All language subtitles for Bonanza - S01E08 - The Phillip Diedesheimer Story.eng

* *

Mmm. What's this for?

Because I love you.

And because this is
my engagement party.

Now, remember,
you promised--

no talking about mine
business tonight.

Promise?

I promise.

(doorbell rings)

(chuckling)

Well, here he is.

How did you ever
pry him away?

It wasn't too hard to do.

Well, I told him
if he didn't come to this party,

I'd refuse to be best man
and marry you myself.

I didn't want to
take that chance.

(chuckling)

Forget about being
superintendent

for one night, Gil.

The mine will run all right
without you.

I sent the night shift back
to work on the third level.

You what?

I told you we couldn't work
the third level

without new timbering.

Dad, you promised
no mine talk.

(whistle blowing)

Gil, cave in, third level.
The whole shift is trapped.

(theme song playing)

All right, everybody,
stand back!

Give us room!

My boy. Where's my boy?

It's all right, Mary.

I'll find him.

Mr. Holloway, you promised us
new safety timbering.

I'm doing all I can.
Come on, dear.

You ought to go home.

It's all right.
He'll be all right. I know it.

You said that third level
wasn't safe,

but you sent
the shift in anyway.

You said yourself
it wasn't safe!

Get out of the way,
Tregallis.

You used to be one of us.

Now you're marrying
Holloway's daughter.

Gil's doing everything
he can, Tregallis.

When? Like always?

When it's too late?
My kid brother's down there.

Now, you get
out of my way, Cartwright.

(bell ringing)

All right, stand back.

It's coming up now.
Give us room.

There's two of
them. Move on back.

It's Pat! Pat!

All right, bring him on out.

(woman crying)

Pat, oh, thank
God you're here.

East slope. Third level.

Every timber seemed
to buckle at once

as they set off
a blast above us.

Same as last week.
Every time it's the same thing.

Move out of the way.

Gil, you're not going
down there, are you?

If I'd stayed down there
where I belong,

this might not have happened.

Don't let what Tregallis said
get under your hide.

If my kid brother
was trapped down there,

I'd think of something worse
to say than Tregallis said.

Adam, you don't have
to come down with me.

It's my timber you're
using, isn't it?

All right, Bud,
let her go.

(bell dings)

(sighing)

How do they stand it
time after time?

It's like living on top
of a powder keg,

waiting for that
disaster whistle to blow.

That's part of
mining, Helene.

Enter it on
the report.

Make sure each of the
widows gets the usual
box of groceries.

Yes, sir.

A box of groceries
in exchange for a dead husband.

That's company policy.

It's a terrible thing.

I'm sorry this had
to happen tonight

and spoil your
party, Helene.

(sighs)

Helene, this
is ridiculous.

It's 2:00 o'clock
in the morning.

Let's go home
and get some sleep.

Daddy, those women
won't sleep tonight.

They each have a man
down there, and so do I.

(bell clangs)

Gil.

Oh.

Oh, Girl, are you
all right?

I'm all right.

Do you want
to tell them?

Tell them what?

That there's nobody else
coming up out of there.

Not tonight.

Not ever.

(crying and indistinct chatter)

How soon can
you give me
a report?

It will be on your desk.

Cold black figures
against a white piece of paper.

Five dead, two dying,

five missing, 14 injured.

But no slow-up in production,

Mr. Holloway.

Does that make you happy?

Stop it, Gil.

I'm sick of it!

Gil, you shouldn't
have gone down there.

No, that's right.

I should have stayed
at the party.

I'm a superintendent now,

and the men I used to work with
aren't human beings anymore.

Aren't you being a
little melodramatic?

Am I?

You... You should have been
down there with us.

That was melodramatic, too.

I've had my share
of mine disasters.

But you don't have
to face those men every day,

or those women. I do.

It's not my job
to manage the men.

Not your job?

Or haven't you got the guts

to stand up to them
and order them into a mine

that isn't safe enough
for a rat?

The Ophir is as safe as any mine
on the Comstock.

That's saying a lot, isn't it?!

Gil, please.

What were you doing
down there?

I was checking
the timbering.

I've got a man hired
to do that.

I know. Philip
Diedeshiemer.

I was hoping to
talk with him.

I run the Ophir mine, Adam.

You sell me timber
for that mine.

It's worked out very well
for both of us.

Suppose we keep it that way?

Would you like a brandy?

(sighs)

You must be tired, Helene.

Come over here.

Sit down.

Close to me a minute.

(sighs)

I want to talk
to you about Gil.

Now, I'm as fond
of Gil as you are.

If I didn't think he'd
make you a good husband,

I'd have fired him
instead of promoting him.

Gil's a superintendent now.

He doesn't have
to go underground anymore.

Daddy...

those men are his friends.

You-You can't expect him
to forget that.

I had to forget it.

It's a lesson I had to learn.

Stay on your own level.

That's my job, and
I have to do it.

Don't you think I have bosses?

My bosses have no faces.

No hearts, no souls.

But they've got
a stock certificate,

and if I get soft
or sentimental,

they use it as a club
to beat my brains out.

(sighs)

(sighs)

I fought a long time
to get what I've got.

And I'll fight to keep it.

I believe Gil was thinking about
preventing another accident,

not about your stockholders.

Honey, believe me,

it gets pretty lonely
up here on this level.

The higher a man stands,
the farther he can see.

I have to do what I think's
best for the most people.

Try to understand that.

I am trying
to understand it, Dad.

Well, good morning.

How'd you get
into town so early?

I yanked him out of bed,
that's why.

(laughter)

Coffee?

No, thanks.

Gil, you still think
it'd be worthwhile

for me to talk to Diedeshiemer?

My future father-in-law
doesn't seem to think so,

but I still do.

That's why Holloway likes you.

You stand up to him.

Hey, who's gonna pay for this?

I don't know...

and I'm too sleepy
to try and figure it out.

I can't figure out
who's going to pay for it

on an empty stomach.

Better bring me
another steak.

Mr. Fenton,
Mr. Fenton.

Look, I, uh, want
to talk to you.

What is it, Tregallis?

Well, last night

my kid brother was
down in the mine.

I should have known
he'd be all right.

Well, I said things
I shouldn't have.

It's all right,
Tregallis, I understand.

Well, I-I wouldn't want
to lose my job

or anything like that, you know?

You won't,
not over this.

Thanks.

Gil?

Same old Gil.

You ain't
changed.

A-A-And listen, all this talk
about shutting down the mine

for safety tests and all
that-- don't you do it, Gil.

Long as there's a hole
in the ground,

me and the boys will go
down into it.

We don't want to lose no day's
pay 'cause somebody's afraid

of getting a rock
on top of the head.

And Mr. Cartwright,
I don't blame you

for poking me
in the whiskers,

but next time,
don't do it so hard.

Have you seen
Philip Diedeshiemer?

The Dutchman?

I don't
understand that one.

He's the only man
I ever knew who could look

a hole straight
through you without
even seeing you.

Well, has he
been around?

He's been down
in that hole

since ten minutes
after you left last night.

Either he comes up
for air pretty soon

or he's gonna find nobody
here to work this hoist

when he rings
that bell.

Will you stay around
for a little while?

Take care of this for
me, will you, Casey?

HELENE:
Gil.

Oh, Gil, I've been looking
all over for you.

Not now, dear.
Adam and I want
to go down below

and look around
for a minute.

If it were another woman
I could face it,

but to have a silver mine
for a romantic rival...

(chuckles)
Hey-hey...

Oh, Gil,
please be careful.

If anything
happened to you...

Off you go.

All right,
let 'er go!

(rumbling)
Good, sound
timbering, Gil.

But it just isn't holding.

(rumbling, crashing)

Philip!
Philip Diedeshiemer!

(creaking)

It is not usually so,

but here in these mines
there's such

great variance of temperatures.

There's a constant shrinking

and expanding
of the earth itself.

When I took my pick
and loosened

this hanging wall
behind the uprights, so...

(coughs)
You caved this
in deliberately?

You might have
been killed, man.

So...

The important thing is
five men were killed last night.

You see, Gil,
there's an unusual

side pressure
against these uprights.

And without tower braces
to prevent side motion...

Philip, this is
Adam Cartwright.

Adam,
Philip Diedeshiemer.

Mr. Cartwright.

Hadn't you better
take some time off?

Get some rest.
Have something to eat.

Oh, the widows
of those men,

they have no appetite
this morning, Gil.

Neither have I.

You mention tower bracing,
Mr. Cartwright.

You, perhaps, worked
in construction, no?

Well, I supply the
timber for the mine.

My father and I
and my brothers,
we have a ranch.

And what a ranch, Philip.

The Ponderosa,
a thousand square miles of it.

And wait till
you see the house.

Adam designed and built it
to last a hundred years.

Oh?
You must see it.

Yeah, yeah.

(creaking)

There are so many
things in your

beautiful country
that I must see.

But how can I
look at beauty

when men are dying?

(creaking)

Given time
as one of the factors,

there is no problem
in engineering

that cannot be solved.

Mr. Diedeshiemer, Gil's told me
a great deal about you, and...

Well, I don't mean to be
presumptuous,

but if you'd care
to have me go over

your stress calculations
with you...

What I mean, is that, uh,
if you'd like to use me

as a sounding board, I've kept
up with my mathematics.

It would mean a great deal to me
to have someone to talk with.

Someone who understood
the engineering problem.

Well, I'd be honored,
Mr. Diedeshiemer.

Well, then you call me
"Philip," huh?

So we do not waste time.

(creaking)

(rumbling)

(creaking,
rumbling grows louder)

(rumbling)

Come in here
with your picks, boys.

(creaking)

(grunts)

(coughing)

Are you all right?

Yeah.
Where's Gil?

He was right behind us.

Can you see him?
No.

(coughs)

Gil?

Gil, can you hear me?!

(coughs)

Well, what do we do now?

We wait.

Just as thousands
before us have waited.

And we think of many things.

That is the final refuge
of a man,

when he's... completely alone.

He can think.

Get out of the way!
Get out of the way!

My brother's down there!

Hoss.

I just heard about
it, Miss Helene.

Don't worry none.

Gil's going to be
all right, ma'am.

(cries)
Please don't do that, ma'am.

Everything's going
to be all right.

Sorry, Mr. Cartwright.

I have orders to let
no outsiders go down.

Well, your orders just changed.

Let 'er go, Bo!

(bell dings)

TREGALLIS:
Wait a minute, boys.

Wait a minute.

(faint knocking)

Adam, huh.

Answer them.

(faint knocking, creaking)

Get in there, boys,
with your shovels.

Get the loose stuff out.

What are you
thinking about now?

I was thinking that
perhaps after today...

we will not let a mine fall
on our heads again.

(chuckling, creaking)

I hope not.

Well, there is a simple way.

All we have to do is...

never again go into a mine.

So many people make that
decision in life.

So very many...

(creaking)

No use, boys.
May as well give up.

They don't answer
the signal no more.

(footsteps approaching)

They're back of that wall
of rock, but we're too late.

They don't
answer anymore.

Give me that shovel.

Okay, bud, okay.

That's good.

Give me some light.

Hi, Adam.

It's about time
you got here.

Gil's back there somewhere.

Adam...

There ain't nothing back
there but 500 ton of rock.

(Hoss grunting, mine creaking)

All right,
let 'er down.

How are you,
Mr. Diedeshiemer?

All right, Phil,
see if you can make it.

Got him, Hoss?

Yeah, I got him.

Easy, easy.

You might have
a broken bone.

There's one of 'em, boys.

Let's get him.

Take him out, boys.

Here we are.

You all right?
Yeah, come on.

MAN:
Here they come.

(indistinct chatter)

Gil! Where's Gil?

Miss Helene, I...
I want to talk to you.

Oh, that Gil.

He's always the first one down
and the last one up.

I suppose he's still down there
looking around.

That's what it is,
Hoss, isn't it?

Ma'am, let me take you home.

Oh, no. No, I've, I've got
to wait here for Gil.

He promised me nothing
would happen to him.

He promised me!

Oh, Hoss, oh, Hoss,
tell me nothing's happened.

Ma'am, I...
I can't lie to you.

I, I can't make it
no easier on you.

Then I've got to go down.

I've got to see him.

Don't you understand?
I've got to see him!

I've got
to see him!

Oh, Gil...

(cries):
Oh...

Gil...

Where's Gil?

He's still down there.

Well, go get him, Adam.
I want to talk to him.

What I'm trying
to tell you is...

What he means is...

Gil is dead, Daddy.

What?

That's the word he was
looking for, "dead."

But it's a dirty word
and no one wants to say it.

Not here in this house.

Not on this level.

The stockholders
might hear.

Dead is a word for, for men
who work down in the ground,

not for people like us.

We, we can't talk about
a man who's buried

under 50 tons of rock,
but he's dead just the same!

Oh, Daddy!
Helene.

(Helene sobs)

I'll give her a sedative.

You come along.
You, too.

Gil, dead?

Well, I'll have to hire
a new superintendent.

Mr. Holloway...

if that's the first
thing you thought about,

I feel real sorry for you.

Well, I guess that
should about do it.

ADAM:
Thanks, doc.

Mr. Diedeshiemer?

I told you
to get some rest.

Now, you're pushing
yourself much too far.

Would you rest, doctor,
if there were a plague afoot

and somewhere in that
little black bag of yours,

there was a pill you
knew could cure it?

Would you rest until you had
found that pill?

Well, my head is like
your little black bag.

Somewhere inside it,
is a pill of information,

long forgotten--

a solution to these
mine disasters.

I have to find
that pill, doctor!

Well, you better slow down
or I won't be responsible.

Every man is responsible
to himself, doctor.

Does your head feel
good enough to use?

Let's get to work.

Now...

Mr. Diedeshiemer,
I've been thinking...

Are you an engineer?

Well, no, but...

Then I'm not in the least
interested

in what you've been thinking.

Please go.

Now, wait a minute!

This is my home!

At the moment,
it is my office,

and I want no interruptions.
Please.

Now...

So we have...

Why ain't you at work?

Mr. Holloway,
I refuse to send
those men back down.

You "refuse"?

I believe the same as Gil.

Close down a few days.

Get a chance to make some proper
tests and experiments.

Casey, you're fired.

What?

I said, "You're fired."

Tregallis?
(door opens)

Can you handle
Casey's job?

(door closes)

Mr. Holloway...

I never did want
to see you shut down.

Like I said to Gil last
time I talked to him,

"I can get that shift
back to work."

See that you do.

Another thing I'd
do, Mr. Holloway.

I'd order that Dutchman
to stay away from the men.

He wastes an awful lot of time.

I'd tell him to take
care of his own work.

Leave our boys alone.

You're in charge.
Go tell him.

He's right upstairs.

That's the problem, Adam,
and it is increasing every day.

The veins of silver grow wider
the deeper they go.

I know and the U-bracing
that we use in a narrow stope

becomes worthless in
a 65-foot wide gallery.

And it is not only
the overhead pressure, Adam.

There's a constant side
pressure as well.

I want to talk
to you, Dutchman.

Vertical bracing and cap pieces
certainly,

but it would be
standing so thick

a man couldn't get through.

I'm in charge now.

We are very busy.
And even

the tower bracing
you suggested...

Listen to me
when I'm talking to you!

You're going to take orders,
just like the rest of the men!

But how are you going
to get 65-foot timbers

down a mine shaft?

And I want you to stay
away from the men, hear me?

They're down
there to work,

not to visit with you.

And there's another
thing, Dutchman...

I believe
in a little formality.

Now, where were we?

Oh, yeah...

Miss Helene?

Miss Helene...

I know you're sorry.

That's not exactly what
I was going to say, ma'am.

Folks mean well when they
say that they're sorry.

It's like when my mama
was still alive.

I remember I used
to mash my finger

and she'd kiss it and tell
me the pain was all gone.

It wasn't really.

It's just that

now when I try
to remember the pain,

all I can remember is
my mama kissing it away.

So I smile bravely
and lift my head...

and there never was
a Gil Fenton in my life.

No.

No, you...

You can sometimes
forget the pain,

but... you can't ever
forget the love.

Never.

There's gonna
always be

a Gil Fenton
in your life.

I remember

I was in love once with a girl.

As much in love
as a man can be, I reckon.

I guess that sounds a little
funny coming from me, don't it?

Oh, no, it doesn't, Hoss.

She died.

I know that my pa

and Adam
and Little Joe

were sorry.

But that just
wasn't enough.

Not right then,
it wasn't.

What did you do?

I talked to God.

He told me I was
just going to have
to keep on living.

May I have permission

to enter your mine,
Mr. Tregallis?

All right. Go ahead.

Diedeshiemer!

Adam told me to find you
and tell you that,

that number six had shifted.

And that the tower
braces were ten degrees
out of plumb,

whatever that means.

It means, Hoss,
that we now know

one more thing
that will not work.

It means, also, that
we must still find

the one thing
that will work.

Oh, he told me
I ought to talk you
into getting some rest, too.

(groans):
Well, he may
have said it,

but he didn't mean
for me to do it.

But it would be good.

So good.

Stretch out
for a while...

Close my eyes against the sun

and feel the life
of the earth beneath me.

But I would feel only
the death, Hoss.

Only the death.

You feel all right,
Mr. Diedeshiemer?

"All right"?
I don't know.

That is a relative
question, no?

I know only that my head
is so full of vertical braces

and cross braces
and cap pieces

and stulls and timbers,
that my brain

is like a bee swarm
of unrelated facts,

buzzing and churning,
and working within a hive.

A honeycomb...

A honeycomb!
Sir?

I have it, Hoss!
I have it!

You got what?

Go get me some
one-inch boards,

soft pine that I can
cut with a jackknife.

Go bring them to my room.

I go get Adam.

Why did I not
see this, Adam?

Each surface bearing
on the other.

The ratio of strength
of each side of a honeycomb

to the combined
weight of the honey.

Gently now. Gently.

Come.

Thank you, Hoss.

Now what in the blazes?

The solution,
Mr. Holloway.

The solution
to every cave-in

and slippage problem
in the Comstock mines.

Hoss, please.

Clean place
on the table.

Thank you.

Miss Helene, look here what
Mr. Diedeshiemer and Adam built.

Show 'em how it works,
Mr. Diedeshiemer.

You mean that's a system
of mine bracing?

It's the most perfect system
I've ever seen in my whole life.

Are you such an expert?

No, but Mr. Diedeshiemer is.

Philip, why don't you
explain the principle?

You see, Mr. Holloway...
I can see the principle.

A square, open-sided,
tower-bracing box,

bearing equal pressure
from all angles.

Mm-hmm, and I suppose
as the stope is dug wider,

you propose
to add another box.

You can add them above, too.

You can even build
a floor in it.

Very interesting,
gentlemen.

And very expensive.

We can't use it.

Dad... aren't you even
going to consider it?

But look at it, honey.

It's a child's toy,

a plaything
of an impractical dreamer.

You didn't even give
them a chance.

A chance to what?

Play with toys while
I've got a mine to run?

You think I'm going
to rip out the timbering

I've got in that mine
to try some crazy, new idea?

But the timbering system
you have is no good.

We've been operating
successfully with it
for a long time now.

Can't you understand
I've got stockholders
to think about?

Oh, yes, I understand.

You and your faceless
stockholders.

Well, I have somebody
to think about, too.

Only he had a face
and a body and arms
to hold me with.

And he's buried
under 50 tons of rock,
and you put him there!

Helene!
Wait a minute.

Where are you going?

Where do the rest
of the mine widows go?

If you'd only
listen to me.

I'm through listening
to you, Father.

And don't forget to send
me my box of groceries.

(knocking at door)
Oh.

We've been looking for you.

Oh, I've been looking
for myself, Adam.

Yeah, this new model's
coming along great.

Well, I have created
a good thing.

But that is all it is--

a thing,
a handful of smoke.

What good is it to write a book,
if nobody reads it?

Or to compose a song,
if nobody ever sings it?

Or to invent a new way
of timbering a mine,

if it is not used?

Don't you worry.

It'll be used, all right.

PHILIP:
When? When?!

When another hundred
men have died needlessly?

It's such a radical
departure from anything
we've done before.

Just take time
to sell it to anyone.

Only the dead have time
to wait, Adam.

And we are concerned
with the living.

Well, the Ophir isn't the only
mine on the Comstock.

There's the, uh, Yellow Jacket,

Gould and Curry,
and the Mexican.

We know the owners.

We've sold timber
to all of them.

All we have to do is
sell one of them the idea.

Look, I am not
a fishmonger, Adam,

hawking a product
on the streets.

Well, then you let me
worry about that end of it.

You just finish
this new model.

Looks pretty elaborate.

Oh, it's quite
simple, really.

A series of cribs, each surface
bearing on the other.

Now, that takes care
of your side motion,

which has been one
of your big problems.

Now, also, you see,
with the wide veins

that you're starting
to hit, you can timber

as you stope in merely
by adding another crib.

Now, the same holds

true with working up above
or down below,

which is an impossibility
with your present timbering.

Now, here, you could
have an ore shoot

running diagonally right up
here through the sets.

Any idea of the cost?

Well, really hadn't
gone into it.

I think Mr. Diedeshiemer
was more concerned

with safety rather than cost.

Yeah, I'd heard
that he was pretty
much of a dreamer.

Well, thanks for
showing it to us, Adam.

Hey!

Ain't you even going to let him
finish telling you about it?

Oh, I've seen enough
to recognize the fact

that the cost
would be prohibitive.

I'm afraid you'll
have to figure out

some other way
of selling timber, Adam.

You mean to tell me
you think that's all Adam

and Mr. Diedeshiemer
have been doing day and night,

is figuring out another
way to sell timber?

Oh, stay out of it, Hoss.

I won't stay out of it.

I don't like what this
woodpecker's saying to you.

Oh, really, now.

We don't have to pretend
with each other.

We're in the mining business
to make money

and you should be able
to understand that.

No Cartwright
ever made a move

unless there was a dollar
in it for him someplace.

Mister,
you're the biggest

flannel-mouth liar
on the Comstock.

Do you know who I am?

I sure do.
And you do, too,

'cause I just got
through telling you.

My brother isn't the world's
finest diplomat,

but he's managed to express my
own feelings pretty accurately.

Well...

It might work.

Sure, but the system
we're using now

can be put in
for one tenth the cost.

Why did Holloway
ever hire that Dutchman
in the first place?

Oh, now, don't sell
Holloway short.

He hires
this safety engineer

and the crusaders
leave him alone.

I know, but now
he's come up with
this fantastic idea...

You don't find Holloway
using it, do you?

Well, is there anybody
else we can talk to, Adam?

No, that's about
all of them.

Besides I'm tired
of talking.

You ain't gonna
give up, are you?

No, I said,
"I'm tired of talking."

Well, what are
we going to do?

Well, what do
the Cartwrights always do

when it comes
right down to it?

We'll do it ourselves.

You mean we're going
to make a big one
of these things

and stick it down in old
Holloway's mine without
even telling him about it?

Why tell him?
He'll know it's there
when he sees it tomorrow.

"Tomorrow"?
I said "tomorrow."

Adam, I heard you and
Mr. Diedeshiemer talking

and them timbers are
big; they got to be
milled and cut.

How you gonna do all
that by tomorrow?

Well, now, we own
a sawmill, don't we?

Now, we'll just give this
job to our younger brother

and tell him
it's impossible to do.

(chuckles):
Yeah, that ought to do it.

"We'll get started
first thing in the morning,"
that's what old Adam said.

And we will, too.
You wait and see.

When my pa and Adam
and my younger brother,
Little Joe,

put their head to something,
it gets done.

You're very proud of your
family, aren't you, Hoss?

Yes, sir, I sure am.

Oh, it's a fine thing
to have a strong family.

Yes, sir.

Pa's always kept us
mighty close together.

You see, we're just
half brothers.

Oh?

Yes, sir.

My pa has had a terrible lot
of tragedy in his life.

"Tragedy." Yeah.

But this has made of him
a finer man.

And it's helped draw
you all closer together

as a family, no?

Yes, sir.

I reckon it has.

The girl, Helene...

You must try to
make her see this.

Hoss, right now,

she sees only
her own loss.

But nothing
is lost, ever.

And nothing is
ever destroyed.

The miners
who were killed

because of improper
timbering in these mines,

they have found a new method
of timbering, Hoss.

I did not do it, they did.

I am only

the instrument
that carried out the plan,

no more than that.

Mr. Diedeshiemer,

folks are going to remember you
for an awful long time.

Miss Helene.

Sit down, Miss Holloway.

Please.

What's the matter?

"Matter"?

I've been walking around,
looking into the faces of women

who have lost their husbands
in the mines.

I've been searching
their eyes, wondering

if they know my father
is a murderer.

Ma'am, you shouldn't
ought to talk like that.

Not about your own pa.
No.

Maybe he ain't done
all he could do,

but at least he's tried.

He hired
Mr. Diedeshiemer.

But he hasn't let
him do anything.

And he won't.

Well, it don't really
make no difference if he don't.

'Cause we're
gonna do it anyhow.

What do you mean?

Pa and Adam and Little Joe are
up there in the hills right now

at the sawmill
milling the timber

we're going
to put down that mine,

so Mr. Diedeshiemer here can
make the test he wants to make.

Does my father
know about this?

Well, I... I reckon
Adam sort of forgot to tell him.

Do you really think
that my father

and the other mine owners
would let you do this?

Oh, ma'am, we ain't gonna
charge him for it.

Besides, how they
gonna stop us?

Stop you?

Hoss, don't you understand?

They can hire
50 men with clubs

to stop you
if they want to.

What'd they want to do
a thing like that for?

I'm afraid this does go
much further than, uh,

a test
installation, Hoss.

Once it's in there,
and the men see it,

they won't be satisfied
with any other system
of timbering.

Mr. Diedeshiemer,

do you want that timber
down there in that mine?

(sighs)

Yeah, very
much, Hoss.

Well, we're gonna put it
down there for you.

And if any of them fellas
try to stop us,

well, I... I reckon
that'll be my business.

(indistinct chatter)

I didn't really
think they'd do it.

I reckon you must know
'em better than I do.

I don't see
my father with them.

There's a rumor around
that you plan to do

some special timbering
in Mr. Holloway's mine.

Well, this is one time
that a rumor's correct.

You Cartwrights
don't own this mine.

You've got no business here.

Now, you don't own this mine,
either, mister.

Why don't you let
Mr. Holloway tell me?

We haven't been able
to find Mr. Holloway,

but his interests are ours,

and we're here to see
that they're protected.

Take him off there.

(grunting)

All right, break this up!

I'm still in charge here!

Andrew! We couldn't
find you.

We came here to protect
your interests.

I can take care
of my own interest.

And that's just what
I've been doing.

But they were planning
to build some of those

monkey cages down
in your mine.

I'm aware of what
they were planning to do.

I'm helping them to do it.

Why, Andrew, have
you lost your senses?

No, I haven't lost
my senses.

I've just found them.

How long since any of you

have been down
in one of your mines?

(owners grumbling)
Well, maybe you
should, gentlemen.

I just did and I don't
like what I saw.

I don't know
if Mr. Diedeshiemer's

system of timbering
will work or not,

but he's going to get
a chance to try it.

(owners grumbling)

Adam and the other boys
will unload that lumber

right where you want it.

If you need me,
well, just holler.

Fine. Exactly.

This is fine.

You go now, huh?

Thank you.

Are you satisfied, Philip?

It is still an impractical
man's dream, Adam.

An invention is never
completed until it is

put to the test
of serving the purpose

for which it
was designed.

Well, you wait
for me up above.

Huh? I would like
to stay here and look
at this for awhile.

Oh, no, you don't.

What's the matter?

I found your bag...

with the powder;
you didn't do a good
job of hiding it.

It's too dangerous, Adam.

I'm game if you are.

I don't want
any more men killed.

Neither do I.

But I would like
to be with you.

Sort of a promise
I made to Gil.

All right.

We'll see this thing
through together.

This is good.

Now, for the final test.

Why, you're wasting
our time, Holloway.

You better take a good
look at it, because
you're going to see

a lot of this kind
of timbering from now on.

Not in my mine, you won't.

Well... this is it.

Good luck, Philip.

(fuse fizzing)

Come.

Mr. Holloway,
you should not be here.

It's still my mine,
and these gentlemen

are a little hard
to convince.

You don't understand.
We're making a test.

Don't test it too hard

or your monkey cage
will fall down on your head.

I hope not, gentlemen.
I believe not.

But we will soon know.

We've set a blast
to test it.

(chuckles)

I can imagine
your being down here

with a blast about to go off.

Your workmen do it
every day, don't they?
Oh, yes, but with...

With your present system
of timbering.

Well, you're standing
under some of it now.

You may stay here
if you feel safer.

I prefer to stay over here.
So do I.

Why, you fool,
we'll all be killed!

Boys, the old timbering
is right behind you.

Go ahead and
stay under it.

ADAM:
You'd better hurry.

(men coughing)

Well, I think this
held up rather well,

don't you, gentlemen?

Very impressive.

But I still won't
hold still for it.

And why not?

Isn't it pretty obvious?

This man undoubtedly
has a patent on his
timbering system,

and plans to rob us blind
collecting royalties.

(crowd murmuring)

I am afraid I'm not
so wise as you.

I do not know the dollar
and cent worth of a human life.

I only know it is very dear.

I have no patent,
no desire to charge royalty.

If my invention
saves human lives,

surely that is
payment enough for any man.

Wait a moment, Philip.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we have just made
a practical test

of the new Diedeshiemer system
of timbering.

Any of these gentlemen here
can attest to the fact

that it was a complete success.

(cheering and applause)

I'm closing the Ophir
till it's completely re-timbered

with the Diedeshiemer
square sets.

Every man will be paid
his regular wages

while the work goes on.

(cheering and applause)

Ladies and gentlemen.

Here's the man
who's put an end

to all the mine cave-ins
on the Comstock,

Mr. Philip Diedeshiemer.

(cheering and applause)

Every mine owner will
have to put in square
sets now, you watch.

This whole town will
be sitting on one,
big honeycomb.

(laughter)

It's a great thing
you've done, Philip.

We did it together.

Listen, I'm hungry.

Ain't you starved?

On the contrary, Hoss.

Right now, I feel...

I feel very full.

Mr. Diedeshiemer,
I told you once that

folks was gonna remember you
for a awful long time.

And they would, too, if they
could remember your name,

but it's so dang-blasted
hard to pronounce.

Well, don't worry
about that, Hoss.

Names are never
very important.

Anyway, it's easier
to pronounce "The Dutchman."

Come on, let's get
some supper, huh?