There's plenty to mull over here: the deceptiveness of appearances, whether what passes for morality may be in fact relative, and whether Richard Booone could even have made a living as a Shakespearean Actor.
A well dressed young Lady arrives at the Carlton and produces one of Paladin's cards, given to her by the mother she has corresponded with, but not seen, in years and about whom she is deeply concerned..
Arriving with the daughter at the town where her mother supposedly resides, Paladin is surprised to find it is no longer the lawless, miners' "tent city" he knew; there's even a law now against packing guns in public! Paladin, it seems, was once hired by the mother to kill a man, but refused the job. This shocks the daughter, whose mother's weekly letters contained only warm, wise and loving advice.
Paladin is told that the mother died, her estate went to settle debts, that she never mentioned a daughter, and that the town is glad to be rid of her and the memory of all she represented. But Paladin learns from the town's minister that the mother is actually alive, and had even married the town's banker, a marriage she quickly regretted and kept secret out of contempt for her husband (the feelings were completely mutual).
The daughter learns from virtuous local ladies how her mother really earned her "wealth", then learns from Paladin how she got her nickname of "Blue Dollar Alice". Paladin goes to considerable trouble to arrange a meeting between mother and daughter, and when it finally transpires is moved to quote the closing "sestet" from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 119", proving that past conduct need not prove a barrier to future happiness.
A well dressed young Lady arrives at the Carlton and produces one of Paladin's cards, given to her by the mother she has corresponded with, but not seen, in years and about whom she is deeply concerned..
Arriving with the daughter at the town where her mother supposedly resides, Paladin is surprised to find it is no longer the lawless, miners' "tent city" he knew; there's even a law now against packing guns in public! Paladin, it seems, was once hired by the mother to kill a man, but refused the job. This shocks the daughter, whose mother's weekly letters contained only warm, wise and loving advice.
Paladin is told that the mother died, her estate went to settle debts, that she never mentioned a daughter, and that the town is glad to be rid of her and the memory of all she represented. But Paladin learns from the town's minister that the mother is actually alive, and had even married the town's banker, a marriage she quickly regretted and kept secret out of contempt for her husband (the feelings were completely mutual).
The daughter learns from virtuous local ladies how her mother really earned her "wealth", then learns from Paladin how she got her nickname of "Blue Dollar Alice". Paladin goes to considerable trouble to arrange a meeting between mother and daughter, and when it finally transpires is moved to quote the closing "sestet" from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 119", proving that past conduct need not prove a barrier to future happiness.
