Bonanza (1959–1973): Season 2, Episode 30 - The Thunderhead Swindle - full transcript

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Don't you men know
there's a law against rustling?

Well, if you're gonna hang us,

you might as well
go get your rope.

It won't do you no good, though.

There'll be more of us.

A man's got to eat.

A man should be able to eat
without stealing.

That's easy for you to say,
Mr. Cartwright.

Some of us have been out of work
for over four months.



Any money we had went to feed
our families a long time ago.

You're miners, aren't you?

We were.

We ain't thieves,
Mr. Cartwright.

We just can't get any work.

More men being laid off
every day.

There ain't a mine working
in Virginia City.

It's pretty bad
all over the Comstock, Pa.

I know Wheeler there;
he ain't no thief.

Used to be foreman
on the Gould & Curry.

I know, I know.

All right,
you killed that steer.

Better take him with you.

But pass the word along,



we won't stand for anybody
stealing our beef--

rustlers or miners.

They're getting
pretty desperate.

Hungry men can cause
a lot of trouble.

Yeah.

I'm sorry it happened, Ben.

I'll get some warrants
sworn out and...

Well, Roy, we-we didn't
come here for that reason.

Ah, you can't blame a man
for wanting to feed his family,

keep his children from starving.

We got to take them in.

If we don't, you'll start
losing cattle by the hundreds.

We got an awful lot of men
out of jobs here.

Yeah, we saw most of them
as we was riding in a while ago.

If them mines
don't pick up soon,

well, that many idle men
spells trouble.

Roy, we don't want to get
anybody arrested.

All we want to do is, we'll tell
you that we'd-we'd like to offer

a few head of cattle maybe every
day to help tide things over.

And we'd like to do it
through you.

I know it's not much, but...

Well, it's a lot.

It'll keep them people
from going hungry.

And maybe it'll keep
the rustlers off our land, too.

Yeah. We'll take them, Ben,
and be obliged to you.

Well, you know, Roy, whatever...
whatever happens

to Virginia City
affects our ranch, too.

Sure is a big way
of looking at it.

Take it easy, Roy.

Good-bye, boys.

Horton, if you know something,
why don't you tell us?

Yeah, tell us what you know.

Now I haven't been
down on the Thunderhead.

But there is a shift down below,
ain't there?

And they got the shift
locked in,

and they're sending food
down to them, ain't that right?

Course that's right.

Well, all right.

I guess that's no secret.

Pa, we, uh,
we delivered that stock.

Oh, good, good.

We'll, uh, we'll bring in
a few more head tomorrow.

What's going on?

Seems there's
a lot of talk about

a strike in the Thunderhead.

The Thunderhead?

You sure you're not mistaken?

Ain't no mistake about it, Pa.

Wait till old Adam gets back
from San Francisco

and hears about this;
he always swore there wasn't

nothing in that Thunderhead
but sand and gravel.

Yeah. Hey, you know,
it's a shame

it's not next door
in the Gould & Curry.

You got some stock in that one,
don't you, Pa?

Yeah, but I'm not
thinking about the stock.

I just hope that-that talk about

the strike in the Thunderhead
is true.

Come on, let's go down.

There you are!

What more do you want?

The Thunderhead owners are
trying to keep the news quiet.

Why else would they keep
a shift locked down below?

Yeah. Why?

Well, all I know is that
Frank Furnas knows his mining.

And he don't go around
buying dry holes.

I just don't understand this.

Well, why, Pa?

It ain't the first time

a bonanza's been struck
on the Comstock.

Yeah.

Well...

Hey, Roy!

Mr. Cartwright! Mr. Cartwright.

Doggone it,
you won't have to worry about

them critters of yours no more.

The Thunderhead hit it big!

Yeah.

Roy...

Sure is exciting, ain't it?

Yeah, that's what I want
to talk to you about.

- Can we talk inside your office?
- Sure.

Uh, boys, I'll be
a little while with the sheriff.

I'll meet you back
at the hotel later.

- Okay, Pa.
- See you.

Right, Roy.

Let's go over here
and see what's happening.

What's on your mind, Ben?

Well, this talk about the strike
in the Thunderhead...

Now, that's beginning to shape
up like a lot more than talk.

This is the best news
to hit the Comstock

in more than six months.

Yeah, I... guess you're right,
if there's any truth in it.

Now, what makes you say that?

Roy, Jim Bronson
ran the Thunderhead

for five years, right?

Yeah.

Now, he's the best mining man
in the Comstock Lode.

Pretty good.

He told me that the Thunderhead
was a dead hole.

Now, his foreman, Leon Flores,
told me the same thing.

Oh, they could both be wrong.

Yeah, I guess they could.

But Jim seemed pretty positive.

Maybe Jim's just sour
'cause he made the mistake

of selling too soon.

Yeah, maybe.

I'm going to ask him again, just
to make sure I heard him right.

I'll see you.

Yeah, you heard me right, Ben.

Then all this talk about a new
strike is just a pack of lies.

I sold the Thunderhead.
It's none of my business.

Oh, Jim, I... I wasn't
making an accusation.

I... I was just asking.

Now, what do you
expect me to do?

Those people out there
are friends of mine.

You've seen them.

They've been dead men
for months.

Now they're coming alive.

Now there'll be something
to live for--jobs, maybe.

Ben...

Ben, at least they got hope.

Do you want me to destroy that?

Jim...

What do you plan to do?

Can't decide.

Furnas and Cunningham
are up to something.

They offered me $10,000
to go along with them.

To say that I went down
the Thunderhead

and seen the new strike.

Well, did you go down?

Did you see the new strike?

I told you, there's no strike
in the Thunderhead!

Jim, if you need money badly...

I'm not thinking about myself.

I'm thinking about
those miners out there.

I'm thinking
about the whole town.

Ben, do you know what'd happen
if even a false boom started?

San Francisco money
would start coming in.

And maybe some of
the closed mines

would get a little courage
and open up.

There's a lot of men out there
that need work.

Some of them would get it.

Now, do you want me to go out

and tell them
there's no possible chance

of any silver
in the Thunderhead?

Do you want me to take away
their last hope?

Uh, Jim...

Jim, you're... you're so right
about Virginia City.

It... it's in a bad way.

It's... it's tottering.

But it hasn't fallen.

You give it a false boom,

you give it a-a few months
of false prosperity

based on nothing, and you'll be
giving it a final push,

and Virginia City
will really collapse.

Only it won't be a depression,
it will be a catastrophe.

Yeah.

Thought of that, too.

Have you given Furnas
and Cunningham their answer?

No. They're coming over
this afternoon.

What are you going to tell them?

I've been honest
all my life, Ben.

I guess I'm too old
to change now.

They're not going to like it.

But don't worry, Ben.

I got into it,
and I'll get out of it.

But thanks, Ben.

Thanks for coming by.

I needed somebody to talk to.

Mr. Bronson, I thought we had
come to an agreement about this.

I told you I'd think about it.

I have.

The answer is no.

Aren't you being
pretty high-handed about this?

Mr. Furnas here, I believe,

has just as much knowledge
about mines as you have.

He says he's found plenty
of silver in the Thunderhead.

And I say, if there's any silver
in the Thunderhead,

it was hauled in
from somewhere else.

And that makes
the whole deal crooked.

Gentlemen, the answer
is still no.

Mr. Bronson, you're making
a sad mistake.

He's onto us, Jack.

He just blew the whistle
on the whole deal.

Oh, did he?

- Horton...
- Jack.

Do we have to do it this way?

Do you want Bronson
talking all over town?

Horton, you know
what you have to do.

That's what I'm paid for.

Horton...

Be careful.

Well, sure.

Ain't I always?

- Let's get out of here!
- Take it easy.

Get his money.

I want this to look
like a robbery.

Come on!

We're at the bottom of
a depression like this.

This is the worst
I've ever seen.

Oh.

- Hoss?
- Hi, Roy.

Whatever it was, I didn't do it.

You sure look guilty to me.

- Ben.
- Hi, Roy.

Come on in, sit down,
have a cup of coffee.

No, thanks.

Well, what's on your mind?

Did you see Jim Bronson
yesterday afternoon?

Yeah, I had a long talk
with Jim.

I got some bad news, Ben.

Jim's dead.

Jim's...

He was knifed last night,
right outside his office.

Looked to me like robbery.

Roy...

Roy, that whole Thunderhead--

the strike--
there's no strike there.

The whole thing's a phony,
it's a swindle.

Jim told me that Furnas and
Cunningham offered him $10,000

to say there was silver
down in the Thunderhead.

There's no silver there.
He told me so himself.

He was waiting for them
to come over

so he could tell them
he wanted no part of the deal.

Ben, that's a pretty serious
accusation.

You got any more
than that to go on?

Well, how much more
do you need to go on?

Ben, ever since the mines
started closing down,

there hasn't been a week go by
but what at least

two men have been killed
and robbed by road...

Oh, sure, sure, on the Divide
or down on D Street, but...

but not right downtown in...
in an office building.

Roy, I'll bet you Furnas
and Cunningham had him killed

in order to shut him up.

Just to protect
a phony silver promotion?

Yes, just to protect
a phony silver promotion.

Ben, I...

I don't know what's been going
on down at Thunderhead,

but I'm sure it's going
to help Virginia City.

Now, what you have is
just an unproven story

that you say was told to you
by a dead man.

I don't feel like going out
and telling them miners

to give up hope and to sit back
and start starving to death.

They're going to start
starving to death

when the news comes out that
the whole thing's a phony!

What are you trying to do?
Make an excuse for murder?

Of course I'm not,
and you know it.

I'll investigate it.

But until I got
a lot more to go on,

I'm going to keep still
about it.

Pa, are you...

are you sure about
what you said?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm sure.

Well, Roy'll look into it.

I'm going to look into it, too.

Listen, I think you ought to let
the sheriff take care of it.

I'm the one that talked Jim
into turning down the deal.

That makes it my responsibility.

Thunderhead's going crazy!

Up to 23, with no sellers!

Come on, let's get out of here!

Dad-burn, I don't
blame Sheriff Coffee

for not wanting to get
in front of that crowd.

Yeah, well,
if what Pa thinks is true,

he's going to have to,
sooner or later.

Yeah, I'd just as soon they
calm down a little bit first.

Trample a man to death if he
tried to spoil their fun now.

Hey, hey,
you know what I was thinking?

You know, swindle or no swindle,

a man ought to put some money
in that stock, you know it?

Joe, you just set right down.

Stay right here,
just like Pa told us.

Drink your beer.

Hi, boys.
How's it going?

Yes, sir, gentlemen, as I was
saying, I'm a very careful man.

If I didn't believe
Frank Furnas' theory

about there being
one continuing vein of silver

somewhere in the lode,

I wouldn't have put five cents
into the Thunderhead.

But now I'm glad I trusted him.

And, gentlemen,
I'll tell you something.

If you can find some
Thunderhead stock, buy it.

Buy it while you can
still afford it.

What do you say we have
something to eat?

Sit down.

How'd you make out
with the sheriff, Pa?

I doubt if there's a more honest
man alive than Roy Coffee,

but he just won't budge
until he has more evidence.

He's got your word,
ain't he, Pa?

Yeah.

Oh, I'm sure Roy believes me,
but he claims it isn't enough.

I'm afraid he's right.

Isn't enough.
I'll... I'll get you a beer.

No.

I'll take a sip of yours.

What are you doing?

Hmm? Me?

Oh, I was just figuring.

I... I don't mean to be
disrespectful, Pa,

but-but swindle or no swindle,
I think a fellow ought to

pick up a couple shares
of that stock.

Thunderhead is up
$80 a share! Yay!

Hey, you see what I mean?

Hey, $80 a share, Pa!

$80 a share. Now, I got
some money of my own...

Pa, I think he might be right.
I got a couple of dollars...

Now, listen to me, both of you.

Keep out of the market,

unless you want to be
buried in worthless paper.

$80 a share.

- Yes, sir.
- Come on.

I'll... I'll buy you dinner.

Well, Mr. Cartwright.

I've been wanting
to talk to you.

Gentlemen.

I'm listening.

You've heard what's happening
in the Thunderhead.

I've heard a lot of wild rumors.

Well, where there's smoke,
there's fire.

Isn't that right, Frank?

I've been in this business
a long time.

I know silver when I see it.

Mr. Cartwright,
I understand you own

quite a bit of stock
in the Gould & Curry.

Suppose I do.

Well, sir, I... I was just going
to advise you to hang on to it.

If the deal I'm working on
goes through,

you may be able to trade it
for some Thunderhead stock.

Mr. Cunningham, I don't believe
there's a single, solitary ounce

of silver in the Thunderhead.

Uh, Mr. Cartwright,

I think you'll admit
that Mr. Jock McPherson

of the Gould & Curry knows
a little bit about mining, too.

You have enough respect for him
to buy some stock in his mine.

What has Jock McPherson
got to do with this?

Mr. McPherson
thinks we have silver.

In fact, he feels so strongly
about it,

he's considering merging
the Gould & Curry

with the Thunderhead.

I don't believe a word of that.

Why don't you ask
Jock McPherson?

I'll do that.

That's quite a story,
Cartwright.

And you think it
comes out fraud, eh?

I don't know of anything else
you can call it.

I don't know, Ben.

Nine-tenths of Virginia City's
labor force

is hanging out
on street corners.

Our economy is coming
to a standstill.

If there's one chance in a
hundred that it's not fraud,

and that we can break
out of our depression,

I'm willing to take it
and put good money behind it.

You knew Jim Bronson.

Now, Bronson
knew the Thunderhead

like the back of his own hand!

He told me there wasn't an ounce
of silver in it anywhere!

I'm no fool!

I've demanded proof, and
Cunningham said he'd give it

to me tomorrow morning
at the Thunderhead shaft.

Why don't you come out, too?

All right.

I will, Jock.

I will.

I'll see you in the morning.

Come on, boys.

Well, Jock, we're not
producing much as yet.

We're in the same boat you are.

We've got to have capital before
we can expand our operations.

Here comes Frank
with the ore cart.

Gentlemen, he'll be able to
answer most of your questions.

Let's take a look.

I sure hope Pa doesn't
have to eat his own words.

Yeah. Cunningham seems mighty
sure of himself, don't he?

Mm-hmm.

All right, gentlemen,
take a look.

Hey, that's good-looking ore.

Fantastic!

Whereabouts in the mine
did you say this came from?

Now, Mr. McPherson,
if this was the Gould & Curry,

would you answer that question?

Well, just how much
is this stuff worth?

We figure about $2,500 a ton.

Well, Mr. Cartwright,
no silver in the Thunderhead?

Well, can't you
believe your own eyes?

You mind if I...?

Help yourself.

Well, Jock, you've seen it,
and you've heard my offer.

We'll sell your company

a half interest in the
Thunderhead for $50,000 cash.

I'll have to take it up

with the board of directors
in San Francisco.

You'll have your answer
in a week.

You'll recommend it?

Well, if it assays as rich
as you say it does,

I'll recommend it.

That's a boy.

- This is beautiful. Beautiful.
- Isn't it?

Pa, you can't lose for winning.

The Thunderhead in bonanza,

and the Gould & Curry
teaming up with them.

Hey, Señor Cartwright!

¡Venga, venga, por favor!

Oh, so nice to see you!

- Tell me, what can I do for you?
- Hey.

Where are the little ones?
Where's your family?

Oh, I sent them away.

I-I sent them
to my wife's sister...

of a cousin...

To Carson City.

They have a nice little
rancho place there.

They have goats, milk--
it's good for the children.

Oh, excuse me,
sit down, my friend.

- Yeah. -Excuse the house,
the way it is.

Oh, Leon, uh, I want your
opinion about something.

Sí.

What do you think of that?

Ay, chihuahua.

Que plata.

Good, huh?

Good?

As rich as anything
I ever seen in my life.

Uh, where you get this from?

The Thunderhead.

Eh... is impossible.

This cannot be.

I saw them bring up a whole
cart of this, this morning.

Four years, four long years,
Jim Bronson and myself,

we work every foot
of the Thunderhead.

Is vacía.
Do you know what mean vacía?

Empty, worthless--
was, is and will always be.

That came from the Thunderhead.

Well, somebody put it there.

I mean, I know the Thunderhead
like-like I know my own house.

You think the mine was salted?

I don't know, señor.

Wh-wh-what else can one think?

I think that Furnas
and Cunningham

are trying to pull off
a swindle.

I think that Jim Bronson
was murdered

because he knew
what they were up to.

My friend Jim Bronson.

By Furnas and Cunningham?

I think.

I-I have no proof.

Señor Cartwright, look, if it's
true what you are thinking...

Leon, how can we find out
for sure about this?

There is only one way.

Will you go inside
the Thunderhead with me?

Oh, sure I will,

but they're not gonna let us
go into the Thunderhead.

They have guards posted around
the entrance to the mine that...

Leon knows another way.

Vamos.

What is this?

This is an old air shaft

that will get us down
to the first level.

- Does anybody else
know about this? -No.

Oh, just the men who helped us,
you know, to dig it out.

Yeah, but how about...

Furnas and Cunningham
don't know nothing.

Come on.

Hold on.

I thought there was a full shift
locked up down here.

There are only five men
in there.

You sure we're going
in the right direction?

I follow the overflow
of the ore cart.

That's why I know that this
is the right direction.

What's the matter?

Well, is it silver,
or isn't it?

All my life
I have mined silver--

in Peru, in Guanajuato,
in Taxco...

Shh!

All my life, I have never
seen such rich ore.

Señor Cartwright,
this is bonanza--

the real bonanza.

Es magnífico.

I don't see how you...
you and Bronson

could be so wrong
about the Thunderhead?

I don't know.

Maybe... maybe we were not
so wrong about the Thunderhead.

This is silver, isn't it?

Sí, th-this is silver.

But... but whose silver?

Huh?

What do you mean,
whose silver?

What are you talking about?

I will tell you
in the morning.

Follow me.

Pete?

Is that you, Pete?

Pete!

There's somebody in the mine!

All right, everybody out
and get after 'em!

Come on!

Hey, there's somebody
in the mine.

What? There can't be.
We've been here all the time.

We can't take any chances.
Come on!

Wait.

Otto, what's wrong?

We heard someone
in the tunnel

and thought they was
going out this way.

Jack, if somebody made it down
to the working face...

He'll never get out
to tell about it.

All right, some of you men
check the other tunnels.

Come on,
let's get back outside.

Look! There they are!

Anybody recognize them?

Not the little one,

but the big one looked like
old man Cartwright.

Hey.
Hey, Frank, what's this?

Air shaft to one
of the upper levels.

Probably been there two,
three years.

Who laid out
the first diggings?

Bronson and... Leon Flores.

Then it had to be Flores.

And Flores is a friend
of Cartwright's.

Get Flores!

No, Jack, not Flores.

I know him, I've worked
with him-- he's a good man.

Every cent we own
is sunk in this rock pit.

Either we're ruined
or we're millionaires.

Right now,
before he gets a chance

- to put two and two together.
- How about Cartwright?

I'll handle Cartwright.

Sit down, Señor Cartwright.

Now...

this is the map
of the whole Virginia City.

Yeah.

And this is the map...

of the Thunderhead,
right here.

Now, this is the Gould & Curry,
where the first bonanza was.

- Mm-hmm.
- This is the Savage Mine.

- Belcher.
- Yeah.

And this is the Thunderhead.

Now, the pockets are here
and here.

This is the boundary

that is between the Gould &
Curry and the Thunderhead.

Now, I think that this is
where we saw the silver,

just below the boundary line.

Then you do think we were
on Gould & Curry land?

It's a possibility,
but how can a man be sure?

I first must get
the legal description

and check it against the map.

How long would that take?

Five, six hours.

That long?

Ah, but then we can be sure.

And if it does check out that
we were on Gould & Curry land,

I can take that information
to the government engineer

and have Cunningham and
company
blown right out of the Comstock.

I hope so.

Leon, I'll see you
in the morning.

¿Mañana, ah?

- Yeah.
- Mañana, Señor Cartwright.

Poor Leon.
He was a good man.

Now do you believe me?

Ben, I never did say
I didn't believe you.

I just said I couldn't
arrest anybody

without sufficient evidence,
and we still haven't got it.

There's enough evidence there
for me.

Ben, you're not the law.

Now don't get the idea
that you are.

If there was a shred
of evidence to go on,

I'd follow this thing through
all the way,

even if it meant killing
the best news

this town has had in months.

But I haven't got it
and neither have you.

So you stop pushing me
or we're gonna lock horns.

I'll find you the evidence.

You do that,
and the sooner the better,

but make sure it's proof.

What do you think now?

What do you want us to do, Pa?

I'm riding in
to see Jock McPherson.

Take care of things here.

I'll-I'll see you in town later.

Right.

Jock, I tell you,
there is a bonanza there,

but it's not in the Thunderhead,
it's in your own mine!

Oh, Ben, I'm a mining man!

The indications are not right
for ore on that side of my mine.

Don't you think
I haven't checked that out?

I have seen it with my own eyes!

All right, Ben!

I hope you're right.

It would be the greatest thing

that ever happened
to the Gould & Curry.

Well, as soon as I hear from
my board of directors...

You're going to wait to hear
from your board of directors

on a matter as important
as this?

I'm only the superintendent!

Why, only last week,
they were threatening

to close down
the Gould & Curry entirely.

I couldn't buck
Furnas and Cunningham on my own

and then find that I'm wrong.

I'm trying to tell you
that you're not wrong.

I saw the silver in there
with my own eyes!

All you have to do
is demand a survey.

Well, I'll do that, Ben,

just as soon as I hear
from San Francisco.

Just as soon as...

Well, I've got to
think of my job!

And I've got to think of
two friends-- both of them dead.

Friends, there's scarcely
a man here

who doesn't own stock
in the Thunderhead.

And if you don't own stock,

you all have your own businesses
around town.

But every one of you
stands to gain

from what we found in that mine.

But there is one man
who stands to benefit enormously

by seeing Virginia City fold up
and become a ghost town.

A man who would like
to extend his tentacles

and devour everything on this
side of the Washoe the same as

he's eaten up everything
on the other side of it.

The man who stands
to gain the most

by spoiling Virginia City's
greatest boom

is Ben Cartwright.

You're Cartwrights, ain't you?

That's right. What about it?

Where do you get off talking
down this Thunderhead strike?

Look, mister, we don't want
trouble with you.

You don't, huh?

Well, you're going to get it.

And you better tell
that stupid old man of yours

if I catch him around here
again, I'll bash his brains out.

What'd you say?

I said I'll bash his brains in.

That's what I thought he said.

All right, all of you
get this straight.

If any of you's
got any notions about

bashing anybody's brains out,
especially our pa's,

then you got us
to contend with first.

Now, who else do you want me
to turn to, Watkins?

You're the resident engineer
for the Virginia City area.

I'm not arguing that point, Ben.

Of course you turned
to the right man.

- That's why I'm here.
- Well...

But you're making some
pretty serious accusations.

And Furnas and Cunningham
are important men.

Now, I've got to have
something more concrete.

Flores had those charts.

He and Bronson charted out
the whole Thunderhead area.

Do you believe that?

Of course I believe it.

I've got copies of those charts.

It's a government regulation.

Then what else do we need?!

Ben, the federal government
cannot move on mere suspicion.

Now, look, I have reason
to believe that the Thunderhead

is tapping a rich pocket
in the Gould & Curry mine.

The only way that can be proven

is by making
an underground survey.

Now, I have no idea how to make
an underground survey.

You know how to do it.
That's your job, isn't it?

Well, of course it's my job.

But, Ben,
I cannot go into that mine

without the express permission
of Cunningham and Furnas.

Now, that's the law.

You telling me you won't
go into the Thunderhead?

I'm telling you I can't go into
the Thunderhead, not legally.

Well, how about illegally?

Now, look, Watkins,
you've known me for a long time.

I'm not the kind of man
who goes around breaking laws,

but we've got to get
to the truth of the matter.

I don't know, that mine's
got to be well guarded, Ben.

Well, Leon and I got in through
an old abandoned air shaft.

I know about that air shaft.

Oh, they've got to have a guard
on that by now.

Now, look, suppose we take
Hoss and Joe with us.

Now, if they can
distract that guard long enough

for us to get into
the air shaft...

You're treading on
dangerous ground, Ben.

But Jim and Leon
were my friends, too.

You'll make the survey?

And I'll probably live
to regret it.

They just come back
from checking that air shaft.

This would be a good time
for us to get started then.

Yeah.

We shouldn't be too long.

But if that guard goes back
to check the air shaft...

We'll take care of him, Pa.

Yeah, you two be careful.

Yeah.

Come on.

What are you doing?

We just crossed the boundary
line of the Gould & Curry.

Are you sure of this?

I've been down here
a dozen times.

This is where
the old tunnel ended.

This is new shoring.

That explains
that silver deposit.

That's not in the Thunderhead,
it's in the Gould & Curry.

That's what it looks like.

Come on, let's take a look.

Better let me get a fix
on this ore face, Ben.

We'll need it for evidence.

Guess Virginia City
will boom after all, huh?

Yeah, so will
your Gould & Curry stock.

Hurry it up.

Don't want to get caught
down here.

You know, from the look of it,
a person will be able

to break through into this
from right here.

Come on, let's get him.

Where'd that come from?

Sounded like the north section.

Trouble.

Come on.

Otto, take a couple of men
and check the tunnel entrance.

The rest of us will check the
lower levels and the ore face.

Come on, fellas.

Look, there they are!

Hey, Joe, this thing moves.

Yeah, well, let's move it.

- Pa.
- Pa.

Mr. Watkins, you all right?

Yeah, I'm all right.

Thank heaven
you two are all right.

How are you?

Yeah, fine.

You'd better get some help
for those men down here.

Right.

We'll go see McPherson.

Tell him he's got
a real bonanza.

I don't know how thick it is,
but it's at least 150 feet wide.

That's quite
a hunk of silver, Jock.

And 20,000 people
will live better--

men, women and children.

Prosperity is back
on the Comstock.

That's wonderful, huh?

What's the matter with you?

Hmm? Oh, I don't know about Hoss
here, I'm just wondering why

I didn't buy some of that Gould
& Curry stock when you did, Pa.

Well, I've been trying
to tell you,

you're-you're just not as smart
as your old man.

Come on, I'll buy you a drink
with part of my profits.

Come on, Charlie...

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