The Rope

A Screenplay by Jeremy Thompson

Adapted from the short story “The Wall”
by Jean-Paul Sartre

BLACK SCREEN

COLE (V.O.)
Friday, November 1st, 1895…

FADE IN:

EXT. WEST TEXAS GRASSLANDS – SUNSET

The vast expanse of desert grasslands, a small worn trail
cut between the shrubs. A sunset behind the few clouds
paints a striking backdrop of reds, oranges and blues to
contrast with the dark browns of the earth. As a gentle,
cooling breeze sweeps over the arid landscape, the sound of
a horse galloping draws near.

The horse rides into view, the rider COLE McMURRAY atop
wearing a faded dark longcoat and hat. They continue riding
away from the camera towards the horizon.

COLE (V.O. CONT’D)
Gabriel stayed behind. Was on my
way back to Amarillo. Got word
Camille had passed on, funeral was
the next day. I never particularly cared
for her but since she was my
mother’s sister I thought I should
pay my respects to what little
family we have left. Besides, we
was running short on point
forty-fives.

The last bright speck of sun disappears behind the horizon.

COLE (V.O. CONT’D)
Little did I know that two days
from now would be the day that I
died.

Long silence as the wind dies out, the sky growing darker.

JUMP CUT TO:

INT. COURTHOUSE – DAY

Jarring loud CRASH as Cole is thrown into a seat behind a wooden
table, forced to sit by the MARSHAL. Cole tries to recompose
himself as he adjust his chair, made difficult by his
handcuffs. He looks around the courtroom: imposing and
darkly lit (few windows and no electricity) with a towering
judicial bench, currently unoccupied. Few are in attendance besides
the lawmen standing behind Cole at the back of the court.

The Marshal walks up to center, tall and mustachioed, he carries
himself with a precise, careful air of importance. Cole pays
little attention, until the Marshal trips on an uneven
wooden floorboard, sending him face-first to the floor where
he lands with a loud THUD just out of sightline.

He picks himself up coolly with an even sterner, more solemn face
as he surveys the court, as if to threaten anyone who dares
laugh. Cole remains humorless.

MARSHAL
All rise for the honorable Judge
Calder Pete Quinn!

Cole is once again grabbed and made to stand just as he settled
into his seat. The JUDGE, an older but still domineering,
fearsome man, wearing the customary black robes and wig,
enters the courtroom, taking his seat behind the bench. He
BANGS the gavel.

JUDGE QUINN
Be seated.

The BAILIFF forces Cole back down into his seat. The Judge reviews
some documents, then peers over the bench at Cole. He takes
his time, attempting to quietly intimidate Cole, who avoids
making eye contact.

JUDGE QUINN (CONT’D)
Cole William McMurray?

Cole is SILENT.

JUDGE QUINN (CONT’D)
You are wanted for five counts of
armed robbery, one count of obstruction
of justice, and conspiring to
assassinate a Magistrate of the
State of Texas. How do you plead,
guilty or not guilty?

COLE
(mumbled)
Uh, not guilty, sir. Your honor.

The judge examines his papers some more, then looks hard at Cole
for several moments.

JUDGE QUINN
Where is your brother?

COLE
I do not know.

JUDGE QUINN
He is the murderer, not you. Where
is Gabriel?

COLE
I do not know.

JUDGE QUINN
You are just making this harder for
yourself. Here is your last chance:
where is he?

Cole remains SILENT.

JUDGE QUINN (CONT’D)
Get him out of my sight.

The Marshal quickly grabs Cole and leads him out of

CUT TO:

INT. JAIL HOUSE – DAY

A dirty, dark jail house, Cole is lead by the Marshal down a long
claustrophobic hall to his cell.

COLE (V.O.)
Saturday, November 2nd. Didn’t make
it to Aunt Camille’s funeral after
all. Found out that old Judge Quinn
was still on the hunt for Gabriel
and me more than two years after we
almost put an end to his term. Some sorts
of work you either got to finish
right or you don’t start at all. We
all pay for our mistakes. Now I
would pay for mine.

The Marshal arrives at Cole’s cell, unlocks the door and leads
Cole in. Once the door is closed the Marshal releases Cole
from his handcuffs through the bars.

INT. JAIL CELL – DAY

Inside the cell sit two other prisoners: LANE GREY PEARSON,
a lanky, dark-haired gunslinger in his mid 30s, and JULIO, a
quiet, small Mexican boy no more than 14 years old. Both
look pale and weak as they inspect Cole.

LANE
Who’s this?

MARSHAL
McMurray is going to be spending
tonight with you.

LANE
When do we get our trial?

MARSHAL
You already had it. Judge Quinn
will pass down your sentences soon.

LANE
That was never a trial!

The Marshal leaves.

LANE (CONT’D)
So why are you here?

COLE
Got caught.

LANE
Doing what?

COLE
Tried to visit my aunt’s funeral.

LANE
Huh, if Quinn can get you on that
then I guess I’m really screwed.

COLE
Why?

LANE
Bloodied up a fellow when I caught
him bottom dealing, then found out
afterwards he was one of Quinn’s
deputies. Funny thing is I have
killed more men than I have fingers
and toes, but it don’t matter
because they’re mostly lowlifes or
gringos.

COLE
What has the kid done?

LANE
He told me his brother held up
trains with a whole gang of gringos
while he stayed at home with his
mammy. He’ll probably get off,
lucky bastard.

JULIO
I never hurt no one.

LANE
(to Julio)
You know what I heard? Sometimes
when they don’t got a platform they
string a man up and drag him around
by a horse till he expires. Sometimes
it takes hours for the neck to
break, they have to switch horses cause
they tire out.

COLE
Why are you telling the kid that?

LANE
He ought to know how they do things
around here. I think this is his
first time he’s ever left home, he
should not be surprised if his sentence
is not to his liking.

COLE
The judge likes to keep it quick
and clean here.

Lane shrugs. Cole looks out the small window where he sees the
clouds drift pass the solid blue desert sky.

COLE (V.O.)
The days were getting shorter. I
wish the nights did not have to be
so cold, it could be hard enough
with my jacket and a fire. I
worried about Gabriel, he was not
as strong against the cold as I. We
were never supposed to do any of
this, but looking back I do not see
how history could have been any
other way. Fate does not bother me,
but waiting for it does.

INT. JAIL CELL – LATER

The Marshal RETURNS.

MARSHAL
Lane Grey Pearson?

LANE
Yeah?

MARSHAL
The judge has decided you are to
hang by the neck until dead. Eight
in the morning, this Sunday. Same
goes for the other two.

JULIO
But that’s not possible!

MARSHALL
You Jurado?

JULIO
Yes, and I have not done anything!

MARSHAL
Judge said your close relationship
with your brother was reasonable
evidence you were aiding and
abetting in armed robbery of the
Union Pacific.
(to Cole and Lane)
You all are men of God, right?

LANE
No.

Cole shrugs indifferently.

MARSHAL
(annoyed)
The clerk told me you were all
hailing Mary! Goddamn atheists,
there’s just no end to the trouble
you cause, is there? Do you still want
the priest we called in?

COLE
No.

LANE
No.

JULIO
Yes!

MARSHAL
Very well, Father Moxley will spend
the spend the night with you. Maybe
he will be able to salvage what
little is left of your souls before tomorrow
morning.

He leaves.

LANE
Damn it, I knew I should have left
that cowering cheat alone! There is
no kind of justice in Quinn’s
jurisdiction that doesn’t find you swinging
at the end of a rope.

COLE
Yeah, it’s a rotten deal,
especially for the kid.

Julio is seen sitting in his corner pale and quivering.

COLE (V.O.)
I said that to be nice but I didn’t
like either of my cell mates. The
kid might have been okay but it
looked like the time he spent in Quinn’s
cell had aged him forty years, and
I didn’t like looking at him
because it made me think how he’d
never be young again, even if he
were to be let free. Pearson kept
on wanting to talk even though he
didn’t have anything to say. Talking
was just to distract him from
thinking about tomorrow. Which is
why I still listened.

LANE
(a little too fast)
I guess if I had one dying wish it
would be to see the Judge sitting
at the opposite side of a
courtroom. The list of charges
against him would probably be
twofold over mine. They’d never do
that though because he’s got the
wardrobe that says what side of the
law he’s on, don’t matter what he has
actually done. In this land every
man’s fate is already decided the
moment he’s born, ain’t nothing you
can do about it, just got to accept
that’s that and have as much fun as
you can along the way. Say friend,
since it seems we’ll be catching
the same ship down the river
together tomorrow, mind if you’d entertain
us with the real story of how you
got in here?

COLE
As I said, it was going to a
funeral that caused me to

LANE
But what caused them to do the
catching?

COLE
(hesitates, then gives in)
Last year I helped my brother
almost plant a bullet in the Judge.
But my brother’s hand started
shaking so badly when the time came
that he completely missed old Quinn
and hit his wife in the neck
instead. Barely made it out of town
on the skins of our teeth.

Lane sits in silence for a moment, then slowly

LANE
Friend, you have earned my respect.
I’ve met some cold-hearted killers
in my day, but only when they’re
motivated by a pay check. None have
had the guts to directly take on
the Law himself. Ain’t no shame in missing,
it happens to the best of us. I
recall a time…

Lane continues talking about more of his own stories while his
voice drops out and Cole voices over.

COLE (V.O.)
I was glad he didn’t ask where our
grudge against Quinn came from, for
fear it would have attracted more
of his sympathy, and the last thing
I wanted was pity. Eventually he stopped
talking joined the kid and I in
silence. I watched him for a while
and could see him turning nearly as
pale as the kid; it was not just
because the dark was setting in.

INT. JAIL CELL – LATER – EVENING

The three men sit in separate corners of the cell, partly watching
each other, partly watching the ground. The Marshal
approaches with a GUARD with a thin-haired gentleman in a
priest’s suit; this is FATHER MOXLEY. The Marshal lets
MOXLEY into the cell, the shuts the door behind him. The
guard takes a seat outside the cell and watches them.

MOXLEY
Gentlemen, greetings. I am here to
help you during these trying hours.

COLE
What do you think you’re going to
do?

MOXLEY
I am at your disposal. I shall do
all I can to make your last moments
less difficult. I can offer you
spiritual guidance in finding your salvation
with Christ. Or perhaps you would
even like a cigar and some drink to calm
your nerves?

The father offers a cigar to Cole but he refuses.

COLE
(gaining intensity)
You’re not here on an errand of
mercy. You’re just another one of
the Judge’s cronies. I’ve seen you
in the saloon before…

Cole suddenly trails off, shrugs and idly sits back down.

COLE (V.O.)
A strange feeling came over me. I
was well familiar with some of this
father’s previous deeds and could
have chewed him up right there, and
I surely would not have missed the
opportunity to do so. But today I
could no longer care, the will had
left me completely. Besides, I
realized that even though he was as
dumb as an ass he wasn’t an evil
man. His only sin perhaps was a
lack of imagination.

Cole watches as the navy sky turns to black out the window, the
distant HOWL of a cold desert wind creeping near. The light
from the lantern dances over the wall. Returning focus on
the characters, by their shifted positions and slightly more
deathly appearance it is clear another hour has already
passed. Lane sits with his face buried in his hands, while
Julio slouches in the corner with his mouth agape and his
shoulders quivering. Father Moxley sits next to him, placing
his hand on Julio’s shoulder to try to comfort him, but
Julio remains cold and shaking. Moxley gives up, he looks
over and see Cole watching him, who quickly averts his eyes.

MOXLEY
Does it feel cold in here to you?

COLE
Nope.

Cole hopes this blunt reply will get Moxley to stop watching but
he squirms when he realizes Moxley’s gaze remains judgingly
fixed on Cole. Eventually Cole looks down and notices his
body and clothes are drenched in sweat. He quickly tries to
wipe clean his face and fan out his hair, turning his back
as far away from Moxley as possible to avoid the look.

COLE
(to himself)
Bastard, thinks he’s so great
because he can still feel cold.

They sit in silence a while longer, the flame flickering
more wildly as the winds pick up, accentuating the void in
the middle of the cell between the four men. Father Moxley
scratches his head awkwardly, not even because he has an
itch but just as a way to distract himself from the
emptiness around him.

JULIO
Father…

Moxley instantly snaps to attention, resuming his dignified,
paternalistic persona.

MOXLEY
Yes my son, what is it?

JULIO
Will it hurt for very long?

MOXLEY
(confused)
Will what…? Oh!
(smoothly)
No, do not be worried, it will be
over very quickly.

JULIO
But… he said…
(indicates Lane)
That sometimes they don’t die right
away.

MOXLEY
Well, occasionally the fall does
not break the neck right away.

JULIO
(panicked)
And what happens to you when you’re
hanging there but not gone yet?

LANE
(face still covered, toneless)
Your tongue rolls out purple and
you feel the hot excrement of your
last meal slide down your pant as
you watch the whole town watch you like
a Barnum sideshow freak.

MOXLEY
(to Lane, sharply)
You shush, can you not find any
compassion in your final hours?
(to Julio, reassuringly)
That won’t happen, our marshal is
very experienced and sets the
platform much higher than in other
towns. There’s only a split second
where you’re falling down, and then
before you know it you’ll have
crossed overhead into the heavens
to find yourself in the presence of
our Father.

JULIO
But that doesn’t make it any less
real, does it?

MOXLEY
I’m not sure I follow.

Julio looses his focus as he once becomes lost in his thoughts,
the shivering getting worse. Moxley again tries to comfort
him to no success. Cole watches this from the corner of his
eye, as does Lane.

COLE (V.O.)
I wanted to keep to my own thoughts
but it was hard to keep my eyes off
the Father because he was the only
man still alive in the cell, he cared
about things that dead men don’t
feel. He shivered at a cold draft
like you’re supposed to, contorted
his lips down when he saw something
distasteful, rubbed his soft, pink
hands together to generate warmth.
I wouldn’t have been able to even
feel the touch of my own hands
against each other, not in the same way
at least. We three were already
like ghosts, sort of outside our
bodies, wanting to inhabit and suck
the life out of something that
could still feel the world and care
about it tomorrow.

Cole watches as Father Moxley starts to tire and shuts his eyes,
the light from the lantern losing luminescence as it
transforms into a dim orange.

COLE (V.O. CONT’D)
He could sleep peacefully. I wanted
to sleep but didn’t want to loose a
precious hour of life. Otherwise
the next thing I’d know it’d be daylight
and I’d be led out to the platform
still bleary eyed and I’d drop without
even noticing it. Plus I was afraid
I might have nightmares, things I’d wish
to forget. Had I lived a decent
life? I thought about Gabriel and
me, on the lamb, holed up in some
bear cave a mile outside Amarillo,
trying to suck as much meat off the
jackrabbit bones as we could. It
was the only thing we had eaten in
days, I felt like I was going to
die, I was angry about it.
(Cole smiles)
How important everything seemed
then. Honor, retribution, revenge,
it was any man’s religion no matter
what side of the law he was on; we thought
we could find salvation and
immortality through the actions we
did. And now I wondered if the sag
of my peacemaker in my hand and the
force of its backfire ever had any
weight to it at all, or did every
bullet I ever spent to stake my
claim on this earth simply flicker
out like an inconsequential candle?

The last of the flame dies, they now sit in the darkness, an owl
COOS in the distance.

COLE (V.O. CONT’D)
It was all a damned lie, nothing
was finished and yet the final
chapter has already been written.
If I had known better all my life I never
would have bothered lifting a
finger. Not even this truly upset
me; the only thing I felt a twinge
of living emotion over was that I
always did know it would end
something like this, but never
actually believed in it. I had been naive
when I thought I was my most noble and
wise, spending all my years counterfeiting
eternity, and now that I finally
knew what time meant I hadn’t any
more of it.

It is pitch black in the cell, the men are only identifiable
from their outlines and their voices. Father Moxley is
SNORING, while Lane and Cole sit quietly. They WHISPER.

LANE
Do you understand? I don’t
understand.

COLE
What is that?

LANE
Something is going to happen to us
that I cannot understand.

COLE
(unsure)
You will know soon enough.

LANE
(sighs)
I’ve been thinking it over. I can’t
even recollect how many men I’ve
killed. First it was out of fear
and necessity. I always regretted
it, but what else was I going to
do? But after a while the regret
stopped stinging so hard and I
began doing it out of greed.
There’s a pretty good living to be made
by stealing everything a man’s ever
had. But then I got to where
sometimes I didn’t even have a
reason for it, I only done it cause
I liked watching their faces change
and the light go out from their
eyes when I pulled my trigger.
(pause, Lane wipes his nose)
I never forgot that one of these days
it would be me that the light would
flicker from. My only want is that
I can be brave. I can see myself
being led out into the daylight,
walking up those wooden steps. I
can hear me making my final words,
and then I’ll have the bag placed
over my head and I won’t be able to
see the light no more. They’ll
place the rope around my neck and
pull the lever. I can feel that
rope, the rough, prickly strands,
and when I start to fall there will
be a moment when I’m as light as a
feather and I’ll think I’m free.
I’ll think that I can pass through
the rope, feel it slip over me, and
I’ll keep on falling into a dark
hole in the ground that no one can
reach me from. But then… then…

COLE
It’s alright, it’s alright. I can
imagine all of that too.

LANE
I’ve had pains in my head and in my
neck for the past hour. Not real
pains. Worse. This is what I’m
going to feel tomorrow morning. And then
what? It’s like a nightmare. You
want to think something, you always
have the impression that it’s all
right, that you’re going to
understand and then it slips, it
escapes you and fades away. I tell
myself there will be nothing afterwards.
But I don’t understand what it
means. I see my corpse; that’s not hard
but I’m the one who sees it, with
my eyes. No matter how much I think,
what’s waiting for us at dawn is
going to creep up behind us and we won’t
be able to prepare for it.

COLE
That’s enough, stop it already!

This causes Father Moxley to wake. He fumbles for the lantern,
relighting it, then checks his pocket watch by the new flame.

MOXLEY
Gentlemen, it is four o’clock.

Cole RISES, upset.

COLE
Goddamn it, why did you have to say
that?

MOXLEY
I’m sorry, I thought you would have
liked to have known.

Cole is already apathetic towards Moxley as he goes to the small
barred window to inspect the outside. All remains silent and
dark. He looks over at Julio who is holding himself and
crying into his arm.

JULIO
I don’t want to die, I don’t want
to die…

Cole regards Julio sternly, coldly, then paces a few times before
returning to his seat.

COLE (V.O.)
I might have liked to have weeped
with pity for myself but it would
have just been one last lie to
myself; all I really wanted was to
go cleanly.

Cole sits next to Lane. Neither looks at the other as they both
watch the space in front of them. They speak flatly, as if
both knew this exchange was scripted for them long ago.

LANE
You never did say why you and your
brother tried to off Quinn.

COLE
We was wanted for some train
robberies, nothing violent if we could
avoid it, just a lot of rich men’s
money who lived hundreds of miles away.
Quinn knew who we were but couldn’t
catch us, so he sent his men to
burn down our house.

LANE
Oh?

COLE
Our mother and father were both
asleep inside it.

LANE
Oh.

COLE
I keep telling myself that at least
they never could see what was
coming to them.

LANE
No one ever sees what’s coming.

They sit, contemplate. Lane suddenly turns his attention

LANE
Friend… it’s time.

COLE
What do you mean? It’s still too
early.

LANE
No Cole, it’s not. It’s day.

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. JAIL CELL – MORNING

The golden rays of sun pour into the cell as Lane shakes the shoulder
of a sleeping Cole, who awakens with a panicked start.
Nearby Father Moxley is talking with the Marshal who appears
dapper and sharp-eyed, ready to take care of another day’s duty.
They finish, Moxley exits the cell to walk down the
corridor, exhausted. The Marshal quickly and rigidly points
to Julio and Lane.

MARSHAL
Pearson, Jurado, your time’s up.
Hopefully the Lord will have more
mercy on your souls than we.

Lane rises to exit, Julio remains indisposed. The Marshal indicates
to the Guard to get Julio, who tries to stand him up but he
crumples to the ground as soon as he lets go.

MARSHAL (CONT’D)
Jesus Christ, just carry him if you
have to.

The guard grabs Julio by the armpits and drags him out of
the room, following Lane and the Marshal.

MARSHAL (CONT’D)
(to Cole)
You wait, we’ll come for you later.

Confused and a bit annoyed, Cole paces the cell awkwardly.

INT. JAIL CELL – MORNING – LATER

Cole is sitting against the wall, staring down at his feet, his
body trembling. He snaps to attention when the Marshal
returns.

COLE
What’s going on?

MARSHAL
The Judge would like to have a
final word with you before you depart.
Come on, swine.

The Marshal leads Cole out of the cell.

INT. COURT OFFICE – DAY

A similarly dark, oaken room as the courthouse. Lots of ornate
furniture and valuables (probably seized or stolen) decorate
the room to give it an appearance of austerity without
necessarily good taste. Judge Quinn sits in a chair behind a
desk, his presence made to seem even larger by the claustrophobia
of the room, he writes notes with a stern, careful precision
as Cole enters and is forced to sit across from Quinn, who
sets his pen down and peers at him for a long moment before
deciding to speak.

JUDGE QUINN
You’ve had the night to think it
over.

Cole shrugs. This irritates Quinn.

JUDGE QUINN (CONT’D)
Where is your brother Gabriel
McMurray?

COLE
I don’t know.

JUDGE QUINN
Come here.

Cole goes to the Judge, who suddenly jumps up and grabs
Cole, pushing him down against the wall. He growls breath
into his face; he is trying his best to intimidate Cole, but
as Cole coughs the smell of the Judge’s breath out of his
face he can seen cracking a small grin, the cough covering
his laughter. The judge throws him down violently and
returns to his chair.

JUDGE QUINN (CONT’D)
It’s his life against yours. You
can have yours if you tell me where
he is.

COLE
I don’t know where Gabriel is, he
might be in Oklahoma from the last
I heard.

The judge raises his hand indolently then takes the time to carefully
write something else down.

COLE (V.O.)
I don’t know if he actually thought
he’d be able to intimidate a dying
man, but it didn’t work. There was
nothing left to be afraid of. These
men with their badges and clean
attire were all headed to the same place
I was, maybe a little bit later,
but not too much. I used to be
terrified of Judge Quinn, but I
could see through him now and what
I saw was a little man who amused
himself with games that only he and
his friends take with dead seriousness.
His every gesture he precisely
calculated; he was staging a show for
me and I didn’t know whether to
laugh or applaud his silly efforts.

A small rat scurries across the floor, nibbling at crumbs, which
Cole watches as he continues.

COLE (V.O. CONT’D)
Of course I knew where Gabriel was,
he was waiting for me four miles
south of the city in a shack that
belonged to Jim Dillon, one of our old
robbing partners. I wasn’t going to
tell Quinn that, even though I no longer
even liked Gabriel. My relationship
with him died last night at the
same time I lost my desire to live.
Of course I still respected him
greatly, but that wasn’t why I was
willing to die in his place. His
life had no more value than mine,
no life had value. They were going
to hang a man at the end of a rope,
it didn’t matter whether it was me
or Gabriel or somebody else. I
didn’t care what Quinn had done or
if we ever found retribution, none
of it was important, it was all
child’s play. Yet here I was
choosing to die in his place when I
could live. I must be really
stubborn!

Cole grins widely as the mouse disappears into a hole.

COLE
(to the Marshal beside him)
Did you see the rat?

The Marshal remains stern and steady, Quinn looks up at this
disturbance, and sets down his pen.

JUDGE QUINN
I have all the paperwork completed,
at my word we can take you
downstairs and hang you within the
quarter hour. This is your absolute final
chance: if you know where Gabriel
is, tell us now!

COLE
Oh. He’s at the Boot Hill cemetery
on the north side of town. Hiding
in the gravedigger’s shack.

The judge quickly jumps up. He motions to the Marshal.

JUDGE QUINN
Get my spurs and at least ten men
together. If he tries to run I want
to be sure I personally am the one
to shoot him dead.
(to Cole)
It will cost you dearly if you’re
making asses out of us.

They hastily exit the room. Cole sits in silence for a
moment as he hears their footsteps down the hall, then
stifles back a fit of laughter as they leave. A GUARD enters
to watch over Cole, who once again resumes a calm composure.

INT. COURT OFFICE – DAY – LATER

Cole sits twiddling his thumbs; there’s a knock at the door and
the guard opens it. The Marshal stands outside, none the
least bit sheepish.

MARSHAL
(to the guard)
Take him downstairs to the holding
cell. The judge is going to decide
what to do with him later.

COLE
You’re not… going to hang me?

MARSHAL
Not now anyway. What Judge Quinn
decides is none of my business.

COLE
But why…?

The Marshal only turns to leave, the guard leads Cole out of the
room.

INT. JAIL CELL – DAY

Cole reenters the cell, now empty and full of midday sun. He appears
in a daze as he looks around his familiar surroundings in
the new light.

GUARD
(locking the door)
Lunch will be coming shortly.

The guard exits. Cole looks out through the bars after him, some
of the other inmates watching as well. One of them catches
Cole’s eye and calls out to him.

JIM
Cole! Cole!

COLE
Jim, what are you doing here?

JIM
I got caught this morning, it must
have been a set-up. How are you
still alive?

COLE
Quinn sentenced me to hang
yesterday but then changed his mind.
I don’t know what’s going on.

JIM
(lowered voice)
They got Gabriel.

COLE
(nervous again)
What? When?

JIM
This morning. It was bad. We went
to go find you when you didn’t come
back but heard it was too late, so
we were hiding out in the cemetery
while we figuring out what to do
next.

COLE
In the cemetery?

JIM
Yeah, it was stupid. Of course
Quinn and his men were there waiting
for us. We tried to run but the
Judge shot Gabriel in the back with
one shot. He’s dead.

COLE
In the cemetery!

Cole staggers back from the bars, the room starts to spin around
him, spinning faster and faster until he falls over
backwards. Cole is LAUGHING hysterically, a crazed, primeval
laugh. The scene slowly begins to FADE TO BLACK as his
laughter turns to tears.

__ FADE TO BLACK

BLACK SCREEN

COLE (V.O.)
Sunday, November 3rd, 1895… two
days ago I rode into Amarillo to
attend a funeral. Little did I know
then that today would be the day
that I died. From that day on I
would wander the plains an empty
soul, a man unable to return to the
world of the living, a man with no
history, no future, and no name.

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