who?
why ask me? he's no salesman, that's sure. unless he's peddling dynamite.
ever see a cop with a stiff arm?
like what? a pistol? a stick of t-n- t? to blow up this whole mangy, miserable town! why are you so interested, sam?
i mean, if i was that interested.  . i'd ask him.
you might try the garage at the end of the street.
nothing. i was just wondering what all you people were worrying about. not that i have the slightest idea.
i hold no truck with silence. i got nothing to hide.
nothing, man. it's just, you worry about the stranger only if you look at him.  . from a certain aspect.
with the innocence of a fresh-laid egg.
hey!
now what do you know? mr. macreedy seems to be heading for the jail. now what do you suppose he'd want to see the sheriff about?
i don't laugh, tim.
cut it out, tim.
in the name of well-adjusted manhood, snap out of it. you're going to get a complex or something.
what could you have found out? they told you a story. you had to believe it.
i don't know. i lead a quiet, contemplative life.
i don't know. i've never been able to find one for myself.
only one thing -- don't quit, tim.
maybe this feller macreedy has the prescription.
hi. pull up a chair.
help yourself. you know, you're one of the few people who's ever been back here i can say that to.
it's 4-2-4.
if i've got you pegged -- and i think i have -- you're calling the state police. but if i was you -- and i'm purely glad i'm not -- i'd look it up myself. i wouldn't trust anybody around here, including me.
i know -- don't tell me -- lines all busy. they'll be busy all day.
like what?
everybody is -- and i get 'em coming and going.
first i sell 'em a piece of land. think they farm it? nope. they dig for gold.
they rip off the top soil of ten winding hills. they sprint in here, fog-heaved with excitement, lugging nuggets, big and bright and shiny.
is it gold?
it is not! do they quit? they do not!
then they decide to farm. farm! in country so dry you have to prime a man before he can spit, and before you can say "fat sam" they're stalled, stranded and starving. they get weevil- brained and buttsprung.
so i bury 'em. but why should i bore you with my triumphs?
they're going to kill you with no hard feelings.
don't get waspish with me, young feller.
i feel for you, but i'm consumed with apathy. why should i mix in?
i got enough trouble saving my own. i try to live right and drink my orange juice every day. but mostly i try to mind my own business. which is something i'd advise you to do.
you can still get out of town. and you'd better get out like a whisper.
i got sort of a limousine at your disposal.
out back.
something wrong?
they'll wait at least till dark. they'd be afraid to see each other's faces.
where are you going?
that's no good. you stray ten yards off main street, and you'll be stone, cold dead. that's the situation, in a nut.
do the nice little things, like keep your big fat nose out of my business.
i'm sorry, son. you got to admit, i tried.
maybe what?
you tried the phone, didn't you? you know what happened, don't you?
i hope you'll be seeing me.
man.  man-oh-man.
in case you're interested, coley'll live. i'm truly sorry to say.
yeah. he's wicked. he defends himself when he's attacked.
well? you going to just sit here and let time run out?
you sent it through hastings? just don't expect an answer, if that's the way you sent it.
you warty wretch! that's a federal offense!
you can't do that!
it's all right, tim. we're not licked yet.
there comes a time, tim, when a man's just got to do something.
no man is useless, if he's got a friend.
i'm your friend, tim.
he's going to need you before the night is over.
and all the useful men are on the other side.
i can't let you alone! i can't let myself alone! don't you understand that? four years ago something terrible happened here. we did nothing about it. nothing. the whole town fell into a sort of settled melancholy, and the people in it closed their eyes and held their tongues and failed the test with a whimper.
now something terrible is going to happen again, and in a way we're lucky because we've been given a second chance. and this time i won't close my eyes, i won't hold my tongue, and if i'm needed i won't fail. and neither will you!
there's a difference between clinging to the earth.  . and crawling on it. you going to stand by and watch forever?
there's too many smart guys around here. i'm glad i'm a dummy.
i expect to be in a lot more trouble before i die.
i thought you were going to los angeles, that hot-bed of pomp and vanity. is that resigning from the human race?
why?
why?
are you going to tell him -- or you want me to? smith owns adobe flat. he leased it to komako -- thought he had cheated him, thought komako could never even run stock without water. there was never any water on adobe flat. komako dug a well, by hand. he must have went down one hundred and fifty feet.
that's an understatement.
his son? nobody around here knew he had a son.
what are you doing here, mr. macreedy?
take it easy, macreedy. sit down.
what are you doing?
it's all right, macreedy.
old tim here's got his badge back.
nothing. only.  about that medal. can we have it?
we. us.
well, we need it, i guess. it's something we can maybe build on. this town is wrecked, just as bad as if it was bombed out. maybe it can come back.
that medal would help.
thanks, macreedy. thanks for everything.