04x12 - Hunter's Moon

[bunniefuu]

Ben, what-- but you told--

What are you doing here?

He isn't here yet, huh?

I have told you that there
isn't anybody else.

You say that to me,
right here in this place?

Oh, and why don't you
ask me why I'm here?

I don't have to ask
you anything. I know
why you're here.

I'm here because
Maria's sick

and she needs my help.

Good samaritan to a servant
I fired for thieving?

She was kind to me.
That's why I helped her.

In the middle of the night
when I'm supposed to be
away on business?

Would you have ever let me
come here any other time?

And that?
I suppose that's for Maria.

I'll, uh... take you home.

♪♪ [theme]

Haw! Go! Get!

[mooing]

Get up! Hyah! Wah!

Oh, haw!

Get up there, boy!

[neighs]

-You all right?
-Eh, we're both
all right, I guess.

How you doing, old boy, huh?
Tumble there, did ya, huh?

Old Coco's getting
a little old for
this work, eh?

What do you mean, old?
Just stepped in a chuckhole
back there is all.

Yeah, I've been noticing.
Lot more holes around here
than there used to be.

Maybe there are!
Maybe there are!

You know, that trip
you're going on tomorrow,

that ain't no Sunday ride
through back pasture.

-What do you mean?
-Meaning I broke in

that new stallion
you like.

Why don't you take
him along tomorrow?

Give you a change
to know one another.

-Big Duke?
-Sure.

Well, maybe you're right.

Maybe old Coco here
does need a rest.

Maybe you're right.

Old Coco here, he's earned
retiring twice over.

Retirin'! Who said anything
about retirin'?

Well, not me.

Big Duke, you know,
he's got a lot
younger outlook.

May even be able
to give you a more,
uh, personal hand

at picking out them
brood mares, huh?

He's all ready
for you, Nick.

-Who's that?
-Big Duke.

He's all saddled
and ready to go.

Big Duke? What's
the matter with Coco?

Nothing's the matter
with Coco. He's fine, just fine.

He just needs
a little rest, that's all.

How old's he getting
to be now?

I wouldn't know, but he's
not as ancient as you think.

-He's 22.
-At least!

I remember seeing
a picture of
the two of you

when you were both
skinny colts.

You remember? I remember!
First two months he used
to throw me twice a day.

He's about holding
to that average now.

Now, wait a minute, Heath.

What happened yesterday
was an accident.

I told you that.
He stepped in a chuckhole.

I know Coco!
A man grows up with his horse,
he knows that animal!

Besides, old Coco
will be cuttin' cattle

long after this Big Duke
of yours is in a rocking chair.

I know how hard it's gonna be
for you to have to put
him out to pasture--

Pasture? Who said anything
about pasture?

Besides,

I've gotta go across
the desert,

and old Coco
can smell out water
better than any camel.

So, you can take your Big Duke
and unsaddle him and--

Well, whatever!

I'll be back
in a couple days, Mother.

Talk about stubborn.

Let's take him.
Come on!

Drop your g*n belt.

You make much of a living
this way, mister?

Just do what I say.

Now, you just
come along with us.

If you just tell me
where we're going.

You'll find out soon enough.

All right, let's move out!

MAN: Get down.

I'd say you're making
a pretty big mistake, mister.

No, I think
you've made one.

Welcome to the club.

It'll take five sticks
of dynamite

to blow your way
through that window.

What's all this
about, anyway?

Got no right!
This is the
United States!

We got
the same treatment you did.

He didn't give us
no reason or nothing.

My name's Gandy.

Barkley. Nick Barkley.

This here's
Bodkin.

You sure they
locked that door?

You let me
out of here!

You've got
no right!

Let me out!

You're making some kind
of mistake, mister.

I ain't done you
no harm.

I think it best
you explain all this.

This one I would think.

The Apache could find out
for sure, soon enough.

-Well, what's your name?
-What's yours?

I'm Ben Dawes.

I own this country about
as far as your eye can see

and the people who live
on it, mostly.

Mr. Dawes, I was just
riding through here,

minding my own business,
and all I want to do
is just keep on going.

Take a look
out that window.

Well, go on.

-DAWES: What do you see?
-Horses.

Just horses.

A bit more, I should think.

They all have
white manes.

-Exactly.
-So?

Last night, I almost caught
a man riding such a horse.

He had been with my wife.

Your wife?

Today my men searched
the valley and the town.

There are three men
riding horses with white manes.

Well, look at me!
I'm no ladies' man.

You can see
for yourself.

Look, I swear, I never
set eyes on your woman.

I don't want to.
Meaning no offense, of course.

Never set foot in this country
until this morning.

All innocent.

But one of you is him.

Best the other two
find out who he is.

Let me know.

And if we don't?

When the sun tops
the mountains tomorrow,

you will all hang
together.

You'll never get
away with it.

I will. I'm the law here
and the judge

as far as you can see
in any direction.

It's you, isn't it?

I s-saw her, you know?

The wife?

When they brought me in.

She was standing
in the window in the house.

Yeah?

What did she
look like?

Oh, she's something,
all right.

Yeah?

Like one of them
China dolls,

all soft, white,
silk, lace.

No wonder that old man
is about to hang somebody.

What makes you
think it's him, huh?

Look at him.

Young...
good-looking.

I sure ain't
no lady-k*ller.

Neither are you,

getting right
down to it.

She'd sure go
for his kind, all right.

That'll be enough
out of you, little man.

We don't need any kind
of this loose talk around here.

[door rattles]

[r*fle c*ck]

Him.

-It was!
-No, it was not him!

-Young and handsome.
-No. No.

[growls]

Did you find
it pleasant?

[sobbing]

Can I, uh, do something
for you, Mr. Dawes?

No. No, Tony.

Thanks anyway.

Beautiful tonight.

It's almost
like daylight.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's what we used
to call a hunter's moon.

Enough light...

proper season.

The right prey.

You really gonna go through
with it, Mr. Dawes?

I have to.

When?

Daybreak.

The Lord works
in mysterious ways.

He takes...
but he gives.

And I'm grateful.

My own blood son...

wouldn't stand quite as tall
in my shadow as you do.

-Let me do the job for you.
-Oh, no, no.

-Keep your hands clean of it!
-No, Tony, no. Look...

all-- all that
out there is, uh...

all going to be
yours one day

to make something
out of it.

That'll be your job.

That back there is mine
and mine alone.

I must say, for a man
that's about to hang,

you don't look
too worried.

Well, as a matter of fact,
I am not too worried.

As a matter of fact,
I know how to get out of here.

You never said so before.

Yep, well,
I'm saying so now.

-What have you got in mind?
-Get out of my way, Barkley!

-What have you got in mind?
-It is him!

Just like I said right
from the beginning.

-I said he was the one!
-Get Dawes down here!
Start yelling!

[shouts, grunts]

[indistinct shouts]

There's your man,
Mr. Dawes.

He said so hisself.

That's right.
That's right.
I heard him.

You're lying!

Oh, yeah, he was
bragging about it.

When he said he wasn't
gonna die by himself,

he said we was all
gonna hang together.

Of course, I knowed
it was him even before--
before he said it.

The way they looked
at each other when she
was down here!

Of course, you saw that
all yourself, Mr. Dawes.

You saw them together.

Well...

there's your man.

It... figured
to be like that.

Get these two on their horses
and get them out of here.

[door opening]

[door closing]

[footseps approaching]

He bragged about it.

I let the others go.

But they're all innocent,
because I'm innocent.

Can't you
understand that?

You're going to beg
for his life now?

Ben, please!
No, please, why--

Why didn't I just leave you
where I found you?

Ben, there isn't
any man but you!

No more!

From now on,
you're a prisoner.

This house
is your jail.

You're going
to be watched

every second

and followed
every step,

day and night.

And there's going
to be no man!

No man at all

for as long as you live.

[lock clicks]

[groaning]

Hey. Psst.

Come here.

-I can help you.
-How?

My husband's a madman,
and, well, you saw
how he was,

and he's gonna k*ll
both of us.

All right, just get me
out of this cell here.

-But will you help me?
-All right, all right.

I know the way out.
Will you take me with you?

Just anywhere
out of his reach.

All right, but how do
you get me out of this cell?

-Here. The key to the door.
-Oh, good.

No, but there's a guard
up there, the Apache.

Well, here goes.

Aah!

No!

Looks like he
got to you.

No, it's--

Let me take
a look at it.

Oh, it's only
a scratch.

Looks pretty deep
to me.

Come on, hurry.
We've gotta go.

Wait, take it easy.

All right.
Come on.

This way!

[whimpers]

Looks to me like
you need a doctor.
Is there one close?

He's in town about
five miles. I'm sorry.

It's all right.
Come on, hup.

Mrs. Dawes, come in.
Sit over here.

All right.
My, my.

Let me see.

Well...

it's a nice
clean wound.

You're gonna be
all right, Mrs. Dawes.

You must be that fellow
Ben Dawes is looking for.

Well, you won't
get very far.

We'll keep this
bound up tight.

Why not?

You won't have any
stitches in there.

Well, 100 horses

couldn't take you
far enough away

if Ben Dawes
got his mind set
on catching you.

Oh, I don't know,
I think I'll make it.

If you was figuring on taking
her with you, you ain't.

And I suppose you was
figuring on taking her with you.

You suppose right.

Doctor, Ben was wrong about him.
I just met him today.

Well, be pretty hard
convincing him

of that now,
wouldn't it?

We could've just waited
around until Ben hung him.

Yep.

That's gonna be
as good as new

in a couple
of days, now.

You just sit there.

Here, you drink
some of this.

Make you feel better.

You know, there's
no stopping Ben Dawes.

You may have to k*ll him.

Well, now, I just might
have to do that.

Gonna be a lot of folks
maybe not appreciate that.

Meaning you, huh?

Mm.

Well, you may not like
what you see in me now,

but you'd have liked me
a lot less seven years ago
before I met Ben Dawes.

Well, the Ben Dawes I knew
would m*rder three men,
guilty or innocent.

Yeah.

Hard to figure.

Man I know...

picked a bum
out of the gutter

and put some manhood
back in his spine.

Oh, I see. What you're
saying is one good turn

makes up for
all the bad ones, huh?

No. As matter of fact,
this ain't

the first time he's done
something like that.

Now, you take
that young Tony Semper.

A young fella
just drifting along,

becoming a real no-good.

Ben Dawes picked him up,

treated him like--
like his own son,

grooming him to step
into his own boots
when the time comes.

What would you have
us do, doctor,

sing praises
to the great Ben Dawes

while he hangs us
from the nearest tree?

Nope. As a matter
of fact...

I hope you make it,
both of you.

Well... we'd best
be going.

Mrs. Dawes...

I'm not going
to alert your husband.

Man's gotta pay
for his own debts
out of his own pocket,

not out
of somebody else's.

NICK: All right, come on.

One of them was cut,
sure enough.

Just the beginning
of their suffering, boy.

You know, I never really
believed it, Mr. Dawes,

I never believed
she was guilty,

but she helped
him escape!

She even went off
with him!

Just tell the boys
it's $100 to the man
who kills Barkley.

Followed a trail,
doctor, right here

to your house.

You had visitors
during the night?

I did, sir.

My wife was
one of them?

She was hurt.

I fixed a cut on her arm.

Did you know they were
running away?

Yes, I did.

Thank you for that, Ben.

I won't have to feel sorry
for you anymore.

The time you needed help,
I gave it,

and when you had no friends,
I became one.

And now...

when I get back,

I want you gone
out of this valley.

You understand me?

I'll be gone, Mr. Dawes.

Doctor,

you helped them. Why?

Because I'm a doctor,

not a judge.

I'm a man.

I'm not some kind
of a god.

Is there something wrong
with him, Nick?

Old Coco here needs
a little rest.

He, uh, is not as young
as he used to be, you know?

But he'll be all right.
He'll be fine.

-[horse snuffles]
-Okay.

I guess you're probably
wondering about
a lot of things.

Oh, you can tell me
about that sometime.

No, I-- You've already
deserved the right to know.

It wasn't always like this
between Ben and me.

He was different when I
first met him in San Francisco.

-Is that where you're from,
San Francisco?
-Yeah.

I never knew my parents.

I was brought up
by an aunt and...

and one of my uncles.

That was
a very unhappy time.

Then along came Ben Dawes.

He was in town on business,
and he--

Well, he was just everything
I'd always dreamed of.

-So you married him, huh?
-Yes.

I loved him because
he was big and strong.

And mature.

And because he said
he loved me.

Then he brought me here
to his castle.

I thought I was going
to be Cinderella.

This castle turned out
to be a dungeon, a prison.

Oh, now, wait a minute.
You don't have to
go into all this.

No, I want to. I--

Well, it's because of me
you got into all of this,
anyway.

It won't take long.
There's not much more.

See, Ben changed.

He became mean
and cruel and jealous.

And he never let me see anyone
but the ranch hands

and the people in town,
and as you well know,

he owns every single one
of them.

All those beautiful dreams

he's gonna make
come true for me...

they're all gone.

They're just...

gone.

Oh...

I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.

Now, wait a minute.

You know, uh...

if we expect
to get anywhere,

we'd better get going
before sunset,

don't you think? Huh?

-You're right.
-Come on. Come on.

[horse grunting]

What is it, Nick?

Just a little breather is all.

Oh, now, don't worry.
We'll make it.

Right now I'd say
we all need a rest, don't you?

Ah.

I guess I'm not
very much help, am I?

Oh, well, now,
you're too pretty
to have to work.

I don't think I ever left
the city 'til I met Ben.

Well, that was
just my luck.

I like the city.

I like all the lights
and the fancy places to eat.

I had two weeks of that
when we were first married.

It's all still there,
you know?

No. No. I think
it's too late now.

Oh, now, no.
You know what they say.

It's never too late.

You really think so?

I mean...

to be a silly
little girl again?

Or a woman.

I-I-- I think
maybe the beans
are just about ready.

You better--
better dive in there.

Aren't you going to eat?

In a minute.

I just...

shouldn't have brought
old Coco along on this trip.

Guess he's just a little bit
too old for all this.

How bad is he, Nick?

Well, I'd--

I'd say he's a--

He'll never get
within ten miles

of that pony of yours.

Juliet, uh...

you...

you sure you know
the way out of here?

-Yes.
-All right, then.

Tomorrow morning,
first thing you hit
the trail.

You and that horse
of yours

get out of here
as fast as you can.

-You mean alone?
-It's the only way.

You'll make twice
the time we made today.

By tomorrow evening,
you'll be...

be safe and sound.

No, Nick.

I said yes.

I'm not going anywhere
without you.

You, uh...

you best...

you best have
some of them beans.

You got a long day
tomorrow.

You're going to need
a lot of strength.

Nick...

the answer's still no.

Looks like they're
gaining on us.

Come on, boy.
Come on. Hup.

[horse groaning]

[horse neighing]

Easy, old fella.

Easy, boy.
Easy, boy.

What's the matter, Coco?

Think you can make it?

Come on, let's try it.

Huh? Come on. Come on.

Come on, Coco.
Coco, come on.

Come on.
Come on.

[chuckles] Leading him
a fool's climb.

I know a shorter way
around to that top.

Giddyup.

Come on.
Come on, boy.

Thatta boy.

Whoa.

JULIET: Nick!

-My horse fell.
-I see.

I'm sorry
I ran out on you.

I was just afraid,
all right?

-That's all right.
-Where are you going?

I'm not gonna let
that horse stay down there.

-But--
-Now, you wait here,
you hear me?

You wait right here.

All right, but hurry back.

What's he doing?

An act of mercy.

[neighing]

All right.

I want him dead.

Tony!

Juliet!
Get down!

Don't move!

He tried to k*ll me.

Why?

Tony! Why?

You picked yourself
quite a pair, Mr. Dawes,

Juliet and me.

With her dead,
you'd never have known.

And... it was her idea.

The house in town
and the medicine.

In case you
ever found out.

She's...
clever girl, Juliet.

Tony.

Tony, not you!

It was me and her,
all the time.

I'm sorry.

Now, you tell me
about the horse
with the white mane.

That was your own horse.

[chuckles]

Tony rode him that night.

We always used to ride him.

Oh, Ben...

you're getting old.

You don't remember things
very good anymore,

and you don't see things
very good anymore, either.

You hear me?
You're an old man!

Would you...
get her out of here.

I got to thank you for
not letting her horse suffer.

Here.

Nick! Oh!

Welcome home!

Wait 'til you see
those brood mares
I brought back with me.

They're out
in the corral.

-Well, looks like
you had a rough trip.
-Oh, just average.

It took three more days
than you planned. Why?

Well, as a matter of fact...

I'll bet he met
a pretty young girl somewhere.

-Matter of fact, I did.
-I thought so.

I think I'll look
at those mares you've
been talking about.

Well, I imagine you'll
tell us all about it.

That is, when you
feel like it.

Well, as soon as I get
old Coco here bedded down.

He had such a time
chasing down them brood mares.

He's just a little bit
done in.

What about Coco?

Well, uh...

he'll be staying here
for a while.

No more long, hard rides.

Just a lot
of good rest.

I guess...

sometimes the best way
to hold on to something

is to let it go.

Know what I mean?

Yes, Nick, I know
what you mean.

♪♪ [theme]