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Oh, get away from me.

Just hang on. I'm gonna get you. Don't worry.

Don't come any closer. I'm letting go.

Letting go?

Why would you wanna do a thing like that?

You're not fooling me.

You're one of them that's been following my trail.

I've been following you,

but only because you was trespassing on our ranch.

Will you leave me be? Just go away.

Leave you be, just hanging there?

Well, I'm not gonna be hanging here for long.

I'm ending my troubles here and now.

And I'll be ending them a lot sooner if you come an inch closer.

You can't do that. Take a look down there, it's a far piece.

Now, I'm warning you, keep away.

Now, you come any closer and I'm gone.

I ain't figured on coming no closer, uh,

I just thought I'd get this crowd of my feet.

Yup. If I was you, I'd sure reconsider that jumping business.

You know, the fall ain't gonna hurt you bad,

but that landing is gonna be mighty squally, phew.

About the only thing I got left. Hanging's no good, neither is that gun.

Hanging?

Was you trying to use that hanging noose on yourself?

What happened?

Uh...

Poor horse ran out from underneath me, all right,

but the limb bent down so far I was just standing there

with that silly rope around my neck.

Is that your rifle back there too?

Yeah. I thought I had that rigged up perfect,

and all I did was blow my hat clean over here.

That's the way everything has gone lately.

I can't get no work. I can't get nothing to eat.

I can't even kill myself good.

Tell me, when was the last time you had a square meal?

It's been so long since I had any shape of a meal,

I just couldn't even tell you.

Well, under those circumstances, I can't blame you much.

You know, I can...

I can put up with a whole lot of things,

but going without food ain't one of them.

What did you say your name was? I didn't.

Don't you reckon you ought to tell me?

We're gonna have to put something on the tombstone.

Oh, yeah. My name is Waldo. Waldo Watson.

Mine's Cartwright. Most folks just call me Hoss.

You, uh, you got any kin you'd like me to tell?

No. Nobody.

Ugh, well, Waldo, if you're dead set on going through with this,

let me give you a couple of hints as where you ought to head for.

Like, I figure if you give a hard enough kickoff,

you could probably make it to that dry creek bed over there.

Are you making fun of me?

Ch, of course not. I just wanted, uh,

to wish you luck, that's all. I'll be seeing you.

Some place, someday, I reckon.

Waldo's been on the move quite a bit lately,

he hasn't had a chance to eat regular.

Where are you from, Mr. Watson?

I'm from no place in particular, heh. Hmm.

Waldo is from back East, Pa.

Ahem, Waldo, pass the milk, will you please?

Sure thing, Hoss.

I'm, uh, I'm sorry. I, uh, I can't do nothing right.

Oh, Waldo, sit down.

Ain't no harm done. Finish your dinner. Sit down.

Excuse me.

Waldo, wait-- Hoss.

Just sit down, let him collect himself.

He's got a lot of trouble.

I thought you could eat more than anybody,

but that Waldo eats like he invented it.

Hoss, he, uh, looks to be a pretty healthy individual.

Do you really think that he was gonna commit suicide?

I don't know, Pa.

I'd like to think that he wasn't gonna really jump,

but when I saw him standing there on the edge of the cliff, I, uh,

I figured that he could fall accidentally.

I run down to grab him and we got to wrestling around.

He finally saved me from falling, knocked himself out doing it.

Tsk, I feel real sorry for him.

He's had lots of troubles and no friends to help him out.

And you figure to be the one to do it, huh?

Ah, why not? We can give him a job, not permanent,

but just something to keep him busy until he gets back on his feet again.

Oh, like that fella you met at the carnival.

You really got him on his feet.

You got him on his feet well enough to run away with the silverware.

Yeah, or maybe he's like the prospector you brought home

looking for a grubstake

and he found it in the strongbox after we all went to bed.

All right. I made a mistake about them too,

but Waldo ain't the same. I, uh, I got a feeling about him.

I think I kind of know what he's up against.

Fella as big as he is, out-sized.

He just don't fit in places that regular fellas fit into.

He can't hardly keep from being a little clumsy every now and then,

you go to pick up something, it just ain't big enough to hold onto.

I know he ain't the best company in the world, but I'll, uh...

I'll keep him out of you fellas way, and I'll pay him out of my own pocket.

Nobody said he couldn't stay.

You'll let him? Just one thing, Hoss.

He said he was in some kind of trouble.

Now, I think it would be a good idea to know if it's trouble with the law.

I'm not saying it is, but I think we should know.

Yes, sir. You're right.

I'll go have a talk with him.

He's been bringing strays home ever since he was old enough to walk.

Good thing we don't have more room, he'd bring them home two at a time.

Well, he's got a big head.

Nice evening, ain't it? Yeah.

Oh, what's nice about it?

Waldo, what's eating you anyhow? Everything I do is wrong.

I'm gonna be moving on, Hoss.

Uh, there ain't no need in that.

We need a good hand around here for a few days and...

Uh, that wouldn't work, Hoss. I've tried hiring out on a ranch before.

I can't handle it, heh. I'd be nothing but trouble.

Well, maybe, uh, maybe me and you can end of look after each other, huh.

I'm always getting in trouble myself. Ah.

Well, if, uh...

If you don't, I'm gonna have to turn you into the sheriff for trespassing.

Huh?

Ain't no reason you wouldn't wanna see the sheriff, is there?

No, sir, Hoss. It ain't nothing like that.

Might be easier if it were. But I swear to you, it ain't the law.

I'll take your word for it. We want you to stay, Waldo.

I'd sure like to, Hoss, just for a day or two.

Just to rest up and get a fresh start.

That's settled. Come on, I'll show you where you bunk.

Hoss, uh, um,

after tonight, I think I'll eat in the kitchen.

Why?

Because it's closer to the food.

It ain't such a bad idea, maybe I'll join you.

What are you staring at?

Ain't you ever seen a couple of good men working?

Are you two looking for a needle?

No, we ain't looking for a needle.

Pa wants some of these rotten timbers replaced

and we gotta move the hay so as we can get to them.

Uh, I know that sounds terribly complicated to a fence-mender's mind

like yours, but it ain't really.

I ran into Nancy Collins down the road.

She wasn't heading this way, was she?

No, but she was asking after you real kindly-like.

When are you gonna give her a break?

Ha.

Give her a break. Get myself hog-tied for the rest of my life.

Heh-heh-heh, not me, uh-mm.

Can you think of any other woman you'd rather be hog-tied to?

Look, Adam, I'll take care of my business,

you take care of yours. All right?

Waldo. Let's cure up these braces a little more.

Get the, uh, toolbox over there. Yeah, okay. Sure thing, Hoss.

Look, Waldo, you pack the grain, I'll pack the board, okay?

What do you mean, you lost him?

I, uh, heh...

That's just about it, Mr. Cartwright, I, ahem, I just plain lost him.

You mean between here and that tree over there, you lost a horse?

See, Pa, the way it happened was,

we was gonna put that shoe on him just like you wanted,

and Waldo went over there to get him and, uh...

And, well, he got him, but than coming back he, uh,

he thought he saw a four-leaf clover down here on the ground.

He was gonna pick it up, so when he bent over to, ah...

Pa, we'll find him again. We'll get him for you.

Oh, no, you don't.

I'm not gonna have you two chasing my best stallion into the next county.

I'll find him myself.

That ought to be about enough, Waldo, let's go in.

Okay. I got one more piece, Hess, and then I'll put it all inside.

I'm sorry for all, uh,

the things that happened today and I know Waldo is too.

He'd been down here apologizing himself,

but he's tired and he went to bed to get a good night's rest.

Oh, good.

I can't wait to see what he's gonna do us tomorrow

after he has a good night's rest.

What do you mean tomorrow? Uh... Ahem.

Hoss, ah,

I hate to be the one to have to say it,

but I think we ought to put a stop to this

before something really serious happens.

I mean, so far, it's only been an unscheduled bath for Joe,

and a headache for Adam, and blisters for me, but...

Hoss won't admit it, but his big toe's black and blue too.

It ain't that bad.

But you will admit that we didn't get very much done today, won't you?

Well, yeah, Pa. But it's only because Waldo's trying so hard.

That's why he makes all the mistakes.

Now, Hoss, heh,

none of us here has anything against Waldo

and we certainly don't wanna--

We don't wanna see him go off empty-handed.

As a matter of fact, I'd be very happy to contribute to a fund

to help get him a fresh start

Count me in.

Me too.

It's really for his own good, Hoss.

And you know, next week we start round-up

and, well, I don't think he should be with us.

I mean, he might get hurt

Tsk, sure, Pa.

Thank you for letting him stay as long as you did.

I'll go up and tell him and get it over with.

Oh, George Collins sent over a message today.

That lumber we sent into be mailed is ready and waiting,

so if you boys can go to town tomorrow and pick it up.

You know, Hoss ain't gonna like that much.

Every time that Nancy Collins gets near him, she tries to hog-tie him.

Yeah, you just mention her name and he shies like a spooked horse.

Ah. Don't worry about Hoss.

Leave me be. Leave me alone!

No!

I ain't gonna-- I ain't gonna...

Uhn! Leave me alone. Waldo, Waldo.

Leave me alone. Leave me alone!

Everything is all right. Waldo. Waldo.

Leave me alone!

Waldo, you're dreaming. You're still asleep.

You're not gonna kill me, now, leave me alone!

Waldo. You're still asleep.

Leave me alone! Leave me alone!

They're coming.

It's just Pa and Adam and Joe. Hey, Waldo, Waldo.

Ain't nobody gonna hurt you, Waldo.

I'm sorry. I must, uh... I must have been dreaming.

Who was that you thought was gonna kill you?

Excuse me. I must have been dreaming, phew.

Was there something you wanted?

Well, uh, yeah, uh,

Waldo, I, uh, I want to talk to you about you working for us.

Oh, I've been meaning to apologize for everything I'd done wrong today.

I know it don't seem like it,

but, uh, I sure am grateful for everything you've done for me.

Heh, that's the first bed I've slept in

for quite a spell. It sure seems good even have a roof over my head.

Tsk. Uh...

Uh--

You tell him.

Ahem, well, uh,

Waldo, uh, obviously you're in some kind of trouble.

Wouldn't you like to tell us about it? Well, maybe we can help you.

No, I couldn't do that, Mr. Cartwright.

If I did, then you and your sons would be involved

and you'd been too good to me already.

I couldn't bring that on you. No. I'll move on, heh.

Uh, well, no.

Ah, there's no need for that, heh.

Uh...

Waldo, why don't you stay around for a couple more days?

And we'll see what happens.

Thank you.

Waldo. Uh, yeah.

You, uh...?

You sure ain't nothing we can do for you?

Heh, no. I'm afraid not, Hoss. There's not much anybody can do,

uh, except maybe get a good night's sleep, heh.

Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. Heh, good night, Hoss.

Good night, Waldo. Good night.

Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!

Whoa!

This place is bigger than I figured. Yeah.

It's gonna be harder to find him than you think, Weaver.

Well, a man that big isn't likely to go unnoticed.

Are you sure he's got the money? He's got it.

He was smart enough to skin you out of it in the first place,

he may not be as dumb as you think.

Look, Mr. Waldo Watson is as dumb as they come.

And when we find him, he's gonna be as dead as they come.

Whoa. Whoa.

We'll give the list of supplies direct to Mr. Collins

and, uh, Nancy can come out

and supervise the, uh, loading of the lumber.

Yeah. We figured that was the only reason you came to town with us

in the first place.

I should have known you two grinning snakes was up to something.

Come on, it's not our fault.

Everybody knows that Nancy is out to marry you.

If you two leave me alone with her, we're gonna have a little head-bashing.

I'll see you around the back.

Hyah!

Oh.

He really gets fidgety when Nancy is around, doesn't he?

Well, you can't blame him. She's been trying too hard.

He wasn't gonna go to the dance Saturday night

because he wouldn't be able to get away from Nancy.

Oh, that's no good. Hoss likes to dance too much.

You know, Joe, I think poor old Hoss could use our help in this situation.

Yeah? Like how?

Well, one thing about Nancy, uh,

she likes big men.

Like Hess, and like, uh...

Like Waldo. Yeah.

Ain't that something? Ain't what something?

The way Nancy's taking up with old Waldo.

You getting jealous?

Getting what? Jealous.

That's what we told Nancy you'd get if she paid a lot of attention to Waldo.

You told her to do that? Mm-hm.

And I guess it worked, didn't it?

Doesn't hang around like she used to.

And Waldo seems to be enjoying himself.

Yeah, we did you both a favor.

Yeah. Heh, reckon you did it that.

Wonder what they're talking about.

Like lumber.

Seems that Waldo worked in a lumberyard back East.

He knows quite a bit about it. That's a fact.

Well, he's gonna have to.

Nancy knows more about lumber than a woodpecker.

Shh, here they come.

Uh, boys, is it all right if I borrow Mr. Watson for a few moments?

I know Pa would love to meet someone who knows so much about wood.

Well, don't worry, Nancy. We can handle things out here.

Are you, uh, sure it's all right, Hess?

Oh, sure, Nancy. You, uh...

You go right on, Waldo, we'll load this lumber by ourselves.

Uh, I can help you load it if you like, Hoss.

Waldo, you go ahead and enjoy yourself.

Well, thank you, Hoss. Yep.

Uh, if you get through loading up the wood in time,

come on in for some lemonade.

Shall we, uh, go, Mr. Watson?

Um...

You can't say Waldo's good for nothing now.

Well, that's right.

Of course, that leaves us to load all the lumber,

while he's in there sipping lemonade with the lady.

Don't worry about it, little brother. I'll load the lumber myself.

Now, remember, Hoss,

you promised to bring Mr. Watson to the dance.

Uh, that's very kind of you, Miss Collins,

but, heh, I ain't much on dancing.

Oh, we'll get Hoss to teach you. He's one of the best.

He'll be there, ma'am.

Glad to have met you, Mr. Watson.

If the Canwrights ever let you go, come see me.

Can use a man like you. Thank you, sir.

Don't forget Saturday night.

We'll be there.

Hee, hyah!

Nice young fellow, knows his lumber too.

Hmm. And he's so tall. Why, he's even taller than Hoss.

Come in right handy around here.

Yeah. Wouldn't he though?

Now, it's easy, Waldo. Just watch my feet.

Now, it's easy, Waldo.

You'll pick it right up.

See that? See how easy it is?

Now, you try.

Here, hold her tight now. There she is.

Now, you got to hold her other hand, Waldo.

Look, Waldo, limber up a little bit. Loosen up.

Bend your knees, there you go.

Now kind of put a little swing in it, you know. There you go.

That's the way to go.

Am I getting it? Very good.

You pull light on your feet. Heh.

Remember, stay good and loose.

Not that loose, Waldo. I just can't do it, Hoss.

I just can't do it.

Maybe we shouldn't have tried that waltz so soon.

No, maybe we shouldn't have tried any of it.

I'm not gonna make it, Hoss. I just know I'm not gonna make it.

Now, come on, quit talking like that.

That's the way you've been about everything lately.

Look, I used to didn't enjoy dancing neither. Till Adam taught me how.

This is some time of my life for me to learn dancing.

You, uh, you do son of like Nancy though, don't you?

Yes. Sure, I do.

She ain't about to be interested in the likes of me.

Now, there you go underselling yourself again.

Now, Waldo, you promised me, you was at least gonna try.

All right. I'll try.

Yeah, ugh. Ugh.

Now, tell you what let's do. Let's try the Virginia reel.

You almost got that one down? Phew.

Okay.

First two, come on, forward and back.

Good.

FonNard again with a two-hand swing.

I gotta cut in.

FonNard again with the right elbow.

FonNard again with the left elbow.

You're downright professional.

FonNard again with the right elbow.

It's the Cartwright place, all right. Fits the description the fellas gave us.

Well, let's take a look around.

Pitts, stay with the horse. All right.

FonNard again with a two-hand swing.

FonNard again and form a notch.

Now, when we're in this position,

all the other folks is gonna be going under us

and so be really careful that you don't step on them.

No mistakes this time. And remember, just wing him.

Don't want him killed before we find that money.

All right, Watson.

Look out, Hoss.

What's going on there?

Let's get out of here.

Oh, never mind.

We're not gonna catch them this way.

He just got grazed, Pa. I don't think he's hurt bad.

Better get him into the house. All right.

You took a real chance there, Waldo, keeping me from getting hit.

You're lucky you didn't get nothing worse than just your hair parted.

They weren't after you.

But you sure could've gotten hurt on account of me.

Waldo,

now that we're in this with you, Waldo,

I think we should know what this is all about.

Yes, sir. I'll tell you and then I'll be leaving before they come back again.

Well, we'll discuss that after we've heard your story.

Well, there's not much to tell.

I grew up in a big city back East.

We never had much,

so I went to work in a lumberyard when I was just an overgrown kid.

But I still couldn't make much money.

And then a man offered me $25 for one night's work.

So I took it, heh.

One night's work?

Yeah. It was, uh, for fighting in a ring, you know, bare knuckles.

You were, uh, a fighter?

The way I've been handling myself around here,

I don't blame you for not believing it.

I'm not half-bad when I get in a ring and know what I'm doing, heh.

That first night,

I didn't know what I was doing.

Yet I made a pretty good showing, I stayed in there for 23 rounds.

Yeah. I'd, uh, I'd say that was pretty good.

Well, after that I got some more fights.

And I did better once I got to know the ropes.

I even had me a manager.

But that's where the trouble started.

How do you mean? Some gamblers moved in.

And without my knowing it,

my manager made a deal for me to throw a fight.

He'd taken the money before he even told me about it.

Well, sir, I didn't know what to do.

He'd been awful good to me.

And I didn't wanna get him in any trouble.

But I sure didn't wanna cheat those people,

lose that fight on purpose.

Heh, well, uh,

it wouldn't have made much difference what I decided.

I got in the ring and I just naturally had to do my best.

I won it. I knocked the man cold in the 19th round.

Well, you didn't do anything to be ashamed of, Waldo.

You did the right thing.

Heh, yes, sir.

I suppose so, but those gamblers didn't seem to think so.

I still couldn't bring myself to blame it all on my manager.

So I just started running.

And then coming out West seemed like the best thing to do.

Only they came too.

You mean our friends in the barn?

Yeah. That's a gambler named Weaver and, uh, two hired guns.

They think I've got the bribe money.

And Weaver's got orders from the head man back East to get it.

And then to get me.

Waldo, this, uh, this has happened to you before?

Heh, yeah, a couple of times.

I'd just about given up when you found me out there on that cliff.

And I'm not gonna stay around here

and see one of you get mm on account of me.

And besides, if I leave now, Hoss, I don't have to go that dance, heh.

Waldo, sit down, please.

You know, we've worked pretty hard

to get some law and order in this part of the territory.

There's been some blood shed in the doing of it.

And we're not about to let any cheap, tinhorn gamblers from the East

come out here and shoot up our place

and try to kill an innocent man and get away with it.

Pa's right, Waldo.

You can't just keep running all your life.

Besides, these fellows ran pretty good

when they found out there were five of us instead of just one.

I guess they just didn't like the odds.

Well, there it is.

We'll talk to the sheriff.

What about it?

All right, sir, ahem.

I, uh, ahem, I just don't feel too much like traveling, anyhow, heh.

Thank you.

That's some story, huh, Pa?

Yeah.

Yeah, sure is,

if it's the whole story.

Waldo.

I thought you were gonna stay.

Hoss, I've been thinking about this all night long.

It just ain't fair to you and the others if I stick around.

Tsk, yeah, heh.

I reckon I was wrong about you all along then, Waldo.

What do you mean?

Well, I mean, all this time I've been defending you to my family.

Tell them there's something different about you,

that you was worth defending, as a friend, as a man.

But, like I say, I reckon I was wrong.

But, Hoss, it's my fight.

Your fight?

It ain't just your fight, it's ours too now, Waldo.

Just like my Pa said, we ain't gonna let them tinhorn gamblers

come in here and push us around.

Let me tell you something. We're gonna take care of those fellas

and we're gonna take care of them whether you're here or not.

But, Waldo, you keep right on running.

You just keep on running, Waldo, we don't need you.

Hoss!

What's for breakfast?

I don't know. But whatever it is, me and you'll have a double helping.

We got to hard day ahead of us. Come on.

I sure wish we could have followed these Jaspers,

but you can't follow tracks in the middle of a river.

Sheriff Coffee will be on the lookout for them.

I don't think we'll have any trouble.

Hess? Come on, boy, let's go.

Be down in just a minute, Pa. Now, hold still, dang it.

Hoss, do we have to go?

Yes, we have. You don't know my Pa very well.

He's not about to change his mind over some two-bit gunslingers.

I'd rather be facing them gunslingers than a dance hall full of people.

Oh, turn around here.

Oh, you're gonna be the king of the whole shindig, Waldo.

Now, come on, heel and toe and away we go.

Here they come.

Now, don't forget, girls, Waldo is mine, all mine.

I'll take Hoss. Okay.

Don't worry, Nancy. I'll take Little Joe.

Good evening. Good evening.

Mr. Watson, we were afraid you weren't coming.

Did you come to watch or do you plan on doing some dancing?

Come on, Little Joe, you're with me. Mm-hm.

Dancing with Sue. You won't hear me complaining.

Shall we, Mr. Watson? Yes, ma'am.

What's the matter, Mr. Watson? Ahem, nothing, ma'am. I, uh...

Well, I'm not very good at this dancing business,

and especially not in front of all those people.

Oh, well, I know just how you feel, in fact, I hate crowds too.

Besides, we can have our own dance right out here.

Ma'am? That is if you don't mind.

No, ma'am.

Gee, I never thought it'd be this easy.

Heh, now, aren't you glad you came?

Yes, ma'am.

Waldo, don't you like the name Nancy?

Oh, I sure do. That's a real pretty name.

Well, then why don't you use it? Yes, ma'am.

Yes, Nancy. Nancy, ma'am. Nancy.

Nancy.

Nancy.

I, uh, heh, I never felt like this before.

Me neither, heh, but I sure do like it.

Nancy, I, uh...

Not a sound, Watson. Let's go.

Hurry it up. You too, lady.

Pitts, you stay here in case anybody else comes looking for them.

Keep your hands up and your mouth shut.

Let's go.

Look, leave them out of this. I won't give you any trouble.

Waldo, what's the matter? Who are these men?

They're nobody, Nancy, they're cheap gunslingers.

You stay out of this or you'll get a busted skull.

Look, I'll go with you. I'll do anything you want.

Just don't hurt either one of them. All right.

You hand over the money, then we'll see about your friends.

I don't have it!

You're the only one who could have it.

We knew that for sure when your brother turned himself in to the police.

Now, come on. Why don't you make it easy on everybody?

My brother did what?

That's far enough. What about my brother?

Grab him.

You listen to me. I wanna know about my brother.

And I want that money. Now start talking.

Okay. He told you that he didn't have it.

His brother told us different.

I didn't tell you about him, Hoss. I couldn't.

Perhaps I ought to fill you in a little.

His brother was his manager.

They planned it together. That ain't so.

You're lying.

I left town to take the blame off of him, Hoss. I swear it.

You gotta believe me, Hoss.

I believe you, Waldo.

You can quit running now.

No, it's too late now.

It sure is.

Oh, no, it ain't. Swing your partner.

Waldo.

Nancy.

Step aside, Hoss.

You take care of Nancy. This is my dance.

Do-Si-do, Waldo.

Just toss it over here.

That's nice.

Waldo, you all right?

Yeah, that was almost more fun than dancing.

Yeah, heh. Almost. Nancy?

Is she all right, Hoss? Oh, yeah.

She's gonna come to in a minute. She's all right.

Oh, ain't she pretty, Hoss?

Yeah, dang if she ain't.

Oh, it sure is a good party in there.

Anything wrong?

No. Nothing wrong.

Why aren't you in there dancing?

Tsk, just don't feel like it, that's all.

Well, you ought to.

Why, Mr. Weaver and his friends are locked up tight.

And Waldo Watson, he's a changed man.

He and Nancy are in there dancing up a storm.

That's for dang sure.

She won't dance with nobody else.

That's what you wanted, isn't it?

Well, I thought it was. You thought it was?

You're jealous.

I'll be a cockeyed mule, you're jealous.

Ah, Pa, it's just I didn't realize how dag burn pretty she was.

Oh, so help me, Hannah.

You're all alike, aren't you? You, Little Joe, Adam.

Why, when it comes to females,

none of you knows a good thing when you see it.

It's only when the other fellow sees it, and then it's too late. Isn't it?

Oh.

This has been a color presentation

of the NBC Television Network.