Dead for a Dollar

Give it up, Frank!

Joe Cribbens.

Joe Cribbens!

Visitor!

Well, goddamn. Hard to figure who I'd less rather see.

What brings a skunk like you here?

I was in the neighborhood collecting reward money.

Thought I'd pay you a visit.

Yeah. Heard you took down Frank Ledbetter last week.

We get all the news in here.

You'd be surprised.

How much you gonna collect for old Frank?

Friend of yours?

Never met the man,

but I was on his side.

Okay, bounty man.

Did you give him much of a chance?

Same chance he gave me.

Give it up, Frank!

Right.

Just another fella dead for a dollar.

I figure you know, I'm getting out of here next week.

Served my time. All five years.

I heard you've been telling people

first thing you were gonna do when you walk out of here

is get a gun and look me up.

Don't flatter yourself.

I'm not going out of my way to find you.

I'm going to head down to Mexico.

Just... play out the string.

Cards, tequila, señoritas...

No matter where you're headed,

you'll still end up the same.

Horse thief.

Guilty.

Bank robber.

Couldn't prove it.

Killed a couple of men.

Couldn't prove it, and I never killed nobody

that wasn't trying to kill me.

When you took me down, I was sleeping.

It wasn't a real fight.

I just... woke up with a gun in my face.

Stay clear of me, Joe.

You do the same!

Otherwise, most likely, you're a dead man.

I don't usually tell a man twice. Stay clear of me, Joe.

Shit heel.

Prisoner number 387, Joe Cribbens.

Your paperwork came in the afternoon mail.

Tomorrow morning 10 o'clock,

you get your possessions back and a government check for 50 dollars.

Good luck to you, Joe.

Yes, sir.

Yip!

Take a last look.

Captain Brand. Rider approaching, sir.

Good morning. Let me take care of your horse.

- Max Borlund. - Follow us.

Sir. Mr. Borlund, sir.

As you were, corporal.

Mr. Borlund.

It's good to see you again.

- It's been some time. - It has.

This is Martin Kidd.

He could stand to use your services.

Mr. Kidd is a prominent businessman here

in the territory, and a friend to the army.

Mr. Borlund, it seems your reputation precedes you.

I'll accept that as a compliment.

Gentlemen, this is a clandestine moment

and a meeting that never happened.

That's why I've convened it out here in the middle of nowhere.

I'll let you two get down to business.

Um, Mr. Borlund, I doubt that you're familiar

with a buffalo soldier by the name of Elijah Jones?

Private Elijah Jones? No?

Right, he's taken a White woman, my wife, Rachel.

Abducted her three weeks ago,

took her across the border down to Mexico.

I sent out patrols, thought we could head 'em off,

find 'em before they got to the border. We missed 'em.

Alright, so, son of a bitch is asking for $10,000

in ransom money, which I will not pay.

I do not reward criminals, but I am willing to offer you

$2,000 to bring Rachel back.

$500 advance.

This will help you identify Rachel.

Captain Brand there has a document stating

that you are a representative of the United States government

and you're in pursuit of Elijah, in case you run into any

legal problems down in Mexico.

Well, three weeks head start...

I need supplies, a pack mule, ammunition.

Discretion in this matter, that's of paramount importance.

It's my wife's reputation to consider.

As well as my own.

Sergeant Poe!

Off the books, we're sending one soldier to accompany you.

Sir! Mr. Borlund, as ordered by the captain,

Sergeant Alonzo Poe reporting for duty, sir!

Make sure he dresses civilian.

Things need to look proper.

Don't want you two to travel together

until you're both south of the border.

- Yes, Sergeant? - Sir, yes, sir!

Well, well...

Here comes the bounty man.

Captain say he the best shooter in the territory, rifle or pistol.

Sergeant Poe.

Mr. Borlund, sir.

The captain tells me you're gonna be a very

valuable man on this trip.

I just want to say if things get tight,

I'm a damn good shot. Best eye in the regiment.

Captain also says

you have an idea where Mrs. Kidd and this Elijah Jones may be.

Oh, I know exactly where.

Got the map right here.

Can't do much better than that, now can you?

Shows you right to where they're hiding out.

Now, this here map was given to me

by Private Elijah Jones himself.

Private Jones just hands out maps

of where he's gonna be after he deserts the army

and abducts a White woman? Let me see this map.

According to this, they're deep into Chihuahua.

Mm-hmm. That sounds about right.

Elijah said it was a fair piece.

Look, normally we'd head straight to San Juanito.

It's the best road south.

Start asking if anyone's seen a Black man travelling

with a White woman, but if he abducted her,

he'd avoid showing up in cities.

No. He run off, damn foolish, but...

Well, Elijah didn't abduct nobody.

That's not what I've been told.

Let me tell you about Elijah.

Like all of God's children, he's got his faults.

But in a lot of ways, he's a really good fella.

I know these is delicate matters, but I gotta say,

if she with Elijah, it's 'cause she wanna be.

Sounds like you're defending him.

Private Elijah Jones was expecting me to join up with him.

Gave me the map so I could find the way.

Now, I'm the one who's supposed to deliver the ransom money.

That's why I truly do believe they are holed up

in the middle of nowhere at an American fella's place,

named Hannon.

There's a Hannon that's a wanted man in Texas.

The poster's been up for five years.

Accomplice to murder, with bank robbery in El Paso.

- Do you know this woman? - Uh-uhm.

Ain't never met her.

She helped improve Elijah's reading in the school.

At least that's what he told me.

Yeah, is this the face that launched a thousand ships?

You wanna run that by me one more time?

Ah, it's a line by Marlowe, Shakespeare's time,

you know, about Helen of Troy.

All right, right, right, I was just reading all about that just the other day.

- You trust that map? - Mm-hmm.

And they're holed up down there

waiting for the money that I ain't bringing.

Ooh! Yes, sir!

I guess you wanna know my story too, huh?

- Not necessarily. - Oh, come on, now, Mr. Borlund.

A little friendly talk do help the time pass by, ain't that true?

- Thanks. - You want me to call you Max?

I think Mr. Borlund will do just fine.

Mr. Borlund it is.

See now, the thing with Elijah here is real simple.

He wasn't an army man.

See, where I come from, a new bed,

clean clothes, a good horse, and three square meals a day

sounded like a mighty fine deal.

I joined up in the army when I was 17.

The captain, he filled me in about you too now, sir.

Captain say you either a Dutchman, or a Swede, or a...

a German or something such.

Captain say you used to be a soldier some time way back.

Ain't too sure about which army, though.

- Mm-hmm. - Mind telling me?

Is you a Dutchman or a Swede? Whatever?

Not at all. I'm an American.

You know, uh...

You've been acting real jumpy the last few days.

I've come to realize...

my whole life, I've done impulsive things.

They don't always work out.

Got a reserve of 20 bullets.

I'm gonna use another five to practice.

I keep being told this is a dangerous country.

I'll never give them the pleasure of watching me cry.

Good. Yeah, I like that.

We did what we done.

And we just sayin’ to all of them,

"Piss upon ya."

"Go straight to hell."

I was sent here by Tiberio because my English is good.