The Stranger Wore a Gun Page #2

- I'm looking for him.

- Try his room. 201.

Pay for the first day, please.

He's the thirteenth John Smith

in this house now.

I hope he ain't superstitious.

- Mr. Mourret?

- No.

- I was told to see him here.

- You can wait. He'll be along.

- You ride a careless horse, mister.

- The way you ride, you'd better walk.

Don't ever do that to me again.

Hold it.

Such lack of hospitality. Let him go.

I must apologize for my men.

But we both know that civilization ends

with the Mason-Dixon Line.

- We were getting acquainted.

- You can't get away with that.

Neither will you.

I sent you for gold, Slager.

You brought me back rocks.

Come in, Lt. Travis.

Take a chair.

Too bad Josie isn't here.

Old friend of mine, you know.

On the boat. You threw the knife.

Could I stand by and let

an old comrade-at-arms be slaughtered?

You don't remember how

we routed them at Lawrence?

We fought under the same flag.

And under the greatest leader,

William Clarke Quantrill.

There are two schools of thought on that.

So, in a way, I owe my life to the Raiders.

No. You owe it to me.

And I know a good gambler

always pays his debts.

- There's a payoff, huh?

- There's always a payoff.

- That depends.

- I have a job for you.

A job for which you have unusual talent.

Here's to it.

- Jules. Degas is coming up.

- Jules, old friend.

What make you so nervous?

You jump so...

Your manners, Degas.

- Don't you ever knock?

- No.

I'm always surprise. I just sneak in.

Now we talk.

This is Shorty, my partner.

Listen, he don't talk good English like me.

- Is that right, Shorty?

- Yep.

Who's he?

Just a stranger.

No more?

It isn't your business, is it?

He's not afraid!

The man talks back!

But he don't carry any guns.

What do you think about it, Shorty?

He'd get riddled.

Riddled?

Oh, boy, he get killed!

You friend of my old friend.

I make you a little present.

- You need it.

- When I feel the need, I'll carry a gun.

Come on, take it...

stick it in your pocket.

You never know.

Thanks.

All right.

Now, Jules, for why I come to see you.

Last night, one of my boys...

my good old friend, Kansas. He was in town.

Have a little fun.

And he don't come back.

- You think he's here?

- Where else?

Kurth, bring Kansas in.

There's your man, Degas.

If you still want him.

And there's the knife

he tried to stick in my back.

- You push me too hard, Jules.

- You know your place.

Don't interfere

with my operations in this town.

- But we was in here first.

- But now I'm in and you're out.

Get back to the hills

and take that scum with you.

Here, take it back.

You may need this one, too.

I have plenty more.

Next time we meet, maybe you need it.

Come on.

One of the minor problems

I have to contend with.

But Degas is nothing to my real problem.

I intend to leave Prescott a millionaire.

- You've set your sights pretty high.

- Yeah.

Millions of dollars in raw gold

flow through this town from the mines.

I intend to divert part of the flow.

Every ounce of it moves out

on Conroy's stage line...

and Mr. Conroy has

an annoying way of hiding...

when and how the gold is shipped.

Now, the eyes you used

for Quantrill at Lawrence...

should do as sharp a job here.

I'd like to get one thing straight.

When I realized what Quantrill was,

I left the Raiders, joined the Confederacy...

and fought in the open.

It didn't help much. We lost the war anyway.

Lee surrendered, but I never will.

The Yankees ruined the South.

Now they're looting it.

So you're doing some looting on your own.

Taking Yankee gold

is legitimate business to me.

Now get yourself settled.

I'll see you tomorrow. And by the way,

you'll use the name Mark Stone.

Mark Stone. You know, Mourret...

I think you'd steal Conroy's gold

even though it wasn't for the South.

- What do you think of the tall man?

- I don't like him.

Be sure he doesn't take a dislike to you.

Dad. Mark Stone,

from the Collier Detective Agency.

Our Chicago office, sir,

notified the Western Division...

that you had written for an agent.

That was many weeks ago, Mr. Stone.

Why all the delay?

I was on assignment on the Rio Paso.

I had to finish that job first.

Didn't they tell you

how this town is being strangled?

Not all of it, but from what I've seen,

I've an idea what's going on.

These robberies are

costing us more than money.

They're killing transportation, our lifeline.

Now that the government's moved,

decent people are starting to leave.

There are times when it's wiser to get out.

That's strange talk from a man we hoped

would stop these outlaws.

Perhaps it doesn't mean anything to him,

as long as he gets paid.

Wait a minute, Miss Conroy.

I was wondering why

you should stick around...

on the chance of getting yourself hurt.

You don't understand, Mr. Stone.

This is our home. We live here.

I was born in Arizona territory.

Dad's given

everything he has to this country.

My mother gave her life.

Now this country owes us something,

and we just can't be driven out that easily.

No, I guess not.

You'll have to give me

a free hand, Mr. Conroy.

- Anything you want.

- Put me on the books as a shotgun guard.

It's best that no one knows

what I'm here for.

- Of course.

- I'll do my best to help you both. Good day.

I like him.

Got a match?

- What's going on? Any trouble?

- None.

What happened to Mark Stone,

the real owner of that letter?

There was none.

We intercepted Conroy's letter to the agency

and forged identification papers.

We'll have some fast action now.

I'm afraid you'll

have to wait till I learn something.

You've already wasted

three days before even seeing Conroy.

I had to do some planning.

I've found that, in playing

for big stakes, Mr. Mourret...

you'd better make sure

you hold the right cards.

Thank you, Mr. Degas,

for making the trip seem...

very short and very interesting.

I am very happy you enjoy me, seora.

We make another long trip soon.

- I'll make it even more beautiful for you.

- No, thank you.

And you shouldn't play

with those guns like that.

- You had me worried.

- Lf I worry you...

I shall cut off this hand right away.

Please wait till after supper.

Where's the hotel?

I take you myself to the Juniper House.

Take the lady's bags.

Why do I have to work

while you get the girl?

'Cause I'm a gentleman! You're a foreigner.

This Juniper House.

I hope it has plenty of hot water.

Sure. Very fancy.

They have plenty of water.

You have a nice cleanup.

But the boss, Mourret. He's a pig of a...

Jules! My old friend.

Are you wait to greet me?

- What were you doing on that coach?

- Go to Tucson. Buy clothes.

Fancy, no?

How you like it, stranger?

That woman. Where did you meet her?

In Tucson, we make friends quick.

She loves to ride in the stage with me.

You rode the coach to check the loot,

to find the best places of holding it up.

Maybe.

Maybe I like to see the country.

I ordered you to stay away

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