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Come in, Postley, and sit down.

Did I, uh... Did I do anything wrong, Warden?

Sit down.

I've got a wire here from Placerville. They arrested a man for robbery and murder.

- What’s that got to do with me, sir? - He also admitted to holding up

the Virginia City Bank a year and a half ago.

It'll be a few days before the legal work is straightened out,

but that means that the sentence against you will be reversed.

You'll be a free man.

I don't pretend to know how you feel, Postley,

having to spend a year and a half in a cell for something that you didn't do.

All that I can say is that we're sorry.

The law's sorry that we made a mistake,

but thank heavens we found out that it was a mistake.

- Are you sure? - I'm sure.

I think I'll go... I'll go back to my cell.

Postley.

Yes, sir?

- Good luck. - Th... Thank you, Warden.

Mr. Cartwright, that was a long day.

Well, Candy, you just wait a few years.

They get longer! Come on, let's get something to eat.

Oh, that sounds great.

You're a pretty good cowboy. I haven't seen a man sit a better saddle.

Thanks.

- Hi, Joe. - Hi, Joe.

Didn't expect to see you back so soon. Get everything finished up in town?

Hoss is finishing up, Pa. I thought you might want to see this.

It's a wire that was sent to Sheriff Coffee.

Oh, yeah?

John Postley.

Postley? What about him?

He's been released from prison.

A man in Placerville confessed to the robbery.

Oh, no.

A year and a half.

You saw him come out of the alley that night. You had to tell the jury.

It's not your fault they found him guilty.

It's not a question of whose fault it is, Joe. It happened.

There weren't any other suspects.

You didn't bring in the verdict, the jury did.

Can you imagine how he must have felt

all that time in prison, knowing he was innocent?

Pa, it could have been worse. It could have been the rest of his life.

In a way, he's a lucky man. I imagine he's feeling pretty good right now.

- Howdy, Ben. - John.

It's been a long time.

Uh... Come in.

Uh... We, um...

heard the news about a month ago.

- I don't know what to say. - Don't say nothing.

What’s done is done. It ain't nobody's fault.

- Thank you, John. - For what?

Well, for... for making it easy for me.

I told you it wasn't nobody's fault, didn't I?

Come on. Sit down. Come on, let's have a drink, huh?

- All right, come on. - No.

I don't want a drink, thank you, Ben.

I'm sorry I didn't get by earlier. I meant to.

I wanted to tell you there was no hard feelings,

but I got busy up at the diggings this past month and I didn't get a chance.

- You doing some mining? - Yeah, a little bit.

I thought that farming was your stock in trade.

Well, it was, but I lost that little piece of land I had.

There's plenty of good farming land right here on the Ponderosa...

No, no, no. I reckon I'll stick to mining for a while.

- Any luck? - Well, I’ve had some pretty good signs.

Nothing I could buy a bowl of beans with yet.

Look, if you need a stake, or anything like that, I'd be very happy...

Thank you, Ben. I can manage all right. Keeping busy's the main thing.

- Are you sure, now? - I'm sure.

Well, I just... reckon I'll be on my way.

I wanted to tell you there was no hard feelings.

Well, John, I'm happy you did.

And, you know, anything that you need, you just have to holler.

- Well, you know, there is one thing. - Well, name it.

That prison food's nothing to shout at, but my own cooking is even worse.

I could use an invite to supper some night.

How about tonight? The cook's away but they say I'm a fair hand in the kitchen.

Shoot, I got some supplies on the mule outside.

- I got to get them up to the mine. - Well, tomorrow night then, huh?

- You got yourself a supper guest. - Fine!

We’ll see you here tomorrow night.

- John. - Yeah?

Good to see you again.

It's good to see you, Ben.

Real good to see you.

And that was the conversation.

And I got to admit to something.

It took a load off my mind to see how well he'd come out of it.

Same here.

I hope he has a lot of luck with that mine of his.

He could sure use some.

You know that mining can be pretty rough when you try to go it alone.

Huh. Yes, it can.

That man has so much pride. He just won't let anybody help him.

- You got to give him credit. - Yeah.

Tell you something else we got to give him, a supper that he'll never forget.

With chicken and dumplings, the works!

Chicken and dumplings?

Dad burn it, Pa, can't you do it another day? I got to leave in the morning.

It'll take me two or three days to make all those line camps.

Well, now, Hoss, that's exactly why I sent you on that little mission,

to make sure that John gets a chance of dumplings!

Of course, having Joe along will just make the time fly by.

But, Pa you don't...

- That's it. Final answer. Candy. - Goodnight, Mr. Cartwright.

Goodnight, Pa.

Chicken and dumplings.

I... I hate to make a pig of myself,

but I haven't had anything that tastes this good in a long time.

That's what it's here for.

You sure weren't fooling when you said you could cook.

- How about some more potatoes? - Well, you talked me into it.

I tell you, working in the mine sure gives a fella an appetite.

Why did you ever decide to give mining a try?

Well, the fella who had the cell before me died

and left some books on mining, so I read them.

Better than staring at the wall.

And when you're in a cell for a long time, you get used to working inside.

Besides, a man can hit it big, you know.

You said you had some encouraging ore samples, huh?

Oh, I ain't sure, Ben.

I'm working an old abandoned mine looking for a new vein.

I'm really just going on what I read in the books. I sure hope I'm right.

Well, you know you could get an outside expert to take a look.

Yeah, I know I could, but you never know who you can trust.

If it looked good, you know, they'd be swarming all over me in an hour's time.

- That's for sure. - Yeah.

Say, Ben, you used to do some mining, didn't you?

Well, some.

Well, look here, couldn't you give me a fair idea of what I got myself into?

Well, I’m no expert, but I'd be happy to take a look.

- When could you do it? - Any time you say.

Well, look, there's a couple of hours of daylight left.

How about right now?

All right, fine.

- Do you want to go with us, Candy? - Sure. I'll saddle the horses.

This could be my lucky day.

Well, there she is.

Come on.

Careful of these timbers. They've been here a long time.

It's right up ahead here.

You know, now you're here I'm almost afraid to have you look.

- Why? - Oh, well.

I reckon it's because it means so much to me.

Well, John, if we never look, we'll never know.

You're right, Ben.

You're absolutely right. Let's go.

There it is.

Hoo-ee! You did all this yourself in one month?

Well, that shaft was already started. I just did the rest of it.

You've really done a job, John.

You'll do anything if you really want it bad enough.

Well, let’s get down and take a look.

Yeah. Be careful on that rope ladder. I'll get a lantern.

I don't know if John knows anything about mining,

but he sure does know the meaning of the word "work".

Yeah.

I hope for his sake that it hasn't been for nothing.

Hey, John, you got that lantern?

Are you looking for this?

What are you doing, John?

What is this, some kind of joke?

No, it ain't no joke, Ben.

A mistake I pulled the ladder up. I didn't mean to.

I made a mistake, but we all make mistakes, don't we?

Well, mistake or whatever, John, drop that ladder and bring the light down.

- What for? - John, you did a lot of hard work.

Don't you want to know if you hit it big?

Yeah, I did do a lot of work, didn't I?

Get down here and bring that light down so we can see what you got.

I know what I got, Ben.

I got you.

John. John!

John!

- John! - John, are you there?

I'm here, Ben.

We came here as friends trying to help.

You and Candy come to help me, did you?

I can't let you do that, Ben. You done enough for me already.

- John, listen to me. - No! You listen to me.

When was the last time that you "helped" me out?

Sometimes, I can't remember how long ago it was.

Time don’t matter, does it?

John, we know how you feel.

No, you don't know how I feel.

But you will.

You will.

John. John!

Look, just drop that ladder down and let us out of here.

We’ll forget this ever happened. We won’t say a word to anyone.

Will you promise me that if I let you out you won't say anything to anybody?

Now, you promise?

Yes, I promise.

How about you, Candy? Do you promise?

I promise, John.

That's funny. Who are you gonna tell if I don't let you out of there?

John, you just can't leave us here to die.

Oh, no, no, you're not going to die, Candy.

Oh, no, I wouldn't let that happen.

No, there's food and water there.

Everything a man could want. Everything you gave me.

John?

- John! - John!

- John! - John!

John!

No!

It's no use. No use. I can't get a hold anywhere.

Pivot!

Oh, thanks.

Here.

You don't know how long this is going to have to last us.

He said he'd give us food and water.

That’s what he said. In his state of mind there's no telling.

How about Joe and Hoss?

When they get back, we don't show up, they'll look for us. They'll find us.

Candy, could you find your way here without Postley?

No, we're just going to have to wait and hope that he comes to his senses.

Makes a mistake.

What do we do in the meantime, just sit here?

Yeah. We sit.

And pray.

I hope they're both here. I can't wait to get the look on their faces

when they see how quick we got those line checks checked.

Yeah, I don't mind working quick, but I sure hate to do without breakfast.

Maybe you'll get lucky. Might be some of those chicken and dumplings left.

Sounds good.

You put the horses away and I'll check on the chicken.

Yeah, all right.

Hey, Pa!

Hey, Pa, we're home!

Pa?

Hey, we're back early!

- Any of that chicken left? - Take a look at this.

Everything's still on the table from dinner last night.

Ain't like Pa to leave a mess like that.

It sure ain't. There's nobody in the house either.

Well, they couldn't be too far off. Both the horses are out there in the barn.

I'm going to have a look around. You check with the boys in the bunkhouse.

It just doesn't make any sense.

None of the hands saw them this morning. Their horses are still in the barn.

None of the wagons are missing.

Maybe somebody drove them to Virginia City for something. I don't know.

Even if you're right, they would have been back by now.

What about the dinner dishes? How do you explain that?

I can't.

Evening, Joe, Hoss.

Sorry to come calling so late, but I want to see your Pa for a minute.

- He's not here, John. - Oh?

He didn't say anything last night about where he was going to be today did he?

That’s why I've come by, to apologize for not coming to dinner last night.

I worked so hard at the mine, I just plumb forgot and fell asleep.

- What is it? Something wrong? - We don’t know.

Anything I can do?

No. No, thank you, John.

Well, I’ll be on my way.

Look, be sure you tell him that I'm sorry about last night, huh?

- Yeah, we'll tell him, John. - Nice seeing you boys again.

Yeah. Goodnight, John.

I'm gonna ride into town, have a look around.

Maybe we're making a big thing out of nothing.

At least, I hope we are.

How long do you think we've been down here?

Well...

It's kind of hard to tell the difference between night and day.

- I don't know. - How long do you think?

Oh, a day, day and a half.

Seems more like a week or a month.

How long do you think he'll keep us down here?

Huh?

Oh... I don't know.

Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Forever. That's how long.

He can't let us out now. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives down here.

Now, look, Candy...

- We're here, huh? - Yeah.

There's nothing too much that we can do about it, it seems.

He promised to bring us food and water...

- He promised. - Yes, he did. He'll bring it.

But you said yourself he's sick, he doesn't know what he's doing.

- He'll bring it. - Suppose he doesn't come back?

Suppose he just leaves us here to die.

Well!

Did my friends think I'd forgot about them?

Postley, let us out of here.

Can't be done, Candy. Why, you yourself said that I'd done a lot of work here.

Besides, it ain't so bad, is it? You got food and water.

You got each other to talk to. I never had nobody to talk to.

John, just listen for a minute, now. It's not going to work.

They're gonna look for us when they get back, Hoss and Joe.

They know that you were the last one to be with us, to see us.

They're gonna find you and it'll be all over.

Well, they don't have to find me, Ben, I found them.

- What? - Yeah, I went by the ranch last night.

Told them I was sorry I missed dinner the other night.

They're right worried about both of you. I even offered to help them.

They'll find out. Somehow, they'll find out.

No, I don't think they will, Candy.

And I've had a long time to think about this, you know.

Now, look, John, they'll see the dishes that we left on the table.

Three settings there. They'll see that. They'll know you're lying.

Oh, well, them dishes.

Now, I took the liberty the other night of going back in the house

and washing mine up and putting them away.

It's a habit I got in prison.

Now, why don't you both stop arguing and pleading with me?

I did the same thing when I first went to prison,

but it don't do no good at all, all it does is get you all upset.

Here's some more food and water for you.

I'll be back in a couple of days. Take it, Ben.

Take it!

Of course, it don't compare to that meal you prepared for me.

But after a while, it gets to taste pretty good.

Then after a while, nothing tastes like anything at all.

Goodbye, fellas.

Candy.

Candy, the rope.

Wait a minute. Make sure he's gone.

John?

You go first. You're lighter.

Easy.

As quietly as you can.

Candy?

You shouldn't ought to try to escape.

I'm gonna have to put that on your record.

Nothing, huh?

Nothing.

Nobody's seen them or heard of them.

Two weeks, and nothing.

What about the reward posters?

They're all done. Roy sent them out to every town within 200 miles.

I don't know what good they're gonna do.

The news has been in every newspaper from Carson City to Placerville.

If anybody had any information we'd have heard by now.

All we can do is wait.

Yeah.

How long do you think a man could stay alive down here?

With food and water... a long time.

A long time. A lifetime.

Hm.

- Do you ever think about dying? - Every man does, I guess.

I've thought about it a lot since we were down here.

Hm.

It's funny, at first I was afraid.

That he wouldn't come back and we'd die.

I'd sit and I'd listen.

Wait.

Pray that he'd come back.

Now I pray that he won't come back, so it'll be over.

As long as we're alive, there's a chance.

A chance to what? To go blind in the darkness? To go out of our minds?

Why doesn't he just take that shotgun and get it over with?

Just get it over with.

- Want me to fix something to eat? - I ain't hungry.

Think I'll take a little ride into town.

What for? So you can check the telegraph office again?

Maybe something's turned up.

Hoss, we're kidding ourselves. It's been a month.

The only chance we had that kidnappers were holding them for ransom,

and even that's no good now.

It's no use.

Why?

Why? Dad burn it, I keep thinking that that door is gonna open

and he's just gonna be standing there like nothing ever happened.

Morning, boys!

Beautiful morning!

Oh, you're awful quiet this morning. I figured you'd be happy to see me.

Hey, I brought a newspaper.

I thought I'd read to you a little bit while you're having your breakfast.

Yes, sir, you're both famous now. Yeah, you're right on the front page.

The excerpt says, "Reward offered" for anybody knowing anything about you.

You sure you don't want me to read it to you? Huh?

Well, I’ll read it to you anyway.

Yeah, it says, "Cartwright missing. One..."

Guess what it says.

Is it a week, a month, year?

Come on, guess, Ben.

You're insane, Postley. You know that, don't you?

You're insane and you're trying to drive us insane, but it won't work.

I feel sorry for you, John.

You're down there and I'm up here

- and you feel sorry for me? - Mm.

I'm free to go anyplace I want to.

No, you're not. You can't get away from here.

You gotta keep coming back day after day, week after week.

You're just as much a prisoner as we are. You'll never be free.

Well, now, what if I just go away and let you die?

No, you won't. You can't.

You wouldn't have anything to live for.

You're sure of that, aren't you? You're real sure?

Yes. Yes, I'm sure.

You're trapped, John, and you'll never be free. Never.

Well, we’ll see about that.

We’ll see about that.

Throw it.

Do it!

It's dirt! It's only dirt!

Who’s insane now, Cartwright?

Who’s insane now?

All right. More water for our friends.

Yes, siree! I can't let nothing happen to them.

Ah, this'll do it. This’ll do it.

This’ll do it.

We’re out of water.

I know.

I'm sorry about the dynamite. I'm all right now.

I don't know what happened to me. All of a sudden it was there.

Forget it. I understand.

You know, if we ever get out of here,

you're going to owe me a lot of back wages.

Yes. Yes.

Yes.

John?

Easy.

Oh, Hoss. Hoss Cartwright. What...?

- John. John, just take it easy. - Oh!

Here, drink some of this. It'll help that pain.

What...? What...?

John, you had yourself a real bad accident, busted your legs up real good.

If you'd been hurt any worse, the doc said you'd have lost them both.

Doc? What doc?

Doc's already been here and gone. Little Joe's taking him back to town.

- Where am I? - You're at the Ponderosa, John.

- Ponderosa? No, I can't be. - John. I told you to lay still.

You got two busted legs and if you keep moving around

- they ain't going to set properly. - I got to get outta here.

You ain't gotta go nowhere. Not for another six weeks, anyhow.

- Six weeks? - It's doctor's orders.

Now, you lay still, let me go get you something to eat.

What are you thinking about?

Oh, I was just... just wondering how Hoss and Joe were doing.

- That figures. - Huh?

That you'd be worrying about them.

When I first met you all I couldn't believe it.

- Believe what? - The way you are.

The way you care about each other.

I guess I just wasn't used to it. You know the way I was always saying

I wouldn't stay in the same spot for very long?

Always making out like I was getting ready to leave?

I just never meant it, that's all.

I never thought you did.

I always thought I meant it when I said it.

I make about as much sense as Postley.

Hm.

Oh, Candy.

Nobody makes much sense sometimes, when you think about it.

You have problems... and you hope for the day when they'll be over.

And when they are over, you dream up new problems to take their place.

Yeah.

I guess it was that... that new problem that bothered me.

What new problem?

Having friends.

- Morning. - Morning.

- How are you feeling? - Fine, fine.

Well, good. You got yourself a lot of rest yesterday, that's for sure.

- Yeah. - See if you can scoot back a little bit.

Easy.

There you go. Yeah.

I brought you some soup in here last night, but you was already asleep.

Little Joe's not the best cook in the world,

but try some of this anyhow, you need it.

Why are you doing all this?

All of what?

Taking care of me, feeding me. We hardly know each other, Hoss.

You ain't no friend of mine.

My pa always said that every man was your friend

till he showed you otherwise. It ain't no big thing being friendly to folks.

Eat up, John. You need strength.

Hoss.

Sorry about your pa. I been reading about it in the paper. I'm real sorry.

Yeah, thank you, John.

By the way, that little piece of farmland that Pa promised you.

It's still yours if you change your mind. He sure wanted you to have it.

If you need anything, yell.

- Joe! Joe! Postley's gone. - What do you mean he's gone?

How could he get out of bed with two broken legs?

I don't know, but he did.

John!

- What in tarnation got into you anyways? - Gotta get some wa...

- Easy. - Water. Water.

- You gotta help me. - John, take it easy.

- I don't know why I done it. - Let's get him in the house.

No, no, no. They'll die. I never meant 'em to die.

John, what are you talking about? Who’ll die?

Your pa. In the mine.

- Pa? - What mine? Where?

I'll show you. I'll show you.

- I'll hitch up the team. - Hurry.

Hurry!

Yah! Yah!

Yah! Come on!

Pa.

Pa.

Thank God, he's alive.

Here's some water.

Hoss.

How's Candy?

He's all right. He's gonna make it.

Come on. Come on. Let's get you outta here.

- Can you make it? - Yeah.

Come on.

Here. Want some more water?

- Yeah. - Take it easy. Take it easy.

That's enough. That's enough.

The sun feels good.

How... How did you find us?

Postley.

- Hm? - Postley, he told us.

Postley!

I wanted you to feel what I felt, to know the darkness and the loneliness.

Heaven help me.

I don't know why!

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