Vera Cruz

Howdy.

You an American?

You interested in me or the horses?

Would one of 'em be for sale?

- One would.

- Which one?

Guess.

- How much?

- $100.

Gold.

- That's mighty hard.

- So's walkin'.

His leg was broke.

A three-legged horse'd

bring a price down here.

- He was sufferin'.

- Soft spot, huh?

Only for horses.

Next time you draw near me,

say what you're aimin' at.

If I have the time, I will.

- Government troops! Gonna run or fight?

- I got no quarrel with them.

Fancy shootin' for a man with no quarrel.

- That featherhead tried to kill me!

- Why not? That's his horse you're ridin'.

Back in Louisiana, we hang horse thieves!

Howdy.

Howdy.

I said howdy.

What gets into Americans down here?

He's got Joe's horse.

Friend, if you got Joe Erin,

you rode the wrong way.

Shoulda headed for the States

and claimed the reward.

All I got was his horse.

You're a liar!

You see, nobody could steal

Joe Erin's horse unless he killed him.

Nobody'd kill Joe

'less they shot him in the back.

Turn around, mister.

I didn't kill him.

Give the gent a hand first, boys.

A pleasure.

My old man always said

the bottle could ruin a man.

Joe! You ain't dead!

That's what the man said.

We didn't know he was your friend.

I got no friends, Donnegan, not even you.

Follow him, boys. We're leavin' anyway.

Louisiana, huh?

- Mint julep, Colonel?

- Colonel?

- All you Southerners are colonels.

- Not any more.

Civil War cost me everything but my shirt.

- Travelling alone?

- Depends.

How come you stopped the fun?

You got a soft spot for an innocent man?

No such thing as an innocent man.

- You aimin' to fight in this civil war here?

- If it pays.

I figure a whole passel of guns'll

pay better than a lone hand.

Howdy.

Howdy.

About my horse...

Your horse? You found another fast one

to get you here in time to save my neck.

Meanin'?

I'll give you back your saddle.

Colonel,

I just don't see how the South lost.

Hear tell some boys

from the States is here.

Trouble draws 'em like hogs to swill!

The boys is here, all right!

Let me go!

Little Bit,

you gonna put your brand on her?

Ride her, cowboy!

Hooray for the papaya lady!

All right, Papayas. I'll take you.

Slow down, Little Bit.

Man's just tryin' to keep you alive.

- Easy, friend, easy. That's Ben Trane.

- That supposed to mean somethin'?

He stole Joe Erin's horse and lived to tell.

Thank you, seor.

Thought your soft spot

was only for horses.

Boys, there's a war goin' on down here.

Be a shame if fine men like us

weren't on the same side.

Anybody wanna ride along with me?

We're doin' just fine on our own.

We're here to dicker with General

Ramirez, big chief of the rebels.

- How much does he pay?

- I figure that's 'tween me and him.

Kind of exclusive, ain't you, Charlie?

Gentlemen,

permit me to welcome you to Mexico.

- You the mayor?

- I'm the Marquis de Labordere.

Aide to His Imperial Majesty Maximilian,

Emperor of Mexico.

You are Monsieur Joe Erin?

- You know me?

- Indeed. The American police account

of your exploits was so inspiring

I was compelled to seek you out.

Hear that, Ben?

I offer you a commission

in the service of His Majesty.

You and your men could be

of profitable service to the emperor.

- How profitable?

- Yeah. That's what I wanna know.

His Majesty is extremely generous.

How many men have you?

- 17.

- Add pretty fast, don't you, Joe?

Anything wrong with the count?

Yeah.

You're dickering with the wrong feller.

Those eight men are mine.

Those seven are his.

If we come in... I run the show.

I string with Charlie.

Anybody else string with Charlie?

Bravo! It is an honour

to know you, Monsieur Erin.

The honour is mine, Your Excellency.

- Who's he?

- A Juarista... a rebel.

A soldier in the army

of Benito Jurez, seor.

- I am General Ramirez.

- General?

- What's your proposition, General?

- We would like you to join us.

You'd be wasting your talents. These

peasants have no money to pay you.

As Americans, you can appreciate

our fight for independence.

We offer you more than money, seor.

We offer a cause.

How 'bout that, Ben? This here's

our cause expert. Fought for the South.

A brave struggle, seor.

My congratulations.

What for? We lost.

You were sayin'...

the emperor was extremely generous.

I am sorry, seor.

His Excellency is now our prisoner.

- What'd you say?

- The marquis is our prisoner.

So are the rest of you.

Each one of you is a target for 20 of us.

At this range,

even our ancient weapons are effective.

- If it's that easy, what's stoppin' you?

- We're not savages, seor.

We do not kill in cold blood.

But we cannot permit you

to serve with Maximilian.

If you do not surrender

before Pedro finishes his song...

Better make it a long one, Pedro,

cos you ain't ever gonna play another!

Hold it!

Get those children outta here.

Yeah, sure... Always did like kids.

How about you, General?

Certainly.

Donnegan! Pittsburgh!

Get those kids inside.

Come on, kids.

Hurry up! Pronto!

All right, Joe!

The two inside will not stop us.

Nor will 200.

No, but they can stop a lot of kids

from growin' up, amigo.

- Donnegan!

- Just say the word, Joe!

You want those kids to live,

get your men up that hill.

We'll leave then, not before.

Wars are not won by killing children.

Hasta la vista, seores.

I give you my word we will meet again.

Donnegan! Pittsburgh!

Turn the kids loose.

Fascinating man, your friend...

and a brilliant bluff about those children.

Or was it a bluff?

They're still alive, aren't they?

- Where's this palace of Max's?

- Mexico City. We'll be there by nightfall.

Let's ride.

If this blue coat don't rile you,

Mr Trane, I'd like to ride along.

Can you think of a better man?

He won the war, didn't he?

- Suit yourself.

- The man's crazy about you.

Move along.

- My wallet!

- To you, seor, it is free.

It is useless to look for it now. In Mexico,

a thief disappears like a puff of smoke.

It's only cowhide, Ben.

Max'll buy you another.

It wasn't the wallet,

it's the sentiment. I had $12 in it!

- Old Max sure knows how to live.

- The fanciest lodge hall I ever seen!

- Hey, come on down here!

- What's at this end?

Aren't you going to join us, monsieur?

- The emperor built quite a palace.

- You know its history?

We had books in the South...

And one or two homes that once

might have stood beside all this.

Once?

There's nothin' ever destroyed

that can't be rebuilt.

Perhaps... if a man

wants to badly enough.

I didn't come down here for the ride.

Aw, come one, take just

a little bite! Come on!

- What do you suppose is wrong with her?

- Try approaching 'em downwind.

Oh, gentlemen.

May I present Captain Danette?

Monsieur Erin, Monsieur Trane.

You'll find something in common

with this gentleman.

As a soldier, he fought with

the American Confederate Army.

Then I feel we'll have little in common.

You see, I've never fought

with a losing side.

That's cos you ain't ever fought him!

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