Bonanza s02e23 Episode Script

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You going to shave, Pa? Maybe Saturday, if we go into town.
What are we going to use for money? That feller in town said he'd have some for that 40 head of cattle by Saturday.
Better get breakfast started, son here comes your brother.
Jack, I thought I told you to bury that hide.
I thought I'd eat first, Pa.
Then get it out of sight.
That's a Ponderosa brand.
When a man steals beef from his neighbor, he usually tries to bury the hide.
Didn't you have time? Well, now, then, you-you wouldn't mind if we waited till we ate our breakfast, would you, Mr.
Cartwright? No, not at all.
You wouldn't even have to bury the hide if you told me you needed beef.
A big man like Ben Cartwright we didn't figure you'd want to be bothered with us Tatums.
Any man needs eating beef on the Ponderosa, all he has to do is ask for it.
Well, seeing as you got several thousand head, that's right generous.
But if he doesn't ask for it first, he's stealing.
You calling me a thief? You've already taken land, Josh.
This ranch house of yours is more than a quarter of a mile inside the Ponderosa lines I never said a thing about that.
You ain't figuring to throw us off our place, are you, Cartwright? Gus! Right here, Pa.
I got him right in my sights.
You just say the word, Pa, and I'll pull this here trigger.
Drop the gun belt, Ben.
Now just get off the horse.
Jack, move this critter out of the way.
Now, Ben, you've been pushing people around so much, maybe you forgot how it feels to get pushed a bit yourself.
Pushing people around? I ride in here, I find that hide there with the Ponderosa brand on it, one of your kids got me in his rifle sights - who's pushing who, Josh? - Now you tell me our place is a quarter mile inside the Ponderosa.
Well, isn't it? You got money, you got the law.
You can probably prove it and push us off any time you like.
Josh, I could have done it a long time before this.
Yeah, and now for one lousy steer, you're going to try it, aren't ya? No, Josh.
I got something for you to remember, Cartwright.
We don't push easy.
Big man! He don't look so big now.
Pa sure cut him down to size.
What do you kids know about it? Well, you whupped him, didn't you, Pa? Yeah, I guess so.
But it wasn't no waltz like you young pups seem to think.
Where's Pa? He rode out before daylight.
Oh, I wish he wouldn't do that.
Oh, he's fretting over those rustlers.
I heard him down here pacing the floor last night like a caged-up cougar.
Well, what's he think he's going to do? Ride out and corral them all by himself? Well, he'd give it a try.
That's the big trouble with Pa, he still thinks he's 21 years old.
He ought to start taking it a might easier.
Hmm.
You tell him, huh? Well, somebody ought to.
Don't look at me! Morning, boys.
Morning.
Thank you.
Horse throw you? No.
Did you bump into a limb or something, Pa? No.
You, uh, forget to duck? What happened? Got into a little scuffle.
- Into a little scuffle? - Mm.
Who with, Pa? Oh, forget it.
Forget it? Why? Because if I told you who it was, you'd all run out of here hot-headed and itchy and looking for trouble, and you'd find the trouble, there'd be some gunplay, and somebody would get hurt.
Better change my shirt.
I wonder who it was.
I don't know.
A man Pa's age ought not to go around getting into fights.
Age has nothing to do with it.
I never knew a man yet who didn't think he was as good as the best day he ever saw.
Yeah, remember the time Sam Lucas tried to beat the heck out of you? Yeah.
That old man must have been 70 or 75 years old.
- Didn't weigh 100 pounds.
- Oh, ran you out of town.
Mm, I had to run.
He was going to bust my head in with that pickaxe handle.
You know, maybe we can try to talk Pa into taking it a little easy or something, huh? Yeah, sure, we're gonna set him in an easy chair, give him his pipe and slippers mm-mm, not me.
Well, nothing like that, but, uh, we might suggest that he cut down a little on the physical side of things.
Do a little more supervising, huh? Just supervising? Pa? Well, why not? Other ranches have supervisors.
Yeah, I reckon they do at that.
Maybe we could talk Pa into it.
Yeah, maybe we could try.
It won't be easy.
Let's eat now and think about it later.
Pa Pa If you boys are still trying to figure out who I had the fight with, forget it.
Oh, no, sir.
We just wanted you to avoid them scraps.
Fine, I'll avoid them.
Now, let's get to business.
As far as I can figure things, we've lost about 200 head of cattle in the last three weeks.
If it keeps up this way, we'll be out of beef.
So we're going to do something about it.
Now each one of you boys flips a coin two of you go with me, odd man stays home.
Well? Pa, it's a pretty hard ride up there in that country.
And it gets colder than a polar bear's nose.
And there's no telling what kind of trouble we're gonna run into, Pa.
Well, if you boys don't want to come along with me, I can always take Hop Sing.
No, Pa, that that ain't it, it's well, the fact is, we think we all ought to go.
All of us? Someone has to stay home.
Why don't you stay? I never have! Yeah, we we know you ain't never, Pa, and, well, that's our point.
See, we were thinking maybe you ought to start taking it a little easy.
Like supervising, huh? You, uh you boys think I might be getting too old for this sort of thing? Now, we didn't say that.
What did you say? What did we say, Adam? You know what we said.
Yeah.
Well, Hoss? Well, Pa, we doggone it, we we think you ought to start taking it a little easier, Pa.
A man gets a certain age, he ought to slow down a little bit.
Now, we ain't saying you ought to be put out to pasture or nothing, it's Well, that's comforting.
And-and, well, you know you know, a man with three sons ought-ought to be able to get a little of the load taken off his back.
Hmm.
Well, that doesn't sound too bad to me.
Sounds pretty good.
You you mean you don't mind? Well, why should I mind? Well, we thought that Well, stop thinking and stop jawing, and get to it or else the whole day will be gone.
- We're on our way, Pa.
- Be back before dark.
Yeah, and-and with the rustlers.
- Be back by supper.
- Right.
- Right! Uh, Pa, are you sure you'll be all right? I'll try to make out, Hoss.
Looks like a box canyon to me.
Yeah, but the tracks say it ain't so.
They go in, but they don't come out.
There might be a way out at the other end.
Or else they're still in there.
I sure don't like the looks of it.
I'd hate to get trapped in there.
You want to find those rustlers or don't you? Well, yeah, but I want to find them; I don't want them finding me.
Let's just be mighty careful.
I sure don't like the looks of this.
I don't know what you two are going to do, but I'm going to get myself a little closer to the ground.
I ain't gonna sit up here like no crow on a fence post.
Cover me, Joe! Right.
How is it? How should I know? I ain't seen it yet.
Let's take a look.
In and out, slick and clean.
Adam, I ain't I ain't never going to tease you again about wearing them clean shirts.
Well, the only reason I wear them is 'cause I knew you'd get shot one day.
That'll stop the bleeding.
You'll be fine as a frog's hair in no time.
You all right? Yep.
I reckon I am.
We ain't got ourselves many problems.
We lost our horses, we ain't got no food and water, and even if I could walk, we couldn't get out of here.
Them fellers are using real bullets up there.
On top of all that, it's going to be so cold tonight it'd freeze the hide right off of a drunken cowboy.
And we can't build no fire.
Well, at least we did one thing.
What's that? Well, we found the rustlers.
Worry, worry.
You get bellyache.
You better eat now.
No, I'll wait a while.
The boys should be along soon.
Maybe they sleep out tonight.
No, I don't think so.
They said they'd be back before dark.
Besides, they didn't take any food with them.
They be back.
Hmm? Mr.
Hoss up there.
He smell food cooking, he come to food like homing pigeon.
Go.
What do you smell? Nah, it can't be.
It can't be what? I I swear I can smell Hop Sing's cooking.
We're over a half day's ride from the house.
You can't smell that distance.
I don't know about that.
I remember once Hoss smelling biscuits in a sandstorm.
The storm was over and we got home, sure enough, there were the biscuits.
- Remember that? - Yeah.
I wish I didn't.
Roast pork and sweet taters? You come eat.
Roast pork, sweet potato.
Keep warm much longer, all dry up.
I'm afraid they've run into some kind of trouble.
Always do.
You eat.
I'm not very hungry, Hop Sing.
They catch trouble, okay.
How you help by not eat? Just in case, better put that back in the oven.
You want me sit up all night keep fire in cook stove? No, you can let it go out.
Uh, when the boys come back, I'll fire it up again.
Nah.
Oh, man, it's colder than a well digger's toenails out there.
Where's Curly? Oh, he's keeping an eye on them Cartwrights.
Throwing in a couple of shots now and again, just to let them know who's boss.
Any doubt in your mind who's boss around here? Didn't mean nothing by that.
Ah.
Never thought coffee'd taste better than whiskey.
But it does.
How long before dawn? What you worrying about? Sun comes up, it comes up.
You figure come daylight we can, uh, pick off them Cartwrights and get the herd on the trail, huh? Sure.
Sure.
Do you think I'd throw in with Josh Tatum, didn't know what I was doing? Oh, you got it all figured out, boss.
I mean, they ain't going nowhere without them horses.
And that big feller's hit in the leg and Only thing is, they'll be dug in deep by daylight.
Well, then, we'll dig them out.
Providing old Ben Cartwright doesn't come looking for his boys at that time.
That old goat? What can he do? What can he do? Well, he's just one more man, ain't he? Sometimes that one more man is just one too many.
The Tatums are due here in the morning to help drive the herd.
That makes six of us.
Figure three to pick off them Cartwright pups, that that leaves three to take care of the old man.
That ought to do it.
Yeah, it should.
You know something? One slug takes care of one man.
I don't care who he is.
You're new around here, Johnny.
Yeah.
Maybe that's what you need.
Somebody who don't get the shakes around old Ben Cartwright.
I'll take care of him.
Johnny.
Just see that you do.
Feller up there is a mighty good shot.
- Yeah.
- Ain't no way to get at him.
Where is he? You see them rocks up there? The great big one on the left and the two little ones on the right just piled on top of each other? - Yeah.
- He's behind those little ones on the right, and there ain't no way to get at him.
I'll get him.
What you gonna do, shoot through the rocks? Nope.
All those times we were in Virginia City and you were busy chasing girls and he was busy throwing people over tables, you know what I was doing? Probably down at the bank counting your money.
Yeah, checking the books to find out if the bank's going to go broke.
No, I was improving my education playing billiards.
That big rock on the left's the cushion, character behind the little rock is the object ball, and the slug is the cue ball.
Reckon you hit him? Well, I should've.
The angle was right.
What'd you do, try to change position? Wise guy down there must have bounced one off the rocks.
You reckon Pa started out after us yet? I doubt that.
After we told him we'd do all his fighting for him.
He's probably sitting at home taking it easy, waiting for us to ride in.
- You go now, Mr.
Cartwright? - Yeah.
You go Virginia City, get sheriff? No, there's no need for that.
You think no trouble.
Yes, I think no trouble.
What have you got there? Sandwich.
This for Little Joe and Mr.
Adam.
This for Mr.
Hoss.
Seems about right.
You tell Mr.
Hoss I cook turkey for supper.
Oh, that's fine.
What are the rest of us going to eat? It's pretty funny joke, Mr.
Cartwright.
Now not so funny.
Have to kill another turkey, pick another turkey, stuff another turkey, cook another turkey.
Big joke.
Good-bye.
Josh! That'll be far enough.
Hand over that rifle.
Your gun belt.
So, that's the way it's going to be, huh? I give you a beating.
Now every time I poke my face out of the brush, I'm looking down a gun barrel.
You're kind of a poor loser, ain't you, Ben? You stole one of my steers, you're on my land.
For all I know, those wolf pup sons of yours are behind a tree, right now, with a bead on me.
If that were so, you wouldn't be standing there talking about it.
Now, come on, give me back my guns.
I'll give them back to you when I'm ready.
You're getting mighty edgy over one measly steer, ain't you? I already told you, Josh, any man needs food can get a steer just for the asking.
But the Ponderosa's lost hundreds of head in the past month, through rustling.
I'm not edgy over the one you stole.
And I ain't edgy over the hundreds you lost, Unlessen you're accusing me of being part of it.
If I was, I'd tell you.
How about my guns? You'll find your guns about a mile up the trail.
Back feels better that way.
What's the matter, Ben, don't you trust me? No, I don't trust you, Josh.
Besides, I gotta be on my way.
Oh, you Cartwrights always got big things to do, ain't you? Big enough for me going after my sons.
Your sons?! What happened? They lost or something? They went up into the high country to look for the rustlers.
They didn't get back last night.
I'm going after them.
No posse? You going all by yourself? Haven't got time for a posse.
They're my sons.
What would you do if they were yours? No sign of him yet? Nah.
If he's coming, he ought to show up pretty soon.
Now, he's gotta come up that draw.
When he does ptth! like a sitting duck.
Yeah? Well, if he's alone, you can take him.
If he's got a posse along, empty that rifle and we'll get out of here.
Hey, how's Curly? Staying away from rocks, you can bet.
He ain't hurt too bad.
I got a bandage on it, stopped the bleeding.
Man, I sure could use some whiskey.
Should've thought of that.
I did.
Had a pint in my saddlebag.
Where is it now? Gave it to Curly.
He needs it more than you do.
Well, you tell him to save some for me, so I can get this night chill out of my bones.
You just take care of old Ben Cartwright, I'll see that you get a case of the stuff.
Hold it! You took long enough getting there.
We ain't rich enough to buy horses.
They hang a man for stealing them.
We come as soon as we could.
Which way did you come? Up over the ridge, like I said I would.
I don't suppose you seen anything of Ben Cartwright? Yeah, I seen him, right after I started out.
He had me bushwhacked as pretty as you ever seen.
How come he didn't shoot at you? I talked him out of it, that's how come.
I can handle Ben Cartwright.
We don't have to worry about him, anyway.
Johnny's waiting for him.
So he didn't go to Virginia City for a posse.
Looks like we got them Cartwrights right where we want them.
Maybe you have and maybe you ain't.
Where's Johnny? He's covering the draw where Ben's got to come.
One of you go down there and back him up.
Wait, there's no need for that.
Johnny can take care of him.
A chipmunk couldn't get by him.
I don't care if a chipmunk get by or not.
I'm thinking about Ben Cartwright, and I don't want that old coot getting in here.
Gus, you go down there and back him up, just like I said.
Ben got you spooked? He ain't nine feet tall.
I know, I know, but we ain't taking no chances.
Now, where's Curly? Keeping them three Cartwrights pinned down.
You know something, one of them got Curly in the shoulder.
I told you to be careful, didn't I? Jack, go spell Curly off.
Whereabouts is he, Jake? See that needle-pointed rock over yonder? He's hunkered down behind it.
Better let him know you're coming.
He's getting skittish as a hungry coyote.
Have some coffee.
Where's the herd? Up on the mesa plenty of grass there.
Ain't nowhere for them to go.
What you worrying about? Ben Cartwright.
I told you I got I know, you told me Johnny's taking care of him.
And Johnny ain't but a kid.
He don't know Ben Cartwright.
Ben's got to come up through that draw.
And Johnny's got him in his sights he can't miss.
He ain't there.
What do you mean, he ain't there? Well, like I said, he ain't there.
I looked all over for him.
You never should have sent that dern kid down there! Why didn't you let a man handle it?! He might have changed position.
Do you believe that? No, I reckon I don't.
Where that old buzzard is now? Howdy, Josh.
I wished I had a quart of that stuff.
That slug still in there, Curly? Yeah, it's still in.
Feels just like a hot branding iron.
Josh, how about us getting this over with so I can get to a sawbones? I've got to get this slug out of here.
Yeah, you take it easy for a spell, Curly.
And you favor that shoulder.
Gus, you go on back down to where Johnny was and keep your eyes peeled.
Jake, let's you and me see if we can't do something about these Cartwright boys.
Get the rifles.
If Pa is coming, I sure hope he brings some sandwiches.
I swear my stomach's so empty a chicken liver would feel like a full meal.
Well, you can't have any food.
How come? You're wounded.
A wounded man ain't supposed to have anything.
Not even water.
Dad burn it, I'm wounded in the leg, not in the belly.
Well, that don't make any difference, right, Joe? That's right.
I heard it from a doctor in Virginia City.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
It'll kill ya.
Why, them dirty, no-good-for-nothin', grubbin' Take food right out of a man's mouth.
- Hey, Adam.
- Yeah? See that little clump of rocks up there, - that dead bush in the middle? - Yeah.
I got me a real live one in there.
He's setting up a pattern.
Every time I squeeze off a round at him, he fires one back at me before I can even clear my chamber.
Watch.
- You see him? - Uh-huh.
Try him again he's getting careless.
He's hit.
Yeah, you didn't even shoot.
That's right.
Hey, must be Pa.
Hey, hot diggity! It is Pa! Cover him.
He's coming in.
Hope he's got some sandwiches.
We figured you weren't coming.
Hey, Pa, did you bring any food? Yeah, I did.
It was in my saddlebags, but I got bushwhacked.
My horse spooked and run off.
What happened to your leg? Oh, I-I got shot.
It-lt didn't bust no bones, I don't think.
I can't, I can't walk on it, though.
Uh, Pa, what kind of food was in them bags? I don't know Hop Sing said something about turkey, and I suppose there was some of that real tender roast beef of his.
Dadburn it.
Since you didn't make it here with it, I sure do wish he'd have sent cheese.
Cheese, why? 'Cause I don't like cheese.
Thought maybe you went to Virginia City to get the sheriff and a posse.
Oh, by the time I realized it was real trouble, I didn't have a horse.
Well, we don't want you to think we're not glad to have you with us, Pa.
But that puts you in the same jam we're in.
Why not? My name's Cartwright, too, isn't it? Bad, son? Not too bad.
Easy, boy.
How'd it happen? I don't know.
I was shooting down at them three Cartwrights, next thing I know, I'm hit.
Couldn't have been one of them, though.
They didn't have that angle on me.
Ben Cartwright.
Had to be.
Johnny's gone now you're hit.
There.
That'll take care of the bleeding.
Pa, is it busted up bad? Naw, it ain't nothing but a scratch! You'll hardly even have a scar to show to some pretty gal! Give him another shot of that whiskey.
How is it? Well, how would it be? He's shot, ain't he? I was just wondering.
Living this way, I always figured we'd catch some lead one day.
But thinking about it and seeing your boy with a slug in him is two different things.
He might have been killed.
This ain't exactly a bee sting I've got in my shoulder.
Yeah, I know it, Curly, but it ain't the same thing.
It may not be the same to you, Josh, but it's the same thing to me.
Well, them old buzzards holding up six men it sure seems like What six men? Ain't you forgetting something? Johnny's gone, you and Jack are hit.
The way I figure, that leaves only three, not six.
Stinkin' Ben Cartwright! Why did he have to stick his nose into this? What's he gonna do? Let us keep his boys pinned down till he runs out of ammunition? One of 'em's wounded.
You think he's gonna like that? That'll turn him as mean as a trapped cougar.
He all right? He's gonna be.
Did you see Gus? Yeah, Gus is all right, but I seen something else.
What? Ben Cartwright is down there with his boys.
What'd I tell ya? Anybody else with him? No, but he got in there with a couple of rifles and probably some extra ammunition.
He's gonna be a tough nut to crack.
I never said he wouldn't be, did I? You never said nothing! You're so full of ideas, now, come on, let's hear one of 'em.
Well, first off, I think you better take Curly across country to Silver City and find a sawbones.
That slug in his shoulder has got to come out.
All right, all right, but what about the herd? Right now, that herd we rustled don't seem so important.
What are you aimin' to do, just walk out of here? You got a better idea? Yeah! I'll give the orders.
Now why don't you just try that? Ah, I never should have throwed in with you in the first place.
I might know you'd go soft.
Just because a man don't want to see his sons get killed don't mean he's goin' soft.
As far as I'm concerned, it does.
Uh Curly, think you can set a horse? You just lead me to him.
All right, we better get out of here.
Curly, you take care of that shoulder, boy.
Thanks, Josh.
What are you doing that for, Pa? For to keep from getting shot when I talk to Ben Cartwright.
What do you want to talk to him for? You got shot.
They might get Gus.
It's pretty quiet, Pa.
Yeah.
Hey, Pa, look.
It's Josh Tatum.
Dang if I trust him.
Hold it, hold it, hold it.
- But Pa! - Never mind.
Just do as I say.
I'm still running this show.
Howdy, Ben.
Josh.
How's the big 'un? A little late to show concern, isn't it? And for the record, he has a clean wound in the leg.
He'll be all right.
Jack got shot in the arm.
Well, what'd you expect, that nobody'd get hurt? Ben, I didn't figure it'd turn out this way.
You see we've been rustling some of your stock.
Well, it didn't seem like much, you having so many.
Didn't hardly seem like stealing.
And I suppose ambushing my sons didn't seem much like shooting! I was miles away when the big 'un got shot! Oh, now you're gonna tell me that if you'd been here, you'd have put a stop to it! I done a lot of things in my time that I ain't proud of, Ben, and today, I might have gotten my kids killed.
I might have killed one of yours.
You're alive right now because you didn't.
All right, Ben! I only come back here because I'm sorry for what I done! I figured you was man enough to take into account that I ain't rich! I ain't no boss of no Ponderosa! I got the same feeling toward my boys as you got toward yours! Well, maybe you ain't man enough.
Maybe all you want is just revenge.
Well, if that's what you want, you better dig in deep and save your ammunition.
That is, unless you shoot me in the back when I walk out of here! Josh! Now, nobody's going to shoot you in the back! We're pretty well holed-up here.
We got plenty of ammunition.
If you and your gang figure you haven't had enough, you just say the word.
We can start this ruckus all over again! Don't you stand there yelling at me! Well, do you want to go on with this or don't ya? Do you want to try your luck again? Ben, you got me wrong.
Ain't all the cattle in Nevada's worth one of our boys! That's what I come here to tell you! By golly.
We're both reaching for the same conclusion, except we're butting our heads together like old billy goats.
No, we're like a couple of them she-bears - with a litter of cubs.
- Yeah.
You ain't never tried to mess around with one of them, have you? Who, me? I got more sense than that.
Yeah, me, too.
Well, why are we messing with each other? I can't figure it.
Ben, there's me and my boys.
I figure we can rig up a litter and help you get the big 'un back to the Ponderosa.
Then we'll help you round up the cattle that we rustled.
Afterward, you can take us down to Virginia City to see the sheriff.
Yeah.
Let's get the boys out of here.
Seeing as how I had to shoot one, I wish it had been the little 'un.
Thanks a lot! What's the matter you, Mr.
Hoss? Hop Sing, I'm dying of starvation, that's all that's the matter with me.
I got turkey.
Good, that'll do for a starter.
Then later on, you can fix me a full meal.
He make joke? I don't think so.
I got two turkey.
All right, Hop Sing, that'll do for a start.
You better get some beefsteaks going.
The Tatums are staying for dinner.
I think they're hungry.
They've had a hard day.
Very good.
Very good.
Figured you'd want to get into Virginia City to have Jack's arm patched up, Josh.
The sooner, the better.
It's a, uh long walk, so I had the, uh, boys saddle up three horses for you.
More than decent of you, Ben.
Soon as we see the sheriff, I'll have someone bring these horses back.
I reckon we'll be staying there quite a while.
Yeah, well, reckon you're right.
Rustling's a serious crime.
I ain't denying it.
Of course, uh seeing as how you didn't really go through with it, seeing as how you told us where the cows are I ain't asking no favors.
I'm not offering any, excepting for the loan of the horses.
I expect you'll want one of your boys to go along with us, see we get to the sheriff and then get these horses back to ya.
Why? Can't I trust you? Ben when I get straightened out with the law, I hope things will be different 'tween you and me.
I mean Well, what are you waiting for? You gonna stand around here till you get blood poisoning in that arm?! You heard Mr.
Cartwright! If you ain't forgot how to ride, get started before I whale the tar out of both of you! Dang wolf pups! Raising kids ain't easy, Ben.
No, sure isn't, Josh.
Of course, there's one good thing a man can sure start taking it easy once his boys are grown big enough to take care of things.
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