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Not guilty.

Did you hear that? He's not guilty.

Griner is guilty.

He shot and killed an unarmed man.

The jury acquitted him... But I didn't.

And I'm not about to.

Hey, John.

John!

Not guilty! They say he's not guilty!

The jury says he's innocent!

- Not guilty! - Griner's not guilty.

Hey, John. Where you going?

Hi, Mr. Deegan, where you going?

He's gonna get himself a gun, I'll bet ya.

I'll bet ya!

There's gonna be a lot of people unhappy about that verdict.

Unhappy? More like wild.

- Have you seen Jim Fisher come out? - No. No. We were looking for him.

Boys, you're blocking the doorway. Please, spread out.

Go on home. Go on about your business.

I'm bringing Will Griner out here and I don't want any fuss or disturbance.

You understand? Please, folks, move on. Go ahead.

Oh, Ben, I'd like to see you and Hoss over in my office in about ten minutes.

And if you see Jim Fisher, bring him along, will you?

I'll go see if we can find him.

Excuse me, people.

- You boys check in the Silver Dollar. - Right, Pa.

There he is!

- Murderer! You murderer! - Please, we can't have that.

- Griner, step this way, please. - What for?

I'm gonna put you in protective custody.

Wait, wait, wait.

You can't put me in any cell, not when you have no right.

That's where you're wrong, Mr. Griner. I can and I will lock you up.

Roy, do you know what the blazes you're doing?

Yes. I'm putting your client in protective custody.

You're the lawyer, speak up. Tell this old fool what he can and can't do.

I have to remind you that my client has been tried by the court and acquitted,

and here's the order stating you're to release him.

- But the circumstances... - You heard him!

Now give me my gun and let me get outta here.

Griner, I'm doing you a favor by holding you in protective custody.

- Now, you heard that crowd outside... - Forget the crowd.

I can take care of myself.

My client appreciates your offer, but he prefers to go home.

Not yet.

Come on.

Roy, you're buying more trouble than you can handle.

- Do you know what you're doing? - I think I know what I'm doing.

I'll get you for this. I'll see that you get thrown out of office.

You get back to that judge, you get a writ, you get something.

But you get me out of here. Now!

Not guilty?

John, I... I came straight over here as soon as the judge turned us loose.

Well, well, well.

Good old George.

Good afternoon, Stut.

I'm real glad to see you got the place opened up again.

That's what we all gotta do,

pick right up where we left off, business as usual.

I just wanted to be sure you didn't have no hard feelings.

Get out, George.

Now, look, John, do you think it was easy?

There wasn't one of us on that jury that liked it,

but there was nothing else we could do.

Get out, now.

All right, if you're gonna act that way.

- You, too, Stut. Out. - I thought I might go...

No, you can earn your beer money somewhere else. Now, get out.

Well, lookee here!

Hey, Stut, lookee here what I found!

Now, I was only doing my duty.

You ain't never gonna see me in your barbershop ever again.

Me and a lot of other people. We'll cut our hair with sheep shears.

Run, you yeller dog. Run. Yee-ha!

Roy, don't make me go get a writ. It's just gonna make you look bad.

Never mind how it makes him look. Get it.

All right. You gotta release him.

Harry, I've asked these men to come over and see me.

I want to talk to them privately. Please sit down, gentlemen.

If it concerns my client, Roy, I'm gonna have to stick around and listen.

I guess that's all right.

Ben, at any time before or during the trial,

did anyone try to get either of you to change your testimony?

- Not me. - No, nor me.

Teague, they're trying to frame me.

You let 'em and I'll have your hide on a barn door.

If there was some hint that you could remember,

some suggestion that maybe didn't seem important at the time,

I could charge Griner and continue to hold him.

Well, Roy, our testimony concerned that fist fight two days before the murder.

- Yeah. - Roy, I'm gonna have to protest.

- You got no grounds for any of this. - I say I do.

Jim Fisher told one story in this office. He told another in court.

Charlie Tettinger, key witness, never even went to court.

Now, somebody got to them for sure...

Roy, I've been patient with you.

Now, you gonna make me go get that writ or are you gonna release him?

I think Griner should stay in protective custody.

Well, you know, there may be trouble.

Ben, the man is being detained illegally.

He wants to go home. You can't hold him here.

All right, you can take him.

But if anything happens to him, it's gonna be on your head and not mine.

Ordinarily, I'd go after Jim and Charlie and shake the truth out of them,

but my deputy's in Sacramento and I just can't leave town the way things are.

Why, some of those people, there's no telling what they'll do.

I tell you, the one that worries me is Johnny Deegan.

Me, too, Ben. Say, isn't he a... kind of a friend of yours?

A good friend.

Well, then, you'd better get to him and talk to him

and maybe you can stop trouble before it starts.

Yeah.

All right.

Hoss.

Please, let me talk to you.

Louise.

Oh, Ben.

Oh, now, come on, Louise. There's nothing to cry about.

Everything's gonna be all right, Louise.

Ben, I'm frightened. He's gonna do something dreadful, I know it.

Is Johnny in there?

He must be, I've looked everywhere else.

I've got to talk to him.

Louise, why don't you go on home? I'll talk to Johnny and send him over.

- Ben, I'm worried. - Come on, I'll... I'll walk you.

Go ahead.

Everything's gonna be all right. That's a promise.

Johnny, it's Ben.

Go away, Ben.

You open up this door or I'll kick it in.

Are you gonna kill Griner?

I've been studying on it. I think that's what I've got to do.

I think you'll find this is all in order.

- I can see you to the edge of town. - No need.

Griner, you've been acquitted.

It ain't gonna hurt you now to tell the truth.

Don't you say nothing.

You did a good job, Counselor. Send me the bill.

I will, Griner.

And it's gonna be a big one.

- Are you standing up for Will Griner? - No, I'm not.

I'm just trying to stop you from making a bad mistake.

Oh, Ben, I can think for myself!

Can you? Then think about this.

Griner will have men all around him.

And suppose you did cut him down. The odds are they'd kill you.

And even if they didn't, you'd still be charged with murder.

And Griner just isn't worth it.

No, but Frank was.

We grew up together, Ben. He was the finest man I ever knew.

- Yes, he was. - Yes!

And he believed in law and order.

He believed he could hang on to that quarter section

even when Will Griner decided he wanted it.

- Now, that's what cost him his life. - We don't know that Griner killed him.

I do, Ben.

The last thing that Frank ever said to me, you heard me say it in the court,

"If anything happens to me, look to Will Griner."

What about Louise? Have you thought about her?

I've got to do what I think is right.

That trial was wrong, Harry. You know that.

Yeah, Roy, but the jury found my client innocent.

There'll be others, and they're gonna be a lot harder to convince.

Go fishing, Harry.

A week, ten days, till the stink gets out of town.

Well, Roy, unfortunately, like you, I got a living to make.

Hey, here he comes, that old devil!

Will you stand clear, Ben?

John, the law isn't through with him yet.

Give us a chance. I think we can prove that he tampered with the witnesses.

You go on about your own business.

Now, John, if I have to, I'll knock you clear across this room.

Are we gonna fight about it?

Hey, Deegan!

Well, Cartwright.

You two tried to get me hanged.

You'll find I'm not the forgiving sort.

The both of you.

I'll give the law another chance.

I'll wait.

Thank you.

But not for long, Ben.

You know the Tettinger place, don't you?

It's pretty far out, but I think we can find it.

If he's not there, find out where he is or what happened to him. Stick with it.

- Will do. - What if he don't want to come back?

He jumped a subpoena. You bring him back whether he wants to come or not.

All right.

Well, let's see if we can find Jim Fisher.

Where do we start?

Let's start with the stage office.

You heard me calling to you, pounding on the door.

- Yes. - I was half beside myself, John.

You must have known that.

I suppose.

But you shut me out. Why?

I'm sorry, Louise, believe me.

John, I want to know why.

I apologized. Can't we leave it at that?

You can shut me out right here, just as surely as closing a door in my face.

Is the only part of your life I'm supposed to share

the parties, the picnics, the frivolities?

That is not my idea of a marriage to you, John.

Mine neither.

Is there some dark side of you you don't want me to see?

Were you enjoying the notion of killing Griner?

No.

It's just, I was thinking all through the trial...

"What if they let him go?"

And they did.

If I didn't speak to you, Louise, I suppose it's because I was afraid.

- Of what? - That you'll make me turn from my duty.

What duty?

- To Frank! - To Frank?

Oh, John.

Frank was a sweet, wonderful man.

Beyond respecting his memory, you have no other duty to him.

I do.

You did!

Or maybe you thought you did.

Ben Cartwright and the law will take care of Will Griner properly.

Now, that's that.

Do you mean that you were worried

that I could talk you out of something as important as that?

Mm-hm.

All this time and I had no idea of my power over you.

I should've kept my mouth shut.

Fair warning, my man.

After I have you safely married, I'm gonna make you jump.

Oh! No hoops!

Place is a real shambles, clothes and gear scattered over every place.

Yeah. Looks like Mr. Fisher was in a hurry to leave.

- Yeah. - Let's try the livery stable.

Howdy.

Well, listen, I ain't got time to gab right now.

Lookee, you see, I'm getting ready to go.

This isn't a social call, Mr. Fisher. The sheriff would like to talk to you.

No. No. Like I said, I ain't got time. I got to get outta here.

Something about perjury.

470, 480, 490.

$500!

Well, I, uh... I... I found it.

Jim, there's very few men in this county that carry that kind of cash around.

- And if they lost it, I'd know it. - I can't help that.

Now, Will Griner, he's got this kind of money.

He paid you, didn't he?

No, no, no, you're wrong. You're wrong.

All right. Then I'll just keep the money and try to find the rightful owner.

- You can run along home. - Now... Now, wait a minute, Sheriff.

No, that's all right. Go ahead.

Too bad you're gonna miss that little trip you'd planned, though.

Sheriff... Mr. Cartwright,

they'll shut me up for good and all if I don't get outta here.

Who will?

I can't tell you that, Sheriff. I daresn't.

Look, level with me. I'll protect you, providing you tell the truth.

Well, the other night this... this fella he knocked on my window, you know.

- Who was it? - I couldn't see, it was dark.

And that's the truth.

Anyways, they told me I'd better change my story about, you know,

seeing Griner on the road just before I found Frank Wheatner dead.

They said if I didn't, they'd kill me. And if I did, they'd pay me $500.

Now, Roy, there's no identification. You can't arrest Griner on that.

But there's more.

I told them I might be willing to deal,

if I could get a sign from the head man hisself.

Well, next day in court, Griner, he kind of nodded at me,

and, you know, held up his hand like this.

You know what I mean? So, I nodded back at him and...

I just changed the part of my story

to where I said I didn't recognize him on the road but I did, and...

- It was Griner. - Jim, one other thing.

- Huh? - Who gave you the money?

- Will Griner. - Griner?

After you turned him loose, he come to my place and give me the money.

Roy, you're gonna arrest Griner, aren't you?

- Just as quick as I can get out there. - Want me to help you?

I sure do, Ben. If you get Hoss to keep an eye on Jim here,

I'd appreciate it to have you ride with me and back me up.

Roy, there's one other thing.

Griner will probably ask you to send for me.

Well, this time, you tell him to get another lawyer.

I'll get Hoss.

That'll be a pleasure!

You wanna do something?

Yeah, sure. What you want to do?

Well, I dunno. Anything you want.

We coulda had a hanging, right here in town, too.

If they'd been any kind of a jury.

You wanna go over the barber shop and hoorah old George Lassen some more?

He closed up.

He was some jury foreman.

He's probably hiding under the bed.

Yeah.

It was a shame about the hanging.

Yeah.

And Johnny Deegan.

I was counting on him taking a shot at Griner.

I wonder what got into him.

I was counting on it!

Everything's just kinda petered out.

Hey!

I know what we can do.

Directly after it gets dark,

we'll go over to old lady Curran's dress store, bust in one of the windows.

- Well? - We can still do it.

Makes it even better.

- Lets everybody know how we feel. - Yeah.

Cartwright! You never quit trying, do you?

It won't do you any good.

Cause I'll reach out and put my mark on you wherever you are.

- What about now? - No, not that one. Come on.

That's the one! Do it!

Go on!

It's gonna make a fearsome racket.

- And it was your idea! - Give me that!

Don't tickle it. Hit it.

Come on. Come on.

Get going.

- Subornation to perjury? - Yes, it means...

I understand what it means, and I understand it's not a hanging offense.

No.

Will Griner committed a hanging offense. Now we have the proof.

Yes.

I believe that there are procedures for getting a new trial sometimes.

Let's do that.

Well, it's not that easy and it takes time.

And in the end, the whole case would depend on a man

who's already proven that he's capable of lying under oath,

and any half-decent defense attorney would tear him apart.

I, uh... I don't think we could get a conviction.

What's the penalty for this subornation thing?

About five years.

Oh, that's wonderful.

Just dandy.

Well, I... I know you're disappointed.

You've done everything you could, Ben, and I appreciate that.

Well, I think it's the best we could do under the circumstances.

Well, I... I'd best be getting along.

- Yeah. Good night, Ben. - Good night, John.

♪ We will hang Will Griner from a sour apple tree

♪ We will hang Will Griner from a sour apple tree

♪ We will hang Will Griner from a sour apple tree

♪ And he won't go marching on ♪

♪ We will hang Will Griner from a sour apple tree

♪ We will hang Will Griner from a sour apple tree

♪ We will hang Will Griner from a sour apple tree

♪ And he won't go marching on ♪

Ben, we got to break this up.

Men, you've had your fun now. Come on, let's break this up.

Go on up the street, please. Come on.

Let's go! Up to the Silver Dollar.

Have fun! Let's break this thing up.

John, I want to talk to you over in my office.

John.

- Am I under arrest? - No.

I've got a pretty fair idea of who's responsible for that little prank

and I think you do, too.

So, if you'll just tell the boys to settle up with Mrs. Curran,

- I'll forget about it. - Is that all you want with me?

No, it isn't, John.

You've got lynching in mind.

I expect that's a pretty common notion tonight.

You been speaking to him, Ben?

- No. - He didn't have to.

Because I know if there's any real trouble,

you're gonna be right in the middle of it, maybe even start it.

But the thing that worries me is

that everybody knows how I feel about Will Griner,

and that might just lead to a bad misunderstanding.

Such as?

Thinking that I might just put up a token fight

if somebody tried to take him.

But I'd shoot, John.

I'd shoot to kill anybody that tried to take a prisoner from me illegally.

Is that all?

You can just spread that word to anybody that thinks different,

and including yourself.

John.

I hope you and me don't end up on the opposite sides of this.

Well, now, that's up to you.

We'll be on the side we've always been.

The side of the law.

The law isn't perfect, but where would we be without it?

Ben, the law only makes sense when it's just.

Would there be any justice without it?

John, go on home. Drop it.

That was going to be my advice to you.

Ben, if it comes to the worst, I can depend on you, can't I?

Of course.

When do you reckon Little Joe and Candy will be back in town?

Soon as they find Charlie Tettinger.

- Roy? - Yeah.

I think maybe I'd better round up Al Crane,

and see if he can round up some of the boys.

Good idea.

Tettinger!

I found his horse. It was grazing out back.

All his stuff's still in there.

Looks like he ran into some kind of trouble along the way

and his horse came wandering back in here.

Why don't we take him with us, see what we can find out?

Crane, your daughter ran over to my house, said you wanted to see me.

- Yes, Burt. You know Ben Cartwright. - Sure, Ben. How are you?

Ben here has some disturbing news. I wanted you to hear it.

The lynching talk, huh? I think it's just talk. What do you think?

Well, I think there's every possibility of trouble.

It's like choosing the lesser of two evils, Griner or a lynching.

I... I'm sorry, bad joke. What did you want from us, Ben?

Burt, you're the captain of the volunteer brigade.

You're chairman of the city fathers.

There's 50 men right there. Round them up.

Bring them down to the jail.

And risk their necks for Will Griner?

Well, with that many men there wouldn't be much of a risk.

- Ben, can you guarantee that? - Well, no, I can't guarantee it.

Even if you couldn't,

I don't think that my men would lift one finger to help Griner.

Griner has nothing to do with it. We're talking about a principle, not a man.

As a matter of fact, um... the town would be better off without Griner.

Well, be that as it may,

the fact still remains,

do we want a lynching in Virginia City or don't we?

If we don't, we've got to do something about it.

Ben's got a point there, Burt. We've got to uphold the law.

One man's life, a guilty man at that,

against the lives of innocent townspeople?

Now, look, if Griner is lynched, they won't be innocent.

That's right.

And if something does happen tonight, we'll throw the full weight

of the community and the law against whoever does it.

That's proper and it's sensible,

but we can't go around carrying guns half of the night, worrying our wives.

I'll go along with that.

All right.

Thank you, gentlemen. Sorry to have troubled you.

Hey, lawyer!

Hey, Teague, come out and meet your new client!

Come on out here, Teague. We'll teach you what real law's like.

Go and get him, Pete.

Hey!

Teague!

Hey, Teague, I want you to write some papers for me!

Teague, you got some clients out here!

He ain't coming out.

This oughta get him out.

Come on. Let's go get him.

- Yeah! - Yeah!

Get him!

Get away from there! Teague!

Get away from there! Come here!

What's the idea? Don't you know this is private property?

You're attempting to break and enter. I'm taking you in. Come on.

- Oh, no! - What are you picking on him for, Roy?

You shut up or I'll be taking you in, too.

Oh, come on, Roy, we're just having a little fun.

That's right...

Break it up!

Break it up!

I said break it up!

Roy. Roy?

Hey, John.

Hey, John, you know what we done?

We smashed in old Teague's windows.

- Yeah! - Wasn't it grand?

I don't think the sheriff will be bothering us too much anymore, either.

Do you boys know that Griner's not going to get more than five years in prison?

No?

It's a fact.

Well, that ain't fair. That ain't fair at all.

I mean to see he gets hanged.

Atta boy, John.

With him in jail, I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Are you game, boys?

Sure, we'll get you all the help you need.

- Yeah, John! - All right, but do it quietly.

Bring them down to the store, I'll be waiting there.

- Can you spare me a minute, Johnny? - Louise!

What are you doing out so late?

Is killing Will Griner going to bring Frank back?

No, of course not.

Then all you're doing is satisfying your own idea of revenge.

No, I am not a vengeful man.

What do you call it?

Justice.

Having a sense of what's right and wrong and living by it.

I'm not going to argue with you, Louise. This doesn't concern you.

Do you know that there are men in this town, respectable men,

willing to stand by and let you do their dirty work for them?

And Johnny, when it's over, they'll punish you,

all self-righteous and indignant.

- No, they won't. - They are using you!

You'll be destroyed. That does concern me.

- Ben Cartwright told you this? - Yes, he did.

It can't be helped.

Oh, Johnny.

In mercy's name, we've been planning a future together.

What happens to that?

Please, think... be practical.

I am being practical.

Will Griner's beaten one trial already. It's likely he'll beat another.

How can I show my face around this town with him running free?

Then we will move!

I'll go anywhere with you.

Johnny, please.

Please.

It's all right, boys, come on in. The lady's just leaving.

Thought it'd be safer here than at the doctor's office.

Well, Roy, they sure worked you over, didn't they?

Yeah. Afraid I ain't gonna be much help to you.

But I am gonna have to deputize you two, so if you raise your right hands...

Ben?

You solemnly swear to enforce and uphold the laws of the state of Nevada

to the best of your ability, so help you God?

- I do. - You're deputized.

Cartwright, turn me loose. Let me make a run for it.

Not on your life.

If they bust in here, make sure they get the right man.

I mean, I hear jail, they'll make mistakes in getting the wrong man.

Mr. Cartwright? Mr. Cartwright, you need to take care of it, Cartwright.

Been a lot of excitement out there. Maybe it's been enough to satisfy 'em.

- Maybe it's all over, huh? - Maybe.

D'you have any luck with Al Crane?

No. I don't think we're gonna get any help from them.

All right, John, the rest of them are gathering outside.

That ought to be more than enough. Boys, listen to me. Listen.

What we're going to do is only common justice.

Will Griner shot and killed an unarmed man

because he wanted that man's land and water.

Then he bribed the witnesses to get himself an acquittal.

Well, Griner's got to pay for that at the end of a rope tonight.

All right, now.

There may be a little trouble at the jail.

- The sheriff's taken care of. - That might help.

And I'll surely try to get us in without any trouble.

But there's almost sure to be some sort of difficulty after it's all over.

So I want us all to pledge your solemn word that we'll stick together

and see this through right to the end.

You got it.

Now... now listen.

After we've gotten Griner out, nobody is to torment him.

Beyond tying him up, you're not to raise a hand to him.

We've got a wagon. We'll take him down to the freight depot.

There's a hoist. We'll hang him there. Agreed?

Agreed.

Let's get on with it.

Hey, Pa. Pa?

You hear anything?

- Better take shotguns. - Yeah.

What is it? What is it?

What's going on?

Mr. Cartwright!

What are you loaded with?

- Double ought. - So am I.

Back me up.

Sheriff!

Mr. Cartwright!

That's far enough.

- Ben, I want to talk to you. - That's a good idea.

We've come to get Will Griner.

I'm only asking you to stand out of the way,

so that we can take him quietly.

You know I can't do that.

I know there's just you and Hoss, so we'll get him.

The only question is, must we spill blood to do it?

- Now, listen to me, John... - No, no, no, no, no.

I've heard enough of talk and threats and arguing.

We've been friends for a long time.

And we can still be, if you'll just get out of our way.

Can you shoot me?

Because that's what it'll come down to if you try to come in here.

I've already put aside everything that matters to me.

I'll not let anything stand in my way.

I'll be coming first, right in front.

Can you kill me?

Study on it, Ben.

Most of those fellas out there are friends of yours.

- I've been thinking on that. - You're gonna have to decide what to do.

- I can't ask you to shoot. - You don't have to.

- Let's go. - Yeah! Yeah!

The next one is coming right at you.

John!

John!

C'mon! Let's get 'em!

Have you had enough? Have you?

Go on home.

Go on home.

- We need a doctor, Hoss. - Yeah, right away, Pa.

John, I'm sorry. I didn't want to shoot. I didn't have any choice.

It changes nothing. We'll get him another time.

We found Tettinger, shot in the back.

Tettinger was a friend of mine.

Jim, that's why we're asking you to help us.

You were both witnesses. You both saw Griner right after Wheatner's death.

All I know is they...

they told Tettinger and me if we didn't take the money they'd kill us.

So, I took it.

He didn't and he's dead.

It had to be one of Griner's gun hands.

They'll peach on each other and I'll find out from them which one it was.

- Now, you can depend on that. - What'll happen to Will Griner?

I don't believe he'll hang, but I can guarantee you

that he'll spend the rest of his life in prison.

You can go, Jim. Thank you very much.

Thanks, Sheriff.

Mr. Cartwright.

I'm a little amused at my own virtue. I found this in the street.

You happen to know any careless girls with skinny fingers?

You know, Candy, I just might.

Ben, I don't suppose we can put all the pieces together.

No, I suppose not, but maybe some of them.

Why don't you start by putting this one where it belongs?

- Roy. - Thank you, boys.

Let's go.