Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC.

Funny, old Henry hasn't charged the wagon once this morning.

After 1,000 miles, even a bull gets smart.

I think he's waiting to get a shot at you.

That'd be downright ungrateful.

Nobody ever nurse-maided me like we have him.

Don't recall you being worth $5,000 either.

Whoa.

What do you make of that?

Let's take a look.

No!

[CRYING OUT IN SPANISH]

- Misericordia. - Now, that's what I call justice.

- Misericordia. - What's he babbling about?

- He's talking about Claude. - Claude don't run the Double R no more.

Jeremy does. He ought to know that.

[CRYING OUT IN SPANISH]

Anyone here represent the law?

Stay out of this, mister. It's none of your business.

Hanging is everybody's business. Anybody here represent the law?

No need.

Caught Rodriguez here red-handed, butchering a calf that ain't his.

Any fool knows that any cow found here from sun-up to sundown

belongs to the Double R.

Butchering a cow is no reason to hang a man, is it?

Mister, don't be telling me what's cause for hanging.

[HORSES APPROACHING]

- What's the idea? What's going on here? - Caught the Mex, Jeremy.

- Red-handed. - Shut up, Carver.

- You must be Ben Cartwright. - That's right. Who are you?

I'm Jeremy Roman, Claude's son. This is my foreman, Ballenger.

This is my son, Joseph, here.

One of my hands, Candy. Hoss back in the wagon.

We're delivering this bull to your father

and came across what seems to be a lynching.

Lynching? Carver, what the devil's got into you?

I told you there'd be no lynching on the Double R.

Get this Mex out of here and get him into town to the sheriff.

I'm sorry this had to happen, Mr. Cartwright.

- I'll see that he gets to the sheriff. - Fine.

See you later at the ranch.

Good thing we happened along.

That Mexican never would have gotten to see the sheriff.

Yeah.

Joe, you and Candy ride into Mesa Verde, get us some rooms.

Hoss and I'll take the bull to the Romans then we'll meet at the hotel.

Good enough. We'll have a hot bath waiting for you.

Heya!

- Pa? - Yeah.

Do you reckon that fella will really get justice?

I trust the Romans. Of course he will.

Let's go.

Giddy-up!

MAN: Mary!

Mary!

Help me get this contraption off the porch.

Anybody comes this far, they deserve to be met in the front yard.

Whoa, whoa.

- Well, you've got to be Ben Cartwright. - [BEN CHUCKLES]

You've got to be Mr. Roman. My son, Hoss.

CLAUDE: This is my daughter, Mary.

- Mary. - How are you?

To hear Papa rave about Henry the Eighth,

you'd think he'd finally conquered the moon.

- [LAUGHTER] - You hush, child.

They're gonna to be asking more money for him.

Look at him, just as big as the all outdoors.

- He's a beautiful animal, ain't he? - BEN: He's a fine seed bull.

I'll tell you this, Mr. Roman, if Henry the Ninth hadn't come along,

you wouldn't have been able to get him at any price.

Well, it's nice to know my last deal might have been my best one.

- Where do you want to put him? - We built a special pen over yonder.

The boys will show you where it is.

After you get him put up, come on up to the house.

I got a feeling you men like to get some of the dust out of your craw.

I got a feeling you're right.

- [BEN LAUGHS] - Giddy-up.

Mr. Cartwright, I've got dinner on the stove.

Would you be good enough to help my papa with his chariot?

Yes, of course.

This blamed thing.

You know you can't run a ranch like this from a baby buggy.

So, I had to turn the whole thing over to my son, Jeremy.

Yes, I met him on the way in.

- Fine boy. - Yes.

Doing a good job.

The best thing about building a place like this,

is the pride you can take in passing it on to the next generation.

Know something, Ben?

Jeremy's doing a fine job with this ranch.

It's like having a new stake, watching him take hold.

He's doing fine with the men, the stock, everything.

I guess, in my dotage, I can be proud of that.

Let me have a good look at you.

Well, I think your dotage is still a few years off.

[LAUGHS] And I think I've got a bottle of brandy in there.

- We'll just drink to that. - Well, let's have that.

- No, no more for me, thank you. - Me either, Miss Mary.

If I have another one, Pa will have to pull me behind that wagon.

Ben, now, why don't you just have one more before dinner?

No, another time, Claude. Joe and Candy are waiting for us in town.

Well, Jeremy will be along any minute.

Besides that, you got some money coming.

Don't forget that.

Mr. Cartwright, I'm afraid my father would do anything

to keep you company, especially if it meant missing his afternoon rest.

- I'll see you tomorrow. - All right.

Now, you expect to spend some time with me tomorrow.

- I will. I will. - All right, Ben.

- Hoss? - Yes, sir.

Oh, sorry, gents.

- Uh... Looking for a room? - Yeah.

- We could use four beds for the night. - Plenty of hot water.

Go inside, sign the register,

and take the keys for rooms five and six out the rack.

Wait on the bath till my boy gets back. He went to the hanging.

A fella name of Rodriguez. You'd better hurry if you don't wanna miss it.

Trials don't take long around here, not when Jeremy Roman says they're guilty.

If you'll excuse me, I'm the jury foreman. I gotta run. Free drinks.

Sounds like the 4th of July.

Let's get over there.

That tree would have done just as well.

Somebody get that wagon over here.

[HUM OF CONVERSATION]

- MAN: What did he do? - MAN 2: I don't know.

Just clear a path here. Come on. Get out.

What's this stuff on the table? This is a courtroom.

Carver, get this off of here.

I declare this court now in session. Remove your hats.

Stop the drinking over there until we get this over with.

- You got your men sorted out? - Yes, Your Honor. The jury's ready.

Sheriff, how does the defendant plead?

- Well, not guilty, Your Honor, but... - But what?

Well, most folks already know Carver caught this Mex dead to rights

with his knife in one of them Roman calves.

Your Honor, even in Rodriguez' lingo

that takes a heap of stretching to plead not guilty, if you ask me.

[LAUGHTER]

Order! Order!

- Or I'll throw you out of here. - Your Honor. Your Honor.

- You yelling at me, boy? - Yes, sir, I am.

Why?

I was out on the Double R range this morning

when they were trying to lynch this man.

What's that got to do with now?

JOE: The way this trial's going, it's no different than a lynching.

JUDGE: We'll try him. You just shut up.

Try him, fine, but why the noose outside?

Butchering a calf is no hanging offense.

All right.

What's upsetting you? He's just a Mex.

What do you mean, he's just a Mexican? He's a man like you or me.

You can't hang a man for killing a calf. That's murder.

Well, down here, we'll decide what offense deserves hanging and what don't.

[MURMUR OF AGREEMENT]

If don't want to spend 60 days in the clink you'd better keep your mouth shut.

We got our own special problems down here.

Mr. Roman's been losing a lot of cattle.

We got to teach these thieves a lesson. Has the jury come to a verdict?

Guilty, Your Honor.

Rodriguez...

I sentence you to hang by the neck till you're dead.

[CHEERING]

You can't hang that man for a calf!

Not a man's life!

You heard what the judge said. Get him out of here.

Come on!

Come on.

See, up Virginia City way, you Cartwrights call the turn.

But, uh... down here, I'm the man.

[EXCITED CHATTER, JEERING]

Just wasn't any way to stop them.

I don't understand what kind of a judge

would let a thing like that happen in the first place.

The judge? The judge did what he was told.

The verdict was in before that trial ever started.

CANDY: Joe tried to stop 'em.

If he'd tried any harder they'd have hung him along with that Mexican.

Looks to me like you both tried to stop 'em.

I'm sorry about what happened, but I'm glad you tried.

As far as I'm concerned, the sooner we get out of town the better I'll like it.

Well, can't leave just now.

- We can't leave? Why not? - Haven't been paid for the bull yet.

I'm just sorry we have to do business with men like that.

Why? Claude Roman's a very fine man.

His son, Jeremy Roman, and his men are the ones that beat us up.

I said the judge did what he was told?

Well, it was Jeremy Roman that told him.

- [DOOR OPENS, CLOSES] - Jeremy?

Jeremy.

Oh, Papa. What are you doing up so late? The doctor said to get rest.

Never mind what the doctor said. Ballenger told me what happened today.

I meant to be the one to tell you that.

That hanging could have been avoided.

Well, there was nothing I could do. They caught him in the act.

One measly calf ain't worth a man's life.

The way it was, I had to turn him in.

Rodriguez and his family have been living off of our stock for years.

They more than make up for what they butcher

by bringing in strays at roundup time.

Papa, I'm sorry. I... Don't think I'm proud of hanging.

Blast it, boy! You've got to learn to...

Oh, I guess I shouldn't ride you so hard.

I know what a responsibility this ranch is, what it does to a man.

But you... You can't let it cloud your thinking.

If you do, it'll destroy you.

Well, I'll, uh... I'll see that the Rodriguez family is looked after.

I can't undo the hanging, but...

Well, good. Now, you do that.

Let them cut out a little string of their own.

It doesn't hurt to be generous at times like this.

Oh, and in the saloon.

Cartwright's boy and the other one?

That was just a personal disagreement. You know how those things are.

You've been in enough saloon brawls yourself to know how those thing happen.

A saloon brawl, yeah.

But Ballenger tells me you men beat them up pretty bad.

Now, you hear me, boy.

Ben Cartwright's done me a good turn,

and it ain't right to pay him back this way.

Those two had what was coming to them. You can ask any one of my men.

All right! All right! But that still doesn't make it right!

You've got to learn to get along with people!

I ain't taking nothing from nobody! Cartwright or no one else.

[WHEEZING]

Jeremy, my medicine, there in the chest.

Jeremy, what is it?

He's just had another one of his spells, is all. He'll be all right.

You've been arguing with him again, haven't you?

Don't you see what it does to him? Now, get his medicine in the cabinet.

I'm going to bed.

CLAUDE: Son?

- Jeremy? - It's all right, Papa, I'm here.

It's all right.

I wish you wouldn't let Jeremy upset you this way.

It's not Jeremy's fault.

I guess my strings were a little more frayed than I thought.

Now, ssh. You just be quiet.

[BREATHLESS] I hate to see Jeremy turn out this way.

You're asking a lot of Jeremy, Papa. Maybe too much, too soon.

You could be right.

It's a shame the law won't let me give you your rightful share of this ranch.

You could help him.

Now, Papa, you're about all the responsibility I want around here.

Now, finish your medicine.

I think, if you give Jeremy a little more room, a little more time,

he'll work things out.

I hope you're right, child.

God knows I hope you're right.

You still sure you want to ride out there by yourself?

Hoss is right, Pa. There's no harm in us riding along, in case there's trouble.

The surest way I know to find trouble is to go looking for it.

All I'm gonna do is collect the balance on King Henry.

I certainly don't need an army for that.

Still feel better if we were going with you.

Maybe I ought to stay here, make sure you fellas don't get into any trouble.

- [DOOR OPENS] - MARY: Mr. Cartwright.

How nice to see you.

- Ben. - Hello, Claude.

About your boy, Ben.

Well, Claude, I'm sure that was just a misunderstanding.

Funny, that's, uh... That's just what I told him.

You, uh... know Jeremy.

Yes. Yes, of course.

I think your son and I can finish up business without any more trouble.

Well, that's all right by me. If you'll just step into my office.

I'm glad to see you're a sensible man, Mr. Cartwright.

No reason for a little trouble out there

to interfere with our business, is there?

I'll just take the $3,000 and be on my way, if you don't mind.

[LAUGHING] Oh! $3,000?

You know, that's ridiculous. I could buy 200 cows for $3,000.

I'll give you 1,000.

I don't know what kind of game you're playing.

The contract with your father says I get $3,000 when the bull is delivered.

Oh, that contract.

[CHUCKLES] Well, it just happens that I have something here...

to prove that contract is not worth the paper it was written on.

A court order.

Your father seen this?

His mind is as sound as yours or mine.

Well, we could argue that, but there's no reason to.

You see, this court order is legal, and it states

that my father was not responsible when he signed that contract.

Your father's a responsible man, was and is.

Cartwright, there's something you just don't seem to understand.

You see, my father used to be king around here,

but he's not anymore.

Well...

you the king now?

I don't think so. Not by a long way. You're not even a grown man yet.

- You wanna try me? - I'm not talking about that.

You're a full-grown man in size, but it's more than inches or pounds.

You can be four feet tall and be a man, six feet tall and be a child.

Being a man is something that you gotta work at real hard.

- Work at real hard, huh? - Yeah.

Did you work hard for the Ponderosa?

Did my father work hard for the Double R?

You stole yours from the Indians and he stole his from the Mexicans.

I paid for everything I've got, and so did your father.

And as far as that piece of paper is concerned, that's just what it is.

You can't steal this ranch with that piece of paper,

and you can't keep it with a gun, or by stringing up helpless Mexicans.

Take the thousand or take nothing.

I'll do neither. Tell you what I will do, though.

I'll take you to court. I'll take you to every court in the state, if I have to.

Maybe that's what your father would do if he were in my place.

Cartwright.

You want to be the one to break the news to him?

I thought not. Take the thousand.

I think you'd better keep it.

You're gonna need it before I'm through with you.

What's the matter, Ben? Something wrong?

[SIGHS] Your son and I just can't seem to get together.

What's there to get together about?

You got a contract, $2,000 down, the balance on delivery.

Well...

Ben, I want that bull.

Claude, I'm sorry, it's right out of my hands.

Maybe you'd better talk to your boy about it.

Jeremy!

Jeremy!

I want to know what went on between you and Ben Cartwright.

Jeremy!

Papa wants to know what you did to lose King Henry.

I didn't lose him.

He just ain't gonna cost as much as we figured, that's all.

If you got any ideas about taking that bull with you, I'd reconsider.

It could be awful dangerous.

- I can manage. - Carver.

You'd better listen to him, Mr. Cartwright.

If I was you, I'd just get on this horse and ride out of here while I could.

Carver, follow him. I want to know what he's up to.

Afternoon, Miss Mary.

Appears to me you're looking more like your mama every day.

Same eyes, same hair, same smile.

You're a lot alike, you and her.

That's a nice compliment.

Fine woman, your mother.

Your pa never would have held this place together without Kate's help.

I've tried to help Papa.

A man needs strong help sometimes. That sure was Kate.

- What are you driving at? - The Double R's in trouble.

It's like a horse, it'll run the way your Pa run it,

but it won't break to fear.

Like hanging a man for trying to feed his family?

I'm going to visit the Rodriguez family as soon as Pa gets better.

It's too late. They're gone. I rode over there this morning.

Rodriguez, Dominguez, Rohas. All of them, they're gone.

The barrios are empty.

Without people, you may as well turn this place over to the coyotes.

[CLATTER]

Find anything interesting, little sister?

Don't do this to Papa.

It's time the old fool let go.

5,000 for that bull!

Proof he's not fit to run the ranch.

That bull is worth every cent of that $5,000.

- Well, I can get him for three. - Not honestly, you can't.

Why don't you let me decide what's honest and what isn't?

Now, you tear up that paper,

and you give Ben Cartwright the monies coming to him.

[LAUGHS] Not a chance.

Then I'll fight you.

- You wanna get hurt? - You can hurt me all you like,

but stay away from Papa!

Jeremy, please!

You can't do this to him.

Tear up that paper.

What paper?

Papa, don't, please.

So, it's come to this, has it?

- Papa. - It's all right, girl.

So, I ain't got sense enough to handle my own affairs, huh?

And the Roman word ain't worth the breath that it takes to give it.

There's room for only one voice around here.

From now on, no one questions my decisions,

not even you, old man.

I'll fight him, Papa.

I have to fight him, or he'll destroy us both.

Mr. Cartwright, I remind you I'm a public official,

and I will not tolerate your threatening me.

It seems to me the only threat that I pose for you

is that you're gonna have to discharge your duty.

I'm gonna ask you once more, would you please sign an order for Jeremy Roman

- to pay me the money he owes? - Well, now, let's be reasonable.

You know I can't settle a personal dispute.

There's nothing personal about this. It's a legal matter. There's a contract!

We've been all through that.

Claude has nothing to say about anything anymore.

That old man can't... spit and make it stick.

This contract was signed...

Mary.

Go on, Judge Rideout. As you were saying.

Well, I was just telling Cartwright... Mr. Cartwright here

that your brother has sole control over everything that goes on at your place.

And if he doesn't want to honor that contract,

well, then, he doesn't have to.

Because of the writ you gave him, making him my father's guardian?

- Mm, that's right. Yeah. - Well, that's why I'm here.

To demand that you rescind that immediately.

Now, you know I can't do that.

As a woman, unless you're the sole heir,

in the eyes of the law, you haven't got any rights.

What about Claude Roman's rights?

That document was executed in this office. It's legal and binding.

MARY: If Jeremy uses that paper,

you know that it'll destroy my father.

Your brother's just trying to see that Cartwright, or people like him,

don't take advantage of your father, that's all.

You know, Claude's getting on in years.

Papa bought King Henry before he turned the ranch over to Jeremy.

Why don't you let your brother do the business? He knows what he's doing.

And he's going to do a lot for the Double R,

and for the Mesa Verde, too.

Seems to me he'll be doing quite a bit for you, too, Judge.

Well, just hold it right there, Cartwright.

These are chambers, but I can still cite you for contempt.

Yes, you can, Judge. You surely can.

- Let me tell you something. - [PICKS UP PAPER]

I'm taking this to a higher court,

because this contract is going to be honored, and damages paid.

JUDGE: Take it to all the courts you want, you still ain't gonna get the bull back.

You know, down here, possession ain't nine-tenths of the law.

It's the whole thing.

Well, I'll pick up my property in the morning.

Well, I reckon you can try.

But with you holding $2,000 of Jeremy's money, he ain't gonna like that.

MARY: Now, Judge Rideout.

You know you have the power to put an end to this.

I have already stated the position of the court, young lady.

Why don't you go on home and do what you know is right.

I might just as well, for all the good I'm accomplishing here.

Thank you, Mary. Thank you for trying.

You come for King Henry.

You may find there's still some honor in the Roman family.

Get out there and tell Jeremy this ain't gonna work.

Ben Cartwright is apt to cause a lot of trouble for all of us.

Sounds like you're getting nervous in your old age, Judge.

[HORSE WHINNIES]

[HORSES APPROACHING]

- BALLENGER: Good night, Miss Mary. - MARY: Good night, Clem.

Thank you very much.

[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

Well, since when have you taken to moonlight rides with Clem Ballenger?

Mary.

I asked you a question. I want an answer.

I went to see Judge Rideout.

Oh. Little sister's got claws.

What about?

About you, what you done to Papa, what I can do about it.

- What can you do about it? - Nothing legally.

Ha!

I could have told you that, saved you the ride.

But there is something I can do.

[POURING DRINK]

Ben Cartwright's coming for King Henry tomorrow.

Lot of good that's gonna do him.

Now, he's entitled to reclaim his property

and keep the 2,000 Papa already paid him.

Not even your tame judge can stop that.

You're forgetting just one thing.

I don't need a judge or anybody else to tell me what to do on my own place.

And you're forgetting you're not the only Roman on this ranch.

But I'm the Roman that counts!

I may not be the image of our mother, like you are,

and I'm not the old man's spoiled darling like you are,

and besides, I've had enough of that in my lifetime.

But I'm his son, and according to the laws of Texas, this place comes to me.

And that's all the more reason why you must do what's right.

Tomorrow you'll see Ben Cartwright gets what's legally his,

and with the full apologies of this family.

[LAUGHING]

You want me to apologize to Cartwright?

If you don't, I'll do it for you, in every newspaper west of the Mississippi.

Don't you threaten me, Mary.

I'm past being afraid of you.

You've caused all the pain you can in this household.

You can't hurt Papa and me anymore.

[KNOCKING AT DOOR]

Come in.

- Your sister talked to the judge. - Oh, yeah?

Her and Cartwright.

The judge says Cartwright could cause some real trouble.

Really?

Get some men together and meet me down at the bull pen.

This sure is a devil of a time to pick to slap a brand on that bull.

Who said anything about slapping a brand on him?

We're just gonna prepare him for delivery to Cartwright tomorrow.

Fellas, this is one town I bid goodbye with no regret.

Yeah, I'll second that. It's been no picnic.

- Did you get through to him? - I sure did.

Judge Ferguson's going to be in Amarillo all this week.

We'll have a hearing in a couple of days.

Good. Let's pick up Henry. It's gonna be nice meeting Jeremy on equal terms.

[BIRDSONG]

It's so chilly. Let me put this on your shoulders.

No, it's fine, just fine.

Think you should wait out here? They may not come for a while.

They'll come.

When they do, I wanna be waiting for them.

You being a woman wouldn't understand the shame like this.

Ben Cartwright does not blame you, Papa.

Jeremy's my son, my blood,

and I'm as responsible for his actions as he is.

Ben knows that.

Don't feel like this, it'll make you really sick.

Don't you fret over me.

I know how much time I got, and I know how I want to spend it.

You're sure nobody's been down the bull pen?

Not a soul, like you ordered.

Claude. I guess you know why I'm here.

Mary told me.

I'm the one that's been shamed, Ben. King Henry's yours.

You take him. Nobody will give you any trouble.

Joseph.

Joe, you and Hoss get King Henry.

You never learn, do you, Cartwright? You're still talking to the wrong man.

Mary, Claude. I'll...

I'll see you.

You're overlooking something.

There's a little matter of $2,000 to settle up.

Jeremy.

CLAUDE: That money rightfully belongs to Ben.

Virginia City is a long way. He deserves at least that much.

All right, you keep that money, Cartwright.

I was supposed to give it to you anyway. You see, my sister warned me.

Oh, yeah, and she said I was supposed to apologize.

So, you can consider that done.

Now, you can take that bull of yours and get off the Double R.

JOE: Pa!

Pa!

The bull's dead. Somebody cut him up.

I was right about you, wasn't I?

- Contemptible. - That's strong talk.

Oh, it'll be a whole lot stronger.

There's a judge in Amarillo waiting for me to press charges against you,

and if I have to come back and drag you there I'll do it.

CLAUDE: That won't be necessary.

I'm gonna do what I should have done right in the beginning. Mary!

- Fetch the balance of Ben's money. - I ain't gonna let you do it, old man.

Don't tell me what I can do on my own place.

This ain't your own place, it's mine.

- Claude, you don't have... - Somebody has to.

This is my son, but he ain't fit to live with pigs.

That money ain't yours to give. I make the decisions around here.

CLAUDE: This last one I'll make.

Sometimes, a man wishes for something so hard he blinds himself.

I came to... thinking that I had raised a man.

Hold it!

Hold it, boys. Just put 'em right there on the ground.

[GRUNTING]

- BEN: Joe! - Son!

[GUNSHOT]

What?

Boy?

[SOBBING]

Papa!

Papa?

Papa.

[WHISPERS] Mary.

Papa.

Well, Mary, as soon as we get back we'll send you one of Henry's best yearlings.

- We'll give you the pick. - Papa would like that.

I have a feeling your Papa would like many things to come here.

You hang on to his dream, you won't go wrong.

Thank you. I will.

- Take care of things, Clem. - I sure will.

It's not gonna be easy, Pa, a young girl like Miss Mary

running an operation like the Double R all by herself.

Yeah, you're right, but she's quite a girl, she'll grow into it.