"(horse huffing softly)" "Keeler, put the horses away." "Harry, Brag, take a look around town." "Anything going on, I want to know about it." "Well, now... ain't that a beautiful sight, huh?" "(chuckling)" "BAXTER:" "Miss Sally?" "Are you satisfied now, Sally?" "(door closing, bell chiming)" "Howdy, Mr. Baxter." "I've been looking for you." "Have a petition?" "Yeah." "Ah." "Not many names." "I'll get more." "I got to." "Hold it, Keeler." "What for?" "This one is tight enough." "Come here, Giles." "The old man's a 200-pounder." "Here." "Yeah, a little... (grunting):" "about three feet will suit him... good." "Yeah... all right." "Well... the boy is lighter and wiry." "He'll need about four and a half feet, which is exactly about what we got." "Yeah." "Well, I never did like these night hangings." "Ain't like in the morning, when it's cheerful." "(sighs)" "Well... guess it don't matter none to Ben and Adam Cartwright." "(theme song playing)" "Two hours to go." "(neighing)" "No guns in sight." "That's good." "If my boys weren't supposed to bring guns into town, they won't." "Morning, Joe, Hoss." "How are you, sir?" "Bill." "Okay, go ahead." "Joe." "Hi, Pa." "Hoss." "Pa, Adam." "We found him, Pa." "Dead." "How did he die?" "We found him about 100 miles north of here." "Looked like he'd fallen off of a cliff." "Or was thrown off." "Deuce Martin?" "Yes, sir." "We left his body with the sheriff up at Spottswood." "Now, there are only two witnesses to that killing." "One of them's dead already." "Now, Sheriff, you know my pa and brother are innocent." "Deuce gave me a full statement." "Yeah, and then he left town before the trial." "Didn't much matter." "Sally Byrnes saw it, too." "And you believe her?" "Well, the jury did, Joe." "I'm sorry." "BEN:" "Joe..." "Hansen's doing a hard job the best way he can." "Now, time's getting short, but... we may still come out of this right-side-up." "Well, what do you want us to do now, Pa?" "Three things." "Now, first off, talk to Sally Byrnes again." "And second, help Ed Baxter." "He's putting out a special edition of the newspaper." "What good's that gonna do?" "It'll make people think a little bit." "And I'd like you to think of the third thing, which may be our best chance." "Barney Ogden's taking a petition around town." "Now, the governor will grant a stay of execution if we can wire him the names of 50 citizens asking that our case be reconsidered." "Oh, and Hawkins' men are in town, so stay clear of them." "Well... we won't fool with the Hawkins boys." "We better get getting', Little Joe." "Look to your horses first." "I heard you coming into town fast after a long ride." "A good rancher looks to his horses first." "(man chuckling)" "(laughter)" "Of course, now, on the other hand, you hang 'em too high..." "and whoosh, you know?" "(laughing)" "This town's like a graveyard." "What's the matter with everybody?" "I just don't know." "Well, mostly, people come from miles around to watch a neck stretching." "They bring a lunch and make a day of it." "(chuckling)" "There's some folks around here kind of fond of the Cartwrights... who wishes there wouldn't be any hanging." "It'll make Hawkins the biggest rancher in the territory." "You like our boss, don't you?" "Sure... sure." "Just don't like to see anybody hang." "Sounds to me like you ain't got no respect for the law." "I'll just have to drag you out to watch it." "Us and the boss will be audience enough." "Hey, you know ol' Ben Cartwright been reading the Good Book?" "You don't suppose he's praying for one of them miracles, do you?" "(laughs)" "Shaps, Keeler, take a look around town." "(horse huffing softly)" "* *" "Hi." "Howdy." "Take care of your horse?" "Yeah." "Give him six quarts of grain and all the hay and water he wants." "Yes, sir." "Where you from?" "Lassiter." "Hey, ain't Lassiter that town in Kansas that them raiders looted and burned?" "There a hanging been or coming?" "Coming real soon." "You, uh, here to watch?" "No, I, uh..." "I'm looking for someone." "I don't hardly see, uh, nobody packing their gun in their britches." "Well, I'll take care of your horse." "Yeah." "(horse huffing softly)" "Hawkins sure has a lot of hired guns in town." "Yeah." "Easy." "Well, get out of the way." "Sure, kid." "Joe, Joe, Joe!" "Just watch who you're calling kid." "HOSS:" "Just take it easy, Joe." "Pick up your saddle." "Joe, you're going to have to watch that temper, boy." "Yeah, well, Hawkins better keep his men out of my way." "(horse whinnying)" "(bell chiming)" "(bell chiming)" "Hi, uh... you open?" "Coffee and stew." "I'll have coffee and stew." "(dishes clattering)" "Is something wrong?" "No, it's, uh, just that I've never seen a lonesomer town." "Well, it's just that... everyone's afraid to watch the Cartwrights die." "Not everyone." "That calendar there says someone's been counting the days." "(door bells chiming)" "Miss Sally." "Ma'am, we'd like to talk to ya for a minute, if we could." "You see, you're the only one left in town now that can save our pa and Adam." "Me and Little Joe found Deuce Martin dead." "Dead?" "Yes'm." "You're the only witness against them, now." "I told you what I saw at the trial." "Sally, you lied!" "Little Joe, no need for that." "You were hurting the lady." "I didn't mean to hurt you, Sally." "I'm sorry." "I just wanted you to tell the truth, that's all." "We're not doing any good here." "Let's go see Barney Ogden." "Ma'am... are you sure that... that nothin'd cause you to change your mind?" "I'm not gonna lie for you!" "You and Sy Hawkins are the only men" "I've seen stand up to the Cartwrights." "Coffee and stew are on the house." "Who was killed?" "My father." "Ben Cartwright come here one night with his son Adam, and they were boiling mad." "They claimed Pa had been buying mavericks stolen off their Ponderosa." "They went out back where Pa and his hired hand, Deuce Martin, were cutting wood." "I could hear them arguing." "And then there was a shooting." "Well, if you knew what it was like to have someone killed in such a crazy way like that..." "I do know." "I know very well." "(clanging)" "Sheriff Hansen sent me." "Give me a nickel if I'd bring some stew for supper for his prisoners." "All right, Jimmy." "No trigger." "Yeah, that-that's right." "Looks kinda old." "Well, my-my pa used it for a long time." "But it's yours now?" "Yeah." "Does the town of-of Lassiter, in Kansas, mean anything to you?" "No." "How do you mean?" "Well, have you, uh, heard of anybody around here being connected with the town in any way?" "No." "Who would be the biggest rancher around here?" "Ben Cartwright." "I thought everyone knew that." "Ben Cartwright, no, I didn't know that." "Is he a... is he a tall fella?" "He's big." "Why?" "Well, he may be a fella I'm looking for." "Well, don't you know by the name?" "No, I'll know when I see his face." "Thank you." "(door bells chiming)" "Hey, Shaps!" "Keeler!" "Fred says for everybody to come in and have a drink." "Terry, Brad, you hear him?" "Nothing to worry about." "Everything's under control." "(clears throat)" "I'll be handling the final details." "I'll do what I can to be helpful." "That's very kind of you, but just how can you help us?" "Your throats should be clean shaved as possible." "The hemp is new, and stiff." "It sometimes pulls short whiskers." "That can be painful." "Also, your boots should fit snug, otherwise, they may fly off." "Oh, we can do without your help." "I believe you mean well, friend, but-- we thank you." "I understand." "(cocking gun)" "What do you want?" "See the older Cartwright." "What for?" "It's a personal matter." "Sorry, but you can't..." "Go ahead." ""I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;" "so shall I be saved from mine enemies."" "What is it?" "I thought I might know you." "And I don't." "You seem disappointed." "I am." "You thought the hangman was doing you a favor?" "Yeah." "This man you... you thought I might be... you hate him very much." "Yep." "Sorry I troubled you." "(knocking on door)" "Who is it?" "Me." "Hoss." "Pa." "Hoss." "Sally Byrnes ain't gonna change what she had to say." "What about the petition?" "Barney Ogden's probably down in the Miner's Flats." "Little Joe's down there to fetch him now." "Well, that's good." "They ought to get lots of names down there." "Yeah, and we're gonna need 'em, too." "Everybody in town's holed up in their house." "Hawkins." "HOSS:" "Yeah." "They want to stay on his good side in case he takes over the territory." "Nobody's taking over while I'm sheriff." "Hansen, you're new in office here." "They get rid of Pa," "Hawkins'll start chopping away at the Ponderosa till he's more powerful than he is now." "And if you stay honest, you'll just have one problem." "You'll be dead." "Better get on with your talking." "Time's running out." "Hoss, I want you to work on the petition, and the newspaper-- but no more than that." "What d'ya mean, "no more than that," Pa?" "Adam and I agree." "Do everything you can inside the law, but that's all." "If you try to free us by force" "Hawkins' men'll slaughter you." "Besides, you'd be coming up against these lawmen and be shooting at our friends." "It's no good." "Well, then you don't have to worry none, Pa." "We..." "Hoss..." "I want you to promise me." "No violence." "Yes, sir." "And try the telegraph office." "Maybe Joe missed Barney." "Maybe he's already got the names and sent 'em to the governor." "Yeah." "Yeah, I'll-I'll check." "Mr. Cartwright?" "BEN:" "Yes?" "I had reason to think that the man I wanted was around here." "You thought I was him." "Yes, but there were never two more different men in the whole world than you and my man." "And I'm sorry that I bothered you." "Don't worry yourself." "* *" "Hey, Hoag, only about an hour to go." "Hawkins better get here soon." "Yeah, he'll sure be sore if he misses it." "He won't miss it." "(sighs)" "You lookin' for something?" "Can I have a whiskey, please?" "You the stranger been goin' around, ain't ya?" "You know, Fred, he packs his gun in his britches." "You reckon he'd bust a finger taking it out?" "Oh, Hawkins don't want no trouble, Burt." "Not till after the hanging." "Sure, I know." "I'm just wonderin' about this little fella here." "You know, could be he's a friend of the Cartwrights." "Are ya, Mister?" "Yeah." "Long standing?" "Ten, maybe 15 minutes." "(sighs)" "Be a short-lived friendship." "Now, us, we're backing up law and order and justice." "Seeing that there ain't no slip-ups in that hanging." "Now, you forget that for just one minute, and I'm gonna personally turn you inside out." "You hear good?" "You too scared to talk?" "Go outside and cool down, Burt." "Hey, uh, Cartwrights got any friends around here?" "Not many." "Watch it, kid!" "Sorry, Mister." "What do you got there?" "Stew." "I got to take it to the jail." "Hey, Hoagie." "Hey, Hoag, come here." "HOAGIE:" "Yeah." "(laughing)" "This kid's taking stew to the jail." "It must be the Cartwrights' last supper." "Say, what do you think we ought to do with it, Hoag?" "Well, let's just flavor it up a little bit." "No!" "Stop!" "Oh, let's just do her up right, Hoag, huh?" "(Bert laughs)" "Don't!" "Please, Mister!" "Come here, kid." "JIMMY:" "No, please, stop, Mister!" "HOAGIE (laughs):" "Come here, kid!" "(laughter)" "(grunts)" "(groaning)" "Get up." "(sighs)" "That's enough." "Get him inside!" "Move on in!" "We'll take care of you later, after the hanging." "I'll go get more." "It don't matter none." "You just finish what you started, son." "Yes, sir." "Whose side are you on, anyhow?" "Well, I talked to your pa, and I'm just beginning to wonder about this hanging." "How come?" "Well, it just seems to me that, uh, the wrong kind of people are in jail around here." "Well, it's for sure that my pa and my brother didn't kill Mr. Byrnes." "Yeah, well, a lot of people around here think they did." "It couldn't have happened." "Couldn't have happened the way Sally said it did." "Mr. Byrnes was shot from out of the dark." "My pa and Adam shot back trying to save him." "You mean that, uh, Sally Byrnes lied?" "No." "I..." "I don't think Miss Sally lied." "I..." "It was dark that night." "I..." "I think she just didn't see it right." "What about the fella that saw it?" "Deuce Martin?" "He ain't no good." "He could have been scared out of it or bought off or anything." "Well, I hope you get that petition signed." "We will." "We got a special edition of the paper coming out, and that's gonna help." "Well, that's good." "They're still talking about that petition." "Something about the newspaper." "Better cover ourselves." "(panting)" "Hoss?" "He ain't with Hawkins." "Yeah, who is he with then?" "You fellas, if you don't mind." "Look, Barney ain't down at the flats." "He hasn't been there." "He didn't even go down there?" "No." "We got to hurry up and find him and get that petition." "We haven't got much time left." "Yeah." "Let's try his house." "Come on." "Right." "If nothing else works, you fellas planning on a small revolution?" "Yup." "Well, hold off as long as you can." "What do you think he's got in mind?" "I don't know, but if it's a revolution, I got a sneaking hunch that fella would be worth a regiment." "Well, we don't get that petition, we're gonna need a regiment." "Come on." "Yeah." "And when Mr. Hawkins comes to town, he'll settle with his men for treating you that way." "No, he won't." "He won't do nothing." "Well, he can't be held responsible for what his men do." "As a rule, you can usually tell a man by the men around him." "Now, Hawkins was forced to hire those rough men to stand up to the Cartwrights." "Better pull 'em down, Bert." "I'm busy." "Hawkins won't like folks reading words like that." "I can't prove the Cartwrights didn't murder Byrnes, but the Lord willing, I can help stop the hanging." "I sure wish we could change your mind." "Sharp." "Words like you got down here might get a whole town thinking the wrong way." "Anybody ever get their arm caught in one of these things?" "Fred?" "Hmm?" "Looks like he's, uh, melting down some type." "I told you I'm busy!" "Sure is hot." "I knew a fella once who got his face pushed in some boiling lead." "He sure wasn't a pretty sight." "Hey, Hoss, all the shades are down in Barney's house." "Yeah." "Let's try it anyhow, hmm?" "Yeah." "That's funny." "Middle of the day, and the shades down." "Yeah." "Try again." "Hey, Barney, what-what are you doing sitting here in the dark?" "I'm..." "Hoss, I'm sorry." "Where's the petition?" "Don't make him feel any worse than he already does." "He was trying, Hoss." "If you knew what they said they'd do to him..." "So he quit?" "So he quit, and he came back to hide in this house." "A house you wouldn't have, Barney, if it hadn't been for my father." "How many names did you get on it, Barney?" "Five." "Five?" "!" "The sheriff and deputy." "The hangman and his helper." "Mr. Baxter." "What about your own?" "What about your own, Barney?" "They made me scratch it off." "You..." "You don't know what they said they'd do to my daughter." "(Hoss sighs)" "Where's the petition, Barney?" "I'll..." "Little Joe and me will get it signed." "Look, we haven't got time for that now." "Oh, we can try." "It's here." "I'll light the lamp." "Don't bother, Barney." "I think I can see you better in the dark than I ever did in the daylight, anyhow." "Come on, Little Joe." "Jason already asked me." "And you wouldn't sign it?" "Nope." "Max, we done tried six houses on this block, and nobody'd sign it." "All we need is just a few names to get the bail." "Max, you don't have to be scared of nobody." "I ain't scared!" "It's just that..." "Look, I don't want no part of it, one way or the other." "Now..." "Now leave me be." "Look, Max, if we..." "All right, let's get the guns." "Not yet." "Come on." "Well, now, the way I look at it, they was tried fair and square." "And I ain't one to go against a judge and jury." "Now, Zeke, you know they're not guilty." "Well, now, I'm sorry, but I don't know no such thing." "Come on, Joe." "They're still with us." "Thanks a lot, Zeke." "Gil, you've always been one of our best friends." "It ain't fair of you, bringing this in here." "Besides, one more name won't do no good." "Look, we said we'd protect you." "I know you mean that, and maybe you would." "Every day of the year but one." "Come on, Joe." "BERT:" "My, you sure are working hard on that petition." "You know, I'll sign it." "My name's Ulysses S. Grant." "(laughter)" "I wouldn't if I were you." "Lassiter..." "thanks." "Saw you headed there." "It's about time for Mr. Baxter's paper to be out, Little Joe." "Let's go over and see what's keeping him." "Forget it." "There's no time for that paper now." "If it comes to shooting..." "We'll do just like you said." "We'll hold off till the last." "Let's go." "Mr. Baxter?" "Mr. Baxter?" "He ain't bleeding." "What's wrong with him?" "He's been scared half to death." "It's time to get them guns, Joe." "Come on." "Hey, it's the boss." "20 minutes to go." "He sure is spare with his time." "Anything happen I should know?" "Oh, nothing much." "They gave up on the petition." "They didn't try anything else?" "Well, Baxter was putting out a newspaper to help them." "But we stopped him." "Oh, how?" "A little hot lead." "Good." "He won't forget." "That's all?" "Yeah." "What happened to your hand, Bert?" "Ah, it was a stranger." "Nothing to worry about." "You better be right." "Bert." "Yes, sir?" "Put my horse up and build a fire out there by the gallows." "We'll be able to see better." "Jay, Hoagie, come on." "Thanks." "Little Joe, Hoss." "Feed box." "Uh, Mr. Jackson?" "Huh?" "I hate to do this to you, but..." "You make one sound I'm gonna do worse, you hear?" "Let's go." "Trouble?" "I got there too late, they told me." "All things being equal, you got there soon as you could." "Yeah, but I wanted to do something good for Mr. Cartwright and Adam." "And I didn't even get them their last meal on time." "They were tying their hands up so's to hang them." "Thought it was a plain business deal." "The sheriff gave you a nickel for the job." "I don't care about the nickel." "I wanted to do something for Mr. Cartwright before they kill him." "I know it's hard, Jimmy, but that's the way it's got to be." "They're murderers." "They're not!" "Mr. Cartwright gave me a Christmas horse." "What?" "Last year when Ma and Pa were liking to die with the fever," "Mr. Cartwright came over and gave me that pretty piebald mare of mine." "Said it was for Christmas." "And it was in the middle of the summer!" "Now I'll never get to pay him back." "Now look, you paid Mr. Cartwright back and he knows it." "And I know it." "And someday you're gonna know it." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Now come on, you go on home." "Everything's gonna be all right." "Poor kid." "Just like the Cartwrights." "Buy some little present and get a lifetime of loyalty for it." "As if they were kings or something." "With the fire they're building you'll get a good view of the hanging from here." "What makes you think I want a good view?" "Don't you?" "(door slams)" "Then why'd you mark the calendar towards this day?" "Look, I want this to happen." "I don't want to see it happen." "It'll be over in a few minutes." "I've got things to do." "Can't see the hanging from here." "Just hear it." "Hear it?" "Yeah, hanging sounds almost as bad as it looks." "Trap door bangs open." "And there's a loud thump." "There's probably a few fellas watching who will give a..." "a whoop or a holler." "Is this the, uh, window you saw the killing from?" "Mm-hmm." "It's kind of dusty." "Why don't you..." "leave me alone?" "Because you didn't see it." "Deuce Martin told you he saw the killing, and you thought the Cartwrights were guilty." "Now, they deserve to... hang." "You didn't see it." "Look, I've gone through enough." "I've lost my pa." "I know the Cartwrights are dying on my word alone." "Now, you just leave me be." "I thought you were a friend." "I am, but I won't let you do this." "Look, Hawkins told me what it would be like." "The Cartwrights are rich men." "They'd go free after killing my pa!" "I couldn't let that happen!" "So you lied?" "I didn't say that." "Now, look, once, just once, I saw an innocent man hanged." "And I'm still looking for the men who did it, and I will be for a long time." "Now, the Cartwrights didn't kill your pa." "I know that, and someplace, someplace inside you, you know that, too." "Oh." "Leave me be." "(door bells chiming)" "(flames crackling)" "It's starting." "(footsteps climbing)" "All right, we better move." "Not yet." "They're walking up the steps." "Can you hear 'em?" "Sure you don't want a hood over your head?" "In the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved..." "You're right." "I didn't see them." "I couldn't be sure." "Tell 'em." "Go on, tell 'em." "SALLY:" "Sheriff Hansen!" "(footsteps running)" "Sheriff Hansen!" "Sheriff Hansen, I..." "I lied." "I didn't see them do it." "Stay out of this!" "We met before, Mister." "Who are you?" "In Lassiter, Kansas." "Remember?" "At another hanging party." "Remember?" "Remember?" "(grunts)" "(crowd chatter)" "Ooh!" "(grunts)" "That's enough shooting." "All right." "I'll bet you're glad we didn't wait till the last minute." "(laughs)" "(horse sputters)" "(knocking)" "(loud pounding on wood)" "Confounded Cartwrights!" "How much do I..." "I owe you?" "Two dollars." "Much obliged." "Lassiter, I..." "I guess I'll never know who killed Pa." "Hanging innocent men" " I..." "I owe you a..." "I want to thank you." "You don't have to thank me." "You did what you thought you had to do." "And you made it right." "There ain't no way to thank you for what you've done, or tell you how we feel." "I know how you feel." "My pa was hanged wrongly." "Why don't you..." "Why don't you stay here?" "Found the man you were looking for." "Thank you." "But the men who did that hanging-- there's more of 'em." "A lot more." "I'll be seeing you." "He's a driven man, Pa." "I sure would hate to be him." "Yeah." "Somebody I'd like to be even less-- any one of the men he's looking for."