Why don't you mind your own business?
I've got to admit it was bad coffee.
Here.
Thanks.
The marshal is not one of your favorite people?
You don't know it yet, mister,
but you're just one tiny little bug
in Joe Bob's great big trap.
All right,
we don't run a chain gang around here.
But you prisoners are expected
to do a good day's work.
Now, there is only one thing
that I want to emphasize.
This park
is a very important project to me.
Someday the statue of the governor
of this state is going to sit on this block.
Now, this park is located
at Lookout Point
right at the top of our dear state so, naturally,
we want the park to be
a fitting tribute to the statue that will fit in.
Floyd, you take these two.
Put them to work.
Neely, get back in the car.
You and me are going down to the bottom of Lookout Point.
All right, bring those wheelbarrows over here.
Make a hole about right there.
Clark, right here.
All right, now put it down.
Neely, you get up front with me.
Neely, you really are something. You know that?
Calling me names,
creating all that fuss in front of your sister.
What am I going to do with you, boy?
Funning around with all the pretty young girls
in town making us old men feel jealous.
I ask you. What am I going to do with you?
I guess I'm just going to have to teach you a lesson,
ain't that right, Neely?
Get out.
I've decided there are too many rocks on this road.
You're going to pick them all up one at a time.
Get out. Now move.
Let's go, ladies man!
There's plenty of rocks there.
You just bend over, boy, you'll find them.
Let's pick up the speed out there, boy.
Let's go, Neely.
Excuse me, Neely.
I thought you could use it, son.
Let's get it done faster, boy!
When you're through, Fred,
just park it in front of the jail.
Don't forget, boy, I want one of those tinted windshields.
Oh, I don't know, Mr. Mayor,
I can't tell you how bad it makes me feel
to run down a youngster like Neely,
even if it was an accident.
He was a wild, reckless kid.
No one blames you for what happened.
That's kind of you, Mr. Mayor.
I hate to bring this up, Joe Bob,
but you might as well know it now as later.
Coroner's coming down from the county seat
to hold a hearing on Neely's death.
A hearing?
It's just a formality, I'm sure of that.
But you are a law officer involved in the death
of a prisoner.
Now, this whole town is behind you, Joe Bob.
Well, I sure appreciate that, sir.
If something else comes in on the hearing,
I'll let you know.
You do that, Mr. Mayor.
Thank you, sir.
See you.
Take off, Floyd. I'll keep an eye on things.
Any trouble? No, sir. That, uh-
That drunk doesn't do much more than eat and sleep.
That other fellow, Clark, he's a-
He's a quiet one.
By the way, Floyd,
I've got to make a report on that accident.
You sure nobody saw it?
No, sir. Uh-
One man was working down by the gate.
I know that for sure.
And I remember I sent, uh, Clark over to pick up
some new trees to plant, but he wasn't gone
for more than a few minutes.
Aren't those new trees we had stacked over by Lookout Point?
Yes, sir.
Go to supper, Floyd.
Oh, almost forgot,
Judge Wilkins suspended sentence on Clark.
I'll take care of the release.
Sure you don't want me to help you?
You go to supper, boy.
You take a extra half hour while you're doing it.
All right.
Marshal, wait a minute.
You know, marshal, I'll, uh-
I'll walk, that's all right.
Now, since I got your sentence suspended,
it's not going to be much trouble to escort you
to the city limits.
You sit in the car and wait.
Evening, Mr. Mayor.
You know I said I would let you know if anything happened.
Well, I had a call from the coroner.
The hearing is set for next Tuesday.
I don't anticipate any trouble.
I want you to know, they'll hear nothing but the best from me.
Be truthful, Mr. Mayor,
I'm counting on that.
Oh, by the way, Joe Bob,
do you remember my son, Billy?
The best tackle I ever busted heads with in high school.
Well, Billy's having some trouble with his job back East.
I'm sending money each month
but it's a big drain on the savings account.
If I could just get him situated in something closer.
There going to be a good job open right here in town
in about a month.
You mean yours?
Somebody's got to take it when I get that appointment.
What about Floyd?
Well, Mr. Mayor,
you and I have done a little back scratching
for each other.
Now, Floyd is young and inexperienced.
From all I hear about Billy,
he's a good family man and all that.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him for the job.
Thank you, Joe Bob.
I'll write Billy tonight and let him know.
That's fine, but I wouldn't spread it around town just yet.
Not until after I get the appointment.
Of course not.
Goodnight, Joe Bob. Thanks again.
Glad to be of help, Mr. Mayor.
There's a lot of road straight ahead
and it's all one way
out of town.
Don't lose your direction.
You're the man who called?
My name is Clark.
Come in, Mr. Clark.
Sit down.
I don't know whether you remember me.
I was a prisoner in the same cell with your brother.
Yes, I remember.
When you called you said you were leaving town.
I was but I didn't think I should leave
before I told you something.
Go on.
I was at Apache Park yesterday.
Then you saw the accident.
It wasn't an accident.
What?
I saw the marshal push your brother
into throwing that rock
and then deliberately ran him down with the car.
You're saying Joe Bob murdered my brother?
Yes.
Who are you going to call? The marshal?
He's the one who did it.
Ms. Hollister, I'm a vagrant in this town.
My word means nothing.
Thelma?
Thelma.
It's my father. He's sick.
I-I've got to go to him.
Would you wait?
Please wait.
Thelma, who's out there?
Well, it was a man who knows Neely.
His name is Clark.
Clark?
Clark? I don't recall any friend
of Neely's named Clark.
Well, he was a prisoner at the jail.
He's come to tell us something-
Something about what happened.
Well, bring him in.
M-
Yes, sir, I und-
I- I understand, sir,
but you should call the marshal's office.
This is the Highway Patrol.
All right, all right, sir.
That name was Clark?
That's right. Richard Clark.
Father, please don't.
Thelma, I'm going to keep that man in town
if I have to chain him here.
Joe Bob's not going to get away-
Yes, sir, yes, sir, I'm here.
Like I said, he stole some money.
Your name and address?
Right, we'll get on it.
Goodbye.
This is Highway Patrol 3
calling A-14-J in Bixton.
Come in please.
Hey, there, Highway Patrol 3.
This is A-14-J.
What's the word, Pete old buddy?
Excuse me.
I wonder if you would mind giving me a lift.
I'm a good driver in case you get sleepy.
Oh, I never let anybody drive my car.
But I- I guess you can have a ride.
Go on, get in.
Thank you.
Say, the-
The gauge said it could take a little more.
You sure it's full?
I'll check.
Please.
All right, sir.
Oh, did you check the tires?
Yes, sir.
That was 24 in the back,
28 in the front.
Right. And the water and oil?
Water and oil is fine.
Battery okay?
Oh, I didn't check the battery.
Well, would you, please?
Right.
All right, that's, uh, 5.50 sir.
Right, now, here's a 20,
and, uh, I'd like some change back
in dimes and nickels please.
Dimes and nickels, okay.
See, I- I'm going to visit some friends,
and they have children,
and they like to have that change.
That's 60, 70, 80, 90,
six, seven, eight, nine,
ten and ten is 20, and thank you, sir.
You just made a bad mistake, mister.
Get out.
You stirred up a hornet's nest, mister, you know that?
Old man Hollister called the State Police,
told them you stole some money from him.
Now, me, I got a different idea.
I don't figure you're crazy enough
to come back to this town for a few dollars.
I wanna know the real reason.
When a man is broke,
he tries things.
You- You just happened to pick the Hollister house,
is that right?
Well, the kid, Neely, told me he had some money hidden
from that store he robbed.
Empty out your pockets on that bunk.
Let's go.
Twenty.
There's $25.
Old man Hollister said you stole 100.
Well, it was dark. I was running.
I guess I...
I fell. Must have lost some of it.
That's too bad, boy.
Now can you tell me why Neely told you
about all that money he hid
when he just stole $4 from the store?
Joe Bob. Yeah.
Mr. Hollister and Thelma are here.
They said they want to see Clark
before they sign a complaint.
Sure.
Why not?
Thelma, Mr. Hollister,
I can't tell you how sorry I am about what happened.
Thank you. We can understand how you must feel.
I suppose you just came
to make sure of your identification.
We wanna talk to him.
That's a little unusual, isn't it?
Well, he was here when Neely was.
Is it against the law to try
and find out something Neely might have said bef-?
It is after visiting hours, Thelma,
but I guess you do have the right.
I'll just stand here
and make sure he doesn't try anything.
We'd like to talk to him alone.
Well, it's your privilege.
Thelma told me what you said.
Is it true?
Yes.
And you were willing to turn your back and leave town?
I had to.
What about my boy?
I know what you think of me.
But I'm not just some hitchhiker passing through town.
I'm wanted by the police back East.
So, you see, if I-
If I stay around for the hearing there
could be pictures and publicity,
and you know what that could mean to me.
All right, that's enough.
Now let's get some water on them.
Not you, Clark. Him.
You can just stay right here where I can keep an eye on you.
Buckets are over there.
Go fill them up and bring them back.
You a friend of the Hollisters?
Better not even mention that name, partner.
I didn't steal their money.
Mr. Hollister has a different version.
Well, he wants to keep me in town for the hearing.
What are you talking about?
I saw the marshal kill Neely Hollister.
It wasn't an accident.
All right, knock it off, Clark.
You know when you sent me out to Lookout Point
to get those trees?
I saw the whole thing.
The marshal was pushing Neely down the road
with the bumper of his car.
Neely made a run for it and the marshal
ran him down in cold blood.
That's why Mr. Hollister wants me here,
to testify.
Mr. Hollister would have said something to me.
Not if he thought you would tell the marshal.
Well, it looks like you're going to get a chance
to prove your little story.
Look, he killed one man.
What's to stop him from killing another?
I'm the only one who can testify against him.
Get back to work.
Oh, boy, I'm sorry I took so long.
You know Fred Deevers?
Coroner's man, he starts talking and- Whew.
Joe Bob, uh-
Listen, if you'd like to see something interesting,
just take a little look at that.
Killed his wife?
Bugging those cells wasn't such a bad idea, was it?
I heard him talking to the other prisoner.
I decided to check it out.
You know what he just tried to do, Joe Bob?
Convince me that you killed Neely on purpose.
Come on, old buddy, you've got to be kidding.
No, sir. He built up quite a story.
You didn't believe him, did you, Floyd?
Of course I didn't believe him.
Now don't let it bother you, Floyd.
A wife killer will say anything
to try to take the heat off of him.
Now, you go get yourself a nice,
cool drink of water, boy.
I'll keep an eye on him.
What-?
You stay right there.
What's the trouble, Floyd?
Looks like all that alcohol is boiling out of him.
Well, maybe we ought to get him into town to a doctor.
You want to call it a day with him too?
Well, you take him on in, Floyd.
We'll let this one finish his painting.
You, uh, sure you don't want me
to come back later?
Floyd, if I can't watch over one little prisoner,
I had better hand in my badge, hadn't I?
I'll, uh, see you back in town.
Lock that gate, Floyd, when you go past.
It's just banging itself to death.
There's some trees need to be planted over there
by Lookout Point.
You about ready, Kimble?
Get going.
Thelma, come on in.
Floyd, I want to see Marshal Sims.
Well, he's not in.
I wanna withdraw the complaint against Mr. Clark.
Why?
Because he didn't do anything except try to help.
He told you that wild story, didn't he?
About Joe Bob and Neely?
But I don't think it's a wild story.
Thelma, I know how hard this has been on you and your father.
And I know how you've always disliked Joe Bob.
But that's no reason to start grabbing at straws.
They're not straws. Now, let me tell you something.
We put a trace on Mr. Clark.
You know who he really is?
A man named Kimble.
He's wanted for murdering his wife.
Well- Well, he told me he
was in some kind of trouble.
Some kind? They don't make trouble worse than murder.
Well, I- I'm sorry, Floyd. But-
Whatever he's done, I don't believe he lied to me.
Look, Thelma,
Joe Bob is a respected man in this town.
And he's promised to hand over this whole thing to me someday,
marshal's badge and all.
Look, with that kind of money-
Well, I always thought you and me maybe someday could-
I know. I-I know, Floyd. But-
But right now, I want to speak to Mr. Clark.
You can't.
He's out at Apache Park.
You mean with Joe Bob?
They'll be back after a while.
Floyd, what if Mr. Clark is telling the truth?
But he's not telling the truth, Thelma.
But if he is
and Joe Bob knows it?
Dump those rocks over the point there.
Ooh, that's a long way down, ain't it?
I think we better dig this big one out.
You know, something, Kimble?
You're my ticket to the state capitol.
Yes, sir.
When I bring in a hotshot fugitive like you,
they're liable to give me a medal.
Course, it's very enjoyable right now watching
a wife killer earn his wages.
Oh, there's a telephone call for me
waiting in my office from Stafford, Indiana.
You happen to know a fellow by the name
of Lieutenant Philip Gerard?
Well, if you're in a hurry to get to the electric chair,
I could go make the call right now.
You can't cut through rock with a shovel.
You have to lift that up.
It's too big.
What's the matter, boy?
Killing women make you weak?
Stand aside.
You stand over there.
I think maybe you're going to have to slip
the shovel under the edge of the rock.
Come on, get that shovel under there.
Let's go.
Joe Bob!
Let's take him on in.
Floyd, old boy,
I almost let this customer get away from me.
How did you find us?
We were on our way to Apache Park
and we heard the shot.
I found out you had taken your deer rifle out of the rack, I-
I thought you had gone hunting.
You don't use it for anything else, do you, Joe Bob?
A gopher's been tearing up the park lately, Floyd.
Took the rifle along in case I saw one.
Come on down. I can cover him from here.
No, Floyd.
You take Thelma, get on out of here.
We can't tell about this one.
I'll meet you back at the park.
If it's all the same to you, Joe Bob, I'll-
I'll stay here with you.
Floyd, listen, boy,
I've had a long, hard day.
Now, don't you try my patience.
If you've got any idea of being marshal someday,
you do like you're told!
Floyd!
Ask him what he promised the mayor.
Shut up, Kimble!
Let him tell you about the deal he made
to give your job to the mayor's son.
I said shut up, Kimble!
What's he talking about, Joe Bob?
How should I know?
He's lying.
Whose word do you take, his or mine?
Did you make some kind of a deal with the mayor, Joe Bob?
Why should I, Floyd?
Because he needs his help at the hearing.
This whole town's behind me!
Not after they find out you killed Neely Hollister.
Don't do it, Joe Bob!
I think he'll be all right.
What difference could it make to a man like you?
When I get to the highway, I'll phone for help.
Just- Just go away.
Go away and leave us alone.
In the aftermath of violence,
there must always come a moment of peace.
A time for healing
and a time to restore the delicate balance
of life versus death.
But, for a fugitive,
there can be no moment of peace.
He must travel the road of the hunted.
And for Richard Kimble,
that road apparently has no end.