Original subtitles

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Haven't spent that much time in the saddle,

- but as mayor, I thought it was my duty. - What about the money?

- Not a trace of it. - Excuse me.

A dollar a day, cash in advance. Did you look for the money?

Well, we did and we didn't.

Sheriff thinks that maybe the killer took the money,

along with the old man's horse.

Probably needed an extra horse, just to carry all that money.

How's the old man?

Just like Walter Joe said, dead.

Somebody walloped him with a chunk of stove wood.

- What about the money? - What about it?

Well, did you find it?

We'll find that when we find the killer. Excuse me.

Well, he's all yours now, Harry.

Since he hadn't any kin anybody knows about,

- might as well get the burying over. - Whatever you say.

Tomorrow morning too soon?

- That'll be fine. - Oh, Sheriff?

Sheriff, that bruise on the side of his head.

Now, that could have been caused by a piece of stove wood,

but I've seen bruises like that on people who just fell down and died.

- Did you see the old man's place? - Yeah, I seen it.

- Tore plumb to pieces? - Yeah.

Well, he didn't do that after he fell down.

No. He sure didn't.

The killer did it, after he hit him on the head with the stove wood.

Just like I said.

Just... just like you said.

It's only logical he's run into the mountains.

The ground is rocky, be hard to track.

- MEN: Yes. That's right. - Sheriff, come here.

There's always the possibility the killer didn't find the money.

- I thought of that myself. - Say, mister...

- That'll be one dollar. - I just want to ask a question.

- Has Joe or Ben Cartwright been in? - Never heard of them.

There's always the chance he did find the money.

That is a possibility.

- I'm Sheriff Millett. - My name's Cartwright.

This your horse?

- Oh, not exactly. No. - You rode him into town, didn't you?

- I did. You ain't gonna believe this... - You just borrowed it.

No, I found him.

Uh-huh. Well, you tell me all about it on the way to my office.

Look, Sheriff, I didn't steal that horse.

Well, I'm not arresting you for stealing a horse.

You're under arrest for murder.

Sheriff, like I told you, I woke up this morning, my horse was gone.

I looked around and I found this horse.

Take off your gun belt, empty your pockets and put the stuff on the desk.

He may be some killer, but he ain't a very good liar.

Well, maybe he's telling the truth.

MAN: Any man who'd kill and steal wouldn't be above lying.

I say let's hang him right now, and get it over with.

- Yeah, yeah. - Hang him! Hang him!

Come on. Get back. Get back. Come on.

Come on!

Get away from that window. Go on, git!

- That everything? - HOSS: That's it.

Sheriff, I didn't steal that horse, I found him.

My pa and little brother are gonna be in town this afternoon or tomorrow.

They'll tell you what I'm saying is truth.

This way.

[SIGHS]

Sheriff...

- All right, in here. - Look here.

We ranch down by Virginia City. It's the Ponderosa.

Maybe you've heard of it.

[TURNS KEY]

You'd save us a lot of trouble if you'd tell me where you hid the money.

What money?

One of these days, I'm gonna have the simple pleasure

of arresting a man who admits he's guilty.

Well, you'd better arrest one that is first.

[SIGHS]

[PIANO PLAYING, HUM OF CONVERSATION]

Oh, it's a shame, a sin and a shame.

It'll be the biggest funeral this town has ever seen.

- Who's paying for it? - Harry will collect his fee,

- as soon as they recover the money. - What happens to the rest of the money?

That does present a problem.

There doesn't seem to be a will of any kind, and we know of no relatives.

And he had no close friends that we know of.

Well, we just can't let the money sit there.

The money could be used to benefit everybody.

Fix up the town, paint the store fronts, dig drainage ditches.

Build a church.

That would come pretty far down on the list, Brother Stoner.

Well, it's not right to hold Sunday services in a saloon.

Look at it this way, you're challenging the devil in his own house.

- Careful what you call my saloon. - A figure of speech, Charlie.

Think you'd better find the money before splitting it up?

- You've got the man who stole it? - Under lock and key.

Ask him where the money is.

He's not talking.

Maybe we should appeal to his better nature.

- Could I talk with the prisoner? - Not by yourself, you don't.

It might be a good idea if we all talked to him.

[DOOR OPENS]

There's somebody to see you.

[CLEARS THROAT]

- Mr. Uh... - Cartwright. Hoss Cartwright.

- I'm Mayor Brigham, Mr. Cartwright... - CHARLIE: Let's get to the point.

- What you do with the money, Hoss? - What money?

The money you took from the old man before you killed him.

I ain't killed nobody, and I found that horse.

Mr. Cartwright, you'll have to admit that story's pretty thin.

I'll have to admit that I could make up a better story, but if I did,

it would just be a lie.

I'm Brother Stoner, Mr. Cartwright.

I'm the one that does the preaching here,

for those who care to listen.

Now, if there's anything that I can do...

Well, there's one thing you can do.

Tell me why nobody round here will listen to me.

If you want people to listen, you've got to tell them what they want to hear.

I told them the truth.

That's the last thing that most people want to hear.

- BARTENDER: Charlie? - Bring the bottle.

Now, the way I see it, we got him cold on a murder charge,

but he's the only one that knows where the money is.

Now, he probably figures that we're not gonna let anything happen to him

until we know where the money is.

Then we'll have to convince him we're more interested in justice than money.

- How do we do that? - We take him out and lynch him.

Not all the way, just a little bit.

Charlie, a lynching is like an avalanche.

Not hard to start, but did you ever try stopping one?

No, and I don't intend to. That's the sheriff's job.

[DOOR SLAMS]

- Are you hungry? - Well, now that you mention it.

I brought you something from across the street.

Hey, kinda heavy.

Roast beef and mashed potatoes, greens and potpie.

You know, a fella could learn to like this jail.

That old man lived on the mountain for more years than I've been sheriff here.

Come to town twice a year.

Dicker all day to save a penny on a pound of bacon and flour,

then paid from a roll of bills as thick as your arm.

That old man was sitting on a mountain of money. Everybody here knew that.

How much do you figure he had altogether?

I wouldn't know, Sheriff.

- Enough to last a man a lifetime. - Couldn't say.

Maybe even two men, unless one was greedy.

Mighty good grub you got here, Sheriff.

Now, you tell me where that money is,

and I might forget to lock this door and leave a horse tied out back.

Like I said, I ain't got no way of knowing.

All right, you take me to the money. We'll split it right down the middle.

Where do you get off locking a man up in jail?

You ain't no better than a crook yourself.

I'm gonna give you to the count of five.

If you don't tell me what I want to know by then,

I'm gonna shoot you up some for trying to escape.

One... two...

- Three... - If you miss, I'll be sure to get him.

Now, keep him covered, Sheriff. You never know which way they'll jump.

[TURNS KEY]

Thank you.

Good thing I came along when I did.

Yeah.

I got a little heartburn.

Well, you're gonna have some more heartburn,

cause the boys in the saloon were talking lynch.

Just a little talk, don't mean a thing.

You'd better let them know that. They think they mean it.

Anybody comes around here looking for me,

tell them I took a ride up to the old man's place, have a look around.

Don't you think you ought to stay here and stop them people when they come?

- Stop 'em how? - Well, with that gun.

Those people are my friends and neighbors.

I'm here to protect them, not to kill them.

But what about the prisoner?

Well, what about him?

[APPROACHING MOB JEERING]

- Come on, let's go. - Wait a minute. Where we going?

- Anywhere, someplace, let's go. - Why? Where's the sheriff?

- Gone, and we'd better get going. - I ain't going. I'm staying right here.

- Now listen to me... - No.

If I run, then they'll sure think I'm guilty.

They already think you're guilty.

They won't soon as my pa and little brother get here.

- By that time you'll already be hung. - Hung?

[HAMMERING ON DOOR]

CHARLIE: Open up, Sheriff. We've come for him.

- Open up! - [HAMMERING ON DOOR]

Now, I'm gonna save your life if I have to kill you to do it.

That one's yours.

I just don't like the idea of breaking jail.

You can always go back and tell them it was a mistake.

Done tried that.

[LOUD CLATTER INSIDE]

No prisoner...

no sheriff...

and no sign of a struggle.

Hm! What do you make of that?

Maybe the sheriff let him go.

Uh-huh.

And, uh... maybe the sheriff went with him.

Well, he'd sure have to have a good reason.

How about... the money?

That's a good reason.

I'll give you odds that we'll find one or both of them

up there at the old man's place.

That is, if we get there in a hurry.

[HORSES GALLOPING PAST]

Well, if they're gonna look that way,

- we'd better go that way. - Yeah.

Listen, I appreciate what you did back there, but I don't understand why.

I'd do the same for any man.

There's something about a lynching that sets my teeth on edge.

Yeah, well, I've been thinking about it.

I'd better get back into town and get this thing settled up.

If you're gonna prove you're innocent, you'd better do it from a safe distance.

Yeah.

Maybe we can just circle around here for two or three days,

let the dust settle down and then go back in, huh?

If you want my opinion,

we'd better start riding far and fast, starting right now.

[SIGHS]

- What you looking for, Sheriff? - What are you looking for, Charlie?

I'm looking for you.

Well, you're having better luck than I am.

What are you doing here?

That's what we're gonna ask you, Sheriff.

Well, as a duly sworn-in officer of the law,

it is my duty to find and protect the assets

of any citizen who meets an untimely end,

and that's why I'm here, doing my duty.

Oh, come on, Sheriff.

That's more than I can say for you vultures.

I resent that, Sheriff. It is my duty and civic responsibility

to see to it that these assets that you mentioned

don't vanish before they reach the city treasurer's office.

- Furthermore, and in addition... - Please.

Yeah. Now, Sheriff, who was it told you where to dig?

Nobody.

I'm just prospecting around.

[LAUGHS] With a piece of stick!

I say that you brought this thing out here to confuse us.

And I say that that Hoss told you where to dig.

- That Hoss showed me nothing. - Then why'd you turn him loose?

I left him locked up in jail, where he ought to be.

He ain't there now, Sheriff. Ain't nothing in that jail cell but dust.

That's why we rode out, Sheriff.

There's them that thinks that you gave him his freedom

in return for him telling you where he hid the money.

A prisoner escapes from jail, a cold-blooded killer,

and you go chasing after the sheriff.

People!

Well, it seemed to make sense at the time.

They aren't gonna chase us in the dark, but don't make that fire too big.

I just want to tell you how much I appreciate what you did back there.

I already told you how I felt about that.

- You took a mighty big risk. - I don't wanna talk about it.

Look, I know you appreciate what I did.

A man saves your life, you're bound to appreciate it.

But you don't have to go on and on about it.

Yeah.

I'm Hoss Cartwright.

- Child Barnett. - Child?

- Is that what they named you? - No, that's just what they called me.

Child.

"Come here, Child."

"Child, behave yourself."

"Now, listen to me, Child."

By the time I was five years old, they forgot what my real name was.

There must have been somebody to write it down someplace.

Somebody did, but neither one of them could read.

Child? It's a funny name to be calling your old man, ain't it?

What's so funny about that?

Did your daddy name you Hoss when you was born?

Well, no, but...

Then you don't got no real name, neither.

All you got is what people decide to call you.

Even if your daddy named you George Washington Cartwright,

if people decide to call you low-down, mean, stupid, or dumb,

all the George Washington in the world wouldn't change it.

Yeah.

That's kind of a dumb thing for me to say, wasn't it? Sorry about that.

That's all right.

I thought it was kinda funny when you told me your name was Hoss.

It kinda fits you.

Well, I hope you had a good night's sleep.

I did, thank you.

Now, we've got a cold trail to follow.

You can't track a man in the dark, Charlie.

Well, you can try.

Maybe you can, but not me. I know it's a waste of time.

Maybe you don't want to catch him.

I'm just about the end of my string with you, Charlie.

Now, Charlie!

Where do we start looking for the tracks, Sheriff?

South of town. They rode out of the alley that way.

The big guy lives near Virginia City.

I got a hunch that's one place he won't go.

Uh-huh. And what if your hunch is wrong?

You'll probably never let me forget it.

What do you suppose that was all about?

- Looks like a posse. - Sure in a hurry.

- Yes, sir? - Two rooms, please.

- Two beds in each room. - And hot baths.

Two rooms, four beds and wash basins. That'll be a dollar each a day.

Uh... I need a bath.

Some folks use the horse trough in front of the livery stable after dark.

I'm glad some folks do.

Is that a posse I saw riding out?

- Oh, indeed it was. - Who were they after?

A murderer.

Yes, first killing we've had around here in almost a year now.

What was it, a gunfight?

No. He killed him with a piece of fire wood, just stove his head in.

- Avery foul crime. - CLERK: Stole his money, too.

Money that was intended to build a church.

Now, you know that ain't so, Brother Stoner.

He came to services regularly in the saloon,

and quite often made a donation.

That don't mean he figured to build you a whole church.

He was a good man, and a church is a worthy cause. Don't you agree, sir?

Oh, yes. Yes, of course.

Just when did this killing take place?

Yesterday.

- And the posse just left? - Well, the man has been in jail.

- Oh, he broke out? - CLERK: Not exactly.

A fella went in and helped him out with a key.

That wasn't a very legal thing to do.

Well, I can't find it in my heart to blame him.

Certain members of our community were going to hang him.

Only part way, Brother Stoner. You know that.

They were gonna hang him part way?

Yes, till he told us where he hid the money.

Then we were gonna leave it up to the law to hang him the rest of the way.

Well, that would have made it legal.

Let's clean up, boys.

- Gives you something to think about. - Hanging a man part way?

- Yeah. - I'm with the parson.

Fella had a chance to get out of jail to avoid a hanging. I'd do it.

- JOE: Can't wait to tell Hoss. - Hoss who?

Hoss Cartwright.

- That's the man the posse's chasing. - The killer.

- No, not... not Hoss. - You're thinking about some other man.

- Hoss wouldn't kill anybody. - What makes you so sure?

[LAUGHING] He's my son!

You should have got to know that boy better.

Boy, a serving of eggs and some hot cakes would sure go fine about now,

- wouldn't they? - I can't help you there, Hoss.

But here's something you might need.

Doesn't make you a little uneasy? I mean, I'm supposed to be a murderer.

You don't strike me as the murdering type.

What exactly is a murdering type?

A little man, squinchy eyes, pinched face,

two weeks' growth of beard, wrinkled clothes and a dirty hat.

Yeah, I'd, uh... be terrified by a man like that, all right.

Hey, ain't you worried about getting in trouble with them folks back there?

No. They don't know me.

- I don't come from there. - Where do you come from?

No place in particular.

I go where the wind blows me, and I don't like a lot of questions.

Don't take much to get you out of sorts neither, does it?

I'm not out of sorts, Hoss.

Like my pa told me, the most interesting thing about a man

is the part you don't know about, the part you have to guess.

- Where'd he get that? - Guess he made it up.

Man who don't read don't get nothing from books.

Yeah.

Nice dusty road. It might be helpful if we made tracks in it.

Posse be along soon.

If we don't confuse them, they'll be right on our coattails.

Sounds like you've had some experience in this sort of business.

Enough to know that you have to stay way ahead of a lynching party.

Well, we got to meet and talk with them some time.

I mean, we got to settle this.

Huh. This time next year should be about right.

Now, you take that fork,

and I'll take this one.

Stay in the dust

until you come to hard ground along the roadside and then cut north.

Then we'll meet on the far side of that hill.

Fine.

Where you from, Hoss?

Oh, no place in particular.

Just sort of go where the wind blows me.

[CHILD LAUGHS]

Tell you the truth, Hoss, I don't know half the places where I'm from,

Pa not being happy in any one place.

He tried farming, smithing, and cow punching.

But a man that don't know how to read or figure numbers,

ain't good for nothing but chores.

And he knew just enough to know that he wasn't getting what he wanted,

but he didn't know how to go about getting it.

And so, we'd move on.

Half the time, he didn't know where he was.

And he was too dumb to read and... too proud to ask.

I'm from Virginia City, we ranch up there.

That's where I'm heading, soon as I get this cleared with the law.

- If you're looking for a job... - I'm not.

There's that relay station.

You can get that breakfast you've been wanting.

That dad-burn sheriff took every penny I got.

I don't recall asking you for any money.

Stay in the saddle. I won't be a minute.

Giddyap!

- Let's get out of here. - What's the matter?

Don't ask any questions. Just ride.

What'll you have, Hoss, biscuits or beef?

You stole that, didn't you?

Ah, you don't have to keep looking back.

A man's not gonna leave a store full of stuff just to get this away from us.

You shouldn't have done it.

I didn't do nothing but take a little bit of food for a couple of days.

I don't care what you done. It ain't right.

- I was hungry. - That don't give you a license to steal.

I remember you telling me you was hungry.

Not for stolen food, I ain't.

Tastes just like the kind you buy.

I don't care what it tastes like. It's going back.

I don't remember you complaining about those stolen horses.

Them horses don't belong to you?

I took the first couple of good horses I could find.

Child, don't you know that we could be hung for that?

Well, they gonna hang you anyway.

We'll settle the horses later, but right now that stuff's going back.

It's not going back. This belongs to me.

No, it don't. It belongs to the man you stole it from.

What are we arguing about? This is just a sack of food.

We're arguing about a principle.

An empty stomach doesn't know any principles.

Yeah, and a full stomach don't give you none, neither.

Now you've made me lose my appetite.

Good, now let's take that stuff back. Give it here.

I took it. I'll take it back myself.

I'll tell you one thing, though.

We're gonna have to stop this fiddling around

and do some hard riding, or the posse will run right smack-dab into us.

I'll say one thing for you.

You're a pretty good judge of horseflesh in the dark.

I have to be. That's when I get most of my horses.

Looks like they split up.

Well, we got to make a choice.

We'll take this fork, see what we can find.

- Where's Charlie? - Well, he was here just a minute ago.

You don't suppose he'd try to find them two by himself, do you?

I think he would.

[HORSES APPROACHING]

I, uh... just run out of tracks.

If I'd found any, I was gonna come tell you about it.

- You wait here. - Sure you don't want me to go with you?

I did it. I'll undo it.

What's the matter, you forget the salt?

Check it.

It's all there.

- Seems to be. - Well, I guess that squares it.

Uh... Mister?

You... going away hungry?

That's the way it is.

- Howdy. - Howdy.

I didn't get a chance to meet you last time through.

You, uh... forgot this.

- No, I left it behind. - Well, go on. Take it with you.

- I don't have the money to pay for it. - Well, I didn't ask you for any.

No. I don't take charity.

I swear, you do make it hard for a man to be Christian.

Do you know what the good book says? "It's blessed to give."

Well, how in thunder is a man supposed to give if you won't take?

My ma gave me this book before she died.

She said to me, "Anything a man wanted to know was in this Bible."

See this?

I wrote my name in there.

It says, "This Bible belongs to Child Barnett."

- How long has your ma been dead? - She died when I was a young thing.

I don't hardly remember her.

Will this cover the cost of that food?

Oh, sure, but I can't take your Bible.

Well, you make out your bill and put it in this book.

If I'm not back to pick it up, then this Bible is yours.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

CHILD: Come on, Hoss.

- Have a biscuit, Hoss? - Yeah, I don't mind if I do.

Listen, I wanna tell you how much I appreciate you getting these things.

Ah, now, you're not going to go on and on and on about that biscuit, are you?

I think I was going to, yeah.

- It don't taste no different. - Yeah!

- No sign of them. - No. Nothing.

- Well, tracks are plain enough. - Let's get after them.

No, no. Let's rest the horses.

- Pa, we can't. - They need it, Joe.

The posse will have to rest their horses, too. Come on.

- Hello, Buck. - Gents.

Sheriff. If you boys are hungry, I'll be glad to rustle you up some grub.

- I don't say it'll be good, but... - We're looking for somebody, Buck.

- Yeah? Anybody I know? - An escaped killer and his partner.

A big man, heavy set, wears a white hat.

Name of... Hoss?

- Hoss Cartwright. - Well, I didn't get his last name,

but he didn't seem like a murderer to me.

Which way did he go?

They rode off in the direction of Juniper Springs,

That was, oh, maybe an hour ago.

Seem like they were in much of a rush?

No.

No. As a matter of fact, they forgot something first time around

and come back and straightened it out.

Then they rode off slow and easy, like they had all the time in the world.

That means their horses are still fresh and ours are rode out.

Say, Buck, could we borrow some of your company horses?

Them horses are broke to harness.

I don't know how good they're gonna be under a saddle.

Well, at least they'll be fresh.

You're welcome to help yourself. You can turn yours loose in the empty corral.

See anything?

I thought I saw something move way out there.

- Let's get closer. - Yeah.

SHERIFF: Hasn't been more than 20 minutes since those horses

been outside their tracks.

We should catch sight of them just about any time.

Yeah, any time now, unless they see us first.

Of course, these horses won't give much of a race.

Well, we've only got one chance.

If we can't run 'em down, we'll have to shoot 'em down.

If we kill him, we'll never find out where that money is.

And if you let him get away?

Let's pull in here, Hoss.

I thought so.

Picked up a rock. Another hour, he'd be pulling up lame.

You know, it's just ain't everybody that would have known that.

I ought to know. I been around horses all my life.

Doggone, we could sure use a man like you on the Ponderosa.

I'm not looking for a job.

- What have you got against honest work? - Nothing.

- You ever had a job? - Had plenty of them.

I like to live alone.

I can't stand being in a bunkhouse full of people

with somebody telling me what to do all the time.

What I had in mind was a little land shack we got way up in Cibolo canyon.

Generally keep a man up there the year round,

riding the fence and gathering in a few strays.

- I don't want any job. - It's lonely.

- Hard work, but good pay. - Stop it right there.

What's the matter?

- I don't want any job. - Why?

Because I can't read!

Reading ain't altogether the reason.

I got to figure that when a man won't slow down long enough

to make his beans and his bacon, somebody must be after him, chasing him.

You're kind of mixed up, aren't you?

I mean, it's you they're chasing, not me, remember?

But it's you that don't want to go back.

No, there's something you ain't telling me.

And besides that, I knew you couldn't read before I offered you the job.

What do you mean you knew?

I gave you that book. It said, "This Bible's the property of Child Barnett."

- That ain't what it said. - What do you mean it ain't what it said?

It said, "This Bible's the property of... Joshua Barnett."

Joshua.

Joshua Barnett.

[GUNSHOT]

[GUNSHOTS CONTINUING]

No, Child, no!

[GUNSHOT]

Joshua.

- [GROANING] Just leave me be. - I'm sorry, Josh. I tried to stop you.

I took your horse, and left you with the old man's.

I figured you did, being the judge of horseflesh you are.

But... I...

I didn't kill the old man.

Nobody killed him, he just... fell down and died.

I found him lying there. He was peaceful and quiet.

I tore up the cabin.

I figured he wouldn't be needing the money he'd be leaving behind.

Where's the money?

There was never no money. That was just a lot of talk.

Just a lot...

All these years we've been nice to that old man for nothing?

Hoss! Hoss!

All that money. Just talk.

I don't believe it was talk.

That old man had money and I think it's still up there somewhere.

BRIGHAM: How come you're so sure?

I just... feel it in my bones.

SHERIFF: Hoss!

- All right, Hoss. Let's go. - Go where?

- Back to jail. - What for?

You heard it. The old man died of natural causes.

Your son stole a couple of horses.

Sheriff, you know he didn't steal any horses. You heard that, too.

He broke jail. Nobody breaks out of my jail.

It was either break jail or get lynched.

- We did find those horses. - And I'll see that you get them, too.

Well, if a man feels that way, I guess there's no use stirring up any trouble.

That's right.

He wasn't all bad, Pa.

No, he wasn't.

You know, in some ways,

those other fellas are as guilty or guiltier then he was.

I know they didn't break any laws or anything,

but what they done was wrong.

All they wanted was that old man's money.

It isn't what they did, Hoss. It's the way they think.

You can't put a man in jail for the way he thinks.

No, but they won't be going off scot-free either.

For the rest of their lives, they'll be thinking about that money.

Spending all their time looking for it.

Worrying, for fear that somebody else will find it before them.

And the funny part was... there wasn't no money.

But they won't believe that, either. They're greedy, so they're suspicious.

You know, that kind of man carries his own jail around with him.

Yeah.

Well, let's go.