3 Bad Men

1  
Gold on Indian land! The
  Sioux tribes were given
  other reservations, and
President Grant set a day
when settlers might race for
possession of the rich lands -

2
In the middle of the seventies,
 ships of hope bore thousands
 of emigrants to seek the
reality of their dreams in
America.

3
Some sought happiness --
  some only the horn of
  plenty -- the chalice of
gold -- the Unholy Grail --

4
And from crowded eastern 
cities, civilization began
pouring the overflow into
the trackless immensity of 
the west.

5
Spring, 1876 --
  Old World blood began
  to fuse with Colonial
strains - and "westward the
course of empire takes its way".

6
In the Black Hills of 
 Dakota, the outriders
 of progress had set up
a trading post at Custer.

7
"Gold! Gold - I'm tellin'
 ye - the mountains is just
 abustin' with it!"

8
"Sorry, Lucas, but we can't 
 touch that land - it's on
 the Sioux Reservation."

9
"Where'd you strike it,
 Lucas?"

10
-- and then came the
eager thud of hoofs and
the creak of wagon wheels.

11
  The start of an empire 
    that was to be com-
    pounded from the 
peoples of the face of 
the earth!

12
Dan O'Malley had
 come from Ireland
 at a smile-a-minute
pace.

13
"All the way from Ireland
  With a Swede named
    Squarehead Joe
 Bound to find Dakota
  And my calico!"

14
"The wheel came off."

15
"Oh, did it?"

16
"Something ought to be 
 done about it."

17
"You must have traveled 
 a lot to know all those 
 things."

18
"I can fix it."

19
"Don't let me stop you."

20
"I'm Major Carleton of
 Virginia, Suh - this is
 my daughter Lee."

21
"My name and address
 is Dan O'Malley."

22
"We're on our way to the 
 Dakota rush - with these 
 race horses."

23
"Sure, an' you'll be needin'
 speed that day! Th'
 Dagoes are askin' Saint
 Anthony for wings --
 an' th' Irish have 'em!"

24
"Come along, Daughter -
 we're more'n a mile
 behind."

25
"Bull" Stanley --
   Who lived day by
   day on pluck, powder
 and providence.

26
Mike Costigan and "Spade"
  Allen weren't exactly
  thieves - but they had a 
habit of finding horses that 
nobody had lost.

27
"Chaw?"

28
"Naw!"

29
"Am I seein' things - or
 is them million wagons
 on the square?"

30
"Pardner - where you-all 
 bound for?"

31
"Sufferin' coyotes - yer
 don't mean t' say you
 ain't heard tell about gold
 in the Dakotas!"

32
"We're goin' to the 
 Dakotas - he may
 be there --"

33
"It ain't gold I'm lookin'
 for - but it's a man jest
 as yeller --"

34
Hundreds of gold-mad 
  men swarmed in
  Custer, awaiting word
to rush for the ore-laden 
lands.

35
Sheriff Layne Hunter,
  running the mushroom
  town with a high hand;
keeping his own lawless gang 
in check by a generous
division of the spoils.

36
"Layne, please don't make 
 me stay in there with 
 those -- women --"

37
"Just for tonight, Millie -
 tomorrow we'll find a
 better place."

38
"A string of race hosses -
 about fifteen miles back -
 an' only two men herdin' 
 them!"

39
"Thoroughbreds!"

40
"Why the low-down
 hoss-thieves!"

41
"Nothin' to it -- our
 business is gettin'
 overcrowded."

42
"I must be goin' blind -
 fired three shots and only
 dropped two of 'em."

43
"By golly - he's a woman!"

44
"Put them hosses back!"

45
Hour by hour, thousand 
  by thousand, the
  stampeders crushed
into Custer as the big 
day neared.

46
Zach Little --
 Editor of the Custer
 "Pathfinder", was
half Scotch and half
seltzer.

47
"They had a lot of trouble
 takin' out Spud Taylor's
 appendix -- they had to
 kill him first."

48
And still they come -
 lured by the magic 
 word -- Gold.

49
"You are a minister of 
 the Gospel, Sir?"

50
"There's a minister in 
 town, Layne -- now
 we can be married!"

51
"Parson - this ain't exactly
 a Sunday School camp -
 but they's some of us
 that'll be d--n glad you
 come along."

52
"Oh, bless these plows -
 that they may make this
 wilderness blossom with
 the glory of God!"

53
"I'm Sheriff Hunter --
 allow me --"

54
"This lady's in my outfit -
 if they's anything she
 needs, I'll 'tend to it!"

55
"Since when did the 
 notorious 'Bull' Stanley
 become so gallant --"

56
"-- and Mike Costigan!
 Every sheriff west of
 the Mississippi has asked
 me to welcome you!"

57
"-- and 'Spade' Allen!
 Been shot at lately for
 card cheating?"

58
"I congratulate you, 
 Miss - on your selection 
 of friends!"

59
"Come along, my 3 Bad
 Men - it's time we were
 making camp."

60
"What you lookin' at -
 hoss face?"

61
"They're dangerous men -
 but I'll take care of 
 them - in my own way!"

62
Just outside the town -
 a camp for the night.

63
"I'm mighty grateful to
 you men for helping 
 me through."

64
"We couldn't see anybody
 robbed."

65
"No sir, not us!"

66
"I'd like to hire you three,
 but I suppose you have 
 business to attend to --"

67
"To tell the truth, miss -
 our business ain't what
 it used to be."

68
"Then you're free --
 for the moment?"

69
"Y-y-yes -- for the 
 moment."

70
"I - I'm afraid I can't
 pay you any wages -
 just yet."

71
"For the time bein', miss -
 I'll work for nothin' --"

72
"-- and I know my
 pardners will!"

73
"Oh, gladly!"

74
"Then you'll be my men?"

75
"Gettin' near Dakota,
  Just rarin' for to go --
Feelin' mighty happy,
  'Cause I've seen my calico!"

76
Morning found a wagon 
 city on the edge of 
 the town.

77
"I'm sorry about - er -
 yesterday, Miss Carleton."

78
"Drunk again!"

79
"So are we!"

80
"It's plumb low-down to
 do a thing like this --
 an' her trustin' us!"

81
"I'm thinkin' three ole 
 terrapins like us ain't
 fit to take care of a
 gal like her --"

82
"What our gal needs is 
 a husband!"

83
"Leave it to us! We'll
 find a marryin' man -
 if we have to shoot him."

84
"So you're back again,
 Lucas?"

85
Husband hunting --

86
"Not a Chink - they get
 shot too easy."

87
"Thirty-two."

88
"Twenty-eight."

89
"I've just reached
 manhood."

90
"Then you'd better reach
 again!"

91
"Sound as a dollar!"

92
"Come on -- you ain't
 safe alone."

93
"If a man's heart is in 
 the right place, it don't
 matter what sex he
 belongs to."

94
Dan sold his outfit
  and joined the
  stampede.

95
"You're mine now --
 Hunter wanted to get 
 rid of you and gave 
 you to me."

96
"Ragamuffins!"

97
"Married?"

98
"Want a job?"

99
"I found a man!"

100
"It's plumb unsafe for
 you to go ridin' alone
 that a-way."

101
"He's the new hired hand."

102
"But, 'Bull' - I don't
 think we need any
 more help."

103
"Not so bad --"

104
"Not so good --"

105
"All right -- he'll do."

106
"Now let nature take 
 its course."

107
"I hope he don't drink -"

108
"-- we don't want no
 soaks around here."

109
"I haven't seen your 
 dad around -- where
 is he?"

110
"Sheriff, some of the better
 element are complaining
 about the way you run
 this town."

111
"Listen, Rabbi - business
 is terrible! Nobody buys
 a new suit even to be
 buried in."

112
Cleanliness is next to
 Godliness -- that's
 why Saturday night
comes before Sunday.

113
"You don't reckon she'll
 be wantin' us to take a 
 bath, do you?"

114
"I'm a little nervous 
 about it."

115
"Guard the tent."

116
"How about three fingers
 of bug juice?"

117
"I'm here in Dakota
   I want the world to know -
 Goin' to get a homestead,
   'Cause I found my calico!"

118
"Do you like that tune, 
 Miss Lee?"

119
"Having a nice time?"

120
"You're goin' to tell me
 how to get that gold!"

121
"Hunter, you've been
 takin' in too much
 territory - now you're
 all through!"

122
"You bungling fool!"

123
"Hunter sent him to make
 me tell the way to the 
 gold land --"

124
"-- my map won't do
 me any good now - but
 it'll take you to where
 there's gold!"

125
  The night before the
    rush - Custer, an
    armed camp - with
"Bull" Stanley leading the
 revolt against Hunter.

126
-- while in the little
church the women pray
for safety, today - Divine
guidance tomorrow --

127
"-- and, as He led the
 Children of Israel into
 the promised land, so He
 will lead us --"

128
Knowing his danger,
 Hunter fans the
 flames of lawless
abandon among his 
followers.

129
"Burn that psalm-singing 
 preacher's shack!"

130
"Brother! Brother!"

131
"Brother! Brother!"

132
"Brother!"

133
"It's gettin' stuffy in here
 with all this smoke and
 love - I'm leavin'!"

134
"We'll sneak across the 
 line tonight and wait."

135
"Millie! Little Sister!"

136
"Millie, who is - the man?"

137
 The Grand Land Rush!
  Morning broke with the 
  clatter of wagons - the
roaring, sweating, cursing,
fighting mob scrambling for 
position in the line.

138
"It's time for you to 
 start, Missy - you've
 got a long, hard ride
 ahead --"

139
"I'm ready when you 
 are, 'Bull'!"

140
"Mike and 'Spade' will
 take care of you -
 I've got to look for -
 someone else."

141
"Please, 'Bull' - I need you."

142
 On the line! Ready for
  the dot of twelve -
  and the race for land 
and gold.

143
Carleton's thoroughbreds -
 sensing the drama of the
 historic trial of speed.

144
"Keep your plow! You'll
 find the real wealth of
 this land in the soil!"

145
"Remember - The Pathfinder
 correspondent must be first on
 the scene - but don't lose me!"

146
"Nobody ever made any 
 speed with a hat like 
 that -- it'll scare the 
 horses."

147
Miles across the line -
 watching - waiting -

148
"We'll wait to see where 
 the Carleton outfit goes -
 then follow."

149
"What time is it?"

150
"One minute to twelve, Sir."

151
"The Carleton crowd
 leading! The Kennedys
 a close second!"

152
"A little Moses --
 lost among the land-
 rushers!"

153
The end of a day of 
 furious riding - the
 Carletons far ahead.

154
"The parson was right,
 Ned; we'll stay right 
 here. This soil is as rich
 as gold."

155
Hunter sights his
   prey --

156
-- and the Carletons
seek escape through a
narrow pass to the gold
country.

157
"You and Miss Lee go
 on ahead - we'll follow 
 along."

158
"Well, pardners - I guess
 us three ole sharpshooters
 is together for the last 
 reunion."

159
"Shucks! One good man
 could hold this pass
 against a whole army of
 men like Hunter."

160
"I said a good man."

161
"Mike, your pants may 
 be shabby, but they cover 
 a warm heart --"

162
"You an' Mike go on -
 I'll stay."

163
"We'll cut high card to
 see who stays!"

164
"All right -- but no
 tricks -- this is a
 gentleman's game."

165
"Why you low down hoss
 thief - you cheated!"

166
"Don't tell the little
 gal -- let her think
 I made it the other 
 way 'round."

167
"Goodbye, 'Spade' -- it's
 a long, long trail --"

168
"Goodbye, Mike - you been
 a good pardner --"

169
"Here - that ought to 
 last ya."

170
"I'll wait here for 'Spade'."

171
"Goodbye, you ole
 son-of-a-gun --"

172
"Adios, amigo!"

173
"Mike and 'Spade' ain't far
 apart by now."

174
"Take care of him - we'll 
 follow the others."

175
"I'll fool 'em - I won't
 die with my boots on."

176
"Hold everythin', gentle-
 men - I want to ask you
 one last riddle - positively
 the last --"

177
"Where was Moses when
 the LIGHT WENT 
 OUT?"

178
"Do you think Mike and
'Spade' are all right?"

179
"And what am I supposed 
 to do -- run like a
 whipped cur?"

180
"Guess maybe Mike and
'Spade' are callin' me --"

181
"Don't ever be afraid o'
 nothin', Missy - because
 the three of us will be
 watchin' over you --"

182
"I've been waitin' for you, 
 Hunter - an' now --"

183
   The years went on -
    the West was won -
    and those who came
for treasure found it in
harvests of golden grain!

184
"BULL!"

185
"Why Stanley Costigan
 Allen O'Malley, where
 are you?"

186
"-- and someday I'll tell
 you of the best 3 Bad 
 Men that ever named
 a baby!"

THE END