Home   Season One   Season Two   Roger as Heyes   Season Three

Teaser:

Curry and Heyes, carrying rifles, are walking along a line of trees.  Curry is in front, Heyes following several feet behind.  Heyes stops to take a drink from his canteen.  Curry continues walking.  A cougar leaps from above onto Curry.  As he wrestles the cougar, Heyes tries to line up a clean shot at it.  Finally he fires...

Opening Theme:

"Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, the two most successful outlaws in the history of the west...."

Curry and Heyes ride across open country, then into a town.  We next see them in the saloon, in a poker game with five other players, including three cowboys.  One of the players spreads his hand face up on a card table.
Phil:  "Ain't that pretty?  Twos over threes--smallest full house they make."
He is Phil Archer, a rancher.  He waits to see if anyone can beat his hand.
Heyes:  "Looks awful big to me."
Archer pulls in a good sized pot.  One of the cowboys--Clyde--gathers up the coins in front of him.
Clyde:  "Come on, boys--we gotta get ridin'."
He gets up.  Bill, another of the cowboys, protests.
Bill:  "Aw, let's play a few more hands, Clyde.  I wanna win some of my money back."
Clyde:  "The cook'll throw our supper out if we're late...now come on."
The three cowboys leave.  Phil looks at Curry and Heyes and the other remaining player, a townsman.
Phil:  "Well, boys, I guess that's the game.  Four handed just ain't poker."
Heyes:  "No, guess it ain't."
Townsman:  "It sure ain't."
The townsman gets up and leaves.
Phil:  "You know, I don't recall seein' you two fellas around here before.  What ranch you work at?"
Curry:  "Well, we don't work at any at the moment.  We're, ah... we're what you might call unemployed."
Phil:  "Oh.  But you are cowhands?"
Curry and Heyes exchange a glance...it's beginning to sound as though Archer is offering them a job, which they really don't want just now.  Heyes speaks up quickly.
Heyes:  "No, actually we're not cowhands.  Never handled a cow in our whole lives."
The humor is wasted on Phil--he's too busy pursuing his own particular thoughts.
Phil:  "Well, if you don't mind my askin'... What line of business are you in?  I'm not usually this nosy, but I got a reason for asking."
Curry and Heyes glance at each other again.  There's no doubt about it--the man has some kind of work in mind for them.  Curry decides to put a stop to it by grabbing at the most far-out occupation that comes to mind.
Curry:  "Ah, no, we don't mind.  You may find this hard to believe, but we're, ah... trappers."
Phil stares at them, astonished.
Phil:  "By golly, I can't believe it!"
Heyes:  Decides he'd better go along with it.  "Yeah..."
Phil:  "I just can't believe it!  You boys know why I came into town?"
Another brief glance between Curry and Heyes.
Heyes:  His smile fades.  "Not...lookin' for trappers?"
Phil:  "Yessir! I came in two days ago, lookin' for somebody to trap out my ranch.  Couldn't find a soul.  So I sit down before I go home to have a game of poker, and I'm playin' with two trappers!  By golly, this calls for a drink."  Calls to the bartender, "Charlie--bring over some whiskey!"
Curry and Heyes just sit there glumly, sick looks on their faces.  Phil grins delightedly at his newfound employees.
Phil:  "You know something?  You fellas don't look like trappers."

The boys are in a wagon, jolting along a little-used road in open range country.  Phil Archer is on horseback, riding on ahead of them.  Heyes is driving, Curry sits on the seat beside him, sourly chucking pebbles at the rumps of the horses to keep them moving.  The wagon holds an assortment of traps in varying sizes...for coyote on up to bear.  Phil turns in his saddle to make sure his prizes are still there.  He waves with infectious good humor to our boys.  Curry and Heyes force grins which wouldn't stand close inspection, and Curry waves back at Phil.  Then when Phil faces front again, Curry hauls back as if to throw one of the pebbles at him.
Heyes:  "Don't blame Archer, Kid.  You got us into this."
Curry:  "Me!"
Heyes:  Nods.  "Yeah, you.  You know, I've been meanin' to tell you somethin' for some time.  Unless the conversation is about guns, or somethin' very simple and unimportant, just... let me do the talkin'."
Curry:  "I didn't see you talk us out of the situation."
Heyes:  "Kid, when you're stuck, you're stuck.  Now, I thought about just ridin' out of town, and Archer's next stop would've been the sheriff's office.  Would you rather be runnin' or... doin' this?"
Curry:  "Well, maybe it'll turn out all right anyway.  After all, there's a depression on and we could use the money.  From what he says, we'll make enough money just trappin' out his ranch to pay for all this equipment and have a lot left over.  And later on when we get back to town we can sell these traps for good money."
Heyes:  "Good money.  Kid, don't ever go into business.  It's only when you're buyin' that money's good.  When you're sellin', it's poor--very poor."  He slaps the reins on the horses' rumps.  "Git up.  Come on."

Phil and Curry and Heyes reach the Archer ranch buildings.
Phil:  Calls to a hand, "Jake!  Take care of the wagon!"
A woman comes out of the house.  She waves a greeting to Phil.  She is his wife, Helen.  Phil waves back.  Helen now looks toward the approaching wagon.  Curry has removed his hat to wipe his forehead.  He is looking around, not aware he's the center of Helen's attention.  Helen knows Curry from somewhere...she's searching her memory.  In a fast, almost subliminal cut, we see Curry sitting in a witness chair.  He wears a mustache.  (This and following cut from "The Posse That Wouldn't Quit.")  Helen almost remembers...she stares again toward Curry.  Curry in the wagon is moving closer to her...Curry still isn't aware of her.  We again see Curry sitting in the witness chair at a trial.  Helen has it now.  She remembers where she saw Curry before--and who he is.  Phil strides toward his wife and gives her a big kiss.  Jake and another ranch hand come to take charge of Phil's horse, and the wagon team.  Curry and Heyes get down, and let the one called Jake, an older man, lead their team and wagon off toward the barn.  Phil, his arm still around Helen, turns to introduce the boys.
Phil:  "Honey, you'll never believe it, how lucky I got.  I found someone to trap out our place.  This here is Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones.  Boys, this is my wife, Helen."
Curry:  "Ma'am."
Heyes:  "Howdy, ma'am."
Helen is cool and distant.  She looks at Curry, manages to hide her recognition...but there's still tension in her manner.
Helen:  "Pleased to meet you."
Phil:  "Well, ah, we'll be havin' supper pretty soon.  Bunkhouse is right around the corner there.  Why don't you wash up and then come back an' eat with Helen and me."
Heyes:  "Thanks.  That sounds real nice."
He and Curry head toward the bunkhouse.  Helen frowns after Curry, then allows her husband to lead her into the house.  Phil and Helen come in, shutting the door behind them, Phil is watching his wife curiously, sensing something about her strangeness.
Phil:  "Honey, what's the matter?  That wasn't like you, the way you said hello to those two."
Helen:  "Where did you find 'em, Phil?"
Phil:  "In a poker game in the Blue Belle Saloon.  Why?"
Helen:  "I recognized one of them.  The one with curly hair.  He's Kid Curry."
Phil:  "Well, ain't this a situation.  What the devil do I do now?  If he's Kid Curry, the other one's got to be Hannibal Heyes.  How do I handle that?"
Helen:  "Well, why don't you just lock 'em up in the ice house?"
Phil:  "Lock 'em up!?  People like Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes don't just throw up their hands, they fight!  They got nothin' to lose...they're gonna hang anyway!"
Helen:  "No, they're not.  They're not wanted for murder...they just go to prison."
Phil:  "Sure--for the rest of their lives.  No, sir, you try to arrest men like Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes--you think first.  Very carefully."
Helen starts toward the kitchen.  Phil stops her.
Phil:  "Helen... isn't there a price on their heads?"
Helen:  "Yes, I believe there is."
Phil:  "I'm not sure, but... it seems to me it was ten thousand dollars apiece."
Helen:  "That's right."
Phil:  "That's what I thought."
Helen:  "Phil... what are you gonna do?"
Phil:  "Well... I'm gonna let them go on up in the hills and start trappin'.  And Helen... don't say anything to the hands.  If there's twenty thousand dollars reward on those two, I don't want to be splittin' it with eight ranch hands."

Heyes and Curry are up in the hills.  Heyes is pounding a stake into the ground with a sledge-hammer to anchor a trap.  Curry is wandering around, carrying a trap and a canvas sack over his shoulder.  He finds an old cow skull and gives it a kick.
Curry:  "Well, looky here.  You know, I'll bet this is part of an old wolf-kill.  Archer said he had quite a few wolves on the place."
Heyes:  "Uh-huh.  He also said he had quite a few coyote, mountain lion and grizzly bear.  Take your pick."
Curry:  "I think I'd prefer running into that cougar he told us about.  You know, the smart old boy he's willing to pay a fifty dollar bonus for."
Heyes:  "Kid, let's hope we don't run into that smart old boy."
Curry drops his trap and opens the sack.

Back at the Archer ranch, a man is rides up.  He's a very unusual looking character, and his name is Billings.  He's about six-feet-eight...he rides a very large horse because he weighs about 280 pounds.  He wears a fur coat that looks like a bear-hide with armholes cut in it.  On one side of his saddle is a scabbard holding a Winchester.  On the other is another scabbard, holding a big old Sharps buffalo gun.  He has a great big pistol and knife strapped high on his waist.  He wears a leather case around his neck.  On top of all this is a face that is ugly and mean-looking.  Phil walks up to him as Helen comes out of the house.
Phil:  "Howdy, stranger...light and give your horse a rest."
Billings:  "Your name be Archer?"
Phil:  "That's right."
Billings:  "Mine's Billings."
Phil:  "Luke Billings?"
Billings:  "That's right.  Friend of yours at the Bar X Ranch told me you were lookin' for a hunter."
Phil:  "Well, you're exactly the man I was lookin' for, but... since I been up to the Bar X, I hired on a couple other men to do the job."
Billings:  "Looks like I had me a long ride for nothin' then."
He turns his horse, about to push on.  Phil's mind is going lickety-split...he calls after Billings.
Phil:  "Ah... hold on.  Ah, you've got to at least come in and have a drink of somethin' to cut the dust.  My wife and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Billings isn't big on the social amenities, but he could use a drink.
Billings:  "All right with me."
He dismounts and follows Phil and Helen into the house.
Phil:  "Have a seat, Mister Billings."
Billings sits on the sofa.
Helen:  "What can I bring you, Mister Billings?  Would you like some coffee?"
Billings:  "Have any whiskey?"
Helen:  "Yes, we---"
Billings:  "Fine.  Bring the coffee, but put some whiskey in it first."
Helen nods, looking at Billings.  It's obvious she doesn't like the man--she's more than a little afraid of him.  Billings knows he has this effect on people, and he enjoys it.  Helen leaves quietly.  Phil brings a box of cigars to Billings.
Phil:  "Have a cigar?"
Billings takes one.

Up in the hills, Heyes is still pounding stakes.  Curry is working with another trap.
Curry:  "You know, I almost hate to bring this up, but did you notice the way Mrs. Archer was looking at me during supper last night?"
Heyes:  "Well, I just thought she was a little strange is all."
Curry:  "Yeah, how's that?"
Heyes:  "Well, any woman rather look at you than me 'd be a little strange."
Curry:  "Then the world's sure full of a lot of strange women.  Mrs. Archer wasn't looking at me that way.  Nah, she looked kind of scared.  I'm tryin' to figure out what that meant."
Heyes:  "Kid, you're just spooked.  We've been on the dodge too long."
Curry:  "Yeah, maybe so.  Maybe so."

Phil lights Billings' cigar.  He takes a seat on a chair opposite Billings.
Phil:  "Tell me, are you anywhere near as good as your reputation says you are?"
Billings:  "Reputation for what?"
Phil:  "Hunting."
Billings:  "Yeah...I'm probably better than my reputation."
Phil:  "I may have an interesting proposition to make to you."
Helen enters with a cup of coffee and gives it to Billings.
Phil:  "Thanks, honey...you better shut the door on the way out.  You know how you hate for cigar smoke to get through the whole house."
Helen goes out, closing the door.
Phil:  "This proposition is worth ten thousand dollars, but it may only take a week of your time."
Billings:  "That's three times more than they pay the Governor of this territory in a year."
Phil:  "It just so happens that it might be dangerous--but maybe not, for a man like you."
Billings:  "A huntin' job, is it?"
Phil:  "That's right."
Billings:  "At that price, it's got to be men I'll be huntin'."
Phil:  "That's right.  And before I go on, I want your word on one thing.  Either you take the job exactly the way I lay it out, or forget the whole thing.  You give me your word on that?"
Billings:  "Go ahead."
Phil:  "Well...  It's about those two trappers I hired.  I found out later that they are Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes.  There's a ten thousand dollar reward on each one of 'em."
Billings:  "Dead or alive?"
Phil:  "That's right...dead or alive."
Billings:  "What part of your place are they trappin'?"
Phil:  "The northwest section, in the foothills."
Billings finishes his coffee.  He walks out and heads for his horse at the hitch rail.  Phil follows him.
Phil:  "What about my proposition?"
Billings:  "Mister Archer, I don't hire out to hunt men."  He swings up onto his horse.  "Up in those hills, you say, huh?  See you around."
Phil doesn't answer.  Billings reins his horse around and rides out.  Phil looks sick, as he realizes Billings intends to take the whole twenty thousand reward for himself.  Phil tosses his cigar aside in disgust and heads back into the house.  Helen is standing by the inner living room door.  She's looking at him with a very unhappy look.
Helen:  "I heard it all--every word."
Phil:  "Well, they are wanted dead or alive."
Helen:  "Maybe they are...but they're not killers--either one of them.  I just can't believe what I heard.  I don't want to believe it."
She turns and walks out of the room.  Phil goes after her.
Phil:  "Please, Helen... you know how much we can use that money--how much we need it!"
Helen goes into a bedroom and closes the door in Phil's face.

Curry and Heyes have finished their evening meal.  Curry pours himself a cup of coffee, while Heyes fusses with one of the traps.  A campfire lights the scene.  The wagon horses are tethered a little distance from the fire.  Now they blow and stamp restlessly, reacting to some vagrant scent on the night wind.  One of the horses whinnies.
Heyes:  "I think somethin's out there workin' up an appetite."
Curry takes a seat on the wagon tongue behind Heyes.
Curry:  "Yeah, maybe it's that fifty-dollar cougar."
Heyes:  "Or a grizzly.  Say, did you ever face a one thousand pound grizzly bear?"
Curry:  "No.  The closest I've ever come to a one thousand pound grizzly bear was old One Leg Harrison.  You 'member him?"
Heyes:  "Yeah, I remember they called him One Leg Harrison 'cause that's the number of legs he had."
Curry:  "Yeah, on account of the other was bit clean off by a one thousand pound grizzly bear.  Would you like to give up trapping?"
Heyes:  "Yeah, I think I would... but Kid, we got us an investment to protect."
A cougar screams nearby.  Now the horses are definitely frightened, rearing and trying to break their picket ropes.  Curry and Heyes grab their Winchesters.  A big mountain lion suddenly appears in the rocks.  Curry throws his rifle to his shoulder and snaps off a shot.  It turns and disappears.  Curry scrambles up into the rocks and finds a few drops of blood.
Curry:  "Heyes, I hit it!  There's blood up here!"
Heyes comes to a point just below Curry in the rocks, looks up at him.
Heyes:  "Come on down.  We can't track it in the dark."
Curry:  "Yeah, I guess you're right."
He takes one last look into the night, in the direction taken by the wounded cat.  He climbs down through the rocks.
Curry:  "It oughta be easy to track it down tomorrow."
Heyes:  "Yeah, I can hardly wait.  They say there's only one thing more dangerous than a grizzly, and that's a wounded cougar."

The sun is rising over a mountain.  Curry and Heyes are on foot, both carrying Winchesters.  They are moving across the rocks, following the trail of the wounded cougar.

Billings rides through some trees.  He stops, dismounts, and ties his horse.

Heyes and Curry are still tracking the cougar.

Billings is sitting on the ground, pulling on moccasins.  He moves off on foot, carrying his Winchester.

Heyes and Curry are walking through a grove of aspens.  Heyes stops to examine the cougar's tracks.
Heyes:  "Kid, he's draggin' his left front paw.  I think you just pinked it.  Not your usual dead-eye shootin'."
Curry:  "Well, Heyes, did I ever claim to be an expert with a Winchester?  The only man I can think of that I'm better than with a Winchester is you."
Heyes:  "Mmmm."

Billings moves through a brushy area.

Curry and Heyes are walking along a line of trees.  Curry is in the lead now, Heyes following several feet behind.  Heyes stops to take a drink from his canteen.  Curry continues walking.  A cougar leaps from above onto Curry.  As he wrestles the cougar, Heyes tries to line up a clean shot at it.  Finally he fires.

The sound of a distant gunshot reaches Billings.

Curry rolls away from the dead cougar.

Billings sets off in the direction of the shot.

Curry and Heyes are coming down a steep slope covered with loose dirt and roots.
Curry:  "You know, Heyes, I've been thinking.  Next time we get jumped by a cougar, let's make sure it's you that gets jumped.  Okay?  'Cause if one of use has to shoot at a cougar and a man wrestling---"
Curry misses his footing.  There's the sound of a rifle shot and Curry's hat flies off.  They take cover behind a big rock.
Curry:  "That's shooting!"
Heyes:  "He missed you, didn't he?"
Curry:  "Yeah.  Only because I slipped right when he fired!  Well, now we know why Mrs. Archer was lookin' at me that way."
Heyes:  "Could've been an accident."
Curry:  "That was no accident.  Somebody out there's tryin' to kill us, and I don't think it's Archer either.  That shot came from too far off.  Must've hired somebody--somebody awful good."
Heyes:  "Kid, it could only be one man.  Otherwise there would've been more than one shot."
Curry:  "What do you figure?  Should we split up?"
Heyes:  "It's the only chance we've got.  We'll work our way back that way... separately, to the wagon.  We ought to get there right at dark.  And then we're gonna get the devil out of here."
Curry:  "Boy, that's the smartest thing you've said in a month."
They get up and move cautiously into the trees, heading in separate directions.  A bullet ricochets off a rock behind Heyes.

We follow each of the boys in turn as they work their way cautiously through whatever cover is available taking advantage of the terrain as best they can.  Both are tense and worried half expecting another bullet to come out of nowhere at any second.  Both are bugged by the fact that they can't spot their attacker--have no idea where he is.  Heyes has come to the edge of a small clearing.  He has to cross it.  He hesitates, then dashes for the far side, running bent over.  He's almost to the cover on the other side when a gunshot is heard, and he goes sprawling head over heels.

Curry hears the shot.  He stops and drops his rifle, takes off his coat, and takes the safety loop off the hammer of his revolver.

Billings is moving toward Heyes.  Curry is stalking him through the aspens.

Heyes is lying where he fell.

Curry is carefully climbing a rocky slope, his revolver in his hand.

Curry is in the rocks above Billings, his .45 aimed at the hunter.
Curry:  "All right, hold it right there."
Billings stops.  He shows no emotion at his sudden predicament.  He simply waits for the next shoe to drop.
Curry:  "Drop that Winchester.  All right, now the handgun."
Billings is smart enough not to try to turn and shoot.  He disposes of his guns as ordered.
Curry:  "Turn around."
Curry scrambles down the rock and moves toward Billings.
Curry:  "All right, let's see whether my friend's alive or dead.  Start running--and pray a little too."
Billings starts jogging toward Heyes, with Curry right behind him.
Curry:  Blazing anger.  "Faster.  Faster!"
He fires a couple of shots which barely miss Billings' heels.  Billings obediently increases his speed until they reach Heyes.
Curry:  "All right, now take a look at him."
Heyes stirs, opens his eyes, looks up at Billings, then past him to Curry.
Heyes:  "It hit my back.  I think it's in my shoulder blade."
Curry:  "Go on, take a look at it!"
Billings begins stripping off Heyes' jacket and shirt to examine the wound.  He's cool as anything, not the least bit worried or frightened.
Billings:  "Well, you two must live right--he's gonna survive."
Curry:  Cold fury.  "You better hope he does.  Now get the bullet out and stop the bleeding."
Billings:  "Me?"
Curry:  "I haven't got time to tie you up, so you're gonna have to do it.  And you better do it right, because if he dies, I'm gonna bury you right beside him."
Billings:  "Have to use my knife."
Curry:  "Go ahead."
Heyes:  "Huh?"
Curry:  "Just use it right, 'cause nothin' would give me more pleasure than blowin' your head off."
Billings draws his knife and bends to work on Heyes.  Curry's as angry as we've ever seen him.  It's a good thing Billings is so insensitive, or Curry's fury would make him too nervous for the delicate trail surgery he's about to perform.
Billings:  "Now don't jump.  This thing's like a razor--it'll go right through you."
Curry crouches down to watch.

We return to the same camp where Curry shot the cougar last night.  The wagon and horses are there, and now, here comes Billings, carrying Heyes in his arms like a baby, with Curry behind him, urging him along with his gun muzzle.  Billings reaches the wagon.  Heyes is grinning, and Billings is sweating.  It has been a long way to the wagon, and even a man-mountain like Billings is bushed.  Heyes is neatly bandaged, really looking remarkably good, considering.  He grins up at Billings.
Heyes:  "You know, I really did enjoy this.  I think I could've walked myself, but this is much nicer--more restful.  For me, anyway."
Curry:  "All right...put him down right there."
Billings puts Heyes down.  Billings doesn't respond to the needling from Heyes...just looks at Curry, awaiting his next move.  Curry motions toward a rock.
Curry:  "Okay, mister, come on.  Sit down here on that rock.  Put your hands behind your back.  Think you can hold a gun, Heyes?"
Heyes:  "Why, sure--easy.  Probably even pull the trigger."
Curry hands Heyes a rifle and he covers Billings as Curry gets rope from the wagon and begins tying Billings up.  Curry is still very angry.
Curry:  "All right, what's your name?"
Heyes:  "And why did you come up after us?"
Billings is silent.
Curry:  "Mister, we've got a lot of questions, and we'd better start getting some answers.  Now, are you gonna come up with 'em?"
Billings:  "Maybe--when I find out what you're gonna do with me."
Curry is getting upset all over again with Billings.  He tightens the ropes he is tying right at the moment with considerable force, causing Billings to wince slightly.  Curry next ties Billing's feet.
Curry:  "I'm not at all sure I want to bargain with you, friend... so don't overplay your hand.  It's not that strong."
Heyes cocks the rifle.  Billings glances at him.
Billings:  "Well, them's my terms...take 'em or leave 'em."
Curry:  "All right.  What we're gonna do with you is leave you right here, alive and tied up."
Billings:  "That's not good enough.  I'm a hunter, not an escape artist."
Curry:  "When we leave you here, we'll stop by the Archer ranch on our way out an' tell Archer where you are."
Billings:  "I don't like that either.  I'll tell you what you do--you tell Mrs. Archer.  Then maybe I'll answer your questions."
Curry:  "All right, Mrs. Archer it is.  Now, who are you?"
Billings:  "Name's Luke Billings."
Curry:  "Why are you hunting us?"
Billings:  "Archer wanted to make a deal to split the reward on you two.  I didn't see any reason to split with him.  If I'm gonna do all the work, I want all the money."
Heyes:  To Curry, "Well, Thaddeus, you were right.  She did recognize you."
Billings:  To Heyes, "She sure did--if you're Kid Curry and..." to Curry, "you're Hannibal Heyes."
Curry:  "Well, you're close anyway."
Billings:  "You can see why I want you to tell Mrs. Archer.  After I cut her husband out of that deal, I don't think he'd be much help to me.  Oh, and there's one other thing I want..."
Curry:  "Yeah?"
Billings:  "Put me in the wagon.  I'll be safer from varmints there."
Curry moves over to Heyes, and crouches next to him.
Curry:  "Think you can ride a horse?"
Heyes:  "Yeah, I think so.  I feel like a tree fell on me, but I think I can ride."
Curry moves back to Billings.  He gets him up on his feet, then steadies him as Billings hops toward the wagon.

At the Archer ranch, Phil and Helen are sitting in the living room.  She's doing needlepoint, he's trying to concentrate on reading a newspaper.  The air between them is still tense and estranged.  Finally her refusal to even look at Phil gets to him.  He gets up and goes outside.  Phil starts out as though he might be going to take a walk.  Curry and Heyes step out of the bushes.  Phil is understandably shook to find these two standing there in the moonlight looking grimly at him.
Heyes:  "Just take it easy, Mister Archer.  Nothing's gonna happen to you.  Let's go inside...we've got a message for Mrs. Archer."
Inside, Helen is still sitting there doing her needlepoint as they enter.  She looks up, startled.
Curry:  "All right, Archer, sit down--right there."
Curry points to a chair.  Phil sits.  Heyes crosses to the sofa and sits down.
Heyes:  "Your paid killer almost got the job done.  He shot me in the left shoulder--a hundred yards away and only a couple inches off target.  We left him up there in the hills--tied up, of course.  He wanted me to tell you, ma'am...so he'd be sure that somebody came up to get him."
Phil:  He's scared.  "What-- what're you gonna do to me?"
Curry:  "Well, we concluded you didn't tell any of your ranch hands about us.  Right?"
Phil:  "No.  No, I didn't."
Curry:  "All right, fine.  What we're gonna do is try to get a little rest here tonight.  All four of us right in this room.  And in the morning, you and I, Mister Archer, will saddle up four horses, while my friend here keeps an eye on Mrs. Archer.  And then we're all four gonna ride to within a couple miles of the nearest railroad.  After that, you can go and take care of your friend Billings, 'cause that's the deal we made with him.  Any questions?"
Helen:  "Mister Heyes?"
Heyes:  "Yeah?"
Helen:  "Are you in any pain?"
Heyes:  "Well now, ma'am, everybody has a little pain.  I've just got a little extra.  It's not too bad."
Curry:  "All right, you might as well get yourself some rest, because my partner and I plan to.  One at a time, of course."
He turns down the lamp.

We see a series of shots of Curry and Heyes riding with the Archers.  The sequence indicates they are travelling a long way.  The four riders are crossing a big, open sage-brush flat with high rock formations.  Billings, up in the rocks, watches them approach.  He takes aim.  Curry and Heyes ride behind the Archers both silent and bored by the long ride.  Curry rides slumped over somewhat.  One hand rests on the saddle horn.  After a moment, he lifts the hand to brush away a fly that is buzzing around his face.  The saddle horn is blasted right off the saddle by the impact of a heavy bullet.  Curry flinches back from the shattered saddle horn...the bullet that hit it has missed him by a couple of inches.  We hear the distant, heavy report of a Sharps rifle--a roar like artillery.  The four riders spill off their horses.
Curry:  "Hit the ground!"
Heyes:  "Get your heads down!"
They all take cover in a gully behind some rocks.
Heyes:  "It's comin' from those rocks back up there."
Phil:  "Ain't nobody can shoot that far!  That's close to a thousand yards.  There ain't a rifle made that can carry that far!"
Curry:  "Oh yes, there is--old Sharps buffalo gun.  It's accurate up to a thousand yards.  Mister Archer?"
Phil:  "Yeah?"
Curry:  "Billings have a Sharps rifle with him?"
Phil:  "Seems to me he did have two rifles...one of 'em was a Winchester, the other one I didn't recognize.  Big one though."
Curry:  "That's Billings out there, and he's got a Sharps with him.  That first shot he got his range a little too short, that's all...caught my saddle horn instead of me."
Heyes peers cautiously over the top of the rocks.  Heyes ducks down again a split second ahead of another bullet, which creases the top of his rock, and would obviously have hit him if he hadn't ducked.
Heyes:  "Well, he's got the range, now."
As soon as the bullet hits, Curry stands up and scans the rock formations around them.
Helen:  "Get down--he'll kill you!"
Curry continues looking around for another second or two, then drops down behind the rock just before another bullet hits nearby.
Curry:  "Sharps is a single shot rifle, Mrs. Archer.  Takes an expert at least five seconds to reload, so I wasn't in any danger, ma'am."
Heyes:  "Keep your heads down."
Curry looks off to the side, toward a distant rock formation to the side of the gully they're hiding in.  There is no cover between our people and this formation--they're all four completely exposed if Billings were to move.
Curry:  "You know something?  If he were to decide to ride right over there, we'd never even know about it 'til he took a nice, clean shot at us."
Heyes:  "Yeah, I've been tryin' to figure how long it's gonna take him to get around over there.  I guess about twenty minutes or so."
Curry:  "If we knew for sure he'd be over there, we could always take cover behind this ridge here."
Heyes:  "Yeah, that's wonderful.  If we go around there and he hasn't moved, he's gonna have a nice, clean shot at us from where he is right now.  Now, Kid, you got any way of knowin' what he's doin' up there?"
Curry:  "The only thing I know is he's got ten hours of daylight to do anything he wants."
Phil:  "What are you sayin'?"
Curry:  "That we're in a lot of trouble, Mister Archer.  We're tryin' to think of somethin' to do about it."
Phil:  "I've been doin' some thinkin', too.  He probably just wants the two of you for the reward.  If I was to make a run for my horse, I think he'd let me make it."
Heyes:  "You do, huh?  Well, I doubt it."
Phil:  "Somebody has to go for help.  Wait 'til he works around up to there, he'll just pick us off."
Curry:  "I don't think there's a chance he's gonna let you get on a horse and ride out of here."
Phil:  "I'm responsible for everything that's happening here.  My wife's in danger--I'm goin' for help."
Heyes:  "Look, Archer... somebody might've heard those shots.  Now, a Sharps can be heard a long way off..."
Phil:  "There's nobody around to hear 'em.  But you can help me.  Maybe we can keep him guessin' just long enough for me to get away."
Curry:  "I don't think he's the type that confuses easy.  He only thinks of one thing at a time--slowly."
Phil:  "If I was to make a run for my horse, and you were to start shootin' at me, might give him a whole different idea.  Maybe it'll keep him guessin' just long enough for me to get on my horse and get a start."
Curry:  "There's only one thing wrong with that.  He knows who we are.  We start shootin' at you, he ain't gonna believe it unless we hit you."
Phil:  "Well, make it look good.  Come close."
Curry and Heyes look at each other.
Phil:  "Well, whether you help me or not, I'm gonna try for my horse.  And don't get any wrong ideas, I'm not doin' it for you--I'm doin' it for my wife and myself."
Curry:  "All right.  If that's the way it's gonna be..."  He draws his gun and checks the cylinder.  "Tilt your hat up, would ya?"
Phil:  "My hat?"
Curry:  "Yeah.  I'm gonna shoot it off your head.  Well, that's the only thing I can think of to make him believe I'm really tryin' to hit you."
Phil doubtfully tilts his hat up.
Heyes:  "He won't miss, Mister Archer."
Phil:  "I'll be back in a couple hours with plenty of help."
Phil dashes out from behind the rock, running for his horse.  Curry shoots after him twice, then takes careful aim, and shoots Phil's hat off.  He shoots once more.  Phil makes it to his horse and mounts.  Billings has been watching all the activity with a frown.  His big Sharps rifle is on a tripod...a regular old buffalo hunter's set-up.  Billings has about made up his mind.  He lines up on Phil, tracking him with the rifle.  He shoots.  Phil's horse rears and falls, then gets up.  Phil stays down.  Helen is suddenly up and running toward her husband.  Heyes grabs at her but misses.  Heyes and Curry stay where they are--it would do no good at all to go after her and get themselves killed.  Helen reaches her fallen husband.  The horse is nearby.  Billings watches, showing no emotion.  Helen kneels beside her husband.  He looks up at her gritting his teeth against the pain.
Phil:  "Get back down in that gully!  Broke my leg.  I can't move it.  Come on, come on, get out of here!"
She looks at him, standing up slowly.  Suddenly she breaks for the horse, runs and jumps onto it and spurs away.  Billings wasn't expecting this maneuver from Helen...he is a bit slow getting lined up on her, hurries his shot.  Helen rides away, bent low over the horse.  Billings' shot misses her, she keeps riding.  Curry and Heyes watch Helen ride off, staying as low as possible.
Heyes:  "She made it.  She'll be out of range by the time he reloads."
Curry:  "I wonder how he is--Archer."
Heyes:  "Well, she was talkin' to him."
Curry:  "Well then, he must be all right, the way she rode out of there.  Well, now we can get back to worryin' about our friend Billings.  Well, he hasn't changed position yet.  You think he's smart enough to?"
Heyes:  "Kid, we can't afford to think he isn't.  She'll be back with help in two hours and Billings knows it."
Curry:  "I was afraid you were gonna say that.  Then what we got to do is give him twenty minutes to move to a different position and see if he did.  Right?"
Heyes:  "That's right.  Then one of us has got to go out there and get shot at.  At least we'll be movin' an' there'll be a chance he'll miss.  We won't be sittin' here like a couple a sage hens."
Curry:  "You know, Heyes, whenever you say 'one of us' has gotta do something, I get very nervous--'cause that usually means me."
Heyes checks his watch.
Heyes:  "Well, let's see.  It's been a couple of minutes since his last shot.  Give him another fifteen just to be on the safe side.  Then one of us goes out there and plays decoy."
Curry:  "One of us.  Which one of us?"
Heyes:  "Well, Kid, you always could run faster'n me."
Curry:  "Except when we're scared.  When we're scared, you run faster."
Heyes looks at his watch again.
Heyes:  "Kid, that wound I got really must be botherin' me.  This watch feels like it weighs ten pounds."
They look at each other, at a complete standoff.  Nothing is moving out on the flat except the horses as they wander.  Phil lies where he fell.  Behind the rocks, Curry is resting with his hat over his face.  Heyes looks at his watch.
Heyes:  "It's time, Kid.  One of us better start to move or we're gonna be findin' out where Billings is the hard way."
Curry:  "Like I said before--which one of us?"
Heyes:  "Well, how 'bout the youngest?"
Curry:  "Oh, no.  I'm only a couple years younger than you, Heyes, and a difference that don't make any difference is no difference."
Heyes:  "Well, how 'bout alphabetical order?"
Curry:  "Well, if you're referring to Joshua and Thaddeus, fine."
Heyes:  "Who used to win all the foot races when we were kids?"
Curry:  "All right, Heyes, I know you've been wounded and all that, but don't you think it'd be more of a partner thing to do if we flipped a coin?"
Heyes considers going on trying to talk his way out of it, then decides there isn't time.  He takes out a coin, prepares to flip.
Heyes:  "All right.  Call it."
Curry:  "Tails."
Heyes flips the coin, and shows it to Curry.  From the way Curry reacts, we know he lost the toss.  He sits up and starts pulling off his boots.
Heyes:  "What're you doin'?"
Curry:  "What does it look like I'm doin'--I'm takin' my boots off.  They're no good for walkin' let alone runnin', and I want to be able to run--fast."
Heyes:  "Well, I see your point.  But you always said you wanted to die with your boots on."
Curry:  "You know, Heyes, sometimes I wonder why I like you."
Curry jumps up and runs, zigzagging through the brush and rocks.  A bullet hits just in front of him, kicking up sand.  Curry hits the ground, rolls, starts running back.  Another bullet just misses him as he dives back into the gully.  He's out of breath, panting.
Curry:  "All right, where'd it come from?"
Heyes:  "Same old place...hasn't moved an inch."
Curry:  "Oh, don't tell me I did all that for nothin'."
Heyes:  "No, no.  Now we know where he is."
Curry:  "Yeah, and in another twenty minutes we're gonna have to do it all over again, because he probably will move."
Heyes:  "Yeah, I know."
Curry:  "All right, who goes out there next time?"
Heyes:  "Well, I guess we flip again.  Seems like the fair way--just like you said."
Curry:  "Wait a minute!  We just flipped and I lost!  Now it's your turn to run!"
Heyes:  "Well, why?  It was fair to flip the first time--why not this time?"
Curry:  "Because I already played decoy once.  Now you're gonna play it."
Heyes:  "Kid, would you look at my shoulder now--I'm wounded."
Curry:  "Heyes, when we first made it in this gully, you didn't have any trouble keepin' up with me.  You may be wounded, but it sure didn't slow you down one bit!"
Heyes:  "Now, Kid, it just seems only fair that we flip again.  Now, it's what you call a precedent.  See, a precedent's something---"
Curry:  "Heyes...you've got twenty minutes to make up your mind.  And then you're gonna go out there like I did.  Otherwise I'm gonna put a gun on you and make you go out.  You understand?"
Heyes:  "All right, all right!  Don't get violent.  Kid, sometimes you get a little weird, you know?"
Curry:  "Yeah, I know.  An' I know why, too."
Heyes ignores him, looking off in the direction Helen went when she rode away.  He looks at his watch, and they settle down to wait.  After a while, Heyes starts pulling off his boots.
Heyes:  "Oh, this wound is really startin' to bother me, Kid.  I'm tellin' you, I'm really beginnin' to feel weak."
Curry isn't sympathetic.
Curry:  "Hasn't bled a drop, so why're you feelin' weak?  You want to know the truth, I felt kind of weak myself, so just pull off the other boot an' run."
Heyes:  "What's it like out there, huh?  Lot a cactus?  Rocks?  Maybe nails, huh?"
Curry:  "Look, just do it, all right?  I promise you, you won't feel a thing...'til you get back."
Heyes gets the other boot off.  He jumps up and runs.  He isn't running quite as fast as Curry did.  A shot comes whacking at him, missing narrowly.  Heyes doubles back toward the rocks, makes it to cover just as another bullet comes zinging, kicking up dirt behind him.
Heyes:  "Oh, Kid...you're makin' an old man outta me."
Curry looks at Heyes' wound.
Curry:  "Well, now it is bleeding.  Why don't you be more careful?"
Heyes:  "Yeah."
Curry:  "Come here, I'll try to stop it."
Curry pulls off his bandana and stuffs in down the back of Heyes' shirt.
Heyes:  "Guess he hasn't moved yet, has he?"
Curry:  "Nope, not yet."
Heyes:  "Well, that figures.  Oh, gosh...watch it."
Time passes.  Phil is still lying where he was.  Heyes is lying in the gully, resting.  Curry sits nearby, tossing pebbles.  Heyes looks at his watch.
Heyes:  "Well, it's time for you to go again, Kid."
Curry:  "What!?  We just flipped and I lost, so I went first, and then you went.  Now we start over an' flip again."
Heyes:  "Now, just wait a minute.  The whole principle is, it was your turn, then my turn--now it's your turn again."
Curry:  "No, the principle is, we flipped and I lost, so I went first an' then you went.  Now we flip again."
Heyes:  "Look, I'm not going out there twice in a row.  Now, my shoulder's killin' me, an' I've lost a lot of blood an'...well, I'm not goin' out there.  That's all."
Curry:  "All right, I got an idea.  Let's flip to see whether we flip again."
Heyes:  "Now, we already flipped once to see who went first, and that's it.  Besides, you know how I feel about gamblin'."
Curry:  "Yeah.  The same way I do."
The truth is, neither of them wants to go, or wants the other to go.  But they have to.
Curry:  "We're not gonna get any help here for a long time, so we're just gonna have to keep doin' this thing, over and over again.  So I might as well go out there and just take my turn."
Heyes:  "So what are we arguin' about then?"
Curry:  "Nothin'.  Not a darn thing."
He pulls off his boots, hurrying so that he won't have to think about it any longer than necessary.  Curry runs out and back, drawing two shots again.  Curry collapses behind the rock, too bushed to talk for the moment.
Heyes:  "Kid, I got it all figured out.  If it just takes two hours to get to the ranch and back, we only have to do this one more time before help gets here."
Curry:  "Yeah?  That'll be your turn.  All nice and even."
Heyes:  "Yeah.  Yeah, I know.  Look, Kid, if Billings gets me, I want you to turn in my body for the reward.  I don't want him to get it."
Curry:  "What?!  How can I do that, Heyes?  How can I turn you in for the reward?  Who gets the reward on me while I'm getting the reward on you?"
Heyes:  "Well, come on now, Kid, you can figure that out."
Curry:  "With you dead, Heyes, I won't be able to, so let's just forget---"
He trails off as the sound of pistol shots reaches them.  Two shots, one right after the other.  The boys look at each other.
Curry:  "You know, I got a feeling if you made your run for it now, nothing would happen."
Heyes:  "You know, I got the same feeling."
They wait.  Nothing.  Finally Heyes stands up slowly.  He looks off.
Heyes:  "Kid, let's go see how Archer is."
The boys jog over to where Phil Archer is lying.  Phil looks up at them.
Curry:  "How bad is it, partner?"
Phil:  "My leg's broke, but I'm all right.  What were those shots?  Pistol shots, sounded like..."
Heyes:  "We don't know."
Helen is just approaching on horseback, a pistol in her hand.  She isn't riding fast, just coming along at a walk.
Curry:  "Well, we know now.  It was your wife.  Guess she figured you couldn't afford to wait two hours."
Phil struggles to sit up to watch his wife approach.  If Archer ever felt that he had lost his wife's love and devotion he doesn't feel that way now.

Heyes and Curry are on horseback, riding up into the hills.
Curry:  "Heyes, will you stop complaining?  It all came out right, didn't it?  And we'll still be able to get our money back on the traps."
Heyes:  "Kid, I keep tellin' you, we're gonna take a loss on those traps."
Curry:  "The trouble with you, Heyes, is you don't have any confidence in human nature.  Aren't you the one that keeps telling me to look on the bright side?"
Heyes:  "Only when there is a bright side."
Curry:  "Well, if that's the way you feel, then I'll handle the transaction.  All right?"
Heyes:  "Oh, you want to be the brains all of a sudden?"
Curry:  "Yeah."
Heyes:  "Go ahead."
Curry:  "Thanks."
Heyes:  "Don't mention it."

Curry and Heyes have brought their trapping wagon back into town loaded with all their gear.  Curry is trying to sell it back to the man they bought it from, a crusty old storekeeper, who is standing next to the wagon in front of the hardware store, holding one of the traps.  Heyes is leaning against a nearby post, waiting for Curry to learn the bitter facts of life.
Storekeeper:  "Son, I told you once, an' I'll tell you again.  You paid three hundred an' twenty dollars for these traps, but they were new.  Now, they are used traps!"
Curry:  "But they're only six days old!  Some of 'em we haven't even used at all!"
Storekeeper:  "Son, I'd like to help you, but I got to take the position that once they leave the premise, they are used traps."
Curry:  "Well, they sure haven't been used much."
He glances back at Heyes.  Heyes listens with the mild manner of a man who has been through it all before.
Heyes:  "You tell him, Thaddeus!"
Curry:  "How 'bout seventy-five percent of what we paid you?"
Storekeeper:  "For used traps?!"  He tosses the trap into the wagon.  "I can't pay that kind of money for used merchandise!  No, the best I can do for you is...oh, twenty-five percent."
Curry:  "Oh, that's robbery!!  You might as well stick a gun in our ribs and take 'em from us!"
Curry's losing his patience.  Heyes smiles like an indulgent father.  He sits down on a barrel and puts his feet up.
Storekeeper:  "Son, son, I got to take the position that once they leave the premise, they are used!"
Curry takes off his hat and throws it on the ground in frustration.
Storekeeper:  "Now, twenty-five percent's as far as I can go.  Now, you can't gainsay that price one way or the other."
Curry:  "How 'bout fifty percent an' we'll throw in a dead cougar?"
Storekeeper:  "What'll I do with a dead cougar?!"
We leave Curry in the midst of the argument, which we know he is never going to win.

Closing Theme and Credits