Brother's Keeper - Recap

Paladin is playing games of chess against himself, mapping out strategies that Napoleon and Hannibal would use, when Hey Girl arrives with a telegram for him. Sheriff Wilson in Santa Fe wants him to identify a prisoner as a murderer so that Paladin can collect the $2,500 reward. Paladin rides toward Santa Fe, collects his money, and rides back.

Later, two men find an unconscious Paladin at a water hole. Paladin, barely conscious, looks up and sees one of the men, wearing a jade ring and Mexican spurs, as they take his gun and confirm that a mountain lion attacked him. They debate whether to take Paladin in, and one man blames the other, a German, for letting Indians steal their horses. They finally take Paladin’s horse and head for Prairie Orchard so that the first man can collect some money.



Once they’re gone, Paladin manages to stagger down the road. Five days later he makes it to Prairie Orchard. The townspeople watch as he makes his way to the barber and pays for a bath and shave with what little money he has hidden on him. Paladin describes the two men to the barber, Forbes, who claims he doesn’t recognize them and that he’s new in town. When Paladin points out that the sign with his name on it is old, Forbes claims that he inherited the store from his brother. As Paladin goes to the bath, Forbes finds his card in his hat and pockets it.

Once he’s recovered, Paladin goes to see the sheriff, while Forbes shows the card to the townspeople. Paladin realizes that the sheriff is wearing a jade ring and explains what happened, and that one of the men that robbed him was wearing such a ring. The sheriff explains that someone sold hundreds of the rings to the townspeople when there was a cholera outbreak, claiming they were a ward against the disease. He takes down what information Paladin has about the thieves, but is unimpressed with his claim that Wilson paid him $2,500. They argue over the fact that Paladin is a bounty hunter, and the sheriff suspects that Paladin gambled away his money and the winner robbed him. He suggests that Paladin ride out of town.



Paladin goes to the telegraph office and talks to the telegraph clerk, Rack, who is less than helpful. He notices that the telegraph clerk has Mexican spurs and hauls him out, and asks where he as five days ago when he was robbed. The clerk says that he was in jail five days ago, and they have a Mexican fiesta celebration. He got drunk early, and the boots are for the celebration. Paladin then writes out a telegraph to have the bank in San Francisco wire him $200. The station agent comes down the street. He has a German accent and wears the same type of boots for the celebration. The man explains there are thirty German families in the town. Disgusted, Paladin goes to the hotel to wait for his money.



At the hotel bar, Paladin tries to buy a beer and get the free lunch, but the barman, Cull, won’t give him credit. The saloon girl, Topaz, pays for Paladin’s drink. He thanks her and she addresses him by name. When he wonders how she knows his name, Topaz explains that it’s common knowledge that he’s after two townspeople. She suggests that Paladin let them go, insisting that all they did was leave him believing he was dead. Paladin doesn’t buy it and says that he plans to ride out of town with his belongings. However, when Topaz asks if he’ll settle for that, Paladin admits that he doesn’t know. He thanks her for the drink and she goes back to work.



Back in his room, Paladin hears a noise at the door. He opens it and finds his gun belt in the hallway. When he goes down to the street, he finds his horse, saddlebags, and rifle waiting for him. The townspeople have gathered, and the sheriff asks when he’s leaving. Topaz gives him his handgun, and a German man, Boggs, comes forward to give Paladin his share of the money. He says that he didn’t want to leave Paladin. However, he only has $200, the money that Paladin wired for. Paladin demands the rest of his money, and asks for the second man. The robber, Cull, steps forward. He draws on Paladin, who wounds him in the arm with the derringer. When the sheriff says it wasn’t a fair fight, Paladin points out that his handgun, the one that Topaz gave him, was unloaded, and they intended him to use that and die.

The sheriff explains that they protected Cull because he used the money that he stole from Paladin to pay his debts. The sheriff and the others step forward, and they explain that there was no epidemic, no Mexican festival, and only two Germans in town. Topaz apologizes and says that she didn’t know the handgun was unloaded. Paladin pays his bill at the hotel, lets her keep the money that Cull paid him, and rides off.



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