there are four women in the two-seated surrey, which is heavily loaded with trunks, hatboxes, etc. mary wells, the loveliest of the four, is driving. she is more poised, more self-assured than the others. her clothes, though a trifle showy, are attractive. she wears a large spectacular hat. helen carter, showier, harder and more cynical, sits beside her. in the seat behind are marcia paine, placid, younger looking than her years, and elaine ross, a striking blonde with a pale haunted face. elaine is obviously ill. mary is riding the brake and holding the team back.
on surrey. graham jumps out.
gardner is neatly dressed with his star hidden under his coat. his deputy wears jeans, shirt, and leather jacket.
clay crosses to the shelf where the rifle and shotgun shells are kept and takes down a half dozen boxes of 30 30 cartridges.
angled down hill. the road twists tortuously down. near the bottom it swings sharply at right angles into a dry wash. the banks shut out further view of the road. near where the road turns a trunk lies at the side. it has broken open and some of the contents are spilled out in the dust. clay rides to it, reins in his horse and looks down. steve, with difficulty, pulls the mules to a stop alongside.
on surrey. the back wheel is broken and the bed of the surrey rests on the ground. the horses have been taken from the traces and stand dejectedly in the hot sun. a blanket is spread in the scant shade thrown by the surrey. on it lies elaine and, sitting beside her, is marcia. a damp cloth is spread across elaine's forehead. a water bag hangs from the surrey. elaine's head is pillowed on a dainty satin cushion. helen and mary have risen at clay's approach and now stand by the road.
on wagon. clay, in the wagon bed, is stowing his gear in the back. mary, supporting elaine, reaches the wagon. seeing the girls, clay reaches down and gently lifts elaine up. mary climbs in beside him.
angled past wagon. clay tosses the saddle into the wagon bed, slaps his mare on the rump. she trots off. climbing up on the wheel, he gets the grub box under the seat and lifts it down. steve comes from out of scene and starts unharnessing the team.
angled past clay. in the b.g. steve stands by the stream, letting the team drink. o.s. the women can be heard laughing and splashing. steve gives all his attention to what is going on downstream. clay puts wood on the fire, opens the grub box. he sees steve, takes the coffee pot out of the box and heads for the stream.
on wagon and fire. as clay passes the wagon, he reaches into the bed and gets a couple of strips of scrap iron. these he carries to the fire. he puts the iron strips across the blaze, sets the coffee pot on, feeds the fire with some more wood, then going back to the wagon, he takes his rifle out, throws a shell into the chamber and starts off up the knoll.
the camp. as clay approaches. steve squats by the fire. he has spread out a tarp in the circle of firelight and mary is setting the tin plates, cups, etc., out. elaine, a blanket around her, sits near the fire. she looks tired and ill. marcia and helen are struggling with bed-making under the wagon.
angled down past clay.
mary and steve.
mary, steve and clay. behind them, clay rises and comes down nearer the fire.
wagon. clay stands with mary at the wagon as steve comes up. helen is sitting up in bed, a comforter pulled around her.
featuring clay and gardner. clay reins in his horse beside gardner, who also stops. the others rein in. steve stops a short distance away.
wagon - . featuring steve and mary. elaine lies under the seat and helen sits beside her. steve is reciting the alphabet to a simple melody usually sung by children of six or seven.
steve and mary. steve stops his letters. looks off. the wagon moves up to clay and stops.
angled toward gate. lednov rides forward through the gate. his horse is limping badly. the others follow. they do not stop to put the gate back up.
at horse trough. wyatt, smiling his pleasure, comes up as the three men dismount.
angled past mrs. wyatt. she starts down the steps as lednov and peters come up.
turning from the bed, she crosses to the dresser. beside the dresser is a camel-back trunk. she starts to open a dresser drawer, pauses and looks down at the trunk. moving to the trunk, she hesitates. then making up her mind, she bends down and throws open the trunk.
his angle. mary and helen, seeing the two men's expressions, look from one to the other, puzzled.
wagon. steve picks up a couple of valises and some blankets and heads for the house, still whistling. in the b.g. can be heard the mutter of voices as clay and wyatt talk.
down angle. lednov, peters and mccall as they ride across the meadow.
angled past mary, who rises slowly. clay looks back, hesitates, then crosses to where the horses are tethered and starts saddling his mare. mary moves down toward him through the trees.
as the wagon comes abreast, clay dismounts, loops the reins over the tail gate, then swings up into the seat, motioning for mary to move over. he takes the reins, puts his rifle down in front of him.
clay swings down. the wagon moves past him. he frees his horse, swings into the saddle and gallops down toward the canyon.
clay. he rides around the bend in the trail. he hears something. he reins the horse in. some pebbles rattle down the cliff. he looks up.
clay and fowler.
the wagon. as mary hurries up to stand by the tail gate, clay and steve, now mounted, spur their horses and start across the meadow.
angled toward camp. into the scene come pack saddles, bed rolls. helen and fowler, in b.g., walk toward the wagon.
the meadow. clay and steve have almost reached the horses. steve turns.
angled past mary. she makes up her mind to go through with it and lashes the mules with the whip. camera angle widens. the mules balk when they reach the river. mary lashes them again. they jump forward into the torrent.
clay swims his horse to her, reaches down and lifts her up in front of him.
from lednov's angle. a piece of clothing floats down the river. lednov rides down the bank into the water. he reaches down awkwardly and gets the piece of clothing, then turns and rides back up the bank.
mary, as she swings with the movement of the horse. she is tired. she wears no makeup. but she looks as unaffectedly beautiful as we have ever seen her.
mccall, lednov and peters. lednov motions to his men and they hurriedly ride forward into the shelter of some trees.
the pack train. mary, half asleep, slumps forward. her horse has stopped. steve rides up alongside and looks over at her, anxiously.
steve and mary. steve spreads a tarp on the grass.
steve squats beside the pile of needles, twigs and pine cones. he strikes a match and sets the needles aflame. clay hurries into the scene and roughly kicks the fire out. steve rises.
the stage. it is a small one, a double-seated buckboard with one woman passenger and the driver an elderly man. on the side of the vehicle is painted: "yosemite-sonora stage line". the woman, middle-aged and rather drab, looks at mary curiously.
he glances down to clay and digs his spurs in and gallops after the stage. clay's stern expression leaves his face. he looks after the boy, smiles softly and then starts carrying the pack-saddle into the shelter of the forest.
clay, now the hunter, moves toward lednov's position. lednov fires. clay runs and jumps into the creek. sheltered by the bank he makes his way up the creek.
his angle. a light wind runs through the great trees. shafts of light filter through the trees, making patterns on the forest floor. the light is dim, deceptive. lednov, rifle ready, searches for some sign of clay. then from another direction comes the sound of movement. lednov swings his rifle in that direction, waits. the sound has stopped.