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You offer to supply 250 head of well-broken horses at $60 a head.

Now the bid of... Mr. Sam Butler.

Right here.

You offer to supply 250 head of well-broken horses at $55 a head.

That's right.

And finally, the bid of...

- Mr. Ben Cartwright. - Sir.

You offer to supply 250 head of well-broken horses at $58 a head.

- The contract goes to Mr. Ben Cartwright. - Now, hold on here!

You'd better take another look. My bid is $3 a head less than his.

There's another consideration, Mr. Butler.

What’s that?

I inspected all the horses offered for sale here

and found the Ponderosa stock in far better condition than any other.

Mr. Cartwright, let's go out to your ranch

and complete the details of the transaction there.

- Better luck next time, Sam. - Yeah.

Pa, I'm gonna stop and pick up those supplies. I'll see you out the ranch later.

Fine. I'll see you later.

That's Eddie Makay come home.

- Jed Makay's boy? - That's him.

He must have run off from here before you came, huh?

- Yeah, he did. - And he's back now.

- And you know what he found. - And he ain't found it all yet.

Eddie, there's no way to soften it. Your pa's dead.

I know he's dead. I seen the grave. And that ain't all I seen.

I seen 21 bullet holes in the front of that house.

- Somebody like to shot it to pieces. - Yes, there was considerable shooting.

Why? What happened?

Now, you get a grip on yourself, so as I can tell you.

Your pa's back got worse after you left, a whole lot worse.

Finally, he couldn't work at all. He went head over heels in debt.

Then the papers come through, foreclosure, eviction notice.

Eddie, you know how mean your pa could get.

Deputy Williams went out to serve him. Your pa put a bullet through his chest.

- He killed him. - And you killed Pa!

We didn’t want to. Your pa forted himself up in the house.

Wouldn't come out. Didn't seem like he wanted to come out alive.

You gotta understand, young fella,

I had ten good men and a posse out there risking their necks.

He kept a-shooting at us

and there weren't nothing for us to do but shoot back.

I'm sorry as can be, Eddie.

Yeah. Yeah, I'll bet you are.

Now, you hold on a minute.

- Are you Edward Makay? - What of it?

- Son of Tom Makay? - Yeah.

- Where'd you get this horse? - My pa give him to me.

I got a lien against anything this family owns.

$150 still outstanding.

I'm taking this horse and saddle to recover my money.

- You can't do that. - Yes, he can, Eddie.

- Unless you can pay him what's owed. - Well, I ain't even got ten cents.

Then I take the horse and saddle.

- Oh, no, you ain't... - Wait, fellas.

Amos, what would happen if I took Eddie out to the Ponderosa and gave him a job?

Then he could sort of pay you off a little at a time, huh?

No, sir. I let his pa have credit and he beat me out of what he owed.

- What if I stood for it? - No!

I don't want no charity from you or anybody else in this place.

That kid's wild, mean. What do you want to try to help him for?

It was my bullet that killed his father.

- Well, now, look who's back in town! - Mr. Butler.

That's right. Sam Butler, the man who gave you your first job.

- You glad to see me, boy? - Sure I am.

- You little thief, you. - I am not.

You broke into my office, broke into my desk, and took $75

and you don't call that stealing?

I had to have that money. My pa needed it.

Let's go and see the sheriff, you're going to jail.

- No, Mr. Butler, please. - You ought to be locked up.

- I'm crazy scared of jail. Please! - Ain't that just too bad?

Please, could I work it out?

What do you mean, work it out? Amos Rowe took your horse and your saddle.

And I don't hire no man unless he's got something to ride.

Well, what am I gonna do?

Well, now...

You just don't know.

You had a chance to work for the Ponderosa, why didn't you take it?

I don't want no charity.

- Yeah, but Hoss owes you. - What's he owe me for?

He's the man that killed your pa.

- Hoss Cartwright, huh? - Yeah.

The great chess master just sacrificed his bishop.

Haha! Tricked you into that one, Joseph.

You sure did.

Checkmate.

Well, I’ll say one thing for you, Hoss, you're a good loser.

He ought to be. He's had enough practice. I'll see you in the morning.

I'm going up to bed, too.

- Hoss? - Sir?

- You going up? - No.

I think I'll go out and get a little breath of fresh air.

Be just my luck to run into a family of skunks.

What are you doing out here? Get on back in there.

You stand right still.

Now, you turn around. I ain't gonna shoot no man in the back.

Eddie, what are you doing here?

You're the man that killed my pa, ain't you?

Yes, I am.

My pa always said, "An eye for an eye."

Cool off, boy. Let me explain how it happened.

You'll at least give me that much time, won't you?

Talk fast.

The sheriff deputized a bunch of us. I was only one of them.

He had me and another fella fire in the windows to keep your pa pinned down.

That was all, just to pin him down, while the rest sneaked around the back

and tried to get inside and capture him alive.

You're still the man that killed my pa.

It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it. I couldn't help it.

He stood up just as I shot.

You gotta believe that, boy. I didn't want to kill him. I didn't mean to kill him.

If you think I've had a minute's peace since then,

you're a lot more foolish, boy, than I think you are.

Well, what difference? He's dead, ain't he?

There's a lot of difference, Ed.

I shot your pa accidentally.

You shoot me, that's murder.

That's a big difference. That ain't an eye for an eye, Ed.

One's accident. One's murder.

You ever taken a man's life, Ed?

It ain't something you can live with easy. Believe me, it ain't.

But if murdering me...

murdering me is what you gotta to do, then...

there ain't no way I can stop you, so, get to murdering.

Think about it. Think on it real hard, Ed.

- Hoss, what's going on out there? - It's all right, Pa!

I'll be in in a minute. It's nothing.

Ed, I want you to go on back into town

and think on what you tried to do tonight.

I think you'll come to the conclusion that you made the right decision.

Now, you better go on get out of here, hurry.

Go on.

I just don't understand you.

You say Eddie came looking for you with a gun and you let him go.

He didn't use the gun, Pa. He could have shot me in the back.

I think Pa's right. You made a mistake letting him go.

What was I supposed to have done, killed him, like I did his pa?

His pa was a murderer.

Oh, Joe, you know as well as I do that there wasn't a finer man in Nevada

than Tom Makay before he had that accident and hurt his back.

Best horseman I ever saw.

Oh, sure, he knew horses, but he certainly didn't know people.

If he'd only opened up, let somebody know about his troubles.

Somebody would have helped him. We'd have helped him.

First time we knew anything was wrong, he'd already killed the deputy.

And I killed him.

Hoss, there was a lot of shooting going on.

Where are you going?

I'm gonna go in town, see if I can find Eddie. I want to talk to him.

- How about some company? - Not this time, little brother.

Thank you.

- Hello, Hoss. - Howdy, Clem. How are you?

- Anything I can do for you? - Yeah. I'm looking for Eddie Makay.

- You seen him? - Not today. You want something special?

I just want to talk to him, that's all. I figure I owe him that much.

Hoss, you don't owe that boy nothing.

Yeah. I'd sort of like to talk to him anyhow. I'll see you, Clem.

So long, Hoss.

- Howdy, Amos. - Howdy, Hoss.

- How's business? - Pretty good if I can collect my money.

- You seen Eddie Makay? - Yeah.

- I did see him a little while ago. - Whereabouts?

I think he went into the Cattleman Saloon.

Ah, fine. Thanks, Amos.

Get me one of them sandwiches and a glass of sarsaparilla,

- and bring it over to this kid. - Okay.

Morning, Eddie.

I got nothing to say to you.

Eddie, that...

that offer for a job on the Ponderosa that I made you is still good.

I ain't gonna work for the man who killed my pa.

- Eddie, you got to work somewhere. - Well, it ain't gonna be you.

Yeah.

Well, look, I'm gonna be around town for a while.

If you change your mind, look me up.

You made a mistake, Eddie.

You shouldn't have turned down that job that Hoss offered you.

I ain't gonna work for him.

- Oh, yes, you are. - What do you mean?

You can be useful to me working for the Cartwrights.

How?

I'll tell you what you need to know when the time comes.

Now, hold on. I don't want no part of this.

Well, you got no choice, Eddie.

Now, take the job or go to jail for stealing that $75 dollars from me.

I'll be doggone.

Hello, Joe. Pa around?

Yeah, he's out at the horse corral. What's he doing here?

Well, I figured we can always use another hand.

Ed can do a few odd jobs around the place, if it's all right with you and Pa.

Yeah, well, it's fine with me.

Casey's home with a sick wife, I got stuck with this job. He can start right now.

- I can get back to breaking horses. - Yeah, I'll go out there with you.

Figure I need to talk to Pa. Eddie, get with it, buddy. We’ll see you.

Work ‘em, work 'em.

Attaboy!

Candy, bring him over here.

- Looks pretty good. - Yeah.

He's one of the best ones in the string, Mr. Cartwright.

Thought you were sawing wood.

I was, but, uh... Eddie Makay's doing it now.

I can get back to busting these broncs.

- What's Eddie doing out here? - I brought him back from town, Pa.

Thought maybe he could do some handy jobs around.

I'll make a good hand out of him.

Doggone it, Pa, I...

I feel I owe that kid something. I feel responsible for him.

Don't you think it's smart bringing him out here?

Pa, I don't think Eddie's a bad boy.

I... I think I can do something with him. I'd like to show you.

All right. Show me.

Whoa!

Ride him, Joe!

Ride him, Joe!

Stay with him, buddy. Attaboy, stay with him!

Well, I think we're gonna have to get rid of that animal.

I don't think anybody's ever gonna break him.

I shouldn't worry, I'll bust that hammerhead if it takes me all summer.

You may just have to ride him all summer.

What did Pa say about Eddie?

Well, he said I was gonna have to show him.

That's exactly what I intend to do. See you later.

Well, let’s get back on him again.

What’s the matter, Ed? Doesn't look like you got much work done.

I ain't gonna spend my life doing a lot of dirty odd jobs for you or anybody else.

There ain't nothing wrong with cutting wood. You saw Joe doing it.

He don't have to do it all the time.

- That's right. He's a top hand. - He's your brother.

Brother or not, he's a top hand.

A top hand takes any job that comes along.

Well, I ain't gonna saw wood.

Let me tell you something, Ed.

I brought you out here... hoping to give you a chance

to make something out of yourself, but I ain't gonna mollycoddle you.

I'm gonna ask you to do something and I'm gonna expect you to do it.

Of course that don't mean you have to do it.

You can always amble on away from here down the road,

into town and into that saloon where I found you.

But I got a notion you'll end up cleaning cuspidors to pay for drinks.

It's your choice to make.

Either you pick up that saw and go back to cutting the wood,

or just... hit the trail.

- Where you going, Eddie? - I'm leaving.

You, uh... taking the horse and saddle with you?

That's right. A broke-down horse and a wore-out saddle.

I figured I earned that much.

Well, I figured you earned much more.

You were gonna get paid pay day, like everybody else.

This much'll do.

Well, can I ask why you're leaving? Or, should I say, quitting?

Yeah, call it quitting, 'cause that's what I'm doing.

I'm sick of graining chickens and slopping pigs and cleaning barns.

That's kids' work, or an old man's work, but it sure ain't mine.

Well, what kind of work do you figure is your sort of work?

I'm a hand.

Maybe I ain't a top hand like your brother, but I'm a working ranch hand.

I know stock and roping and branding.

And I know horses.

My pa was the best hand with horses you ever saw,

till he fell off on them rocks and hurt his back.

No question about it, your pa was one of the best.

If you're half as good, you'll be a dandy.

You'll never find out. You won't give me a chance.

Well, Eddie, I had to find out if you was tough enough

to stick it out more than a day or two didn't I?

I stuck it out and where'd it get me? Nowhere.

Eddie, do you, uh... Do you think you can bust one of them broncs out there?

Why, heck, yeah.

My pa'd tell you I was busting broncs when I was knee-high to a duck.

And you'd like a chance to prove it, wouldn't you?

You're darn right.

Fine, then you got it. First thing in the morning.

Now, unsaddle this crow-bait and go on to bed. See you in the morning.

Mr. Cartwright, you want to try the Appaloosa?

Well, if you think he can be trusted.

Be trusted as much as any horse. Joe?

- Bring me the pinto, Candy. - Pinto and the Appaloosa.

- There's a better horse, Joe. - Well, I broke the pinto.

I want to make sure he stayed broke.

- Morning, Pa. - Morning.

Eddie here wants to try his hand on one of them broncs, show us what he can do.

- You think you're a good enough rider? - Sure do, Mr. Cartwright.

- How do you want 'em, tough or easy? - Tough.

- Hey, Candy? - Yeah.

Saddle up Old Hammerhead.

- Hey, Joe, not that tough. - What’s the matter with Old Hammerhead?

There ain't nobody around here been able to ride him yet.

Good. I'll take him.

- All right. Go ahead. - Follow me.

Pa.

The boy wanted a chance to prove himself. Got to give it to him.

Well, I been sort of pushing his face in the measly chores,

just to see how much he could take.

I'll tell you this, he's put up with it a lot longer than I would have.

Yeah, I understand he did a pretty good job.

Yeah.

- But last night he was gonna quit. - Huh?

He wants to be a regular hand so bad he can taste it.

And I think he's earned a chance. He says his pa taught him to ride.

Wonder what Sam's come out here for.

- Hi, Sam. - Howdy.

What brings you out here?

- Looking to buy some horses. - Are you?

That army fella says you got the best conditioned stock in these parts.

Well, we have some pretty good stock.

This bunch will be ready for sale in a couple of days.

- If you're interested. - I might be.

Looks like you're making a real top hand out of that boy.

We’re trying to.

All right, turn him loose.

Hook him, Ed! Hook him, Eddie!

Stay with him, boy. Stay with him.

Go on, stay with him.

Stay with him!

- Not too bad, not too bad. - Good ride, good ride.

- Very good, Eddie. - Great ride, Ed.

You betcha. Proud of you, son. That was real good.

- What do you think of that ride, Sam? - Pretty good. I like your stock, Ben.

- Get together on a price, I'll buy 'em. - All right, let's talk about it.

Hey, Mr. Cartwright, I got a job busting horses or not?

You bet you do.

You're gonna make it, Ed.

Yeah.

That kid's gonna ride Old Hammerhead yet, you wait and see.

I don't know. I got $5 says he don't.

- You're on. - All right.

- Come on, Hammerhead! - Come on, Eddie!

Come on, Hammerhead! Buck him off!

- Sure you don't want to make that ten? - He'll make it.

Hey, Ed, that was great. You did it, buddy. You did it.

There you go.

You and me are gonna celebrate on Joseph.

That's $5 I don't mind losing. Congratulations.

- Hiya, Mr. Butler. - Hi, Candy.

- Stock shaping up pretty good? - Yeah, pretty good.

- Take a few more days. - See you.

Yup.

I was just riding by. Thought I'd look you up.

- You found me. - How's things going along?

- All right, I guess. - You, uh... still wrangling horses?

Yeah. We're readying that string for you.

Fine, boy. Fine. You just keep doing good for the Cartwrights, hear?

Remember, I got plans for you.

- Uh... Listen, Mr. Butler. - Yeah?

- I been thinking... - You think about this for a while.

I could have you locked up any time I want to.

Seems to me that you been forgetting who put that bullet in your pa's head.

No, I ain't about to forget that.

That's fine. Keep up the good work.

Come in.

Hello, Eddie. Come in. Sit down.

Thank you, Mr. Cartwright.

Hoss will be down in a few minutes.

Did you deliver that lot of horses to Sam Butler?

All except Old Hammerhead. He's tied to the hitching post outside.

You know Hoss is real proud of you.

Well, doesn’t that mean something to you to have him proud of you?

S... Sure.

Eddie.

- Everything all set, Pa? - Yep.

Here's a bill of sale for all the horses, except Old Hammerhead.

- Yeah. - Old Hammerhead's one of the best.

Well, sure he is. Ain't you told him?

Well, I think you ought to tell him.

Tell me what?

Well, Eddie, it's sort of Pa and my way of saying thank you for a job well done.

From now on, Old Hammerhead and the saddle that goes with him is yours.

And Pa and me decided that since you're a top hand now,

that you gotta take the responsibilities of a top hand.

Now, here's the bill of sale.

You take it to Sam Butler, he'll pay you and you bring the money back.

Well, get on your horse and get going.

Pa, I want to tell you how much I appreciate you going along with me on this.

Well, it's a good idea. You know, Hoss, sometimes you surprise me.

A fact which pleases me enormously.

Well, now, Eddie. I'd say this is our lucky day.

I was gonna have you break into Cartwright's desk

and take the money I was gonna pay for them horses.

You're good at breaking into a desk.

We won’t have to worry about that now.

- Mr. Butler, I... - If you're smart you'll do as I say.

- Sign. - I ain't gonna do it.

Sign that receipt and take off down the road to San Francisco, now!

That's just the same as letting you steal them horses.

Oh, no it ain't, Eddie.

It's a business deal.

When I sell them horses, I'm gonna send you half of what I make.

No, I can't do that to Hoss.

Look, kid, it boils down to this, you got no choice.

You do as I say and make yourself a nice piece of change.

Or I'll have to turn you over to the sheriff.

Well?

I guess he ain't coming back.

I reckon I was wrong about him.

Sure, the boy was in here yesterday afternoon with the bill of sale.

This is your father's signature, isn't it?

Yeah, that's it.

Everything being right and proper, I gave him the money.

- Did he give you a receipt or anything? - Yeah. Here it is.

- Something wrong? - Yeah.

He never got back to the ranch with the money.

Is that a fact?

You know, I kind of worried about giving the kid that money,

but he had the bill of sale and all and he said that's the way you wanted it.

Yeah. That's the way I wanted it.

Thanks. Well, I reckon you live and learn.

Hoss, you knot-head. Why didn't you come in here last night and tell me this?

Dad burn it, Clem, I wanted to give the kid every chance in the world.

Oh, I understand your thinking. He didn't seem like such a bad kid.

- No, he seemed like a good kid to me. - Well, it’s hard to tell sometimes.

Yeah. Yeah, it sure is.

Well, what am I gonna do now?

He's taken your money. It's got to be grand larceny.

- I expect he'll travel far and fast. - Yeah, he's got a good horse.

No telling which direction he'd go.

Well, I’ll get word out.

- Thanks, Clem. - Don't you worry none, Hoss.

- We’ll get him, sooner or later. - Yeah.

I come back.

Yeah, I see you did.

Old Hammerhead's outside.

You can have him back, Hoss. I didn't earn him.

Look here, Eddie. Sit down a minute.

Sit down.

Tell me and Clem exactly what happened.

Well, I’m scared of jails, that's what it amounts to.

I can't stand being locked up.

When I run off a year ago, I got in some trouble down in a town by the border.

I stole a pair of pants. They put me in what they called a jail.

It weren't nothing but an iron box.

Hot, no water, I couldn't see out.

They left me in there for three days.

Ever since then, when I just think of being locked up I start to shake.

And then when Sam Butler said he was gonna put me in jail,

I didn't know what to do.

Why would Sam want to put you in jail?

I stole from him, money I needed for Pa.

How come he didn't put you in jail?

- I done what he said. - What was that?

He made me give him a receipt, like he paid for the horses.

Only he didn't pay for them.

Well, how did he figure on getting by with that?

I was supposed to run off to San Francisco.

Then he'd show the receipt and say he'd paid for the horses.

Everybody'd think I took your money.

That's just about what it would amount to.

Yeah. A new way of stealing a bunch of horses, ain't it?

He kept saying you killed my pa and you owed it to me.

And if I didn't, he'd put me in jail.

So I did. I run off.

But you came back, didn't you, Eddie?

Yeah.

The farther I went, the slower I got.

Didn't seem I could do that to you, Hoss.

The horse and saddle's outside.

Guess I won't be needing them for a long time to come.

Now, hold on a minute, Ed. You know...

I can't see anything he's done wrong.

Except maybe you've taken a little too much time

- getting that money back to the ranch. - What do you mean?

I mean that you've taken the first step in the right direction, Eddie.

Now, go ahead and finish your job.

Go out there and find Sam and get that money.

Hoss, you know Sam ain't gonna give that boy the money.

Of course not, but he's got to take that next step.

He's got to try.

- What are you doing here? - I come for Cartwright's money.

I paid you that money, boy.

That's a lie. You wanted it to look like I stole it.

You can put me in jail if you want, but you're gonna have to pay me that money.

Rotten pup!

Give me a drink, bartender.

Get up, Butler. Get up.

Come on. We're gonna go down and talk to the sheriff. Go!

Go on!

All right. Clear out. Go on about your business. I'll handle this.

I see you two had an argument.

Now look here, Clem, you help me, these...

Now, Sam, I don't know if I can help you or why I should help you.

The way I hear it, you used Eddie to steal the price of them horses.

But you're the law, and I got a receipt to show it.

That's right, Sam, you got a receipt that says you paid for them horses.

But Eddie knows you didn't pay for them horses.

I know you didn't pay for them horses.

What's more important, you know you didn't pay for them horses.

- You just... - Receipt or no receipt, Sam,

you stole them horses and ain't nobody gonna steal a string of horses from us

and then walk easy.

Now, no question about it, you can make trouble for us.

On the other hand, I can give you some trouble, too, Sam.

You've had a little taste of the trouble I'll make for you.

I mean, just a little taste.

Now, hold on a minute. I got an idea.

What?

Well, what we got to do here is wipe the slate clean.

Sam, you forget your quarrel with Eddie and give Hoss the money.

Hoss, you forget what Sam tried to do and we'll all start over.

That’s fine with me.

All right. All right, I'll go along.

Why don't you and me take a little walk over to your office? See you later.

- Yup, here he is, Pa. - You wanted to see me, Mr. Cartwright?

- Yes. Eddie, I did. - What about?

Didn't you tell him?

Well, I thought it would be better if you told him.

Tell me what?

- Eddie, you're fired. - Fired? What for? What did I do?

Now, son, you just can't keep on working here at the Ponderosa,

when you have your own spread to work.

Here's the deed to your pa's ranch.

Well, I can't accept this, Mr. Cartwright.

Now, Eddie, we're not just giving this to you, it's not charity.

We expect you to give us first choice of your best stock.

Don't stand around here. You got a spread to work. Get going.

Thank you. Thank all of you.

- Good luck, Eddie. - Good luck, Eddie.

Pa, that was nice.

I don't know how nice you're gonna think this is because, with Eddie gone,

you fellas are gonna have to do your share of feeding the chickens,

slopping the pigs, and taking care of the calves, and cleaning out the barns.

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