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Heh! Giddup!

Hey, Hoss.

Come on over.

I want to talk to you.

You want to talk to me, Dave?

What have I done now?

Plenty, as like as not.

I got a passenger for you.

You got a passenger for me?

Well, not for you, really.

He's addressed to your dad.

Dave, you got a passenger addressed to my pa, right?

Come on over and look for yourself.

Come on, boy.

This is where you're going.

Where'd you get him?

Lady put him on in Elm City.

Had that tag on him.

Says "Ben Cartwright" on it, plain as day.

Come on, little buddy, let's...

let's find out what this is all about.

He sure don't talk much.

Ain't said a word since he got on.

Come on, little feller, come on.

Come on, let's see what...

what this is all about anyhow.

My name's Hoss. What's yours?

It ain't no use.

You ain't gonna get him to speak up.

Tell me what your name is, little feller.

You're right, Dave.

This youngster ain't gonna speak up.

He can't.

This little feller can't hear, neither.

Come on.

I put those extra men on for two weeks.

If we need them any longer than that, I'll take care of it.

All right, Joseph, I'll leave that to your good judgment.

Well, as long as you do that, Pa, you can never go wrong.

Yeah.

Well, what do we have here?

Hey, you know, I told you we needed extra hands,

but isn't this one a little bit small.

Well, young man, how are you?

Pa, this, uh, this little feller can't hear you.

He can't talk, neither.

Well, uh...

Here, why don't we just sit you up here, young man, huh?

"Ben Cartwright, Ponderosa."

Who is he?

He gave me this on the way out, read it.

From Allie Miller.

"Dear Ben, I'm sending you my son, Tommy..."

"...for you to take care of him for a while.

"His stepfather has been in jail.

"He broke out a few days ago,

"and I'm afraid he will show up

"and might harm Tommy.

Please take care of him."

Allie's boy.

All the years, all the letters Allie's written,

she never mentioned anything about the boy being...

Well, that would be like Allie,

keeping her troubles to herself.

Like her father.

Best ranch foreman I ever had.

Well, there's one thing for sure,

he ain't gonna be a big chore for us to keep, is he?

No, sir.

He's sure not gonna be any big chore, are you?

Hoss, why don't you take him up to Adam's room?

Yes, sir.

There we are.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

There you go.

Hey, yeah.

That's it.

You're gonna be all right, little buddy.

You don't have to worry about the boy.

Hess and I will keep an eye on him.

Oh, I know that.

I'm not worried about Tommy, I'm worried about Allie.

She's in trouble.

Joe, I'm gonna ride over to Elm City.

If Allie's in trouble, she belongs here.

Saddle my horse for me, will you?

Right.

Hello, Allie.

I reckon you know why I'm here.

Yes, Sheriff.

I know.

I'll have to ask you plain out--

Has Jess been here?

I told you a year ago I was divorcing him.

He wouldn't risk coming here.

He's a dangerous man, Allie.

Turned out to be even more bitter

than he was two years ago.

Nobody knows better than I do how...

how dangerous he is.

I'm sorry about it.

Now, we're gonna take a look around,

and we'll be back.

I understand, Sheriff.

♪♪

They gone?

Yes, they're gone, Jess.

I knew you couldn't turn me in, Allie.

Now, let's forget all that talk about you leaving me.

You're still my wife.

I waited two years for that.

Two years in that stinking cell,

wanting you.

But everything's gonna be different now.

I got a stake, the bank money, I got it hid.

We're gonna go to Mexico, Allie.

We're gonna start all over, just like we always talked about.

It's too late, Jess.

Too late?

It's only just beginning for us.

Now, don't say you're not going with me, because you are.

You're coming with me, Allie.

I would have once.

I would have gone anywhere with you

when we were first married,

when I loved you.

You still love me.

I don't even know you, Jess.

You're an outlaw.

I haven't known you for two years.

You still love me.

You hear?

You haven't gotten over me.

Jess, go away.

Tommy was always afraid of you, and now I am, too.

It's all over, don't you understand?

Now, I know how you feel about the boy.

But we got money now, we can send him away

to a school of some kind.

No school would take him.

I'm all he has.

You're my wife, Allie.

I want to do for you the way I promised.

Don't you understand?

I've finally made it big.

Was it big of you to rob a bank?

What did you want me to do?!

Work for pennies, be small-time?

I-I had no up-bringing, no learning.

What'd you expect me to do?!

I expected you to be my husband and a father to my boy.

I was willing to forget our dreams.

Why weren't you?

Because I'm not a quitter.

I'm a man.

You're a failure.

You took what you refused to earn.

You're no man.

You keep forgetting just how much of a man I am.

You're coming with me.

There's not one thing on Earth

that would make me go to Mexico with you.

Nothing on Earth?

That's right, Jess.

Where's the boy?

Where you won't find him.

You're wrong, Allie.

I'll find him.

And when I do, I'll take him with me to Mexico.

You wouldn't.

Yeah, I would.

That's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna take him to Mexico with me.

And you know what you'll do, Allie?

You'll come crawling on your hands and knees

looking for that boy.

What kind of a monster have you turned out to be?!

You...

I told you, Allie.

I want you.

And I'm gonna have you.

So get that in your mind.

See who that is, and get rid of him.

Don't let him in here.

Ben!

Hello, Allie.

Ben. Ben, it's,

it's good to see you.

Well, it's good to see you.

Did Tommy get there all right?

Well, of course he did. Don't worry about Tommy.

I, uh... There wa... there wasn't time

to write or anything, Ben. I...

I didn't know where to turn.

Ben, it was, it was good of you to come by.

He's in the house, isn't he?

No, Ben. I swear.

Ben?

That was Jess, wasn't it?

I was frightened for you, Ben.

He was desperate.

I didn't know what he might do.

There was a posse here looking for him a little while ago.

Allie, why did you stay here?

Why didn't you come to the Ponderosa with Tommy?

Because that's the first place he would've thought of.

He's heard me talk about it so many times.

About when I was a little girl growing up.

He... he knew it was just like home to me.

Ben, I had to see him just one more time

to see if he'd changed.

But he's worse than ever.

Well, you're coming back to the Ponderosa with me now.

But what if he finds out?

What if, what if he comes after me?

You say there's a posse, didn't you?

I'll talk to the sheriff. They'll keep him busy.

Now, go pack your things.

So, you got treasures, have you?

A pocketknife-- mm-mm!

A rabbit's foot.

Hey.

What is that?

What have we here?

That's the best treasure of all, I bet ya.

Your ma.

Ain't seen her in a long time,

but I'd recognize her anywhere.

A mighty beautiful woman.

Here, you jump down.

I'll see you in the morning.

Put your ma's picture right here so you can look at it.

Good night, little buddy.

Ah, good morning, brother.

Morning, Joe.

Did you get up before the rooster this morning?

Yeah, I want to get out and check that herd,

so I can get back to Tommy.

What? He's still asleep?

Yeah.

Poor little feller.

I guess he's all tuckered out

from following me around all day.

Well, he sure has taken a liking to you, hasn't he?

No more than I have to him.

I better get going, so I can get back before he wakes up.

See you. Take it easy.

♪♪

Hey!

Hey, Hoss!

Hoss!

Buddy, did you think I was gonna run off and leave you?

No.

I was just gonna go out and check on the herd,

and then I was gonna come back and pick you up.

I'll tell you what.

You and me...

both of us

will get on the horse, ride out

and check on the herd together, all right?

Good. Come on.

Let's go get you some breakfast.

Joe?

See if you can round up some hotcakes from Hop Sing.

Tom here is gonna have to have some breakfast

if he's gonna go out and check that herd with me.

Meantime, we'll get washed up.

I think I can work it out.

Hop Sing won't feed you unless you're washed up.

I learned that a long time ago.

Tommy!

0h, Tommy!

Oh.

Tommy?

I reckon he's introducing us, Allie.

I told him we were all friends.

But he doesn't seem to realize that I was brought up here.

It's mighty good to see you again.

Oh, I've missed you so much.

Yes, Tommy.

Ben brought me here to be with you.

We owe him our thanks.

Why, just having both of you here is thanks enough.

Let's go in the house.

♪♪

Dad-burnit. That's-that's two in a row.

You want to play another one and give me a chance to catch up?

Tommy seems so at ease here.

Well, that's the way we'd like you to feel, Allie.

Well, I just can't stop thinking

about what Jess threatened to do.

Oh.

I think that was just a lot of bluff.

He's either in Mexico by now

or back in jail.

Maybe you're right, Ben.

Maybe it's foolish of me to worry about Tommy.

Well, of course it is.

Okay, go ahead. Go on.

Don't worry about him, Allie.

I'll take care of him.

Ooh, he's anxious.

Just hold on there a minute, Big Charlie.

Okay.

We'll be back by lunch.

I'm so grateful to you, Ben.

If Dad were alive, he...

he couldn't have been nicer.

Well... You've made Tommy very happy.

He's really come out of his shell now that you're here.

If only things could've been different.

You see, Tommy was less than a year old

when his father was killed.

We didn't suspect Tommy's condition.

I was alone with Tommy.

We didn't have much.

Breaking horses doesn't pay much,

and then when Clyde was

thrown and trampled...

I loved Jess when we were married, Ben.

And I know that he loved me.

But when we found out about Tommy,

why, Jess started to change.

He was always irresponsible

in kind of a charming way, but

it was as if Jess was...

Jess felt Tommy was an added burden,

and he wasn't up to facing it.

I wish it could've been different for you.

I could've taken anything

if there had just been a relationship

between Jess and Tommy, but...

Jess seemed to resent the boy more and more, and...

and Tommy felt it.

Well...

I'm sure he did, but Tommy'll be all right now.

There's always a tomorrow,

and you two will find it.

There has to be, Ben.

For Tommy's sake.

He's the one who has to have the tomorrow.

Ch, of course he'll have one.

Thanks for listening, Ben.

I just had to talk to someone.

Well, I'm glad you talked to me.

♪♪

There's no question about it, Pa.

That fence had been ripped down.

It looked to me like 20 or 30 head of cattle through there.

Well, Ben, if there's cattle rustlin' going on,

that kind of makes it my job.

I appreciate the help, Roy.

Hoss, you better get some men up there and fix that fence.

Yes, sir.

I'll ride outwith Hoss, have a look around.

Well, you have a look around if you're a mind to,

but I'm going to get me a posse together

and run this thing down.

Thank you, Roy.

Let's get started. Yeah.

It's Jess, Ben.

He's found Tommy and me.

Oh, Allie, that's only a...

that's only a guess on your part.

No.

It's more than just a guess.

I know him.

I know what he's capable of doing.

He knows I'm here with Tommy,

and he'll just keep striking and striking.

Now, now...

Allie, you're just getting yourself

all upset over nothing.

But you don't know what he's like.

He'll never give up...

until he gets me back.

♪♪

Oh, Ben! Ben!

Bring him right over here.

We'll take him upstairs.

Ben! What happened?

He's shot in the back.

Upstairs, quick.

I sent one of the boys into town to get the doc.

He's lost a lot of blood, Ben.

But he's healthy as a young bull.

He'll pull through.

You ought to thank Jess Miller's poor aim.

An inch lower, there wouldn't have been a thing I could do.

Well, good night, Ben.

Hoss, Mrs. Miller.

I'll look in on him again tomorrow.

Thanks, Doc.

Oh, look, Pa, you and...

you and Allie go and get some sleep.

I'll stay here with him.

No, Hoss, let me stay.

It's my fault that he's here.

Allie, I told you not to feel that way.

You stay with him, Hoss. Yes, sir.

Tommy...

Tommy, please try to understand.

I love you so much.

On the day you were born, Tommy,

when you were first placed in my arms,

I knew I'd been favored

with a very special little boy--

A handsome, sturdy, very brave little boy.

And the past seven years have...

have proven that I was right.

That wonderful world you live in, Tommy...

if only I could be a part of it.

There are things that grown-ups have to do.

And there are so many things that grown-ups do that...

a little boy like you couldn't understand.

I'll come back for you, Tommy.

Please understand that.

Please.

I wanted to give you a father

and I failed.

But I can't fail our friends--

Ben,

Hoss,

Little Joe.

I love you, Tommy.

♪♪

♪♪

Allie!

I've been watching you since just before sunrise,

when you left the Ponderosa.

I knew you'd be out here, waiting for me.

You win.

Where's the boy?

I left him at the Cartwrights'.

He'll be safe there.

Yeah, now you're gettin' smart, Allie.

We're gonna have big times, you and me.

We'd better get out of here.

That posse's getting too close for comfort.

♪♪

How Little Joe this morning?

Oh, just fine.

He had himself a good night's rest, Hop Sing.

Oh, that is good sign.

Hop Sing fix bacon, egg, coffee.

Everything Little Joe like. He'll love it.

I'll have some, too. Ben.

Oh, Ben, open up, will you? It's Roy.

What?

Tommy!

Found him early this morning.

What the deuce was he doing out there?

Allie!

Allie?

Hop Sing, where's Allie?

Hop Sing up early. Not see Missee Allie.

Uh, give me that towel.

Get the medicine chest. Yes.

His feet are cut to ribbons.

And find Allie. Yes, sir.

Hey, Pa.

It's a note from Allie.

"I'm leaving to meet Jess

"and try to reason with him.

"Maybe then he will let you and your sons alone.

"And then it might be safe

for Tommy and me to go back home. Allie."

Pa, we got to go get her.

You got any idea where to look?

Ah, come on.

Come on, Allie.

You haven't hardly said a word in a week.

We're over the border, now we're safe.

Let's get a drink and celebrate.

It's just the beginning for us.

We're gonna have good times, you and me.

Ah, señor.

Welcome to our little city.

I can get something for you, señora?

You got champagne?

How about champagne, Allie?

We can afford it.

Everybody else in here seems to be having a good time.

Why don't you let down?

Señora, señora.

You see the padre there?

Whenever the padre is there,

we have a lot of fun with Padre Nicholas.

Please, have some fun, señora.

Bring us a bottle and two glasses.

When the padre first came here,

we used to laugh at him.

But look what he has done for us.

Our fine church,

he teach the peons

how to raise crops.

He take care of our little children.

Forget the priest, bring us the bottle.

Brother Nicholas is not a priest.

He is what you call a lay brother.

We call him padre only because we love him so.

He could not be a priest.

He could not say the Mass.

He could not hear the confessions.

Brother Nicholas, he cannot hear,

and he cannot speak,

but he can talk with his eyes

and tell jokes with his hands.

Did... did you say he can't hear or speak?

Si, señora.

It is so.

Bring the bottle.

Si, señor.

Forget the boy, will you?

We're here to have a good time.

Now, I'm in the mood to do some celebrating.

♪♪

You can understand when I speak?

I know you're not a priest,

but I don't know where to turn.

I need your help.

I am not of your faith, Brother Nicholas.

♪♪

What are you doing in here?

Jess, can't I have just one minute of solitude?

Come on.

I don't want you even seeing him.

Little boy not eat enough to keep bird alive.

Maybe you try, Mr. Hoss.

No use, Hop Sing, I've tried everything I know.

I can cure the body, Ben, but...

how do you cure a little boy's broken heart?

I'll be back tomorrow.

Okay, Doc.

Three weeks since Allie's been gone and not a word.

Just wish there was something we could do for Tommy.

Just keep hoping.

Ben, there's, uh, someone here to see you.

Welcome, Father.

To what do we owe this pleasure?

Uh...

This is Brother Nicholas.

A monk from Mexico.

He's a deaf mute.

You... you read lips?

Father, won't you come and sit down, please.

Hop Sing, will you get a cold drink for the Father?

Yes sir.

Thank you.

Hey, it's from Allie.

"Dear Ben,

"Everything is fine.

"I Miss Tommy something awful.

"Hope he's well.

"Sorry to have left without saying good-bye.

I hope to get..."

What is it?

Oh, Y-you mean this isn't true?

Is Allie in trouble?

Padre, where is she?

I'll go to her.

Tommy. He keeps pointing to Tommy.

She wants to know how Tommy is.

Tommy's a very sick little boy, Padre.

He misses his mother.

You want to see him.

Come with me.

♪♪

Buenas tardes, señor.

Buenas tardes.

What can I do for you?

I'm looking for a couple of people I know.

Is it an Americana and his wife you seek?

That's right. How did you know?

It's always so.

One of his kind come here, others follow.

He's a bad one, señor.

What do you want with him?

I was looking for his wife, she's a friend of the family.

As far as he's concerned,

I'd be just as happy to see him back in jail.

So would I, señor.

Unfortunately for me, he has broken no laws here.

And I have no authority to send him back to the United States.

You think you might know where I might find his wife?

Well, he's always near her.

So you just have to wait.

He goes, he comes.

Thank you very much.

De nada.

Allie?!

Ben!

I did not like to do this, señora,

but he would have killed you both.

♪♪

♪♪

Allie.

Tommy.

Oh, Tommy.

That dad-burn stage hasn't been on time in two years.

Will you relax.

The stage is not late, you're just anxious.

Gotta admit, it's gonna be kind of nice

seeing that little feller.

Hey, here it comes.

Hiya.

Whoa-up.

About time you was getting back. How does your arm feel?

Fine, just fine. Good.

Make the reservations at the hotel, like I asked you to?

Yeah, everything's all taken care of.

Good.

How come Brother Nicholas came back?

Well, Brother Nicholas came back to start a school here.

Hi, Tommy.

Tommy, how're you doing? How you doing, buddy?

Allie, how are you?

Hi.

Yeah, Brother Nicholas is starting

a school for people like Tommy.

And he and Allie are going to give children

the kind of help that Tommy needs.

He's, uh, sort of formed a three-way partnership.

Oh, yeah, four.

Well, let's, uh, let's go to the hotel.

Pa.

Who's the fourth partner?

Oh, yeah.

The, uh, man upstairs.

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