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♪♪

That's the lot, and we ain't found nothing yet.

Someone's coming.

Let's get.

♪♪

♪♪

Little girl?

Little girl?

Girl?

Hi.

Is... is this your dolly?

Is this your dolly?

What's your name, little lamb?

See your dolly?

Can you hold your dolly?

Yeah.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Hi, Pa. Joe.

Well?

Find anything? Any clues? Any identification?

Well, you know all the-the trunks and the clothes

that Hoss said were scattered all around?

Yeah. They're gone.

They're gone? Yeah.

Sheriff Coffee figured some squatters must've come along

and helped themselves.

I was hoping there'd be some identification

we'd find from the clothing or the-the trunk.

I wish Hoss had paid a little more attention to them.

Well, he was probably too worried about the little girl.

Well, what's Roy gonna do?

He's wired towns in both directions.

See if he can't get some clues

to the identity of those poor people.

That takes such a long time.

That little child needs help. She worries me. I...

Well, she needs someone to take care of her whom she knows,

somebody she's comfortable with.

Yeah.

Where is she now?

Upstairs. Hoss is washing her hands and face.

Mm, supper is ready, Mr. Cartwright.

Thank you, Su Chin. Thank you.

How's Hop Sing's uncle making out?

Oh, fine. And he's prepared a soup for tonight, mmm!

Go wash up. Oh, I'm not dirty.

Go wash your hands, Joseph.

Yes, sir.

Hoss, supper's ready!

Oh, thank you, Su Chin.

Wait till you taste this soup.

Here you are, young lady.

Very nice. There.

Ain't she pretty? She sure is.

Very nice, Hoss. Very, very, very nice.

I think some of that soup's about all she's gonna...

be able to go this meal.

I asked Su Chin to fix her up something special.

Su Chin?

Ah.

Sure it's not too hot?

No, Hoss.

Thank you.

Just right. Thank you.

There you are, young lady.

Now then, dive right in.

Now, listen, you know you got to eat.

You got a nice glass of milk

and a nice bowl of soup that old Su Chin made for you.

He makes good soup.

Take a little taste of it first.

For Hoss?

That's a doll. Now, ain't that good?

Let's have another one.

Ah-oop.

There you go.

Doggone, that's pretty good, isn't it?

Here's a good one.

Ah-oop.

It must be pretty good soup.

Look at the way she's eating it.

That is good.

You know, it really gets you--

You look into those staring eyes.

Poor little thing doesn't say anything.

It's enough to break your heart.

Child is in shock.

What a terrible experience.

Terrible.

I just wish there was some way we could help her.

Well, I'm going in to see Doc Martin in the morning.

Well, well, well.

We came down to say good night. Why...

It's an old gown of mine that I cut the bottom out of.

There's still room for about five of her.

Well, doggone it, she's sweet enough to be five.

I wish she was.

Good night, darling.

Can you say "good night"?

You have pleasant dreams.

Night, Pa.

Now, Roy, you-you let me know as soon as you get a reply

from any of those telegrams you sent out, huh?

I sure will, Ben. I already promised Hoss.

Hoss? Yeah.

Has he been here?

Yeah, about an hour ago.

Oh.

Hi, Pa.

Joe.

Where you been all morning, huh?

Oh---...

I went into town, thinking I might find out something

about our... our little guest.

Yeah? What'd you find out?

Well, I found out that I was running an hour behind Hoss

wherever I went. Where is that fella?

Uh, he went out riding fence as soon as he got back.

Oh. Where's the little girl?

She went with him.

She went with him riding fence? Yeah.

It was kind of cute, too, Pa. You should've seen her.

She was sitting up there on a horse behind him,

those little arms trying to go around that big middle of his.

Well, you tell that fella with the big middle

I want to see him as soon as he gets back, you hear?

Okay, I'll do it.

Hi, Pa.

Little Joe tells me you want to talk to me.

Yeah, that's right, Hoss.

I'd like to talk to you alone.

Fine, I'll be down in just a minute.

I'll take her up and get her all cleaned up.

That's all right. I'll take her up.

No.

She wouldn't like that. She's-she's used to me.

Now, Hoss, Joseph is perfectly capable

of washing a little girl's hands and face.

You take her along, Joe. All right.

Come on, hon.

Now, that's exactly what I want to talk to you about, Hoss.

That little girl needs a whole lot more care

than a bunch of bachelors like us can give her.

What's wrong with the care I'm giving her?

Oh, nothing's wrong with it, except she needs a...

she needs a woman's care,

like-like Mrs. Jenkins would give her if you'd let her.

Pa...

what do you got against having a little gal in the house, anyhow?

Oh, Hoss, don't try to make me out an ogre.

Nothing. Of course not.

But that little girl isn't our little girl.

Well, I found her, and I'm gonna take care of her

till somebody claims her.

I'm gonna go up there and get her right now.

No, you're not. You're gonna stay right here!

'Cause if that little girl is gonna stay in this house

until her relatives find her or we find her relatives,

then she'd better get used to all of us taking care of her.

All right, now you start cleaning up those guns.

You've been neglecting them long enough.

Mm-hmm. Now let's see.

There. Now you see?

Uncle Joe did that just about as well as Uncle Hoss could have.

Now let me have a little bit of a look at you here.

We're gonna give you the whole inspection.

Ear number one-- clean as a whistle.

Ear number two-- clean as a whistle.

Now, I have a little surprise for you

for being such a good girl.

You wait.

Something I picked out for you in town.

Here we are.

Now let's see what we've got...

right... here.

See?

What do you think of her?

This dolly's name is Lucy.

And Lucy's a good little girl 'cause she has...

has clean ears just like you do.

And, uh, she's got little flowers

on her hat and everything.

And she's all yours.

You take Lucy and give her a hug 'cause she's lonesome.

There.

Hey, now I've got an idea.

Why-why don't you stay up here

and-and get acquainted with Lucy,

and I'll go downstairs, and then, in a little while,

you come on down and-and show it to Pa and Hess and surprise 'em?

Okay?

Okay.

Hey, where's the little gal?

How come she didn't come down with you?

Ah, she'll be down in a minute.

You get these clean?

I don't like to leave her up there by herself.

Well, will you stop worrying?

I said she'll be down in a second.

It's probably the rifle that did it.

She thought I was trying to hurt Hoss.

Yeah.

Think we ought to go up there?

No, no. We'll just, uh, let Hoss take care of her.

She's used to him.

Let's finish cleaning these guns.

Yeah.

Yeah, we're gonna have to take this one

into Muscatel's gun shop, Pa.

Hey, Pa, Joe, she's all right.

Oh, good, good. No fooling.

She-she talked to me.

She what?

Really? She talked to you?

Yeah, I was telling her all about

what we was gonna do tomorrow,

and right out of the clear blue, she-she spoke to me.

Hey, the doc said that another shock might cure her.

Come on up, hear for yourself.

Honey, I want you to tell Pa and Little Joe

what part of the Ponderosa you like best.

All right?

Hoss, I don't know.

She-she looks the same to me.

Remember us talking about the lake?

Remember? Huh?

Hoss, are you sure she talked before?

Yeah, I'm sure.

I reckon she's just tired or something.

Hmm.

Guess maybe the whole thing's a little too much for her.

We'll see you a little later, dear.

You... you get you a nap, sweetheart.

We'll-we'll see you after a while, all right?

Hey, you really think she talks to him?

Oh, I don't know.

Hoss is so obsessed with that child,

wants her to get well so badly,

maybe... maybe he imagines she talks.

Now, then, up you go.

Set easy on old Chub.

You might break him down or something...

...you're so big.

Sure looks cute on there, buddy, doesn't she?

Look how tiny she looks.

Where you going?

I'm going into town to talk to Roy,

see if he's found out anything

about the little girl's relatives.

Oh, Hoss isn't gonna like it much if he has.

Well, Hoss is gonna have to get used to the idea

that that little girl isn't his.

Oh, Ben.

You caught me doing my housework.

Well, don't let me interfere with your legal duties, Roy.

Good. Keep working. I can talk while you're working.

No, I was all through in there. Oh?

And my next duty was to come out and see you.

Oh, did you find something out about the little girl's folks?

Well, something, but not exactly what I wanted to find out.

I was able to trace the murdered people back to St. Louis.

It seems that they were rather wealthy,

and they were on their way to San Francisco

to set up a business there.

And they were probably carrying considerable money.

Yeah, terrible, terrible thing.

Oh, what about some relatives in St. Louis?

There was none that I could find out about.

But on the chance that they did have some in San Francisco,

I wired the marshal there.

Yeah, well, that's a good idea, Roy. It's a good idea.

Oh, and if you find out anything,

be sure that I know about it first, huh?

Well, sure, Ben, but... but why?

Well, it's, uh... it's Hoss.

Hoss has, uh... he's become kind of attached to the little girl.

You know, he...

He almost thinks the little girl belongs to him, you know.

And, uh, if there are any relatives, I'd...

I'd like to have the opportunity of telling him so that...

you know, sort of let him down easy.

I understand, Ben, and I certainly will do that.

There was one other thing that I did find out.

The-the little girl's name is Lisa.

Lisa.

Lisa.

Thank you, Roy. Thank you.

All right. Give my best to Hoss.

Yup.

♪♪

Morning, George.

Ben. Pleasant day, isn't it?

Yeah, it sure is...

George...

do you have any, uh... any dresses for little girls?

Well, sure. Plain or fancy?

Oh... plain I guess would be better.

You say plain, little girls say fancy.

Oh. Well, maybe it better be fancy then.

Yeah.

Who is it?

Jim and Hank.

Come on in.

That was some tip you gave us, Mr. Collins.

We didn't find nothing.

I know.

My brother-in-law was very shrewd.

What's that supposed to mean?

Well, my wife got a second letter from her sister

saying that they were worried

about what might happen to them on the way,

so they changed their plans.

Plans? I am in no mood to play games, Mr. Collins.

Now let's have it straight. What did they do with the money?

Sent it on ahead to San Francisco.

Where in San Francisco?

She didn't say that.

All she said was that if anything happened to them,

the information would be inside a doll

the little girl was carrying.

A doll?

Didn't see no doll. How about you, Hank?

Me, neither.

Yeah, Lisa undoubtedly has it with her.

How do we get to Lisa?

Well, Sheriff Coffee sent me a wire from Virginia City

saying that she was being cared for

by the Cartwrights out at the Ponderosa.

Now, I'm gonna drive back to Oreana tonight.

I'll come back in the morning by stagecoach

and officially claim my wife's niece.

You two guys get out to the Ponderosa

and keep an eye on it.

See if you can get your hands on that doll.

There'd better be something in that doll, Mr. Collins.

We've wasted enough time already.

Don't talk to me about time.

The bank examiners are due the first of the month,

and if I haven't got that money, where do you suppose I'll be?

Now you get out to the Ponderosa and get your hands on that doll.

♪♪

Mm-hmm.

How you doing?

What do you got there?

Prettiest little gal I ever saw.

Oh.

Oh, you're getting big.

Well, howdy.

Pa.

Well.

Hoss, I'll bet you that Lisa...

must feel a little strange with only a house

full of men for company.

How'd you find out her name was Lisa?

Uh, well, maybe we ought to discuss that alone.

Yeah. Maybe.

Look, honey, you run along upstairs and wash up.

I'll see you in a minute.

Well, Pa?

Roy told me the little girl's name.

In his telegrams, I've established

that her mother and father

were on their way from St. Louis to San Francisco.

With a considerable amount of money.

She, uh...

She have any other relatives in St. Louis?

Well, none that Roy could determine.

I knew she wouldn't.

Roy's wiring San Francisco to see if she has any there.

It won't do no good.

She ain't got none there, neither.

Well, how do you know that?

Well... I just feel it.

I... I know she ain't.

I just... I just know it.

He's got to get over this feeling he has

with that little girl, because sooner or later,

some relative is gonna show up.

Yeah.

I just think it's silly, that's all.

All right, so you think it's silly.

Now what's this hot discussion about?

Well, I just think it's silly for him to keep dressing

a little girl up like a little boy all the time.

Is that a fact? That's a fact.

Supper almost ready.

Well, I'll run up and get Lisa.

Hey.

Good evening, everybody.

Hey, did you hear that?

Didn't I tell you she could talk?

She's getting better all the time. Come here, honey.

Come on down.

My, oh, my, oh, my, how pretty you are.

Hey, where'd you get that new pretty dress

and that little dolly?

From...

From Uncle Ben.

From Uncle Ben.

And Uncle Little Joe.

And Uncle Little Joe.

So, you two fellers been trying to steal my gal

behind my back, huh?

We just wanted to show you that we're really

not as hard-hearted as you think we are.

Come on over here, now, and tell me all about

that lovely little dolly that you've got.

Now what's the dolly's name?

Lucy.

Her name is Lucy.

Lucy? That's a beautiful name.

She lives in a box in my room.

Really? In a box?

Yes. I hide her there so the bad men can't find her.

Oh, well, you don't have to do that around here.

There's no bad men around here.

Unless, of course, you think Pa and Hess and I are bad men.

No.

These are really, truly bad men.

Lisa, honey, you don't... you don't need to talk like that.

There ain't no bad men around here.

They're around here.

The same bed men who did those things

to my mommy and daddy.

Sweetheart, are you making up a story?

No, Hoss.

I saw them.

When?

This morning.

After you saddled the horse

and went into the house for something you forgot.

Yeah, that... that'd be our lunch.

Well, I chased a chicken back into the barn,

and there they were.

The bad men.

They said, "Come here."

But I ran out,

and when I looked back, they were gone.

Why didn't you tell me all this then?

I was afraid.

Roust up the hands, see if they know anything about this.

Yes, sir.

Well.

Good morning, Uncle Ben.

Good morning.

Uncle Little Joe.

Well, good morning, beautiful.

Where you off to this early?

Oh, Lisa and I thought we'd go out and have ourselves a picnic.

Oh, are you gonna take your dolly?

Uh-huh.

You know, Lucy has never been on a horse

and didn't want to come along.

Oh.

But I told her I'd hold her tight

and that the horse would walk slow.

Is that all right, Hoss?

That's fine, sweetheart. Come along.

Uh, you have a good time, now.

Okay, bye-bye.

Bye-bye. Bye.

Bye.

Oh, boy.

You know, when Hoss has kids of his own,

his wife won't see him more than an hour a day.

If she's lucky.

Yeah, he'll... he'll make a good father.

He also makes a good mother.

Now let's have some breakfast. All right.

Now, ain't this a pretty place for a picnic?

Yes, Hoss. It's very pretty.

Let me help you down.

Down you go.

Yes, sir, it's a mighty pretty place.

All except for that place over there

where that fence is down.

You wouldn't mind, would you,

if after we get through with our picnic,

ol' Hoss goes over there and fixes that fence?

No, Hoss. Lucy and I won't mind.

Now, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna get a canteen, I'm gonna go down to the lake

and get us a canteen of cool lake water.

And if you and ol' Lucy get hungry before I get back,

you just dive right into that basket, all right?

I'll wait for you, Hoss.

And so will Lucy.

That's a nice gal.

I know you're hungry, Lucy, but we'll have to wait

till Hoss gets back till we can eat.

Lisa?

Lisa?!

Roy, you sure did a fine job

locating Lisa's uncle, I'll tell you that.

Well, thanks. Let's just hope that he's on that stage,

like you worried he was gonna be. Yeah.

Thank you.

Sheriff Coffee?

Are you Mr. Collins? I am.

Hope you had a nice trip. Thank you.

I want you to meet Ben Cartwright.

He's been taking care of Lisa.

Mr. Collins, certainly a pleasure to meet you, sir.

Oh, I'm very happy to meet you, Mr. Cartwright.

My wife and I are very grateful to you.

Well, Lisa's a lovable child. She's been no trouble at all.

It's been wonderful having her at the Ponderosa.

Yeah, I'm glad to hear that.

You know, my wife and I have never seen Lisa.

We're gonna have to find some way

to make up this terrible tragedy to her.

Yes. Really a terrible tragedy.

I... I'm not quite sure that she realizes what has happened.

I hope not.

To be orphaned so young.

It's ghastly, isn't it?

Terrible, just terrible. Well, gentlemen,

should we get on down to my office?

You did bring the, uh, identification I asked for?

Mm-hmm. No offense meant,

it's just that I've got to be sure, you know.

Why, of course. You'd be derelict

in your duties otherwise, Sheriff.

Here, chick.

Well, Joe, now, this is Mr. Collins,

Lisa's uncle. My son Joseph.

Pleasure to meet you, sir. Pleasure's mine.

Uh, where did, uh, Hoss say he was taking Lisa for the picnic?

Gee, Pa, I don't know.

Hey, Pa! Pa!

She's gone. Lisa's gone.

What happened?

Well, I-I went down to the lake to get some fresh water,

and when I got back, she was gone, that's all.

You mean you left her alone?

Yeah, dad-burnit, for just a minute.

I left her up there with a picnic basket,

and when I got back, there wasn't no sign of her.

There was just some hoof prints around there,

and I traced them off up into a rocky ridge and lost them.

Joe, saddle up a couple horses.

Cartwright, if anything happens to that girl,

I'm gonna hold you and your sons personally responsible.

I'll get you a gun.

Nothing. Not a thing.

What's the matter with Collins, anyhow?

Doesn't he know what he's doing?

You know something?

I bet she knows what happened to the information

that was inside that doll.

Maybe you're right.

Little girl.

You're gonna tell us what we want to know.

You understand?

Well, there sure isn't any sign of tracks around here.

Maybe we all ought to spread out,

and if anybody sees any tracks, then signal the others, huh?

Sounds sensible.

Hey, Pa. I was just thinking--

Remember that old deserted ranch house?

It's just over the rise there; maybe we ought to have a look.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

What'd you do with it? You want to tell us.

It ain't no use, Jim. She doesn't even hear us.

Maybe so.

Or maybe she's just playing possum.

Hank...

stick one of those twigs in the fire and make it hot.

Oh, Jim, you ain't... What do you want to do?

Stick around here till somebody tracks us down?

Find out who those horses belong to.

Hey, Jim, somebody's out there.

Joe, you might hit Lisa.

What are we gonna do?

I think we better rush them.

Joe, you and I, we take the right side of the house.

Hoss, you go straight ahead

and fire over their heads, keep them down. All right.

Ready? Go.

Let's get out of here.

You all right? Sure.

I had to do it, Mr. Cartwright. It was my life or theirs.

Well, they're both dead.

Hoss!

Oh, Hoss, they broke my dolly!

Well, don't you worry, honey.

They ain't gonna break it no more.

Do I have to go with him, Uncle Ben?

Well, I'm afraid so, dear.

But I don't want to go with him.

Well...

He's your uncle.

Just the same, I don't like him.

Did Hoss say I had to go?

Hey, honey, Hossy said you had to go,

and that... and you should be a good girl

and do everything your aunt and uncle tell you to do.

Sure wish he didn't have

to go fix those fences again this morning.

Feels funny going away without saying good-bye to him.

Yeah, I know it does.

Maybe we... maybe we should say good-bye right here, hmm?

Good-bye, dear.

You be a good girl now. We love you.

Let's go.

Now, up we get.

There we are.

Collins, you're gonna have to pound the road pretty hard

if you're gonna get to Virginia City

before the stage leaves at 10:00,

so you hang on tight now.

Oh, by the way, Mr. Cartwright, I'm terribly sorry I was...

sort of sharp with you, but I was very worried

about what might have happened to her.

Oh. I understand, of course.

Bye, Lisa.

Thanks again. Bye.

♪♪

♪♪

Remember this place, Lisa?

I don't like it here.

Oh, there's nothing to be afraid of.

You're with me.

You tell me where you lost your doll, huh?

Can't we go away from here, please?

Not till we find that doll.

Do you understand?

Find that doll!

You're hurting me!

Not as much as I'm gonna hurt you

if you don't try to remember.

But I don't know where I dropped it.

If you don't remember, if you don't do as I tell you,

I'm gonna cut this doll up.

See?

Huh?

Like that.

Hoss!

Hoss! Hoss! He wanted to hurt me and cut up Lucy!

Well, don't you worry, sweetheart.

He's not gonna hurt either one of you anymore, you hear?

Look!

I found her.

I knew where I had dropped her, but I never told him.

So that's what he was after.

Wonder why.

Mommy told me there was something very important inside,

and I mustn't show it to anybody.

Lisa, you reckon you could show it to old Hoss?

Yes, Hoss.

Well, Lisa's aunt gets in

to that 3:00 stage in San Francisco.

That doesn't give you too much time.

Yeah, I know.

I guess he's having a little hard time saying good-bye.

Hoss, you better hurry!

Well, what are you doing just standing there?

Don't you know your Uncle Little Joe is waiting for you outside

to take you into Virginia City?

Your aunt's come all the way from San Francisco to fetch you.

Honey, she... she's your mommy's sister.

She's a good woman.

She's not like your uncle.

He was a bad, bad man,

and he'll go to jail for along, long time.

But your aunt will take you back to San Francisco,

and you'll go to school, and you'll...

you'll grow up to be a nice, big lady,

not no dang tomboy.

Aren't you going with me, Hoss?

Mm-mm.

Old Hoss got to stay here and fix fences.

Hoss...

I love you.

I love you, too, sweetheart.

Come on.

Up we go.

You all ready?

Uh-huh.

Well, that's... it's probably the best thing after all anyhow.

Dang ranch ain't no place to... raise a little gal.

Just turn her into a tomboy or something.

Dang talkative little old gal anyhow.

Just a regular Chatterbox.

Ain't got time to put up with all that foolishness.

♪♪

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