Never thought I'd see him back here again.
'Morning, Matt.
See you haven't forgotten me.
Why, no sir, Mr. Frazer.
Ed.
Uh...
What can I do for you?
You might give me a room.
Oh.
Oh, yeah. Real pleased to have you.
Number, uh, 24.
Be with us long?
Long enough.
Stick this in my room, will you?
G-glad to, Ed.
But I want you to have it, darling.
I want you to be well-dressed at all times.
You know how important it is. All right, Mama.
Oh, darling, give me that.
You shouldn't be carrying it.
Thank you.
Mr. Frazer.
You remember my daughter Gloria, don't you?
Gloria.
Nice seeing you again, Mrs. Blaine.
Mama...
I thought he was in...
Don't just stand there, Gloria. We have to get home.
Hey! Ed Frazer!
Hi, Dave. I can't believe it.
I didn't expect to see you
for another two, three years at least.
Got something for me?
I got what you left here.
Ain't touched it since.
Good.
Feel more natural? Mm-hmm.
Ed Frazer got five years.
Now what's he doing out in three?
Time off for good behavior, I guess.
Good behavior?! Ed Frazer?!
Three years in jail for $30,000.
That's a good deal.
That's even more than I make here.
That comes to... $10,000 a year.
Five thousand. There were two of 'em, remember?
That's still more than I make!
What do you suppose he's doing back here?
Well, he lived here.
Come back here if he feels like it, I guess.
Come back
He's not gonna get his job back with Wade.
If he's got $30,000 hid somewhere,
he don't need a job!
I don't think you've got anything to worry about, Steve.
Nothing to worry about?
I stood up in court, and I said the words that helped put him behind bars.
Now, you remember what he yelled at me?
Three years in jail can cool a man off, you know.
Sure.
Well, like he said, Steve, you got nothing to worry about.
You done your duty.
If Ed Frazer guns you down, we'll give you a hero's funeral.
As far as we know, he might just be passing through Medicine Bow.
Still, it might be smart of you to stay away from town
for a few days, Steve.
I'm not gonna hide from Ed Frazer or anybody.
I got a dance to go to tomorrow night,
and you can bet your life I'm going to it.
You do as he says. No need to hunt for trouble.
I'll tell you what I'll do-- I'll take Gloria Blaine to the dance for you.
That goes to show you what kind of friend I am.
STEVE: Yeah, I know.
That's the kind I can do without.
Hey, you better get in some target practice.
'Evening, Steve.
Mr. Colby.
Well, now, ain't you the city dude?
Just going to a dance, Mr. Colby, just going to a dance.
I want some of that taffy candy. That stuff.
Well, now, you want that little one-pound box,
or do you want one of those big, special, fancy two
One of the big, special, fancy, two-pound boxes.
Well, sir, now that kind of tells me something.
You're taking that pretty Blaine girl to the dance, ain't you?
That's right.
Courting her?
Mr. Colby, what's the matter with this town?
You take a girl out two, three times,
and already they're looking for chivalry.
Just looking, Colby.
Aren't you Steve Hill?
That's right.
Yeah, I thought I recognized you.
You've lost a little weight
since I last saw you.
How have you been?
I've been fine.
Glad to hear it.
( instrumental music playing )
( indistinct chatter and laughter )
Well, I've got to say it again, Glory,
that's the prettiest dress I've ever seen.
You really think so? Yep.
Mama was going to get it for me next week,
but because of the dance tonight,
she made it a surprise.
She did? That was sure nice of her.
You're pretty lucky to have a mother like that.
What are we standing out here for?
All the fun's inside.
Well, then, let's join it.
Hi, Steve.
'Evening.
Well, looks like a good party. Shall we...?
Don't muss my dress. Oh, no.
( instrumental music playing )
Have a nice time. I will.
Old Moses was his name.
Biggest bear you ever saw.
Had teeth as long as your arm.
Anyway.
Excuse me.
Oh, not now, Willie.
I just got a chance to dance with her myself.
Why don't you go pick on someone else?
'Cause I want to dance with Gloria.
Well, uh, all right, Willie.
I'll tell you more about that bear later.
Howdy.
Hello, Mabel.
Boy, you're getting prettier every time I run into you.
Hey, you know something?
I think if I was going to get married,
I'd put you way up on the list. First one.
Glory, I gotta talk to you.
All right, Wilfred.
Well, not here.
Let's go outside.
Now, Wilfred--
Please.
It's very important.
Oh, all right.
I didn't think you'd be here tonight, Glory.
Why shouldn't I be here?
I asked to take you two weeks ago,
and you said you were staying home or something.
Nothing complicated about it.
I changed my mind, that's all.
Couldn't let me know?
Let me take you instead of that cowhand?
What difference does that make?
It makes a lot of difference to me.
I love you, Glory, and I want to marry you.
Wilfred, I--
I can afford to get married now.
There's not another optometrist
within a hundred miles of Medicine Bow.
Last month, I made $176, clear,
and that's just to start.
I'm glad you're doing so well.
It's enough to get married on.
Who else around here makes that kind of money?
Well, I'm sorry, Wilfred,
but, well, Medicine Bow is not the whole world.
What's that got to do with it?
It's where you live.
Right now it is.
What do you mean, "right now"?
I shouldn't tell you,
but, well, you'll know soon enough anyway.
As soon as I'm 18,
Mom and I are moving away, to New York,
where I can meet the right kind of people--
rich society people.
That's the craziest thing I ever heard of.
Do you think it's easy to meet those kind of people?
Mama says. Never mind what Mama says.
What do you say? Is that what you want?
Of course!
Who'd want to spend the rest of her life here,
when she could have a big home,
and servants, and go to fancy balls.
You're pretty all right, Glory.
I guess you're about as pretty as a girl can get.
Only if you're saying that you'd marry any man
who comes along with a lot of money,
then I'm saying that there's something the matter with you,
and your mother.
I guess you're mad at me because you're jealous.
Maybe I am jealous.
It happens to somebody who loves someone.
But I'm not mad at you.
I guess I feel sorry for you.
Let's go back.
No, you go on.
I want to get my scarf out of Steve's buggy.
Excuse me.
Where's Glory?
Outside.
What'd you leave her out there for?
I didn't. She left me.
FRAZER: 'Evening, Gloria.
Oh. Hello.
I, uh, saw your friend leave.
Hope nothing's wrong.
No. Nothing's wrong, thank you.
You weren't much more than a little girl when I went away.
You've sure grown up in three years.
STEVE: Glory?
You owe me a dance, remember?
Good night, Mr. Frazer.
So long.
What was he saying to you?
Just that I'd grown up since he saw me last.
Your mother used to know him, didn't she?
What do you mean by that?
Nothing, just that your mother used to know him.
Well, of course she did.
She knows a lot of people.
Whoa, whoa.
I think a fellow always has more fun at a dance
if he's got a pretty girl with him,
and I had the prettiest one at the dance.
Somebody spilled punch on my dress.
I was just paying you a compliment.
Oh, thanks. Help me down?
I hope Mama can get that spot out.
Are you mad at me?
No. Why
I just wondered.
You know, Mr. Colby, the man who sold me the candy,
asked me if I was courting you.
That was good candy.
Yeah.
Here we are.
Thank you for a very nice evening.
I was hoping it wasn't over yet.
It's very late.
A good-night kiss hardly takes any time at all.
HELEN: Is that you, Gloria?
Coming, Mama.
Good night.
'Night.
Well, you didn't have to wait up.
I wasn't sleepy.
Did you have a good time, darling?
Mmm, it was all right.
Do you think this spot will come off?
Somebody spilled punch.
I wouldn't worry about it.
I heard you and Steve drive up.
I wondered why you didn't come in.
We were talking.
He's a nice enough boy, I suppose,
but we have bigger fish to fry.
Always remember that.
All right, Mama.
Darling, I don't mean
to keep harping and harping on it,
but everything I do,
I do for your happiness, your good.
You know that, don't you?
Yes, Mama, I know.
All right. Go to bed now.
Good night. Good night, Mama.
'Afternoon, Steve.
All right, Frazer.
Now, you got something on your mind? Let's hear it.
Hear what? What are you driving at?
I'd like to know what you're doing back here in Medicine Bowl.
I don't rightly know that that's any of your business.
I wish it wasn't,
but ever since you showed up in town,
every time I turn around, you're there.
At the general store, last night at the dance,
and now here. That's what makes it my business.
If you want to talk, let's go someplace private.
I don't mind having it out here.
Why should you?
Have what out?
What are you trying to do to me, kid?
Get me stuck behind bars again?
Wasn't once enough?
That's it. That's it, and you've come back to even the score.
If you think you're gonna scare me into anything-- Scare you?
Yeah, scare me!
I'm not out to scare anybody.
Sure I was sore at you when you testified
against me at the trial,
but I've had three long years to think it over,
and I'm willing to let it go that you made an honest mistake.
What more do you want? I want to know why you keep following me around.
I'm not following you around.
This is a small town.
It's pretty hard to keep from running into each other.
Whoa.
Well, good morning, Steve.
Mr. Hubbard. What's on your mind?
Got to pick up some lumber.
That last storm we had blew down our tool shed,
so we gotta build a new one.
We're here to serve. That's our motto.
You give me the size of the boards, and the quantity.
Right here. All right.
Good morning, Mrs. Blaine.
Good morning, Steve.
You know, this may take a little while.
Suppose you could come back in an hour or so?
Long as you want.
I'll get something to eat while I'm waiting.
All right, fine.
Good to see you, Mrs. Blaine.
Well, darling, you haven't told me what you did with yourself all morning.
Nothing much.
I went shopping for some green yardage.
Oh, did you hear what happened at the post office yesterday?
No.
Nobody told you? About Steve and Mr. Frazer?
They'd hardly come running into the office to spread gossip.
Tell me, what did happen?
Well, it isn't gossip.
They had some kind of a terrible fight,
and everybody expected them to start shooting at each other any minute.
Well, obviously, they didn't shoot,
because Steve was in the lumberyard just before lunch.
I didn't say they did.
I said everybody expected them to.
There's bound to be bad blood between them,
but I doubt very much it'll come to a shooting.
With a prison record,
that's the last thing Ed Frazer would want.
Mother.
Yes, dear?
At the barn dance,
Steve asked me about Mr. Frazer.
Oh
He asked me if you hadn't known him before he went to prison.
What did you tell him?
I told him that you knew most everybody in town.
Your answer was exactly right.
We're still going to New York, aren't we?
You won't let anything change that.
No. No, of course I won't.
But what if--
Nothing's going to interfere with your happiness, my darling.
Nothing.
I promise you.
I must get back to the office. Goodbye, dear.
All right, Steve. Sign right there.
Okay. Thanks, Mr. Hubbard.
Say hello to the Judge for me.
Yeah, I will.
Come on, George.
Pull it up there. You can do it. Come on.
Hyah!
Come on, George, help your brother!
Come on!
Come on, George!
Hey, slow down, now, Steve.
That stuff takes getting used to.
Just don't worry about me, all right?
He should be here right now.
You sound like some kind of a mind reader.
For all you know, he may be miles away by now.
No, he'll be here.
You want to know why he'll be here?
Because I'm here,
and anyplace I am, he's bound to be.
Whiskey.
It didn't work, Frazer.
What didn't work?
Oh, you came close, all right.
I lost a wagon, I lost a load of lumber,
but all I got was a bump on the head.
That's too bad, isn't it?
I don't know what you're trying to hang on me,
but you're wrong. I, uh...
I'll tell you what I'm trying to hang on you.
You were at the lumberyard today,
and you sneaked in when nobody was there,
and you loosened the pin on the wagon tongue.
That tells me why you're back in Medicine Bow--
to kill me.
Well, all right.
Let's do it right.
You've got a gun, now use it.
I don't want to gunfight you, kid.
'Course not. I know that.
You'd rather push me off a cliff.
What's it gonna be next time, a bushwhacking?
Maybe it's news to you, son,
but they don't let us
practice drawing a gun in the state pen.
It's left me a mite rusty,
and that's an edge I'm not about to give anybody.
Oh, you'll use it, all right,
or you'll die right there with that gun in your holster.
Hold it right there, both of you.
What's the matter with you, Frazer? Can't you stay out of trouble?
Me?!
Listen, Sheriff, I just came in here for a peaceful drink,
and this fool kid tries to stampede me into a gunfight.
Is that true? Yes, it's true.
He fixed my wagon so it'd look like I got killed accidental.
Can you prove that?
Prove it?!
I don't have to. I know it.
And I'm telling you--
I'm telling you,
the day is long gone when you can force a man into a gunfight,
kill him, and call it self-defense.
You get out of here, Steve. Get back to the ranch.
I hear of you pulling a stunt like this again,
I'm going to stick you under a peace bond
that'll cost you six months' wages.
Well, fine--! You get out of here. Now.
You got something to say?
No.
Ed.
You--
You shouldn't have come here.
Gloria's light went out over half an hour ago,
and there's nobody else around at this time of night.
Or have you got company?
Don't be silly.
You know better than that.
Have you still got the money?
All of it?
Of course I've still got it.
But you shouldn't be here, Ed.
Supposing somebody saw you.
What would they think?
The same thing they would have thought three years ago.
Or have things changed while I was away?
No, Ed, of course not.
I wouldn't like it if there had.
There hasn't been a day in the last three years
that I wasn't thinking about you.
Don't you think I've missed you just as much?
But we've got to be careful, Ed.
If they find out now, we'll lose everything.
That's why I'm afraid to see you.
Well, you can stop being afraid.
We're getting out of this town--
you and me and Glory. No.
No, we can't do that.
Why, I-I mean, not right away, Ed.
That's all they'd need to know everything.
We gotta chance that. If I stay here,
that Hill kid is gonna wreck everything anyway.
Steve Hill?
He's got a wild notion that I'm out to get him
because he testified against me at the trial.
He tried to push me into a gunfight tonight.
I'm out on parole, Helen.
Any real trouble, and they'd put me away for two more years.
I'm not gonna risk that.
No. No two ways about it-- we gotta get moving.
Where'd you put the money?
In the bank.
In the bank?
I-it's in a lockbox.
Nobody can get into it except me.
Oh. All right.
Pull it out of there,
and I'll give you two or three days
to get things settled here.
NO!
What I mean is, Ed,
that i-if we leave at the same time,
they're sure to suspect something.
Oh, now, I'm not gonna let you talk me
into ruining the whole thing after we've been so careful.
What are you getting at, Helen?
There's a better way. Please listen to me.
Nobody'll think anything about it,
if you leave town first.
You'll go to Chicago, to the Trenton House,
and then I'll meet you there in six weeks.
Yeah?
Don't you understand?
They'll have forgotten about you by then,
so when I leave Medicine Bow,
nobody'll connect it with you.
I don't like waiting either,
but we have waited this long.
Six more weeks won't matter,
and it could mean the difference
between keeping the money or losing it...
and each other.
All right.
On one condition.
What's that?
That I take the money with me.
All of it.
Don't you trust me?
Three years is a long time.
If I'd wanted to double-cross you, Ed,
I could have left with the money anytime.
Well, maybe you thought you had two more years to do it in,
before my sentence was up.
I don't know what's turned you against me.
After all, it wasn't my fault you got caught.
Wasn't it?
Now, just what do you mean by that?
The watchman wasn't supposed to be there at that time...
or so you said.
Well, he usually wasn't. I couldn't guarantee it.
Well, you knew that all along.
You couldn't believe that I deliberately--
I didn't say that I believed it;
I just said that I wondered.
All right.
Supposing I do give you the money.
How will I know you'll be in Chicago when I get there?
Maybe you don't care if you never see me again, Ed.
Why do you think that I kept quiet at the trial,
and for all that time in jail?
I want the money, and I want you.
And this way, I'm sure of getting both.
All right, Ed.
Have it your way.
Let me know when you're ready.
But make it quick.
You can't give him all the money.
Well, you said it was all gonna be for us.
You promised!
Hi, Steve.
Hi.
Well, it's a pretty dressy cowhand.
Yep.
Got a date.
Gloria? Uh-huh.
Well, uh, every man to his own choice.
Hey, look, as long as you're going into town,
would you stop by the store to pick me up
some hair ribbons?
Now, come on, Betsy.
How would that look, me walking into a store
asking for hair ribbons?
Well, you'd look cute!
I'll bet if that stuck-up Gloria Blaine asked you to go--
She's not stuck up. She's a... nice girl.
Did you kiss her good night after the barn dance?
Now, what kind of question is that to ask?
Did you?
A gentleman doesn't discuss things like that, Betsy.
I'm not asking you to discuss it.
All I want is a simple yes or no.
Well, I'll bet you didn't!
Gloria's had a rather hard life.
Oh?
Yes, her father died when she was 2.
Or did she tell you?
No, she didn't.
He was a young lawyer.
Had a brilliant future.
Everyone said so.
He came from a very fine family.
If he were alive today, we'd be living in New York,
and Gloria would be going to private schools,
like all the other girls,
and entering society.
And that's where she really belongs.
Sorry to keep you waiting, Steve.
It's all right.
I had a chance to talk to your mother.
Yes, we had a nice chat.
Steve, bring her home at 11:00, please.
I don't see why, Mama.
None of the other girls have to.
Nothing puts lines in the face like late hours.
Besides, we have to think of Steve.
He has a rather long drive back to the ranch afterward.
Good night, Mrs. Blaine.
Gloria.
Good night, Mama.
Don't forget, Steve.
11:00, sharp.
Anything you say, Mrs. Blaine.
Gloria, is that you?
Yes, Mama.
Did you-- did you have a nice time?
I suppose so.
But I can't wait till we get to New York.
That's good.
You've been seeing so much of Steve lately,
I was afraid you were getting serious about him.
Oh, Steve's all right,
but we still are going to New York, aren't we?
Yes, of course we are.
Kiss me good night.
Gloria, you-- you do love me, don't you?
Of course I do, Mama.
That was a foolish question.
Good night. Good night.
When's the last time you used this gun, Steve?
I don't know, off hand.
What's all this about? You come busting in here at the crack of dawn
without so much as a by-your-leave,
and you star messing around-- You got something to hide?
When are you gonna stop asking questions and give a few answers?
What's going on?
If you've got some idea Steve's mixed up in a shooting,
I'd say he deserves an explanation.
Ed Frazer was shot last night.
In the back.
You think I did it.
After what happened in the saloon a couple of nights back,
it's possible, yes.
Now, hold on, Mark.
You said he was shot in the back.
That proves Steve didn't do it.
Proves it to you, maybe.
As Sheriff, I need a little more.
When did this happen, Mark?
Oh, about midnight.
Maybe five minutes either way.
Shots woke up a couple of folks.
They thought it was a liquored-up cowhand.
Steve, where were you last night about midnight?
He was in his bunk, asleep.
He was snoring so loud, I felt like busting him right in the--
I was on my way home... from town.
Alone?
Alone.
What time did you leave town?
A little after eleven.
Frazer and me had a...
I think you'd better saddle up, Steve.
Quiet, now. Let's have order in here.
I'll again explain to you people
that this is not a court of law,
but a coroner's inquest,
called in compliance with the statutes
of the State of Wyoming and this county.
Al right, boys, how do you find?
The only way we could find--
he was murdered by persons or person unknown.
Don't look at me when you say that, Andy!
Quiet! Quiet!
Sit down!
Is there any recommendation this jury wants to make?
Yes, sir.
Now, there ain't none of us here had much use for Ed Frazer,
but when it comes to shooting a man in the back--
Nobody asked for any speeches.
You've got a recommendation to make, just make it.
We think Steve Hill should be tried for murder.
Well, it comes down to one thing, John--
you don't have sufficient evidence.
As county prosecutor, you know that better than I do.
Judge, we can show motive.
We can produce at least a dozen witnesses
that heard Hill threaten Frazer.
By his own admission, he has no alibi.
I'd call that sufficient evidence.
Frazer served time for robbing the lumber company, didn't he?
Mm-hmm.
And the proceeds of $30,000
have never been recovered?
Well, to keep from dividing the money,
his accomplice could have killed him.
You've no proof of that.
The burden of proof rests on the state.
Beyond a reasonable doubt, remember?
Well...
let's review it.
You believe that Frazer
was out to get you. Is that right?
I know it. What he did to the wagon tongue proved that.
And when he refused to meet you face to face,
you were afraid that he would probably try
to bushwhack you some night,
so you figured that you would hit him first.
Just a minute, John.
I suppose in some way you felt justified
in taking such action.
Your testimony helped send Frazer to prison.
It's natural that you would fear reprisal.
Now, that of course will be taken into consideration.
Are you through?
I'll accept a plea of manslaughter, Judge.
No, John.
There'll be no deal. That boy's innocent.
Now, just a minute, Judge. Just because he's a friend--
That isn't the point.
What's important legally
is that you'd be wasting the state's money
bringing him to trial, and you know it.
Any first-year law clerk could prove you haven't got a case,
and I guarantee you,
he'll be defended by considerably more than a law clerk.
All right, Steve.
You can go.
Come on, Steve.
Don't look at me that way.
Garth was right.
I wasn't questioning that, John.
Of course he's right.
I was just thinking it would have been a lot better for Steve
if he'd been tried and acquitted.
I don't follow you.
This is gonna be a rough time for that boy.
A lot of people will always think he did it.
I'll just be a minute.
Sounded like a pretty funny joke. Why don't you let me in on it?
Steve!
If you have any fighting to do, you do it on your time.
Let's go.
Judge, I've got to have some time off.
How much time, and for what?
Enough time to prove to this town
that I didn't kill Ed Frazer.
Prove it how? With your fists?
I don't know how.
But these people are treating me
like I've got smallpox or something.
First the coroner's jury, then the county prosecutor.
He was just doing his job.
Were those fellows in front of the bank doing their job?
Your friends know you didn't do it,
and town's-- forget--!
You keep stirring things up,
they won't get a chance to forget!
I don't think forgetting's enough, Judge.
I've got to clear myself.
That's not your job.
It's the Sheriff's business to do the investigating.
I don't think it means as much to the Sheriff
as it means to me,
'cause he isn't doing much about it.
Just a few days, Judge. That's all I need.
All right, boy.
Do what you have to. Just...
be careful you don't make it any worse.
So why come to me, kid?
You know the whole story.
Not the whole story, I don't.
Who killed Ed Frazer, and why?
You asking me to pick a name out of the hat?
You were trying to ramrod him into a fight
the minute he got back to town,
so what the rest of the town thinks makes sense to me.
I didn't kill Ed Frazer.
Can't you get that through your head?
The lumber company money didn't show up,
so the way I see it,
whoever has it killed Ed Frazer
in order to keep from sharing it.
Now, you were his best friend.
You must know somebody he was close to back then.
Ed Frazer wasn't close to nobody,
and he didn't get any money out of that robbery.
All he got was three years.
And he deserved every one of them.
After he slugged the night watchman,
the old man ripped the button right off his coat.
I saw him tearing out of the lumberyard,
and when the Sheriff collared him,
he had that same button missing off his coat.
What more proof would you want?
I'm not saying that the jury was wrong,
I'm just saying that Ed didn't get any money,
and that somebody gave him a dirty deal.
Right!
And that's the somebody I'm looking for.
Frazer was a man who spent his working hours on the ranch.
Any free time he had, he was slicked up and off to town.
'Course, what he did in his own time
was his own business.
Thanks, Mr. Wade.
Will you lock up, Mrs. Blaine?
Yes, of course, Mr. Hubbard.
Good night. Good night.
What do you want here?
Can I speak to you, Mrs. Blaine?
Why certainly, Steve.
Will this take long, Steve?
I have to get Gloria's supper.
No, I won't keep you, Mrs. Blaine. It's just that--
Well, you know what everybody in town is saying about me...
Yes.
...and I thought you could help.
How?
I've been trying to figure out who would want to kill Frazer,
and the only answer I can come up with is...
the man who was working with him,
the one who has the money.
Are you quite sure there is another man?
Oh, yes.
I mean...
Frazer could have hidden the money before they caught him.
No.
They were sure at the trial there was a second man.
It would take an expert
to open that safe without any dynamite,
and Frazer was a cowhand, like me.
Well, I still don't see how I can be of any help.
You were his friend.
Maybe you can tell me something about him. Anything.
Aside from the fact that he worked on a ranch,
I knew very little about him.
Did he mention anybody at all?
Anybody that he might be close to?
No, I'm afraid not, Steve.
He didn't seem to know anyone very well.
That's exactly what Mr. Wade said.
But it had to be a friend.
A man wouldn't just come in out of the blue
and ask a man like Frazer, a $40-a-month cowhand,
to help him rob a safe!
It had to be a friend.
Can't you remember anything?
Steve, perhaps I'd better explain
about Mr. Frazer and me.
All right.
It's true.
We were friends, in a way.
He even came to the house once in a while for dinner.
I was as shocked as the rest of the town at what he did.
He was always so respectful. Courteous.
But it wasn't the kind of friendship where you exchange confidences.
It's hard for you to understand, Steve, at your age,
but all I really wanted from him was companionship.
It's a rather lonely life sometimes, being a widow.
Oh, I'm sorry I haven't been more help to you.
But aside from the fact that I ran into him once since he got back in town,
I haven't seen him since he got out of jail.
I really have to go home now.
Gloria's waiting.
Well, thank you for taking the time to talk to me, Mrs. Blaine.
It's more than most of the townfolks will do.
Good luck, Steve.
( clock chimes nine o'clock )
Good night.
Hello, dear. Hello, Mama.
Whose buggy was that I heard?
Steve's.
I thought you were spending the evening with Mary Evans.
Well, he called for me at Mary's.
Gloria, I don't think you should be seeing him at this time.
You know what they're saying about him.
Mama.
Yes?
Do you think Steve killed Mr. Frazer?
He had every reason to, from what I've heard.
That's not what I asked you.
Do you think he did it?
I really don't know.
How could I?
Steve said there were two people in on the robbery,
and the second person killed him
to keep from having to share the money.
Just what are you trying to say?
I'm not trying to say anything.
I'm only telling you what Steve said.
I'm not interested in Steve's theories.
Would you like some warm milk before you go to bed?
No, thank you.
Mama...
Yes, dear?
Nothing.
What do you think you're doing, Steve?
I'm finishing my breakfast. Why?
Don't get fresh with me.
You know what I mean.
Mark, is it wrong for a man to try and prove that he's not a murderer.
In your case, yeah. Do you mean I can't even
I'll tell you what I mean. You've already been in one fight.
You keep hanging around this town,
the way the town feels about you and with that hot head,
you're just gonna wind up in more trouble.
My advice to you is,
get back to Shiloh and stay there.
As long as you've finished your breakfast,
you can start right now.
Are you advising me, or telling me?
Well, you put it that way, I'm telling you.
Just hold very still, now,
till I get it out.
There. I got it.
Now I'll give you something to wash it out with.
Wait till my eye stops watering.
Say, this is quite a place you've got here, Wilfred.
You need a lot of equipment to be an optometrist.
Here. Use this.
I don't know if I ought to trust you or not,
seeing as how we're rivals.
If you're talking about Gloria,
we're not rivals anymore.
You and her have a little fight that night at the dance?
It didn't set out to be one.
I asked her to marry me.
Well, I didn't know you were that serious about her, Wilfred.
I'm over it.
Any girl that looks down her nose
at $176 a month.
Do you know what she told me?
That she was gonna go to New York to meet rich society people,
maybe even marry one of them.
Well, she was joking.
No, she wasn't.
You should have seen the look on her face when she said it.
She really believed it.
How could she get to New York?
Don't ask me, ask her mother.
She's been filling that girl so full of wild notions.
I don't think Gloria knows what's real and what isn't anymore.
All that talk about New York, you'd think money grew on trees.
How much do I owe you, Wilfred?
Nothing-- if you promise to come to me when you need glasses.
Oh, you bet. Sure.
Thank you.
Don't rub that eye, now.
Oh, no.
Good evening.
I'm sorry, Steve, but I think it best that you don't see Gloria,
under the present circumstances.
I didn't come to see Gloria.
I came to talk to you.
I thought we had our talk in the office.
This'll only take a minute.
I hope so.
I was about to go to bed.
Then I'll get right to it.
I know who killed Ed Frazer.
Indeed?
You did.
You can't be serious!
What threw me at first was I was looking for a man,
when it dawned on me....
And then everything fell into place.
Would you mind telling me how you arrived at this absurd conclusion?
You were Frazer's partner,
and when he came back to town,
you had to get rid of him.
And you heard about the trouble between me and Frazer.
So you fixed that wagon tongue,
figuring I'd get killed and Frazer'd get blamed for it.
When that didn't work, you killed him,
and at a time when you knew I couldn't prove where I was.
If you really believe all this,
why don't you tell the Sheriff?
Because I can't prove it!
Yet.
But I will. If it takes me the rest of my life, I'll prove it.
Get out.
I don't know where you hid the money,
but you'd better leave it there,
because you'll never get a chance to use it as long as you live.
There's too much...
...blood on it.
Get out.
Get out!
Good night, Mrs. Blaine.
Sleep well.
GLORIA: He was right, wasn't he?
Everything he said.
That was just the way it happened, wasn't it?
Yes.
All right, you want me to say it, I'll say it.
I killed him.
How could you have done it?
Don't you look at me that way.
There was nothing else I could do.
And I didn't do it for myself;
I did it for you.
All the things we dreamed about,
talked about all these years.
I couldn't let him ruin it.
Don't you see, darling?
I had to get rid of him.
He could have spoiled everything.
But... you killed him.
Darling, listen to me, please.
Steve can't prove it.
Nobody will ever know.
I will.
Gloria.
HELEN: "My darling,
"you were right to turn away from me.
"There is no way to justify what I did,
"and what I almost did to you.
"It is a crime that goes beyond the laws of man,
"but thank God it is not too late for one of us.
"Give this key to the Sheriff,
"along with the written confession
"telling him that I and I alone
"am responsible for all the terrible things that were done.
"Try to find it in your heart to forgive me, darling.
"If you can do that,
it may be that God will forgive me too."
Aaahhhh!
Help me!
Oh, please! Help me, somebody!
Help me!
Hang on.
Try to hang on.
I'll get a rope. Oh, no!
I guess we'll never know how the accident happened
or what your mother was doing out there,
but... if you need anything,
or if there's something we can do for you
before you leave to join your relatives, you just let us know.
Thank you, but I'm all right.
Your mother was a fine woman.
She had the respect of everyone in town.
I heard you were leaving town.
Don't do it, Glory.
Don't try and do it.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You've got the money. I know you have.
Will you leave me alone?
This is my last chance, Glory.
Nobody can hurt your mother now, no matter what comes out.
But if you go through with this, if you leave now,
this town will never believe I didn't kill Frazer.
I told you, I don't know what you're--
Do you know what you'll be if you go through with this?
You'll be an accomplice to a robbery and a murder.
Do you want to go through the rest of your life
with that hanging over your head?
Do you want to end up just like your mother?
For the last time, will you leave me alone?
( stagecoach approaching outside )
Give it back, Gloria. It's not too late.
You'll be in the clear. Nothing will happen to you.
For the last time, will you leave me alone?
Are you gonna give it back, or do I have to take it?
Let go of that!
How was the trip, Frank?
GLORIA: Let go of that!
SHERIFF: What's going on here?
Make him leave me alone.
Have you lost your mind?
Ask her. She'll tell you.
He thinks my mother robbed
the lumber company safe.
I know she did, and she killed Frazer.
What's the matter with you, Steve?
I was trying to make her give the money back.
You'd better get on the stage.
Aren't you gonna look?
Will you be quiet?!
All right, look.
Look in every single one.
If you want to look--!
Open the trunk and look in there.
I guess that's it.
I'm sorry, Gloria. Frank!
MAN: Stage is leaving. Everybody aboard.
All right, folks, will you get on the stage, please.
I don't know what's got into you, Steve,
but I'm gonna tell you one thing--
before this day is out,
every man in this town is gonna be lining up
for a chance to break your jaw,
and if I wasn't wearing this star,
I'd be the first in line.
You won, Gloria.
And I feel sorry for you.
All right, Gloria.
I feel sorry for him.
He brought it on himself.
Good luck.
Whoa! Whoa, now!
You were right, Steve.
This is what you were looking for.
You'll find the money in the bank at Denver.
Can I go, or are you going to...?
No, you can go.
Glory.
You don't owe me anything, Steve.
It's just the other way around.
DRIVER: Hup!
Buy you a drink?