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Doggone it, you're still the best-looking gal I ever saw.

You ain't as young as you used to be,

but, uh, a set of legs like them,

there ain't nobody gonna pay no attention to that age.

No.

Them old big moony eyes

and that little turned-up nose...

that shiny black hair

and that big, black, bushy tail.

Doggone it, you quit worryin' so much, anyhow.

Old Jim ain't gonna let them take you away from here.

Now...

I got work to do.

I can't stand here complimentin' you all day.

Nope.

Hey, Jim!

Didn't expect you back this soon.

How'd the trial turn out?

I didn't wait to find out.

You didn't?

Jim, you mean you just got up and walked out?

Yeah.

Too close and stuffy in that courtroom for me.

You feel the same way, don't you, old girl?

Hmm?

There. Go and visit your friend.

Come on.

You know, Jim, that...

that judge could rule against you.

Regardless of how he rules,

Whipple is not going to get that mare.

And that's all that counts.

Look at her, will you?

What are you fussing about?

She thinks she's got a secret we don't know.

She's sure in fine shape, Jim.

She's going to give me a fine colt.

She's done that quite a few times

over the years, hasn't she?

She sure has.

Getting to be an old lady, though.

This is the last colt she's going to have.

But it's going to be the most special colt in the world.

You know that niece of mine I told you about

over in Grass Valley?

Well, I ain't never met her, of course,

but I feel like I know her,

the way you've talked about her the last 15 years.

I guess I do talk about her quite a bit.

Well, she has a little boy.

Three years old.

A boy that age ought to have a colt of his own.

Gonna take the mare over to Grass Valley.

I want to be with her when the colt is born.

Jim, let me... let me do the talkin'.

It may not be what you think it is.

Pete. Mr. Whipple.

Howdy, Hoss.

What brings you out this way, Pete?

You doin' a little electioneering?

I'm always doing that,

especially in enemy territory.

This time, I'm here on official business.

Should've stayed around, Acton.

The judge handed down his decision

five minutes after you walked out on him.

Pete...

how'd it turn out?

Here.

Read it.

You read it, Hoss.

The judge awarded the mare to Mr. Whipple.

Look, you both had your day in court,

you both had your say.

Now, the mare belongs to Whipple and that's that.

You all know the mare belongs to me.

I made a deal to buy a bunch of wild horses from you,

and the mare is part of the herd.

That mare was never part of the herd,

and you know it!

Oh, wait a minute, come on, Jim!

Hold it, hold it! Come on, Jim.

That's not what the judge said.

Come here, Jim.

Come here. I want to talk to you.

Jim, come here a minute, you hard-headed...

Now, I got a plan.

Just calm down a minute.

Look, Pete...

I ain't got no money on me,

and I-I know Jim ain't,

but maybe we could go get Pa

and buy the mare back, huh?

Well, I'd say that's up to Whipple.

She's not for sale.

I'm keeping her for myself.

Whipple, you touch that mare,

I'll kill you.

How 'bout it, Sheriff?

The law say I got a right to collect what's mine?

That's what the law says.

Give me your rope.

All right. She's all yours.

That's all I ask.

Jim, wait a minute!

Calm down, dad-burnit, Jim.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do everything,

and you're trying to do it the wrong way.

Now, I guarantee you we'll get this all settled.

That's good advice, Jim.

I'm warning you.

Let it be.

Well, that's that.

And now that I'm up here, I might as well see your dad.

Do a little campaigning.

I don't think it'll do much good, Pete.

He's gonna support old Roy.

Well, that's exactly why I want to talk to him.

No sense wasting my time on all those good folks

I already know are gonna support me.

Yeah. Want to ride along?

No. No, thank you, Pete.

You'll find Pa up at Spencer Canyon.

You know how to get there. Yeah.

I'll stick around here with old Jim.

All right, suit yourself.

Yeah.

Hoss, I'm not going to give her up.

Now, look, Jim, don't you start nothin', you hear?

You let me handle this.

I'll talk to Pa and we'll get her back.

When?

That mare's been with me for 18 years.

She's not just another piece of horseflesh

for Whipple to trade off.

Look, Jim, you go on back to the house and stay there.

I'll go find Pa, and we'll figure out something.

I gotta get her back.

Do you understand?

Yes, dad-burnit, I understand.

You don't need the gun, Mr. Whipple.

I'm not looking for trouble.

Just want to talk to you.

Don't start anything, Acton.

You already lost one lawsuit.

You lay a hand on me,

I'll swear out a warrant.

Be reasonable, Mr. Whipple.

To you, a horse is just a horse.

Well, that's your business.

With me, it's different.

It's over and done with.

I know you got a good market

for those, uh, wild horses I round up.

I'll ask Ben Cartwright to give me some time off.

I'll get you 50 head.

That's five times as much as the mare's worth to you.

Is it a deal, Mr. Whipple?

I said it's over and done with.

Come on!

Don't pull on her that way!

Let go of that rope, Acton.

She's not used to being treated that way.

Well, she'd better well get used to it.

I tried to be nice to you.

Ah, you go get yourself that warrant,

but like I told you before,

you're not taking this mare.

All right, old girl.

Let's go home.

♪♪

I didn't count on going away so soon, old girl.

Well, I just can't understand

a judge handing down a decision like that.

Jim always used that mare for rounding up his wild horses.

Everybody knew that.

Well, why did Jim have to beat up

old Whipple in the first place?

And then on top of that, get up and walk out of the courtroom?

Because he thought he could get away with it.

Well, there's no point in talking about it.

Soon as Sam Whipple gets over being mad,

I'll offer him such a good price for that mare,

he'll sell her back.

He better.

The way Jim carried on,

you'd think that was the only mare in the country.

Well, he always was kind of a strange one, anyway.

Boys, take them horses,

put 'em in the breaking corral.

Mr. Cartwright?

Have you thought much about the election?

Well, uh, yes.

Yes, Pete, as a matter of fact, I have.

Well, I'm glad to hear that.

You know, a lot of people are backing me, Mr. Cartwright.

Influential people in town,

men that you know and respect.

Well, I appreciate that,

uh, Pete, but, uh...

I think Roy Coffee has made a...

made a fine sheriff for us.

Oh, well, sure, but... times change, Hyah!

And Roy's getting a little bit too old

to change with 'em, is all. Hyah!

Now, what I plan to do is reorganize...

Hasn't anybody told that brother of yours

that there's other ways of riding a horse

except at a dead run?

Pa, it's Sam Whipple.

I found him dead alongside the road near Big Fork.

He'd been shot.

Did he have Jim Acton's mare with him?

No, just his own saddle horse.

Joe, ride into town.

Tell Sheriff Coffee to meet us at Big Fork.

Right. I can handle this myself, Mr. Cartwright.

I'm sure you can, but Roy's still our sheriff.

All right, then.

It's all my fault, Pa.

Knowing the way he felt about that mare

and knowing how hotheaded he was,

I should never have left him here alone.

Well, I still say Jim's no killer.

Whipple must've pulled a gun on him or something.

He had to have a good reason.

Well, Jim should've... should've known

that I could've bought that mare back for him.

Seems to me we're wasting an awful lot of time.

It seems to me you're awfully anxious, Pete.

I'm not in the habit of feeling sorry for killers.

Pete's right.

There's no sense in giving him any more of a head start

than he's already got.

I can handle it alone if you want me to, Sheriff.

I can bring him in.

How? Draped over a saddle?

Like you brought in the last three?

I did my job, didn't I?

Roy.

Boys and I know this part of the country pretty well.

Want us to ride with you?

Just fixin' to ask you, Ben.

Never thought I'd see the day

I'd be out chasing a friend with a rifle.

Well, you don't want him to get away with it, do you?

No.

I don't want to see him get shot, neither. Do you?

That's a question you didn't have to ask.

♪♪

♪♪

I hear 'em, girl.

I'm going to make it as easy on you as I can.

Hyah.

♪♪

I wish he hadn't done that, Ben.

When you chase a man that's just running, that's one thing,

but when you chase a man

that's turned around and bushwhacked you...

Oh, Roy, come on. Don't be silly.

If he'd wanted to hit something, he'd have hit it.

Jim Acton's the best rifle shot I know.

I hate to leave it, girl.

That's as close to home as I ever got.

Frank. Yeah, Pete?

Flank him on the right side.

All right, Pete.

They'll never find old Jim up there, Joe.

Yeah, maybe that climb will cool Pete off a little bit.

Yeah, like the...

Remember the time we thought we had that old stallion

trapped up there and old Jim rode up?

Yeah, I remember. He started laughing at us.

Said that old stallion had let us think we had him trapped

and while we were breaking our necks climbing up there,

he'd sneak out the back way.

Yeah.

Hey, Joe...

you thinkin' what I am?

You bet I am.

Now, where in the devil they think they're going?

Whoa, whoa.

Whoa.

Over here, Jim.

That was a rock you heard over there.

The oldest trick in the world, Joe.

And I'm sorry I ever taught it to you.

How are you, Little Joe?

That's the second oldest trick. We'll shake hands later.

You, too, huh, Hoss?

I should have known.

You got to thinking about that stallion

we thought we had trapped up there that time?

That's right, Jim.

You boys have long memories.

You gave us a lot to remember, Jim.

Yeah.

We had good times together.

And we're gonna have a lot more

as soon as we get this mess cleaned up.

Look, Jim...

Pa and us know as well as we're alive

that you didn't just shoot Whipple down for no cause.

What happened back there?

A man shoots at you,

you shoot back.

You have no time to think.

We can understand that,

but now you've had time to think.

That's right, Jim.

Think about that niece.

You told us how much she thinks of you.

How's she gonna feel having a fugitive for an uncle?

I thought about it.

Then you come on back with us now.

I've been thinking about that stallion we...

we tried to trap up there.

I know how you are, Hoss.

I know that heart of yours.

And yours, too, Little Joe.

You don't show it, but, uh...

you're just the same.

That stallion...

even if we had caught him,

neither one of you would've put a rope around him.

You knew he had to be free.

Dad-burnit, Jim, we...

we can't let you go.

Try to make it easy on everybody.

Didn't take his rifle.

Planning on letting him escape?

Well, you can step aside now.

I'm taking over.

Are you real sure you can handle it, Pete?

Yeah, I'm real sure.

I'm no particular friend of his.

♪♪

Whoa, whoa! Wait!

My mare is getting very tired.

Can we rest here a little while, please?

All right.

I guess all the horses can use some rest.

Roy? Yeah?

Can I talk with him?

You sure can, Ben,

but I don't think it's gonna do you no good.

He's a drifter. He was born to it.

And that kind of man just don't change.

Yah!

He's a friend.

Look at him, Frank.

Treatin' that killer like he was something special.

Well, maybe that's because

they've been friends for a long time.

I sure don't like the way Roy's listening to those Cartwrights.

For all we know, they could be planning on letting him escape.

Oh, Pete, I find that kind of hard to believe.

Well, then, don't believe it.

But I know my obligation to the law,

and I know I don't want to get myself killed

the way Whipple did.

Now, you can follow my lead or string along with Roy.

It doesn't much matter which.

From now on, you better watch your back.

Well, the way you tell it, Jim,

Sam Whipple, well...

that was self-defense.

That's the way it was, Ben.

But who's going to believe it?

Well, I do, for one.

Thanks.

But you won't be on the jury.

What chance has a drifter like me got?

Same chance as any other man would have.

I'm trying to give you some good advice, Jim.

Will you take it?

Depends what you expect me to do.

Well, number one:

I expect you to stop trying

to stand up against the world alone.

Number two:

I expect you to go back there and face the music.

And let them lock me up?

Look at that.

Beautiful sight, isn't it?

Yeah.

It's real beautiful.

I've told you more than once

you can have a piece of it,

if you want to settle down.

Never could, Ben.

I get an itching, and I gotta move.

Even country like that...

You hold your fingers up

like you're looking through bars

and you can spoil it.

You won't listen, will you, Jim?

You're going to run. Again.

I have to.

I'm afraid the only end to it will be a...

a bullet.

What's the idea?

Just removing the temptation.

You think that was necessary, huh?

I think so.

Have you looked at the sun lately?

Yeah, I seen it.

Well, if we hang around here much longer,

we won't be back before dark.

You like herding prisoners after dark?

No, I don't.

That's why we're staying overnight at the Ponderosa.

You're sort of treating him like a guest, aren't you?

A guest of the Nevada Territory.

And you aren't even gonna tie him up.

Now, there's six of us and one of him.

That's pretty fair odds, ain't it?

Well, now that you mention it, I guess it is.

♪♪

♪♪

You're not gonna fall for that, are you?

Nah.

Didn't you forget something?

Frank, hang on!

Frank!

That's the last trouble you're gonna cause me.

You put that gun down!

Broken leg, Ben.

I have never hurt a horse in my life.

You did it!

Jim! Away!

Ben...

can you trust me with a gun?

Go ahead, Ben.

Touch that gun, I'll blow you in two.

There's an unwritten law around here:

A man takes care of his own horse.

Mister, I don't go by unwritten laws.

That's one thing a man never gets used to, Ben.

Jim...

just answer me one question.

What makes you so dad-burn hardheaded stubborn?

Something I gotta do, Hoss.

Well, fine, but...

you keep pulling stunts like the one you just pulled,

and it's gonna make your case even rougher for you.

Besides, whatever you got to do

can't be so important it won't wait.

Not so, Hoss.

You know that niece of mine I've been telling you about?

She's not my niece at all.

She's my daughter.

And her little boy is my grandson.

Well, I'll be doggone.

That's why, after my wife died, I...

I thought it would be better if I left my daughter

with my brother and his wife.

They've done a good job raising her.

Much better than I would have done.

She thinks I'm her uncle.

Better this way.

She knows I break horses and...

work on a ranch, drift...

Sweet girl.

I used to hold her on my knee and...

tell her all kinds of stories.

Well, Jim, you...

you got a lot of good livin' to catch up on

as soon as you get out.

I'm already out.

And I'm going to stay that way.

Hoss, a man's got a right

to give his grandson a present, hasn't he?

I'm going to give him a colt.

I'm going to take the mare across the mountains.

Nobody can do it for me.

This is something I gotta do for myself.

You understand, Hoss?

Yes.

And that's just the trouble.

Knowing you the way I do, I understand you.

I knew you would.

All right, Jim, it's time to go.

You can take the saddle off that dead horse

and put it on your mare and ride her back.

Come on.

I think I'll tie his hands.

We got a lot of rough country between here and the ranch.

How's he gonna ride with his hands tied?

Just don't trust him, that's all.

Aw, come on, Pete, that mare he's on is 18 years old.

He's gonna outrun somebody?

Well, all right.

If anything happens, you Cartwrights are responsible.

Remember that.

Hyah!

Hoss, get out of the way!

You let him escape.

You deliberately let him escape.

And you said that mare couldn't run.

Well, I didn't think she could.

You didn't think...

Ben...

I've gone along with you as far I could,

but deliberately letting a prisoner go... Now, Roy,

this was not deliberate! Now, don't yell at me!

You've been more of a hindrance than you have a help

ever since we started.

Well, would you look who's talking?

It was your idea to bring these Cartwrights along, not mine.

Why, they've had you in their pocket

ever since the day you were elected.

Well, I'll have a lot to tell when I get back to town.

And Frank here will back me up.

Make up your mind to it, old man.

You're through.

Maybe your, uh... your friends the Cartwrights

will give you a little piece of ground to build a cabin on.

Now, I'm taking over.

Ben, I'm... I'm sorry I lost my temper.

Roy, if you let Pete take over,

a man's life will be at stake.

He's not taking over.

Did you see that beautiful old gal clear that fence?

Yes.

I saw her.

♪♪

Come on, old girl.

Just a little more.

Come on.

He's gonna try to lose us in them rocks.

He gets over the top of that hill

and into the woods on the other side,

we'll never get him.

I'm gonna take Frank and cut him off.

We'll be waiting for him when he comes over the top.

Yeah, there's a trail goes around the other side.

Go ahead, Pete.

Nobody's going to blame you for getting old, girl.

About ten years ago, you would've carried me

over the top of that hill like you had wings.

Angel wings.

It appears like the mare give out on him.

No, she didn't give out.

He just doesn't want to cripple her in the rocks.

Hey, Pa? Huh?

I've been thinking what you...

what you said about the trail.

There was a big landslide up there last winter.

There ain't no way for Pete to get around that way.

I know.

Ben?

I believe we can close in on him now.

Doggone it, Joe.

Where does right end and wrong begin?

All he ever wanted to be was free.

Look at him now.

Breaking his lungs and his heart.

Yeah.

Just like that... that wild stallion I chased.

Run him plumb into the ground.

When I finally caught him, I...

I couldn't more put a rope around his neck

than I could rise and fly.

Come on.

I want you to understand.

It's me they're after.

But I don't want you to get hurt.

You go back with the herd.

They'll take care of you.

And, uh...

you give me a fine colt, you understand?

I'll come back to see you in the spring.

The horses will never make it through there.

Yeah.

Those Cartwrights...

they knew that slide was there.

Come on.

Will you look at that?

She's gonna try to climb it with him.

Oh, that mare will kill herself.

The mare won't make it, but Jim will,

and I can't let that happen.

Wait a minute, Roy.

Let me try something.

Jim!

Look behind you!

Your mare!

Go back, girl.

Go back!

Go back.

Go back, girl. You can't climb up there.

You'll hurt yourself.

Go on back!

Go on! Yah!

Yah!

Go!

Jim!

Come on down, Jim!

Go back, girl.

Go back.

What do you want to do, hurt that colt?

Go on back!

Hey, Jim!

I can't promise you anything, but the boys and I

will help you all we can, you know that!

Jim, you're gonna kill that mare!

Is that what you want to do, Jim?

Kill her?

Is that what you raised her for?

To see her kill herself?

Is a dead mare the kind of present you want

for that grandson, Jim?

Grandson?

Yeah.

You know that niece he's always talking about?

Yeah?

That's his own daughter.

Go on back, girl.

Go on.

Please go back, will you?

You don't want to go back, do you?

Well, I can understand that.

You've been with me all your life.

All right.

I go to you, then.

I knew he wouldn't let that mare hurt herself.

All right.

I guess you're more important than I am.

You always did know how to get the best of me, didn't you?

All right, come on.

He's coming down, Roy.

He was right out where he could've got a shot at you.

He didn't even have a gun.

Roy, it was just a mistake.

I've always been a good deputy, Roy.

Come on. Come along, girl.

Hoss... listen to me, Hoss.

We've always got along together.

Oh, Pete.

Little Joe, look...

♪♪

You're still a mighty pretty old gal.

Got a lot of life left in you, too.

Yeah.

Now, you have a nice, pretty colt for old Jim, you hear?

I hate to leave you penned up in here, dad-burnit, but...

if I let you go,

you'll run back out there with them wild ones.

I gotta know where you are.

Pa, Joe. Hoss.

Turn her loose, Hoss.

Let her loose?

Pa, I never would catch her.

I gotta take her up to Grass Valley tomorrow.

Well, I, uh...

I got a letter from Jim's daughter.

A letter?

I'd like to

read you part of it.

It says here, uh,

"My uncle was always a free man, Mr. Cartwright,

"and I want to remember him that way.

"I know how much he loved that mare

"and how he always thought of her

"as something as free as himself.

"I was never able to do much for him when he was alive.

"I want to do something for him now.

I want you to turn his mare loose."

Yeah.

Yeah.

Doggone it, yeah.

Come on out of there, gal.

I'll bet you that next spring,

when that herd comes back to the high country,

that mare's gonna have a little black colt to show off.

Yeah.

And I'll bet you I know a little grandson

it's gonna make mighty happy, too.

Yeah.

Come on, let's go home.

Yeah. Yep.

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