"(horses whinnying)" "ADAM:" "McCall?" "Yes, it's McCall." "Found another one of our prize steer butchered this morning." "I told you talk wouldn't be enough for a man like Blake McCall, Pa." "The only kind of talk he understands comes out of this." "Looks to me like they picked up a little company." "They didn't have a wagon the last time we ran him off of here." "We gonna to let him get away with it, Pa?" "He has the sickness of gold, Señor." "You have already given him more chance than he deserves." "Jose, it's a family affair." "What I have I owe to you, old friend." "Something that would destroy the Ponderosa would also destroy me." "Your fight is my fight." "All right, let's visit with Mr. McCall." "Hyah!" "(theme music plays)" "Well, we're on the Ponderosa, John." "That means we'll be running into the Cartwrights before long." "Let's hope you'll make out better with them this time than last." "John, that isn't fair." "Blake did the very best he could." "Your brother doesn't always approve of my methods, Emily." "Think you could do better, John?" "I'd like to try talking with them." "They're people same as you and I, aren't they?" "(chuckles) Old man Cartwright and his three sons?" "Yeah, they're people all right." "Rough ones." "What happened between you and them?" "Thought we were partners, John." "Partners don't pry." "They trust one another." "Are you implying I don't trust you?" "!" "That's ridiculous!" "John, please." "You're letting yourself get all on edge." "I'm sorry, Emily." "It's just that I'm, I'm worried about your health." "I need to get you into that high desert country without delay." "Well..." "I think you better get some rest." "Come on." "What's the matter, McCall?" "You letting' your love life interfere with your moneymaking'?" "Take my advice, you'd get rid of her." "And Pennington, both of 'em." "There's gold here." "Besides, she ain't gonna last much longer anyway." "Krug, don't ever let me hear you say that again." "It's the truth, ain't it?" "(horse whinnies)" "(horses approaching)" "Whoa." "Well, I'd say we we're flattered to have the great Mr. Ben Cartwright pay us a call." "My name is John Pennington." "We're on our way to that new mining area at Virginia City." "We were told this is the best way to get there." "Well, you were told wrong." "You're on private property." "Well, other people have come through here." "They have." "And they've slaughtered our beef, cut and burned our timber and dug holes in our best pasture land." "Are we to be blamed for the actions of other people?" "When you're standing alongside one of the worst offenders, yes." "Now, we told you to get off last month, McCall, and we meant for you to stay off." "Blake, what's he talking about?" "Very simple, Emily." "The great Ben Cartwright thinks he owns the world." "No, just this part of it, Mr. McCall." "Now I'll ask you to get off my land." "All of you." "Please, Mr. Cartwright, if I may speak?" "Uh, my name is Justin Flannery." "My only purpose here is to obtain specimens of Sierra flora and fauna." "You see, sir, by profession," "I'm a botanist and entomologist." "You see, sir," "I only fell in with these people two days ago." "Well, you made a very poor choice, Mr. Flannery." "That's an unfair thing to say, Mr. Cartwright." "You don't even know us." "If my partner caused you any damage," "I'm sure we can arrive at a settlement." "BEN:" "I'm afraid we can't." "Well, can't I even reason with you?" "Mr. Pennington, your reasoning became apparent when you introduced hydraulic mining to California." "Oh, I've seen the operations of Pennington and McCall." "Thousands of acres of virgin timber uprooted." "Mountains washed away." "Floods caused by the debris of your monitors." "Orchards buried under mud." "(horse whinnying)" "Hoss, see what you can do for him." "Sure, Pa." "You keep away from him, you ugly... brute." "Now, ma'am, I can't hardly help being ugly, can I?" "He ain't even hurt bad." "Oh, Blake... now, nobody can be as unreasonable as these Cartwrights seem to be." "You must have done something to turn them against us." "Well, you don't have to do too much to have those Cartwrights turn against you." "All right, maybe we did cut down a couple of their precious trees, and Krug shot one of their cows." "Believe me, it was an accident." "He thought it was a deer." "Well, that's the kind of accident we could do without, huh?" "Now, uh, be a little more careful next time, will you?" "Now, look, John," "I don't tell you how to run the office." "Don't tell me how to run my end of this partnership." "Blake." "I wish you two wouldn't quarrel so." "You're really in love with him?" "Well, you and he are all I have left." "That's why I don't want any trouble between you." "Don't worry, Emily." "Why, Blake and I get along fine." "The main thing is to get you into that drier climate without delay." "Now you go back in the tent and get some rest, huh?" "That's right, just get some rest." "Two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon." "Don't exert yourself." "Just sit and look pretty." "John?" "Hmm?" "Do you think there's any hope?" "Well, of course there's hope." "If you keep believing, you'll get well." "Just as I have to keep believing" "I have a right to love?" "I have to keep believing that, John." "'Cause if I couldn't I'd want to die." "(coughing)" "Mr. Cartwright, I demand you allow us to pass through here." "Oh, how is he, son?" "He's all right, Pa." "It's just a crease." "Mm-hmm." "Mr. Cartwright, why don't you answer my brother's request?" "And why are you so unreasonable?" "Why am I so unreasonable?" "Miss Pennington," "I'd like to tell you about a friend of mine." "He came across the plains with me, and all the way across, he nursed a wagonload of young peach trees." "He had a dream." "Wanted to plant an orchard in California." "Well, I saw what was left of that orchard last year." "Buried under a dozen feet of mud washed down by your brother's hydraulic monitors." "Well, I remember the man." "I paid him twice what his land was worth." "I paid for each of his trees." "Well, just what price do you put on the dream of a man's lifetime?" "My brother has no intention of bringing hydraulic equipment into the Sierra." "No?" "Then why is he here, Miss Pennington?" "No, I swear to you, we have no intention of staying on your Ponderosa Ranch." "I'm sorry, but I, uh..." "I find that hard to believe." "See, the facts are, your partner has filed claims on some of the neighboring ranches." "Ranches that contain watershed vital to the Ponderosa." "Well, don't look so suspicious, John." "The claims were filed in the name of the partnership." "Well, then, we'll have to relinquish them." "I don't agree." "They're perfectly legal." "We'll keep them, and we'll work them." "BEN:" "I disagree." "Nobody's gonna destroy the Ponderosa." "Oh, what do you plan to do, Mr. Cartwright?" "Stop every man who comes over those mountains?" "I'll fight for what's mine and what I believe in." "And when a man who believes differently comes along, what do you do then?" "Kill him?" "If I have to." "Pattern of history, Mr. Cartwright." "A man with a dream goes into a country knowing he'll be killed." "But after him come two more, and then two more, and the military are along to protect them." "And then they build a fort to house the military, and soon, they own the country." "Yes." "It's happened many times." "Be careful history doesn't repeat itself." "JOHN:" "Mr. Cartwright, can't you see your way clear just this once?" "I told you my sister wasn't well, and now we have a wounded man on our hands, and..." "Don't beg, John." "You, uh, camp here until... till you rest up and get your stock in shape." "Anything we can do for your sister..." "Save your concern, Mr. Cartwright." "(coughs)" "Blake, why didn't you tell me about these claims?" "Well, I meant to, John." "I just didn't get around to it." "JOHN:" "You were supposed to be following through on that assay report on the Washoe." "Now, John, we have as much right to this watershed land as Cartwright has." "Do you know what hydraulic operations would do to these hills?" "I don't care what they'll do to these hills." "I just want the gold in these hills!" "And you'd do just about anything to get it, wouldn't you?" "Blake, why don't we just forget about it, and go on to Washoe the way we planned?" "Well, now, that's easy for you to say, isn't it?" "You and your brother both." "Sure, your father left you a mining company and a million dollars to play around with." "Blake, what's got into you?" "Just this." "I want to make it clear that the only thing my father left me was a bunch of debts and bruises on my back." "What I got, I dug out of the ground with these hands, and nobody's going to stop me from digging out more of it!" "But it's not important." "I've told you that before." "It has nothing to do with you and me." "Oh, doesn't it?" "What do you spend your time talking about?" "That fine mansion where you were raised." "The servants you had, the beautiful horses." "Well, you're the one that always asks me about those things." "You say you like to hear about them." "And you like to remind me that I never had them." "Blake, that's not so." "Just a second." "What...?" "John, please." "You said that you loved me." "I do, Emily." "More than anything else in the world." "You're everything I've ever wanted." "Then those things don't matter." "Just give me a chance to get well and just give me a chance to be everything that you want me to be." "(coughing)" "(coughing)" "You'll be all right, Emily." "Someday we'll have everything we've ever wanted." "You're gonna let old Ben Cartwright back you down, eh?" "Who says so?" "Pennington." "You take your orders from Pennington?" "Well, now, you know, I was beginning to wonder about that." "Few years ago, when I first knew you, there was no doubt about it." "I took my orders from you." "You still do." "Sure." "Maybe when you two get married, you can use your wife's money to keep me on the payroll." "That's more like it." "You just say the word..." "Boss." "You just remember that." "I'm boss." "That's the way I like it." "Boss." "You know the bug hunter, Flannery." "He says he's going on alone." "Ah, let him go." "Well, I figured to, except I was thinking..." "Be a shame if the Cartwrights should shoot him down on sight, wouldn't it?" "What makes you think they will?" "Well, you never can tell." "'Course if they did, it'd go kind of hard on them." "Cold blooded murder and all." "Yep." "There must be a lot of folks up here in these hills don't like the Cartwrights any better than we do." "Think what would happen if they was to murder in cold blood a poor, harmless little old coot like Flannery there." "Come on, Christian." "Let's go." "I think I'll take myself a little ride." "Krug?" "Yeah?" "Where?" "The Cartwrights' front yard." "All right." "Let's see if we can make up for yesterday, and drive some cows today." "Right." "Hey, Pa." "Ain't that that bug hunter?" "Yes." "Yes." "It's Mr. Flannery." "Do you want me to run him off, Pa?" "No, no, no." "It's all right." "Mr. Cartwright, I must apologize for coming... (shot fires)" "Cartwright's coming." "That's Flannery." "He was walking toward us." "He was shot from behind." "How'd it happen?" "An unarmed man whose only crime was setting foot on your precious ground." "I wouldn't do that." "You butchers, all of you." "You're quick to accuse, Miss Pennington." "But wasn't it you who mentioned about a man being sent into the enemy camp in order to be a known casualty?" "This was a planned murder." "Someone here is guilty." "Well, now, who do you think is going to believe you?" "When the decent people in this part of the country hear about this, they're going to ride on your place and wipe out the whole stinking Cartwright clan." "Looks like you got it all figured out, don't you, McCall?" "How would you like to start wiping us out right now?" "BEN:" "That's enough." "Take their guns." "What are you going to do-- kill us, too?" "You're going back to California, all of you." "You're drawing a pretty fine line on murder." "Aren't you, Cartwright?" "Now, we're out of supplies." "I told you my sister is sick." "And you're going to make us go back through that country without food and guns and our stock worn out?" "Isn't that murder?" "Mr. Pennington, Pa wouldn't do that." "(scoffs)" "We brought along fresh stock and supplies by muleback, and I'm gonna be riding along with you." "You... as our guard?" "Well, no, ma'am, you see," "I'm gonna be going along to make sure no harm comes to you." "(coughing)" "Ma'am..." "I wouldn't hurt you, not for nothing." "Pa, can Little Joe or Adam go along instead of me?" "We talked it out, Hoss." "We think you can do this best." "(Ben grunts, horse snorts)" "(horse galloping into distance)" "Hey, be careful and watch your driving." "You hear?" "Ain't no use making it any rougher on the lady than you got to." "I notice your partner ain't talking to you." "Of course I never could figure you and him being partners in the first place." "Not that I blame you none." "You got some money out of it, a pretty girl." "Krug, you're going to push me once too often." "I am?" "I don't mean to." "As a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you about maybe working out a partnership on them claims you filed." "What makes you think I'd want to share with you?" "Well, I was thinking about you and that bug hunter." "I didn't kill him." "No, I guess you didn't." "Just about as responsible as if you did." "All right, let's get moving." "Well, you have to admit I do pretty well with what I have." "Thank you." "You could have a lot more." "(coughing)" "She could be out in the desert, not on her way back to California." "You blaming me for that?" "You think it was my fault that Flannery was shot?" "No, I'm just a little sick of the way fighting and killing follows everything you do." "You and your pretty little world, all wrapped up in tinsel." "How do you think I got that land we hydraulicked in California?" "You sat back in your plush office while I went out there and fought for what we had-- every inch of it." "Aren't you forgetting why we're making this trip?" "Didn't we agree on it?" "We both knew Emily had to get to a drier climate." "(coughing):" "John." "Well, a-are you forgetting or are other things more important?" "Can't you control that miserable coughing?" "These fir branches will make a good bed for you, ma'am." "You just put 'em in the ground with the needle end up." "You'll sleep a lot better." "The smell of that fir will be good for that cough, too." "Night." "(neighs)" "You boys got you some extra oats coming tonight." "Long, hard climb we had today, but you're gonna feel a lot better soon as old Hoss gets you all scrubbed down here." "They, they like for you to talk to 'em." "It makes 'em feel good." "You really love horses, don't you?" "Oh, yes'm." "I like all animals." "You can trust 'em." "But you can't trust people?" "Well, I wouldn't say that." "It's... it's just that some folks have got a... a natural mean streak in 'em that animals just don't know nothing about, I guess." "(horse whinnies)" "You giving it up?" "Well, what do you ex--?" "(quietly):" "What do you expect me to do?" "That big moose could break your back with one hand." "Yeah, rough on men but easy on horses." "He pays more attention to the stock than he does to us." "Yeah, I noticed that." "Maybe if one of the horses was to go lame tomorrow...?" "Eh... even if we could handle that big moose, we'd still need guns and ammunition before we could tackle the rest of the Cartwrights." "That foreman of theirs" " Jose Moreno-- he don't live far from here." "He'd have guns." "What about Pennington and Emily?" "Well, now, that's your problem." "Me, I'm just a simple man." "All I care about's the gold." "(clears throat)" "Ma'am, you're going to see some mighty pretty country today." "Matter of fact, if you'll look off right through the trees down there, you can see the lake now." "Pretty, ain't it?" "That off-horse over there has got a mighty tender mouth, so don't go sawing the lines too hard." "You hear?" "(horse neighs)" "Hey, Hoss!" "You better come here a minute." "What's the trouble?" "Horse has gone lame." "How long has he been lame?" "Oh, about a half hour, I guess." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Poor old boy, looks like you picked up a stone." "(men grunting, horse neighs)" "Hoss!" "Hoss!" "Now either you get the guns from Moreno your way, or we'll get 'em our way." "(horse whinnying)" "Hey, Señor Hoss!" "My good friend, I am so glad to see you!" "(laughs)" "¡Ay, caramba!" "The miners-- they still dig like gophers down at the flats." "Señor Hoss, is everything all right?" "Jose, we're going to have to be careful." "(gunshot)" "I wouldn't." "Well, you finally came to it, didn't you?" "Outright murder." "I told you I wouldn't let anything stand in my way." "Ah." "It's the only way to fight the Cartwrights." "Don't you see?" "I was only thinking of you, Emily." "You never could think of anybody but yourself, Blake." "And you never will." "I'll stop you, McCall, somehow." "I can handle that, boss." "We're still partners, John, if you want it." "No." "I said I'd stop you... if it's the last thing I ever do." "Tie him up." "Emily, I..." "Come on." "I wish Hoss would get back soon." "It takes four men to replace him." "Well, if you can't hold up your end of the work, brother, you know... (gunshots)" "Look, why are we wasting so much time?" "What do you expect to find, anyway?" "Well, maybe you can see through a wall." "Maybe you know how many guns we're up against!" "Look, Hoss had a rifle and a revolver with him." "If they took his guns, that's all they've got." "They took Jose's guns, too." "They want us out in the open." "They wouldn't have brought Jose's body to the house if they didn't." "All right, Adam's right." "Come on, let's get going." "I'm sorry." "I was thinking just about Hoss." "Hyah." "You look mighty unhappy, ma'am." "What you need is a little loving to cheer you up." "(yells)" "Leave me alone!" "Let go of me!" "Let go of me!" "(coughing)" "No." "Never mind me." "Get Emily out of here!" "Go on!" "Well, now, maybe we should have tied the girl up, too." "Shall we go after them?" "Not yet." "Let's see how far he'll get with a sick girl on his hands." "It's all right." "I..." "I'm right here by you." "I could get you something to eat if you're hungry." "The woods are full of good things to eat if you know what you're looking for." "I just want to rest for a long time." "Well, we... we can't stay here too long." "They're gonna be after us." "I don't care." "I..." "I really don't care." "That ain't no way to talk." "Let me help you, Miss Emily." "(coughing)" "Get away from me, can't you?" "(coughing)" "(crying)" "Leave me alone." "(crying)" "(coughing)" "Well, uh, I just hate to see you hurting so, Miss Emily, that's all." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to shout at you." "I can't hardly stand to see nothing hurt that's as pretty as you are." "Now, you stay right here." "I'm gonna take a look around." "Well, weren't no sign of 'em, but that don't mean he ain't right behind us." "We best be on our way." "You can't keep running forever." "You carried me half the night." "Why don't you rest a few minutes?" "I'll keep watch." "Do you really think I'm... pretty?" "I think you're real pretty, Miss Emily." "I..." "I think you're as pretty as I am ugly." "You're not ugly, Hoss." "Forgive me for saying it." "Please?" "Oh, it's all right." "I..." "I've heard it before." "We best move on." "And by what right does a murderer like old man Cartwright tell you where you can mine and where you can't?" "This man Flannery-- he didn't even own a gun, and old man Cartwright shot him down!" "You want to know why?" "All right, I'll tell you why!" "'Cause the real gold strike is on the Ponderosa!" "Not on that blue stuff they're been running into over at Washoe." "That's why Cartwright and his boys are willing to kill, and they'll keep right on killing!" "Move in on those murderers, and get out of this blasted blue stuff and into the real gold strike!" "I'm with you, McCall." "In fact, we're all with you." "Right, boys?" "(all voicing assent)" "All right!" "(loud, overlapping chatter of men)" "We'll all meet at Horseshoe Canyon." "Working out better than you hoped for, boss." "Old man Cartwright and the two boys, and they're coming in alone." "Well, good." "They'll never know what hit 'em." "Come on." "And bring my partner with us." "(coughing)" "Hoss, I'd like to explain to you about Blake McCall." "You don't have to explain nothing to me, Miss Emily." "You see, I only saw the good side of him." "Well, I reckon that's the way it is sometimes." "You-You look at a cactus, and you see a rose, 'cause... 'cause a rose is what you want to see." "I don't reckon there's anything wrong with wanting to see something good and pretty." "Sometimes I even do that myself." "I get sort of lonely like, and I look for good and pretty things." "What sort of pretty things do you look for?" "Well, if... if it's the springtime, there's this canyon I go to." "It's plum full of dogwood, and there's a thousand blossoms on every tree." "And there's a smell of the damp leaves in the air, and little ferns around on the ground." "It sounds lovely." "I was hoping you'd say that." "Why?" "Because it's sort of a special place for me, and..." "I'd like to take you there." "I'd like to show you the little gold-back ferns." "You-You press them on your hand, and-and the gold comes right off just like it was stardust right out of the sky." "I ain't never took nobody else there, but I'd like to take you." "I don't think there's anything else I'd rather see." "Miss Emily," "I want you to stay right here on the Ponderosa." "Oh." "Hoss, don't you realize, I'm very sick?" "I know that, but I want to take care of you." "I want to take care of you all of my life." "I couldn't bear it, having you feel sorry for me." "No, I..." "I ain't feeling sorry for you, Miss Emily." "What..." "Well, what I'm trying to say is that..." "I like you, and I want... (horse whinnying)" "I'll be right back." "(horse whinnying, chatter)" "Well, Hoss, what is it?" "It's Pa and Adam and Little Joe." "McCall's got at least a dozen men down there." "Pa and them don't stand a chance." "I got to stop it." "Hoss, you can't." "You'll be killed." "Miss Emily, I got to." "You can't go!" "(shouting):" "McCall!" "Here I am, McCall, up here!" "I'm coming, McCall." "Hold your fire." "Want to tip off old man Cartwright and his boys?" "(horse whinnying)" "(gunshot)" "Hoss, you all right?" "Yeah, Pa." "Well, Hoss, it looks like you have things under control." "Yeah, reckon I sort of lost my temper." "All right, you claim jumpers, get back to your diggings." "It was McCall's idea, Mr. Cartwright." "I didn't want no part in it." "Get off this land, all of you!" "Move!" "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "All right, Pennington." "HOSS:" "Pa, wait a minute." "Little Joe, you got it all wrong." "Mr. Pennington here saved my life." "Pennington, I guess we owe you thanks." "Thank you." "Is Emily all right?" "She's fine." "(coughs)" "We got to get a doctor for her." "What's ol' Doc Riley doing up there?" "He sure has been up there a long time." "(door opening)" "How is she, Doctor?" "She wants to talk to you, Mr. Pennington." "Well, what did the doctor say?" "What the doctor had to say isn't really very important." "Would you take that?" "I'd like to go back to San Francisco." "What?" "Emily, you know what the doctors there told you." "This is the climate for you." "Why, in three months time, you'll be completely recovered." "John, you know better." "I don't know better." "I refuse to give up." "It isn't a matter of giving up." "It's being able to face the truth." "I had to face the truth about Blake, and I think that makes it much easier for me to face this." "I'll find another doctor." "I'll do something." "No, John." "You've done much more than a brother should do anyway." "I don't want to be a burden to you during the time I have left." "I'm going back." "Then I'll go with you." "No, I don't want you to do that." "I want you to go on to Washoe, and to this new Virginia City, just the way you planned." "You think I'd leave you?" "I want to go back today." "Today?" "Why?" "You're in no shape to travel." "Please let me do what I have to do." "I'm not..." "I'm not really so brave, you know." "It's just that I've accepted it." "And I don't want to take a chance on tomorrow." "There must be something I can do." "Yes, I'll tell you what you can do." "Get my clothes from the wagon, because I want to look my very best." "John?" "Please don't tell Hoss." "(door closing)" "There's a wagon train crossing the Sierra into California, and the wagon masters's gonna meet us down at Truckee Meadows." "He'll take good care of her." "It'll be fine, Hoss." "Thank you." "God bless you, John." "Bye, Emily." "I wish you didn't have to go back so soon." "I wish that, too." "Maybe I ought to go along with you." "No." "You're needed on the Ponderosa." "Hoss, tell me about the canyon, and the dogwood in bloom." "I ain't..." "I ain't so good at talking about it." "The gold-back ferns that you press against your hand and the gold comes off just like it was stardust right out of the sky." "Emily, come back this spring and it'll be there just like I told you about it." "You come back, I'll take you there." "You go there, Hoss." "And when the spring comes and the dogwood's in bloom, you go to the canyon." "(voice breaking):" "And I promise you, I'll be there." "I love you, Hoss." "HOSS:" "Whoo-hoo!" "She loves me!" "Miss Emily loves me!" "She's gonna come back this spring." "Did you hear that, Little Joe?" "She loves me!" "Me, old Hoss." "I'm gonna get married, Little Joe." "What's the matter?" "What's wrong?" "What have you been telling these people?" "You must have known Miss Pennington was very ill." "Hoss!" "You quack." "If you've told her something..." "Do you think it's any pleasure for me to tell a dying girl she's got only one month to live?" "You lie." "You're all liars." "Pa, make 'em tell me they're lying." "It's God's will, son." "Hoss..." "Joe." "Son..." "I've had to bury three women I loved." "Your ma..." "Adam's and his." "For awhile, it's a hurt you have to bear alone." "I just don't understand, God." "You got to help me." "Pa." "Pa, I..." "Hoss, there's plenty to do." "(axes chopping)"