The River's Edge Page #4

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Any chance of him

double-crossing us?

No. He isn't as experienced

at double-crossing as you and I.

He never made a living at it.

Whatever he says he'll do,

you can count on it.

He almost made a square

out of you, sweetheart.

A slug in my head right now

would send 30,000 volts through yours.

Denning-

Don't jump. Don't move.

You might get hurt.

- Don't lift your head.

You'll get an ugly scratch if you do.

What's the beef, Cameron?

- You ever see a knife like this before?

- No, I don't think I have.

We use 'em

to stick turkeys with.

She slides in at the base of the throat,

moves straight up into the brain.

It's like peeling a banana.

I've done it a million times.

I hope the novelty's

worn off by now.

There are gonna be lots of times on this trip

when we won't be able to watch each other...

like when we're asleep.

I don't like anybody holding a gun on me

while I'm driving.

Okay. You've made your point.

Or any other time!

If that ever

happens again, Denning-

From now on, we walk.

Most of the time, straight up.

I'm dumping the trailer

and truck over the cliff.

You grab a pack.

Get your stuff together.

Don't take any more

than you can carry.

I'm awful sensitive about

packing stuff that isn't mine.

- Cameron-

- Yeah?

- Are you sure we can't take this rig any further?

- Yeah.

What if we have to turn back?

If we have to turn back, your buddy'll have

more than transportation to worry about.

We'd still have

the truck and trailer.

I'm not leaving

any road signs behind me.

By the time she hits the bottom of that

canyon, she'll be in so many pieces...

they won't be able to spot 'em

from an airplane.

If there's any danger of the border police

getting on our trail, I think we ought to-

I got news for you, Mac.

They're already on our trail.

But can't we at least hide the truck

in case we need it later?

If we ever get in a spot where you need

this truck to pull you out...

you'll be a dead duck anyhow.

You get out on the point

and watch her splatter.

Better toss over

that case too.

You're not gonna have time

to change underwear on this trip.

You just take care of your end.

I'll take care of mine.

You never liked it anyway.

Come on.

It'll take four or five hours

to get around this cliff.

We don't have

enough daylight.

We'll stay here

and wait till morning.

What in tarnation you folks

doin' way up here?

Hiya, pop.

Ben Cameron!

- Hiya, Ben.

- Hi.

Hiya, Ms. Cameron.

Phew. What do you figure

doin' up here, son? Jumpin' my claim?

- No. I'm just taking this dude hunting.

- Huntin'? Where's your gun?

Well, we don't need 'em.

- We're- We're gonna scare

the game to death.

- Having a little trouble though.

- Uh-huh. What's your problem?

Well, we could save time

if we had a rope.

- A rope?

- Yeah, to get these two up there.

Well, time's kind of cheap, but, uh, ropes

come pretty dear iffen you ain't got one.

- How much?

- How about two dollars?

- I'll give you five.

- Good Lord. For five, I'll carry you up piggyback.

You wait right here!

There's a rock up there-

I used to could hit it first try.

Here, here. Let me do it.

That's pretty good, boy. Couldn't

have done it much better myself.

I'll do the hauling.

You tie 'em on down here, huh?

Okay, son.

All right, Denning, you go first.

Hey, pop.

Tie the dude on, will ya?

Okay.

Sure hope this holds.

Do you, uh, got

that five dollars handy?

Here.

Denning, you just hold on.

I'll pull.

Uh, you just use

your feet as much as you can.

Let me down, Cameron!

Wow! Oh, wow!

Let me down!

Hey! That's-That's

nice underwear you've got.

Man, that's a crazy color.

This is what I've been

lookin' for all my life.

I'd sure like to know

where your claim is, mister.

- This even feels good!

- I'll take care of it.

- No, no. Don't mind at all. Don't mind to help.

- Just take it easy, pop.

I'd like to have

this job by the week.

Maybe you will. Say, uh,

where is that claim of yours?

Right over here. Come on.

I'd like to show it to you.

Take care of this, Meg.

There she be!

I'm sorry, sweetheart.

You got to play it the way the cards fall.

He'd have told half the state.

- Bury him.

- You're crazy.

Bury him!

Here's your wire

from Washington, Captain.

Well, that ought to tie it up,

especially with this fingerprint report.

"The prints on Harry Castleton's belt

belong to a woman named Margaret Fowler.

"She drew a one-to-10-year rap

in Tehachapi for a bunco job.

Out on parole

after serving one year."

And her fingerprints match up

just fine with Ben Cameron's wife.

You don't think Ben's

mixed up in this, do you?

The dame's messed up in it bad.

That dress was found in their cabin.

As for Ben, why not?

He sold his place and moved out

the night of the murder.

Ben was with me

when Harry Castleton was brought in.

So Cameron helps

his wife out of a jam.

After her two-timing him

with that fancy Dan?

That's the kind of a guy Ben is.

Yeah, it figures, all right.

If I know Ben, and I think I do, I know

just where he's gonna try to cross over.

- Which way?

- The right.

- Why don't you take the lead?

- If I'm gonna be shot, I want to see it comin'.

Go ahead.

You, uh-

You a music lover, Denning?

No, but I'm a sucker

for police broadcasts.

I'll give you two about an hour.

- For what?

- To rest.

Then we start out again.

You mean we're gonna

travel tonight?

All night.

Aren't you pushing things

a little hard, Cameron?

Your wife's kind of tired.

You can carry her pack.

We have all day tomorrow

for sleeping.

I can walk right alongside

of you night and day, Cameron.

I'd just like to know

the reason why.

We have to cross the upper end

of the Papago Reservation.

If we try it by daylight,

we'll be spotted.

We have to make it tonight.

Sounds reasonable.

Just how far are we

from the border?

Too far.

I'm gonna take a look

for the best way down.

I'll be back.

I'm sorry about what happened

back there with the old man, honey.

I had to do it. He'd have talked.

You know that, don't you?

- Sure. He'd have talked.

- And that would've been the end of it.

They'd have picked us up

in 24 hours.

You'd have gone

back to jail. Me too.

We might never have

gotten together again.

- So we had to kill him.

- Sure.

And the man we ran over-

It wasn't an accident, was it?

- We had to kill him too, didn't we?

- Now, look here, sweetheart.

The first thing they teach you

in the Marine Corps is to cover yourself.

You come first.

It's got to be that way.

You make it sound

like a virtue...

as if it were our Christian duty to kill

anyone that gets in our way.

Wait a minute.

Where'd you get this "our" business?

You had nothing to do with it.

We're a team, aren't we?

It's never been you or me.

It's always been us.

And it always will be us.

Don't think of the past, sweetheart.

Think of the future.

Think of us together...

once we get rid of

that husband of yours.

- What do you mean, get rid of him?

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