Bonanza (1959–1973): Season 13, Episode 12 - Easy Come, Easy Go - full transcript

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Morning, Floyd.

How you feeling, Ray?

Top of the morning, Miss Penny.

- Luke, how are you?
- Hello, Joe.

- Hoss.
- Howdy.

Ah, sure good to hear a friendly voice.

For a minute there
I thought everybody was deaf,

or else I had a bad case of laryngitis.

No. No, no,
we can hear you real good, Luke.



Oh, I guess you boys ain't heard, huh?

Oh, no, we heard. We heard.

Them fellers really took you
to the cleaners, huh?

Took it all.

Money, house and everything.

I guess them stocks and bonds
are a little out of my territory.

They sure did have it
printed up on pretty paper.

Anyway, I was out
looking for a job when I run into you.

Well, things can't be that bad.

All I got left is $50
and my daughter, Meena.

You'd still have it all
if you'd listened to me.

That's what she said.

- Hello, Joe, Hoss.
- Howdy, Miss Meena.

I told you not to invest
your money in that stock.



That's exactly what she said.

I told you the Fenco Brothers
were crooks.

That's what she said.

Hey, Luke, maybe you can tell us,
where would we find Harvey Sprague?

Oh, he's living with his son in Reno.

Had a bad run of cards
and lost everything he had.

Hey, Luke, he didn't...

He didn't lose
that little piece of land

he had up in
Pine Tree Canyon, did he?

Lost it. Lost it all.

But that wasn't no great loss.

That land wasn't worth anything.

- Yeah, not unless you need it.
- Yeah.

- Well, you folks need it?
- Yeah, and Pa needs it bad.

Why, I sure hope he gets it.

Well, look, you don't...
You don't know who, uh...

Who owns it now, do you,
by any chance?

Well, Joe, I reckon
you'd find out at the land office.

Yeah. Good idea, Luke.
All right, I'll see you later.

- Bye, Joe.
- So long, Joe.

Luke, if things get real bad
and you can't find a job,

come on out to the house. Pa's hiring.

- Thank you, Hoss.
- Bye, Hoss.

Good day, Miss Meena.

Why didn't you listen to me
when I tried to warn you, Papa?

I sure am glad you're smart, Meena.

Well, I'm smart enough to tell you,
you're not smart enough to listen.

Well, at least you don't
have to worry about anybody

trying to marry you
on account of money now.

Now, I never said that people
were trying to marry me for the money.

You were the one that said that.

Yeah, but you never argued with me.

Whoa.

Hello, Hoss.

Ben, Joe.

- Hi, Meena.
- Hello.

- Hi, Ben.
- Hi, Luke.

- Joe.
- Luke, how are you?

- What do you say, Hoss?
- Luke.

Uh, Ben, could I...
Could I talk to you for a minute?

Why, sure.

Fellas, why don't you...

Why don't you help
Meena off the wagon?

That seat must be getting pretty hard.

Here's the mail.

Well, what's on your mind?

I guess you haven't heard.

Yes, I did hear, Luke.

- You've been gambling again.
- Yeah.

That's the reason why I'm here,
looking for a job.

Here?

- You want to work here?
- If you give me a job.

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

I'll tell you what I'll do, Ben.
I'll flip you.

Heads, you give me a job,
tails, you don't.

Well, we got a cook,
we got a man for the...

But, Ben, I don't want no sissy job.

You know, I'm pretty good at riding,
and I ain't bad at roping.

Heads.

All right.
All right, you got yourself a job.

Oh, Ben, just one problem.

Meena.

Oh.

Well, she'll stay on as our guest.

Oh, Ben, I don't know how long it'll be.

Oh.

Well, that's no problem.
We have plenty of room.

Ben, I want to thank you.

You're a real friend.

A real, honest to goodness,
tried and good friend.

And you won't be sorry one minute.

Believe me.

I believe you.

Howdy, I'm Dusty Rhodes.

Luke Calhoun.

Ben told me about hiring you.

If there's anything you want to know,
or you got any problems,

you just come to me.

We turn them lamps down at 10:00,

so if you got anything to do,
do it before then.

Anybody for a few hands of poker
before the lights go out?

First rule, no poker playing
in the bunk house, okay?

Okay...

Boss.

Any rules against playing checkers?

Nope.

- You play?
- Yeah, some.

Have a seat.

What's your first name?

- Dave.
- Dave?

- Yeah, and what's yours?
- Luke.

- Glad to meet you, Luke.
- Nice to know you.

You got any special color you like?

No. Black.

I'd better warn you,
I'm pretty good at this game.

Well, I ain't so bad myself.

Well, you probably
ain't as good as I am.

So, if your feelings hurt easy,
don't play me.

Go ahead, move.

How about 50 cents a game?

You know, kind of make it interesting.

Oh... Well, I...

Of course, if you ain't sure.

Let's make it a dollar a game.

- What's your first name?
- Dave.

Go ahead.

Take your jump.

Go again?

No.

It don't take me but five games
to learn my lesson.

Any of you boys else feel lucky?

Hey, maybe Pete might.

- Hey, Pete.
- Yeah?

Got a man over here
who likes to play checkers

for a dollar a game.

Yeah?

Well, how about that?

- What's your first name?
- Pete.

- Yours?
- Luke.

Howdy, Luke.

Howdy.

You got any special color?

Oh, black's fine.

Would you care to make
another little bet on the side?

Oh, the more the merrier.

How about the rest of you boys?

Oh, boy.

Sucker money.

Your move.

It wasn't just the stock deal,
Mr. Cartwright,

Papa was into everything.

He got gambling fever...

Faro, roulette, three-card monte,

how long it took a drop of water
to run down a pane of glass.

Why, he'd bet on anything.

One afternoon,
Papa and Harvey Sprague

sat on the porch for three hours,

betting on who could spit the furthest.

Well, I know Harvey,
he's a gambling fool.

He spits pretty good, too.

Well, did you try to stop him?

I mean, from gambling?

Well, when it was just gambling,
I didn't mind.

You know, it was his money.

He found that mine,
worked it by himself all those years,

and if he wanted to gamble,
it was his business.

Besides, he usually won.

But when the Fenco Brothers
started selling him stock,

I tried to stop him.

But it was too late.

Well, Meena,
wasn't part of that money yours?

Not really.

Papa raised me, loved me,

taught me the difference
between right and wrong

and how to take care of myself.

I figured he gave me
what he owed me.

The money belonged to him.

You're a very unusual girl.

Other people
have said the same thing.

No, it's a compliment.

Not the way they say it.

Hey, Pa, you about ready
to go over those books?

Oh, yeah, I think we better.

Oh, Hoss,

would you show Meena around?

Yes, sir.

Hey.

With Meena, watch your step.

Why?

Because she wants to
get married, that's why.

Joseph, everybody
wants to marry somebody.

She doesn't want to marry somebody.
She wants to marry anybody.

So watch your step.

Well, it's a nice night, isn't it?

Yes, ma'am.
Yes, ma'am, it's a beautiful night.

- Would you like to take a walk?
- I'd love to, Hoss.

Hey, Hoss, watch your step.
It's dark out there.

I can look out after myself,
little brother.

I reckon he thinks I'm gonna
step in a hole, or something.

No, that's not what he meant.

He meant for you
to watch your step with me.

Oh, no, ma'am, I don't think he...

Oh, don't try and cover up, Hoss.

It doesn't matter.
I make a lot of mistakes.

Well, ma'am, we...
We all make mistakes.

Yes, but most of mine are about men.

Being raised all alone
out there in that desert,

just Papa and me.

All I knew about men
was what I got out of books.

And in the books, people meet,
fall in love and get married,

just like that.

It doesn't take more
than just a few pages sometimes.

But it just doesn't happen
like that in real life.

I mean, you can meet somebody
and then meet somebody else,

and then you can meet
somebody else, and somebody else,

and you haven't gotten married.

And time just keeps passing, and...

I get the feeling
that I'm never going to get married.

Well, ma'am, do you fall
in love with all of them?

No.

But I'm not as lonely
when they're around,

and that's got to count for something.

Yeah, I reckon it does at that.

Hoss, why do men think
that falling in love is like

falling into some kind of a trap?

That getting married
is like being locked up in a cell?

Well, I reckon it's married men
can't do everything they'd like to do.

A single man can't do
everything he'd like to, either.

Well, that's sort of like
locking himself up

in his own cell, ain't it?

Well, if I've got to be locked up,

I'd rather be locked up with somebody
than all by myself.

Yeah?

Once more, double or nothing?

I think I learned my lesson.

What about the rest of you fellas?

How about two at a time?

Three at a time?

Four at a time.

And if you lose one, you lose them all?

Well, I don't know about that.

Wait a minute.

Okay, if I lose one, I lose them all.
Double or nothing.

Dave, Smokey, Ray,
play the other games.

Something wrong?

Something unfinished.

Carter, huh?

We can't haul those logs
across the top of that mountain.

The only way we can get them
to the mill is across his land.

Well, why don't
I ride over to Carson tomorrow,

check around,
and Hoss can cover Gold Hill.

From what we know about Carter,

he'll probably stop
at the first deck of cards he gets to.

Well, let's try anything.

We've got to pay that timber crew,
whether they work or not.

What if he doesn't
want to sell the land?

Now, what reason
would he have to keep it?

That 30 acres is the worst piece
of land in the whole country.

The only use
anybody could make out of it,

is to get across it to someplace else.

- Who'd want that?
- Us.

We'll... Uh, we'll go
first thing in the morning.

All right, boys, come see me.

Come see me, boys. See old Luke.

Thank you. I sure do appreciate it.

Thank you, boys.

Sure do appreciate it, boys.

How about five at a time?

Six?

How about seven?

Turn out the lamp.

Eight?

Morning.

Morning.

Dusty gave me the day off today,

and I'd kind of like to
spend it in town...

But I'm kind of broke.

Sorry.

I make it a practice
never to lend money.

You just lose friends.

But I'll tell you what I'll do.

I'll give you a chance
to win some of it back.

- Yeah, but...
- I know you're broke,

but I still want to give you a chance
to win some of your money back.

Your time is worth money.

You probably make about $2 a day.

So if you want to bet $2,
you got to bet a day of your time.

Bet on what?

How do you spit?

About the same as everybody else.

I just pucker up and push.

You good at it?

About average.

Well, you probably
ain't old enough yet.

You know something?

Some men got spitting
down to a fine art.

They skeet it.

How about chucking pennies
to a crack in the floor?

Closest penny wins.

Tossing pennies at a crack?

Well, I don't know.

Well, I'll tell you what I'll do.

You can chuck facing the crack,

and I'll turn my back around
and chuck them over my shoulder.

That's like stealing money.

Yeah, but it was your money
to begin with.

I'll bet you one day
of my time against $2.

- It's a bet.
- Can I get a bet like that, too?

I don't know about that.

You got some of our money, too,
you know.

I guess you're right.

Oh, boy, sucker money.

- Good morning, Miss Meena.
- Good morning.

My name's... Dave Torrance.

I know.

- How's that?
- I asked.

Oh?

I asked about all the fellas
in the bunkhouse.

Well, I... I didn't know
you'd ever noticed me before.

It never hurts a girl to know
all she can about eligible suitors.

Just in case one of them
should become one of them.

Well, that wasn't exactly
what I had in mind.

Well, you must have
had something in mind.

I mean, you've been hanging around
out here for 15 minutes,

waiting for me to come out.

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

You see, I was thinking, uh...

Well, I thought that maybe, uh...

Maybe, uh...

Would you like to go out with me?

No.

That's great.

I'm helping Hop Sing this morning.

I'd be happy to some other time.

Oh.

Well, I... I wasn't exactly
thinking about this morning.

Well, when did you have in mind?

Oh, I don't know.

Anytime.

Maybe a Fourth of July picnic.

The Fourth of July was two weeks ago.

Yeah.

Well, another one will come
around again next year.

How much do you owe him?

What? Owe who?

My papa! How much?

Four dollars and a half.

But how'd you know?

Well, you weren't very eager.
It figured.

I'm awfully ashamed, Miss Meena.

There's no need to be.

Well, there sure is.

After the matches and the checkers
and the broom, I should have know'd

he could pitch them pennies
over his shoulder

and hit that crack every time.

Yes, you should.

Thanks for asking me, anyway.

But I feel terrible about that, too.

Well, you shouldn't.

In a way, you were quite flattering.

Is that so?

The last fella my papa
told to ask me for a date,

only owed him a dollar and six bits.

Well, look, Miss Meena,
if I pay your pa back next payday,

could I ask you for a date again?

Of course, Dave.

How about next Fourth of July?

And she want to
put salt on my roast beef.

Shh...

Meena.

Oh, good morning, Mr. Cartwright.

Good morning, Meena.

- Uh, Hop Sing is a little upset.
- Oh, really?

Then maybe he should lie down
and get some rest.

- I'll take care of things here.
- No, you don't understand.

You see, Hop Sing is upset because
you are taking care of things here.

You're taking care of the things
which he thinks

he ought to be taking care of.

Oh, I just felt that I ought
to be doing something,

and there's not much on a ranch
that a woman can do except cook.

Hop Sing is the cook.

I know. I just wanted to help.

You helping Hop Sing
right out of kitchen.

All I did was put a little salt
on the roast beef.

Hop Sing don't need no help!

Wait a minute. Wait a minute, now.

Now, you're the one
who's always complaining

about needing help, Hop Sing.

At least three times a day,
once at every meal,

"Hop Sing needs
help in kitchen," right?

Help is somebody
who do what Hop Sing say.

Not somebody
who tell Hop Sing what to do.

Need help, not boss!

All I did was put a little salt
on the roast beef.

Hop Sing know how to
chop the onions!

Hop Sing know
when to put the salt on the meat!

Hop Sing is boss in this kitchen!

Right?

He's right.

Okay.

Hop Sing is the boss.
I'll just do what he tells me.

Okay?

Too much salt.

- Luke?
- Hi, Ben.

Has the tack room
been straightened out?

No, but it's getting there.

Has it been inventoried?

Inventoried?

No, but it's getting there.

Oh, good morning, Mr. Cartwright.

I thought you had the day off.

And I thought you were supposed
to be cleaning up the tack room.

Well, that's right, Ben,

but you see, Pete owes me
a day of his time.

You paid him for a day of his time?

No, I won it.

Now, Luke...

You know very well there's a rule,

a strict rule about playing poker
in the bunkhouse.

We wasn't playing poker, Ben.

We was chucking pennies
to a crack in the floor.

Well, it... It comes to the same thing.

You better get back to work.

Luke, I want to talk to you.

Now, Luke...

You know, we have very strict rules
on this ranch about gambling...

But I'm not going to fire you.

And do you know why?

- 'Cause we're friends?
- No!

Because if I fire you,
I've got to fire Pete.

And Pete is a top hand.
I don't want to lose him.

If you want to gamble, do it in town.

Okay, boss.

Can I help you?

I'm looking
for a Mr. Calhoun,

a Luke Calhoun.

Right over here, Garvey.

If you looked around,
you could have seen me.

Come on, we'll go talk in the barn.

- I'm Ralph Garvey.
- Oh, Ben Cartwright.

Come on, Garvey.

I'm not sure I like this, Mr. Calhoun.

Deception, subterfuge,

working behind people's backs,
flying false colors.

Well, that ought not to bother you.

You're a lawyer, ain't you?

Pete?

You don't mind, do you?

Come on.

Excuse us, Ben.

Morning, Miss Meena.

Good morning.

I thought you might be hungry.

Yes, ma'am, I sure am.

Roast beef sandwich
and a glass of milk.

Milk?

You mean, like, from a cow?

Well, it's been in a can,
hanging in the spring,

so it's nice and cool.

Well, when you've had as much
to do with cows as I have...

It's good for you.

I'm sorry Papa got you into this.

Oh, it wasn't all his fault.

Nobody forced me to make that bet.

I know, and I think you got
what was coming to you.

A man who gambles
gets just what he deserves.

I wonder what Luke ever did
to deserve a daughter as pretty as you.

Oh, well,
I've got certain drawbacks, too.

I never noticed any.

Pete, I didn't think
you'd ever noticed me at all.

Oh, yeah, I noticed you all right.

Why, every day I went to town,
I used to sit out in front of the hotel

and I used to watch you
walk to the store.

Well, why didn't you say something?

Why didn't you come to call?

You had too much money.

Well, I don't have any money now.

I know.

And I was wondering,

maybe we could take a buggy ride
down by the river?

Have a picnic.

And we could talk.

Get to know each other a little better.

How about next Sunday?

I can't!

Well, how about the next Sunday?

No, Pete.
Not the next Sunday, not any Sunday.

I was just beginning
to think that you liked me.

I do.

It's just that I wouldn't want
to get to like you too much.

Why?

Because I don't have any money.

Well, that don't make no sense at all.

Yes, it does. I'm thinking about Papa.

He's getting kind of old,
and when he can't work anymore,

I'm going to have to take care of him.

And that takes money.

Are you going to get a job?

Well, either that,
or marry somebody with money.

Well, I don't know
if I'll ever be rich...

But I'm not the type of man

who'd let his father-in-law
starve to death, either.

Why, that's almost a proposal.

Well, al... Almost, but not quite.

Oh.

I don't know you well enough
to propose to you.

That's right.

And I don't know you
well enough to say yes.

You think those people in Gold Hill
knew what they were talking about?

It sure sounded like it, Pa.

They said
that's all Carter was talking about,

bragging about all the money
he's going to make on that land deal.

I sure hope Little Joe
has more luck in Carson City.

Oh, that was a very good
roast beef, Hop Sing.

Yeah, sure was, as usual.

Needs a little more salt, though.

Needs more salt?

What's the matter with him?

Long story.

I think I'll take a walk.

Mmm.

Wait a minute, Meena, I'll go with you.

It's dark out there. You're liable
to step in a hole or something.

- Hey, Joe.
- Hey, where's Pa?

In the house.

- Found Carter.
- Oh, good, good.

- He owns the land all right.
- Yeah?

But somebody else wants to buy it.

- Somebody else wants to buy it?
- Mmm-hmm.

Who'd want it?

I mean, it's been prospected.
There's no gold.

The trees have been cut down.
There's no lumber. There's no...

There's no grass, there's no water...

- Who would want it?
- Well, somebody does.

He wants to wait and see
who's going to bid the most for it.

Well...

Look... Look, ride back tomorrow,
tell Carter

that we'll pay him $500 more

than the other party
has bid for it.

That's what the other party said.

Said what?

They'd pay him $500
more than you bid for it.

Oh.

Then somebody knows
about the lumber contract.

Mmm-hmm.

So we either pay him his price,

or pay off the mill for not
being able to deliver the lumber.

I think I'll run into Carson City myself
and talk to Mr. Carter.

No need. He'll be here tomorrow.

He's kind of anxious to see
how high the bidding's going to go.

I'll bet he is.

It's beautiful.

Yeah, the sky?

Everything.

The sky, the night, the Ponderosa.

It must be nice
to live here all the time.

It feels so safe.

Well, we have a few little problems
every now and then.

All that land, all those cattle.

What kind of problems
could you possibly have?

Well, money, for example.

Oh, Hoss.

Well, ma'am, you...
You can't spend land.

And we've got to drive
the cattle to market.

Well, if you need money,
you can always sell some of the land.

Well, but then it wouldn't
belong to you anymore, would it?

I mean, somebody else would have it.

Then you can borrow on it.

Well, you got to pay that money back,
plus interest.

Well, at least you own all this land.

Well, not necessarily, ma'am.

I mean...

D... Do you ever think about it?

I mean, do you believe
that anybody ever really

owns a mountain or a valley?

Or owns a lake?

I don't think so.

I think that they're just sort of
loaned to us for a while,

put in our trust for us to keep and use,

and then we pass them
on to somebody else

and they sort of keep them in trust
and use them for a while,

and then they pass them on.

You see, them mountains and lakes,

them valleys, was here
a long time before we got here,

and they going to be here
a long time after we're gone.

And just who are you
going to be passing it on to?

Well, I've given that some thought.

Uh, haven't you
made up your mind yet?

Well, I've... I've made up
my mind as to how,

I just ain't made up
my mind as to who.

But then when a man's out here
in a place this pretty

with a pretty gal like you,

sometimes his mind
can just sort of make itself up.

Hey, Hoss.

Hey, are you ready to
ride on to Seminole Canyon?

Well, I was figuring on
doing that in the morning, Joe.

No. No, we'll get an early start and

right the first thing in the morning,
we'll be on the roundup.

- But, Joe...
- I'll get your horse.

Joe!

Well, let's see. Uh...

Where was we?

- We were talking...
- Hey, Hoss!

Hey, you'd better give me
a hand with your saddle.

In a minute, Joseph!

What was I saying now?

Uh, you were talking about your mind...

Hoss, hey, what did you
do with the blanket?

You know, your big horse blanket?

Well, I guess you'd better go help him.

We'll talk about it some other time?

- Yes, ma'am, good night.
- Good night.

Nice night.

Yeah, it was.

What's the matter, Luke?

Ah, Hoss, you got a bad crew.

They ain't got no sportsmanship.

I try to work up a little game,
and nobody wants to play.

Luke, a new rule, remember?

No gambling.

Well, Joe, it ain't exactly gambling.

It's a little game.

You put a hat down here,
take a step over here,

turn around,

I give a man 10 cartridges...

Cartridges?

- Bullets.
- Oh.

And I'm willing to bet
he can't chuck them cartridges

without getting one of them in the hat.

That's gambling.

Well, it ain't gambling.

At that distance, a man can't miss.

Well, that's what I say.

But nobody's fool enough
to take me up.

Look here, who gets to
throw those car... The bullets?

- Now, Hoss...
- Well, it don't make any difference.

You can chuck them yourself
if you want to.

Mmm-hmm.

Any particular way?

Any way you want
to chuck them, Hoss.

All 10 at one time, over your shoulder,

chuck over your back...
Don't make no difference to me.

Chuck them any way you want to.

And you're willing to bet
that at least one of them cart...

Bullets will go into the hat, right?

- Hoss, you remember what Pa said...
- Joe, wait a minute.

- How much?
- How about $10?

How about 50?

Oh, come on, this is ridiculous.

Joseph, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Huh?

That's a lot of money, Hoss.

Put up or shut up.

It's a bet. I'll go get the cartridges.

Now, Joseph, I know what I'm doing.

I'm going to teach him a lesson
once and for all.

You don't mind, do you, Pete?

Now, let me get this right.

I stand right here on this line, right?

- That's right.
- Mmm-hmm.

And here's your cartridges.

All right.

Now, that's the hat,

and it don't make no difference
how I throw these bullets, right?

That's right.

Shucks...

Sucker.

Pay me.

Uh, excuse me just a minute, Hoss.

Come see me.

Honest game for honest people.

Forty games for 40 people.

What's going on?

Luke came back here and told them
Hoss could stand one pace

away from the hat, throw the bullets

and not a one of them
would go in the hat.

Why, every man here
figured at that distance

Hoss was bound
to get one bullet in the hat,

and they're willing to bet on it.

Dusty, what did Pa
say about gambling?

Well, yeah, but when they heard
that Hoss was in on it,

we figured it was all right.

Hoss.

Here, Hoss. Sure do appreciate it.

Really?
You really showed him, didn't you?

Huh? Taught... Taught him a lesson
he won't forget, huh?

Listen, Joe, I... I feel bad enough
about this like it is.

And I'd appreciate it
if you'd let me be the one

to tell Pa about it.

I'd appreciate it if you would tell me
when you get ready to tell Pa

so I can be 10 miles away
when you do.

Luke, I want you to do me a big favor.

Sure, Joe.

Tomorrow morning,
I want you to ride into the Ponderosa

because I think Pa's going to fire you.

- What for?
- Gambling.

Aw, Joe, you don't call that gambling.

- That's a little game...
- First thing in the morning, Luke.

Okay, Joe, whatever you say.

Whoa, whoa.

Hello, Hop Sing.

Where is everybody?

Oh, Mr. Cartwright, he on errand.

Miss Meena out in back,
milking the cow.

How about fixing old Luke up
a little breakfast?

You want breakfast,
you be here when breakfast ready.

When is that?

Three hour ago.

Tell you what, Hop Sing.

You pick out a card.

If I can tell you what it is,

you got to cook me steak,
eggs with chili peppers.

And if I can't tell you what it is,
you get that fat $10.

- And no breakfast.
- And no breakfast.

You turn around.

Turn around.

You got a four.

Is Ben Cartwright here?

Mr. Cartwright out.

He come back by-and-by.

You like to wait?

Don't mind if I do.

Morning, Mr. Calhoun.

Morning, Mr. Carter.

Mind if I sit down?

Don't mind if you do.

In fact, the sight of you
brightens my day.

- How's your luck?
- Well, no luck to it.

It's all a matter of skill.

Feel like testing out that skill?

Well, I don't consider you
a fair test of my gambling ability.

I've seen you play.

I saw you skin those
tinhorn Fenco Brothers

down at the saloon,
but, uh, they were lousy poker players.

And you're a professional?

That's how I make my living.

Hop Sing.

- Yes, sir?
- You mind cleaning up this mess?

Cut you high card for a dollar.

I didn't come here to gamble,
Mr. Calhoun.

You don't call a dollar gambling,
do you?

Double or nothing?

$20 this time.

No, like I said, uh,
I really didn't come here to gamble.

You're bound to win this time.

Odds are in your favor.

My deck?

As long as the seal's ain't broken.

One hand of showdown for $100.

Your deal, Mr. Carter.

New game, Mr. Calhoun.

A little three-card monte.

Don't think I ever heard of it.

Very simple.

Two red kings and an ace.

Find the ace.

That one.

Luke!

How many times have I warned you
about gambling in this place?

In the bunkhouse, Ben.
This ain't the bunkhouse.

Uh, Ben, do you know Mr. Carter?
Mr. Cartwright.

Carter?

You're the fella I've been looking for
all over this country.

We've got a lot of talking to do,
Mr. Carter.

Not just yet, please.

Think you can find it again?

Now, Luke, I will not
have you turning this place

into a gambling hall.

That's right, Ben. You're right.

And this is absolutely the last time.

My word of honor.

Luke...

Ben... I know where that ace is.
I can't lose.

Well, I think I know
where that ace is, too.

Then why don't you pick for him?

Not until you match that.

- Papa!
- You stay out of this, Meena.

Sorry, that ain't enough.

This is the deed to that land
I won from Harvey Sprague.

I was offered $3,500
for it by a Mr. Greavey.

The name is Garvey.

Mr. Garvey worked for me,
and I'm the man who made the offer.

It was 2,500.

Hold on just a minute now, Luke.

You the fella
that's been bidding against me?

That's right, Ben.

How could you, Papa?

Meena, I'll tell you
all about this a little later.

Just as soon as I pick this ace.

And you, too, if you want to, Ben.

You bet I want to.

I want to hear all about it.
It ought to be very interesting.

I'll offer you $3,000 for this deed.

I'm sorry, Ben,
but it's already in the pot.

Don't worry, Mr. Cartwright.
Odds are he can't pick it this time.

All right, Ben, you pick the ace.

You don't mind, do you, Mr. Carter?

Oh, that ain't it, Ben!

Are you sure, Mr. Cartwright?

Well, it has to be.

The other two are kings.

Well, easy come, easy go.

Ma'am. Gentlemen.

Now... about that land.

It ain't for sale, Ben.

It's a present for a friend.

Here.

Go ahead and take it.

It didn't really cost me anything.

Hold on a minute now, Luke.

You mean to tell me
you were bidding against me

so you could buy it,
so you could give it to me?

That's right, Ben.

You need it, don't you?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

I... I need it.

Well, I'll...
I'll pay you the 3,000 for it.

I heard about you
losing all your money.

Well, it wasn't exactly that way, Ben.

Them Fenco boys,

they took everything away
from me but $50.

And then they got greedy
and wanted the $50, too.

So we got into a little card game
in the back room of the saloon,

and I won back everything
they took away from me,

plus everything they had.

Papa, I don't want you to tell

anybody about that money
until I say so. Understand?

Honey, I ain't going to
say one word to anybody

until you got that boy firmly hooked.

I think I'll take a ride
up to Seminole Canyon

and see how the round-up's going.

You old horn-swaggler you.

I thank you, Luke, I... I really do.

I can't tell you
how much I appreciate this.

Oh, and by the way, you're fired.

Ben, you're the one
who picked the ace.

I wasn't gambling.

Yeah, that's right.
You wasn't gambling, was you?

You didn't have anything
to win or lose, did you?

I sure didn't figure
that one for the ace.

It wasn't.

If that there's a king,

and them there two are kings,
where's the ace?

Probably right up Mr. Carter's sleeve,
as if you didn't know.