♪♪ I came to town to search for gold ♪♪
♪♪ And I brought with me a memory ♪♪
♪♪ And I seem to hear the night you cried ♪♪
♪♪ Go hang your dreams on the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ Your dreams of love that can never be ♪♪
♪♪ Never be ♪♪
♪♪ Hang your faded dreams on the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ I searched for gold, and I found my gold ♪♪
♪♪ And I found a girl who loved just me ♪♪
♪♪ And I wished that I could love her, too ♪♪
♪♪ But I'd left my heart on the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ I left my heart with the memory ♪♪
♪♪ The memory ♪♪
♪♪ And a faded dream on the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ Out there were men who craved my gold ♪♪
♪♪ And meant to take my gold from me ♪♪
♪♪ When a man is gone, he needs no gold ♪♪
♪♪ So they carried me to the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ To join my dreams and a memory ♪♪
♪♪ A memory ♪♪
♪♪ Yes, they carried me to the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ To really live, you must almost die ♪♪
♪♪ And it happened just that way with me ♪♪
♪♪ A tree of hope you hope for me ♪♪
♪♪ A tree of love you love for me ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪
Every new mining camp's got to have its hanging tree.
Makes folks feel respectable.
Everything for sale?
I wouldn't sell, except I need me a grubstake.
How about that cabin over there?
That belongs to the fellow down the hill,
runs the general store, but he ain't selling yet.
How much?
How much would you say?
If you left it up to me, I'd say 5 cents.
How about 1,000 in dust or nuggets?
500.
She's worth more than that,
lock, stock, and barrel.
Give you 500 in gold coin.
Come on, let's go.
Hey, I'll throw her in for another $5.00 gold piece.
No, thanks.
Hey, sluice robber!
Hey, I think I got him!
Sluice robber!
- Sluice robber! - sluice robber!
Who was it, frenchy?
Never got a good look.
Keep your eyes open for blood signs.
Sluice robber!
Hey, sluice robber!
Sluice robber!
I...
I don't suppose you would help me.
Sluice robber, why should I?
I'm... bad hurt.
Where's my shirt?
I burned it.
What for? that's the only shirt I got.
If you wore it out of here, they'd hang you.
How does it feel?
Like the devil.
It ought to,
after what I dug out of you.
It leave a big hole?
Yep, but it'll heal.
What's your name?
What's yours?
Dr. Joe frail.
My name's rune.
Rune what?
That's all. just rune.
Where you from?
Where are you from?
Will you stop answering my questions with another question?
Well, stop asking me questions then.
How do you expect to pay me for my professional services?
I can't pay you nothing.
If I had money, would I be dumb enough to Rob a sluice box
and get myself hung?
You think I'm going to doctor and feed you for nothing?
Of course, you could earn your keep.
I could use a manservant.
All gentlemen should have one
to black his boots and swab out the cabin.
You can cook, I hope.
No, and I ain't no servant.
Well, all forms of life can be taught,
even fleas.
Yes, you will be my bond servant
and do as I tell you.
You can go to hell.
Do you know what this is?
It's the bullet I dug out of you.
Unusual caliber.
Even if they didn't see your face,
this would be your Mark for the hanging tree.
How long would I have to work as your servant
before we'd be even?
For as long as I say.
Maybe forever.
If I had let you bleed to death,
you'd be dead forever.
You can start by cleaning this cabin from top to bottom.
Then you go down and pass the word
that Dr. Frail is open for business.
Doctor in town. up on the hill.
There's a doctor up there.
What would we want with a doctor?
That's funny.
You're cute, honey. you are.
How old is he?
New doctor in town.
Doctor in town.
Folks, got a doctor in town.
Up on the hill. open all hours.
Hey, boy.
Boy, what's that doctor's name?
Frail.
Joe frail?
Yeah.
You tell him you saw Tom flaunce.
All right. fine.
Doctor in town.
New doctor in town.
Doctor in town up on the hill.
Doctor up there.
Where is he?
Dr. Frail, up on the hill.
Let me see your teeth.
Oh, my.
Nothing the matter here except malnutrition.
What's that, doc?
Not the right kind of food and not enough of it.
I ain't had luck at the diggings yet, doc.
We eat the best we can.
There's a cow out back.
Take it with you and fatten this child on milk.
I can't pay for no cow.
I'll loan it to you.
Well...
thanks, doc.
How much do we owe you, doctor?
Give me a kiss.
I'm paid.
You're paid.
Who's next?
Now hear me, brethren.
If you bring your sick to the butcher-doctor,
they will die.
His instruments are foul with sin.
If you are sick, come unto me,
and I will lay my hands on you...
and my hands will make you well.
Don't enter that den.
Don't succumb to the black magic of this devil's spawn.
Hello, grubb.
Don't turn your evil eyes on me, Joseph frail.
Brethren, beware!
The Bible says...
here's his Bible.
- Ha ha. - heh heh heh.
Beware of Joseph frail.
He who diggeth the pit
shall fall into it.
Well... who's next?
Me, doc.
Me, remember me?
I was over at alder gulch last year.
Frenchy, are you ailing or looking for a stake?
Got a carbuncle. figure you'd Lance it for me.
It'll cost you 1 ounce of dust or $20 hard money.
Can you pay this time?
Well, I got a little bitty poke.
Come on in.
Got yourself a helper, doc?
That's right.
Drop your pants and bend over the table.
Rune, this is frenchy plante.
Don't ever believe a word he says
and don't let him get behind you in the dark.
Doc is sure a caution, kid.
And a fine doc.
You know what I wish?
Wish I could sling a gun like doc here.
Hold it over the burner.
Ever see him sling a gun, kid?
Hey, doc. I came for a cure, not a killing.
Eee! ooh...
yes, sir, if I could sling a gun like doc,
I'd be the biggest man in Montana territory.
Uhh! doc...
they'd sure back off the street when I come to town.
Kid, it's not ol' frenchy.
It's the doc you got to watch... aaggh!
Oohh!
Whoaah!
Nnhh... to die, doc!
Let's quit.
Nobody's listening.
300.
Society red bets 300.
It's too deep for me.
I can't pay it.
I tap that 300.
Player raises 300.
I call and raise with this gold claim.
Where is it located?
Around the bend.
I'd allow 2,000.
How much of it?
All of it.
Take your time, doc.
Like the man says,
"when the wind blows too hard,
tree's got to bend."
now, wait a minute.
The tree hasn't blown down yet.
Call.
Ace high.
Pair of deuces.
What are you going to do with all that, doc?
Go back to illinois and burn down another house?
I ain't going to slap no leather with you, doc frail.
Bring the money, rune.
What's that about him burning a house down?
You picked that fellow.
He didn't do nothing, and you would've killed him.
Unsaddle my horse and stake him out.
All he said was a house burned down.
Are you going to kill a man for that?
Huh?
Rune.
We're starting a new regime.
We rise at 4:30,
work the claim until 8:30...
and then come back here and take care of patients.
Any questions?
Any questions about my life or my way of life?
No.
Good.
Go unsaddle the horse.
That faith healer wasn't far wrong.
If you ain't the devil,
he's sure sitting on your shoulder.
[gunshots]
Aah!
15,000. take it or leave it.
Take it.
Hey, doc.
There's a fella in town.
He needs you bad.
Stagecoach driver.
He staggered in half dead.
Took three days to get here.
What happened to the passengers?
Coach got held up. all the passengers killed.
All except a lady.
She got lost.
Driver says she was a real looker.
Flaunce, you know these canyons.
Will you lead a posse to find that lady?
Yeah, all right.
You take a posse and track down that road agent.
Hey, coming, doc?
I better stay.
There's the stage driver, and I have patients waiting.
Want to ride with us, kid?
Huh?
I got no horse.
Take mine.
What if I just kept on going?
No matter where you went,
that bullet hole would tell its story.
Which posse you riding with?
I'm going to look for that lost lady.
That figures.
Watch yourself.
I don't want my bond servant crippled.
Don't worry. I'll take good care
of your property and your horse, too.
There it is!
She ain't in here.
Here's something.
Yeah, this is to her.
Name's Elizabeth mahler, from Switzerland.
This is to her father.
Well, he sure can't read it in his grave.
Lord only knows which way she headed from here.
Look, men, we best all fan out
and meet at dusk at stump Meadow.
Now, she's exposed to the sun and these cold nights.
Well, if you find her dead, fire two shots.
If alive, three.
Any luck?
No. how many are still out?
Oh, about a dozen.
All right. we better bed down for the night.
In the stinking country,
you get fried days and froze nights.
At least we got...
blankets and a fire.
And she...
we may find her dead.
You know you're bleeding, son?
Sure. a thornbush done it.
You been with doc frail long?
Not too long.
Have some jerky.
Thanks.
I've, uh, known doc about five years,
ever since the bannock strike.
We do a little business together off and on.
Doc could've had it rich and easy half a dozen times,
but he can't seem to get away from that black bag of his.
Maybe he carries his soul in it.
Yeah, that's good.
What soul he's got.
Once I asked doc about that name of his,
frail.
All he said was...
it suited a man with frail hope.
You knew that wasn't his real name, didn't you?
No, I didn't.
Yeah, he's a peculiar man, doc.
Yeah. he's trying to get himself killed.
He slammed a fellow
just because he asked him about a house burning down.
A wonder doc didn't shoot him.
Why should he have shot him?
There's a story about the doc...
or anyway about a man named temple who was a doctor.
Lived in a town where the Ohio runs into the Mississippi.
Seems this doctor lived in a fine, grand house
on the point that overlooked the joining of the waters.
And something happened to the house one night.
They say a man and a woman were killed...
and the doctor put the torch to the house
and burned it to the ground.
You can still see the burned chimneys
sticking up above the willows where the rivers meet.
[rattling]
See anything?
Rattlesnake.
I don't know. something.
Hey, you like to kill snakes?
I do.
lady.
Hey, l-lady.
lady, I... i got water. I got water, lady.
Here.
Water, lady.
Water.
No, no.
No, no. not so fast, lost lady.
lady.
See, I... I'm going to shoot off a gun, ma'am.
Ma'am.
lady.
lady, don't be scared.
I'm going to shoot off a gun,
and it's... it's a signal to call the other searchers here.
Don't worry. you're going to be all right, ma'am.
That's frenchy's promise.
[horses approaching]
Come here.
Is she alive?
Yeah, but she sure is cooked.
She's cooked good.
Look. come here. look.
Look how she's hanging on to my canteen.
She won't let go. see?
Why, the poor thing ought to be dead.
Yeah.
Ain't much left from the neck up...
but she sure is all woman from there down, eh?
I was only trying to pay her a compliment.
Well, nothing wrong in that.
We better make a litter,
take her to the cabin in stump Meadow.
I'll ride in after doc frail
and pass the word old frenchy found her.
Look, look, look.
And they said she was pretty.
Hey!
the lost lady's found!
[cheering]
Me! I found her!
Me, me! I found her!
At the canyon!
Me! she's alive!
Found the lady, doc!
Come right away. pdq.
I have a patient here.
What's the redhead doing in your place?
Dying.
She didn't want to do it down there where she works.
They're taking the lost lady to stump Meadow.
I'll be over as quick as I can.
You ain't doing the redhead any good, are you?
I guess nobody ever has,
but I'm not leaving her now.
How long will you be?
A couple of hours maybe.
Do you want me to strangle her to hurry it along?
I don't want nothing from you, doc.
Nothing. no, nothing at all.
I done my duty finding her.
You do yours when you feel like it.
Glad you're here, doc.
Let us know how she is, will you?
Well, we took turns watching her.
She didn't move once all night.
Remarkable.
The redhead kick off?
Sure glad you got here, doc.
Do you own this place?
Who put the axle grease on her?
I did.
Good. you did right.
Well, bring the lantern over, rune.
Did it ever occur to you to clean this place up?
[groans]
I'll need clean water.
Collect it from the men's canteens.
So don't worry...
papa.
So don't worry...
she keeps talking to her father.
They killed him in the holdup.
What's her name?
Elizabeth mahler.
Doc, that's my canteen she keeps hanging onto.
[panting]
She's suffering from second-degree burns,
exposure, possible concussion,
and she's been blinded.
Won't she ever see again?
It's hard to tell how deep the burn is.
We'll have to get her out of this filth.
This is not exactly what I'd call a hospital.
Maybe we can borrow this man's wagon.
Doc, uh,
Mrs. Flaunce and I live behind the store now.
We could put her in my place across from yours.
Fine.
O. k. I'll get the wagon.
The men said they'd give all the water they got.
Put it by the stove. we'll have to boil it.
All right. get out of here.
Doc...
I know you're going to be too busy to take care of her,
but I was thinking
that when I'm done with my chores
and she needs somebody to get her dinner,
well, maybe I could get it.
Fine, rune. fine.
Hey.
What's he want with all of that water?
He got to wash her, don't he?
All over?
Aw, it's different with doctors.
They're bringing in the lost lady!
- They're bringing her in! - come on!
I hear tell she's a foreigner.
Is she loose-virtued?
What's that mean?
She's foreign, and she's blind,
and she's burnt bad.
Dr. Frail,
I think my husband acted hastily in offering our cabin.
What if she dies in there?
Hush, Mrs. Flaunce. she's not going to die.
You're going to be all right, miss.
You're all right now.
We're home now.
I don't like this one bit.
Let's get back down to the store.
[groaning]
Close the shutters.
This room must be kept dark.
[sobbing]
Elizabeth...
Elizabeth,
can you understand me?
Your stage was held up. the horses ran away with you.
But you're safe now.
I must go back.
They have hurt my father.
I...
they are killing him!
You must be quiet.
Aah! aah!
Daddy! they are...
[thunder]
I found some more tea.
Add some to the pot.
Sure never heard of putting tea on anybody.
Fool book. it says that "stupor or semiconsciousness
may be induced by a sharp blow on the head."
I learned that the first time I ever fell off a horse.
Why don't they try to learn
what happens inside?
That's where the damage is done.
Bring the lamp.
She's looking kind of human.
You'd think after three days
she'd let go of that canteen.
If you'd gone through what she has,
you wouldn't let go of it either.
She's awake.
Only half awake.
The other half is still somewhere else.
By golly, doc.
I think you can take the canteen now.
But she's got hold of you now, doc.
That's all right.
I'll sit here till she lets go.
Go to bed.
Who are you?
I'm a doctor.
Why are my eyes covered?
You've been badly burned by the sun.
By the sun?
May I see you?
Not yet.
You're temporarily...
remember...
I said you are temporarily blind.
My father...
he's dead, isn't he?
Yes.
He was killed in the holdup.
And it was me he was afraid for.
It's all right.
Where is he buried?
By the road where it happened.
Now I'm going to get you something to eat.
Don't be frightened of being alone.
My cabin is only a few paces away.
Doctor...
doctor, is there a nurse for me, a... a woman?
No.
What am I wearing, doctor?
They sent your trunk with your carpetbag.
I took a nightgown from the trunk.
Thank you.
Don't be disturbed about anything. I'll take care of you.
Morning, rune.
I was just going to call you to breakfast.
Got enough for three?
Sure.
For her? Is she going to be o. k.?
She'll need quiet and protection from strangers.
See if you can rig that up on the porch so she can call us.
[bell clanging]
[cheering]
Is that all to it, Mr. Flaunce?
That's all we got to ship this time.
Skull creek petering out so soon?
Never has been a big strike.
Nobody's ever hit any glory holes here.
Well, good luck.
Hup!
Ho!
Well, good morning, rune.
Where did you get the horse?
Doc took it in on a fee.
Doc sent me in to see if you got them eggs.
Yeah, I got a dozen, and I saved three for you.
How's the lost lady?
She's sitting up for the first time,
but she's still plenty weak.
And still blind?
The doc said she'll be that way for some time.
These are mighty precious this far out.
You tell the lost lady we're all pulling for her, will you?
All right.
That'll be $3.00. you pay the missis.
[ding]
Isn't $3.00 mighty high for eggs?
That's $1.00 apiece.
Those eggs come all the way from sour creek.
I suppose the doctor's busy
with his various practices up there.
Yes'm. thank you.
Well, looks like church.
A few of us women have decided to see about that girl.
If the doc wanted help, he'd ask for it.
She may be the one who needs help.
She's hardly in the hands of a Saint.
Don't stick your nose in where it's not wanted.
If she's decent, she doesn't belong up there,
and if she isn't, we'll soon know.
It was a bad winter.
My mother died that year,
so my father said, "let's go somewhere else...
a place that is new and bright and not ever hungry."
so we came to America.
Oh, this was wonderful.
The steam train to St. Louis,
then the steamboat up the Missouri river,
and then the stagecoaches over mountains
and... through great wide lands.
This was really America.
This was why we had come so far.
"And now," my father said,
"now," he said,
"we must try and find the right place."
did you think that this would be the right place?
When I see again, I'll know.
What you'll see is just a raw, wild little gold camp,
a crawling anthill that can blow away
with the first wind from the next strike,
and you'll see some of the scum of the world.
It's not a place you'd want to live.
Why are you here then,
and... and rune?
Maybe we belong here.
I got no place else to be.
Tell me what rune is like,
and you, Dr. Frail,
what are you like?
Well, rune's kind of cross-eyed,
and he's got two thumbs on each hand.
Doc's got a long gray beard and no teeth.
We're a poorly pair.
I know that's not true.
Rune is very handsome, I know.
I have no picture of Dr. Frail at all.
I only know his hands.
They are brown from the sun and... gentle,
and his legs must be very long,
because... he crosses the room in three steps.
Doc, you got customers or fancy visitors, I don't know which,
and one of them's the landlady.
Well, what have we here?
Four ladies in trouble?
We've come to see miss mahler.
Miss mahler isn't receiving visitors.
Isn't that for her to say?
No. miss mahler's in my care.
Until she's well, she'll remain in my care.
The decent element of this town...
what are you doing, doctor?
I'm aiding your departure.
Unless you're all pregnant and need my services,
I suggest you mind your own business.
Am I a prisoner, rune?
Doc tells everybody what to do.
Joe, fill them up over here, will you?
Don't seem I get no credit from nobody.
You're not getting any credit from me, that's for sure.
I know where I can get it.
[clang]
Rune?
Is someone there?
Just frenchy plante come to pay his respects,
and, uh...
I'm the one that found you out in the wilderness, remember?
I... i was just wondering if you could, uh,
spare my canteen.
I'm sorry. I'm not dressed for callers.
Would you turn away while...
oh, sure, ma'am. sure.
I'm turned.
Hey!
Oh!
You almost fell, lost lady.
Well, I saved you a second time, huh?
If it weren't me that found you,
someone else might have.
Then again, it might have been too late.
I wish there was some way I could thank you.
As a matter of fact, there is.
I was going to ask if you could help me out.
What can I do?
Here. be seated.
That's it.
Now...
it's like this.
I've got this spot all picked out
that looks like it might produce some real color,
if I could just sluice it.
Color?
You're talking about gold?
I'm talking about gold that nobody ever dreamed of in skull creek.
How'd you like to be rich?
I'd love it.
Whoever grubstakes ol' frenchy
is going to be mighty lucky.
Grubstake?
It means you need money, doesn't it?
That's right, lost lady.
I'm afraid I haven't any.
My father was carrying our money.
I would have been happy to lend you some, really.
No. that don't matter.
I just come here on a social call anyway.
But maybe just a little favor, huh?
Like what?
Mr. Plante came for his canteen, doctor.
Yeah.
Here it is.
He has it.
I better be going, ma'am.
Good night, Mr. Plante.
Are you all right, Elizabeth?
Yes.
If you don't need anything,
I have some business to attend to.
[door closes]
Rune!
Fix the warning bell. It's been cut.
From now on, you'll sleep under her stairs.
[piano playing]
Joe.
Yeah.
Stow this behind the bar.
[piano playing stops]
I ain't afraid of you, doc,
but I ain't packing a gun.
I want you all to witness
I ain't packing a gun.
I just paid a visit to the lost lady, and doc's taken offense.
[laughter]
Unslip that razor from off your neck,
and I'll get rid of this gun.
Doc, do you mean you'd, uh...
stoop to dirty your hands on common folk like me?
Yes.
[crowd murmurs]
If I ever find you on that hill again,
it makes no difference if you're wearing a gun or not.
I'll kill you.
Now, you listen.
I warn you again.
That butcher-doctor is the devil,
and you must cast him out!
Looks like the doc's going to keep the little lady
all to himself.
He can't go kicking people around
and not get kicked back.
One of these days.
Did you kill him?
No.
She said he didn't do nothing to her, doc.
I don't care. I don't want any of them near her.
You don't own her!
Is that how it was before,
you tried to own somebody until they hated you?
Go ahead, hit me!
You own me, doc.
Close the shutters.
To avoid shock to your eyes,
we're darkening the room.
Now, sit up and face me.
Light the lamp.
I've removed the outer bandage.
Turn the lamp down a little.
Now I am removing the inner bandage.
Remember, you can't expect immediate vision.
Now there are just the pads over your eyes.
I'm going to soften them with cool water.
Turn the lamp very low, rune.
Now bring it over to my right.
You ready, Elizabeth?
Yes.
Pray for me, doctor.
Hold the lamp higher, rune.
Open your eyes.
Do you see anything?
No.
Move the lamp from right to left.
[footsteps]
Nothing.
Not quite nothing, Elizabeth.
Your eyes are following the lamp now.
Tell me what you see.
Please, lady, try.
I see a little light moving, like in a fog.
A little light?
That's a lot.
That's more than most of us see.
And tomorrow you'll see much more.
I... i cannot see you yet, but...
I love you for everything.
[distant hammering]
[clanging]
[whip cracking loudly]
[stagecoach rumbling]
[pounding]
Aah!
[crying]
Huh? what's wrong?
My eyes... they hurt!
She says her eyes hurt, doc.
It's terrible. they're burning.
[sobbing]
When did this begin?
I went outside, and it got dark again,
and I'm blind again.
I know I'm blind again!
Go to the cabin.
I'm...
blind again.
Let me see your eyes.
No!
Let me see your eyes.
No! no, please.
Suppose we go outside and try again.
Why not?
There was a stagecoach.
I was running away. a man was shooting.
I... I'm blind again! I...
I think your eyes are all right.
Please don't make me.
Take your hands down.
No.
Now, listen to me.
If you keep your eyes closed,
you'll think from the sounds you hear,
the world is falling on you.
But if you open your eyes and look,
you'll see things for what they are.
Now, I'm going to leave you here.
You're standing on the edge of a cliff.
I don't advise you to go through life with your eyes closed.
She's all right.
She's free now.
I thought I told you to go up on the hill.
I told you, I'm not going until you go.
Well, it's going to be quite a wait.
Listen, doc.
She spent all afternoon fixing that supper for us.
You know that.
Give her my apologies
and tell her I'm busy here.
You just can't treat her that way.
It's getting so you're minding my business too much.
Aren't you a little confused about who owns who?
Cards, doc?
Do you want cards?
Yes. cards.
We waited for you.
I'm sorry. I couldn't come.
Are you afraid of me because I'm well now?
No. I-I'm glad you're well.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll say good night.
You shouldn't have come in here.
I know.
Go back to your own cabin.
You're leaving here tomorrow on the eastbound stage.
Stage? where am I going?
New York. back to Switzerland.
Wherever people go when they've come the wrong way.
What would I do there?
You have relatives. there's no one here to look after you.
There's no place for you here, no work.
Why do you do this?
Because you have to go
and because I intend to stay.
Why do you do this?
Don't send me away.
You be packed in the morning,
and I'll take you to the stage.
No, you won't.
And you will not again
tell me what to do and not to do.
I will not take your coach in the morning.
I came to make this my home...
and I will do it.
In six weeks, this could be a ghost town
with no one left in it.
I'll be here.
I'll plant ghosts to eat and raise ghost cattle.
And right here I'll build my ghost house.
With ghost money?
I will get some money.
Somehow I will,
even if it's only to pay you
for your services, doctor.
I'll trouble you for that bullet
you've been holding on me.
Oh, I threw that away a long time ago.
You threw it away?
You mean I've been working for you all this time
and didn't have to?
Looks that way.
I'm free, too?
You're the damnedest contrariest human being I have ever seen.
Rune.
You better keep the old gray, too,
so you and the lady won't be afoot.
Good morning.
How do you do? my name is Elizabeth mahler.
Thank you very much.
Hey, rune. Is that the lost lady?
How do you do? I'm Elizabeth mahler.
Pleased to know you, ma'am.
Thank you very much.
Welcome to skull creek, ma'am.
Thank you very much.
It ain't ladylike to talk to strangers.
They're kind.
They speak to me, and I speak back.
Allow me, lost lady.
We don't need no help.
Thank you very much. I'm glad to meet you.
Come in before you start a riot.
It's a great pleasure, madam.
Good morning.
Are you Mrs. Flaunce?
Yes, I am.
Please, I'd like to talk to your husband.
I'm here, miss mahler.
Thank you. excuse me.
How do you do?
Rune says you were very kind to me when I was found.
Nice to see you up and around.
Thank you.
I would like to... I would like a grubstake.
What's that?
Rune and I are going to dig for gold, and...
I see. um...
isn't it unusual for a lady to go out in the diggings?
I'll be with her.
I'm not afraid of hard work.
Would you lend me a grubstake on this?
It is worth much money. It is a family heirloom.
And, uh, the stones are very unusual.
Yes.
Yes, that's a very interesting piece.
I have a jeweler's glass in the back room.
Mind if I look at it through that?
No, of course not.
Doc, they want a grubstake.
That's what I thought.
Wants to borrow money on this.
She says it's an heirloom.
Looks to me like it's not worth $20.
Well, tell her it's worth whatever they want.
All right, doc, since you're paying for it.
Huh?
Old frenchy wasn't lying, huh?
Now, if you'll give me the money,
I'll start the development work.
We must discuss the agreement.
Uh, well, it's, uh,
kind of embarrassing talking business with a lady,
especially such a pretty lady.
Mr. Plante, you are beating about the tree.
The bush.
All right.
How about 20% of everything we wash out?
I can't be any more generous than that.
I can get a grubstake anytime for, oh, 5, 10%.
Why didn't you?
I don't think 20% will do.
We need... we want 50%.
Now, take it or go with it.
Or leave it.
Yes. or leave it.
50%?
50%.
Just for you, ma'am...
I go with it.
You want to shake on it?
No. we first go to Mr. Flaunce
and write our agreement.
Then we will shake hands. all right?
"It is agreed that should any co-locator
withdraw from sharing in the working of said claim..."
whoa there.
Figured I'd start the sluice up there at the waterfall,
aim her down past the tree and into the creek.
I'll start cutting brush.
Well, lucky lady,
if you'll just set in the shade,
old frenchy will unload the wagon.
I'll do my share of the work,
and you will treat me as a man.
Ahh...
well, that ain't going to be easy.
It will if you find something to do with your hands
beside putting them on me.
Now, you're something, you know that?
That's a fact. you're really something.
Go up and start cutting sluice lumber.
Rune!
Rune, get up there with the water.
Now we're ready to start washing dirt.
Let her come!
Whoo-hoo!
[laughing]
Ahh...
now we can start digging for it.
Now we can tear out the gold
that's been hiding in them hills for a million jillion years!
Yaah!
10 yards of toweling.
Who's having the baby?
Wonder Russell's wife.
Oh.
Well, if I know her, she'll cause trouble.
You better take 12.
Hey, listen. uh...
have you heard anything from up the river?
You aren't getting lonesome, are you, doc?
I just want to know how things are going.
They got the sluice in.
Getting anything out?
Kind of a letdown.
Only, uh, 5 ounces in 3 weeks.
Kind of slim return on your money, isn't it?
Well, it takes time.
They're into your account for over 1,000.
You want me to go on giving her whatever she wants?
Even if it's a bust?
Even if it's a total bust.
Well, doc,
I don't pry into folks' affairs,
but as a businessman,
I don't understand what you're trying to prove.
Well, since I'm not a businessman, Tom,
I don't have to justify my reasons, do I?
Thanks for... thanks for keeping it confidential.
I haven't even told my wife.
I promised wonder I'd sit up with him.
You know, he's more scared than his wife.
It's funny about a man.
It's funny... he lets a woman get such a hold on him.
[baby crying]
Shortest way back, doc,
is over the Ridge and down along the creek.
All right.
Near a solid month,
and not one full poke to show for it.
I never had any luck.
Always been sitting on the outside looking in.
We have to be patient.
Well, Patience is something I'm fresh out of.
Hello, doctor.
I wondered when you'd come to see us.
I had to make a call up the canyon.
Would you like some coffee?
Yes, please.
Thank you.
Doesn't a doctor always say, "how are you feeling"
and "stick out your tongue"?
I can see how you are.
Am I well?
Let me see your hands.
Oh... they're dirty.
Perhaps I should ask how are you?
Are you well?
The next time you're in town,
I'll give you something for your hands.
Thank you, doctor.
"The lucky lady."
is it lucky?
Not yet, but it doesn't hurt to hope.
I suppose rune is fine.
We both miss you, doctor.
What are you doing,
spying on us?
What is there he shouldn't see?
Rune.
Rune, get back to work!
I only own 50% of this hold,
and I sure ain't digging any more than 50% of this dirt.
Why don't we quit?
You can, but if you do,
the claim belongs to rune and me.
That's our agreement.
You want my share, I'll sell cheap.
Why would Mr. Flaunce let me have so much money
if it wasn't a wonderful claim?
Must you always look at a woman like that?
Don't a partner have some rights, huh?
Don't he even get a free look?
I suppose a doctor gets that.
I suppose if you was a doctor,
then you could get an eyeful.
I like that real well.
Wait.
That's better than nothing.
Rune!
Rune, I'm going into town for supplies.
Come with me.
You don't have to go.
There's no panic.
I'll see you tomorrow, frenchy.
After this,
I intend to spend my nights in town
and work the days only.
[crying]
I'm poison, huh?
[sobbing]
Poison, huh?
Just a minute, and I'll get you your change.
Good evening, Mrs. Flaunce.
We are just about out of everything.
I'm sorry to ask you for another advance
on my pin, but...
your pin? your priceless pin?
That pin wasn't worth a sack of potatoes.
I'm sorry. I don't understand what you mean.
I came across your private account this afternoon,
and that pin ain't down for 2 cents.
What do you mean?
Oh, stop the innocent-lady act.
In plain tongue,
doc frail's been paying your way from the start.
Ain't none of us has to ask how you been paying him back.
It's all down in black and white.
$1,119 worth of your being kept...
like any harlot.
Liar.
Stupid female snake.
Why, you ain't even fit to crawl.
Somehow, someway,
I'll pay every cent of it back.
Pay what back?
Mrs. Flaunce said you were keeping me.
She even called me a harlot.
I didn't want that to happen.
I'm sorry.
I could still arrange for you to leave.
You have arranged enough!
What makes you think you can play with people's lives?
It is very cruel the way you draw them to you,
then turn them away if they get too close.
Do you love to torture?
No, I don't.
You do it to rune, you do it to me!
Someday life will do it to you.
How do you know it hasn't?
Then it's true... the story they tell about you
and the woman who killed herself.
Yes, it's true.
The woman was my wife,
and the man was my brother.
And I have no right to forget.
You want to tell me why?
This is tincture of benzoin ointment.
I made it up for your hands.
It'll heal them and toughen them, too.
I'm done.
I'm through.
I can't take this no more.
That nugget you found had to come from someplace.
Yeah. it was probably left here by that flood in the Bible.
[rumbling]
What's that?
Listen!
Did you feel the ground move?
Run! the tree!
[Elizabeth] rune!
Here I am.
Rune!
It's gold.
What is it?
Gold! thousands of them.
The roots of this tree's been hanging onto them forever.
Where are ya?
Sluice box busted clean in two.
Where are ya?
What are you doing in that hole?
Huh?
Look.
It's a glory hole?
Look.
It's a glory hole.
Look, look.
It's a glory hole.
[frenchy] glory hole!
Glory hole!
The lucky lady and me,
we've got it to throw away.
We've got the deepest, biggest glory hole in the territory!
[cheering]
Want to see samples?
- Yeah! - yeah!
Look!
Huh?
Tomorrow...
tomorrow I'll take you there in person.
Tomorrow I'll take you there in person,
but tonight...
tonight frenchy's throwing the biggest party
in the history of the territory!
Oh, we got it!
We got tons of it!
It's coming out of our ears
and out of our socks!
lady luck, rub some of it off on me.
Oh, no. no, rune.
Not these.
I want them to take home with me.
That's all right, partner.
I'm high-grading a couple of big sacks for myself.
You do what you want.
Now, all those in favor of busting this place wide-open,
follow frenchy!
Free drinks for the whole of Montana all night!
Hey, don't give them glasses!
Give them bottles!
Bottles!
Remember last Saturday night, huh?
Remember?
No pay, no play, huh?
What a difference a little gold makes, huh?
Woof!
I still think you should bank it at flaunce's.
I have my reasons. I want it here.
This could be quite a night.
How beautiful.
Now you know why men hunt for it, kill for it.
Yes, I think I do.
You'll never be poor again.
No. never.
I wish doc was here.
Go and get dressed and cleaned up
so we can celebrate.
[shouting]
Burn them stinkin' clothes, huh?
Burn 'em! burn 'em!
Build a bonfire! celebrate!
Frenchy, you ought to see this fire.
Ha ha ha.
Is doc frail around?
Mine caved in up at dry canyon.
Left yesterday.
Caved in, huh?
What we'll do is...
just a kind of a joke, see?
Up at rune's...
wait for us, frenchy!
[flaunce] bucket brigade!
Bucket brigade!
[Mrs. Flaunce] bucket brigade!
Bucket brigade!
Hey, doc, is that you?
Did you hear the big news?
[door closes]
What do you want?
Doc's not back yet.
Just dropped in to wet your tonsils, son.
Thanks, but I'm not drinking.
I'm going to a party.
[shouting]
What's going on?
Party's already started, son.
Brought you flowers.
Heh heh heh.
They're very nice.
I guess you wouldn't want to wear them, not with the roots, huh?
No.
Would you please go outside, frenchy?
Why?
I'll be ready in just a few moments.
Then we'll get rune and go celebrate.
Why go?
You and me are partners.
We can have our party right here.
Right here, huh?
Let's drink first, huh?
Ha ha.
Come to frenchy.
Or do you want frenchy to come to you, huh?
Either way, frenchy is willing.
The butcher's house!
Put a torch to the butcher-doctor's house!
Where's Elizabeth and rune?
They're up on the hill.
That crazy grubb's been screaming to set fire to your place.
No!
Frenchy's waited long enough.
No!
No.
Rune!
Aah!
No!
[Elizabeth moaning]
[struggling]
[hitting]
Murderer!
Butcher!
Lynch him!
Nail him to the tree!
Lynch him!
Rune!
They say this is a real human way to kill you, frail.
The wagon just pulls out from under you...
[snaps fingers]
Simple as that.
Say the word, grubb.
Blood would have blood,
and whosoever sheddeth man's blood
by man shall blood be shed.
Genesis...
9th chapter...
6th verse.
Go back!
You can have our gold.
You can have everything we have.
Rune is my partner.
He agrees.
Please take it.
You have seen it at flaunce's store.
It's so much.
Please take it.
You...
please take it.
You even... you even can have our claim.
Here it is.
You know what this means.
Please take it.
Rune.
You know what?
She's trying to buy her man.
If she wants him that bad,
let her have him.
Frenchy said it's worth a million.
Elizabeth!
♪♪ To really live, you must almost die ♪♪
♪♪ Wah-wah ♪♪
♪♪ And it happened just that way with me ♪♪
♪♪ Wah-wah ♪♪
♪♪ They took the gold ♪♪
♪♪ And set me free ♪♪
♪♪ And I walked away from the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ I walked away from the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ And my own true love ♪♪
♪♪ She walked with me ♪♪
♪♪ Ah-ah ♪♪
♪♪ That's when I knew ♪♪
♪♪ That the hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ Was a tree of life ♪♪
♪♪ New life for me ♪♪
♪♪ Ah-ah ♪♪
♪♪ A tree of hope, new hope for me ♪♪
♪♪ A tree of love, new love for me ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪
♪♪ The hanging tree ♪♪♪♪