All language subtitles for Bonanza S09E17 The Thirteenth Man.DVDRip.NonHI.en.CBS

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Don't burn that steer.

Marcus Alley?

Changing a Bar V
brand into a Box W.

No, I found that here.

Look, you can ask Arch
Hollenbeck. He'll tell you who I am.

Oh, I know who you are.
You're a thieving cattle rustler.

No, I ain't. Look, just as I got
in, somebody rode out, fast.

Honest.

That's too bad, now there ain't
anybody here to back up your story.

Hollenbeck's one of the men who
hired you, Mr. Alley, you can ask him.

He'll tell you who I am.

Or Ben Cartwright. You ask him.

I don't have to ask
anybody anything.

That running iron
and this hog-tied steer

tells me everything
I have to know.

You see, the Cattlemen's Association
doesn't pay me to ask questions.

The Cattlemen's Association
pays me to stop rustling.

That's exactly what I'm
gonna do, in my own way.

Now you can go for your gun.

I don't want to go for my gun.

You don't understand, mister.

You don't have a choice.

A Bar V steer, a
running iron and a fire.

Well, a combination like
that's got to add up to rustling.

No, wait a minute,
wait a minute.

Welles was one of my hands.
He had every right to be here.

With a running iron?

Well, I admit that looks bad, but
maybe there's some explanation.

Oh, he had an explanation.

He said he came across the fire,

the running iron and
the steer by accident.

I didn't want to kill him.
He went for his gun.

Mr. Hollenbeck, I
know how you feel.

You said you surprised him.

Why didn't you just hold your gun
on him and take his away from him?

You should have
brought him in, Alley.

He would have
talked to me, Alley.

Gentlemen, I didn't
have no choice.

Unless you figure that I should
of let him get off the first shot.

Gentlemen, what I'm saying
is that I believe that the man

that you hired as
a range detective,

and the man that I
deputized, is telling the truth.

Now, if the Welles
story is correct,

there'd be another set of tracks
coming in to the fire and going out.

- And there wasn't any.
- Just shows you how wrong you can be.

I'd have sworn Welles
was an honest man.

That seems to wrap it up,
Roy. We're much obliged.

All right, Ben. See
you later, boys.

Oh, Roy, Alley is waiting outside.
Would you ask him to step in, please?

- I sure will.
- Thank you.

Why do we have to see Alley again,
Ben? He's not on trial, and we're no jury.

Well, there's been some question
about the way he's been doing his job.

And since we're his
employers, I think we should...

We should tell him
our investigation proves

that his report is
completely accurate.

Well, I'm going on record as
being dead set against everything

that he's done in this case.

Mr. Alley, would
you sit down, please.

We... We wanted
you to know, Mr. Alley,

that the sheriff has corroborated
the report that you made to us.

Alley, the Association is satisfied
that you shot in self-defense.

The Association also wants
to impress on you, Mr. Alley,

that the next rustler you
catch, you bring in alive.

Well, I'll agree to that, if the
Association can guarantee

that the man won't draw on me.

Nobody's expecting you
to let yourself get shot.

We just want to
be sure that the...

You want to be sure that
there are no more surprises.

What's that supposed to mean?

Like finding out who's
really stealing your cattle.

I think perhaps you'd
better explain that remark.

I'll be glad to.

The men that are stealing
your cattle are on your payroll.

That's right, on your
payroll, Mr. Cartwright,

Mr. Hollenbeck,
Mr. Johannsen, Mr. Pauley.

Any spread with steers to
steal. You see, it's a pattern.

And it never changes, whether
you're in Arizona, Nevada, Texas.

They're quiet, decent
ranch hands during the day,

and they're thieves at night.

Well, just... just
think about it now.

Who else knows the country,
the herds, the back trails,

even in the dark, but the very
men that work them day in, day out?

I tell you, there's nothing
worse and more dirty

than a man that'll
steal from his employer.

And I'm not gonna
lose a minute's sleep

over some fool that gets
killed trying to draw on me.

Any more questions?

No more questions.

Fine.

Then I'll be getting on with the job
you gentlemen are paying me for.

Good day.

Well, I've seen some nervy ones,
but that Alley's got them all beat.

Well, I've got to get over to the
bank before I leave town, gentlemen.

Yeah, we are finished,
aren't we, Ben? Mr. Chairman?

Well, there is one
more thing: Mrs. Welles.

I think someone
ought to go see her,

see if there's anything
we can do for her.

He worked for you, Arch.

Yeah, it's a thing
I'll have to do.

But I don't mind telling you I
sure don't look forward to it.

Well, I... I know her.

Her father worked for
me on the Ponderosa.

- If you like, I'll go along with you.
- I'd be obliged, Ben. I'd be much obliged.

Fine.

- I was wrong after all.
- About what?

Mr. Hollenbeck did come.

Mr. Cartwright's with him.

Ben Cartwright?

Um, Mrs. Welles, I...

Lamar.

Glad to see you.

We, uh... We came
to express our... Uh...

Mrs. Welles, Mr. Hollenbeck
and I came by to see

if there was anything
that we could do.

Do? Thank you, no, gentlemen.

I don't think there's anything
to do, under the circumstances.

Mr. Cartwright, Prudence is
gonna come to live with me.

A fine idea, Lamar. Very fine.

We're deeply sorry, Mrs. Welles.

You weren't sorry when
you hired the range detective.

- Why be sorry now?
- Prudence, hush.

I won't, Papa.
That's the way I feel.

Nobody's sorry
except you and me.

The cattlemen are
getting what they want,

and hiring strangers
to kill anyone they want.

Mrs. Welles...

Harlan was rustling.

There was a hot
running iron in his hand.

And that's good enough reason
to hire a gunman from somewhere

and murder him?

Mrs. Welles...

Mrs. Welles, there's...

Well, I'm sure you didn't
know anything about it.

But there's a pretty
large organization,

and they were rustling
hundreds of heads of cattle.

Mr. Cartwright, I did not
know about the organization,

but I did about Harlan.

He took that steer.

I'm sure of it.

Last October when things
were so bad for everyone,

he took one then
too and sold it.

I don't know
where, but he sold it.

He was going to sell the
one he took last week, too.

How much are steer
now, Mr. Cartwright, $14?

$16, Mr. Hollenbeck?

Yes, he was wrong. I admit it.

He should have
been sent to jail.

With shame I admit it.

But did you have to hire someone
to shoot him from ten feet away?

How do you pay your
Marcus Alley, Mr. Cartwright?

By the dollar value of the beef?

Two steers, $30?

How do you pay your
Mr. Alley? In silver?

I'm gonna have me
a real big time tonight.

I'm gonna get all
sheared and shaved

and a new pair of
pants and a clean shirt.

And I'm gonna buy me a great
big white Stetson like Hoss wears.

Sounds like you've
been saving up.

You know, I never
had it this fine before.

I mean, hunting
varmints for you guys,

and the cattlemen give me a
bounty on every cougar pelt I bring in.

And they still leave
me the furs to sell.

Joe, a fellow that rich ought
to have to buy the drinks.

Hoss, I think you're
absolutely right.

I'll tell you what I'll do.

As soon as I deposit these over at
Mitchell's, I'll come back and do that.

Good enough.

Well, well, well.

- Josiah Heath.
- Mr. Alley.

- How long has it been?
- Quite a spell.

Four years.

Four years and better.

You weren't carrying
pelts the last time I saw you.

But there was an animal
around, if I remember.

Josiah Heath, and
now you're trapping.

I... I work for the Cartwrights.

That's nice. Nice as apple pie.

You know we got
unfinished business.

I expect I'll be seeing you.

Come to think of it, I'm sure I'm
gonna be seeing you one last time.

What was that all about?

You heard him. I'm a dead man.

And Alley caught us cold.

Me and the two Taswell boys
that lived on that hardscrabble place

right next to ours.

With running irons,
changing brands?

No.

No running irons. No fire.

Hard times in Texas then.

It was the early spring

of the big blizzard
winter of '64.

We'd lost every head we
owned, so had the Taswells.

For three months we lived on
shadow soup and rabbit track stew.

Then we happened on this
little stray belly deep in the bog.

We got a rope around it
and pulled the little critter out.

The little thing
could scarcely stand.

It sure would have died if
we hadn't happened along.

Now, that don't
change the truth.

We were stealing beef
that didn't belong to us,

and Alley caught us.

You tell him you pulled
the steer out of the bog

- and that you were hungry?
- Yeah, we told him.

But like I said, the
why of it didn't matter.

- Leastways, not to him.
- Well, what did he do?

He told how he hated rustlers.

Scum... worse than scum,
not fit to breathe the air

or walk the face of the earth.

And all this time he was
holding a gun on you, right?

Yeah, while he was talking.

And then he put the
pistol back in his holster.

And he stood there
grinning, daring us to draw.

What, three of you, and
he wanted you to draw?

Well, three to one's
pretty big odds,

but not when
gunfighting's your business.

- And the three are scared.
- But you got away?

Mm-hm.

Benji Taswell drew on him first.

And then Hack.

And Alley gunned them down,

but he took a bullet in
the leg. And I got away.

Well, that was in Texas
and a long time ago.

Yeah, four years.

Three and a half I've
been working for you all.

I ain't ever been
in any trouble since.

That don't make too much
difference to Mr. Alley.

One thing he hates worse than
a rustler is the one that got away.

Here comes Alley now,
with Hollenbeck and Allison.

I don't think that man's ever
gonna rest while I'm still alive.

Crooked shoe, worn thin,
a half-moon chunk out of it.

You know, most people ask permission
before they start fooling around

with another man's horse.

Why, you're bristling like a
porcupine, Mr. Cartwright.

You been talking
to your rustler?

Either tell us what
you want or move on.

There ain't a man alive who'll
believe an employee will steal from him.

Makes him look too much like
a fool, they fight it every time.

I think my little brother's right,
you better mount up and ride.

What's going on?

I'm just trying to do
my job, Mr. Cartwright.

Your boys are kind
of getting in the way.

Look, Pa, all I wanted Alley to
do was tell me what he wanted.

- He wouldn't do it...
- Joseph!

He was out hunting evidence.

He asked us to come
along as witnesses.

Well, I've been looking for a
horse wearing a crooked shoe

with a half-moon
piece out of it.

You see, the first time I saw the track
was up by the ashes of a rustler's fire

up on the high meadow
near Twin Peaks.

The second time I saw the
track was today right in this street.

Mr. Cartwright, it's my horse.

I figured that once I find the
horse, I'm gonna find the rustler.

That's exactly what I did.

I was up at Twin Peaks
a couple of weeks ago,

when I got that
cougar, remember?

You see, someone moved ten or
12 steers across that high meadow,

left one of them with
a broken leg in rocks.

The kind of thing happens when
you're driftin' cattle in the dark.

The steer had a
Bar V mark on it.

That's Mr. Allison's mark.

Somebody had taken
a running iron to it...

Changed it into a Box W.

Not me.

Box W is a Texas brand.
It's easy to sell in Arizona.

Heath hunts varmint for us. He
got that cougar at Twin Peaks.

I'm sure he said he did,
but, you see, hunting...

That crooked shoe.

- That the only evidence you've got?
- That's right, Mr. Cartwright.

But I'm gonna find some more.

You've got a rustler
on your payroll.

He got away with it in Texas, but
he ain't gonna get away with it here.

You've had four years
without any trouble.

Apparently the
Texas authorities think

that you've squared the
mistake you made too.

- Well, Marcus Alley sure doesn't.
- Hm...

Tom.

Mr. Cartwright,
here's that lumber list.

Oh. Tom, could
you use another man

on that crew building
that bunkhouse addition?

I sure could, Mr. Cartwright.

From now on, you're on
his crew, starting right now.

Well, look, Mr. Cartwright,
I want to thank you, but no.

What do you mean no?

Don't you know better than to argue
with the fella who's paying your wages?

I know what you're trying to do.
You're trying to keep me around close

out of Mr. Alley's way,
but a man just can't hide out

- and feel much like a man.
- Heath, I don't want you

around any cattle,
not even ours.

All right, but it
won't do any good.

The way Mr. Alley feels about me,
he'll find some excuse to come out here.

Now, look, you say that Alley
doesn't kill unless he's alone.

There's seven men on that
bunkhouse crew, stay close.

Yes, sir.

Marcus Alley's a killer.
I say get rid of him.

- How?
- Pay him off. Send him down the road.

Joseph, he was hired
by the board of directors

of the Cattlemen's Association.

Well, Pa, you're
the president of it.

And chairman of the board.

But I still have only one
vote, and there are six others.

Well, at least we can keep him
off the Ponderosa, that's one thing.

Well, there are five ranches
bordering the Ponderosa, Joseph.

Rustled cattle could be
driven anywhere across it.

Even hidden somewhere on it.

Closing the Ponderosa to Alley,

that could do a lot of
harm to a lot of people.

You're just not gonna do anything
about it, is that what you're saying?

Well, before I can try to change
the board's mind about its decision,

I have to be able to prove it was wrong.
And at this moment I don't know it was.

When in doubt, ask questions.

Who's gonna answer them?

The cattlemen down in Texas who
hired him to stop the rustling there.

"Urgently request you telegraph collect
immediately your opinion Marcus Alley

and the work he did in your area,
methods used and results obtained.

Ben Cartwright, Ponderosa
Ranch, Virginia City."

Sixty cents for each ten
words. That'll be $1.80.

Well, it's gonna be a little more.
Pa wants the same telegram sent

- to every name on that list.
- It's gonna cost you.

- There must be 20 names here.
- Twenty-four.

All them different towns, it'll
take me a while to figure it out.

We'll wait.

- Hey.
- Huh?

Looks like we're late already.

Alley got himself
another rustler.

Caught him at a water
hole. The man tried to draw.

And Mr. Alley was alone
and shot him in self-defense.

Well, Alley was sure right about how
blind we was as to what was going on.

If we'd thought about it for
even a minute we'd have known

that this one was
one of the gang.

- And who was it?
- Lamar Forbes, that's who.

Prudence Welles' Pa.

Joe, you see if any more
telegrams have come in.

- Right, Pa.
- We'll be inside.

Prudence, I... I don't
know what to say.

How much is Alley
getting for killing my Pa?

How much are you giving him?

We didn't bargain
on any killings.

You hired Alley. You
turned him loose to kill.

That's on your
head, Mr. Cartwright.

I object to Ben Cartwright
bringing Hoss to a closed meeting.

We don't have closed
meetings. Read the constitution.

Any member in good standing or
guest of a member in good standing

can attend any meeting as long
as he doesn't create a disturbance.

Well...

All right, but I
don't have to like it.

Mr. Chairman, let's
get on with the work.

Do we fire Alley, or do we
keep him on the payroll?

- Show of hands. I say keep him.
- I'm for that.

Gentlemen, gentlemen, please.

I believe discussion
is in order.

Every board member has
a right to state his opinion.

Well, gentlemen, I ain't lost
a cow since he come here.

I say keep him, and
pay him a bonus to boot.

And I say he's a killer and
worse than a hydrophobic dog.

I say fire him... fast!

Sure, that's because you
had two rustlers on your payroll

- and you're afraid he'll find more.
- You say they're rustlers!

- Never been proved in a court of law.
- Gentlemen. Gentlemen, please.

Both of you, sit down.

This is a discussion,
not a shouting match.

Four of us had a meeting of
our own before this one started.

We're for Alley, and talk
ain't gonna change our minds.

Now, you other three
got anything to say, say it

- and let's get this voting over with.
- I had my say.

I vote to fire him.

I, uh, have some telegrams
here which I'd like to...

We heard about them.
Good way to stack the deck.

Twenty replies to my inquiries.

Fifteen of them say that
Mr. Alley did a good job.

He stopped the rustling.

Ten of them didn't
like the way he did it.

In four years, Mr. Alley
brought 28 men to trial.

He also shot and killed ten men.

There were no witnesses
to any of the killings.

In every instance,
Mr. Alley was alone.

He said the other
man drew first.

Now, gentlemen, the same
thing is happening here.

Mr. Alley was alone when
Harlan Welles was killed.

Mr. Alley was alone when
Lamar Forbes was killed.

They drew first.

Since it's my hide you're
trying to nail to the barn door,

I think I better say something.

Every man that I brought to
trial was found guilty, except one.

And his uncle was one of
the best lawyers in Texas.

That's 27 out of 28 men.

I guess that proves
that I know my job.

And as for there being
no witnesses to the killings,

I'm afraid that Mr. Cartwright
is just plain wrong.

He's got one
working on his ranch.

What is it that Heath said about
when I caught him and the Taswells?

Were they guilty,
were they innocent?

Gentlemen, I was quoting the
messages I got by telegraph.

And this one that Joe brought
in is a further confirmation.

Guilty or innocent?

Heath told Hoss and Joe
what happened. I was...

I got it secondhand.

Well, they...

They roped this little steer out of a
bog. They were... They were hungry and...

Was it their steer or was
it someone else's steer?

- Well, it was somebody else's, but...
- They stole it.

They were rustlers.

We're talking about one mangy
steer and three hungry men.

One steer or a hundred
steers. They were rustlers.

I was the only man against
three of them. Who drew first?

The Taswells did, but you
sort of squeezed them into it.

They drew first. I
shot in self-defense.

You shot to kill.

Ten times in Texas,
twice here, 12 men.

Twelve criminals, and
they were trying to kill me.

A man breaks the law,
he's gotta expect to pay for it.

With his life?

The law says one to 14
years for stealing cattle.

One to 14 years. Now,
that sounds pretty good.

But if Welles or Forbes or any of
the others had let me bring them in,

why, people would be
crying salty tears over them

before the sheriff
could... could lock the cell.

The men that they stole from would
be saying that they shouldn't get hit

too hard for making one mistake.

They only get a year in prison,
and other rustlers come drifting in

because, you see, a
year isn't that much to risk.

Those that are sent to prison, they'll
come out and they do it all over again.

It happens every time.

But I'll say this, that the 12
men that drew against me,

they stole their last cow.

The whole 12 were guilty, right?

- How can you be sure?
- I know, Mr. Cartwright.

I always know.

Show of hands,
Ben. Let's take a vote.

Four votes to keep
him. Count them, Ben.

And three against.

All right, so be it. You're
still employed, Mr. Alley.

But I must ask you to make
every effort to bring in alive

any rustler you may find.
Bring him in alive to stand trial.

Unless he tries
to kill me first.

Prudence.

You should have let me kill him!

Come in.

- Mr. Cartwright, Heath's gone.
- Well, take it easy now.

Take it easy. Gone where? When?

He left for White Creek
breaks about an hour ago.

Yeah.

He went down the west
slope through Devil's Parlor.

I tried to stop him,
but he pulled a gun.

What's chewing at him?

Well, he's been trying to stay clear
out of it, not wanting any trouble.

But he figures the only way to
save his life is to find those rustlers

before Alley comes here for him.

Well, he's one of
our best trackers.

If anybody can find anything
up in that wild country, he can.

He said he saw smoke
over that way last week.

Well, you better round up Hoss
and Joe and get my horse saddled.

Yes, sir.

It's been a long time coming.

Well worth waiting for.

You got away from me in Texas.

Finding you up here is the best
thing that could have happened.

You led me right into the
middle of it, like I knew you would.

Mr. Alley...

I never been in
this camp before.

I got here two, maybe
three minutes before you did.

You're all alike, just
can't stop stealing.

Mr. Alley, I heard somebody
ride off just before I rode in.

You know, if I had a dollar
for every time I heard that lie,

I could buy the Ponderosa.

- It's true, sir.
- It's a lie.

Scum.

Dirty the air you breathe,
the ground you walk on.

I'd like you to make your play.

No, sir, Mr. Alley.

No, sir, I ain't gonna draw.

You're gonna have to take me in.

Four years I've
waited for this minute.

I would like you
to make your play.

You're gonna kill me
anyhow, aren't you, Mr. Alley?

Even if I don't draw.

I'm not guilty.

You're gonna kill
me, aren't you?

You're guilty, Heath.

I ain't gonna draw.

You're a couple
of minutes too late.

He didn't even try for his gun.
You just shot him in the back.

- You murdered him.
- I caught a rustler.

Tried to get away,
I had to shoot him.

Running iron's in
the fire, stolen beef.

Heath found the camp
and you followed him here.

I killed a rustler.

He said he heard someone
ride away when he came in,

but it's the
oldest lie there is.

I think it's the truth. And I
think you're gonna hang.

Maybe you'd
like to try me first.

Go on, reach for it!

Joseph.

Get the horses into
cover. All but one.

Come on.

- Hoss?
- Yes, sir?

Get a blanket from the lean-to.

Heath is your boss rustler.

He learned his trade in Texas,
went into business up here.

The rustling's over.

The rest of them will scatter when
they see me bring his body into town.

Suppose Heath
was telling the truth?

Suppose somebody did ride
out when they heard him coming?

And that same somebody
is gonna be riding back in.

Then we'll have ourselves
a real live prisoner.

And maybe we can
get to the straight of this.

Now, Joe, you just do everything
the way we figured it out.

- Don't try to be a hero.
- Right.

Now, turn over.

Keep a sharp lookout.

He was a rustler. You
ought to be glad he's dead.

He was a human being. A
man just like anybody else.

Scum, just like all the rest of
them. Dirty, filthy murderers.

You got to stamp them
out when you find them,

or they'll drive every decent man
and woman clear out of the country.

Burning, killing, stealing.

It's the gospel truth.

I know. I seen it happen.

They shot my pa, dragged my
ma and my sis out of the house,

burned the house to the ground.

How old were you
when this happened?

I was 13, going on 14.

If I had a gun, I'd have
shot every one of them.

But you see, that's the point,

I didn't have a gun.

They gotta be
killed, Mr. Cartwright.

You think about it like I've thought
about it, and you'll see I'm right.

Hey, Pa! Pa!

You can't pat them on the head
and lock them up for a little while,

and let them loose to do it again.
They got to pay for what they've done.

Come on.

Come on, Alley!

You drunken bum.

You were supposed to have
moved those steers two hours ago.

You haven't even
changed the brands yet.

I pay you all this money, and what
do you do? You drink yourself stupid!

Don't move. Don't reach for it.

What is this, Joe? You got no
cause to hold a gun on me, Joe.

- Looks like we got the big one, Pa.
- You must be joking.

He thought I was
his foreman, Porter.

Started chewing me out for not
changing the brands on the cattle.

I don't know anything
about this camp. I...

Hollenbeck. Don't try to lie.

Sheriff Coffee will find Porter
and he'll talk to save his hide.

He'll name all the others,
and they'll name you.

End of the line, huh?

You ought to be
proud of yourself.

A cattleman stealing
from other cattlemen.

Spare me the sermons, boy.

You too, Cartwright.

You don't even know what
it's like to lie awake nights

worrying about past
due bills and loans.

I enjoyed stealing
your beef, Cartwright.

It kind of made up for
what was happening to me.

You ain't even sorry.

One question.

Josiah Heath.

Was he one of your men?

Cartwright, I'm not
completely stupid.

I knew that Heath was the one
man I didn't even dare approach.

He'd have told you
before I was out of sight.

I could have used Heath too.

If he'd been with me, we
could have stolen you blind

and you'd never have caught us.

You ain't even sorry.

Soon as they let you out,
you'll do it all over again,

the killing and the
burning and the stealing.

I ain't gonna let it happen!

Ah!

I'm unarmed, and he
was gonna murder me.

Kill him! It's the only
way to stamp them out!

Killing them, don't
you see? Kill them!

Killing creates more problems.
You've created enough of them.

You're going to
trial for murder.

This has been a color production

of the NBC television network.