Thomas harrah?

No. According to this,

it's marshal Thomas harrah.

I ain't touched a drop,

not since Eddie smacked me in

the head with that old Henry.

The Thomas harrah?

What is it?!

Well, this one here...

this one here is you.

And the other one...

Is Edward.

Edward Johnson.

This is not bad, that likeness.

It looks like him when

he smiles like that.

Is it true what they say?

You went alone against

the whole Bradford gang?

Hey. And then you...

what the hell are you doing?!

The man's my hero.

Yeah? What kind of hero

turns his back on his friends

when they need him most?

What's he talking about?

The governor called in the army,

and he don't need us.

Now, that's Jimmy talk.

Ever occur to you that

maybe he's right?

The railroad, the soldiers...

get some law and order.

That can't be a bad thing.

Lord, lord, lord.

You gotten good and greasy

with your words, ain't you?

What would Edward do...

If you was the one that was

buried six feet in the dirt?

Sh*t.

Damn it, lefty.

Cut me loose.

Cut me loose quick, before

I change my damn mind.

Ha ha! Cut him loose.

Now, tom, he doesn't like

me to say it, but...

you mind if I tell Jeremiah about

the time you took off with...

yeah, I do. Shut up.

Well, I thought... i thought...

I won't tell him, then. I won't.

Lefty, just ride.

We got a long ways.

My pa, he taught me to

read with these two,

"the seminole chief"

and "the road agents."

"the road agents"?

They were nothing

but a bunch of

modern vigilantes.

Isn't that right, lefty?

Kid, ain't i in one of them?

No, you're not in any of

these, not that I've seen.

Well, might be you ought to

take a closer look at that.

I've never seen him

mentioned in them,

and I've read more than most.

Lefty, he ain't ever happy

unless he's got something

to complain about.

Me? You ain't happy

unless you're making my life and

other people's lives miserable.

You do a fine job on

your own, old man.

"Old man"? Don't you

start with that.

You calling me an old man?

I ain't born but just a

year or two before you.

At least I was conscious

half the time,

like you was unconscious

most of that time.

It's a story. I

don't even think...

what are you saying?!

What I'm saying is...

It's a yarn, a children's story.

So? What?

There's better men not

made it in than did,

yourself included.

You feel better now?

I don't even understand

you half the time,

but I think you're actually

trying to be nice.

Get off of me, or

I'll shoot you.

I'll shoot you,

shoot your other leg.

How's your coffee? You

want a little more?

I'll take a sip, yeah.

All right. I'll get you it.

Read me another one

of them stories, kid.

It's "the blackfeet trail."

This is the story of

a tribe of blackfeet

that kidnap Mr. Johnson's wife.

Kid...

and then you and him

spent two years

tracking them across mont...

what did I say?

Well, that weren't

Edward's wife.

That was tom's,

and we looked for her

longer than two years.

But they rescued her.

They fought off the blackfeet

by the old cave, and

they rescued her.

Why do you reckon that tom

crawled into a bottle

in the first place, then?

Did you find something?

Yep.

Hey. No, kid,

you get on back up here.

You're only gonna get

in the way down there.

Can't learn if you

don't try, lefty.

Lord almighty.

That kid is getting uppish as

Jimmy was back in the day.

We can't track in these rocks.

Sun's fading fast.

Let's make camp.

Now, hold on there.

Of course he didn't

go up them rocks.

They went up that crevice, 'cause

there's nothing but desert that way.

We're gonna get this done, tom.

We gotta get it done.

Lefty.

Hyah.

Should we go after him?

Nah.

We'll catch up to

him in the morning.

Hyah.

Even he ain't dumb enough

to ride through that at night.

Best speak up.

Where you at?

Horses have got the

brand j on them.

Lefty.

It might be.

Hey, listen.

You done a damn good job

finding these bastards.

Eddie'd be might' proud of you.

They're awful ornery-looking.

Hey.

Stupid kid.

Ain't you supposed to be

back with the horses?

Is the killer in there?

He don't listen to me.

You're outnumbered three to one.

Yeah.

You know, might be the

kid's right, tom.

You know, might be

we ought to get

some help from Jimmy on

this one, thinking, maybe.

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