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Señor Sims is coming.

There's a rider coming in.

I think it's one of the Cartwrights.

Put his horse away, Pablo.

Where are the other men?

All around you.

Well, what about the ranch hands?

They leave any behind?

All went on a cattle drive

except for the kid and his father.

Yeah, we spotted the boy working fence

up in the north section today.

I think that's him riding in.

What about the father?

Rode off toward town this morning.

I figure he's due back.

You know what General Diaz said: Nobody gets hurt.

So you told me.

And just where is our esteemed general now?

He and Miguel rode up into the mountains.

He wanted to study the layout of the country.

Still playing the tin soldier, huh?

Listen, Forsythe... No, you listen.

When Diaz ain't here, I'm in command.

You got that?

You fool.

If you've killed him, General Diaz will feed us to the ants.

Silencio.

Joe.

Joseph.

Is it too much trouble to stable your horse?

Into the house.

What is this?

Shut up.

Joe.

Looks like he had a little accident, Mr. Cartwright.

See how far you get.

Is it always necessary that your men loot like bandits?

You disgrace us, pistolero.

Get out.

Whatever you say, mi general.

So this is the great Ponderosa.

Look, I don't know who you are, General...

Permit me, then, to introduce myself.

I am Arturo Diaz, general in the army of Benito Juárez.

Juárez doesn't have an army of bandits!

We are not bandits!

Then get these men out of here!

My son needs a doctor!

What is the matter with him?

He's been hurt, wounded.

Wounded?

How did this happen?

He was shot in the back.

He was to be taken as hostage.

He needs a doctor.

A doctor is impossible.

If one of my men were seen in Virginia City,

my enemies would know I am here.

Where is the boy's bed?

Upstairs.

Perhaps I know a thing about wounds that you do not.

Levántenlo.

Careful... careful.

Up this way.

Now it is up to Dios.

Thank you.

You see, señor, we are not bandits.

I must apologize for my soldiers.

They are good fighting men, but their manners...

But we are not bandits.

General, why are you here?

Because at the moment, my country is fighting

for its life against Maximilian the tyrant,

and because tomorrow his mercenaries will use

the lands of the Ponderosa to...

to perform a certain act.

If they are successful,

my people face eternal slavery.

What are they going to do here on the Ponderosa?

You will learn all tomorrow, señor.

Pa... Pa.

That is a very interesting wound he has, is it not?

No shotgun wound is interesting.

No, but this one is special.

The barrel of the shotgun was sawed off.

Makes a big pattern.

Saved his life.

Which one of your men carries that kind of gun?

Buenas noches, señor.

You had better get some sleep.

We have a long ride in the morning.

I'm not riding anywhere.

I stay here with my son.

You look like a man who is fair and just,

a man who believes in human dignity.

Sí, you are.

I believe you would do something for a people's liberty.

What would you have me do?

It may be necessary to have someone guide us

through the back roads out of the mountains.

You know the country.

I can't leave my son alone.

As soon as our work is done, you will be free to return to him.

Vayanse.

Pablo.

Sí, señor.

I am sorry for this, señor,

but he will stand guard at the top of the stairs.

Now, until we ride in the morning,

buenas noches.

Miguel.

Yeah, General?

Take his guns.

What happened to the boy?

Look, General, I do my job.

What happened to the boy?

I was forced to shoot him.

In the back?

Now, look, Sims was there; he can tell you.

I am not talking to Señor Sims.

I am talking to you, Señor Forsythe.

Take off your hat.

I gave an order.

It was your responsibility

to see that no harm came to these people.

You are a pistolero hired to carry a gun.

How do you think I should discipline you?

That's up to you, General.

And anyway, el presidente Juárez

might thing fitting him proper.

Yes.

That does give one pause.

I keep forgetting

how your skill for killing

has served my country's cause

and earned the gratitude of our great leader.

Take him out.

In the morning, give me the guns.

You all right, amigo?

He should not have hit just for shooting a gringo.

It wasn't the shooting.

This has been coming for a long time.

He's jealous of my pull with Juárez.

Well, he's played his hand; now I'll play mine.

Uh, be careful, hombre.

So, he's a big man.

I'll take care of him. You with me?

I'm with you, amigo.

But what of Señor Sims?

Don't worry about Sims.

Once we get our hands on that wagon,

he'll be easy to convince.

My men are ready to attack, General.

Get to your post, pronto.

Pistolero.

He enjoys this.

And you?

I've had too much.

Revolution takes a long time.

But we have a saying:

"Fortune favors the brave."

Even here, we fight for the liberty of Mexico.

Liberty of Mexico?

One wagon?

It is what is in the wagon, señor.

♪♪

Viva Mexico.

Diaz is dead!

Don't let that man get away!

That's the general's horse!

- Vamos, señor. - Hyah!

- Get some water. - Sí, señor.

This is not your fight. Get out!

Lie still.

I thought you were dead.

For me, death is an old companion.

Will you stay quiet!

Hurry up with that water!

Looks like you've won your victory, General.

Get me a horse pronto.

Sí, mi general.

Why, you... Come on!

Give me the gun!

Oh... killing you'd be a waste.

A real waste.

- Look what I got. Ha-ha! - Aw, come on, Forsythe.

- Back off. Leave her alone! - Leave her alone, huh?

Leave her alone!

Stop it!

That's the second time you put a gun on me.

You won't do it again.

General Diaz!

Forsythe said you were dead.

Señorita, what is your name?

Molly.

Molly Reed. I was a passenger on the wagon.

Passenger?

But there was to be no passenger.

You will explain this.

Well, I was on my way to San Francisco.

I had no money.

The wagon driver befriended me.

He said I could ride in the back.

Señor Cartwright...

would you say she's speaking truly?

Well, does it make any difference?

How many men did we lose?

All except Pablo, Miguel...

Forsythe, and... and me.

They were good men.

Good farmers.

Good fighting men.

- Gold! - Sí, señor. Gold.

Stolen from my country by Maximilian's ministers.

A precious metal that could buy freedom for a whole people.

I pray that it will be worth the price that we have paid

in blood today.

Where were they taking this?

To San Francisco.

And from there to Europe.

But now...

it will be used to defeat the tyrants.

Adios, Señor Cartwright.

We will not need you anymore.

Truly, I am sorry I brought you so much trouble.

I... I will...

I will pray for your son's recovery.

Thank you.

With that wound, you'll never make it to the border, General.

I'm afraid he is right.

One more favor I must ask of you.

This time there... is a bullet in my back.

A doctor is still not possible.

Well, let's get him back to the ranch.

Put him on the wagon, Miguel.

No. I will ride.

I am not dead yet.

I still command.

Miguel.

¿Sí, jefe?

Take Señor Cartwright's horse.

You will want to see you son.

Take the señorita with you.

General, you've let that wound go too long.

You ever take a bullet out of a man, Señor Sims?

No, sir.

I've put plenty in them, though.

Do not worry.

I think Señor Cartwright will show you what must be done.

- Miguel? - ¿Sí, mi general?

You will stand guard over the gold.

Kill anyone who comes near it.

¿Entiende?

Sí, señor.

Feeling better, General?

Now, we will give you your lesson in surgery.

You will find, señor, that a bullet goes into a man

much easier than it comes out.

Better hold on to him.

No, no, no, I do not need to be held!

It's better this way. Hold him up.

Buckshot.

Nothing to be afraid of, girl.

I just want to talk a little.

Sims told me about how those Indians killed your folks,

And I was wondering,

how come they didn't lift your scalp at the same time?

I don't know. They just didn't.

You don't say.

They just left you all alone, didn't they?

Maybe you can fool Sims and the others

but not me, sister, not for a minute.

Where did you live after your folks

were killed by the Indians?

In some Indian's wickiup?

San Francisco! What are you gonna do in San Francisco?

Work in some Barbary Coast dive for drunks, huh?

No!

Get out of here, Forsythe!

If I catch you near her again, I'll kill you!

Sure, Sims.

Molly, you listen to me now: you stay in this house!

Don't leave this room!

I'll have Miguel guard you; I can trust him.

Are you all right?

I've got to get back to the wagon,

but I'll come back to you later.

You've kind of taken a liking to that niña, huh?

Look, Forsythe, if you got anything to say to me,

you say it straight and clear.

Why did you join up with Juárez?

To get yourself a little piece of land somewhere, right?

You know that. What are you driving at?

What if I told you you could get that land,

all the land you want, and soon, what would you say to that?

I'd say you're out of your mind.

With Diaz out of the way, we could split that gold

between three of us: you, me and Pablo.

You can buy a lot of land with a million dollars in gold.

You mean kill Diaz?

Why not? What's he to you?

He pays you $50 a head to do his killing.

Is he more important than a girl and the land?

Think about it, Sims: a million dollars.

For squeezing a trigger.

When you figure on doing this?

Sometime between now and the morning.

I'll think about it.

Sims.

Remember this: no matter where you go

or what you do, you need money.

Like I said... I'll think about it.

Miguel, go up to the house and get yourself something to eat.

And while you're there, do me a favor:

watch after Molly.

Sí, señor, I'll watch the señorita.

Why Miguel?

No, he wasn't smart like you, compadre.

Couldn't see things our way.

I didn't say I saw things your way.

You will.

Pablo, get a couple of shovels.

We'll bury him deep and peaceful.

General.

General!

General.

Joe?

Joe? Joe, you got to get dressed.

Come on, Joe.

You got to... you got to get out of here.

Joe, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Joe.

Put your arm through here.

Molly, help me get him to the chair.

I got to go out and get us some help...

bring back some help for the general.

- What are you gonna do? - Get a couple of horses.

But those men, those men are down there with the wagon.

Pa? Pa, I'll go...

- No, Joe... - I'll go with you.

Joe, don't move. Don't move.

Do you hear, boy? Don't move.

Now, Molly, don't let him out of this room until I get back.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Mr. Cartwright?

What if you don't come back?

I'll be back.

No!

No, no, no, Joe, you mustn't...

Yeah. My Pa...

- No, let's go back. - They're gonna kill my pa.

Wait.

Who... who are you?

Nobody.

Wait.

Kill my pa.

Pa... My Pa... Now, wait. Wait.

They're gonna hurt my pa!

Pa?

What are you doing here?

I came to take care of the horses.

Someone's got to take care of 'em.

I already done that.

Come up lame?

There's a lot of heat in this leg; I'm trying to cool it off.

Yeah.

Oh. You seem to know a lot about horses.

I know this much: if I don't get the heat out of this leg,

this horse isn't gonna be pulling any gold wagon tomorrow.

You're doing pretty good with that horse...

for a man who makes a living toting a gun.

I didn't always tote a gun.

You a farmer, Sims?

I was once.

Had a little place in Tennessee.

I worked like a mule on that land,

but it weren't no good.

Soil was all burned out.

Then came three years of drought.

Wiped me out.

I know a lot about that drought.

A lot of people wiped out.

Some of them came out west,

put their roots down in new land.

Yeah.

A lot of them tried to make it as homesteaders.

For me, a gun's handier than a plow.

You ever think of, uh, putting your gun away,

starting over on new land?

I never think of nothing else.

But the last two years I've been, uh...

well... I been saving money,

I been... putting it away.

Land bought with blood hard to plow.

There ain't no other, mister.

Yeah, there is.

Up in Oregon.

Free for the asking.

With plenty of water, good soil.

You seen it?

Yeah.

Yeah, I've been there.

What difference does it make?

How does a man like me go back to living a normal life?

Put away your gun. It's that simple.

Pa. Pa.

- Joe, get back to the house. - Oh, Pa.

Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Cartwright.

I tried to stop him. I'm sorry.

Pa? Pa?

So, you're like the rest of 'em.

All that talk about free land, starting over.

Just a trick.

I ought to put a bullet in both of you.

Go ahead. Go ahead.

Pull the trigger.

Sure, you're good with a gun.

I wanted to get away here. He needs a doctor.

But I meant every word of what I said.

There's land up in Oregon, and it's yours.

All you have to do is take it.

You haven't got what it takes, like you said.

It's easier to pull a trigger than to put a hand on a plow.

Well, go ahead: pull the trigger.

Give up any chance you ever had

of making anything out of your life.

Johnny.

Johnny, listen to him. He's right.

Now that was a real pretty speech, Mr. Cartwright.

Too bad he didn't fall for it.

Don't try it, Forsythe!

So, you swallowed that Oregon free land fairy tale

he handed you, huh?

Well, let me set you straight about a few things.

Sure, there's free land in Oregon, lots of it.

And with enough money, you can build your own Ponderosa.

But without money, you'll be breaking your back for years

to clear a few stinking acres.

That's the difference... money. Think about that.

Get back to the house, Cartwright.

Go ahead!

Joe.

Nothing's decided, Forsythe.

I'm still thinking on it.

Don't take too long.

Hey.

All right, Joe.

Hey, now, what is this?

You ain't crying, are you?

No, I ain't crying.

Hey, now, you are, too, crying.

And... you're shivering.

Oh, your hands are like ice.

Here, come on. Sit down close to the fire.

Here.

This is good for you.

Kind of gets your circulation going.

I-I guess this must have been a hard day for you.

I'm afraid I started feeling sorry for myself.

Molly, what-what do you plan on-on... on doing after this?

Well... I'm all alone.

I guess I'll have to get a job.

In San Francisco.

You mean on that Barbary Coast?

It's good a place as any.

Oh, no, it isn't, Molly. You know better than that.

- Do I? - Yes, you do.

Oh, Molly, you're...

You're just about the prettiest girl I ever did see. I...

No!

You don't know me. You don't know anything!

Well, now, that's funny 'cause from the first moment I saw you,

it was like I'd known you all my life.

Molly, it may sound crazy, but what I'm asking you...

Don't. Don't. I'm not what you think I am.

Oh, to me... to me, you're-you're everything

that's-that's clean and-and pure and beautiful.

I'm not.

I'm not clean and pure and beautiful!

Look at me. Look at me!

That wagon driver knew, Forsythe knew.

Everyone knows. Look at me.

Well, what am I supposed to see?

A year ago,

a Sioux war party raided our farm.

They killed my father.

Burned him!

And they made me watch.

And then my mother.

Oh, no, no.

- And then... - No, no.

Oh, but they let me live!

Oh, yes, they let me live, and you know why?

- I'll tell you why. - Molly, Molly, don't say it.

Don't say it.

Oh, I fought as best I could, but how can you fight them?

For a year, they kept me.

A year!

Then I escaped.

But I didn't escape.

No.

You can never escape a thing like that.

Don't. Don't, Molly.

Molly, I don't care.

I don't care what happened. I don't care what anyone says.

They never touched you, you hear me?

Nobody ever touched you.

Oh, Molly, Molly.

Oh, nobody's ever gonna hurt you again, nobody.

Oh, Forsythe has a plan.

I'm going to have enough money to protect you from everything.

Forsythe? You're not going to listen to him?

Well, what's wrong with listening to him?

At least it's a way.

It's no way, Johnny.

It's just plain, cold-blooded murder.

It's no way for you; it's no way for me.

We're loading the gold.

We'll be ready in five minutes.

Are you coming?

Go ahead.

I'll be along in a minute.

Johnny, it's no way.

The man who shot your son was a murderer.

The man who shot me was a traitor.

He must be destroyed.

- General? - Hmm?

Come here.

There's something else you've got to see.

Get it up.

Now I must move.

Now we both must move.

What are you doing, señor?

I don't know.

I got to do something.

This is the best way, Johnny.

All right, but I've got to do something to stop Forsythe.

You'll do nothing, compadre.

You either throw in with us right now, or you're a dead man.

Pablo?!

Pistolero!

You are a fool, pistolero.

In all eternity, few men have the chance

to do something truly great.

Something unselfish,

something that makes them bigger than other men.

All Mexico would have been at your feet

for the contribution you made to our liberty.

But no, you chose something else.

Something small and greedy.

And that will destroy you!

You don't scare me.

You can die like any other man.

There you are wrong!

Pistolero.

I am freedom for my people.

I am death for those who would betray that freedom.

Oh.

Adios.

God... keep our country.

Molly, the doc said I'd be fine.

Joe's gonna be all right, too.

Molly, I-I've got a job to finish.

A job I promised the general.

I've got to get that gold back to Juárez.

Johnny?

Molly, you'll wait here until I get back from Mexico.

If it's all right with Mr. Cartwright.

It's all right with Mr. Cartwright.

And Johnny, I got two of my neighbors

to escort you as far as the border.

They're good friends of mine.

I thank you, sir.

Take care of yourself. It's a long ride.

I will.

And, well, I better let Pablo drive the wagon.

I'd hate to rob Juárez of the pleasure of meeting him.

Do you know what he said to you?

No.

He said... "I'll see you soon."

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