All language subtitles for Barnaby Jones s02e04 Day Of The Viper

Barnaby Jones.

Starring Buddy Ebsen.

Also starring Lee Merriweather. With
guest stars Andrew Pryne,

Catherine Justice, Vincent Van Patten.

Tonight's episode, Day of the Viper.

He's getting set for the kill.

He can smell the desert. That's his
home.

And he'd kill us to get there.

Take the loot, Kevin.

No.

I said take it.

Let him into the cage.

Go on, boy.

Not bad.

Now, tomorrow you'll go out to the mine
and bring one back all by yourself.

We'll have ourselves quite a collection
by the time we're finished.

Why? You know I hate those things. Why
do you make me keep them around?

So you'll learn to face what you're
afraid of.

No matter what it is.

When I'm gone, you're going to have to
make your way alone.

I just want you to grow up.

To be a man.

Anyone would want that for his son.

I'm not your son.

You sure don't let me forget that
sometimes.

But like it or not, I'm responsible.

You don't really care about me.

I'm just something you think you can
make into whatever you like.

I wish I never came here.

You're going to regret those words one
day, Kevin.

No, I'm not.

Sorry I'm late. I was held up in court.
Anything urgent come up? Liza Mills is

here. I told her she could wait in five.

She seemed pretty upset.

Here's the coffee I promised you, Liza.

Thanks, Betty.

Since I've been standing there, exactly
113 cars have gone by that window, and

that's just east to west.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you
waiting that long. Oh, you didn't. What

mean is...

60 miles from here in the desert, we
don't see that much traffic in a whole

month.

I'm sure you want those highlights this
time.

Please.

Well, all right.

You know, I haven't seen you since you
were the brightest student in a

class at Pacific Western College.

At least you were the only one who
seemed to understand my lecture.

Well, I'm afraid I haven't made much use
of all that complicated education.

I hear you went back to the ranch.

I felt I should help Papa try to make a
go of things.

We never hit it rich, but we managed to
get along.

Till Papa died.

Yes, Betty told me.

I'm sorry, Eliza.

I had to be in L .A. to take care of
some legal business with the estate.

I remembered your office was nearby, so
I came up to say hello and hear a few

kind words.

I'm glad you did.

Is that all?

Uh, no.

I haven't been able to sleep very well
lately.

Thoughts come and they keep me awake.

What kind of thoughts?

About what a careful man Papa always
was.

Accidents happen, Liza.

I know.

It was an accident.

That's what they all said at the
inquest.

But I couldn't help wondering...

Since my stepbrother Kevin almost got
bitten last month, Papa made sure that

each had our own snake bite kit. He kept
his in the den bathroom.

It was missing on the day he was killed.

Did you mention that at the inquest?

Yes. They said it wasn't evidence of
anything.

He could have mislaid it.

That's true. I mean, Papa could have
lost it anywhere on the ranch.

But I can't get rid of these thoughts.

I need help, Barnaby. Someone to show me
for sure that it was an accident.

So I can sleep again.

I found him in here when I came home at
seven.

Nate was still in the room.

According to the coroner, Papa died
somewhere between five and six.

I wonder how come he didn't call out for
help.

There wasn't anyone who'd hear.

Kevin was the only one at home.

He'd gone to his room.

He didn't even know what had happened
until after I came home.

Well, you could have gone out looking
for him or used a telephone.

Papa had a cardiac condition.

The coroner said that the shock of the
snake bite might have brought on a heart

attack.

Papa might have died before he could
call for help.

Liza, did your father have strong words
with anyone?

on or off the ranch recently?

My papa was a strong man, Barnaby.

He had strong ideas about the way people
ought to live, especially those close

to him, like Kevin.

And Kevin, well, sometimes he'd get his
back up and explode if he felt papa was

pushing him too hard.

Did it ever get violent?

What you're asking is, could Kevin have
ever harmed papa?

The answer is no.

With all the arguing, Kevin worshipped
papa.

Papa took him in when he was an orphan
all Kevin ever wanted was for Papa to

look on him as his own son

Hey

there, I'm glad you're back

Jim Howard, Miss Barnaby Jones.

Oh, howdy.

Well, I'm sorry I couldn't be here to
meet you, Mr. Jones. Liza's told me a

about you.

Listen, I saw Mr. Meadows at the land
office, and he's going to try to find a

buyer for the property.

Oh, you're planning on selling the
ranch?

Well, Liza is. I just take orders.

Well, we're married anyway.

Then I get to be the boss, at least on
national holidays.

In the meantime, I could eat ten horses.

Oh, well, um...

Would you settle for some very large
hamburgers? You talked me into it. Would

you stay for lunch, Mr. Jones?

But I'm afraid I can't today, thanks. I
want to see the sheriff before I go

home. In that case, I get his hamburger.

If you're that hungry, I better get
started.

I'll let you know when they're ready.

Okay.

What do you want to see the sheriff
about, Mr. Jones?

I just want to check out a few facts.

Eliza wants to make sure that your
father's death was an accident.

I know that it's difficult for Liza to
face the fact that her father's dead,

he is.

I think that the best thing for her is
to get back to a normal life.

Well, her father was killed in his own
home by a rattlesnake, which isn't

exactly a normal event.

Mm -hmm.

Well, playing private eye isn't going to
bring Mr. Mills back either.

Mr. Howard, I play at a lot of things.

Horseshoe pitching with a neighbor's
grandchildren.

Ah, game of poker now and then?

I even take a crack at the crossword
puzzle in the Sunday paper.

But I never play with murder.

Murder?

Well, that's the first time that word's
come up.

And maybe it'll be the last time.

But you don't think so.

I want to tell you about a fact I
learned when I was eight years old

the hills with my daddy.

A rattlesnake will usually give out a
very loud warning just before it strikes

because it doesn't want to tangle with
people any more than we want to tangle

with it.

I'm telling you, but those things make
me a little nervous.

Very good.

I don't think I'd have the nerve to get
within two miles of one of those.

Sure.

He would have been real proud of me.

Your father?

He wasn't my real father.

My father died a long time ago.

Yes, I know what it feels like to lose
someone you love.

Even though you didn't see eye to eye
all the time.

You know, I used to collect snakes when
I was about your age.

Nothing as deadly as these, though.

Yeah, my stepdad used to save them for
some labs so they could take the venom.

Who are you?

Really?

Finally gone?

Try to protect him.

I'm out here to find out about Mr.

Mills' death.

You think my stepdad was murdered?

Now, why did you ask me that question?

That's what detectives do, isn't it?

Well, this particular detective is
happier when he's getting people out of

trouble, not getting them in.

I guess I'm in trouble.

Why? Because I'm the one who gets blamed
when things go wrong.

I'm incorrigible.

Incorrigible? Who told you that?

It was in my report at the foster home
before I came here.

If my stepdad was murdered, people are
going to say I did it.

Incorrigible is an awful big word that I
think some people use when they don't

know how to deal with a young man of
spirit.

It doesn't matter what you think.

It doesn't matter what anybody thinks.

That's right, Kevin.

It's what you know inside that counts.

There's a picture of the bar glass.

Right, sir.

We found it on the victim's carpet. Now,
the lab reports that there was no

whiskey in the glass, only water.

Well, I think it's time to make a
highway run.

Oh, yeah. Right, Sheriff.

It's like you and my deputy are hitting
it off right well.

Maybe you and me ought to get
introduced.

Barnaby Jones, private investigator.

Liza Mills hired me to look into her
father's debt.

You figure us country folks can't
conduct an investigation.

No, I'm a country boy just like you,
Sheriff.

I've been watching and you've been
handling this pretty smart.

The way you let people figure that the
investigation was closed and then

bringing out these clues one at a time.

Clues? Yeah, like this lab report.

Andrew Mills had his regular whiskey at
5 o 'clock every day.

If there was only water in the glass,
that means that the rattler could have

struck between the time he put in the
ice and the time he reached in the

for the whiskey.

So you think the snake might have been
hiding in the liquor cabinet?

Could be. That would explain why Andrew
didn't get any warning before the snake

struck.

Now, just how do you explain how a snake
gets inside a closed liquor cabinet?

I don't know, unless somebody put him
there.

Why did anybody want to kill Andrew
Mills?

Didn't have anything worth stealing.

They had the ranch, a few head of
cattle, some horses.

He had 3 ,500 acres of sand, scrub, and
rattlesnakes.

Well, that's hardly worth insulting a
man for, let alone killing him.

What about that mine your deputy
mentioned?

Silver.

That's played out 50 years ago.

Andrew Mills was planning to put up some
kind of industrial development on the

site. Well, wouldn't that have increased
the value of the land?

Maybe.

But murder, that's a pretty big step to
take when you're not even sure it's

going to pay off.

And in the end, there's only two people
who'd cash in on it.

Andrew Mill's children.

You say one of them did it?

Not necessarily.

Andrew Mill's death was probably the end
of any possibility of industrial

development around the mine, which might
have been exactly what somebody wanted.

Why?

I don't know why.

Any more than I know how a rattlesnake
got into a liquor cabinet by himself, or

how a man can't open the door of his own
den, or how an anti -venom kid gets up

and walks away.

That's a whole lot of no -way answers.

Yeah. We sure got ourselves a whole lot
of questions.

Kevin? Liza told me you were headed down
to the mine.

She's worried.

I could take care of myself.

Well, that's what I told her, but you
know your sister's no one to argue with.

I'm going in the mine.

Ah, Kevin.

You know the rattlesnake's in there. You
almost got bitten yourself a while

back.

I know.

That's why I've got to go in there.

I've been afraid to go back in there.

My dad said I'd have to face down my
fears or I'd never have any peace.

You know, comes a time in a man's life
when he stops trying to prove that his

life is worth something, he goes out and
he lives his life.

That man who was here, Mr. Jones, he was
here to find out if my stepdad was

murdered.

Kevin, in the world we live in, nobody
cares about truth or lies or innocence

guilt.

When something bad happens, they look
for somebody to blame.

Usually somebody who can't answer back
or can't fight back by themselves.

What do you mean?

This Mr. Jones doesn't owe us anything.

He's out to find himself a killer and he
might decide that you're as good a

candidate as anybody.

I didn't kill my father.

I know you didn't. Just like I know how
careful you were about those snakes.

I know that you made sure every one of
them were back in their cages and that

you shut the cage doors just like you
were supposed to.

I know you didn't forget and leave one
of them out by mistake.

we were friends.

Mr. Jones, I think I killed my
stepfather.

Huh? There was a rattler missing the day
my father was killed.

I can't be sure if I closed the cage or
not.

When did that thought come to you?

Today.

Well, it was at the mine and Mr. Howard
came by.

I don't know how it came up, but...

He knows I didn't leave the cage door
open.

He just wanted to reassure you, is that
it?

Yeah, I guess so.

But it made me feel worse.

Because I couldn't be sure I closed the
cage.

My dad and I had a fight.

I wished he was dead.

And he was dead.

Kevin, I think you closed that cage.

And even if you didn't, It's not likely
that snake could have found its way into

your father's den.

I wish Mr. Howard could have told me
that.

Kevin, Mr. Howard is a smart man.

But maybe he doesn't know everything.

Yeah, for a fellow who was almost a meal
for a bunch of rattlesnakes, I'm fine.

I saw you headed for the mine and I came
up to warn you. Don't you know about

those snakes?

Yeah, I knew they were in there. What I
didn't understand was how come a couple

of them showed up behind me just as I
was leaving.

Well, Mr. Jones, the only thing I know
about rattlesnakes is they got the right

of way.

Lucky thing I found that kerosene
lantern.

Wonder how it got in a mine that nobody
uses anymore.

Kevin comes up here quite a lot.

Yeah, I noticed you spent a little time
here, too.

Just surveying the property.

Liza's eager to get it sold.

Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that.
I stopped by the real estate office

today, and it seems that the price that
you're asking is about three times more

than the amount that anybody ever paid
for land in this area before.

Almost looks as if you're trying not to
sell.

Why would I want to do a thing like
that?

I don't know.

Just like I don't know what a nest of
rattlesnakes is doing in that mine when

they weren't there a month ago.

Who told you that?

Liza. I stopped by to ask directions to
the mine. She said Kevin had been

exploring it for years.

Never saw any snakes till this last
month when it was almost bitten.

Well, like I said, I don't know a thing
about rattlers.

You do know they can kill a man.

We'd all be smart to know that, wouldn't
we, Mr. Jones?

I'd hate to see what happened to Mr.
Mills happen again.

I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Howard.

I wonder if you could issue me a card so
that I could take this out for a day or

so. Sure.

Rattlesnakes of the American Desert.

I hope you don't intend this for late
night reading, Mr. Jones.

How did you know my name?

My brother is president of Desert Wells
Land Company. And when I saw you coming

out, I asked him.

Lucas, who is that handsome man you were
talking to? And he said that's Mr.

Barnaby Jones, the famous investigator.

Well, that's very flattering of you,
Miss... Deborah Meadows.

Meadows. If it's the local kind you're
interested in, I could probably tell you

as much as that book can.

Well, maybe you could.

Uh, the desert rattler.

Do they usually make their nests in
caves or mines?

Oh, you'd be more likely to find them
out in the open where they can hunt

natural game for food.

Well, supposing that somebody put a
bunch of rattlers in a cave and wanted

keep them there. Is that possible?

You can do that if you brought food to
them.

Well, thank you very much, Mrs. Meadows.
You've been a great help.

I don't think I'll be taking this book
after...

This was only taken out once in the last
year.

That's right. It was last month.

Who took it out? I mean, do you have
records?

I'm just curious.

I don't have to do that. I remember
checking it out to that nice young man

was going to marry Liza Mills.

Jim Howard.

I was told you were coming into town to
buy some tools, figuring on doing some

digging. Putting up some new fencing.
Anything wrong?

Oh, nothing all that serious.

I just want to tell you that it's a
pleasure to meet somebody these days who

modest about his attainments.

Well, if you're talking about me, I'm
not sure I deserve the compliment.

Oh, I think you do.

You told me you didn't know anything
about snakes.

I'll bet you picked up a barn full of
facts from this.

You know, you're quite a detective, Mr.
Jones.

Well, I wouldn't say that. I just go
poking around. People kind of throw

my way. Oh, no, no.

I'd say that you were very, very good.

You know, if I was a man with a guilty
conscience, I'd be awfully worried if I

had you coming after me.

Well, you don't seem to be worried.

I'm not.

You see, I took out that book, but not
for myself.

What'd you take it out for?

For Kevin.

He was becoming interested in the
subject, and I thought he'd like the

Well, he was very kind of you.

I thought so myself at the time, but now
I'm not too sure.

Lieutenant Hager just called. He checked
with the records and identification

division. There is no criminal record
for anyone named Jim Howard.

I kind of expected that.

Betty, let's check on these prints.

He grabbed the book with both hands, so
it should be a perfect set.

Do you think he has a record under
another name?

I think Mr. Howard is a very smart man
who isn't worried at all that I'm not

buying his act.

And that's what worries me.

Maybe he doesn't have anything to be
worried about.

Maybe. Maybe he's figured out a way to
cover up his tracks.

Which means somebody else is in danger.

Matador's gone.

I had to put him away.

You had to do what?

Well, he was getting old and sick.

He wasn't working out anymore. I had to
get rid of him.

He was my horse. My dad gave him to me.

Yeah, well, that's all over now, Kevin.

For whatever time you're going to be
here, you're going to have to do things

way. What do you mean, for whatever time
I'm going to be here?

You know, your stepdad was very worried
about you, Kevin.

He talked to me about sending you away
to some kind of school.

School? You mean an institution?

A place where you could get some help.

You think there's something wrong with
me?

I'm just telling you what your dad said.

You're a liar.

My dad wasn't going to send me any
place.

He wouldn't have let me kill Madeline
either.

If I was a man, I'd...

Jim, what happened?

Oh, it's nothing, honey. Kevin was a
little upset, that's all.

Did Kevin break these dishes?

Well, it was my fault.

He's been very disturbed since your
father died. I tried to...

Get him to let his feelings out a
little.

A little left him alone.

Sometimes I think Kevin's going to be
all right, and then he blows up like

And now with Dad gone, I'm just afraid
he's going to get worse.

Oh, honey, honey, come on.

Listen.

Listen, we've got to stand by him now.

We can't turn him back on us.

I can't help worrying about all of us.

Well, don't you worry, honey.

I'm here now.

The report on the Prince came back from
R &I Division.

Sure.

Mr. Howard does have a record after all.

Two years in federal prison under the
name of Jim Howard Haig. Your intuition

was right.

Yeah, but that's like having a $10 ,000
car with a broken wheel.

It looks beautiful, but it won't get you
down the driveway.

Mr. Haig did time for mail fraud and
still doesn't prove murder.

Maybe there wasn't any murder, Barnaby.

Maybe Mr.

Haig tried a life of crime, fell flat on
his face for his trouble, picked

himself up after two years, decided it
would be better to lead a simple but

honest life married to a rancher's
daughter.

I'm a suspicious old man with a deep
distrust of human nature.

Oh, of course you're not, but you still
haven't found a motive for murder.

You may be right, Betty, except for one
thing.

According to Lieutenant Hager, James
Howard Hay was released from prison

and a half months ago.

Two days later, he shows up in Desert
Wells.

What are you saying, Barnaby?

I'm saying that's a long way to go in a
short time unless he's got a reason. And

he may have found that reason while he
was in jail.

Betty, call my friend Gil Carter at San
Quentin, his assistant to the warden.

Ask him to run a check.

on the activities of James Howard Haig
while he was in prison, especially who

his friends were and what they were sent
up for.

Barnaby, I called your office. Betty
said that you were coming out. What's

matter, Liza?

It's Kevin.

I think that he had something to do with
Dad's death.

Liza, do you know what you're saying?

Yes.

What happened?

You remember asking what happened to
Dad's snakebite kit?

Why he didn't have it with him when he
was bitten?

Yeah.

I found this this morning.

It was in Kevin's room.

Kevin? What are we doing?

Where are you going?

Getting out of here.

Well, if you're going to do some
traveling, you're going to need money.

And you're going to need friends
wherever you go.

I don't need friends.

Everybody needs a friend, Kevin.

We said we were going to be friends, you
and I.

We can't go back on that.

Why do you want to be my friend?

Everybody thinks I killed Mr.

Mills.

Not everybody.

You think I'd be afraid to do it?

Murder doesn't take courage, Kevin.

It takes a certain kind of cowardice,
and you're not a coward.

What will I do?

Let's go out there.

The two of us.

Show folks we're not running away.

You called him here. No, he didn't.

I did, Kevin.

For your sake.

You better come on down to the office
with me now, son.

You're a warrant sheriff.

I'm not arresting anyone, Mr. Jones.

Kevin and I are old friends.

We're just going to have a nice friendly
little chat.

You know, you don't have to go, Kevin.

Thanks, Mr. Jones.

I guess it's best if I do what the
sheriff wants.

away from San Quentin, Mr. Haig.

I'd expect a good detective like you to
find that out.

How long do you suppose it would have
taken Liza to find it out?

Why don't we ask her?

Uh, Liza, Mr. Jones has become
interested in my background.

Now, would you please tell him what I
told you about me?

I know about Jim's prison record,
Barnaby, if that's what you mean.

Why didn't you tell me that before?

Jim deserved a new chance.

Well, so you're off the hook and Kevin
is on.

I'm sorry about Kevin, Mr. Jones.

Now, he needs understanding and we're
going to see that he gets it.

He's very noble of you.

Of course, some people might say that
nobility is the last refuge of liars.

Are you calling me a liar?

I'll let you know when this is over.

It's over now, Mr. Jones.

Liza won't be needing you anymore.

Well, Kevin does.

And as long as I've got a client, I
think I'll hang around.

When can I talk to Kevin?

Oh, as soon as the sheriff gets through
talking to him.

Your move.

Sheriff's Department, Bailey here.

For you.

Yeah.

Barnaby, I just got a call from your
friend at San Quentin, Mr. Carter.

It seems that Jim Howard Haig's cellmate
for 18 months was a man named Louis

Whitaker. Does that mean anything?

It could mean everything.

Thanks.

Where can I get a surveyor's map of this
area?

Over at the land company office.

I'll be back in ten minutes. Tell the
sheriff I want to talk to him.

Hey, Barnaby, don't you want to finish
the game? I just jumped your king.

So you finally found it, Mr. Howard.

Was it worth it?

How did you get in here?

Same way you did.

When I found out who your cellmate was,
I knew what those rattlesnakes you put

down here were guarding.

I figured there was another way to get
into the mine.

You went to a lot of trouble, Mr.
Howard. Too bad it won't buy you

a prison cell for the rest of your life.

There's no law against looking for
stolen money.

Then you don't mind turning it over.

Don't touch it.

I didn't mean to kill Mills.

Until he got in your way.

You knew that Lou Whitaker buried the
loot down in this mine somewhere, but

didn't know the exact spot.

Then when you found out that Mills was
planning to develop this site, you knew

that meant sealing the mine and probably
covering over the money forever, so you

had to stop him.

Buck, there's over $300 ,000 in here.

Why don't we split it? We could both
live good for the rest of our lives.

I already... to live good, Mr. Howard,
and I don't need to be rich to do it.

It has to do with other things.

You had a chance at those things and you
threw them away.

A woman who loved you, a boy that you
could have befriended, an old man that

gave you a chance at a new life.

You had it all.

You threw it away for nothing.

It's my turn now.

I'm sorry, Mr. Jones, but in the game
we're playing, nice guys really do

last.

That's what you were doing, wasn't it?
Playing a game.

What else is there?

A

bit.

You've got to get some help.

Don't let me die.

What's the matter, Mr. Howard?

The game getting a little too rough for
you?

Just in time, Sheriff.

Money's over there in that box.

What happened to him?

One of his namesakes got to him.

You can arrest him for the murder of
Andrew Mill.

Take a minute.

That's the job you got.

I'm just a country boy like you,
Sheriff, trying to get through the day.

Hi, Barnaby.

Hi.

I was driving down the highway, looked
at my watch, noticed it was lunchtime,

and thought I might come in here and
reclaim that hamburger I turned down

You know you're always welcome.

Did you see Jim?

Yes, he's recovered. He made a full
confession.

I was a fool, wasn't I?

No, you're human.

No sin to fall in love with someone, no
matter who it is.

Kevin, friend of yours to see you.

I'm glad you came by, Mr. Jones.

I don't want to interrupt your work.

Oh, no.

I'm just finishing up on those fence
posts.

We're going to be right on time to
finish the whole thing by winter.

We're going to do good if the weather
keeps up and if we can get a loan for

new equipment.

I think you're going to do just fine.

Mr. Jones?

Yes, Kevin.

How do you thank somebody who saved your
whole life?

You already have.

How about those hands?