"ANNOUNCER:" "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC." "(fanfare plays)" "(hushed):" "Hurry up, Sam!" "We set one." "Let it go." "Hurry it up!" "Make it fast, this whole town ain't deaf!" "Well, it looks like we made it clean, Pardo." "They sure sleep sound in Virginia City, don't they?" "Let's go." "Sam... the Ponderosa is over in that direction." "I reckon I can find it." "You know what you're gonna do when you get there?" "We've been over it 97 times, Pardo." "Just once more." "All right." "I go to the Ponderosa and I hire on as a hand, and I keep my ears open." "And if a search party comes down this way," "I'll let you know first." "Especially if it's a platoon from the Army." "Then what?" "Well, when things quiet down," "I come on back and we light out." "Mark that big old dead tree." "We'll be a mile-and-a-half south of here." "You'll see a big granite boulder, leads into a box canyon." "That's where we'll be waiting." "You just let old Sam take care of it." "You're my eyes and my ears." "I'm depending on you, Sam." "Let's go." "Sam, cover up those hoofprints." "They'll probably want to know where you came from." "Tell them about that ranch you used to work on;" "that fella that was always talking about the Ponderosa." "That ought to convince 'em." "What if it doesn't?" "What?" "What if somebody starts getting extra nosy?" "You got a gun, haven't you, Sam?" "(theme song playing)" "(horse whinnying)" "Hey!" "Ride him, cowboy!" "Come on, stick with him, Adam!" "HOSS:" "Ride him, Adam!" "LITTLE JOE:" "Come on, Adam!" " Fan him!" "Fan him!" " Come on!" "You know, I told you he was too much horse for you, Adam." "Well, you're next, bronc buster." "That's what they call me." "Hey, Joe, you ain't been making no rash promises to Ellie McClure, have you?" "I haven't had a chance." "You sure?" "Because there comes her Pa and the sheriff right now." "Whoa." "Hey, I wonder what they want?" "I don't know, but now, me," "I always sort of went for June weddings with lots of apple blossoms and..." "Yeah, well, you know, a fellow could do a lot worse than Ellie McClure." "Oh, excuse me all to pieces." "ADAM:" "Well, are you gonna ride this thing or not?" "Coming up." "If you'll excuse me, ladies, it's time for your riding lesson." "(Adam, Hoss clear their throats)" "(horse whinnies)" "Now we'll see some fun." "HOSS:" "Ride him, Joe!" "Ride him, baby!" " That a boy!" " Ride him, Joe!" "Keep his head up, Joe!" " HOSS:" "Ride him, baby!" " ADAM:" "That a boy!" "HOSS:" "Ride him, Joe!" "HOSS:" "Keep his head up!" "That's a way!" " That's a way!" " Get him!" "ADAM:" "Come on, boy!" "Ride him!" "Stay with him, boy!" "Ride him!" "HOSS:" "Ride him, Joe!" "(both laugh)" "I told you." "Well, I'm glad somebody enjoyed it." "I'm sorry." "I didn't know it showed." "What can we do for you?" "Well, you wouldn't happen to have an easy job in a cool place, now would you?" "Yeah, but my brothers and I take all of those." "What else do you do?" "Well, I've accidentally managed to break a horse or two in my day." "Yeah, well, we just happen to have one on hand." "Yeah, well, I was hoping you'd take my word for it." "ADAM:" "Now what's this?" "Cowboy wants to try his luck on that hammerhead." "You ever busted any broncs before, bubba?" "One or two, I guess." "Well, if you ain't for sure, right now would be a real good time to back out." "No, I don't reckon I'd want to do that." "You think we should let him do it?" "Well, it's his hide." "Some fellers have to learn the hard way, Joe." "(horse whinnying)" "Come on, nag!" "No!" "Hyah!" "Mule!" "Hi!" "Hah!" "Hi!" "Hyah!" "MAN:" "Get out of there!" "(indistinct shouting, goading)" "Now that's what I call riding a horse." "Well, you got to admit I tired him out a little bit." "Well, you might as well face it, Joe, some people are just better with horses than others." "Nice ride, kid." "I'm Adam Cartwright." "Sam Kirby." "These are my brothers, uh, Hoss and Little Joe." "Howdy." "Hi." "Pleased to meet you." "You, uh, looking for a job, Sam?" "Well, Ed Lemp said you might be hiring some hands." "Ed Lemp... you a friend of his?" "Well, he ramrodded an outfit I worked for down in Arizona... the Bar-B." "I see." "Ed give you a letter to show?" "Well, yeah, I, uh, I got it packed in the saddlebag there, if you really want to see it." "If you say you got it, you got it." "How's old Ed, anyhow?" "Oh, he's meaner than ever." "Still thinks mighty high of the Ponderosa, though." "Well, we pay $30 a month, bunk and beans." "Well, you just hired yourself a hand." "Now, as far as posses are concerned, we got them here, here, and up here." "Looks like you're well-covered." "Now, I've been on the telegraph to every lawman in the territory, so I believe we got him pretty well sealed in." "That is, within this general radius." "Yeah." "Oh, boys, come in, please." "You know Mr. McClure, Sheriff Coffee?" " Hello, Sheriff." " Little Joe." "Howdy." "Hi, Mr. McClure." "Ellie getting all set for that birthday party Sunday?" "I'm hoping we'll be able to have a birthday party, Little Joe." "Well, why?" "What's the matter?" "Well, Mr. McClure's bank was robbed last night." "I thought that bank was pretty near robber-proof." "Yeah, so did I." "How much did they get away with?" "Just about all there was." "Right now, we'd be lucky if we could pay off five cents on the dollar." "Boys, that information is not to leave this room." "You mean the people don't know about it?" "Well, they know we've been hit, but they don't know how bad." "We can't afford to have a run on the bank right now." "If we can get that money back by the first of the month, we got a chance to weather it." "You'll be fine, Tom." "Any idea who did it, Sheriff?" "Yeah, it could have been the John Pardo bunch." "He pulled a job just about like this up in Butte last year." "Well, what are we waiting for?" "Now, wait a minute, Joe." "The sheriff has plenty of help up north." "He's holding us responsible for the Ponderosa." "Chances are they'll hole up for a while, anyway, till this thing cools down a bit." "And we're to see to it that they don't hole up on our land." "So keep your eyes open for anything unusual." "You know, smoke, tracks that hadn't ought to be there, drifters that got a lot more money than they ought to have, anything like that." "Well, we'll let you know if we see anything, Roy." "Ah, much obliged to you, Ben." "More than likely they won't come down this way at all, but it don't do no harm to make sure." " BEN:" "No, it doesn't." " Bye." "So long." "Mr. McClure, I sure hope" "Ellie can have that birthday party." "I hope so too, Little Joe." "We're waiting to hear from Fort McKay." "We're trying to get help from the army." "Well, I'm sure they'll want to help." "So do we, Tom." "Ben, when I think about some of the small ranchers around here," "I..." "I'm just not man enough to tell them that they've worked five, ten, 15 years for nothing." "It's a tough thing to face up to." "Now, now, Tom, that's enough with that kind of talk." "They'll find Pardo and his outfit." "You mark my words." "I hope so." "Thank you, Ben." "So long, Ben." "So long, Roy." "Want us to finish breaking those horses, Pa?" "No, forget about the horses for now." "There's still time to do some looking before it starts getting dark." "You boys saddle up and tell Hoss and the men." "Hey, Pa, I was, uh, I was just thinking about what the sheriff said about drifters." "Yeah." "What about 'em?" "Well, we just hired one a little while ago." "I just thought I'd mention it." "Now, come on, Joe, just because he outrode you, doesn't mean he's a bank robber." "Look, I told you to stop kidding me..." "BEN:" "Wait a minute, now." "Wait a minute." "Now, what about this new man?" "Well, Ed Lemp sent him." "He's all right." "Fella over there by the corral." "Sam Kirby." "In the gray shirt." "Well, if Ed Lemp vouches for a man, that's good enough for me." "Tell Hoss and the men to saddle up." "Well, we'll cover more ground if we split up in twos." "Joe, you take the arroyo and everything east." "Right, Pa." " Hoss." " Yes, sir?" "You go down south as far as the wash." "Adam and I will take the west part." "All right, take a man and let's get busy." "Okay?" "Yeah, let's... we'll bird-dog them out of there." "Come on." "BEN:" "Come on!" " Whoa, whoa." " Whoa." "I don't know about you," "I think I'm gonna stretch a little." "Well, uh, don't you think it's getting kind of late?" "Shouldn't we get back?" "Yeah, after I work out a few kinks." "Wonder how the others are doing." "I don't know." "I hope they're doing better than we are." "(groans)" "That's funny." "You find something?" "Yeah." "This bush here." "It's been broke off fresh." "You reckon how that come to happen?" "Well, uh, a stray, maybe." "No, I don't see no tracks." "It's peculiar, ain't it?" "Well, it, uh..." "that's-that's deer brush." "Maybe some Indian took it for his fire." "Maybe." "Let's me and you take a look around, anyhow." "LITTLE JOE:" "Hoss!" "What's the trouble, Joe?" "Ah, nothing I guess." "From back there, it looked like he was drawing down on you." "Who?" "OI' Sam here?" "Well, l-I just heard somebody coming." "L-I just wanted to be sure." "Joe, you're letting this whole thing spook you, boy." "Yeah, I guess so." "I reckon you was right about that deer brush." "Come on, let's get on in for supper." "A sure fine supper tonight." "I never had roast beef that good in my whole life." "Get your gear stowed away?" "No, I..." "I better get to it." "Want some help?" "No." "Thanks." "I don't have that much." "If you need anything, Sam, just holler." "(door closes)" "Do you, uh, suppose it's something serious?" "I don't know." "I think the cat's got his tongue." "No, I was just thinking." "About Ellie McClure, no doubt." "Uh, no doubt." "No, I was thinking about Sam Kirby." "Well, now, you can't still be stewing about him breaking that horse this morning." "I told you that had nothing to do with it." "Ah, it's like I was telling you before supper." "He's all bothered because he thought he caught ol' Sam drawing down on me out there in the wash." "Forget that, Joe." "He told you how that happened, didn't he?" "Yeah, he told me." "What's the matter with you then?" "(sighs softly)" "I don't know, there's just... there's just something about him." "Well, on Friday, we-we covered the south and the west part." "Then yesterday, we took the east." "And this morning, we split up and swept north." "No luck, huh?" "Nah, not unless Adam found something." "I didn't." "What kept you?" "Well, Sam saw some, uh, smoke up around Bitter Creek." "Turned out to be OIlie Ludlow's posse." "Ah." "OIlie's been watching the Dayton Road." "Don't I know you, son?" "I couldn't say, Sheriff." "I don't think I know you." "Roy, this is Sam Kirby." "He's working for us now." "Since when?" "Since Friday." "Hired on Friday, huh?" "Where were you Thursday night, Sam?" "You mean the night the bank was robbed?" "Mm-hmm." "I was on the trail." "You can prove that, of course?" "Not unless you want to take the word of my horse." "Sam's all right, Sheriff." "He..." "Ed Lemp sent him up here from the Bar-B." "Oh." "How's old Ed?" "Meaner than a snake." "(laughs)" "Well, I guess, Sheriff, that..." "RUDY:" "Sheriff?" "Got a message for you from Fort McKay." "Thanks, Rudy." "Get my glasses." "Come to town for the picnic, Mr. Cartwright?" "Oh, you mean, uh, Ellie McClure's birthday party?" "I heard that was being called off, wasn't it?" "Well, it looks like they called it back on again." "You know about ladies and parties and such." "They say it's going to be a real do!" "Hot dog!" "That's what I call real good news." "And here's some more good news." "The army's going to bust loose with a whole troop of horse soldiers." "Says they'll be here tomorrow afternoon." "Tomorrow?" "Well, that is good news, Sheriff." "That changes things considerably." "Now we can organize a search that'll really mean something." "Well, Tom McClure will be happy to hear about that." "What's up, Rudy?" "Who's that young feller in there, Joe?" "That's the new hand we hired." "Why?" "Well, nothing." "I just thought maybe I saw him in town with two other men the night the bank was robbed." "Are you sure?" "Well, he sure looks like the feller I seen." "Well, maybe you ought to come in there and tell the sheriff." "Oh, now, wait a minute." "I ain't that sure." "Anyway, it was kind of a dark night that night." "Well, I'll see you back at the Ponderosa, Mr. Cartwright." "All right, Sam." "Aren't you going to the picnic, Sam?" "No." "No, I'm not much good at picnics." "Well, you ain't never seen the kind of picnics we have around here." "Well, I think I'll just ride on back to the ranch, Hoss." "Oh, why don't you come on." "It'll do you good." "Well, some other time." "OI' Joe and me are gonna look pretty silly packing you all the way over there, now, ain't we?" "No, maybe he's got something better to do, Hoss." "All right, you win." "I'll go." "Come on." "Hope she's got some of that blueberry pie." "Yes, sir, I sure relish a couple of them blueberry pies 'fore supper." "Now for the team of Adam Cartwright and Troy Fuller," "Adam Cartwright." " Come on, show 'em, Adam." " (clapping, murmuring)" " Got nothing to worry about..." " Get 'em in there." " That's it." " Get it in there." "There we go!" " (crowd murmuring)" " Easy one, easy one." "Easy, easy!" " Ah!" " (crowd murmuring)" "Hey, that's a fancy swing there, you got." "All right, player, come on, boy." " Take good care of that." " See what you got here." "(murmuring continues)" " (horseshoe clanks)" " Ah!" "Hey, that's a fancy swing there, you got." "All right, player, come on, boy." "(murmuring continues in distance)" "Ellie, I wouldn't do all this work for just any girl." "I hope you know how much I like you." "You mean I'm the only girl you ever carried a picnic basket for, Little Joe?" "Well, let's just say you're the only girl I'd carry one for now." "Little Joe Cartwright!" "Right in front of all these people." "Yeah, well, y-you know, we could go behind that wagon." "All right!" "All right." "I'll get the rest of the groceries." "The pickle fork." "Pickle fork." "Where did I put the..." "Hoss Cartwright!" "Ma'am, uh, there was a great big ol' horsefly here, and l-I was just..." "I know what you was just." "You Cartwrights!" "If it isn't one thing, it's the other." "There'll be no refreshments served until after the games." "Yes'm." "Miss Ellie, ain't that your pickle fork over there?" "I don't see any..." "Hoss Cartwright!" "Remember, ma'am, I'm just a growing boy." "Hey, Sam." "Hey, Sam, come here." "What you doing sitting off over there all by yourself?" "I'm just watching." "Well, that ain't no way to do at a picnic." "You got to get around here and meet some of these pretty gals." "Oh, no, don't bother." "I'm-I'm fine." "Yeah, but you'll be a lot finer when you meet some of these gals... come here." "Miss Ellie, Miss Ellie, l-I want you to meet a friend of mine." "This here is Sam Kirby." "How do you do, Mr. Kirby." "It's my pleasure, ma'am." "Uh, you better be nice to Miss Ellie; her father owns a bank." "Is that so?" "Well, if you two will excuse me, I better find Pa and Adam and learn 'em something about shooting them horseshoes." "Do you like picnics, Mr. Kirby?" "Well, I don't exactly know." "You don't know?" "You see, this is the first one I've ever been to." "Didn't they have picnics where you grew up?" "Not hardly." "What kind of a place was that?" "I don't think you'd much want to hear about it." "I'm sorry, l-I didn't mean to be inquisitive." "It's-It's my fault." "I..." "I didn't mean to give you a short answer." "That's all right." "If you'll excuse me, I've got to finish setting this table." "Is there anything I can do to help you?" "Thank you." "I didn't think I was going to have a party today at all." "That so?" "Well, you heard about the bank being robbed." "Yeah, I heard." "Papa's been awfully upset." "And mama and me, too, naturally." "I guess you would be." "So many people trusted Papa." "The Wilsons and Ludlows." "Even the Cartwrights." "I think it would just kill Papa if they were to lose everything." "Well, l-I don't see where it's his fault." "He feels responsible to his friends." "Doesn't matter now, anyway." "We had some real good news today." "Suppose you mean about the army coming in." "Yes." "Isn't that wonderful?" "Yeah." "Wonderful." "WOMAN:" "Ellie?" "Have you seen the napkins?" "Yes, Miss Shoemaker." "They're in that basket over there." "Well, come on, girl, the party can't wait all day." "Mind setting them out?" "Course not, Miss Shoemaker." "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Kirby." "I hope to see you again." "Thank you, ma'am." "Well, as a matter of fact, there's a dance next Thursday." "Doesn't amount to much, but the Cartwright boys usually come." "Why don't you come along with them?" "Well, thank you, ma'am." "I think I'd like that." "Thursday then." "Yes, ma'am." "Oh, let me get that." "LITTLE JOE:" "What are you trying to do, Kirby?" "I wouldn't say I was trying to do anything." "Now, Little Joe, Mr. Kirby and I were only talking." "Yeah, sure, I saw the way he was talking." "It looked to me like he was trying to put his arm around you." "Joe Cartwright!" "What business is this of yours, Cartwright?" "I'm making you my business, Kirby." "Just because I've gone out with you once or twice, it doesn't give you the right to think of me as your personal property." "Now, you stay out of this, Ellie!" "There's a lot of questions I've been wanting to ask you, Kirby." "Now is a good a time as any." "Well, I'm not answering any questions." "Yeah, well, you're going to answer this one:" "Where were you Thursday night?" "Joe!" "Mr. Kirby, please!" "Break it up, fellas." "Break it up, break it up." "Break it up!" "When I say break it up, I mean break it up!" "It's all right, folks." "Everything's all right." "The boys were just getting a little hungry, that's all." "I think Mr. McClure would like us to adjourn to the tables for a little food." "Yes, friends." "Over here." "We have fried chicken." "Sam..." "Sam, we didn't mean no harm." "We-We didn't know your back was scarred up like that." "You suppose it'd be all right if I went along now?" "Where do you want to go, Sam?" "Back to the ranch..." "if it's all right." "Of course it's all right." "Sam..." "Little Joe didn't mean nothin'." "We just wanted you to have a good time, that's all." "BEN:" "Hoss." "Sam... put this on." "It'll cover your back." "Well, it wasn't much of a picnic for him." "HOSS:" "Pa?" "Hmm?" "You reckon what would do a man's back like that?" "About the only thing I could figure is... a bullwhip." "What are you all looking at?" "Aw, forget it, Joe, ain't nobody looking at you." "All right, what was I suppose to do?" "You didn't have to poke him." "Oh, I didn't have to poke him." "Look, he's the one that threw the first punch." "Come on, now." "You've been down on him ever since he rode that horse." "I told you that's got nothing to do with it." "Well, what is it then, Joe?" "What have you got against that boy?" "All right, I'll tell you." "Rudy told me he saw him in town Thursday night." "I wouldn't be surprised if he had something to do with the bank robbery." "Hey Joe, that's going a bit too far, ain't it, boy?" "That's a pretty serious charge, Joe." "You have any real evidence to support it?" "Now, Rudy told me he thought he saw him in town." "He thought he saw him in town." "And you call that real evidence?" "Well, I guess not." "I'm sorry, Pa." "I should have known better." "All right." "Look, maybe I better ride after him, tell him I'm sorry." "Yeah." "Good idea." "Come on, Cochise." "It's me..." "Sam." "(hoofbeats approaching)" "Oh." "Hello, Sam." "How's the boy?" "Just fine, Pardo." "Things quieting down?" "No." "They're getting hot." "There's an army troop of cavalry headed in from Fort McKay." "Yeah, when?" "Well, they're due in Virginia City tomorrow afternoon." "What time?" "I'm afraid they didn't say that." "(chuckles)" "Oh, well... we'll have plenty of time." "Where are the posses?" "Well, I got them all spotted." "Yeah?" "You sure?" "I had a good long look at the map in the sheriff's office." "In the sheriff's office?" "They must have trusted you pretty good." "Yeah, they trusted me fine." "Why?" "No reason." "Where'd you get the new vest?" "Adam Cartwright." "He, uh... he gave it to me." "He gave it to you." "I gotta hand it to you." "You sure got a way with you, Sam." "Yeah." "All right, we'll take outta here in the morning, before the cavalry pulls in." "(chuckles)" "Now, what's so funny?" "That Cartwright feller, giving you his vest." "(laughing)" "Ramos!" "There's one thing still left for you to do, Sam." "I want you to go back to the Ponderosa and spend a little more time with your friends." "Why?" "Well, for one thing, you might want to return that vest." "If you're thinking of turning on me, Sam, you better forget it." "Now, what makes you say that?" "I don't know, I just said it." "Now get back to that ranch and find out which way the soldiers are coming in." "Pardo, do I have to go back there?" "Yeah, you have to go back there." "(horse whinnies)" "PARDO:" "Where'd you find him?" "Looks like he was trailing Sam." "Ramos and me thought you might be interested." "Do you know him?" "Yeah, it's Joe Cartwright." "It's a small world, ain't it, Kirby?" "I thought you said you had them fooled." "No, not all of us." "What's that mean?" "Nothing." "Just keep him here." "I'm going back to the ranch." " Eh..." " Leave him alone!" "Are you going soft, Sam?" "Go ahead, tie him up." "Get on back to the Ponderosa before those Cartwrights get suspicious." "And find out which way those horse soldiers are coming in, you hear?" "I hear you." "ADAM:" "That you, Little Joe?" "No, it's me..." "Sam." "Oh, I thought, uh, Joe'd be with you." "Well, you thought wrong." "That's funny, he rode out of town right after you did." "He felt kind of bad about what happened at the picnic today." "He went after you to tell you he was sorry." "Oh?" "Well, you tell him I said not to lose any sleep." "Sam, I haven't known you for very long, but I count you as a friend." "Let me tell you something:" "A man's only got one friend, one guy in the whole world he can count on who'd go out on a limb for him... and that's himself." "All right." "The sheriff's inside." "The sheriff?" "Wants to talk to you, Sam." "But why me?" "Why don't you ask him that yourself?" "That Ed Lemp..." "I tried to convince him to stick it out in this territory, but..." "He never did think this country would amount to much." "Hired out to Arizona." "He did pretty well out there." "He had all that gold and silver right here under his feet." "Yeah, and the lumber and cattle." "(door opening)" "Hello, Sam." "Come in." "You know the sheriff." " Yeah." " Sam." "Sit down, Sam." "No, thanks." "Sheriff tells me he has some, uh, some information about you." "I thought you'd want to be here when he told us." "That's nice of you, Mr. Cartwright." "Seems Sheriff Coffee here got to worrying about you this morning, after we left his office." "Well, that was real nice of you, too, Sheriff." "I sent a telegraph message about you down to Bar-B Ranch, Old Ed Lemp." "Here's the answer." "It says they let you go more than six months back on account of your prison record in Texas." "Did you check on that, too?" "Didn't have to." "He sent the whole story." "Funny thing about a prison record, Mr. Cartwright... they say you do your time and you pay your price... but don't you believe it." "Sam, did you serve your time out?" "Eight years." "And I was pardoned." "I suppose they left that out!" "It's all there." "Now, Roy, what's all this about?" "Since when do we hound a man that's paid for his mistake?" "It wasn't exactly a mistake." "Now, just what does that mean?" "He murdered his father in cold blood." "Is what he's saying true?" "Yeah." "Some." "He was my stepfather... and he needed killing." "Nobody needs killing." "He did." "I was six years old when my mother died." "You know what he did when we come back from the funeral?" "He took a whip to me." ""Just to show ya," he says." ""Just to show you things are gonna be different from now on."" "That was my stepfather." "I see." "From then on, he beat me every day I can remember." "Except when he was too drunk!" "Then it was he who... who did that to your back." "He did." "So I waited." "I waited till I figured I could handle him." "And I waited till he was stone-cold sober." "I wanted him to know what was happening and who was doing it." "SHERIFF:" "That's premeditated murder." "Yeah!" "And then, one night, he came for me... and I was ready." "And I killed him." "I was 14 years old." "And that's what you served your sentence for?" "For ten years." "I served eight." "I think you'd better come along with me, boy." "Sheriff, I'm not going anywhere with you." "SHERIFF:" "Kirby, you haven't got a chance against the four of us." "Sam..." "Sam, put... put up your gun." "Put it away." "All right... now, what's the charge against him?" "No charge; don't need any." "He can't prove where he was Thursday night, and he's got a prison record." "That's enough to take him in." "No, it's not enough to take a man off this ranch." "Now, what does that mean, Ben?" "Roy, half the people in this territory couldn't prove where they were Thursday night." "And as for a man having a prison record, once he's served his sentence, his debt is paid, and that's it." "The boy stays here." "You're refusing to cooperate with the law?" "BEN:" "I'm refusing to allow you to lock the boy up without a valid reason." "No law in the world says you can do that." "I could deputize some men." "Well, Sheriff, I reckon you better get you a whole bunch of 'em." "All right, Ben." "But he's your responsibility." "Ben, you're stickin' your neck out a country mile, because if you've made a mistake you're gonna have to account for it." "(Ben sighs)" "Well, Sam, it looks like Little Joe and the rest of us owe you a new shirt." "Yup." "You go down and get the best one you can find, Sam, with pearl buttons and all." "BEN:" "Sam now what's been said here has been said, and that's the last of it." "I want you to know that you have a home here on the Ponderosa for just as long as you want it." "Uh, Pa, you'll have to excuse Sam." "He, uh, has some theories about people going out on a limb." "Guess they kind of fell apart, huh?" "(Ben chuckles)" "That's where you're mistaken." "You all just made me see how right I am." "So I got a home on the Ponderosa, have I?" "Well, I can't use it!" "Sam!" "Now, look, what did we say..." "Forget it!" "Just don't you do me any favors." "And don't you expect any!" "Now, what got into him?" "I guess he's not used to being treated like a human being." "Mm." "I wonder why Little Joe didn't come back with him?" "Aw, Pa, he probably got halfway out and decided to go back and make up to Ellie." "Mm." "Should've been home hours ago." "Strange boy, that Sam Kirby." "(chuckles softly) Well..." "I guess that's what happens when you've never been given a helping hand." "Yeah, he got himself so far out on that limb he didn't quite know how to get himself off." "(yawns) Well..." "it's been a hard day, Pa." "Better get to bed." "Don't worry about Little Joe, Pa." "He can take care of himself." "Yeah." "Good night, Hoss." " Good night, Adam." " Good night." "Good night, Pa." "He's sure enough worried about Joe, ain't he?" "Yeah, well, you know how he always is about him." "Hey, where you going?" "I'll be right back." "Do you think you'll need any help?" "Nah." "(door opens)" "Couldn't even wait till morning, huh?" "Why you so touchy, Sam?" "No reason." "I just want to get out of here." "(sighs) So nothing my father said made any difference to you, huh?" "Why don't you Cartwrights leave me alone!" "I'm full up to here!" "And here's your vest!" "I don't want it!" "Sam, is it really the kindness that's killing you, or is it something else?" "I just don't like a lot of people asking me questions." "Why not?" "What have you got to hide?" "Who says I got anything to hide?" "Little Joe right about you all along... is that what's bothering you, Sam?" "(quietly):" "Okay." "(grunts)" "Adam?" "Adam, are you around?" "(door opens)" " What's the matter?" " I got hit in the head." "Kirby slammed into me and ran off." "I guess he had us all fooled." "Yeah, and particularly me." "I think the sheriff was right about him." "Little Joe, too." "He might have the answer to Joe's whereabouts." "Now, let's get Hoss and get saddled up and pick up his trail as soon as it turns light." "(punch lands)" "All right, once more." "You're wasting your time." "Which way?" "(hoofbeats approaching)" "About time you were getting here." "We gotta get moving." "What are you doing to him?" "What'd you find out?" "Did you find out which way the horse soldiers were coming in?" "No." "I didn't get a chance." "Well, maybe we still have a chance." "He probably knows which way they're coming in." "Why don't we just have you make him tell us." "Yeah, why don't you make me talk, Sam." "Go on." "After all, you're practically one of the family." "Well, what are you waiting for?" "You ask him." "That living with the Cartwrights is making you go soft." "It's his kind that put you in jail and took eight years out of your life..." "you forgetting that?" "No, I'm not forgetting that!" "But I know the Cartwrights well enough to know that he won't talk." "Now, if we stay here any longer, we'll never get out of here." "Let's get going now." "LITTLE JOE:" "You'll never get out of here." "When my pa and brothers find out I didn't come home all night, them and the cavalry'll be all over the place." "You're not gonna make it." "Maybe we won't, but you won't be alive to know it." "Kill him." "Hold it, Linc." "Now, he just gave us the answer." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "Take him with us." "Joe Cartwright riding out there in front." "And if we get trouble from any of the other Cartwrights, he gets a bullet right in the back." "Might work." "PARDO:" "Ramos!" "Go get Andy and saddle up the horses." "Linc, get the money out of the cave." "All right, Pardo." "Pardo!" "You sure waited long enough." "You took ten years off my life." "Well, I just hope I didn't take ten years off my life, too." "(sighs) Eh, don't worry." "You got friends now." "Friends that'll stick by you." "Yeah, I know that." "I'll be all right." "What about those other two?" "Yeah, let's pick 'em up." "Well, it looks like Little Joe didn't wait for the army." "Hey, he's got Sam with him." "Looks like we was wrong about Sam, Pa." "Yeah." "Looks like we were all wrong about Sam Kirby." "Hyah!" "ANNOUNCER:" "This has been a color presentation of the NBC Television Network."