Dust - Recap

In a small Mexican village, the townsfolk prepare for the hanging of Luis Gallegos, who ran over a young girl with a wagon while drunk. Peddler Sykes arrives in town to hawk his wares and sees Gallegos in the jail. He taunts the prisoner then goes inside to talk to Sheriff Koch. Sykes has sold the hangman the five-strand rope that they'll use to hang Gallegos. The Sheriff suggests he leave but Sykes insists on reminding Gallegos about how he killed the girl when he was drunk. Koch again tells Sykes to get out as even Gallegos doesn't deserve that kind of torment.



The young girl's funeral procession is going past the jail and Sykes boasts to the Canfields that Gallegos will die. Koch pulls him away as Luis' father has his daughter Estrelita beg for forgiveness. John Canfield tells them to get out of the way and leaves Gallegos kneeling in the dust. Gallegos begs the crowd to understand but they start to stone him until Koch calls them off. Luis tells his father it will do no good, and Gallegos offers him a supposedly magical coin to make a wish upon. Gallegos tries to convince Koch and the crowd that his son was consumed with sadness from the misery of his life and sought solace in a bottle, and made one mistake. Realizing it will do no good, Gallegos leaves. Sykes pulls Estrelita aside and tells her to pass on the message to her father that the peddler has a magic dust that changes hate into love and they should meet later. Once the girl goes, Sykes takes out a tobacco pouch, empties it, and fills it with dust from the street.



Koch and Luis talk about the latter's impending execution as the people bringing their children to watch the hanging. Koch takes Luis to the gallows and the minister gives the last rites. The townsfolk grow impatient and tell Koch to do his duty while the Canfields look on. Meanwhile, Gallegos meets with Sykes and pays him a hundred peso in gold pieces to save his son. Gallegos runs to the gallows and throws the dust over the crowd. They start to laugh, except for the Canfields. The hangman pulls the lever and Gallegos winces... then turns to see that the five-strand rope has broken and Luis is on the ground below.



Koch asks the Canfields if they still want to go through with it and they decide that Luis has suffered enough. They go away to mourn their child and tell everyone else to leave as well. The crowd wanders away and a weeping Gallegos takes his son and leaves. Sykes is left to consider the gallows and examine the rope that couldn't have possibly broke. Three children approach and an astonished Sykes gives them the hundred pesos, admitting it must have been magic.



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