The Big Country Page #2

do you have here?

Oh, ten thousand... twenty thousand,

forty thousand, fifty thousand...

Cattle are not important to me.

You speak Spanish?

No. I understand you, though.

Perfectly.

Oh, very good!

- Mornin'

- Morning, Mr. Leech.

- You care to go ridin' this mornin'

- Yes, I'd like to very much.

Ramn, saddle up

a good horse for Mr. McKay.

Yes, sir.

How well do you ride?

Oh, I've ridden some in the East.

Different saddle, though.

If you can sit one saddle,

you can sit 'em all.

Ramn, put him up on Old Thunder.

Right over here.

Any time you're ready.

Nice day, isn't it?

Well?

Some other time, Leech.

We got a chuck-wagon horse

down at the big barn.

- Morning, Jim.

- Morning, Major.

Mornin', Major.

The boys always try to put

a stranger on Old Thunder.

- Sort of a standing joke.

- I see.

What time do you want to start, Major?

Any time. Just let me know

when you're ready.

Have some breakfast with me, Jim.

My daughter's not an early riser,

as you'll soon discover.

Don't let anything

Steve Leech said bother you.

He doesn't bother me.

I seem to bother him.

Steve's a little rough,

but he's a fine boy.

Turned up as a tow-headed youngster

with just the clothes he stood in

and the horse he rode.

A saddle tramp at 14.

Now I doubt if there's a finer

foreman in this entire country.

I raised him, made a man of him.

I see.

Jim, I'm glad to have this chance

to talk to you alone.

I know Patricia's impulsiveness.

Frankly, I feared an elopement

back there in Baltimore.

I owe it to you that I'm to have

the pleasure of seeing her married here.

I owe it to you that

I'll have the privilege

of marrying a very exceptional girl.

I thought we ought

to do this thing properly.

We'll do our best to oblige.

- What are your plans for the future?

- A little vague at the moment.

If it's romance you're after,

you certainly can find it here.

No prettier sight in the world

than 10,000 head of cattle...

unless it's 50,000.

And we can have that many one day, too.

This country's as big as the sea, Jim.

And offers a man the same challenge.

I can see that.

Oh, Major,

Pat tells me that you're something

of an authority on weapons.

- I thought you might like to have these.

- Duelling pistols.

Now this is mighty kind of you, Jim.

They're just about the finest I ever saw.

Wonderful!

Wonderful balance.

Made by John Nock of London.

None better.

They've been used.

Yes, they belonged to my father.

Jim, I know how proud you are

of his memory.

We loved him, Major. We were just

as proud of him when he was alive.

A man's honour and his good name

are his finest possessions.

I agree, but his good name

needed no defence,

and his honour was beyond question.

You know, no one remembers exactly

what that last duel was about.

Here in the West, Jim, a man

is still expected to defend himself.

If he allows people to think he won't,

he's in trouble. Bad trouble.

You're speaking about

what happened yesterday?

I'm not implying any criticism, Jim,

but your gentlemanly forbearance

is misplaced

when you're dealing with

the Hannasseys.

Well, I can't say that I enjoyed it,

but I've gone through rougher hazing

in college and at sea.

I was keelhauled the first time

I crossed the equator.

Well, perhaps you did the right thing...

Pat being there.

I don't know that I would've acted

differently if she hadn't been.

They weren't dangerous, just drunk.

I've run into Hannasseys

in ports all over the world.

That's where you're wrong, Jim.

The Hannasseys are trash. There's

no other word for it. They're trash.

They're as prolific as animals

and they live like animals.

Rufus, the head of the clan,

is something out of the Stone Age.

They live like a pack of wild dogs

up in Blanco Canyon.

The eldest of the litter, Buck,

you've met.

They're a pest, a plague.

Like Sodom and Gomorrah.

It'd be a blessing for this country

if a flood would wipe them

off the face of the earth.

Good morning!

Ohh, I overslept,

and on your first morning, too!

You look...

I thought I was up early

until I went out walking.

Oh, no, on Ladder

the people wake up the roosters.

- Morning, darling.

- Pat, darling.

Oh, what's this?

Ugh! Pistols and coffee.

I'll have coffee, Pedro.

What have you two been up to?

You don't know each other

well enough to fight a duel.

A gift from Jim.

We're about ready for you, Major.

Mornin', Pat.

Morning, Steve.

- Where are you off to?

- A little hunting expedition.

Good. Jim going with you?

No, I think perhaps

Jim would rather be with you.

- After all, he just arrived.

- Oh. Of course.

I'll get a gun, Steve.

Be right with you.

Yes, sir.

Well, you and I'll ride out and

survey the family acres, darling.

All right.

I don't believe Mr. McKay

cares much for horses.

Don't tell me they got you on

Old Thunder this morning.

Well, they tried.

Mr. McKay said "Some other time",

whatever that means.

It means some other time.

Oh, darling, everybody

tries to ride Old Thunder.

- They do? Why?

- Why?

I don't know. They just always do.

What are you hunting today, Mr. Leech?

Hannasseys.

Pat... Didn't you tell the major that

there was no real trouble yesterday

until you reached for that rifle?

No. I don't think it would have

made any difference.

You can tell him if you want to.

You're actually gonna shoot somebody

because of what happened yesterday?

No. Just teach 'em a little lesson.

Major, I don't want to be

the cause of any further trouble.

You'd be doing me a great favour

if you forget the whole thing.

Forget it?

When a guest can't come to my house

without being attacked by rowdies,

it's time something was done about it.

Jim, the major is doing

what he thinks is right.

He knows how to handle these people.

- I was the one who was knocked around.

- Come with us, then.

We'll cut Buck Hannassey out for you

and you can settle with him yourself.

There's nothing to settle.

Not this way, anyway.

Now look, Jim,

what you don't realise is that

the nearest law is at

the county seat, 200 miles away.

You can't call a policeman.

You have to be your own law.

That may be so, but nothing happened

to justify this kind of a war party.

You're new here and you

don't know this country.

You'll just have to trust my judgment.

Major, you're riding on the Hannasseys

for reasons of your own,

not because of anything

that happened to me.

Go on this side.

Where's Rufus?

He ain't here. What do you want?

What are you doin' here?

Where is he?

Three Wells, and he ain't gonna

take it good, you ridin' in here.

Where's Buck?

I don't know. In Rafael, maybe.

Anyway, he ain't here.

- See if she's lying, Steve.

- Jessy! Come here.

Search every one of these shacks.

You stay out of this house!

I hope you're enjoying yourself, Major!

He's not in there.

You want that, Major?

Let 'em have their fun.

You look mighty fine

on your horse, Major Terrill,

but someday somebody's

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