Maverick (1957) s01e09 Episode Script
Stampede
1
Hold it.
I'll take that gold, friend Maverick.
Try anything and you'll stop a bullet.
Buckley, you're a crook and a cheat
and a double-crosser
but you're not a killer.
You could no more squeeze that trigger
than quit marking decks.
Lash those sacks onto my spare horse,
friend.
The only way you'll get them
is with a bullet.
[LIVELY SALOON MUSIC PLAYING
ON PIANO]
BRET: in 1875, gold was discovered
in the Black Hills of Dakota
and a great stampede of gold-hungry men
was started
thousands coming up the wide Missouri
by steamboat.
Dance-hall girls and entertainers
men who'd spent their last dime
on a new suit and a steamboat ticket.
Men with strong backs
and men with a flair
for making money with three walnut shells.
[WAITER CHUCKLING]
BRET:
Saloonkeepers
women of mystery
and men like me.
My name is Bret Maverick.
I sometimes try my hand
at a game of whist or even poker.
Open for 100.
That's agreeable.
POMPEY: How are you doing, handsome?
- I'm holding my own.
Pompey, have you met Tony Cadiz?
Oh, yes, we've met.
When did he crawl on board?
I see you have a new stable of harpies,
Madam Pompey.
Was about time.
Harpies, my bustle.
Why these are sweet and genteel girls
straight out of finishing school in St. Louis.
And each one a gifted entertainer.
So gifted you had to drag them
to Deadwood to make a living?
Girls.
Hey, girls!
Girls,
I've got somebody I want you to meet.
Girls, you can look east,
you can look west
you can look north,
and you can look south.
But you're never gonna find a dirtier louse
than Tony Cadiz.
[CROWD LAUGHING]
If he comes near you, just spit in his eye.
- That was very funny.
- Take him, Bret.
Take him for every dirty dime he's got.
Well, I'm working on it.
POMPEY:
Watch out for that.
BRET: Well, thanks, Pompey,
but I'd already noticed.
Just so you'll know.
WOMEN [SINGING]:
You may talk about your dearest May
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the yellow rose of Texas
Beats the belles of Tennessee
Hey!
[CROWD CHEERING]
Checking.
BRET:
There's a thousand dollars here.
Now, I know that this thousand dollar bill
wasn't on the table
but if it's all right with you
I always believe in backing a good hand,
Maverick.
Two thousand.
As long we're bypassing the rules
here's your 2000.
I've got 2000 more
if you think you can raise the money
that says you're bluffing.
I think I can get it.
The hand stays on the table.
Well, that was my intention.
Would you see that no one touches these,
miss?
I'd be pleased to.
Uh, just so there are no minor miracles
I'll be right back.
Excuse me, sir.
Pompey,
would you still like to see me take Cadiz?
- How much you need, Bret?
- Two thousand.
- Got a good hand?
- I got 2300 of my own invested in it.
I'm gonna gamble with you.
Listen, if you lose, you owe me nothing,
if you win, I get 3000.
- Is it a deal?
- It's a deal.
- This I got to see.
WOMAN 1: Me too.
POMPEY: You got to see
WOMAN 2: Me too
Here's $2000. I'm calling.
Full house.
Tied on kings, Maverick.
Pretty good hand.
- Pompey, you do the honors?
- Sure.
Seven, seven, seven
queen
Seven!
Oh, you did it!
[CROWD CHEERING AND SHRIEKING]
Man, I love you, love you, love you.
Mwah.
- There's your 3000, Pompey. Many thanks.
- That's the quickest thousand I ever made.
I'll back you any time, kid.
Especially against this polecat.
[CROWD LAUGHING]
Battler!
Maverick, this is Battling Kreuger.
Battler, show him what you can do
with that iron bar of yours.
Maverick, watch this.
I'm watching.
[CROWD GASPS]
So he has muscles.
Muscles that will pay off big
in Deadwood.
There ain't a man alive
can stand 10 rounds with the Battler.
He's taken all comers
from New Orleans to St. Louis.
In Deadwood, I give odds of 2-to-1
that no man can beat him.
He's a gold mine in himself.
I'll tell you what I'll do, Maverick.
I'll sell you a quarter interest in the Battler
for 2500.
Well, if you have luck with this bruiser
in Deadwood, I'll give you another chance.
Set them up for the girls.
- I didn't know you were a drinker.
- I'm not. Doesn't keep me
from buying them for my friends.
POMPEY: All right, girls.
[LIVELY SALOON MUSIC PLAYING
ON PIANO]
[CROWD CHATTERING]
It takes quite a man
to outsmart Tony Cadiz.
So they tell me.
You and I ought to team up in Deadwood,
Mr. Maverick.
My name is Coral Stacey.
Besides being beautiful,
what can you do that's so special?
- I'm a dealer, faro and blackjack.
- A dealer, huh?
Yeah. They've got a few lady dealers
in New Orleans.
They look good,
but they're not much on card savvy.
I have both.
Would you like to step in out of the wind
and I'll show you?
Lead on.
Customers like me.
They keep coming back
again and again for more.
You, uh, wonder why?
Well, I could make a couple of guesses.
CADIZ:
Maverick.
[BRET GRUNTS]
- Nice work, Coral.
- I thought so.
Tony, you're slipping.
CADIZ:
Dump him, Battler.
Let's hope Mr. Maverick can swim.
MAN:
Catch hold of my cane, weary traveler.
Thanks, friend. For a minute,
I didn't think I was gonna make it to shore.
You didn't.
I'm glad to have you aboard.
It was getting pretty lonely on this island.
Island?
In the middle of the wide Missouri River,
friend.
- Maverick.
- Dandy Jim Buckley. Small world.
Uh-uh. Later, friend, later.
I've got to protect my new gloves,
you know. They're very expensive, ha, ha.
What are you doing here?
No, don't tell me, I know.
Well
I bought a new holdout clamp device.
Worked on springs.
It would drop an ace into your palm
with a flick of the wrist.
It was amazing. Ha, ha.
And the blasted contraption
developed a squeak.
[BRET CHUCKLES]
Must have been embarrassing.
Oh, the skipper of the Far West
was not a reasonable man.
He stripped me of every dollar, then
marooned me on this disgusting mudbank.
By the way, before asking
what you were doing in the river
you got any money?
You too, Brutus.
No, wait, wait.
Oh.
It'll make interesting conversation
and help pass the time.
So go ahead, who cleaned you?
I'm not sure.
- I had just taken Tony Cadiz for over 4000--
- Tony Cadiz?
- Going to Deadwood, of course.
- Right.
I'd taken Cadiz
and I stepped out on a deck
for a quiet smoke
this pretty redhead came out
and she said--
"Why don't we team up?
- I'm a dealer, faro and blackjack."
- How the flaming--?
Probably said her name
was Coral something or other.
Well, her right name is Mrs. Tony Cadiz.
Heh, heh.
You were knocked over the head,
robbed and tossed in the river.
- Correct me if I'm wrong.
- Sounds like you know the lady.
Seven thousand dollars' worth,
happened six weeks ago in St. Louis.
I should very much like to catch up
with friend Cadiz.
I'd settle for some dry clothes.
You got anything in that fancy suitcase?
One shirt, very expensive.
And a few tricks of the trade.
Looks like a map of some kind.
Vermillion?
- Isn't that about 60 miles up the river?
- Uh-huh.
BRET:
"Twin Peaks, Mountain Meadow
Diamond Falls."
Sixty paces to where?
X marks the spot
where 40,000 in gold dust
-is supposed to be buried.
- Forty thousand.
- Nice round sum.
- The man I got it from
claims he and his partner held up
the Wells Fargo in Vermillion.
His partner was killed,
his horse broke a leg
so he buried the gold dust
and lit out on foot.
I guess he had some reasons
why he didn't go back.
I found him in Natchez
in a dive on Silver Street.
He had a bullet in his chest.
Compliments of a Wells Fargo detective.
And he had a woman with him.
Pretty little thing.
He had no money and was worried
about her, so I gave him 200 for the map.
The old buried-treasure gag.
He died that night.
- A dying man might just be telling the truth.
- My thought exactly.
That's why I bought the map.
If we find the gold dust,
we cut it down the middle, fifty-fifty.
Uh, that doesn't sound
like the Dandy Jim Buckley that I know.
Heh. I haven't changed.
Just my situation.
This cursed island
is over a quarter of a mile from shore.
You have to tow me, I can't swim.
Now I recognize you.
You know, Deadwood is over 400 miles.
Think your feet will hold out?
This, um, bauble should be good for
two horses and saddles, friend Maverick?
Uh, I'll keep the map, my friend.
Just so you won't be tempted
to turn me loose in the river.
Now I won't ditch you in the water
and you won't run out on me
when we reach the shore.
[BUCKLEY CHUCKLING]
BRET: Buckley's tittie bauble
not only got us two horses and saddles
but $80 in the bargain.
And three days later,
we'd reached our first landmark.
BRET:
Must be the Twin Peaks, all right.
Now, we cross the ridge between,
drop down into the Mountain Meadow
find the Diamond Shape Falls,
step off 60 paces north, and start digging.
- Be dark when we get there.
- Not quite. There will be a moon.
Buried treasure and moonlight.
Pleasant thought.
Hyah.
BRET: By nightfall, we'd crossed the ridge
and come down into the Mountain Meadow.
There was only one thing wrong:
The meadow had sprouted a full-size town.
Don't look at me like that,
how was I to know?
- That's what I'm wondering.
- Come, come, Maverick.
Small settlements are springing up
all over.
Just means we'll have to work at night.
And now is a good time to start.
Well, well, well, as I live and breathe,
the Diamond Shape Falls.
[BUCKLEY LAUGHING]
I knew you'd be lucky for me
the moment I saw you.
Look over there.
That's due north.
That building ought to be
just about 60 paces.
No, no, it's much farther than that.
Uh, the moonlight plays tricks.
Well, step it out for yourself
and you'll see I'm right.
One, two, three
BRET:
--55, 56, 57
Well, was I right?
Now, what the devil was that for?
You knew they'd built a jail over there.
You've been here before.
Here?
Well, uh, as a matter of fact,
yes, I have been.
That was another reason for the 50 percent.
I needed help.
- Why pick on me?
- There was no one else here I could trust.
So I was on my way to St. Louis
to get my cousin
whom I don't trust very much either,
when I ran into you.
And your greatest weakness, my friend,
is that you're completely trustworthy.
[BRET SCOFFS]
Also, I needed someone
with special qualities.
A strong man for the digging
and a man who won't mind
being tossed into jail.
For $20,000.
Not bad.
But what about the marshal?
He's over there now.
He might not like the digging.
At 9:00, he locks up and goes home.
You'll be there all alone.
And that's when you hand me the tools,
through the window?
Yes, of course.
And then I hand you the gold
back through the window.
- Yes.
- And I'm left there all alone
locked up tight.
Maverick, my friend,
have I ever given you cause to think--?
Oh, I have, eh?
All right, then suppose you come up
with a better plan.
- Low man goes to jail.
- Oh, no, no.
I'm supplying the brains in this deal,
you, my friend, the brawn.
Cut or get yourself another jailbird.
Well, if you put it that way.
A king.
I seem to have lost my touch.
Ahh, now, let's see.
What can I do
to get myself tossed into jail?
Something inconsequential
that will only get me a day or two.
Well, ahem, you try to figure it out.
You're supposed to be the brains
of the outfit.
MARSHAL:
Your name Maverick?
- That's right.
- Let's see your watch.
My watch? Sure.
What's this all about, marshal?
MARSHAL:
Hmm.
BUCKLEY:
Splendid job of apprehension.
That's my watch, marshal.
You'll find my name engraved
on the inside.
That's right, Mr. Buckley.
- Is this lunatic accusing me of--?
MARSHAL: It was in your pocket.
Maybe it was, but I didn't put it there.
Heh. That's what they always say.
- Why, you--
- None of that now. None of that.
Look, marshal,
can't you see through Buckley?
He's a well-known con man, a crook.
Must've put that watch in my pocket
himself.
Oh, come, come,
you can do better than that.
A hardened pickpocket like you?
Better lock him up, marshal.
He's a dangerous character.
We'll go talk to the justice of the peace.
[CHUCKLES]
[ALARM RINGING]
- Closing up shop, marshal?
- Yep. I lock up at 9.
I'll bring your breakfast over at 6 sharp
then you start paying for your keep.
Felling trees
and sawing them up for winter fuel.
- Looks like you're the boss.
- You're darn tooting, I am.
BUCKLEY [WHISPERING]:
Psst. Maverick.
Maverick.
You dirty, low-down--
Oh, tut-tut-tut, man,
let's not quibble over trivialities.
Look here, I brought you the tools.
- You know, I ought to break your neck.
- Oh, the urge will pass.
Besides, it's much better to have the brains
on the outside.
As witness, these.
The gold dust is supposed to be
in two 50-pound bags.
You'll never get them through these bars,
heh, so I made these.
You just transfer the dust into them.
Clever?
Yeah.
How deep is this stuff
supposed to be buried?
Oh, 5 to 6 feet, I believe.
And with those muscles, it oughtn't
to take you over a couple of hours.
You, you got me stuck in this chicken coop
for 60 days.
Oh, don't be silly, partner.
In the morning,
I'll use some of the gold to pay your fine.
And we'll be on our merry way
to Deadwood.
Yeah.
Maverick.
Maverick, have you got it?
BRET:
It's here, all right.
- Forty thousand dollars.
- Ah. Beautiful, isn't it?
- You won't forget to bail me out, will you?
- First thing in the morning. Cross my heart.
[BUCKLEY GRUNTING]
And now, old friend, goodbye.
Good luck and bless you. Ha-ha-ha.
Come back here, Buckley.
Buckley, come back here!
[GRUNTS]
[IN NORMAL VOICE]
I'll take that gold, friend Maverick.
Try anything and you'll stop a bullet.
Buckley, you're a crook and a cheat
and a double-crosser
but you're not a killer.
You could no more squeeze that trigger
than quit marking decks.
Lash those sacks onto my spare horse,
friend.
The only way you'll get them
is with a bullet.
You know,
I could learn to dislike you intensely.
Oh, all right, take the blasted animal.
Our deal was to split down the middle.
Maverick, old friend.
You are, as I said before
completely trustworthy.
- What are we stopping here for?
BRET: Howdy, sheriff.
My name is Bret Maverick.
My partner, Jim Buckley.
I understand Wells Fargo pays 10 percent
reward on the return of stolen gold.
That's correct. You got some?
We've got some.
We found it hiding in some rocks
up around Twin Peaks.
I was hoping that you'd be kind enough
to take us to the Wells Fargo office.
I'd be glad to.
And I'm proud to meet
two such upright citizens.
The Wells Fargo office
is right down the street.
Aw, cheer up, friend Buckley.
We still have $2000 apiece
and a clear conscience.
A clear conscience.
We just lost $36,000.
I've pulled some pretty mean tricks
in my day
but I've never stooped
to such foul, nauseating--
Look out! Get back! Get back!
[HORSES NEIGHING]
Don't you ever give a shout?
I'm mighty sorry, folks, I didn't hear you.
You know, horses don't make much noise
on them pine needles.
But if you wait just a minute
while I clear the trail
[GRUNTING]
Maverick, my friend
didn't you say that Cadiz has got a fighter
who takes on all comers?
At 2-to-1 odds.
I'll handle this, friend Buckley.
Well
she's all clear now.
Ah, we're in no hurry.
My name is Bret Maverick.
This is my partner, Jim Buckley.
- Noah Perkins.
- How do you do?
Mighty pretty country you got here.
A little lonely, though, isn't it?
Aw, shucks, it ain't lonely, Mr. Maverick.
Why, I got lots of friends here.
There's bear, coon, birds, elk.
Why, the whole valley is full of friends.
Long about dark,
why, they all come up to my house
and we sit around and watch the stars
and
It's quiet and peaceful, but it ain't lonely.
A lot of folks moving west.
Won't be long the people start moving
in this valley and start hunting and killing.
I worry about that considerable.
I keep turning it over in my mind.
I never did hold
with killing harmless wildlife.
Of course,
there is a way you could protect them.
I don't know about that. I wish there was.
Oh, this is all government land.
Sells for about 50 cents an acre.
Why, you could buy this whole valley
for a thousand dollars.
That way they'd be safe.
Where would a man like me
get that much money?
Ever do any fighting?
- Fistfighting?
- Ah.
NOAH: That's the reason I come out here
from Council Bluffs.
They was always picking on me
on account of my size.
Oh, don't tell me they beat you up, huh?
I ain't never been beat yet.
But I don't hold for jaw-busting,
Mr. Buckley.
Well, just one fight would get you
that thousand dollars.
No.
I don't reckon I wanna do it that way.
Uh, Noah,
I know a fighter who just lives to hunt.
He slaughters deer
just for the sake of killing.
Well, he ain't done no killing
in this valley.
And if there's two things
I'm square agin
one is fighting and the other is lying.
I'm glad to know that.
Did I hear you say
that nobody ever licked you?
I don't reckon nobody could.
Um, Noah, you know, Mr. Maverick
wasn't lying about this Kreuger.
He sneaks up on deer at night
blinds them with a lantern, and then
[FINGERS SNAP]
starts shooting.
Fighting's plumb agin my nature.
I thought you were gonna bring a friend
with you.
Cedrick,
come on out and meet our new friends.
This here is Mr. Maverick
that's Mr. Buckley.
Now, well, Cedrick,
remember we're your friends.
- Yeah.
- Just in case he forgets, Noah
would you mind leading the way?
By about 50 paces.
[LIVELY SALOON MUSIC PLAYING
ON PIANO]
Well, he's even got it in writing.
Four thousand at 2-to-1.
Eight thousand for us.
Ah. Sweet music.
And a thousand for Noah.
Remember, Buckley,
nobody gets gypped in this.
Not you, not me, not even Noah.
How about Tony Cadiz?
Well, we'll handle him gently
but thoroughly.
- I'm standing.
- All right.
- Pay 21.
JOE: It just ain't my night.
CORAL:
Sorry, Joe.
We were gonna team up, remember?
Were we?
I don't recall you agreeing.
Difficult to talk
from the bottom of the river.
It's a very lonely place.
Too bad you weren't there, Mrs. Cadiz.
How did you find out I was Tony's wife?
Met a man on a sandbar. Hit me.
You're tempting me.
Standing.
Pay 21.
Twenty-one.
I didn't think you'd get here.
Well, I started swimming.
Well, well, well.
Practically old home week, eh,
friend Maverick?
BRET:
It's a nice place. Yours?
Mine.
I've been cleaning up with the Battler.
You should've bought that 25 percent
when you had the chance.
You know
I was on the deck thinking about that
when something happened.
Like I said, I've been cleaning up big.
But I've been smart with it.
I gave some away,
a little here, a little there.
So that now, I've got a lot of friends.
They'd back any play I'd make.
Big gun, huh?
The biggest.
Now, you boys had a little tough luck
in the past.
You might even consider it a raw deal.
You've got another name for it?
No, but I'll give you a friendly tip.
Just forget about it
and charge it up to experience.
Because if you don't,
you might run into trouble.
I wouldn't like that to happen.
Especially to a couple of old friends.
Well, thanks.
It'll give us something to think about.
Hi, handsome.
Well, it's all set for tomorrow night.
You're gonna get your thousand dollars.
You can buy the valley.
How's Cedrick?
He ain't none too pert, ma'am.
He didn't eat much supper
and he won't drink his milk.
Of course,
Cedrick's not used to cow's milk.
I always used to give him goat's milk.
Why don't you feed him a whisky sour?
- Tone his stomach up.
- I've got a better idea.
We saw the Battler fight today.
He's got a weak belly.
All you got to do is go to work
on his midsection, the fight will be over.
You got to remember that, Noah.
It's important.
I'll remember, Mr. Maverick.
But I'm plumb worried about Cedrick.
It ain't like him to shy off
on his vittles this way.
Here's something
that will make him feel a lot better.
And you know
about making a hole in it too, ma'am.
Sure. I used to have pet skunk of my own
back in Pennsylvania.
I used to call him Jim Dandy.
Mr. Cadiz, meet Red McClinton,
champ of Cold Creek Diggins.
Red's gonna mop the floor up
with Battling Kreuger.
How much says so?
MAN 1:
Two-to-one odds?
That's my standing offer.
- We got 3000 says so.
CADIZ: Jack!
Jack Blair,
my cashier, will hold the stakes.
Here's my 6000.
Get your man in the ring.
[CROWD CHEERING AND SHOUTING]
CADIZ:
Battler!
MAN 2:
Come on.
Ladies and gents,
introducing on my left
the challenger from Cold Creek Diggins,
Red McClinton.
[CROWD CHEERING]
On my right,
that great champion of Deadwood Gulch:
Battling Kreuger.
[CROWD BOOING]
POMPEY:
Oh, no!
WOMAN: Get him back in there.
- Get up.
- Come on, get up.
WOMAN: Come on.
[CROWD SHOUTING]
CADIZ:
One, two
three
four, five
six, seven
-eight, nine
- Come on!
10, and out.
The winner and still champion:
Battling Kreuger!
[CROWD BOOING]
Hold it, Mr. Cadiz. Me and the gals
found a fellow we think is pretty good.
We wouldn't mind
risking a little money on him.
- Bring him on.
POMPEY: We will, tomorrow night.
- But we'll settle the bets now.
- How much?
Suzie.
Here's 10,000.
You get your 20,000
and pluck it right alongside.
CADIZ:
Who is this fella?
Just call him Pompey's mystery man.
Is this some pug you imported
from back east?
POMPEY:
Heh. It doesn't matter.
The posters challenge all comers,
2-to-1 odds.
I know. But I wanna look at anybody
the Battler fights before I place any bets.
Trying to crawfish out, huh?
No.
But I run my business according to Hoyle.
I'd like a look at the outside
of your mystery man ahead of time.
Not his wares.
For all I know,
you may be dragging in a grizzly bear.
Heh. He's hairy, but he's no grizzly bear.
Although the Battler
might think he was afterwards.
JACK:
Mr. Cadiz.
Be right back.
- Take that bet. It's a 14-karat cinch.
- You know who this mystery fellow is?
I've been seeing Frankie,
one of Pompey's girls.
Pompey's got her mystery man
on the second floor of the Bonanza.
It's a fella named Noah Perkins.
I know him.
- What's he like?
- He's big, all right.
Big and stupid
and afraid of his own shadow.
He lives alone in the woods,
claims he talks to the deer and bears.
You sure about this?
Look, I know him, I've seen him back down
from men half his size.
Pompey is sold on him because he's big.
I don't think he'll even show up
for the fight.
MAN 1:
Madam Pompey.
Think your mystery man
can whip the Battler?
POMPEY:
He'll slaughter him.
You get together all the gold dust you can
and come back here tomorrow night.
All right, Pompey,
although it's not according to Hoyle
I'll take that bet on your mystery man,
sight unseen.
POMPEY:
Where's your 20,000?
CADIZ:
Right here.
But as long as you're choosing the rules,
I'll make one too.
Fight time, 9:00 tomorrow night.
And if either fighter fails to make
an appearance, the money is forfeited.
Just wanna make sure
I'm not going through this for nothing.
You won't be. You better see the Battler
doesn't head for tall timber.
Pompey's mystery man
is gonna be Johnny-on-the-spot
-with a 2-ton wallop in each fist.
- He'll be there.
And here's my 20,000.
POMPEY:
Marshal Hunt!
There's been some sticky fingers
involved in this deal
and I'd appreciate if you'd take this money
over to the jail and lock it up for the night.
[HUNT CHUCKLES]
I got an idea of what you mean.
I'd be glad to do it for you, Pompey.
[HUNT LAUGHS]
[CROWD LAUGHING]
- How did I do, Pompey?
- You did just great, Jack.
Listen, here's your $200.
Get out of town before Cadiz finds out.
And don't leave till just before the fight
or Cadiz will smell a rat.
I plan on leaving
at the sound of the opening bell.
[MEN CHATTERING]
All right, gentlemen,
15,000 to match your 7500.
MAN 1: Right.
MAN 2: Yeah.
Why'd you tell Pompey
you wouldn't fight the Battler?
I trusted you, Mr. Maverick,
and you outright lied to me.
What's this all about, Noah?
I met the Battler on the street today
and called him a dirty deer killer.
Said he ain't never killed no deer before.
In fact, he likes deer.
Well, I'm sorry about this, Noah
but Cadiz, who owns the Battler,
is worse than a deer killer, he's a thief.
He stole $7000 from me
and over 4000 from Mr. Maverick.
- You wanna buy that valley, don't you?
- I got no call to fight the Battler now.
Look, Noah,
your friends have got $10,000 bet on you.
You don't want us to lose
everything we've got.
I'm mighty sorry, but fighting without
just cause is plumb agin my principles.
Principles be hanged,
I've got $2000 riding on you.
Noah,
it'll only take you a couple of minutes.
But you can't just walk out on us now.
Mr. Maverick outright lied to me.
And lying's a mighty bad thing.
I reckon I'll be going home
soon as Cedrick's feeling better.
BUCKLEY:
But, Noah, can't you forget your--?
Lay off him, Buckley. He's right.
I shouldn't have lied to him.
Well, that's that.
Of course, I've been flat busted before.
Well, it's the girls and the miners
I'm thinking of.
It's gonna be pretty rough on them.
Wait a minute.
I've got an idea.
Last night, Pompey put no name
to her mystery man
so
[CHUCKLES]
we simply ring in a substitute.
[ALL CHATTERING]
Bearclaw Diggins bets $10,000
Pompey's mystery man
can slaughter the Battler.
I'm sorry, gentlemen, we've already
laid out 35,000 to cover the bets
-and we're just out of money.
- What are you trying to pull?
Last night,
you said you'd take all bets at 2-to-1.
And we will.
The Golden Nugget's worth 20,000,
we'll put that up as security.
- Suit you?
- Suits me.
I always did crave to own a saloon
full of liquor.
[MEN LAUGHING]
Make way for Pompey's mystery man!
[SIGHS]
[CROWD LAUGHING AND JEERING]
CADIZ: That's the best you could do
for a mystery man, Pompey?
Got any more money to bet?
I wouldn't wanna take your last dime.
Since when?
I brought along an impartial referee too:
Marshal Hunt.
Wait, I didn't agree to this.
Men, who'd you rather have?
Marshal Hunt or this crook?
- We'll take the marshal.
- Yeah.
We're gonna get a fair fight this time.
[CROWD CHATTERING]
Have it your way.
Marshal, you know the rules?
We're going to use the new rules.
Three-minute rounds,
one-minute rest in between rounds.
Mr. Buckley will take care
of keeping time.
I reckon that's all.
[CROWD SHOUTING]
HUNT: One, two
- Maverick, get up, get up.
HUNT:
--three, four
five
six, seven
eight, nine.
One
two
- Oh, no, Maverick, take the nine count.
HUNT: --three.
Get him. Catch him!
Stand still! What are you, nervous?
One, two
three
four, five
six
seven, eight--
Hey, what's this?
Three minutes are up,
got to stick to the rules.
WOMAN:
Come on.
His belly, Maverick, his belly.
You haven't been working on it.
Uh, but you're going great.
Aw, shut up.
Oh, it's no use, Bret,
I'm gonna call it off.
Hey, don't panic on me now.
We got too much money at stake.
[BELL RINGS]
- Come on.
- Come on.
- Get him.
- Come on.
Get him with a right!
Catch him!
HUNT:
One, two
three
four
- Stay down, Bret, stay there.
HUNT: --five
six
seven, eight
nine.
One, two, three
-four
- Get up, Battler!
HUNT: --five
- Battler, get up!
HUNT:
--six, seven
eight, nine
10, and out!
[CROWD CHEERING]
[SHOUTING indistinctly]
Come on, fellas, free drinks for everybody!
[CROWD CHEERING]
The winner,
the new champion of Deadwood Gulch:
Bret Maverick!
You're a very brave man, Mr. Maverick.
It should have been you.
Well, Pompey,
here's your chance to buy a saloon.
I imagine the miners will sell pretty cheap
once the liquor is gone.
I'm all through with that, Bret.
I'm gonna buy me a valley.
Don't tell me you've fallen for Noah.
Listen, I waited a long time
for a handsome hunk of man like him.
Somebody who's honest and gentle.
I'm all through with the bright lights.
Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
Hey, Marshal Hunt.
Lead us to the loot.
[HUNT CHUCKLES]
I just a caught a fella trying to blow down
the wall.
I figured he was after the money.
A fella with a planter's hat
and yellow gloves and silver-headed cane?
- Sure was.
- Why, that dirty low-down.
And you picked him for a partner.
You're wrong, he picked me.
Maverick
you're still alive?
Why, he massacred the Battler.
Well, well, heh, and now we collect.
Great, great.
Never doubted for a minute
you'd murder him.
So sure that you wanted to blast open
the jail and light out with the money?
But I was only trying to protect us all.
Look, Maverick,
you know, you weren't doing so very well.
So the only way left to beat that crook
was to blast open the jail
and take the money.
Well, marshal,
you heard the gentleman's evil intent.
What he had in mind
ought to rate about 30 days?
No. With blasting powder, it's 60 days.
BRET: Let's go over to your office
and divide up the money.
We'll leave your share with the marshal.
No, no. You can't do this to me,
I was only trying to help.
Your share minus a thousand for Noah.
Maverick, I'm your friend.
Didn't I pull you from the river?
Didn't I let you in on the gold?
Didn't I get you tossed into jail
so you could?
Good heavens. What am I saying?
[English - US - SDH]
Hold it.
I'll take that gold, friend Maverick.
Try anything and you'll stop a bullet.
Buckley, you're a crook and a cheat
and a double-crosser
but you're not a killer.
You could no more squeeze that trigger
than quit marking decks.
Lash those sacks onto my spare horse,
friend.
The only way you'll get them
is with a bullet.
[LIVELY SALOON MUSIC PLAYING
ON PIANO]
BRET: in 1875, gold was discovered
in the Black Hills of Dakota
and a great stampede of gold-hungry men
was started
thousands coming up the wide Missouri
by steamboat.
Dance-hall girls and entertainers
men who'd spent their last dime
on a new suit and a steamboat ticket.
Men with strong backs
and men with a flair
for making money with three walnut shells.
[WAITER CHUCKLING]
BRET:
Saloonkeepers
women of mystery
and men like me.
My name is Bret Maverick.
I sometimes try my hand
at a game of whist or even poker.
Open for 100.
That's agreeable.
POMPEY: How are you doing, handsome?
- I'm holding my own.
Pompey, have you met Tony Cadiz?
Oh, yes, we've met.
When did he crawl on board?
I see you have a new stable of harpies,
Madam Pompey.
Was about time.
Harpies, my bustle.
Why these are sweet and genteel girls
straight out of finishing school in St. Louis.
And each one a gifted entertainer.
So gifted you had to drag them
to Deadwood to make a living?
Girls.
Hey, girls!
Girls,
I've got somebody I want you to meet.
Girls, you can look east,
you can look west
you can look north,
and you can look south.
But you're never gonna find a dirtier louse
than Tony Cadiz.
[CROWD LAUGHING]
If he comes near you, just spit in his eye.
- That was very funny.
- Take him, Bret.
Take him for every dirty dime he's got.
Well, I'm working on it.
POMPEY:
Watch out for that.
BRET: Well, thanks, Pompey,
but I'd already noticed.
Just so you'll know.
WOMEN [SINGING]:
You may talk about your dearest May
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the yellow rose of Texas
Beats the belles of Tennessee
Hey!
[CROWD CHEERING]
Checking.
BRET:
There's a thousand dollars here.
Now, I know that this thousand dollar bill
wasn't on the table
but if it's all right with you
I always believe in backing a good hand,
Maverick.
Two thousand.
As long we're bypassing the rules
here's your 2000.
I've got 2000 more
if you think you can raise the money
that says you're bluffing.
I think I can get it.
The hand stays on the table.
Well, that was my intention.
Would you see that no one touches these,
miss?
I'd be pleased to.
Uh, just so there are no minor miracles
I'll be right back.
Excuse me, sir.
Pompey,
would you still like to see me take Cadiz?
- How much you need, Bret?
- Two thousand.
- Got a good hand?
- I got 2300 of my own invested in it.
I'm gonna gamble with you.
Listen, if you lose, you owe me nothing,
if you win, I get 3000.
- Is it a deal?
- It's a deal.
- This I got to see.
WOMAN 1: Me too.
POMPEY: You got to see
WOMAN 2: Me too
Here's $2000. I'm calling.
Full house.
Tied on kings, Maverick.
Pretty good hand.
- Pompey, you do the honors?
- Sure.
Seven, seven, seven
queen
Seven!
Oh, you did it!
[CROWD CHEERING AND SHRIEKING]
Man, I love you, love you, love you.
Mwah.
- There's your 3000, Pompey. Many thanks.
- That's the quickest thousand I ever made.
I'll back you any time, kid.
Especially against this polecat.
[CROWD LAUGHING]
Battler!
Maverick, this is Battling Kreuger.
Battler, show him what you can do
with that iron bar of yours.
Maverick, watch this.
I'm watching.
[CROWD GASPS]
So he has muscles.
Muscles that will pay off big
in Deadwood.
There ain't a man alive
can stand 10 rounds with the Battler.
He's taken all comers
from New Orleans to St. Louis.
In Deadwood, I give odds of 2-to-1
that no man can beat him.
He's a gold mine in himself.
I'll tell you what I'll do, Maverick.
I'll sell you a quarter interest in the Battler
for 2500.
Well, if you have luck with this bruiser
in Deadwood, I'll give you another chance.
Set them up for the girls.
- I didn't know you were a drinker.
- I'm not. Doesn't keep me
from buying them for my friends.
POMPEY: All right, girls.
[LIVELY SALOON MUSIC PLAYING
ON PIANO]
[CROWD CHATTERING]
It takes quite a man
to outsmart Tony Cadiz.
So they tell me.
You and I ought to team up in Deadwood,
Mr. Maverick.
My name is Coral Stacey.
Besides being beautiful,
what can you do that's so special?
- I'm a dealer, faro and blackjack.
- A dealer, huh?
Yeah. They've got a few lady dealers
in New Orleans.
They look good,
but they're not much on card savvy.
I have both.
Would you like to step in out of the wind
and I'll show you?
Lead on.
Customers like me.
They keep coming back
again and again for more.
You, uh, wonder why?
Well, I could make a couple of guesses.
CADIZ:
Maverick.
[BRET GRUNTS]
- Nice work, Coral.
- I thought so.
Tony, you're slipping.
CADIZ:
Dump him, Battler.
Let's hope Mr. Maverick can swim.
MAN:
Catch hold of my cane, weary traveler.
Thanks, friend. For a minute,
I didn't think I was gonna make it to shore.
You didn't.
I'm glad to have you aboard.
It was getting pretty lonely on this island.
Island?
In the middle of the wide Missouri River,
friend.
- Maverick.
- Dandy Jim Buckley. Small world.
Uh-uh. Later, friend, later.
I've got to protect my new gloves,
you know. They're very expensive, ha, ha.
What are you doing here?
No, don't tell me, I know.
Well
I bought a new holdout clamp device.
Worked on springs.
It would drop an ace into your palm
with a flick of the wrist.
It was amazing. Ha, ha.
And the blasted contraption
developed a squeak.
[BRET CHUCKLES]
Must have been embarrassing.
Oh, the skipper of the Far West
was not a reasonable man.
He stripped me of every dollar, then
marooned me on this disgusting mudbank.
By the way, before asking
what you were doing in the river
you got any money?
You too, Brutus.
No, wait, wait.
Oh.
It'll make interesting conversation
and help pass the time.
So go ahead, who cleaned you?
I'm not sure.
- I had just taken Tony Cadiz for over 4000--
- Tony Cadiz?
- Going to Deadwood, of course.
- Right.
I'd taken Cadiz
and I stepped out on a deck
for a quiet smoke
this pretty redhead came out
and she said--
"Why don't we team up?
- I'm a dealer, faro and blackjack."
- How the flaming--?
Probably said her name
was Coral something or other.
Well, her right name is Mrs. Tony Cadiz.
Heh, heh.
You were knocked over the head,
robbed and tossed in the river.
- Correct me if I'm wrong.
- Sounds like you know the lady.
Seven thousand dollars' worth,
happened six weeks ago in St. Louis.
I should very much like to catch up
with friend Cadiz.
I'd settle for some dry clothes.
You got anything in that fancy suitcase?
One shirt, very expensive.
And a few tricks of the trade.
Looks like a map of some kind.
Vermillion?
- Isn't that about 60 miles up the river?
- Uh-huh.
BRET:
"Twin Peaks, Mountain Meadow
Diamond Falls."
Sixty paces to where?
X marks the spot
where 40,000 in gold dust
-is supposed to be buried.
- Forty thousand.
- Nice round sum.
- The man I got it from
claims he and his partner held up
the Wells Fargo in Vermillion.
His partner was killed,
his horse broke a leg
so he buried the gold dust
and lit out on foot.
I guess he had some reasons
why he didn't go back.
I found him in Natchez
in a dive on Silver Street.
He had a bullet in his chest.
Compliments of a Wells Fargo detective.
And he had a woman with him.
Pretty little thing.
He had no money and was worried
about her, so I gave him 200 for the map.
The old buried-treasure gag.
He died that night.
- A dying man might just be telling the truth.
- My thought exactly.
That's why I bought the map.
If we find the gold dust,
we cut it down the middle, fifty-fifty.
Uh, that doesn't sound
like the Dandy Jim Buckley that I know.
Heh. I haven't changed.
Just my situation.
This cursed island
is over a quarter of a mile from shore.
You have to tow me, I can't swim.
Now I recognize you.
You know, Deadwood is over 400 miles.
Think your feet will hold out?
This, um, bauble should be good for
two horses and saddles, friend Maverick?
Uh, I'll keep the map, my friend.
Just so you won't be tempted
to turn me loose in the river.
Now I won't ditch you in the water
and you won't run out on me
when we reach the shore.
[BUCKLEY CHUCKLING]
BRET: Buckley's tittie bauble
not only got us two horses and saddles
but $80 in the bargain.
And three days later,
we'd reached our first landmark.
BRET:
Must be the Twin Peaks, all right.
Now, we cross the ridge between,
drop down into the Mountain Meadow
find the Diamond Shape Falls,
step off 60 paces north, and start digging.
- Be dark when we get there.
- Not quite. There will be a moon.
Buried treasure and moonlight.
Pleasant thought.
Hyah.
BRET: By nightfall, we'd crossed the ridge
and come down into the Mountain Meadow.
There was only one thing wrong:
The meadow had sprouted a full-size town.
Don't look at me like that,
how was I to know?
- That's what I'm wondering.
- Come, come, Maverick.
Small settlements are springing up
all over.
Just means we'll have to work at night.
And now is a good time to start.
Well, well, well, as I live and breathe,
the Diamond Shape Falls.
[BUCKLEY LAUGHING]
I knew you'd be lucky for me
the moment I saw you.
Look over there.
That's due north.
That building ought to be
just about 60 paces.
No, no, it's much farther than that.
Uh, the moonlight plays tricks.
Well, step it out for yourself
and you'll see I'm right.
One, two, three
BRET:
--55, 56, 57
Well, was I right?
Now, what the devil was that for?
You knew they'd built a jail over there.
You've been here before.
Here?
Well, uh, as a matter of fact,
yes, I have been.
That was another reason for the 50 percent.
I needed help.
- Why pick on me?
- There was no one else here I could trust.
So I was on my way to St. Louis
to get my cousin
whom I don't trust very much either,
when I ran into you.
And your greatest weakness, my friend,
is that you're completely trustworthy.
[BRET SCOFFS]
Also, I needed someone
with special qualities.
A strong man for the digging
and a man who won't mind
being tossed into jail.
For $20,000.
Not bad.
But what about the marshal?
He's over there now.
He might not like the digging.
At 9:00, he locks up and goes home.
You'll be there all alone.
And that's when you hand me the tools,
through the window?
Yes, of course.
And then I hand you the gold
back through the window.
- Yes.
- And I'm left there all alone
locked up tight.
Maverick, my friend,
have I ever given you cause to think--?
Oh, I have, eh?
All right, then suppose you come up
with a better plan.
- Low man goes to jail.
- Oh, no, no.
I'm supplying the brains in this deal,
you, my friend, the brawn.
Cut or get yourself another jailbird.
Well, if you put it that way.
A king.
I seem to have lost my touch.
Ahh, now, let's see.
What can I do
to get myself tossed into jail?
Something inconsequential
that will only get me a day or two.
Well, ahem, you try to figure it out.
You're supposed to be the brains
of the outfit.
MARSHAL:
Your name Maverick?
- That's right.
- Let's see your watch.
My watch? Sure.
What's this all about, marshal?
MARSHAL:
Hmm.
BUCKLEY:
Splendid job of apprehension.
That's my watch, marshal.
You'll find my name engraved
on the inside.
That's right, Mr. Buckley.
- Is this lunatic accusing me of--?
MARSHAL: It was in your pocket.
Maybe it was, but I didn't put it there.
Heh. That's what they always say.
- Why, you--
- None of that now. None of that.
Look, marshal,
can't you see through Buckley?
He's a well-known con man, a crook.
Must've put that watch in my pocket
himself.
Oh, come, come,
you can do better than that.
A hardened pickpocket like you?
Better lock him up, marshal.
He's a dangerous character.
We'll go talk to the justice of the peace.
[CHUCKLES]
[ALARM RINGING]
- Closing up shop, marshal?
- Yep. I lock up at 9.
I'll bring your breakfast over at 6 sharp
then you start paying for your keep.
Felling trees
and sawing them up for winter fuel.
- Looks like you're the boss.
- You're darn tooting, I am.
BUCKLEY [WHISPERING]:
Psst. Maverick.
Maverick.
You dirty, low-down--
Oh, tut-tut-tut, man,
let's not quibble over trivialities.
Look here, I brought you the tools.
- You know, I ought to break your neck.
- Oh, the urge will pass.
Besides, it's much better to have the brains
on the outside.
As witness, these.
The gold dust is supposed to be
in two 50-pound bags.
You'll never get them through these bars,
heh, so I made these.
You just transfer the dust into them.
Clever?
Yeah.
How deep is this stuff
supposed to be buried?
Oh, 5 to 6 feet, I believe.
And with those muscles, it oughtn't
to take you over a couple of hours.
You, you got me stuck in this chicken coop
for 60 days.
Oh, don't be silly, partner.
In the morning,
I'll use some of the gold to pay your fine.
And we'll be on our merry way
to Deadwood.
Yeah.
Maverick.
Maverick, have you got it?
BRET:
It's here, all right.
- Forty thousand dollars.
- Ah. Beautiful, isn't it?
- You won't forget to bail me out, will you?
- First thing in the morning. Cross my heart.
[BUCKLEY GRUNTING]
And now, old friend, goodbye.
Good luck and bless you. Ha-ha-ha.
Come back here, Buckley.
Buckley, come back here!
[GRUNTS]
[IN NORMAL VOICE]
I'll take that gold, friend Maverick.
Try anything and you'll stop a bullet.
Buckley, you're a crook and a cheat
and a double-crosser
but you're not a killer.
You could no more squeeze that trigger
than quit marking decks.
Lash those sacks onto my spare horse,
friend.
The only way you'll get them
is with a bullet.
You know,
I could learn to dislike you intensely.
Oh, all right, take the blasted animal.
Our deal was to split down the middle.
Maverick, old friend.
You are, as I said before
completely trustworthy.
- What are we stopping here for?
BRET: Howdy, sheriff.
My name is Bret Maverick.
My partner, Jim Buckley.
I understand Wells Fargo pays 10 percent
reward on the return of stolen gold.
That's correct. You got some?
We've got some.
We found it hiding in some rocks
up around Twin Peaks.
I was hoping that you'd be kind enough
to take us to the Wells Fargo office.
I'd be glad to.
And I'm proud to meet
two such upright citizens.
The Wells Fargo office
is right down the street.
Aw, cheer up, friend Buckley.
We still have $2000 apiece
and a clear conscience.
A clear conscience.
We just lost $36,000.
I've pulled some pretty mean tricks
in my day
but I've never stooped
to such foul, nauseating--
Look out! Get back! Get back!
[HORSES NEIGHING]
Don't you ever give a shout?
I'm mighty sorry, folks, I didn't hear you.
You know, horses don't make much noise
on them pine needles.
But if you wait just a minute
while I clear the trail
[GRUNTING]
Maverick, my friend
didn't you say that Cadiz has got a fighter
who takes on all comers?
At 2-to-1 odds.
I'll handle this, friend Buckley.
Well
she's all clear now.
Ah, we're in no hurry.
My name is Bret Maverick.
This is my partner, Jim Buckley.
- Noah Perkins.
- How do you do?
Mighty pretty country you got here.
A little lonely, though, isn't it?
Aw, shucks, it ain't lonely, Mr. Maverick.
Why, I got lots of friends here.
There's bear, coon, birds, elk.
Why, the whole valley is full of friends.
Long about dark,
why, they all come up to my house
and we sit around and watch the stars
and
It's quiet and peaceful, but it ain't lonely.
A lot of folks moving west.
Won't be long the people start moving
in this valley and start hunting and killing.
I worry about that considerable.
I keep turning it over in my mind.
I never did hold
with killing harmless wildlife.
Of course,
there is a way you could protect them.
I don't know about that. I wish there was.
Oh, this is all government land.
Sells for about 50 cents an acre.
Why, you could buy this whole valley
for a thousand dollars.
That way they'd be safe.
Where would a man like me
get that much money?
Ever do any fighting?
- Fistfighting?
- Ah.
NOAH: That's the reason I come out here
from Council Bluffs.
They was always picking on me
on account of my size.
Oh, don't tell me they beat you up, huh?
I ain't never been beat yet.
But I don't hold for jaw-busting,
Mr. Buckley.
Well, just one fight would get you
that thousand dollars.
No.
I don't reckon I wanna do it that way.
Uh, Noah,
I know a fighter who just lives to hunt.
He slaughters deer
just for the sake of killing.
Well, he ain't done no killing
in this valley.
And if there's two things
I'm square agin
one is fighting and the other is lying.
I'm glad to know that.
Did I hear you say
that nobody ever licked you?
I don't reckon nobody could.
Um, Noah, you know, Mr. Maverick
wasn't lying about this Kreuger.
He sneaks up on deer at night
blinds them with a lantern, and then
[FINGERS SNAP]
starts shooting.
Fighting's plumb agin my nature.
I thought you were gonna bring a friend
with you.
Cedrick,
come on out and meet our new friends.
This here is Mr. Maverick
that's Mr. Buckley.
Now, well, Cedrick,
remember we're your friends.
- Yeah.
- Just in case he forgets, Noah
would you mind leading the way?
By about 50 paces.
[LIVELY SALOON MUSIC PLAYING
ON PIANO]
Well, he's even got it in writing.
Four thousand at 2-to-1.
Eight thousand for us.
Ah. Sweet music.
And a thousand for Noah.
Remember, Buckley,
nobody gets gypped in this.
Not you, not me, not even Noah.
How about Tony Cadiz?
Well, we'll handle him gently
but thoroughly.
- I'm standing.
- All right.
- Pay 21.
JOE: It just ain't my night.
CORAL:
Sorry, Joe.
We were gonna team up, remember?
Were we?
I don't recall you agreeing.
Difficult to talk
from the bottom of the river.
It's a very lonely place.
Too bad you weren't there, Mrs. Cadiz.
How did you find out I was Tony's wife?
Met a man on a sandbar. Hit me.
You're tempting me.
Standing.
Pay 21.
Twenty-one.
I didn't think you'd get here.
Well, I started swimming.
Well, well, well.
Practically old home week, eh,
friend Maverick?
BRET:
It's a nice place. Yours?
Mine.
I've been cleaning up with the Battler.
You should've bought that 25 percent
when you had the chance.
You know
I was on the deck thinking about that
when something happened.
Like I said, I've been cleaning up big.
But I've been smart with it.
I gave some away,
a little here, a little there.
So that now, I've got a lot of friends.
They'd back any play I'd make.
Big gun, huh?
The biggest.
Now, you boys had a little tough luck
in the past.
You might even consider it a raw deal.
You've got another name for it?
No, but I'll give you a friendly tip.
Just forget about it
and charge it up to experience.
Because if you don't,
you might run into trouble.
I wouldn't like that to happen.
Especially to a couple of old friends.
Well, thanks.
It'll give us something to think about.
Hi, handsome.
Well, it's all set for tomorrow night.
You're gonna get your thousand dollars.
You can buy the valley.
How's Cedrick?
He ain't none too pert, ma'am.
He didn't eat much supper
and he won't drink his milk.
Of course,
Cedrick's not used to cow's milk.
I always used to give him goat's milk.
Why don't you feed him a whisky sour?
- Tone his stomach up.
- I've got a better idea.
We saw the Battler fight today.
He's got a weak belly.
All you got to do is go to work
on his midsection, the fight will be over.
You got to remember that, Noah.
It's important.
I'll remember, Mr. Maverick.
But I'm plumb worried about Cedrick.
It ain't like him to shy off
on his vittles this way.
Here's something
that will make him feel a lot better.
And you know
about making a hole in it too, ma'am.
Sure. I used to have pet skunk of my own
back in Pennsylvania.
I used to call him Jim Dandy.
Mr. Cadiz, meet Red McClinton,
champ of Cold Creek Diggins.
Red's gonna mop the floor up
with Battling Kreuger.
How much says so?
MAN 1:
Two-to-one odds?
That's my standing offer.
- We got 3000 says so.
CADIZ: Jack!
Jack Blair,
my cashier, will hold the stakes.
Here's my 6000.
Get your man in the ring.
[CROWD CHEERING AND SHOUTING]
CADIZ:
Battler!
MAN 2:
Come on.
Ladies and gents,
introducing on my left
the challenger from Cold Creek Diggins,
Red McClinton.
[CROWD CHEERING]
On my right,
that great champion of Deadwood Gulch:
Battling Kreuger.
[CROWD BOOING]
POMPEY:
Oh, no!
WOMAN: Get him back in there.
- Get up.
- Come on, get up.
WOMAN: Come on.
[CROWD SHOUTING]
CADIZ:
One, two
three
four, five
six, seven
-eight, nine
- Come on!
10, and out.
The winner and still champion:
Battling Kreuger!
[CROWD BOOING]
Hold it, Mr. Cadiz. Me and the gals
found a fellow we think is pretty good.
We wouldn't mind
risking a little money on him.
- Bring him on.
POMPEY: We will, tomorrow night.
- But we'll settle the bets now.
- How much?
Suzie.
Here's 10,000.
You get your 20,000
and pluck it right alongside.
CADIZ:
Who is this fella?
Just call him Pompey's mystery man.
Is this some pug you imported
from back east?
POMPEY:
Heh. It doesn't matter.
The posters challenge all comers,
2-to-1 odds.
I know. But I wanna look at anybody
the Battler fights before I place any bets.
Trying to crawfish out, huh?
No.
But I run my business according to Hoyle.
I'd like a look at the outside
of your mystery man ahead of time.
Not his wares.
For all I know,
you may be dragging in a grizzly bear.
Heh. He's hairy, but he's no grizzly bear.
Although the Battler
might think he was afterwards.
JACK:
Mr. Cadiz.
Be right back.
- Take that bet. It's a 14-karat cinch.
- You know who this mystery fellow is?
I've been seeing Frankie,
one of Pompey's girls.
Pompey's got her mystery man
on the second floor of the Bonanza.
It's a fella named Noah Perkins.
I know him.
- What's he like?
- He's big, all right.
Big and stupid
and afraid of his own shadow.
He lives alone in the woods,
claims he talks to the deer and bears.
You sure about this?
Look, I know him, I've seen him back down
from men half his size.
Pompey is sold on him because he's big.
I don't think he'll even show up
for the fight.
MAN 1:
Madam Pompey.
Think your mystery man
can whip the Battler?
POMPEY:
He'll slaughter him.
You get together all the gold dust you can
and come back here tomorrow night.
All right, Pompey,
although it's not according to Hoyle
I'll take that bet on your mystery man,
sight unseen.
POMPEY:
Where's your 20,000?
CADIZ:
Right here.
But as long as you're choosing the rules,
I'll make one too.
Fight time, 9:00 tomorrow night.
And if either fighter fails to make
an appearance, the money is forfeited.
Just wanna make sure
I'm not going through this for nothing.
You won't be. You better see the Battler
doesn't head for tall timber.
Pompey's mystery man
is gonna be Johnny-on-the-spot
-with a 2-ton wallop in each fist.
- He'll be there.
And here's my 20,000.
POMPEY:
Marshal Hunt!
There's been some sticky fingers
involved in this deal
and I'd appreciate if you'd take this money
over to the jail and lock it up for the night.
[HUNT CHUCKLES]
I got an idea of what you mean.
I'd be glad to do it for you, Pompey.
[HUNT LAUGHS]
[CROWD LAUGHING]
- How did I do, Pompey?
- You did just great, Jack.
Listen, here's your $200.
Get out of town before Cadiz finds out.
And don't leave till just before the fight
or Cadiz will smell a rat.
I plan on leaving
at the sound of the opening bell.
[MEN CHATTERING]
All right, gentlemen,
15,000 to match your 7500.
MAN 1: Right.
MAN 2: Yeah.
Why'd you tell Pompey
you wouldn't fight the Battler?
I trusted you, Mr. Maverick,
and you outright lied to me.
What's this all about, Noah?
I met the Battler on the street today
and called him a dirty deer killer.
Said he ain't never killed no deer before.
In fact, he likes deer.
Well, I'm sorry about this, Noah
but Cadiz, who owns the Battler,
is worse than a deer killer, he's a thief.
He stole $7000 from me
and over 4000 from Mr. Maverick.
- You wanna buy that valley, don't you?
- I got no call to fight the Battler now.
Look, Noah,
your friends have got $10,000 bet on you.
You don't want us to lose
everything we've got.
I'm mighty sorry, but fighting without
just cause is plumb agin my principles.
Principles be hanged,
I've got $2000 riding on you.
Noah,
it'll only take you a couple of minutes.
But you can't just walk out on us now.
Mr. Maverick outright lied to me.
And lying's a mighty bad thing.
I reckon I'll be going home
soon as Cedrick's feeling better.
BUCKLEY:
But, Noah, can't you forget your--?
Lay off him, Buckley. He's right.
I shouldn't have lied to him.
Well, that's that.
Of course, I've been flat busted before.
Well, it's the girls and the miners
I'm thinking of.
It's gonna be pretty rough on them.
Wait a minute.
I've got an idea.
Last night, Pompey put no name
to her mystery man
so
[CHUCKLES]
we simply ring in a substitute.
[ALL CHATTERING]
Bearclaw Diggins bets $10,000
Pompey's mystery man
can slaughter the Battler.
I'm sorry, gentlemen, we've already
laid out 35,000 to cover the bets
-and we're just out of money.
- What are you trying to pull?
Last night,
you said you'd take all bets at 2-to-1.
And we will.
The Golden Nugget's worth 20,000,
we'll put that up as security.
- Suit you?
- Suits me.
I always did crave to own a saloon
full of liquor.
[MEN LAUGHING]
Make way for Pompey's mystery man!
[SIGHS]
[CROWD LAUGHING AND JEERING]
CADIZ: That's the best you could do
for a mystery man, Pompey?
Got any more money to bet?
I wouldn't wanna take your last dime.
Since when?
I brought along an impartial referee too:
Marshal Hunt.
Wait, I didn't agree to this.
Men, who'd you rather have?
Marshal Hunt or this crook?
- We'll take the marshal.
- Yeah.
We're gonna get a fair fight this time.
[CROWD CHATTERING]
Have it your way.
Marshal, you know the rules?
We're going to use the new rules.
Three-minute rounds,
one-minute rest in between rounds.
Mr. Buckley will take care
of keeping time.
I reckon that's all.
[CROWD SHOUTING]
HUNT: One, two
- Maverick, get up, get up.
HUNT:
--three, four
five
six, seven
eight, nine.
One
two
- Oh, no, Maverick, take the nine count.
HUNT: --three.
Get him. Catch him!
Stand still! What are you, nervous?
One, two
three
four, five
six
seven, eight--
Hey, what's this?
Three minutes are up,
got to stick to the rules.
WOMAN:
Come on.
His belly, Maverick, his belly.
You haven't been working on it.
Uh, but you're going great.
Aw, shut up.
Oh, it's no use, Bret,
I'm gonna call it off.
Hey, don't panic on me now.
We got too much money at stake.
[BELL RINGS]
- Come on.
- Come on.
- Get him.
- Come on.
Get him with a right!
Catch him!
HUNT:
One, two
three
four
- Stay down, Bret, stay there.
HUNT: --five
six
seven, eight
nine.
One, two, three
-four
- Get up, Battler!
HUNT: --five
- Battler, get up!
HUNT:
--six, seven
eight, nine
10, and out!
[CROWD CHEERING]
[SHOUTING indistinctly]
Come on, fellas, free drinks for everybody!
[CROWD CHEERING]
The winner,
the new champion of Deadwood Gulch:
Bret Maverick!
You're a very brave man, Mr. Maverick.
It should have been you.
Well, Pompey,
here's your chance to buy a saloon.
I imagine the miners will sell pretty cheap
once the liquor is gone.
I'm all through with that, Bret.
I'm gonna buy me a valley.
Don't tell me you've fallen for Noah.
Listen, I waited a long time
for a handsome hunk of man like him.
Somebody who's honest and gentle.
I'm all through with the bright lights.
Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
Hey, Marshal Hunt.
Lead us to the loot.
[HUNT CHUCKLES]
I just a caught a fella trying to blow down
the wall.
I figured he was after the money.
A fella with a planter's hat
and yellow gloves and silver-headed cane?
- Sure was.
- Why, that dirty low-down.
And you picked him for a partner.
You're wrong, he picked me.
Maverick
you're still alive?
Why, he massacred the Battler.
Well, well, heh, and now we collect.
Great, great.
Never doubted for a minute
you'd murder him.
So sure that you wanted to blast open
the jail and light out with the money?
But I was only trying to protect us all.
Look, Maverick,
you know, you weren't doing so very well.
So the only way left to beat that crook
was to blast open the jail
and take the money.
Well, marshal,
you heard the gentleman's evil intent.
What he had in mind
ought to rate about 30 days?
No. With blasting powder, it's 60 days.
BRET: Let's go over to your office
and divide up the money.
We'll leave your share with the marshal.
No, no. You can't do this to me,
I was only trying to help.
Your share minus a thousand for Noah.
Maverick, I'm your friend.
Didn't I pull you from the river?
Didn't I let you in on the gold?
Didn't I get you tossed into jail
so you could?
Good heavens. What am I saying?
[English - US - SDH]