Original subtitles

Five pat hands in these 25 cards.

No. No, I don't.

I'll bet another 500

and Bill Gregg's life that there is.

Oh, wait a second, Maverick.

You're a gambler and can risk your cash

but you can't put up a man's life against--

Uh, Caldwell, wait a minute, wait.

This is between Maverick and me.

He named it.

What do you mean Gregg's life?

"Maverick"

starring James Garner

Produced by Warner Brothers...

From the entertainment capital of the world

produced for Television by Warner Brothers.

Hold it there! Drop that gun!

I ought to kill you right now, holding that gun on us.

Well, I wouldn't have gunned ya.

Sure not. Bill, take a look at the house.

How'd you get in here?

- Well I came-- - Sloan's dead.

Well, yeah, he tried to kill me.

Tie him up real good.

Now, look, you don't gotta tie me.

Just take me to the sheriff.

We will, after we tie you up.

One beer.

Looks like your luck's changing Mr. Maverick.

- Mr. Maverick? - Yeah, sheriff?

I wondered if you'd mind walking over

to the jail with me.

What's the charge?

Murder.

Well, you didn't do it.

Young fellow over there's in trouble.

Seems to think you can help him out of it.

Well I don't know, I'm in a bit of trouble here myself.

Yours can keep.

His can't.

- What's his name? - Bill Gregg.

Keep the pot boiling, boys.

I'll be back.

You remember.

I was sitting on the porch today when you rode

past my place heading toward town.

I waved to you.

Bill's trying to prove somebody else rode out to his place

just after you went by.

If so you'd have passed him on the road.

I don't remember passing anybody.

Well you gotta remember.

Look, John Sloan came out to my place tonight.

He must have passed you.

Don't tell him what to say or how to say it, Billy.

Well, you remember seeing Sloan?

I didn't see anybody, I'm sorry.

Bill says Sloan was out there.

Now maybe he was.

- I don't know. - He was out there.

Look, he invited me out to his place tonight.

He was gonna lend me some money.

Now you remember that, don't you?

Remember I asked him for it yesterday at the saloon?

Well? What say, Mr. Maverick?

I remember Sloan said no.

Well, he changed his mind.

He came out to my place today to say so.

Said to drop over about nightfall

and he'd give me the cash.

Oh, it don't make sense.

You sure didn't come through the main gate

and that's the only entrance to Sloan's place unless

you jump the wire or cut it.

It was cut, Sloan cut it himself.

Don't know why he'd do that.

Sloan posted it at the gate to keep people out.

He always have guards?

Always when he had a big piece of cash money around.

Tonight, he had it from a cattle sale, over $6,000.

You say you heard two shots?

That's right.

Oh, sure, Sloan shot at me first.

Well, Billy, looks like you're gonna have to spend some time

here with me.

Have to ask you to empty your pockets now.

He gave me that.

When Billy tried to borrow that money from Sloan,

how much did he ask for?

Three thousand dollars.

He must have changed his mind plenty.

There's over 6,000 here.

Well...

Looks like he figured to use a gun

to get what he couldn't get by working.

All he'll get is a piece of rope.

You want, or check to the one-card draw?

Well, I just wanna see what's fair, one way or another.

So do we all.

So don't talk no more about it till the jury's picked.

- What? - 'Cause some of ya...

...might be on it.

I'm here to gather up enough men to pick a panel.

Can't it wait for this, sheriff?

Well... finish the hand but make it quick.

I'll bet 200.

Too rich for me.

Beats me.

Scares me.

Alright, we gotta hurry.

You four are just the number we need to choose from.

Oh, but sheriff, you don't want me.

I've known Gregg ever since he was that high.

I've been doing business with him all the time.

- We all have. - Me too.

Nearly everybody in town's had business dealings

with Billy from one time or another.

Come on, let's go.

You, too, Mr. Maverick.

Oh, no thanks, sheriff. I'm not a resident of this town.

Oh you've been in town three or four weeks, Mr. Maverick.

I remember when you first came to town--

We know we know. You're a resident alright.

You'll make a fine juror, Mr. Maverick.

That's what this town needs, fine jurors. If it wasn't--

But I don't have a permanent home here.

You can stay at my home when you're on the jury

Mr. Maverick. I've got a spare room and I--

Charlie. I have no interest in this town

no business, no nothing.

What are you doing in town?

Playing cards.

How do you make a living?

Playing cards.

Then you got a business.

Let's go.

Mr. Maverick?

You keep it. You've been a big help.

Is that the best story you got to tell?

- Yes. - Don't ring true.

You wanna make any changes

if you got anything to tell me, it's the last chance to do it.

No.

No, no there's nothing.

Billy didn't murder John Sloan, Jabe.

I believe him.

Shouldn't you believe him, too?

I should.

Yes I should.

Morning, Mr. Plaintiff.

Hello, Jabe.

Been a long time, hasn't it?

Not near long enough.

Oh, come now.

Just because we're on opposite sides here

there's no reason we can't be friendly.

I got reason enough without that.

Oh don't be a fool, Jabe.

We've butted heads before but that's all in the past.

I never saw a bobcat go to eating grass.

We both had a few years to forget our differences.

We're older now.

The older a rattlesnake gets

the more poison he's got in him.

I'm warning you, Jabe, don't make this a grudge fight.

- Warning me? - Yes.

I asked to be appointed to this case.

It won't do me any harm when I win it

and it won't do my enemies any good.

Well I asked for this case, too.

Not just because I think so much

of Billy Gregg, but because I think so little of you.

Oh, you're a bitter man, Jabe.

Bitter because a younger man

could shake himself loose from this cow town

make something better for himself.

Yeah. Better for himself

not better for the people.

You don't give two hoots for 'em.

You never have.

But you could end up being the governor if somebody

don't get in your way.

You think you can stop me?

I can stop you from using Billy Gregg

as a stepping stone.

Not with the case you've got, Jabe.

Maybe not, but you'll know you've been in a fight.

[Bret] I figured I'd have no trouble at all staying off the jury.

After all, I was practically a witness.

But I found out that argument applied to almost everybody.

Mr. Caldwell, you're the owner of the roan horse saloon?

Yes, sir, I'm the owner and the day barkeep.

I've been around this town ever since it started almost.

I can remember when we didn't have more than a half a dozen--

Yes, yes.

Now, you were present when the accused entered

your establishment and approached the late John Sloan?

Yes, sir, that's right. It was Saturday afternoon

and the customers sure had me hopping.

When Billy Gregg walked in

I was the first one to notice him.

Mr. Sloan, can I speak to you for a minute?

Go ahead.

Alone.

Haven't got time, I'm busy.

We can wait the game for you.

Anything you gotta say, say.

I need a loan.

Oh, how much?

Three thousand dollars.

That's a lot of money.

Yes.

What does a boy like you want with all that money?

I wanna... I'm building a new place

get some furniture, other things.

Maybe a couple of heifers to buck up my herd some.

Why so fancy?

What's the matter with the cabin you got?

Well, it's alright for me, but...

I'll give you ten percent on the money, Mr. Sloan.

That's more than the bank gives.

Don't you want to tell me what you need a new house for?

Well, Lucy Sutter and me are planning to be married.

I want better for her than what I got.

Why don't you mortgage your house and your beef?

Deal 'em, Logan.

I tried the bank and every other place I could think of

after that.

I'm the last chance, huh?

Last one you can turn to?

[Billy] Yeah, that's right.

Must stick in your craw to have to come to me.

A man don't like to ask money from anyone.

Yeah, least of all me.

If you say so.

Come on, play, keep it going.

Mr. Sloan, will you lend it to me?

I don't think so.

No, your Pa couldn't do anything with that scrub

land and I don't think you will either.

The house and the herd's worth all of 3000.

[Sloan] Nobody else seems to think so.

Neither do I.

I haven't got the cash anyway.

You got over 6,000 from that cattle sale.

Look, I don't wanna lend.

Now, stop begging.

I shouldn't have to, Sloan.

When you was getting started, my father lent you $3,000.

You never paid it back. You owe me 3,000.

And I didn't pay that debt for a good reason.

Besides it's run over so long a period of time

it's outlawed.

It's uncollectable by law.

That's book law.

There's other law should hold a man.

I paid your Pa more than 3,000 in help over the years.

And I got reason to think he took more

than that when I wasn't looking.

Get up. Get up!

I wouldn't want you killing him.

He's winning a lot of my money.

Ah, it's on the house, boys.

On the house.

And the boys calmed down

and the poker game started again.

And I didn't have to buy no mirror.

You know the last time--

That's all.

- Thank you, Mr. Caldwell. - Thank you.

Your witness.

Well I, I just want to hear that one part over again.

About what Sloan said to Billy

just before Billy went for his gun.

Said Billy's Pa took him for better than $3,000...

- ...while his back was turned. - No.

You mean he just as good as called this boy's father

a thief?

He couldn't have said it no plainer.

I'd like to point out that insults

aren't shooting licenses.

Seems you don't need no license to go shooting off your mouth.

So we tied Gregg up and took him to the sheriff.

After that, we went back and rode the fence.

Barbed wire had been clipped on one of the back sections.

Well... Well now, Lem

uh, when you stopped Billy Gregg, how'd he look?

I mean, did he look wild and mean?

Or did he look mostly scared?

[Blaine] Object.

Defense is trying to lead the witness.

That ain't the point!

But I wish that someone had set me straight

on one thing.

Why would a man who is supposed to have planned

a robbery and then killed someone because of it

take care to come in

by the back door when he arrived

and then run out the front door when he left?

Desperate, guilty men do things like that.

So do scared, innocent ones.

That's all, Lem.

When you jailed Bill Gregg that night, had he been drinking?

There was liquor on his breath.

[Blaine] You went to Sloan's place and you found him dead.

Did your examination go further than the house?

I went to look over the cut fence.

Lem showed it to me.

That's where I found the clippers that did the job.

Thank you.

Your witness.

[Jabe] There's something the prosecutor said

that interested me.

Trying to prove that Billy's got just about every vice

that a young fellow could have

he dragged in that business about liquor on his breath.

Sounds like he's trying to say that Billy was drunk.

Well he wasn't Jabe.

He wasn't, huh?

Heh, well I'm sure he couldn't be all the things

Mr. Blaine says he is.

First he says he's drunk.

Then he says he's sober enough

to put a bullet right in the middle of a man's heart.

I don't know, but

looks to me like the prosecutor

don't know just what he's trying to prove.

Them's the ones I sold to Billy Gregg alright

about three months back.

Billy's always been kinda short on money

and that's pair's got a busted spring so I sold it to him

for half price.

I enter this into evidence.

- Any questions? - Yes.

[Jabe] Let me see that thing.

Now, Si, you mean to tell me that you remember

this pair of clippers out of all the clippers

you've sold through the years?

[Si] That's what I said, Jabe.

[Jabe] And I know you mean it, Si.

You've always had sharp eyes and a good memory.

And you're right as rain, Si.

These are Billy's clippers.

He told me so himself.

And don't nobody forget that.

You'll find out why later on.

Alright, Si.

Well now, doc, would you say that Billy was the sort

to have a mean streak?

Objection, Your Honor.

I've stood by while counsel repeatedly used

the name Billy to describe the defendant, an obvious attempt

to make a grown man appear

to be a mischievous lad of eight.

Now I simply must object.

The good doctor isn't qualified to judge mean streaks.

Although I imagine he's removed many a bullet

from men who were shot by models of virtue.

Alright, hold it down.

Any other questions, Jabe?

No.

You're excused, doc.

The prosecution rests.

[Jabe] Mr. Blaine seems to think this is all a big joke.

That a boy fighting for his life is a...

Pretty funny animal.

He uh, wants to save time, wants to speed up the case.

Alright, he'll speed up the case

to send a boy to his death.

Well, I'll speed it up to send Billy Gregg

out of this court a free man.

Call for my first witness, William Gregg.

Now for the next act of "Maverick."

Yes, sir.

Now, Billy. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant Mr. Gregg.

Now Mr... Gregg

tell us exactly what happened in your own words.

Well... uh, what happened that afternoon

in the roan horse saloon

is pretty much the way it was said.

I was pretty riled, alright.

But going home and thinking of it, I...

I was glad Mr. Maverick spoke up

and kept me from drawing my gun.

Well, the next afternoon

I was sitting on the porch trying to think

worryin' my way out of things.

[Sloan] No need for that, Bill.

I didn't come for trouble.

Don't drop your gun, then.

Come ahead.

I came over to talk to you about the money you asked for.

I asked, you said no.

Well, I thought a lot about it since.

You think about your calling my Pa a thief?

That, too.

Maybe that most of all.

Like you said, your Pa did give me

some help when I first got started.

But your coming up to me like that in the saloon

and bracing me, well, it sort of rubs a man

the wrong way to have folks think that he needed help.

No shame in needing help.

Everybody does one time or other.

Yeah but it's like I said... I did pay off your Pa

little by little over a period of time.

Never got around to writing any new notes

or picking up the old one.

All happened so gradual.

When your Pa died and you ended up with the old note.

You could have said that yesterday.

Yeah, but that's just the point

if I'd have said it then

it would have looked like I was trying

to squirm out of something.

Naturally I said something I didn't mean

something that wasn't true.

I know your Pa'd never steal.

You tell that to the men at the saloon.

No, wait a minute Billy.

I came over here to offer you something worth more

than just apologizing.

I want to make up for what I said.

Well, don't you understand? I...

I want to loan you the money.

What'll you take for it?

No mortgage, no interest, no nothing.

Pay me when you can.

You don't want anything?

Well, sure I do.

I don't want you telling anybody where you got it.

Folk's will get the idea I'm going soft

it'll be... five times as hard to do business.

Fifty times as hard to keep my head up.

You got a big pride, Sloan.

Well, if I was a kid your age just starting all over again

maybe I wouldn't need it.

Now it's about all I have.

Seems I never really did know you good, Mr. Sloan.

You and a lot of other people.

Would you mind riding over tonight?

I always post a couple men at the front gate

when I got a chunk of cash around.

You go through your north field and to the fence the back way.

I'll clip it on the way home.

Like you say.

You swear you won't tell nobody about this, Billy?

Nobody at all.

Don't worry about it.

So...

So a couple hours later, I rode over to Sloan's place

through the back acres.

The barbed wire was cut like he said it would be.

And I went on through.

Now Mr. Gregg, you've told this story twice.

You still say the wire was already cut

Sloan didn't ask you to cut it.

He done it himself when he rode back home.

He took my clippers and left them to be found.

I move that last be stricken from the record.

Strike it out.

Disregard that last remark.

[Blaine] No one saw you on the trip?

No.

Now, there were two cowboys at the gate.

I could make them out a little

but I tied my horse back at the house and they didn't see me.

[Blaine] Then you took special pains not to be seen.

It seems you were willing to let Sloan's accusation

against your father go unanswered

if he lent you the money.

Well, my Pa's dead.

A little name calling can't hurt him too much.

But I got my own name to make... my own life.

And that money could help me do it.

[Blaine] So a combination of pride, which every man has

and a will to make a name

brought you unseen to the back door

of John Sloan's ranch after dark!

You're twisting it all out of shape.

He's making it sound like I went out to dry-gulch Sloan.

Well I never!

You're saying I didn't care enough about my Pa

to stand up for his name.

I simply stated the facts in your own words.

Object.

To what, Jabe?

The prosecutor's last remark?

Or to your client's outburst?

To the deliberate baiting of my client.

Attack the evidence if you will but don't attack the boy.

Now you just sit down, Billy. Take it easy.

Everybody knows how much you loved and respected your Pa.

I object, Your Honor, to counsel's instructing

the witness while under examination.

Sustained.

Jabe, don't do any more of that kind of thing.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Blaine] So you entered the house.

Then what?

I told you.

Tell the jury again.

I tapped on the door.

Sloan was sitting behind his desk.

Oh, good evening, Billy.

- Mr. Sloan. - Come on in.

How are you?

- Fine, thank you. - Let's have a drink, huh?

Well... thanks very much.

Sit down.

A little celebration.

There you are.

To you and Lucy Sutter.

Makes me real glad that I'm able to help you two kids.

Go on, drink up.

Pour yourself another one.

Alright.

Watch this, Billy.

Here's the new house and the new furniture.

The beginning of a good life for you and Lucy.

Seven, eight, nine...

Does me good to see the sparkle in your eyes.

...thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

What are you seeing, Billy?

What you said.

Most of all, Lucy's face.

Twenty-one, two, three, four...

Twenty-five.

That's alright, go right ahead, count along.

...Twenty-eight, Twenty-nine, thirty.

Thirty, huh?

Thirty, one hundred-dollar bills.

Oh you're not gonna count them again, are you?

Looking for fun?

Or don't you trust me yet?

Thanks, Mr. Sloan.

I'm glad to do it.

Careful on your way out.

Hold it right there, Gregg.

And don't turn around!

Put your hands on the door frame.

What's this all about?

Surprised?

Not very.

But I don't figure you'll kill me down in cold blood.

You'll hang for it.

What, for killing a hold-up man?

Who's gonna believe that I lent you that money

after what I said about your Pa?

No, but a hot-headed youngster lifting a few drinks

deciding to take what I wouldn't give him.

Folks would believe that.

You went to a lot of trouble.

No trouble.

Just cut a few strands of wire and posted

two witnesses out front.

But why?

You really think you're good enough for Lucy Sutter?

You, a fool kid with nothing but a dirty shack

and a few scrubby acres of land?

Well, you're not good enough!

Lucy's gonna marry me.

So that's it?

You think if you kill me Lucy will have anything do with you?

That's why I didn't go after you in the saloon, boy.

You think Lucy will mourn a thief very long?

You're gonna die a thief.

Ah!

[Billy] I headed for the door and out.

Those two fellows came up and took me to town.

That's all.

Those are the facts?

Just like it happened.

I never knew Sloan felt that way about Lucy.

[Blaine] Well, I suppose not.

I wonder if Sloan ever knew it.

What do you mean by that?

Oh, we'll get to that later.

Now, tell me this, the day before you went

to Sloan's to get the loan, you had bad words with him

at the Roan Horse saloon, is that correct?

I said it was.

Yet the very next day, when Sloan came to you

and offered the money, uh...

You had no suspicions?

At first.

What he said seemed to make sense.

A man noted for hard dealing who came to you

and practically begged your help

in not revealing a kind heart

and you believed him.

Yes.

Yet you weren't surprised, you say

when Sloan pulled a gun on you.

No, I always thought he was a snake and he proved it.

But you say you believed his story.

Well, he oiled me up and got me out there.

Sloan asked you to sneak in through a place he cut

in his own barbed wire and you didn't suspect a thing

just went right ahead, innocent as a lamb.

Yes!

Your friends and neighbors seem to find that as unbelievable

as I do, Mr. Gregg.

That's enough, Mr. Blaine.

Don't draw the spectators into your prosecution.

I'm sorry, Your Honor.

Anyway, uh, you believed him?

Yes.

[Blaine] Why?

Because I needed the money and I guess I was ready

to be convinced of anything to get it.

And if you were ready to be convinced of anything

doesn't it follow that you were ready to convince yourself

that any means were fair?

That you were justified in stealing

what you believed to be rightfully yours

because of the outlawed note?

No, I wouldn't have gone outside

the law no matter what I thought.

But you were heard to say in the saloon that there were

other laws besides book law

that should govern a man.

I didn't mean it that way.

So you decided to enforce the law

and took not only the 3,000 you thought due you

but the rest of the money as well.

I didn't take anything.

But there were over $6,000 on your person

when the sheriff had you empty your pockets.

That's true, isn't it?

If sheriff said so, yes.

How did it get there?

I don't know.

Now, Miss Sutter, um...

You're one of the few school teachers this town has had.

If that weren't interesting enough

you're-you're a lovely girl.

Isn't it true that some of our citizens, uh

satisfied their curiosity and interest in you by...

Stopping by the schoolhouse?

Yes.

And uh... Mr. Sloan met you in town sometimes

and held you in conversation.

You've had conversation with many of our male citizens.

- Yes. - The judge, for instance?

Jabe over there.

Mr. Hamblin, Jasper?

Would you say that all of them were in love with you?

Even Jasper?

Of course not.

Did John Sloan ever propose marriage?

No.

Did he ever profess a love for you?

Well, not in so many words.

Then how do you know he loved you?

A woman can tell about such things, Mr. Blaine.

Hmm.

Step down.

Your Honor... my summation will be brief.

I won't dwell on the unshakable facts that have been offered

in proof of Bill Gregg's guilt.

Those facts are condemning enough.

But there's something even more condemning...

The defense.

A fairytale...

without basis in anything except in the mind

of the defense attorney.

We find ourselves still without a motive

for the involved scheme which the late John Sloan

is supposed to have created.

The defense went to the extent of placing

the young and beautiful Lucy Sutter on the stand

to lie for the man she was about to marry.

Now, I-I honor her noble lie.

She loves Bill Gregg deeply...

But the love she says John Sloan held for her...

Is without proof of any kind.

No one else in this community knew of it.

Not the citizens of this town.

Not Bill Gregg himself.

Not even Lucy Sutter.

But the motive for Bill Gregg... is evident.

Clear.

A longstanding hate...

For a debt he thought had gone unpaid.

A desire to make a home for the wife-to-be.

And an insult against his father's name.

I won't ask for a verdict of guilty.

There can be no other.

Pass your ballots down as soon as you voted.

Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty

guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty

guilty, guilty, not guilty.

What?

Yeah. That's right, not guilty.

Guilty, guilty.

One not-guilty?

Is somebody trying to make a joke out of this?

You sound as if a man doesn't have a right to his own vote.

- It was you? - That's right.

You got no right to hold things up

you don't even belong in this town.

Look, we're gonna have another vote right now

and this time, we do it right.

Now hold on, Pike, let him have his say.

Must have reasons.

A man don't do things without reasons.

First I'd like to suggest a little bet to Mr. Pike.

A bet? We haven't got time for that.

Well, business is where you find it.

We'll all be old men before I change my vote

and let Bill Gregg hang.

And we'll all be long in our graves before I let a man

guilty as sin go free.

Which brings us to that little bet.

I have $500 here

that says we leave this room with a verdict for acquittal.

Five.

That's a fool thing offering a bet like that.

The 11 of us here already said he's guilty.

I played poker with you, Mr. Pike.

You like to get your man out on a limb

if you hold four aces.

Well, you're holding 'em.

You've heard the bet.

Am I called?

You can hold the stakes.

Well... Now, wait a minute...

let-let's name it again.

You say that the verdict will be unanimously innocent

and that includes my vote?

Done.

You notice how Mr. Pike put his finger

right on the point that made the odds so bad against me?

Pike himself must vote for acquittal.

Yeah, well. Go ahead, Maverick, what about reason?

Yes, what do you mean?

That that afternoon in the Roan Horse saloon

remember that Sloan called Gregg's father a thief?

That's right.

I wonder why Sloan should practically force Gregg

into drawing a gun on him.

The boy was pushing him.

Hard enough that a simple no wouldn't do?

Sloan didn't have to yell thief.

I think the man's got a point.

Gregg told a story so unbelievable

that even he couldn't give a reason for it.

But that argument in the saloon was set up by Sloan.

He asked for it.

That part fits Gregg's story.

Story.

What else could he say?

That's the best he could do.

And Blaine tied him up in it.

Why he looked guilty enough for hanging right then.

Oh, well, you can't judge by a man's looks, Pike.

When he stumbles over his own story you can.

I doubt that.

Doubt. That's all I have to go on is doubt.

And how many of you men would let Bill Gregg hang

if there was any doubt at all?

Any reasonable doubt?

Now, back to "Maverick."

Alright, boys, pass 'em down as soon as you've voted.

Here you go.

Guilty, guilty, not guilty...

Mine is still here.

Looks like I'm not alone anymore.

Guilty, guilty, not guilty, not guilty

guilty, guilty, guilty and mine.

And mine.

Eight to four.

You let fancy talk switch you over?

It's none of your business how I vote on a secret ballot.

Call for a poll and I'll say I vote guilty, same as I wrote.

And I say it's none of your business, Pike

but I vote not guilty.

Mr. Maverick said reasonable doubt.

Well, I've got one.

Everybody knows Sloan was a hard man.

And not the straightest when he figured to lose.

You ought to know that, Pike.

You and him had trouble when he cheated at cards.

That was between him and me.

I knew it and he knew he couldn't get away with it.

But a man who cheats once will cheat twice.

Maybe. But Sloan would stick at murder.

I know that and so does everybody else.

And from what I've heard, there's even less chance

that Bill Gregg would kill.

So it's just a difference of opinion, Mr. Pike.

And there's a point there, Pike.

Get this, then... My opinion won't change.

Maverick can tell all the bedtime stories he wants

but facts are facts

and as long as I got a vote, Bill Gregg don't go free.

Do you understand me?

You know something, Pike?

Here we are all listening to reason

or trying to, and you're just digging in your heels

to make a stand no matter what.

Maverick is talking about reasons

I'm talking about facts.

What can he do with this fact?

Gregg says Sloan gave him $3,000.

The sheriff found over six.

All the cash that Sloan had.

What does that look like to you?

I'll admit that part bothered me, too.

It's a pretty strong point.

Hey, you're doing a lot of talking

but you got no answers.

[Bret] Just as Sloan had to set the scene, so have I.

How many of you men would believe a man wouldn't know

how much money was handed to him?

You, Mr. Hamblin?

Hamblin always counts things three or four times.

Business. You gotta watch yourself.

A man wouldn't be short-changed.

No sensible man.

Right.

Anyone's careful about being short-changed

about getting less than what is due him.

But is anyone too careful about getting more?

Are you trying to tell me that Bill Gregg stood there

and didn't know Sloan was giving him more

than twice as much as he was supposed to?

You said it for me.

I don't believe it.

Oh, it's not a hard trick to fool a man with.

Not if a man's a fool.

We made a bet, 500 each, stakes are being held in your pocket.

Take it out and count it.

Everyone saw the stakes put up.

Pike himself watched me count it out.

Should be $1,000 there.

There's 1,500.

If a man's a fool... That's what Pike said.

It ain't the same thing at all.

Oh, it's exactly the same thing and you know it.

- Any verdict? - Not yet.

Better get a decision or you'll all be putting up

at the hotel tonight.

Uh, sheriff's right, let's take another vote

if it'll do us any good.

First, uh, may I have my extra 500 back?

Not guilty, not guilty.

Eleven to one. For acquittal.

And that means it's still a hung jury

'cause my vote stays the same.

Now what you got to say about that?

I'm about talked out.

Oh you're weakening, huh?

No, it isn't a case of that, Pike.

Oh, do you realize what time it is.

Go ahead, take another vote.

I say guilty, guilty, guilty.

First you say Maverick's making a joke and now you stand fast.

There's a reasonable doubt, anybody can see that.

Mr. Pike has a right to his own opinion

like the rest of us do.

We're deadlocked.

Your opinion's fixed.

Why do you still vote for hanging?

I've said it all along, Bill Gregg is guilty.

- That's your opinion? - Naturally.

You're a poker player, Mr. Pike.

And you're a pretty good one, even though you only bet

on sure things.

But haven't there been times

when the sure thing didn't pay off

when your opinion was wrong?

Isn't there just the least chance

that Bill Gregg is innocent?

Not a chance.

Let me ask you something about the odds at poker.

What were the odds against drawing a pat hand?

I don't know, plenty, maybe ten twenty to one.

Let's say ten to one just for the sake of argument.

After one pat hand, what would the odds be against drawing

another pat hand?

Same deal?

A hundred to one maybe, why?

- Ten times as much? - Yeah.

And a third pat hand would be a thousand to one

and a fourth is ten thousand, a fifth pat hand

would a hundred thousand to one be a fair idea of the odds?

Well, Pike, a few thousand, the odds doesn't matter.

I just want to agree on something.

I can say, then, that the odds against five pat hands

25 consecutive cards from a full, regular deck

shuffled, no tricks involved

are, say, a hundred thousand to one?

Yeah. Yeah, I'd agree to them odds.

Would you say those odds are about the ones

against Bill's story being true?

I'd say that, too.

Now, what are you trying to say?

That your opinion, your judgment, can be wrong.

That you, just like anybody else, can make a mistake.

I'm so sure of it that I'm willing to stake

Bill Gregg's life on it.

I'll take the long end of the bet.

I ain't quite sure what you mean.

Take a deck out of the pack, spread it on the table.

Look them over, everybody, if you want to.

I won't touch them.

Make sure it's a 52-card deck.

It's a straight deck.

Shuffle them.

Shuffle them good.

Now cut 'em.

Again and again.

Are you satisfied that they're well shuffled and cut?

Yeah.

Now deal out the first 25 cards, face down.

Now stack the 25 and keep your hand on it, Pike.

Set the rest of the deck aside.

Now let's make our bet.

I say that in those 25 cards that you dealt...

From a pack that you shuffled and cut...

There are five pat hands.

Not in regular order, you understand

but the five pat hands are there.

Do you believe that?

Five pat hands in these 25 cards?

No. No, I don't.

I bet another 500

and Bill Gregg's life that there is.

Oh, wait a second, Maverick.

You're a gambler and can risk your cash

but you can't put up a man's life against...

Uh, Caldwell, wait a minute, wait.

This is between Maverick and me.

He named it.

What do you mean, Gregg's life?

If I win, you vote to free him.

And if you lose?

If I lose, I'll stop fighting you.

I can't expect the others to vote his life away.

This jury might still be deadlocked

but the next one will hang him sure.

There's a joker here somewhere.

You're trying to trick me into voting your way.

Don't you trust your opinion?

You're a professional.

I haven't handled the deck.

The best manipulator in the world

can't control a deck he hasn't touched.

[Hamelin] What's the matter, Pike?

Odds ain't good enough?

You can win another 500.

I'm still figuring.

You're gonna make five pat hands

out of these 25 cards?

That's straights, flushes, full houses?

That's right.

Can I shuffle them again?

[Bret] It's an honest deck, Mr. Pike.

You looked at them before.

[Bret] Thank you, Mr. Pike.

Now, try to put them in suits.

See how many flushes we can make.

If we're lucky, we'll get three.

I seem to be running pretty good.

Looks like a straight flush.

Well, Mr. Pike, we did.

We got, we got three flushes.

Looks like four flushes there, Bret.

[Bret] You're right, we have.

One, two, three and four.

I think possibly... the king of hearts and a nine

we got four flushes and a straight, Mr. Pike.

Five pat hands.

A diamond flush, spade flush, club flush

heart flush, and a king high straight.

Maverick, how many times can five pat hands be made

out of any 25 cards?

Practically every time.

I call it Maverick solitaire.

Here comes the jury, folks.

For a while there, I thought we never would reach a verdict.

Well hanging the jury would have been better

than hanging Billy.

Come to think of it, we never did take a final poll.

Did Pike ever say not guilty?

Not in so many words, but we made a bargain.

Sure, but Pike never really changed his vote.

Maybe he's still sore at ya for having made a fool out of him.

We better ask him now.

Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

Well, Mr. Price?

You do have a verdict, don't you?

Well yes, we do... I think.

You think?

Well, do you have a verdict or don't you?

Yes, Your Honor, we have.

Well, what is that verdict?

Well, we find for not guilty.

This is ridiculous.

The jury obviously is not in agreement.

I demand a polling of the jury.

The jury will stand to be polled.

How do you say?

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

This case dismissed.

Well, you made me look pretty foolish.

I'm sorry, Pike... I was just betting

that you were a pretty good man.

And a fair one.

How about a little poker?

I can get back to business now.

Hello. Thanks for being with us again.

Next week's story is based on a fantastic event

that actually occurred in the colorful history

of San Francisco in the 1870s.

It's usually referred to in the history books

as the Great Diamond Swindle.

Are they diamonds?

Well, it ain't exactly rock candy, is it now?

I think you'd better leave now.

I'd love to oblige

even as a graceful gesture.

But there is money involved.

Holmes, does the gentleman have a hat?

Mr. Kingsley, I think--

[Bret] Beautiful Jacqueline Baer plays a mysterious French countess.

Good evening.

Or is she a countess?

The man in San Francisco is into me

for a lump on the head, $17,000 plus interest

and nearly six months of my valuable time.

Valuable...

I'm not one to carry a grudge

but I could make room for this one.

Anybody can go out and buy diamonds.

That many?

Oh. Why, Selby, the best jeweler in town

evaluated those stones at

at more than a half a million dollars.

I know.

That is the one part I can't figure out.

He figures to sell out

become the richest man in California

before it has a chance to go down.

California diamonds close today at 168.

Before it hits 200... you'll be dead.

Whatever you want, I want you to have it.

I know what I want.

Just name it.

So you got it all flipped off, huh?

- Who are you? - I'm the captain.

[Bret] It's a story with intrigue

suspense, and an unexpected romance.

It's called "Diamond in the Rough."

See it next week.

This has been an ABC Television Network presentation.