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Ruth, that's the tenth time tonight

you've told me your back is killing you.

- Well, it is. - Well, don't tell me,

tell your husband. He's the doctor.

Oh, there's nothing I can do about it.

It's natural.

Well now, that's the trouble

with having a husband who's a doctor.

I mean, any other man would be worried

and give you gobs of sympathy.

Not Mark. He just says, "It's natural."

Oh, well, honey, I'm afraid

it's a little late to trade me in on a new one.

Oh, I don't know.

Ben, thanks again.

The supper and the company were excellent.

Well, it's the least that a...

about-to-be Godfather could offer.

Oh.

- You all right? - Oh!

I'm fine.

If he can kick as hard on the outside

as he does on the inside,

he'll be the greatest soccer player in the world.

Hey, wait a minute. What's this "he" business, hmm?

Oh, she knows it's a boy.

Oh, go ahead, make fun of me.

But when Mark Jr. is born, you'll eat your words.

All a woman has to do, Ben, is...

tie a penny to a string and hold it in front of them.

If it swings this way, it's a girl,

if it swings this way, it's a boy.

And it swung the boy way.

Yeah. Very scientific.

Well, if you men are so smart,

do you know a better way to tell?

Yes... wait two weeks.

Oh.

Doctors are no fun.

- Bye-bye, Ben. - Good-bye.

Bye-bye. Take care.

- Hey, Hoss! - Hiya, Doc, Ruthie!

Whoa, ho.

I'm sorry I'm late, Pa,

but they had a new man on the freight dock.

- How's Ruthie? - Oh, fine, just fine.

Yeah? When's the baby due?

Two weeks.

What's so funny?

I was just... just remembering what a labor pain you were.

Yeah.

Hyah.

Now, the truth. Do you want a boy or a girl?

Honey, I told you the truth, either one.

- It makes no difference. - Well, it's going to be a boy.

Oh, great.

Would you feel awful now if it was a girl?

Honey, I just want a baby, that's all.

I love you.

Doc!

Whoa.

Doc! Doc!

Whoa.

- Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. - Hyoh!

Doc, I was just out to your house.

It's time! Annie's ready!

All right, all right, all right, all right.

Just... just take it easy.

Now, how much time between pains?

No time, they... They just keep a-coming!

Well, all right. Oh.

Honey, you drive home. I'll go with Eli.

All right, Papa, let's go.

Yes, sir! Giddyap!

Good luck.

Whoa! Annie!

The doc is coming! The doc is here!

Ah!

And so on this day,

we place the body of Mark Sloan, Jr.

Into this hallowed ground.

We know the pain that is felt

by his mother and his father, oh, Lord,

and we pray that you will comfort them and guide them

in the difficult time to follow.

We give his soul unto you, oh, Lord,

a soul that never knew the evils of this world.

And we take heart in knowing that he will dwell

in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.

No! Please, God, no!

Ruth.

- Ruth... - Get away from him!

Get away from my son!

You killed him!

Leave me alone.

No. No.

My baby.

My baby.

My baby.

How about some coffee?

No.

It must be getting late. What time is it?

Close to 3:00.

If you could have seen the look on Mark's face.

It will take time, but they'll get over it.

I'm not as worried about Ruth as I am about Mark.

The look on his face was...

He's a doctor. He had to go with Eli.

There was nothing else he could do.

I hope Mark believes that.

Why don't you get some sleep, huh?

A little later.

You go ahead.

Good night, Pa.

Ben.

Mark.

Good to see you.

Good to see you.

Please, please, come in.

Thank you.

I, uh...

I thought I'd wait a couple of days before I came over.

I was wondering if there's something you might need

or something I could do.

That's very kind of you, Ben, but we're fine.

And please, sit down.

Just made some coffee. How about a cup?

I'm afraid it tastes like mud, though.

Ruth is resting and I'm just not much in the kitchen.

Oh, I just won't have any, thank you very much.

How is Ruth?

Fine. Much, much better.

She felt bad about...

the things she said,

but she was under such a strain.

Of course.

How are you feeling?

All right.

Ruth was my main concern and, uh...

that seems to be working itself out,

so that's all that really matters.

It was just something that happened,

nothing I could do about it,

no way to second guess nature.

Just because a man's a doctor

doesn't make him a fortune teller.

Of course not.

Well...

I guess I'd better be getting back to work.

Ben, uh, thanks for coming by.

Mark.

Say hello to Ruth.

I will.

Ben was just here, said to say hello.

Asked if we... needed anything.

I told him we were fine.

I have some house calls to make.

You won't change your mind?

I never said you had to stay in bed all day,

but I did tell you that you needed rest,

a lot more than you're getting.

I know.

I am tired, but there's so much...

No "buts." No "buts."

Now, you've got a very strong little baby sleeping out there,

and he's going to need a strong mother.

Now, what were you doing when I came here to see you?

Come on, what were you doing?

Scrubbing the floor.

And, what was the baby doing?

He was sleeping.

It just doesn't make any sense to pay a doctor

if you won't do what he tells you.

Now, when that baby sleeps, you sleep.

- That's an order. - Yes, Doctor.

And if you're worried about germs,

you've got a strong husband, let him scrub the floors.

Thank you, Doctor.

I'll drop by in a couple of days.

- Doctor? - Yeah?

I just wanted to say how sorry I am about what happened.

Well... thank you, Annie.

Oh, go ahead, make fun of me,

but when Mark Jr. is born you'll eat your words.

Honey, you drive home. I'll go with Eli.

And we take heart

in knowing that...

he will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever. Amen.

Get away from my son!

You killed him!

Shh.

Oh... don't cry, Mark.

Don't cry, my son.

Clem, you going to make your move this week or next week?

Don't rush me, Ben.

It's a game of concentration.

Only one move you could possibly make.

Well, that's a pretty ridiculous statement to make

with all these chess pieces still on the board.

All right.

One move, huh?

Mm-hmm.

Well, if you're so smart,

what piece is it I'm supposed to move?

Knight.

Well, for your information, I knew that all the time.

I was just feeling you out to see if you knew.

Checkmate.

You moved the wrong knight.

Clem!

Eli, what's wrong?

My baby...

somebody's... taken my baby.

I know it's very hard, Mrs. Johnson.

I... I have to ask these questions.

Did you see anyone around the place today?

Anytime, early in the morning, anytime at all?

No.

No one.

What about the doc? What time did he leave?

I'm not sure.

About 4:00, I guess?

Why would anyone want to steal my baby?

We'd better let her get some rest.

It doesn't make any sense, Ben.

It can't be somebody after money,

Eli doesn't have any money.

No, that's for sure.

Eli... do you know of anyone who has a grudge against you,

anyone who would want to hurt you?

No, I...

I spend most of my time in the fields.

I don't have many friends, but I...

I never hurt anybody, I never... cheated anybody.

Why would anybody want to take my baby?

Eli, what time did you get back to the house?

Before sundown. 6:00, 6:30.

Clem, why don't we ride over to Mark's place?

Maybe he saw somebody.

- All right. - You stay here with Annie.

If we come up with anything,

you'll hear about it right quick.

Ben, Clem.

Hello, Mark. Sorry about the late hour.

Well, doctors are used to it. What can I do for you?

Someone has taken the Johnson baby.

- What? - Yeah.

Well, I don't believe that.

I was just out there this afternoon.

We know that, Mark. That's why we're here.

Did you see anyone around the Johnson place today?

No. Annie, of course,

and Eli was out in the fields working.

She and the baby were sleeping when I left.

Why would anyone do a thing like that?

We wish we knew. What about the road?

Did you see anyone on the road

going to or coming from the Johnson place?

No, no. I didn't see a soul.

Yeah, well, the only thing

we can do is get together a posse.

Mark, can you come along?

I wish I could, Clem, but...

Ruth is going through another bad period,

and I'm afraid to leave her.

Well, can understand that, Mark.

- Good night, Mark. - Thank you, Mark.

Good night.

I didn't want to lie to them

about your mother being here, Mark.

I was too ashamed... to tell them that she'd left...

that she'd abandoned her own child.

I suppose we... should feel sorry for her.

She'll have to live with her guilt.

All right, men, fan out. Now take your time.

We've got to cover every inch of ground.

Let's go.

I'd, um...

like to thank you all...

for trying to help.

No motives, no clues, nothing.

I could get up another posse,

but I wouldn't know where to start looking.

There's nothing anybody could do...

except maybe pray that

whoever took the child doesn't do him any harm.

Yeah.

I'll notify the surrounding towns to keep a look-out.

I think I'll stay in town at the hotel.

I'm too tired to go back to the ranch.

Hello, Barney.

You look beat, Mr. Cartwright.

It's been a long night.

I heard you didn't find a thing.

No, I'm afraid not.

I'm going to need a room.

Certainly. Room 26.

It's at the back, you won't get all that street noise.

Thank you.

Ruth?

- Ruth... - Uh, if Mark sent you

to talk to me, Ben, it's no use.

We've said all there is to say.

I... I can't help the way I feel.

But Mark didn't send me.

I... I didn't even know you were here.

Well, I won't be for long.

I'm taking the 6:00 stage to San Francisco.

Why?

You certainly can't still be blaming Mark for what happened?

I can and I do.

Ruth, you've got to give yourself a little more time.

Look, it's all been said.

And it's no good. It'll always be there.

It'll always be between us.

How did Mark... take it when you left?

Oh, he wasn't there.

He was out making his afternoon rounds.

He's a very good doctor, you know.

Good-bye, Ben.

Barney...

when did Mrs. Sloan check in?

Yesterday.

Do you recall what time?

Uh, 2:00 in the afternoon. Why?

Just wondering. Thank you, Barney.

I thought you were going to get some sleep.

Mr. Cartwright?

Come on now, Ben, it doesn't make any sense.

You know Mark as well as I do.

Are you really trying to tell me

you think he might have something to do

with the disappearance of the Johnson baby?

What reason would he have to lie

about Ruth being home last night

when she was here in town at the hotel?

Well, maybe he figured she'd change her mind

and come back, and nobody'd know about it.

Last night, he said he couldn't leave the house

because he had to take care of Ruth.

I stopped at his office on the way over here.

At 2:30, he hadn't come in yet.

So?

So, he must have some reason

for not wanting to leave his house.

Now, Clem... we've nothing else to go on.

At least let's ride out there and have a talk with him.

All right, Ben, all right. Let's go.

Mark?

Mark?

Who is it?

It's Ben, Mark.

What do you want?

Well, Clem and I would like to talk to you for a moment.

Well, I can't talk now, Ben.

Uh... Ruth isn't feeling well.

Mark, I talked to Ruth in town a little while ago.

Did you hear me, Mark?

I heard you.

Well, why don't you open up the door so we can talk?

No. I know why you're here.

She sent you here.

She deserted her child and now she wants him back.

Well, it... won't work.

You can tell her that for me.

Her child?

Mark... open the door so we can come in

and talk to you for a minute.

No.

That child that you have with you in there...

that isn't your child.

Ruth lost her baby.

That's a lie!

That's a stupid lie.

You're all trying to take my son from me.

Well, you won't.

Now get away from here!

I'm sorry, Mark, but if you don't open that door,

I'm going to have to break it open.

I don't want to hurt anybody!

You know I don't want to hurt anybody.

But no one's going to take my son from me!

Put the gun away.

He doesn't know what he's doing.

We can't shoot in there, anyway, there's a baby.

What's happened to him, Ben?

He's sick.

He won't... He won't hurt the child.

Well, what are we going to do?

The shape he's in, we'll never talk him out of there.

Maybe his wife can.

The stage doesn't leave until 6:00.

I'll get her back here as quickly as I can.

All right, but you'd better stop by Eli's place.

Tell him to pick up a couple of men, just in case.

Yeah.

I thought it was the boy for the bags.

I have to talk to you.

We've been all through this before, Ben.

No, we haven't.

Do you know the Johnson baby is missing?

Yes, I heard.

Mark... took the child.

What?

He has the little baby at the house now.

He thinks it's his son.

Look, this is some kind of trick to get me back.

Well, it won't work.

I just got back from your house, Ruth.

We tried to get Mark to open the door.

He shot at us.

He's a very sick man.

I don't believe it.

You know why he's doing this.

So I'll... I'll feel sorry for him

and I'll... I'll go back to him.

Well, I won't.

I won't forgive him for killing my child.

Your child?

Ruth, do you realize that...

from the moment it happened, it's been your child?

Was it Mark's child, too, or have you forgotten?

He didn't carry that child inside him.

No, not inside him.

But in his heart, his mind, his dreams.

It was his son.

Don't you realize what it meant to Mark to have a son?

Then he should have been there.

How could he know?

Answer me.

In God's name, how could he possibly know?

How?

Mark blamed himself for everything that happened.

Consciously or not, I don't know.

But when you accused him, confirmed his guilt,

he couldn't live with that.

So he shut it out of his mind.

As far as he was concerned, it just never happened.

Unless he gives up the Johnson baby...

the sheriff will have to go in

and take that child away from him.

I came for your bags, Mrs. Sloan.

Leave them.

Yes, ma'am.

They're still out there...

my friends.

They're on her side now, but, it won't do them any good.

They'll never take you away from me, son.

Never.

Hyah!

I'm sure glad you're here, Ben.

- I was getting worried. - Any change?

No, not a sound.

Mrs. Sloan, please get my baby.

We will, Annie. We will.

Now, Ruth... I can't tell you how to handle him.

There's no way of knowing how he'll act.

Maybe just seeing you and talking with you will be enough.

That's far enough!

What do you want?

I... I just want to talk to you, Mark.

We have nothing to talk about.

Please, Mark.

No. You deserted the boy,

now you've changed your mind and you want him back.

Well, you can't have him! He's mine!

N... no.

I don't want to take him from you.

I... I just want to talk to you.

If I do...

will you go away and never come back?

If that's what you want, yes.

All right, you're here. What do you want to say?

How is the boy?

Ah, my son is fine, no thanks to you.

Now get on with it. What do you want?

I, uh...

I just wanted to say how sorry I am.

Everybody is always sorry.

The whole world is sorry.

What does it mean?

It means nothing.

You say you're sorry because...

you've done something you shouldn't have.

Sorry is no good. Sorry doesn't mean anything.

It's done, it happened.

Do you want to see my boy?

Come.

He is beautiful, isn't he?

Yes, he is.

Ah, such long fingers... A doctor's hands.

Mark...

Please, forgive me.

I can forgive you, but you can't.

People can't forgive themselves.

That's like saying you're sorry, doesn't mean anything.

But you will forgive me?

Yes.

Can I... stay?

He is beautiful, isn't he?

Can I stay?

Yes, but tell them to go away.

But they're our friends. They just...

No! I don't want them here.

Shh, shh. Mark, it's all right.

It's all right.

Shh, shh.

Oh, I'm glad you're back.

Everything is fine again.

We don't need anybody else,

just you and I... and our baby.

I love you.

I love you.

Why are you crying?

I told you, everything's going to be all right now.

Hey...

Now, no more tears, all right?

All right.

That's better.

Now, Mrs. Sloan, how about some supper?

What would you like?

Anything, woman, I'm starved, just go get fixing.

Oh.

Oh, uh... we'll need some wood.

Oh, there's plenty in the wood box.

Come on.

Ah, heat up the coffee, too.

You know, I think we'll move to Carson City.

You always said I could do better over there.

What do you think?

Oh, I... I don't know.

Uh, we have a lot of friends here.

No, we don't!

No, I told you, we don't need anybody else.

So much noise scared him.

Shh.

Oh, shh, shh, shh.

He'll never get any sleep with all this racket.

He'd be much better off sleeping in the other room.

I suppose you're right.

I'll take him.

Is anything wrong? You seem so nervous.

No. I'm fine.

You're sure nothing is wrong?

Yes, I'm fine.

I'll carry the baby. You bring his cradle.

Oh, oh.

I love you.

He does have long fingers, doesn't he?

Mark Sloan, Jr., M.D.

We'll have the Sloan...

No!

Ruth! Ruth!

Ruth!

Ruth!

Ruth! No! No!

Ruth! No!

No! That's wrong!

You took my baby!

You let her ta... take my baby.

Put down that gun, Mark.

You give me back my boy.

Mark... we're your friends.

You're... you're not my friends.

Now give me back my boy.

Mark... our baby's dead.

No!

Don't cry, my son.