Hey Clash,
Here is how I saw the ending of the film.
Bodeen sent two of his men out to kill Stride to keep him from getting to town. From concealed positions in the rocky hills a half hour outside of town, the two men were able to wound Stride's right foot or leg, but Stride managed to hide in the rocks. When the two men tried to flush Stride out and kill him, Stride managed to kill both of them in the rocks.
The Greers come along in their wagon, meet the wounded Stride, and the husband admits he is carrying the cash box with $20,000 of gold and is supposed to give it to Bodeen in town. Stride keeps the cash box there and has Greer tell Bodeen he will have to come out to the canyon to get it from him.
Bodeen and his unnamed henchman with the mustache (they are the last two remaining men of the original seven) go out to get the cash box and also kill the already wounded Stride. Immediately after Bodeen and Mustache leave town, Masters and Clete (Lee Marvin and Don Barry) follow them with the intention of getting the gold for themselves.
When they see the cash box, Bodeen and Mustache decide to split up to approach the cash box from opposite directions. As Mustache comes along a huge rock, he is shot from above, and his horse takes off while dragging Mustache along the ground. Bodeen hears the shot and then sees Mustache with his foot caught in the stirrup being dragged by his horse. Bodeen makes it to the rocks along the canyon and begins to search for Stride. As he maneuvers through the rocks, he is shot from behind by Clete and from the front by Masters. Masters then shoots and kills his partner Clete so he can keep all the gold for himself.
At this point I assumed Mustache was killed by Stride. When Masters and Stride face each other near the cash box on the valley floor, Stride asks Masters what happened in the rocks, and Masters tells him he killed Bodeen and that Clete was also dead. Masters does not say anything about who actually killed Mustache.
The thing to remember is that Bodeen and Mustache had split up and were not near each other when Mustache gets shot. Also, Masters and Clete were together for the killing of Bodeen. Given this, I still think Mustache was most likely killed by Stride rather than Masters and Clete who were busy killing Bodeen together.
Well, that's the way I saw it, but I could be wrong.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
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