The Westerner Page #5

little girl, she'd heard about Texas,

and it'd always been the dream of

her life to have a home here someday.

- She did?

- She did.

Last herd just come in, Judge.

Well?

Huh?

Oh.

By gobs!

A lock of her own hair!

It's kind of dark, ain't it?

Yeah, she uses lots of shampoo on her hair.

She does?

It's beautiful. Beautiful.

I'll never forget this, Cole. Never.

- Let me see it, will you?

- What for?

I ain't going to keep it.

I'd like to see you try.

- All right?

- All right.

I know how you feel, son.

Almighty God,

we offer thee thanksgiving for

thy help and thy divine bounty.

Thou has poured thy blessings on our land.

Thou hast visited the

Earth and made it plenteous.

Thou hast made it soft with drops of rain,

and the land that was desolate

has become like a garden,

and the waste places are

become fenced and are inhabited.

Thou hast made the tree of

the field yield her fruit,

and the Earth, her increase.

Thou hast broken the bonds of our yoke

and delivered us out of

the hands of our enemies,

so that we shall dwell here safely,

and none shall make us afraid,

and for this, thy divine bounty,

Oh, Lord, we thank thee. Amen.

Amen.

- Amen.

One foot up and the other foot down

Swing them pretty girls 'round and 'round

Here it is.

- What?

Tell me something first.

Where do you keep my lock of hair?

Oh, uh...

Show me.

Nobody can see that, not even you.

Look, Cole, the best piece of

homestead land in the whole country.

It used to belong to one of

the hired men that left us,

and now it's anybody's. You just claim it.

Yeah, that's a fine piece of land all right.

Yeah, look at the feed on

those slopes over there,

and that strip along the bottom

is just fine for wheat or corn.

And, Cole, look, that

little knoll right there,

it's just begging for a house.

- Do you know how to build a house?

- No, how?

Well, you... You...

Well, you have the kitchen there,

and the bedroom over there, and

the living room right in the middle.

It would have to have the

right things in it, too.

What sort of things?

Oh, fires and lamplights, warm beds,

the smell of coffee in the morning,

the sound of rain on the roof.

Gee, that's a nice house, Jane Ellen.

Jane!

Look!

Go to your homes!

Protect your houses!

Hey, Wade, grab another team,

we'll take a section of rail fence

and knock down a strip of corn.

Maybe we can start a backfire.

Take the two end sections, Wade!

Cole! Cole! Cole!

Hey, get out of here! Move!

Look, the house!

Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Father!

Help! Help!

Come on, hurry up!

- Watch out for his leg and shoulder.

All right.

Take it easy.

- Have you seen Jane Mathews?

No.

So I hereby christen this town Langtry!

No man ever gave a woman a whole

town afore, but I'm doing it,

and from now on, this whole section's

going to bloom like the Jersey Lily herself!

Quiet! I ain't through yet.

Miss Langtry's coming soon

to play a night in Fort Davis,

and I want every legal

resident of Langtry, Texas,

to go over and see the

godmother of this here town,

a town of cattlemen, for cattlemen,

and by gobs, run by cattlemen!

Now, in honor of this great occasion,

I'm dishing out free beer to one and all,

and anybody found sober after sundown

is liable to arrest for disorderly

conduct, and that's my ruling!

Start the music!

"And man that is born of

woman has but a short time to live.

"He cometh up and is cut down like a flower.

"He fleeth as if it were a shadow,

and never continueth in one stay.

"In the midst of life, we are in death. "

The wagon train's left. The

people have all gone, Jane Ellen.

I'm staying. Nobody's going

to drive me away from my land,

not with cattle, or fire, or

killing my father, or anything else.

I'll be here long after Bean and

his gang of murderers are gone.

Sure you will, and me, too.

I don't want you.

I don't want any of Roy

Bean's friends around.

Wade Harper was right. I didn't

believe it then, but I do now.

You knew we were going to be burned out.

That's why you herded all the cattle out,

so they wouldn't be burned with our crops.

No, I don't need your help. Not now.

I can do what I have to do alone.

I'll be back.

Why, Cole!

By gobs, man, I'm glad to see you.

Why, I never wanted to see a

man so much before in my life.

- What for?

- What for?

Don't you know what for?

She's coming to Fort Davis.

- Lily Langtry's coming to Fort Davis.

- Langtry?

Langtry, yeah, and you and me

are going over there together.

You're going to introduce me to

her. By gobs, I'm going to meet her.

- I just can't believe it.

- I want to talk to you, Judge.

Yeah, all right. And look what

I got to tell her when I see her.

Langtry, that's the name of this

town, a great town after a great woman.

- I said I wanted to talk to you, Judge.

- Sure.

Cole, it's a great day.

I tell you, it's the greatest

day in the history of Texas.

- Some fire, huh?

- Yeah, wasn't it, though?

- Yeah, too bad.

- Yeah.

Yep.

- I wonder who was behind it?

- Oh, a fire don't need nothing behind it.

Fire has a way of moving

on its own. Here's how.

Before I drink with you, Judge, I want

to know you had nothing to do with it.

Me? Why, how can you say a thing like that?

Didn't I round up all them cattle for you?

Wasn't I right here in the

saloon when the fire broke out?

Didn't...

Well, I was, and what's more,

I ain't got no idea who done it.

Now, drink up.

- Don't you believe me?

- No.

Now, listen, son, I told you how it was,

and I don't want you calling me no liar.

Now, drink hearty.

Will you swear by that?

There ain't no reason I

should, but I'm willing.

All right, I swear by my sword

there I had nothing to do with it.

I swear by the revised statutes.

By gobs, if there was a Bible in town I'd...

Where's that lock of hair?

- Right here with me.

- Let me see it.

Swear on that?

All right, it was me. I

burned their houses and crops.

- I run them varmints out.

- Nice going.

And if you think...

If you think I'm sorry, you're crazy.

I'm proud and glad I rid the country of them.

It was either them or us, and now

the range grass will grow back,

and some day, the cattlemen

will put up a statue of me

out there on the street,

and they'll write on it,

"Judge Roy Bean, he give us back the land. "

You get warrants in Fort Davis, don't you?

Yeah, that's where they get them,

but they don't know how to spell my name.

- It's been tried before.

- I'll get one.

This time, you're going to get

what's coming to you, Judge.

Cole!

You and me's friends. I done what I

had to, and you think it was wrong.

But if it was my own son

come over here with a warrant,

he'd have to be first on the draw.

I aim to be, unless I get it in

the back before I get out of here.

So long, Cole.

Make out a warrant against Roy Bean.

Raise your right hand.

Do you solemnly swear to carry

out the duties of deputy sheriff

in Jeff Davis County in the state of Texas?

Yep.

Thanks, Sheriff.

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