01x31 - Men of Defiance

[bunniefuu]

♪ The nights are so long
in Defiance ♪

♪ The days are all dusty
and dry ♪

♪ A man would be crazy
to live there ♪

♪ And just such a man am I ♪

♪ Surrounded by trouble
and danger ♪

♪ We fight to earn our pay ♪

♪ But when b*ll*ts are flying
around you ♪

♪ It's best to get
out of their way ♪

♪ The whiskey they make
on the prairie ♪

♪ Would melt
a rattlesnake's eye ♪

♪ A man would be crazy
to drink it ♪

♪ And just such a man am I ♪

[ silverware clanking ]

Well, ain't no sign of 'em,
Frank, you must make camp
for the night.

Good. I never liked
being rushed at meal time.

I do not know who is
after you, Bannister.

But I hope
they catch you soon.

Now, what kind of a way
is that to talk to me?

We're guests, remember?

Why, we were even intending
on paying you for this meal.

With stolen money?

Cuidado, Riquito, por favor.

Don't make it any worse
than what it is now.

Kinda late for that, ma'am.

See, your knowing who we are
means we can't just
leave you here.

Now can we?

[ glass breaks ]

[ g*nsh*t ]

It's time we were going, Frank.

No hurry.

[ geese honking ]

[ panicked honking ]

You know who they are?

Rico and his wife.

Him or his family been
running this place
ever since I can remember.

You think Bannister
and his outfit did it?

Figuring we'd put him
here for supplies?

I don't know.

[ geese honking ]

We'd better tend
to them first.

I wanna take
a look around.

Hey, Marshal.

Look at this.

The well's all
filled up with sand.

No accident, either.

They left this for us.

[ sand spills ]

Well, there's nothing
we can do about it now.

We'll make camp here tonight
and get an early start
in the morning.

Is that all you can say?

Frank Bannister and his outfit
m*rder a couple of people,
you know,

and then thumbs his nose
in our face with this.

And all you can say is,
"we'll get an early start
in the morning."

I told you back in Laramie
when you pinned that badge on
how it was gonna be.

You also said something
about getting Frank Bannister
no matter what.

That's right, I did.

But just over those mountains
is about the roughest
stretch of ground

New Mexico's got to offer.

Time to start out's
a couple hours
'fore daylight, not now.

Well, their tracks
lead that way. There must
be somethin' out there.

There is.

More than 100 miles
of open country.

The old Santa Fe,

and right in the middle of it,
a civilian fort called Defiance.

It's a trading post, mostly.

But a man in a hurry
to get there, he...

just might not make it.

Well, I'm sorry, Trim.

I know you're right.

But after cutting after
his trail for two weeks,

and then comin' up
against this,

kinda got me wound up
pretty tight inside.

Forget it.

We'll get to him.

It may not be tomorrow,

or the day after,

but we'll get him.

[ whistling ]

[ hooves pounding ]

Hey, Reb!
Did you finish yet?

Will be, as soon as I put
the distance
on this shingle of ours.

Man, that's purely
a waste of time.

'Bout every month you paint
it on, the wind peels it off.

Eh, it don't matter,
I like to paint.

Appears to me anybody
gets this close to Defiance

bound to darn near
stumble on it anyway.

Besides, what I came to
tell you was, Reb,

Mail's in.

The mail? Well, why didn't
you say so?

All right, Sam,
here you are.

Ah, Clint Gentry.

Hey, Doc,
here's one for you.

[ laughs ]

[ sniffs ]

Hey, it's got
perfume on it!

You've been holdin'
out on us, Doc.

[ all laugh ]

Yeah, if you fellers
think that's perfume,

you're a lot sicker
than I thought you were.

It's from that chemical company.

Trying to sell me
some of that horse liniment.

[ all laugh ]

Come on, Clint,
hand out the rest of 'em.

All right, Clint Gentry.

Oh, only two left. Smokey.

Well, don't take it so hard,
boys, I'll let you read these
as soon as I'm done with 'em.

I hope somebody
sent you a recipe.

It's about time
you learned to cook.

[ all laugh ]

[ crowd chattering ]

Bring us any papers?

Oh, yeah.
I nearly forgot.

There, here you are. That bunch
is only five days old.

Ah, thanks.

Hey, boys. Newspapers!

You got the Daily Report
there, Clint?

I'll take one of them.

Take it easy on 'em now,
they gotta last a week.

Uh, sure would like
to sell you some of
these homing pigeons, Clint.

You know running a trading post
way out here like you do,

they'd come in mighty handy.
Especially if there's trouble.

That's a fine-looking bird,
all right.

Best around.

There's only one thing wrong.

We've got a cat.

[ chuckles wryly ]

I'll see you next trip, huh?Yeah.

Well, so long, Clint.

[ whistles, calls to horses ]

Hey, Clint.

Yeah?

See the paper?What?

Frank Bannister just broke
out of prison up in Wyoming.

Denver paper said he might
be headed this way.

Headin' back to the
old stampin' grounds, huh?

Yeah, hope they stop him
before he gets into
the panhandle country.

Last time he had 40 men
in that Texas raidin'
party of his.

Ah, it isn't likely
Bannister'd be
showing up around here.

But if he does, there's
one thing you can bet on.

That we'll be hearin'
from him.

[ horse whinnies ]

Ah, hooked yourself a big one.
Let me get that.

Goin' fishin'?

Got the rest
of the afternoon off.

Not now, you haven't.
I want you to scout around

and see if you can find
some trace of Bannister i
n the area.

Bannister?

Sure is my day.
Trouble comin' at me
in bunches.

Worst of it's over
now that you've got this out.

Thanks.

Uh, Reb.

I know how you feel about
not gettin' a letter today.

Like I said,
this just ain't my day.

You know that mail out here
is pretty much of a
hit and miss proposition.

I know I haven't
gotten a letter for four months.

It's not that hit or miss,
not if...

Not if a certain party's
actually writin', it ain't.

Look, maybe your letter
got lost.

Sure. It's all
those postal fellas can do,

just try and remember
where they put them mailboxes.

Huh?

Let's you and me
go fishin'.

For Bannister.

See you later, Clint.

This one is gettin' worse.

Yeah.

As long as we've gotta
hole up somewhere,
it might as well be here.

Well what for?So we can watch
that river crossin'.

What for? Them lawmen
can't pick up our trail.

Not with this duster coming up.

Maybe not, but if he was
gonna give up, then he would've
done it a long time before.

Bannister's right. 'Sides,
I'm gettin' a crick in my neck
always lookin' back

to see if those badge-toters
are followin' us.

Well, you won't be bothered
with that much longer.

We'll, uh, wait for them
up there on those rocks.

[ wind blowing ]

[ wind blowing harder ]

Hasn't cleared up
enough to see 'em.

Yeah. Hope you brought some
tobacco with you. I've run out.

Yeah, here.

Any sign of Reb?

No. He probably crawled
under a rock somewhere
waitin' for that duster to pass.

He'll be along.

Least he better be.

Ever since Reb's been gone,
that cat of his just don't have
any manners at all.

[ laughs ]

[ cat meows ]

I can't help thinkin'
he's over three hours overdue.

You oughta know by now
you can't put a clock on Reb.

'Specially when
he's ridin' scout.

Yeah.

Remember that time at Shiloh
when the three of us
got cut off?

Reb swore he knew
a quick way out.

Why, by the time he found it,
the battle was over and those
Yanks were halfway to Richmond.

[ laughs ]

Ah, just as long as he
gets back, that's all
I care about.

If he shows up,
let me know, huh?

Doc's cutting hair
this afternoon.

I'll tell him
you'll be there.

Well, there's plenty
of water in the river.

Sure gonna feel good
to wash some of this dust off.

Yeah. If they did come this way,
we'll be finding some tracks
over on the other side

where it's muddy.
Enough for a start, anyways.

Suppose there aren't any.
Then what?

Well, we'll head
for Defiance. Fort's just
a mile or two over the hill.

Yeah, wait 'til
they're in midstream.

[ g*nshots continue ]

[ g*nshots continue ]

Over there!

There's somebody up there!

[ g*nshots continue ]

Looks like we got
a friend up there.

He didn't buy himself any help
saving our skins.

They got us pinned down so tight
we can hardly move.

Likely he's gonna pull out
if things it gets too hot.

One thing is sure,
we can't stay here much longer.

Any chance of making it
to the fort?

Practically none
without horses.

We might as well try it.
Anything's better
than the odds we got here.

Go on!

Frank!
They're gettin' away!

Not for long, they ain't.

[ g*nshots ]

You two stay back, try
to work around buying
whoever's firin' that r*fle.

They might be
from the fort.

If he is, it'd be a nice, neat,
present for us to leave Gentry.

Try to take him alive.Where will you be?

Ridin' down those two lawmen.

[ g*nshots continue ]

It's only been six months,
I can't see why--

Keep still if you don't
want your ears lopped off.

You got me snippin' hair
about half the time.

Come on, leave a little.
I catch cold easy.

Things have come to a
pretty pass around here.

If it isn't the Comanches
that lift your hair,
Doc here gets it.

It's about time, too,
all the things you fellers got
crawlin' around in your hair,

you're gonna start an epidemic.

If you ask me,
I'd rather be sick.

Well nobody's askin' you,
now sit still.

What's the matter, Doc,
they givin' you trouble?

Nothin' I can't handle.

[ scissors snap ]

Did Reb say anything to you
this morning before he left?
After mail call.

Nothin' special. Why?

He's overdue, that's all.

[ bell ringing ]

Sorry, Doc,
that's the game signal.

I'll be back in six months
and you can do the other side.

[ ringing continues ]

Is it Reb?

No. Two men out there on foot.

Judging by what's
chasing them, they're
about to get plowed under.

[ g*nshots ]

What good are you
gonna do with that?

A few shots in front
of those riders
might change things.

Kind of risky at this range.

Wouldn't take much
of a miss to pick off
one of the fellas on foot.

While we're talking
about it, they're getting
picked off anyway.

I thought you said
this is gonna be easy.

Ease off. If they were gonna
try to drop one of us, they'd
have done it before this time.

Well, the sh**ting stopped,
what do we do now?

Only one thing we can do.
Wait for the others to catch up.

Listen, we've gone to a lot
of trouble for them two lawmen.

Now you just gonna
let them go now?

You oughta know
the answer to that.

I've waited a long time
to settle with Trim Stewart
and that Deputy of his.

Few hours more won't matter.

[ water hisses ]

What's got into you, Toby?
Ever since those
two lawmen showed up,

you've been about
as much help around here
as a fly in a butter churn.

Never said I was
a kitchen helper, did I?

Well then you know how I feel.
I have to do it all the time.

You only post stove duty
for one night.

I'm sorry, Smokey.

Guess I don't have much use
for badge toters.

Say, I hear them two been
trailin' after Bannister
for weeks.

Took everything them gunpullers
could throw at 'em.

Reckon that's what
they're gettin' paid for.

Eh, maybe so,
but anybody soaks up
that kind of punishment,

it sure oughta count for
something more than just money.

Guess it will if Bannister
ever gets a hold of 'em.

Say, you don't know
these marshals, do ya?

Course not,
why should I?

Eh, no reason,
I was just askin'.

Put on that bread
when you get it sliced.

Ah, you mean somebody
out there helped you and
you just rode off and left him?

I know how it must sound to ya,
but there wasn't much choice.

Bannister made a point of
waiting until he
had us cold turkey.

He got us right at mid-stream.
Lost both our horses
and our r*fles went with 'em.

Once we got to the bank,
they had us pinned tight.

Wasn't anything else to do
except try to make a run for it.

CLINT:
Is that when you saw the rider
for the first time?

JESS:
That's right. We didn't have
any idea who he was.

He was way in the rocks
up above us. We could
hardly see him.

He must've sized up
what was going on, though.

He held Bannister and
his outfit off long enough
for us to get here.

Sounds like Reb,
all right.

Yeah. The worst of it is,
there isn't anything
we can do 'til sun-up.

Do you have any idea
what happened to him?

Sure took your time
gettin' here!

Yeah, well this hard head
put up quite a fight.

Had to wait 'til it was dark
to pry him out of that hole
he was in.

Nobody pried nobody.
Run out of shells.

You see what I mean?
He just don't know
when he's whipped.

Eh, did he have
any papers on him?

No.

We couldn't get anything
out of him, either.

'Til we found
this letter here.

Down in the bottom
of his saddlebag.

You read my letter, Bannister,
some day I'll catch up with you.

Writing's all worn
off the front.

g*ng MEMBER:
Written by his girl. Peoria.

Go on the last page.
He's from the fort, just like
you figured, Frank.

Some kind of trail scout.

That's what I wanted to hear.

Get down.

Ah. Ease off.

What do you want him
alive for, anyway?

Gonna be needin' him.

He's gonna get
those two lawmen for us.

What, from the fort?That's right.

Get up on his feet.

Any luck?If they made camp,
it's nowhere close by.

What about Reb's horse?Not a trace.

My guess is whatever happened
to Reb, his horse went with him.

How's the shoulder?

Better, thanks.

I'm gonna have to let
this grow for a while.

Found out I can't
shave one-handed.

You know somethin'?

What?

These fort mattresses
have got real straw in 'em.

Been so long since I stretched
out in a bed, I come near
forgetting how good it feels.

Seems like you're close
to forgettin' somethin' else.

Bannister?

That's where you're wrong.

I'm just restin' up
for him. Man can't be
fightin' all the time.

You talk to Gentry yet
about gettin' some deputies
to help us?

Yeah, I started to.

Didn't get very far, though.

[ plays spare, slow tune ]

[ dog barks ]

[ door opens ]

[ dog barks ]

A little while ago,
you were askin' us questions.

Mind answerin' one for me?

No, go ahead.

How'd you happen to
put this place up? Way out
in the middle of nowhere?

Well, you really
wanna know?

I asked, didn't I?

Well, after the w*r,
three of us started movin' west.
Hunted buff.

And when the herds moved north,
we stayed on and trapped.

Lot of men trap.
Not many of 'em build forts.

Well, the Comanches around here
aren't exactly friendly.

Besides, we had to have a place
to store our furs and skins,

so we built a sod house.
That's part of
the original wall right there.

And the rest just grew?

Yeah, along with the
prairie schooner trade.

Now there's more than three
wagon trains a week
comin' down to Santa Fe now.

We tend to their needs
and stay in business.

But that isn't
what you wanted to know.

It's kind of important
we catch up with Bannister
before he does any more k*lling.

Would you be having any
objections if we
deputized some of your men

to go along and help us?

Yeah, I would.

Look, Gentry. I don't know how
much you know about Bannister,

but where I was raised
down in Texas, we--

Look, mister, you're not
in Texas now. You're here.

And out here, we write
our own laws. That's the only
way we can stay alive.

Well that's a mighty
original notion. Protectin'
K*llers like Bannister.

What do you see out there?

There, by the fence.

JESS:
Tarantula, what about it?

CLINT: Now you go pokin'
around him, he's got enough
poisin to k*ll you.

Leave him alone, and he
goes his way without a fight.

That's the way it is here.

We don't have to
borrow trouble. There's
always plenty of it around.

What about your man Reb?

Bannister's got him and
so much as lays a hand on him,

we'll go after him
and clean out the whole outfit.

But it won't be
because Bannister
broke some law in Texas

or Wyoming or Nome, Alaska.

It'll only be because of Reb.

[ crickets chirping ]

You'll wait here.

[ men chatter ]

Somethin' wrong
with the biscuits, Doc?

Hmm?

Oh, nothin' serious.

They're a little hard.

[ hard knocking ]

Burnt on the bottom,
full of raw dough in the middle.

Outside of that, they're fine.
Just the way I like 'em.

Well, I knew you would.
I made 'em just for you.

[ laughs ]

Seems to me the two of you
were taking a long chance
going after Bannister alone.

Sooner or later, he would've
come lookin' for me.

It was my testimony that put him
behind bars in the first place.

Jess here lost most of
his family in one of
Bannister's early raids.

Ah, he's up to
quite a score.

I guess I should've known.

No harm done.

Uh, Toby. The marshal
could use some more coffee.

Clint.

You better come on.
Bannister and his outfit
just rode up.

That's far enough!

Anything you have to say,
you can say from there!

Oh, we ain't lookin'
for a fight with you, Gentry.

All we want is the marshal
and his deputy.

You made a long ride
for nothing.

They stay here.

Hell, I had an idea
you might feel that way.

So I brought somethin' along
that'll change your mind.

[ dog barks ]

[ dog barks ]

You know who this is,
don't you, Gentry?

You want him to stay alive,
you better start
doin' some thinkin'.

Let's open up on 'em, Clint.

We can pick the three
of them off before they
can do anything to Reb.

That may be right, but the
others out there still'd be
in a position to pick him off.

Nothin' we can do about that.

Best chance of saving
your friend's life is for

Jess here and me
to go have it out with 'em.

Don't worry about me.

As long as I can pull a trigger
on a scatter g*n,
I don't have to aim it.

Two of you against six?

Those are pretty long odds.

Still our fight.

The least we can do
is try to get your man
out from under.

Take all the time
you want, Gentry.

While you're doin' it,
this rawhide'll be
tightenin' up.

When that daylight hits,
your friend here's all through.

How much longer
you gonna wait?

Their rawhide won't start
cutting into Reb
for another hour or two.

I figure we have
until then.

Gonna let those sidewinders
get away with this?

Well, there's
no question of that.

Right now, all that's important
is keeping Reb alive.

We make one mistake,
they won't wait 'til sun-up
to finish him off.

What makes you so sure
waitin' will change anything?

Depends. If Bannister's
sweating as much as you are,

he might take it in his head
to clear out before then.

It's a good thing I know you
as well as I do, Clint.

If ever a bunch of men
needed killin',
it's those out there.

But to hear you talk,
somebody might get
the wrong idea.

Sometimes the hardest thing
to do is to do nothin' at all.

Only trouble is none of us
look very good
while we're doin' it.

Yeah. So it seems.

I was hoping it wouldn't show.

Well, now, there's some things
you just can't hide.

Like Toby, for instance,
at supper tonight.

I, uh...

I don't suppose he ever
got around to tellin' you
he's a wanted man.

Well, he didn't have to.

When he showed up here
two years ago,
it was written all over him.

I was wondering if
you were going to recognize him.

Seems to me you straightened
him out pretty good.

I never thought I'd
see the day when a wild one
like he used to be

would be workin'
around a grub table.

We had to work a few kinks
out of him to start with, but...

he's proved up fine.

I wouldn't like it if you
had plans on taking him in.

As it happens, I don't.

Jail's no place
for a man that's reformed.

Anyways, you and I are gonna
have our hands full
with Bannister and his outfit.

Yeah.

Wish you'd change your mind
about this, at least
let me go with ya.

No, I got a better chance
of getting through to Reb
if I go alone.

Don't you say nothin'
about this to anyone, either.

CLINT: If you're trying to
get Reb k*lled, you picked
a good way to do it.

Now, Smokey, pass the word
around if I catch
anybody near this wall

except the regular watch,
they answer to me.

Now get out of here.

Clint--

Don't you think they're
waiting out there for just
a fool trick like this?

Why, they'd cut you to ribbons
before you're close enough to
help Reb and probably him, too.

[ expl*si*n ]

Well what if they are waitin'?

I'm gettin' tired of
just sittin' on my hands,
doin' nothin'.

You're tired?

How do you think Reb feels
out there, tied to that tree?

There's an easy enough way
to get him off it.

All you gottta do
is give Bannister what he wants.

You'd like me to send those two
lawmen out there, wouldn't you?

TOBY: Why not? Reb saved my life
more times than I can count.

If it were up to me, I'd trade
a dozen lawmen for him any day.

I'd better fill you
in on something, mister.

There's no guarantee on Reb's
life regardless of what we do.

And as far as those two lawmen
are concerned, you already owe
them more than you can ever pay.

Are you gonna explain that
or just let it lie?

The marshal had you spotted
right from the start.

But, because he'd figured
you'd straightened out,

he was willing to forget how you
turned up on a wanted poster.

So if I were you, I'd start
eating crow before somebody
loses their patience

and rams it down your throat.

Frank, this don't add up.

I mean, hangin' around here,
we just askin' for it.

He's right, Frank.

What's a couple of
marshals, more or less?

We can get 'em anytime.

Right now while it's
still dark, we should be
makin' tracks out of here.

We won't have to wait
much longer.

Rawhide's startin' to do
its work, once they see that,
they'll change their minds.

Hey, Clint.

I just finished putting
another bandage on that
Jess Harper fella.

If you don't keep him off
his feet, I can't be
responsible for him.

His b*llet wound
open up again?

Eh, sure did.

He's got some fool notion
he's goin' out after Bannister.

You better talk to him,
because that wound starts
bleeding again, we're gonna--

You're a good samaritan,
aren't you, Doc?

Why don't you just
help him off to sleep?

Help him off to sleep?

Ain't he a little old
for me to be singing
lullabies to?

You've got some laudanum,
haven't you?

Eh, I hadn't thought of that.

Eh, I guess we could.

Ain't very ethical, though.

Well, neither's dyin'.

[ cat meows ]

[ cat purrs ]

Did you have any trouble
fixin' the wagon up
like I asked?

She may not have plates like
Old Ironsides, but she'll do.

How's the patient, Doc?

Who, Jess? Oh, he's sleepin'
like he was
in his mother's arms.

He sure ain't gonna like it
when he wakes up.

Well, maybe he'll realize
by then that we did him a favor.

Hey, Clint.

Good luck.

Well, thanks, Doc.

Slow.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Marshal.

[indistinct]I'll wait 'til you start .

You all set, marshal?

Any time.

Is that what
we're gonna use?

Yeah, it may not look
like much, but it's strong.

It'll give Reb some protection
when we get out there.

Uh, you said "we."
You're not thinkin' of takin'
Jess' place, are you?

Well, that's right. You got
any objections?

No, but, uh...
Jess might have.

Oh, I meant to tell you.

He came in a few minutes ago
needing a fresh bandage.

You know, when Doc was taking
care of me, he kind of
fell right off to sleep.

Just like that, huh?

Yeah. Poor fella must have
been tired clear through.

Marshal?

I just want you to know
I been wrong about a lot things.

Maybe it doesn't do much good
to say it, but...

Well, I just wanted you to know.

MARSHAL:
Thanks, Toby.

Open up.

[ calls to horse ]

[ g*nshots continue ]

[ g*nshots cease ]

[ g*nshots begin again ]

[ g*nshots cease ]

For a man that shoots
sittin' down, you do
a pretty good job.

You walk all right?

Course I can.

Wait a minute.

Everything all right?

It is now.

[ laughs ]

♪ The nights are so long
in Defiance ♪

♪ The days are all
dusty and dry ♪

♪ A man would be crazy
to live there ♪

♪ And just such a man
am I ♪

♪ A man would be crazy
to live there ♪

♪ And just such a man
am I ♪