The Westerner Page #3

nothing short of hanging can stop me.

Wait a minute. You can't go.

You're under suspended sentence.

- Why, you hung Mr. Evans for that.

- Huh?

You're under suspendence, anyhow.

Who are you? What do I know about you?

How do I know they ain't looking for you?

You're under arrest for disorderly

conduct, for disturbing the peace, vagrancy,

and you're on the way back to

town with me, and that's my ruling!

So long, Judge.

By gobs, he stole my gun.

We hired out for farm

work, Miss, not a civil war.

This ain't no fit place to homestead in.

Land's no good when there's

always lead flying over it.

If you'd shoot back, maybe

they'd stop bothering you.

We did shoot back.

And so did Shad Wilkins, and

he ain't trying it no more.

What about your own quarter section?

- If you leave, you'll lose it.

- We don't want no part of it.

All right, Hod. If you feel that way,

we'll try to get along

with just Eph and Henry.

Not me.

Henry, if we only had one

man, it'd be a big help.

Sorry, Mr. Mathews.

Call themselves men.

Wade, what do we do?

- I know what to do.

- No, no, wait. That's not the way.

Don't even think of it.

Wade, aren't you going to stay for supper?

I'll be back.

Well, they left.

Of course they have. What did you expect?

My hands quit, too. You

can't blame them for leaving.

There won't be a hired man

left in this part of the country

if we don't do something about it.

We hire new hands, same thing will happen.

What's old Mathews going to say about it?

He keeps passing the

buck to the Lord Jehovah.

I say, let's do something about it ourselves.

- That's right.

- That's what I like to hear.

Let's give the judge the same

thing he gave Shad Wilkins.

Maybe if some of us went down and

appealed to Roy Bean for justice...

Justice. If you'd seen him yesterday,

pretending to try that prisoner...

The man didn't have a chance.

- I wonder if they hanged him.

- Don't they always?

He was the same as dead

even while he stood there.

I've kept on seeing his face all day.

What is it, Daughter?

The man I told you about,

the one that was hanged.

I saw him plain as day,

looking in the window.

You're seeing things, Jane

Ellen. There's nobody out there.

I saw his face, I tell you.

Come in.

Good evening.

Pardon me for intruding like this.

Oh, no, you're not. It's

just... Well, I thought you were a ghost.

Well, I guess you're partly to blame I'm not.

- I just stopped in to thank you.

- Father, this is Mister...

- Harden.

- Welcome, Mr. Harden, welcome.

Glad to meet you.

Oh, Mr. Harden, this is

our neighbor Wade Harper.

This is the man I told you about.

You mean to tell me Bean

tried you, and let you go?

Well, she was my lawyer. I guess

she's the one that got me off.

- I knew you weren't a horse thief.

- Thanks.

How did you know that?

I just knew.

Are you working anywhere?

No, I'm heading for California.

Mr. Harden, I suppose a body that's just

been hanged is apt to be a bit hungry.

You must stay for supper.

- Well, I don't want to put you out any.

- Oh, no, not at all.

Matter of fact, we had some

company that just disappointed us.

Uh-huh. We were hoping somebody'd

show up to take their place.

Make yourself at home,

now. Make yourself at home.

Wait till you sink your teeth

into some of Jane Ellen's stew.

Oh, Lord, for that which

thou hast sent us in our hour of need,

make us truly grateful.

Bless this food to our use and

ourselves to thy service. Amen.

Let me help you.

How about some hominy?

- Here, Wade. Give him some milk.

- All right, all right.

Give him some milk.

I think he likes it here. I think we got him.

- What's he doing now?

- Feeding his horse.

Wade, he could probably take the place

of two men. He's so big and strong.

- Well, I don't know how strong he is.

- Strong enough, Wade.

Now, Jane Ellen, we'll

leave you alone with him,

and you kind of add on a little more welcome.

- What'll I say?

- Oh, just keep smiling at him.

And, Daughter, if it should come up natural

- like,

you might hint what a handsome man he is.

Handsome?

We need him terribly bad, Daughter.

We got to get that corn husked.

We need him terribly bad.

- Listen, your father don't mean for you to...

- Shh.

Look out.

Everything all right, Mr. Harden?

- Fine, thanks.

- Good. Now, I'll go see about your bunk.

- Oh, don't trouble.

- No trouble at all. Come on, Wade.

- Can I give you a hand?

- Oh, no, thanks.

- Won't you sit down, please?

- Well, I won't argue with you.

If I had to wash dishes,

I guess I'd give up eating.

Well, what do you do about

the dishes when you're home?

Home? What? You mean in a house?

Well, you live in a house, don't you?

No. No, my house is all out there,

all one room with a sky for a roof.

- Well, it's a big place.

- Got some space to rent.

Well, I guess California's

your next stop, huh?

California, but I don't

stop. Oregon next, I guess.

Well, all places aren't just the same.

Wouldn't you rather stay a

little longer in some places?

No, they're all the same,

beautiful when you leave them.

Well, it's like the turtles.

Carry their houses with them.

If I had to build me a

house, I'd have it on wheels.

Not me. I'd want my house so

that nothing could ever move it.

So down deep that an

earthquake couldn't shake it,

and a cyclone would be

just another wind going by.

Well, you say, "Who wants to be a turtle?"

And I say, "I hope you'll

be very happy in your house. "

- Well...

- Oh, say, wait a minute.

What?

I'll bet I know something we could agree on.

What's that?

Well, in about a week now,

we're going to husk the corn,

and I'll bet you'll agree that that's fun.

Well, you know, I think husking

corn's the greatest fun in the world.

- Husking corn, fun?

- Oh, yes!

- Well, I'd rather wash dishes.

- Oh, no.

It was a fine supper, and good cooking.

Oh, Mr. Harden.

What a handsome man you are.

I doubt that, but I'm a tired one.

Well, I hope I see you in

the morning before I leave.

Get out of here! Hey!

If anybody'd told me yesterday

I'd be playing tag in a cornfield

with a lot of cows...

If we had some men that would ride fence,

there wouldn't be any cows in the cornfield.

You were sure cute last night.

Now you're making fun of me.

Well, that's... That's

more fun than picking corn.

Hey, look at your father. I wonder what's up.

I tried to stop them.

They wouldn't listen to me.

Wade!

Yes, yes. It's the wrong

and lawless thing to do.

- I begged them not to. I told them.

- Who? What happened?

Wade Harper has rounded up some of the men.

They going to town to lynch Judge Bean.

- When did they leave?

- About an hour ago.

They took our wagon.

Thunder and lightning! You

back from California already?

You got to get out of here,

and don't stop for nothing.

Did you write to El Paso?

Listen, just get on your horse

and get, because they're after you.

Did you write? Who's after me?

The homesteaders. They're

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