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Come on.

Eh, seems like there's no end to it.

Let's take a bit of a break.

Good idea. I'm about half played out myself.

- Oh, good evening, Sheriff. - Adam, how are you?

- Hi, Roy. -Ah, Roy. - Hi, Roy.

Ain't there enough daylight for you Cartwrights anymore?

Huh? Oh.

Oh, well, we ran into a rock slide on the way into town.

It took about four hours to clear the road.

Lem here was good enough to stay open so we could load the wagon.

I didn't figure you was robbin' ol' Lem here.

Seems like a quiet enough night, Roy.

You headin' home?

Well, not yet a while.

There's still a few dark corners that I gotta poke into.

- Well, good night, boys. - Good night.

Hope you don't run into any more rock slides.

- -Good night, Roy. - Take it easy, Sheriff.

Come on, let's get to work and finish up, huh?

- Right. - Come on, let's do it a little faster now.

You're covered, mister.

Hold it right there.

Now, step down off that horse, slow and easy.

Come on.

Willie, come on!

Let's get out of here!

The whole town will be here.

Roy.

Oh, my leg.

They was tryin' to rob the Express office.

One of 'em rode his horse right over me.

- Get the doctor. Hurry. - Right.

That's a really good job of plastering.

Missed my calling.

Well, that ought to hold you until you get to San Francisco.

Doc, I don't much like ramblin' all over the countryside

with this thing on my leg.

You done a pretty good job of fixing me up.

Now look, Roy, you heard the doc.

The condition your leg's in, there's only one man

this side of St. Louis can put it right again,

and he's in San Francisco.

Now, you either make that trip, or you could spend

- the rest of your life on a crutch. - Yeah.

Well, you put it that way,

and I guess it ain't such a hard choice to make.

I'm going out and get a little breakfast.

Can I bring you something?

Doc, I got a lot of things to do.

How long do I have to stay here?

Until that cast sets good and hard.

I'll bring you a plate of ham and eggs, all right?

All right. Thanks.

Ham and eggs.

It looks pretty good.

Oh, come on, now, Roy.

You'll be back in no time.

Ben, would you do something for me?

Well, sure, name it.

Put that badge on till I get back.

Oh...

Now, Roy, you-you're not being serious.

I was never more serious in my life.

Oh, well, I...

I couldn't... I couldn't do that.

Well, the people of Virginia City would be saying

the Ponderosa's coming into town and taking over.

People would say no such of a thing.

Oh, yes, they would. Yes, they would.

Well, what the would say is

that I picked the best man for the job.

Well, I do thank you for that, Roy, but, uh,

I don't believe it would be the right thing for me to do.

- You don't think so, huh? - No.

Well, one of your boys then. Any one of 'em could handle it.

Oh, that would be the same thing, don't you see?

But somebody's got to take over while I'm gone.

This town needs the law.

No. There must be plenty of other men could do the job.

For instance?

Well... Ed Prentiss.

He's away on a cattle drive.

Oh, yeah.

Phil Cassidy.

They put him on as a foreman at the mine last week,

and I'm sure he wouldn't want to trade

them big wages for a sheriff's pay.

No.

How about that young fellow

with that little starvation spread out by you?

What's his name again?

Oh, uh, you mean, uh... um... Asa Moran.

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, he's a...

Yeah. Now, so long as it's out your way,

would you mind talking to him

and making sure he'd take the job?

Well, Roy...

we haven't been exactly the best of neighbors of late.

Ever since he had that run-in with Adam.

What run-in?

I guess it started a few years back,

when they were both showing bulls down at the stock show,

I guess Moran didn't take too well to

Adam running off with the... with the blue ribbon.

- Then of course there was... - Ben, what would that have

to do with whether or not he makes a good sheriff?

Huh?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

All right, I'll talk to him.

Now, will you just rest easy.

Everything's going to be all right.

I will now.

Dr-Drink of water?

Thanks.

Oh. Morning, Asa.

Hi, Hoss.

One of your riders stopped by

and said your pa wanted to see me.

Come on in.

Thank you.

I'll go get Pa.

You want a sandwich?

Oh, no, thanks.

Say, Hoss...

do you know why your pa wants to see me?

No, I ain't got no notion.

Well, I...

Last week, six or eight head of my stock

got into your pastureland.

I was wondering if your pa was sore at my scrub stuff

mixing in with his fancy, purebred cattle.

Aw, Asa, you know better than that.

Pa ain't the kind of feller to jumble a man

about something that couldn't be helped.

Asa.

Glad you could ride over.

Well.

How are you feeling?

- Fine, fine. Just fine, thank you. - Good, good.

Oh, uh, son, uh, would you mind letting Asa and me

have a little private conversation?

- Sure, Pa. See you, Asa. - Hoss.

Um... come on, sit down.

Thank you.

Well, how are things going?

Oh, well, you know how it is, Mr. Cartwright.

It's a struggle.

Always seem to be coming up a day late and a dollar short.

But I'm not complaining.

No, no. No, I... I know that.

Asa...

how would you like to take on a temporary job?

Make yourself a little extra cash?

Well, I don't know at all.

What sort of a job?

Well, uh...

you heard what happened to Roy Coffee?

Oh, yeah.

Well, Roy and I were talking about, uh,

you know, somebody to fill in while he's getting well,

and... well, how would you like to take it on?

What do you mean?

You mean me... me being sheriff?

Yeah. Well, just until Roy gets-gets better, you know.

Hmm?

Well, I-I don't know.

It's kind of sudden.

I mean, why me?

I never wore no badge before.

No, but...

well, you're a steady young fella,

and you're able and,

well, Roy thought you could do a good job of it.

- And so do I. - What about the people in town?

Th-they don't hardly know me.

What would they think?

Well, I... I guess that sort of depends

on what kind of job you do.

Well, yeah, yeah, I guess that's right.

I swear to uphold and enforce the laws of Virginia City,

to the best of my conscience and my ability.

So help me God.

Congratulation, Asa.

Thank you. Thank you, Sheriff.

You bet. Now, here's your...

- Here. Here's your badge. - Thank you.

- Here are the keys to jail. - Thanks.

And there's the keys to the office.

Thank you very much.

Congratulations, Sheriff Moran.

Thank you, Judge.

- Mr. Cartwright. - Congratulations.

I, uh, I don't know very much about this sort of thing,

but I'll sure try to do as good a job as I can.

We know you will, Asa.

Oh, there's one more thing.

You're entitled to a deputy, if you want one.

It might be a good idea.

Oh?

Well, I wouldn't rightly know just who to pick.

Say, how about Charlie Fitch, my hired man?

Do you think he'd do?

That's your choice to make, Asa.

Oh, I know he's not very bright,

but he's big and strong,

and he'll do anything I tell him to do.

Do I bring him here to have you deputize him, or...?

I'm leaving for San Francisco in just about two minutes,

but I'm sure Judge Jackson there will do it for you.

Or if you prefer it that way,

you're empowered, by your office

to do your own deputizing.

Well... Well, I'll just look him up then.

I, uh...

certainly appreciate your show of confidence in me.

- Thank you. - Good luck.

Hope you have an easy trip, Sheriff Coffee.

Thank you, Asa, and good luck to you.

Thank you.

- You take it easy now. - A little.

Watch those steps.

- Bye, Sheriff. - Bye.

Good luck.

Oh, I'll have a good time there.

Yeah, they'll fix him up real good.

Now, easy getting in there.

Yeah, who we got for a driver?

Ol' Jake here. The best.

He'll do 'er.

Up you go.

There we are.

Now, Roy, you'll write to us,

let us know if you need anything.

I'll do that.

And don't worry about Asa.

He's going to be all right.

Ben, you've been just wonderful about this whole thing.

- And you, too, Adam. Good-bye. - All right.

Good-bye, folks. -Bye, Sheriff.

You take it easy with him now.

- Don't shake him up too much. - I'll do that.

Hyah!

- Let her go. - Hyah! -There you go.

Hyah!

Take a real man to fill his boots.

More of a man than the one we have?

I didn't say that.

Well, this is Asa's first chance

to show what kind of a man he really is.

Let's see if we can give him a fair shake.

Fine.

Asa? Asa?!

Charlie, what's the matter with you?

I was just down by the Express office.

There's two horses in the alley.

I think someone's in there.

Charlie, uh, are you sure?

Yeah, don't you think we better check?

Yeah.

Yeah, I guess so.

There are the horses, Asa.

Yeah.

Somebody in there, all right.

I can just make out a light coming through the door.

What are we gonna do, Asa?

Well, uh,

you get by the front door in case they go out that way.

And when you're all set,

I'll give a yell for 'em to come out.

Whichever way they go, we'll get them.

All right.

Oh, now, wait a minute.

Better let me have the big one.

You men in the Express office... you come out of there,

'cause we got the place surrounded.

Now, no tricks.

You throw your guns out and come out through that door.

That's good.

Now you come right out where we can see you.

We're coming out. Don't shoot.

Willie!

What did you do that for?

He wasn't gonna do nothing.

Stay where you are.

We threw our guns out, just like you asked.

Don't move!

You didn't even give him a chance.

My gosh, Asa.

I... I killed 'em, Charlie.

Sure did.

You sure killed 'em, Asa.

I had to, Charlie.

You know that, don't you?

I had to do that!

You know it!

Sure you did, Asa.

You're the Sheriff.

It's about time you got back.

What took you so long?

I've been doing what you asked me to do,

down at the Express office, listening.

Judge Jackson and the man that ran the place were there,

and they were sure interested

in everything that went on last night.

They were asking a lot of questions.

You tell 'em what I said,

about those two hold-up men trying to jump us?

That's why I had to kill 'em?

I told 'em something like that.

Something like that?

Now you tell me, what did you say exactly?

I told 'em that it looked like those men were trying to fight.

At a time like that, a man ain't got time to stop and think.

Did folks believe it, the way you told about it?

Did they believe it?!

I don't know!

Judge Jackson's got a way of looking at a man

that sends a chill clear through you.

That's why I left when I did.

Asa... do you think they're gonna believe us?

They'd better believe it,

and you'd better remember.

When you're asked, those two men tried to jump us.

And we stick to it!

Uh, Judge Jackson.

Anything wrong?

Sheriff, the Express agent just got a telegraph message

from the head office of the company

about what happened last night.

Oh, yes, about those, uh, two men, I, uh...

That's right, Sheriff.

They offer hearty congratulations

for a job well done,

and authorize payment of this reward.

A... reward?

200 dollars gold.

Congratulations, Sheriff.

Roy Coffee knew what he was doing

when he picked you for this job.

Good work, good work.

He sure did.

Lou, might as well take the horses over to the wagon shop.

All right, Mr. Cartwright.

If they're gonna pull that new wagon back to the Ponderosa,

they might as well get used to it.

- Yeah. - Well, we'll be in the saloon.

When you get through, come back, and I'll buy you a drink.

- Yeah. - By golly, Adam, I'll take you up on that.

Good.

Drink it up, boys. Drink up the red eye.

- Hooray for summer doings, huh? - Yay!

Oh!

Well, now, well, lookee here.

Here's the man that talked me into the job.

Come on, Ben, Adam, I'll buy you a drink.

What is this, Asa, some kind of celebration?

- Well... - You haven't heard yet?

Asa's just about the biggest man in town.

Oh, now, Vicki... Well, it's true.

Asa shot it out last night

with two men who were robbing the Express office,

and he killed 'em both.

Well, I don't take no pleasure in killing folks,

but then they shouldn't ought to make no fight of it.

See, I was all for taking 'em alive,

but when this one come at me with his gun,

and the other tried to draw down on me from behind,

well, there was nothing I could do.

Isn't that right, Ben?

Oh, sure, Asa.

Sheriff has a right to defend himself.

You don't think I did anything wrong, do you?

No, Asa, I don't think you did anything wrong.

Adam, what do you think?

There was nothing else you could do.

Well, I'm glad to hear you say that.

Well, come on now, sit down, I'll buy you a drink.

Hey, bartender, bring some drinks here

for my friends, the Cartwrights.

Mighty nice of you, Asa.

There we are.

Oh, your money's no good here today, Asa.

- What? - This one's on the house.

Toast. To the new sheriff, Asa Moran!

Thank you.

Well, I got to get going.

I got me some shopping to do.

- Oh, Asa? - Huh?

Don't you spend all that reward money in one place now.

Oh, no, ma'am,

but I am going to buy me some store-bought clothes.

These old rags of mine just about wore out.

He's really enjoying it, isn't he?

Mm-hmm.

He's got a right to, it seems like.

You believe it happened the way he said?

Big blazing gun battle?

Well, I... I don't know.

I wasn't there.

And neither were you, Adam.

- Oh, hi, Lou. - Hi, Vicki.

Oh, everything ready, Lou?

Ready? The thing ain't even finished yet.

They say now they won't be able to get to it till the morning.

Oh. Oh, sit down, Lou.

I guess, uh, you better stay in town overnight,

bring the wagon out in the morning.

No use you making two trips.

That's fine by me, Mr. Cartwright.

Say, I saw Asa Moran as I came over here.

That badge makes his chest stick out a mile.

Ah, it's not just the badge, Lou.

He's a hero. Didn't you hear?

No. Is that right?

Yup.

It's fine.

Hey, Asa!

Look at them new duds.

Asa, sure looks like

you got yourself a ride on the glory road today.

Anything wrong with these clothes?

Well, uh...

Asa's a new sheriff, and he's got to dress the part, Lou.

What's so funny then?

Nothing. I was just thinking

what an awful big letdown it's gonna be for you

when you have to come on down to earth

and be plain old Asa Moran again.

Lou, you may have just made yourself

one real, first-class enemy.

Oh, Asa, you sure scared me.

Well, ain't you the dude!

See you got a set of new store-bought clothes.

You got something to say about the way they look, too?

Well, gosh, no, Asa.

I-I think they look fine.

Well, then, you just better start calling me Mr. Moran.

What?

Why, Asa... I said, Mr. Moran!

That Lou Palmer.

Working for the Cartwrights has made him as uppity as them.

You ain't had no trouble with the Cartwrights, have you?

Not yet, Charlie.

Not yet.

I wouldn't go hunting no trouble with a Cartwright.

They're a pretty close family.

You take on one of 'em, you got to take on 'em all.

I'm not scared of no Cartwright.

One or all of 'em.

You better remember one thing, Charlie.

I'm sheriff of this town,

and there's many a thing a sheriff can do.

What do you mean?

I swore an oath on a bible to uphold the law in this town.

That means going up against anybody who tries to break it,

whether his name is Cartwright or anything else.

You ain't expecting no Cartwright

to go breaking the law, are you?

They're law-abiding people.

They better be, Charlie.

They sure better be.

Well, I'm sure glad that wagon wasn't ready.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here this evening

drinking beer with a pretty girl.

Oh, thank you, Lou.

I didn't know you thought I was pretty.

Well, sure.

Ain't I never told you that?

Well, even if I never did,

a girl sure ought to know when she's pretty.

I mean, when she's real pretty, the way you are.

Lou, you're nice.

Asa,

we were just sitting here, having a beer.

Hmm.

I was hoping you'd be alone.

Well, Asa, it was very nice of Lou

to invite me to have a beer with him.

Wouldn't you like to sit down and have a beer, too?

Lou wouldn't mind.

Sure, Asa, sit down.

No hard feelings.

Let me buy you a beer.

If you can't tell him, Vicki, I can.

Go home to the Cartwrights, Lou.

Asa.

Asa, I think you're the one that ought to go home.

I'll be here tomorrow.

Tomorrow ain't good enough.

Now, if you want to be my girl,

like you was acting this afternoon,

I don't want you associating with the likes of him.

Well, where did you get the idea I want to be your girl?

What's wrong with me, anyhow?

Are you threatening me?

Why, you yellow-livered swamper.

You forget you ain't got the Cartwrights to back you up.

I don't need the Cartwrights to take care of you.

You're under arrest

for striking an officer of the law.

Somebody's coming.

Kind of early for visitors, isn't it?

Whoever it is, reckon why he don't knock.

Well, it'd be a good idea if somebody went to see.

Yeah.

Pa, it's Lou!

Lou?

Lou!

Get some... get some brandy.

Put him down on the couch.

Here you go, Pa.

I'll get some bandages.

Get some hot water, too.

Lou can hold his own in a fight with anybody.

He's been pistol-whipped.

Who'd have done this to Lou?

Who did this to you now?

Now, you didn't get hurt like this in a plain, old fight.

No.

Who did it?

Asa.

Asa Moran.

Pa, what are gonna do about it?

Well, first we'll take care of Lou.

Then we'll ride into town and see the new sheriff of ours.

Hurry up with that water.

Look, I'll go in and talk to Asa.

You boys take care of the horses.

We'll be here for some time.

I'd like to talk to Asa, too.

Not till you simmer down.

Take the horses over to the livery stable.

- Asa. - Hello, Ben.

What happened, Asa?

Why did you do that to Lou Palmer?

Do what?

Beat him near to death.

What do you mean, "beat him near to death"?

He was resisting arrest, and I had to take him in.

What did he do that was against the law?

He tried to kill me.

I guess that's against the law, ain't it?

That isn't the way Lou said it.

I don't care what he said.

He's a friend of yours.

Now you,

you told me that a lawman's got the right to defend himself,

and that's exactly what I was doing.

Now are you gonna tell me I ain't got the right

to defend myself against friends of yours?

I'm telling you that you don't have the right

to use that badge as an excuse to pistol-whip a man.

Now you listen to me, Cartwright,

this badge gives me the right to do anything I want.

Within the law.

That's right.

Judge, you didn't see him; I did!

And I'm gonna tell you something.

There's absolutely no excuse in the world

for this sort of thing.

Ben, Sheriff Moran has already told me about that incident.

I'll bet he has.

He told me that this Lou Palmer

was annoying one of the girls in the saloon.

And that when the sheriff told him to go home,

he started a fight.

Fight?

Judge, don't you understand

he was pistol-whipped within an inch of his life?

Are you saying that the sheriff is lying about what happened?

Now, George, Lou came into my house.

I saw his face; it was half bashed in.

Now, he told me exactly what happened,

and I believe him.

Ben,

I've got Sheriff Moran's official report right here

about what went on.

Your man was wild and disorderly in the saloon.

He actively resisted arrest.

It was necessary for the sheriff to subdue him.

But, out of deference to the fact

that he works for you,

he released him, sent him home instead of locking him up.

Oh, yes, he sent him home, all right.

Sent him home half-dead.

Now look, George, I'm gonna tell you exactly what I think.

Moran has to be relieved of duty

till there can be a complete hearing on this.

Oh,

I'm-I'm afraid that would be a very serious mistake.

- Why? - It would appear to be

an official criticism of Moran's actions.

Yes, exactly.

Yes, but we have absolutely no evidence

to merit such criticism.

I'm sorry your man was hurt, Ben.

But I have absolutely no reason to believe

that Moran's action was anything more than a legal

and justified act on the part of a qualified law officer.

I keep telling you I was nowhere near this place last night,

so how could I know what happened?

Well, Asa didn't tell you about it, huh?

He don't tell me everything he does.

Mr. Moran's pretty busy.

He's got a lot on his mind these days.

Yeah, I bet he has.

Those two dead men.

You, uh, you were there when they were killed,

weren't you, Charlie?

Sure I was.

Right in the middle of all that shooting.

Well, I wasn't right in the middle of it.

I was off a ways, but I could see it all good enough.

Oh, you could see it, but you let Asa do all the shooting.

Why didn't you help him out?

Isn't that what a deputy's for?

I didn't expect to do no shooting.

It happened pretty fast.

You went to stop two men who were robbing the Express office,

and you didn't think you'd have to shoot?

Sure I did.

But Mr. Moran, he yelled in

and told them to throw their guns outside.

And they did that, and they come out.

He told them what?

Mr. Moran yelled and told them to throw their guns out.

And to come out.

Come out with their hands up?

They was trying to fight us.

That's how come he shot them.

Wow, without their guns.

Well, when the first one come out, he tripped.

And it looked like he was going after that gun right enough.

And it all happened pretty fast.

Oh, you got me so mixed up.

Now, what are you mixed up about, Charlie?

About the two men at the Express office.

About how you shot it out with two men who had no guns.

Now, that sounds a little different

from the way you told it.

I told you, Adam, that weren't the way it was.

Well, I bet Judge Jackson would like to hear from you two

how it really was.

I bet he'd like to hear about Lou Palmer, too.

Yeah, I'm sure he'd like to hear how it really was with Lou.

Now wait a minute, you're not gonna go talk.

You hit him pretty hard, Mr. Moran.

He asked for it.

Now let's cart his carcass over to the jailhouse.

These poor Cartwrights can't hold their liquor.

He's gonna be madder than a hornet when he comes to.

I better get the key and lock him up.

No, Charlie.

We're gonna leave this unlocked.

But he'll get out, Mr. Moran.

That's right.

He'll get out.

And when he does, he's gonna get killed

trying to escape.

See, we-we-we got to keep him quiet now, Charlie.

And we're gonna keep him quiet for good and all.

Hey, Joe, Hoss!

Where you off to in such a rush?

Going to the jail to get Adam.

- What? - Yeah, Asa's got him behind bars

in there.

Asa hit him over the head with a gun.

- What?! - What are we doing,

standing her gabbing, let's go get Adam.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Look, I'll, uh, I'll go in there myself.

Pa, you against both of them?

I'm not gonna be against anybody.

Now, we're gonna stick to the law in this, all of us.

You two wait out here.

- Pa, I think we ought to go... - I said wait out here.

I'm just as mad about this thing as you are,

but you're too dad-blamed hot-tempered, both of you.

Here, now wait outside.

I want to go in there.

Can't let you do that, Ben.

I want to see Adam.

Not in my jail.

Look, I'm his father, I have a right to see him.

Ben, you'd better get out of here

before you get into trouble.

All right, I'll post bail for him.

No, sir, he's a hostile prisoner.

Ain't nobody bailing out a hostile prisoner out of my jail.

Look, Asa, I'm told you hit him over the head with a gun.

I'm told he's hurt.

No, no, he's all right, he's fine.

- He's fine? - Yeah.

Good, then you won't mind if a doctor sees him.

I'll go get Doc Martin.

No.

You ain't seeing him, no doctor's seeing him.

Nobody's seeing him until I say so, and that's...

Charlie, you're a witness!

He's attacking an officer.

Why are you doing this, Asa?

I'm just trying to keep the law like I was hired to do.

Folks go breaking the law,

I got to deal with them the way I see fit.

You know my son's no lawbreaker.

He was obstructing an officer.

Obstructing an officer and disturbing the peace.

You learn the words fast, Asa.

Too bad you don't learn what goes with them.

Well... all right.

Don't kill him, Asa!

Asa...

pull that trigger and I'll kill you.

All right, throw the gun over there on the floor.

I'll just go in to make sure Adam's all right.

Fitch, get the key and open the door.

Pa...

Pa, you all right?

Pa, you all right?

Yeah, I'm all right. You go, go look after Adam.

- Hey, Joe! - Yeah?

Bring me a key to this door.

It's unlocked!

Adam!

You all right, Adam?

Oh, yeah... Here...

We better get him to the doc quick, Joe.

He's got a good crack on the head.

Adam... Adam, you all right?

You takin' him outta here?

Taking him to the doctor.

You take that prisoner out of here, I'm gonna be after you.

I'm gonna be after you with everybody in town behind me.

You come ahead, Asa.

We'll be at Doc Martin's house, at the edge of town.

You'll find us there.

I told you we ought to let them Cartwrights be.

Hoss liked to kill me.

Will you stop yammering? I can hardly think.

Now we'll never get shut of those Cartwrights.

When I'm through, they'll wish they was shut of me.

Now will you get out of here, so I can think?

I'm goin' down to the barbershop

and have 'em put a leech on this eye.

Judge Jackson.

What's happened here, Sheriff?

It's all over town that you arrested Adam Cartwright.

I did.

For obstructing an officer and disturbing the peace.

Then Ben Cartwright came in here with his two boys

jumped Charlie and me, and broke their brother out of jail.

Well, that certainly doesn't sound like the Cartwrights.

Well, that's the way it happened.

I want a warrant for their arrest.

Oh... I don't know.

This whole thing between you and the Cartwrights

has gotten out of hand.

That's right. And the only way

to set it straight is to jail 'em.

Well, I think we ought to let the whole thing

cool down for a little while.

Besides, Asa, I understand

that you roughed Adam up pretty bad.

Oh, no.

No, I was just performing my duty as a law officer.

Well, yes, yes, I'm certain of that.

But did it ever occur to you that his father and his brothers

might be worried about him?

That ain't no excuse, and you know it ain't.

Not for what they done.

No.

No, you're right. It isn't.

Folks breaking the law have got to be brought to account.

Now, Judge, I didn't ask for this job,

but now that I got it, I gotta do as I see fit.

That means goin' up against anyone who breaks the law,

includin' the Cartwrights.

All right, Sheriff.

But when you go after them, I go with you...

to avoid any more violence.

We've had too much of that already.

That's right.

Now... let's make out those warrants.

Well, I should've stayed put, like you told me.

But I had a feeling Asa didn't have to kill

those two men at the Express office.

Oh, Adam, I've been a blame fool.

Just couldn't see Moran for what he really is.

Some men, you just can't trust 'em

with authority of any kind.

That was our mistake, picking that kind of man.

Well, it's almost worth the headache

to hear you admit that you're wrong for once.

What do you think?

He's gonna be all right.

But only because he inherited that thick Cartwright skull.

You know, he come mighty close to being killed.

Hope we didn't hurt him none, bringing him in from the jail.

Oh, no, no. You did right.

Probably saved his life,

judging from the treatment the prisoners get in that jail.

Pa, here comes Asa.

He said he'd have the whole town with him.

He's got a good part of it right now.

Ben, you know there can't be a ruckus in here.

There isn't gonna be any ruckus.

Not in here.

Now, I'm going out there.

You two stay here.

If they get past me, stop 'em.

I got warrants for your arrest, Ben, you and your boys.

They inside?

Judge, did you issue those warrants?

Yes.

Yes, I did, Ben.

You know, you were wrong in doing what you did,

especially the jailbreak.

Yeah, I guess that was wrong.

There, you see?

He admits it hisself.

Even you can't go against the law, Ben Cartwright.

Even you ain't that big.

Well, come on, come on.

What're we waiting for?

Hold on there!

Judge...

you say I was wrong in taking my boy out of jail.

Well, maybe that was a mistake, according to law.

But what about that other mistake... the big one?

The one that led up to all the wrong things

that have happened in the town the last couple of days?

What mistake was that, Ben?

The mistake we all made

when we pinned a badge on a man too weak to wear it.

Now, is that the real cause

for everything that's happened here

since Sheriff Coffee left town?

Come on, we're wasting time listening to all this gab!

Let's take him!

You two... Hoss, Joe...

You raise your hands; you're under arrest.

Charlie!

Charlie, didn't you take an oath

to uphold and enforce the laws of Virginia City

according to your ability and your conscience?

Didn't you, Charlie? Isn't that right?

That's right, Mr. Cartwright.

Well, why don't you tell us what you told Adam

about those two men at the Express office the other night.

Quiet, Charlie.

Well, what's the matter, Asa?

I think we should all hear what Charlie has to say.

You afraid to let him tell us?

I don't have to stand for this.

I'm not on trial here.

I'm a law officer.

I came here to arrest jailbreakers.

Then why did you arrest Adam?

Because he was talking to your deputy?

Or because he found out that you killed two unarmed men?

- That's a lie! - Is it?

You see what he's trying to do, don't you?

He's twisting everything around

so I'm in the wrong and he's in the right.

- Judge, you give me those warrants... - No!

They've gotta go to jail and you know it!

Now, wait a minute... Is that the truth?

Were those two men unarmed when Moran killed them?

That ain't the way it was.

You tell 'em, Mr. Moran.

Don't get riled, Charlie.

I told everybody just like you told me to tell everybody.

- Shut up! - I told everybody

how it looked like they were gonna fire...

Shut up!

What are you afraid of, Asa?

You afraid for people to know that you shot down

two men in cold blood, after they'd thrown their guns down?

You afraid for people to know

that you pistol-whipped Lou Palmer?

Never shot at one of these before.

You didn't shoot at the badge, Ben.

You shot at the man.

Yeah.

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