Original subtitles

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- Candy! Ho-oh! - Whoa.

Candy!

Come on!

Sergeant Russell. What are you doing here?

- Waiting for you. I'd seen you coming. - It's been a long time.

Yeah, six years, plus a payday or two here and there.

Oh, I'm a... I'm a civilian now, Candy.

Mr. Russell. Yes, sir.

The Army figured that 30 years was long enough, so they retired me.

- What are you doing now? - Scratching along with the chickens,

doing the best I can.

Of course, the Congress voted the officers a pension.

The enlisted men, we didn't even get a "Thank you kindly."

I know.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Well... yeah, maybe you could.

I could use a little spot to camp on for a while.

Well, that's easy. The Ponderosa's a big spread.

You pick out a spot. I'm sure I can clear it with Mr. Cartwright.

A man couldn't ask for more than that.

The fact is, I already picked out a likely spot.

It's over here east. You want to ride along, I'll show you where it is?

- Sure. Lead the way. - OK.

Sergeant, you're back.

- Yep. - Hi, Sergeant.

Sergeant... I'm beginning to think that running into you wasn't an accident.

Now, you don't think I'd sandbag an old friend, now do you, Candy?

- Yeah. - Maybe you're right,

but it's in a good cause.

Me and the boys here are a bunch of over-age rejects

and we've been traveling together.

All right, you squatters, who gave you permission to camp here?

We're just about as welcome as the plague.

Every place we stop, somebody comes along, wants to move us on out.

Well, this time, we're staying.

Carson City people don't want ex-soldiers around here.

Your kind make nothing but trouble. We've had all we're gonna take!

- Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. - Now, hold on, Candy.

The man's only saying what he feels.

We don't intend to make any trouble, Mister.

But we don't intend to move on either.

We didn't come out here to argue.

I'm telling you, get out,

or we'll come back here with a posse and run you out.

I guess maybe you didn't know, Mr. Gibson,

but me and my boys here spent about 30 years

looking trouble right in the eye.

Never run before. We're not gonna run now.

You'll run...

if we have to bring out every man from Carson City.

This is Ponderosa land, Mr. Gibson.

It's up to Mr. Cartwright whether these men go or stay.

That's no problem. Ben Cartwright will see it our way.

We'd better go see Mr. Cartwright.

- Candy, I was hoping you'd say that. - Come on.

- Perkins, you take over here for me. - Yep.

All right. Go!

Mr. Gibson's got a lot of reasons for not liking old soldiers.

Some of us have caused a lot of trouble.

Right. Gunplay, hold-ups, stealing livestock, chickens,

- everything that isn't nailed down. - That's right.

Mm-hm. I won't deny it.

I won't even try.

Criminals. No other name for them.

If you let them squat on your land, you'll never be rid of them.

But George... it is my land.

So why don't you let me take care of that?

There's no sense to you hanging around.

We're sick of being asked for your handouts.

We're not asking for charity.

We aim to pay our own way.

How?

We brought our own jobs with us.

Anybody ever hear of ginseng root?

Ginseng? Yeah, from my sailing days.

It's an oriental herb. They use it for medicinal purposes.

That's right. More to the point, the Chinese here in this country

will buy all they can get of it, and they'll pay a good price for it too.

Let me tell you something, Ben.

If these has-been soldiers make one wrong move,

we'll find a way to get rid of them,

whether you like it or not. Come on, Al.

It looks like I'm putting you in bad with your neighbors.

I sure didn't wanna do that.

Ah, don't worry about 'em. Mr. Gibson, he'll come around.

I hope so. Well, I guess I'd better be getting back.

You know, the boys will be anxious to know how I made out.

- Sergeant, how you fixed for rations? - I've been in that camp.

They're fresh out of everything.

Well, you come by tomorrow morning early

and pick up anything you need, Sergeant.

That's... that's not charity. It's a loan.

All right, sir. If you put it that way, I'll accept, and with thanks.

- Candy. - Sergeant.

See you in the morning. Joe.

Take care.

- Beau. - Sergeant.

- How are you? - Am I glad to see you.

- Same here. - Sure happy you could make it.

- Thank you. - How'd you make out, Sergeant?

OK, good news. Cartwright says we can stay.

I'm going over there tomorrow morning to pick up a whole wagonload of rations.

Good! Jeb Gantry's here. Inside.

Ah! Used to be my good rider.

- Don't burn your Confederate money. - I won't.

Jeb. I'm glad you got here.

You got enough stuff there to blow up the state of Nevada.

Better too much than too little.

Besides, you didn't say what the target was.

You don't really care, do you?

As long as it's something you can blow to smithereens.

Well, you can't fault a man for enjoying his work.

No. No, maybe that's what makes you one of the best.

Here, you better stow your play-pretties in there in case we have any visitors.

- I want them out of sight. - Naturally, Sergeant.

You... still haven't told us why you got us together.

There's one man still to come. I'm expecting him any time now.

As soon as he gets here, you'll all know what I have in mind.

I guarantee it's something you'll enjoy.

That'll be nice. I haven't had much pleasure lately.

I'll just keep that key until you need it.

Jeb, if you want to eat, you better get it now.

Evening, Colonel. It's been a long time.

The good old Reb days are long gone, Jackson.

There are no more Confederate colonels.

This one here. He signed up in the US Army as an enlisted man

and he was retired as an enlisted man.

Any of you damn Yankees don't like the way I talk or act,

come on, try to change my style.

- Whoa! - Webster. Bring it on down.

Whoa! Hold it right there.

- Hi, Webbie. - Hi, Sergeant.

Well, I'm glad to see you. I was beginning to worry about you.

Heavy load, worn-out horses. Wonder I got here at all.

- Yeah. You got it? - Take a look.

Hmm.

Come on, Webbie. Cherokee?

Men, I want you to listen to me a minute.

You can go on eating if you want.

You've all been wondering just why we're here,

so I figure it's time that I told you.

We're a company of experts.

Every man here has been selected for his own special skill.

Together we're going to wind up with more money

than the entire US Army ever saw before.

How we gonna do that?

It took me a year to plan this.

I'll tell you in my own way, in my own good time.

We're listening, Sergeant.

Yeah, we're soldiers, ain't we?

I should say, ex-soldiers.

Thrown out of the Army to root with the hogs or starve.

Soldiers! We're forgotten men.

Well, we're gonna do something to make 'em remember us,

make 'em sit up and take notice.

We're going to do something that'll make the whole world remember us.

One thing we all want,

something that we all earned fair and square,

we're entitled to... our pension, right?

- Right! - Long overdue!

So I think it's high time that we just helped ourselves.

And that's why we're here, where the money is.

In Carson City Mint.

Hey. We're going to break that mint wide open and take every last red cent.

But it's guarded too well, Sergeant. We'd never get away with it!

Sergeant, that's been tried before and nobody ever even came close.

Uh-huh. Well, nobody ever had insurance.

Come on over here. I wanna show you something.

Ain't she pretty, Colonel?

There it is, the key to the Carson City Mint. Now what do you say, huh?

- We're with you! - All right, we got everything we need.

We're going to operate strictly as a military unit.

That's the first thing I want you to get into your heads.

Military discipline all the way, one man in command. That's me.

Are you with me?

- You holler frog and we jump. - With you all the way, Sergeant.

Yeah.

- That's fine. That's more than enough. - Nah, you need salt and bacon.

I'd surely appreciate a little corn meal, if you've got it to spare.

I would too, cause I been hungering for hoe cake

and fried corn meal mush for a year of Sundays.

We got plenty in the storehouse. You can help yourselves.

All right, thank you.

- Corn meal's right here, Jeb. - Thank you.

- You got it? - Thanks again.

You bet.

I gave you the key to that locker,

so I can't have any objection to you opening it up.

I thought I just better find out why.

Sergeant, getting us into the mint is your job.

Getting into the vault is mine.

And if you had told me what you wanted, I would have come better prepared.

Better prepared?

I've seen you blow up a railroad bridge with less dynamite than you got there.

That's true. And that bridge was made of pilings and planks,

whereas the vault is of case-hardened steel.

So you drill a hole, plant a charge, blow it open.

Yes, I could do that in six or eight hours.

25 minutes.

They change the guards every two hours.

The officer of the guard makes his round every 30 minutes.

Which means we'll need nitro.

Nitro? And how do you figure on getting that?

I'll make it, out of dynamite.

And with a little luck, I won't blow up the camp while I'm doing it.

But it's a slow job, Sergeant, slow and careful,

and that's why I thought I had better get started now.

Three days. Does that give you enough time?

- It should. - Good.

What you got there?

Detonators. Where'd you get them?

Gently, Sergeant. You keep shaking it and we'll both be missing an arm.

The Ponderosa is the only place you could have gotten them.

- Why not? - You fool, you!

You risk the whole operation stealing something you don't even need!

It's a big job, Sergeant. They might just come in handy.

You'd steal anything just as long as it blows up, wouldn't you?

Suppose the Cartwrights discover they're missing,

and come down here and ask us what we intend to dynamite?

Well, Sergeant... I have every confidence

that you will think of something to tell them.

Well, Perkins?

I thought you ought to know. Some of the men are griping.

About what?

Those who haven't been in Carson City

think they ought to get a look at it before we hit the mint.

The entire company will see Carson City tomorrow.

That's part of the plan. That's all, Perkins.

Whoa!

Hup!

Dismount.

Tie up your horses here. We'll walk the rest of the way.

- Good morning, Sergeant. - Good morning, gentlemen. Morning.

- Morning. - We rode in to go to church.

We thought we'd tie off our horses here

so we wouldn't crowd the hitching rail down at the church.

Good idea. Why don't you sit with us, Sergeant?

Thank you. Would like to. Jeb, take the men in, form a column of twos.

- I'll go along with the Cartwrights. - Detail, column of twos.

I'm kind of surprised to see you gentlemen in this neck of the woods.

Thought you'd be going to church in Virginia City,

- closer to home. - Yeah, we usually do.

They got a visiting preacher over here. Old friend of Pa's.

Ah, yes. Well, sure it'll be beneficial to all of us to hear the good word.

Give us something to think about while we're out digging the ginseng root.

- The service should be starting. - Yeah.

- Candy. - Sergeant.

I... I don't remember you being much of a churchgoer.

Candy, the older you get,

the more you start thinking about the hereafter, the great day of judgment.

I gotta be prepared for just about anything at my time of life!

Yeah, right. I got a notion that it's not salvation you got in mind.

Well, to tell you the truth, you're right.

I've just been trying to make a favorable impression

on the good citizens of Carson City.

Well, don't you think you'd be better off if you stayed out of sight?

No. No, I wanna convince them

that we're just as honest and decent, clean-living,

no different than they are. I mean it.

Maybe that way, they'd let us stay put someplace for a while,

instead of running us out of the country all of the time.

That's a good idea. As long as that's all you've got in mind.

- What else would I have in mind? - I don't know.

An old sinner like you going to church seems a little strange.

- Oh, no! - You better be careful.

It's liable to get to be a habit.

- Let's go find out. - All right.

I never saw Jackson and Perkins run from anything in my life.

What happened?

I suppose I don't care for people looking over my shoulder.

So you play games, do you?

Those men have been soldiering for 30 years.

They ought to know by now it takes more than fire to detonate dynamite.

Besides, as I think I mentioned,

I don't like anyone looking over my shoulder, Sergeant.

Your privilege.

Next time, you let me know, I'll take care of them.

Oh, fine, fine.

And while I'm out hunting you up,

one of the men takes this bottle and shakes it...

and you're short two men.

Are you telling me the truth, Jeb?

That stuff, is...

Is it that touchy?

- Touchy, Sergeant? - Yeah.

Nitro is the meanest stuff in the world to handle.

Even when it's pure, as clear as water,

you can't let it get too hot or too cold.

You can't bump the container.

You certainly better not drop it, unless you want to depart suddenly.

And this stuff is a long, long way from being pure.

Matter of fact, it reminds me of a batch I made once.

Blew up, just sitting in the shade, nobody around.

At least... I don't think there was anybody around.

How are you gonna get it from here to Carson City?

I'll fill the bottle clear to the top so it doesn't slosh.

I'll put it in a box packed tightly with torn-up blanket strips.

And when we get there, if we get there...

I'll show you a trick you've never seen.

How long is it gonna take you to open up the vault?

Four minutes, give or take 30 seconds.

Of course, that's after we get to it.

There'll be four sentries,

one at each side of the building.

And how do you propose to take them out?

Maybe I'll show you a little trick you never saw before.

Candy. It's always a pleasure to see you.

You mind if I talk to you alone?

Why not? Perkins, you've got your orders.

What's on your mind, son?

There's a box of detonators missing from the Ponderosa store room.

They were there when you and your men came for supplies and they're gone now.

- You think we stole them, huh? - Think? I know you did.

I locked the store room

after you left. Nobody's been in there till I went in this morning.

Would you mind telling me what a box of dynamite caps

has got to do with digging ginseng?

Not a thing, Candy. But I will tell you something else.

Your coming over here to look for them dynamite caps

will save me the trouble of coming after you.

Coming after me? Why?

Got a little job I need your help on in Carson City.

Carson City? I was right, then.

Churchgoing wasn't what brought you there after all, was it?

No, it wasn't.

Me and my men are gonna bust into the Carson City Mint.

Come on, you're joking!

No! No joke. You're gonna open the front door for us.

Aw, come on!

Sure. Yes, I've looked into it. I've found out lots of times

you deliver gold and silver there for Mr. Cartwright.

So all you gotta do is go up and knock on the front door

and they'll open it for you.

You're insane.

Oh, no, Candy.

No, I will admit the idea... well, it could take a little getting used to.

I kinda hate to put you in the middle, but don't you see,

with your help it's gonna make the job a whole lot easier?

Now, wait a minute, wait a minute.

You're not putting me in the middle.

Because you just showed me that I don't owe you a thing.

Not loyalty, not respect, not even friendship.

What's happened to you?

You used to be a good topkick, one of the best.

Maybe you didn't always go by the book,

but when you bent the regulations, it was to protect your men.

Now you're using those stripes to turn them into a bunch of outlaws.

- You all through? - Yeah.

You had your say.

Now you listen to me for a minute, young fella.

I'm gonna tell you something that even my own men don't know,

and I'm not turning outlaw in my old age either.

Me and every one of them men out there

served their country for over 30 years.

And then they were turned out to pasture, to starve.

That's why I'm gonna take that gold from the Carson City Mint

and I'm gonna hold it for ransom.

People all over the country will hear about it, and they'll realize

how desperate our situation is. And the newspapers will get hold of it.

- No. - Yes. And they'll make Congress

pass a law to give us our pensions.

And then, then, Candy, I'm gonna turn the gold back to them.

No, that's not the way to do it!

Even if you're lucky enough to pull it off, you'll just turn everybody against you.

It'll work, Candy, believe me, I tell you.

Well, you can count me out.

Candy...

I'm gonna have to show you a few things.

Well, first off, that wagon over there with the insignia painted on the side...

is a decoy. It's gonna get us to the front of the mint.

It's gonna get you shot. You don't even look like soldiers.

But we will. We will. A supply sergeant friend of mine's

come up with four brand-new regulation uniforms.

Candy, everything's been planned right down to the last detail.

Rifles, ammunition, uniforms, nitro, and...

this.

This is gonna open the door of the mint for us.

Of course, a lot of the good people inside could get killed.

It'd save a lot of bloodshed if you'd open the door for us, Candy.

So you're declaring war on the United States Government?

It can be that way or we can get what we want

without one shot being fired. It's all up to you.

Oh, no, no. You're gonna have to do it without me, Sergeant.

Tie him up.

I think you'll change your mind, Candy. I'm sure hoping you will.

Hey.

You all got your orders. You know what to do.

Just make sure that not more than two of you

ride into town at the same time. Good luck.

Prepare to mount.

Mount.

Single file left. Forward. Ho-oh!

Hold it gently, Sergeant.

It's nitro, Mr. Canady. Think about that on our rough ride into town.

Set? Forward.

Ho-oh!

You sure this is where Candy said they were camped?

Yeah, I'm sure. Look at all the tracks, wagons, horses, men. And the fire.

Hmm. That's funny.

They ask permission to stay,

then they just up and leave. Does that seem a little strange to you?

Yeah, to put it mildly.

I'd like to know what happened to Candy and those dynamite caps.

And these tracks head for Carson City.

Betcha this time they're not going to church.

Miller!

Just stand by.

27 minutes left.

Make it 23, to be on the safe side.

I told you, I only need four.

On the floor. It's the last of 'em. He goes in with the rest of his friends.

Come on, hop in. We gotta circle back.

- Time? - We move in 90 seconds.

Bull's-eye, Candy.

This cannon's aimed to make a bull's-eye

right on the front doors of that mint.

Yep, it's all loaded and waiting.

All I gotta to do is just... set a spark to that fuse.

Candy, we're gonna bust into that mint one way or the other.

Now, if you're going to help us, you nod your head yes.

Cause if you shake it no... you're gonna start a small war.

Good boy.

Canady, delivering gold for Ben Cartwright.

Just a minute.

All right!

Now!

All right, nobody tries to be a hero, nobody gets hurt.

Take Mr. Eccles and the rest of his staff into the room there,

tie and gag them.

- Get 'em in there! - Move!

- Get in there! - All in!

Get in there quick! Right away.

Take Candy over there, tie and gag him.

Keep your eye on him every minute.

He's trickier than a bucket full of snakes. I know, I trained him.

Jeb, the vault's back here through these doors.

Come on, get started.

Well then, send somebody ahead of me, Sergeant.

With what I'm carrying, I'd rather not get into a shooting match.

Perkins.

- It's all clear. Come ahead. - Let's go.

- Can you open it? - Yes.

But it's going to be more like five minutes than four.

Can I help?

Yes. Stay out of the way.

Why would anybody wanna leave a wagon

parked right in the middle of the street like that?

Don't talk, just keep riding.

Hey, what's the matter?

That fella walking guard in front of the mint.

He's one of Russell's men.

- Are you sure about that? - You're darn right I'm sure.

He was with them when they got supplies out at the Ponderosa.

Hey, that fella back there at the wagon. Did you ever see him before?

No.

Could he be one of Russell's men, do you think?

Yeah, he could be.

Joe, we better get some help.

Reece.

- Yes, Webbie? - Two of the Cartwrights just rode past.

Beau is afraid they might have recognized the sentry.

Now, that's your problem, isn't it, Sergeant?

And you'd better get set to handle it,

because this thing is going in exactly a minute and a half.

Those two Cartwright boys rode past a few minutes ago.

Maybe they recognized Jackson and maybe they didn't.

Not townfolk. They come and go.

They pass by this place so often, they never really see it.

Well, we hope they don't.

If the Cartwrights should come back...

just open the door, ask them in.

I'll just do that.

Four minutes, ten seconds, Jeb. How much longer?

Just as long as it takes me to light the match.

Run, both of you!

Look at that gold!

We did it, Sarge. We did it! Ain't it pretty?

I've done my part, Sergeant.

Good job, Jeb. Good job.

All right, get these dollies loaded and get out of here.

- Give me a hand, Smith. - It's heavy.

Hold it. Hold it right here.

Bring it all out into this room

and then we'll move it all into the wagon at once.

Oh!

All right, boys. Come on, move it.

Tell Russell the Cartwrights just rode off, heading home.

All right, Russell's man thinks we left town.

He's still out in front of the mint. You get going, we'll take care of the wagon.

Russell, there's something you haven't told us yet.

Where are we taking this gold and where do we split it up?

We're not splitting it up. We're heading up into the rimrock country as a unit.

Find someplace up there that we can defend.

A place we can defend? There is no such place.

Sarge, Beau said the street's clear. We gotta get moving.

You're not making any sense, Russell. Now, we all have a share in that gold.

And if we split it up and run, every man for himself, some of us will make it.

I am in command here.

We're holding that gold for ransom until Congress votes us a pension.

You mean, give back the gold, after all this?

If we keep it, we're thieves.

If we do it my way, we're just fighting for our rights.

If we do it your way, we rot in jail or hang!

I am still in command!

He drew first.

- Yeah. He drew first. - Let's go.

All right, the street is clear. Open the door.

- Where's Sergeant Russell? - He's shot.

That's right. He wanted to give the gold back and when I said no, he drew on me.

- You shot Sergeant Russell? - Hold!

Now, you open that door.

It's a long way to Mexico.

Open it!

I'll settle with you when we get to Mexico.

Open it!

All right, come on, boys.

Hurry up.

We'll have to shoot it out!

All right, men, drop them guns

or we'll blow you to kingdom come.

Yellow bellies! Pick up those guns and hold them off until I get the nitro.

No, you don't! It's all over.

Take it easy, take it easy, Sarge.

You're gonna be all right.

You know better than that.

It was a damn fool idea right from the start.

I admire you, Candy.

The way you... stood up against me.

Cause you raised me right, Sergeant.