Whiskey CreekA Screenplay by maroutwest Luke wants nothing but to stake some property, raise some cattle and provide for his family. Cord Conner has different ideas. It seems that money can buy most anything at Whiskey Creek. WHISKEY CREEK by Marilee Ryan & Melissa Hayes CAS-MOR Productions, LLC Marilee Ryan/Melissa Hayes 3600 Swenson Street, #470 WGA #1283829 702-255-0091 1 FADE IN 1 2 EXT. ENTRANCE TO A RANCH - DAY 2 A wooden archway marking the ranch labeled, the LAZY R RANCH. To the side of the archway, a man is hanging by his neck from a noose. On the other side of the Ranch sign, a CC is applied to the sign. 3 EXT. DESERT - DAY 3 Expansive desert surrounded by looming mountains on all sides. A ranch is marked by stakes as LUKE KINCAIDE, 30s, tall and lanky - a cowboy through and through, rides the boundary of his claim to the south on his quarterhorse. Luke looks to the mountains across the landscape. He looks up to the sky at the morning sun, takes off his hat and wipes his brow. As he rides the line, he notices something in the distance and rides to it. It is barbed wire running along the southwest side of his land. He gets off his horse and touches the barbed wire - examines it. He rides the horse along the fence. As he nears the bend north of the fence, he sees a JOHN riding toward him on a horse. Luke rides to meet John. LUKE Good mornin’ John! JOHN Not such a great mornin’ fer me Luke. LUKE Trouble with the ranch? JOHN Yup. Bank foreclosed on my property Luke. LUKE What? I thought you were doin’ alright. JOHN Was. Conner’s behind it. You can be sure o’that. LUKE How? JOHN Changed the date on my mortgage and foreclosed. Sheriff came. Nothin’ I could do. LUKE Where will you go? JOHN We’re loading up and headin’ north. Find a new place to settle. Luke looks down at the ground. What to say? LUKE Well then, good luck to you all. I mean that. JOHN Just wanted ta warn ya. Watch yer back Luke. LUKE Why, thanks. I will. You bet I will. John rides off. Luke heads toward the ranch house. 4 EXT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY 4 MABEL, 30s, shakes an interior rug out front. While she does so, she scans the scene for SARAH, 10 years old. MABEL Sarah? Come on in now, ya hear? (pause) Sarah? Where are you? Mabel quickly walks to an old barn. 2. 5 INT. BARN - CONTINUOUS 5 Mabel enters an old barn with individual stalls for horses. She hears a slight NICKER and walks toward it. She comes upon Sarah who is nurturing a sick horse. MABEL Sarah. Come inside and get your breakfast now. SARAH Aw ma. Blaze needs me. MABEL That ol’ horse ain’t sick, he’s dyin’. Now come on out of this barn and get your breakfast. SARAH Alright. (to Blaze) Aww...you’re OK Blazey, don’t worry. Sarah pets the horse and kisses his nose. She turns, follows her mother while looking back at Blaze lying on the ground. 6 INT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY 6 The ranch house is small but neat. Mabel puts eggs and potatoes on the table. Sarah fills her plate. Luke comes in from outside. LUKE Smells like a feast! MABEL Wash your hands Luke. Luke walks to the kitchen sink and washes his hands. LUKE Yup. I’m goin’ into town after breakfast. I got the cash and I’m gonna pay this place off once and for all. Shouldn’t be gone more than a couple hours. Luke heads for the table and sits down. MABEL Don’t forget to stop by the store. 3. LUKE Oh, I won’t forget Mabel. MABEL This place is finally going to be ours. SARAH Can I go? I wanna go into town too pa. MABEL I don’t think so. Sarah looks to her father with her pleading eyes. LUKE Aww...it might be alright Mabel. SARAH Yeah! Luke looks to Mabel with soft eyes. Mabel looks to Sarah whose eyes are hopeful with excitement. LUKE We’ll be careful Ma. MABEL With all those folks from who knows where doing who knows what... I don’t know if it’s safe. LUKE Lotsa nice folks in town Mabel. Lots of good people. Sarah closes her eyes tightly waiting for her ma to reply. MABEL Oh alright. I’d come along too but I have about enough chores around here.... and no saloon! LUKE OK Mabel. I’ll bring ya somethin’ from town. Right Sarah... we’ll bring somethin’ for your ma from town. SARAH Somethin’ nice. The three of them eat their breakfast. 4. 7 EXT. RANCH - CONTINUOUS 7 Luke lifts Sarah into the wagon, checks the horses again, and gets on the wagon. He snaps the reins and gets the horses moving. They both wave to Mabel on their way down the road to town. 8 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - DAY 8 A wooden sign marks the start of the town: WHISKEY CREEK Luke and Sarah ride into town in their wagon. They pass by a funeral parlor, with a sign in front that reads, CONNER’S FUNERAL PARLOR and bar named CONNER’S SALOON. Various TOWN PEOPLE are doing their thing. Luke and Sarah stop at the general store, named, naturally, CONNER’S GENERAL STORE. Luke helps Sarah off the wagon and they go inside the store. 9 INT. GENERAL STORE - CONTINUOUS 9 Luke goes to the counter while Sarah looks with wonder at all the various items in the store. ACE WALTERS, fifties but still ticking, mans the front counter. ACE Mornin’ Luke. Hey there little Sarah, how are you today? SARAH Good. Luke laughs and tussles her hair affectionately. LUKE Mornin’ Ace. Ace looks to Sarah. She waves to him and he waves back. ACE How ‘bout somethin’ sweet? 5. Ace reaches under the counter and pulls out a piece of candy and hands it to Sarah. Sarah looks to Luke for approval. He nods. Sarah smiles like the sunshine in summer and takes the candy from Ace and pops it in her mouth, she giggles. Luke looks at Sarah and makes a nod toward Ace. SARAH Thank you Mr. Ace. ACE You’re welcome cutie. SARAH Oh, pa! I forgot. What are we gonna get fer ma? You know. Somethin’ special? Luke looks clueless. He looks at Ace and shrugs. ACE How ‘bout this nice lavender sachet? Women like nice smellin’ things ya know. SARAH She loves the lavender pa! She’ll love it! LUKE It don’t cost a fortune eh? ACE Not even half that. LUKE Alright. We’ll take it then. That’s your vote hon? SARAH Yeah! I vote lavender. Ace motions to Luke to come closer so Sarah can’t hear. ACE Listen Luke, all pleasantries aside, Conner has gone and upped the feed prices again. He says he ain’t makin’ enough profit to run this town. 6. LUKE You gotta be kiddin! Cord Conner has more money than God. What’s he tryin’ to do to us? He knows we can’t just feed our herd on the range no more. CORD CONNER comes inside and stands just inside the doorway. He is a tall, dark, imposing man around 40 with spurs clicking behind him. Two Colt .44’s hang from his belt positioned for a fast cross-draw. ACE Mr. Conner. To what do we owe this pleasure? CONNER Ya got some lye Ace? ACE Sure we do. It’s out back, I’ll go get it. Ace leaves the counter and goes to the back, he walks with a limp. Conner turns his attention to Luke. He turns his head to the side and spits some chewing tobacco juice, he just misses Luke’s boots. CONNER Hey, Kincaide, I was thinkin’ of buying up your ranch. LUKE My ranch isn’t for sale. CONNER I didn’t ask you if it was for sale, did I? LUKE Well I just don’t know what you might mean by that but it’s not for sale. In fact, I’m makin’ the last payment on it today. Luke pats his upper shirt pocket where the money sits to pay the last payment. Conner doesn’t smile. He snarls at Sarah and she hides behind her father. 7. Ace enters with the Lye. He limps over to Conner and plops the bag on the counter, he huffs and puffs from the exertion. ACE Here we go Mr. Conner. Conner spits one more time, this time he hits Luke’s boots, picks up the Lye and turns to go. He turns back to give Sarah a lecherous wink and half smile. CONNER Think it over. Nice kid you got. Would be a shame if anything happened to her. LUKE Now you listen here... CONNER I’d think it over nice and careful if I was you. Conner turns and goes at that, leaving Sarah whimpering and Luke steaming with his mouth gaping. Luke scoops up Sarah into his arms and holds her tight. LUKE Ace, that guy is going to get what’s comin’ to him someday and I sure as hell hope I’m around to see it happen. Ace nervously wipes counters. 10 INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY 10 NED, forties and plump, stands over a coffin and prepares a body inside. Conner comes in and stands across the coffin from Ned. He holds the lye he got from Ace. NED Howdy Mr. Conner. What can I do you fer? CONNER Ol’ Smitty met his maker last night I hear. 8. NED You hear right. Finally drank hisself ta death I suppose. CONNER Who’s this? NED This? This is Thaddeus Kane. Died two days ago of the fever. CONNER Family pay for this burial? NED Cash dollars Mr. Conner. Cash dollars, paid in full. CONNER That’s good. Good law abidin’ citizens. I like that. Anyone pay for ol’ Smitty? NED No sir. No one has come forward, but the town council will pay for the burial. CONNER Good, let the town council pay for it, then let the family see their old man. Then put a little of this lye here on ol’ Smitty and sink him with this here coffin. Can ya do that? NED You want me to sneak ol’ Smitty into Mr. Kane’s coffin? I don’t think that’s right Mr. Conner. I think Mr. Kane deserves ta rest in peace and his family deserves some respect... Conner’s glare of hot anger at Ned’s objection stops Ned midsentence. NED (CONT’D) Well. I suppose if I use the lye, no one would really know the difference. After all, Kane is dead and all. 9. CONNER Good. Make it happen then. As before, he turns to go just the same as he came. 11 EXT. WHISKEY CREEK MAIN ROAD - DAY 11 Luke and Sarah finish loading supplies into the wagon and walk down the road to the bank hand in hand. Luke looks nervously around them to make sure he isn’t surprised by Conner again. The enter the bank. 12 INT. BANK - DAY 12 The bank is a small, traditional western establishment with one window for customers. Luke comes in the door holding Sarah’s hand behind him. FLOYD is a fifty-something, slight man with round glasses for reading and a dandy banker’s clothes with a bolo tie and arm garters. FLOYD Luke! Good to see you my fine man. As he greets Luke, he quickly finishes some business under the counter. LUKE Howdy Floyd. FLOYD I see you’ve brought along your little helper today. Floyd reaches over the counter to shake the girl’s hand. FLOYD (CONT’D) Hi Sarah. SARAH Hi. Sarah giggles out of bashfulness. Luke pulls her in and gives her a little hug to make her comfortable again. She takes great comfort in her pa’s hug. 10. LUKE Just come by to make my final mortgage payment. Hope ya still take cash. Luke hands an envelope full of cash to Floyd. Floyd looks at the envelope. Long pause. Floyd turns away from Luke and looks at the floor. FLOYD I’m sorry to inform you Luke, but this payment is late. LUKE What? Late? I’ve never made a late payment in my life Floyd, you know that. FLOYD Now don’t go gettin’ excited here. That’s not what it says right here in my ledger Luke. It says here you should have made that payment last week. LUKE Floyd you know that is just not true. I have been makin’ my payment on the first of the month for ten years now. What are you tryin’ to pull here? FLOYD I’m sorry Luke, I’m just following orders. LUKE Under who’s orders are you fixin’ the books Floyd? I thought there must be some mistake with the Mitchell property but now.... FLOYD Fixin’ the books! Now Luke... LUKE Now I want you to accept my last payment here and hand over the deed to my land. Luke puts the envelope on the counter and pushes it toward Floyd. 11. FLOYD But... LUKE Not another word. Luke puts one hand on his pistol and the other hand stuck out flat for the deed. FLOYD But Mr. Conner will kill me... Luke puts his finger to the trigger - gun still holstered. LUKE Sarah. I would like to you to go to the wagon and wait with the horses for your pa. Is that ok? SARAH Sure pa. Sarah goes out by herself. LUKE I’m not kiddin’ around here. Gimme my deed or you’re a dead man. FLOYD Come here Luke. Floyd indicates that Luke should come close so Floyd can whisper in his ear. Luke cautiously complies. FLOYD (CONT’D) You might as well keep that hardearned cash Luke. I can take it and give you this deed, but Conner, well Conner’s not gonna stop until all the ranches around here are his. Get it? LUKE I don’t care what Cord Conner wants, give me my deed! Floyd takes the envelope and goes for the drawer behind him and grabs the deed. He hands it over to Luke. FLOYD Mr. Conner is not going to like this. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. 12. Floyd puts the money under the counter. 13 INT. CONNER SALOON - DAY 13 Conner stands in the swinging doorway of the saloon with the sun glowing at his back. He stands with his pistols prominent on his hips. SAM, the bartender, stands behind the bar while he polishes glasses. He looks out at the CROWD and spots Conner. He stops what he is doing and pours a drink in a clean glass and goes around the bar. He brushes a DRUNK out of the way and signals to Conner. Conner slowly walks to the bar. He slowly walks up to the bar and drinks down. He looks to the man next to him. CONNER What are you looking at? The man quickly moves. Sam goes back around the bar and grabs a bag. SAM Got yesterday’s take, and today so far...it’s not much but... Conner snatches the bag from Sam. He looks inside and fingers the cash. CONNER Is that it? SAM Sure as the sun shines Mr. Conner. CONNER Feels a little light. Conner turns and spits tobacco on the floor. CONNER (CONT’D) I’ll be back. Conner turns and walks out. 14 EXT. WHISKEY CREEK MAIN ROAD - DAY 14 Conner and his cronies, SNAKE and BLACKJACK untie their horses from a post. 13. SNAKE Ya git that ol’ banker to make another foreclosure today? The way we’s goin’ we’ll be ownin’ this whole territory. CONNER What do ya mean by we? You work for me, don’t you ever forget that. The town bell begins to RING. Conner and his cronies snap their heads back and look out into the setting west sun to see two cowboy’s coming up the road. SNAKE Who do you reckon they are boss? CONNER Looks like a couple of Ravens to me. BLACKJACK Those are gunfighters from Tombstone Mr. Conner. You don’t want to look at them cross-eyed. They’d blow you’re head clean off your shoulders and laugh about it while they was doin’ it. CONNER Now that I would like to see for myself. Luke and Sarah make their way back through town. Luke stops the wagon. He flashes the deed in Conner’s direction. LUKE Conner. Got my deed. CONNER Ha. You got nuthin’ but a little piece o’paper. LUKE Now you keep your bob wire to yerself. Got it. Luke tips his hat and smiles. CONNER (mocking) Yes sir. 14. After Luke passes, Conner scowls. SNAKE Want me ta take care o’Floyd? CONNER No. You two get me some men...try the Raven brothers to start. We’ve got work to do. Conner takes off on his horse to the bank again. 15 INT. BANK - MOMENTS LATER 15 Conner comes into the bank in a fury with his guns flashing and his teeth clenched. CONNER What the hell did you do? Why didn’t you foreclose Kincaide? FLOYD It wasn’t right and... Conner reaches behind the counter and picks Floyd up by the shirt. CONNER Right? How ‘bout all the skimmin’? Think ‘at’s right? FLOYD But he pulled his pistol Mr. Conner. What could I do? CONNER Really. I didn’t think he had it in ‘im. Did you take his money? FLOYD O’course. CONNER Give it to me. His choice. Didn’t wanna do it the easy way I guess. Conner throws Floyd onto the floor. Floyd recovers and scrambles to his knees. FLOYD But I can’t just... 15. CONNER You’re useless to me. Give me the money NOW. Conner draws one pistol and points it at Floyd. Floyd recovers and with a shaking hand turns the envelope over to Conner. Conner takes the money and puts his gun away. CONNER (CONT’D) You know the last man that tried crossin’ me met with a very unfortunate accident. I’d hate to see somthin’ like that happen to you Floyd. He walks out of the bank like a man with a purpose. Floyd is left shuddering. 16 INT. A BARBER SHOP - DAY 16 There is a single barber chair, a tub, a mirror, barber tools. COLE RAVEN sits in a tub. His clothes are filthy and sit in a heap behind the tub. Cole has a pouch of tobacco and rolls a cigarette in one hand - ending up with a nice, fresh handrolled cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. He lights it up. JESSE RAVEN sits in a barber chair. He tips a bottle of whiskey back. CLAY, the barber, lathers him up for a shave. COLE I could sure go fer a nice swaller o’whiskey. Jesse hands the whiskey to Cole. JESSE And a nice w***e. Or maybe a nasty one. They laugh. Clay shaves Jesse. Snake enters the shop. 16. COLE Come back later. SNAKE Mr. Conner has enlisted your services. JESSE Oh has he? What do you think Cole? COLE I don’t think so Jesse. What do you think? JESSE I think this guy has a lotta nerve. SNAKE He ain’t askin’. COLE Oh yeah? At that Cole reaches behind the tub and grabs a Remington rifle and blows a hole in Snake’s chest. He laughs. Jesse laughs with him as Clay carefully and silently finishes his shave. 17 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK 17 FRONT OF BARBER SHOP Blackjack HEARS the rifle RING OUT loud and clear. He runs to the barber shop. 18 INT. BARBER SHOP - CONTINUOUS 18 Blackjack enters. He runs to Snake to see if he’s dead. He clearly is dead - eyes wide open. He turns to look at Cole scrubbing in the tub. Then at Jesse in the barber chair. He sizes them up and slowly gets up with his hands poised to grab his guns. Cole and Jesse watch him. BLACKJACK Which one o’you shot ‘im? COLE Let’s see... maybe it was me. 17. Jesse throws the bottle of whiskey to Cole. Cole takes a drink. JESSE Or maybe it was me. Who wants ta know? Cole throws the bottle of whiskey back to Jesse. COLE Maybe Clay here did it. Blackjack makes a move to draw. As he prepares to shoot for Cole, he feels the end of a rifle against his head. He looks down the rifle to see Jesse at the other end. Whiskey in Jesse’s other hand. Cole reaches out his hand. Blackjack hands over his gun. Jesse tosses the whiskey back to Cole and pulls the second gun out of Blackjack’s holster and sticks it in the front of his pants. JESSE Now go tell yer boss that we aren’t playin’. We got other things to attend to. COLE We’ll be goin’ right on outta here after we stop fer a little more whiskey and a coupla w****s. JESSE We’re not lookin’ for any trouble see. Jesse takes the gun away from Blackjack’s temple and slowly backs away. Blackjack takes a sigh of relief. Jesse makes a quick turn and cracks Blackjack in the jaw with the butt of the rifle. Blackjack flips over backwards. Cole and Jesse finish their business and leave quickly. Blackjack pulls himself off the floor to follow them. 19 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK 19 Cole and Jesse dash across the road to the saloon and disappear. Blackjack staggers out of the barber shop and as he stumbles to the road, he is met face to face with MARSHAL ADAMS. 18. Marshal Adams pushes Blackjack. Blackjack looses his balance and falls into the dirt. MARSHAL What seems to be the problem here? Blackjack manages to recover to his knees. BLACKJACK The Raven Brothers killed Snake! They went to the saloon! Go get ‘em Marshal. Hurry! MARSHAL Ayuh. I’ll take care of it. The Marshal turns to go to the saloon. BLACKJACK I want justice Marshal, this ain’t right. MARSHAL Come again? The Marshal turns back around and kicks Blackjack onto his back. He leans forward and grinds his boot heal into Blackjack’s neck. He senses someone behind him. He turns and sees Conner. Conner is pointing one of his guns at the Marshal. BLACKJACK Conner? Conner! Those Raven’s killed Snake. CONNER Marshal Adams. Thought maybe you was out of town. Where ya been? MARSHAL No, I’ve been here. CONNER Let my boy up off the ground now or we might have a little problem. The Marshal slowly removes his boot from Blackjack’s neck. MARSHAL Now put your gun away. Let’s talk. Conner re-holsters his gun. 19. CONNER I’m listenin’. MARSHAL I’ll take care of the Ravens. You take care of your own. CONNER I want justice for my man. I’ll take care of the Raven Brothers myself. MARSHAL This is no vigilante town Conner. CONNER A joker. I like that Marshal Adams. (to Blackjack) We have work to do. (to Marshal) You haven’t seen the last of me. MARSHAL Lucky me. The Marshal shakes his head as Conner walks toward the saloon. 20 INT. SALOON - DAY 20 SALLY, in charge of the w****s and SEVERAL WOMEN, plain but pretty, dirty but not too dirty, sit around at tables. Conner stands in his place at the bar with Blackjack next to him. The Raven Brothers are nowhere to be seen but some raucous laughing can be heard from upstairs. Sam brings a couple whiskeys to Conner and Blackjack. SALLY Hey Conner. Meg’s not busy if you want to... CONNER Shut up woman. We’re busy. Conner shoots his whiskey. Blackjack follows suit. CONNER (CONT’D) Sam, leave the bottle. 20. Sam fills their glasses and leaves the bottle. BLACKJACK What are we gonna do about Snake? CONNER Bury ‘im I suppose. BLACKJACK What about the Ravens? CONNER They’ll join us. Conner fills their glasses again. BLACKJACK Huh? CONNER There’s only five ranches between me and my empire. All I need is more men. Ya understand ‘at? BLACKJACK More men? CONNER Are you listenin’? BLACKJACK Uh huh. CONNER Get to the telegraph office and send fer Rodrigo from Tucson. He’s the meanest sumbitch I kin think of - ‘sides myself I suppose. He’ll give us a hand. Blackjack nods and get up to go. CONNER (CONT’D) And get those two rustlers... the ones from the territories.... Tom and Ricky I think was their names. BLACKJACK No. Not those guys. They shot up the place last time. CONNER Exactly what I’m lookin’ fer. 21. Conner laughs. CONNER (CONT’D) Tell Rodrigo to bring his men along and I’ll make it worth their while. Get a move on! Blackjack bottoms out his glass and heads out in a hurry. Conner turns back to Sally. CONNER (CONT’D) And now for dessert. He smiles with lust and hunger. 21 INT. SALOON - DAY 21 MEG’S ROOM This boarding house doubles as a brothel. There is a bed and a wash basin and not much more. Conner does up his pants standing next to the bed. Meg takes her time getting out of bed. She is young and looks tired and older than her years. CONNER You seen the Ravens? MEG They come in earlier. Yup. CONNER Good. Conner puts some money on the foot of the bed. MEG Thanks. CONNER Don’t mention it. Don’t expect nuthin’ fer free. MEG Wish all the guys were like you. Conner smiles at Meg. 22. CONNER Well, gotta go catch me a coupla Ravens then. See ya. He leaves with Meg looking after him with sympathy and gratitude. 22 INT. SALOON - CONTINUOUS 22 BAR ROOM Conner comes down the stairs back into the bar room. Cole and Jesse look up to see him as they down their whiskey. Sam sees Conner and pulls up another bottle of whiskey and a glass. He puts them on the bar in Conner’s spot just as he makes it to the bar. CONNER Any particular reason you two scavengers ain’t runnin’? COLE Do I look yella to you? CONNER I’ll ferget ‘bout Snake if ya want to make a deal. JESSE What kinda deal? CONNER Two for the price o’ one. You two give me a hand and we’re square. Cole and Jesse look at each other, pause, then nod in assent to each other. COLE Let’s hear it. 23 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - DAY 23 RODRIGO, a craggy, huge Mexican cowboy rides hard into town on his black mustang. He is flanked by two vaqueros, DIEGO and TONIO, each on their own mustang. They slow up and look around the town. Rodrigo grins and looks at his compadres. They grin back. They tie their horses and head for the saloon. 23. 24 INT. BARN - DUSK 24 Sarah sits with her sick horse, singing a lullaby softly. Luke slowly walks toward her and sits on a pail nearby. LUKE How’s he doin’? SARAH Aw, alright I think. I’m jest keepin him comp’ny is all. LUKE You’re a good girl. Ya know that? SARAH Thanks pa. LUKE Come on inside. Bedtime. SARAH Aw pa. Can’t I jest stay with him a while longer? Can I? Luke hesitates. He gets up and goes over to Sarah and gives her a nice pa hug again. LUKE Just a few more minutes Sarah. Now don’t make me come out here again. SARAH I won’t pa. 25 INT. SALOON - EVENING 25 Conner sits at a table dealing a hand of poker to Blackjack, Rodrigo, Diego, Tonio, and Floyd. CONNER You owe me Floyd. FLOYD But I wasn’t made for fighting Conner. CONNER Uh huh. Conner finishes the deal and looks at his hand: all spades. 24. The rest look at their hands. CONNER (CONT’D) (to Blackjack) You? BLACKJACK I’m out. He folds his hand. RODRIGO Dos. Conner gives him two cards. CONNER Floyd here is responsible for losin’ the Kincaide ranch so he has offered his services to make up fer his mistake. Isn’t that right Floyd? Floyd has his eyes glued to his cards. Conner gives one card to Diego. Tonio folds. Floyd very cautiously looks up from his hand. Conner glares at him. Floyd flinches. FLOYD Fold. He folds his hand. FLOYD (CONT’D) What do you want me to do? TOM, weathered and pale and RICKY, a Native American halfbreed, come through the door leaving it swinging. They draw all eyes. Conner looks up and smiles. CONNER Nice to see you boys! Get these boys some whiskey on me. DIEGO I’m out. Diego folds his hand. Tom and Ricky look to see who’s talking. 25. TOM This better be worthwhile Conner. RICKY Yeah. It sure ain’t convenient fer us. CONNER Come on over. Join the game. Connor displays his flush and takes the pot. Tom and Ricky find chairs and join the game. TOM Deal ‘em. We’ll make our fortune right here... on your tab. They laugh. 26 EXT. LUKE’S RANCH - DAY 26 Luke is out in the pasture with his cattle a short ways away from his home. Marshal Adams rides up on his horse with ED and ETHAN, two other homesteaders. LUKE Howdy Marshal. What brings you way out here today? MARSHAL It’s Cord Conner. LUKE What has that ol’ snake in the grass done now? And what might it have to do with me? MARSHAL I’m looking for your help Luke. He’s running men and their families off their ranches. I can’t stop him with my men alone. Too many of ‘em. LUKE He got your ranch too Ed? 26. ED Yup. He run me and my kids out last week. Been camping out by ol’ Stump Creek. Luke pauses and scratches his head under his hat. LUKE You gonna fight ‘em? MARSHAL I reckon he’s left me with no other choice. It’s affectin’ my town. Luke looks to the ground, then to his house. ETHAN You might very well be his next prey. LUKE Look, if either one of you needs a place to ... MARSHAL Just came out to let you know we could use your help. You let me know. Don’t wait too long. LUKE I’ll have to think it over Marshal. I got me a lot of responsibilities here with my... MARSHAL Just think it over then. But we don’t have much time. Marshal clicks his tongue at his horse and the three of them ride away. Luke heads back toward his cattle and resumes. He looks toward the house and hesitates. Back to the cattle. 27 INT. RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT 27 Luke sits at the table set for three. Mabel brings food in from the kitchen fills their plates with food. 27. MABEL I thought you told Sarah to get in here for her supper. LUKE She’ll be along in a minute Ma. Just let her spend some time with him. He’s not got much time now. MABEL Is he in pain? LUKE I’m gonna have to shoot him soon Mabel. And I hate to be me that day. MABEL We’ll have to distract her. Wouldn’t want it to be a bad memory for her. Luke and Mabel sit at the table and eat. LUKE Marshal come out to see me today. MABEL What did he want? LUKE He was wantin’ me to fight with him against Conner and his men. MABEL Why, what’s happenin’ Luke? Are we in danger? Go get Sarah right now Luke. Mabel jumps up from the table and goes to the window and looks out. MABEL (CONT’D) In fact... I’ll get her myself. Mabel heads for the door in a huff. Luke speaks in a calming tone. LUKE Wait! I was hoping we could discuss this while Sarah’s outside...I wouldn’t want to scare her. 28. Mabel’s face relaxes and she turns around. She goes back to the table. LUKE (CONT’D) Conner’s been takin’ folks ranches. MABEL What do you mean takin’ them? LUKE Runnin’ ‘em off I guess. The sound of galloping HORSE HOOVES approach the ranch. Luke and Mabel look at each other. Luke jumps up and grabs his rifle. MABEL Sarah! Luke and Mabel run out the door. 28 INT. HORSE BARN - SIMULTANEOUS 28 Sarah sits by her sick horse Blaze. Blaze lays on his side. Sarah gently pets him and hums her lullaby. 29 EXT. LUKE’S RANCH - MOMENTS LATER 29 Conner and his men are riding out towards the barn. LUKE Sarah! Luke runs out to the barn with his rifle pointed. Mabel stands at the door. MABEL Luke! Get Sarah! 30 INT. HORSE BARN - CONTINUOUS 30 SARAH You ain’t dyin’ Blaze. Ma just doesn’t know you like I know you. Sarah looks up and sees Conner and his men at the barn door. 29. She freezes. CONNER Hey there little girl. Remember me from town? Rodrigo and Tonio open the other horse stalls and let the horses out. Sarah watches in horror as they yip and howl and cause chaos everywhere. SARAH What are you doing? Why are you here? CONNER Oh I don’t know, I just thought I’d pay a friendly visit to your Pa. Sarah gets up and tries to run past the men and their horses. Blackjack jumps off his horse and takes Sarah’s arm. SARAH Stop, let go of me. Blackjack and the other men are amused at this and snicker. Luke bursts through the barn door and finds Sarah in Blackjack’s hold. He raises his rifle at Conner but reality takes over when he sees a half a dozen guns pointed at him and he lowers it. Conner LAUGHS. LUKE Let my daughter go Conner. If it’s my ranch you want we can work somethin’ out, just let Sarah go. Conner moves on his horse closer to Luke and points his rifle at his head. CONNER I don’t think your makin’ the decisions now Luke. You had your chance to do it the easy way. Conner looks to Blaze. CONNER (CONT’D) What we got here? This ol’ horse sick? 30. Conner jumps off his ride and goes over and gives the horse a kick. SARAH Blaze! CONNER Looks like somebody ought to put this ol’ boy out of his misery. Luke gets in front of the horse. LUKE Stop Conner. Leave the horse alone. Conner points his rifle at Luke. CONNER What are you gonna do ‘bout it cowboy? You shoulda done it yerself boy! SARAH Pa! Mabel appears at the barn door with a shotgun. MABEL Let go of my daughter. She points the shotgun square at Blackjack. Just then, Sarah bites Blackjack on the arm and breaks free from his grip. She runs towards Luke and Blaze. Blackjack howls in pain as Mabel walks toward him with the shotgun ready to blast. Blackjack draws his pistol on Mabel and they shoot each other dead in the chest, both falling to the ground. Conner looks to the gunfire. Luke jumps at the opportunity and lunges at Conner. Conner regains control of his rifle, takes aim and shoots Blaze just as Sarah approaches. Conner turns the rifle on Luke and takes aim. 31. SARAH NO! BLAZE! Sarah bolts toward Blaze but Luke grabs her on the way by and pulls her back into his arms. Conner takes his shot and Sarah takes the bullet just as she falls into her pa’s arms for the last time. Luke freezes and stares over the shoulder of his daughter at the scene in front of him. Conner’s men disperse. CONNER I believe you were warned Luke. Conner gets on his horse. Luke looks up with vacant eyes. CONNER (CONT’D) One more for the road boys! Conner fires a shot at Luke on his way out. It grazes Luke’s head and knocks him unconscious. Conner laughs and his boys laugh with him. Conner’s men scoop up the dead Blackjack and ride off. 31 INT. BARN - NEXT MORNING 31 Luke wakes up and puts his hand to his head. He feels the graze wound. He looks at his hand and sees blood. Luke staggers to his feet slowly remembering the events of the previous evening. He sees Sarah’s lifeless body lying beside him and a lifeless Blaze behind her. It takes his breath away. He holds Sarah’s lifeless body to his chest and looks past her back toward the door and sees Mabel. He carries Sarah’s body to where Mabel lies. He lays Sarah next to her mother and falls to his knees. He puts his arms around Mabel and holds her body. He cries and then is overcome and wails. He slowly rises and sees the lavender sachet lying next to Mabel. He picks it up and smells it. He holds it to his chest and weeps. 32. 32 EXT. RANCH - DAY 32 Luke kneels down by a two freshly dug graves. Tears stream down his face. He clutches a bunch of flowers that he attaches to a wooden cross at the top of the grave. He cries and wipes his face. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the lavender sachet. He attaches it to the wooden cross. He lowers his head and pauses. Then he gets up on his knees and raises his arms over his head and looks up to the sky. LUKE NO! (calming) God, I don’t know all the right words for a burial here today. But I want you to take care of my Mabel and my precious Sarah. She never hurt anyone or anything. Please take care of them for me. And I’m sorry for shirkin’ my duties as a pa and a husband by lettin’ ‘em get killed. Thank you. Thank you God. Please. Luke breaks down into tears again. 33 INT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - DAY 33 The Marshal sits at his desk. A jail is behind this room in the front. Tom and Ricky are in the cell and they are climbing the walls. Luke enters like a cyclone and storms directly to the desk and slams his fists down. He looks at the desk and slowly lifts his head. When he is face to face with the Marshal LUKE Deputize me now. My new mission in life is to take down Cord Conner. MARSHAL Well now, you’ve had a change of heart have you? LUKE Ain’t no one gettin’ away with takin’ my family from me Marshal. 33. MARSHAL What? Oh Luke, what happened? LUKE Let’s just say I’m ready to take the risk now. Nothin’ holding me back any more Marshal Adams. Nothin’ more to lose. MARSHAL I’m so sorry Luke. LUKE Thank you sir. I appreciate that. MARSHAL Meet the other deputies. Boys! John Mitchell, Ed Olsen, Ethan Wester, BEN BILLINGS and Ace from the General Store step out. LUKE John? I thought you left. JOHN Left my family north of here. I come back to help out. I thought about it a lot and well.... LUKE You’re a good man John. Thank you. TOM (O.S.) Marshal? Hey, Marshal? You can’t hold us! RICKY Git us some whiskey Marshal! TOM We won’t be here long! Luke peaks into the cell and sees Tom and Ricky. A look of recognition. LUKE Marshal! These two was there last night! At my ranch! It was you two... JAIL CELL Luke lunges through the jail cell bars and tries to grab Ricky by the collar. 34. Tom pulls Ricky back just before Luke can get him. They both stand just outside his grasp and taunt him and laugh. TOM Thought you was toes up Kincaide! Too bad Conner had ta put that nice ol’horse down for ya. RICKY And the rest of the family too fer that matter! Ricky and Tom congratulate and slap each other. The Marshal rushes over to pacify the scene. LUKE Marshal, you let me in this cell right now and let me have at ‘em. Come on now! Don’t ... The Marshal puts his hand on Luke’s shoulder. MARSHAL Ricky, Tom, sit down and shut your mouths now. Not one more word. Got it? Ricky and Tom obey the Marshal and sit on their cots. The rest of the deputies stand behind Luke. The Marshal leads them away from the jail cell. TOM How about that whiskey? The Marshal turns quickly back at Tom. MARSHAL One more word and you’ll be eating horse manure for supper. Tom scampers back to his cot and shuts up. FRONT ROOM The Marshal reassembles the men and calms the turbulent waters caused by Tom and Ricky. 35. MARSHAL (CONT’D) Look. Luke. I had to pick those two up last night for gettin’ drunk and shootin’ up the saloon. Disorderly, ya know. LUKE And? They’re dirty rotten... MARSHAL And they’ll be outta here just as soon as Conner posts bail. And he will. LUKE But those guys were there last night! MARSHAL You tellin’ me these are the triggermen? LUKE I don’t know if either one of these guys pulled the trigger but I know they was there and it coulda been either one of ‘em fer all I know. MARSHAL You sure it wasn’t Conner who shot ‘em Luke? Cuz I got a sneakin’ suspicion on this ‘ne. Luke thinks it over for a second. He looks to the rest of the deputies who show looks of support and sympathy. Luke nods his head, lets that anger subside and rejoins the group. LUKE Ace? You’re going against Conner? ACE Conner’s gotta be stopped Luke. Ain’t no denyin’ it. ETHAN I got some rifles. Plenty of ammo too. LUKE What’s the plan? 36. ED Heard it from Conner’s best little w***e that they’re plannin’ to come after Ethan’s place tonight. ETHAN We’ll be waitin’. LUKE Can we trust ‘er? The w***e? ED She’s sweet on me like honey on a biscuit that ‘ne. I know it. ETHAN Luke. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Ethan’s place is the next ranch. ED Now, I want my land back Luke. Don’t you? LUKE I want my family back is what I want. Can ya git me that? ED No. But you can help out Ethan so he’s not in the same situation. MARSHAL Now I’m going to be leadin’ this party. We’re gonna take every precaution with this information Luke. LUKE Alright Marshal. What’s the plan? MARSHAL First of all, we act together. Got ‘at? Now gather ‘round. They all put their heads together to hear the plan. 34 INT. SALOON - DAY 34 Cord Conner stands at his usual spot at the bar. He drinks and laughs with his men. 37. CONNER Give us another drink over here Sam! Conner slams his glass down and makes a scene. Sam rushes over like an obedient dog with the bottle and fills the glasses on the bar. 35 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - SIMULTANEOUS 35 The men come out of the Marshal’s office in a group. Ace walks back toward the general store with his limp. Ethan and Ed untie their horses. Luke looks toward the saloon. He looks back to see if anyone is watching him. He tentatively moves toward the saloon. As he approaches, he steps up his pace with his rage. 36 INT. SALOON - CONTINUOUS 36 Luke opens the doors and enters. Conner lifts his glass in a toast. CONNER This is for ol’ Blackjack! Straight to hell with that ol’ w***e who shot him! Luke freezes for a second and then makes a bee line toward Conner. LUKE Bad mouthin’ my wife? You killed her you dirty b*****d! Luke draws two pistols on him. Conner slowly turns around. CONNER You talkin’ to me cowboy? Oh Kincaid, nice to see ya...how’s the family? Conner and his men chuckle. 38. LUKE You sonofabitch! CONNER Thought you gave up drinkin’, didn’t ya? Luke’s hands tremble as he holds the guns on Conner. The Marshal enters the saloon. MARSHAL Put the guns away Luke. (to Conner) You wanna come with me now Conner? CONNER And why would I come with you Marshal? MARSHAL Do it the easy way. You have broken the law more times than ya been drunk. CONNER Ha Ha. Good one Marshal. But no, I ain’t coming with you. MARSHAL Then I’ll have to take you in the hard way. CONNER Bring it on. Conner fast draws and shoots the floor in front of the Marshal’s boots and then Luke’s boots. CONNER (CONT’D) Just ask Ace how to dance. He did a mighty fine job before I put a bullet in his knee. Too bad he danced left when he should have danced right. Conner laughs and shoots at their feet again. Marshal takes Luke by the shoulder. He turns to go. MARSHAL Come on Luke. Let’s go. (to Conner) I’ll bring it on alright. 39. 37 INT. BARN - NIGHT 37 Ethan’s barn is much the same as Luke’s was but this one is empty. Ed and Ethan hide in the loft. The Marshal and Luke hide on opposite sides of the front barn doors. They are all still, holding their rifles to their bodies tight. 38 EXT. BARN - NIGHT 38 Ace is tight behind the road side of the barn. John and Ben are the lookouts and sit behind sage brush near the entrance to the property. 39 EXT. APPROACH TO ETHAN’S RANCH - NIGHT 39 Conner and his boys approach on their horses. Rodrigo rides with Conner. The rest ride behind. All stop outside the gates of the ranch. Floyd rides ahead toward the house. 40 EXT. ETHAN’S RANCH - CONTINUOUS 40 John and Ben watch Floyd dismount and walk to the ranch house door. He knocks. He knocks harder. FLOYD Ethan? Can ya answer the door please? I got somethin’ to discuss with you. Nothing. Floyd tries to peek in a window. Nothing. He looks around. Still nothing. He rides back to the gang. John and Ben lean around to look at the spot Floyd disappeared through the brush. They look at each other and step out into the entry drive. The whole gang comes riding through that entry. Conner laughs. CONNER I told ya they was there Floyd! Haha! 40. Conner shoots John square in the chest. John falls flat on his back. Floyd remounts and slaps his reins to get out of harm’s way. He heads back toward town while the rest descend on the barn. Conner turns and shoots Ben in the back as he tries to run away toward the barn. He falls flat on his face in the dirt. Ace sees this from his place and jumps out with his rifle pointed at Conner. ACE (shouting) They killed Ben and John! Ace looses his balance as he tries to limp to the other side of the barn for cover. Ed and Ethan come through the barn door firing their rifles. Luke and the Marshal come from the back of the barn also firing. Ace falls and holds his leg around the corner of the barn. Conner and Rodrigo break to Ace while the rest of the men return fire on Ethan, Ed, Luke and Marshal Adams. Rodrigo stops and gets Ace in his sights. CONNER Rodrigo, be my guest. (to Ace) And after all I done fer you. Conner shoots into the air as Rodrigo shoots Ace right off his boots and against the side of the barn. Marshal shoots into the air. MARSHAL Retreat. Go go go! The Marshal’s men turn and ride away from the farm but not before the Marshal shoots for Conner but nails Tonio in the chest. Tonio falls off the back of his horse. RODRIGO Tonio! (to Deigo) Get them! 41. Rodrigo and Diego ride hard to catch the Marshal’s men but they are too far ahead. CONNER Fall back. We won. Conner takes an emblem with a CC on it and places it on the wooden frame outlining the entrance to the ranch. He admires it as Rodrigo and Diego steam with revenge. COLE Hey, we didn’t get no action. JESSE I thought we’d get a little action at least. CONNER You boys just wait. Just you wait. Whiskey Creek will be nothin’ more than a river of blood when I’m through with it. Ravens? You secure the ranch and post the stakes for the new wire. Everyone else.... Drinks on me! JESSE Us Ravens, we ain’t ranch hands. How about you stay here and do it yourself? Conner rares up and reaches for his gun. COLE (reaching for his gun) Make a move for that gun and I’ll shoot you clean out of that saddle. Conner thinks again. CONNER (laughing) I’m only joking. Jesse looks at Cole. JESSE D****t! I don’t like jokin’! Cole and Jesse nod to each other and ride off. 42. 41 INT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - DAY 41 The Marshal sits behind his desk. Luke paces back and forth in the small office. Ed and Ethan sit and stare out a window. LUKE How the hell are we gonna stop him Marshal? ETHAN That w***e must have tipped him off. ED She promised not to Ethan. It musta been someone... ETHAN She promised not to tell us anythin’ either Ed. Can’t trust a w***e. ED Oh, I don’t know. I think they is usually pretty much ... MARSHAL Listen. I think we need some help here and I’m the first to admit it. ED Well, I think you’re gonna hafta git some help. I gotta think o’ my family. I’m out. MARSHAL That’s fair Ed. ETHAN Me too Marshal. I gotta take my family and move on. LUKE But we can’t give up. Come on! ETHAN Sorry about your family and all Luke. But I got kids ta think about. Bet you’d do the same in my spot. 43. LUKE But... ED John’s family is gonna suffer fer their loss ya know. Luke storms off to a window and stares out grinding his teeth. LUKE Can’t we just blow the old sumbitch to hell. MARSHAL Sure Luke. But at what cost. Look, I have an idea. During the Indian wars, I rode with the Buffalo Soldiers. Hear of ‘em? LUKE Nope. MARSHAL Some of the best cavalry men we got Luke. Bet they could bring a few of their men down here and help us out. LUKE I don’t see why we can’t just take him out Marshal. I mean there’s no question of his innocence. MARSHAL Not for us to decide Luke. Right thing is to take the whole lot of ‘em to stand trial in Prescott. LUKE I disagree Marshal. But count me in. I’ll help you and those Buffalo Soldiers bring that sumbitch to Prescott. I’m goin’ back to that saloon o’ his and havin’ a drink Marshal. MARSHAL You really wanna do that? Luke nods and goes. 44. 42 INT. TELEGRAPH OFFICE - DAY 42 The Marshal paces around the office as BILLY sends a telegram for him. MARSHAL Go through? BILLY Sure thing. MARSHAL Can ya let me know when I get a response? BILLY Sure thing Marshal. I’ll tell ya myself, I will. 43 INT. LIEUTENANT’S OFFICE - DAY 43 Lieutenant NATHAN WASHINGTON reads a telegram with a look of concern on his face. NATHAN Orderly! SHAW walks briskly into the Lieutenant’s office and salutes. SHAW Yes Sir! NATHAN Go find me First Sergeant James Smith, right away. SHAW Yes Sir. Shaw makes a final salute and goes. 44 INT. LIEUTENANT’S OFFICE - LATER 44 Lieutenant Washington’s office is spic and span. FIRST SERGEANT JAMES SMITH stands in a salute in front of Lieutenant Washington. Washington salutes and puts Smith at ease. 45. WASHINGTON Smith, I want you to get your men together, gather some supplies and head on to Whiskey Creek. SMITH Sir. What will we do there Sir? WASHINGTON Seems a land baron by the name of Cord Conner is drivin’ all the homesteaders off and stealin’ their property. I want you to arrest Conner and deliver him to Prescott, Arizona for trial. SMITH Yes sir. WASHINGTON Once you get to Whiskey Creek, find the Marshal there. He will give you the details. He’s a good man. We fought the Indians together. Brought peace to the territories. Washington laughs to himself as he reaches into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulls out a bottle of whiskey. WASHINGTON (CONT’D) Take this to my old buddy the Marshal. He’ll know what it’s about. Smith takes the bottle. Salutes, turns and goes. Washington leans back in his chair, crosses his feet on his desk and smiles. 45 INT. MEG’S ROOM - DAY 45 Meg cleans up the room as the Marshal stands steadfast in the doorway. Conner is coming out of one of the rooms behind the Marshal and stops in his tracks and listens. He tucks himself in the doorway to remain unnoticed. MEG Now Marshal, you’re askin’ me to betray the man who pays my way. Without him, well... 46. MARSHAL You’re young. Conner? His kind are a dime a dozen. You can count on that. MEG Easy for you to say. MARSHAL I promise you. I promise I’ll make sure you are taken care of. MEG Yeah? How can you promise it? MARSHAL Cord Conner ain’t the only one with a little pull in this town. Don’t forget who your talkin’ to now. MEG Well. I don’t know. Last time I tipped you boys off you almost got me caught doin’ it. MARSHAL Don’t you worry ma’am. You’ll be doin’ the right thing. That’s fer sure. The right thing. MEG Listen. Not a word about how you know. MARSHAL Not one. MEG They meet here in my room. They all come up here on Frid’y nights to plan their moves. MARSHAL Huh. Well then. Thank you Meg. Now don’t you worry yourself. I’ve got this thing under control. Meg goes to the window and stares out. The Marshal tips his hat and leaves. He closes the door behind him. Meg hears the slam and shudders. Conner watches as the Marshal descends the staircase. 47. 46 INT. MEG’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS 46 Conner busts in the door and grabs Meg by the neck running her up against the wall. CONNER Is this how you show your gratitude woman? I didn’t want to believe it. After the last time. I suspected you alright. But I ... gave you the benefit of the doubt. After all I’ve given you Meg. Why? Meg struggles and gasps beneath Conner’s grip. CONNER (CONT’D) Can you at least answer me that? Conner releases his grip and lets Meg drop to the floor. MEG Cord please...I didn’t tell him nothin’. I swear Cord. CONNER I heard you Meg...I heard every cotton pickin’ word. MEG Cord. I didn’t mean to... Conner slaps Meg and she hits the wall behind the bed. MEG (CONT’D) I didn’t have a choice Cord... Conner goes to Meg and picks her up from the floor and puts her in the bed. He holds her down. CONNER I shoulda known better. Conner slaps Meg across the face. CONNER (CONT’D) Than to trust a w***e. Conner slaps Meg again. MEG Please Cord. I was gonna tell you... I wanted to tell you... 48. CONNER You make me sick. I can’t stand the stink of you. He takes a pillow and holds it in front of his six-gun. He fires through the pillow into Meg’s chest. He stands triumphant in a flurry of feathers. CONNER (CONT’D) You disloyal w***e. Conner turns and goes out. DOOR SLAM. 47 EXT. WHISKEY CREEK MAIN ROAD - DAY 47 The town bell RINGS as SIX blue uniformed BUFFALO SOLDIERS ride into town in formation with the Sergeant leading the pack. The people in town all look and go toward them. As they reach the front of the Marshal’s office the Sergeant raises his hand into the air. The soldiers halt their horses and sit at attention. CORPORAL PETERS takes the lead. PETERS Dismount! The Buffalo Soldiers simultaneously dismount from their horses. The Marshal walks out of his office and over to the Sergeant. MARSHAL Sure is nice to see the Tenth Regiment arrive. SERGEANT Yes Sir! The Sergeant takes the bottle of whiskey from his saddle bag and presents it to the Marshal. SERGEANT (CONT’D) Marshal, please accept this bottle of whiskey from Lieutenant Washington. He said you would know what it was all about. MARSHAL Well I’ll be damned. That old skunk doesn’t miss a beat. 49. SERGEANT He sure doesn’t sir. MARSHAL I remember the last time I saw him. We drank a whole bottle of this and got in a fight with a couple of officers. We kicked their a*s but then we spent a week in the stockade. Of course, we were just privates at the time. We were celebrating my leaving the army. The Marshal drifts off and pauses - still looking at the bottle. MARSHAL (CONT’D) Well Sergeant, we got our work cut out for us here. SERGEANT We’ll get our encampment set up here next to the town. Is that alright? MARSHAL Sure thing. Get settled and I’ll brief you on the plan to take down Cord Conner and his gang. SERGEANT More men are on their way. We’ll get started. 48 INT. BARN - NIGHT 48 Conner paces in Luke’s barn. Rodrigo and Diego sit on buckets. Tom and Ricky wrestle with each other in and out of the horse stalls. Floyd keeps to himself at the outside of the group. CONNER Our new meetin’ place. It’s mine now. We might as well use it. RODRIGO Looks like you just about have the whole place to yourself now. You got all the ranches. 50. CONNER We gotta defend ‘em. The Marshal and his helpers ain’t gonna just take all this layin’ down ya know. RODRIGO How many of them are left? CONNER Just a coupla deputies. But knowin’ Marshal... he’ll get himself a real posse to come after us. The guy gets off on restorin’ order ya know. DIEGO You gonna make Kincaide have a nasty accident? Diego grins a nasty grin. CONNER Eventually. All in good time. Conner paces again. CONNER (CONT’D) Anybody seen the Ravens? TOM Hoooeee. I saw ‘em earlier. They got a notion to drink that rot gut whiskey from your saloon after breakfast and they passed out behind the saloon. Drunker than a coupla skunks and passed out deader ‘n a doornail. CONNER D****t. Anyway, Floyd? Come out of the corner. Floyd slinks out of his corner. FLOYD Yes Conner? CONNER You yella’ed out on me last time my man. Did ya not? FLOYD Ummm....... I went to the door like you told me to... and... 51. CONNER And then ya ran like a little girl. Didn’t ya? Floyd cowers. CONNER (CONT’D) DIDN’T YA? Conner gets in his face. FLOYD Yes. Yes Conner. I was scared and I ran like a little girl. CONNER So now you can make up for it. I have a job for you Floyd. FLOYD Alright Conner. What is it? CONNER Sit down. Floyd sits. 49 INT. SERGEANT’S TENT - DAY 49 TWO SOLDIERS, WILLIAM and THOMAS enter the tent. The Sergeant has papers stretched across a make-shift table. He is standing over the papers and looks up. SERGEANT William. Thomas. I want you to ride into town and get some supplies. WILLIAM AND THOMAS Yes, Sergeant. 50 EXT. SERGEANT’S TENT - CONTINUOUS 50 William and Thomas come out of the tent. They head toward their mounts. Behind them, the rest of the soldiers erect their camp. They mount their horses and ride into the town. They pass the Marshal on the way. The Marshal rides toward the Sergeant’s tent. 52. The Marshal rides through the camp and greets the soldiers before he dismounts near the Sergeant’s tent. He looks around and goes to the door of the tent. 51 EXT. WHISKEY CREEK MAIN ROAD - DAY 51 William and Thomas dismount near the general store. As they walk toward the door, they are cut off by Conner and Rodrigo. Conner and Rodrigo dismount their horses. CONNER The store is closed. WILLIAM With all respect, is there another supplier around? CONNER No sir. Too bad the guy who ran this place got his self killed. WILLIAM Sorry to hear that Mr.... CONNER Conner. Cord Conner’s the name. A recognition of the name registers on the faces of William and Thomas. THOMAS A pleasure to meet you. Thomas puts his hand out to shake. Conner looks at his hand and, rather than shaking it, he stares him in the eye. CONNER There’s nothing for you in this town. Ya understand ‘at? Thomas does not look away or back down. THOMAS I ain’t lookin’ for no trouble here. Can ya understand ‘at? Conner steams under his hat. He spits tobacco juice at Thomas’ feet. 53. RODRIGO You soldiers are messing with the fastest quick draw this side of the Mississippi. THOMAS Is that so? Thomas and William look at each other and turn to their horses. Conner pulls out two pistols and starts shooting at Thomas and Williams’ feet. Thomas and William hop and jump as the bullets hit the ground. Conner and Rodrigo HOOT and HOLLER as Conner shoots. CONNER I didn’t know these were dancing buffalo soldiers, you Rodrigo? RODRIGO (laughing) No boss. Conner re-holsters his pistols and Thomas and William get on their horses and ride away. Conner looks after them with a satisfied look. 52 INT. SERGEANT’S TENT - DAY 52 The Marshal paces and looks at the papers strewn about the Sergeant’s tent. SERGEANT So you believe the w***e? MARSHAL She’s a good girl Sarge. Really she is. She just came up on some really tough times. Just like the rest of us have. SERGEANT So we can surround the whole saloon. Any reason why not? MARSHAL Not that I can think of. 54. SERGEANT You’ll come inside with me. The rest will be waiting downstairs and on all sides. MARSHAL So even if they scatter... SERGEANT We can catch ‘em all. Now Marshal, I know there’s some bad feelings between your deputies and Conner and his men... MARSHAL Only deputy left is Luke Kincaide. The rest got scared. SERGEANT Conner take his ranch? MARSHAL Not only that, he killed his wife and daughter. Cute little thing she was. SERGEANT You have to keep him in line. Remember, you called us to take these men to trial, not to execute ‘em. Keep it in mind. MARSHAL I can’t deny I wouldn’t mind executin’ Cord Conner myself. But I have to agree with you Sarge. If we can take him alive... SERGEANT You can always hope for a hangin’ judge. They laugh together. William and Thomas briskly enter the tent and stand at attention. They salute. SERGEANT (CONT’D) At ease. Did you get the supplies? THOMAS No Sergeant. No we were unable to get the supplies. 55. WILLIAM Cord Conner blocked us from the supply store Sergeant. The Marshal looks up with a start. SERGEANT Did he now? Huh. Anywhere else nearby we can get some supplies Marshal? The Marshal takes off his hat and scratches his head. MARSHAL Conner owns almost every place in town Sergeant. SERGEANT Looks like we may have to start earlier than we expected seeing as how we have limited supplies. (pause) What about water? MARSHAL Water isn’t a problem. SERGEANT Damn, what a horse’s a*s! MARSHAL Don’t you worry none. We’ll get us water and supplies. We just gotta play our hand right is all. 53 INT. SALOON - NIGHT 53 Luke sips whiskey at the bar. He has a bottle of whiskey sitting in front of him on the bar. He slams down the rest of his drink and fills up the glass. LUKE Think I’ll have another Sam. Whatya think o’that. Sam looks up from behind his glasses. SAM Don’t you think you’re sauced up enough there boy? Luke sways back and forth. 56. He shakes his head NO. Conner comes up behind Luke and pats him on the back. CONNER Naw. Give this cowboy another drink on me. In fact, give ‘im another bottle. Luke looks up. LUKE You get the hell away from me Conner. CONNER You’re in my bar. How far you want me to git? Conner puts his arm around Luke. Luke shakes him off. CONNER (CONT’D) Look. Why don’t you let me set you up with one o’ my girls? Huh? LUKE You just don’t get it you scum suckin’ b*****d. CONNER Calm down cowboy. I actually came over here to warn ya. LUKE Warn me ‘bout what? CONNER You better put this whole deputy idea aside fer right now I’m thinkin’. LUKE Oh you’re thinkin’? Luke stands with difficulty and gets in Conner’s face. Conner stands firm and doesn’t flinch. Luke stops. 57. CONNER Yeah. I’m thinkin’ yer gonna stay outta my way or end up takin’ a dirt nap with yer wife and kid. LUKE It’s not me you hafta worry ‘bout Conner. Marshal’s got a whole unit of soldiers out there just waitin’ to take you in. CONNER We’ll see ‘bout that. You just mind yer business and have another drink. LUKE It is my business you dirty rotten piece of s**t! Luke takes a sucker punch at Conner’s gut. Conner bends over in pain but returns an upper cut to Luke’s jaw sending him over the bar. Sam gets out of the way quick. Luke recovers and grabs a whiskey bottle from behind the bar. He throws the bottle at Conner but Conner ducks and Luke hits Deigo in the head and knocks him out. Conner grabs Luke and pulls him back over the bar. He throws Luke onto a table, which shatters. Luke turns over, gets up and cracks a chair over Conner’s head but Conner is ready with a bottle which he uses to knock Luke’s legs out from under him. This time with Luke down, Conner pulls a pistol. CONNER I should kill you now cowboy, but I won’t. LUKE Why not? Why not just end this now? Huh? CONNER Cuz your sincerity amuses me Kincaide. That’s why. LUKE I’m gonna make sure you pay for what you did Cord Conner. Just as sure as the rooster crows. I’ll make you pay. 58. Luke stumbles out of the saloon. Conner laughs as he goes. 54 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - CONTINUOUS 54 Luke stumbles out onto the street and leans on the railings of the saloon. The Marshal and Sergeant ride into town together and see Luke. They ride to him. MARSHAL Luke. What are you doing? Are you alright? LUKE Got into it with Conner in the saloon. Sergeant looks at the Marshal with an “I told you so” expression. MARSHAL We been all through this Luke. This is no time to be startin’ trouble. Are you drunk? LUKE No sir. Luke stumbles and catches himself on the railing again. MARSHAL Are you lyin’? LUKE Aw Marshal. I’m drunk. I’m sorry. I got no excuse. MARSHAL Come meet me at my office Luke. The Marshal looks at the Sergeant and they lead Luke to the Marshal’s office. 55 INT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS 55 When they are inside the office, the Marshal leads Luke to the jail cell. LUKE What the hell are you doin’? 59. MARSHAL I’m lockin’ you up until we catch Conner. LUKE What? On what grounds? MARSHAL Public drunkenness. LUKE Now you know that’s a load of malarkey. The Marshal pushes him into the cell as Luke resists him. The Sergeant helps get Luke secured in his cell. SERGEANT Sleep it off. Then we’ll talk. LUKE I don’t want to sleep it off. Luke is fading fast as soon as he hits the bunk. SERGEANT Looks like you could use some sleep. MARSHAL Mabel and Sarah would not want to see you like this Luke. LUKE They’re not here. I don’t care. Oh God. They’re gone. Luke breaks down and cries. At that, the Marshal and Sergeant leave him there. 56 INT. SALOON - DAY 56 Sally ascends the stairs with concern and KNOCKS lightly on Meg’s door. SALLY Meg? You alright? No answer. Another KNOCK. SALLY (CONT’D) Did he hurt you? Come on Meg. Answer me! 60. Sally opens the door and sees Meg in bed. SALLY (CONT’D) Now Meg. If we all slept all day... Sally touches Meg to wake her and realizes she is dead. She looks around and sees the remnants of the pillow and puts it all together. She turns her over to see the gunshot. Sally recoils, pauses for just a moment, turns and runs into the hallway. 57 HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS 57 SALLY Get the Marshal! Help! Get the Marshal! 58 STAIRWAY 58 Sally runs down the stairs, tripping on her dress just a little and recovering. 59 SALOON 59 Sally runs through the saloon toward the door. SALLY Sam! Meg’s dead! Have you seen the Marshal? We need the Marshal.. SAM What? Meg? Why? I thought.... SALLY I’ve gotta find the Marshal! Sally runs out the front door. 60 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - CONTINUOUS 60 Sally runs into the road and toward the Marshal’s office and as she does, she runs straight into the Marshal and First Sergeant Smith. Sally runs into the Marshal’s arms and collapses into them. 61. MARSHAL Sally? What’s going on? SALLY It’s Meg. Oh my God it’s Meg. Sally is crying uncontrollably. The Marshal comforts her. MARSHAL What happened to Meg? SALLY Oh God Marshal. She’s dead. I think Cord Conner shot her. SERGEANT He shot a woman? SALLY You’ve gotta get him. You’ve just gotta get him before he does any more damage. MARSHAL Cord Conner’s days are numbered Sally. SALLY What should I do? MARSHAL You don’t have to bother yourself with nothin’. Nothin’ at all. Sally buries her head in the Marshal’s chest and cries. MARSHAL (CONT’D) Now Sally, I want you to round up the other girls and hole up upstairs for awhile till we figure this situation out...okay? Sally dries her tears and lifts her head. SALLY Okay Marshal. 61 INT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - DAY 61 Luke lays in his cot in the jail cell. The Marshal sits at his desk. 62. Floyd comes through the front door. He looks at Luke in the cell. FLOYD What happened to Luke? MARSHAL Cord Conner is what happened to ‘im. You know he went out there and shot up his family just as well as I do Floyd. FLOYD Yes, I did hear that. Floyd nervously looks to the ground. MARSHAL So what the hell ya doin’ here Floyd? FLOYD Well Marshal I was gonna offer my services to help. I’m scared of what Cord Conner is doin’ to our town just like the rest. MARSHAL I thought you were runnin’ with Conner now. At least that’s what folks been sayin’. You sayin’ differ’nt Floyd? FLOYD Yes Marshal, I’m fer sure sayin’ differ’nt. And I’m awful sorry all those men was killed at the ranch that night. MARSHAL So your havin’ a change of heart now? FLOYD I am Marshal, I am. The Marshal gets up from the desk and goes around to the front. MARSHAL Floyd. Can I show you sumthin’? FLOYD Sure Marshal, sure. 63. The Marshal walks over to Luke’s cell. He opens the door with the key and motions for Floyd to go inside. FLOYD (CONT’D) You want me to go in there? MARSHAL Yeah. I want you to go on in there. Floyd tentatively walks inside the cell. The Marshal closes the door and locks it with the key. FLOYD Marshal, what gives? You lockin’ me up? Fer what? MARSHAL Participating in a crime caused by Cord Conner and his gang. That means you Floyd. FLOYD But... LUKE You can have the bottom bunk. 62 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY 62 William and Thomas are cleaning rifles. ANDREW and SKIP organize boxes and bags of ammunition. ANDREW I hope we get supplies soon. WILLIAM I don’t think we’ll be here too long. ANDREW How come? WILLIAM I think this Cord Conner has played out his last good hand. THOMAS Ya can’t own a town if you kill all its people. Then ya own nuthin’ I expect. 64. SKIP So this Conner knows that we know about the meeting place at the saloon? WILLIAM Yup. Could be hiding out about anywhere now I s’pose. The Marshal comes riding into the encampment with a weighted down horse. MARSHAL Good day soldiers! I rustled you up some supplies from the general store. The soldiers CHEER and immediately help the Marshal begin to unload supplies from his horse. WILLIAM Marshal. I’m sorry about what happened to that girl. MARSHAL I am too William. I am too. WILLIAM Any word on where we can catch this guy once and for all? MARSHAL Mum’s the word around town. I expect he’s usin’ one o’ the ranches. Sergeant Smith walks up from the direction of his tent. SERGEANT Did you rob the general store? MARSHAL Sure enough if I didn’t. They laugh and the Sergeant helps out the rest. MARSHAL (CONT’D) I’d like you to send a couple of your men back to town with me and I’ll load ‘em up from the well. You’re gonna need water out here. That’s fer sure. 65. SERGEANT I will. I’ll do that. Thank you. 63 EXT. DESERT - OUTSIDE WHISKEY CREEK - DAY 63 Conner rides alone. He rides around the perimeter of the Buffalo Soldier encampment. He sizes up the enemy with a steel gaze. He kicks his horse and heads for Whiskey Creek. 64 INT. JAIL - DAY 64 Luke and Floyd sit on their bunks. Private WILLIS DANIELS sits in a chair, guarding the prisoners. LUKE How come they call you Buffalo Soldiers? DANIELS Indians gave us that name during the wars in the territories. LUKE Huh. DANIELS Guess it stuck. LUKE Uh huh. So what are you fellas gonna do? DANIELS We’re trying to arrest Cord Conner and his gang. LUKE I meant how. How are you gonna do it? FLOYD Yeah, how? LUKE You shut up. 66. DANIELS First things first. They first have to find him. No one seems to have much of an idea where he is. LUKE How about you Floyd? FLOYD Me? Floyd looks down to the floor nervously. LUKE Yeah you Floyd. You know somethin’, don’t ya? Floyd looks around the room and starts whistling nonchalantly. DANIELS Is ‘at true? If you know where this man is, it is your duty to tell me now sir. FLOYD I might know somethin’. Don’t know if it’s important... or not... LUKE Compared ta nuthin’, somethin’ is pretty important... don’t ya think? DANIELS Tell us. We’ll decide if it’s important. 65 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - DAY 65 Conner comes riding into town and ties his horse to a post outside the telegraph office. He goes into the telegraph office straightaway. 66 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY 66 SIX MORE BUFFALO SOLDIERS ride into the encampment. The Marshal and Sergeant see them ride up and meet them. 67. 67 INT. LUKE’S RANCH - LATER 67 HOUSE Conner, Rodrigo, Diego, Ricky and Tom sit at the kitchen table. CONNER It’s time to make this town mine. All mine. Understand ‘at? RODRIGO Seems to me like you already have this town. DIEGO Ya don’t wanna kill ev’rybody do ya? TOM Ya want a ghost town Conner? CONNER Only thing standing b’tween me and the town is Marshal Adams. He’s brought in some men to help him arrest us. As if he could arrest us. RICKY How many? CONNER My estimation? About half a dozen. RODRIGO ‘at’s almost an insult. Six men? We could take those by hand. CONNER I tol’ Floyd we was all gonna be at the old Mitchell ranch. He’ll sing like a bird fer sure. DIEGO Is’at where we are gonna be? CONNER No a*****e. 68 INT. JAIL CELL - NIGHT 68 Luke and Floyd sit up in their bunks in the cell. 68. Daniels sits in a nearby chair with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. LUKE (whispers) So you told them they was gonna be out at the Mitchell Ranch? FLOYD (whispers) I only told what I heard Luke. And they fer sure said the Mitchell Ranch. LUKE (whispers) Yeah but they burned the Mitchell Ranch up. Ain’t nuthin’ left of it. Floyd looks away. Luke looks at Floyd. LUKE (CONT’D) (whispers) They ain’t at the Mitchell Ranch at all are they Floyd. FLOYD (whispers) I don’t know nuthin’ more than I first said. LUKE (whispers) I bettcha they’re hidin’ out at my ranch. The Marshal wants to take Conner to trial but I want that b*****d to pay for what he did to my family. FLOYD (whispers) Not much you can do behind these here bars Luke. Besides Conner’s awful persuasive, I... Luke lunges over to Floyd and grabs him by the shirt collar and pulls it tight, knocking Floyd’s glasses to the ground. 69. LUKE (whispers) Look, you had a hand in this too and you’re helping me with this whether you like it or not. FLOYD (whispers) Looks to me like we’re a little tied up at the moment. LUKE I have an idea. Daniels looks over to Luke and Floyd. DANIELS You two wouldn’t be cookin’ up any trouble would ya? LUKE Us? What could we cook up in here? FLOYD I told ya what I knows a’ready! DANIELS And just as soon as the Marshal comes in here... which should be any time now... I’ll tell him what you said. Fer now. Give it a rest. Would ya? LUKE But we know where they are. You’re a soldier... a private... wanna be an officer one day? A leader? DANIELS Yeah. Your point is? LUKE Take us. Take us to the Mitchell ranch and we’ll take down Conner and his men. You can bring him in yourself. DANIELS Following orders gets you to officer. Disobeying orders gets you discharged. FLOYD Don’t ya wanna be a hero? 70. DANIELS Nope. I mean sure, don’t we all but... LUKE They might be plannin’ an attack of the encampment. DANIELS He wouldn’t dare. LUKE Yeah? I bet he would dare. FLOYD He dared to kill a woman. DANIELS Damn him. How could he ha’ done it? LUKE Come over here for a second. DANIELS Why? LUKE I wanna show you somethin’. Daniels stands up with the jail keys still near his seat. He walks closer to Luke. DANIELS Alright. I’m lookin’. LUKE See this? Luke pulls a small tin out of his pocket and opens it. Daniels looks curiously. DANIELS What? LUKE This is all I have left of my baby girl Private Daniels. DANIELS Conner’s doing? LUKE Yeah Conner. Take a look. 71. As Daniels studies the lock of hair, Floyd reaches behind his back with a bit of wire he pulled from the bedding and quietly snags the key and puts it in his pocket. DANIELS I’m sure sorry. But you rest assured, we will catch the dirty b*****d that killed your daughter. You can mark my words. Luke sees that Floyd has the key secured. LUKE Alright. I trust ya. I know you’ll catch the rat and put him in a cage. Daniels nods with satisfaction and re-takes his seat, not noticing the missing key. Floyd and Luke give each other a knowing look and climb into their bunks. FLOYD Guess it’s time for some shut-eye. Don’t ya think so Luke? LUKE Sure do Floyd. DANIELS Glad you’re seeing it my way. Daniels smiles and closes his eyes. 69 EXT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - EARLY MORNING LIGHT 69 Floyd and Luke slip out the front door unseen. FLOYD I thought he’d never fall asleep. LUKE I thought we might have to sing him a lullaby. They laugh and find Daniels horse tied up in front. LUKE (CONT’D) Where can we get another horse? FLOYD Don’t ask me. 72. Luke mounts the horse. LUKE Get on Floyd. FLOYD With you? LUKE Wanna walk? FLOYD No. LUKE Get on. Floyd gets on behind Luke and they take off toward Luke’s old ranch. 70 INT. JAIL - A WHILE LATER 70 The Marshal and Sergeant stand over a sleeping Daniels with scowls on their faces. SERGEANT Private Daniels! Daniels wakes up with a start and jumps to attention. DANIELS Yes Sergeant! SERGEANT Where are the prisoners? Daniels looks at the empty cell with the door hanging wide open. DANIELS They were there a minute ago Sergeant. The Sergeant gets close to Daniels face. SERGEANT You lost the prisoners? DANIELS I’m sorry Sergeant. I guess I fell asleep. But I don’t know how they got ... 73. The Sergeant sees the key laying on the floor in front of the open door. He picks it up and puts it in Daniels face. SERGEANT The key? Private, are you an idiot? DANIELS Yes Sergeant. SERGEANT Do you have an idea where they went? DANIELS The Mitchell ranch would be my guess Sergeant. SERGEANT Your guess Private? DANIELS They’re lookin’ to get to Conner before we can Sergeant. SERGEANT Conner is at the Mitchell Ranch? DANIELS That’s what they told me. The Marshal turns for the door. MARSHAL Come on. We have to find them before they get themselves killed. The Sergeant follows close behind. DANIELS I’m really sorry Sergeant. What should I do now? SERGEANT Since there are no more prisoners get back to the camp and let Corporal Hayward know we’re gonna need the soldiers ready out at the Mitchell Ranch. If we find Conner, we will arrest him now. But try to stay awake. 74. DANIELS Shouldn’t be a problem Sergeant. I feel rested now. SERGEANT Isn’t that nice. The Sergeant turns and goes with Daniels tagging behind. 71 EXT. LUKE’S RANCH - MORNING 71 Conner stands in front of Luke’s ranch house drinking a cup of coffee with a grin of satisfaction. He walks around the yard and into the barn. He looks up and down the barn and around the side to the ranch land. He walks closer to see the cattle he has stolen. Tom bursts out of the barn like a hot bull. He holds a branding iron with CC. TOM Got the brand set up. It’ll blend with the one they got just fine. CONNER Good. Brand ‘em. Where’s Ricky? TOM Makin’ some eggs he stole from those chickens out back. CONNER Good. I’m hungry. Conner heads for the house. Tom goes back to the barn to begin his branding. 72 EXT. ROAD - MORNING 72 Luke and Floyd ride toward the ranch in the distance. Floyd is holding two rifles on the back of the horse while he bounces up and down trying to hold them steady. FLOYD The Marshal is gonna be mad that we stole these rifles. 75. LUKE Ha. He ain’t gonna be too pleased that we broke outta jail either I expect. FLOYD Boy, are we gonna be in trouble. LUKE Are those rifles loaded up and ready? FLOYD Think so. LUKE You check them. No room for thinkin’ this time. FLOYD I hears ya Luke. But try to stop bouncin’ me like a Mexican jumping bean or I’ll shoot my own self checkin’. Luke slows the pace a little while Floyd checks the rifles. Luke sees Conner come out of the ranch house ahead. He kicks his horse at the sight. Floyd bounces hard on the back and accidentally fires a SHOT into the air. LUKE D****t Floyd. Conner looks toward the sound of the shot. CONNER (to himself) Well just look what we have here. FLOYD Sorry Luke. I told ya. LUKE Hang on. Luke goes all out. He grabs a rifle and takes a pot shot at Conner. Conner laughs and takes cover at the ranch house. He opens the door. Rodrigo, Diego, Ricky, and the Ravens all come out of the ranch house with guns drawn. 76. 73 EXT. MITCHELL RANCH - MORNING 73 The Marshal and the Sergeant search the barn and land on horseback. SERGEANT I don’t see any sign o’ life. MARSHAL Me neither. Burnt to the ground. SERGEANT Isn’t this the place? MARSHAL It was a trick. I know where they are. You ride back and meet up with your regiment. I’ll be at the Kincaide ranch.... It’s down this here road and to the left about a mile. I’d bet my boots that’s where they went. SERGEANT I’ll have your back Marshal. The Sergeant turns and rides back toward Whiskey Creek. The Marshal looks toward the Kincaide ranch and takes a deep sigh. He starts out toward the ranch. 74 EXT. LUKE’S RANCH - LATER 74 Luke and Floyd sit on their horse. Conner and his men surround them. CONNER Well, well Floyd what’s this? You gone off an’ betrayed me? FLOYD I had no choice Cord, they had me locked up! CONNER Yeah, an’ then I bet you coo’d like pigeon, didn’t ya? Conner looks to the others and they LAUGH. RODRIGO He sang like a parakeet in the choir. 77. Rodrigo LAUGHS. Conner gives him a look and he stops laughing. LUKE Just let us be on our way Conner, you done took everything from me already. CONNER But you’s was comin’ out here to kill me. I can just feel it. So why would I let you go? FLOYD No. Luke wasn’t meanin’ no harm Cord. He helped us break outta jail and he just wanted to... CONNER Shut up Floyd! You think I’s born yesterd’y? Get off that horse! You look stupid up ‘ere anyway. Floyd moves to get off the horse and as he does Luke kicks his heels into the horse. The horse jumps up on his hind legs and Floyd falls to the ground. The horse takes off running full speed. They are left in a dust cloud. Conner struggles to get his rifle pointed and fires a shot. Rodrigo and Diego also fire shots. They all look as Luke escapes into the distance. Slowly, they all turn their gaze to Floyd sitting in the flurry of dirt. RANCH ENTRANCE With all eyes on Floyd, the Marshal rides up the back undetected. He sizes up the situation. CONNER (CONT’D) (to Floyd) You see any good reason I shouldn’t blow you apart right now? FLOYD I can think of lots of reasons Cord. Really. CONNER Name one. 78. FLOYD Uh uh.... Well. I’m a little nervous and... CONNER Useless is what you are... ya little coward. Conner lifts his rifle and takes aim at Floyd. The rest of the men watch this and smile and laugh. FLOYD I’ll do anything. CONNER Then shut yer mouth. The Marshal rides hard from the back, shooting his guns into the air and spooking the horses in the circle around Floyd. Floyd runs towards the barn as the Marshal rides directly toward Conner. All guns pointed at the Marshal. Conner and the Marshal face each other. Conner reaches across to draw his gun when Luke comes back from the other direction full out. He points his rifle at Conner from the opposite side as the Marshal. Conner stops. MARSHAL I’m taking you in Cord Conner. Throw down your guns. CONNER Look around you. MARSHAL I see them. Call off your dogs. Do it. CONNER Like hell. MARSHAL Unless you’re thinking you want to meet your maker today. CONNER I don’t think so. LUKE Give the word Marshal. I’ll shoot the sumbitch! 79. Conner quick draws on Luke. He hits his shoulder and Luke falls from his horse. During this disruption, Rodrigo rides behind the Marshal and grabs his rifle. The Marshal chases Rodrigo toward the barn. Rodrigo laughs as he evades the Marshal. Before Luke can get trapped again, he gets up, holding his shoulder wound, and runs toward the house. He makes it to the door and goes inside. Conner and all the men except Rodrigo surround the ranch house with guns or rifles pointed in the same direction. 75 EXT. ROAD - DAY 75 All the Buffalo Soldiers ride together toward the Kincaide ranch with the Sergeant in the lead. The barn of the ranch is visible in the near distance. SERGEANT (to Corporal) That’s the ranch. Let’s go. 76 INT. LUKE’S RANCH - DAY 76 KITCHEN Luke looks around the kitchen for knives or other possible weapons. His rifle sits on the table, open and empty. He finds a hunting knife and positions himself in front of the door. A solid KNOCK. CONNER (O.S.) Anybody in there? Conner laughs. Another KNOCK. Luke stares at the door with determination and his knife ready to defend himself. Conner kicks the door in and enters the kitchen. Luke backs up with the knife in front of him. Conner laughs. 80. CONNER (CONT’D) What’s that supposed to do? LUKE This is my house and I want you out of it. CONNER This is my house now boy. Got ‘at? Luke lunges at Conner with the knife. Conner moves out of the way and Luke falls with the knife. The Ravens and Diego come into the house pistols drawn. JESSE Finally we’re seeing some action round here. They laugh and kick at Luke on the floor. COLE This is the one who’s tryin’ to take us on alone? (to Luke) This isn’t sumthin’ you should take lyin’ down boy. They laugh and kick him again. CONNER Take him to the barn and string him up. JESSE You gonna hang ‘im? CONNER Naw, just let ‘im swing there for awhile. Don’t kill ‘im! Got that? COLE We ain’t takin’ orders from you Conner, we done tol’ ya ‘at already. JESSE Yeah, string ‘im up yerself Conner. Conner stares at the Ravens with piercing eyes. CONNER Diego! String ‘im up. 81. Diego moves towards Luke with a rope. The Ravens LAUGH. JESSE Ya better do what yer jefe’ says amigo. Looks like he’s really got ‘is hooks in ya. The Ravens continue to LAUGH. Diego moves to grab for his pistol. CONNER Diego! Diego stops and continues with Luke. Conner goes out. The Ravens go out and Cole kicks Diego and he loses his balance and falls. They LAUGH again. 77 EXT. RANCH HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER 77 Diego leads Luke by the rope on his wrists and pushes him in front toward the barn. Rodrigo, from horseback, holds the Marshal at gunpoint. Conner approaches the barn. Conner takes a good look at the Marshal. CONNER Looks like you are the only thing standing between me and Whiskey Creek. What do you think o’that? MARSHAL You will never own Whiskey Creek. Not while I’m still breathin’. CONNER Well I can take care o’that. (to Diego) Take this one in the barn with Luke. 82. RODRIGO I’ll take care of the Marshal here Conner. CONNER Be my guest. Rodrigo leads the Marshal behind Luke into the barn. 78 EXT. LUKE’S RANCH - DAY 78 The Buffalo Soldiers ride in and all eyes turn to them. CONNER Well I’ll be damned. (to men) Get them in the barn now! DIEGO What is it Conner? CONNER Those are them damn soldiers! JESSE I thought you said there were only a few of ‘em? COLE You said we could take ‘em Conner? CONNER We can take ‘em. JESSE You ain’t got no army. CONNER Ah they’re used to fightin’ Indians. We’re outlaws. I’m the fastest draw round ‘ere. COLE Yer draw ain’t quick enough for me Conner. JESSE Yeah these Ravens are takin’ flight. CONNER Ya goin’ yella on me boys? 83. COLE Naw. I think we’re goin’ back to Tombstone. This town stinks. JESSE Yeah there’s a stench round ‘ere. CONNER Don’t ya boys want to see the ending. COLE We don’t give a s**t Conner. The Ravens HOOT and HOLLER. They rear up their horses and fire their pistols in the air. They take off like a streak of lightning. The Buffalo Soldiers ride toward the barn on the heels of the Ravens. Tom comes running from the back of the barn with the branding iron still hot. Ricky sees the Buffalo soldiers and hides behind some brush next to the barn - guns ready. The Sergeant rides up to Conner with his regiment behind him. SERGEANT Cord Conner. I am arresting you in the name of the United States Army. I suggest you surrender now. Ricky sizes up the Sergeant. Conner sees him and nods. Ricky comes out shooting at the Sergeant. He hits one of the Buffalo Soldiers behind the Sergeant. The Sergeant quick draws and lays Ricky flat. But not before Tom runs out from the other side of the barn with the iron in one hand and his gun in the other. He runs at Daniels with the iron and catches his leg. Daniels YELLS and shoots him in the chest. Diego comes running out the barn with pistols in both hands firing shots. He jumps on a horse and rides away. The other Soldiers shoot and flank the Sergeant and Daniels. 79 INT. BARN - MOMENTS LATER 79 Conner slips into the barn and takes a position in a horse stall near Rodrigo, Luke and the Marshal. CONNER (whispering to Luke and the Marshal) Don’t think you’re gettin’ lucky this time boys. 84. RODRIGO They already tried to make a run fer it. CONNER They got Ricky and Tom. RODRIGO Those dirty rotten... CONNER Shut up! We gotta come up with sumthin’ quick. They got us surrounded. MARSHAL This is the end of the line Conner. All your boys are either dead or gone. The Sergeant enters the barn with a few Soldiers. SERGEANT Cord Conner I order you and your man to throw your pistols down. Conner grabs the Marshal by the neck and points his gun at his temple. All the soldiers point their rifles at Conner. CONNER You want me yer takin’ the Marshal down with me. I ain’t lettin’ him get out alive. Conner inches towards the back entrance of the barn while he drags the Marshal with him. Rodrigo stands by Luke with his pistol in the back of his pants and his hand on the trigger. SERGEANT Let him go Conner. Floyd emerges from underneath a tarp from one of the stalls and charges Conner. He leaps and jumps on Conner’s back knocking everyone to the ground. The Marshal gets up and starts running towards the Soldiers. Rodrigo sees the Marshal running and pulls his gun from his pants. He takes aim at the Marshal. 85. The Sergeant sees and shoots Rodrigo down. Conner punches Floyd in the face and gets up and runs towards the back entrance again. Daniels comes from the back of the barn and stops Conner in his tracks. He points his rifle at Conner. DANIELS Stop right there. Conner turns in the other direction. The Sergeant is there with a rifle in his face. SERGEANT Think you might want to surrender now? Conner looks around for any way out. Finding none, he puts his hands up in the air and drops his eyes to the floor. 80 INT. MARSHAL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 80 The Marshal and Sergeant sit in the office with the night air blowing through the open door. The Marshal pulls the bottle of whiskey brought by the Lieutenant from his desk drawer along with two whiskey glasses. He pops the bottle and pours. The Sergeant takes his glass. The Marshal sets down the bottle and lifts his glass. MARSHAL To a job well done. SERGEANT Cheers! They drink. The Marshal refills the glasses. MARSHAL Lieutenant Washington fought battles far worse than this one. SERGEANT I remember the days when we answered only to white officers. MARSHAL I’ll tell you this much. You men have surely earned your ranks. 86. Luke and Floyd stumble in the front door. The Marshal and Sergeant draw weapons at the disturbance but quickly see the two drunk allies and put their weapons away and smile. MARSHAL (CONT’D) What are you boys up to? LUKE We wanna be Buffalo Soldiers too. FLOYD Yeah. We wanna be Buffalo Soldiers. The Marshal and Sergeant share a knowing smile and laugh. MARSHAL Well, I don’t know about that, but if you want to take your place as a permanent deputy, well, that’s a possibility. LUKE I wanna take that b*****d to Prescott myself. Luke falls into the desk. CONNER (O.S.) I heard that Kincaide. Don’t think I’ll forget about this. Luke walks back to the jail. JAIL Conner stands up at the bars. Luke gets close but not too close. LUKE How ‘bout you try to escape on the way to Prescott? Huh? Try it. I’d love to see ‘em shoot your a*s dead. CONNER In yer dreams Kincaide. In yer dreams. The Marshal comes into the jail and takes Luke by the shoulder. 87. MARSHAL Come on Luke. It’s over. Come have a drink with us. To celebrate. Luke turns to go. He turns back and glares at Conner one last time. MARSHAL’S OFFICE As the Marshal brings Luke back in, Luke breaks down and cries. FLOYD Come on Luke. Let’s go get some sleep. We’ve got to be rested if we’re gonna be deputies. LUKE I’d kill that devil myself if it’d bring my family back. MARSHAL Party’s over boys. SERGEANT I’d like to thank you both for yer bravery and courage. LUKE Yeah, we didn’t do too bad. Ya’ll really saved us. SERGEANT That’s our job Luke. Luke is clearly falling asleep and Floyd is fading fast. FLOYD Come on Luke. Luke and Floyd help each other out. SERGEANT You have some fine men in this town Marshal. I bet they will make fine deputies. MARSHAL Ones who lost family usually do Sarge. For the better or for the worst, they make good deputies. 88. SERGEANT Let’s have a last drink in honor of Lieutenant Washington. MARSHAL Here here! They drink the last of the whiskey. They both look at the empty bottle. Fade to 81 EXT. MAIN ROAD - WHISKEY CREEK - MORNING 81 The Sergeant brings Conner out of the jail and prepares him for transport. The Buffalo Soldiers are mounted and behind him. Daniels proudly sits on his mount at the front of the regiment. CONNER You’ll never hold me. SERGEANT Don’t bet on it. The Marshal walks out of his office toward the Sergeant. MARSHAL You men have a safe trip. SERGEANT Thank you Marshal. I think we can handle it. The Marshal pulls a bottle of whiskey from his pocket. MARSHAL Make sure the Lieutenant gets this bottle and tell him thanks. SERGEANT I sure will Marshal. You can bet on that. MARSHAL Oh, I’m not a bettin’ man Sarge. I’m an old fashion’d, sure thing kind of guy. They laugh. SERGEANT Sure you are Marshal. Sure you are. 89. (MORE) (to the Corporal) Let’s head out. The Corporal raises his hand and the Buffalo Soldiers head out the Main Road with Conner. The Marshal watches them go in the distance. He looks to the saloon and sees Luke, Floyd, Sally and Sam watching behind the soldiers too. The Marshal nods at them and they wave back. 82 INT. SALOON - DAY 82 INSERT: THREE DAYS LATER Luke, Floyd, Ned, and the Marshal stand together at the bar. Sam is behind the bar. He looks up in surprise towards the door. Boots appear in the doorway. A silhouette of a man stands with the glaring sun at his back. The rest of the men turn around in surprise. The man saunters up to the bar while men watch from behind. THE MAN Whiskey. Bring the bottle. Sam goes to get the whiskey as all eyes are on the man and all jaws are dropped open. THE MAN (CONT’D) You seen Cord Conner ‘round here? SAM Who’s askin’? THE MAN I’m his brother, Carson Conner, from Deadwood. 83 FADE OUT. 83 90. SERGEANT (CONT'D)
© 2015 maroutwest |
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Added on September 30, 2015 Last Updated on September 30, 2015 Tags: western, Arizona, Tombstone, cowboys, Buffalo soldiers, saloons, old west, cattle, rustling, rustlers, water rights, homesteader, homesteading Author
maroutwestLas Vegas, NVAboutI was a playwright. Not much money but four plays were produced successfully. Went to law school. Ok not fun to be an attorney. Have written five screenplays with good contest placements. No sales.. more.. |
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