Charlie Hagin, who killed Mississippi's foster father, Johnny Diamond, two years earlier. Thornton steps in to save Mississippi from retaliation from Charlie's friends, Milt and Pedro. Their employer, famed gunslinger Nelse McLeod, is impressed, and offers Thornton a job in El Dorado, revealing that he has accepted Bart Jason's job offer and that Harrah became a drunk after a girl ran out on him. Thornton refuses McLeod, and he and Mississippi return to El Dorado ahead of McLeod. They meet with Maudie and Harrah's deputy, Bull, who confirm Nelse's story. After a fistfight with the drunken Harrah, Thornton agrees to use a sobering concoction made by Mississippi to bring Harrah around, with violently effective results. Harrah, ashamed to be the laughingstock that he has become, agrees to stay sober. After three men shoot Jared MacDonald (Kevin MacDonald's son), Thornton, Bull, Mississippi and Harrah hunt the men into an old church and gun them down. One man escapes, leading them straight to Jason, whom Harrah arrests and holds for trial. Mississippi stops Joey from killing Jason on the walk back to the jail, and the two begin a relationship. Bull officially deputizes Mississippi and Thornton. They patrol the town to keep the peace, stopping an attempted attack by McLeod's gang on the jail, during which Harrah is hobbled by a bullet to the leg. Maudie brings them some supplies while they are holed up in the jail, and McLeod's men start harassing her and her patrons. Thornton and Mississippi go to rescue them, but Thornton suffers an attack of paralysis and is captured by McLeod. Harrah agrees to trade Jason for Thornton and leave town, despite Thornton's protests. Jason and McLeod's men kidnap Saul MacDonald and demand that Kevin turn over his water rights for the return of his son. Rightly suspecting that Jason will kill both Saul and Kevin once he has the water rights, Thornton rides a wagon up to the front door of Jason's saloon while Harrah, Bull and Mississippi sneak in the back. Once Bull gives a signal, Thornton opens fire, killing McLeod, while the rest free Saul. Joey shoots Jason, saving Thornton from being shot and making amends for her previous mistake. Doc Miller's new assistant Dr. Donovan agrees to operate on Thornton if he stays in town, and Thornton implies that he may stop wandering to stay with Maudie. Cast John Wayne as Cole Thornton