Paladin, Where Do You Roam?

     Good evening. One of the truly great western television series of all time was called Have Gun Will Travel. It starred Richard Boone, a terrific actor, as Paladin. A gun for hire. This series was so different than the normal western, and so much better. Instead of the same tiresome plots, it had some great story lines. Recently, this series has started being replayed on the Encore Westerns Channel on cable and satellite. I have started to tape them on the TIVO and have thoroughly enjoyed them. The series originally aired in the early sixties and late fifties and I can't remember individual episodes, so it is almost like watching them for the first time. Especially tonight, as I was privileged to watch, for the first time, the story of how Paladin became Paladin.
      It turns out that Paladin is not even the hero's real name, but the name given to him by his...mentor. The story goes like this.
     Paladin lives at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. He comes back to his room one night and there is an intruder in his room who has been tasked with killing Paladin. The young man doesn't even know Paladin but has agreed to shoot the gunman to settle a gambling debt. Evidently the one who hired the assassin has an old score against Paladin.
     Paladin subdues the youngster and questions him, rather than kill him. When he finds out that the young fellow is trying to kill him to settle a gambling debt, he is shook up, because he had once done a similar thing. He begins to tell the younger man a story of his past.
    The man only known as Paladin was fresh from the civil war, a hero and the scion of a wealthy family. He was, however, a wastrel and a gambler and his folks had given him a monthly stipend to just stay away from them. In addition, he had quite the reputation as a duelist. In other words, he would, as a matter of honor, challenge men to a duel over slights, real or imagined. You know, the meeting at dawn, with seconds, backs pressed together, take twenty paces, turn and fire. The whole grim business.
     Because of his status as a duelist, he was targeted by a schemer called Mr.Norge, who beat him at poker, took his IOU for funds, then demanded a service to prevent the public disgrace of welching on a debt. The service? Go to a remote valley and challenge a man named Smoke to a duel, then kill him. Paladin reluctantly agrees. It seems that Mr. Norge had ruled the valley, and a town, with an iron hand until Smoke had ran him off, at gunpoint, never to return on pain of death.
    In our story, episode #113, by the way, Paladin travels to that valley. He is captured by Smoke, imprisoned in a cul-de-sac and despite this, Paladin challenges the man to a duel. Smoke says that he should train first, then fight. In an odd sort of relationship, the ailing, older man actually trains the young duelist for their pending battle. He gives his foe the title of Paladin, like a knight of old. Why? Because he is into honor and all that, yet he fights for gold and has yet to find his high ideal that makes a fight noble, in and of itself. This is what has salvaged the once evil man called Smoke,  who admits that he had done no good thing until he saved the people of the valley from the grasp of Mr. Norge.
    Both men are men of letters. Education, appreciation of literature and art, and so on. In another life they might have been friends. Alas, it was not to be. Once Paladin has been properly trained in the science of the draw, Smoke gives him one bullet for his gun. The newly named Paladin kills Smoke, but at a cost. A new-found conscious comes to him. He adopts the name of Paladin and yes, he uses his gun, but only for causes he deems just and righteous. Wherever the weak are oppressed by the ruthless is where he rides.
     Hey Boy, his Chinese bell hop at the Hotel, is a cool supporting character. The rascal reads all Paladin's mail and brings those letters to Paladin that he deems interesting.
    I mentioned once on this blog that I got a Paladin gun set for Christmas, once upon a time, as a kid. It was mega-cool, complete with the black holster with the silver knight on it. (The chess piece). There was the Colt revolver, a two-shot derringer and a stack of business cards which had the picture of the knight and proclaimed Have Gun, Will Travel. I thought I was hot stuff, rest assured of that. The weapons were cap guns. You could put a roll of caps in them and make sufficient noise so that your Mom regretted buying you the darn things. I loved to smell of the exploding caps, I can remember that.
    Well, I have rambled on, but if you want to watch a gunfighter who quotes poetry to his enemies and is refreshingly different, try Have Gun Will Travel.
    I'm CE Wills.